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Those serious about their airsoft will use grenades. After all, there will be certain situations where your typical airsoft gun doesn’t quite work.
Here, we want to take a look at some of the more common airsoft grenade options on the market. We want to discuss how they work, as well as give you a couple of brief ideas on the correct strategy for using them.
Remember, if you are going to be purchasing airsoft grenades (and you should!), then always purchase the best quality that you can afford. Quality grenades are far, far more predictable in their movement. This will take a lot of luck out of your strategy.
How Do Airsoft Grenades Work?
This is going to be completely dependent on the airsoft grenade that you are using! They will all work slightly differently, even when the grenade is intended for the same purpose i.e. different manufacturers use different technology. Rather than look at each specific manufacturer, which would take an age, we are going to go through each general grenade type and give you a broader overview of how they work.
All of these grenades, outside of smoke grenades, will have a detonation timer on them. On the better quality grenades, you may even be able to set how long you want it to be before they detonate. In all cases, you should have at least a couple of seconds to throw the grenade. So, make sure that you know exactly where you want it to be landing before you pull that pin. The last thing you want is a grenade to explode in your hand, right?
Smoke Grenades
The way that smoke grenades work isn’t actually that different from military smoke grenades. There isn’t really much that can be done with this type of tech.
Inside the smoke grenade will be a filler. On the top of the smoke grenade will be a pin. As this is pulled, it will ignite a starter fluid that sits on top of the filler. This, in turn, lights the filler. This will let out smoke from various holes scattered around the grenade.
In airsoft, the filler inside of the smoke grenade doesn’t change all that much. In fact, the only major difference between smoke grenades will be the amount of smoke that they release, plus the color of the smoke. The color is changed by the addition of a dye to the filler. This means that smoke grenades are available in a multitude of different colors.
Blank Firing Grenades
These grenades are designed to make a loud bang when they are thrown. In most cases, the user will have to pull a pin that triggers the ignition of the blank sitting inside of the grenade. These grenades are almost always going to be reusable and are often among the most expensive airsoft grenades on the market.
The way in which these grenades work is actually quite interesting. This is because of the blank that is inside of them. They actually use blanks that have been taken from real weapons e.g. you can put shotgun blanks into certain airsoft grenades. You can also put 9mm blanks into them. Obviously, the type that goes into the grenade will be dependent on which grenade you have purchased. No. They cannot be ‘converted’ to fire real ammunition from real guns. They will only ever work with blanks.
Because of the blanks that are used, these make an incredibly loud sound as the gunpowder is ignited and explodes. There may also be a small flash upon explosion.
CO2 Grenades
These are functionally similar to blank firing grenades. You pull a pin and then something happens inside of the grenade which causes an explosion and thus makes a loud sound. However, what happens inside is different with CO2 grenades.
Each CO2 grenade will need to be loaded with a CO2 cartridge before it is used. This CO2 cartridge will be loaded up with CO2. It is going to be densely packed in there. Once the grenade detonates, the CO2 will be released from the cartridge. Because the gas was so tightly packed into the cartridge, it is released with a huge amount of force. This will make a ‘bang’. There will be no flash like you would get with blank firing grenades.
Green Gas Grenades a.k.a. Pellet Firing Grenades
These grenades are designed to launch a couple of hundred airsoft pellets out of the grenade once it ‘explodes’. They are reusable. Each time you use one of these grenades, you will have to load them up with both green gas (this is the same gas you will put in most airsoft guns) and pellets.
The ignition of these is the same as the other grenades on this list. You will pull the pin and throw the grenade. The gas will then force the pellets out of the top of the grenade, spreading them around the area.
Spring Loaded Pellet Firing Grenades
These work in much the same as green gas grenades, although they require no gas, and they are much, much cheaper to run.
Inside these grenades will be a powerful spring. When you throw the ‘ignite’ the grenade, the spring will force all of the pellets inside of the grenade to be forced out of it. It won’t really make a sound when it does this, and it won’t send the pellets very far. However, in many smaller airsoft locations, only spring-loaded grenades may be allowed.
Pyro Grenades
Outside of the smoke grenades, all of the options on this list have so far been reusable. Pyro grenades are not.
Pyro grenades are a long stick filled with combustible material. We suppose they look very similar to a firework. When you pull the pin, this material is ignited within a few seconds.
The material, when it explodes, can either create a loud bang or a flash.
These are incredibly common grenades due to their affordability and ease of use. However, you probably will need to bear in mind that certain pyro grenades have been banned from certain airsoft locations. This is because some of them can be quite dangerous if you are standing close to them. They can also seriously injure your hand if you do not throw them quickly.
Grenade Launcher Grenades
Most grenade launcher grenades will use similar tech to what we have discussed so far. For example, the most common grenade shells will have a combination of green gas and pellets in them. The green gas will send the pellets flying everywhere once it has been released.
Of course, to use grenade launcher grenades, you will need to load them up into the grenade launcher. There is no pin that you need to pull. Instead, the grenade launcher will often ‘knock’ the back of the grenade shell which triggers that reaction.
Airosft Grenade launchers are ideal for when you need to get the grenade going a little bit further than you would normally be able to throw.
How Should You Use Airsoft Grenades?
