UKARA Registration and Purchasing of an RIF

[dante671]

Hi

I am looking to start doing airsoft skirmishes at my local site, which is UKARA registered. The site does gear hire which costs £10 on top of the standard entry fee. Since I will have to attend 3 skirmishes before I can be added to the UKARA database that means it will cost me £30. This seems like a bit of a waste of money to me as it could be put towards additional/better gear.

It seems strange that I am able to purchase air-rifles, bows and crossbows by simply walking into my local gun store, or by purchasing it online and having it sent to a registered firearms dealer. Yet for an airsoft gun I have to either be registered on the UKARA database or get a two-tone/transparent gun. The three items I mentioned all look realistic, are more dangerous and can easily be lethal if used incorrectly.

I am willing to go with the hiring of gear until I am registered with UKARA if necessary, but I would rather avoid it if possible. I don't think this is an option but I would even be willing to book and pay for 3 skirmishes in advance.

So before I start hiring gear I wanted to check if there is an alternate way of getting added to the UKARA database? Or if there are other options for purchasing a RIF airsoft gun?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[Mike636]

99 % of retailers only accept a UKARA registration as a defence it's set up to make it safe for them to sell RIFs. The only way would be to have someone gift you a RIF but you wouldnt be able to legally put anything towards it. What you could also do would be to buy an IF ( two tone) and once you have a defence remove the bright colors. It's a shitty system but if in a few years time something similar applies to air pistols and the like then we already have a system in place.

 

[ScoobySnacks]

Not true Mike. Most retailers will contact your site and talk to them to check you play there regularly. Of course, they can choose whether or not to allow you to purchase, and if you've only played one game then it's likely they'll refuse.

There is no way of proving that you are a skirmisher other than actually skirmishing. So you have the option of buying two tone/clear and playing a few games to get your site membership, or renting. If you buy a two tone, you will then want to buy a RIF once you have sufficient games behind you to satisfy your retailers standards for a defence. This will cost considerably more than the £30 for hiring on three occasions.

Just look at it as a chance to get to know some people at the site, and to have a play with some of their guns so you have a better idea of what you want once you can buy your own!

 

[sp00n]

soo your argument is you have to use rentals before you can get a rif?

why not get a 2 tone, then when you have a defense, you can remove the offending paint and end up with a rif ... and if you look you can get 2 tone at no extra cost (zero one do this to name just one place)

 

[Zak Da Mack]

TBH, I'd just go with £30 worth of hires, then apply for your UKARA on the first visit. Get your 3 games in, then you have yourself an RIF. It's the easiest and best option in my opinion. Doing this allows you to speak to people and find out what gun and brand you want to go with. However, if you go the two-tone route, you have to buy spray paints which means you'll only be saving about a tenner, and if you don't put in any time or effort, the paint may keep chipping and coming off.

There is no way to get past UKARA registration without going to a skirmish first. Also, MOST shops who use other means to check for a skirmishing defence will usually go for the "3 games, 2 months" way.

 

[jcheeseright]

Agreed with all of the above. In order to get a skirmisher's defence you need to hire (or borrow someone else's gun if you have an airsofting friend) outside of that there's no way to do it.

Yes you can buy an air rifle etc face to face from a retailer without any form of defence and yes they are more dangerous but sadly the law is what it is.

Not only that, £30 over 9 weeks ain't all that much!

 

[Richard65]

You could ask your site if they have a facility to store your gun between games - more likely to agree if you are buying ther gun from them. That way you do not take pocession until you have ytour defence.

That is only worth doing if you are really sure what gun you want (same with the two-tone option). I would agree with Zak Da Mak that it is best to hire and look at/hold otherr players guns and maybe fire a few bbs on the range and then buy one you feel comfortable with.

 

[dante671]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Confirms what I expected to be the case, but best to confirm these things rather than risking it.

I know £30 isn't much, but I would have rather avoided it as I expect once I do attend a skirmish I will want to go straight back the following weekend and the cost could build up quickly.

