Experience and Airsoft Wisdom

[Baz JJ]

Ive been playing about three years now.

When I started, I ended up going to my first game on my own as my son wasn't that interested and I just went for it in the end.

It was a bit Johnny no mates for a few games, but I was determined to get my UKARA defence.

The main problem I had was not knowing what kit to buy.

I made the first mistake, one that is so common in airsoft, of buying a sniper bolt action as my first rifle.

I can now see the folly of that.

What happened was a lot of trial and error with kit.

Online reviews are helpful but can often be misleading.

Many reviews are sponsored so not objective or comparative and a lot of personal reviews are from players defending a purchase decision - my JingTong Fong plate carrier is the best as it holds my mags and hasnt fallen apart even though Ive played three games in it.

 

[Baz JJ]

Anyway, Ive recently started playing at skirmishes with an ex workmate and some of his friends.

My milsim circuit and skirmish circuit tend to be different.

Im an old fart in my mid fifties and they are early thirties, but they are complete noobs.

Its been interesting because their questions and pondering regarding kit has made me realise how much Ive learnt the hard way about kit. I still know nothing about the workings of airsoft guns and have no real interest in motors, tappet plates or barrel upgrades, but Ive learnt a lot about the suitability of accessories, mainly through buying the wrong stuff.

Ive had to temper my enthusiasm because I have a tendency to save up and buy expensive stuff rather than the cheapest possible off eBay and also I dont want to come over, as some kind of know all, which Im definitely not or put indirect pressure on them to buy kit which they maybe cant afford right now.

Anyway, Ive tried to guide them through not making the mistakes that I made and Im quick to say I dont know if its a question outside of my experience.

I just wish I had met someone like me when I started. It would have saved me a lot of time and money.

One of the things I notice on forums is that a lot of people ask for advice but dont really want to hear it. They ask about a particular gun choice and then defend it when people give them a negative low down.

Similarly, the OP asks a question, somebody spends 15 minutes typing a thoughtful answer and the OP is never heard of again. Not a lot of motivation for that responder.

So, conclusion, not a lot.

The value of a physical mentor in Airsoft ?

As an OP, Do take the time and effort to type out your question on forums clearly and fully, using a spell checker. "ABC optic - any good" isnt really going to get you a useful answer. Give a bit more information.

Do thank people for their efforts in answering your question or at least give them some feedback as to what happened in the end.

I know we live in an instant, quick fire, BRB world but people all have lives to live outside airsoft. Its just good manners to not grab information and run.

 

[jcheeseright]

I'm doing this exact thing for my 15yo (soon to be 16, they grow up so fast!) nephew at the moment, built him his first gun (to his specification "I want one like the M4A4 in CS:GO") and took him to his first couple of skirmishes. He's now going to his local site on his own and has his own circle of airsoft mates which is awesome.... BUT, the site he goes to has a LOT of new players and some of them just talk complete shit, he keeps messaging me asking if he should 're shim his gun' or get an 'upgraded' hop up (wtf is an upgraded hop up?! it either works well or it doesn't). I should point out here that the gun is absolutely fine, needs zero work doing to it.

He's getting 80% of this from other players and 20% from watching youtube videos of kids talking about their pre-upgraded guns (which isn't upgraded at all, it's just how it comes from the factory!).

The internet is a great resource for information, but at the same time it's a fantastic source of misinformation, the whole UKARA license thing is a great example. Just gotta try and guide our newbies down the path of the light and away from the darkness I guess!

 

[clumpyedge]

I think one of the biggest frustrations kit wise is when i hear people say "oh you should get this its amazing" what works for some people may not work for others and then your stuck with something (unless you manage to sell it on) that you have little to no use for. I've been massively guilty of this in some occasions and rather than going to a shop and trying something on or asking a fellow player if they would mind if i tried something ive gone straight out bought whatever it is only to find that for me it doesn't work. Much can be said the same with guns, you hear people constantly on about how they want this sniper rifle or this support weapon they have it five minutes and realize there is either a lot more to the gun they have just got or they don't like the play style. 

