Madhouse

that’d take one variable out of the equation 👍

I believe they chrono'd on what people claimed to be using, I say that as one guy was told he was running hot but he couldn't understand why - turned out he thought he was using .25's but he was actually using .2's. As far as I know they didn't weigh any BBs, that said, as a rental I didn't go to chrono.

There's certainly a reason behind the name!! 🤢 Can see how there'd be some real close hits there & at any CQB. Although it was hot enough for T-shirt and shorts I'm glad I kept all my skin covered!

So I popped my Airsoft cherry last night at Zmart Newbury and what can I say, I'm hooked! First off everyone was welcoming and friendly and happy to chat about whatever, handily I wasn't the only one flying solo which meant the 3 or 4 of us kinda formed our own group which was good. One of them leant me a torch which was very kind and also very useful (didn't see the replies to my status post till this morning!) and another had a very handy scoop for loading the mag too. The marshals were great all the way through, keeping things fun while also ensuring everyone followed the rules. There was a couple of issues I noticed, one where a couple of guys were arguing about taking hits which they seemed to sort fairly quickly and another where they noticed a guy who had a hot gun mid-game - looked like they did in-game chrono and were walking off to the safe zone so he could make adjustments to his gun. The guy with the hot gun was rumoured to be slinging .3's which is pretty heavy for CQB, what I can say for sure is he was the only one running HPA. Now I know with most things that require kit there's an element of faffing before you start but it did seem to go on forever, the marshals did note it at the pre-game briefing and said they'd be stricter on it in future. We got started with a couple of infection games which were a good way of getting to know the site and also in my case the gun, which was an M4 I believe (i really should have taken more notice of manufacturer etc), then a game where three marshals were essentially targets and each side had to revive them with the side with the most primary's at the end won and finished with a game transporting a bomb to the enemies spawn point. Can't remember if there was another or not! The games were pretty much the right length and as you'd expect with CQB there wasn't much waiting around between the start of the game and being in the thick of it. Overall it was a great evening, I'm peppered with marks where I was hit, but getting hit isn't half as bad as I thought it would be, took a couple at really close range (6ft) and they really stung for a bit but actually CQB is probably the worst it's going to be in terms of the sting of a BB hit. I was also really surprised at how few BBs I used actually - less that the thousand included in the rental - but I definitely saw people going through way more than me, there were guys using tracers too which I can certainly see the benefit of although they do give away your position.

holy thread revival batman! Guessing it was the aforementioned bot:

Welcome 👋 Red Alert's my local site but I've not actually been yet (weekends are a logistical nightmare), heard lots of good stuff and @GAMBLE keeps posting YT videos of it to keep showing me what I'm missing 😂. Am sure you'll have a great time there.

Hi & welcome! You may be able to tempt your mates back with a trip to your local site, you're paying them to make it fun and provide a challenge which will (hopefully) be a step up from messing about in the woods. Alternatively if you've a few acres of woodland and no local site you could always start your own .... if you build it they will come .......... (bonus points for naming the movie) Oh and @GAMBLE's got a YouTube channel, gameplay as well as other tips & useful info in it.

Any rifle where the mag is behind the trigger. Could be the best gun in the world but I'll still dislike it just because I don't think it looks right.

Being new to this I’ve learnt that there’s a minefield of acronyms I need to get my head around before I even think about buying anything - starting to wonder if that’s what the UKARA rules are really for 🤔 I’ve also discovered there’s more midweek games around than I initially thought. Not tried CQB but it’ll make life easier if I do as weekends are fast becoming a logistical nightmare. Oh and I like Beretta’s, specifically the M9 A3. No idea if they’re any good. Still navigating the sea of rifles …….