It is all well and good knowing how airsoft grenades work, but that doesn’t really help you that much on the airsoft field, does it? No. You need to know how to actually use them in a tactical sense. We hope the following tips will help to give you the tactical edge when you are in the midst of an airsoft battle. Although, of course, the more you play the sport, the more ideas you will come up with when it comes to using the grenades.
Remember; don’t forget to talk to your team about your tactics. The last thing you want is to toss an airsoft grenade out there, only to find that your fellow teammates have somehow managed to get caught in the blast radius, removing them from the game. Friendly fire is a bad thing! Your teammates probably won’t be that happy at your stupidity either.
Smoke Grenades
Let’s start with how you should be using smoke grenades while playing airsoft.
Smoke grenades are not there to eliminate the other team. If somebody walks into the smoke, they aren’t going to be kicked out of the game at all.
The purpose of a smoke grenade is to help conceal you. So, for example, if you believe that the enemy is keeping watch over an area that you need to run through, then you can toss a smoke grenade to help cover your escape. Obviously, this will draw attention to your position, but the enemy is going to find it incredibly difficult to hit you.
Some people will also use a smoke grenade as a distraction. For example, you can throw it in the opposite direction to the one that you are running in. However, this isn’t a tactic that you will probably be using all that much. Smoke grenades can be a bit expensive if you are using them a lot. If the opposing team finds that you are never running in the direction that you throw the smoke grenade in, then your tactic becomes quite useless.
Remember, you should always be using smoke grenades sparingly. They are always going to be drawing attention to your position whenever you use them. In a game of airsoft, you need to keep all of that to the absolute minimum.
Finally, pay attention to the wind so that you can place the smoke grenade in the most effective place. You may also need to move quite quickly. After all, the wind is going to be whisking that smoke away sharpish.
Grenades that make a noise
We are talking about your pyro and blank airsoft grenades here.
These grenades serve two purposes:
- To eliminate anybody within a certain radius of the grenade.
- To distract enemies
Before we tell you how to use them properly, we do want to point out that each airsoft site will have different rules for these grenades. These ones are more likely to be banned than others because they can a serious injury if they are not used correctly. The loud noise will often be banned near residential areas.
In terms of ‘elimination radius’, this will be determined by the airsoft site. It will normally be a radius of a few meters. This includes your teammates being eliminated if they are unlucky enough to be standing in the range of your grenade.
If you are planning on using your grenade to eliminate other players, then we suggest that you wait until you have several grouped into a single location. This means that you will be able to take out multiple enemies with a single grenade throw. However, it can also work if there is a singular enemy pinning you down, and the only way to reach them is by tossing a grenade in their direction. The cost means that you will probably want to use these sparingly.
If you are using them as a distraction and the enemy doesn’t know where you are, then throw them in the direction of the enemy to startle them with the sound. This should provide you with a nice escape route. Again, you will probably want to use them sparingly here. You should only ever be throwing grenades to escape if you have no other option. After all, the second they have been thrown, the enemy will know that you are around that are and they will hunt you down.
Grenades loaded with pellets
These grenades will be the simplest to know when to use. They hurl pellets in several directions. It is unlikely that they are going to be making a sound when they do. So, just throw them close to an enemy location. Your choice of location will be pretty much the same as with a noisy grenade. This means either choosing a location with a ton of enemies or in the direction of one enemy that needs to be taken out before you can advance.
Related Questions
Will some places ban airsoft grenade use?
Yes. There are some locations that will restrict the use of airsoft grenades out of safety concerns. These places will often be smaller places where you can’t really throw airsoft grenades safely. It is always worth checking before you head to play airsoft somewhere new whether they will allow you to use airsoft grenades or not. There is no sense in spending a ton of cash and time refilling your airsoft grenades if you can’t really use them.
In terms of smoke grenades, some airsoft locations will have restrictions on the color of smoke that you can use. This way nobody thinks that a random fire has broken out. No. This won’t really have any impact on the way that you use the grenade. After all, the purpose is for the smoke to provide you with cover, it isn’t really there to do anything else. Red smoke is going to provide just as much color as white smoke. Just go with whatever color you like the most.
Can airsoft grenades be reused?
Yes. Some models of airsoft grenades can be reused. Most of the time, you will need to refill them with gas and airsoft pellets. If you plan on using airsoft grenades a lot, then you will probably want to be on the lookout for a few of these models.
Does getting hit by an airsoft grenade filled with pellets hurt?
Not unless you are close to the explosion. You would have to be really close to it too. Airsoft grenades are brilliant at throwing airsoft pellets in a ton of different directions. However, they are not that brilliant at throwing them out with a ton of force in a single explosion. These pellets will be launched at a fraction of the speed that an airsoft gun would launch the pellets at. So, don’t worry about getting hit by them. You have the potential to have dozens of the pellets hit you at once, but assuming that you are wearing the correct protection, you probably won’t feel a thing.
How Do Airsoft Grenades Work? Final Thoughts
As you can see there so many different kinds of airsoft grenades. From a simple smoke grenade, to a sophisticated grenade launcher grenade, and everything in between. It’s amazing how far the game of airsoft has come and it seems like every year it’s becoming more and more realistic and closer and closer to real world war fighting. Who knows what they will come up with next.
How did you like this how do airsoft grenades work article? What type of airsoft grenade do you like to use? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to checkout our latest article here.
