NickM

Right, for UKARA it's 3 times in OVER 2 months and less than 12. Most companies wont let you have UKARA/Site membership with them if you go to multiple sites ( thats not saying you cant play other sites, that's fine but for site membership qualification purposes they like to know you are using them regularly, normally to keep it live many ask you play there once or twice a year from that point) unless they are all owned by the same parent company, eg, playing any UCAP site, Sandpit/Greenops/TheBunker. Although for my example UCAP aren't fans of UKARA and simply being a member of a site is enough of a defence, when you want to buy a rif simply give them your site membership number and tell them who to call, they call the site owner and ask if X plays there regularly and site owner say "yeah sure I know X great guy sell him a RIF". The UKARA number is your site membership number, they use a three letter and I forget how many numbers system. Mine was UWGxxxx but it lapsed as I stopped playing at that site, I could have got UCAP to do it retrospectively but at the moment its stopping me buying any more RIFs. I will shortly be starting playing at Gunman sites and I may then decide to get them to do mine.

Paintball is useful for keeping the idiots away from airsoft.

Sometimes its a good idea to actually check with players you don't know and let them know the plan or that you have knowledge of how the game plays out at the site. In some cases bigging up their role can help. IE, "look guys there are really only 4 routes into this place, me and my buddy are going to cover the front and right as they are the most direct route into this base they often get attacked first. The left and rear will take slightly longer for them to work their way around but its often a route that at least half the other team will take because these sides are normally less well defended. Once they get round here we will be seriously exposed and we'll end up loosing this position. If you are up for it try to organise a good defence here, don't give away your position until you know you will hit them with a couple of shots. If it looks like you are going to be overrun shout lots, call everything out, remember being vocal can help confuse things for the opposition." We often use the confusion thing, if we shout out instructions to each other we start with our team mates name then the instruction much like on coms. We'll add in random names of players not in the team with extra instructions so it sounds like the force is bigger than it is. It tends to make the opposition slow down their rinal push, not strictly legit but its funny.

Ian, I wondered about it, gifting the RIF isn't a legal problem so perhaps it is the best idea. Although I also like the idea of using it for a single game for kudos kills first. We'll see what happens.

Pretty sure it is pot metal and while yes that might be my favoured option too for a crappy springer I doubt it would get me very far.

Right I was digging through some boxes in my loft a few days ago and found an old springer 1911, its shockingly bad I bought it at a market during my uni days for a bit of plinking when bored but its black and looks fairly realistic. It isn't worth anything and I really can't see the point in doing any of the checks to be able to sell it, its really not worth the trouble. So how do I go about getting rid of it responsibly, contact my local police and ask to hand it in? Take it to pieces and dispose of each in normal rubbish? Take it to the local uni and gift it to the media studies department for use as a prop?

Love my Cyma G18c, its hard to get a holster for AEP's because they are a slightly different size to the real thing or the gas versions. I've now made a custom kydex holster for mine and its snug. I haven't had any problems with the parts, although sourcing them can be hard, and I cant locate many upgrade parts. It's never skipped a beat. Its pretty bomb proof. It works when its cold when gas guns are failing. But it isn't the highest powered anyway, mine was 200fps out of the box but it works fine. The trigger delay can be a problem but if you get the LiPo batteries its a much shorter delay. My only other issue is that the standard mags are small and a bit fiddly which can make speed reloads a bit of a problem. I've never tried the 100rnd ones but they look like a laugh.

My original question and statements regarding tourniquets revolves around the fact I had been taught about them years ago, and haven't heard much about them since other than first aiders were discouraged from using them and they were no longer part of the any first aid training. Notice MMN that we haven't asked how to apply them, just about current thinking about their use and it appears they are regaining ground. They are still not part of the average first aid qualification. You may also have noticed in my previous post I mentioned my other pass times, kayaking, canoeing and hiking. In these are environments help won't necessarily be minutes away but potentially hours and the potential for severe traumatic injuries are ever present. Now I have found out from this thread there are additional steps I could take in the event that I ever encounter a life threatening bleed I will endeavour to look for someone to provide training that would allow me to use it confidently should the need ever arise. In no way are Ian and I suggesting we would rush out and buy a tourniquet set today and start applying them to people with a minor graze using information we have gained from an internet forum.

I'd say the mesh masks deal with more of the problem than gum shields. Mainly because face skin is sensitive and turning up in front of a class like I would have had to with bruises and marks on my face would be more trouble than it was worth. However when I first received the mesh mask it was really uncomfortable, but I did some modifications and now it fits my face really well, I only notice it when I go to take a drink from the hydration tube or eat something. I just got a riser from Ant Supplies they are fairly cheap and that now puts my sights in line with my cheek with the mesh. My modifications simply involved a thin layer of camping mat foam (10mm top/bottom, 5mm thick and the length of the mask) on the top edge of the mask and two pieces of foam about 30mm by the height of the mask where my jawbone is. With some bending of the mesh those are the only bits of the mask that touch my face. The mask also only came with a single strap and I found it either slipped up and over my head causing the whole mask to press up into my eyes or fall down the back of my head and end up round my neck. So I added an additional piece of wide elastic that goes up and over my head giving a y shape which is secure through all but the most dynamic of movement and even then its not falling off.

