Impulse

From the various gun guys I follow, it sounds like most of them would run a short-barreled carbine of some sort (m4a1, mk18, hk416 or some sort of AR15 derivative usually) in various tier 1 and tier 2 units (most of the guys I follow were tier 2 though, so US Army Rangers and the like). A short-barreled carbine is a versatile weapon, capable of room-clearing and also taking mid-range engagements, so while something like an mp5 would be better in CQB, it's all well and good until you leave the building and some asshole with an AK starts shooting you at 400m. Obviously you have units like the SAS running the mp5 for the Iranian embassy siege, because that sort of operation you can be confident will be entirely CQB, but for general carry I would say a short barreled carbine is the most realistic. Also, in general, rifle calibres have more ability to penetrate body armour and helmets than pistol calibres. In terms of sidearm, I think it varies and comes down to personal preference. Heard lots of stories of US units swapping out their m9s for 1911s, so in terms of sidearm it's down to personal preference. That said, I think a lot of them like various Glock models, but if you don't like that you can always go with something like a mk23, as that was specifically designed for USSOCOM, or some sort of Sig, as I believe Glocks, Sigs, Berettas, HKs and even 1911s still get used in SF units. However, there's also an element of what your role is. For example, if you're a sniper, you're likely using something like an m110 SASS or m24 SWS, which is definitely not a short-barreled carbine. If operating in a recce role, you may be using a long-barreled carbine instead like a mk12 mod 1 SPR, as you need to be able to engage out to longer distances than a short-barreled carbine is capable of. Also, you could be a support gunner in which case you're probably carrying an m240b or mk46. I think weapon choice is a wide net, since different units use different weapons and different roles also use different weapons, so there's a lot to choose from. In terms of setup, I do believe that SF operators are allowed to set up their guns however they want, though obviously I can't confirm that as I've never been one or asked one that specific question. M-LOK is currently all the rage, so if I was going to set up some sort of SF operator loadout I would probably do a short-barreled AR-15 or hk416 with an M-LOK handguard and stock of your choice, alongside a QD suppressor, something like a Surefire. Then I'd probably mount a PEQ box for laser (both visible and IR) as well as an IR illuminator, then I'd probably also mount a weapon light, since I believe the PEQ only does IR illumination and you do still want a weapon light, and some sort of front grip. In terms of sight, I'd say an Eotech for a red dot sight on a short-barreled carbine. In terms of barrel length, I think most SF units prefer 11" over 14.5" barrels, since it's more useful for room clearing and CQB and doesn't have too many negatives at long range (though obviously a 14.5" will do better at longer ranges). Somewhat depends on the theatre of war though, as if you're fighting a war in the mountains with no CQB at all then you're not going to want to bring an 11" carbine, however I think that's a rarity. Obviously this is all just my speculation on what I've read around and what I hear in the real-steel shooting world. Could be entirely off the mark, could be 100% accurate, I have no idea on its validity 😂

It's how I'm currently using my mp9 until I can get an mp7 (retractable stock > folding stock for running it in a SMG holster, plus I do prefer the mp7 as a gun). It's lovely to have something I can take out and shoulder for times when the bolt action isn't practical.

Once I have a driving license I'll have to get out to one of these events at Sierra Bravo as it's a little closer to me than Eversley (looking forward to September!) so it would definitely be doable. In the meantime, I'll try and sell it to the other guys I go to Namsoft at Eversley with and see if we can get down to one of these Sierra Bravo ones in the future. Sounds like you had a blast and sounds like we'd have a blast as well with how these games play out.

Small sneaky pew pew. Will run it in a shoulder holster alongside an SMG in a thigh holster and a bolt action on a sling, for those few moments where I want something quiet and short range.

