Starting Airsoft early 2018 - Advice/Tips please!

[LockAndLoad21]

Hi all!

First off, I'll introduce myself.

I'm Nick, from Cambridgeshire, always been interested in starting Airsofting or Paintballing, and have finally decided to take the plunge!

Obviously, after completing 3 events over a span of 2 months, I'll be able to purchase the gun, now, the fun stuff..

I've been browsing the internet vastly over choices of weapons and gear, accessories, attachments and all the like.

I'm looking to go hard straight into this and probably purchase a TM HK416D DEVGRU Custom, as the M4 (variants included) are my desired style of weapon.

First question is, if any of you have the HK416D, do you rate the weapon highly, and is it standard out of the box, and or modified, and if it is, what is the best modifications to put onto this gun, to make it more accurate etc..

With sights, I'm wanting something like an ACOG 2x/4x with a doctor sight (or another possible option, if it's possible, to side mount a RDS, with a standard 2x/4x Optic on the top rail). Any suggestions would be great, with the option of a "budget" and also slightly more expensive ones, sub £200?

Any suggestions on head protection? What do most people prefer to use, goggles and a cap only or, mesh protected lower half masks etc? Not sure what I'd like and if the lower half masks are comfortable or not?

Vests and all the other items like vests, is there brands that are to stay from, or are they all reputable, and just personal preference?

Which brand of BBs are the best, and is it best to stick with 0.2g BBs or slightly higher and then reduce your FPS, as obviously, a slightly higher gram of BB will penetrate foliage etc better, right?

Any other tips and information on Airsoft in general, will be awesome.

Thank you for taking your time in reading this, and replying, if you do so!

Cheers!

Nick.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Have a read of all the pinned (sticky) posts in each section, they contain lots of useful information for a new player.  The search tool has a 3 character minimum length, choose a search term and  and read through the results. For example "HK416"

 

[LockAndLoad21]

Have a read of all the pinned (sticky) posts in each section, they contain lots of useful information for a new player.  The search tool has a 3 character minimum length, choose a search term and  and read through the results. For example "HK416"

Thanks, Jedi!

 

[Hangtight]

But a decent gun and don't mess with it! Decent 0.28g BBs will be the best accuracy and range upgrade you ever buy, so start there.

Magnified sights are more trouble than they're worth at Airsoft ranges. You want the wide field of view and light gathering capabilities of the MK 1 eyeball. A decent red dot will serve you well.

 

[MILITATED]

Welcome to the endless money pit of airsoft!

TM 416 is a great choice, no reason to upgrade it straight away. Take it to a few games, see how it performs as standard and then decide if anything needs to be changed. If it isn't broke, don't fix it! 

Gear wise, you get what you pay for. Your essentials should be your eye protection and boots. These are the two items that I believe you should invest in. Get something with nice ankle support for boots!

In terms of other gear such as tactical vests, plate carriers, etc... there are a ridiculous amount of brands out there. Warrior Assault Systems, although pricey, is designed for real world usage so it'll last you forever in airsoft. FLYYE is another excellent brand, specifically for airsoft. If you don't want to spend much, Viper and Condor and 8fields may be worth a look. British Army surplus gear is also a fantastic option. Cheap, plentiful and definitely good enough for airsoft.

However, none of this stuff is really essential. Just need the aforementioned boots and eye protection, as well as some way of carrying your magazines about. Everything after that is just luxury really!

A mesh lower face mask will keep your teeth in your mouth so that is another recommendation. A simple beanie, boonie or baseball cap will be fine for your head. 

Before buying gear though, assess your gameplay and see what needs you have to accomadate, much like your gun situation. If you run around a lot, etc then maybe a lightweight setup is the best for you, for example, rather than buying something that resembles a juggernaut suit.

 

[LockAndLoad21]

Welcome to the endless money pit of airsoft!

TM 416 is a great choice, no reason to upgrade it straight away. Take it to a few games, see how it performs as standard and then decide if anything needs to be changed. If it isn't broke, don't fix it! 

Gear wise, you get what you pay for. Your essentials should be your eye protection and boots. These are the two items that I believe you should invest in. Get something with nice ankle support for boots!

