Galvatron

Damn it! I really like that!

https://www.airsoft-hub.com/item/36702-electric-airsoft-gun Rather optimistic with his pricing. The goggles, opened BBs and batteries should be deal sweeteners, especially as the LiPos can only be shipped inside the RIF. You can get the Nuprol DPD new for a little over £90 and a decent balance charger for another £30 or so. https://www.ammodrop.co.uk/nuprol-delta-pioneer-defender-aeg

Call me a cynic but I don't think trustworthiness is the issue. If you spend 8 weeks and 3 games to get a UKARA defence and be a dick in public with a RIF, you've given the police and CPS plenty of evidence of aforethought to the crime.

Welcome! You have nothing to apologise for. We were all there once. As ButcherBill said, I would personally recommend either renting guns at a site first (or buying used) then buying RIFs after getting your UKARA number. As tempting as it is to buy your own guns first, you'd have to buy two-tone until you have UKARA or a suitable defence. Selling them on can be quite difficult unless you're willing to take a significant loss. I'm not aware of any airsoft site whose insurance doesn't stipulate full-face protection for under-18s so you'd need to look for a mask for your lad. In addition to EDcase's suggestion to look for posts about the best eyepro, your safest bet is to look at dedicated airsoft/paintball retailers. I wouldn't trust AliExpress/Temu (I'd also be very cautious with eBay and Amazon unless they specialise in airsoft gear) for eyepro as there are lots of resellers lacking much in the way or moral qualms who either peddle fake goods that aren't safety rated while their legitimate counterparts are. sell off the shelf googles and slap "airsoft" in the description to make a quick quid EN166B (full seal around the eyes) for goggles or ANSI Z87 for glasses are the safety standards you should look out for. Bloc's product specs give a good example https://www.bloctactical.com/bolt

To play devil's advocate, what's to prevent you from condemning yourself to the same or even a worse fate when, using your own words, you've abused your gun? Prior to the problems you're experiencing, did you rule out your ammo being the issue and not the inner barrel? As Rogerborg said, you should aim to run the heaviest BBs your hop can lift. A heavier BB should be more accurate at distance on the same gun because it has more mass to be less affected by crosswinds. When I play outdoors, to paraphrase Linda Evangelista, my primary won't get out of its case for less than 0.28g. For skirmishing, I wouldn't personally recommend 0.2g on a primary.

Unfortunately, unless you have the original parts, upgraded components won't necessarily increase or preserve value, especially when you haven't specified the brands and models of the upgrades. I would say the normal 70% of current retail for the original gun and the RDS should be your base line. You should expect the sling, batteries and the unnamed mag to the be wiggle room for negotiating on price.

Assuming that you're still looking at the AR-15 platform, may we ask what you think you'll get at £400 on an AEG that you won't get at £300, £250 or £200 for argument's sake? It's your money to spend of course though Rogerborg brought up a really good point about certain feature sets coming down to the masses. I got back into airsoft just as saw the market really being disrupted with programmable MOSFETs/ETUs and <=6.03mm inner barrels coming as standard with AEGs well below £250 (and even below £200 for that matter). I would argue the point of diminishing returns has become more apparent since then.

Welcome. So nobody retreads old ground, it would be worth where you've looked when you said you've been looking for days.

https://www.usedairsoft.co.uk/rif-s/electric-powered/double-bell-kac-pdw-m4-aeg_i75514 Seller wants £120 for a gun that can be bought for less than a ton https://www.defconairsoft.co.uk/product/double-bell-pdw-polymer-black/ https://extremeairsoft.co.uk/product/double-bell-pdw-polymer-body-black-808/ Sorry, mate. The RDS, additional mag and front grip don't push the price back up to retail, especially for the fact that the gun has missing screws.

I would argue "better value for money" comes from what you as an individual get out of it rather than there being objective factors. I find value in my loadout but I know some people would hate it for themselves. As much as I prefer the Mk 18, I'd spend my money on something brand new and work on it later. Custom guns are notorious for being a gamble and thus they tend to depreciate significantly unless the seller/tech has a good reputation.

One of the fellas I have played alongside a few times is very keen on the Dye i5 mask he and his 14 year old lad use and used since getting into airsoft 18 months ago.

It's only an addiction if it causes you serious problems. What good's a hobby if you don't show passion and spend loads of money on it? I couldn't agree more than you can find some really cool shit for not a silly amount of money.

Depending on how much padding is on the target, I usually give players the benefit of the doubt of them not feeling it but I will continue shooting until they call their hit or I will aim somewhere more likely to cause a reaction.

It's already been said by many but in the context of the AR-15 platform, mid-cap mags are my favourite personally. Like Dan Bow, the rattle of high caps annoys me much more than wanting to be stealthy. These days, I pretty much reserve my high-caps (for AR-15) to my loaners for my friends from outside airsoft who came along. I have a variety of 140-250 round mid-caps with my AR-15 AEGs, the latter is the PTS EPM1 mags.

It's good, it's tight enough to feel secure as I walk or even run at a moderate pace. I'm not sure if I'd risk a full-bore sprint where I lift my legs higher. With that said, I've never had the pistol come loose on account of the X300 clone (I think it's an unmarked WADSN model) I use. I would consider a button/latch release more secure.