I have to agree on this. As a GBBR I would always advise getting a TM MWS or a TM AKM, because they're so good and will work all year around, however as a first GBBR I wouldn't go that route because they're so expensive. MWS runs you about £500, then the mags are £50 each and you need a bunch of them as they're only 35rds, so you're looking at a starting investment of at least £700+. Fortunately, they need very little done to them in terms of upgrades (literally just a sixG nub in the MWS and a bavtac nub for the AKM and you'll be set), but the gun and parts will be very expensive for something you might not enjoy. Depending on what you like, KWA do some great little GBBR SMGs which are a lot more affordable. Mags will still run you £50 each, but a KWA mp9 or mac11 will only come to about £200 new and they also perform very well out of the box. The mp7s are good too, with me hearing good things about both the Umarex and the TM ones at a price point of about £300. Reason I talk about the TM MWS, TM AKM, KWA mp9, KWA mac11 and Umarex/TM mp7s is because I own all of them, apart from the mp7s which I plan on buying a TM one soon. All of the GBBRs I own are really great and required minimal "upgrades", so if you do want to get into GBBRs I fully endorse it as it's such a fun and far more rewarding method of playing as every hit you get will feel like 20 hits with a regular AEG. As has been said, it's not the most competitive loadout and you will be outgunned by everyone with their AEGs and their high caps, but it's so much fun and super immersive; you will get good at reloading

