Milsim
- Thread starter Monty1234
- Start date
This will vary between sites & organisers
There is no explicit minimum age in the UK to play, and it will generally be controlled by the sites insurance and any ‘special activity’ that the site may cover
For example a site game organiser may allow juniors on their site but if they also run a special event elsewhere such as booking an MoD training establishment might up the age to adults only
It can also depend on what you mean by MilSim. It means different things to different people, and even then there are different levels
‘Standard’ airsoft might look like MilSim from the outside but the average skirmish on the average site will be a mix of the local people, some in full dress up mode with all the gear and being a ‘ninja operator’, some in jeans & t shirt and anything inbetween
’Events’ are run to a format and are more likely to attract the ‘MilSimmer’ but May also get average people
Events may have equipment available to hire - but it depends on the organiser
‘FilmSim’ is much more serious in the look and play style and some guy in jeans & t shirt won’t be welcome unless there’s some form of insurgency faction
The best option is to go to a local skirmish, contacting the site beforehand to ensure you can hire for the day and get to see what the others use
To buy your own black guns / RIFs you need to be 18 and to have established a ‘defence’ to the VCRA such as UKARA membership via playing at a participating site the required number of times.
A Junior can legally be ‘gifted’ a RIF by an adult who qualifies (get some games in and start writing your birthday / Xmas list)
Impulse
Members
- Apr 18, 2019
- 1,436
- 1,756
Check with the organisers.
For milsim? Yes. Some will do a level of kit rental, but since you'll be out in the field for 24 - 36 hours uninterrupted you probably want kit that is personalised to you, not rental kit.
No idea, but Defiant Events do stuff in the south east and they're pretty good. They have a minimum age of 18 at their events.
Milsim is not regular airsoft. It usually has a lot less trigger time, kit requirements, squad-based gameplay, will run for 24 hours or more uninterrupted, so you need to bring your own food, drinks, sleeping bag etc. It's not for everyone; I'm not a fan of it, prefering the filmsim/battlesim middleground, but I know other people who basically only do milsim.
Druid799
Supporters
- Sep 9, 2015
- 4,695
- 2,403
Also at these more ‘immersive’ type events be prepared to encounter a greater number of stitch counters and gear snobs than at a ‘normal’ scurmish day . It’s just the nature of the beast , as these events are normally based around a set scenario where you do have to follow a ‘script’ as it where so you will get more of the anally retentive type players their than the ‘run around with an AK and a hi-cap in my trakkies having a whale of a time !’ Players like you get at an open walk in game day .
Tactical Pith Helmet
AF-UK patch owner
- Jul 5, 2016
- 1,040
- 2,576
I have done Milsims. All of the above is true.
the enjoyment form a well organised event is excellent. It's best to have your own gear, but tbh, you can get inventive and take minimal stuff. Your loadout needs to be 90% OK. RIFs are the bit we sometimes cheat on a bit.
Age etc is down to the organiser. I've taken lads who are too young for the advertised age, but who are known onsite as decent players.
My advice is pick a game. You can ask advice on here which games are decent. Than call the organiser. Don't text or email, just call and have a chat and sort things out re: kit/loadout/age etc. If you really want to do Milsim and you've got the right attitude you'll be fine.
If you are a new player check out filmsim and perhaps try that first. You'll get a feel for the camping gear side and loadout without the full on milsim pressure.
the enjoyment form a well organised event is excellent. It's best to have your own gear, but tbh, you can get inventive and take minimal stuff. Your loadout needs to be 90% OK. RIFs are the bit we sometimes cheat on a bit.
Age etc is down to the organiser. I've taken lads who are too young for the advertised age, but who are known onsite as decent players.
My advice is pick a game. You can ask advice on here which games are decent. Than call the organiser. Don't text or email, just call and have a chat and sort things out re: kit/loadout/age etc. If you really want to do Milsim and you've got the right attitude you'll be fine.
If you are a new player check out filmsim and perhaps try that first. You'll get a feel for the camping gear side and loadout without the full on milsim pressure.
Crazy_Crystal
Members
- Nov 1, 2017
- 323
- 134
BTW your loadout does not need to be a perfect replica of anything it just needs to work and ideally be comfortable and capable of carrying everything you need in the field for most events. the primary thing that organisers will care about is the camo rules but that's just so you can ID who is on what team.
