Rogerborg

I like to bear in mind that us, we here, represent a tiny minority of players, the people who who are actually interested in airsoft beyond "Point pew, pew go pew, pew-pew-pew." Within this thread, we probably care more than most site owners do.

I'm starting to get intrigued by these 1.1J builds. What BB weight are you using with that? Do I need an AAC T11 Shorty in my life for CQB sniping?

Yup, possession (in private) isn't an offence and needs no defence. The offences are manufacture, modification, sale or importation, not possession and not even purchase (for 18+). Gifting or loaning is fine. Possession of an imitation firearm (realistic or otherwise) in public, by anyone, is an offence. And a UKARA number (or any other scheme) isn't a defence to that. We all need a "reasonable excuse (the proof whereof lies with [the person in possession])", i.e. we're on our way to or from an insured airsoft skirmish site. Just watch that he doesn't decide to take it out to the wood to impress his mates, or (a real example from a Facebook fail thread) climbs up on the roof to take some pictures with it.

I'm quite serious about ditching pre-game chrono, or making it more of a service for those who want to use it. Catch folk in-game, during the course of the day. Test with what the player is using, then test again with heavy site BBs, and if there's a significant discrepancy, take it further. I'd love to see a marshal (who actually knows what they're doing) at each site doing nothing but test shots and chrono, all day long. Sadly, just finding a site with sufficient marshals who are more interested in marshalling than Facebooking all day long seems to be a rare treat.

And a rape dungeon is pretty damn good for struggle cuddles, but it's not anything to be proud of.

Yes, we should. Or we should stop quite literally wasting everybody's time by doing voluntary pre-game chrono in the morning. I'm actually OK with either solution, I mostly object to pointless half-arsed rituals.

The proliferation of HPA and heavy BBs. If 1.15J is OK, why not 1.2J? If 1.2J is OK, why not 1.3J? If 1.3J is OK, why not... well, that's a section 5 firearm, but why make custodial offences out of molehills?

I C-clamp what you're saying.

Nope, nothing should be strapped on.

Full seal is more of a paintball thing. Some airsoft sites mention it, but you'll generally see plenty of people wearing glasses, sometimes not even wrap-around. You'll likely go through loads of eye protection before you find a set that really works for you. I currently go dual pane goggles + Revision antifog wipes + fan ventilation.

The issue is the BB mass. Either trusting players with regard to what they are using ("Yeah, mate, I'm using twos", when they're spamming 0.3g), or chronoing with site 0.2g when just about everybody will be using heavier BBs and likely[*] to be Joule creeping upwards. I was very surprised to find that my G36C crept from 1.1J on 0.28g to bang on 1.2J on 0.32g, without any other change. [*] But it also chronos at spot-on 1.13J on 0.2g, on a different site's chrono, all figures taken with the hop set for the mass of BB that it's shooting, so it's not even consistent, appearing to drop energy at 0.28g and picking it up at 0.32g, presumably down to air seal with that specific hop pressure. I agree that it's more likely to be an issue for over-volumed guns. You can over-volume an AEG, I get more creep out of my full-cylinder DMR'd M4 when I put a short barrel in it. Anyway, tl;dr response, site owners will do what site owners will do. I'd suggest having a word with them and seeing what their thoughts are, rather than firing in with a written demand. Some take it very seriously, some are just doing it for form's sake and don't really give a stuff. If I was going to nudge towards anything, it would be chroning in-game with site provided 0.4g+ BBs. Anything else is just theatre, and won't result in catching the worst problem players.

Except for Section 19, possession in public, which applies to all imitations, realistic or otherwise, and all air weapons too, in the event that the State can test your toy at over 1.3J / 2.5J. It does my head in every time I read that, as it's always an offence to have any imitation, or any air weapon, in public, but only an offence to have a loaded shotgun, or any other firearm with ammunition. The trouble is that any rationalisation of the utter mess that is firearms legislation would likely not be to our benefit.

