Rogerborg

Mmm, if I wanted to beat it, I'd just point the GNU up in the air a bit, lob high cap after high cap, and wait for airsoft random magic (and the wind) to do its thing.

Eh. I'd bet on decent plastic over random sintered pot metal. In particular, the JG G36 is a pretty robust plastic fantastic, with no obvious weak points, unlike the back of the lower receiver, above the grip, on an M4.

This is like a reenactment of the world's longest dick measuring contest, with the usual spats over top-or-bottom, shaft-vs-balls. Incidentally, none of these rules/guidelines appear to be listed on the Guinness site. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/96291-longest-airsoft-target-shot

I went with the theory that if I buy cheap, I can buy twice, or three times, and it's worked out pretty well so far. Less flippantly, I really would prefer to have a CYMA and a JG with me than one VFC or Krytac, as having a backup / loaner gun has saved the day more than once. And +1 to the above: CYMA, JG, G&G and Specna Arms are the default choices. I'd flag up that the cheapest <£100 CYMAs have pretty toyish feeling plastic bodies (although the internals are robust enough). M4, AK, G36, MP5, whatever rocks your boat. The CYMA M14 also gets a lot of love, although its trickier to work on. Given stock levels at the moment, you'll be limited by what's available, mind.

Despite promising that I wouldn't use the k-word...

Did she snatch your milk as well? Mind you, UPS would never have delivered it in the first place.

I agree with the agreement, I believe they're subtly different rather than fully compatible clones. I had a heck of a time finding a Galaxy hop unit, and when I got a Jing Gong one (well, two actually) that looked identical, they were fractions-of-a-millimetre different, enough that I had to do some tweaking to fix the feeding and air seal. What's up with the one you have? There's not much that can't be bodged with JB Weld or even a dab of hot melt glue.

Oh, right, sod them then. The sooner they go out of business, the better.

Ouch, good for you, bad for TaiwanGun. I do have a lot of sympathy for them, and can see why they've just sacked off the UK as a money sink. What is your conscience saying? I honestly have no idea what I'd do. I mean, you have the goods, but now they're surplus and worth 2nd hand money to you. I wouldn't want to pay full price for them again, or pay to send them back.

Oh, then the Well MB-03 / MB-02 should do fine. The differences between useless and awesome in airsoft skirmishing is about 20cm at 70 metres, which is unlikely to be an issue in your garden range.

Pretty fairly awesome today. My DMR was struggling and had move curves on it than Christina Hendricks, then locked up half way through the morning. But I quickly figured out the culprit, the idiotic Specna Arms quick-remove (why? whyyyy?) pistol grip base, which had popped out on one side and canted the motor. Replacement grip belatedly ordered now. Easily sorted, then a quick reseat of the barrel in the hop unit took care of the curve and then it was laser beam accurate out to 2,000 airsoft metres. I get that DMRs and snipers are very site dependent, but today was the happy hunting grounds for us, as the other team was rental-heavy and so focused on their objectives that they rarely realised that they were being flanked and picked off. When you can place yourself right, that extra 10m really does make a huge difference, if only by allowing you to be where they don't expect you. For once, my DMR got more use than the MP5K, although some castle storming was done as well. This was despite the day being badly run, with all the usual airsoft foibles: one clueless marshal on chrono, late starts, long delays, a mumbled "You all know the score" briefing, rentals gone wild, test shots in the first game and never again, and on and on. I can see why other people would have had a rotten day, but... .

For £200 I'd want a Chinese orphan to pop out and zero it in for me every game. Well, the usual suggestion. If you're not completely happy, invoke your statutory right to cancel the contract, no debate, no reason, just money back. If there's the slightest ambiguity in who's responsible for getting it back to them, or if they don't respond, then instruct your payment processor to initiate a chargeback. The sooner you do this, the sooner it will get resolved in your favour.

It's strictly speaking always an offence for anyone to sell (import, manufacture, or modify-into) a realistic firearm, trade or private. However, selling for the purposes of airsoft use is a defence, and the truth is that nobody will ever care as long as you're responsible in your use. Some AEGs can be surprisingly quiet, if you get the gears, shimming and lubrication right, although you will get more satisfaction out of a gas blowback - when it's working. Gas pistols are great fun, but mostly for posing power in woodland, unless you're running a sniper or DMR, or are at a site with a lot of breachable structures. General advice is to buy a basic AEG first, then you've got it as a backup or loaner gun, so you won't have a wasted day. I have, when lending out and running into issues, ended up using a backup-reserve-emergency shotgun. But always rent and play first before dropping any money on airsoft, and give the initial adrenaline rush a day or so to ebb before making any decisions. It's a great hobby, but the classifieds are full of "Bought on a whim, never played" guns.

