The 'How Did Your Airsoft Day Go? Thread

[Cr0-Magnon]

I was at Tactical Warfare Airsoft in Croydon on Saturday. I'd been feeling burnt out with airsoft but wanted to force myself to go, so wasn't expecting much. Surprisingly I had an excellent day. 12C, so chilly at first but perfect for running around. They have limited the number of players to 60 (peak days they used to get 150+) who have pre-booked and that seemed the perfect number. I think @Asomodai did a review noting high numbers leading to a lot of spraying and praying and not much in the way of tactics. With 60 there were enough to have a decent number of targets but still being able to pick your shots and move forward without facing a constant hail of BB's. Also the first time using my FDE Scorpion Evo and it performed excellently, especially once I'd dialled in my red dot. My only gripe, was the same one I always have with airsoft, the lunch break is too long. I'd be fine with half an hour to chow down and get back out there but they always seem to stretch 1hr 30 - 2hrs and not only do I get bored but my muscles cooldown and seize up too much!

Still I stayed for the second half and again everything went well until my gun seemingly jammed. It was only half an hour or so before the end, so called it a day. Got the cleaning rod out when I got home but there didn't seem to be anything blocking the barrel. A peak up the magwell revealed a spring around the nozzle and I quickly realised where the one from my bottle of BB's had ended-up (I had noticed it missing earlier in the day but couldn't be arsed to do anything about it). It must have been poured in to my hi-cap mag and fed through! Fortunately I was able to do a basic disassembly and it doesn't seem to have done any damage.  

 

Long story short, I'm back in the game baby!

 

 

[gasman]

On 07/09/2020 at 11:14, Skara said:

I guess I got used to this kind of behaviour so it doesn't bother me too much anymore.

 

I used to really get angry at cheaters and general bad sportsmanship, but now I just shrug it off and try to have fun  no point in spoiling your day because you're dealing with manchildren.

it still winds me up yesterday at High Wycombe was a classic example two guys in chapel were shot close up by my son in law so they walked but then reappeared and shot him. He took the hit and complained to a Marshall. Nothing was done! A fall back game were they had only one life at each objective.

i was attacking from another direction I shot them both well within my range and so did a chap in front of me no they did not take the hits! I have it all on camera including me attacking the same spot three times calling my hits when shot by them. I complained very gently to the lovely lady Marshall and eventually they seemed to vanish. I found out after that my son in law had left the game at this point in frustration as did I. Even their own teammates had told the Marshall they were cheating, the marshalls friends I believe!

[Cr0-Magnon]

36 minutes ago, gasman said:

it still winds me up yesterday at High Wycombe was a classic example two guys in chapel were shot close up by my son in law so they walked but then reappeared and shot him. He took the hit and complained to a Marshall. Nothing was done! A fall back game were they had only one life at each objective.

 

I actually think this is far more common than not taking hits at all. I've seen members of my own team take hits, walk back a few paces then come back in. I've tried both approaches, talking to them directly and having a word with a Marshall, neither seems to change the behaviour. They're usually rentals or players who seem to turn up for a few weeks in a row, never to be seen again.

 

I'd go mad if I tried Marshalling at my local site. They get a lot of rentals who dry fire in the safe zone, use their rifles to prop themselves up in the mud and instinctively lift their eye pro up to cooldown. Plus of course the lack of hit taking/not taking it properly. Not to say regulars never commit those fouls!

[Tackle]

I used to marshall occasionally at a couple of sites, jeez I'd get angry at the sheer stupidity of some players, & the blatant cheating of others.

If I had hair I'd be pulling it out 👶

[alxndrhll]

Had an amazing time at Dagger Woods on Saturday, one of my favourite days airsofting in a long ol’ time.

 

Gave the ghillie bits their first proper run out, can definitely see it being more effective once I’m more familiar with the sites I use it at. Fortunately a chap grabbed a photo so I can see where needs some work, namely the boots... and the Mk23 will be making it’s way back onto the chest rig.

 

(Would loved to have seen how it looked front on, but this photo is useful to see for improvements to make nevertheless)

 

Had some lovely ambushes and some great long range shots. Everything performed up to or past expectations and the staff and players were fantastic. Such a welcoming atmosphere from the moment I arrived at the site, as someone that suffers with a lot of social anxiety I can’t understate how much this set the day up to be a good one. Superb sportsmanship from start to finish, I don’t think I have anything negative to say at all.
 

Just one of those days you have every now and then that reminds you exactly why it’s all so worth it.

