Hello, proxy newbie here lol

[simon b]

Hi, I'm Simon, my 13yr old is getting a bit more into the sport, we've been garden plinking for a couple of years, but now, I feel I should be a bit more knowledgeable about the whole thing, at the moment he has a Double eagle M83 (?) And a CO2 pistol, he went to his first site with a friend  last weekend and loved it, despite coming home looking like he had chicken pox lol. If he continues to get into it I'll probably be looking to upgrade his rifle and get the relevant gear he'll need although im not sure what that is, hence me joining this forum and this post 

 

[Tackle]

Welcome Simon, luckily for you, your lad only being 13 means he can't legally buy anything gun-like, so your going to have to get involved (don't worry you'll love it), recommend you take some time to read through the forum, in particular the advice sections, & if you need to, post up any questions.

Out of interest what area are you guys in & what's the site your son's been playing at, I ask as its likely we'll have other members near to you  that will have more pertinent info as to your best options locally.

 

[simon b]

Thanks for the reply Tackel, we're in Worcestershire, Kidderminster area, I'm not sure which site they went to as I didn't go, I'll post where when I find out later,

As for the buying of guns that's not a problem, I love shooting anyway, but it's always been with air rifles, I'd have a go myself but my knees are knackered sadly ?

 

[simon b]

Update, the site is in Rowley Regis 

 

[Tackle]

I'd have a go myself but my knees are knackered sadly 

Lol, that's a piss poor excuse, most of the more "mature" players on here are battling poor health in one form or other, I'm riddled with arthritis, knees & back screwed & just found out I've got prostate cancer, but if I can walk, then I can play, just means altering my loadout & playing style, so it's lightweight rigs or go-bag, 3 mags & dmr rifle, what I lose in speed I make up in sneaky motherfuckerness ?, there's a role for everyone in Airsoft mate.

Get out there?

 

[EDcase]

Simon:  First thing he'll need is a full face mask.  Either separate goggles and mesh lower or all in one.

Have a search around the forum to see whats recommended.

You don't need to spends more than £200 for a decent starter gun.  Again, have a look at some previous answers to these questions.

 

[Tommikka]

Lol, that's a piss poor excuse, most of the more "mature" players on here are battling poor health in one form or other, I'm riddled with arthritis, knees & back screwed & just found out I've got prostate cancer, but if I can walk, then I can play, just means altering my loadout & playing style, so it's lightweight rigs or go-bag, 3 mags & dmr rifle, what I lose in speed I make up in sneaky motherfuckerness ?, there's a role for everyone in Airsoft mate.

Get out there?

Sorry about the cancer - not the cancer itself as the miracles of modern medicine will help you there, however I have every sympathy for the dreaded gloved finger.

I had a bit of a cancer scare last hear among all the many tests I went through last year.

Apart from the busted ribs, bruised lungs with reduced capacity, crack in my skull, collapsing knee, (test results evaluation = One knee “normal”, other knee “abnormal, as expected”), bad back (Diagnoses = you aren’t as young as you were), S shaped spine, liver cyst, osteoarthritis, and Raynaud’s Phenomenon (No ordinary syndrome for me but a phenomenon)

Other than a clapped out body, I’m in perfect health

 

[Tackle]

Sorry about the cancer - not the cancer itself as the miracles of modern medicine will help you there, however I have every sympathy for the dreaded gloved finger.

I had a bit of a cancer scare last hear among all the many tests I went through last year.

Apart from the busted ribs, bruised lungs with reduced capacity, crack in my skull, collapsing knee, (test results evaluation = One knee “normal”, other knee “abnormal, as expected”), bad back (Diagnoses = you aren’t as young as you were), S shaped spine, liver cyst, osteoarthritis, and Raynaud’s Phenomenon (No ordinary syndrome for me but a phenomenon)

Other than a clapped out body, I’m in perfect health

Thanks mate, the finger was the least of my worries, it's all the other stuff they were sticking up there, it was busier than Piccadilly Circus down there lol ?.

