do People Take Milsims Too Seriously ?

[Federico]

 

I never had the chance to attend a Milsim in UK.

I was planning to attend a Milisim event here in UK, but then Covid time arrived ..

I have been doing Milsim or HSA ( Hard Soft Air) for almost 20 years in Italy and some in Europe. I can say that Milsim needs to be more serious and hard if you want to enjoy. 

In Italy we had a circuit of events, there were a Milsim almost every weekend . The big difference is the availability of the land, in Italy we huge  spaces in public lands with different landscapes from hills,/mountains to seaside, sometimes all together in the same event. 

Milsim teams are usually selected people, playing together for  long time. Milsim is really a test for your mental strengh.

I have been playing with my some of my mates for almost 20 years. We have been spotters, snipers, operators, cartograph, frogmen. We have been infiltrated with cars, vans, helicopters, boats. We have been held and interrogated, we failed and achieved missions, we got lost after walking for 15 km and made 30km in 24 hours, we slept in the woods, in the sand, in the mud. 

I had a lot of fun in the past and looking forward to attend an event here in UK. 

Anybody wants to create a Milsim team is welcome. Ready to share my experience.

[Cromulon1994]

2 hours ago, Archer said:

Possibly the only place where i've literally seen 4 seasons occur within 24 hrs.

 

If you do plan to visit Sunnybridge, pack the cold and wet weather gear and some good boots 🙂

 

It's an odd place. Bimble out of a hut in a t shirt in lovely weather, need a smock by the time you've got to the canteen. But the canteen had black pudding. That was hugely exciting when I was unfortunate enough to have to go there for a week.

[Stratton Oakmont]

I was working only 2miles away yesterday and whilst I was in sunshine looking across to sunnybrisge was like looking at Mordor. 

[MikeMarden]

I personally think it always depends on what type / level of Milsim is being run.

 

For the Stirling / Tier 1 (If they even still exist) etc. then they are run by that independent company with their set of rules & usually based on neutral sites which they aren't affiliated too. This naturally will attract the invitees only / Milsim Teams / Milsim only players / Geardo's & Wannabe operators. By nature of their expectations of how previous events have been run or by way of how the event organiser has built up the event, then they'll be taking these events very seriously.

 

It's when local sites run Milsim events which usually attract a bit of a mix, they'll have their regular Milsim attendees / skirmshers wanting to dip their toe into Milsim & usually a bunch of Stirling / Tier 1 individuals wanting to try other venues. This always causes lots of issues IMO. Stirling / Tier 1 mindsets turn up with their "serious expectations" for these events to operate like a Stirling, 9 times out of 10 they don't - Either they don't work with anyone outside their immediate team / Take it upon themselves to become drill sergeants & boss everyone else around, or like what I've seen a few times, get the hump, leave early & take to social media & slag the site off. Difficult because usually these guys have had an event hyped up to be serious, only for it to fall short of their expectations & the aforementioned is usually a by-product of that frustration

 

There are middle ground Milsims - Would put Legion events somewhere in here, usually well organised, attracts for the majority of regular "local site" milsim players as well as your serious players but seems to provide a good balance.

 

Me - I sit between the local & middle ground, enjoy the local events as they're just that, local vicinity & at a site I enjoy, however if I'm wanting a bit more of a serious event would venture out to a Legion for a more serious experience. Stirling for me, would rule out as I don't think I have the right mindset for one of these events & prefer it just a little bit more laid back.

[Tackle]

Yeah, when it gets a wee bit hardcore it's surprising how many people get texts etc due to "emergencies" 🤣 at home that they need to rush off & attend to lol.

Having done the crap for real, I've never dropped out, even though now age & fitness has made me struggle, I'm too pig headed/stubborn to quit 🐷.

[SSPKali]

I have only done 2 MILSIMs (thank COVID19!) so far and both were with BRITAC at Copehill Down. The game ran 11am to 11pm then restarted at 0800 on Sunday, so not a major hardcore "out on the ground for 36hrs" but testing enough for your average airsofter and a good intro.

 

I have played both TaskForce and OpFor, both times having a great experience, no one was an ass and even though my ATACS-FG chest rig wasn't "SF legit" or my AK had fancy rails on it no one cared or commented. Read and understand the rules, prep your kit and come prepared to play hard and immerse yourself in it.

 

Playing OpFor is fun and you get some great taskings messing with TF guys (foam bricks being thrown by 'civilians' anyone?!) and while it was more flexible there were still things to do like capture TF guys, meet informants and defend positions. The only expectation was to give it a go and not be "that guy".

 

TBH I have seen enough "serious" guys losing their 💩 at walk on days for stupid reasons, at the MILSIMs the closest anyone came was the group of guys next to me pushing off before 5pm on the first day even though they had been bragging about using their NODs that night 🤣

 

I would look at upcoming events, research past ones (Youtube vids, blog write ups, but beware of agendas / grievances / bunched panties) and give one a go!

