Duff Beer

Yeah, as a new player myself I can attest to this, to the extent that my first session I felt like it was potentially not something I wanted to bother with.  Glad I stuck with it though and went off to figure out what I could do to feel less like a moving target...
 

Ahh the ye olde worlde days, when UKAN and Arnies was the font of all knowledge, Wolf Armouries was about the only real shop you could go into, spent hours on Airsoft Dynamics website or Den Trinity, Guns’n’Guys, UN Company 
 
And  the only bb’s you could get was Excel 0.2’s !!

Yeah, that was my experience too. At the milsim I attended, the OpFor guys were really chill whilst the TF guys were... um... yeah. I find it can bleed over into the filmsim stuff as I think it's a certain elite-tacticool-oper8r mindset that draws people to that side, but it's not nearly as bad. At the Vietnam games I go to, literally all of the PAVN/VC guys are super chill and up for a laugh, whilst on the US/AUS side there are definitely some great guys who are super chill and up for a laugh, but there are also some who have a stick so far up their butt I'm surprised they can crouch in game. At the end of the day it's BB wars with varying levels of LARP. Like... you can't take yourself that seriously 😂
 
 
 
Pretty much the same as me, but since you started only a year before I did it makes sense that our experiences would line up. Nowadays all I see is multicam/MTP (makes sense, it's dirt cheap) so when I show up in my MARPATs it makes me feel like a special little snowflake. I do need to get my hands on some desert MARPAT at some point, but finding it in my size is a real effort.
 
You're right in terms of the knowledge aspect too. I remember having a look around as a teenager and finding the US Army sniper training field manual as a PDF, then proceeding to learn through experience what worked and what didn't apply for airsoft. It was super fun and honestly I think I'm a better player for it. People are always amazed at my local site when I am basically invisible wearing no camo during the summer months and too many snipers rely on these super gucci leaf suits now to stay hidden when other players are nearby. Helps me stay hidden during Vietnam games too, since black pyjamas aren't the best camo  
 
I think the time we start airsoft definitely influences our decisions even today. I still love my classical style rifles (m700s, m14s etc) because I started airsoft around the time of Black Hawk Down and CoD4 (All Ghillied Up!) and those two pieces of media heavily influenced me getting into sniping in airsoft; my first RIF was a Warrior L96. Yes, I did the thing we tell everyone not to do and I bought a bolt action as my first gun and I loved it. My early go-to loadout in airsoft was an m14 at DMR power and m1911 because of Black Hawk Down and... I still use that combination sometimes to this day, though I am looking at sourcing a G&P m14 DMR stock for my HPA TM m14 because I want to be a unicorn (I have literally never seen anyone using one ever).

Yeah, camouflage options...
 
CADPAT or Danish were incredible to see.
 
DPM, Flecktarn, US Woodland and French were the most commonly seen (or not...).
 
MARPAT and UCP were the Gucci choices.
 
I went DCU/Night Camo for years, then the MultiCam pull got me.
 
I reckon 2007 was when MultiCam really took off. I had a Chinese clone set in 2006 that faded (still in my folks' loft) and I didn't wear it a lot after that.
 
As said, these days it is mainly MTP (why not?! Surplus gear is so cheap) and MultiCam. You sometimes see a bit of Italian Vegetato, a pinch of DPM and a sprinkling of Flecktarn, and that is it.
 
My go-to for my last few games has been Ranger Green.

Not sure about these trousers from AliExpress...

For me the golden age for a lot of things was the early to mid 2000’s.  There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the quality of the guns, gear, and tactics is significantly better now than it was then, but the sport’s a little bit too ‘pro’ now.
 
I started playing in 2004, and back then it was a bit more ‘underground’ a bit more amateur (in a positive way).  Information was gained through forums, and there was a real sense of community.  Everyone knew everyone at the sites on first name terms, and there was a lot more trust about chronoing and general play.  People who has worked on their guns since the last game were keen to show off their work (usually a “look it does 16RPS now instead of 12!) and that was when they got chrono’d.  Hit taking wasn’t an issue (not that I find it is too much these days anyway, but that could be because of the sites I go to), and deliberate headshots were frowned upon.
 
There was more variation of kit and camo in the safezone too.  It was a time before Multicam was a true thing, so you’d have almost everything represented.  At Dover we had DPM, Fleckmuster, Australian, Cypriot, Flecktarn, US Woodland, UCP, M84, CADPAT, and civvies.  Guns were just as varied with an AR platform being at max a third of the players.  When was the last time you saw a P90 with a box mag in the field?  Pistols were just as varied as camo patterns with people running all sorts.  Has anyone seen an FN57 recently?  What about a P99?  There was a time when USPC’s and P226’s were all the rage, but Glock users were the minority (though you’d always get someone dual wielding G18C’s). 
 
