Chock

Nah, not chrono'd it yet, but I'm guessing it's not slow. May very well be hot in fact.

Hi and welcome. You are not making a massive mistake, but you are also not picking the best you could. Black Viper are fairly cheap and cheerful guns, they aren't terrible, but they certainly are not the best and they won't last very long, nor take much punishment. To elaborate, I bought a Black Viper AK12 from that same site, but I bought it with the express intention of immediately swapping the internal gearbox out of it (which is plastic, with plastic gears) and putting in a decent metal one, which I did. The only reason I did so, was because at the time, there was not (and still is not, any other AK12 airsoft rifle available), so what that meant is that to make a 60 quid gun decent, I had to put in a 50 quid gearbox, which meant that the only way it became a decent gun, was by it costing me about 110 quid, and I would not have done that had there been a decent AK12 available. It's also worth noting here that it wasn't a straight 'drop in' transplant, there was a small amount of work involved, which is another thing to be wary about with cheap guns, a lot of spares will not be available should it go wrong, which it will, sooner rather than later. You can read about that swap on the AK12 thread on this forum, if you are curious, and there are pics which will illustrate the differences in quality of that little experiment.
 
But in your case, there are decent G36 and M4 rifles available which are vastly better than those Black Viper ones, and they will cost you about 120 quid, which is more, but that is what you will be paying to get something which will not only be good out of the box, but will be something that will last, and shoot better, and can be improved further should you wish to do so.
 
Check this link out, for a good starter deal:
 
http://airsoftzone.co.uk/airsoft-zone-deals/starter-pack-deal-with-cm16-m4-carbine-with-crane-stock-bright-green-aeg-gng
 
Pretty much everyone on this forum will tell you the same thing. Yes a very cheap gun is attractive, but it is what it is - a cheap gun, and you can expect it to perform and last like a cheap gun will, i.e. you will wish you had not bought it and spent a little more on something better. If that happens, the extra 40 odd quid you could have paid for something decent will seem like a bargain, and you will kick yourself for not having done so. Trust me, spend the little bit extra and you will be happier with your choice.

Snowing outside, but my SRC GBB AKS74U just managed thirty shots out of its 45 round mag on WE green gas, quite impressed. GBB MP5K managed all fifty out of its mag, which frankly might be the work of the devil considering the relative mag sizes. Both on .25s too.

To be honest, a three inch spread at forty feet range is pretty good, certainly tight enough to be a hit on a human-sized target when aiming at the centre of the body mass. And let's be honest, forty feet is a long way, waaaay further than most pistol engagements with either real weapons, or airsoft ones, typically occur. To put that in context for anyone trying to picture that range and how it equates to the average range of a fight, forty feet, is ten feet longer distance than the entire external length of a London Routemaster double-decker bus, and if you've ever sat at the back of such a bus on its top deck, then you know how people sat at the front appear to you in terms of target size, and that's about 27 feet away.
 
Moreover, I'd be willing to bet that if you clamped the pistol stationary and fired it, you'd find that it was hand movement which was causing most of the variance in grouping, and there is little anyone can do about that, it's just a fact pistols - both good and bad - are tougher to aim because of their short length, and what you've got, is a good pistol, so as the old joke goes, what you may need to modify, is 'the nut behind the trigger'.
 
You may be interested to know that when it comes to pistol types for police forces, the 'rule of three' is often employed, i.e. statistically, most pistol gunfights last three seconds, where three shots are fired, at a range of three yards. So the really important thing with a pistol, is getting it out quickly, bringing it onto the target quickly, and firing it quickly. These are things you can practice in your house (dry firing), and that is actually a good place to do it too, because you can turn the lights off and practice that drill purely by muscle memory rather than sight, so it really drills in there. What you may find therefore, is that more useful upgrades for your pistol, would be a laser, a holster you can get it out of quickly and easily, and plenty of practice at drawing and firing (that is unless you are going pistols only, and even then, you don't want to be fumbling about holstering pistols when changing mags or lobbing grenades).

In the process of mounting some of my AKs on the wall, yeah, I know one of them is an SVD Dragunov so not technically an AK, but what the hell eh?:
 

Sanded the crappy two tone blue off my new A47's furniture, to reveal a pale tan coloured ABS, which was sort of okay, but I didn't like it much, so decided to give it a coat of X-26 acrylic to give it that slightly dodgy Eastern European lacquered look. That's the nice thing about painting and varnishing the furniture on AKs, RPKs etc, the sloppier the job you make of it, the more authentic is looks. I actually really like the look of this thing now, might take it to CQB next week for a piss take
 

No rush as far as I'm concerned. I appreciate your efforts in making a bit of a fun, novelty item, and whenever it arrives, I look forward to it upsetting oversensitive people.

