[Gun Ranges - Buzzwords]

Most outdoor sites have an area for checking and test firing before you start the game. Some even have them set up as target ranges. If all you want to do is zero and test your rifle, just go skirmishing for a day! Get there early, maybe take some targets (coke cans or bottles) and set them up at different distances away from the safe zone. I can't see many sites having an issue, especially if you've paid to play for a day!

 

Even if you spend an hour in a part of the site where there are no games going on zeroing your rifle - most big outdoor sites use different areas throughout the day to keep the games varied. Just ask the marshals if you can go somewhere to get set up while the others are off playing. It's your money, so if you want to use the time setting up, I can't imagine too many issues

[Gun Ranges - Buzzwords]

Yes - try just visiting one if they're close. There's a new indoor air rifle range near me that is very well set up. They have 6 rifle lanes and 2 pistol lanes. You can rent an air rifle or take your own and pay for the time you spend shooting. I wouldn't mention airsoft as they will be thought of as toys.

 

I'm not sure whether you're after just somewhere to shoot or looking for a job? If you can get a job in an air rifle range I would imagine it's a good stepping stone for getting into the firearms licensed ranges (.22 rim fire guns).

 

If it's just somewhere to shoot, maybe start becoming a regular? I just turned up at the air rifle range with a mate one week day (we were having an important meeting for work ;-) ) and paid to rent 2 guns and two shooting lanes. They gave us a minute or two's safety talk and showed us how to load the rifles (PCP multi shot) then pretty much left us to it - but we are both grumpy old men in our forties That was it, nothing complicated. I'd imagine if you did that regularly then turned up one day with an airsoft gun, they'd chuckle a bit but might let you use it. The only issue I can see are ricochets - those plastic bbs will bounce around all over the place, so they may not want them in the range. All the pistols they hire are CO2 firing metal 6mm BBs, so I guess they don't bounce around as much? There is certainly no requirement to wear eye protection while shooting, which I thought was a little odd!

[Helmets - what's the opinion?]

The first time I played at the Embassy (sadly now closed) I walked into a metal post in the dark basement section! After that, I bought a helmet I initially bought a cheap skateboard helmet in black, but although having an actual safety rating it made me look like I was about to be shot out of a canon I now have an Emerson type fast helmet, which looks the part etc as per the reviews above. Certainly enough to protect against a bb hit and the odd bumped/scraped head.

 

If you prefer ball caps, you can buy bump caps on ebay that have hard shells. No affiliation to the seller - this is the first one I found: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portwest-Navy-Bump-Cap-Safety-Work-Hard-Hat-Vented-Baseball-Style-Mens-Helmet-/200824979575?var=&hash=item2ec21a0077 which will be good for bb hits too.

 

For woodland I have a boonie hat that I've hand sown some foam padding into around the inside, so it looks OK and hits tend to be from a longer range and not sting as much ;-)

[Paint Ball mask]

Have you looked at the Save Phace masks? They do all sorts of colours and camos too.

[safety glasses]

Worth trying again if you haven't checked for years. I've been wearing the same contacts with no problems for years, then all of a sudden they started getting really uncomfortable. Went to the opticians to get them looked at and all of a sudden was told they have new ones made out of a better more modern material that would sort it.

 

They were cheaper too! I asked why these were never mentioned before and their attitude was pretty much "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Yes we have newer, more air permeable, moisture retaining versions - but if the old ones still work then no point in changing!!

 

There may be some new material/shape/design that will work that wasn't available years ago!

[what does your other half think of your airsofting??]

I'm in my 40s now, and the Mrs thinks it's a bit sad to be playing soldiers at my age. But I was doing tournament paintball when we met 20 odd years ago, so it's nothing new

 

Similar to some of the comments above - it's not like I play golf all weekend or spend every weekend traveling to football matches. So it doesn't take up too much of my time for the odd few games a year I manage these days.

 

I earn my money, so she doesn't mind what I spend it on once the bills and mortgage are covered. Luckily she can't tell the difference between guns, so as long as she never sees more than 2 out at the same time, she doesn't know how big my collection is Although she often makes comments about my dedicated camo cupboard. I keep telling her you need a different set for every occasion ;-)

[Too jazzy?]

The wire looks like it's to the pressure pad for a cocking tube laser

[How on earth do you remove this kind of barrel nut?]

One of these wrenchs! It's got pins that stick out and go into those holes. Mine had 3 pins, but I had to hacksaw one off because the third one didn't quite line up with a hole making it impossible to insert correctly. Probably just the usual "no standard spec" in airsoft tolerances

 

 

[Trouser modifications]

Yes - where are you based? I get my work shirts altered at a place in Milton Keynes - fast and reliable. They would be able to take a look. They have other branches: http://www.thezipyard.co.uk/uk/centre-locator/

[(Random) BB containers - What's your preference?]

I use the bottles I get my Spec Savers contact lens solution in. They are flat rectangular bottles that fit perfectly into an M4 pouch. The opening is a little small (once you've pulled out the squirty nozzle) but I use the technique above of using my fingers as a funnel round the hi cap fill hole and shake the bottle around.

 

They do rattle around when half full and you're running, but I dampened that by wrapping black tape round them. It's still not ideal, so if you're a sneaky player then a cloth bag is the way to go.

[Advice for spray painting?]

Assuming it's the same as a Marui, the top cover is held on with a clip so is easily removed. The butt stock should just be held on with a couple of screws. You can get the receiver out of the stock by swinging the trigger guard in the right direction, the receiver will just pull out of the stock - I don't think it needs any special tools (but been a while since I stripped mine!).

