BFG pro's and cons

[fangsnatcher]

hi one and all.

following my last game it's become clear that a pistol and a grenade option would be worthwhile. i've done a bit of research and the VTG looks like it could be the very thing. what i would like to know is are there any pitfalls associated with the use of them (and other bfg)eg sites that ban them, restrictions on their use, banned deployment methods ect.

are there any forthcoming daft law changes that may outlaw them in the future or restrict their use to beyond usefull.

all info gratefully accepted

[Tariq182]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

Once you invest in the grenade which is a steep £80~ its well worth it. Very reliable if you keep it clean, and cheap as chips to run afterwards.

Only problem you'll get is its hard to use in woodland as you'll be told you can only roll or drop them, and as its grassy etc they won't go very far.

Great for clearing buildings or taking out people around the other side of cover. Not so good for trying to clear out the guys 20m away, which you could probably do with a thermobaric.

[Sir Stephen]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

you have to collect them once you have deployed them.
reloading the timed type can take a couple of minutes if you haven't got a table/ledge to work on
impacts dont always go off on soft surfaces (the newer types are more sensitive though so not as bad as before)

as far as any current restrictions on their use, the company who makes them recently got them cleared with pretty much all major insurance companies (airsoft related at any rate)
so any restrictions on their use are sites choice and not for legal reasons.

when using them, they are heavy little lumps so under arm or "bowling" is preferred. you don't want to run the risk of hitting anyone in the head with one put it that way.

[fangsnatcher]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

hmm, i thought the picking up bit may present a prob, especially if you dont get the kill. is 5 meters still the accepted kill radius

[Caldymoose]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

If your buying a delay BFG, then the only one you can now buy new (that is designed for airsoft purposes) is the VTG. The Dynatec one is no longer in production, but a 2nd hand one will set you back as much, if not more, than a new VTG. But the VTG comes with a full 2 year warranty, few extras, and the company carries a full range of spares and can repair them if needed.

A certain chain of airsoft sites in the UK had, to the best of my knowledge, banned them from their sites. Why? For no good reason is all i know. The manufactures of the VTG have full insurance for the device and the insurance companies for airsoft sites in the UK have also approved it, so the chain is just being a pain as far as I can see. Most sites have no issue with them.

They leave much less debris after detonation than chemical pyro does, which makes site cleanup easier, and also means they can be re-used as many times as you have blanks for them. They are arguably more reliable than chemical pyro as well, but that isn't to say that a blank will not detonate every time in them. Some times you can get a dud blank or if the cap isn't screwed on all the way the firing pin doesn't have enough push against the blank to ignite the primer. If you play urban/CQB then they are certainly worthwhile, and much safer than chemical pyro indoors in my experience.

Downsides, well, they have to be retrieved and re-loaded. The process doesn't take long but sometimes in an intense firefight pulling a chemical pyro out and striking it will be much faster than re-loading a BFG. Chemical pyro can be thrown over arm and therefore much further than a BFG. BFGs weigh a good few hundred grams, so if you lob one of these full force and it hits somebody on the head it's going to do damage. This means they are not suited to woodland, if your close enough to roll a BFG underam then your close enough to be shot/shoot them (which is much easier...)

While they can be used in woodland, try to avoid getting the internals wet/muddy as it will mess up the timing system and cause a malfunction.

End of the day it depends where you play mainly id say. The initial investment of a VTG is £95, but then blanks are much cheaper than chemical Pyro (50 x 9mm blanks for £13 i think they charge) whereas some sites charge £1-3 per MK5 Thunderflash! If your playing a lot indoors then id take a BFG any day of the week

[sparrowhawk]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

i caught one to my bonce last week,which was a bit of a shock,so they need to be deployed with care

[sparrowhawk]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

also in intense situations impacts load a lot quicker, and with timed grenades you need to have your priming rod hanging of your rig on one of those pully clips,and your blanks stashed somewhere to get to quickly,its all about practicing to load quickly,without stress and goggles fogging up

[Mickydoos]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

i caught one to my bonce last week,which was a bit of a shock,so they need to be deployed with care

Ouch.... My bro had one of those bfgx ones and theyre certainly solid things. I would also say they're unsuitable for woodland because they're easy enough to lose.

[fangsnatcher]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

To be fair, I'm not convinced by impact grenades. Lots of misfires on you tube reviews. Most of my gaming is at GZW so reg pyro no good.

[sparrowhawk]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

impact grenades have their place, i can hold one in my palm of the left hand in conjunction with the front ris,which means i can deploy it very quickly and with good effect

[fangsnatcher]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

impact grenades have their place, i can hold one in my palm of the left hand in conjunction with the front ris,which means i can deploy it very quickly and with good effect

How often do you get a misfire though? I would consider impact if I did more urban skirmishing

[Sir Stephen]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

the impacts will pretty much always fire if they land on either end. the misfires generally come if they land on their sides, and the mechanism doesn't work horizontally.

best technique for using an impact if to give it a good bit of force straight onto the floor just through a doorway (keeping the top upwards**). there will be enough force to set it off, but as people don't tend to stand directly in the middle of a room/doorway there is little chance of accidentally hitting someone with it.

** reason for keeping top upwards is to prevent any chance of the detonation propelling the grande as it bounces, doesn't happen often but I've seen it a few times.

[fangsnatcher]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

the impacts will pretty much always fire if they land on either end. the misfires generally come if they land on their sides, and the mechanism doesn't work horizontally.

best technique for using an impact if to give it a good bit of force straight onto the floor just through a doorway (keeping the top upwards**). there will be enough force to set it off, but as people don't tend to stand directly in the middle of a room/doorway there is little chance of accidentally hitting someone with it.

** reason for keeping top upwards is to prevent any chance of the detonation propelling the grande as it bounces, doesn't happen often but I've seen it a few times.

Thanks for the advice. To be honest the footage I've seen was mainly drop tests that were the poor performers. If I find myself doing more urban I would consider an impact option, especially as you've told me how make it more reliable

[Monster Airsofter]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

My local only allows underarm throws ( as stated by alot of others ) and that they are to only be thrown into areas you can see clearly ( i.e not throwing on top of buildings, round corners etc.) but i see alot of BFG's dressed in bright electrical tapes.

[sparrowhawk]

Re: BFG pro's and cons

i have a dynatec impact grende and after a few months it was shockingly bad at going off,i could bounce it off a wall or floor and it would still fail....the reason was that i had not given it any maintenence, during my last skirmish, after the second game,i decided to spray down inside the firing pin with some abbey silicon, and the result was an amazin transformation it went off from a drop of under 1 meter about 5 minutes later