Impulse

@GAMBLEpretty much hit the nail on the head. I started airsoft around the same time as your 14 year old and the best way to start is just bring some friends that may be interested. For me, it was one of my friends in school who introduced me to it, then it expanded to a group of 4 of us and eventually all four of us ended up joining up with a team. That beind said, you don't need a team in airsoft, at least not from a formal perspective. What will probably happen is your 14 year old will bring friends and/or make new friends at the local airsoft site and hang out/ work together with them through a skirmish day.

John Wick 2. There's always outliers

3.6/10? Sounds like my kind of movie

Because most after market threaded outer barrels are steel and I must put suppressors on EVERYTHING!

I've been doing a lot of muscle endurance circuits in my room and I don't think I've ever had such a solid core (shame it's still under a layer of fat for now!). I used to go "ugh, 10 situps..." but now it's more like "ugh, 28 situps..." so it must be working. Since the sun started poking its head out, I've been getting back into cycling too, and did a month of running before my shins reminded me how my body type is not built for running; even when I was a teenager and super fit, in both the rugby and swimming team for my school, I had to stop rugby because shin splints are a thing. I'll probably try and get to some shorter runs in the next two weeks to get the cardio side up in line with the muscular endurance; the latter is more useful for me as I spend more time crawling around and trying to remain still in sometimes awkward positions, but being able to run is a nice extra. Just got better from covid vaccine side effects over the weekend and I'm back to airsoft on the 4th, so two and a half weeks should be enough to ensure I'm not hit too hard by the return. I'm still overweight, so I don't want to jeopardise my joints by going too hard, but I've left obesity behind at least. I will say that I'm about 15kg lighter than when I last did airsoft in December, and I want to drop another 2+ before April, so I'm actually looking forward to seeing how it feels to be lighter. Again. This weight loss journey has been a year going so far, and I've likely got another few months of it to go. Airsoft reopening is definitely going to help that.

Yes, I believe so. 1.0 is 144a, 2.0 is green, 3.0 is red and 4.0 is black

Yeah, I got confirmation, but I was also one of the people with a draft written up that I sent as soon as bookings went live. It's good to see that there's so much interest, as lockdowns aren't good for business, but I feel for the staff who have to trawl through the email inbox and sort all those bookings 😬 They've already answered a bunch of emails and the 4th (which is limited numbers) is already full up.

I booked in this evening for all three of the April game days at Worthing. 4th, 11th and 25th all booked in and can't wait to get back out there!

Reading some of the responses here, I feel personally attacked. Y'all hate snipers that much? 😅 As for me (beware, I write a lot. I have strong opinions when it comes to airsoft...): 1. Why did you start airsoft I've always enjoyed shooting. My father was big into handgun shooting when it was still allowed in the UK and taught me gun safety with air rifles from a young age. I really enjoyed playing FPS games too, as a big Counter Strike: Source fan at the time, so when my friend discovered airsoft and suggested I go with him, I was immediately hooked. Plus, it was something active as opposed to my other big hobbies at the time being Warhammer 40k and gaming, which are not so active... 2. What do you like about airsoft Making (a lot of) friends I wouldn't normally make. I've met so many people through airsoft that I wouldn't have otherwise met in a million years. The community, or at least the good parts of the community. The amount of people willing to help newer players is honestly heart-warming. Especially compared to video games where being a newer player typically gets you (and your mother) called all manner of awful things. Self-improvement. It gives a set of skills that I enjoy and can work on. Yes, I'm the type of person who will take my guns to the range and practice proper firearms drills with them between skirmish days, as my local site only operates every fortnight. Fieldcraft, or how I learned to love nature. I live in a city (hopefully not too much longer), so having a hobby that gets me out to the great outdoors is a really nice contrast to everything else I do. Being a sneaky bugger. This is just fun. I don't really have much more to say about this. Seeing the surprise on people's faces is gold. Especially since I'm not small of stature, so you wouldn't expect me to be good at hiding. The adrenaline rush that comes with many aspects of the game. A good reason to be fit and healthy, as well as helping me achieve those goals. Sort of loops in with the self-improvement aspect, but extends outside the hobby. Since getting back into airsoft in late 2019, I've dropped almost 50kg (still 20 more to go. I was obese before, and I'm not a small person) and I'm just generally enjoying life way more, since basic tasks like walking up the stairs is no longer difficult. Plus, one of my other newer hobbies is martial arts, so getting fitter is really helping both of my favourite hobbies! 3. What don't you like about airsoft (not including KM or non hit taking, something more substantial please) The community, or at least the bad parts of the community. This can be toxic milsimmers, clickbait content creators, elitists etc. The community is far from perfect. People who moan about snipers. A larger number of us are ditching bolt actions now to use HPA anyway; an MTW paired with a ghillie suit and the knowledge of how to use it is far more frustrating to play against. I'm going the semi-auto only HPA m14 route, and keeping my bolt action around because I love bolt actions, but hopefully you get my point. I could go on about this for aaaaages, so I'll just leave it at that. The massive abundance of bolt actions in the field compared to when I first started. I think everyone should play how they want, but when you've got 10 bolt actions on your team, you typically just get demolished and can't push objectives. Especially when out of those 10 bolt actions, only 2 or 3 might actually be tuned well. D R A M A. Seriously, a lot of airsofters are massive drama queens. The fact that it's often criminalised and how RIFs are viewed as laser-death-destroying-ghost-guns by many outsiders People who moan about headshots. Seriously, if someone is poking just their head over a barricade and that's all that's visible, guess what's getting shot. Don't present it as the only target, then get mad it gets hit. People who go for headshots specifically / people who go out to hurt other players. There's no need. Body shots are easier to pull off anyway and are less likely to cause damage. And over-shooting is easy to avoid unless you're running some sort of 50rps wanker-gun. The wind, twigs and leaves. These things are the bane of any sniper's existence, and can cause an AEG user to light up a position and hit nothing but foliage. You line up that perfect shot, pull the trigger, watch the BB fly... then it hits the edge of a leaf and spins way off target. Or a gust of wind catches it and causes the shot to veer off target. They're tiny, lightweight plastic balls; anything is going to cause your shots to go off course. 4. Do you think airsoft has any health benefits I.e keeping you fit etc Yes. 100%. At the end of the day, you're carrying a bunch of heavy gear and moving around an airsoft site all day. It's a very active hobby, so I'd say it definitely has health benefits. Plus, if you go to a woodland site like I do, it's a day spent outdoors. Beyond the physical side, I think it helps mentally too. As a very active hobby, your body is going to be releasing endorphins into your system as you play, which are natural stress relievers.

