Rogerborg

Mmm, I throw a cheap pair of safety glasses on in safe zones now at regular game days. Sad that it's come to this, but I've seen to much unsanctioned dry (and not-so-dry) firing in "safe zones" now that I'd rather not be the "told you so" poster pirate.

Well, we've already had our Shadrach in the furnace moment in the VCRA, and our regulatory reprieve by the grace of God (and the Association of British Airsoft, as-was). Now we're actually in a pretty strong position, as airsoft guns have been well defined in primary national legislation since 2017. Contrast with (e.g.) New York City which raged out and criminalised gel-blasters on a whim, with a definition so broad that it would also seem to cover all piston airsoft guns and many Nerfs as well (and had about as much effectiveness as you'd imagine). While it's true that we could lose RIFs at the stroke of some future Home Secretary's pen, I don't think it's actually likely. If there's one thing I'm sure of it's that Parliament hates to admit that legislation has failed, just that it needs more of the same. For example, constantly adding new and ever more specific types of weapon to the list of prohibited ones. We might see tweaks to the definition of our defence, but I'd be very surprised if it were removed entirely. In terms of the activity itself, nah, we'll be fine. Slinging small, low energy things at each on private land other isn't going anywhere any time soon. We might end up doing it with day-glo gel-blasters eventually, but the core of the activity (dressing up, yelling at each other, and taking it all far too seriously) is safe enough.

That's what struck me about RRR - it's deliberately, joyously and unapologetically overblown. I've dipped into Bollywood (and now Tollywood, I suppose) a bit over the years since C4 started running them late at night. There's a lot to like, if you can reconcile the curious blend of telling things via the handholding of straightforward dialogue and purely expositional song lyrics, alongside some stylish and effective showing via action sequences (or dance numbers). As fapped over in the inline-linked review above, Rama Raju's introduction in RRR is an astonishingly effective piece of cinema, especially as it doesn't give him a single line of dialogue. Although I'd recommend watching the film before any detailed breakdowns of it, as you'll get the visceral satisfaction of the experience, then the "oh, I seee" of understanding why it's so compelling. None of it was accidental, Rajamouli really knows his craft.

Well, "they" are we. Just airsofters who volunteered to contribute, unpaid and with precious little thanks. A UKAPU rep is just a friend you haven't met (and shot). There's a lot of commendable passion and energy in this thread; is there a way to direct that constructively towards helping UKAPU? (I regret that, like David, I've had to put airsoft on the back burner for now, so I'll only be cheering from the sidelines).

On Netflix, as almost recommended by The Critical Drinker, and damn, dear viewer, he wasn't wrong. I've linked his review below which covers it well - I'd recommend it as a listen (until you're convinced either way) without necessarily watching as it spoilers some of the plot and action. Or if you fancy a deeper dive into film nerdery, here's an analysis of the top-tier characterisation, choreography and cinematography in just one key scene. I'd echo and emphasise that there's a lot to dislike and be baffled about here if you're expecting a Western cinematic experience. But if you bring zero cynicism, some patience, and quite a few beers, you'll find a joyously epic bromance between two absolutely heroic chads. Taking on a thousand extras, wrestling tigers, John Wick style scenes... on piggyback; heck, even the obligatory musical dance number is an upbeat dance fight that's got more impact and heart than the majority of what Hollywood is churning out. Love it, or WTF? it, this isn't a film that you'll quickly forget.

Yup, if it's consistent, then those are the possibilities, although it's always worth cleaning the barrel anyway. If you had a red dot or adjustable iron sights, you might not even know there was a problem. If you pull the hop unit and inner barrel out and pop off the C-clip underneath the hop, you might be able to see if the inner barrel is slightly misaligned. A tiny twist can often sort these issues - a lot of airsoft is trial and error. Failing that, pull the barrel and bucking, make sure the bucking is square on the barrel, and re-insert (squarely). This is fairly easy on a G36, 3 screws to release the outer barrel, then to get the hop unit and inner barrel out is a push-and-turn. The procedure is shown here, and elsewhere.

We've seen claims that they've helped importers who have fallen foul of the fickle finger of fate. Of course, without documentation of the cases - which would help people in the same situation in future - we can only take that on faith.

Might have invested it in sweets and caps and go-carts by now. Does airsoft need benefitting? The obvious missing ingredient is recognition as a sport. However, I'm not going to say "Why someone oughta!", since it would be peak hypocrisy to berate anyone else for not volunteering to do what I'm not volunteering to do. Patches, to lord it over the peasants. It seems like a case of you don't need UKAPU until you really need UKAPU, so thanks for supporting it.

Zoinks. I wouldn't keep £18 in PayPal, given their propensity for locking access to funds on the slightest pretence, or none. I'd hope that was "just resting" there and has been moved somewhere safer. I'd assume that's a fighting fund, although it would cover advice, legal nastygrams, or amicus curiae briefs, not taking a complex case through the courts. There are no shenanigans going on. Membership is entirely consensual, the accounts are open, and nobody has to pay - it's clearly marked as a donation. I joined at the free tier to see how active UKAPU was, concluded that it wasn't[*], and so have never bothered donating. I'd love to be given a reason to do so. [*] Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but it's all we've got to go on.

