RostokMcSpoons

Hi Buck, a short trip to Special Ops near Olney, not far from j14 on the M1, sounds like it could work for you...? https://www.specialopshq.co.uk/ They have games every other weekend, just book on the Seniors page. Price including gun hire (some sort of m4), a decent size bag of bio BBs, face protection, a hot lunch and and freely available bottled water will set you back £50 for the day. (Once you've got your own gun the price drops to £25, £20 for members) I'm there on Sundays, and would be happy to help you get settled in. My name is Ross, just shout out for me, or go talk to Carlos who runs the site - he's very friendly. Typically people turn up at 8:30 to get their kit sorted, play starts at 10ish and runs through to 4:30 It's a woodland site so wear green if you've got it Edit:. Best let you now I'm unlikely to be playing next weekend, I've absolutely buggered my foot/ankle playing football this week, I can barely walk let alone run around the woods at the moment. Not happy. So if you do come along say hello to Carlos

I am so very close on buying a DE M90... something. It's probably going to be one of the metal bodied versions, so 906 upwards, as they're starting at £160 at Patrolbase right now. But I need a final bit of advice: I'm looking at the DE site, and the Patrolbase info, and I'm struggling to understand the differences between the 906/907/908 series. I can see there are different barrel lengths, and slightly different flash hiders and rail styles... but is that it? The M906E is cheapest at £160, the M908A the most at £230... that's a big price difference - are they really just cosmetic differences, or is there more to it than that? Hmmm, talking of barrel lengths, I liked the idea of a compact gun, and I was looking at some of the really stubby PDW-style carbines before, but as I have a feeling this is going to be my primary for a while - should I take one of the longer barrel options for woodland combat? Does extra barrel length equate to better effective range on these guns?

I bought this pistol from bbguns4less about 8 months ago, so it's out of warranty with them. It was absolutely fine for a while, but started to act oddly a couple of games ago. Basically it'll fire up to 5 shots or so, then start acting up with clouds of gas coming out and it firing full-auto briefly before whooshing the last of the gas out. The sort of behaviour it'd do when it was still working, after firing lots of BBs and then running low on gas. I have two cans of Abbey Predator gas that I've used with it: Whilst charging the mag with one of them, gas shoots out everywhere and it's a noisy, frostbite-inducing bit of drama. With the other can of gas, nothing seems to happen and I have to wiggle it around to hear anything at all. To rule out either or both the cans being the problem, the site tech borrowed a can of green gas, and didn't have any different luck with that. I've tried purging the mag. Didn't help. So what's wrong with it, and is it fixable? Is it worth trying maintenance gas to see if an O-ring has dried out? I can't hear the mag leaking though. Could the input valve be (technical term ahoy) buggered? As the gun is acting like it's low on gas I am rather leaning towards this possibility. I've looked inside the slide, and the end of the air nozzle looks a little ragged, could that be the issue? I hear HFC guns are hard to find spare parts for, but I'm sure I can buy a new magazine, if that's the likely failure. I don't want to spend much money on it speculatively (I'd rather put any cash towards a TM Hi Capa) but it would be a shame to write-off a gun that cost me ... well, let's say 'too much' , if it's salvageable Edit: In the spirit of adventure, I checked on YT that taking apart a mag wouldn't spring any surprises on me. I then found my can of WD40 Silicone lube, yanked out the magazine fill valve, checked it wasn't blocked, squirted some WD40 inside, reassembled and retried. It seems to have helped... a bit. I managed to fire off 20 rounds before it de-gassed itself. So it does look like this mag is refusing to fill properly, but basically the gun itself is working. Well, that's my take anyway. So is the mag repairable or do I spend £30 on a new one?

