Impulse

I totally agree, apart from the Crazy Jet (unpopular opinion, I know). Hadron TDC and H arm are fantastic purchases for a mk23, and for hop rubber you can also look at the Maple Leaf Autobots (the new, 2021 versions) or MR hop rubbers as well. I dislike Crazy Jets as both of mine don't fit properly into the hop units as the outer diameter isn't large enough, meaning I would need to wrap PTFE tape around the outside to make it fit. This leads to the alignment being ever so wrong (literally < 1mm off) and so the BBs clip the suppressor. I imagine this would be amplified in a DMR kit. They're more expensive, but I'm a big fan of Edgi and PDI barrels. Nineball (Laylax) are also good if you're on a budget, but with pistol barrels the difference is usually tiny so I'd say just go big or go home. Stock TM barrels are pretty good.

See, I know I'm getting a Warrior Assault Systems SAPI carrier in the near future... So I picked these up. Heavyweight rubber training plates from the guys at Trident Gear. I really love the feel and weight of these, as it feels like I'm holding real ballistic plates (they are not real ballistic plates and are made of rubber!); they weigh 2.1kg each, which is between the weight of real level III and IV ballistic plates. I wanted real ballistic plates for muh immersion, but when I saw they were literally £150 - 200 PER PLATE I decided to get these instead. £45 for the set and I still get muh immersion. Also fitness. If I'm running around with my AEG, I use airsoft as a workout. Time to up my game!

When I did airsoft in Spain about 12 years ago, there was no such thing as an official site (at least not on the Costa del Sol). It was just a bunch of people who showed up to an area and played BB wars, as there were LOADS of abandoned urbanisations on the Costa del Sol, because they built them all without planning permission as holiday homes and stuff, but then had to stop when the authorities realised it was an illegal construction. Nobody was about to pay to demolish them, so they turned into our unofficial airsoft sites. There were a few "events" as such, I remember going to one up in the mountains near Monda and Ojen, but they were few and far between. Like, once a year or something. That said, there was a small urbanisation we played on near Mijas, but I believe it was demolished after someone slipped and fell down the stairs, cracking their head open and had to be rushed to hospital. That was the main "site" we all went to (even if I thought the one in Estepona was way better!). Have a lot of good memories from there, it was like half woodland, half urban and it was really cool. There were some dark corridors on the lower levels, multi-level firefights and even a really dark and a cramped tunnel that nobody ever used (because it was really hard to actually move in) apart from about 5 of us which could take you behind the enemy lines. Here are some low resolution photos I've dug up (hey, 1024x768 was the 1080p of 2008!)

Maybe if we say his name three times he'll appear, like out of a horror film @Rogerborg @Rogerborg @Rogerborg

Apologies for the awful quality, but my camera is terribad. The rail system is terrible for mounting scopes, so I'm going to try and do it with both the rails AND scope mount. Also the stubby mags don't feed properly and it only fires at about 1.3J. I'm going to give it to a local tech to sort out, because I've had it up to here with my DMR converted m14 not doing what I want it to and I'm not opening that gearbox again xD The OD m14 is a TM m14 with full Guarder reinforced internals in the gearbox, with an SP120 spring and an ASG high torque motor. On the externals, it's an ASG universal bipod and a Guarder rail system. The faux wood m14 is a cyma m14 with stock internals. Both have a prometheus 6.03mm barrel with r-hop patch from Umbrella Armory. I massively went off r-hops since the one in my VSR is just outperformed by Maple Leaf rubbers, but the Umbrella Armory ones in my AEGs are fantastic and I highly recommend them. It's a shame, because it's probably my best looking gun.

