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Ouch, must have been a HPA sniper😏 😜

Ahh beat me to it. I think if we magically went back to the selections/availability of guns and kit from any time more than a few years back everyone would lose their minds. Plenty of brands and products have come and gone, but there's never been a wider selection overall than there is right now I'd bet a lot on that. If you asked folks whether they though TM would make a recoil HK417, an AA-12 and a gas AK back when I started the forum threads would go nuclear. That's just one brand too. Many sites have definitely come and gone that's a big one I think and that will probably be something that affects certain people massively. If you had that perfect site that was right on your doorstep, great facilities, layout you enjoyed immensely, good player base, really well run, cheap prices, nice lunch etc etc and then that all just vanished one day, it'd be a really big deal I'd imagine. Obviously I personally wouldn't mind seeing some people stop thinking of Sunday skirmishes as a competitive sport vs a fun experience, or for the toxic clickbait content to go away, but all things considered there's no time I would go back to if I did have a time machine. Apart from when the mall was open maybe, that was the best site for me by a good margin and my enthusiasm for actually playing is somewhat lesser since it went, but I wouldn't swap it for the range of 'stuff' available now.

Some further observations: IMHO, shouting on about "not taking hits" has been an occurance since I started in the mid-00s. I am more surprised if I don't hear it on a game day. What has changed in my mind is the level of aggression that I see at sites. I wrote about it here (shameless plug): https://thegearconfessional.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/chapter-37-why-so-serious/ I cannot stand this side of things. When I started, I would say a typical day comprised 75% geeks (myself included), 10% impressionists and 15% rentals. The geeks would tinker away at their non-functioning Tanaka gas rifle, or compare slings and swap stories about how a girl once spoke to them. The impressionists wore UCP and fired their CA M249s from the shoulder. The rentals were inquisitive and game for a laugh. The game days were usually good-tempered, respectful events. Now, not so much. The geek element has practically gone now that I've seen, maybe 5% of true geek players now are snipers tweaking their über rifles. 40% are impressionists, although most are geeks at heart. 30% of players now seem to be Monster drinking, loud mouth characters who'd look more at home watching Millwall play. The remaining 25% are rentals; either kids that look barely 13 or people on a stag (who fall into the Millwall fan catagory). I probably fall into the impressionists catagory - purely because I was fed up of cheap clone stuff breaking and had enough disposable income to buy RS kit when I found it cheap enough (sounds like a blog idea...).

I don’t think anyone’s suggested it but if you’re playing indoors or anywhere where pyro is frequently used I’d suggest some decent ear protection. It doesn’t cost a hideous amount (a pair of Earmor M32’s is £75) but it will save your ears (and also protect them from being shot which stings like nothing else). Of all the kit I’ve bought over the years I wish I had access to active hearing protection back in the day. I can’t believe we used to play in the chapel at CAGE with all the pyro going off like we did and not use any. Apart from that decent boots, decent eye protection, and a pair of decent gloves (Pig Deltas for dexterity, OR Ironsights for a bit more abrasion protection) and you’ll be sorted.

I might be all on my lonesome in this thread Looking around t'web, I don't think there are many of these beautifully built guns actually in user's hands. However, I thought it worth starting this thread just in case, as I have a question (and luckily it might not be super-specific to this model): I didn't realise, but this gun has a built-in MOSFET. I wasn't entirely sure I believed that, and so watched a disassembly video, and indeed there are signal wires leading to an external MOSFET held in the front handguard (along with a blade fuse) Does this mean I'm safe using an 11.1v battery? Presumably the trigger contacts will be safeguarded, but should I be worrying about stripping pistons etc? Just how good a reputation do G&G V3 gearboxes have? (Edit: the more often I consider what I've written, the more I think it might be a silly question: the gun is built like a tank, the gearbox will surely be perfectly capable of being run at a higher RoF. If my Double Eagle can cope thus far, then surely this can too. In my defence I was starting this thread to ask about fitting a MOSFET, before finding out it had one already!)

He hasn’t whinged for a while, has he?

