Deek

I have three 'standard' magazines for my G18C AEP as well as three 100 round magazines... ideal for when I want to play silly sods at CQB

Looks like it... and the cm.030 is in turn a copy of the Tokyo Marui G18c. And you don't need LiPos for them - the little battery that comes with the gun is good enough - I have the TM G18c with a couple of extra mags and batteries... most excellent little gun, especially for CQB; don't underestimate the power of the AEP

Skirmish Mansfield is good as Ed said. Interestingly there are two organisers who operate at Bawtry Paintball fields - BritTac and also Yorkshire Tactical Airsoft as well (YTA also have a shop in Rotherham). I know Skirmish and Yorkshire Tactical Airsoft can provide UKARA evidence, and I suspect BritTac will do it as well.

I would like to echo what Ian_Gere has said regarding glasses, or even incorrectly placed goggles, over lower face protection; bb's can get past and cause injury, so be careful. I wear mesh goggles, and yes a bb can impact and shatter causing issues; only last weekend I dealt with an incident involving just this scenario - thankfully the player followed advice, didn't rub his eye and I retrieved the plastic fragment with no detriment to the player at all. [boring] Risks of eye damage: No eye protection: Direct impact on eyeball - whilst it has been proven that direct impact from a bb fired at 1j at point blank range will not penetrate the eyeball (globe) it will cause corneal abrasions and possibly hyphemas, which can leave lasting damage. Glasses: Indirect impacts - glasses will stop direct impacts onto the eye from a bb, however direct impacts may occur, as in theory it is possible for a bb to strike the inside of the lens and then impact onto the eyeball. The energy loss will result in less serious injury as it would from a direct impact and it is more likely that the bb would impact onto the soft tissues around the eye. Mesh goggles: Fragments - a bb may shatter upon impact with the mesh allowing sharp fragments to enter the eye which could potentially cause corneal abrasions. The energy reduction from the impact with the mesh would probably slow the fragment down enough that eyeball penetration would not occur. Lensed goggles: Nothing - a good set of close fitting goggles with lenses would almost completely negate the risk of an eye injury occurring from a bb impact, regardless of location. Lower face protection: Indirect impacts - if worn incorrectly, i.e. eye protection is pushed forward by lower face protection, there is a risk of bb ricochet behind the eye protection. Injury is more likely to be soft tissue rather than eyeball impact. [/boring] Personally I use mesh goggles as they don't fog and are comfortable

Looks like images 'borrowed' from Zero Punctuation with added strap lines... Still funny though

Thanks for the replies The main site I have been browsing is TaiwanGun, and have been looking at most things on there. The prices are very tempting and I am not that bothered if something looks cheap but does the job, especially as most woodland sites I visit double as paintball sites, so wouldn't want to spend a lot and risk getting it damaged or ruined by paint* (* I know the paint is washable, but can still be a pain to get out of something that can't be put through the washing machine). Airsoft Mr B I shall check out that section, thank you

Has anybody had any experiences importing airsoft kit from Poland? I have seen a couple of Polish airsoft retailers that have very reasonable prices compared to UK retailers, with one retailer even offering free p&p to the UK. I have looked on the Customs and Excise website and if an item is for personal use then there should be no import duty for an item posted within the EU, which Poland is. I understand that being Polish if something goes wrong with my purchases it would be a pain to return them and get them fixed, but that is a risk with anything not bought from a UK retailer (and even some UK retailers it is a risk...) But just wanted to know opinions before going ahead and ordering something. Thanks

But if you are a skirmisher and attend a site on a regular basis or have some other way of verifying your defence then you are OK.

Can I just add a point regarding the use of 'out' 'Out' should be used by the person originating the call to denote no further traffic from them. So, if James initiated the transmission in the first place, then James should acknowledge Aaron with the 'out', as James might want Aaron to act on the information passed. Also, for the sake of brevity once communications have been started between two people then there should be no need to repeat the 'to - from' part of the transmission. Example: Everybody now knows what is going on and they are now aware that Aaron has finished his conversation. The only time this should be different is if a CONTROL is in place, and then it will be the controller that will end the transmission with OUT. Hope that makes sense?

The Violent Crime Reduction Act (VCRA) has made it an offence to sell a realistic imitation firearm to anybody unless they have a valid defence You do not need a valid defence to own a RIF or to use it at a site. UKARA only offers a measurable and demonstrable defence in respect to buying RIFs and nothing else.

Thought I'd jump into this... I have several other hobbies... a couple of them are related to my normal work (just can't keep away from it). Not quite a hobby but I keep lizards - crested geckos to be specific... currently have 7 of them - 2 males, 4 females and 1 male who thinks he's a female (don't ask!)

Zero In forums... never had a look there... might be worth a look

This is very true... until somebody like Trading Standards and the Police decide to do a test purchase and find that the retailer does not conduct a due diligence check... and then the retailer falls foul of the VCRA.

There isn't anything written in legislation to cover 'airsoft' weapons, as they are not defined within legislation; airsoft weapons are either classified as IF or RIF depending on their manufacture or physical appearance. I can't seem to find the legislation which covers air weapon power either at the moment...

