Daddy Foote

My first post here, and Yes, you read that right. 51 years of age and I have only just crawled out from under my rock and discovered Airsoft - well about a month ago. Turns out my partner's son has been doing it for years...
So, while still full of festive cheer (booze) I agreed to have a go. So I went for a game of CQB in The Mill in Wigan on the 30th December and....I'm hooked. I loved it. My body didn't like it like though. Legs felt like rubber and struggled to climb stairs for 3 days. Lol. And my body looked like it had chicken pox that turned into 19 multicoloured bruises over the next day or so.
Well I am 51 and 1.5 stone over weight... Which is one of the reasons why I went, to get a bit fitter...
After changing my job from an active plumber and builder I got an office job 6 months ago for a software company and piled on the weight. Struggling to put your shoes on, being late for work 'cos the shirt you just ironed was too tight (true story) I had to start doing something and what can be more fun that running around like a 9 year old playing Pew Pew???
I've had a few goes now, all at the same place. Learning the CQB site so I can focus on improving my skills, what little I have. I must be getting better though as only 2 bruises after the last skirmish. With improved skill and a bit more experience, next week I'm off to another CQB venue to play Pew Pew
Wish me luck!!!
 
Ps. Any advice on how to improve my CQB game?

Do it once. Do it right.
 
I actually can't tell you this apart from work in an armoury and fall into Airsoft, or another way is to just start doing it...
 
Having the basics in mechanical and electrical understanding and fault finding, basic engineering skills, the different ways thing fasten together, and knowing when you don't know something is a good start... Oh, and access to YouTube. 😁
And access to another Gun Tech...
And if you know a great Gun Tech who also supplies parts. Will also source parts and give you the heads up on what will fit in what and with what modifications because they have done it, Give me their number straight away...
 
I'm sure their are some out there but they seam to be like magical Unicorns...
 
I started off fixing boilers in 1993. I charged £15 for every single job I did no matter how long it took.
That was extremely cheap so I got lots of work. In 3 months I'd Seen and took apart almost every single type of boiler. Figured out how each one worked, and repaired it.
So what I actually got from every repair was £15 plus swift education.
That's not the only industry I've applied that strategy. And not always physical work. When you have a certain amount of intelligence and determination you can learn almost anything.
That doesn't mean you have to be clever. It just means you have to know where you are lacking and either educate yourself or find another way around the problem.
 
The biggest hurdle I've come across is using parts to repair or upgrade that are not made by the manufacturer of the particular thing you are working on.
And that is a big part of Airsoft RIFs. Sometimes you just can't get what you want due to low stock and have to look at alternatives.
In other industries the retailer/wholesaler is usually quite knowledgeable and you can ask for a part and they will give you an original part or a part from another manufacturer they know will fit/do the job.
 
This doesn't seam to be the norm within the Airsoft world.
The many people I have talked to about which parts will work in what. They don't know. They either say they just sell them and they are not techs or they say it should fit, then after some further prodding a 'should' is thrown into the mix...
If you want to get into upgrading, servicing and repairing Airsoft RIFs is to do what I did. Buy original parts untill you are confident how things go together and work, then to start taking the odd punt. If it doesn't fit then that's the cost of education.
My Dremel is indispensable sometimes... 
My spare parts are slowly growing and this gives opportunity to see if parts swap out with different manufacturers.
If you are not sure about something ask.
Be aware of who you are asking though as just with any industry there are lots of people who give advice who haven't actually got the knowledge to give it.
 
I hope this helped in some way.

I had an argument with someone about this a year ago at Mayhem. I was being shot at by someone who had a rifle above their head over a bush, but their head was behind the bush. They claimed they could see through the bush. I complained to the marshal who agreed it should be aimed down the sights of the rifle. But another marshal said the opposite and neither wanted to mediate and get involved. The guy who shot me decided that because safety brief didn't specifically explain this circumstance to anyone. He could see me, so it must be fine. 
 