Not yet, as my local site hasn't opened bookings yet as they want to play it safe and April is still a good few weeks away, but I have booked in for a 24h event in June and an 8h E&E event in July >:D

Nuprol 2.0 should be fine with a TM Hi-Capa. Green gas is great for TM pistols in the UK, but I would switch to 144a for any temperatures of 20+ celcius, as it's more than sufficient and will increase the longevity of the gun.

All of this is my opinion, so bear that in mind. I come from the "buy once, cry once" camp of thought which typically means I prefer shelling out a bit more for good quality kit that I know will last me for years and years and years and years. I know others definitely prefer getting cheaper kit and see great success with it, so my opinions below are coming from the perpsective of someone who typically buys less kit, but buys premium kit. I've heard poor things about the WE Hi-Capa Dragons. As in, I've heard they don't shoot well and typically shoot hot at like 1.6J, but I don't have any direct experience with them, so take that with a pinch of salt as it's very much second hand information. Get a TM Hi-Capa 5.1 instead; they're fantastic pistols and only about £120. Really can't go wrong with one. As for the other questions... What type of BB should I use? 0.25g or 0.28g, in both the rifle and sidearm. I prefer Geoffs or BLS BBs as quality ones. Which green gas? Ummmm... I use WE green gas and it works great. However, I think it depends on your pistol. If you get a Tokyo Marui pistol (do it, they're the best on the market) then you'll only need green gas and using red/black gas is a great way to have your sidearm destroy itself. Heck, with a TM pistol you can also get away with 144a for most of the year too. However, any GBB pistol will struggle in the coldest months of the year. Which lipo and how many? I don't know much about lipos, but you wanted my opinion so here it is. I hate lipos. I way prefer Li-Ion batteries instead, because they're way more user friendly than lipos which require a far greater deal of care to avoid ruining your batteries. However, I'll always advocate for getting a good charger, regardless of the batteries you get. Also what do you recommend to get as extras for either RIF? I'll do this in stages as I don't know your budget, starting from most important to least important (in my opinion) At first? Good eyepro and some decent boots. Revision Sawfly glasses are fantastic eye protection and you can get inserts for them if you're a speccy like me who doesn't want contact lenses. Boots, just make sure you get some that fit and are comfortable. Local army surplus shop will be your friend here as surplus boots are usually decent enough quality and not too expensive. If you want to be extra safe, pick up a mesh lower face mask too, as getting shot in the face will happen and the mesh face mask could be the thing that stops a tooth getting knocked out. That being said, I rarely use lower face protection and I still have all my teeth 14 years later, but I also do the whole ghillie suit sniping thing, meaning I'm typically doing my job wrong if I'm getting shot at. Lower face isn't a requirement, but it's recommended. Some camos, if you don't have them already. Again, surplus stuff is more than adequate and won't break the bank. Also, get a boonie or a cap when you're picking up some BDUs, as taking a BB to the head can sting! Plus, it's good for camo to have a camo boonie as opposed to a bare head. Next, a way to carry your guns. Get a good sling for your rifle and a holster for your pistol. I wouldn't advise skimping on these, as a crap sling will give out, potentially causing your rifle to fall and break, and a crap holster will either not hold your pistol or press on the mag release when you run, jettisoning your pistol magazine which you'll only realise about 10 mins later. For slings, I recommend Magpul MS3 (or MS4 if you've got QD sling mounts), as this sling can be switched between 2-point and 1-point with ease and it's fantastic quality. For holsters, I'd recommend IMI style holsters on the cheaper end, and a custom kydex holster at the slightly pricier end. After that, I'd advise a few extra mags and a way to carry