Tommikka

I could have been at DSEI this week, but have been doing other work things and not been able to dedicate a day out. It would have been interesting, particularly that Future Soldier stand - Future Soldier covers many things, and in my current role the context is at very high level on the structuring of the Army, but a few years back I was involved in a few projects under the Future Soldier programme and I did get to go out on the Plain to get a hands on understanding of the equipment, needs and experience of those out on the ground (AKA play with the cool toys) with current equipment, future and potential future equipment. A good one I once saw was two side by side displays - integrated future soldier with all the fancy equipment like the guy photographed above, under development and trials to military specifications but next to ‘eBay soldier’ equipped with off the shelf gadgets - highlighting that the vision of the high tech soldier of tomorrow was what ‘todays soldier’ was at that time encountering with the opposition in Afghanistan etc As @The_Lord_Ponchopoints out all these come as added weight (plus other issues*) Project Payne is frustrating for those involved. Every time the load is lightened, or redistributed the result tends to be that more gets carried and if in doubt the extra thing carried is ammunition Project Payne is named after a soldier at Normandy who had been photographed to illustrate the equipment carried by infantry in June 1944, and is used to illustrate customisable load carrying that is suitable for the task and minimising carrying just in case. Another example highlighted in Payne was Long Tan where the Australians on patrol found themselves in action for hours but didn’t run out of ammunition, despite opting to go out with only the standard load * For example quick release body armour /webbing - Make a vehicle more survivable over an IED/mine and then you get live soldiers trapped in an upside down or submerged vehicle, or body armour that protects you from being shot but slows you down making it more likely that you get shot

Strictly speaking they were always illegal in Russia anyway, which is one of the reasons why they only opened an office in Russia last November But laws don’t count in Russia if your Putins mate and / or pay him off. …. and of course Wagner never were mercenaries, they have always been a deniable part of the Russian army

My experience is similar

There is a bit of real life physics to the ‘history’ of binary triggers (I’m not going to remember the proper science as I’m an old man now, so the following is vagueness, and any language may not be technically correct) There are real life guns that by design did / do have a physical binary trigger There is also trigger ‘bounce’ where some manual triggers will fail to stop the return, which could be poorly adjusted (deliberately or not) and the trigger sear hasn’t aligned in time to stop the cycle, could have a worn sear or the ‘load’ doesn’t have enough pressure to fully cycle (which can trigger multiple shots or replicate full auto If you’ve ever used/seen a Tippmann at a paintball rental site and the site staff have not fully refilled the Co2/air then you may have experienced ‘burping’ as the pressure drops and it can’t fully cycle to stop on the sear When there’s an electronic trigger then various ‘modes’ may get added, either as formal modes or by tweaking a few variables in the settings These would include semi (keep shooting whilst pulling), full auto (keep shooting whilst held), bursts and bounce (multiple shots per pull) A ramping mode may be added which would be semi auto until you sustained a number of shots and then replicate full auto as long as you pull within a time limit In paintball you would sometimes see guns released with an US/international circuit board and a UK board. The US board would have all modes, UK would exclude full auto If you / your supplier grey imported, (or you preordered and received yours from the first limited runs) you may find the board was US which may or may not have helpfully had a red / green LED fitted to highlight that difference This then brought the question of legality of more than one shot per pull Then turn up to a UK event and only be allowed to use semi, perhaps ‘accidentally’ with bounce for a binary effect ROF kept increasing until everyone set rules, then you may end up with electronics to be required to run on ‘modes’ capped to 10.5bps / semi capped (if settings allow) / semi uncapped for mechanicals or boards that don’t support caps If you had any finger skills then just use a mechanical, fit a double trigger and ‘walk’ your fingers. With practice you could shoot a greater ROF than any of the capped modes ……… My issue with full auto is the safety situation, that if you get caught in a bush then it will keep firing, but other modes capable of replicating full auto need you to keep moving the trigger so have less of a safety issue (of the trigger - not necessarily the person pulling it) …….. I would support a site using whatever modes that they choose, provided it’s legal, they think of the safety, and it’s suitable for the site / types of players If we are grown ups then we accept being shot and that there may be more BBs following once you put your hand up - that’s fine if the shooter then stops. If it’s a mixed crowd of regulars / rentals / newbies then it’s dickish to be hammering out streams …….. It is less of a matter about the type of gun/trigger but more a case of who is pulling the trigger