Some good info here: 

https://atrg.blog/2018/04/07/battle-prep-how-to-be-milsim-ready/

and

https://atrg.blog/2019/08/01/how-to-not-suffer-or-die-at-a-weekender-or-milsim/

 

[clumpyedge]

On 09/06/2020 at 11:16, Tackle said:

Lol, I think all the good training areas have a micro-climate all of their own, usually really hot or really cold, or if your really lucky, all the seasons in one day, irrespective of what the rest of the country is like 😂

 

Only place I've been to that actually stayed to the forecast was copehill down... having said that it was a scorcher and couldn't sleep because our FOB was a tin bloody barn in a compound, would have been better sleeping in a bush instead of sweating my bollocks off in that building

[Guest Airsoft J2]

I'm a big fan of milsim events because when done right, you get all of the best bits of airsoft and it feels like you're the hero in your own action movie.

But, when it doesn't work, it's a bit rubbish. I've had two rubbish experiences in around 15 years of playing airsoft on and off and both were down to people being rubbish and not taking it seriously enough.  I play around 4-6 big games a year with a only a few days spent at skirmishes so almost all of my airsoft is at milsim events.

 

As for it being too serious... Yes, some people do take things a bit too seriously and get a bit big for their boots. And yes, some people do go a bit nuts on the kit front - I'll certainly declare that I'm a kit whore - but if you're having fun and not being a dick, what's the harm. Having said that, I played for years with very basic kit and managed just fine - you don't need fancy kit to have a good time.

 

Things I love about MilSims are the teamwork, the tactics and the need to put in a bit of effort. I also like (generally) the other people there who have all opted into the same sort of mindset. I tend to see better hit taking at milsims but that's not universal. You also get to play at some awesome sites which you can't skirmish at.

 

If anyone's especially bored, I've got a few articles on my blog about this - AirsoftJ2.co.uk - including guides for your first events. This might be seen as taking things too seriously in itself... but, I don't get to too many games so when I do, I want to be switched on and to have as much fun as I can. At the end of the day, we're playing cops and robbers with toy guns and it's supposed to be fun.

 

https://airsoftj2.co.uk/2020/06/21/kitting-up-for-your-first-milsim/

 

 

[Lollingsgrad]

On 08/06/2020 at 22:19, lukeB said:

Opfor tends to be more laid back and I'd recommend trying that first.

 

Wow! I find that really surprising given the kind of comments you see on Reddit when someone has the wrong kind of webbing on a Russian impression kit for instance. I got the impression they'd be way more anal.

[EvilMonkee]

23 minutes ago, Lollingsgrad said:

 

Wow! I find that really surprising given the kind of comments you see on Reddit when someone has the wrong kind of webbing on a Russian impression kit for instance. I got the impression they'd be way more anal.

 

I pretty much play OPFOR exclusively and its not like that at all.  You would think with the Cold War scene it would be a bit anal about kit but it really isn't.  I frequently lend people kit and Gunman has kit to loan out, its more about getting people into the scene than scaring them away by being stitch counter wankers.

 

As a result we have a very vibrant involved community and frequently get 100 players at Cold War events 

[Lollingsgrad]

20 minutes ago, EvilMonkee said:

As a result we have a very vibrant involved community and frequently get 100 players at Cold War events 

 

Cool! Which site? I've only ever been to their skirmishes.

[Tiercel]

Youre asking if something thats aimed at the more hardcore fans who want to take it seriously, is too serious?  If you have to ask that question its probably not for you.

[superwok]

51 minutes ago, Tiercel said:

Youre asking if something thats aimed at the more hardcore fans who want to take it seriously, is too serious?  If you have to ask that question its probably not for you.

 

The purpose of my questions was to hopefully get a better perspective from people that have attended Milsim and see their point of view and personal experience. I'm not sure what you would deem as hardcore fan. I have been doing airsoft for a 4/5 years, I just don't own any kit that makes me look like a solider, so before investing,  I want to get a better Idea of what to expect. 

 

Have you been to a Milsim, if so how have you found it ?

 

 

 

[Sitting Duck]

I've played COD Barebones if that counts

or

join the reserves (get paid to play the odd peew peew exercise)

or

play milsim

or

chair-soft atm

[Stratton Oakmont]

3 hours ago, Sitting Duck said:

I've played COD Barebones if that counts

or

join the reserves (get paid to play the odd peew peew exercise)

or

play milsim

or

chair-soft atm

I'm too old to understand the first one it means this to me

second - too old, too lazy, too scared

third - thanks but no thanks

fourth - now we're talking

[TheFull9]

On 26/06/2020 at 11:07, Lollingsgrad said:

Wow! I find that really surprising given the kind of comments you see on Reddit when someone has the wrong kind of webbing on a Russian impression kit for instance. I got the impression they'd be way more anal.

 

The 'bad guy' team at longer/sim events are almost always generic rebel or insurgent types rather than it being US vs Russia, being a generic insurgent you have far far less stringent rules on tactics, kit and general appearance.

