Enter enough MilSim or airsoft events and sooner or later, you’re going to find yourself in a CQB scenario. CQB, or close-quarters battling, as it is more properly known, is a fixture of airsoft, and some players live for the thrill.

The thing is, CQB is fast, intense, and unforgiving. It is remarkably different from trying to canvas wide open spaces under enemy fire. Threats in CQB can lurk around any corner and it’s easy to get taken by surprise.

So, to excel in close-quarters battling, you’re going to need to be prepared with the right airsoft gear and skills.

Here are a few things you should know.

1. Choose the right gear

Spring-powered airsoft guns and long rifles are pretty much useless in CQB. You’ll need something light, snappy, and responsive, with a fast rate of fire. Snub-nosed AEGs like the G&G ARP9, and light, lightning-fast airsoft pistols like the Action Army AAP-01 are excellent in CQB.

You’ll also want to make sure you are well organized and well prepared. When you need to drop a mag and reload or grab a grenade, you may only have half a second to do it. It needs to be right where you need it, on your vest, and within easy reach.

2. Never be without backup

Another thing you need to remember is that in CQB, there is little to no room for error. If your AEG jams or the battery dies or the mag runs out, you need to be ready in a flash.

Keep spare mags loaded and accessible at the front of your vest. Always carry a sidearm, if not two, and keep them in quick-access speed holsters - something like a CTM speed holster is a good idea.

3. Be aware; choose your plan of attack

Situational awareness can keep you alive in a game; missing out on key signals can get you tagged.

First things first, before you even join the match, study the map. Look for paths forward and plans of attack based on what the map shows and what you expect your initial dispositions to be. Even if you can’t see cover and concealment where it lies, you’ll be better prepared to deal with the other changing variables.

Look for areas of cover surrounding the enemy’s position and plan your path forward as well as your retreat as a contingency. You don’t want to have to fall back, but failing to plan is planning to fail.

4. Don’t be seen

The first step to avoiding a hit is avoiding being seen. Use a camouflage pattern that makes sense with the map on which you’re playing, and make use of concealment of cover.

Be very cautious about moving, plan your movements, and don’t move suddenly. When looking around cover, peek only with your head, and don’t stick your whole head around corners.

Keep your shoulders behind cover and move only a half of your face around corners, at an angle. Be swift about it.

If you are seen, switch your position behind the cover or drop to one knee. Move to the other side of cover if possible, and fire with your other hand to throw the enemy off.

5. Stay quiet, use hand signals

The next step to avoid being hit is to be quiet. Noise is only as useful for your team as it is for the opponents.

Instead of speaking or using radio communications, use hand signals to communicate with your own teammates. This will help you stay hidden, and silent, and can conceal your intentions from opponents.

6. Razzle, dazzle, surprise, and confusion

In CQB encounters, the elements of surprise and confusion almost always work to your advantage. Swooping in quickly and out of the blue (if you can) will take your opponents by surprise and delay their efforts to respond in a concerted fashion.

Two tricks you might want to keep up your sleeves (metaphorically speaking) are flashbang grenades and smoke grenades. Both of these can be tossed into occupied rooms to dazzle, dismay, or flush out opponents.

7. Breaching: go hard and fast, don’t hesitate

When you’re breaching a room, do not hesitate in the doorway. Doorways attract fire like magnets and if you walk straight through or pause you are likely to be hit.

Enter the room swiftly, in one motion, with no delay, and immediately head for a corner or for cover. If possible, use a smoke grenade or a flash grenade to hide your movements or to give yourself an advantage by startling anyone that might be hunkered down within.

8. Slice the corner

When you approach a room, divide and conquer. We call this “slicing” or “pie-ing” the room. Approach the doorway flat against the wall; train your airsoft gun on the thin slice of the opening of the room that you can see.

Approach more closely, still fairly flat against the wall, opening up a “new” slice of the room. Clear that, from bottom to top, then take one more step closer and clear the next slice.

Only once the entire room has been sliced should you enter. Do not forget to clear hiding spots like shadows, darkened areas, or behind furniture.

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Hopefully, you found these airsoft CQB tips helpful. Put them into practice the next time you join an event.

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