So in the end it it meant I have a very small chance of hitting them through the bush and they gained an unfair advantage. The site you played at may have stopped hip firing, trying to solve the same issue I had. The average Airsofter can be pretty stupid and it's best to have a simple single rule, then attempt to explain what I experienced above. 
 
Some rules that sound overbearing to us, are in response to Airsofters that have pushed the boundaries (And the spirit) of the more lax rules that existed before. Not because marshal's are trying to be arses. 
 
Hip firing I have no problem with. 
 
 

I made a cardboard periscope at school. Will have to see if it's up in the loft.

Pads don't seam to help my knees. The pain is when I try to stand up. I have exercises that help but not had to do them to sit in a chair at a desk... Lol. I've starting again...
What's the channel?

I've just bought a pair of these from eBay...

Pads don't seam to help my knees. The pain is when I try to stand up. I have exercises that help but not had to do them to sit in a chair at a desk... Lol. I've starting again...
What's the channel?

I've just bought a pair of these from eBay...

Has obsessively googling about Airsoft rifles since Christmas done me any good? Since then I've bored the crap out of my other half talking about it AEG's with my head in my phone. She has been doing a lot of huffing and looking at the ceiling. Bless her... Is this normal?
Let me know if I got anything wrong but I think if I read this when I first got interested it would of helped loads.
 I played a few games CQB and looking forward to getting out into woods once the weather improves.  So I started googling Airsoft rifles to learn what is good, bad and ugly. From what I can tell as long as you are between 300 and 350 FPS and your rof is about 15 or above then you will match most reasonable rifles for close to medium range. Getting consistent grouping doesn't seem that important in CQB. Clearly becomes more important once you get get outside with a lot more range. I'll come back to this in a bit. Then comes your bits and bobs, torches, sights grip etc. Things to make your life a little easier. Then upgrades. Longer tighter bores. Differing types of bucking, hop-up, gear boxes, motors, bateries. Seams like a lot more reinforced plastic is being used on newer guns to keep weight and cost down.
The rental guns I've played with where all metal and had to put up with a bit of abuse which I liked. Although slower ROF and FPS than the others with there own gear.
My previous experience with rifles was as a kid in the ATC using Enfield .303's and SLR 7.62's and a few others, Solid rifles. Getting a good grouping at 300 to 500 yards with iron sights.
So when I looked at a couple of sub £150 Airsoft rifles with metal and plastic bodies and they where all a little bit...well...wobbly...cheap. I could t see them being that accurate at range. Couldn't see them bouncing that well either... I could see myself growing out of a cheap one very quickly.
So what do you need for your new RIF as a newbie to Airsoft?
In my experience don't spend a tonne of money on something you haven't researched, actually seen and held. And don't buy the first thing you see... A life lesson right there. Lol.
Do you want to spend £300 on a Rif to find the same one elsewhere for £150. Or find out that you just don't like the feel of it. I considered getting an AUG as it's very compact. But when I got my hands on one I just didn't like it... Very ligh, felt cheap, awkward to hold... That's just my opinion. Many people love them.
So what does it need to be at a minimum? FPS between 300 and 350 you want others to feel they have been hit. ROF 15 rounds per second or above. Not that you would fire that fast on a semi auto site but that ROF gives you responsiveness. You want that BB on target asap. Strong so a metal body. But be open to reinforced plastic if it feels solid. Sturdy so it bounces well when dropped and can take a bit of abuse.
Iron sights as you can upgrade later. They have to be solid though and not move about as I'd seen on RIF's where the outer barrel could twist with very little force.
Hold a reasonable about of bb's high cap 200-450. The ones you have to wind up. You will waste loads of bb's while panicking and shooting wildly out of fear. Later on upgrade to mid cap of about 120bb's where you don't have to wind the magazine.
Be electric. Simple and will do the job. Don't have to keep gassing your gun or buy all that high pressure air gear...
Inner barrel no less than 200mm. Unless running a very compact RIF for CQB. Turns out putting a longer barrel on can speed up FPS but effects accuracy, reduce range and can actually slow down the FPS. You have to start upgrading the hop-up,  pistons to get more air into the barrel, then look at gearbox, motor... I'll stop there. That's for well later when good enough to actually notice the improvements... But definitely have in mind that there is a good chance you will grow out of your first RIF and want to start upgrading it. Seems to me many standard parts that are easily interchange.
Seams that an easy way to get more accuracy is spend some attention on the bucking and slightly heavier bb's. This all seams to be like alchamy and magic to me at the moment though...
And we are not finished there. I was clearly interested in CQB as I had a couple of games. But had to consider rails to add torches, sights, scopes, handles, lasers, launches....
There seams to be a hell of a lot to take in, and if you are like me, you will look at the cheaper options, £150, then see what's good and your budget goes up a bit, but then that one doesn't have this. Then your budget goes up a bit more.
It wasn't long before I realised that if I wanted a good rifle I was going to have to pay at least £250 just for the rifle then I'd need a case, battery, charger, additional magazines, red dot sight, etc etc. I got up to about £600 then realised if I wanted good for a reasonable budget, as a newbie to Airsoft, I was going to have to go used...
So I did. And it was the best decision I made...
Hope you got something out of this and I'll post a photo of what I ended up with next time. 😁
Pew Pew for now...
 