Don't get me wrong, calling for help is always the number 1 action in this whole scenario, personally I would go with organiser calling the ambulance unless I knew where I was very well. I don't carry Aspirin for heart attacks and I don't carry a tourniquet I was simply suggesting a possible scenario where one might be useful at an airsoft skirmish. I've played for 3 years and never seen anything close, some large lacerations and some shot out teeth. I do have bits and pieces in my kit that I could rig together to make one but I probably wouldn't go so far as to buy one and carry it regularly unless I was doing something that increased the likelihood of requiring it and then I would get the training to be able to use it effectively. It was more a question to satisfy my curiosity and because if you are going to put a piece of kit like that on your rig it really should be functional in my eyes. My main thing with all of this is that getting trained to do first aid is important to all, having a first aid kit is important but in most situations you could improvise a solution of sorts. If you carry, carry the things you know how to use and use your knowledge if the time comes.

To be fair Mike I thought gloves was a given, I also have a CPR face shield. Always 2 pairs of powder free vinyl gloves ( I have checked and so far none of the doctors/nurses and first aid instructors I trust have ever come across cases of allergies to vinyl) in my pack, if I need more than that I hope people will have reached me to help in that situation. The likelihood of most injuries we deal with are that they will be minor and not require further medical treatment. Also they are likely to be only a single casualty. The worst cases that are "likely" I can think of would be complex compound fractures, heart attacks and impaling. For the first and third on that list might be the kind of thing where applying pressure to blood vessels elsewhere would be important and perhaps the use of a tourniquet would be useful, but its a case by case thing.

I noticed a load of people carrying tourniquets on kit but I had thought it was more part of their "load out" or impression eg people doing US PJ's. I did have a brief look at them a while back but couldn't really tell if there was a difference between the ones for sale. You seem to know your stuff Deek any recommendations? If I could upload a picture to here which I might try in a bit I'll take a couple of the packed kit and the contents, my main thinking putting it together was personal use and I would suggest people go with that as the thinking, basically similar to use in the forces, you use your supplies on yourself, or you use the casualties supplies on them. Just to show how small it is but can still be effective therefore most people should be able to educate and equip themselves appropriately. And if you have some suggestions we can build up a resource for here once you have done a few skirmishes the kind of thing you might think about carrying.

In a small grenade pouch I carry a small ziplock bag that contains a little bit of everything from my main first aid kit. The main first aid kit lives in my car unless I am going kayaking/Canoeing/Skiing/walking when it will move to the pack or drybag I use for the particular activity. I have had first aid training, plenty of it and even competed in cadet first aid competitions and taught bits years ago, infact when I did the 4day first aid at work qualification ( now 3 day as far as I was aware) I even had to teach the woman leading it how to apply some of the dressings she was asking us to apply because she didn't have a clue. On my last one, a simple 1 day course I showed the guy teaching us about using the inside of sterile dressing pouches as an improvised one way valve to apply to lung puncture wounds. I would never rely on a site having a first aid kit near me. I play some pretty big sites and you cant guarantee the marshal is either trained or is actually carrying the first aid kit with them. In one case I know the site keeps the kit in the safe zone which is a good 10mins round trip from the back end of the play area. I can deal with minor stuff, cuts and grazes right up to lacerations but this kit is only stocked to temporarily stabilise until someone else gets there with the a full kit, like a paramedic or the site team with their uber kit. I really ought to weigh it but I know its far less than a fully loaded high cap so I barely notice it. I've not been trained to use a tourniquet in a while and its not something I'm totally familiar with using so its not carried and I was under the impression they had fallen out of fashion for every day first aid anyway, but I have the bits to make one on my kit with some bodging if the situation called for it. But one addition to my mini first aid kit is a small tube of eye wash, for those times people get crap in their eyes. As for defibrillators, most first aid courses as far as I was aware go through their use, and the ones people can access out and about nowadays actually do all the work for you, its a case of following the stupidly easy picture instructions and doing what the voice tells you, it makes the decision of when to shock and how much so you actually don't need any training.

Cheers AlMurry, those were my last 8 shots of GZ14. I had to get down to cornwall for a reasonable time that evening. You guys did well to get as close as you did without us spotting or hearing you and I wouldn't have either if I hadn't gone and done something stupid. Those ferns are a nightmare to move through with any amount of stealth! Was quite a funny moment sitting in the shell scrapings at the top of heartbreak looking back on the Aircav in their US VN kit and my own team mates ducking from the pot shots being taken at us and realising the only the way to stop it was for someone to go "over the top" as it were. "Right lads, I'm off to do something stupid, if it works great and if it doesn't I'll get hit and I'll head off home. See you later boys, don't shoot me by mistake!"