[gasman]

1 hour ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

 

I actually think this is far more common than not taking hits at all. I've seen members of my own team take hits, walk back a few paces then come back in. I've tried both approaches, talking to them directly and having a word with a Marshall, neither seems to change the behaviour. They're usually rentals or players who seem to turn up for a few weeks in a row, never to be seen again.

 

I'd go mad if I tried Marshalling at my local site. They get a lot of rentals who dry fire in the safe zone, use their rifles to prop themselves up in the mud and instinctively lift their eye pro up to cooldown. Plus of course the lack of hit taking/not taking it properly. Not to say regulars never commit those fouls!

Well I am 66 and have a real problem now with my knees (no cartilage) and ankle (plate and 5 screws in that) with walking long distances.

which is why I force myself to do airsoft for the exercise plus I love it wish I had discovered it earlier when I could run.

I do take my hits always but I do not walk all the way back to respawn as I would not survive a complete day, I walk back far enough to be well out of range and normally take a seat without my gun in hand  and look for someone on my team that is killed and wait till they have been to respawn and have passed me on the way back in then I rejoin.

[Rogerborg]

2 minutes ago, gasman said:

I do take my hits always but I do not walk all the way back to respawn as I would not survive a complete day, I walk back far enough to be well out of range and normally take a seat without my gun in hand  and look for someone on my team that is killed and wait till they have been to respawn and have passed me on the way back in then I rejoin.

 

I'd say that's fair play, as it works out exactly the same for the other team either way. I do it myself at times, always being careful to take at least as long as I'd have taken to slow-walk right to the respawn.  However, I do like to set an example by going all the way there, especially if there are any sprint-back-10-paces-then-rejoin jockeys around.

 

 

12 minutes ago, alxndrhll said:

Gave the ghillie bits their first proper run out

 

Wow, good job.  You look like you should be on the set of the Walking Dead.  Or half of you, anyway.

 

 

 

 

[alxndrhll]

15 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

Wow, good job.  You look like you should be on the set of the Walking Dead.  Or half of you, anyway.

 

 

 

 

Haha, much appreciated! I’m in a toss up at the moment of whether to bother with the leaf suit bottoms of not. I can see the merits in some situations, and negatives in others. Very much a case of figuring out how my play style is adapting as I fall deeper down the rabbit hole of ‘sniping’ and if I feel like my legs are consistently the thing giving my position away.

Definitely feel like I need a few more games with things as they are before I can work that one out!

[Cr0-Magnon]

24 minutes ago, gasman said:

Well I am 66 and have a real problem now with my knees (no cartilage) and ankle (plate and 5 screws in that) with walking long distances.

which is why I force myself to do airsoft for the exercise plus I love it wish I had discovered it earlier when I could run.

I do take my hits always but I do not walk all the way back to respawn as I would not survive a complete day, I walk back far enough to be well out of range and normally take a seat without my gun in hand  and look for someone on my team that is killed and wait till they have been to respawn and have passed me on the way back in then I rejoin.

 

That's fair enough. I'm 30 years younger and have done the same on occasion!

[Adolf Hamster]

36 minutes ago, gasman said:

Well I am 66 and have a real problem now with my knees (no cartilage) and ankle (plate and 5 screws in that) with walking long distances.

which is why I force myself to do airsoft for the exercise plus I love it wish I had discovered it earlier when I could run.

I do take my hits always but I do not walk all the way back to respawn as I would not survive a complete day, I walk back far enough to be well out of range and normally take a seat without my gun in hand  and look for someone on my team that is killed and wait till they have been to respawn and have passed me on the way back in then I rejoin.

 

as long as from the enemy's perspective you walk out of their sight and don't come back for a realistic amount of time i don't see the issue.

 

 

[Skara]

18 minutes ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

 

That's fair enough. I'm 30 years younger and have done the same on occasion!

You weak fuck  jk I'm 29 and I'd totally do the same, just because I'm fat

 

Anyway, I have mixed feelings about yesterday's game.

Invited a couple of clubs, great guys to play with, they call their hits and play fair.

Started with the bolt action, got a couple of kills but that part of the field still has too much vegetation to make bolt actions useable, so after 2 games I switched to the ARP-9.

The usual 2kewl2die member of our club kept being 2kewl2die until I dumped half an ARP drum mag onto him. He did complain a bit about being overshot  but then he behaved for the rest of the day.

 

Glasses kept fogging because of the OneTigris half mesh half cloth mask, need to come up with a more breathable solution. no biggie though, it was a warm day (16 to 20°) and I made the terribad decision to run long sleeves -.- that's on me

One thing that absolutely pissed me off was the MK23.