In terms of other gear such as tactical vests, plate carriers, etc... there are a ridiculous amount of brands out there. Warrior Assault Systems, although pricey, is designed for real world usage so it'll last you forever in airsoft. FLYYE is another excellent brand, specifically for airsoft. If you don't want to spend much, Viper and Condor and 8fields may be worth a look. British Army surplus gear is also a fantastic option. Cheap, plentiful and definitely good enough for airsoft.

However, none of this stuff is really essential. Just need the aforementioned boots and eye protection, as well as some way of carrying your magazines about. Everything after that is just luxury really!

A mesh lower face mask will keep your teeth in your mouth so that is another recommendation. A simple beanie, boonie or baseball cap will be fine for your head. 

Before buying gear though, assess your gameplay and see what needs you have to accomadate, much like your gun situation. If you run around a lot, etc then maybe a lightweight setup is the best for you, for example, rather than buying something that resembles a juggernaut suit.

 Thanks a lot for the in depth reply. Helps a lot pal. Appreciated and thanks! 

 

[LockAndLoad21]

But a decent gun and don't mess with it! Decent 0.28g BBs will be the best accuracy and range upgrade you ever buy, so start there.

Magnified sights are more trouble than they're worth at Airsoft ranges. You want the wide field of view and light gathering capabilities of the MK 1 eyeball. A decent red dot will serve you well.

Cheers man!

 

[Rogerborg]

I'd urge you not to decide anything until you've played through your UKARA waiting period.  Use that time to see if you can blag a go with other players' guns - folk are usually keen to show off and discuss their toys.

You're going to get a big rush of adrenaline from your first few games, but whether it's worth dropping serious money on what is, at the end of the day, a ludicrously expensive toy gun will depend on your long term enjoyment and commitment.

If you're considering spending that much on a gun, I'd suggest just buying a range of face protection and then seeing what suits.  I prefer clear goggles, but I've been unable to stop them steaming up, so I have to use mesh.  Sad times. I wouldn't play without mesh lower face protection - a close range hit to your face will pretty quickly demonstrate why.  A OneTigris mask is next on my list.

I use an eBay special £15 Molle vest which came with a variety of pouches.  Backless for (literal rather than tacti-) coolness, and what can I say, it carries everything that I want to carry and I can strap on everything that I want to strap on.  You don't need to spend more, or even that much, for functionality.  But spending more isn't wrong, if it gives you pleasure.

There are no wrong answers, really.  We're playing a game for pleasure.  If you're happy with your choices, then they're the right choices.

 

[Skara]

As a person who has tons of gear collecting dust in a closet, my advice is to wait until you've found your play style.. I run a few different kits for different fields, but they're all lightweight and don't hinder my mobility at all.

Eyepro: I run ballistic rated glasses and a dual pane clear mask for cqb, used mesh for years but I'd rather deal with fog than risking a bb fragment in my eye. It's up to you though, this one is the item you should spend the most on.

Sometimes I run a lower face mesh mask, sometimes I just run a kefiah and pull it up on my mouth when the engagements start to get really close.

TM guns are already awesome out of the box, before buying it try out several different brands and guns to see if there's something that fits you.

BBs: due to my country's low fps limit 0.20s are fine, if I play as a DM/sniper I run .30 bios..

For you anything between .25s and .32s would be the perfect balance between range and consistency.. Always stay away from cheap BBs though, they may shatter inside your gun and they're a pita to deal with when it happens. Or they may shatter on someone's mesh eyepro and cause some serious damage.. G&G bbs are good, bioval .30s are awesome..

To sum it up: find your style and don't wear/buy anything you don't really need.

 

[Dentonboy]

Buy cheap, buy twice. 

Get as good a quality as you can afford. 

Surplus gear will generally be better than Chinese or Asian made apparel. 

Don't scrimp on PPE. 

Buy TM. 

Buy a sling. 

Buy after researching, shop around FOR THE BEST DEAL and never, I repeat, never, buy from SPECIAL AIRSOFT SUPPLIES.