Also I just want to dispel the whole gear snob thing, I've never once witnessed this at any milsim event I've been too over the years. Having said that there are a lot of geardo's out there(Myself included) that will talk until the sun comes up about the latest gear ?
Finally if you are new to things 100% try out some of the daylight filmsims out there. My go to on that front is gunman airsoft which are based in the southeast and have hire kit at all their events if you ask. this also includes historical stuff such as Vietnam, cold war etc as well as the modern Okto series, just be aware that roleplay is a big thing for the immersion side of things. (Some bloke you just shot screaming in the corner for example, but it does make the events really cinematic too.)
Impulse
Members
- Apr 18, 2019
- 1,436
- 1,756
I went to a milsim with a stock Cyma mp5k and all my kit on a mid-range Warrior Assault Systems belt rig (I was going as my squad's sniper, but never got the opportunity to use my VSR). Not including the VSR, which I didn't use once, my total kit probably cost about as much as a pair of Crye trousers. I'll somewhat agree and disagree with the gear snob thing; nobody will care if you turn up in cheap kit as long as it looks the part and conforms to the rules as there are no arm bands; you identify the other team by their kit alone and that goes for both filmsim and milsim events. I think a lot of generic milsim events typically split it by tans vs greens, though some may have a theme due to narrative (so maybe like tans vs civvies or something).
However, there will be people at milsims with kit that is veeeeeeery expensive and veeeeeeeery advanced. We had a group of professional urban surveillance guys on the other team at the milsim I went to and they had a drone with thermal imaging, night vision, the works. Not to mention most of the task force guys also had night vision goggles and our little group had nothing like that so we got rolled over at night and just retreated to our FOB and had a good night's rest; fortunately some of the other OpFor guys had NVGs and kept the task force busy. We were more knowledgeable of the site than anyone else who was there, so we picked a really out of the way location for our FOB and it never got discovered. Still put some trips and water mines out just in case though
I can massively vouch for filmsims though; they're a really fun experience and I go to as many as I can now after experiencing my first Vietnam game a month or so ago. Roleplay is a big thing, but you also don't have to get too involved in that side of things if it makes you uncomfortable. For example, I don't tend to scream too much when I get hit, but I do a death groan and fall over before calling for a medic, usually resting my gun across me and out of my hands to make it clear I'm hit if anyone then comes up to me. If you're shouting "hit" and putting your hand up and then standing around like a normal skirmish day people may get annoyed, but as long as you make a token effort I've never seen anyone get too butthurt over not going full thespian. I'd say kit is more important in filmsim than in milsim, but again it's not usually a strict "you must have genuine issue US Army Vietnam kit". I typically go to Vietnam games with simple black shirt, trousers and boonie covered in scrim net with a chicom and a gas mask bag for random goodies. All in probably cost me around £60ish. Gun I use is my VSR because it's based on the m700/m40a1 which was used, then I just cover it with scrim net. Is it a perfect, historically accurate loadout? No way. Is it sufficient for themed BB wars? Yes.
Emergencychimps
Members
- Jul 20, 2021
- 368
- 478
I've always found that the gear snob thing is generally worse when it's in reverse. The whole - "I have kit that's just as good and it only cost me half a packet of crisps...." I have done a lot of milsims and events, I see it more when I am the local skirmish site. As mentioned by others there will be a whole mix of people there, some will have spent a small fortune on kit but just because they have priortised their spending that way doesn't mean they won't welcome you etc. though it can be a little daunting.
The main thing at a milsim event other people are interested in is whether you are competent, what kit you have can give clues as to whether you're competent (but your kit is not the be all and end all). Rock up to a January trees game with a summer sleeping bag and no warm kit and you'll be a liability that will be a drain on your team mates and probably the event organiser. Having had to take myself out of events or ration my supplies etc. to look after people who weren't competent is frustrating. (think people taking a small bottle of lucazade for a 4 hour patrol around mountains or don't drink enough water in warm weather so go down with dehydration/sunstroke, both are genuine examples).
