Tommikka

It’s quite a hefty read, but there shouldn’t be prohibition of private use/filling/transporting There are parts of the legislation that will refer to private use, but as you’ve found is a hard read The bottom line is your Pi is effectively the same standard, (there was a slight difference between Pi & DOT), and manufacturers aren’t making different cylinders for different regions, but manufacturing to meet/exceed all standards and submitting for standards testing to qualify for the markings I would be more concerned that a cylinder is in serviceable condition, in date etc - but when cylinder checking for an event I would look for the key points of UK legal, in date, no danger signs - and I’m not doing any events so won’t be comparing Pi dates Yes - those would apply to the importers & sale There will be cylinders on the shelves that had preceded the changeover, and also may be some imported post changeover in ignorance (Quite a few post Brexit standards regulations have established EU standards as valid, but they didn’t for cylinders) The bottom line is whether or not it will affect you in being able to use a cylinder on site at the fill station or to play, and potentially whether it impacts upon getting a hydro test (not particularly worth the cost for an aluminium cylinder) A UK hydro tester should not permit you to test a wrongly dated Pi as they are licenced, but I don’t know what level that sites are checking ………….. As per the original post with the flow chart (which I disagree with due to over simplification) sites have been made aware and staff ought to be checking cylinders before filling (they should do so anyway) Whether or not they do check, and whether or not the checker knows anything beyond what they usually see can vary widely (Note my comment about a player I know, that I first met at one of our events when I refused use of his US cylinder - and loaned him mine for the day - he more recently pointed out that only I and two venues ever checked him until he retired it) …………….. Back in the day when I began playing there was a blind eye turned to the use of US DOT cylinders in the UK. Partly with most sites running CO2 systems and players getting HPA, filling from personal scuba cylinders. (So if you didn’t use their fill station they ignored your cylinder) As more HPA fill systems spread across sites, blind eyes and bad habits occurred - including under age self fills This came to a head when there was a flash fill explosion on a site in the South . The knee jerk reaction was to blame the specialist ultra light design and it harmed a manufacturers reputation, but it was found to be an unregulated fast fill combined with an unknown players poor maintenance and oil contamination That sorted the tournament world for years, but they seemed to forget years later slipping in awareness when the scenario world adopted those standards of checking and awareness training.

That depends - if the joules don’t change the velocity also does not change The joules as per the muzzle velocity is different from the energy imparted in the chamber based on many physics things happening along the barrel The energy imparted onto a BB in the chamber remains the same irrespective of the BB (or actually it might, because force has to be exerted to begin the momentum and a heavier BB will resist more than a lighter BB) It accelerates down the barrel, and depending on the internal barrel size vs the BBs actual size could theoretically float on air, but will have friction or bounce around in the barrel, and also get some friction from the hop up before escaping into the open air These various factors are generally called joule creep when a heavier BB does not come out at the ‘right’ slower velocity to match the equivalent energy. The combination of different configurations / efficiency Joules do change - which is of course the whole argument over with regards to chrono checking After leaving the barrel different BBs and different RIF configurations can result in different performance in flight with some losing monentum gradually, some going further, some flying almost perfectly then suddenly dropping when losing backspin.

The main legislation is the ‘transportable’ one which covers the movement of compressed air cylinders. This covers both commercial and private use (eg in your car to & from a game would be private - but complicated if you are in a work van or company car) Parts of the legislation may not apply to private individuals, but that gets into grey areas with the odds being that a players cylinder would qualify as small / low capacity and exempt from parts of the legislation Other related legislation for filling etc is in the world of HSE and therefore not applicable to individuals (but applicable to the sites we play at) I discussed carrying cylinders with a firefighter neighbour with regard to the need to display diamond warning signs in vehicles - a commercial requirement, but not required on private vehicles with low capacity cylinders. His preference for dealing with a crashed vehicle is that markings are shown so that they know what it is when cutting into your car The references to ‘placing on the market’ are due to the timings of Brexit and the status of NI post Brexit, with the relevance being that a pre Brexit / transition Pi cylinder was fully valid and remains valid based on EU TPED regulations and related legislation. Cylinders with an early enough birth date sat on the warehouse shelf are still valid for UK sales and usage. Those with a later birth date are not - but as the UK is a tiny market in the world of compressed cylinders and even smaller for playing cylinders then it’s hardly worth the manufacturers going to the expense of certification and therefore it took a long time to get any to market Retailers should not have stocked and sold post transition Pi cylinders, but will have done so Its up to the site you play at as to whether they check and whether they let you use a cylinder - but they are liable under HSE legislation when it gets filled

