Emergencychimps

Hey all, Can I get your thoughts on this? My mags are brand new and have "3" on the bottom of them, so I am guessing they are the gen 3 version of the mag. First game day I used abbey 144 gas (was still doing 310 with 0.3s in 32 degrees). But all loaded etc and apart from being hot it worked. Yesterday I switched to using propane with a madbull adapter. I was failing to get any gas into the mags. Do I need to do this o ring mod or is if just a metal adapter/pin is no good and I need plastic? Any other recommendations appreciated!

While I agree with the general consensus that anything waterproof will leave you as a hot sticky mess, being sensible about the rain is recommended. Unless it's really chucking it down, I'd recommend avoiding goretex and other water proofs. Windproof is where I think you'll get the most benefit, in most showers they cope ok and if they do get soaked, well you're wet but the wind isn't an issue and it's the wind that is often the big problem of being wet. You'll generate loads of heat moving around. There is a bunch of wise people that recommend windproof under your camo of choice, it's much harder to get it wet, still windproof and if your out layer gets soaked - again, not the end of the world. I find baseball caps are super useful for keeping the worst of the rain off your glass/goggles and if you're comfortable with mesh, having a pair of mesh goggles in your bag for those super wet days. Some people like boonies, I have never got on with them but I have a weird head. I find trousers, socks and footwear more important for general comfort. I don't always recommend waterproof boots, they can be good but not cheap, need maintaining and often heavy. I like having a pair of sealskinz in the bag, when it's wet enough to soak my boots I just wear those, not great for 2-3 days straight, but an average skrimish day is fine. If doing multiple day events, good waterproof boots are sensible, talc and sock changes. Gaiters are massively under appreciated, often it's not even that rainy but your feet and lower legs get soaked from wet grass - gaiters are your friend. When it comes to trousers, a choice that dries relatively quick (not jeans) and isn't cotton (poly cotton is ok I find), so your average camo pants work fine, some clones of crye pants aren't great and it's this sort of thing where having real ones can make a big different to your comfort. A spare pair of gloves is a nice luxury as well, putting wet gloves back on after lunch just sucks, as does getting shot in a freezing cold, wet hand that doesn't have a glove on because your only paid is wet. Check out mechanix, i think their originals line is awesome and well worth the cash. When wet I find they still keep my hand less cold than without them.

Every review I think I've ever seen of multiple ai500 games has been along the lines of "this was shit and there were way too many people for the size of the site". I think I've read 1 review about a game at lydd that was good, but that was best part of 6-8 years ago. I haven't attended, I could be wrong but before anyone signed up to it I'd really encourage people search for reviews. If you want to do a big event, try one of the companies that do more than 1 event a year. At least with something like the national airsoft festival you know what you're getting. They aren't used to running events, they aren't used to running even skirmishes at the sites they use and they've run multiple big number events that seem to flop every time. Good events come from an organiser having a good team, good rules, good sites and knowing how to make games flow, which it seems (based on previous reviews)that Ai can't do any of those things. Every time I hear about one of their events going to shit it just feels like common profittering and for a sport based on honour just seems wrong.

In the UK there are a lot fewer real firearms owners, add into that even if you have a ticket, getting what you actually want costs an arm and a leg even if they magically have it in stock (AR style semi auto .22 wmr - looking at you!) in comparison to the US Due to the stricter laws it's hard for the engineers to comply with the legislation to do the custom work, storage, transport etc which all adds cost making custom work like this mega expensive. This then means that getting a nice uk legal firearm is expensive, customising it is even more expensive and reduces the appeal of it should you come ever want to sell it. To achieve what you're looking for, there are some pretty funky aftermarket slides etc for pistols out there, add in some cool colour paintwork and you're probably as close to something you'd like as you'll get without taking out a mortgage.

Think bloc are quite new to the tactical eye wear world, hence the discount prices (could be wrong). Their sunglasses are a good, affordable option and give a great cost/benefit ratio. Ultimately any "anti fog" that the glasses have will be a layer over the lens itself, when that wears off they'll be just like any other pair. Guess the real question is how long does that layer last? As they're new I doubt anyone knows yet. They seem expensive to me for a non premium brand tactical eye pro option (Vs say Oakley, ess, wiley, revision) with no proven pedigree behind them. Also I find with glasses that the fit of them to your face is super important, having a small gap (small, not too big) in places is needed for airflow which reduces fogging. Buying online doesn't give you the chance to try before you buy and I bet finding bloc tactical locally won't be easy. If you sweat loads, other options are goggles with fans in them (generally home made) or mesh (check out heroshark). People get worried about mesh with the risk of shards of smashed bbs coming through, though I can't recall any cases in 10 years of being on various Airsoft forums and Facebook where the person's eye was actually damaged from shards through mesh, irritated, yes, but not blinded etc.

