New to airsoft / kit for barn indoor range

[j22s]

Hello everyone,

Given general boredom due to having been furloughed at work and always having had an interest of getting into airsoft, I figured why not give it a go now.

Can anyone recommend any online stores that still ship?

What kit should I get if I want to set up a little indoor range in the barn? To familiarise myself while restrictions are in place.

Hopefully I can get into a game after they're lifted...

Cheers and thanks for any/all tips & tricks!

 

[Guest]

I know for definite Landwarrior and fire-support are still shipping.

Get yourself some eye protection, and targets you feel are useful ??‍

 

[Tommikka]

Normally I would begin with lots of warnings and cautions about setting up

something of your own, and that a barn may be on a farm which brings in a technicality that what may appear to be ‘private’ is a business and workplace, not only for those working on the farm but also ‘outsiders’ such as milk/livestock lorry drivers, vets, part time/seasonal

workers and many more  etc etc

Having said that, in the current situation (After you have secured appropriate

permissions) you have two sides to consider - safely controlling the area and what you are shooting at

Make sure the barn is a safe place to be taking into account equipment and the physical barn, plus lighting

Add fine netting, sheeting etc to trap BBs in the area of the barn you are using.

Perhaps put up a couple of gazebos to be the range

Add sheeting on the ground to capture BBs once they have dropped

Have a sign up and control all doors, ensuring no one can walk in without eye protection 

Hang some up at the door so the person who agreed never to walk in can protect their eyes when they come in for that unforeseen important thing

Then think of targets such as items to knock off a table or hanging from above, targets that can catch BBs such as buckets / boxes containing soft material 

I know that Super5ives have shut down their retail counter for the foreseeable future but can still supply via their website

 

[GeorgePlaysAirsoft]

Others can speak about kit and guns better then I but if I was going to put a bit of cash into plinking whilst I wait for skirmishes to get going again, I'd be all over these:

I went to an airsoft target range/ bar whilst in Seoul and they had something very similar. I've nothing against plinking but personally the back garden shoot at some static targets gets boring, quickly... whereas shooting at multiple targets with randomised patterns is just insanely fun!!! Not as fun as moving, thinking targets of course, but yeah very addictive. This is a good video that explains what i'm on about:

https://ja-jp.facebook.com/battlerounge/videos/vb.1916941255268236/328713361236183/?type=2&theater

 

[XanderShadow]

The bare minimum kit for using any airsoft gun: Eye protection, naturally. Other than that, assuming you likely own a gun/are getting one..

For targets, I personally prefer ones that take replaceable sheets, mounted in a catchers mount. it stops BB's bouncing all over the place while you do target shooting. Good for at a small range or even plinking down your upstairs hallway into the spare room >.> You can also get an Auto-reset solid target by ASG that has a capture net and knock down target plates. Depends if you mind a bit of mess or not.
Also, I cannot stress enough, especially if buying new guns; a Chrono. They're a little costly, but being able to test your own airsoft guns to make sure they're not over site limits or legal limits BEFORE going to a site can save you alot of hastel down the lone. Nothing sucks more than getting to a site, being all ready to go, getting to the chrono; "Sorry mate, your guns over or allowed limits; you'll have to rent a gun" or turning up with one that's technically breaking the law.
Other than that; Oil/Lubricant. Even firing your gun in a barn or in a closed off room, or just storing it for a while; parts can dry out, especially in gas guns. So, invest in some gun lubes and oils to keep things nice an' clean and ungunked.
Something to safely carry and store your gun/guns in is also a given.

 

[Cromulon1994]

Sod it, may as well try and convince another foolhardy soul... I mean brave... 

The most fun I've had plinking or skirmishing has been with a single action Smith and wesson model 3 schofield revolver. I'd like to add a remington or colt to the mix soon but I'm currently off work due to this virus. 

They are hard to shoot well, but that means they are engaging. This is my second as I foolishly sold my first, this one's at roughly 2,500 bbs and is working exactly as it was when it was bough. My old one was probably near to 10,000 and was the same. 

No doubt you've seen the vcra, and the two tone options ect? 