Joules are a measure of energy Chronographs measure velocity Some chronographs calculate the joules from the velocity based on the entered mass

Don’t do it!!! Keep this forum going However, there are many Facebook groups This forums Facebook is linked below. That doesn’t have chat going on as it acts as a touch point for the forum and is likely to be used for the status of a major outage etc. It can be handy to have it anyway, for both its main purpose and for the Facebook algorithm to top up tour interest in airsoft, thus then suggesting others https://www.facebook.com/share/18gojAvwDN/?mibextid=wwXIfr A thing that Facebook compliments well along side forums is for sub groups - especially local region and/or site groups, that gets the opportunity to see what’s going on, meet like minded local people etc Next is the niche parts of airsoft - MilSim, speedsoft etc - good for like minded people and finding things further afield for your preferences (or discovering the local one that you have never heard of) It goes bad when the dispersed groups take the world away from the forums, which was the cause of the fall of forms, but followed when Facebook added more rules and people trickled back to forums (mainly for a sale) I suggest searching Facebook for local site names, sub genres and then seeing what else the algorithm comes up with I know that you say that you don’t use Facebook, but along with Reddit it is where chat happens Consider making a basic account just for airsoft that does not need to be your real name

All chronographing is by FPS Anyone claiming to chrono in joules are either a conversion formula within the chrono based on setting the claimed mass, or a reference chart of FPS to joules The ‘benefit’ of FPS chrono is that any weight can be chronoed without making changes to the settings Problems remain when chronoing with different BBs than playing, when not properly declaring the BB weight etc and especially when it is a lip service exercise

It’s a long time since I last read a site insurance policy. There will be ‘almost standard’ policies around the activities and a quote is based on the questions / answers on the quote applications and are most likely to be subject to a risk assessment (and ideally the mitigations and method statement) as submitted by the site The value of anything on those can vary considerably On a different tack I re-wrote a complete set of risk assessment, mitigations and method statement for my friend to trade at a festival. They asked for a method statement, I looked at the risk assessment that she had already submitted was a method statement - so we amended the title and resubmitted - that didn’t work. So at 11 at night I produced the full range and in minutes of the email without the time to read the content they accepted it all It is best practice to chronograph all customer guns before play begins. But if the sites risk assessment, mitigations, method statement, staff procedures, insurance policy don’t say so then that’s an argument for later when a claim is made This is an American insurer that has a good video series for site owners (it’s titled Paintball safety but covers multiple activities including airsoft) Their initial quote form for Airsoft does ask about chrono limits but does not ask about pre-game checks http://www.cossioinsurance.com/ https://youtube.com/@cossioinsurance1558?si=mLLlStU8w1OCFpqW Back in the day I regularly played at a rental site, and it was this site that we first ran events. On rental days they did not chronograph as a matter of routine as own gunners were rare. (and it meant taking out the big red chrono to do so) We were first checked by shooting at the magic chrono tree with the head marshal looking at how our shots fired Subsequently I brought my own chrono with me and grab a marshal to watch me use it When we ran events I rewrote the rules and disclaimer*, we used chronos for a full pre - check, tag and * the existing disclaimer was useless for an own gunner event. I was able to rewrite ‘all guns left on the rack before exiting to safe zone’ to ‘made safe, barrel blocker, turned off etc’ (exact wording varied). That as acceptable and did not breach their insurance terms. We were running the first ever game under a scenario organiser collective with a common set of minimum rules, which included air safety training & issuing air passes for self fill. I needed to do that to comply with the collectives rule set but the insurance explicitly required trained staff only to operate the fill station, so I could not allow self fills By the next year the site owner had the insurance policy updated, and we could fully run the air pass training & self fills (He based adding this to the policy using my documentation, such as revised filling procedures - having the paintballs recognised national body UKPSF logo may have helped. Perhaps his premiums were cheaper, or at least increase in premium was less than the income for more own gunners at events etc)

Shhh We have actually done that for events - particularly for hilly sites with no radio range unless you are all on hilltops

Absolutely

Do tell us which section of the VCRA states that it applies to ‘shops’ only https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/section/36 A defence does cover the shops back - it covers the shop against prosecution. You are correct that possession is not an offence under the VCRA. But a private sale is not possession but the transfer of the possessed item in exchange of monetary consideration, AKA sale