You will survive bud 👍 Did you have any sickness or see stars? Any sleepiness, confusion? Has the ringing in the ears subsided? I think I probably was the shock of the impact and perhaps an involuntary,sudden snapping of you head backwards as a reaction to the pain. Use some ice on the swelling( wrapped in a cloth) and the heamatoma will just disappear over time.👍. If you do experience any of above symptoms or feel unwell then ring 111. Best of luck 🙂

First game this year for me today, waited for it to warm up just a touch ! Great day, 50 plus players which is a decent turn out for our site. Good comunication and tactical play by both teams , we won the 3 games I played. No aggro, aparantly there was a bit of non hit taking in one game but the marshalls had a word and that was that, no one screaming 'call your fucking hits' Fun day all round, my boneyard Specna 249 performed very well once I realised it was jamming 'cos I had too much hop on 🤣 and the GBBR L119 A2 got any number of nice kills , there by proving again that WE make good GBBR's and that you can use them in the winter ! It was the first run out for the Specna and the L119 so very pleased with them both.

For me, around 2010 was the golden age. We had... Justbbguns.

A tale of 2 videos: 1. You'll drop the trigger bar in the mud, then set it on fire while changing the battery. 2. The gearbox is fundamentally broken. Can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe?

You could almost (almost) place a value hold or value add on the provenance of these things as rare as they seem. As a (still) relative newbie, my armoury has not seen the volume of weapons some of you folks have but I can say worst: the spring shotgun - (an asg stockless number) my gods what was I thinking. Oh yeah, 'shotguns are cool' and yes they are, the gas on that is on the buy list will be sweet as and have all the range, power and fun that this did not, not for actual games... Which brings me to Favourite: we f226, yes it is my first pistol, so, yes, I am still in that 'this is so much fun!' phase. But in my last couple of up close and personal situations it has been effective and yes, so much fun. It shoots as far as I need it to and works in the cold. Give it some years and I may revive this thread with 'best' or an edit....

probably from the age of 13-18. so 2000-2005 ish getting my first GBB, then AEG, so many hours on uncompany and wgcshop adding things to the basket collecting the guns from counter strike 1.5 now theres a million guns and brands and upgrades youtube everything. . i still buy guns but no longer get excited. wish i could get it back

Thanks @Nick Gi guess i'd better figure out how to get to this quick change spring then! Are springs springs or are some springs better than others before I go looking to aquire one?

To be honest a LOT of the prices on DCA seem to have been decided following heavy use of the crack pipe.......

I've got three and I'm still upset I missed it.

Sorry mate, you’ll have to speak up. I can’t hear a word you’re saying! Nick and the ACU lot at Chatham with their 12G Dynatec’s probably didn’t do either of us much good. I think the worst one I had was Solitaire‘s 9mm Dynatec going off next to my ear as I threw it. I hadn’t held the spoon down hard enough and off it went!

Nice, I too had a pleasant day clattering around the woods in the sun. Slightly marred by the fact that my AK failed chrono so what was going to be my proper first go with it ended up with me using a rental again. Ho hum. Still had a great day with no drama on site and everyone just having a laugh.

Rude not to

Big advocate of these arms Vs. the metal pronged ones, no matter how much in bent the metal prongs they never sat right enough. Sourced mine via AliExpress for less than £30

Worst is hands down my G&G predator. Never had so many issues with mags, parts etc. Best really comes down to a few things. Out of the box was my Krytac Lvoa. It was also the best looking rif i have ever had. Performance wise was a ICS L85 that had a madbull inner barrel and prommie purple bucking. I dont know why but that thing just shot amazingly both in terms of range and accuracy. For sheer giggles its my beloved Pts/kwa rm4 erg. Looks good, performs pretty well and kicks like a donkey in airsoft terms.