UK legal blank voters have the barrel blocked to ensure that they cannot be converted to fire projectiles from live rounds and also to ensure that the vented gas does not go forwards Blank firers do vent their gas

Here’s a drift, which I’ll deliberately make to target those of you who are professionals in this area —— because you might have the ability to redirect out of date elements, and could help with training materials ……. (Of course he’s also taking donations to build the main kits) A fellow by the name of witzy has been doing a number of things to support Ukraine, and is currently putting together IFAK kits for combatants etc He is both a paintballer and airsofter, as player and organiser If you do Facebook the following videos should come up, if anyone is able to help with expired surpluses he can me messaged directly on his profile https://www.facebook.com/stephen.witts.5 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02a3r4waeUthKGP8s9QnbeK43XEEqHDECNJT2gDnamejLjns95DMUQxeUBtN78ZNX8l&id=1169423901 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0zEekY57jEGhFaa5a83FG6q7nNzbFCNqTY17qjaHASoVX57gsFyKHtGVKCLbShS1hl&id=1169423901 Even if not, his run through of the contents give some of the uses of the elements of a ‘more serious’ first aid kit For our kinds of use leave out what you don’t know what to do with and add the ‘lesser’ basics of plasters, liquid plasters, tape, creams, pills appropriate to you such as allergy, aches & pains etc Hopefully as a player we just need something to stop a scratch, graze, cut, pyro burn from ending the day, and be able to ease something worse until others turn up

@Vryko I’ll upgrade this answer to refer to other paintball type goggles than Dye. Dye has had great marketing success, and are also compact designs - especially the i4. All goggles can differ considerably for different heads, if you have a small enough head with the right proportions then Dyes can be perfect, if you have a large head or chin then not so. (Which can also be an attraction in airsoft but not so much if it’s your teeth getting shot) The i3, i4 & i5 are all what I would describe as premium goggles with equivalent features in other ranges of premium goggles My preferred goggles are GI / VForce grills, and they have been designed around glasses with slits in the foam plus space in the eye area If possible get to one of the few retail shops attached to paintball / airsoft warehouses and try some on with your glasses An alternative idea is to then take your preferred goggles to an opticians and try them with different frames Prescription inserts for goggles could be the best compromise as they remove the frame / temples which avoids the awkward process of putting them all on and taking them off

There was an incident a few years back where an argument took place over a player who had sneakily got behind enemy lines. This ended with a player being booted in the chest, and that quickly broadcast across the community. The reason for the use of their boot followed more slowly - a knife had been drawn

I think @Cr0-Magnons post with just 2 points makes it very clear that the site has management issues

You’re wrong A UK compliant blank firing pistol wouldn’t be a Section 5 firearm and wouldn’t need a firearms certificate. The VCRA is another piece of legislation, anything covered within the VCRA is not automatically excluded from the firearms act. The VCRA does not explicitly refer to blank firers, but the firearms does explicitly reference blank firers and their ammunition as to those that do comply to UK standards & section 5 requirements and whether or not blank ammunition would be subject to controls There is a ‘statutory instrument’ that adds to the VCRA with definitions of ‘blank firing imitation firearms’ Airsoft did fall within firearms legislation as well with airsoft guns within the definition of a ‘low power air weapon’ until an amendment was made under section 57a: 57a Exemption for airsoft guns (1)An “airsoft gun” is not to be regarded as a firearm for the purposes of this Act. (2)An “airsoft gun” is a barrelled weapon of any description which— (a)is designed to discharge only a small plastic missile (whether or not it is also capable of discharging any other kind of missile), and (b)is not capable of discharging a missile (of any kind) with kinetic energy at the muzzle of the weapon that exceeds the permitted level. (3)“Small plastic missile” means a missile that— (a)is made wholly or partly from plastics, (b)is spherical, and (c)does not exceed 8 millimetres in diameter. (4)The permitted kinetic energy level is— (a)in the case of a weapon which is capable of discharging two or more missiles successively without repeated pressure on the trigger, 1.3 joules; (b)in any other case, 2.5 joules.] This exemption is explicitly for airsoft guns that fire plastic BB within 8mm and within the 1.3 or 2.5 joule limits Note that there is an interpretation that air weapons etc are firearms and therefore could not at the same time be RIFs / IFs (this is my interpretation) - but there has been case law that decided otherwise, thus an airgun that was a firearm under the firearms act also at the same time was a Realistic Imitation due to the look of the design The VCRA is legislation governing the sale / manufacture / import - it doesn’t govern the use (Different styles of usage of RIFs within the VCRA define what a retailer can take as a valid use to justify sale rather than dictating the actual use after a sale) Gun shops do sell blank firers such as starter pistols in bright VCRA style colours, and the industry do protect themselves from a VCRA type prosecution requiring theatrical & reenactment defences etc Irrespective of an airsoft gun having being a valid purchase under the VCRA there can still be legal issues with inappropriate use - such as wandering around a town centre AKA don’t be a dick with an airsoft gun The same applies to blank firers

