Tactical Pith Helmet

I may be old fashioned but I always applied a good treatment of heated Dubbin in the past. now I use G-Wax. I find the sweat from waterproof socks leaves my pinkies all wrinkly, and Gortex lined boots OK only for sedate walks, although the Lowas that I picked up this year are not so bad.

Great day at Tuddenham with the lowly G&G M4. It's Skirmish at the end of the month so the usual simple games with nothing too complicated. Marshalling was to the usual high standard, weather was bloody muggy, and due to a series of things going wrong, I ended up going on my own. I was surprised at how much enjoyable not parenting and playing was, since I originally got into airsoft to spend time with the lad. Some well spirited gameplay, especially in the afternoon, and a great load of fun around the village area with the buildings. Had some decent scraps around the containers and managed to keep a group hunting for me by the simple expedient of lying down where they expected me to be ducking around the tyres etc. Stalked a player in the shower block area as he did the same to me and we both hit each other simultaneously, which gave us a good laugh. Got hit in the back a fair few times as the opposing team could actually flank properly. Nice to see a girl leading the team as player marshal, btter still to see her getting players to push up and exploit the ground well. More power to her I say. A few moans from some re: hit taking but I saw nothing but good sportsmanship all day. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite the huge disappointment of missing out on the Namsoft weekend.

I picked up a Nuprol M4 today as part of a deal. No use for it to be honest, although it's a tidy rif with a decent rate of fire in nice condition. I'd guess that it would make a nice gun for a beginner. Anyone know the value posted second hand?

The area around the safe zone is sparse and fairly open. Some of the site is as thick as Liz Truss. All depends on where you play there. A mate got lost in the scrub there last year and had to be rescued after a couple of hours. It's a big site...

For softness I would use the softest available. Maple leaf Macaron in 50 deg would be my go to. Use the right ML nub though.

Electric blankets kill more people than firearms in the UK. A greater number of people still are killed by sexual contact with other peoples genitals. Licensing things on the basis of aggregate fatalities would see the owners of asbestos ceilinged buildings facing more stringent regimes than firearms owners. The 'it's more dangerous' argument can lead you anywhere the cherry picked stats can display fallacious justification for.

I have a daft amount of guns. For skirmishes and non-themed games, I grab the G&G CM16 that I bought years ago when I first started out. In fact, I have a couple of them in slightly different specs. ZCI plastic hop is more set and forget than the standard one, which can creep over time. The standard green hop rubber is pretty good, but a Maple Leaf and Omega nub is obviously a bit better. A decent barrel is a good investment, again ZCI are fine. An SHS high torque motor works well, but you still have the sloppy trigger, so don't worry if you can't afford one off the bat. Checking the two tiny grub screws that keep the outer barrel tight is essential. The lack of barrel support limits what you can do re: accuracy, so don't go mad. When stripping down to fit a new hop/barrel watch that the battery wire doesn't get trapped in front of the gearbox shell as it causes feeding issues. It can also cause mags to refuse to fit if it too loose/pushed against the base of the gearbox shell. Magwel grips can cause waffle/honeycomb mags not to fit. An inline mosfet does no harm. Personally I'd fit barrel, rubber, and hop unit in that order of importance, and only upgrade other items as they break (eventually). Use ZCI bits as I was recommended here a few years back. A better motor won't hurt, and an inline 'fet you can use in your next rif anyway. The upgrades won't add to the minimal re-sale value, so put the stock bits back in if you sell and keep the upgrades for the next rif too.

Realised last night that I'd ordered one back in March.

I do get that mate. For one my inner historian gets wound up (despite knowing that other interpretations are available). Secondly I had a girlfriend who lived in Serbia in 1991. What she described still hits a nerve. The Gunman games are fantastic, and certainly unspoiled by my personal whims etc. My own Cold War kit is indeed all pre-1991...

Sticking your hand up the front of your jumper and pointing an index finger at someone won't be stopped by any law, and it would be impossible for anyone to tell whether it was said finger or the muzzle of a pistol. John Dillinger used a wooden 'pistol' dyed with boot polish to escape a high security prison. It is not possible to pass laws that cannot be ignored, technological knowledge, or human ingenuity.

Cheers mate! Looks genuinely interesting.

Good review. What's the comb height like with that stock?

Seriously naff patches. Standing around chatting for half the game. 'Cold War' games that have a cut off date for kit in '91. Tell the people of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, Belarus, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Namibia, Angola, Brazil, Honduras, Syria, Nepal, Bolivia etc that the Cold War ended in '91. Moaning. If I wanted to hear a load of moaning on a Sunday afternoon I'd stay home and ignore the state of the grass, need for paint on the back door and long forgotten agreements to see 'friends.' (Just kidding, I get encouraged to do what I enjoy.)

I expect the 045 will have a production run at some point if it's still listed. When it does I'll buy two. No way I'll be an unpaid R&D man for a new range of E&Ls or anything else. I'm sure that these days, manufacturers use warranty claims as design feedback.

Effective range varies itself. A snap shot has more limited range than a sneaky, walked in mortar like trajectory fired from a concealed position. Out of interest, what maximum PBR do people consider suitable for airsoft? For extreme contras: a .303 only uses the first 25 % of its usable range within pbr. I imagine that the rif hop v RS rifling effect is pretty extreme? Possibly a daft question, but if anyone can entertain a physics dunce...

Sorry mate , I misunderstood. Crossover stocks exist. Hold right handed, use left eye. Not sure if I've ever seen one on a rif. TBH I think that consistent mount is more important than sight picture for airsoft. My mask keeps my face too high to use the sights on most rifles, but I know where it shoots when its shouldered.

Re: the sighting issue. Try a larger rear ring sight, or moving the existing one backwards. They are supposed to work by not being focused on, i.e they should work better then an AK type that demands focussing on three different things i.e. rear sight/front sight/target. With a well set up ring/ghost sight you only see the front post and target. With practice, you only see the target. After 30+ years of rifles I can't use AK type sights as well, as close range focus issues limit use of the rear V sight.

You are right mate. I meant that to be a deliberate groan joke rather than mockery. I should have realised that it would be read as you say. Certainly hope no one was offended.

Good stuff! I do these style of events as often as I can, one a month spring to autumn and couple each winter. I would say take a variety of food (even if just a couple of 'extra' ramen packs) and a bottle of something decent for the evenings. If you can't eat what you fancy it's miserable, and a half bottle of rum works wonders if the weather turns nasty/noisy fuckers stay up half the night etc. A seriously warm jumper is a must for evenings too. The thing with September events is that you ca still get August daytime temps, but combined with October nights! A thick fleece poncho that rolls up into its own bag is a good cheap addition as night wear/extra blanket/looking vaguely like Clint Eastwood etc etc.

I've had to pack running in. I miss it so much that I dream of running. Arthritis sucks. However, there are many ways to do cardio though. Hi-rep free weights and bag work are good for me. Find what works for you. My knee is fucked up, but supports and topical opioids work well for airsoft/hiking/combat sports. Full time opioids are bloody awful. Don't give up or get down hearted. There is nothing bad or good but the mind says so.

I'll second/third/fourth whatever has been said already but... I am not really into indoor sites. I much prefer outdoors, but then I just about live outdoors. I'm just a feral thing that gets dragged indoors by my wife some evenings. If you are a little like myself, you may for no tangible reason prefer outside sites, so try both and see what you like.

Apologies for this trip back to 1973...

100% with the above.