Some of the best and most competent players I knew had the cheapest kit and actually in ways enhanced how they were because they adapted and worked really well with what they had. They didn't run super bulky gucci plate carriers, because they only had chest rigs etc.
It does sound like you're not the most experienced, so I'd echo what the others have said about checking out filmsim, gunman airsoft and other day long event organisers (such as legion airsoft).
I'd also encourage you think about what you want and why. Do you want the full 24 hour, sleep in game experience, or the tighter rules on high caps, or the camo based PID vs armbands? Then give some thought as to what you're genuinely ready for an book on/approach the relevant organisers.
The main thing at a milsim event other people are interested in is whether you are competent, what kit you have can give clues as to whether you're competent (but your kit is not the be all and end all). Rock up to a January trees game with a summer sleeping bag and no warm kit and you'll be a liability that will be a drain on your team mates and probably the event organiser. Having had to take myself out of events or ration my supplies etc. to look after people who weren't competent is frustrating. (think people taking a small bottle of lucazade for a 4 hour patrol around mountains or don't drink enough water in warm weather so go down with dehydration/sunstroke, both are genuine examples).
Some of the best and most competent players I knew had the cheapest kit and actually in ways enhanced how they were because they adapted and worked really well with what they had. They didn't run super bulky gucci plate carriers, because they only had chest rigs etc.
It does sound like you're not the most experienced, so I'd echo what the others have said about checking out filmsim, gunman airsoft and other day long event organisers (such as legion airsoft).
I'd also encourage you think about what you want and why. Do you want the full 24 hour, sleep in game experience, or the tighter rules on high caps, or the camo based PID vs armbands? Then give some thought as to what you're genuinely ready for an book on/approach the relevant organisers.
JimFromHorsham
Members
- Mar 30, 2022
- 932
- 1,484
You can spend as much or as little as you like on airsoft , and the same can be said for a full milsim event . repro gear has never been cheaper so there is no real excuse to not “fit the brief” in a basic sense of what your side or team should be portraying . if at any point in your airsoft gaming so far you’ve felt it unfair that someone else on the opposing side has deeper pockets than you then milsim is not for you , you’ll just come away feeling resentful .
from a personal experience from both sides of the coin , I’ve had some of the best airsoft experiences of my life rolling around in trucks at 3am under NODS as well as wearing a £5 ex surplus Croatian smock , a pocket full of Mk5’s and a JG AK .
it is what you make of it , if you don’t want to get spanked under NV then try harder , if you don’t want to get spanked while wearing NV then don’t roll around in a truck all night
and above all else , if you don’t want to get shot in your sleeping bag or whilst putting the dinner on because it’s 1800 , sleep and eat in your car . “There is no safe zone” was always the golden rule of milsim .
from a personal experience from both sides of the coin , I’ve had some of the best airsoft experiences of my life rolling around in trucks at 3am under NODS as well as wearing a £5 ex surplus Croatian smock , a pocket full of Mk5’s and a JG AK .
it is what you make of it , if you don’t want to get spanked under NV then try harder , if you don’t want to get spanked while wearing NV then don’t roll around in a truck all night
and above all else , if you don’t want to get shot in your sleeping bag or whilst putting the dinner on because it’s 1800 , sleep and eat in your car . “There is no safe zone” was always the golden rule of milsim .
Jacob Wright
Members
- Apr 26, 2009
- 722
- 446
I’ve done both sides of it, full task force kit and cheap as you like Opfor gear; Opfor was definitely more fun!
As others have said, kick off with the normal game days and hire kit first. If you’re totally sure (you’ll be hooked ?) after that then start looking at the milsims.
Around London-ish you’ve got Gunman, Legion and probably others I’ve forgotten ? Reforger near Watford have got a milsim in July if that’s not too soon!
Mostly you will need to supply your own kit, although Gunman are one company who can provide the necessaries!
As others have said, kick off with the normal game days and hire kit first. If you’re totally sure (you’ll be hooked ?) after that then start looking at the milsims.
Around London-ish you’ve got Gunman, Legion and probably others I’ve forgotten ? Reforger near Watford have got a milsim in July if that’s not too soon!
Mostly you will need to supply your own kit, although Gunman are one company who can provide the necessaries!