I agree with the consensus that if they were playing by any site specific rules then fair game. But I like it about as much as those players who put their arm band on their plate carrier/chest rig shoulder straps at the front so it can't be seen from behind, is it in the rules? possibly......is it within the spirit of the game, I don't think so. Ultimately I believe that the site should try to get them to be on any non-arm band team (assuming there is one) where possible and rebalance the team after, obviously if there are 10 + snipers it gets tricky. It's a tough role being an effective sniper and in an average skirmish I can imagine it can be dull or frustrating so I don't mind if they get a little help to add a different dynamic, without people doing that it would make the games more one dimensional.

Yes, I have seen it though I don't think it's as prevalent or as intentional as a lot of people believe, say or think. Seen it at some skirmish sites, it's super funny when the group of "rentals" absolutely run rings around the regulars! Many times I have seen the teams get split and predicted it to go one way or the other and have been shocked by how the day has actually panned out. Unfortunately there have been times when it looks like the rentals/newer players are going to get smashed and they have been, generally though the sites I attend have split the teams pretty fairly from the off and made changes if one side is getting battered. I used to do a lot of stirling events and have heard it said that the stirling team get the preferential treatment, they get the "gucci" taskings etc. I used to believe that as well. However what I saw repeatedly was the stirling team doing the basics well and almost always had boring taskings. Then when they are on their 5th perimeter security tasking of the event and there is an intense counter attack which turns into an awesome firefight it looks like they had the "good tasking" rather than the team that was tasked with door kicking. Most teams/squads moaned about getting the "boring" taskings and would often flake (especially if it was their 2nd/3rd one of the event), when they got hit with a decent counter attack they'd often get rolled up cause the players got bored, didn't pay attention, chatted/had banter etc.

For radios themselves lots of people will recommend baofengs uv5r which can be good and can be good for starter or Airsoft radios. However, to use them you should have a license and when people get the licenses they tend to go for the small business licence (£75 for 5 years) and covers a group of people. Some sites (gunman Airsoft for example) and allow customers to use their licence/channels. Lots of people don't bother to get a license and I have never heard of anyone being caught, but that's the law bit covered. You shouldn't use them on pmr channels (too powerful) but you'll have channels you can use them on They take the standard Motorola or kenwood (can't remember)fittings, so you could get a standard speaker mic for them and a covert ear piece. Or you could go to someone like JCI Comms and get a military style ptt which would mean you can plug them into your military style headset. Going this way is expensive, but good Comms are expensive. There are issues mixing and matching repro comm stuff with real stuff, JCI can recommend. You could also go for standard pmr radios from Argos, but most won't be powerful enough for some sites (especially with buildings). And headsets etc will be more limited. Next up you could go for Motorola, kenwood or yaesu. They're the next level and most will need licenses. Similar issues as with baofengs on the accessories department but the QC on the handsets it better. Baofengs have a habit of failing when they are exposed to damp, I used then for weekend events and after binning off my 4th or 5th one I got a Kenwood and have used it since, £25 per baofeng or £175 for a Kenwood. I was using it for a lot of weekend events, in the rain, cold, snow, hot etc. If you really want to pay out but have what should be amazing comms, you could get a TCA or Tri 148/152, basically repros of real radios, £250+ for the radio + only works with legit ptts and headsets. JCI Comms (Facebook and instagram) will be your friend here. From what I've seen they're amazing when they work but often have issues or niggles. For you, my recommendation would be a baofeng uv5r, a baofeng speaker mic and a covert ear piece from eBay, roughly £45 all in, plus your license if you need one (depending on your site). It works for most airsofters needs 95% of the time. If you really enjoy them etc, then upgrading when you're more knowledgeable is sensible. I don't know about blue tooth for the foregrip based ptts, sounds good but risky Vs hardwired

Some Salomons have quite a narrow fitting, I had some of the ultra gtx range and my feet were in agony by the end of a skirmish day. yet I used the Salomon 4d quests for about 3/4 years of hard use and while the waterproof goretex failed early on, they were comfy.

