DRay

Read: I watched a KM video, bought a hideous HIDEOUS RIF (who in gods name wants a bolt action with an M4 stock painted blue?!), discovered that sniping is hard/gun is shit/recce and assault is more fun and thought ‘I can offload this piece of shite on another rookie by writing some generic things about airsoft in the description’. You know I bet you he bought one of those spring loaded claymores too and thought it would be REALLY useful...

You’ll make more money breaking it down and selling parts individually, 100%. I think that upgraded RIFs don’t fetch as much as the sum of their parts because there are questions over who has done the work, do the internal upgrades have the right tolerances etc. To that end something so heavily upgraded appeals to people who know that they can fix it if something isn’t quite right, and clearly if you have got circa £6-700 to spend and you are a normal non-tech airsofter would you not just buy something stock that is covered by a warranty?

3 day round trip... I have a van. If enough people want RIFs and are willing to pay me to drive to and from it isn’t out of the question.

Sounds like it would be easier to hire a van, drive to Poland, load it up with stuff and drive it back to the UK...

Could you print a KeyMod vertical grip? (Not the stubby kind, a proper one). I have been looking for one for months.

Depends on the game mode. Get a kill streak and activate some kind of target ID, or it can be used once per game by each team etc.

I think in principle it is a great idea. Having a COD style ‘map’ available to you during the game would be amazing. The execution, as with all things is tricky. It is worth noting that actually militaries have tried to develop an integrated IFF into a HUD for years and to date none of the major arms manufacturers have managed it. I did a beta test for some Raytheon Anschluss AR tech about 3 years ago and it has still never made it to market. So if you do manage it the potential to license it and make a SERIOUS amount of money is probably bigger than the application for airsoft. My take on what it would need to do is; Smart phone displayed (IOT keep the costs down), I don’t think you would get a mass market for a standalone device. Indicate blue Indicate red (with the option to turn this off if the game required it) Indicate objectives, although this would require sites to sign up, probably at a cost, which again limits your market to established players like Ground Zero, UCAP etc. Comms function, a way of connecting to a headset (fairly straightforward via bluetooth probably) and ‘log in’ to a team, with the potential to monitor your squad net i.e assault or recon, so that you don’t just get everyone’s chaff all the time. Also for MILSIM use the ability to monitor a second Charlie group or group line 1 etc for C2. The issues as I see it; Connectivity, if it needs WiFi, no go because only small or indoor sites have coverage in my experience. Phone signal in outdoor sites is normally patchy as fuck too. iOS/android compatibility Militarised bluetooth headsets, I have never seen these as an option available commercially (although they do exist for the military) but if you can get a manufacturer onboard potentially a game changer if they are available for the same price as a set of headphones on Amazon. Getting sites to sign up and pay for the privilege... Drain on phone battery for GPS fed software, meaning by the time the day is over you can’t google maps your way home! All of that said, to reiterate I think it’s a great idea. I have done quite a bit of human factors at work and testing of AR for military use, so if you would like some testers DM me and I’ll send you my details to stay in touch for when you get to that stage of R&D.

Always use trouser twists. Nothing worse than flappy combats or combats tucked into boots like a simpleton!

PLEASE invest in some trouser twists. Tucked in combats looks ridiculous.

I thought you had inexplicably stuck a little bottle of red tracer BBs on the top of that. And then I realised it was a pink Himalayan salt grinder in the background.

