Esoterick

Yep I'd pay over the odds for one as it's the missing piece for my new gun

If the tru spec xtreme is made out of the same material as the ACU tactical response shirt(which it looks like it is) then it's a bit like wearing a piece of tarp. The build quality is fine but it's really coarse material and for some reason the backing on the velcro patches on the arms is so rigid it forms a V shape that you can't stop. Can't vouch for the others, I use an OPS gen 2 direct action shirt which is noticeably better than the ACU above. Mine is Multicam Tropic though so surplus isn't an option

And he's asking for money for postage....

Aren't the reasonable defences covered in 37:2 of the VCRA? http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/part/2/crossheading/imitation-firearms I don't normally engage in VCRA discussions as it ends up being a semantics battle but isn't this part clearly outlined or am I missing something? You could say it's the retailers responsibility but that's dodgy, it's like the shop some of you might know of that encourages people to sign a reenactment form to buy guns from them.... People circumventing the law isn't sending the right message regardless of how enforceable various parts of the VCRA are.

The Magpul XTM covers are really nice, just don't whatever you do clip them together when they aren't on the rail. Took me about an hour to get one set apart....

Pop a dump pouch somewhere on the back towards the bottom if you don't have one on a belt already. Also might be worth adding a hydration pouch on the back, especially if you play longer games.

I'd get what's right for you at the end of the day. When I got back into airsoft the first gun I bought was a TM HK416, i've had it for a year and a half and still love it. Judging by your first post Daniel you are about to get your UKARA number so you must have done a few games to get a feel for the hobby, rather than rushing out and getting it in two tone to avoid waiting. I think most airsofters would be lying if they said they could make do with one gun, it's just going to be a case of whether buying a more expensive gun would clean you out to the point that if and when you want another gun you can't afford it. As much as people don't like TMs for various reasons it's quite hard to dispute their reliability which is certainly something to consider. When I run my G&P LMG I always have the HK416 as a backup in my bag as I know if I need it that it will work.

Yep I also think there's definitely no black and white divide. For instance I know a chap who is a really good player but he completely loses the plot if he takes even 1 BB after he has been shot. Whilst it's quite funny to watch what I'm saying is people are all different. I think the main thing really is do what you enjoy provided it clearly isn't something that would be malicious to other players(e.g throwing BFGs overarm or overkilling players just because) - Don't let this be that other people are bad because they don't do what you do, even though both your choices are perfectly valid.

Oh is this going to be a reverse snobbery thing again? I've played with lots of bellends in both hoodies and jeans and high end loadouts. Just as some people want to run cheap and cheerful setups some people like having really nice quality gear. Please don't read too much into it.

I wear a lower mesh when I do CQB but otherwise I like to just wear glasses. What would help a lot is if certain airsofters stopped shooting people in the face, on sunday it was so bad a few of us had a word with the marshals, I wonder if people were doing it on purpose. I accept it happens but shouldn't be more times in 1 day than in about 6 months of play. Especially given i'm talking about cases where you are moving so your whole body is exposed.

This bit really made me laugh although I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time. That's a signature worthy quote.

Got shot in the cock from a couple of metres away, broke the skin and had a pretty bad bruise for a couple of weeks. It was actually quite funny though and the guy apologised and we laughed about it after I stopped hopping around. I now stand side on if i'm covering a doorway or similar.

I vote surname on the basis people can't spell or pronounce my nickname even though it's just the word esoteric with a K on the end. It's not a bad idea though regardless of which you pick as most people don't like being addressed as "oi you"

Can't you guys either pack it in or take it to private message....

Yes everyone that wears a certain type of gear is a cheat and you are right and everyone else is wrong.

One amazing thing about being selective with your shots is you can get someone and they have so little idea where you are they come back and you shoot them again. It does end up being one of those fool me once situations but it's very funny, once had a guy return to the same spot 3 times. Streams of BBs massively give away where you are, just see how long you last in a bad spot opening up with an LMG. I almost alternate between my LMG which is easy to run about with and be super aggressive and my HK416 which benefits more from pausing to take accurate single shots. The contrast in play styles is really nice.

Unless i'm mistaken that's a TM Sopmod M4 which is worth around £450 new, the colt engravings look like they have been coloured in as they are normally just black. I'd find out if he has changed anything internally or if the gun has any issues. Assuming it's all working properly that is a ridiculously low price and i'd definitely buy it as it's not uncommon to see people putting them on sale second hand for around the £400 mark(i'd argue that's too much but they are sought after reliable guns)

Another good thing with shotguns is you can shoot people in the hands as they try and get a sneaky peeky with their pistol against a corner It's doable with all guns but much easier with the trishot spread.

The thing is a lot of people, myself included are fine just using mid caps. I have no issues with 5 or 6 mags, the alternative being lots of winding and forgetting to wind in a firefight meaning you get the drop on someone and your gun fires nothing. I've got no problem with people running whatever they like in airsoft, but it should be noted there's no elitism in running mid caps and even people running low caps in their gas guns with no perceived loadout impression have no problem in games. I actually never saw the point in anything but high caps years ago when I started airsoft, but after actually trying the alternatives it makes a lot more sense.

At almost every game there's at least one person saying "look at the range on this" and their gun's shooting 40-45 metres.

Any of the TM recoil guns are a solid choice, with the SOPMODs you might want to consider getting it rewired to a deans connector as the SOPMOD proprietary batteries aren't very good and are very expensive. You should be able to fit at least a 7.4V 1250 mAh stick LiPo in the stock, which can be picked up for about £15 and will last you between 1/2 and a full day depending on how much ammo you get through.

What I find even more puzzling is some of the really expensive guns that are meant to be close to real steel build wise still end up with some under performing tat under the shell. I would certainly not expect build quality to be mutually exclusive of performance. I have no problem with people dropping tons on RIFs if they want to but when you hear, for instance people not being happy with Systema performance you have to think really?!

Xsite is my local and I think it's a great site as I mentioned above. It's not the largest(although they use the land they have very well) and doesn't run the most complex games which does make it perfect for beginners or people just wanting to get out for a more straightforward skirmish. The site is split up so the paintballers get their little areas whilst most of the site is Airsoft. One of the buildings appears to get used for paintball though as the walls are bit gunky but it just means you don't lean against the outer walls.

Yeah spoke to a number of people at Xsite who never went back to Absolute once they had player at another site for comparison. I'm up at Xsite Lane End this Sunday with a couple of mates which is about 50 minutes drive for you Sarethia. It's a beginner friendly site and all the regulars and marshals are sound, only downside is there's a couple of bits and pieces in need of repair.