Newbie (but old git) in South Essex looking for team

[thebrigessex]

Hi Guys,

 

thinking about starting Airsoft now as have some spare time and spare cash. Played paintball quite a bit some years ago but like the milsim aspects of AS. Not played at all but looking to start and join a team - I'm north of 30 but happy to muck in with all ages.

 

Grateful for any advice on starting - thanks

 

John

[Monty]

Welcome to the forums!

[team flex]

Welcome to the forums. All I will say is if you ask best gun for little money, pretty much the only answer you will get is G&G cm16. Polymer body is of good quality, shoots better than a lot of guns, and I have run mine for like 6 months now and have done no maintenance and yet it still out shoots many guns. Highly recommended!

[Baz JJ]

We have a milsim in April at J20 M25 if you're interested.

 

Welcome to the forum.

[Josh95]

Hey, are you from southend? are you looking to go to skirmish billercay thats my local

[Frosty0769]

Hey, are you from southend? are you looking to go to skirmish billercay thats my local

Same here. Played there today, it's a great site. 3 sites around Billericay and a cracking shop up in Romford.

 

This is the link to our local's site: http://www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk/ the boot camp days are great as a taster to get you in the swing of things. Cost of a game is quite good £17 for first timers and £15 thereafter, rentals are reasonable with a good choice although would recommend no going for the V2 M4's as everyone seems to have trouble with them.

 

Have a look and welcome!

[Josh95]

Yeah frosty is on point with that, go for the AK or the v2 G36

[Chock]

Welcome aboard.Trust me, if you are only north of thirty, then you are not an old git. I'm 49, but I've treated life like Blackjack and stuck at 21; you are as old as what you do and how you feel (and as the woman you feel lol).

 

There are quite a few starter advice threads stickied on this forum, so I'd suggest looking at some of those, but the gist of it is, go and play a couple of games with hire equipment from a local site whilst you see what kind of gear others are using and discover what you think might suit your playing style (which you will develop). This may vary from site to site, since some sites are purely indoors CQB and other woodlands, whereas some combine the two.

 

Many sites use the kind of guns you might expect as hire guns, i.e. G36cs, M4/AR15/M16s, MP5s and AKs of various types. But whatever you end up with as a hire gun, you'll find that most airsofters are friendly enough to let you have a good nosey at their gear, and it is worth asking about, and holding a few weapons to see what fits you well, so turn up early and get chatting. For example, if you've never had an early variant M16 in your shoulder, you might be surprised as to the position of the buttplate and so you might like an AK47's stock position better.

 

Obviously something small and easily handled such as an MP5K or a Skorpion or an UZI is going to be a better choice in the tight confines of CQB, whereas out in the woodlands, full size rifles such as an AK74, an M16 or a SIG 556 or some such would be a wiser choice. This is the reason many people go for an M4, since you can get short versions with a collapsible stock that suit both situations. That and the fact that there are tons of airsoft M4s available and lots of fancy add ons and gizmos you can customise them with, way more is available for the M4 than any other airsoft weapon. This is also why many people on here will recommend the G&G Combat Machine M4, because it is a very good and relatively inexpensive weapon which will serve you well for a long time and suit many different combat styles. But, if you find yourself preferring Eastern Block stuff, then there are of course many AK47/74 variants with folding stocks that can be used for CQB and longer ranged engagements. If you prefer something else, many site use Jing Gong G36Cs as hire weapons, those are alright actually.

 

At some point you will probably want a pistol, as a back up sidearm, but to be fair, this can wait a while unless you are intending to go to a more CQBish site, in which case it might be a sensible purchase somewhat sooner. There are certainly lots of pistols to be had, and what you see with pistols is more variety in the propulsion they use, some are simple cock and fire spring powered affairs, some are electric semi-automatic, and some are gas blowback (GBB) semi-auto, using either green gas can refills or Co2 capsules. You should be aware however, that GBB pistols are affected by temperature in terms of performance, so if you are going to get a pistol, weigh things up carefully and do plenty of research. Look at it as a long term objective if the idea appeals, and just go for for an assault rifle of some kind in the interim.

 

Also, avoid the notion of being a sniper when starting out. Being a sniper is often expensive to get into and requires you to start customising weapons to get the best out of them, whereas a decent electric airsoft assault rifle is pretty much good to go right out of the box, although on that subject, chuck away any BBs which come in the box your rifle arrives in, the chances are they'll be shite and can even damage your guns internals, always use decent polished ones.

 

Obviously if the notion of Milsims appeals to you, you might already have decided that either NATO or Eastern Bloc stuff is your preference, so that will have a bearing on what you should consider getting hold of. But some things you certainly could consider getting hold of sooner rather than later, would be protective gear.