Like Jcheese mentioned as well you hear a lot of drivel in and around safezones and the like with people offering their usually very incompetent tech advice only for the person they gave the advice to come back a week later with a gun in pieces at home. People have an uncanny knack of mixing information from all different places which then turns into some alternate form of advice that usually ends up with the gun performing worse than it did before (if in fact it was performing badly at all)

 

[djben9]

Great post Baz, :mellow:  Where I'm yet to get my son involved as he is only 8, I have the same issues with my brother, only been doing this since July 2015 so still a bit to learn as well but since he decided to play summer last year I've had to pass on info and vet his proposed buys for him so he doesn't make really silly mistakes

he bought at the weekend a TM hi capa pistol..... was funny as I picked up a few parts put in car went back into Firesupport after checking on kids and he had about 8 pistols out on the counter!!

also his work colleague, who seems to only listen after a few attempts of trying himself, didn't buy a spare battery but used the one that came with his AK, then he did get a Lipo as he found one he borrowed off my brother made his AEG fire better, but the muppet used his old charger and well you can get what nearly happened.!!!!!

he even asked on sat for my brother to get him a 11.1 lipo..... he ended up with a 7.4 and balance charger..,,

 

[TheFull9]

Problem is, most people have to make their own mistakes, they won't listen to advice no matter what past experience of facts you back it up with.  Some days I feel like it's a total waste of time giving advice about guns or kit because 90% of the time it gets ignored; who wants to have to hunt around for deals right?  Or buy cheap, durable surplus/2nd hand gear when you can buy cheap, awful quality, 'Multicam' (not multicam at all) plate carriers because that's what the youtubers run (except the YouTubers are in TT, HSGI, Crye, Warrior, FS, BFG, LBT etc).

There's a real propensity amongst some folks to start dishing out advice the second they know the tiniest grain of information and that's super easy for them to do in the age of phones with shaky front-camera video recording, insanely simple editing apps, wi-fi in every Costa Coffee and direct upload to YT and all the socials.

Almost everyone getting in to it starts out in the hoodie and jeans of course, then too many decide the full multicam loadout must be the best but can't actually afford it, so they buy a £25 chinese PC that comes with 27 pouches, because the person who's 1 step ahead of them who most recently uploaded a 'review' on that PC said it was great without trying it on.  Then each person takes 1 step forward on the monopoly board and another newbie starts at the back of the chain, and so it cycles through.  The guys who've been at it for 7+ years meanwhile are (usually) either fully decked out in the best money can buy or they're running about at skirmishes with a good quality belt running pistol only or a compact SMG and just a couple of magazines; all of which is made by dependable brands (not necessarily the most expensive, just dependable) because they've had enough of shit breaking over the years.

Obviously this is a large generalisation, but the trends are there to see.

 

[Fumps]

Yeh see the last post. This man speaks sense
I went from too much gear in multicam to wearing ex surplus DPM & an OD top. All my kit is now low cost but dependable 

 

[skarra333]

I found myself biting my tongue at Sundays game. I was faced with 3 players, all with more expensive guns than me (and more of them) - on their 3rd game ever, including Sniper rifles as their alternative primary. They were nice enough lads no doubt about it, but I decided 3 things:

1. They need to learn the old fashioned way. Unless it's a safety thing, I let them learn through experience.

1B. Anything else would just be a stranger bursting their bubbles, being Captain Negative and telling them what not to do - and who likes to pay £25 for a day of that?

2. This must be the 70th pack of 'just about to get UKARA' guys I've come across in the last year or two. How many of the others do I still see at my site... Very few. So I'm not wasting energy trying to guide greenhorns through the ins and outs of kit anymore. So...

You'd rather buy 4 BFGs than a single speedloader for your many pistol mags - whatever.

You want to buy £70+ suede desert boots for use on waterlogged woodland sites - whatever.

You want to buy a scope that cost more than my monthly gas/electricity bill and then carry it around in a rucksack with a hole the size of my head in it - whatever.

Maybe I'm just getting to be a grumpy old man.

 

[Katana]

The guys who've been at it for 7+ years meanwhile are (usually) either fully decked out in the best money can buy or they're running about at skirmishes with a good quality belt running pistol only or a compact SMG and just a couple of magazines; all of which is made by dependable brands (not necessarily the most expensive, just dependable) because they've had enough of sh*t breaking over the years.

Preach it man. 

