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Raptor, I have a VFC 19X and tried it on some Abbey gas. It didn’t like it a bit. I run it on Nuprol Red in the cold and it works a treat. No issues with feeding or consistency. CBH

The VFC HK416a5 RAL8000 is a looker. She is a sturdy, beautiful rifle, with a magnificent build quality and an up to date set of controls. Her fit and function impressed me and most people who see her. But let’s be honest. Airsoft rifles are about gaming. About running about on the field and being used. So it was with a little trepidation mixed with excitement that I took the VFC out for its first game on Saturday. And although it was a normal Skirmish, I went full GBBR, and only took that and my GHK M18 with me and leaving the AEGs at home. Brave call? Well, after chrono I was down to the VFC on its own. As expected the GHK was too hot. I ran the VFC with 7 mags, all of which lived on my belt and plate carrier and so were exposed to the elements. This is my normal AEG load out but with mid caps rather than 30 round real caps. I sorted the hop to lift the .28s a nice reasonable distance and set in for the game, but ended up tinkering with it in game to get the best range. This was really easy to do as the hop adjustment is at the front end by the gas block. No need to strip the gun down and a massive plus. And then it was on to the game. A wise man once said, gaming with a GBBR is all about game style. Well my game style didn’t differ a great deal to be honest. I enjoy more tactical games. Creeping about, looking for weak spots and generally run my guns on semi auto anyway, so there wasn’t too much difference. I did spend the first few games expecting the gun to implode, or BBs to dribble out of its barrel, because the inter web is replete with tales of VFCs being un-game-able. Of their internals being weak and useless. But after the first game, and that constant satisfying thud the instant I pulled the trigger, the mechanical clunk as the VFC fired, I realised that I had made the right decision. Ok, if I spammed the trigger and she suddenly went empty, she wouldn’t always lock back. But in general when I fired a normal semi auto rate she locked back. And good god is she fun to shoot. Fun to manipulate. Fun to take down. Fun to clean. Yeah, my Krytac probably has a better range, and is likely more consistently accurate. But I can’t remember when I last enjoyed a game as much as Saturdays. And for me that’s why I decided to get a GBBR. Holding back floods of players with single shots. Going empty and doing a breach check to see the BCG locked back. Changing mags in a panic and hitting the bolt catch. Feeling the clunk of it all going home and being up and back in the game. This is why I love Airsoft. So, is the VFC useable in the winter. Yes, but with some caveats. Don’t expect to go full auto much, if at all. It works for a bit but isn’t consistent and sounds on the cusp of dying. The mags get cold, quick and I doubt you’d get more than one mag out of a gas fill, so I topped my mags up with gas every time I reloaded BBS. I was using Abbey Brut Sniper gas. Seemed to work ok. So all in I’m happy with the VFC. She did me proud. CBH

Been awhile since I brought anything Airsoft related but splurged out on two new GBBR platforms. I know they are both SBRs but after years of lugging round my Krytac LVOA C, I fancied something smaller. GHK MK18, (The T1, Peq and torch come from my LVOA.) And, a Umarex VFC HK416a5. In RAL 8000. And a Specter To go with it. And Peq and Inforce light set up.

Went a bit mad during a Black Friday sale and got some stuff I have been looking at for a while. 5.11 Tactical Flash Bang Pouch - Tac OD 5.11 Tactical Bungee Radio Pouch - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical Flash Bang Pouch - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier Vest - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical Double Pistol Bungee-Cover Pouch - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical Single AR Mag Bungee-Cover Mag Pouch - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical Double AR Mag Bungee-Cover Mag Pouch - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical TDU Pant Ripstop Pant - Crye MultiCam Large 5.11 Tactical Rush 72 Backpack - Sandstone 5.11 Tactical Rapid Assault Long Sleeve Shirt - TDU Green 5.11 Tactical Flag Bearer Multicam Cap - Multicam Got it as an alternative to my multicam Warrior CPC set up. Easy to carry a load. Loving the Sandstone colour. Greener than Coyote Brown and fits in with so many other colour schemes. Started using 5.11 stuff at work awhile back and although initially sceptical about all the hype I have been impressed. And if it's good enough for me in the real world I know it'll last forever in Airsoft. I'll do a review after some use. CBH

Saw on their website they had some TM MK23 Socoms in stock. Ordered one Sunday night, arrived this morning. Well packaged and a check sheet confirming the weapon had been checked and test fired with FPS recorded. More than happy with their service. CBH

I decided to finally get a TM MK23 Socom. Been considering one for awhile and Patrol Base suddenly got some stock. Ordered Sunday night, arrived this morning. And I'm impressed. Prefers .2s over my .25s though. Extra mag (got an ASG one) as no one had any TM ones and apparently they can be a bit leaky. Head set for my coms. Some Geoff's .25 BBs to see if they are any good.

