Reef

My son and I have also tried a number of things. My daughter and wife have football so we needed something to do while there off on a Sunday morning. I see you’re local to me, maybe we’ll bump into each other at Dogtag.

Ahhh, makes sense now. I had to google search what a bounder was. 😁

sorry, don't follow?

As someone who has just started this journey I'll add my 2 cents. It was my son who suggested we try airsoft. He's only 12 but having played with Nerf guns (myself aswell) for a few years he wanted to try airsoft. After he got over the initial shock of being hit he really enjoyed playing. Personally I enjoyed it more than I thought I would! Cost - I think its comparable to other hobbies, fishing, paddle boarding, and cheaper than many, cycling, golf, sailing. Heath - I don't think this is mentioned enough, outdoors (mostly) and as physical as you want it to be, I know I come home knackered... Social - Team building, meeting new people, sharing experiences Mental - Keeping your brain active with marksmanship, strategy, problem solving. Most of all its fun and a good way to forget your day to day troubles. I'm not playing airsoft with my son to train him to be a killer, we are spending time together, he's getting more confident and learning to be responsible. I think its a great outdoor activity and good value for money. You can tell i work in Marketing LOL....

I’ve done my leg in playing airsoft, I’m not 25 anymore! (stop laughing) To cheer myself up I think I’m going to buy a pistol. I really want a Browning but the WE ones get bad reviews. Years ago I had a 177 pellet 92F and loved it so am looking at the Tokyo Marui M9A1 Beretta GBB Any thoughts? About the gun not pretending to be younger than I am…..

My son was busy with his friends so I was 'Billy no mates' at Dogtag last Sunday. Ironically he got me started in this to spend more time together LOL. I was a bit uncomfortable being on my own but once that first BB fly's past your head, all that goes out the window... This was the first time I've played a game with a proper objective which was get a pilot and fuel to the Helicopter. It was great fun and knowing there's a time limit really puts some pressure on. I'm starting to use concealment and using the bushes as cover, Rhododendron's work really well with DPM! Really impressed with my new over glasses Herosharks. Roll on next weekend!

Thanks for the response guys.

I’m sure I’m overthinking this, but do you empty your magazines at the end of the day? My logic is that the springs inside the magazines are under tension when loaded and could stretch over time leading to poor performance. Am I talking rubbish? 😂

Sorry djben9 only just seen your comment. This is something he wants to do and has kind of dragged me into it. I don’t mind as I’m enjoying it more than I thought! it’s a good idea about radios, we do seem to get separated pretty quickly. I actually shot him on Saturday, he was retreating and I mistook him for an enemy trying to flank us. By the time I realised it was him I’d already pulled the trigger. 😂 Are there any particular radios you’d recommend?

Son and I did our first games with our own kit yesterday! Spent the morning at Dogtag in Sussex. The guns and eyepro we had bought worked faultlessly and really upped our enjoyment of the games. In total this was our fourth session and we are starting to get a feel for this now, there’s less running around like headless chickens and we’re starting to think about strategy. Theres lots more gear to buy 😂 like decent gloves, something to hold spare mags, etc. Pretty happy with our weapons, my son got a number or people remark how good his one looks with scope and suppressor. roll on next weekend!

Anything electrical I swear by 12voltplanet. No association just happy customer. https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/

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wrapping up my sons gun for Santa I found this in the box. Looks like we are good to go!

Thanks Rogerborg, the spring wasn’t mentioned in the shop but I did see on a review that another spring is included. I’ll check which one is fitted when he gets the gun. madhouse - I’m desperately trying not to get overexcited and spend a fortune. Trouble is everything I want is pretty much doubled as there’s two of us 😂 Thanks to everyone who’s commented on this thread, it’s been a real help 👍

My son and I did the deed today and bought our first guns. My son went for a Specna Arms SA-C19 Core Daniel Defence in Chaos Bronze. I had my heart set on the Specna Arms SA-F02 Flex but after handling my sons choice it didn’t feel right. After trying a few different guns I picked up a G&G Raider mark 1 in long barrel. I know it’s old tech but I understand why they’ve been so popular, it felt really nice and solid. As I was buying two guns, batteries, etc he offered me a discount on the raider and I couldn’t resist… They’ve been wrapped up for Christmas now otherwise I’d post some pictures.

How’s zat?

Look what I found in Sports Direct today. Only £2 so worth a punt….

Thanks guys, really appreciate the input. Sleeping on it last night I think I’m going to just get a gun for my son and up his budget. Looking at the Specna Edge level now with better internals and Mosfet, etc. I’ll buy my own at a later date. At the moment we’ve been using the hire mesh face masks but will invest in our own. PPE is a tough one, everyone I speak to has their own opinions on what works for them. Don’t think I’ve seen two set ups the same, I’m going to get my son a Valken mi-7, not sure about me yet. We do a bit of hiking/fishing, etc, so boots, gloves and clothing we’re pretty much set. I’m using gloves, jacket and knee pads from my MTB riding, saves a few quid 😀

Cheers for the heads up Tackle, I’ll keep a look out for the pedants 🧐. When you’re a noob it easy to press the triggers 😂 Speedbird_666 that’s great information, the Flex is seriously cheap on that site, anyone bought from them before? You’ve got me thinking though, should I up my sons budget and get him something better? I don’t mind waiting for a bit longer to get my gun. What I don’t want to do is spend 100’s on guns now and then want to update in the summer. I know this always happens with a new hobby but if I can limit it now…..

Ohhh, your right. It’s a register. Sorry about that 👍

Today I qualified for a UKARA licence and am going to buy our first guns. I say ‘ours’ as my 12 year old son and myself are taking up this hobby. I’ve been doing my research and think I’ve settled on the Specna Arms Flex series. These seem like good value for money and are very lightweight which I think is good for my son. I have to really think of the budget as I’m buying x2 of everything including face protection, spare mags, etc. Do you think this will be enough of an upgrade from the standard G36 rental guns? Anything else I should be considering? Thanks guys.

Awesome, top answers here! Thanks guys, we’re playing again this weekend and will try some techniques and report back.

My son and I have played a few games now and I have a question on reloading. We are still using the hire guns so only have one magazine. Often mid game we run out and have to reload which involves pouring bb’s from a bag into the mag and always end up spilling them everywhere. there must be a better way. I’ve seen the dispensers but wonder if there’s anything else I’ve missed. thanks

It was Dogtag we went to, literally 5 mins down the road. They only have the G36 guns for hire, size and weight is fine for both of us but accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. 😂 Yes, it was the Kombat style masks. The coverage from the mask I found gave me confidence to push forward. Only thing I didn’t like about the hire masks was the single colour, I think it’s a real giveaway. I’m thinking of buying a couple and spraying them to break up the outline. We’ve had some great chats with people both at Dogtag and Crawley Surplus. As you say people are more than happy to discuss and help out. I was impressed how good people were with my son, really supportive of him when we got separated. I caught him out of the corner of my eye throwing a smoke grenade, I don’t even know where he got if from??