I'm very tempted to get away from Hi-Caps as I was sounding like a whole orchestra of maracas when I was running around on Sunday (well, maybe jogging would be closer. Or waddling. Anyway, movement was noisy!) But presumably the GBBR mags hold the gas too, and so they're extra expensive? Yeah I can't go for that really. I'll look longingly at the TMs but I think they're north of £400 aren't they? I've already baulked at the Aug Hi-Cycle that I really like the look of. And that's a mere £280. But... if I sell one of my guitars, I could throw a bit more cash at it... anyone want to buy a Fender Telecaster? Edit: just in case anyone is interested in this thread in the future and wants to know what the outcome was .. I bought the double eagle m906c which is compact, solid, and fantastic 😍

I did have a quick look at a couple of EBB guns, they're all tending to be quite expensive! I think I mentioned my initial plan of buying an L85, it would have been the G&G with a somewhat fragile EBBR system, which I've discounted anyway due to the weight of it. I must say I do love the feel of the recoil of my GBB pistol, it's all a bit dramatic and immersive, but that's now decided to die on me so a GBB rifle would be a hard sell right now! What gun(s) are you running?

Yeah, that's true. I saw some pics of me in my bargain-bin mix'n'match kit on Sunday. I've got a black viper skeleton harness + belt which at the moment only has a few magazine pouches on my left side. It's noticeable how much the solid black spoils the camo effect though, so I'd rather go with camo than not, if possible. (I'm sure OD or ranger green would be better than black though)

I just wore my DPM S95 combat shirt and trousers that was quite warm enough thank you very much. I know exactly what you mean about the sweat 😔😋 I might buy a pair of MTP trousers and base layer long sleeve base layer, and then a combat smock for when the temperature actually drops... Finding Molle kit to go with my current camo is quite hard.

Sorry to bump my own thread, if that's a hangable offence then ... Well please don't hang me, just tell me so, I'll take the hint. Anyway unfortunately my game today was a bit of a disaster kit-wise. My 'repaired' guns both died when I was dialing in the hop up on the range. Even my pistol refused to hold gas. I ended up with a rental that wouldn't hold my m4 mags well enough to feed properly. I was pretty gutted tbh, and on the point of going home. But then I swapped for a G&G Raider v1, and things picked up! That gun is excellent. It didn't look box fresh, and one of my mags didn't work well with it (I think my original classic army metal mag), but it ran so nicely, reached a decent range, and felt so solid in the hand. Polymer for the win. Good stuff! I didn't notice the trigger being slow, but neither did I feel the gun was snappy. The RoF was... fine. So there's some mediocrity in the mix. The upshot is I'll definitely consider the Combat Machine guns to be a solid option, and if retail stock levels and the condition of my current guns dictate I get one, I won't be unhappy!

Kit review coming up... But first, the weather. I shall now review the weatherman. He's a twat. Not only did it not rain at all, it was in fact sunny. So glad I bought that poncho 😏 Anyway, the boots were good. Sure it was nice when I took them off, but they fitted ok. I think they also saved me from a twisted ankle when I slipped on a tree root. They are heavy though. I bet a modern pair of part cordura boots would weigh 60% less. I'm not going to swap though, need that waterproofing for the coming months...

My local surplus shop has turned into a generic family run DIY store now. That lovely aisle of British army kit is now a line of paint tins and adhesives. I don't suppose they sold enough of the surplus stuff to make any money. I've not been there for several years and even then I don't think I spent much, so I can't complain. Mind you the paint was so overpriced I don't think they'll much of that either 😕 I've put the boots on and run around my garden for a few minutes. The problem is width not length. And that's apparent as some pressure across the top of the feet. They're near enough the right size that I'll try them for the day. But I'll have my trainers if I need to give up on that experiment early! The boots are fine for the price of £40. Not really grade A condition, as they're 2005 vintage, but new-ish soles with J masses of tread on them, and everything where it should be, leather still in good nick.