1. Joined the military (which is the best job in the world regardless!) but discovered that after my first job where I was a boarding officer the opportunities to run round feeling like Rambo and laying down the law to crims is non existent. My initial impression of airsoft was that it was a bit sad, full of cadets who think they are SF and walts who think they are RM. Once I got over myself I discovered it is a great laugh, much cheaper than paintball and on the whole the majority of people who do it regularly are pretty sound. 2. Clearing a room! Fast through the door, two to the chest one to the... not head because you shouldn’t aim for the head if the centre of mass is available but... maybe one to the head if they are a dickhead. Followed by the look of bewilderment like ‘where the fuck did that guy come from’. Edit; this normally never happens, I go through the door and take one to the neck. 3. Snipers. No one likes snipers, its fucking ungentlemanly. Lack of vegetarian option is a pretty common complaint over lunch. I also have an issue with the following ‘types’ (although both are mercifully rare); ’pros’ who take themselves very seriously and look down at rentals, won’t squad up with anyone who didn’t spent £1000 on a HPA rig and who talk about airsoft like they are storming the Iranian Embassy. kids. Controversial one because I know a lot of people take they lads etc, so I will probably get a bit of stick for this. But I think that under 18s slow the game down, can be pretty crap at taking hits and are a bit immature (aware of the hypocrisy of this statement given that it is a field of grown men playing with toy guns!). I think UCAP get this right where U18s have to have a parent with them to supervise. 4. I think it is good for you. You have to be humble and a good sport. You meet new people and the very very vast majority are sound (I normally turn up as a walk on on my own). I would query whether it makes you fitter... it certainly can be good phys and it’s a lot more fun than going for a run. I normally cover 10-12 miles most of it running/jogging however I do also see a lot of pretty heavily built *ahem* players walking to and from the respawn and pretty unwilling to cover the open ground (which I will add is fine by me as long as they suppress for me!). So in that regard it is very much what you put into it.

There are loads of threads about what to buy, how much is a reasonable amount to spend etc. Equally good videos by people like Lone Wombat Airsoft and Gamble on YouTube that are kit buying guides. Appreciate that you want to do it on the cheap so I would recommend (in order of importance) 1. Military surplus boots - Altberg or Haix - will cost you about £40. Loads of military surplus websites online. Take good care of them with polish and they will last years. Not the most exciting purchase but everyone who is a regular poster will agree with me on this. 2. Eye protection - don’t skimp on it, about £30 will get you a reasonable pair of goggles. Pretty unexciting purchase though. 3. Camo - there are some pretty god awful hideous knock offs of MTP (modern UK pattern) around on eBay etc that I would steer clear of. Again, military surplus websites will often do combats, UBACS and a smock in MTP or DPM (80s/90s UK pattern) for £40 or something like that. This is a slightly more fun purchase than goggles! If you push the boat out a bit you can get flecktarn (German pattern) or US woodland pretty reasonably and look a bit more individual (Airsoft sites are normally a sea of MTP and Coyote!). 4. Rifle - clearly the most exciting thing to get but also the least necessary and the hardest. You need a UKARA registration to buy one (don’t jump the gun and buy a two tone because you will regret it!). There are loads of threads and advice on this which I won’t repeat, but in short you need to have rented a RIF for a few games over the course of a couple of months and then you can get a UKARA number and buy toy guns to your little heart’s content. You can pick something up in the classifieds on here for about £100 and it will shoot reliably and probably come with some magazines/maybe a battery etc. You’ll know what you like more once you have rented one a few times (normally about £20 on top of the game fee) but an M4 variant is a pretty safe bet. Don’t fall into the trap of buying a sniper rifle, it isn’t like playing COD and your enjoyment of the game is very different if you are sat dressed like a bush. 5. Webbing/load carrying/helmets/radios/tacticool items to complete the ‘look’ - least important but a fun purchase so you may well end up getting this before you get a RIF. This is absolutely something worth buying in the classifieds on here because there are always loads for sale cheap as people change their loadout/look. My preference is a chest rig rather than a plate carrier but that is personal preference. Final point; ‘you can’t have a toy gun right now’ is the last thing that you want to hear. But dems de rules. Don’t try and circumvent them, or ask covertly how to get around UKARA and VCRA. We are all in the same boat, you just have to rent a RIF for a couple of months while you save up, which is better in the long run because that is more money to spend on a better quality RIF that you will get a lot more joy out of. The kind of people that want to get around the legislation on RIF ownership aren’t good for the sport because the rules are what protect all of us. I also think it is a good indication of a non-hit taker but that is a side issue. Just generally don’t be that guy. These guys are a pretty reputable firm (although by no means the cheapest! I have used them when I have lost/broken kit and it is cheaper to buy it from them than get another set from stores ironically!) with free delivery and a good returns policy for camo and boots; https://www.militarykit.com The rest you can pick up in the classifieds.