Got mine as the same deal. Some games I go to, last all morning or afternoon with no breaks and the chest rig is great for that. But for quicker games or if i'm running more of a DMR type role I like the CPC. I got the velcro mag panel so I could carry mags on the front rather than in the pouches on the side straps. The CPC is a great bit of kit and not as cumbersome as some other plate carriers. CBH

Are they any good? I airsoft with my daughter and as an under 18 she can't use Pyro. But gas powered grenades are ok for her to use. I've just never really seen one in the flesh. CBH

Got some bits in sales, all ordered late Sunday, both arived Wednesday. From UK Tactical a triple velcro 5.56mm mag pouch for my Warrior CPC so I can run it without the Pathfinder Chest Rig for quick games. Warrior PLB to replace my first molle belt from Kombat. Buy cheap buy twice! A single Warrior M4 elastic mag. I have two of these on the Pathfinder and they are really good. This one is for my PLB as I run one M4 mag on my belt for quick changes. As ever, the Warrior kit is well made and fairly priced. From Military 1st Pentagon BDU 2.0 Pants to replace my tattered Jack Pyke Beaters trousers. Condor BDU belt Helikon Delta jacket. Really impressed with this. Great bargain for the price. So much so I may get another. All good kit, again well priced. I'll review the kit after my next game. CBH

VisionKing short dot scope (£68.99) and mount (£15.99) Both off ebay from different UK sellers. And both arrived in 2 days. And both are very very good!

I have a mahoosive head too (up to 62cm!!!) and have problems with helmets both for work and airsoft. I brought an FMA fast helmet which fits perfectly. I took out some of the padding and introduced some of the additional stuff they sent. Plus the helmet is good quality. Im off today so will throw up a review separately later. Cheers CBH

They are beautiful to hold and game with. Rock solid feel and great out of the box performance. Is that wolf grey or FG? Difficult to see in pic.

Ordered it yesterday from Pro Airsoft Supplies as they had just received them yesterday morning. Apparently they got 5 of the 10 that Krytac sent to the UK! As of about 2pm yesterday mine was the first they had sold. Should be with me tomorrow. Never dealt with Pro Airsoft before but they seemed nice enough on the phone. I like the look of the LVOA but the grey didn't really do it for me. FG on the other hand will do me nice. CBH

Krytac LVOA in Foliage Green. Just couldn't resist!

Forgot to add that the ESS survived a point blank shot from CO2 GBB Pistol as I stormed up some stairs in CQB. The second shot hit my face and hurt like billyo. Got to love blind firing! CBH

I have some old ESS shooting glasses but also some BetaFit safety glasses. Both are issued as range safety glasses at work, the ESS the old style and the BetaFit the new issue. Oddly enough I find the BetaFit more comfortable and less prone to fogging. No doubt they are the cheaper option too if they replaced the ESS. :-) I too will now be wearing them in the safe zone, as will my daughter. It only has to go wrong once. CBH

Cheers guys, been an interesting read. Looks a bit hit and miss throughout the hobby. CBH

Welcome to the group. I'd say consider getting your boots first. If you rent guns your likely to get a hi cap mag for it so wont need to do any quick mag changes. Even for CQB having good supportive boots is a must. Goggles / glasses / mesh is a personal taste. But again, spend a bit and get a quality pair. As for guns, probably only the TM Recoils would suit both. They chrono around 280fps but are still field able outside due to the excellent hop up. They are however expensive but in airsoft good guns aren't cheap. The ASG Scorpion Evo has a quick change spring system so may be able to get it below 280. They are cheaper than TMs. Other than that you may want to just stick to a good pistol. Also, don't worry about being alone on a site. Generally everyone is friendly. Have fun. CBH