Welcome aboard
 
Everyone's a noob at some point, but not for long, so don't worry about asking stuff, there's no dumb questions. So ask away.
 
If you're doing CQB, obviously light and maneuverable is the thing. So gun-wise, small is good: UZI, Mac 10/11, MP5K, P90, AKS74U, Skorpion, short M4, tactical shotgun etc. Keep in mind that some CQB sites are semi-auto only, and those that aren't may still have a semi-auto only rule at short ranges, so avoid anything that can't go semi-auto, such as the ASG STEN gun (well, not without modification anyway), which would otherwise be a good CQB choice. Also be aware that many small SMGs such as the UZI and the Skorpion have high rates of fire and comparatively small mags, which can easily leave you out of ammo at an awkward moment, whereas most things like an AEG MP5K or AEG AKS74U, will come with a high cap mag (typically something like 300 rounds), so there's less expense initially in not needing to buy spare mags straight away, and the likelihood is that the one high cap mag will last the entire fight without the need to reload.
 
Most people and most guides will tell new players to not worry about a pistol until later, and whilst that is generally good advice, in CQB, a pistol is a good thing to have to hand, and you could even go pistol only at some small CQB sites. But, it being winter, gas blowback pistols can be iffy choices, since they can struggle to work well in cold temperatures, so if you are considering a pistol, then either a non-blowback gas one is a better choice, since they are cheaper and more efficient on gas, or more preferably, an electric semi-auto pistol, since they'll perform okay all-year-round whether it is hot or cold. At a push you can use a cheap cock and fire springer pistol, but it's slower and not ideal, although they do have the virtue of being reliable and inexpensive.
 
A plastic knife is also a good thing for CQB, since although you can touch someone with your hand and say 'knife kill' at most sites, and it will count, one thing you cannot do is throw your hand, whereas obviously you can throw a plastic knife, and as with a BB, a hit anywhere on someone with a thrown knife will count as a kill. Make sure anything you do buy has a bendy plastic/rubber blade though, or you will not be able to use it.
 
Similarly, grenades can be a game-changer in CQB. But be sure to check with your regular site as to which kind are permissible (typically that will be BFGs - blank firing grenades - but check anyway). they can be pricey, so make sure that if you do get one, you don't get one that is something you cannot use at your local site, for example, some pyro grenades cannot be used at sites where there is combustible material such as curtains in the place.
 
If you get a tactical vest or webbing, be sure to get something that you can easily open and close the pouches on when it's cramped and dark (as it often is in CQB). Practicality wins over cool looks every time. Ebay and Amazon are the place to look for inexpensive ones. Worry about getting cool top notch crap later on.
 
Get a small portable torch. You can mount a tac light on your weapon, and that's a good idea in CQB, but a small torch is also good to have for things like reloading and such.
 
Make sure you wear full face protection and cover your neck, a helmet is good too, but a baseball cap will suffice. You will take more hits to the head than anywhere else in CQB, and at those kind of short ranges, even a sh*tty cheap springer pistol will fire a BB fast enough to smash a tooth out. An Arabian Keffiyah (shemagh) scarf will provide good neck protection, and you really do want to cover your neck, because a BB hit on your Adam's Apple will make your eyes water, and it will also draw blood.
 
Take a small water bottle, even in winter you will dehydrate when running and diving about all over the place.
 
Consider knee and elbow pads. CQB sites invariably have hard concrete floors, and that will hurt your knees if you kneel down behind cover. failing that, consider wearing long johns under your combat pants, they will help to stop hits hurting so much, will keep you warm in the present winter and will also provide additional protection from hit, bumps and bruises.
 
Gloves are not a bad idea too. Your hands will take hits, since they are generally exposed to fire because you are holding your weapon with them, and a BB hit on the fingernail in cold weather will hurt like a motherf*cker. Any old thin leather gloves from a cheapy shop will do, but make sure they are a snug fit so that you can operate your weapon's safety catch easily.
 