Today was a good one at Worthing. It was one of their skirmish+ days where they introduce a few filmsim elements into it and I think it was run very well. We had to arrive early as one of the guys was helping with the car park as we had 90 players in total booked in, which is a LOT for Worthing as it's not the largest site, so my friend was helping with the car park to stop it becoming a nasty mess as it usually does. I brought the KJW m40a5 (as usual) and the MWS as a backup just in case. There was rain forecast from 11am onwards, so I decided to take the m40a5 out, but if the scope was getting soaked I would come back, remove the LPVO from the MWS (it's set up as a recce rifle build) and just run it with the iron sights. I started the day by getting on the range nice and early, before it got packed, so I could comfortably set up both rifles. The m40a5 had a new scope, so that needed zeroing, and the MWS had a new scope setup that needed zeroing and a hop up that needed setting as I had recently installed an NPAS and a 510mm barrel, so I needed to make sure it was shooting down at 1J. Managed to get them both set up, took them through chrono and got tagged; with this many players they were tagging guns (which was good!). Got all set up, safety brief done, headed out to cause some disruption. The morning went well, with me playing a lot more aggressively than I usually do. I pushed up, taking an aggressive position watching the ridgeline at the top of the hill from their spawn, attemtping to cut off any cheeky flanking moves. With how quiet the m40a5 is, I was picking them off with them having no idea where the shots were coming from, which is always nice, and I brought the rangefinder out a few times to measure distances for shots, as some were creeping up to about 85 - 90m, and knowing exactly how far the shots were really helped me work out where I needed to aim the crosshair to adjust for wind and distance. Eventually got spotted because someone ran right up to the holly bush I had crawled under, so I had to take him out with the pistol and then transfer over to his friend who spotted me. Managed to get his head down with a few shots and then quickly crawled out of the position and ran off. The guy had no idea I had moved, so he peeked around again to look for me under the bush, but I had run about 30m off and had a clear shot on him now. Was a good exchange and really showed the importance of moving quickly once detected, as if I stayed and tried to take the fight I definitely would've lost. Moved back to another position as my team had all left the area and I didn't feel good being this far up with a bolt action, so I took a position behind a fallen tree. Continued to plink away, but the position was quickly overrun and I had to lie still next to the tree as the enemy was all around my position. Eventually one started shooting over the fallen tree, no idea I was there but it was only a matter of time so I quickly shot him, gave him a heart attack and then got traded by the half a dozen other players who were all around me. If I was in a full ghillie I probably would've remained still and just let them pass, but since I was in my hood and wearing a black t-shirt I knew it would only be a matter of time before getting spotted if I tried that. It was raining by this point, but I managed to keep my scope dry by obsessively keeping my rifle horizontal as it wasn't raining too hard. However, I had a massive scare as I walked back to respawn as the QD mounting point in the rear of the stock fell out. With the Model Works m40 stock being so rare, there was no way in hell I'd find replacement parts. Fortunately I found the parts that slipped out and will be threadlocking them in place this evening so it never happens again (as it's a screw that goes all the way through and holds them in place). Shortly after this was lunch, so we headed back to the safe zone. After lunch they split me and my friend onto different teams (sniper team too strong) as a bunch of people had called it quits in the (light) rain and headed home. We started with 45vs45, but by lunch it was 24vs40. After lunch the games definitely fizzled out though. With the newly rebalanced teams they didn't stay balanced for long as then a lot of our team headed home, leaving us at about 24vs15. Knowing who was on the other team, I took it upon myself to cover the rear, as I knew that some of them would sneak all the way around and nobody else was bothering to watch for it. I took one of them out as he came in from behind, clipping him with the pistol as he rushed before he could get anyone and then managed to hunt one of the ghillies down who had spent about an hour and a bit painstakingly sneaking around the trail of respawning players from our team. I know how rough it feels when that happens as I've been on the receiving end a few times, but I wasn't about to let him silently take out my team from behind, even if they might've deserved it with how little care they seemed to have for their own flanks Anyway, I continued my patrols on that side, before moving up to help defend as our team was getting pushed at a base we were meant to hold. I took one player out as he came up, seeing his friend had crossed over the path I started to reposition to take him out as well and... friendly fired. I get shot by about 4 of my own team. Thanks guys... Anyway, I head back to respawn and we've now lost that base as the guy who slipped across the path took all of them out (didn't even feel bad about that. It's karma!), so I crept my way back. I managed to take up a hidden position looking into the base, but didn't want to be detected so I waited for my targets to start shooting before I'd thread shots through the bushes to take them out. As I was doing this, another guy on our team had pushed from the other side and retaken half the base, so we now had them in a pincer and it didn't take long for the two of us to clear out the rest of the base. Excellent, we had contol again so I crawled out and started moving up and... shot in the back by the EXACT SAME GROUP WHO FRIENDLY FIRED ME THE FIRST TIME 🤬. I think I find it so annoying because I make sure to PID my targets before shooting and it's incredibly rare I do any friendly fire, so getting hit by the same people, despite being the only person in my kit setup on the entire site (black t-shirt and an uncrafted cobra hood) was rather irritating. Third time was the charm as I moved up yet again after being shot by my team. I managed to get into a position I like taking to defend that base and held it until the game ended, plinking a few targets along one of the flanking paths. Wasn't too much time left in the game anyway and I was about ready to pack up anyway. Definitely need to clean the m40a5, as the bolt wasn't acting as it should right at the end of the day, so I think some dirt got into it at some point. All in all it was a good day and it was well run with very little cheating observed my me, though I heard there were a few teflon players and some other players who didn't feel like walking all the way back to respawn, but they were dealt with by the marshalls. Managed to go the full day with the m40a5, despite the rain, as I kept the scope dry all day. However, the one take away I have from today is to just buy some flip up scope covers. During wet weather I think they'll be invaluable keeping my sniper rifle in the fight.

Shorter barrels are actually better for heavy BBs for AEGs because most AEGs have trouble with air volume (not enough air volume in the cylinder to fill the barrel). I have a Cyma mp5k that shoots out to plenty long distance (easily hits a target at 50m) and all it has is a new hop rubber and nub; my two long AEGs (SR-25 and M14, both Cyma) have full cylinders to make sure I have enough air volume to push down the 509mm and 500mm barrels respectively. If you haven't played in 3 years, I would assume that your issue is that you need a new hop rubber because your current one is either out dried out or just outdated as hop ups have come a long way in the past few years. I still remember when I came back to the hobby before covid everyone was talking about R-hops being the best thing in airsoft. Also this. I'm no good at AEG teching/maintenance beyond barrel and hop ups (I hate gearboxes...), but I'm a GBBR and gas BASR user anyway. Barrel length is *very* important in my area 😂