Well, sort of. Yes, ownership is fine, no offence, no defence needed. UKARA is a scheme paid for by retailers, for their benefit. But it covers the offence committed by the retailer. That applies to any seller, retail or otherwise. Everything I've come to expect from airsoft retailers. Incorrect. At the point where you modify in imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm, you are literally Hitler. See VCRA 2006 S36 (1) (b). Modifying. You can own a RIF without any defence at all. If you are over 18, you can obtain it in any way you like, from anyone, without any sort of defence, because you are not committing any offence. The practical answer. Pffft. I doubt you could find a copper who would know or care about the specific offence of modification, or think to ask the questions that would get you to incriminate yourself. Evidence: this thread. The method doesn't matter, just the act of modification itself. MODIFY! Anyway, tl;dr version, just do it. The fact that you've contacted the local coppers demonstrates that you're a very responsible person, and so it will never in practice be an issue. And also that the police have no idea that an offence is even (technically) being committed, and so it will never in practice be an issue.

But the problem is that despite repeated regimes promising to do it, the UK laws on public / private filming and express / implied permission are still vague and fuzzy. "Data controllers" are well regulated, but that's about it. After that, it's pick a (contradictory) law, pick a (contradictory) precedent, and hope for a friendly court who believes your interpretation rather than the other side's. De facto though, for video we're talking about WuTube, and they seem seem happy to smack down videos for a "that's me, it hurt my fee-fees" claim, regardless of any actual laws. See Steven Crowder getting strikes over and over even when he has, and can show, express written permission from the subjects to be filmed. WuTube doesn't care.

But if I had (say) a ZCI rotary hop, why wouldn't I just use the whole ZCI rotary hop?

Which is the one that featured a picture of a player not wearing any eye protection?

Why would I need them? My gnu shoots like a laser.

Only ever used indoors, and stored inside. After some magnified viewing, there are some solder points that are very close together and not the neatest, so it is entirely possible that they're shorting themselves out in the damp. That's why I gave mine an isopropanol brushing, to try and remove any spatter or tracking, and it does seems to have sorted it for now.

The SSG10 does make a fairly decent argument for itself if you want something that should be competitive out of the box, once you've cleaned the barrel and hop rubber and bedded it in a bit. We usually suggest doing at least one rental day before deciding anything though. Some sites (not many, granted) do sniper hire packages, but usually you're looking at an AEG carbine with random performance. Still, it'll let you know if the experience is for you, and airsofters are generally keen to show off their toys if you want to have a look at the sniper rifles there. Just be aware that airsofters are about as honest as anglers when it comes to measurements, so take any claim about ranges with a large pinch of salt.

Hi Ricky, it's worth giving it a go, although it'll be very site dependent whether you'll be able to play effectively. I would caution that airsoft guns at UK power have maximum ranges from about 60 to 90 metres, and are never as accurate as YouTube sniper channels will have you believe. They're heavily edited, and sometimes more fiction than fact. A well tuned sniper is generally built rather than bought, and banging on 2.3J it might achieve 20m over a rental AEG. But folk aren't going to let you maintain that distance for long. I say all this not to put you off, just to try and set realistic expectations so that you don't get too disappointed if you get rinsed at your first day.

Go on, treat yourself. They work fine while they work, there's nothing wrong with the design as such. They just seem to be quite fragile. Oh, the blinkenlight on my 2nd unit has given up the ghost as well, which is actually a relief.

Thanks for the update. Was the nozzle brass? The mind boggles. That's still low though, you should be seeing more like 1.9J out of that spring. I'd have another look at the air seal.

Mmm, tracers seem to be a bit... foibly. When this Lighter-S finally gives up the ghost, I reckon I'll send to it to Big Clive to see what he makes of the circuitry.

Reasonable enough choices - I mean for a daft hobby where we play with toy guns. You might find that you can fog up any eye protection, plenty of us more padded gentlemen have that issue. You can try dual pane / "thermal lenses", various anti-fog potions (I like Revision wipes), or fan solutions, either DIY or Ex-Fog. Worst case, mesh is available, and we love HeroShark custom mesh goggles. See how you get on first though, just be aware that even with the magic of hop ups and heavy ammo, airsoft guns aren't as accurate or consistent as air guns. Mind you, if they were then nobody would ever emerge from cover.