Back in the olden days, when PMR446 had 38 CTSS codes, before DCS was added making 121 codes, that people thought were sub-frequencies ….. There were also toy & other cheap PMRs without the CTSS function. I had a few Tesco stripey label PMRs which I would use to supplement our main PMRs. The lack of CTSS did not mean that channel 1.01 to 1.38 were unavailable, but that the cheap PMR didn’t know that it should not pick them up on 1.0 I could then allocate CTSS numbers to people, such as compressed air station (who had a habit of going to Vox and blocking the airwaves when running the compressor), another CTSS to safety Marshalls, another to game control Marshalls, another to the safe zone and one each to faction leaders. That way each CTSS group could have their own conversations whilst I could track them all or anyone could contact me. Then I’ll pull out my proper PMR and switch to the appropriate CTSS (The cheap PMR would only transmit on .0 rather than to the CTSS codes, but could hear everything from .0 to .38 as long as you were on the right core channel

The best mystery boxes are the ones I sell at comicons, which come from former loot type subscription boxes. Of those the smaller boxes are the better ones (better things - but that depends on whether or not you like the things) We were selling them as per their contents, but people prefer the ‘mystery’ and were buying total tat from mystery bags so we closed the boxes As @BigStew has noted, anyone selling mystery boxes/bags are shifting surplus/slow moving stock - and/or are getting in extra tat to tot them up

Slight diversion …… Popping large generation smart phones into the cup holder of camping chairs can engage multiple buttons and generate an emergency contact distress alert. Not too much of an issue if your emergency contact is in the camping chair next to you

You are correct that it is the seller who is legally liable under the VCRA with regard to a defence for a RIF sale But this does not mean that you must explicitly verify against the UKARA or other scheme, there have been verification services, but probably due to a combination of cost, resources and ensuring confidentiality there isn’t a UKARA public/self validation service (A secure process that doesn’t over expose content would be GDPR compliant as the purpose is validation - but there could still be a consent issue on public validation rather than controlled access etc - and retailer members of the UKARA may also prefer that there isn’t a public option) You just need to apply some common sense due diligence, which is also likely to minimise you getting to the point of needing to back up your decision to sell Does the buyer act old enough to buy an airsoft gun (RIF or IF) and for RIFs do they appear to be buying for a valid use? Be extra cautious in the school holidays, if on this forum do they have a posting history (don’t sell a RIF to me because I don’t play airsoft and have said so many times - therefore my forum membership content is evidence of my lack of valid purpose) You can ask, and their member site may also be happy with validating them PS if they tell you they have JustCos membership then refuse the sale

The rules and details are far too much to me. A hardcore fan of the game could be interested in that level, but you’ve then got a very niche within a niche for the customer base If you manage to build a regular crowd then things could build. I’d recommend either themed gaming which lightened down the elements into mission stages , or ‘actor’ led experiences with a very much toned down rule set. The app sends me major alarm bells with just the first mention of needing your own device then the battery issue on top. But then add on that it must be Android (I do understand about other issues of just getting an iOS app up let alone cross platform issues), but having to have the right specifications, possibly certain models etc means quite an expense, and then needing to uninstall / reinstall for a return visit You should be providing these - or even better having less reliance on them per person with an actor led experience and those being the ones carrying the app

I have not worn a watch this century, and probably not since the late 80s I would wear watches on the inside of my left wrist, but not for the reason @Basersaid - which does make sense. When I was motorcycling the inside left was convenient to look at my watch by moving my wrist and the display would appear from under my glove. (My real reason though was because as a kid I saw someone in a film wear theirs like that so decided it was cool) Since changing to car from bike there would be a clock in the car and whenever I needed to know the time there was a clock around somewhere - (no need to have a thing attached to my wrist - until trying a magnetic band with old age) Nowadays my watch/clock is my phone (I have also used my phone in game) On occasion I’ve had mini watch sized clock faces stuck on a piece of equipment for a timer etc A good old basic watch or a chunky like G Shocks would survive the general vigour of a game

The sight of tourniquets in a players gear always worries me, and if you’re carrying tourniquet & scissors do you also have the rest stashed in your pouches? …. And know how/when/if to use it ? There is the dressing up element of airsoft, but it does imply a readiness which shouldn’t be the need of the average player, and therefore if you’re that prepared you’re carrying a lot of extra stuff If it really came down to it in game that a tourniquet was required from a passing player, a makeshift tourniquet can be made from the more average items carried by players (((Practice is of course required - but not on real bodies))) “Life not limb” was my instructors favourite phrase, and for the timeframes we have in the UK for an emergency evacuation beats the length required for limb loss risk of a tourniquet. For starters on that kit (unless it is a dress up set) I would lose the tourniquet (unless you can bring up real examples of potential needs in game - in which case I’d worry about the site), the scissors aren’t taking up much but be extra wary of the stitch counting airsofter who sues you for chopping up their ultra rare original SAS ninja trousers when they’ve strained their ankle falling over a tree root, and the rope is overkill complete with bush snag detection Personally, I’ve done it all - from all the gear no idea, to t shirt, jeans and a pocket