Hope some of that helps. You'll be an old hand in no time, but when it comes to buying gear, think carefully and don't let your heart rule your head. Almost everyone who starts out ends up buying some crap that they later don't use or regret having bought, so be sure to ask on this site if you are unsure about whether anything is a good or bad choice. Airsoft gear may not be free, but good advice is, and there is plenty available from the people on here.
 
Have fun and enjoy it. It's a really cool hobby to have and one which will let you do many cool things.

They can be a bit off putting to new players. You know the scene, new guy turns up at totally unfamiliar site wearing a hoody and jeans and gets handed an adequate but not very cool full face mask and a battered JG G36, then sees five people all dressed up like they are about to do a special forces halo jump out of a C130 into occupied enemy territory, and they are not socialising with other players, but only talking amongst themselves, testing their comms and gassing up their fancy sidearms. Having said that, if new guy sticks at it, he'll probably end up like those guys in a years' time, but I usually try to make a point of talking to guys who look like they are new to it, to at least make them feel welcome.
 
Another down side to it is that such teams are often a shoe-in for victory when many other players are walk on for the day, impromptu scratch teams, formed on the spot, some of whom do not know the layout, which means they probably won't win, even though they may very well actually be better or smarter players. That is the nature of the beast of course for anyone new to any endeavour, but I've found myself teaming up with those kind of site-regular 'pro' teams on occasion, and then had guys shouting commands to me like they were some kind of veteran Sergeant Barnes and I was the FNG in some bad war movie. In such situations, I've gone with it for the benefit of the fight at the time, but whilst doing so was often thinking: 'what a fecking tool'. Especially when a lot of the time it seemed like they weren't actually issuing very sensible orders either and didn't have very sound tactics.
 
I'm not averse to people 'getting into it', but I do sometimes think the odd player really does take it a bit too seriously, and in any case it's generally not the best way toward teamwork either. Had that once with a flying instructor, he was barking orders at me from the rear seat of the aircraft like some low budget version of James Robertson Justice, as though I was some new pilot officer on my second lesson in a Tiger Moth in 1938. There's me sat there in the P1 seat of the aeroplane thinking, 'hang on a minute pal, I'm paying for this sh*t and doing it for my own personal enjoyment, we're not preparing to stem the Nazi hordes, I'm getting a PPL, d'you wanna chill out a bit?' In fairness though, that experience did actually teach me a lesson that I've carried forward into my job (as a trainer), even if the lesson was, don't train people like that f*cking idiot was doing, because it's often not the best way to connect with people.
 
So yeah, if you're into it, teams can be good, and most of them are, but some of them come across like a bunch of wannabe cock ends, especially the ones who won't take hits off new players, since they think it's somehow beneath them (and yes, I've seen that on more than one occasion).

No rush as far as I'm concerned. I appreciate your efforts in making a bit of a fun, novelty item, and whenever it arrives, I look forward to it upsetting oversensitive people.

That's the trouble with watching films or TV shows where you know about a subject, it tends to spoil things. Ignorance is indeed often bliss when it comes to enjoying drama with technical or historical elements in it.
 
Did that with literally the opening shot of the new BBC TV adaptation of Wolf Hall, horse trots past with modern pattern horseshoes on it. Oops. Watched a film the other day where Nicholas Cage was supposedly piloting a Boeing 777, he gets cleared for take off and promptly rams both throttles forward all the way. Oops.
 
If you let that kind of thing bother you too much, you'd probably never watch anything ever again.

No rush as far as I'm concerned. I appreciate your efforts in making a bit of a fun, novelty item, and whenever it arrives, I look forward to it upsetting oversensitive people.

That's the trouble with watching films or TV shows where you know about a subject, it tends to spoil things. Ignorance is indeed often bliss when it comes to enjoying drama with technical or historical elements in it.
 
Did that with literally the opening shot of the new BBC TV adaptation of Wolf Hall, horse trots past with modern pattern horseshoes on it. Oops. Watched a film the other day where Nicholas Cage was supposedly piloting a Boeing 777, he gets cleared for take off and promptly rams both throttles forward all the way. Oops.
 
If you let that kind of thing bother you too much, you'd probably never watch anything ever again.

You put the carry handle on that way when you are falling back

I should think if you make sure to get a torch with a decent reflector, so it has good range with a normal bulb, preferably one of those with a sleeve which gives it a focusing function which can narrow the beam, then swap the regular bulb for an IR bulb, then there's no discernible reason why that should not give you quite good long range IR illumination. Even the crappy IR binoculars which I have can see stuff a long way out, so tweaking a set up for range with some proper decent stuff is bound to do better.

