Creating my own battlefield

[mowgo]

hi Guys,

 

I'm a total beginner and know very little about airsoft. Years ago I had a go at paintballing and really enjoyed it, but prefer the idea of a much longer tactical game etc.

 

Anyway I have now decided to get into this sport and also happen to live on a 50 acre farm (lots of farm sheds and small fields, although no woodland). Do you think I could buy some guns and create my own 'play area' with a few mates. I'm also into bushcraft and particularly like the idea of combining overnight camps etc.

 

Bearing in mind I'm completely new to this, can anyone give any thoughts or ideas?

 

I'd like to know more about costs involved, considerations (airsoft v laser), types of possible games/strategy etc.

 

Appreciate any thoughts guys!

[Mitchell Gee]

It would be perfectly legal, as long as bystanders have no risk of being shot, your wearing eye protection and no-one is paying any money to play there (do not quote me on this though... i dont want to be responsible for you being escorted to vans with police holding MP5's)

 

Gun wise try something like Classic Army Sportline (Lots of variations, around the £130 mark) and they should be ok...

 

Overnight camps would be great, maybe you could incorporate a Military Simulation essence to it (like use only midcaps, ammo limits, sleep on the field etc.

 

Hope this helped,

Mitchell

[jor7000]

If you do, be sure to add variety to the field. Make some cqb areas especially to mix it up a little.

[skillfulmmd]

If you own the land then you will be able to use it for a nice air soft field but Id make sure to double check with the person whom you purchased the land from and maybe the council as well to make sure your not going to come under any stipulation. Another thing to look out for is the money side of things for starters you won't be able to take money for this field or you will be in deep trouble and also on the creation side of things to make nice cover and to break up the fields shape your going to want to use wooden or metal structures. I'd say your best of going to your local timber yard and looking at the pricing of their wood. If it's to dear and you would rather use scraps and save money ask the timber yard if you can look into using their off cuts and scrap pieces and they will normally get rid off them. I guess your next problem is the equipment it will be easy if all your mates have some but if not you may have to come to an arragement to buy guns or lend them out to them which is going to set you back a lot of money by the end of it.

 

I like the idea of using camp and staying the night as it adds a great element of realism to the skirmish and makes it more fun just make sure that people wear eye protection even in the camp and maybe have a shooting distance rule when in the camp.

 

pop this guy a PM as he works in law and I think he has a lot of experiences with law & airsoft

 

http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/?showuser=2174

[mowgo]

Guys,

 

Thanks for the comments & thoughts. Just to be clear - I'm not trying to make this into a money makng venture. Just looking for an excuse for re-living the cowboys & Indians games form a forgotten youth with a few friends/family.

 

@ Bathat: "midcaps, ammo limits, sleep on the field" Care to elaborate to a newbie?

 

@ Jor: "cqb" Again sorry I'm new. This doens't mean much to me!

 

Thanks fellas again for the ideas etc

[Finius]

Just thought I'd clarify, I don't actually work in law and I never finished qualification. I did however complete first year law at Uni with top marks, which is all you need to be able to understand airsoft/firearms law and advise upon it (once you have the basic skills, it's all research) xD

 

I did help advise on the predicament of U18's and new players during the construction of the VCRA etc.

 

I've got quite a few bits to research, but I'll stick this on my list.

 

From a guess though; as long as it's on private property, which doesn't have public through-ways, isn't massively visible to the public and would in no way pose any risk to law-abiding citizens, and you don't have ANY money or anything else of ANY value changing hands, you can do whatever you want with regards skirmishing (provided you're within the realms of the rest of British law, but it's mostly common sense). That doesn't mean it's as simple as that, what follows are some things you need to consider:

 

I would advise contacting a variety of people in order to confirm risk. You need to identify footpaths near the site, you need to establish a good perimeter fence to prevent people wandering on and catch BBs leaving the area (even if someone is illegally tresspassing, you are NOT indemnified if you shoot and blind them; just shooting them may be enough to see you charged for common assault, or possibly assault with a weapon), you probably wouldn't go wrong informing neighbours and the local police force etc of your intentions, just so they all know if they see/are told about a bunch of nutters running round with guns on X property, they don't send CO19 down to check you out (cause they'll do it wth you at the business end of a G36). Put up signs around your perimeter fence that clearly warn potential tresspassers; Ask your local police if they agree that this is a good idea, and how to word it. You also want to check the deed to the land, make sure there are no restrictions on the building of obstacles etc and the general use of the land (this applies even if you're simply a hobbyist, but it is unlikely you'll find any unreasonable restrictions.

 

Always assume professional practice; eye protection, full face gear for younger players, don't let people in derelict structures etc. Just because it's a casual game with friends and no money is changing hands, doesn't mean you're safe from a lawsuit if someone breaks a bone or it blinded etc. The law does not recognise a mutual friendship as defense from the tort of neglect (causing injury to another through your own neglectful behaviour). I don't quite think you could legally get people to sign a waiver promising not to sue.

 

Also, if a BB leaves your property and hits another, even if it flies through the perimeter fence completely by accident, the firer is still liable, or in this case, being as it'd be hard to find who fired the pellet, probably whoever was responsible for the property.

