The 'How Did Your Airsoft Day Go? Thread

[Tommikka]

 

4 hours ago, Rickwales said:

 

We have tried a few of the disposable grenades now, the ball ones with bbs inside arent great as most were still inside the split body on the ground. The smoke ones are fun, and I like the thunder flashes a lot.

 

 

Note: I have had an association with Enola Gaye for many years, and they have sponsored our events, so I do have a bias towards them which is based on both their quality and their ethos

 

 

They conduct a lot of product development, Dr John of Enola participated in the drafting of many of the EU standards, and we’ve seen / taken part in his batch testing

(One of our guys was also blown up on camera by a different brand without the same level of QC on the production lines - no serious outcome thanks to his glove and eye protection)

 

I’ve never used their ‘new’ ball grenade of that type, and had used the early types of pineapple BB grenades - they weren’t anything special, but ball grenades perform a function (that I’m not interested in - I prefer a flashbang with suitable rules such as CQB room kills, though as @mrtea notes - ball grenades are rollable (the early models I used back in deepest darkest history were not rollable)

 

My real love is smoke. It’s pretty as well as effective (when used properly - which can get expensive)

 

You would like the CM75/SD75 - everyone would, but they are not for the general public and are not suitable for normal people’s wallets 

 

The WD40s and the EG18/EG18X give the right level of smoke for normal people. Their baby brother the EG25 gives just enough in a small package, not really for cover in a game but a nice amount of smoke in a tighter area that won’t disperse too much or as a small signal colour 

 

Bangs do some very clever stuff in the range, without needing to go to silly amounts of bang just for volume.  The mk5 as standard and some clever timing / packaging can make them perform very differently 

 

 

 

The main problem with pyro is the size of the wallet governing how much you can have

 

[The_Lord_Poncho]

Adequate morning at Driver Wood Saturday, running the Lee Enfield (1.05j, so no MED), and G36c. I was meant to be rolling out the newly acquired KC02, bought off the classifieds,but my air tank sprung a leak from the tank regulator (pretty sure it's just an o-ring, but I haven't been able to get the regulator off, despite trying all sorts).

 

Game 1 was a bit rubbish- due to the site owner having devoted significant time to building a load of new structures in the 'Village' (and they are great), we were all herded there for an attack/defend waypoint game, despite the player numbers really being far too high for such an enclosed area with oodles of cover. Cue the 50  or so people on my team spending a rather tedious 30 minutes in the same 20m2 area of the field until the defenders used up their lives, and then another 30 minutes (equally tedious) on the second waypoint field, doing the same thing - no more than 30m max from the team spawn. For the first time ever I contemplated joining the  increasing group of bored players who had given up and were having a chat sat at spawn...

 

Second game was excellent, and what the first should have been given the player numbers- using the main area of the site with plenty of opportunities to apply cunning to get the drop on the opposing team.

[Gunboat Diplomat]

Visited Finmere Airsoft for the first time this weekend to take part in one of their Chaos and Control days, a long objective lead day rather than your usual skirmish.  Milsim-lite I guess you could call it.

 

First notable point before the day of the event even came around was the great communication with the organisers.  I posted a quick question via their ‘Contact Us’ link but got a swift answer and then welcome into their larger WhatsApp group to discuss game day specifics or ask for technical help.  Even got sent a PDF with the game objectives and rules, site map and walkthrough video in advance of the day so everyone should know what they are doing.  Really well organised and not something I’ve seen before.

 

Arrived at the site an a rainy Sunday morning.  The site itself is a fairly typical woodland affair with a long central access road bisecting it into two distinct halves.  Safe zone is right in the centre, they have a mix of seating and tables, most undercover from the worst of the elements.  Small tuck shop, supplies and a lone portaloo which was remarkably clean.  

 

Game area features some nice set pieces like a prop submarine, crashed airplane and some other abstract structures that could really be anything.

 

Gameplay for the day were two 2-hour long domination rounds with five control points spread around the map for capture and control.  Capture involved the usual flag raising plus starting your team’s stopwatch at the control point to start accumulating points. 