Possession of and the discharging of a firearm in a public place ? I hope that he has his ‘good reason’ lined up. If he’s providing SFX, then I assume the site management has squared away the use of blank firers as SFX and why they have requested it from a customer / have authorised a customer to do so. The sites risk assessment & mitigations have taken this into account and the insurers made aware of course - and other customers have been advised, it’s in the waiver that they’ve signed to be aware of as well.

Permitting players to remove eye protection is a major disaster It should be totally clear what is and is not a safe area. Sites that have remote game areas and may therefore have players out for multiple games can have in field safe zones which means you can permit players to enter a safe area and remove goggles without contradicting basic safety rules

I don’t trust anyone I look both ways on roundabouts, in all directions at mini roundabouts and both ways in one way streets An an event many many years ago (I’ve a feeling maybe 2009 due to venue Im picturing in my mind - Swynnerton) …… The game zone was open for site walking on the pre game day, with some activities such as laser tag So masks were not required - which makes sense, though there was a casualty that year or the next year with a laser tag player who face planted a breeze block wall (extra embarrassing for his ambulance trip as he was/still is a nurse) On game day masks were not required before x time. Allowing players to walk the long distances to the starting rally points. For me this lasted only a couple of minutes when those in front of me strolling along without masks on decided to shoot up a bush. For me that triggered dropping my mask over my face and attempting to explain the inconsistency of a lack of goggles plus random shooting Other than that I have permitted masks off when on sites for pre game works - but with rules. We must have ‘control’ of that area, know what game zones and routes will be in use for rentals etc, be in contact with Marshall’s, have distance / physical objects between us and any areas etc Goggles must be at the ready for instant covering

I’m in

Just a little scary story about dry firing ……. New marshal blinded in one eye with CO2 from an empty paintball gun …… https://www.scotsman.com/news/paintball-gun-shot-leaves-ex-soldier-blind-in-one-eye-2444047 Safe zone has a clue in its name Health and safety has a bad name from the over zealous clip board brigade, but the HSE are the primary source of exposing H&S myths. Prior to Health and safety being put into legislation it was a matter of routine to die in the UKs building sites and factories. That has mostly been stopped The most simple form of safety is to apply common sense - which is extremely uncommon When a site cannot be bothered to enforce dry firing & unloading discipline in the safe zone, that’s when you need to wonder about other basics

Been there done that Also been the giver Has it got puppies and ice cream ?

Barrel sock / condom - I’m not surprised that it was brought up at an airsoft & paintball site. The surprising thing would be that it’s not more common. Basic rental paintball tends to have gun racks on the way out to play, and safety keeps them out of the safe zone When you bring in own gunners then you need to keep the safe zone safe - my first experience of this was that we were required to leave ours in the staff shed (we were playing at a rental site with our own guns, mixed among the rental players) Event & tournament paintball requires barrel blocking as well as degassing etc before leaving the game area - and the standard is battle socks They are also useful for dead players - put it in the rules that the barrel blocker must be fitted when eliminated and the casually wandering sneaky player without their barrel blocked should be more obvious to challenge them Once they are known of its hard to argue against them as a safety product They come for free as standard with a new paintball gun, or around £5 or £6 to buy at retail prices