Getting to know other players and looking at their guns also sounds like a good idea as I know my local site only has M4's or AK's for hire, and I prefer the idea of sniping so hopefully talking to others will help me make a final decision on which gun to buy once I am registered.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

 

[Longshot]

OP, Just in case you're not aware, the three skirmishes must be completed over a period of greater than two months between the first and third game, so if you did go for three weekends in a row this still wouldn't qualify you to be on the UKARA database.

 

[ScoobySnacks]

True Longshot, but you could probably persuade the shop to phone the site, and the site should be able to confirm that you have played regularly. Whether they accept it or not is a different matter.

 

[Zak Da Mack]

Remember Dante, not trying to be a nag or anything, but the face value of a sniper should be doubled. A stock sniper rifle has about the same power and range of a stock AEG. A sniper needs upgrading, such as the inner barrel, piston, air nozzle etc. which are all things you'll get to pick up and learn about eventually.

However, when you do get your sniper in working order and you learn the tricks and trades, it's a fun and rewarding experience shooting a guy in the arse and watch as he hopelessly tries to work out what the hell just happened

 

[two_zero]

not sure if my advise is needed here, but here we go anyway.

if you want to sniper, get an M4 with rail, and a scope and stick to semi, you might even want to delay between your shots. sure it will shot slight shorter and less accurate than a £1000 sniper, but you'll get the feel for it. and when you are ready to swap to a proper sniper, you will be able to have the M4 as a sidearm, lend to a friend gun or a backup gun (because things do go wrong, and being at the site without a gun suck).

Go for a G&G combat machine, great value!

What I did when I started was I purchased a 2nd hand two toner, then sold it when I got my ukara. even if you buy a brand spanking new one, chances are that you will end up spending less money this way. This talk about "testing different guns".. well I never had a gun that I disliked so much I couldn't play with it (except for the JG aug.. great gun but I hate the two stage/1911 trigger), I've had aks, m4s and mp5s. as a matter in fact, I'm approx 6'4 and I've played many games with just a mp5k.

If you decide to rent, maybe the rental guns have rails, so you could still attach your own scope and go semi.

 

[dante671]

OP, Just in case you're not aware, the three skirmishes must be completed over a period of greater than two months between the first and third game, so if you did go for three weekends in a row this still wouldn't qualify you to be on the UKARA database.

Yes I had been aware of this but thanks for the reminder

Remember Dante, not trying to be a nag or anything, but the face value of a sniper should be doubled. A stock sniper rifle has about the same power and range of a stock AEG. A sniper needs upgrading, such as the inner barrel, piston, air nozzle etc. which are all things you'll get to pick up and learn about eventually.

However, when you do get your sniper in working order and you learn the tricks and trades, it's a fun and rewarding experience shooting a guy in the arse and watch as he hopelessly tries to work out what the hell just happened

I'm expecting to have to purchase a fair few upgrades to take full advantage of a sniper rifle. What you said about picking people off and them wondering where on earth you are is exactly why I'm wanting to get into sniping

if you want to sniper, get an M4 with rail, and a scope and stick to semi, you might even want to delay between your shots. sure it will shot slight shorter and less accurate than a £1000 sniper, but you'll get the feel for it. and when you are ready to swap to a proper sniper, you will be able to have the M4 as a sidearm, lend to a friend gun or a backup gun (because things do go wrong, and being at the site without a gun suck).

Chances are I will get an AEG at some point, not sure it will be straight away but almost certainly will get one. I found once I purchased my air-rifle/pistol I was want more guns, or parts, so I will probably be the same with airsoft equipment.

 

[Zak Da Mack]

I'm expecting to have to purchase a fair few upgrades to take full advantage of a sniper rifle. What you said about picking people off and them wondering where on earth you are is exactly why I'm wanting to get into sniping

.

And that's why everyone loves sniping

However, hate to be a nag, but I would start with an AEG then go to a sniper. If I could go back again, I would go for an AEG as I just run into too many issues when I started up sniping. However, it's up you you and you may feel like you are getting nowhere, but it just takes time to get used to.