Fully auto in CQB was also a thing.  I suspect the combination of 1J max, low rates of fire, and 0.25g being the heaviest ammo people would run being a factor.  You didn’t have HPA or DSG builds lobbing 30-40RPS down range to worry about.  Yeah you’d always have the couple of guys that took it a bit too seriously when room clearing, but a 12 gauge dynatech (over arm!) usually calmed them down.
 
As YouTube wasn’t a thing the tactical knowledge and general skill base of players was a bit more polarised.  There were the regular players/teams who usually had someone ex-military or armed plod who would teach them a few bits, but the rest was down to people reading and researching.  The better players used to take rentals/newbies under their wing and show them a few things during the games, and that’s something I don’t see anymore at the sites.  Little stuff like waiting a bit longer for the opposition to get closer before engaging, or standing back a bit off cover to give yourself room to peek out with the weapon up was shown in the first round.  There seemed to be more team play too.  I guess it’s easier to huddle a group of 30 players before a round then 75.
 
All of that being said, I suspect a lot of it is rose tinted mesh masks.  Scraping together the money to buy more ammunition because I was a poor student, and only getting new gear when birthday’s or Christmas came around was tough.  Tappet plate failures could mean financial ruin, and getting to games was dependent on the goodwill of teammates and the promise to buy them a hotdog at lunch.  It was a fun time though, and I wouldn’t trade the memories for anything.
 
“What am bestest Famas?”
 

It's a bipod being sold for airsoft, it's worth about £20 for all the use that anyone will actually make of it.

https://www.lannertactical.com/product-page/magpul-bipod-for-1913-picatinny-rail-fde £137
 
https://www.livens.co.uk/product/magpul-bipod-for-1913-picatinny-rail-in-black/ £139 if you want it in Black
 
Is it me or would you expect it to be about the £120 mark (tops) considering it has no warranty, and was won in a competition?

https://www.lannertactical.com/product-page/magpul-bipod-for-1913-picatinny-rail-fde £137
 
https://www.livens.co.uk/product/magpul-bipod-for-1913-picatinny-rail-in-black/ £139 if you want it in Black
 
Is it me or would you expect it to be about the £120 mark (tops) considering it has no warranty, and was won in a competition?

I've got the Umarex MP7, used it extensivly even in woodland games and can't fault it tbh. Shoots well on .30's has great range and acuracy and has never missed a beat. The only issue I'm aware of relates to the mag catch, a mate got one the same time as me and it would drop a mag randomly. We put a new catch in it and it's been spot on ever since.  TBF patrolbase offered to replace it but was an easy job so not worth returning it.

No worries, I did ramble a bit 😂
 
If memory serves the V2 has a metal outer barrel (unscrew the flash hider and pop off the front cap to check) as well as the NPAS (take both body pins out, slide the bolt assembly out and look down the nozzle).  I bought mine in 2019 at the British Shooting Show, so I’d be very surprised if a new one from a retailer was a V1
 
Edit: I’ve just had a look at the description on the link you gave.  I don’t know what they’re talking about with the follower snapping the feed lips; I’ve let go of mine a couple of times and the worst that’s happened is that it pinged a BB out. Definitely don’t drop the mag’s though or the baseplate will fail and you’ll need to order a new plate, spring follower, spring, and BB follower.  This is the voice of experience, but at least they’re cheap.  You’ll need to import from Hong Kong (no bother MLE Mart carry them all and they arrive in about two weeks), but if you order a few you’ll be sorted.  When I dropped my mag it dented the corner of the base of the mag but it’s still perfectly gas tight. 
 

I mentioned the VFC/Umarex version further up the thread, but mine’s been really good.  I’ve got the Version 2 (like the AEG’s the version two ironed out the niggles from the first version.
 
I use it with Ultrair, and I used it indoors in November and December where ambient temperatures were hovering around 0°C (and sometimes lower), and it worked absolutely perfectly in semi.  The Black Site doesn’t allow auto, so no idea how that would have faired, but even sticking a semi burst down I had no issues.  The version 2 has an NPAS so it can be tuned for the conditions which is a bonus.
 
The mags have been gas tight for the last couple of years since I got them, and I don’t really do anything over and above the norm to maintain them.  They’re not cheap though, and because it’s 1:1 you have to make sure you’re buying pouches for real steel rather than Marui if you go kydex.  The mags are super easy to load from the bottom rather than through the feed lips, and although they say they’re 40 rounds you’ll get about 44 in there without any issues.
 