 

Most sites insist that players under 18 must wear full face protection (and they will rent it to you), whereas over that age (as you are) they will only insist you wear eye protection. Whilst only wearing eye protection is appealing from a milsim point of view, you should be aware that it is fairly common for those who don't wear lower face protection, to end up getting teeth shot out, so I would recommend going for some kind of goggles and some sort of lower face mesh as well. Note that perspex goggles are notorious for fogging up, so you might prefer mesh goggles, which are able to breathe. Don't go for something bulky either, since it will end up preventing you from getting your weapon up to your cheek to aim! Some knee and elbow pads help, they keep your knees dry when you kneel and stop stone floors hurting your knees too, and modern infantry soldiers wear them anyway, so they are milsim-ish. Likewise elbow pads, which also protect you from a BB hit in the elbow (which bloody hurts). On the subject of which, I'd also recommend a Keffiyah scarf (also known as an Arabic shemagh), since they protect you neck from hits (which also hurts, especially on the Adam's apple), these too are very milsim-ish as well as practical, in fact, the British army now issues these to troops going to desert theatres of operation, and the Yanks used to ban soldiers from wearing them, but have now relented and let them do so.

 

Obviously a helmet is not a bad idea too, although frankly, a baseball or forage cap will stop most BBs from hurting if they hit you head, so just use one of them whilst you suss out what you want. Thin leather gloves will stop you getting painful hits in the knuckles. A decent water bottle is a good idea, but get something small enough to be portable easily, i.e. a plastic water/coke bottle from a corner shop will do. Most people wear webbing equipment belts to carry spare mags and all their other crap, but don't worry about that too much when starting out, since most hire guns will have a high capacity magazine which shouldn't need reloading much, if at all, although it has to be said that webbing and equipment belts do stop BBs from getting you in the nipple (that bloody hurts!).

 

Ebay and Amazon are your friends for a lot of stuff, but if you want an easily navigable site which has a lot of the kind of stuff you might want to consider, then here's a useful one which is fairly cheap (although it is mostly NATO stuff). As a general rule, don't just look on one site, shop around:

 

http://www.tacticalgeartrade.co.uk/

 

Last but not least, be honest and call out your hits if you feel or hear them, and if in doubt, take the hit. Unlike paintball, airsoft relies on honesty for people to call their hits much of the time, and without that honesty, it is ruined.

[cavninja]

Welcome aboard my friend, I'm 45 going on 21! This site has lots of great advice and everyone's really helpful and friendly, enjoy!!

[Steelrain]

Hey man, good for you! I'm north of 30 and used to play a lot of paintball (sup-air), dabbled with airsoft and should have stuck with it so here I am! Everyone is real helpful here and a nice bunch.

 

Just getting started myself so can't offer any advice soz.

 

What you looking to use?

[Steelrain]

 

I'm 49, but I've treated life like Blackjack and stuck at 21; you are as old as what you do and how you feel (and as the woman you feel lol).

 

Love the philosophy

[thebrigessex]

thanks all for the replies - especially the very comprehensive advice from Chock.

 

The Billericay site is quite close but I'm happy to travel.

 

Once thing I would like to know is do most people just turn up and play or are they specific teams that travel around. I've seen some really impressive sites - current/former MOD sites - but they looked like they were only available for special events where you played in a team. Would be quite interested in joining a team.

[Baz JJ]

Nearly all sites allow you to turn up on your own. Even the milsims that are held at the MOD sites do. You will be put in a team or your can choose what team to play for in advance.

 

Some games you need to book in advance and some skirmishes you can just turn up on the day, providing you have your own kit.

[Josh95]

most people just turn up, and i guess you meet people and form a team if you want? there is , cup competitions and stuff. I have no experience with that

[Airsoft_Mr B]

 

As a general rule, don't just look on one site, shop around:

 

http://www.tacticalgeartrade.co.uk/

 

Can I just point out I'm pretty sure despite the domain and the pricing that Tactical Gear Trade is not actually a UK website IIRC.

[Chock]

Can I just point out I'm pretty sure despite the domain and the pricing that Tactical Gear Trade is not actually a UK website IIRC.

 

Correct, it is a US company, which they make no secret of, and in fact it is a bit of a giveaway when they have 'Thanksgiving' special offers, which is obviously a very American thing. Even though Thanksgiving was originally a Puritan celebration (so actually quite European originally), having been initiated in what is now the Continental US when the Pilgrim Fathers first landed at 'New England'. The celebration was later coopted by American revolutionaries such as John Hancock and George Washington, to give thanks to God for various things having gone their way during the American War of Independence, stuff like when they totally kicked the Armies of King George at battles such as Saratoga in 1777. So it's hardly something a genuine British website would be using as an occasion for special offers lol.

 

Anyway, Tactical Gear Trade do ship all over the place and the prices are pretty decent too, service is good as well, so I've no hesitation in recommending them, particularly for things like BDUs and such. For example, I've just bought this lot from them:

 

USMC Navy Multi Camo V3 BDU Uniform Set Shirt Pants

 

USMC Molle Combat Assault Plate Carrier Vest Multi Camo

 

US Army M88 PASGT Helmet Cover Multi Camo

 

Total cost including shipping was 106.72 Dollars, which is 67 quid. There's no denying that 67 quid for what is essentially a full Multicam combat outfit (minus the PASGT helmet itself and some boots of course, since I already have those), is pretty good value, especially when you consider that the plate carrier I bought has the mag pouches included with it. Although be careful when ordering, because the checkout defaults to the most expensive shipping method, so make sure you pick the cheapo one.