No it isn’t, it’s a demonstration of security doing their job, the police officer called over was very aware of airsoft - a very good awareness piece from @Asomodai for people to think about what / how they carry things when travelling (use hold luggage checkin for things that should not be in carry on luggage), and to allow time. The first example was a magazine, the second was internal parts The internal parts were ‘weapon like in nature’ - the person operating the scanner clearly was educated to identify them

Transiting is a thing - but going to a destination to leave later is not transiting Visiting the UK to play at an insured site is a VCRA defence - but comes with the issue of convincing the airport staff, airline staff, customs etc Travelling by air / ferry / tunnel also comes with how you package, where it is loaded (baggage area) and very importantly the airline and airport policies (Travelling with real firearms would be easier due to explicit legislation / licencing / certification etc)

Bottom line - you called yourself out Adding a knife kill because you were grumpy makes you the dickhead of your own story Once you have called yourself out then you are out until you - exit the game & re-enter, respawn, get healed or an authorised person such as a Marshall declares you a live player Grenade elimination rules can vary widely, indoors the trend is that within a confined space (AKA not a giant room) all are eliminated unless they get out or get behind hard cover (in some rules soft cover could be defined as hard cover - such as herris fencing with a tarp over it if that is defined a wall etc) So without further information it is fair that you failed to get a grenade kill (they went to cover) and that a grenade kill succeeded against you (confined space) He may have been laughing that he was making a distraction throw but you called yourself out on a non-detonation (of your own grenade) Many things can be used as a distraction, eg if he threw a thing to distract you then run in and shoot you It’s still down to you that you misinterpreted the noise and called yourself out (The solution to misinterpreted noise of a heavy impact grenade on a hard surface is to not use them, but to use general disposable pyro with flag & bang) The other matter is that it is the general standard to leave other players gear alone - reusable grenades, discarded magazines, guns etc - I often put down my gun if I want to make a directed throw around a corner etc There is a level of common sense, in that if the object is in the way, could be a lost object etc - in which case you put it aside to a safer spot, to a marshal etc, bring it back to the safe zone etc I normally carry my empties but may stack them up, and one magazine alone may look lost, or I may have actually dropped it He was in the wrong to throw back your grenade, but an educational experience was ruined by the dead man’s knife kill

Ignore the PTT for now Use the handset alone with no ancillaries fitted and test transmit / receive Check that the frequency is correctly programmed into the handset and that you are able to both transmit and receive before doing anything else

What sort of styles are you interested in from their range? https://wellsmadecompany.com/collections/slings Some of them are just colourful / patterned 25mm webbing straps. You can get colourful or patterned webbing straps from a variety of places. You may have a local haberdashery / fabric shop that stocks at least a few different colours than black and would be willing to order in others. These are great places to go and buy material / straps by the roll or by the metre. Take a selection of slide / clip fittings and you can make a whole range of different slings types for a fraction of the cost of the ‘custom’ ones. If you want something a bit more complex such as adding padded sleeves to the straps just ask at the counter and they will either offer a custom service or have local seamstresses that take custom work to make a sleeve from your choice of custom material from the shop Ask with enough volume to be heard around the shop and some of the customers could offer their skills (For the first event we ran the objective colour flags on pulleys came from the local fabric shop, I asked for something cheap and brightly coloured that could be cut up and tied to ropes. I was handed a few lengths of fabric pre cut to my rough sizing These were reused for many events - they will still be in my boxes of event kit) Something else to consider for padded / wide straps are guitar straps, you can use them as made or cut off the guitar ends to fit webbing strap fittings instead Take a look around your high street, or browse Amazon, Google, Ali express, Temu etc - you will be spoilt for choice https://amzn.eu/d/4V9G7PR https://amzn.eu/d/04uWeIA https://share.temu.com/RKz4Th6WuLA https://amzn.eu/d/ey0qcvC https://amzn.eu/d/0SGHJmu (Don’t feel obliged to go for 25mm, there is a wide variety - just remember to get complimenting sizes of straps & fittings - or don’t automatically use buckle clips etc, a loop of para cord does the job as well and can be the ideal fixing for some guns)