 

Each team’s spawn had an area map that you could mark POIs on and a radio.  The radio allowed you to get in contact with the ‘drone operator’ to get intel and/or call in airstrikes or chemical weapons on certain positions.  I’m guessing this isn’t anything new but it was the first time I’ve played anything like this and I had a great time playing Battlefield Commander with my rifle propped up in the corner of spawn and picking places on the map to drop imaginary ordinance. 

 

Another new one for me was their dead rule.  You get 3 lives with the first 2 hits requiring you to be revived, but whilst injured you are allowed (and expected) to call out info to your team.  Creates an interesting dynamic where a downed man can sometimes be the pivotal part of a firefight as he calls out enemy movements to the survivors.  On your 3rd hit you are fully dead, then it’s the usual silent walk back to spawn.

 

Other notable points of the day were zero moaning or bitching about hit calling, randoms happy to and actively looking to team up to do objectives, everyone generally very laid back and some guy brought a bag full of apples from his garden.

 

All in all a great addition to our roster of local sites so will be going there again soon.

[Rickwales]

Just had a brilliant day of airsofting at over the top (OTT) on Anglesey. Took my lad and 2 mates. 10 till 3pm. 120 acres of woodland, and scrubland. Few bunkers and buildings scattered about. Smallish group of about a dozen or so. Got absolutely destroyed by a couple of young teenagers and their dad in Gillies. Covered in welts and splinters. Really nice marshall/owner. All the players were super friendly. 

Lots of different games and teams regularly swapped about. Highly recommend the place. We will be going back again soon. Half the travel to our other site in Chester.

Got given some great advice about setting our hop ups and tactics.

My new krinkov performed great, but it's bloody noisy. 😆 Pissed thru BBS, almost 3 full tubs between us. I liked just sitting in a nice warm comfy sneaky place and waiting for my victims to come to me. 

A successful day, and our best so far. 

[Colin Allen]

As is so often the case, a rather dull Sunday morning saw the omniphagus Volvo conveying me to Airsoft Plantation in the rather curious county of Essex.

180 players were present, with an unusually high percentage being either first time visitors to the site or new to airsoft; nobody that I usually team up with was present.

I started the day by checking the setup of the ASG FLCN 5.56 that was an impulse buy when I dropped into JD Airsoft a couple of weeks ago, while in Cannock doing lights for a festival which featured possibly the last appearance of the band that I have worked with for a quarter of a century.  All that I had done was to replace the hop rubber and nub and the spring.  Over a measured 70m distance with the hop set for perfect flight it was putting out 1.03J; lovely!

The first game required the Blue team, who started on the firebreak, to get two players onto the upper floors of the five two storey buildings in the village; they had infinite regens on the firebreak, while we had two lives.  I started off in the two storey building by the now dried up pond, which soon became rather lively as the enemy attacked directly from the firebreak and flanked around past the border.  After some great fights and several very satisfying hits, a BB found me and I moved back to the woods to help defend the sniper tower and the town hall against blue players who had flanked right around the far end of the site.  We had a great time stalking each other in the woods and, in our case, providing flanking fire against attacks against the sniper tower.  The game timed out with the Blues having taken two of the required buildings.

The game was then turned around and I joined a group who were attacking via the suburbs; we pushed into the village and, after a hard fight, took the two storey buildings at that end of the village, getting the requisite two players onto the upper floors of each.  Our colleagues attacking from other directions had similar success and we occupied all of the buildings with 45 seconds left on the clock.

1-0 to the Reds

Having reloaded, it was time for the briefing for the next game; before this, the site owner gave a very stiff talk about hit taking.  I had not noticed any problems, with everyone that I thought I hit raising their hand and walking off, but it seems that there had been an unusually high number of complaints about it.  We were informed that anyone found not taking their hits would be required to leave.  Fair enough!

The next game required us to transfer three bombs in a box to three locations in the mortar pits and set them off; the box required two people to carry it and the bombs could only be transported in the box.  We had infinite regens on a marshal, while the defenders had two lives.  Leaving the DEA base, we ran into a fierce resistance that initially brought us to a halt, but we found a way through and delivered our bombs to the bridge, the tunnels and, finally, the Bedford.