 

When you look at a russian impressionist sub-reddit you need to bear in mind the community that attracts.  The vast majority of airsofters say 'I've got some MTP and an M4, looks like a cool guy from a movie, I'm sweet' but the russian gear world tends to sometimes bring in a... certain sort of individual.  They may have extremely strong political opinions when it comes to economics and equally strong thoughts and motivations when it comes to their super niche hobby and the fact that only gear from the motherland is at all acceptable.  Personally, in all my years in this sort of realm, I've never seen any individuals get as insanely fired up and angry as I have with russian gear guys if they see an AK that's not configured what they happen to deem the 'pure and proper' way.  Not saying everyone is like that, just my experience in many groups and forums etc over the years.

[Stratton Oakmont]

2 hours ago, TheFull9 said:

 

The 'bad guy' team at longer/sim events are almost always generic rebel or insurgent types rather than it being US vs Russia, being a generic insurgent you have far far less stringent rules on tactics, kit and general appearance.

 

When you look at a russian impressionist sub-reddit you need to bear in mind the community that attracts.  The vast majority of airsofters say 'I've got some MTP and an M4, looks like a cool guy from a movie, I'm sweet' but the russian gear world tends to sometimes bring in a... certain sort of individual.  They may have extremely strong political opinions when it comes to economics and equally strong thoughts and motivations when it comes to their super niche hobby and the fact that only gear from the motherland is at all acceptable.  Personally, in all my years in this sort of realm, I've never seen any individuals get as insanely fired up and angry as I have with russian gear guys if they see an AK that's not configured what they happen to deem the 'pure and proper' way.  Not saying everyone is like that, just my experience in many groups and forums etc over the years.

I would agree with this, I run ak’s, sr3’s, I’ve had SVD’s and I do so because 

1-I just prefer the look however agricultural 

2-they are less common 

3- I prefer working on a v3 based gearbox

im happy to use what I like the look of and I’m a heretic as I will mix and match between nato/Russian. Much to the annoyance of the full Russian geardos who have made comments In the past

i just find these comments from plastic commies amusing, and tell them how much better my ak is now if has an m4 buffer tube

 

[Groot]

I have played airsoft for many years and played a vast range of airsoft games from carnage mag dumping to dragged out weekend mil sim games. 

So I am quite comfortable saying that proper milsim games are not airsoft and should be taken seriously.

At the same time, these have been some of the most boring games I have ever attended. 
You need to be playing against an opfor that is made up entirely of actors/staff, not other players. It just doesn't work when both sides want to have fun, while role-playing. Storyline works for about 30mins and then just totally falls apart. You also have the issue that in "most" situations. Airsoft at night, sucks. 

The milsim games where it is broken down into smaller engagements. Now they work and they need the right amount of being taken seriously or it becomes a farce. 

[Tabitha]

I misread the title . . 

 

I thought it said; Do People Take Muslims too seriously 😳 

 

That was scary!

[Lollingsgrad]

19 hours ago, osteoshot said:

I prefer working on a v3 based gearbox

 

I'm on the fence, I love not having the wires in the box, but the trigger assembly can absolutely die in a fire.

[Adolf Hamster]

35 minutes ago, Lollingsgrad said:

 

I'm on the fence, I love not having the wires in the box, but the trigger assembly can absolutely die in a fire.

 

protip: drill and tap a tiny hole in the trigger then install a screw, instantly makes your life so much better.

 

i'd also argue the motor cage system on the v3 is better than the v2.

 

20 hours ago, osteoshot said:

tell them how much better my ak is now if has an m4 buffer tube

 

now i'm not a full plastic commie, and for sure i love annoying the purists, but there are some lines we shouldn't cross.......

 

seriously, why put a buffer tube on an ak when there are a range of perfectly good proper folding stocks to choose from?

[Stratton Oakmont]

Adjust for length of pull when swapping from chest rig to plate carrier, I’m anal about kit fitting

plus I like the modern fsb/alpha aesthetic

not a fan of wood on any type of firearm, I appreciate the walnut on a shotgun from a visual perspective but For me wood on firearms is just a hangover from a time when it was the only option 

[Adolf Hamster]

10 minutes ago, osteoshot said:

Adjust for length of pull when swapping from chest rig to plate carrier, I’m anal about kit fitting

plus I like the modern fsb/alpha aesthetic

not a fan of wood on any type of firearm, I appreciate the walnut on a shotgun from a visual perspective but For me wood on firearms is just a hangover from a time when it was the only option 

 

My counter would be why not the zenitco style then? Adjustable for pull, fits the alfa look and it's a proper folder?

[TheFull9]

It's great when a point proves itself. 😂

[Adolf Hamster]

2 minutes ago, TheFull9 said:

It's great when a point proves itself. 😂

 

i suppose i did walk into that.

 

in fairness it's not just m4 stocks on ak's i dislike, it's m4 stocks on anything that isn't an ar platform.

 

the buffer tube is a cludge to get around the fact the ar design means you can't do a proper folder, if you can have a proper folder then have a proper folder.