Makes a change from the “want to play what’s best gnu” threads 😂😂
 
You clearly have done your research, it’s refreshing to see rather than being asked best gun and best place to buy and do I need a license haha

Pads don't seam to help my knees. The pain is when I try to stand up. I have exercises that help but not had to do them to sit in a chair at a desk... Lol. I've starting again...
What's the channel?

I've just bought a pair of these from eBay...

The first time I played it was madness. The last game I was a lot slower and thinking more. Got hit a lot less and probably got the same amount of kills.

Pads don't seam to help my knees. The pain is when I try to stand up. I have exercises that help but not had to do them to sit in a chair at a desk... Lol. I've starting again...
What's the channel?

I've just bought a pair of these from eBay...

Pads don't seam to help my knees. The pain is when I try to stand up. I have exercises that help but not had to do them to sit in a chair at a desk... Lol. I've starting again...
What's the channel?

I've just bought a pair of these from eBay...

Hi @Daddy Foote 👋
Welcome to the forum, full of advice and like minded players! 🔫🤪👍
Glad you are enjoying it and continue to do so!
I have a channel and few videos that may be of interest, especially fitness related? 🤔
CQB tips…. Watch John Wick franchise and take notes! 😂👍
💷GAMBLE💷

Reporting for duty.
 
And yup to all of the above.  Pad the bony bits.  Stay alive until Aliens motion trackers go retail.
 
I prefer the intensity and up-close-and-personalnessness of CQB, but woodland makes for an interesting (and literal) change of pace.  It's all good, and an excuse to blow the kids' inheritance on different costumes and toys that you don't really need.

Proper knee pads make playing as an "oldie" so much easier, I'm 50 this year and they've been a God send, I can hide in low down places and take sneaky shot while others run around collecting boxes and flipping barrels 😁 (proper ones though from, like from Alta)

Lets just say you aren't the oldest 😉
 
CQB tends to be quite a bit higher energy than woodland games so try one of those too if you get a chance

Hi and welcome to the madhouse young un' 🙂
 
51? You are in your best years. Experience,stamina and a good vocabulary of swear words all well suited for airsoft lol.
Been in the building trade nearly all my life and I have found that helps me keep relatively fit although I'm carrying a bit extra now.
 
Well done for striking out and haven't taking up a new hobby. It's gonna cost ya though!
 
Cqb can be brutal but you learn to wear thicker clothes 😆 
Have a go at some woodland games if you can. More walking and bigger areas to cover but a slightly more relaxed pace and plenty of new tricks to learn.
 
I just take things at a speed that's comfortable for me.....slow! Lol
Remember softly softly catchee monkey.
 