 

[Baz JJ]

The thing is, if its people I like, I try to offer them advice to help them not make the mistakes I made. If they want to ignore me, its up to them and Im fine with that. At least I tried and Im not a control freak.

I would never offer strangers advice unless they asked for it and lets face it, most don't.

Im not out to save the world.

Safety advice is a different thing.

 

[djben9]

Yeh see the last post. This man speaks sense
I went from too much gear in multicam to wearing ex surplus DPM & an OD top. All my kit is now low cost but dependable 

i wear the odd pair of combats to games in general day to day use when out with kids....get my monies worth out of them, but why by a pair to sit in a box for a few months between games as wearing another...! 

 

[clumpyedge]

I had something happen a good while ago which makes think twice about giving out advice...

Man and son are on site for first ever game and they come over and start asking the usual of where to get first gun, whats the rules about buying guns etc. so obviously and I think most people on this forum can attest to this the obligatory comment of "whatever you do just don't buy a gun from anywhere with BB Guns in the name because its 99% of the time going to be utter toss and will break after the first game" I did however offer the location of some shops (Stevenage/Romford/London/Peterborough) that have a good array or two toned weapons at very very good prices for new starters. Two weeks later and its the next game day on our site and low and behold the new guys are back dripping in kit bags and a few guns....15 minutes into the first game of the day and I get 2 lads come up to me asking to fix their guns (obviously cant look at them in the game area so ask them to come see me when we were back at the safe zone as the game only had five minutes left as it was the warm up round) so they come strolling over to me when we get back to the safe zone alongside me is another person that has also given them the same advice as me but may have mentioned other shops online like zeroone etc. so we have these guns placed on our counter and the first words out of both of our mouths were "where did you get them from".....

"Just BB Guns - they were cheaper than anywhere else..."

Now I'm quite a tattoo'd fellow and have always stayed with the age old saying that GOOD tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good which kind of relates here, now don't get me wrong I'm not saying everyone should own top line guns because they are the most expensive therefore amazing... but why if more than one person offers you exactly the same advice would you then go in completely the other direction? 

This is why it takes me a lot to offer any advice anymore. As much as its nice trying to help people, some people don't help themselves. 

 

[Dentonboy]

I sometimes think players - especially new players - get fixated on 'loadouts'. They pick up AI and see a loadout and that is the be all and end all.

Pouches everywhere, radio antenna's everywhere, tourniquets, zip ties, scissors, strobes...I have been guilty of this in the past.

...I know from my most recent airsofting games that a decent chest rig and two/three dependable guns = way more fun that worrying if someone has noticed my MS2000, or if a pouch has fallen off, etc. 

I bought cheap gear to start off with (as in, a Viper vest, Viper knee pads, Viper leg holster) and had surplus gear after a lifetime going around shows with a military vehicle owning father. The real deal stuff is better, so, so much better.

By cheap, buy twice. Buy what you'll need, and most importantly of all, enjoy yourself.

 

[Nicky blue eyes]

 Still being a bit of a noob my self,The best peice of advice i can give to people wanting to play and having no one to go with is just go for it. It put me off for a long time but i pushed my self to go and have never looked back. As the day wore on i got chatting to people, no one judged me on my hoodie and jean load out. If anything it gets easier the more you go. So don't be afraid to try it. And the other nuggets I can offer are have a good attitude and keep a sense of humor about you,  don't be fraid to laugh at your self. No one likes Mr. Grumpy boswellocks.

 

[Oli.Hanks]

My biggest word of advice as silly as it sounds is changing your dominant hand when cornering the amount of elbow and knee pings i get in cqb is very funny when you swap hands its just your head and your rifle peaking

 

[Brauster]

My biggest word of advice as silly as it sounds is changing your dominant hand when cornering the amount of elbow and knee pings i get in cqb is very funny when you swap hands its just your head and your rifle peaking

That is a very good tip but wouldn't want to try that with my GBB l85A2 unless you want a bolt handle smack you in the face!

 

[TheFull9]

That is a very good tip but wouldn't want to try that with my GBB l85A2 unless you want a bolt handle smack you in the face!

Learn where the cocking handle stops, use your point-shooting skills/a red dot and adjust stance accordingly.

Works for the real gun.

 

[Oli.Hanks]

^ Bang on haha (pun not intended)