When this game was turned around, a group of us initially took up a position in the Hill Fort, from where we slowed the enemy's attack.  Eventually being hit, I fell back to the cover of a large berm from which I was able to pick off some of the enemy now occupying the Hill Fort.  There was then a shout that the enemy were attacking in strength on our far left; a group of us ran over to help the defenders, who were trying to repel an attack along the flanking berm on that side; I hit several of the attackers before eventually being hit just as the game ended.  The enemy did not bomb all their targets.

2-0 to the Reds

Lunch followed, immediately after which we played a short game; starting at the bus in the mortar pits, we were given a 60 second head start to run and take up positions anywhere on that side of the firebreak.  The Blues had to hunt us down and kill as many of us as they could in ten minutes.  We had one life, while they had infinite regens.  Having run away as fast as we could, a group of us took up a number of positions in the scrubland, potting attackers as we slowly fell back to the far end of the site, where we met up with others, including all of our ghillies, to make a stand.  When the game ended, 45 of our team had been killed.

In the return of this game, we set out rapidly after the retreating blue team, trying to to hunt them down before they could get organised, which we didn't quite manage to do; nevertheless, we managed to kill 55 of them.

3-0 to the Reds

For the final game, starting at the border, the blue team had to transport a very large bag of Bob Marley's favourite recreational substance to the Cock Inn in the village, where they could exchange it for a suitcase full of Colombia's finest, which they then had to get into the Cessna.  They had infinite buddy regens, while we had one life in the village and two on the other side of the firebreak.  My involvement in the first part of this was somewhat limited as a BB skimmed the brim of my boonie, sending me trudging off to the other side of the firebreak, where I set myself up in the Hill Fort, being joined by a few colleagues.  We waited for quite a while for the Blue team to complete their transaction in the village; once they had, it became apparent that they were not heading in our direction, so most of us set off for the area around the Cessna, where a disjointed but fierce set of fights ensued as the attackers tried to get the suitcase into it.  Lurking behind the rather overgrown biplane, I took out a fair few attackers before the game ended with them failing to achieve their objective.

4-0 to the Reds

From my perspective, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day of airsoft; I did not encounter any hit taking issues, despite the concerns that some players seemed to have.

Weapons used:
ASG FLCN 5.56 (made by Double Eagle)
Double Eagle Honey Badger/PDW
ASG XP18 Commander (CO2)

Edited 21 hours ago by Colin Allen

[Cannonfodder]

Just had a great afternoon at Blackstone. There was a good mix of regular and new players and it was good to seethe newbies getting stuck in rather than hanging back. Games on the whole went well despite one player on the red team who was a little reluctant to take his hits. The marshals dealt with it though and after he'd been spoken to suddenly started making excuses about needing to go. Why someone would think they can get away with cheating at a site where engagement ranges are measured in feet and everyone is wearing numbered armbands is beyond me but meh, sod him. After he went I didn't see or hear of any hit taking problems.

 

 

 

[Jaylordofwaargh]

My airsoft day, possibly the last of the year with the hopefully notable Santa vs Elves at RedAlret, was at the Dragons Lair. After getting a decent start to the prolonged journey (no c2c service from central out to the sticks) we managed to get to site early-ish (840) and started to bomb up, its quiet though, we normally arrive closer to 920 so thought maybe everyone does to. Nope

Didn't happen Ray comes round and let's us know there is not enough players for the day. It's called and we all start packing up.

 

So after spaffing the travel costs, I do look at transporting myself and the kid to Billericay but cabs being cabs, and our mood already sour we turned homeward. And played video games instead.

 

It's frustrating, Dragons Lair has its faults sure, but its not a bad site, rules are strict in the safezone and enforced. They are putting work in to improve the games zone.

It is also accessible from east london (on public transport), in ways Billericay and plantation are not.

