The 'How Did Your Airsoft Day Go? Thread

[RostokMcSpoons]

A sunny day at Special Ops ...

 

Pleased to see @Dan Robinson and his son, and met a few of the other regulars, but missed a meet-up with Cowboy,  were you there?

 

A change to the usual warm up game in that it became a single-life defend game.  Which really didn't work because I fired one shot to test my hop, waited 10 minutes, and then got shot from behind.  Rather the opposite of a warm-up 😂. The switched game didn't go much better for me, I didn't get a kill!  Probably a round of zombies is still a good idea.

 

Anyway, for me the morning was a story of my beloved VFC HK416 not living up to its potential.  Accuracy and range was pretty good at the outset, and the gun made a few new fans when I let them try it, but the hop setting seemed to slip very easily and quickly.  As I've tried to take the hop apart recently, maybe I've made that slippage worse... so rather than spending too much time and ammo shooting at distant trees to adjust and check the hop, I decided to go to my DE 906.  It racked up a goodly number of kills through the day. Good old thing did not let me down 👍

But during the day I managed to break the sliding cover in one of my Lonex mags (fixable, I'm sure), from trying to force the mag in when there must have been an errant BB in the well.  And I lost my clone Leatherman tool (but it was found and I got back). 

To thank the God Of Lost Things and restore balance to the universe, I managed to find an expensive looking grenade in a pouch, and handed that in.

 

Weird shit that happened today:  someone had some money stolen from a rucksack.  Not cool.  

 

Carlos got close to losing his temper about non hit-taking, not seen him that angry for a long time.  Gave the young kids a lecture that it's not CoD, where you can take multiple hits before dying.  I didn't have a problem personally, so just found it amusing ☺️

 

And possibly the same thief that nicked the money also decided to nick the badge off the front of my (cheap, old) BMW.  Or the glue gave up the ghost and it fell off on the way home 😋

 

My old Karrimor walking boots decided to fall apart, I ended up with one held together by Gorilla glue, zip ties and duct tape!  Did the job temporarily, but they are beyond saving.

 

I need some cheap, new (ish) lightweight boots

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Colin Allen]

Yesterday, I took a trip down memory lane and went to Battle Lakes in Kent, a site where I used to play and marshal but have not visited for a few years after it went a bit strange.

It is now run by Gunman Airsoft and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Tony, who was the site manager when I marshalled there, was back managing it.  After registering and checking out the small but rather well stocked shop, I sorted my gear out and went to the chrono.

The safety and morning game briefs were brief but complete and, as ever with Tony, rather entertaining.

The morning's game was a domination style one, with the blue team holding three points (the village, the comms tower and the fuel dump), which we, the red team, had to try to take.  In addition to the main regen, each team had a forward regen that they could position wherever they chose once the game had started,

There was also a third team ("The Americans"), who were carrying out their own mission, which was to kill VIPs in both the red and blue teams.

We decided to split into three groups, one going for each objective.  My group set off for the fuel dump, which was the most distant; it soon became apparent that I was the only one in the group who know the layout of the site.  We quickly located the blue team's forward regen and neutralised it, which meant that they would have to take it back to their main regen before it could be taken back out again.

Circling around the fuel dump we attacked it from the rear, took out two or three defenders and replaced the blue team's flag with ours.  We then got into a firefight with some blue players and ended up going back to regen.  From there, a group of us set off to attack the village, which we took fairly quickly.  However, instead of pushing on to attack the comms tower, we settled in to defend the village, from which we were eventually expelled.  This was about the end of the morning session.

In the afternoon, both teams were issued with a vast amount of money, which could be used to buy weapons from an arms dealer at the far end of the field, whose shop was only open at specific times.  The Americans, as well as hunting the VIPs, were also out to recover the weapons, which both teams could store in their chosen FOB, ours being in the village.  After much collecting of weapons, including a large and very expensive nuclear device, a sniper and I decided to go and prowl around near the Americans' base; we did not encounter them but we did take out a fair number of the blue team from well concealed positions.  Returning to the FOB, we helped defend that against attacks by the blue team, only to be overrun by the Americans right at the end of the game.

It was a very good day and I will definitely return.  Thanks to Jez and Ollie for the recommendation.

