LMKipper

All three of my local-ish site do this: Gunman, Imperium and UCAP. If you want to go gas DMR, I’d recommend a SCAR H, either WE or VFC. Mine was lovely, shot very well, just wasn’t really my style of play.

I'd agree with @Enid_Puceflange. I adore my GBBRs, I just find them so much more satisfying to use. I had a day at UCAP earlier this year when I peaked a few corners with one shot, one hits. However you do really have to keep on top of maintenance otherwise they can be a nightmare. I'd say if you're not comfortable 'teching' on them yourself, then be prepared for them to be pretty expensive ownership experiences.

All good points. A TM with some hop bits it is!

I've been thinking about picking up a Mk23 for a while - interested in thoughts on whether it's worth the extra for the TM or just pick up an ASG/STTI? Or god help me, the Novi clone.

Well one of the reasons I got my recent Tanaka was that is had a Spartan hop but for some reason, the standard nozzle. This meant it didn’t seal well with the Spartan hop, with inconsistent fps. Long out of production, someone sent me the correct length of the Spartan unit. Measured the Tanaka stocker, then whizzed this up on my lathe in 20 mins. Let’s see how it tests!

Yeah that needs stripping back and fixing eh! There’s some other little bits and pieces that need sorting - a random variety of nuts/bolts has been collected over the last 20 odd years. I’ll pick up a couple of long mags for it but the plan is to just leave it on propane and save it for Sunday best.

There’s a thumbwheel in the bolt to adjust the power (it’s secured with a grub screw). Whizzed out to 100% with high pressure gas and they’ll do big numbers.

Technically, I've wanted a Tanaka for about 15 years. When I first started playing airsoft, in my eyes at least a Tanaka rifle was the bee-knees. They were rare, a weird choice, moderately expensive and also had this allure of some existing 'pre-ban'. Not Asahi M40 shell-ejecting rare, but still uncommon. What probably added to that, was that at the time when I was playing, there was a sniper at my local field who had one and he totally dominated with it (mostly because he worked nights doing security on empty warehouses, so he had unlimited access to a 100m+ wind free range). I wanted one then but I never found quite what I was after, then airsoft fell by the wayside and I forgot all about them. Having restarted this year, I had a trip down memory lane and an old Facebook post reminded me of my lust for Tanakas. But finding them is even tougher these days - mostly because people who have them don't want to part with them. Chatting about Tanakas with a sniper at Battle Lakes a couple of months back and he mentioned he had a couple - one he found and one a mate sold to him when he gave up. When I saw him last week, he said he'd given it some thought and he'd sell me one as it was sitting unused. So last night, I picked up a 'pre-ban' Tanaka M700 and a few mags. Now just to wait for some good weather but hopefully not 15 years.

I have an opposing theory: it’s not mud, it’s vomit. They went to a game, mentally added up how much they’d spent on building a toy gun only to be shot by a 14-year-old with a rental, heaved then left and sold up out of embarrassment.

I was just about to post that one. The service cost is basically sunk, be lucky to get £1k for the full package but more likely £800.

👀

Oh interesting - can you tell us more?

Not for my bank balance 🥲

Echo everything @Colin Allen said - even the bit when he shot me in the ear 🤣. You're right though, a covered safezone would have made a world of difference today. Morning game was really roving, all over the site and some good firefights. Like Colin says, no idea who won but I really didn't care by the end. I actually explored some bits of the site I'd never seen before. It really is a huge place and even after three visits, I still go down the wrong path. Afternoon game was good but struggled a bit in the middle - I think a couple of the non-bands went home early (likely the weather), which really robbed their team of momentum. To fix it, I was swapped onto the non-bands for the last hour or so of the game along with @Jez_Armstrong, which meant I got to shoot some fellow AFUKers (slightly more legitimately ). It's a really great site run by some good folk and I'd love to see it succeed. The real highlight for me though, came after endex. I was chatting to a regular sniper last time I went, that there was something I'd always missed from my collection. Today, he mentioned that he'd given it some thought and since he had two, he'd sell me one. I'm picking it up on Wednesday with a photo essay to follow but for now let's say it will make @Impulse a little jealous!