Favourite: PTW, couldn't tell you why specifically... I just love it. Performs well, light while having superb build quality, a 'bolt stop' without having to deal with any shitty electronic recoil system and decent mag capacity. For what I want in a RIF it just ticks all the boxes and I don't have to sacrifice anything (other than money, I guess) to get there. Best: Between the PTW and the MWS, the MWS edges it for range but the PTW edges it in convenience. Worst: That god awful MP7 AEP thing Marui released 10-15 years ago (no idea if they're still a thing). I used to identify as a 'sniper' when I didn't know any better, the idea of an MP7 as a backup was about as cool as late teenage year me thought it could get. Fuck me was it shit.

Worst: GHK MK18. Externally it's absolutely gorgeous, but Jesus wept the magazines are a nightmare. Initially they were so tight in the mag well I had to strip the gun and hammer down through the mag well to get them out. After significant sanding they're a better fit, but loading them with more than 15-20 BBs seems impossible. Hoping the aluminium feedlips will finally sort the gun out. Also had to replace the hop unit almost immediately as it would unwind after 10-15 shots. This is not what you expect after dropping the better part of a grand on a gun and mags. Favourite: The night and day difference from the GHK is the TM MWS. This is the gun I should have bought initially instead. Fun and accurate. It's now a 14" URGI based on Flannel Daddy's URGI recce build. Planning to get another upper if I can find one so I can do a CQB build too. Best: The gun that's always in the gun bag is a TM 416 Delta Custom. Solid and reliable. If I lost all my guns in a freak meteor strike, the Delta would be my first repurchase.

As others have mentioned, GBBP shots are so inconsistent (due to depletion of gas and cooldown), that the reality is you're just "upgrading" for the sake of tinkering. By all means put a maple leaf barrel in it and swap out the rubber. You could also change the hop arm and use an I-Key (or is it H? 🤔), that way you can confidently lift heavier ammo. Just don't ever expect "tight groupings" in airsoft.

What it’s listed at , and what the seller agreed to sell it at, are two totally different things We’ll never know what was agreed between the two parties!! 🤔😂 The buyer might have been related to Scrooge and had Jedi mind powers The seller just might have been easily persuaded to accept a lower offer 🤷🏻‍♂️

OMG I am an absolute idiot 🙄 I forgot to swap my chrono to 0.25 for the joule calculation so it was still displaying 0.28 values

From what i remember he was a bedroom drop shipper that didn't under stand tax had to be paid. bought my 1st GBB from airsoft Dynamics KSC G18C.

I may be wrong, but didn't Airsoft Dynamics implode spectacularly, with unfulfilled orders, people losing money left-right-and-centre..?! Still, no Special Airsoft Supplies...

Worst - Tie between G&P MOTS M4 with recoil (was a PITA to work on, really picky on mags and ammo, always "meh") or the TM MP7 as while when it works it is great there are so many design flaws and pretty much zero after market support. And it is scaled down. It could be so good but....TM being TM. Best - TM MWS, bought mine second hand and very well used (from Beefy Milsim) and it has been super reliable and accurate. Actually fun to work on and much less on-going maintenance than an AEG. Contender - WE G19 with MapleLeaf hop unit and CJ barrel. Just runs and runs, accurate enough to 20m+, using G17 mags with spacer to get a better grip on it with my big hands. Set up with fibre sights, Olight Valkyrie and Backcountry Customs holster.

Ahh the ye olde worlde days, when UKAN and Arnies was the font of all knowledge, Wolf Armouries was about the only real shop you could go into, spent hours on Airsoft Dynamics website or Den Trinity, Guns’n’Guys, UN Company And the only bb’s you could get was Excel 0.2’s !!