The only part that has broken was the stock lock catch which is a known failure point due to being cheap pot metal.  A steel replacement part is about £15 and took all of 10mins to change.
 
The bolt release and safety are held on with the worlds smallest grub screws, to definitely locktite them.  It’s a faff to take apart for barrel/hop changes, but to be fair for CQB/FIBUA it’s perfect as stock so I won’t change either.  
 
I bought the rubber butt pad because the standard one is cheap plastic.  That was about £10.
 
I’d happily recommend it to anyone based on my experience.  
 
 

I’ve got a pair of Revision Sawfly’s and they definitely take an RX insert 

Come on, we all know the correct answer is the Tac Master

I realise you mentioned the TM, but I’ve got a Gen 2 Umarex/VFC which has been running like a train since I got it.  It’s probably had 10k rounds through it totally stock, and apart from the stock catch needing replacing (common fault as the metal used is pants, but the replacement is steel and costs very little).  There were some teething issues on the first version, but the Gen 2’s are solid.
 
Gas efficiency is solid, with a fill giving about two to three mags before needing to be refilled.  In -5°C it was still running crisply on semi with Ultrair.  The Gen 2’s come with an NPAS installed so you can tune it to the conditions too.  
 
As an added bonus the VFC is 1:1 whereas the TM’s aren’t.

I don’t know about the rest of their range, but if they’re as effective as the MP7 I’d have no issues buying one!
 
if you’re ever at Invicta let me know and you’re welcome to take mine for a spin.

Nitecore HC60 or HC65 comes as either a standard light which you can get the NVG mount adapter, or as an NVG mount version straight out the box.  You’re looking at about £80-£100 all in either way, but they are available.
 
 

I realise you mentioned the TM, but I’ve got a Gen 2 Umarex/VFC which has been running like a train since I got it.  It’s probably had 10k rounds through it totally stock, and apart from the stock catch needing replacing (common fault as the metal used is pants, but the replacement is steel and costs very little).  There were some teething issues on the first version, but the Gen 2’s are solid.
 
Gas efficiency is solid, with a fill giving about two to three mags before needing to be refilled.  In -5°C it was still running crisply on semi with Ultrair.  The Gen 2’s come with an NPAS installed so you can tune it to the conditions too.  
 
As an added bonus the VFC is 1:1 whereas the TM’s aren’t.

Yep, regularly get the odd bits and pieces from them.  They were one of the only places that had the steel stock catch for the MP7 in stock.  Just ordered a ‘Surefire’ Scout mount too.  Orders usually take between one to two weeks.
 
I don’t know if I’d buy a RIF from them, but for hard to find bits and bobs I recommend them

Depends on the price really.  For £50 no, but for £80 yes.  Like Tackle I used to wear them solidly because they were cheap, but I went through them at such a rate that a decent pair of boots would have cost me the same and lasted longer.  
 
I use Lowe Zephyr GTX’s now which are comfy and, importantly, waterproof.  You can get them for about £135 and if you can stretch to them (or something of equivalent quality) then I would.  As the old adage goes, I’m too poor to buy cheap shoes!

Depends on the price really.  For £50 no, but for £80 yes.  Like Tackle I used to wear them solidly because they were cheap, but I went through them at such a rate that a decent pair of boots would have cost me the same and lasted longer.  
 
I use Lowe Zephyr GTX’s now which are comfy and, importantly, waterproof.  You can get them for about £135 and if you can stretch to them (or something of equivalent quality) then I would.  As the old adage goes, I’m too poor to buy cheap shoes!

It’s a tough one because it depends.  For CQB it has to be the GBB, but for the woods it’s the AEG (or the Bolty).  If the house was on fire I’d be taking the GBB with me, but for solid reliability and consistency it’s the AEG

It’s a tough one because it depends.  For CQB it has to be the GBB, but for the woods it’s the AEG (or the Bolty).  If the house was on fire I’d be taking the GBB with me, but for solid reliability and consistency it’s the AEG

Living the dream mate, how about you?
 
I’ve got back into it over the last couple of years and play a decent amount at the Invicta sites.  I run in to some of the Phoenix lot every now again, and Solitaire is still being a sneaky sod.  Let me know when you’re next playing and we’ll get the band back together!

Jim you motherfucker🤯, I kept thinking the username was familiar, but didn't put 2+2 together lol, how the feck are you, back playing ?