& yeah, your going through it big time, but I bet your not gonna let it beat you & stop playing, nothing like a good gameday to get the endorphins going etc, & if it's a bit harder than usual, we just adapt & overcome, does my swede in when your playing & the weather turns a bit crap or your side is getting a kicking & young/fit players start dropping out, makes you wonder how they'd cope when when the shit really hits the fan ?.

anyway, digressing, Simon, if us two old fartknockers can manage it, sure you can get out with the lad ?, plus you need to get ukara etc, otherwise your lads gonna have to settle for nerf lookalike two-tone abominations for the next five years ?, that's child cruelty lol.

 

[gasman]

As an old git of 65 with no cartilage in my right knee and other broken bits I still love playing it gives me exercise I would not other wise get. I cant run anymore but do a quick shuffle and get more than my fair share of hits (given & taken).Just worried I may drop dead while playing and ruin somebodies day LOL.

Look on the classifieds you will find many good complete sets of gear at cheap prices also some very over priced junk. High on my list would be quality eye and face protection you only have one set and they don't grow back. Do not spend a fortune on gear at this stage apart from protective gear, wait and see if he is still keen after a couple of months by which time he will have asked the people he is playing with lots of questions and will gain some knowledge of what to buy

 

[simon b]

Haha, thanks Tackle, Edcase, gasman and  Tommika, you've just talked me. In to it, I can do a fast limp on a good day lol, 

I'm not going to go mad on the gun scene until my lad has been a few times, as what he's got does the job at the moment, then no doubt it'll be a trip to the gun shop in Cannock, do they make a Airsoft blunderbuss?

 

[Tommikka]

Haha, thanks Tackle, Edcase, gasman and  Tommika, you've just talked me. In to it, I can do a fast limp on a good day lol, 

I'm not going to go mad on the gun scene until my lad has been a few times, as what he's got does the job at the moment, then no doubt it'll be a trip to the gun shop in Cannock, do they make a Airsoft blunderbuss?

Regarding the blunderbuss - I don’t think there is a retail one, but people have customised them.  You would also have the option of a blunderbuss / pirate look as opposed to a blunderbuss spread.

More practical on that basis, but you can get shotgun shells for airsoft which are less practical but you should never let impracticality and  wasting money spoil your fun.

If you’re around Cannock, Kidderminster etc  then check out NPF Bassets Pole.  They are significant in paintball history, but also run airsoft.

For the past few years we have run a mini game at their annual Paintfest long weekend which also combined airfest for the last 2 or 3 years.   Unfortunately they have stopped running Paintfest this year, so we’ll just have to watch for if they bring back another in the future.

I think games may have ended at Drakelow, but if a game does occur again then that comes very recommended.
 

As your son is a youngster then the rules will be that he must use full face protection, and cannot just use eye protection.  I always recommend full face anyway as I come form the paintball world.  Go to games, chat with people, ask to try things on and find what’s comfortable for each of you.  
Ditto with buying guns - take advantage of your 3 game requirement to qualify for UKARA and look around at what people use and what floats your boat.

Opt for layers and choose what you like to wear.  I do like to play in a t shirt, but things do depend.  I don’t enjoy cutting my arms crawling through bushes - and elbows are something to be careful of.
It’s up to you if you play airsoft dressed for comfort or in a particular style 

On the old man clapped out body front, I’ve  feared my doctor sometimes when he’s asked if I still play, but he just says to carry on - if it hurts take painkillers, if it hurts more then stop doing what hurts for a while.  It’s good exercise 

@Tackle Just take care, do what the doctors & nurses tell you and prioritise

I did spend about 3 months of ignoring the pain, and another month of saying that I’ll go to the doctor when the cold was really kicking off pain.

Standard man stuff - any one reading this should take my usual advice of ‘do what I say and not what I do’

Adrenaline goes a very long way, I’ve taken a lot of close range hits, including as a photographer where I would lean into a stream of paintballs just to try and get the right shot.  

My worst was a close range headshot in the drakelow darkness.  I think that adrenaline wasn’t entirely the cause of not feeling pain, but that I probably had concussion and should not have driven home 

When I’ve gone through the Raynaud’s pain that’s topped off my pain scale many times.  I’ve even had it commented to me that I clearly am in real pain based on my historic pain threshold.
 

Currently on the pills, pain has gone to no pain and severe pain has gone down to just pain. They thin the blood, and I think they have made the nerves more sensitive.  I’ll find out if the theory is right when the weather warms up - I’ll be able to stop the pills until it cools and that should ease the touch sensitivity. Time will tell there.