For me the golden age for a lot of things was the early to mid 2000’s. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the quality of the guns, gear, and tactics is significantly better now than it was then, but the sport’s a little bit too ‘pro’ now. I started playing in 2004, and back then it was a bit more ‘underground’ a bit more amateur (in a positive way). Information was gained through forums, and there was a real sense of community. Everyone knew everyone at the sites on first name terms, and there was a lot more trust about chronoing and general play. People who has worked on their guns since the last game were keen to show off their work (usually a “look it does 16RPS now instead of 12!) and that was when they got chrono’d. Hit taking wasn’t an issue (not that I find it is too much these days anyway, but that could be because of the sites I go to), and deliberate headshots were frowned upon. There was more variation of kit and camo in the safezone too. It was a time before Multicam was a true thing, so you’d have almost everything represented. At Dover we had DPM, Fleckmuster, Australian, Cypriot, Flecktarn, US Woodland, UCP, M84, CADPAT, and civvies. Guns were just as varied with an AR platform being at max a third of the players. When was the last time you saw a P90 with a box mag in the field? Pistols were just as varied as camo patterns with people running all sorts. Has anyone seen an FN57 recently? What about a P99? There was a time when USPC’s and P226’s were all the rage, but Glock users were the minority (though you’d always get someone dual wielding G18C’s). Fully auto in CQB was also a thing. I suspect the combination of 1J max, low rates of fire, and 0.25g being the heaviest ammo people would run being a factor. You didn’t have HPA or DSG builds lobbing 30-40RPS down range to worry about. Yeah you’d always have the couple of guys that took it a bit too seriously when room clearing, but a 12 gauge dynatech (over arm!) usually calmed them down. As YouTube wasn’t a thing the tactical knowledge and general skill base of players was a bit more polarised. There were the regular players/teams who usually had someone ex-military or armed plod who would teach them a few bits, but the rest was down to people reading and researching. The better players used to take rentals/newbies under their wing and show them a few things during the games, and that’s something I don’t see anymore at the sites. Little stuff like waiting a bit longer for the opposition to get closer before engaging, or standing back a bit off cover to give yourself room to peek out with the weapon up was shown in the first round. There seemed to be more team play too. I guess it’s easier to huddle a group of 30 players before a round then 75. All of that being said, I suspect a lot of it is rose tinted mesh masks. Scraping together the money to buy more ammunition because I was a poor student, and only getting new gear when birthday’s or Christmas came around was tough. Tappet plate failures could mean financial ruin, and getting to games was dependent on the goodwill of teammates and the promise to buy them a hotdog at lunch. It was a fun time though, and I wouldn’t trade the memories for anything. “What am bestest Famas?”

Protect your eyes, ears and teeth, everything else is a bonus. Gloves can take the sting out of finger/hand hits but aren’t essential (wouldn’t bother wasting £30+ of your budget on gloves) you can get mechanix for £10 odd and they’re perfect. Wouldn’t bother with Gucci camo or plate carriers or even chest rigs on your first run out. Grab some protective gear as above, some outdoor clothes (or jeans and a tee if indoors) splooge your budget on a decent RIF and a few mags and anything you need to make it work, battery, bb’s etc. Looking cool and larping can come over time, just go have fun playing with toy guns.

Maybe I've been lucky but I've been into airsoft since around 2001 and just started doing milsims in 2021/2022 but I've found everyone to be pretty chill for the most part. I was put off milsims for quite a while as it seemed a little...try hard I guess but they're a lot of fun. Maybe it's because I always play opfor (opfor, best for), but everyone seems really nice and happy to chat shit about gear or whatever. At the end of the day, we're adults playing with toys in the woods. If you take it too seriously, you're doing it wrong. Take note TF. If we're 10 mins into a weekend and someone from opfor walks up to you with no gun or whatever, hold off on the "STAY BACK" BS. Be cool FFS.

Just a bit of fun. Feel free to play on your next game day.

This is all so tragically jaded 😂. I've been playing for give or take about 20 years, and for the most part it's all about the same for me. The access to decent reliable GBBRs is a big win, as is my personal access to more disposable income and being able to transport myself pretty much where ever I like. There have always been idiots, there will always be idiots. Social media is fine, its been a great way to meet like minded people to chat shit about what is, and likely always will be, a very niche hobby. Biggest 'issue' I've seen creeping in more and more is how stand off-ish and 'clique-y' it's become. Everyone seemingly wants to find a reason to hate everyone else that isn't in the group they play with, and has an attitude going in to playing that it's going to be shit. Not that the latter is anything new, airsofters hating airsoft is a founding pillar of the hobby... for reasons unknown to me. Edit: I guess I'm not shocked by the general concensus given we're in the land of the dinosaurs... a forum.