 

Here's a video guide. It's not like you need to do anything difficult like take the gearbox apart

 

Then just worry about taping up the bits round the barrel that you want to spray.

 

[How to make an integrally suppressed airsoft gun?]

Yup - what he said

 

Find a free float RIS with a diameter a little larger than the suppressor you want. Buy a very short outer barrel and a long suppressor

[Hard to get in the UK, What might I find in the U.S.?]

Just make for the nearest gun store/range and have a look around.

 

Last time I was in Vegas, the ranges I went to all sold a ton of kit. You might see something there you hadn't even thought of. I didn't buy any weapon accessories, but I came away with some Blackhawk hydration kit that costs a fortune over here and was very cheap in the gun store!

[Removing Iron Sight and replace with Holo Sight?]

In theory your iron sights are there as a back up in case your optic goes wrong.

 

There's a good Q&A here: https://markowenseal.wordpress.com/weapons/

 

Where Mark Owen answers questions on SEAL weapons. He mentions not using Iron Sights because optics are so reliable and he's usually running a laser anyway.

 

Plus as above, they are usually a pain to co witness on airsoft kit due to wonky tolerances

[Leaving keys in locks. Help me settle an argument.]

Check your home insurance policy too. There may be some small print that will leave you uninsured if the keys are left in the locks especially if the house is unoccupied. Some don't allow the use of thumb latches - where you lock/unlock the door from the outside with a key, but you can just twist a knob on the inside without needing one.

[Looking for side and back molle solution]

The Flecktarn MLE looks very similar and will be good quality for the price: http://www.flecktarn.co.uk/odtmb2nx.html

 

Something like this to clip onto a chest rig?: http://www.military1st.co.uk/products/242-001-condor-hydro-harness-olive-drab.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwyoCrBRCl-aa97pKX_t8BEiQAbrs_9NcDVVVnSf7OrvrK3Q5aNrKHfxlqKmKM0XSr5BNYZiMaAh0y8P8HAQ

[ICS CXP HOG AEG]

Internally it'll be identical to any of the newer model ICS TransforM4 guns, so look for reviews of those! It's only the externals that change.

 

It's pretty much the same as this: http://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/ics-transform4-cxpuk1-ebb-aeg--new-low-price internally.

 

Even if it comes in hot, the beauty of ICS guns is how easy it is to downgrade the spring. The gearbox is split in two, so all you need to do is take out the upper to change the spring. Or buy a whole second upper gearbox and downgrade that, so you can swap between FPS in seconds for indoor or woodland.

[Swiss Arms Battery]

It looks like it's manufactured by Intellect. Always used to think of them as one of the better brands when I ran NiMH in my guns.

 

If Component Shop in the UK do overseas delivery, it might be worth looking at their prices. 26 Euro sounds a bit high!

[Advice on CQB Weapon Choice]

MP5K/PDW. Really compact and there are more accessories than you'd think! Stocks, rails, mags etc... You can get the full metal CYMA for not much more than £100.

[Ehobby Asia?]

Been using them for years. Never had any issues. Delivery can be anything from a week to a month. Never bought a whole gun, but Ive bought loads of parts and accessories!

[Combro Mk.4 Chronograph]

Yeah - it's cheap and it works. Just a bit fiddly - I've shot mine across the garden a couple of times by mis-aligning it! Still works and the company that makes it can supply and all spare parts really quickly.

 

Certainly worth the investment to save you turning up with a hot gun (or disappointingly not so hot in my case) after upgrades etc...

[What to wear?]

Yeah - any dark clothes you don't mind getting dirty! Plus some boots.

 

If you've got nothing suitable, then a quick trip to your local market will probably get you some dirt cheap army surplus trousers and a jacket. You can always use them as "decorating" clothes after

[Prepping]

Not as full on as those guys on Doomsday Preppers, but I have some minor bits and bobs. Having experienced a mini crisis a few years ago when the local water supply got polluted and could not be drunk. Every supermarket within miles had sold out of bottled water instantly as people panic bought stuff. You could still boil and drink the tap water, but it goes to show how people panic!

 

Ever since then I have half a dozen big bottles of water stashed away, plus a 200 liter water butt in case the water went off completely. I also have an "apocalypse" box of tinned food etc. Not a lot, but enough for a week or so if there was a fuel strike/snow etc that effected the ability of the supermarkets to get stock. If it lasts more than a week, then I'll have to decide which of the cats to eat first ;-)

 

I keep meaning to buy a camping stove to boil water/cook food if there was an energy shortage. Got a hand axe and the local woods can supply fuel for the bbq I guess! Not really looked at bugging out as an option.

[PEQ/front battery mount info]

That first PEQ box will only fit a Lipo battery - no standard NiMH type will fit. Most Lipo batteries come with Deans connectors, or you can buy some with Mini Tamiya. The largest capacity battery I've gotten into one of those PEQs is a 7.4v 1300 mah lipo. You'd also need a new charger for Lipo batteries.

 

If you want to keep using the NiMH battery, you'll need a bigger PEQ box. You can get the older style PEQ2 that will work, it's more realistic than the second one you linked to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Airsoft-Wargame-Tactical-D-Boys-Battery/dp/B00RN0KP2S as seen on the guns in Lone Survivor etc..

 

 

[ICS 3 NEW RIFLES !!!]

I am quite interested in the APE - I love the split gearbox design. But a Shot Show review I saw said the retail price was going to be around $500.

 

Hopefully that's wrong, because let's face it that would make them £499.99 over here Far too expensive when the entry level CXP M4 designs are half that price!