Want to get into MilSim

[Speckydave]

Apologies if this is not the right place to post this but I'm quite new to the forums.

I've recently been particularly interested in getting into MilSim, having been watching some various videos and reading up on it. My main issue is, however, that I'm a little clueless when it comes to gear.

I haven't played airsoft before, but I do have a fair amount of experience camping and hiking and whatnot.

With regard to the weapon, I'm a little bit stumped as to what I should be buying. I don't think I have the capability to be buying a Tokyo Marui, but other than that I've seen a few things that seem to contradict each other regarding the quality of various companies. I'm also unsure as to whether I should be looking to change the internals on the gun I buy or not as I've read that some don't work well out of the box. Is this really something I should be worrying about or is it more of a hardcore player issue?

I was interested in using a DMR, but again I'm unsure as to what I should be buying.

Another issue with regard to the gun is that I'm not UKARA registered, so I would have to purchase a two-tone. I imagine that this is probably not accepted with MilSim as it would kill the immersion. Is there any way to get around this? I understand I can get a UKARA license after registering with a club, however, I only have limited interest in skirmishing so it doesn't seem reasonable that I'd be able to register with a club and then clear off to do MilSim once I've gotten my license.

Other than that, can anyone give me recommendations for what I'd need for kit? The likes of Warzone put out kit lists but don't go into what brands etc. that I should be buying so I'm somewhat confused as to what will cut it.

Overall, any advice on getting into MilSim would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Speckydave

 

[Baz JJ]

A lot of people are airsofters who get into milsim.

Sometimes the best milsimmers are those who have a limited interest in airsoft and want to do milsims primarily. Airsoft is just a convenient tool to achieve the aim.

Two tone will be a problem and limit your access to games.

One way is to rent a weapon and play a milsim.

For example, if you are 18 or over, Okto Eight Milsim run weekend games and let you rent. Once you play two separate weekend games with them, you meet the criteria for UKARA registration and can get your own etc. Im sure other organisers do something similar.

 

[Baz JJ]

Kit-wise, it depends. It depends on which games you want to play, how long you want to play for and for which force.

Many milsimmers have some interest in the military, tactics, battles, war etc and usually come to the hobby with a specific era or force in mind. This will steer what kit you buy and also probably, what airsoft rifle you eventually choose. Another reason why renting isnt a bad idea at first.

 

[Speckydave]

How much would a kit hire cost me at Okto Eight?

My main interest with regard to force is NATO or NATO-aligned. I don't have much interest in being Russian or Eastern.

 

[Baz JJ]

From memory I think its £20 per day so £40 per weekend for a primary weapon. NATO is fine and most milsim games have some sort of NATO force, so its a repeatable thing if you catch the bug, with one basic loadout.

 

[Baz JJ]

There is an Okto Eight Milsim game coming up that currently has NATO places.

Its a good game type for starters as it runs over a weekend so you ideally need to camp but the battles are a full day on Saturday and a full day on Sunday.

The physical weekend is Oct 22/23rd but this particular game has a virtual wargaming element which is just picking up momentum now.

 

[Speckydave]

I'll have a look into it. I'm fine to camp.

What do you mean by virtual wargaming element though?

 

[Okto Eight Milsim]

That's a long story and as it has nothing to do with airsoft as such, probably best covered elsewhere.

If you're interested in the game. drop us a line through our Facebook page and we can go through it .

What do you mean by virtual wargaming element though?

 

[BrightCandle]

I'll have a look into it. I'm fine to camp.

What do you mean by virtual wargaming element though?

Second game of the series (next will be the fifth) had government forces and Nato providing VIP escort to the president while he gave a speech in the village. The government forces searched everyone entering the village and set up a security wall to defend the president and one of the village residents threw a cabbage at the president kicking off a chain of angry events. There was a scuffle, no BBs were fired. But Nato was in a gunfight for much of this time defending the outer perimeter of the base as rebels tried to disrupt the event. That was most of my first morning.

Okto milsim is described as filmsim, there are certainly moments of just pure airsoft gun fighting but there are also moments of hilarity and desperation that are all around the objectives and story as it plays out. Its got all the command and comms you would expect from a milsim including multi force complexities (there being 3 sides) but its also got actors in the game that enhance the day in various ways. The story keeps evolving and the result of one game feeds into the next in meaningful ways. Its not just 2 sides going at it trying to hold onto objectives, things happen and they drive your missions on.

 

[n1ckh]

The last okto game I played (op serpents nest) we spent most of the time at the vehicle check point, in the village one way or another & clearing the village. While we had our fire fights, it felt like they lasted about 10 minutes at the most.

It was a bloody hot weekend for coalition forces & after each rebel contact, we'd go back to our FOB (Forward Operating Base) to rehydrate & eat, the enemy took advantage of this & attacked us. We had vehicles to use but there was also the local bar which served moldistan whiskey (Apple juice). In the evening, we all gathered round the camp fire giggling & chatting about the days events having a few beers (nothing over the top) & a bbq Saturday night

If you've got dpm or mtp gear, there's spaces available on the NATO & MDF sides but at present, we need to bolster MDF (government troops) as there's very few of us. I'm glad I did this & always look forward to how the story line develops over time, the game starts about 2 months before the game with Intel & CGI info on the team pages

 

[Baz JJ]

Virtual Wargaming element refers to something that is being done on the forthcoming (seventh) game.

As others have said, the story has been playing out since the beginning.

The players themselves have driven the story (by their wins and losses in previous battles) to a situation where the rebels are holed up in a large forest known as the Badlands. They are surrounded by a joint NATO Coalition and national government army force, who are attempting to snuff them out for good.

The scenario has developed into a mega force with UAV's, tanks, helicopters etc fighting an assymetric force of AK47 toting freedom fighters, so its an interesting David and Goliath battle. if you think about the Taliban giving the Russians a hiding in Afghanistan a few years back, its not necessarily the biggest that wins and the Okto battle area is about 125 acres of forest, roads and small clearings.

The Virtual Wargaming Part - The physical game doesnt start until 22nd October, but the commanders of each force are making tactical decisions already and having a poke at each other already. They do this by calling up an asset like a UAV and then asking for something to happen. For example, the joint task force asking for an unmanned ground vehicle to go in to the Badlands on a recon mission. This is played out in Artificial Intelligence. It did and the rebels took it out with an RPG.

So, outcome is -1 UGV and no more unmanned ground recon . So far, the rebels keep taking out the government helicopters so there is now a no-fly zone in place. This is interwoven with the physical because the rebels built themselves a replica Strela 3 SAM in about game 3 or 4, so they are allowed to use this in the physical and virtual.

Its just a bit of fun on the run up to the physical game and it sets the scene for the weekend.

Every game at Okto has been a little different, which keeps the theme fresh.

Ironically, the rebel team is sold out and there are only about 15 places left in the physical game on the other forces.

Okto obviously dont have real helicopters in the game, but they do often have a myriad of vehicles and they use TAG toting RPGs, mortars that fire rounds and artillery.