As long as you can provide a defence to the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 then you can buy a RIF without having UKARA Membership. UKARA Membership is only a way of providing a way for a retailer to check your defence of being an airsofter. You do not need UKARA or any other kind of membership to use a RIF at a skirmish site.

UKARA is a way of providing a defence for buying a RIF from a retailer - it is not the only way to provide a defence and is not in any way part of legislation (at the moment). There is no such thing as a 'UKARA Licence' only UKARA Membership; you do not need a licence to own or use a RIF. The only time legislation comes into play is when you want to buy a RIF from a retailer, and then you have to provide a valid defence. Hope that helps

I used to love my Sig552 as it has a nice fold-able stock, making it a compact weapon, and the stock can be flipped out when you need more accuracy when needed. P90 is an excellent weapon as well - being a bullpup it has a long barrel making it more accurate than most CQB weapons - only down side is the size of the mags. I have a G&G F2000 now which is OK but seems a little bulky for CQB, so I tend to use my MC51 - again, collapsible stock so can be made nice and compact for CQB.

If the OP acquires an IF and after a couple of skirmishes resprays it (or cleans off the paint) and has the discretion not to go bragging about it then I don't think anybody would be too interested. I think it would only become a problem to some people if somebody did remove the paint / respray and technically manufacture a RIF and then went bragging about it to anybody who would listen. *Edit* Just re-reading the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 and Sec 40 refers to an amendment to the Firearms Act 1968 Sec 24 making it an offence for a minor (person under 18 years of age) to be sold or to buy an imitation firearm, but makes no mention of gifting an imitation firearm to a minor. So, my interpretation is as a minor you cannot buy an IF (even a bright green one) but you can have one gifted to you.

Anybody can gift a RIF to you, but it has to be a gift - no money or services can be exchanged, so you couldn't give him £100 and he 'gift' the RIF to you, nor can you do some odd jobs and then get the RIF gifted to you. Unless your friend's dad is really generous I doubt he will gift a RIF to you. If you really, really have a big problem against two-tone / clear IFs then you could always use camo tape to cover the weapon at a game and then remove it before setting off home.

An interesting thing I have noticed recently is that the manufacturers of QuikClot and Celox are both now aiming products at domestic / first aid users - QuikClot for instance have developed a range of dressings for sports use and Celox have been promoting their products for work place use. You still can't walk into somewhere like Boots and buy these products over the counter yet, but they are available to buy if you know the right places.

I have a TM G18c and it works great... I bought a couple of extra mags for it from eBay (cyma ones) and I have actually gone out into CQB games with this as my primary weapon and have had some pretty good games with it. It shoots consistently at about 240fps, which isn't the best in the world but ideal for CQB. Mags are very small, unless you go for the extended mags, and the range is pretty decent as well. Downsides? Well, it is non-blow back and the sound it makes is more 'pop' 'pop' than 'bang' 'bang'. It relies on batteries, so you are limited to the charge they hold rather than gas which you can top-up at site. I have never really considered upgrading as I don't think it is actually worth it, as it works fine just as it is

There is a newer version of QuikClot that doesn't produce heat when applied. The complication with QuikClot is that it is mineral based, so it does need cleaning out of the wound when used. The other big name is Celox - this works on a similar principle, but it is made from chitosan, a natural product. Chitosan is broken down by the body into natural sugars, so left over Celox doesn't need to be cleaned out of the wound, making it safer to use.

There are a few tourniquet manufacturers now, with their devices being touted as 'the best'. The original was the Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) which is in wide use by a lot of ambulance services. They are a good bit of kit and not that expensive, and can be self applied but the windlass bar is made of plastic and there have been reports of it failing in cold temperatures. The Mechanical Advantage Tourniquet (MAT) has a mechanical action (sort of a ratchet affair) which is easy to use and is reported to be reusable (!). Easy to apply and looks ok, but is normally the more expensive option. The final contender is the Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet (SOFTT) - normally has a wider strap then the CAT and had the advantage of an aluminium windlass, which has less chance of failing in colder weather. Slightly more complicated than the CAT and not really suitable for self application. As jcheeseright has said though, tourniquets are better if supplemented with haemostatic agents.

I would personally advise against carrying an epi-pen. Whilst it has been agreed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that a First Aider can administer adrenaline via an auto injector device (epi-pen) in-line with the Section 7 of the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 you cannot legally obtain such devices as they are Prescription Only Medicines. The guidance is there to cover a first aider when administering a patient's own epi-pen. I would also advise against using glue to close wounds as well - glue is used as a semi-permanent to permanent wound closure and as such you would need to ensure the wound is completely clean before the wound is closed. Glueing will only close small wounds and you would be better off using other methods such as direct pressure for a time and a covering (such as a non-adherent dressing) and advising the person to go visit a walk-in centre to get it looked at.

Fairly sensible list Mr Monkey Nuts... just a couple of comments - be careful with mobile phones when calling for an ambulance from an organised site; it might be better for the organisers to call 999 as they may be able to give a more accurate location to the ambulance service when calling. There is no harm in two calls being made for something serious and the call handler can give pre-arrival advice if needed - just make sure they are aware of where you are. Medications are great for yourself but be careful giving them out to other people. Of course if you know them and they ask if you have a couple of paracetamol (for instance) there shouldn't be too much of a problem.