Time to throw my thoughts into the mix. I won't echo the "sniping is hard" arguments that others have pointed out, as it's already been said and argued. I wouldn't say it's "hard" but it's definitely a different way of playing. You can make a perfectly good rifle for your budget. JG BAR10 or cyma cm701 ~ £100 AA hop unit ~ £50 Maple Leaf MR hop or new Decepticon bucking ~ £10 Maple Leaf Omega tensioner ~ £2 Crazy Jet barrel ~ £50 Some sort of cheap, but decent scope ~ £50 Spare mags ~ £10 each Hey would you look at that, I built a rifle with spare mags that will perform pretty damn well for under £300 and likely out-shoot a lot of your local site's "snipers". Honestly, the JG and cyma VSRs come at a decent enough power where you don't have to worry about replacing the trigger, spring, spring guide etc until they break. This is the build I did, minus the super expensive HPA bits, and it shoots stupidly well, especially considering the price tag. Now, I would probably use a PDI or Edgi barrel myself (they're more £100 - £150) instead of Crazy Jet because I've gone off Crazy Jets recently, but they're perfectly decent barrels and I am currently running one in my current build (read: I'm too poor at the moment to afford to replace it) Firing at about the same power as my spring VSR (2.2J in both), which has a professionally installed r-hop, edgi barrel and laylax/springer custom works internals, my cheapo mostly maple leaf build actually shoots further and more accurately. You absolutely can build a sniper rifle on a budget. Also, do you need a ghillie? Not at all. I spent the entire summer in a short sleeve OD t-shirt and pair of OD trousers, with a scrim net draped over my OD boonie once I got into my hide position. Yes, all OD, no camo patterns. People looked directly at me and didn't see me because I stayed perfectly still and didn't silhouette myself. If you want a cheap, lightweight ghillie I swear by my Webtex Concealment Vest (~£50) that I've tied a bunch of artificial ghillie strands to (~£12) and just load it up with natural foliage on the day using the elastic loops. My last game day had me using this and lying down in the middle of the enemy team for about 15 minutes because they're respawn was 5m in front of me for a bunch of the game. You don't need one of these all over super-pricey KMCS suits that you then have to put a bunch more stuff on to have an effective ghillie. So, for a rifle + ghillie, I've outlined it above for ~£354 (I assumed 3 extra mags). Yes, you could argue "but what about load bearing?" but you can pick up cheapo belt kits for peanuts these days that you could also put some ghillie material and natural foliage on, but I just wear mine under my ghillie. My rifle wrap is scrim net and cable ties, which are also peanuts. I also only use my belt for pistol and pistol mags. All my VSR mags are in a stock pouch (which cost me about £10 from Taiwangun and I'm thoroughly impressed with it) Sorry if my post came across as snarky. I'm just the guy who thinks "sniping is expensive" is a myth that dissuades people from doing what they want. I'm also the guy whose first RIF was a Well L96 about 14 years ago because I'm a massive hypocrite when I echo the "don't get a sniper rifle as your first gun" argument

Threaded outer barrel arrived over the weekend for my TM P226, just in time for lockdown to deny me taking this bad boy out to skirmish.

Maybe they mean the "2nd" month of 2021? plz bojo no

I would also say both. I have a lot of pistols, but what it comes down to is the GBB will be a better "they're close and I must shoot" gun, where the mk23 will basically outperform people's AEGs at a slower trigger pull while being really quiet. Both have their merits and both are useful.

Ok, I have some potentially weird opinions on this so bear with me. To me, a DMR should always be a longer gun. It should always be a rifle that can be used as a DMR in the real steel world. I like immersion when I play airsoft, and even at a skirmish weekend will usually headcanon some sort of narrative behind my participation in games. Walking in with an arp9 converted to be a DMR is going to make me go ":(". I'll never tell people they can't do it, as people can play however they want, even weird roleplay nerds like me, but it's really not my style. With that said, the Cyma M14 is a fantastic option. Whether you go for the full size or socom, both are fantastic platforms for a DMR (but full size is best because muh immersion). However, the v7 gearbox is a pain to work on. Perhaps getting some sort of sr-25 or mk12 SPR would be an idea as their gearboxes are far simpler to work on and you'll still very much have that long range DMR look. I would advise against getting some premium brand RIF unless you're made of money and want full trademarks, as much like in the world of bolt action sniper rifles you're going to be stripping a lot of the internals out anyway if you're serious about going DMR. However, I am also one of those people who think building a DMR (in terms of upping the power to 1.6J) a bit too situational. You'll gain minimal range, but lose a whole 20 - 30m of MED. I've been having fantastic results with my cyma M14 that I've kept at 1J, outranging most of the snipers at my local field, and all I did was buy an Umbrella Armory r-hopped tightbore into it because I didn't want to open the fresh hell that is the v7 gearbox again like I did on my TM. I still use it like a DMR, as I don't think I've fired it on full-auto since I bought it, but without the MED, which is also the same as bolt actions at 30m at my local site. Also in my opinion, I think HPA is the way to go with DMRs. You get the silence, but you also get adjustable power so if you don't feel like dealing with an MED for the day, you can adjust the regulator to drop the power to 1J. HPA systems are also really expensive to build though. I want to convert my own m14 to HPA at some point in the future, but I also want a mortgage more xD

I use a killflash because I like to conceal the scope shine. Scope protection for me is secondary as I've never had a scope break on me in 15 years of playing. I also use £50 scopes though, as I don't see a reason to shell out on pricey optics for my rifle. However, I have some maybe unpopular opinions on airsoft sniping; no airsoft gun is a precision instrument.

