Any good blue guns or air soft guns for training? I’d like to have something that is obviously not a firearm, but I could still use to practice basic manipulations such as going from the gun being on the sling to the target. It would be cool to be able to practice reloads, but that may not be possible.
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I use BarrelBlok products for training using real firearms. They also make a product called RifleBlok that is available in the USCCA Store.
That way, you could train safely with your rifle to include practicing reloads, etc.
Stay safe out there
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A lot of the airsoft products look pretty real but you want it to be as close to the real thing as possible for training. If you are worried about people thinking you are playing Rambo with a real gun you could maybe paint it all orange? Just tape off the action and barrel area when painting so the paint doesn’t gum up the works.
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Have you seen SIRT STIC Bundle?
It’s not a cheap stuff, but you have more applications you can practice with it.
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That’d be perfect! I’m pinching pennys right now though 
.
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$60 5.56 laser bullet. Got to use a real gun though, and trigger reset each shot.
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I’ve been doing a lot of this lately. I have Blue Guns in both P320 and P226. When you shop for a Blue Gun, make sure you buy the weighted version. The unweighted versions don’t approximate the heft of an actual gun, but are (IMO) more suitable for holster making.
As for air guns, I read a lot of reviews about both pellet/BB and air soft. There seemed to be a lot of complaints about breakage in the the air soft. So I went with CO2 pellet guns that match my P320 and P226. I would say, however, that these pellet guns don’t meet your requirement of “obviously not a firearm.” They look pretty darn close to the real thing; in particular, see here:
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I’ve got a couple inexpensive break barrel air rifles, .177 and .22, very similar in appearance and heft to my mini 14, and great backyard practice rifles imo, though far from semi auto or the AR platform. Stoegers, cost $100 about 5 years back. Like the first so much I bought the second. More a bolt gun target practice trainer for me, but I shoot 70 yards in my yard with them and the accuracy is very good. My low ready drills aren’t so good with the 7 and 9x scopes however 
, so I focus on breathing and trigger mainly.
Get the feeling there must be an AR styled pcp or CO2 rifle out there.
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Oh dang 
bet we could get @Scoutbob on America’s most Wanted with this bad boy.
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I went back to my browsing history to see where I found the best selections of Blue Guns. They’re not cheap when you move up to weighted AR styles, but you might try Alternate Force:
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I feel like I have to clarify, I want to make sure it is obviously not a real firearm for my families safe. I would like to keep something in the garage I could pull out without having to go to the safe, pull the gun out safety check, walk to a safe place to aim the firearm for dry fire. I know that’s good training, but I’d like something I could keep in the garage and not lock up. I want it to clearly not be a gun for the sake of my kids. I want them to know I don’t just leave guns sitting around 
. I’m not going to be army crawling in my front yard or anything .
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?
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@mattm Good call, and it’s free. Not $239.00. 
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I know this doesn’t exactly fit your clarification, but to tack on to @Jerzees 's suggestion… If you are training for an AR, have a look at either the SIRT AR BOLT or Mantis Blackbeard.
They are both similar in that you replace your charging handle and bolt carrier group of your existing rifle. They auto-reset your trigger so you don’t have to run the charging handle every time you pull the trigger. Every trigger pull flashes a laser just like those pistol laser cartridges so it works with all of those laser training apps. Because it replaces your BCG it is physically impossible to fire a real cartridge while the system is installed and they are both bright red and can be seen through the ejection door so from a distance you know its in “practice mode”.
I like them because it keeps everything about your rifle that matters. The trigger, lights, optics, etc don’t change. Unlike most SIRT pistols (or an airsoft or what have you) that wont have the same optic, same trigger, etc as your real rifle.
Plenty of video reviews on youtube especially for the newer Mantis Blackbeard. They aren’t cheap… SIRT’ options are $140 for red or $200 for green laser. Mantis’ options are $220 for red and $250 for green. I should note that both sites have USCCA discounts(!).
I had the SIRT first for a few years and honestly I didn’t use it much. The trigger reset “stick” was kinda finicky to setup, but was otherwise fine. I put the blame more on me than the device for not using it much. I recently picked up the Blackbeard and it is fantastic. Its super quick to swap out the charging handle and BCG or put them back when your done. My recommendation is for the Blackbeard, but if money is tight the SIRT is not a bad option.
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I really like that option. I may or may not have a 2nd AR I could make this modification down the road for. I’d probably still lock it up and follow the safety checks. I know that’s the opposite of what I asked, but that would be a really good option for me.
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That’s a nice rifle man! Is that an aftermarket stock?
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Custom by Gar Wood. He’s a real stickler for quality.
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To be clear, you don’t need to leave the BOLT or Blackbeard in the firearm. It takes about 30secs for the Blackbeard and maybe a min or two for the BOLT to swap them in or out. I would just leave the rifles in normal configuration in the safe when not being used. When you feel like training, pull out the rifle, swap in the BOLT/Blackbeard and go to town. When you’re done, take like 30secs to put it back to normal configuration and store it back in the safe.
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