them. Cheaper end for mags might be a spare pistol mag and one or two spare hi-caps for the rifle, while the more expensive end would be going for two spare pistol mags and half a dozen midcaps to help eliminate battle-rattle! I way prefer midcaps as they don't rattle and don't need winding, but you will have to reload mid-firefight. However, having to reload is a positive for me because immersion (and pulling off a sweet reload mid-firefight feels great). For ways to carry them, you could get a set of PLCE webbing and/or a surplus assault vest from your army surplus store; that's how I started out and I still have my PLCE webbing because it's great kit. At the more expensive end, I prefer going for real-steel equipment over airsoft clone stuff, so Warrior Assault Systems load bearing gear has been my go-to for over a decade now. It's fantastic quality and is really built to last, but you do pay a premium for it and it's on the cheaper end of real-steel stuff. Crye gear will literally make you cry with their prices, but it's great if you want multicam stuff. Anything else is purely on preference. Could get a moscart launcher, a red dot/holographic/telescopic optic, a light or PEQ etc. The reason airsoft is so expensive is because of just how many combinations of stuff we can do as a loadout there are. At the start of the year I was thinking "ah, I'm mostly done on what I want..." but now my kit / RIF project list is massive again, filled with all manner of wonderful ideas my mind has cooked up.

I'll second this. The crappy Viper sling I have on my cheap springer shotty used to be on my VSR, until it basically decided to give up for no reason and unclip itself from the rifle. Only some quick reactions stopped the rifle from toppling to the floor for potential damage.

Thanks! This is a brilliant post! The fieldcraft is the main thing I want to focus on, as it doesn't cost me any money to improve my own skills. Fortunately, for admin kit I've got basically everything I need from my cadet days; just need a sleeping bag, bivvy bag and will pick up a basha as they seem pretty cheap, but everything else is sorted. Picked up a Baofeng UV-5R+ as well, as I've been meaning to get a radio for aaaaaaaaaages to use in skirmish games and any events I go to as typically I like to play a recon role in skirmish as well; I didn't because I thought it would be more expensive than it was! I'm quite good at the fieldcraft and moving quietly side, as it's what I tend to practice at skirmish days anyway; people are often surprised at how few shots I actually take through a skirmish day, even the other bolties use way more BBs than I do. It's just how I enjoy playing! The thermal for spotting seems like a good idea though, but a bit pricey for my current budget, however if I do like this style of event I'll probably look at getting some form of either night vision goggle setup or a night vision optic for my VSR in 2022. I've got some white light in the form of a light on my mk23 (not the TM LAM unit. That thing was awful), but I'm thinking a PEQ for the 416 wouldn't go amiss, and they aren't too expensive. I'm taking both the VSR and my 416 to the event, as I expect being tactically flexible should be advantageous. Worst case I'll leave one in the harbour area, but I'm actually comfortable carrying both and have done so before; being 6'5" and built like a house has its perks

I have both a Magpul MS4 for my TM416D (it has QD sling points) and a Warrior Assault System 2-point sling for my long guns (VSRs and M14s). I would wholeheartedly recommend both, as both slings have served me incredibly well so far and I really like them. For the 416 DEVGRU, you can get sling mounts that go on your rail from Magpul, paired with the sling plate on the stock that's all you'll need for a 2-point setup. I personally don't like 1-point setups, but I know a lot of people do; it's all down to personal preference, so I'd say experiment and see what you like best. I totally agree with shelling out for a good quality sling on an expensive RIF. Would suck for the sling to give out and break your gun. The only cheapo sling I have is a Viper 2-point that I've had for over a decade. It's on my cheapo shotgun.

