The_Lord_Poncho

I'll let you know just as soon as my 18airsoft order arrives from Hong Kong! All being well a shiney combat master style G34 should be arriving at some point....

Here you go: https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/silverback-suppressor-foam-set-10x-small-10x-large I've not bought that set myself, instead buying suppressors that come with foam, removing approx half the rings, and interspersing the remaining rings with strips cut from one of those green scourer pads, and then rolled up. I also believe that another DIY option is to buy mini foam rollers (the type used for painting), ease off the plastic central tube, and then cut it up. e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microcrater-Sleeves-Varnishes-Undercoats-Eggshell/dp/B0797D5PWK?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2AFHQIP450V7L

I seem to recall 'capability' as a legal term also being debated on air rifle forums - in relation to the 12ft lbs limit. I.e. that the law in respect to a non FAC air rifle effectively states that it should not be 'capable' for shooting over 12ft lbs - but that 'capability' isn't defined. It's anybody's guess if the state, by putting very heavy pellets into an others sub 12ftlbs gun could land blows on you, or even by winding up the hammer tension (which on a fair few guns is a very easy procedure with an allen key or screw driver) would suitably prove a gun to be 'capable' of shooting over the limit. No idea if such matters have ever been tested in a court, I would suspect not - I certainly haven't heard so. And if that's true, it just further supports the fact that unless you are really setting out to be a bit of a d*ck, the state has got better things to do than go out of its way to try and screw you over.

I'm not sure what holster you have, but maybe physically chop the gun to remove most of the material not visible when it is holstered, and then work out a way of retaining the visible remnants inside the holster- a few stitches or epoxy? Still not a garunteed hassle free solution though....

Unfortunately it seems that buying from an established UK business does not necessarily mean that the Airsoft RIFs which turn up in the post are anywhere close to the FPS/power levels they are sold as, and can stray into unlawful territory. I would presume in those circumstances though, should there ever be a drama, the weight of the law would fall upon the retailer, not the buyer.

AGM - it seems that you can buy midcaps now - 190 rounds. They feed absolutely fine. Interestingly, the outer shell still has the hole in it for the hi-cap winder, so they obviously haven't bothered making a new part or are using up old stock. That's a midcap in my photo above - with the winding hole! e.g. https://www.bullseyecountrysport.co.uk/agm-mp44-magazine-190rd-mid-cap-63791-p.asp Thanks for your advice on mag pouches, I've been giving that more consideration - and plausibly the double P90 pouches would fit a single mag (I dug out some old p90 single mag pouches and you are right, they are a fraction too narrow. I've always preferred closed top pouches - a bit irrational I know. I'll investigate the radio pouch idea - good suggestion. I'm also coming around to the idea of just buying the reproductions of the canvas and leather original STG mag pouches. On reflection the dichotomy of modern MC Tropic or tiger stripe Crye style combats with an old canvas and leather pouch on the waist could be quite amusing. A bit like, say, wearing that garb and running an STG44! I've now had a chance to give the STG a bit of a run in the garden - really rather impressed. It's an absolute beast, weighs a ton, solid, and I'm loving its weird retro looks. Also loving that you can very clearly see that its the grandfather of the G3 (and CETME before it), and of course the AK. It shoots fabulously - I haven't even cleaned the barrel out yet, and on 0.25s it was reliable hitting a torso sized target at 50m and probably further if i had the range to test it (albeit out of the box it is shooting at DMR power levels) - I might just epoxy a fake rivet to prevent the fire selector moving to auto and call it a day.

The 'lite-sport' - at under £200 is pretty tempting - as long as the performance isn't really compromised, we'll have to see! You are right though, the looks aren't to everyone's taste - well certainly not mine. I think it's the skeleton minimalist stock that does it, just makes the whole thing look a bit imbalanced. But, I notice that it is attached via a picatinny fitting - which would presumably mean that you could fit a picatinny adapted AR buffer tube, and then any AR stock of ones choice.

Oh, good option - I'd forgotten about RPK mags - albeit from a fairly perfunctory search not too many dedicated pouches for them around either. It occurs that P90 pouches may be an option, and if I get one of those 90 degree molle adaptors, several could be run side on upon the chest rig which might make things a bit more ergonomic.

Having just picked up an STG-44, with a number of spare 190 rnd mid caps for it, I realise that I have a bit of a dilemma in the mag carriage department. Those mags are huge! Comparison photo below showing a Krytac M4 mag, AK74 mag, and then the ST-44 behemoth. A full 26cm long! I know that reproductions of the original leather and canvas pouches are available, but frankly I intend to run the gun with modern gear rather than period dress, so would ideally be able to integrate suitable pouches into my existing Molle chest rigs etc. As an aside, the gun is shooting 70FPS too hot even with a 0.20bb. In a dilemma now to either work out how to semi lock it (given that it has no way of mounting an optic) or give it an urgent spring change.... I'll probably go for the latter.

Just felt motivated to give these guys a mention - so very impressed. I picked up a rather knackered Mancraft PDIK off the classifieds here some months back as part of an old rifle, discovered that it leaked air badly when connected up, and after fiddling around with replacing the seals, realised that the problem was a part which had a deep scratch within it. Long story short, after contacting them to enquire if I could purchase that replacement part, they sent me 90% of a brand new PDIK rather than just the offending element- essentially for the cost of the postage. That is amazing service, and it turns out that the 'life time' warranty on the Mancraft PDIKs is something that they genuinely honour....