I'm in the market for a good reliable gun for a little less, and I've landed on Double Eagle as my preferred choice now. An M907 with a full metal body and programmable trigger unit, for £170. I just hope there's still stock when I'm ready to pay for it 😕

Gaiters? Where are we, Florida??? (See what I did there. Dad jokes a speciality. I'm here all week, unfortunately for you. Etc) The good ol' weatherman has changed his mind again. Chips definitely being pissed on. Well, according to one weatherman. Another thinks it's only a 10% chance of rain, and it'll be fine and dandy, and I might be taking the factor 20 instead. So, sod it, not worrying any more about getting wet. I bought the poncho just in case. More concerning are my boots. They've arrived. They're great, but they're fairly tight (size 10/44. I think I need 10.5/45). And as they're 2005 vintage, I doubt they're going to stretch anymore. Maybe a good lump of dubbin? So I'll almost certainly wear them for this weekend and then try to swap them for the next size up. (I refuse to feel guilty about doing that as the shop advertised next day posting, and they actually took 5+ days to do it, so I've had no time to try them, send them back for another pair).

One pair of black leather Thinsulate gloves found 'hiding in plain sight' in my wardrobe when I was putting something away. So that's that sorted in a "that'll-do" style. I really hope my boots turn up (and fit), that's what is making me really twitchy now

Blimey, the good old weathermen, eh? The forecast has now changed from "pissing on my chips" to "a bit cool with a breeze and a 20% chance of showers" I'm still going to pick up the poncho and the gloves... just in case the weather chappie changes his mind again £22. a bit of a jump in cost, but if they're actually useful in the long term - an investment. I'll take a look when I'm there!

Very helpful advice, thanks guys! I've poked around on GoOutdoors, and if you have their annual £5 membership card you can get some nice discounts... so I've got these reserved: https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/351741/freedom-trail-men-s-poncho-khaki-351741 That's your box-standard nylon poncho in semi-tactical green, looks alright to me at £7 And just in case my hands do get cold https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15902348/hi-gear-waterproof-thinsulate-glove-15902348 Black thinsulate waterproof gloves for £3! So for £15 (including that card that's already paid for itself with 'membership discounts') I should be able to keep dry, if I want to Top advice on the optics and the eyewear, hadn't thought about that so much. I've got ESS goggles and also a pair of Guarder wraparound ballistic specs. I bought a little tub of fogstop BUT BLOODY B******* HELL I'VE LOST IT Those Guarder specs.. the rubber frames have gone all... sticky. And not in a good way Ugggh. Hot water and soap hasn't helped, what's going on there? Edit: But some strong household cleaner has rescued them from Room 101 So I'd be better off with a football top instead? Oh yeah, footwear got a mention. I'm waiting on a pair of surplus Austrian Paratrooper boots to turn up. If they don't, or they don't fit, I'll be a bit b*ggered tbh.

I'll be playing at the lightly-wooded SpecialOps site on Sunday, and the weather forecast is for lots of heavy showers. Amazingly this looks like it'll be my first Airsoft event in that there 'inclement weather', I've normally been more worried about getting soaked with sweat rather than rain! I've had a quick look through the forum and I can see the typical recommendation is either some pricey Goretex (and people who've put up with my webbing questions know I'm skint / skinflint / idiot who is hoarding his money for guns rather than 'extras'... so my question is: I'm intending on wearing my S95 DPM Jacket. I was just going to wear a long sleeve cotton t-shirt underneath to act as a wicking layer too. Will the jacket be sufficiently warm / waterproof to keep me going? I have washed it once with fabric conditioner, which I guess you're not supposed to do as it'll harm the water resistance? Should I go buy a poncho or cagoule from eBay / Amazon / GoOutdoors? Is a t-shirt good enough as a base layer? (I'm not really up with this athletic 'base layer technology' stuff) And I've got some non-waterproof Delta Force gloves - do they need an upgrade too? Any thoughts much appreciated

Thinking about it , once I get to 3 guns and a pistol, I'm going to go all Dogs Of War feel confident about having enough pew-pew kit to suffer the odd setback with a broken part. And as I've got an on-site tech, and I've almost successfully negotiated a spring change, fixing guns doesn't feel so scary now. (But maybe getting the spare parts is ) And also my sites' games are quite often in short-range areas where only single shot is allowed anyway, and I go for short bursts when I am in full auto. So 11.1 ahoy, me hearties!