Legally these should be exempt, I know wolf armouries see it that way as its a pre 1870 design- 1868 iirc. 

Anyway, if this hasn't tempted you, something useful to add-

Get a toolkit sorted, for airsoft use, it can fit in a Chinese takeaway tub. 

~Small set of long nose pliers

~Allen keys

~screwdrivers (a small set is ideal with a couple of posies, couple of Philips and couple of flatheads)

~silicon grease

~silicon oil

~ptfe tape

I also have a few knackered old imperial Allen keys that are used as drifts. 

You will find out more as you go along, but this gives you a fighting chance of sorting any issues. 

If you're going to ever buy slings, gun cases or targets (although cans on string is good enough) using an actual gun shop is usually cheaper and better than an airsoft shop. 

My last point, someone may disagree l, but you'll see sight limits are banded about as being 350 fps on 0.2g bbs, and some people try and get as close as possible. 

Personally, I aim for around 315 ish, and then it will never fall foul on any site due to chrono error or variance. 

 

[j22s]

Thanks everyone these are some superb suggestions and recommendations!

To allay any fears regarding the barn: The building is on my property, has been disused as a barn for years and primarily serves as a garage for some old cars, bikes and other random stuff I've collected over the years (it's thus locked). The rest of the space is empty.

The fine netting is a very good point though that I hadn't considered yet, do you have any recommendations?

While we're on recommendations, I have eye protection for the workshop. These are safety specs that don't leave much space on the side but don't seal 100%, which I guess are ok for plinking in the first instance, but in my mind they obvs don't make the cut for games... Thoughts?

Those stage targets look sick, any idea if anyone in Europe carries them? (Guess the answer is no? Also they don't look cheap..)
In the meantime, I was going to fashion some targets out of paper, cardboard and wood as suggested.

I'll have a look through the workshop for tools and will make sure to add silicon oil to my order.

FPS limits and chrono is something I'll look into later. Believe I can't really go very wrong by ordering a stock airsoft gun from one of the retailers mentioned above, given that I'll only be plinking for now. 

Any thoughts on Biodegradable BBs? Worth it?

PS: I saw landwarrior has a loyalty/referral scheme - if anyone fancies please drop me a PM.

 

[Cromulon1994]

The glasses will be fine for target shooting. 

I wouldn't bother with the bio bbs, they don't degrade for years. Better off buying a cheap vacuum/using an old one to keep on top of the mess. 

 

[EDcase]

Yep, work glasses will be fine for plinking.

Just be imaginative with targets.  Apart from paper targets (draw whatever you want) you can set up various sizes of plastic bottles and even the caps.

Maybe hang some with string...?

 

[Heath]

Empty toilet roll tubes would be good. Maybe raid the recycling bin for cardboard boxed. 

 

[Guest]

I use empty pots and tins, nothing quite so satisfying as knocking them over

 

[j22s]

Empty toilet roll tubes would be good. Maybe raid the recycling bin for cardboard boxed. 

This must be the real reason everyone panic bought some loo roll. ?

 

[Tommikka]

The fine netting is a very good point though that I hadn't considered yet, do you have any recommendations?

I would have said to go through a paintball / airsoft trade supplier for site netting if you were building a safe zone / game zone boundary, to be sure a suitable strength & small enough mesh.

But, in effect it is construction debris netting.  As you’ll be just controlling BBs from escaping as opposed to protecting people in proximity you could safely buy from a  builders merchant etc

I’m not going to endorse these in the link below as I don’t know the supplier or specs of their net but it’s a good start.  It may be worth enquiring with them about the mesh size.

https://www.scaffoldingsales.co.uk/product/scaffold-debris-netting/?attribute_pa_colour=black&gclid=CjwKCAjw95D0BRBFEiwAcO1KDBAP9Ey_6H_tOF1zda7WvnTPvKlt1jiyGda5qEhw4hd0-mNyc0S_3hoCp-8QAvD_BwE

(They also have more expensive fire resistant netting)

This kind of netting also gets marketed for gardening and landscaping but may or may not have the same strength.