I swear I agree so much with your first post (you started the same time as me) I could have written it myself, my dad and I also used to buy guns from the battle orders book and we still have a few to this day and I miss the days of airsoft between 2005 to about 2012ish But for me, Social media ruined the hobby in my eyes, it has attracted a massive wave of absolute knuckle dragging knob heads also the same goes for YouTube cheat calling bait bullshit videos, memes that call people out and start drama, players putting other players down about their kit and their guns, regurgitated false tech advice and self proclaimed airsoft fame seeking wannabe idols Take all that shit above and throw it in the bin, then it'll be a good game again

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be

For me it's whenever the person gets their rose tinted glasses out. I remember being new to airsoft and hearing all these stories about amazing events that happened "just" before I got into the sport were.......cut to a few years later and I am hearing these amazing stories about events that I went to that I thought were shit but had nuggets of gold in them. The stories tellers made it seem like every game'/event was pure gold and it wasn't shit was a couple of good moments. Chat to people now about Tier one at Stanta and lots of people will reminisce with fond memories. At the time it was basically the same event 3 times in a row at stanta with almost no variation except for a decrease in the quality of the game play and event each time. They'll chat about CAG and their events at Otterburn.....that happened like twice. Or the sandpit and how amazing it was, despite the fact they used about 10% of the site (was amazing for big event games though!). I'd always encourage people to just make the best of it now, what's happening now, what events/sites are there that exist now. Sparta closed recently (never went) and people were obviously upset to lose a great venue, well.....if it's so great - go! Don't just settle for just going to your local week in week out - get out there, vote with your feet and do the stuff that looks interesting now, before you look back on whatever site/organiser it is, cause it's just a matter of time before they close down.

The op hasn't been on for nearly three years, you join & 1 minute later put up a post wanting to buy his gun that everyone else has said is not worth messing about with. Is this a school holidays thing ??? 🤔

A couple from Sunday at battlestations. Wearing my new aircrew mtp combats and ubacs

I never really throw them a great distance (usually just to clear rooms/buildings) The story of the fire. I was pinned down behind a fall tree and some shrubs, wriggling around until, eventually a bb broke through the cover and I got hit. Stood up army raised and bang, ouch and a burn sensation thought I had just taken a stinger to the side of the belly or caught the after shock of a flash bang. I was wrong. Apparently the pin on my bfg had snagged in thrle shrubs and as I stood up it had been pulled just enough to release the spoon on the grenade without completely pulling clear. The bang was a nice 9mm round going off. The sting and burn was the flash of the round exiting the grenade, burning through my Leo kholer atacs ix ubacs which apparently isn't fire resistant, then setting a section of my under armour base layer to thermo nuclear and melting it. The burn which on my side had various bits of said base layer in it and it took a good few weeks to heal up. Ofcourse my mates were sympathetic and decided i had gone full suicide bomber on them. Oh and yes I carried on playing the rest of the day and chick's dig scars right......right?

I like to think I'm fairly impartial when it comes to Novritsch stuff. His stuff is generally fine but it's entirely not for me. Novritsch guns typically shoot okay out of the box, but they're hard to tweak and won't perform as well as a well-tweaked gun. His ghillie leaves are wank though, do not recommend as they fall apart too easily! If you're looking for an AR style gun, I know that Double Eagle have some really nice offerings, but I just don't like the look of them. I'll leave AR suggestions to people more informed than me as the only AR-style rifles I have are an SR-25 (which is a big, long boi) and a TM MWS (which is a gas blowback). Both are fantastic, but not sure it's what you're after, though that said the Cyma Platinum SR-25 is pretty damn good out of the box and fits your budget, but yeah... looooooong

Great info so far. My brother and nephew always play outdoors. In terms of gun style I was thinking a AR style, I’d rather something that’s good at range than some nippy little thing. I keep seeing NOVRITSCH pop up in videos but then there seems to be equal amount of negative about them. I’m guessing there’s a few brands which are known for quality and have good upgrade path. I think to start with I’d rather keep away from gas. My brother has swears by some knees pads…so I’ve added some trousers with inserts to the list.