I'd strongly recommend whatever pair you buy, you try them on first. Easier said than done nowadays, but a trip to Cotswold outdoors or blacks would be sensible. Your footwear can have a bigger impact on your morale than you'd initially think. I think the right pair is the pair that fits you the best and that will mean spending a bit more cash, ultimately though these won't just be something you wear for Airsoft so hopefully you can justify a bit more. I'd also suggest thinking about the type of sites you play, regular at the trees or other very rugged sites and you'll need proper boots, leather, waterproof (like althergs,akus) etc. Some sites can get away with light weight/minimal ankle support (merrels, lowa zephyrs).

There is a guy that does Airsoft skirmishes in an electric wheelchair, so I wouldn't think you can't ever skirmish. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/simon-jameson-turned-his-wheelchair-into-a-tank-for-airsoft-game-2016-4%3famp I'm not familiar with the issues you'd face and you'd need a supportive site but seems like it's possible if you really want to. There are many elements to the sport though, gun teching, playing, practical shooting target, collecting and being an all round gear nerd Best of luck.

Very new mws owner and new to gbbr's in general. Completely stock internals and using 144a I was doing 310 with 0.3s yesterday at the post lunch chrono (it was 36 degrees c!). What's the best npas to fit? Based on this thread I avoided all angry gun externals as well and want to leave it as stock as possible.

Standard/stock gears and boost is set to medium. Haven't had any issues, ultimately though I'm not chasing the highest, highest FPS etc I like a quick trigger response. Im the kind of guy who put in a longer tightbore barrel so I can use an m100 spring and still get 340 ish FPS.

I did about 5 years of doing weekend events every 3-4 weeks along with regular skirmishing. Lots and lots of weekend events - have quite a few cool stories from it but they are massively outnumbered by the "yeah, it was an ok event, nothing super special", thankfully they also outnumber the poor hit taking and the "I just want to quit and sell it all" moments. My last weekend event was around October 2021 (kids!) For context get dropped off by a rhib in the dead of night to perform a tasking (stirling airsoft, the sandpit around 2015/2016), perform dawn raids on target buildings listening to chatter on the comms between the "apache pilot" and ground based aircraft controllers followed by pyro and lighting effects (tier one, stanta - around 2013), stayed awake for far too long on stag in woodlands with my mates ripping the piss out of each other (Stirling airsoft, the trees, the valley, the sandpit, caerwent, multiple times!), watched the sun come up over afghan style villages (Stirling Airsoft, stanta, around 2014), broken contact from far superior forces using appropriate tactics (Stirling Airsoft, Spain, around 2016/2017), set and executed a variety of ambushes (Stirling Airsoft, Sandpit, trees, caerwent, numerous times), crept through buildings trying to be super sneaky (Stirling airsoft, catterick loads of times, urban assault night games) taken out callsigns 3 times my squads size through little more than applying some grey matter (Stirling Airsoft, the trees around 2017). There are a bunch of other highlights but The more memorable ones really stick out because they aren't run of the mill, it's involved hours and hours of travelling (including to Spain) to sites and probably 100+ weekend events plus skirmishes. Getting to Catterick is an 8 hour round trip for me and I have probably done it 20-30 times and even then, you could do Catterick 5 times and not get any experiences that are stand out (like above) or aren't much different to a standard skirmish. Sadly some of these sites aren't even operating anymore. Ive done countless skirmish days that I now can't even recollect. I dread to think how much I have spent on this hobby.....

Hey, looked at your posts cause I see you are new and planning to attend Gunman Tuddenham, my local site (which is awesome). I haven't got much experience with recent entry level RIFs, but Gunman use the standard G&G raider as their hire weapons, so when you do your first game with them you'll get hands on experience with what it is, whether you like it etc. The players at Tuddenham are great - ask around, check out their kits, look at the rifs they sell onsite but don't rush into it, do at least your 3 games before buying, I know renting feels like dead money, but way better than spending £250+ on a rif and then not loving the sport and only attending once/twice.