 

Honestly speaking, people have little "BB Wars" on youtube all the time, we've all seen it, and often they're fine, some even illegaly use public land. Most do not get into any trouble, however, those that do will probably find it changes their lives significantly for the worse for a long time. My honest advice is that with all the problems of law and the potential risks etc, you'd be far better simply finding somewhere to pay to play; all you do is turn up and everything is taken care of.

 

I'll do some proper research in the next 7 days and confirm/modify the above to be accurate with current UK law.

 

Where are you located so that I can check local bylaws?

[skillfulmmd]

Guys,

 

Thanks for the comments & thoughts. Just to be clear - I'm not trying to make this into a money makng venture. Just looking for an excuse for re-living the cowboys & Indians games form a forgotten youth with a few friends/family.

 

@ Bathat: "midcaps, ammo limits, sleep on the field" Care to elaborate to a newbie?

 

@ Jor: "cqb" Again sorry I'm new. This doens't mean much to me!

 

Thanks fellas again for the ideas etc

 

 

Hey Mowgo I understand what your saying I'm just trying to make sure your covered from every angle mate. And a Mid cap is a shortened version of Middle capacity magazine meaning it will be in the middle of how of the series of magazines you also get hi-cap and low-cap magazines and I'm sure you can guess what they do. Ammo limits means you decided on the amount of bullets that one player can carry on them so lets say for instance 500 rounds each this makes for a more realistic game and stops people from hoarding to many magazines. sleep on the field would be a reference to you saying that you liked the idea of bushcraft and this basically points to you doing an all night airsoft game where players will sleep whilst playing. I guess you could use camps and have people alternate whilst sleeping and watching out. And finally CQB stands for Close Quarters Battle meaning that you will playing in very small close areas like an urban environment and if you find a gun that says something like KWA M4 carbine CQB edition then it will specialized at close encounters.

 

Regards

mark

[Airsofter123]

Wow with 50 acres you'd be able to do absolutely loads. I've got about 4 acres, and even that is more than enough. Really what you need is some wooden boards and planks, as these can be used to make really easy, moveable cover, which allows you to change the maps around easily. The best solution here is just to drive down to a local builder supplier, and ask for their used pallets. These are seldom reused, so are usually worthless to them and they'll give them to you for free. Then you just need to find some scrap wood to block up the holes (or hammer 2 pallets together). With this cover you could make the fields far easier to cross etc.

 

If you plan on buying a few guns, I'd recommend buying a bunch of CA M15A4 Sportlines. They're pretty cost effective, and it's a big plus to have all the guns running the same mags and batteries. They're also not too good, which means the need for cover is a bit less.

[Mitchell Gee]

there damn accurate for the price they sell for though

 

As above

 

Mid-cap - Middle Capacity... usually holding 70-150 rounds and don't rattle like hi caps

 

Ammo limit - Makes the game play more realistic, you tend to find that if you give someone lots of ammo and they dont take it seriously people get hurt through people 'blind-firing' over cover and around corners, just to find someone is 2 feet away... it also adds realism, although if you run out of ammo you are pretty screwed... but it also encourages teamwork, such as sharing ammunition and working together to make sure every shot counts etc.

 

Sleeping on the field - like it sounds, although you need to set strict rules on this... i.e must keep face protection on... but i dont agree with this due to people accidently knocking it off... or perhaps a minimum engagement distance... try to find a distance that wont penetrate the tents, then add an extra 5-10 meters on top of that... have the tents already set up as 'bases' and have clear boundaries to mark the minimum engagement distance (perhaps hazard tape or something) or you could have sleeping time... were there is either no engagement or only if the person is awake and not within the boundaries... this can be good as you can set up a ambush during the night so when everyone wakes up and gets out of there nice warm sleeping bags they get an unwelcome greeting...

[Finius]

With regards sleeping, do what Berget do.

 

All tents have an inner-tent section where people sleep and then a thick outer canvas, which is held apart from the inner-tent by about a foot at all points (aside from the front, which has a porch with a bit more room). During "game on" only ONE of the doors may be open at once (like an airlock system), they use fairly thick military tents.

 

All persons must sleep either with eye protection ON, or close by. No shooting into tent doors, no using tents as cover near doors/windows. Knife kills allowed in tents.

[M_P]

I cant see money knocking off a face mask that is designed not to fall off.

I disagree, low caps are much more fun in small games, ammo limits are good, 250-350 is a good number if you intend to have fast paced games and creates a need to play tactically rather than spray and pray.

 

Unless you don't want a milsim lol

[Finius]

I can't particularly see a face mask coming off, but rule 101 of airsoft, above almost everything else, has, or has always seemed to be that you don't do ANYTHING that could even begin to speculate about the merest possibility creating the slightest chance of there being even the most miniscule potential for the risk of getting shot in the eye to occur xD

 

Whatever the odds, I'd never risk it

 

Small capacity mags are great, makes games much more interesting; when you've got maybe half an hour of gametime, and 1000 rounds, everyone just finds fire positions and gets to hosing at where they think other people are.