Baz JJ

and do they always bother to reply ?

If you are selling a secondhand RIF to a stranger, how do you check their UKARA status ? I appreciate they can give you their UKARA number but unless youre a retailer, how do you verify its current ?

Yeah well had to consider my answer carefully didn't I. No, stumbled across it trying to negotiate three years worth of supplier reviews which aren't in alphabetical order. Couldn't resist.

Lifelong involvement with guns. Discovered airsoft late in life and found it a good way to get fresh air and exercise. Quickly got disenchanted with skirmishing and as soon as I got a UKARA defence and my first RIFs, started moving into milsims. As to not being nerdy, its probably not, but be sparing with who you tell. Most non-airsofters either think you're sad or a homicidal maniac.

Talking Headsets Recommended for real MSA Sordin stuff.

The closest Ive come to any joined up thinking is Airsoft World who do put some notes on their products, to guide, which at least shows some level of thought. Mind you, I did buy a short grenade launcher from them, only to find it didnt allow TAG rounds to load and I had to get the long one. I told AW about this so they could put a warning note on to save people making the same mistake but they havent, which is silly especially when they are TAG distributors. Ive come to the conclusion that a lot of the airsoft industry is still developing from a hobbyist make and mend stage and has a lot of growing up to do. A lot of the things Ive mentioned dont cost anything in real terms but require a little thought and care. If a retailer sells a x4 flip down magnifier and a range of EoTech clone holographic sights, how hard is it to put a note on the magn to say this will line up with product X, Y and Z. I have to believe that suppliers dont care enough because they are already selling. It just needs an entrepreneur to sweep the board and differentiate themselves. When you buy online, you lose certain abilities to visually check stuff and interact with a knowledgeable sales person and although You Tube reviews are often useful, I dont think UK retailers of parts and accessories do enough. Fair enough on a £10 item, but one supplier is selling a £175 optic with nothing more than some words copied off the makers website. I would expect a bit more input otherwise I might as well buy it in Hong Kong and take a risk at less £££s. I wouldnt mind but the UK trade complain that players buying abroad are killing the UK retail. If they dont use their position to advantage, what do they expect ?

No I think youve misunderstood me. Im not saying UK stockists should hold everything. My point is that I would pay a premium to buy an optic with a killflash that fitted it, rather than having to source them separately and a) run the risk of incompatibility b ) end up having to spend an hour filing to get it to fit. In fact, Id accept a more limited selection for these kind of guaranteed pairings. Perhaps many airsofters enjoy adapting things to fit. I can see the attraction if there is a huge financial saving, but paying a UK premium and then still having to adapt and overcome doesnt make a lot of sense to me.

Well no because a lot of the accessory traders arent selling RIFs - they just exist on accessories and upgrade parts.

I cant help but notice that the various suppliers of airsoft kit all supply the same stuff. Apart from a slight variation of a few pounds in price and varying stock levels, it amazes me that traders dont put a lot of value added in their wares. Reading about how to protect a tactical torch by getting your own piece of plastic just now on here and buying a quite expensive ELCAN optic the other day and struggling to find a kill flash for it, it amazes me that UK suppliers dont join up the dots. No wonder players buy things overseas as the UK companies offer exactly the same thing only dearer. I paid just under a hundred pounds for an optic then about £15 for a killflash from a separate supplier, then discovered the thread was non compatible. Why would a supplier sell an expensive optic like that and not consider offering an optional killflash that fits it. I would happily have paid them the £15 for a guaranteed compatibility (the kf was about £9 and the rest was zero ones excessive p&p). Its got to be more economic to solves these problems at retail source in quantity rather than letting each customer solve his own problem. The amount of money Ive wasted in compatibility experiments. Another value added prospect is offering an EoTech and Magnifier that actually line up. How often have I read players complaining about this. I asked one UK supplier if they sold BCM Gunfighter foregrips and got a curt NO. Searching on their website a bit more, I found a replica clone that I would have happily bought had he said, no we cant get the originals outside the US but we offer this clone etc.

Yeah normally players load their mid caps in the safe zone or FOB ( or the night before) and just take loaded mags out with them in their pouches.

Probably makes sense geographically for you to look at the Kent sites. Quite a few AFUK members play in Kent and East Sussex.

Hi-caps = easy to load +, need winding -ve, carry more bbs, rattle when you move -ve Mid caps = need some firm of speed loader -ve, silent +ve, give you more realistic mag changes if partially loaded Mid caps can leave you at a disadvantage when skirmishing as you are changing mags far more often than a high capper but in a milsim, most games prohibit high caps. The choice is yours.

the other angle with renting for your first three games is you can try different rental guns to see how you get on. Many sites have two or three models to try.

So you bought a two tone airsoft weapon and they sent you a defective black RIF in the wrong box, which looked secondhand ? and you took five weeks to contact them ?

http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/21870-eliteairsoftukcom/

I got the shops tech to do it prior to delivery.

Up to 100 players or so is pretty normal for popular airsoft venues. Big to me is hundreds of players. Something like the Ai500.

Yes if youre prepared to travel. How big are you talking about ?

the ironic thing is that the Mk1 pistol grip is very similar to the one on my G&G SCAR

Stitch Me Up. Have used their services a number of times. You ideally need to be able to provide them with a hi-res design. Takes about a week or so.

I ordered some Evike BAMF midcaps from Socom Tactical as they were recommended from the Krytac users group on FB. Arrived today, hold 190 bbs each and look good.

I have the G&G SR25 upgraded with a MOSFET and to 400 fps.

No idea yet, havent had the chance this weekend to go to my regular site and zero it in.

I keep it real simple. A LIPO charger that balances and the lights all go green when they're charged and one of these meters to monitor charge in percentage terms and to slowly discharge my batteries when needed.

I bought one of these and just leave the battery plugged in until I get it down to the right level of discharge. RC Cell Meter-7 Digital Battery Capacity Checker for NiCd/NiMH/LiPo MJ About £5