Yes, spawn camping is bad and you shouldn't do it. However, I've done it myself on a few very limited occasions. I will typically only do it if I'm on a team that is getting rolled super super hard, since I can usually sneak around the bulk of the enemy team, and even then only for a time as people will get annoyed by it. In general, spawn camping is bad though and shouldn't be done. Yes, you should call your hits if your own team hits you. Friendly fire still counts, no matter the situation. Ricochets depend on the site. I generally don't like it, since I think it can promote bad gameplay in my opinion, however I will take ricochets if the site's rules say that ricochets count, like at Gunman Namsoft events. For me, knife kills depend on the event. I think for most games, they should be a stealth kill. A gentle tap on the shoulder and a "knife kill" whisper, with the person not then yelling out "hit", instead just walking off quietly. Because stealth kill. I prefer it this way as it stops over-energetic airsofters from running around the site potentially smacking some poor kiddie in the face yelling "melee kill". However, at some events I think it's fine to have melee kills that aren't stealth kills, as long as it's said beforehand. We've done a few private games with the Worthing lot at the UCAP bunker in Portsmouth where melee kills are allowed and it's a good laugh, but it has to be with a LARP safe weapon. Although, I have never used my jiujitsu for melee kills in airsoft and I think it would be frowned upon if I disarmed and threw an airsofter on the ground 😂 And about the other question that seems to have popped up about hit takers, I give them three strikes and they're out. Sometimes they just aren't hit and I think a lot of airsofters overestimate their guns. I've had people yelling "take your hits!" at me, while I'm watching their BBs land 10m in front of me, or they're shooting the wrong part of the bush I'm hiding under because they haven't actually seen me yet but think they have. However, if I hit someone, see it hit them (magnified scopes are great for this) and they don't take it, I'll give them another shot to the torso. If they don't take that one, I give them a Kicking Mustang special in the face. It generally doesn't come down to that as most people take the 2nd hit. Sometimes they just aren't sure it's a hit. Sometimes they think nobody can see them when they get hit, but are convinced when they get hit a 2nd time. Also, trades happen. I don't think there should be any "yeah, but I hit you first" argument when we're talking about milliseconds. Obviously if the person hit first was hit way before hand, didn't take the hit and then shot back then sure, that's not a trade, but when two people see each other, shoot each other and get hit within milliseconds of each other, both players should call it and walk back to respawn or call for a medic, depending on site rules.

https://forcesuniformandkit.co.uk/ You need to have a look through the sizes to see what's in stock, but they do have some big and tall sizes around (though a lot is, as you may expect, out of stock)

So I just bought some Austrian olive drabs, originally to try and put together a PAVN kit but they're a bit dark in colour. Finding stuff in the right shade is basically impossible for a bloke of my size and stature (even my US belt kit suspenders are too short). However, now I don't want to use them for airsoft because they're super comfy and lightweight; want to just use them as regular clothes without them having holes and stuff in from playing airsoft and crawling through thorns and stuff. Might buy another set as they weren't expensive 😂

I tend to run .32s in my builds. Could do heavier if I really wanted to, but I feel that heavy BBs in pistols is a bit much.

In my setups I get good effective range with them. Can probably get better hop ups for maximum range, but my philosophy is that if you can't hit a man-sized target 9/10 times at a range, that range is useless, so I love the autobot rubbers for the consistency and grouping they give me at 50 - 60m in 1.1J builds and 75 - 80m in 2.3J builds. Also, they work very well in the cold and they don't seem to dry out as much as regular hop rubbers. I took my TM AKM out after not using it for over a year (it has a ML 60 degree silicone MR hop rubber) as I finally got mags for it. Took it to the range and it shot just as well as it had before I put it away, though with regular hop rubbers I usually have to shoot a bunch of BBs through it, or worst case replace the hop rubber if I haven't used it for a long time. Yeah, I have no idea either. In theory, I thought it'd be great but they were just awful. I didn't get any feeding issues in mine, but I did get BBs going all over the place. Couldn't even hit a man-sized target 1/10 times at 45m, where the same build with a regular macaron could hit the 9/10 times on 60m before...

