The 'How Did Your Airsoft Day Go? Thread

[Colin Allen]

10 hours ago, mrfoxhound said:

i did i left them a review, a very constructive one a year ago , nothing has changed , i predicted they would be done with in another year , gone are the days of throwing pallets on a field and taking cash in hand for a days airsofting  

If you regard that review as being very constructive, I think you need to look up the meaning of constructive.  You are sitting at the side and throwing stones.

 

Being constructive would involve engaging with them to discuss the issues that you found and probably suggesting ways of resolving them.  Doing that was what led to Ray offering me a marshaling gig at the old site.  I sent him an email setting out the issues that we had encountered over a few game days and how I thought they could be overcome.  His response was positive and thoughtful.

 

Last time I went to the new site, I had a conversation with Ray about the work being done and why I didn’t see it as positive.  I and others have also engaged with his team.

 

I have done the same at other sites, not because it feeds my ego or anything like that, but because I want great sites to play at.

 

Maybe you could engage in a similar constructive manner.

[Colin Allen]

Regarding Dragon’s Lair, this made me sad today.

 

 

[mrfoxhound]

On 17/10/2025 at 09:33, Colin Allen said:

If you regard that review as being very constructive, I think you need to look up the meaning of constructive.  You are sitting at the side and throwing stones.

 

Being constructive would involve engaging with them to discuss the issues that you found and probably suggesting ways of resolving them.  Doing that was what led to Ray offering me a marshaling gig at the old site.  I sent him an email setting out the issues that we had encountered over a few game days and how I thought they could be overcome.  His response was positive and thoughtful.

 

Last time I went to the new site, I had a conversation with Ray about the work being done and why I didn’t see it as positive.  I and others have also engaged with his team.

 

I have done the same at other sites, not because it feeds my ego or anything like that, but because I want great sites to play at.

 

Maybe you could engage in a similar constructive manner.

you really are an anus 

 in my review i list 

medicre safety brief
marshals lack of control 

chrono practices and why there out of date 

whats bad about the set up of the field 

lack of coordination of site boundary's

and a conclusion , all constructive criticism, you only making disagreements because you don't like me, dragon lair is a shit site and will always be a shit site because ray is gonna do what ray wants and airsoft has moved on ,you never point out the bad practices that is done on sites and this is why 80% of all site in the uk are shit ,its because people dont speak up about the amateur stuff sites do that ruin the reputation of the airsoft hobby  because there is some type of mysticism about running a site.       

 

[Dogsbody100]

Whilst I haven’t been to the new DL site I used to go to the old one and it was pretty good in my opinion.

 

But to say that ‘80% of sites in the uk are shit’? I don’t think so bud. 

[Impulse]

3 hours ago, mrfoxhound said:

because you don't like me

 

But you're so affable...

[The_Lord_Poncho]

Top day on Saturday at Driver Wood - players maybe hovering between 80 - 100. First game was a fallback game - starting in 'the village', then moving onto the trenches field, and ending off on ‘Oxford Street’ complete with double decker busses, black cabs etc. We were the attacking team with unlimited re-spawn, the defenders were limited to 50 re-spawns on each field. For the first time in a while, I really enjoyed this game - the KC02 recently purchased from the classified section was incredible. The usual stalemate and lack of movement that this game  mode can suffer from seemed to be solved in this instance – possibly due to the slightly lower numbers, and partly due to the additional aggression and urgency within the attacking team.

 

Second game of the morning used the main area of the site, and saw me swapping to the upgraded L96 – probably one of most profitable sessions as a sniper that I have had actually. I sacked off any form of ghillie suit, with full reliance of the multicam tropic to do its stuff amongst the Rhododendrons, and focused on plenty of movement to get into advantageous positions. The L96 was shooting absolutely beautifully – it’s a while since I played with it, and the maple leaf bucking must be at least 5 years old now, so I had worried that it would be beyond its best.

 

After lunch, we moved onto a game whereby teams had to locate a satellite dish hidden within the site, and take it to various objectives. I swapped to my recently built M723 for this game – which again, was performing phenomenally. The satisfaction that comes from building a gun from a variety of parts – some new, some old – and then have it work flawlessly on its maiden voyage is immense. I got team killed a few times on this game which is frustrating – but one of the down sides of being on the purple team. The darker arm bands are great for camo, but also make it more likely your own team will light you up.