I've sat on this for a few weeks now but decided to post and get some views on it. I'm lucky that through work I have had plenty of training around first aid. This includes basic life saving, first aid at work and also Trauma intervention (D13 to those who are in the same line of work as me.) I also regularly risk asses operational deployments and training. So what prompted this post? A few weeks ago, whilst at a gaming site, a pyro was thrown at a prone gamer and exploded on their back. The circumstances were freak and non intentional but that isn't the point of the post. The player was wearing a plate carrier and the pyro caught between that and his UBACS as he rolled away. The UBACS was obviously good quality and took a lot of the blast but the player seemed in pain stripping off his clothes. I began to empty my canteen on the burn, which luckily was only minor. The Marshals were there and helping but when I asked for more water there was none. I asked about the medic kit and was told it was in the safe zone. This was a good 10 minutes away at a jog. Luckily the player was not badly injured and shrugged off any further attention and all was well. But is it. The site had 2 trained first aiders (typically the player who was injured was one!) and is well organised and run. I'm happy to take my 13 year old daughter there regularly. But I have to wonder. What type of medic kit is available? Is it readily available. Do they have a casualty evacuation plan? By virtue of game type, most of these sites are remote and difficult to find making any arrival of the emergency services drawn out and eating into the Golden Hour. Now some of you may say man up and grow a pair but in 6 months I have seen two serious wounds caused by barbed wire and the burns. Thats ignoring the bumps, slips and bruises. My thoughts are to have a chat with the organisers and offer to help. Maybe write up some plans or check those that have been done. Maybe offer to be one of the playing First Aiders on the day. Even Suggest the kit goes to the scenario as well as the evacuation vehicle. I'm not looking for anything and would still pay to game. The problem is when ever i'm on site I seem to be surrounded by people who were snipers/armourers/body guards/on the balcony of the iranian embassy etc etc so anticipate they may have heard it all before and be sceptical about individuals with alleged skills. So what do the sites you visit do? What do you as airsofters think? I could do nothing as I carry a kit on me and could probably deal with the immediate problems as they went and got the kit, but stepping up out of the blue amongst strangers can cause some excitement especially if the strangers think they know best. I'll probably pop down to see them this weekend for a chat and see how it goes. They are good people. Thanks for listening. CBH

Whilst searching Krytac SPR on google..... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Krytac-TRIDENT-SPR-by-KRYTAC/dp/B0155RZJB2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457872680&sr=8-1&keywords=Krytac WTF, am I missing something?

I got 10 ASG low caps well over a year ago. They were cheap and apart from one that split with some overzelousness with a speed loader (repaired and now works fine) I haven't had any issues with them at all. And they get used alot. Used with .2 and now .25s. I also run 8 PTS Beta PMags (the older style with the bullet window). Never had any issues with them at all. As above used with .2 and .25s My daughter runs 6 Airsoft Systems midcaps. One won't feed after 3/4 of the mag is done but the others are very reliable. She uses .25s as well. We both run APS M4s and binned the APS Hi caps they came with as they fed really badly and don't match our play style. Hope that helps. Edited to correct to PMags

Got to agree with this. I run low caps in my M4 AEG. It shoots at 345fps and other than a regular clean and service and gaurder hop rubber it is stock. In woodland I generally stalk the other side and have to be selective in my shots. Im not a fan of Ghillie suits due to their weight and incumbrance but six years ago, for work I made a poncho out of two leafy ruck sack covers. It worked a treat and about a year later I brought a proper version. (You can see it in my pic to the left.) Being a hooded poncho I can put it on in moments, it can be used as a screen, blanket, OP roof cover and I can stalk in it although it is a little long and can get caught if your not careful. When I switch to attacking or CQB, I just roll it up and keep it in a dump pouch or ruck sack. Ideal. But they aren't cheap. Beneath it I wear my normal Airsoft loadout (Olive Surplus hooded windbreaker, Jack Pyke Beaters trousers which I have had going on 5 years) warrior Pathfinder rig and covert plate carrier. Don't be convinced into going too green. Most forest floors have numerous browns with a scattering of green. Most successful camos for use at low or ground level mimick them. Like I say, I enjoy this side of Airsoft but equally enjoy being the first through the door behind a MK V. The leafy poncho allows me to do this. Enjoy the game!

Id say mix and match. Like CKinnery said the short mags are ideal if you are prone for some DMR action. However, when it all comes on top its nice to slap in a Stanag and join the party!