@Roryhas granted me the shoe in to think ‘outside the box’ The key thing is of course to have a safe environment, not break the law (proximity to footpaths and roads) and not annoy neighbours If you want a fairly simple target then setup some simple targets to hit, add something ‘reactive’ such as metal that will pint (as per Rory’s can lid) or a soft thing such as paper that will show your hits A novel option (which can work for airguns but may not work properly for airsoft) is to put paintballs on golf tees For an airgun a good centre hit will burst the paintball, a glancing blow or whizz past might knock or blow it off For airsoft I suspect a BB at any decent range may just knock down a paintball unless you had a good fresh tournament grade paintball But that does give a small target to try out your accuracy & your RIFs consistency If you’re a student or road worker then put some cones out However - be aware that hits will bounce away in various directions, so limited in where it would be suitable for garden targets Cones are great for an easily relocatable but solid target of varying size (not just that cones come in all sizes but you can aim for an easy shot at the lower wider bottom of the cone and work up to the slimmer top of the cone. You can also pop a can on top or a stick through the cone holding up another target If you have a few cones then space them around at various distances and practice switching target Remember again that if you’re switching target then your hard backstop needs to cover the wider range of potential misses

I (think) that I referenced this somewhere on the forum last year. The flowchart is broadly right, but fails to take into account test exempt small capacity aluminium cylinders, and simplifies some points It’s not exactly a legislation change, but Brexit, and the move out of European standards. For a number of standards separate exemptions were made to remain as per the ‘legacy’ EU standards. Such an exemption was not made for transportable pressurised cylinders, and therefore EU TPED regulations are no longer valid in the UK. (the Pi mark is from TPED) We now therefor have the Rho mark for the UK Below in italics are some of my notes from the UKPSF AGM of July 2024 (with the odd tweak) The flowchart shows a ‘Northern Ireland exemption’. This relates to the complexities of Ireland being UK in the north and part of EU in the south with no border. The extract image below from the Department of Transports document “Placing transportable pressure equipment on the market in Great Britain from 1 January 2023” highlights that Ireland is one market and therefore Pi remains valid in NI - though the flowchart demands documented proof - what could that be? An invoice - which could legitimately be from a French retailer selling to an NI address?? A players ID with an NI address?? A cylinder on the NI market?? The flowchart does not take into account multi national UNISO 11119 cylinders, which are internationally recognised, therefore may not be Pi or Rho marked The flowchart tries to take into account hydro test cycles (by referencing a 5 year date. It is not explicit as to which date is within 5 years - born date or test date. (A non GB Pi cylinder born after 1/1/23 doesn’t become a GB cylinder if it gets hydro tested, but a Pi cylinder born before 1/1/23 can continue to be used in mainland GB with valid hydro tests) Aluminium 3000psi cylinders also actually have a legal 10 year lifetime before hydro testing is required. However many manufacturers mark a 5 year expiry (therefore an inspection should reject a 6 year old if the markings say so, but could accept for up to 10 years if the markings do not or painted markings have worn away) An aluminium cylinder could be used forever if hydro tested, but at the cost of a test vs a new cylinder it’s hardly worth it Low capacity aluminum 3000psi cylinders may also be exempt from hydro testing, this is generally called the 2 x 2 rule due to the US definition of “shorter than 2’ and slimmer than 2” diameter This would cover common airsoft small cylinders such as 13ci cylinders So such a Pi cylinder born before 1/1/23 could be used forever in GB ((((The reason that it is all referring to January 2023 but Brexit happened before is due to the transition period)))) The Rho standard applies to all transportable pressurised cylinders, not just game play ones (oxygen cylinders etc). Which means that this has an impact on numerous industries, but with not many factories and Britain being a small market for them. Few manufacturers were/are interested in registering for Rho approval standards, and even less interested in the sports market share of cylinders (Notes extract July 2024) …… post Brexit cylinders: Pi is from European TPED and Brexit brings us to Rho certification There are no Rho cylinders on the market ((((as at July 2024)))) If the born date is before 1/1/2023 then a Pi cylinder remains valid and can be hydro tested until death date One or two manufacturers have been confirmed to be able to mark cylinders as Rho, but nothing in the UK yet (((as at July 2024))) It’s likely that some fibres will be flown in but aluminium’s will only be sea freight (Bearing in mind that <name witheld> used his DOT bottle everywhere except for me, x and y checking - so it’s a matter of who knows and who checks). <<player name and sites redacted>>. Existing Pi cylinders are fine (pre 1/1/2023 If buying check the born date Not sure how that affects multinational ISO Technically speaking Rho counts at point of sale on the market, so buy in Southern Ireland and new Pi could be fine print legal for UK https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1370/regulation/5/made#:~:text=Insertion of regulation 19AZA&text=—(1) A manufacturer%2C,TPE or Northern Ireland TPE.&text=(b)is pi marked TPE,prior to 1st January 2023. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-transportable-pressure-equipment-on-the-market-in-great-britain