 

Second game of the afternoon involved the teams collecting bones hidden around the site, and then assembling as much of a complete skeleton as possible within their bases. Bases could be attacked,  and bones captured from the other team. Mid-way through, we got word that the Greens had the majority of the bones, so Purple teams’ focus shifted to a relentless assault on the green base. Unfortunately the defence was solid, and whilst we were making progress, the game ended before we could dislodge all of the attackers. Final two games of the day were short games of ‘zombie ‘ – all players holed up inside a large two story structure known as the ‘fortress’, with a few players outside ‘the zombies’. As soon as you are hit, you spawn a short distance from the building and join the zombies. Surprisingly good fun – and the sound of the metal glad walls of the fortress being liberally sprayed from one of the zombies LMGs really added to the flavour. As I was rocking a DMR in the final part of the afternoon, I switched to my AAP – and managed to pick off a handful of zombies at the foot of the fortresses walls before the inevitable happened.

 

A cracking day, superbly marshalled, with all players appearing in good spirits. No hit taking issues as far as I could tell. The site seems to have lots of investment put into it, with a large number of new buildings being constructed, including a new ‘church’ in the village.

[mrfoxhound]

2 hours ago, Dogsbody100 said:

Whilst I haven’t been to the new DL site I used to go to the old one and it was pretty good in my opinion.

 

But to say that ‘80% of sites in the uk are shit’? I don’t think so bud. 

i think thats a reasonable number  

[Colin Allen]

4 hours ago, mrfoxhound said:

you really are an anus 

 in my review i list 

medicre safety brief
marshals lack of control 

chrono practices and why there out of date 

whats bad about the set up of the field 

lack of coordination of site boundary's

and a conclusion , all constructive criticism, you only making disagreements because you don't like me, dragon lair is a shit site and will always be a shit site because ray is gonna do what ray wants and airsoft has moved on ,you never point out the bad practices that is done on sites and this is why 80% of all site in the uk are shit ,its because people dont speak up about the amateur stuff sites do that ruin the reputation of the airsoft hobby  because there is some type of mysticism about running a site.       

 

Thanks for that little rant; it says so much about you, none of it positive.  When I write about my airsoft days, I focus on the gameplay.  I am not writing a review; there is a separate section on here for that.

 

You have either totally ignored what I wrote about being constructive or have not understood it.  I talk to site owners about issues so that they can decide what, if anything, to do about them.  

 

i don’t know you so I can neither like nor dislike you.

Edited Monday at 08:40 by Colin Allen

[Colin Allen]

2 hours ago, The_Lord_Poncho said:

Top day on Saturday at Driver Wood - players maybe hovering between 80 - 100. First game was a fallback game - starting in 'the village', then moving onto the trenches field, and ending off on ‘Oxford Street’ complete with double decker busses, black cabs etc. We were the attacking team with unlimited re-spawn, the defenders were limited to 50 re-spawns on each field. For the first time in a while, I really enjoyed this game - the KC02 recently purchased from the classified section was incredible. The usual stalemate and lack of movement that this game  mode can suffer from seemed to be solved in this instance – possibly due to the slightly lower numbers, and partly due to the additional aggression and urgency within the attacking team.

 

 

 

Second game of the morning used the main area of the site, and saw me swapping to the upgraded L96 – probably one of most profitable sessions as a sniper that I have had actually. I sacked off any form of ghillie suit, with full reliance of the multicam tropic to do its stuff amongst the Rhododendrons, and focused on plenty of movement to get into advantageous positions. The L96 was shooting absolutely beautifully – it’s a while since I played with it, and the maple leaf bucking must be at least 5 years old now, so I had worried that it would be beyond its best.

 

 

 

After lunch, we moved onto a game whereby teams had to locate a satellite dish hidden within the site, and take it to various objectives. I swapped to my recently built M723 for this game – which again, was performing phenomenally. The satisfaction that comes from building a gun from a variety of parts – some new, some old – and then have it work flawlessly on its maiden voyage is immense. I got team killed a few times on this game which is frustrating – but one of the down sides of being on the purple team. The darker arm bands are great for camo, but also make it more likely your own team will light you up.