40 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I need some cheap, new (ish) lightweight boots

If you want lightweight boots, have a look at Iturri Patrol boots on eBay.  They are light and very comfortable, although not as supportive as I like.

[Khyber]

1 hour ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

I need some cheap, new (ish) lightweight boots

 

 

I have been a long time wearer of skechers trainers and recently tried some of their hiking boots for the first time. Memory foam insoles and waterproof. For 70 squid I cant complian. Super comfy for prolonged wearing too. Maybe worth a punt

[RostokMcSpoons]

35 minutes ago, Khyber said:

(Skechers)

 

1 hour ago, Colin Allen said:

(iturri)

 

Thanks for those recommendations, both boots I hadn't thought of!

I know from old threads that the Viper Multicams get a recommendation for the same £70-80 price (which as much as I can do, given my current jobless status), but in the first instance I think I'll go along to the obvious shops to try on some boots... Decathlon, Go Outdoors, and Sports Direct, because I have annoyingly wide, flat feet.  Trying 'em on before purchase is a good idea tbh!

[Cannonfodder]

11 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

I need some cheap, new (ish) lightweight boots

https://preppersshop.co.uk/wellco-peruana-us-military-combat-jungle-boots---brand-new-68308-p.asp?_=&variantid=68642&gclid=CjwKCAjwvJyjBhApEiwAWz2nLcpxWDh3VUopBiT6f2VkL1Z4lsq3A-bxCLUAnVfaAKRN6AGNr5QahBoC8EUQAvD_BwE

 

Just don't you lot go buying them all before I get paid at the end of the week 

[Fatboy40]

11 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

... I decided to go to my DE 906.  It racked up a goodly number of kills through the day. Good old thing did not let me down 

 

Yesterday my son's substantially upgraded Firehawk failed from the very start at chrono, so what did he get moved over to... his backup DE M906C and it worked perfectly (and before we play again everything good is coming out of the Firehawk and going into the M906C, why do these cheap AEG's just always work so reliably for us?)

Edited June 5, 2023 by Fatboy40

[-Cowboy-]

Things wot I are learnd:

 

1. I am just as unfit (if not more!) as I thought I was.

2. When you are full noob and don't have a clue whats going on and who/what is where it's a lot to take in.

3. Getting shot on the nipple HURTS LIKE HELL! 🤣

 

In the excitment of it all and chatting to people I didn't get names so if you were there and I spoke to you - sorry!

 

The games were great in the morning and as I started to get the hang of what was going on I really got into it, everyone was really friendly and welcoming. The vibe seem to change quite a bit for the afternoon, Within a minute of the start of the first game I got lit by a kid on my team who couldn't have been more than 10 feet from me. 🙃 After that game I think some tempers started to get a bit frayed but it certainly didnt spoil it for me - in fact a few of us end up back at spawn and decided it would be a good idea to go on a suicide mission which soon had us all laughing again.

 

Carlos was a fantastic host and everyone I met and spoke to were great, I will certainly be back soon!

[RostokMcSpoons]

8 hours ago, Cannonfodder said:

https://preppersshop.co.uk/wellco-peruana-us-military-combat-jungle-boots---brand-new-68308-p.asp?_=&variantid=68642&gclid=CjwKCAjwvJyjBhApEiwAWz2nLcpxWDh3VUopBiT6f2VkL1Z4lsq3A-bxCLUAnVfaAKRN6AGNr5QahBoC8EUQAvD_BwE

 

Just don't you lot go buying them all before I get paid at the end of the week 

 

Blimey, they're cheap! 

 

Now I don't want to go looking at the proverbial equine's molars, but with a spike protecting sole and those chunky anti clog grips, I'm thinking they might tend towards the heavier end of the spectrum.  I do already have a pair of very sturdy paratrooper boots, but which are so damned heavy I'll only wear them again when it's wet and I want the water proofing.  I'm really in the market for some lightweight desert boots with some ankle support.   How do these (quite literally) weigh up against them?

 

Edit:  I've found some reviews of these boots, and the good news is they're very light, but the slightly less good news is that they may take some breaking in before they're comfortable.  I found some lightly used Itarri desert boots in my size on eBay for around the same price ... I may go for those just because they're what I was expecting to buy.