Really? I haven't seen that locally. In fact, I've seen a site loaning out a site Dye mask to an under-16 when they weren't entirely happy with the coverage on his own gear. Dude, brah, come on, they don't fog up on you. I'm fogging up a set of Pyramex iForces in the next room right now just by thinking about them.

Naysayers will say nay, but I say yea. JG BAR-10 or CYMA CM.701 are both nearly TM compatible, and the CYMA may even be skirmishable out of the box. Even the Well MB03 (or MB02 scout) can be made to work OK-ish without dropping big numbers, although the piston and spring are custom (but easy enough to obtain). Don't start throwing money at them beyond a spring to get them up to 2.3J or so, until you see how they perform with 0.4g+ BBs. A DIY TDC hop costs pennies if you're already tooled up, it's just drilling and tapping a hole above your hop arm and putting a fine threaded bolt in. Upgrade from there as budget allows, or breakages dictate, e.g. when your trigger sear gives up the struggle. Since you already have an M4, I'd suggest taking both out with you. If you're not getting consistency with the sniper, ditch it and make any adjustments between games, while playing with the AEG.

You can ask. As I noted, there are a couple of retailers who don't actually give a stuff about defences (although I'm sure they'd get all huffy and high-horsey if it was put to them in those terms), and even the good ones can make their own judgement calls on a case-by-case basis, as they have to do with the valid non-UKARA defences anyway.

CYMA CM.123 AEP. I mean... it works, as advertised. BBs come out at a very consistent 0.37J or so, but it's thiccer than a Brazilian bum implant convention, more front heavy than the Boob Job Con next door, and the trigger feels about as rubbery as the off-cuts left in the shared dumpsters afterwards. I was going somewhere with this, but I got kind of lost in the analogy.

And to be crystal clear, yes, it really is membership that matters. That's the condition in the Home Office circular that actually defines airsoft as a "permitted activity" VCRA defence. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-violent-crime-reduction-act-2006-commencement-no-3-order-2007-firearms-measures I've never had a membership card, mind, although one site did capture my soul on camera while starting the clock running on membership. Note the curious condition on the central database entry (UKARA or similar) expiring: if it's unused (for purchasing) for 12 months, not if the player hasn't renewed membership. That's not how it's played out in practice, and it's clear that all of this is merely suggestive - what matters is a "genuine skirmishing club or site", i.e. one with third party liability insurance for airsoft activities (also as per this circular). tl;dr version - ask your ex-sites.

Love custard?

I find him about as funny as unanesthetised dental work. But it's great that we don't all enjoy the same things, that's what actual human diversity is about. Oh, a reminder that this is the internets, not a pub, and there's a very easy way to deal with people that you don't want to hear from.

It's a tricky one. Every culture cracks jokes about how funny the other chap sounds / looks / acts, without meaning anything malicious about it. It's just in-group banter and doesn't necessarily mean that the other fellow is viewed as inferior, just different. It's really a way of celebrating that the local culture, mores and speech are - of course - correct and exceptional, which is something that all strong, stable cultures inculcate. A culture that doesn't do that, which tell itself "You know, maybe those Huns and Visigoths at the gates have some good points, let's invite them in and see.", is on the way out. [Sinister foreshadowing intensifies] I've visited and worked in many places, and while the local professionals have always been polite and courteous, there's never been any doubt that I was the kuffar, gaijin or mat salleh. I have no doubt at all that they were laughing about my hilariously awful pronunciation and clumsy, childish table manners the moment I was out of earshot. It's not something to take any offence over, because after all, I know that speaking the Queen's English around a mouthful of deep fried haggis being eaten with a knife and fork is the zenith of human civilisation, right?

I thought it was generally considered to be snot, rather than earwax? That's why I'm not too fussed about what I use on the gears and am happy with a thin smear of grease, or thick oil. Somewhere in between the two might be ideal, I know Luke at Negative uses some unholy secret blend of 11 greases, oils, herbs and spices.

Agreed (mostly). Silicone grease on anything involving plastic. Metal to metal, eh, whatever's closest to hand in the garage, e.g. lithium bearing grease, or even a drop of thick chainsaw or gearbox oil. Just not a thin oil as you don't want it flinging.

Earplugs, and a sleep mask. You haven't mentioned water supply. Unless it's nearby and copious, I'd avoid any diuretics like caffeinated covfefe. Hmm, did I leave A.R.A.B.s or get kicked out? Can't seem to recall, I'm sure it would have been ranting about the rants either way.