Just back. 1900 ish players was Urm interesting. For me and my personal view I would say I experienced much less cheating than last year. But with that number of people on site and playing just getting anywhere involved a huge firefight. Lots of bottle necks on the paths. My team played Saturday most of the day then only about half of us went out Sunday for an hour or two. After Only really playing the pit and milsims this year the number of two tones I saw in evidence spoiled things somewhat for me. Not because the player wasn't as good but sometimes it made things awkward for PID'ing targets. Eg. Delta (white tags) with orange two tone (orange is bravo) patrolling towards you. Can only see the gun as it's in front of the tag leading to blue on blue. Or you are sneaking through the brush and the guy down the line with the two tone gets spotted which gets you all shot. There was lots of good sportsmanship on show. I did a sneaky patrol through the ferns next to heartbreak and got 8 others in the back With single pistol shots. Each one either patted me on the shoulder, shook my hand or congratulated me as the went to re spawn. A guy apologised for putting a full auto burst into me from about 5m away. The social side of it is second to none for the airsoft games I have gone to. But unless they find a way to better coordinate the teams and keep the flow going I probably won't go go to many more. Our team is talking about maybe doing every other year and trying some of the other weekenders out.

I rest my case, bookings "closed" on 1962, now they have 1963. Go for it Albiscuit the NAE is an experience, you may only go once you may decide to make it a tradition. It was my first last year, just get stuck in and get involved. There are things I probably wont do again this year like the final battle for the village on Sunday but it was good I did it last year. Pistol and shotgun games, if I remember is pretty much a night/sundowner game played around only a few bits of the site. I didn't get involved last year as we were busy setting up, catching up and then getting battered. There are quite a few who do and good on them.

Oh and if I remember rightly they did allow people to call up and book places last year after online bookings closed and I know of at least one person who got one on the door.

£186,390 to be exact, once its all collected, that isn't including the profit made on the porta loos (which the private rental of those must cover the cost of all the shared ones with left overs!). Not bad for updating a website and about 2 weeks of actual hands on the ground work. And you are right the shop must rake it in, last year they had a whole table covered in dynatec BFG's that seemed to sell out. I know I ended up making a £140 impulse buy!

Not a chance! Plus that wouldn't mean 2000 players that would be 1962 players and 38 no shows.

Torches and tracer units are great ways to give yourself away. Take your time, move slowly, even in areas you think you know well. It's amazing how every lump, bump and small hole in daylight become mountains and ditches ready to sprain/break ankles in the dark. Make sure you know your kit by feel alone, and that you have a place on your kit for all your gubbins to live, make sure it goes straight back to wherever it came from. Both to avoid using that torch as much as possible. My hearty recommendation would be to talk to the organisers about this idea if they haven't used it before. Get a glowstick that matches your teams colours eg Orange for Tan, green for urm Green. When you are hit pull your glowstick out from its pouch( something that doesn't let the glow out) and hold it up above your head. It makes recognising hit players much easier remember you will be looking for shadows and that's what you will look like as a hit player. They don't have to be huge, you can get small fishing ones fairly cheap, even those bracelet things for parties/kids are like £5 for 100 and would do the same job. If you've never practiced walking around in the dark give it a go, small sounds carry much more so moving quietly is more important, take a moment every so often to just stop and listen, open your mouth when you do this it stops interference from sounds inside your head. It takes a good 30 to 40 mins to get your eyes acclimatised to the dark, a bright light in the area will ruin this so I make it a habit to close my dominant eye whenever things get even a little bright ( prob your aiming eye in my case the right). You sacrifice the good night vision in your less dominant eye when it gets bright but your dominant eye compensates when you open it again. Also due to the way your eye is structured you will notice if you look directly at something it goes out of focus, that's because the light sensitive bits in the middle do colour and around them just do light and dark. Colour ones need bright light so don't work in the dark but give clear and detailed images in the light. Light/dark cells are around the coloured ones and work in all light conditions.

My OCD tendencies are willing it to reach a nice round 2k!

I suppose you could but the campsite and the shenanigans that go on in the campsite after playing are the main reason we go. The actual game play isn't all that great, its good for the most part and its fun seeing over a thousand players attacking a single small village at the end of the day is pretty intense. Probably wont do that one again this year.

They said they would close them on the website but it looks like they are still open, although you don't get entry to the prize draw and you don't get the goody bag. I think you can call them direct as well. Someone on FB was even asking on the 13th for a possible rental Gnu!

1935 PLAYERS!!!! GET IN! It's going to be a target rich environment for which ever of the three teams you are on!

I own an ICS M4 and an ICS L85, they both worked beautifully and the M4 still does, the L85 is a bit hit and miss mainly since I started messing with it! Moral- leave it alone until something goes wrong then fix it. Just clean the barrel that's it.