If it becomes a pain or a chore then stop doing what you are doing and try a different approach.
 
Above all remember you are paying so enjoy 😉 
 
Good luck and call your hits 🙂
 
Regards 

Yep, a good general summation of the dilemmas for getting into airsoft. (Then there's eye-pro as a whole section in itself)
 
The easiest way to go about buying the precious pew is to have a particular model in mind.  Something you've seen in films/TV, history etc.  Then find out which is the best make and budget.
 
They generally perform similarly from new unless you get to £300+ and that's no guarantee of better performance.
Being a perfectionist to get absolute maximum range/accuracy will lead to frustration and misery.   For easy fun with most weapons just get sneaky and use tactics to get closer to the enemy.
 
With more experience (and preferably budget to get a backup weapon) it can be time to open up the pew for some surgery and upgrades.  It is a bit of a dark art because there is no 100% guarantee that things will improve with better parts.  They still have to blend well with existing components to get the full benefits.  This is why its best to have that backup weapon if the upgrades aren't ready for gameday or something fails on the day.
 
Buying second hand is not recommended for new players because its harder to recognise if something is overpriced or isn't working right.
 
 
 

The first time I played it was madness. The last game I was a lot slower and thinking more. Got hit a lot less and probably got the same amount of kills.

My first post here, and Yes, you read that right. 51 years of age and I have only just crawled out from under my rock and discovered Airsoft - well about a month ago. Turns out my partner's son has been doing it for years...
So, while still full of festive cheer (booze) I agreed to have a go. So I went for a game of CQB in The Mill in Wigan on the 30th December and....I'm hooked. I loved it. My body didn't like it like though. Legs felt like rubber and struggled to climb stairs for 3 days. Lol. And my body looked like it had chicken pox that turned into 19 multicoloured bruises over the next day or so.
Well I am 51 and 1.5 stone over weight... Which is one of the reasons why I went, to get a bit fitter...
After changing my job from an active plumber and builder I got an office job 6 months ago for a software company and piled on the weight. Struggling to put your shoes on, being late for work 'cos the shirt you just ironed was too tight (true story) I had to start doing something and what can be more fun that running around like a 9 year old playing Pew Pew???
I've had a few goes now, all at the same place. Learning the CQB site so I can focus on improving my skills, what little I have. I must be getting better though as only 2 bruises after the last skirmish. With improved skill and a bit more experience, next week I'm off to another CQB venue to play Pew Pew
Wish me luck!!!
 
Ps. Any advice on how to improve my CQB game?

The first time I played it was madness. The last game I was a lot slower and thinking more. Got hit a lot less and probably got the same amount of kills.

Welcome to the madness. I'm not quite your age, but I've been playing for years and still ache in places I forgot I had for a couple of days after a game day (it's not the age but the mileage). One good thing about airsoft is that you can play at whatever pace you prefer, let the kids jacked up on monster do the running around if you want

Welcome .

Plenty of 50+ players I know and I intend to myself when I get there. Cqb it's all about always keeping  your gun up and slicing the pie right. You'll find videos on that. I always like to take corners low then if I have contact and have to take cover when I try turn it again I'll vary the hight at which I take my shots so the enemy can't hold a point of aim. Once you are out slicing the pie and aiming on an enemy and they have taken cover stay out but change your hight but stay out and aimed where they originally popped out(usually standing) they will more than likely pop out in the same spot and a lot will present you something to shoot before they can even take a shot. Watch your shadows don't show you up, sometimes you will just have to to advance but it's good to be aware of it and ready. If you have a torch or laser only use it when it's essential . If you are sneaking in the pitch black and you really need it put your hand over it and limit the light if you need to see your footing. Move quietly no rattly kit like hicaps. Good face pro. Grenades are very handy.

welcome to the sport.  makes me happy to see younger and older getting involved.  health is so important, desk job will kill ya if not careful.  IT and doughnuts nearly ended me!  So many of us here around similar age. Have fun....