That is a push fit female to female like this: https://palmerspursuit.com/products/1-4-push-connect-coupler?_pos=1&_sid=c859f49c6&_ss=r (Measure the size and/or look for markings in the hose - in the links below for simplicity I assume that your macro line is 1/4”) To remove it just simply push the end inwards, tension on the hose line is reduced and you pull out the hose line while maintaining inward pressure on the fitting Check that all the lines still have a clean flat cut. If you need to cut any lines then don’t attempt to do so with a knife or razor blade, it will never be clean enough for a reliable push fit. You would need a macro line cutter: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-760004-3-12-7-Plastic-Rubber/dp/B015HA1NNA/ref=asc_df_B015HA1NNA/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226152056294&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6469370261426534244&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007044&hvtargid=pla-350034674810&psc=1&th=1&psc=1 Choose your quick disconnect fittings, eg female with an auto check valve so that it seals the airsource avoiding air loss https://palmerspursuit.com/products/copy-of-quick-disconnect-with-back-check-parker?_pos=3&_sid=93de23bea&_ss=r To fit these you would need 1/8” NPT to push to fit, such as (assuming 1/8” push fit) https://palmerspursuit.com/collections/push-connect-tube-fittings/products/1-8-npt-female-to-1-4-slip-fit-1 Assuming the macro line end cuts are good, then you could get away with swapping the existing female to female push fit with a replacement set of fittings and no more than some PTFE tape (unless the new fittings come pre-primed with PTFE If they need cutting then the required tool is a macro line cutter ……… But depending on the point in your line you end up with a dangly fitting, which isn’t elegant or ideal. Trace back to the gun and find where that fits. Ideally find a ‘solid’ point that you can fix your male quick disconnect. You then need the appropriate tools for any modification there ……. For hose lines you need an appropriately specified line for the relevant air pressures. Macro line is good for hundreds of PSI, but it can be good practice to go back one step along regulators - ensure the line can cope with the next highest stage before it’s current regulator Note that most links I have provided are with Palmers in the US You don’t have to buy from there, but do ensure that you buy components designed for the air pressures involved

The dates shown for Wednesdays do align with Wednesdays in 2023 I’m going to make my standard statement of full face goggles. But a full seal goggle meets my criteria (as opposed to glasses type eye protection) Whether or not balaclavas & mesh etc are good enough is personal preference Lens colour indoors and in the dark should be clear, or potentially amber. Dark lenses filter out too much Amber/yellow and some shades of orange can enhance your ability to pick things out in dull conditions

A spare glow stick and a bush can be a fun combination at a night game

Strictly speaking Hunter is right …… but for the purpose that they are designed for Military/shooting impact eye protection is designed to be the last chance saver from something as simple as dirt, dust, gases and the gravel/splinters etc flying from impact nearby They are not for direct protection from what is being shot at you Poor shooting glasses have been as simple as sunglasses - just for the dust etc (a reason for which I have traditionally directed people to look more than ‘shooting glasses’ but to check that there is an impact standard) The advice in the video is in a shooting situation - once that safety equipment has protected you once then accept that it has done its job and replace it (the same applies to motorcycle helmets - if it’s smashed and ground into the tarmac then you can see it’s had it’s day, but if it has impact but looks ok then the internal structure may have taken it all and should still have the helmet replaced) For airsoft however the intent is to be shot and you can see all the ‘functioning parts’ - the lens If the lens shows impact, has tiny little cracks etc then it needs to be replaced If the lens is to a compliant impact standard then I would not replace just due to a BB impact The next consideration is lens age. I used to religiously replace lenses annually, which continued until I had a vast collection each used occasionally by myself or on loan I now replace based on condition and/or general age If a lens is removable then extra consideration is to be given on how well fitted it may be - if regularly swapped for colour etc then that may affect how well they fit (or how clumsily the user fits them)