 

[Colin Allen]

20 minutes ago, Jaylordofwaargh said:

My airsoft day, possibly the last of the year with the hopefully notable Santa vs Elves at RedAlret, was at the Dragons Lair. After getting a decent start to the prolonged journey (no c2c service from central out to the sticks) we managed to get to site early-ish (840) and started to bomb up, its quiet though, we normally arrive closer to 920 so thought maybe everyone does to. Nope

Didn't happen Ray comes round and let's us know there is not enough players for the day. It's called and we all start packing up.

 

So after spaffing the travel costs, I do look at transporting myself and the kid to Billericay but cabs being cabs, and our mood already sour we turned homeward. And played video games instead.

 

It's frustrating, Dragons Lair has its faults sure, but its not a bad site, rules are strict in the safezone and enforced. They are putting work in to improve the games zone.

It is also accessible from east london (on public transport), in ways Billericay and plantation are not.

 

That is a real shame; I really like Ray.  However, the current site is nowhere near as good as the old one and the work they have done has not improved it.  Where in East London are you based?

[Hami]

1 hour ago, Jaylordofwaargh said:

My airsoft day, possibly the last of the year with the hopefully notable Santa vs Elves at RedAlret, was at the Dragons Lair. After getting a decent start to the prolonged journey (no c2c service from central out to the sticks) we managed to get to site early-ish (840) and started to bomb up, its quiet though, we normally arrive closer to 920 so thought maybe everyone does to. Nope

Didn't happen Ray comes round and let's us know there is not enough players for the day. It's called and we all start packing up.

 

So after spaffing the travel costs, I do look at transporting myself and the kid to Billericay but cabs being cabs, and our mood already sour we turned homeward. And played video games instead.

 

It's frustrating, Dragons Lair has its faults sure, but its not a bad site, rules are strict in the safezone and enforced. They are putting work in to improve the games zone.

It is also accessible from east london (on public transport), in ways Billericay and plantation are not.

 

Thats crazy to get to a site and there's not enough players! 

Had a good day today. Borrowed my friends ssg10 which i found quite good, i havent used nov stuff before and for something out the box, quite impressive. 

My vsr is on its way out so now i'm in the mood for a new sniper. Will have to wait until i'm home after my travels though + as it gets too rainy, i tend to not play

[EvilMonkee]

3 hours ago, Cannonfodder said:

Just had a great afternoon at Blackstone. There was a good mix of regular and new players and it was good to seethe newbies getting stuck in rather than hanging back. Games on the whole went well despite one player on the red team who was a little reluctant to take his hits. The marshals dealt with it though and after he'd been spoken to suddenly started making excuses about needing to go. Why someone would think they can get away with cheating at a site where engagement ranges are measured in feet and everyone is wearing numbered armbands is beyond me but meh, sod him. After he went I didn't see or hear of any hit taking problems.

 

 

 

I am only up the road and not been yet, let me know when you go next

[Tackle]

3 hours ago, Jaylordofwaargh said:

My airsoft day, possibly the last of the year with the hopefully notable Santa vs Elves at RedAlret, was at the Dragons Lair. After getting a decent start to the prolonged journey (no c2c service from central out to the sticks) we managed to get to site early-ish (840) and started to bomb up, its quiet though, we normally arrive closer to 920 so thought maybe everyone does to. Nope

Didn't happen Ray comes round and let's us know there is not enough players for the day. It's called and we all start packing up.

 

So after spaffing the travel costs, I do look at transporting myself and the kid to Billericay but cabs being cabs, and our mood already sour we turned homeward. And played video games instead.

 

It's frustrating, Dragons Lair has its faults sure, but its not a bad site, rules are strict in the safezone and enforced. They are putting work in to improve the games zone.

It is also accessible from east london (on public transport), in ways Billericay and plantation are not.

 

Thats a real shame, for both you & the organisers. 

I'll be honest & say that if he's not getting the numbers he needs on a day when the weather forecast is pretty good, he needs to have a good hard look at his business, either aspects of the site & gameplay, or his calendar schedule if its running gamedays that conflict with his nearest (& possibly better ?) rivals ?