The VSR silicone rubbers (so... yes, the one you'd put in a TM glock) are amazing and I love them. Got autobot rubbers in everything that can take VSR rubbers, which is a lot as I have a lot of gas guns, with the exception of my m700s which seem to prefer modify rubbers. The AEG silicone rubbers are utter trash. Slapped one in my m14 and it sent BBs all over the place; lost all consistency in its grouping. Sticking to regular macarons in my AEGs for now.

I'm a big fan of the Cyma mp5 models. The mp5sd6 isn't one of their platinums, but I have their non-platinum mp5k and it's one hell of a workhorse of a gun. Swapped the hop rubber and nub and it's performing incredibly well. The body on mine is a little wobbly, but that's more because I dropped it on the concrete floor at AI500 in Dover and two parts that hold the upper and lower receiver together snapped off (it's still fine as the pins hold it in place, but there's a bit of wobble). I think if I was going to get a full-size mp5 (probably won't as I have an mp5k, mp9 and plan on getting an mp7), I'd go for a Cyma again.

I don't get the hype either. The KWA mp9 has been out for a while and is pretty nice. Mine is snappy on semi and has a solid ROF on full auto. I've swapped out the hop and barrel for the TNT retrofit kit and it's got silly range and can shoot silly weight BBs if I really wanted to, but I keep to .32s in woodland and .28s in CQB and it performs amazingly well. I also think the Vorsk is ugly and I don't trust them as I don't trust any of the Nuprol-adjacent brands. Give me a regular KWA mp9 any day.