I had it setup on the left shoulder strap of my backpack (I ran just my belt and pack) but due to the massive size of the thing it kept flopping about and kept getting in the way.

[Cr0-Magnon]

1 hour ago, alxndrhll said:

Had an amazing time at Dagger Woods on Saturday, one of my favourite days airsofting in a long ol’ time.

 

Gave the ghillie bits their first proper run out, can definitely see it being more effective once I’m more familiar with the sites I use it at. Fortunately a chap grabbed a photo so I can see where needs some work, namely the boots... and the Mk23 will be making it’s way back onto the chest rig.

 

 

Looks awesome man!

 

 

3 minutes ago, Skara said:

You weak fuck  jk I'm 29 and I'd totally do the same, just because I'm fat

 

I wouldn't entirely disagree with you. My upper body is OK but my lower back has started to play-up in recent years - probably because I work in an office and spend way to much time sitting down. Need to do more walking/cycling after work.

[Skara]

6 minutes ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

I work in an office and spend way to much time sitting down

I feel you, my job is similar, I do get to move a bit from time to time (surveying is fun /s) but mostly it's about sitting in front of a PC drawing crap on AutoCAD -.-

[Arwen]

1 hour ago, alxndrhll said:

(Would loved to have seen how it looked front on, but this photo is useful to see for improvements to make nevertheless)

Looks fantastic for that enviorment! I've been taking photos at my local site on and off for while, I've noticed boots are a common thing that sticks out for snipers. The other is the bolt on a lot of snipers. If they are shiny ( either through use or by design) they end up glinting in the sun, like a little beacon. I've seen many snipers that get those covers for their scops to stop the reflection, but don't think about the other shiny bits on them or their guns. Some saftly specs can also do it, mesh seems to work much better in this case.  

I was playing this sunday as VSA in Dundee. Picked up my Falkor Recce from KoA on saturday after Sam had many headaces getting it working properly for the first time in it's life. It shoots very well now, range is ace although the hop is still bedding in I reckon as it's not totally accurate all the time. Something to keep an eye on... 
Game day was a bit of a mixed bag. Lots of newer players again, which was interesting this time. Many of them seemed to think their hire guns could range the whole of the site and were repeatedly vocal about the "no hit taking", even after various folk demonstrating their range. Also had a few players with their own guns having the same problem... 🤔 
For the first time in ages it seems I had proper issues with fogging glasses. The temp was around 10-12 degrees but rather misty/drizzle which wasn't helping matters. I borrowed some Cat Crap from a friend after a few games and oh wow! I should have bought this stuff ages ago. It's getting delivered to me tomorrow now. 
 

[Skara]

6 minutes ago, Arwen said:

Looks fantastic for that enviorment! I've been taking photos at my local site on and off for while, I've noticed boots are a common thing that sticks out for snipers. The other is the bolt on a lot of snipers. If they are shiny ( either through use or by design) they end up glinting in the sun, like a little beacon. I've seen many snipers that get those covers for their scops to stop the reflection, but don't think about the other shiny bits on them or their guns. Some saftly specs can also do it, mesh seems to work much better in this case.

Boots are a huge giveaway, especially if they are black.

I suggest splashing some blotches of spray paint (if they are cheap boots, you may not want to do that on €200+ boots lol).

Bolts are easy to camo, a simple piece of bdu glued on top of the receiver does the trick and prevents dirt and shit to get into it.

Mesh is good, but if safety is a concern then Lenskin are lifesavers  just remember to keep the centre of the lens (where the eye looks through) clean so you still retain vision.

[alxndrhll]

Realistically I don’t think boots are too much of an issue, that photo probably makes things look more obvious than it felt while playing. Though I very much appreciate the feedback and suggestions. That’s probably the only time I was prone all day, I found it was much more effective to make a little hide in a bush and crouch. Means I’m concealed from most angles and have much better ability to manoeuvre without having to make large movements, especially with the SRS I found racking the bolt while prone to be a fairly exaggerated movement. The best crafted camo on the planet won’t keep you hidden if you’re flapping around all over the place!

 

They’re certainly not cheap boots but I’m not against spraying them, but I am going to hold off until they’re a little more worn in. This was my first outing in them so they very much have that fresh boot look about them, a few more days out and I suspect nature will take care of much of it for me!

 

Learning where you are and aren’t best concealed is definitely a ‘skill’ that I’ll need to work on, very much a new thing to me but it’s all part of the fun. Certainly not expecting to be mastering anything over night, but it’s added a whole new dimension to the game for me which has definitely brought a elevated level of enjoyment to the game for me.