UCAP GreenOps on the 4th and 11th, and then South Coast CQB booked for the first week in May when that opens too!

It looks like someone assembled a RIF out of a parts box, and when they got to the outer barrel discovered they didn’t have one so took apart a camping chair and used the leg. What on earth is going on with the back end of the upper receiver? It reminds me of the shape a dog’s back makes when it is having a crap.

According to that invoice; yes. He paid £600 for it! Which seems pretty mental when for the same money you could get a TM SCAR NGRS, a month’s worth of site entry, travel to said sites and a Maccies latte and hash brown en route to each game day...

A trip to AK2M4 it is then!

Quick way to fix a wobbly barrel? Just had a second hand RIF delivered and there is some up/down play in the barrel. The hand guard is solid. Is this a major issue? Something I should get on to the seller about? (It wasn’t mentioned in the item description).

You are just the kind of people that would fit a box mag to a two tone L1A1 SLR...

I have a SA E07 and love it (although the KeyMod limitation is a nightmare). Battery; 9.6 NiMh works well for me and is snappy. I have been advised not to use an 11.1 unless you drop in a 30w motor which seems logical because the main criticism of SA is the motor and I don’t want to put too much power through it and burn it out. You will need a DEANS adaptor if you don’t have one already because most batteries are wired mini tamiya, but the RIF is rear wired for DEANS. BBs; I use .25/.28 and get decent range with it without having to crank the hop on all the way up or turning it into an artillery piece. Mags; Nuprol N low-mid caps feed well and are pretty bloody cheap mags so I carry 6. The only attachment I have added is a torch for CQB. I am going to add a sight (have started a thread on the subject already) but that’s it. Sometimes people complain that the stock is wobbly unless it is locked at full extension, I corrected that with a bit of tape on the buffer tube which fixed it. Also, on holsters, I have a warrior one (recommended to me on here via another thread I started on the subject!) which is pretty bloody good (I have only stress tested it in the house and garden and it seems good, but haven’t used it on the two way firing range yet).

Does anyone else object to M4 stocks on AK platforms? It just isn’t right!

Cheers mate that is great. I’m surprised that there aren’t more threads dedicated to sights and optics to be honest. But it does seem to be the case that people buy them more for the weapon silhouette rather than function.

@hitmanNo2 so the second one linked there is a no go?

If anyone has any thoughts on these I would appreciate it; https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/theta-optics-ris-open-reflex-sight https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/acm-holo-weapon-sight-mod-1

Mate that would be awesome; T1/T2? FC1? RMR? Also, the difference between a red dot/holographic/reflex sight? I can see the logic behind having some magnification for TAR, so I am maybe erring toward an optic with a wide field of view and a small amount of magnification. My prior experience of magnified optics is that they lose their zero pretty easily and ideally I would like to avoid having to do that every time I get it out of the bag. I have think £30 is a reasonable starter for 10 in terms of range. If there are any specific models you think are a decent shout I’d appreciate it 👍

If you are buying boots steer clear of anything low liability (often called desert boots) with canvas uppers. They are useless in Western and Northern Europe because it is wet. Your feet will be wet. You will be miserable. If you can afford them, Altberg or Lowas are the gold standard. Haix are a good shout for mid-range. And whatever you do, make sure you polish them. People who complain about uncomfortable boots I guarantee you leave them in the porch covered in mud and let them dry that way. Wash the crap off then every time, polish them before they are completely bone dry, never put them in an airing cupboard or next to a radiator and you will have a pair of leather combat slippers for life. Also, spring for a pair of merino wool socks on Amazon (a pair are about £7). Warm in the winter and cool in the summer.