Very well, in an attempt to bring this thread back on topic I will present you with an almighty wall that would make even the great orange cheeto himself proud... I went to Worthing for a skirmish day over the weekend and it was the first time I've played all through the day. With my health issues out of the way now, I've got a bunch of weight to lose (again) and fitness to build up (again), plus I was taking my new, lovely m40a5 out to play. I had set up the hop, zeroed the scope etc last game day in the regular m700 stock, but since the m40 stock arrived I took the receiver and barrel assembly out and just put it straight in the new m40 stock. Didn't need much beyond some fine tuning of the scope zero, but it was still flinging BBs out to the 75m target accurately and with ease, so I was a very happy little sniper. It hasn't been this consistently good ever, as first time I tried the Action Army hop unit it sent absolutely everything to the moon, but with this build (using the Action Army hop unit, but a Modify X-range rubber instead of a Maple Leaf autobot) it's lovely and consistent and sending plastic out to the ranges where I need it to. Also, fortunate that I always bring a spare gun as my friends' m700s were both acting up, so I gave him the ol' reliable Cyma SR-25 to go and have fun with (and have fun he did!). Anyway, first game was a very quick warm up game that the head marshall called Rorke's Drift. One team was set up around the Tower base, with their respawn being the chapel building next to it (as there was an infirmary in the film that had the wounded soldiers in). Defenders only had a single respawn from there and no medic rule; when shot, they entered the chapel from the front and left out the back. There was to be no shooting into the front of the chapel, but once they got out the back they were fair game. Attackers spawned from two different spots, one on each side of the Tower base, so the defenders were very much surrounded. Was only supposed to be a quick warm up game, and a quick warm up game it was. We were on defense first, so me and my friend set up to cover one side from near a fence line, as one of the only places where we knew we couldn't be flanked easily due to the site boundary. We hid ourselves incredibly well and had a great line of fire across the base, so we started racking up the kills, however after my friend got hit I didn't have nearly enough firepower with a bolt action rifle to stop the enemy team from just swarming into the Tower and taking it. Also, I was so well hidden that the dead players all came and stood around me, not even noticing I was there despite me not wearing a ghillie at this time of year, and my gun is so quiet that they didn't even notice the shots. 15 mins was their time and we swapped sides. I knew exactly where I would go on the attack, knowing a nice little spot I could take that would give me a really nice sight line on the rear corner of the chapel building. If they exited and turned left, they went straight into my crosshairs; not a problem if they move fast, since BBs have a flight time and there isn't enough of a gap to lead a shot effectively, but for those airsofters who just milled about (and you know airsofters love to meander and all stack up behind a piece of cover) it was basically a guaranteed shot for me. I managed to get into the position fairly easily, with my team clearing out those on the immediate barricades after I called out their positions, and once I was there I started to rack up the defenders. You would think they'd learn after someone gets shot standing about, but they kept standing and gawking around the corner that was in my crosshairs, so I spent all game just taking them out. Eventually, we got into the Tower in 11 mins, winning the game after a slow start that built momentum quite quickly. Next game was... useless for me. Three flip cans in an area of the site ironically called Clearing, but it is anything but clear. During the summer it is basically a CQB killhouse, but instead of walls it's thick bushes. Imagine playing airsoft in a very unkempt hedge maze and you're pretty much on the nose of what the gameplay in there was. Now, I had an MED of 30m and since you're lucky to shoot over 3m my rifle was basically useless. Also I had forgotten to gas up my pistol magazines, so I was running on residual gas charge from last game day (one mag was decently gassed, two had some gas in, one had barely any and one had literally none). So I just took it as an opportunity to practice my sneaky-beaky skills instead, sneaking my way along the boundary until I got to their side where they had to enter from and started cutting off their reinforcements. Unfortunately, my sneaking took the vast majority of the game, so it wasn't long before that game was also over. I think our team had all 3 flip cans in the end... Last game before lunch was a flag raising game around Bridge. Bridge has recently been vandalised by local yobbos so it's more like a platform across what is a small river outside of summer (it dries up in the summer though) and there were two flags there; one yellow and one blue. Obviously, blue team had to raise the blue one and yellow had to raise the yellow one, while making sure the opposing colour is down. While the first few games had been a bit one-sided for us blues, this showed that the yellows were more mentally resilient than the blues as a lot of blues took an early lunch after being frustratedly shot trying to push up. The bottom of the site where this game was taking place is another area that is very thick with foliage and the yellows had a few people laying under bushes and spraying us as soon as we got close. Furthermore, a few on their team managed to successfully flank around us and starting shooting us in the back, though the two of them learned to never try and surrender kill me and my friend; a surrender kill is not a bang kill and is optional. The idea is you shout surrender and the person can take it and walk off, or they can try and resist and risk getting shot point blank. Me and my friend never take surrender kills, so... They yelled out surrender to a group of about 5 of us and while the other three took it, me and my friend did not and we shot them, though he got taken out in the process. After this I managed to crawl up into a position with a view on the path, though the foliage was very thick and punching through it with a sniper rifle was difficult, but it was also so well hidden that when that same pair flanked around us again, I took them both out with the pistol. Had to wait for perfect shots though as I only had one good mag, so I couldn't afford to get into a gun fight! Suffice to say, with half of our team throwing their toys out of the pram and the yellow team staying resolute, we got