To be fair, no there wasn't! I'll wrap a hicapa mag in tin foil later, and see if it makes a difference

Cut down MTP bush hat for the win I'd say! Takes a bit of crafting, but if you can be bothered: 1) unpick the binding tape around the rim of the hats brim 2) cut 1-2 cm from the outer brim (note DO NOT follow the stitching as a guide - genuine MTP bush hats have the brim stitches as a spiral, so following it with your scissors will end in a spiral peeled apple effect, and no remaining brim!) 3) re-stitch on the binding tape to the outer of the brim to stop it fraying 4) if the hat has too much internal volume, turn it inside out, pinch 1cm of or so of the higher back half of the crown's rim, and stitch it, such that when you turn it back the right way, you have reduced the height of the crown (the rear of the hat is usually higher, hence why you stitch just the back half). 5) place on your head, look awesome, attract ladies.

I handled the WE hi-power for the first time at the site shop on Saturday. Prior to this, I was considering taking the plunge, and despite all the warnings of it's mediocre functionality, well, just owning one. But after handling it, just no. Flimsy lightweight thing that feels like it's made out of metal barely thicker than a heavy duty roasting foil.

I might need to take the plunge on one - the Glock34 looks particularly tempting.... Hopefully the plethora of WE (and hopefully also the AAP) magazines will work ok in it.

Good to bump into @Asomodaiat Driver Wood on Saturday. Being on opposite teams, meant we each traded a few eliminations - including a memorable pistol duel between us due to being inside our our MEDs (I lost that one!). Cracking morning in the good weather, and an opportunity to try out the HPA SR15 pieced together from various parts - which was performing pleasingly. Ended up running it on 80PSI (its' got a mancraft PDIK inside it) in order to get it below the DMR limits of 1.88J - which didn't seem to make the engine struggle at all, despite the Mancraft website stating that minimum PSI for their engines was 100....

No, that was on there, but wasn't the tightest of fits to be fair! I spent some time yesterday playing around with the ZCI hop unit, and just couldn't get it centralised on the barrel - but I didn't go as far as the epoxy route suggested above. What I did notice is that the hop arm was very 'sloppy' in the unit, and could sit at a sideways angle - giving the effect of pressing the nub on one side of the buckings' patch (not something that I've come across on other ZCI hop units, so a little strange that it happening on this one!). I spent some time looking at ways of shimming the arm, but before trying any of it, remembered a Maxx ME Pro hop unit that someone extremely kind off this forum had given to me some months back (thank you @lukeB you legend). I fitted the Maxx, and the Delrin C clip provided a much more secure fit to the inner barrel, and with no hop arm sideways play at all. I'd heard mixed reviews of Maxx hop units and their incompatibility with lots of rifles, but I have to say that it works fabulously in mine (a SR15 built up using various E&C parts).

....but, it must also be said that hammocks can be extremely cold, more so in some situations than sleeping in direct contact with the ground. The air circulates underneath you, and your sleeping bag is fully compressed below you in exactly the same areas as the air circulates providing extremely limited insulation as a result. One solution is a sleeping mat inside the hammock (ideally a self inflating mat partially inflated), but these slip around and can be uncomfortable. The gold standard for insulation in a hammock is some form of underblanket e.g. https://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Snugpak_Hammock_Underblanket/ . The days of sleeping under a basha are well behind me, and I always go for hammocks these days - much more flexibility to set up over whatever ground conditions, comfortable (when rigged ideally - otherwise a nightmare), and fun!

I offer up the cleaning rod to the hop unit on the outside of the gun, mark off the rod with a sharpie where it meets the muzzle, and then use that as a guide to make sure that I don't push the patch through the hop unit - so I don't tend to remove the barrel and hop to clean. Instead its such a quick and easy process that I tend to clean before and after each game. I have occasionally gently cleaned the hop rubber too with it in situ in the gun, turning the hop fully off, and using a patch cut slightly smaller, but don't tend to find this is something that really needs doing much.

Leather Trousers - Models' Own

Looking phenomenal!

Thanks both - some great ideas there! Out with the epoxy and PTFE tape tonight then I think!

You may need to break in the middle caps if they are new- I needed to with a load of KWA mid caps before they would feed reliably. Basically load the mag to 75% then unload and do it again and again, working slowly up to 100% capacity. After,say 20 fills and unloads you will be getting there. I have in the past put a single small drop of silicone oil on the follower of the mag too before starting the above process which helps. But best keep the bbs that you've used for this separate after as they will be contaminated with the silicone and therefore hop unreliably. And be aware that a little silicone could still get into your hop rubber the first time you use each of the mags. It could also just be that the mags don't sit right in your gun of course- sometimes shimming the front or back of the inside of your magwell with self adhesive (loop side) velcro can sort that. But before you bin off the mags, you may as well try all the above first.

I have a particular (M4) inner barrel which seems to rather freely rotate within its ZCI hop unit. The C-Clip is correctly seated, but the rotation of the inner barrel either direction by a few mm is pretty easy without any real resistance at all. Obviously makes centralising the patch for the bucking/nub ect rather challenging - the process of inserting the inner barrel and hop into the outer barrel is enough to move it off centre. Does anyone have any particular tips? Are there better after market C clips that can be had that work interchangeably with M4 style hope units - perhaps those that are made of a stronger plastic and grip the inner barrel better? A google shows there to be some that Retro Arms produce, but no idea if they would help the issue I am having? Are there other solutions - shimming, taping etc?

Back in the day I used to shoot the real Hi Power - which has increased my love/desperation for a decent airsoft version rather than quelled it!