Play at least three times on the same site so your UKARA can be sorted and you can buy brand new guns (if you wish). Choose a platform (AK, M4, G36, MP5 etc.) and it's eaiser to recommend something. I don't think you have to spend a lot on your first aeg, 99% of them does the same job out of the box. Essential kit? Some sort of helmet (even a cap is better than nothing), impact resistant glasses/googles, lower face mask or you can just buy a chep paintball mask. Chest rig or plate carrier so you can carry some mags on you instead having them in your pocket. If you play indoor you can get away with a lot more because you don't need that much gear, like camo or boots. Outdoor is a different aninal.

I'm playing my first game in a loooooong time, and went a bit bananas today trying to work out what I needed. So I put all my kit into a spreadsheet (and greyed-out the stuff I'm not taking / don't need) It's a bat-shit crazy amount of kit I know it's quite an OCD thing to have done... I wish I could attend to important things with as much diligence The TL;DR version is Comfy clothes (plenty of cheap army surplus available) Decent boots with some ankle support (the first time you trip over a tree root or stick your foot in a hole, you'll thank yourself for buying them) They're a very personal thing, but I took a punt on Swiss Paratroopers' boots which are heavy, but good. Eye protection: Bolle Tracker 2's a cheap and good starting point, or British Army ESS goggles perhaps. Half or full face mask (cheaper than a visit to the dentist) Perhaps a Dye full-face mask if you're thinking of CQB. Baseball cap or bush hat (scalp shots hurt, protect yourself at least a bit) Gloves (knuckle shots hurt too) - Mechanix are great value. Battle belt or chest rig + mag pouches. You can just stuff things into pockets, but it's just not tacti-cool If you're thinking of spending upto £500 on a RIF then you could be choosing AEG, gas or HPA "The world's your oyster" - make some friends and ask to try their guns out on the field for a few shots, you'll soon get an idea which way you want to go (might be all 3 of course, in the long term) We usually advise it's best to rent for a few games, make sure you really enjoy it first before splashing major cash though. There are plenty of separate threads for more discussion on all these things so have a search... see if they help at all. Good luck and have fun! (And call your hits)

Good eye protection is key. I have a set of Heroshark mesh glasses with a prescription insert that I find myself using the most, since it's mesh and provides a lot of airflow which helps keep the inserts from fogging up. I also have a set of Revision Sawfly glasses, again with a prescription insert, for when it's a bit warmer and my glasses don't steam up as much. If you don't need prescription inserts, both are still very good. Boots are important too, but I wouldn't say that you need to splash out hundreds on them. I'm using a pair of boots that cost me about £50 and they're doing just fine. As long as it has ankle support you'll be good. I'd also want to pick up some camos and some load-bearing kit from your local army surplus. Can pick up a set of DPM or MTP as well as some sort of vest or webbing for pretty cheap. Not totally necessary, but helpful. In terms of gun... there's no right answer (though there are definitely wrong answers!). It comes down to what you like aesthetically since pretty much all airsoft guns function the same way; you can use a small SMG in woodland and have the same range as the guy with the full length m16. So I guess my question would be what sort of guns do you like? AKs? M4s? MP5s?

The answer to your question is three simple letters. MWS.

I haven't heard of that, but definitely one to try. Cheers fellas. I've learnt something today.

My purchase of the famous Austrians Plate Carrier presented me with a slight problem. MK5 Thunderflash don’t easily fit in the fancy laser cut MOLLE (although Mk4 Osprey pouches fit like a glove!!) so I had to come up with a solution. I jumped into Fusion 360 and designed a holder for 4 thunder flashes and can be Velcro attached to where ever there is spare Velcro on the PC. 3D printed in black and then tensioned with shock cord. Very pleased with my invention (although I did get the original idea from a post on this very forum, sorry can’t find the original poster, thanks for the idea anyway).

I'm a little disappointed that the rifle doesn't say "Vera" on it anywhere. Just to add I am sat wearing this sweatshirt...