Complete agree with everything in this comment! If you objectively look at pretty much any hobby, it can be silly and expensive, pointless etc. Football - watching 22 over paid blokes run about kicking a ball, what does it actually achieve? Oh wow, x/y/z team won etc. Hiking - wow, walked up a big hill and down again, saw some lovely sights.....well there are lovely sights you can see from car parks etc. Ultimately its all on whether you enjoy it, we're all only alive once and at the end did you make the most of your journey. From airsoft, I have had a reason to walk through some pretty amazing sites, get dropped off by a rhib in the dead of night to perform a tasking, perform dawn raids on target buildings listening to chatter on the comms between the "apache pilot" and ground based aircraft controllers followed by pyro and lighting effects, stayed awake for far too long on stag in woodlands with my mates ripping the piss out of each other, watched the sun come up over afghan style villages, broken contact from far superior forces using appropriate tactics, set and executed a variety of ambushes, crept through buildings trying to be super sneaky (both in the dark and daytime) taken out callsigns 3 times my squads size through little more than applying some grey matter. I've also shot that guy in the grey sweat pants and he hasn't called his hits, had days of where I just wanted to sell all my stuff and never attend again. When I look back over the 10 years or so of me doing airsoft, there are some great memories, great friends, special times etc. it's not all perfect, it's not for everyone. If you look at the number of new players vs how many of them are still playing in 6 months to a year, not getting giddy, excited and buying all the things is a sensible recommendation.

I don't have all the stuff at hand to check them individually, so I'll list off what I can remember. I have it on safe - semi - semi. I have shredded pistons before from full auto and burst mode (when I used 11.1 lipos.....don't do that) so not a fan of anything but semi, this also stops me from being tempted to use it.....even if I know I shouldn't. Battery protection mode is switched off, I now use 7.4 lipos and occasionally have had the error message come up about the battery being too low, even when I know it's a good to go fresh battery. Even when I have used the titan battery. I don't use the 30 round limit feature. I tried this and frankly hated it, I didn't know if I was able to shoot or not and it just wound me up. I also don't the sniper delay part. The delay thingy between shots is set to the maximum, I don't want a sewing machine for a rif. Pre cocking is switched to automatic, basically the version where you fire a shot, hold the trigger down and then move the safety to auto and pre cocking is on. This is so I can switch pre cocking off at the end of the day and I know I am not storing it with a compressed spring. Cycle detection is on. The main reason I got one is for the trigger response, I absolutely hate any delay between me pulling the trigger and the thing actually firing. Any other fancy stuff it can do it really not something I am interested in.

That's very true. I think mechanix originals are great....but then I'm old and there's probably better, cheaper etc out there.

To be honest.....there's only a couple of tweaks. If you're having fun then you're already doing it right. Personally I'd move the dump pouch to the rear and a more appropriate size helmet

Had the same a few days ago, thought it was just me being old and missing an email.

So agree with this statement. Also, if you're a larger guy (like me) don't wear a ubacs thats too small (or often....even the right size) a field shirt/jacket is a bit more flattering - even under a PC. Maybe just don't do that in the summer.

I have to echo this. While it may not seem it, TM is still king etc a lot has changed in airsoft tech and the quality of some cheaper brands has apparently improved significantly. I'd recommend not wasting any time or money on gats that are older than 10 years.....invest new cash into new equipment or I think you'll end up chucking good money into the pit that is a 10 year old rif. Rent, get your ukara etc and then go and buy that RIF you really want, the right brand, the right platform etc. Buy once, cry once. It also means you can focus on the point of the hobby, enjoying it, the actual games. Not working on some RIFs for hours that are old, brittle etc and will never be as good as even the basic entry rif you can get now. Your current ones can be kept as momentos, sold etc but I think you'll be outdone by pretty much any other gun on the field.

Quite a fan of us woodland myself as a top and generally green or tan trousers. I find most woodland type sites have naturally darker/greener higher up. MC pants and a woodland/DPM top works well. Auscam works really nicely as well, far better than you'd expect.

I'd suggest doing 5 mags at 30 rounds and then a single back up at 120. Mark that and put it somewhere on your kit that it won't be your go to mag

I always used 120 rounders. Recently been using a mp7 with 40 round mags and loved it, so switched my ngrs to the stanag mags and 5 instead of 6 and found it was more enjoyable for some reason. Ultimately with the mp7 I have 200 BBS loaded, with the stanags it's 400 BBS and this vs 720 I was running. A big part of that is like has been mentioned, working the gun, doing reloads, checking mags for whether you're nearly empty. At a recent gunman filmsim I reloaded 3 mp7 mags by hand, no speed loaders, as per the rules which surprisingly added to it all.