Edited June 5, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Dan Robinson]

Well my lower back is in bits after Matrixing the shit out of some shots coming my way yesterday at Special Ops.  But it was a good day all in all apart from the money thing.  The only hit taking issue I thought I had turned out to be debarking a tree where the person I was shooting at was hiding - but he is one of the regulars with a VERY effective HPA setup, so he and I had a laugh afterwards about how I kept him suppressed for a fair few minutes until he head-shotted me.  Oh and one of the rentals in a grey hoodie - but it was quite fun seeing the flinching so it didn't bother me too much.

 

@RostokMcSpoons and I had a couple of games where we setup a good cross-fire from a building and held the objective for considerable lengths of time which was fun and racked us both up some goodly kill tallies to the obvious frustration of the other team.

 

On the first rolling defence game we won by default because I played sneaky-boi and wasn't discovered until the rolling respawn of the other team game passed me and I was effectively spawn camping to the confusion of the opposition wondering why they were being shot from behind. LOL, after taking a few out it was decided by me and a marshal that I just relinquished the position and went down to the final defence post where the rest of my team were.   I was going to insist that they should be forced to use their original spawn point, but by that time they all knew where I was anyway so it would have been a painful if not amusing last stand.

 

New L85A3 was a little bit of let down in operation (but not looks), partly because it really needed 11.1v rather than the 7.4v I was feeding it; but also as seems to be my lot in this hobby, all the bb's were flying off the left.  So once again I fell back on my good old, cheap, Specna which did its duty with honour despite still having my shitty cheap ACOG on .

 

Also had a successful test run of some new eye protection with a built in fan.  Which did the job, took several direct hits without blemish and makes me look like a member of Daft Punk.  Annoyingly the batteries died mid afternoon and I forgot to bring the spares from the safe zone.  So onto the site's rental face mask I went 🤢.

 

Didn't work out who @-Cowboy- was, but for reference, @RostokMcSpoonsand I were on the blue team and stopped all the runs down the right hand side of the map to the AA gun and Ping Ping City. 👍😁  When they post up the pics of the day I'll put a few up if only so you lot can laugh at the Eye pro situation.  Will be going back in a few weeks as it will be AWA next week, hopefully with some tech work having been done to the L85, although I am a bit nervous taking it apart as its not as mechanically simple as the M4s.

 

 

Fun times.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Dan Robinson

[EDcase]

1 hour ago, Cannonfodder said:

https://preppersshop.co.uk/wellco-peruana-us-military-combat-jungle-boots---brand-new-68308-p.asp?_=&variantid=68642&gclid=CjwKCAjwvJyjBhApEiwAWz2nLcpxWDh3VUopBiT6f2VkL1Z4lsq3A-bxCLUAnVfaAKRN6AGNr5QahBoC8EUQAvD_BwE

 

Just don't you lot go buying them all before I get paid at the end of the week 

Wow, good prices there

Those are US Vietnam boots even down to the soles.  (Similar to German forces now except for different sole pattern)

Obviously good for themed events and I find them comfy but modern boots are probably a bit more comfy. These are iconic tho 😉

 

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by EDcase

[-Cowboy-]

@Dan RobinsonI was on the yellow team, top had camo arms/green centre - no doubt you probably caught me more than once! 😁🤣

[Dan Robinson]

11 minutes ago, -Cowboy- said:

top had camo arms/green centre

 

Well you'd be no fecking use in a line-up 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Emergencychimps]

2 minutes ago, Dan Robinson said:

 

Well you'd be no fecking use in a line-up 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

He's wearing camo by the tree!

[-Cowboy-]

36 minutes ago, Dan Robinson said:

 

Well you'd be no fecking use in a line-up 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Denends which side of the line-up you're on I suppose. I did have a pic taken so maybe that'll help. Can't say I was by trees much, I could usually be found going to/from spawn panting like a dog. 🤣

 

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Dan, your son's gun was curving off to the left too, I reckon you bought lop-sided ammo, you need to rotate them all slightly in the mags 😉

[Dan Robinson]

Here we go - part of the Dream Team:

 

 

Me Being Sneaky Boi:

 

 

The Boy considering his life choices:

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Haha I want that first pic framed I (first on the left) look only slightly fat in that pic  Camo is obvs very slimming  
My right boot hadn't suffered its Slow Unscheduled Disassembly at that point.

Ah. Perhaps camo can't cover all my chocolate/cake/crisps/beer-related sins...