Going on from the Rate of Fire comments, quite a lot of sites have a 'no full auto' rule, also with it being CQB it'd be worth thinking about FPS limits and a chrono policy too. Liking the idea of easily moveable walls to keep it fresh as well as upping the realism with a few extra props etc. Also, go and have a chat with the competition, they may or may not be receptive but if you're all within a sensible distance of each other then you'll all be after the same players and their cash. It's all business at the end of the day and a bit of competition is healthy, but it's definitely worth making it 'friendly' as you never know who you'll need a favour from in the future. May be worth looking at when their midweek evening sessions are (if they have one) and doing yours on a different day? Having a shop selling incidentals and stuff that people have a tendency to forget to pack will provide a nice bit of additional income, you could come to an agreement with a local store or do your own thing. Selling snacks and drinks is always going to be popular and you'll get brownie points from the local business community if you can get local lunch van to pop by - just make sure you agree times and also that the session is over in good time for everyone to get their kit stowed and be ready when the van arrives. I've always wondered about the on-site store carrying a demo fleet and doing RIF rentals in a try-before-you-buy capacity (sort of), eg rent a RIF for £20 for the day and if you buy one you get the money back. No idea if that'd actually work. Carry enough spares to ensure you can keep your rentals happy, no-one wants a game day ending with a broken gun. Also rentals are future regulars, you need to make sure they have a good day as you've the least goodwill built up with them, flip-side of that is don't forget the regulars as they are a reliable income stream - it doesn't take much to keep people happy. If you've a local technician doing gun servicing on site for your rentals then why not re-sell that service on? or maybe set up as a range once in a while for people to come and test that new spring to ensure they're not running hot or set up their new sights or hop-up in advance of a game day. Final point, make sure the parking's covered. You'll lose customers and sour relationships with your neighbours in no time if parking's a hassle.

Am about as west as you can get without being in Hampshire - Newbury. Currently navigating the diary nightmare that is having two kids that play football at the weekend (roll on the summer break). Could really do with a midweek skirmish if anyone knows of such a thing - just not Thursdays, that’s bike night. (I know I have a local CQB in town, just happens to be Thursday night though!).

You know that film they have over cameras at the motor racing where it scrolls so never gets dirty? That, but on the inside of goggles. Seriously though, it’s all about airflow, but there won’t be much of that when you’re hiding out behind a barricade taking fire from all sides. So that leaves us with forced air or heated lenses.

Hello & welcome. Surely for the price of a two-tone you could just rent for the required 3 games and then use your own kit? That’s my plan anyway. Equally, as has been said, what’s the likelihood of anyone asking about your UKARA defence? Just get yourself a violin case to transport those RIFs on the train.

Did someone say madhouse? 😉 Hello & welcome! Am equally new to this but looking forward to spending many hours in the woods with a toy gun 🔫

Starting out so need some games under my belt before I even start on RIFs (not that I haven't been looking!), but have just ordered some camo kit and boots. Jeans are way too hot for running around in! Nothing too exciting but it's a start 👍

It's how sites (and businesses) recover from the setbacks of the last 18 months that will define their future success, as has been said there's a right way and a wrong way. There's an abundance of people right now that want to catch up on all they missed out on in lockdown so there's a ton of demand and any business owner will want to get as much of that pie as they can, but as has been shown there's a fine line to tread so that you don't alienate those that were coming before and will continue to do so once things calm down a bit. Getting too greedy now may prove to be short-termist and cause more problems in future. Am all for sites doing it the right way, weekday evening shoots would be right up my street as my weekends fill up fast. I for one am also happy to muck in with the maintenance too, we all want our sites to do well after all.

Hello & welcome 👋 Can't offer much by way of advice as I'm more of a newbie than you!

Lockdown's been a nightmare, used to get stuff delivered to work and sneak it in .... "this old thing? I've had it ages ...." 😉 Already had a look at your YT channel @gamble and I think we share the same local site, so hopefully I'll bump into you soon 👍

😂 Mrs M already says I've too many hobbies, but that's impossible right? Our boys aren't old enough for it yet but they want to go and I'm totally using it as an excuse to go more myself. Thing is, dad-rules apply too, my kit needs to be better than theirs - this could get expensive ........

Hi all, just signed up and figured I’d say hi 👋 Never played Airsoft before but it’s always been on my to-do list so I’ve decided there’s no time like the present! Played plenty of paintball and Airsoft looks like a real step-up. Quite a few skirmish locations near me which is great, just need to sweet-talk Mrs M into a regular weekend pass as it’d be great to get UKARA membership and my own kit. Hope you’re all out and playing this weekend!