You are required by law to give notice to the owner of goods left behind if you are intending to sell them, and that notice must be in writing. This is to protect you, in demonstrating that you have made all practical efforts to contact the person. It must be delivered to the person, either by post or left at his address (and although it is not technically a requirement at this stage, sending it by recorded delivery is not a bad idea, as is keeping a copy of the notice, and getting it witnessed by someone of good character). Such a notice must specify the property owner's name and address, must list the goods you intend to sell, and must notify the person of where their property is presently located. In UK law, there is no specific time period you must wait for them to respond to this before you can proceed with a sale, but the law does state that you must give the person 'reasonable time' to arrange to collect the goods. In most legal cases where this kind of thing has gone on, 'reasonable time' is typically regarded as three months. If after this period, the goods have not been collected, and if you have made all practical efforts to attempt to contact the person whose goods they are but have been unable to do so, then you can proceed with disposal, but, if you are in contact with the person whose goods they are, then you must give the date upon which you propose to sell the things, and this notice must be sent to them by registered post or recorded delivery, to ensure that they are informed of the decision to sell the goods.
 
If, after you have made all reasonable and practicable efforts to contact the person, and they still have not responded to contact, you can go ahead, and it is worth noting that you can also charge for having stored the goods, which is basically your 'get out clause' for if you do sell the goods and then the person subsequently shows up, because if you get (for example) 200 quid for them, you can say the storage costs were 200 quid and you sold them to cover that cost, thus relieving you of the necessity to hand over 200 quid. The law will see this as reasonable for something like an M249 airsoft gun, because it is not exactly a small thing and you have been inconvenienced in storing the thing for a long time, the law will also see it as reasonable for the pyrotechnics, because you have been inconvenienced in storing something which can potentially be hazardous. If it was something you could have simply popped in a drawer, such as a set of cufflinks or a nice pen or whatever, then you'd not be able to make such a claim for storage obviously.
 
So, the upshot of all that, is that you need to make a suitable effort to contact the guy and tell him to pick up his stuff. Try getting in touch via a social media search, his friends, relatives, old addresses etc. If you do that, then you will have been seen to have made a reasonable effort to contact the guy. But make sure there is some record of these efforts.
 
Now onto the other stuff which is of concern to you. Selling something like that M249 is regarded in law as 'supplying a Realistic Imitation Firearm'. It isn't illegal to do that, but it is a legal requirement on your part, if the sale is to be considered legal, to ensure that it is being supplied to someone for one of the following purposes:
 
A theatrical, film or TV production, or the rehearsal of one. Display in a museum. For use it in the act of serving the present Monarch. For the purpose of an historical reenactment. For the purpose of an airsoft skirmish at a site which has insurance for such activity.
 
To confirm that, you need reasonable proof, such as a letter from the TV, film or theatre company, or one from the museum, airsoft site etc. Or you can ask for the purchaser's UKARA (United Kingdom Airsoft Retail Association) registration number, which you can check against the UKARA database to see if it is current. There are other forms of proof you could seek, but they must be fairly watertight in law if the sale of a realistic imitation firearm is to be considered legal.
 
If you are at all in doubt about any of this, you can contact your local Citizen's Advice Bureau, and I would advise you to do so before going ahead with any effort to sell the stuff. You can contact them here:
 
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm

You put the carry handle on that way when you are falling back

Quite a few ferns are evergreen, so they will be green even in winter

Who's the black painted RIF that's a sex machine to all the chicks...?

In the process of mounting some of my AKs on the wall, yeah, I know one of them is an SVD Dragunov so not technically an AK, but what the hell eh?:
 

I don't think you're causing an issue. There are just a few legal considerations involved that you may want to consider.
On the other hand, I can see no reason why you can't go to a local airsoft site and have some fun with the gun if it takes your fancy. You never know, it may turn out to be something you enjoy. You never know, you may bump into him one day and be able to shoot him with his own gun

You are required by law to give notice to the owner of goods left behind if you are intending to sell them, and that notice must be in writing. This is to protect you, in demonstrating that you have made all practical efforts to contact the person. It must be delivered to the person, either by post or left at his address (and although it is not technically a requirement at this stage, sending it by recorded delivery is not a bad idea, as is keeping a copy of the notice, and getting it witnessed by someone of good character). Such a notice must specify the property owner's name and address, must list the goods you intend to sell, and must notify the person of where their property is presently located. In UK law, there is no specific time period you must wait for them to respond to this before you can proceed with a sale, but the law does state that you must give the person 'reasonable time' to arrange to collect the goods. In most legal cases where this kind of thing has gone on, 'reasonable time' is typically regarded as three months. If after this period, the goods have not been collected, and if you have made all practical efforts to attempt to contact the person whose goods they are but have been unable to do so, then you can proceed with disposal, but, if you are in contact with the person whose goods they are, then you must give the date upon which you propose to sell the things, and this notice must be sent to them by registered post or recorded delivery, to ensure that they are informed of the decision to sell the goods.
 