absolutely hammered in this game. After lunch, the marshall decided to split me and my friend onto separate teams. He had managed to get his m700 working, but it was only firing at 0.5J. It was still ranging out decently well, but you could barely feel it and the projectile was slow, so as he was the only person on the other team who knows my spots (and I know his), I took that into consideration and stuck to spots where my 2.3J would give me a strong advantage. Unfortunately, this also made me somewhat predictable, as there are only so many sight lines at Worthing at this time of year. We got out for a three base domination game and I ran along a path, thinking their respawn was a lot further back than it actually was. I immediately bumped into my friend who was sitting to the side in a bush, but he screwed up his shot, missing me and then getting shot by the player behind me before I could draw my pistol and shoot him myself; he left his pistol in the safe zone as his bolt action had no MED at 0.5J, but it meant that his screwed up shot cost him and he couldn't make follow up shots quickly enough. With that near miss gone, and my friend telling me where their spawn actually was, I pulled back to make sure I wasn't going to be spawn camping. He came back (and I don't know why he did...) and immediately got hit by me. However, once he respawned again he moved into a position that I was never going to hit him in, since the gap to shoot through the trees where he was posted up was so tiny and at 70m+ range, plus it was in darkness so seeing the gaps was a challenge enough in itself, I was never going to hit him. I sent one shot his way, adjusting for wind and watching it sail towards him and apparently he told me afterwards that the shot was bloody close. It impacted with the part of the tree right in front of him and gave him a bit of a scare. I knew he couldn't hit me from that position, so I was fine where I was, but I moved on after a pair of his team ran down the path at me, not knowing where I was and getting lit up by my pistol, with all 5 of my mags now gassed! I moved off to another position and caught my friend again as he pushed up, waiting for him to step into a slight clearing in the holly bush before shooting, as I could see more of his team on my flank that I would need to shoot as well. This went well, but by this point I was now surrounded on all sides and enemies were less than 10m from me. I stayed very still, only taking the occasional shot with my m40a5 (as I had learned earlier just how quiet it was), but I was eventually shot in the boot by a respawning player who had pushed up again with a rough idea of where I was. I fell back, respawned and came back in, pointing out a sneaky flanking manoevre that the enemy team were trying and letting everyone know. I couldn't do too much about it, but my team cleared out the sneaky players while I focused on the middle area, which was far better for me as it was far more open. By this point my friend had also given up and was watching with two of the marshalls. I had laid down behind a tree, bipod deployed and sniping along a path that the yellow team just loved to move up and they were having a real giggle watching me pick them off every time. One of the players on the other team, who is also a marshall but wasn't marshalling that day, knew it was me, but had no idea where I was until I shot him, he gave a laugh and a wave my direction and went to have a chat with the marshalls, spotting me behind the tree (he was good-natured. He wasn't doing it to find where I was and he didn't come back or tell anyone on his team about my location). I wasn't sure how the game was going, but when the game was called, apparently we held all three bases. For the next game I didn't take part, as I had lost a magazine in the morning and King Arms m700 magazines are literally £70 each, so while I didn't know when I lost it, I thought I'd revisit all the places I had been in the morning to try and find it, as it wouldn't get handed in because very few players would've been where I went. Fortunately, I did find the magazine and breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but between having a chat with some friends and searching for my lost magazine, I missed the game entirely. Oh well, I got back for the last game which was a simple attack and defend on the Tower base, got into one of my usual spots and did a bit of target practice. It was quite a breezy day, so I had to adjust for wind, as well as taking a few elevated shots as I'm currently practicing my long range shooting skills so that I can more reliably make those longer range shots (talking 90m+) reliably and consistently, eliminating as much of the guess work as possible. I definitely need a new scope though as my current one has no mil-dots and that would make my life a lot easier for getting a bit more consistency in these shots. We managed to hold the tower for the entire game and I had gone through most of my ammo in my sniper rifle mags (don't let that fool you into thinking I'm shooting like crazy; I only carry 3x 28rd magazines and generally don't need to refill outside of lunch), but that was the last game of the day. Headed back to pack up, have a chat with friends and marshalls and then go home for some well-deserved rest. All in all it was a fantastic day of airsoft and probably one of the better ones I've had in a while, even though two of the games were not friendly for guns with an MED. Really happy with how the m40a5 is performing and will keep using it for now, as well as its uniqueness as nobody else at Worthing runs an m40a5 or m40a3. All of the other snipers are using MTWs (eww), or Modify Scouts, or VSRs, so nothing that even looks similar. That said, I think I may put the SR-25 away for a bit as my backup gun, as I've returned to only running a belt kit for sniping, meaning my chest rig is freed up for me to slap 5.56 mag pouches on instead of 7.62 ones, so I'm getting the TM MWS (it's an m16a4, not an m4) back out as my backup gun. I've put a longer barrel in it now, so the barrel pokes a tiny bit into the flash hider (it's not far enough to be visible), and an NPAS so I can dial down the power when the joule creep inevitably strikes. Looking forward to the next one at Worthing as it's one of their special ones following a narrative that one of the marshalls has put together. Will be one long game in the morning that continues after lunch, with objectives changing as the gameplay shifts and time passes. They've already asked us which team our loyalties lie with on Facebook, since there is a bit of loyalty to each side of the conflict as players tend to stick to one team, but in true mercenary assassin fashion, I've already told the marshall that my answer is "whoever offers me the bigger bribe"