I only know about it since doing night events against guys with expensive night vision equipment. Always looking to improve my armed-hide-and-seek game and feel like I've got a pretty solid grasp on the day, but the night adds the extra layer of IR complexity and not wanting to glow like a Christmas tree under IR illumination. I'm just fortunate I've always been of the "buy expensive, buy once" mindset, so the vast majority of my load bearing gear that I've accumulated over the years is all real-steel and IRR treated. Also, my ghillie suit isn't made of cheap chinese materials, making it still usable at night, though I still need to do some tests under IR light which I can't do by myself due to not having any NVGs myself. I need to get some weapon paints too, so I'm glad I didn't spray my guns yet as now I'll probably shell out for IRR weapon paints for a bit more money, rather than buying normal paints.

I'd say Cyma, because I'm a big TM / TM clone fan, thanks to the abundance of aftermarket parts. Cyma are fantastic out the box and cost between £150 for baseline RIFs and £250 for their more premium ones. Even their cheapest baseline models will perform well out of the box. As has been said by others, both would give you plenty of extra cash to spend on spare mags or load bearing gear. Can't really go wrong there.

Looking for some pointers on this. I'm going to my first 24h event in the summer, as long as the rona doesn't come back with a vengeance, and I want to make sure I've got the kit I need. This doesn't mean night vision goggles or optics, because that stuff is really expensive and would be a huge investment going into something that I think I will enjoy, but I have no idea for sure! However, on the flip side I don't want to glow under IR light, especially since I'll likely be my squad's recon guy and marksman, depending on what's needed, so being able to go unnoticed is pretty important. I've got day-time camo sorted in my ghillie, but it's not IRR treated so while it mostly uses natural foliage for camo, the non-natural bits will light up under IR light. So my question to you all is what is a good supplier of IRR-treated BDUs and/or load bearing gear? I've got most of the load bearing gear sorted, because I'm a huge Warrior Assault Systems fan and their stuff is IRR, but I'm always up for looking at new gear there. The big one is BDUs. Would ex-issue stuff be IRR treated? Furthermore, is IRR weapon paint worth the investment? I haven't sprayed my guns yet, but if it's worth getting I'll splash out a little more and get the stuff that will help me camo at night from IR light and NVGs.

My Cyma M14 cost me about £100 from Taiwangun and it shot further than most AEGs on the field. I threw £100ish worth of new barrel and r-hop patch from Umbrella Armory and now it's outranging most bolties, but is still firing at 1J. So for £200 I have an AEG firing with no MED and is shooting further than most of the bolt actions who have a 30m MED to contend with. The downside is that ammo is expensive. WIth this setup I'm finding the lightest BBs I can use are .4s (even .32s go into the stratosphere with hop completely off!), so it's lucky that I typically prefer the sniper / recon style role and don't pull the trigger too often! Therefore, this budget AEG is a good budget AEG for people who may be interested in getting into a sniper role, rather than someone looking for an AEG to run and gun.

Every Cyma I've owned has performed fantastically. I've had two of their M14s, one full size and one SOCOM, and they both performed stupidly well out of the box. Unfortunately I've never had one of their M4s, but I'm interested to see if they're good too. I really like Cyma. EDIT: HOW could I forget my cheapo Cyma spring shotgun which is also amazing for its price. It cost me about £60 with 9 shells and a small molle thing to carry them and it does exactly what a shotgun needs to do. Great fun, metal construction and feels great.

I have some Trident Gear plates and they're great. Really solid and really add some weight to the carrier.

Impressive.

Do you need a pistol? Nah. Only thing you really need is good eye protection and maybe decent boots with ankle support can also make the cut here if you play woodland. HOWEVER, pistols are cool and if you can afford one and want to buy one, I'd say go for it. In terms of what pistol to get? I'd say any TM. Just find a TM pistol you like and buy that one. You don't need to do any upgrades on it to have it firing in almost any weather and to a decent 30 - 40m effective range. Just buy it, pick up and play! I may be biased towards pistols as a bush wookiee (a solid pistol is a must when you have an MED!), but I always think it's best to just go for the best. The difference in price between a TM and a WE is minimal in the grand scheme of things. You'll pay around £100 for a WE and around £150 for a TM.

Nope. Absolutely nothing. Last time I bought anything was around last October. I just want to get out again because I love the RIFs I currently have and am really looking forward to some bush cosplay shenanigans once lockdowns end.