I’d recommend editing your thread title to something like: Newcastle - storage required That would help highlight for local players Southampton university society had problems with their new members in similar circumstances that those living in University accommodation were not allowed to hold RIFs. They worked around it a few ways with society storage & members living off site. An option that may be possible would be to speak to a local site and see if you can get some temporary storage - which depends on specifics as to whether they do have safe storage on site and you would want a lockable case etc (many sites may be remote and don’t store valuables on site as they can be easy picking for burglaries) If you haven’t done already then search ‘self storage newcastle’ and look for initial discounts and compact space for students etc

Absolutely hit the target A pistol carried as a sidearm is just another gun in the collection that you carry around for added weight But a pistol in your hand makes you the biggest and baddest on the field - even (especially) if you’re constantly being out gunned - enjoy the disadvantages of a pistol vs everyone else - and seek out the advantages of a light, compact and mobile setup

This is a much discussed topic in paintball over at the last year as well. The origins of ‘walk on’ come from the sense of just turning up to play, and covered those with all their own equipment as opposed to a ‘rental’ player so had ‘few’ needs from the site. Throughout my playing life ‘walk on’ meant a day or session dedicated to players with their own equipment These tended to be run by a keen player and would have a fairly regular crowd. Marshalling as a matter of safety requires a reasonable ratio of player to marshall to keep an eye on unpredictable rental players - but in practice could turn out to be just one marshall per side - sites ought to be planning their staff for any particular day so would have needed pre bookings for rentals to judge the numbers Walkons could be expected to be better behaved and not need constant eyes on them for goggle removal etc so could run a walkon day for any numbers on minimum staff - a few extra players made no difference That was in theory fine if the walkon was guaranteed to have someone playing, and if you were allowing bring your own paint - but a nuisance for a site to know what stock they needed and walkon paintballers don’t want to play with basic rental paint - a site would not want to stock up on a higher grade paint which would go ‘off’ if held over time and in uncontrolled conditions Now there are very few paintball sites catering for walkons, and those that do tend to post up every now and again about attendance levels One site that we have been involved with must pay a fee to the landowner whenever people are on site - this included me turning up alone or a couple of us site walking or event preparing Fine if it was a day with rental bookings, but a prohibitive expense for one or two people to wander or to run a walk on based on the off chance that people might turn up Then add staff costs - the site should be paying out at least minimum wage to someone for the duration of the day plus an hour or so either side for opening up and shutting down - I am aware that airsoft can often be relying on the voluntary side of player marshals (and that is also how the hey day of walkons happened due to ‘keen’ locals willing to put in the work to make them happen To a player today it does mean that you should plan to play, sort your admin out to book and also turn up - if you’ve paid a deposit and don’t turn up because it’s wet then that is something to compensate the cost but demoralising for staff to open up for nobody or a handful ……… Much of the recent conversations in paintball have been to try and rename ‘walkons’ into something more meaningful, but even the sites involved in the conversations still have ‘walkon’ on their websites / social media

My science knowledge is misty as it goes back many decades - and also my barrel / projectile experience is with paintballs, which have the added effect of distortion under pressure whilst inside the barrel All the theories mentioned ring true with my recollection & experience, particularly the bent barrel which seems very wrong at first but effective when right (this was the Tippmann flatline) it does exactly as per the theory - drag in the curve causes backspin Next we had the Apex tip which is pretty much the same thing as an airsoft hop An adjustable rubber element gives backspin, but the tip can also be rotated to change the angle of the backspin (spoiler in the following video but he rated it as ‘it sucks’ - it does give backspin and additional range, but can impact on consistency - I have a team mate who puts in all the practice, he was an apex ninja and as a result could place a ball where he wanted it to go - though this was courtesy of numerous factors with the Apex as just one of them to adjust the spin) https://youtu.be/Vfgi_AwdTR8 Flatlines and Apexes have had their day, some will still use them, but most will go for bore matching a barrel / insert with the ball - and everyone has a different preference that they swear by of bore match, overbore or under bore Still to add are the consistency of the gun itself to reliably send the ball out of the chamber, and the length of the barrel which must be long enough to allow the ball to accelerate but not so long that any drag/bounce along the barrel is so much that it loses the energy that was gained in acceleration Consistency and practice are key - consistency gives you a reliable benchmark and practice let’s you first understand the combined effects and fine tune each in turn