 

 

 

Second game of the afternoon involved the teams collecting bones hidden around the site, and then assembling as much of a complete skeleton as possible within their bases. Bases could be attacked,  and bones captured from the other team. Mid-way through, we got word that the Greens had the majority of the bones, so Purple teams’ focus shifted to a relentless assault on the green base. Unfortunately the defence was solid, and whilst we were making progress, the game ended before we could dislodge all of the attackers. Final two games of the day were short games of ‘zombie ‘ – all players holed up inside a large two story structure known as the ‘fortress’, with a few players outside ‘the zombies’. As soon as you are hit, you spawn a short distance from the building and join the zombies. Surprisingly good fun – and the sound of the metal glad walls of the fortress being liberally sprayed from one of the zombies LMGs really added to the flavour. As I was rocking a DMR in the final part of the afternoon, I switched to my AAP – and managed to pick off a handful of zombies at the foot of the fortresses walls before the inevitable happened.

 

 

 

A cracking day, superbly marshalled, with all players appearing in good spirits. No hit taking issues as far as I could tell. The site seems to have lots of investment put into it, with a large number of new buildings being constructed, including a new ‘church’ in the village.

 

That does sound like a good day; I should probably give Driver Wood another try.

[Tackle]

Guys, no personal attacks please.

Very few sites are shit, how they're run is often the issue, 

BUT

Usually the biggest problem are some of the players themselves, wannabe tough guys/teams with overinflated ego's that think they're better than they actually are, or downright cheats, & if a site fails to quickly nip this shit in the bud, a poor site reputation soon follows.

[Dogsbody100]

I really would like to give Driver Wood a spin as it looks great and gets good feedback on here, always a fairly anccurate indicator I feel.

 

Now, the only reason I won’t is because of the ‘not allowed to bring your own food’ rule he runs there.

 

This may sound petty to many and I understand that completely, it’s also the owners site and he is naturally entitled to make any rules he likes however I feel that’s a very outdated and unnecessary policy these days, nonone

else I’ve ever visited does this. 

 

I would have far more understanding if he was running a restaurant and people were bringing in maccy d’s all the time….

 

Anyhoo, big shame as again, it’s meant to be a pretty awesome site. 

[Tackle]

6 minutes ago, Dogsbody100 said:

I really would like to give Driver Wood a spin as it looks great and gets good feedback on here, always a fairly anccurate indicator I feel.

 

Now, the only reason I won’t is because of the ‘not allowed to bring your own food’ rule he runs there.

 

This may sound petty to many and I understand that completely, it’s also the owners site and he is naturally entitled to make any rules he likes however I feel that’s a very outdated and unnecessary policy these days, nonone

else I’ve ever visited does this. 

 

I would have far more understanding if he was running a restaurant and people were bringing in maccy d’s all the time….

 

Anyhoo, big shame as again, it’s meant to be a pretty awesome site. 

So what about people with specific dietary needs, gastrointestinal issues like ibs or diverticular disease ?, i get it, he's a greedy cnut, but if you cant eat what their offering, are you expected to go hungry for the day.

Feck that, tell me what I can or cant do when it comes to safety or gameplay, but not what I can eat.

He can stick his site up his arse🍑

[Mtemprell]

30 minutes ago, Dogsbody100 said:

Now, the only reason I won’t is because of the ‘not allowed to bring your own food’ rule he runs there.

 

That's a shit rule. I like to have my own snap, always pack sandwiches or something of the like, and if a site says I can't do that I just see it as money grabbing as they are more bothered about making cash off their customers who have already paid a bit to be there. 

 

My brother-in-law has severe allergies and can't have a lot of food or food that has even been in the vicinity of cheese otherwise he goes in anaphylactic shock, so if they are doing cheese burgers that day he can't have anything off the grill so it's best he brings his own snap that he knows what's in it and 

[Lyndication]

That is a really dumb rule. Does it cover drinks as well? I always bring a thermos of tea, especially on a cold day. And an electrolyte drink for the end of the day. 