 

(That rucksack full of ammo, gas, tools, and spare shit really weighed a ton)


Pistolero!

Edited June 5, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[-Cowboy-]

@RostokMcSpoonsI’m pretty sure I was stood next to you at the end of the last game as I saw your fancy footwear. 😂

[Cr0-Magnon]

20 hours ago, gavinkempsell said:

 

Will take some of my Bullpups in the future but none are 2 toned so that will have to wait for now.

 

Why would they need to be two toned to skirmish with?

[RostokMcSpoons]

11 minutes ago, -Cowboy- said:

@RostokMcSpoonsI’m pretty sure I was stood next to you at the end of the last game as I saw your fancy footwear. 😂

 

Well we know what each other look like, make sure to say hello next time, if I don't get to you first!

 

Glad you had a good day, hopefully it'll be even better next time 😄

[gavinkempsell]

10 minutes ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

 

Why would they need to be two toned to skirmish with?

Apart from being cheaper I thought it was best till I was more experienced.

[Colin Allen]

7 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I found some lightly used Itarri desert boots in my size on eBay for around the same price ... I may go for those just because they're what I was expecting to buy.

Iturri desert boots are excellent; very comfortable, very supportive and they have the superb Defender sole, which is now replacing the Vibram sole on the main British army issue boots, the Altberg Defender, as they provide better grip on hard surfaces, while being as good on softer surfaces.

However, they are definitely not in any way waterproof, even after being properly treated; even mildly long wet grass is a problem.

The Peruana jungle boots are nice, but the soles do not provide adequate grip on hard or solid surfaces; they are designed for muddy conditions where they can sink in.  However, they are somewhat iconic.

I have to admit to being a military boot geek!

[RostokMcSpoons]

Thanks @Colin Allen - as the new boots will do double-duty once the promised CQB site opens, dry grip is important ... I am leaning towards getting the Iturris over the Wellco's (though the price for new boots I can return easily if the sizing is wrong is very tempting)

 

Just for shits'n'giggles I went to Sports Direct to see what they had.  Subsequent research reveals they actually own the Karrimor brand now, and they do have some nice looking and very reasonably priced (£45-60) walking boots.  YT reviews say they won't last very long in hard use but are comfortable... they have to be an option just because I can try them on.  And the hard use will be one day every two weeks!  However, some of the online reviews are damning. Damn.

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Colin Allen]

28 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

Thanks @Colin Allen - as the new boots will do double-duty once the promised CQB site opens, dry grip is important ... I am leaning towards getting the Iturris over the Wellco's (though the price for new boots I can return easily if the sizing is wrong is very tempting)

 

Just for shits'n'giggles I went to Sports Direct to see what they had.  Subsequent research reveals they actually own the Karrimor brand now, and they do have some nice looking and very reasonably priced (£45-60) walking boots.  YT reviews say they won't last very long in hard use but are comfortable... they have to be an option just because I can try them on.  And the hard use will be one day every two weeks!  However, some of the online reviews are damning. Damn.

 

Yes, Sports Direct took over the civilian Karrimor brand, while another company, Karrimor SF, made some very good cold wet weather boots for the MoD; I recently sent quite a few pairs of the latter to Ukraine, where they are very popular.

The Sports Direct Karrimor walking boots are very poor; the Iturri desert boots would be better or, ideally, Iturri Cold Wet Weather boots, which are the best boots I have found in more than 40 years of wearing issue and commercial boots over various gnarly bits of the UK and beyond.  My son describes them as: 

"Incredibly comfortable and have what I am calling "the down duvet effect", despite not being too hot at all when tabbing or doing platoon attacks, I also didn't have cold feet the whole weekend, even when it started snowing."

However, you do need to go a full size up on them; for example, if you normally take a 10L, you need an 11L.

The Iturri patrol boots are very light and very comfortable but, as I wrote earlier, do not provide as much ankle support.  On reflection, I would not use them for airsoft.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Thanks that's incredibly useful info, I'll go look for those Cold Wet Weather boots if you recommend them so highly.  They're not too heavy are they?

 

My foot sizing is anoying, I'm about a 9, or 9.5 in length, but a 10.5 or 11 in width

 

 

Makes buying shoes online... Tricky

Edited June 5, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons