Bang Bang Rules Discussion - Good? Bad?
Today’s video is a discussion about the bang bang rule. Your local fields might have this rule implemented and some do not. Every field owner has their own opinion on this and the player base definitely has their own opinion of it as well. As a disclaimer, we take no opinion on this matter as to whether the rule is right or wrong and we merely want to present information to you. Every field in America will be different so consider this to be like a house rule.
The bang bang rule allows you to score a kill at point blank range to avoid shooting people too close for comfort. The idea is to keep things safe, especially when playing CQB where pointblank engagements are a fact of life and also to prevent tempers from getting out of control.
Depending on how your field implements this, this could create as many problems as it tries to solve. Some creative players "game" the rules a bit and manipulate it in their favor. They are still operating within the rules but it can be viewed as cheesy by some. One example is when I've played CQB, I’ve encountered very fast players run through buildings yelling bang bang and getting a bunch of kills just seconds after the round starts. Though on paper, there is nothing wrong with that on that player’s part, but at some point it becomes a little out of hand with players not even having a functioning gun or BB's getting kills or just team wiping by sprinting and playing like it's a speedball Call of Duty game mode.
At the same time, I’ve been surprised a few times with players peeking where I was not ready, and the opposing player was gracious enough to Bang Bang me and spared me from getting lit up so that’s the positive side to that. Getting shot at point blank stings quite a bit more, and when it's a reflexive shot, you might get hit on some very sensitive parts of your body.
An alternate to this rule is a surrender rule. I don't see this implemented too much but it's out there. Basically if you have the drop on someone and you have them dead to rights, you can tell them to surrender. Surrender is optional in some places so you might have to shoot them if they look like they have some fight in them still. Some people are too slow to surrender and get annoyed when they get shot, but that's what you signed up for. Just the same, if you are the one being asked to surrender, you certainly don't have to take it, but your actions will have consequences.
Sometimes the rule is if you both get surprised by each other, rather than allow you to shoot each other and potentially causing bad vibes, fields may ask you to do something called a Parlay. That's when the both of you call each other out and avoid any conflict.
Most experienced players are pretty good-natured about it regardless of the house rules. Sometimes they give a player a chance to surrender but the other player shoots them anyway. That might be annoying but remember, it's just a game and some people do it out of panic so don't invest too much emotion into it. If they want to win that bad, let them have it and be the better person. That is a good example to follow and will ensure less tension at an airsoft game which can happen over so many trivial things.
And that's another thing is regardless of how much the rules might try to help mitigate salty behavior, it's just ingrained in some people. Or, you may encounter a new player who thinks it's all about winning so they get more mad over nothing. This is one of those things where your conduct is more important than the actual scenario. I think this would make for a much more pleasant experience if people worked on their temperment.
As of this video, at our own local field we do not have a bang bang rule. We play with 1.5 joule guns and we have a 10ft MED for full auto and in addition, the pure CQB field that we play at is semi-auto only.
With my encounters with other players, most players are gracious enough not to wreck the other person with some point blank shooting. The newbies might react and turn around and shoot back and get the nice guy out as a result. Honestly, if you have someone dead to rights in our games, you can just go for it (but don’t overshoot them). But if you want to be nice, it’s 50/50 if they accept it so don’t be mad.
What are your local field rules for point blank shooting? What do you think? Do they work for you and the people around you or do they create more drama? This isn’t a topic where we’re seeking a wrong or right answer but to see what we all think.