[Shaydee]

31 minutes ago, alxndrhll said:

They’re certainly not cheap boots but I’m not against spraying them, but I am going to hold off until they’re a little more worn in. This was my first outing in them so they very much have that fresh boot look about them, a few more days out and I suspect nature will take care of much of it for me!

 

Sod spraying them, roll them around a bit in the mud and they'll be fine. Like you've mentioned it's body movement with the bolt racking that'll get you noticed more than anything you're wearing - bar high vis and jingle bells of course 😄

[Rogerborg]

2 hours ago, Adolf Hamster said:

as long as from the enemy's perspective you walk out of their sight and don't come back for a realistic amount of time i don't see the issue.

 

Not so great if it encourage rentals or regulars to pick up bad habits.  I only tend to do it if I'm alone, or with sensible folk who are doing similar and understand why it's basic fair play to give the other team the full benefit of their kills.

 

 

1 hour ago, Arwen said:

I borrowed some Cat Crap from a friend after a few games and oh wow! I should have bought this stuff ages ago. It's getting delivered to me tomorrow now. 

 

Another of my list of stuff that very nearly works for me without having to hit the fan.  For anyone baulking at the price, a small pot will last longer than any airsoft gun you're likely to own - you use just a tiny smear each time.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

2 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

Not so great if it encourage rentals or regulars to pick up bad habits.  I only tend to do it if I'm alone, or with sensible folk who are doing similar and understand why it's basic fair play to give the other team the full benefit of their kills.

 

a fair point, only really works if you're being honest and giving a realistic interpretation of how long it should take to get back into the action.

 

ofc airsoft is filled with things that only really work if you're being honest.....

[GeorgePlaysAirsoft]

i think not walking back to the actual spawn is one to run by the marshalls first, if i say so myself! 

 

The other evening where i watched a guy (with my somewhat fancy night vision) call a hit, walk back in the direction of the spawn, loiter for a bit... turn around and walk back, as soon as he shouldered his gun i shot him. He subsequently walked all the way back. Just because you think you are out of the enemy's sight doesn't mean you are 👽 

 

edit: worth saying this was not a big playing area either haha

 

edit again: and then everybody clapped (in my head) 

[Adolf Hamster]

Kinda situational really, depends how far back the spawn is, how realistic the enemy advancing is etc.

 

These days i try to focus more on not getting hit than on hitting other people, so i normally do take the full walk (and generally try a different direction/angle)

 

Ofc the solution is fall back games without fixed respawns, although you still get folks with very short legs who can do 30 paces in about 5m

 

[Cr0-Magnon]

3 minutes ago, GeorgePlaysAirsoft said:

i think not walking back to the actual spawn is one to run by the marshalls first, if i say so myself! 

 

Think of it as a golf-style handicap for more mature players....anyone under thirty can figuratively and literally jog on!

[GeorgePlaysAirsoft]

10 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

Kinda situational really, depends how far back the spawn is, how realistic the enemy advancing is etc.

 

These days i try to focus more on not getting hit than on hitting other people, so i normally do take the full walk (and generally try a different direction/angle)

 

Ofc the solution is fall back games without fixed respawns, although you still get folks with very short legs who can do 30 paces in about 5m

 

 

Rather then letting individual players make their own, probably unique judgements on how far away the spawn is, how long it would take them to get there (I would suggest that someone who can't be bothered to walk what is probably a short distance should probably add on a few minutes to what they think their speed is!), or how realistic the enemy is advancing, i think we should just walk back to the designated spawn point. It may not be physically easier for some, but it is simpler, and almost certainly fairer.

 

fwiw: couldn't care less about one's physical condition or whatever (seems more than ok that organisers would make exceptions for the sake of accessibility)  just think it's something that is best run past a marshall for "sign off" first, for the sake of fair play, or at least, the appearance of fair play. 

 

 

[Rogerborg]

1 hour ago, GeorgePlaysAirsoft said:

I am young and never think I'll get old

 

It can be the difference between glasses steaming up or not for us sweaty paedo types. S A F E G U A R D I N G.

 

Besides, I can assure you that I'm hirpling slower than Johnny Speedsocks can sprint back, tap the tree of spawning, and then get back into action.  Do you believe in equality of outcome, or are you literally worse than Hitler?

[Nick G]

We need a 2 teir respawn, all the youngsters can run back to the respawn ( often up a bloody hill at our local site ) and the 'mature' respawn where you bimble back 50 paces, sit on a stump and have a cuppa , and maybe a nice biscuit, before heading back into the fray