Honestly, I think it's fine. I've seen it happen at my local site and it's just sneaky. Think of it as Viet Cong style tactics. If they don't have their hand up, just put one into their plate carrier to be sure. Not a burst of full-auto, just a single, semi-auto shot to the chest. I don't think anybody can complain you're overshooting them with a single semi-auto shot, and usually if they're doing the dead-man walk they're a really easy target, so you don't need a burst of full auto to hit them. If you do, I'm going to advise you to get some practice on the range 😅 This is how I'll deal with it. If I see it far away, I'll send a shot from my sniper rifle into their torso and if they're in my MED I'll pull my pistol and put one into the chest. Yes, it's annoying because any shooting can reveal my hide location, but if my one shot can stop an enemy player from wiping a dozen people from my team by shooting them in the back, it's worth it. Nobody has ever officially complained about me overshooting, though I have had a handful of "I'm already dead!" shouts of annoyance into the wind. Less than you may think though, especially when you consider I use heavy BBs, so they sting a bit more.

I only just went and won the TM M&P9. Visiting family at the moment, but that'll be a nice parcel to return to :D

If you paid with a credit card, your bank should be able to help, but if you paid debit card you may be out of luck. If you have evidence of them saying they'll refund you and then also proof you sent it back and all that, you should be able to dispute the charge if PayPal won't help and you paid on a credit card. It's part of the Consumer Credit Act. (I work for a credit card company)

I typically use Geoffs or BLS and they're great. I've also had good experiences with ASG, it just so happens that my local site stocks Geoffs, which are my preferred brand of BBs for my snipers (.48s), AEGs (.32s or .4s) and pistols (.25s or .32s)

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone else has the same issues as me. It just so happens that in both my VSR and my MK23, the BBs hit the end of the suppressor as they exit. While I have no explanation for the VSR because barrel spacers are a thing, it seems that in the MK23 it's horrendously loose when installed into the pistol. Comparing it to the stock barrel, the Crazy Jet wobbles maybe half a millimetre either way, while the stock TM one sits nice and firm and aligned. Has anyone else had similar problems? Or do I have a pair of smol Crazy Jets

A fellow Worthing player! Yeah, and in fairness I was basically out of the game for well over half of it as I couldn't move! But it was all worth it for that short time I was able to do stuff

100%. I could feel it going into overdrive as the players chatted, fired their AEGs and stood pretty much on top of me xD

I had an amazing day today. Found out that my first ghillie suit DEFINITELY works. Not only did I have multiple instances of people looking directly at me and not seeing me, but I also had around 15 - 20 mins in a rolling assault where they had cleared my team out and were swarming all around me to keep engaging with my team who were moving back. Their respawn was literally 3m in front of me for about 5 of those minutes and nobody saw me. I was so worried someone was going to either see my boots or step on/trip over me as they came REALLY close. Waited until their respawn moved a bit further past me down the path, repositioned and started plinking people with my VSR, much to their confusion. Was a fantastic day. Easily one of my top 3 moments in this hobby over the last 15 years. The adrenaline was insane and my heart was pounding the whole time xD

I am ready to colour them, but this is going to take a while. Colouring them with acrylic inks one at a time by hand. I threw the bright red and orange ones out, so at least it's 300 not 400 xD

Remember, we also have some of the strictest firearms laws in the world. If you're willing to drive, Secure Command and Control is great, but it would be a bit of a drive down to the Brighton and Hove area.

I'm still one of the younger players at my local site. I started when I was 14, now I'm 29. There are a lot of guys around your age in a similar predicament who play regularly. I was obese when I got back into the hobby last year, now thanks to diet and airsoft I'm merely overweight. Looking to be in tip top shape in 2021 (martial arts still closed. Damn it covid!). Just take it at your own pace and play how you want to. When I first got back into it I didn't run at all, just taking it slow, setting up ambushes, sneaking through bushes etc. Gear rental varies from site to site. My local site does it, but it's limited to a certain number of rentals as they sterilise the gear the night before.

I'd be interested too. I have a cyma springer, but I'd be interested in getting a gas powered one. Just not £300 worth of interested for a TM.