[Jaylordofwaargh]

9 hours ago, Colin Allen said:

Where in East London are you based?

Custom House near the Excel, with the lad only being 11 l, there are limits on where we can go. Driver Wood for example is similar in travel costs but can take up to two hours if the trains don't align.

 

Mayhem, Billericay and indeed plantation, are near double the cab fairs from station to site. 

6 hours ago, Tackle said:

good hard look at his business, either aspects of the site & gameplay, or his calendar schedule if its running gamedays that conflict with his nearest (& possibly better ?) rivals ?

The three other sites "close" by run weekly games, Dragons Lair, 2nd and 4th Sundays. 

The "smokes only" is imposed by the hotel, the land, is concise,  although I'm not fully convinced another cqb area is what's needed (that's the current work in progress). 

[Baser]

1 hour ago, Jaylordofwaargh said:

Custom House near the Excel, with the lad only being 11 l, there are limits on where we can go. Driver Wood for example is similar in travel costs but can take up to two hours if the trains don't align.

 

Mayhem, Billericay and indeed plantation, are near double the cab fairs from station to site. 

The three other sites "close" by run weekly games, Dragons Lair, 2nd and 4th Sundays. 

The "smokes only" is imposed by the hotel, the land, is concise,  although I'm not fully convinced another cqb area is what's needed (that's the current work in progress). 

Have a look at Apocalypse in Kent, you can train from Stratford to Sittingbourne and then it’s 10 mins in a cab.  They have a Call of Duty game most Saturdays, which are for kids and parents and an adult only game on a Sunday.  Not been the call of duty games as I don’t have kiddos but the photos from site look like it’s busy, adult games can have 200+ players. 

[Nick G]

Fun day yesterday, well half day since I'm nursing a pinched nerve in a foot .  Good games with lots of pushing by both teames . Got a bang kill on a sniper and hit one chap at decent distance through the gap between 2 staked containers , both of which were extremely satisfying !

 

Ran the WE based L119 A2 all through , with , as usual, no issues 

[Impulse]

20 minutes ago, Nick G said:

Ran the WE based L119 A2 all through , with , as usual, no issues 

 

Did you need to do much internally for this to work well? I'm... potentially picking up two WE rifles in the near future (an m14 and an SVD); the m14 will basically not be WE any more with the parts that will be in it, but the SVD will be much more vanilla, so I want to know if I'm setting myself up for pain 😂

[Colin Allen]

10 hours ago, Tackle said:

Thats a real shame, for both you & the organisers. 

I'll be honest & say that if he's not getting the numbers he needs on a day when the weather forecast is pretty good, he needs to have a good hard look at his business, either aspects of the site & gameplay, or his calendar schedule if its running gamedays that conflict with his nearest (& possibly better ?) rivals ?

Having played at the old site many times and the new site several times, in my view the problem is that the new site is just not very good.  It is awkward in terms of size, shape and topography and, in my opinion, has been turned into an overly constricted and badly designed outdoor CQB site with apparently little thought for how the site works.

 

I don’t like writing this; I really like the owner and liked the old site, which was wonderfully varied and interesting to play at, although the games could be somewhat repetitive.

[Tackle]

7 minutes ago, Colin Allen said:

 in my view the problem is that the new site is just not very good.  It is awkward in terms of size, shape and topography and, in my opinion, has been turned into an overly constricted and badly designed outdoor CQB site with apparently little thought for how the site works.

Do you think it can be fixed with regards to layout etc ?, or is it just not "fit for purpose" due to the aforementioned ?

If its the former, maybe people need to give him feedback in the form of constructive criticism ?, help him get back on track🤞

[Colin Allen]

7 minutes ago, Tackle said:

Do you think it can be fixed with regards to layout etc ?, or is it just not "fit for purpose" due to the aforementioned ?

If its the former, maybe people need to give him feedback in the form of constructive criticism ?, help him get back on track🤞

All of this is only my opinion based on playing airsoft at a number of sites for many years and marshalling for a few  years.  Ray once asked if I would become a marshal at the original site.