If, after you have made all reasonable and practicable efforts to contact the person, and they still have not responded to contact, you can go ahead, and it is worth noting that you can also charge for having stored the goods, which is basically your 'get out clause' for if you do sell the goods and then the person subsequently shows up, because if you get (for example) 200 quid for them, you can say the storage costs were 200 quid and you sold them to cover that cost, thus relieving you of the necessity to hand over 200 quid. The law will see this as reasonable for something like an M249 airsoft gun, because it is not exactly a small thing and you have been inconvenienced in storing the thing for a long time, the law will also see it as reasonable for the pyrotechnics, because you have been inconvenienced in storing something which can potentially be hazardous. If it was something you could have simply popped in a drawer, such as a set of cufflinks or a nice pen or whatever, then you'd not be able to make such a claim for storage obviously.
 
So, the upshot of all that, is that you need to make a suitable effort to contact the guy and tell him to pick up his stuff. Try getting in touch via a social media search, his friends, relatives, old addresses etc. If you do that, then you will have been seen to have made a reasonable effort to contact the guy. But make sure there is some record of these efforts.
 
Now onto the other stuff which is of concern to you. Selling something like that M249 is regarded in law as 'supplying a Realistic Imitation Firearm'. It isn't illegal to do that, but it is a legal requirement on your part, if the sale is to be considered legal, to ensure that it is being supplied to someone for one of the following purposes:
 
A theatrical, film or TV production, or the rehearsal of one. Display in a museum. For use it in the act of serving the present Monarch. For the purpose of an historical reenactment. For the purpose of an airsoft skirmish at a site which has insurance for such activity.
 
To confirm that, you need reasonable proof, such as a letter from the TV, film or theatre company, or one from the museum, airsoft site etc. Or you can ask for the purchaser's UKARA (United Kingdom Airsoft Retail Association) registration number, which you can check against the UKARA database to see if it is current. There are other forms of proof you could seek, but they must be fairly watertight in law if the sale of a realistic imitation firearm is to be considered legal.
 
If you are at all in doubt about any of this, you can contact your local Citizen's Advice Bureau, and I would advise you to do so before going ahead with any effort to sell the stuff. You can contact them here:
 
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm

The whole poke fun at jbbg stopped being amusing a while ago now. Their stuffs crap, we get it

In the process of mounting some of my AKs on the wall, yeah, I know one of them is an SVD Dragunov so not technically an AK, but what the hell eh?:
 

Yup, having a tick box on a website for 'I confirm I am over eighteen' might be alright in terms of legal protection for them, but I doubt it prevents thirteen year-olds ordering stuff from them. As you say, there's a lot of crap on BB gun websites, but it's not all crap, and if you know what you are looking for then it certainly is possible to buy decent stuff off BB gun websites. For example, I recently got my 'pseudo PSL-54' JG A47 off 'BBguns365' for 99 quid including postage, which was about 40 quid cheaper than anywhere else I could have got it from, and I knew it was an okay gun, so was happy to have them supply it, after all, they just take it off a warehouse shelf and put it in some packing same as any more 'respected' online airsoft shop would do.
 
I think the real problem with BB gun sites, is that when you read some of the user reviews posted on product pages, many of them are quite clearly from people who are nowhere near 18 years of age if the grammar is anything to go by. So it is rather obvious that selling to young people who are largely ignorant of differences in quality, and not legally allowed to buy either, is their stock in trade, and they clearly don't give a shit about that either. They also do tend to claim that everything they sell is awesome, and occasionally make bogus claims about their stuff too, so, caveat emptor, as ever.
 
But I've never actually had bad service form any BB online shop, everything I've ever bought from any of them has arrived in a timely fashion and any problems I've had with stuff not being in stock has prompted them to call me and let me know of that very quickly. So I personally will use them if they have something cheaper than elsewhere, which they quite often do.