3.7V is nominal voltage for a lipo cell. Flat, minimum voltage is down to the specific cell. Farnell, for example specify measuring the capacity of one of their cells by discharging it down to 2.75V. That said, given the dross that gets fobbed off on us (have you ever bought an airsoft battery with a data sheet?) I do actually agree with not letting airsoft cells get anywhere near that low. I run 1.2Ah - 1.4Ah and always swap at lunch. Significantly, they recommend charging at just 0.2C, with a maximum of 1C. That's where I agree with them - I charge 2S and 3S lipo at at 0.5C, in an explosion containment pie dish. Of course, I say all that, but I also sling 18650 / 16340 li-ion cells into cheap USB chargers that are charging at some voltage and current.

I find your lack of faith in hit-markers... disturbing.

Yeah, no, it's a very silly hobby enjoyed by overgrown kids. Even the "professionals" are generally just hobbyists trying to eke out a living at it. At this point, I honestly think the best result is if the paintball daddies take us under their wing, as they've done the heavy lifting to almost, sort-of, get recognition as a sport. To peacefully and patriotically make our voices heard!

That, really. I just go straight there now. A decent retailer will sort the issue at that point without letting it escalate. A non-decent retailer will rage out... but a non-decent retailer was most likely going to do that anyway, so nothing is lost.

Bottom of the page, Theme -> Dark Theme.

Sounds like we need to get the UKPSF committee playing airsoft.

Well, that's a shame. Area-66 runs the occasional evening / night games, so depending how far the travel is, it might be worth keeping an eye on them. To be clear, I do like PoW, but as with Section 8, you can occasionally go whole games without even seeing the other team, especially if you're on defence. At Area-66, it's generally straight into the action.

Yup, sounds like he was banged to rights, and this was (in Scotchland especially) probably the least bad outcome. As per the previous thread, these T4Es are sold as "made for real-life training, drills, practice, and even less-than-lethal self-defense" (sic). They call them "markers", and they can (ostensibly) shoot paintballs as well as rubber (or conceivably harder) balls, but that's not how they're marketing them. It seems that Euan got snitched over these guns specifically, so I'd wonder if he flexed about their ned-stopping power to the wrong person. This looks to be more of a problem for paintball than airsoft now.

An interesting tale. Apologies if I missed it, but have you done a detailed thread on it? I'd be very interested in hearing the details. Our friendly neighbourhood UKAPU reps might be too.

Please don't take it personally, we're just super-wary about scammers at the moment. On that: You don't have to do this, but it helps to assure buyers that you're not just using stock pictures to bait buyers with things that you don't have. I'd also recommend that you say what payments you'll accept (i.e. PayPal goods and services) and whether your prices include postage (and if not, how much you want for it). Also, please include any PayPal fees that you want the buyer to cover in your listed price, rather than adding things on later. Best of luck with the sales.

Seems like first one, then t'other. The first visit was when an air-gun was caught during importation, and he invited them in and tried the "Honest mistake, seller said it'd be fine" exculpation. Then later, after a report by a vengeful wife concerned citizen, they came back with a warrant for more of the spicy-boi air-pistol firearms that for some galaxy brained reason he still hadn't got shot of despite having been charged for the one they already knew about. I'll double-down on my comment that the air-guns that got him in a pickle have nothing to do with airsoft, and the bloke's a prize prick for trying to claim otherwise. While I don't agree with Scotch air-gun law, a loicence is "shall-issue" and he could have applied for one at any time.

No, I prefer Area-66, as it's a smaller site (thus more playing versus walking) and easier to get to for me. PoW is a very decent site though, well run, and I've not seen any problems with the players - I've enjoyed my days there.

Mmm, it's hard to tell what actually happened there, legally speaking. Could be UKARA, UKAPU or UKASA. Either way, blagging our defence rather than scamming (e.g.) the Military Vehicle Trust means that hanging's too good for him. Not that I actually think he did anything wrong morally, but pragmatically, he's brought some unwelcome attention to our hobby.

Sure, but my issue is when they choose to get things so deliberately wrong, in a way that assumes the audience lacks the most minimal of knowledge, or even the basic cognitive reasoning of an average ten year old. As an audience member, it feels personally insulting.

Err... "brand new Ares AEG L85A2". Listed "as new", but the title is unambiguous, and he's comparing it against new, retail prices. I wouldn't call this bloke a scammer, just a brass necked chancer operating effectively as a trader, without any warranty. It's all consensual, but a lot of grubby interpersonal transactions are.

Eh. Sorry to hear that things are winding down there, but around me, Area-66, Players of War, The Depot 2.0 and Biohazard are all doing fine. Granted, Biohazard seems determined to try to run weeknight games that they keep cancelling at the last minute due to lack of numbers, but Sundays always book out. Everything is pre-book, nobody has gone back to (actual) walk-ons. Cost, yes, that's an issue. While I'm not a Poor, I do baulk at paying £36 for a Depot day. That doesn't seem to put too many other folk off though, it's busy enough, last I heard. Folk do drop out, that's the nature of any hobby. But actual game days don't depend on... influencers... turning up. Us peasants can have a great day without it being InstaFaced or used as the raw footage for some YouToob fictional production.