Cheers for that, very informative! I actually watched part of the Negative Airsoft video linked earlier in the thread, where he said *lots* of positive things about Double Eagle (like how they haven't crossed his desk as a tech, so they're reliable, presumably) As I started this thread asking for 'light weight' I was thinking that the M906 would be ruled out, but actually there's only a tiny weight difference. The fire control system is really rather spiffy and all done with the gun, no external gubbins required - I watched a video of a chap programming an M904 for not only the burst modes but also the trigger sensitivity. The same video did show it connected up to a 11.1 with a really good RoF, but I see that Patrolbase says "Please note that an 11.1v LiPo is only recommended by the manufacturer on the grounds that the replica is firing above 390FPS. As your purchase will be firing at less than this out of the box, please avoid the use of an 11.1v Battery. " Would ignoring that 'just' speed up wear, or is that asking for some catastrophic failure? So yeah, liking the M906's a lot, looks like a front runner for the M4 option!

I thank you all for your input to my buying decision, you've been kind and patient with an old man trying to save the pennies and ounces 😋 I have now gone 'sod it' and bought a Viper tactical harness from my local online Airsoft shop's boneyard, it's black rather than the dark green I'd have liked, but for a tenner for a Molle belt I'm not going to be picky. I've also grabbed a super cheap universal belt holster to temporarily continue carrying my sickly HFC M92 (if I don't jump in for the TM Hi capa) for a game or two, which will let me test out the balance. Next I'll buy some Opsrey SA80 mag pouches as they're cheap as chips... And a utility pouch. Should be sorted, at least to the point that I'll know if this works for me! Edit: Purchased a couple of elastic strapped Osprey mag pouches, and one of those plastic shell m4 mag holders for my primary speedy access. My total outlay is now.... £31 For which I've got a Molle belt with v harness, fabric holster, 2 mag pouches and one mag holder. You might see it all on eBay in a couple of weeks 😋😁🥴

I only found out about flash mags a couple of days ago, but lessons learned from it were that 1. They seem pretty cool. Are they longer than normal ones though? 2. The nuprol ones tend to break the zip cord easily... So buy Lonax instead?

(Damnit, how do you kill off an old quote block???) ok you've warmed me back up to the idea! But as a heftier investment it'll maybe get pushed down the pecking order by some of the bargain m4s out there But that is maybe a false economy when I've already got an M16... Arrrggh 🥴

@strykerles do you wear that belt over the top of the jacket, or in through the belt loops, because that was kind of the crux of my initial questions... Whether there's enough stability on webbing when it's not connected to the trousers I'm liking the Bulle MLE harness more now I've realised it can carry multiple magazines on the inside pouches. I guess my only real complaint is that it will look a bit odd wearing it with no pouches on the outside! (The sniper belt was quite appealing but it's out of stock anyway, so that's ruled out)

Iceni, you are surely an Aug guru, thanks for taking the time to write that. Now the problem is I am not an expert with the internals of any gun. I opened up my AK to downgrade the spring, and ended up losing a bushing. When I took it apart again to see if it was inside the gearbox, the trigger and gears fell apart to the point where I gave up and handed it over to the site tech. So if this is a gun that needs tender loving care, maybe it is not for me. Not yet at least! I just found Patrolbase have double eagles in stock, they're a bit pricey compared to the twgun prices (who isn't), I'm sorely tempted!

Yeah I'm avoiding another assault vest because I had to wring the sweat out of my jacket when I wore one for half a day. The recommended chest rigs at least allow a bit more breathability. Damn it, even if I had all the money in the world to spend, I don't know what I want now 🥴

Yeah I apologise about the tightness of the purse strings... I've got two guns being meddled with by the site technician (for which I'll owe some cash next time I play), a desire to buy a TM high capa (and ideally another rifle), and a wife who has got wise to the fact I want to spend money on this hobby when I'm telling her to be more careful with money each month 😋 So I'm trying to save money on this part of my kit, but I'm realising it's difficult to get the things I want at bargain basement pricing! Still, whatever I buy now doesn't have to be my 'forever' loadout, just need something better than sticking everything in pockets. For at least a couple of months.