Hey there! If you're down at Worthing you'll probably see me around (though hopefully not during the game or I'm not doing my job well enough!). In terms of what I'd get, I would do exactly what you're doing and giveit a few times to make sure it's for you. In terms of other stuff, good eye protection and good boots are must-haves in my opinion. Also, for your son he will need full face protection. I know at Worthing they say for the very young ones it has to be one-piece, so a full mask as opposed to eye protection plus a lower face mask. Obviously it depends where you're playing, but that's what it's like at Worthing at least. For kit, army surplus shops are great. Can pick up some cheap DPM or MTP camo, as well as either a cheap load bearing assault vest or a set of PLCE webbing for next to nothing. In terms of first guns, we can cross that bridge when we get there, but there are plenty of budget-friendly AEGs out there that make perfect starter guns. Cyma have some great offerings for mp5/AK/m14s, Double Eagle have some great m4 style rifles, but really I find that guns are very much down to personal preference, hence I think it's probably a discussion for once you and your son have decided if the hobby is for you. Hey, I got a sniper rifle as my first gun and it worked out well for me! (in all seriousness though, I wouldn't advise it. Lots of people think airsoft sniping is going to be like in video games but it's really not and more often than not you'll be at a serious disadvantage)

*looks at HPA m21* Huh... I never knew that I, as a (sometimes) HPA player, have that sort of attitude. This is news to me, thank you for educating me on how I think, how I have a bad attitude and pointing out my short-sightedness. Also thank you for showing me that I actually have two right shoulders. I can easily fire my HPA m21 from both shoulders and originally thought that meant I could shoot from both my left and right shoulder, but now it makes so much more sense knowing I don't have a left shoulder, just two right shoulders.

I run a gas bolt action and I'm pretty sure if I chronoed on a .2 I would be something like 1.4J, while on a .45 or .48 I'm around 2.2J without changing anything else.

In that case, I can't recommend the Action Army hop unit enough. I've got that, plus a modify X-range and Action Army nub and a crazy jet barrel in mine and it's amazing. For some reason my setup doesn't like Maple Leaf rubbers and sent everything, even .48s with no hop applied, straight to the moon. The X-range bucking though performs really really nicely

Can't remember who used to make the m40a3 gas version (pretty sure there was one though), but the m700 based one is expensive, since you have to get the m700 then also get the conversion kit, but once it's together you get the m700 system behind it and the Action Army m700 hop unit is probably the best hop unit I've ever worked with.

A few things turned up from Evike Europe today and now I feel like a very special little snowflake (because who runs an m40a3 these days, let alone a gas one). I've wanted an airsoft m40a3 or m40a5 for over a decade and I'm glad I finally got one that is good! Most of the m40s around aren't to my liking (none of them are properly VSR compatible), but this one... I love the KJW/Tanaka m700 platform, and it's just that with a fancy m40a3/5 stock and shorter outer barrel. All that's left for this build is a nice Vortex scope and it'll be completely done! Also will test out this adjustable bolt over the weekend. I think it will still require the gas routers to do most of the heavy lifting, but the screw in the bolt itself looks like it could be useful for fine tuning when I need to drop or gain like 0.1J or so a bit more consistently than adjusting the hammer spring tension. Now I just need to get a few parts to finish the other m700...

I run 60 and 70 degree macarons in all my AEGs and they easily hop .32s at 1.1J, so they'll easily do it at 1.47J. Probably will do heavier, I just don't because .32s do the job and are inexpensive (.32s I find are the cut off point before ammo starts becoming very pricey!) At 1.47J, I'd probably run a 70 degree rubber.

I tend to just get it all from Brownells. Even if it's not in stock in the UK, it's usually in stock in the USA, but if you order from brownells.co.uk they'll just get it from their USA warehouse. Yeah, you have to wait a few weeks, but no dealing with customs or import or anything.