(In theory I can try out some blue pills and see what effects they have!)

Being sensible and prepared would mean wearing gloves, but I hate the loss of touch.  When I get the glove or gloves out in normal

life then that means things are serious.  When playing I’ve gone back to wearing a full finger glove on my left hand and fingerless on my right 

 The good part about pain is that it tells you that you’re still alive and your senses are working.  I opt for taking degrees of pain - clearly unnecessary suffering is stupid, but I did need morphine once after an accident, but I also found out what happens when the morphine runs out - I had it to ease pain and help me sleep, the problem was it stopped all the pain and as I am not a still sleeper I had a great nights sleep until I suddenly woke with a whole nights worth of agony in one go.

Having a dodgy hand hasn’t stopped me playing - it actually had the opposite effect.  Last year was my 15th year since beginning to play paintball.  I was more determined to play, and with the combination of a dodgy hand and too many other things in the calendar I decided not to photograph tournaments.  I couldn’t commit to the full series, and my dodgy hand is my focus hand - I regularly get shot in that when photographing.  It was a candidate for being a cause of bruised nerves, but that was cleared, subsequently it could be back on the cards for an ‘initial trauma’

 

[simon b]

Thanks for the advice Tommikka, I've just ordered him a full face mask and mesh goggles for his next visit, as for equipment etc, I'll tag along next visit and see what suits us 

 

[Rogerborg]

mesh goggles

Hi Simon.  Mesh goggles are a bit Marmite.  They don't fog up, but they do cut down on your vision, and BBs can fragment and put shards through them. It's not likely to happen, but I prefer some solid polycarbonate in front of my eyes.  Pyramex iForce dual pane goggles are a reasonable default choice.

On the gun, I salute him for playing with an M83.  All the sellers I can find quote them at 180 - 200fps which is frankly inadequate for woodland.  He'll have been substantially outranged all day.

There''s no point in trying to improve it, and pretty much anything that PatrolBase sells will be much better: https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/airsoft-assault-rifles-all

From that list, the CYMAs, Jing Gongs, G&G and Specna Arms guns will all be competitive and won't break the bank, and PatrolBase will two-tone them for £10 if you want to purchase before playing 3 times (yourself) and obtaining a UKARA number which will let you get them in realistic colours.

Plenty of other sellers and options are available, I mention PatrolBase and those brands as a default starting point.

And I would encourage you to try it yourself with a rental package - plenty of us play at a slower pace.  Heck, I was playing CQB on Sunday and spent half the day lurking and covering doors and staircases.  I'm almost at the point of bringing a folding stool out with me.

 

[simon b]

Thanks for the info Rodgerborg, he seemed to get on with the mesh goggles he hired on Saturday, so we'll suck it and see, he was playing CQB on the weekend so it wasn't such an issue with range/power there, plus he used my CO2 pistol as a sidearm so could at least scare somebody at about longer range of not hit them lol, I'll try a few guns before I buy anything if he gets into seriously 

 

[Rogerborg]

Ah, good to hear.  Although I'd be even more wary of using mesh in CQB, as you can get point-blanked.

Using a ~200fps M83 in CQB sound like a laugh, actually.  Humiliation kills all round.  I wonder how much response you could get out of it with a 7.4V lipo rather than the stock Ni... wait, what, I'm seeing them listed with a Nicad .  Surely not?

 

[simon b]

Rodgerborg, yep it's got a 7.2  Nicad in it (just looked ), and yep he got some kills with his bright blue 83 lol.

I'll look into some alternative eye protection for CQB 

 

[Rogerborg]

yep it's got a 7.2  Nicad in it (just looked ), and yep he got some kills with his bright blue 83 lol.

That's awesome, Nicads were banned for consumer goods in the EU in 2006.  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0066  - Double Eagle don't care.

Good to hear that he got some kills with it.  [Urge to get one and pimp it intensifies]

 

[simon b]

It was ultra cheap something like£45 off BB guns for less a while ago so I doubt it would break the bank too much lol

 

[Rogerborg]

A hit's a hit, and it's surprising how much fun you can have with the cheap stuff.  £30 shotguns can be a laugh in CQB too.  If you're grinning, you're winning.