 

I don't eat meat so I just bring my own cheese sarnie for lunch, and a snack bar to stash in a spare pouch. 

 

 

[Dogsbody100]

When it comes to allergies and reasons like that I thought they were excused on this rule but looking at the website it doesn’t make that clear, I’d like to think they would. 
 

It’d be even more of a pants rule if they wouldn’t. 

[Tackle]

43 minutes ago, Dogsbody100 said:

When it comes to allergies and reasons like that I thought they were excused on this rule but looking at the website it doesn’t make that clear, I’d like to think they would. 
 

It’d be even more of a pants rule if they wouldn’t. 

Even if it wasn't allergy related etc, some people like to know what they're eating, & might not fancy cock & bollocks chicken nuggets, or minced arsehole burgers 🤮.

What next, you can only use the BB's he sells 😬

[Mtemprell]

3 minutes ago, Tackle said:

Even if it wasn't allergy related etc, some people like to know what they're eating, & might not fancy cock & bollocks chicken nuggets, or minced arsehole burgers 🤮.

What next, you can only use the BB's he sells 😬

Or next hell move to a rental only site. Can only use his guns. Put a meter on the toilet like at the sea side so 50p for a piss. 

[Lyndication]

There's a wheel in the toilet that spins like the wheel in an electric meter. You see the total running up as you go.

[Cannonfodder]

My only trip to driver wood gave me the impression the owner tries to squeeze every penny out of his customers as possible 

[Dogsbody100]

4 hours ago, Tackle said:

Even if it wasn't allergy related etc, some people like to know what they're eating, & might not fancy cock & bollocks chicken nuggets, or minced arsehole burgers 🤮.

What next, you can only use the BB's he sells 😬

😂😂😂 that’s done me that has 😂😂 

 

Incidentally that’s one of the reasons I don’t like the rule, I’ve eaten enough of all those choice delicacies in the army, I don’t need no more 😂 

 

Joking aside if you have a medical reason you can’t eat anything you like then it’s not the most fun, my Mrs has this issue, you wouldn’t believe the shite she has to go through to find things she can have! 
 

[Mtemprell]

Just read through their full t&c and rules and I get the feeling it's a site that doesn't speak to me. What's all this about barrell socks must be worn, I have never played a site that requires this and has trust everyone has fully downloaded their weapons. 

[The_Lord_Poncho]

To be fair, the barrel sock rule is something I fully support. Anything that makes the safezone safer for my eyes gets my vote. It's a very big safe zone, and with the best will in the world the marshals can't be across the 100+ players full time to ensure no idiotic episodes.

 

The own food rule is a bit tight, I agree. To be honest, there are loads of gel blaster etc kids birthday parties going on there at the same time, so I suspect the rule is more squarely aimed at them. I can't see anyone really pulling you up for cracking on with a sandwich etc. I happily drank my flask of coffee whilst chatting with the owner the other week .

[Cannonfodder]

13 minutes ago, Mtemprell said:

Just read through their full t&c and rules and I get the feeling it's a site that doesn't speak to me. What's all this about barrell socks must be worn, I have never played a site that requires this and has trust everyone has fully downloaded their weapons. 

That's one thing which tripped me up. Arriving late I missed the safety brief so I didn't know about that rule. I agree with it as it's an extra layer of safety, but what I didn't like was that when I was pulled up for it I mentioned that it wasn't on the website, just to get a curt "it's on the Facebook page". The same member of staff didn't look too happy when rather than give them any more money I used one of the spare pair of hiking socks i kept in my kit bag 

[ButcherBill]

4 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

I used one of the spare pair of hiking socks i kept in my kit bag

They should be relieved you used the 'spare' one.

[Colin Allen]

44 minutes ago, Mtemprell said:

Just read through their full t&c and rules and I get the feeling it's a site that doesn't speak to me. What's all this about barrell socks must be worn, I have never played a site that requires this and has trust everyone has fully downloaded their weapons. 

I really like sites that require barrel socks; it is a level of protection against the retards, as long as it is actually implemented.