 

The site is fundamentally flawed with regard to its size, shape and topography.  It is small and consists of two main areas: a narrow, relatively steeply sided valley and a plateau.  
 

The first few times I went there, it was relatively undeveloped, with a couple of structures in the valley and barricades of various sorts on the plateau; this allowed the games to flow well.  Player numbers were good and the days were enjoyable.

 

Since then, more and more structures have been added, breaking up the flow and changing the nature of the games.  This focus on outdoor CQB started in the latter days of the old site, when a rather large CQB maze appeared at the back of the fort.  Turning it into a CQB site is not necessarily a bad thing, if it is done in a planned manner with a lot of consideration of how the site will work.

 

It does have a good safe zone, which is very rigorously policed; if you enter it with a mag in a weapon, you are going home.

 

Player numbers have been dropping for a while.

 

I think it would take quite a brave person to point out the site’s issues to Ray.  I tried to the last time I went.
 

 

 

 

[Tackle]

47 minutes ago, Colin Allen said:

All of this is only my opinion based on playing airsoft at a number of sites for many years and marshalling for a few  years.  Ray once asked if I would become a marshal at the original site.

 

The site is fundamentally flawed with regard to its size, shape and topography.  It is small and consists of two main areas: a narrow, relatively steeply sided valley and a plateau.  
 

The first few times I went there, it was relatively undeveloped, with a couple of structures in the valley and barricades of various sorts on the plateau; this allowed the games to flow well.  Player numbers were good and the days were enjoyable.

 

Since then, more and more structures have been added, breaking up the flow and changing the nature of the games.  This focus on outdoor CQB started in the latter days of the old site, when a rather large CQB maze appeared at the back of the fort.  Turning it into a CQB site is not necessarily a bad thing, if it is done in a planned manner with a lot of consideration of how the site will work.

 

It does have a good safe zone, which is very rigorously policed; if you enter it with a mag in a weapon, you are going home.

 

Player numbers have been dropping for a while.

 

I think it would take quite a brave person to point out the site’s issues to Ray.  I tried to the last time I went.
 

 

 

 

If he's that kinda guy, & i mean it the nicest way, he needs to swallow his pride or park his ego, if he's going to survive & prosper, the fact that he's previously asked you to Marshall for him shows an element of trust, maybe its worth having another go at constructive critique, if not in person then a call or maybe even an email, explaining where you think he's gone wrong with the layout & how he could gradually improve it, maybe by recycling or reconfiguring some of his structures that have negatively affected the games ebb & flow.

Don't get me wrong, don't know the guy, nor have I played his sites, but like you I've played lots of other sites, some great & some dreadful, & sometimes the bad ones have enormous potential but are badly run, crap staff, shite game scenarios, or alternatively amazing enthusiastic staff but the site layout/size/location makes decent play untenable. 

But none of us want to see a sites demise, we've lost too many already to development etc😢, especially cqb themed.

[Colin Allen]

30 minutes ago, Tackle said:

If he's that kinda guy, & i mean it the nicest way, he needs to swallow his pride or park his ego, if he's going to survive & prosper, the fact that he's previously asked you to Marshall for him shows an element of trust, maybe its worth having another go at constructive critique, if not in person then a call or maybe even an email, explaining where you think he's gone wrong with the layout & how he could gradually improve it, maybe by recycling or reconfiguring some of his structures that have negatively affected the games ebb & flow.

Don't get me wrong, don't know the guy, nor have I played his sites, but like you I've played lots of other sites, some great & some dreadful, & sometimes the bad ones have enormous potential but are badly run, crap staff, shite game scenarios, or alternatively amazing enthusiastic staff but the site layout/size/location makes decent play untenable. 

But none of us want to see a sites demise, we've lost too many already to development etc😢, especially cqb themed.

Oh, it isn’t about his pride or ego; it is more about him being one of those really nice old guys that you suspect could rip you apart with his bare hands and dispose of you so that you would never be found :).  He is a lovely bloke but as hard as nails.

 

I am now aware that a discussion about the layout of the site is currently ongoing.

Edited 3 hours ago by Colin Allen