Today saw a return to Airsoft Plantation, near Braintree in Essex, for my son's first game since September 2022.
A cold morning saw probably about 150 people getting ready in the excellent safe zone; however, I always wonder why some players leave it to the last minute to arrive
As usual, the safety briefing was concise, to the point and genuinely amusing. Immediately afterwards, the first game was briefed but then had to be changed to allow for a newly fallen tree to be made safe. The schedule for the day was shuffled around with no fuss.
Airsoft Plantation do not chrono guns; chronos are available on the range and players are informed that it is their responsibility to ensure that their weapons are under the limit. There is a lot of spot checking and anyone using a hot gun is "asked" to leave the site.
The games were well designed and well marshalled and generally played in a gentlemanly but competitive manner; there were a few allegations of non hit taking on both sides, but no more than would normally be expected. At one point, in a squad based game, we did hear two nearby squads (one from each side) being instructed by a marshal to disengage and fall back in order to reduce tension; this seemed to be well handled by the marshal involved.
The games ran well, were challenging and were fun, although my view may be biased by our side (blue) winning all of them, despite an attempt to balance the teams.
Overall, my son and I had an excellent day; next stop is Camp Anzio, near Leek.
Weapons used:
Me: Ares VZ58, PTS Masada (AK version), Milbro Classic M1911 CO2
Son: LCT AKMS, G&G AKM, ASG Commander XP18 CO2
Shared: JG G3A3 (first run out since being bought and upgraded)