Se Tour Review: Ambush Airsoft Cobham (Surrey)

[Asomodai]

Site Name: Ambush Airsoft 

Contact details: 07903880042

Website Address: https://www.ambushairsoft.co.uk
Facebook Page: Ambush Airsoft | Facebook

Site Address: Brick Kiln Farm, Old Lane, Ockham, Cobham, KT11 1NL

 

Popped along on my lonesome to Ambush Airsoft on 16/05/2021. This is NOT the old Campaign site. Ambush recently gained the lease for the old Delta Paintball site that is across the road from Campaign. So the site is relatively new to the people running the day. 

 

Ambush Airsoft is your typical, if slightly overgrown ex paintball site. Multiple small zones separated out by fenced off paths. 

 

As it's a new site, there are no reviews so to speak out there, so figured getting one into the SE Tour would be a start. 

 

This is a small woodland site with some buildings, including the signature church and castle and a non running double decker bus. No real elevation so to speak, nor water features. Short/Medium engagement distance throughout. 

 

Good:

 

Playing Area: Was the best part of the site, though I felt it was utilised poorly. There are a couple of well built large buildings including a two story church with pews and tower. There is also a small castle and village section. Some places are overgrown but added to the area in a positive area.

 

There is a section with a gutted double decker bus surrounded by various obstacles. 

 

There is a large "Stockade" which is used for small and short games, which splits the field in half. Which was very well built. 

 

Value: Good value at £25 for the day including a free burger for lunch (I got two as they were going to be chucked out). 

 

Turn around time: Reasonably good turn around time, I was pretty knackered come the end and marshals kept putting on games despite chucking down cats and dogs all day. 

 

Chrono: Was good, everything was tested and marked. Usual 350 AEG/450 DMR/500 BASR. Chronoed on your own bb weight. 

 

Safe Zone: Large split safe zone with car park in the middle. All the tables and chairs were under cover. Very few players on the day so plenty of room. 

 

Average: 

 

Marshalling: Only one, sometimes two marshals throughout the day, the site has such small zones it's all that is required. Guy was friendly and took constructive criticism well. Could have changed the teams up a little bit. 

 

Safety Brief: Short and sweet. Covered everything. Usual Airsoft cringe gallows humour. 

 

Game Modes: Were fairly basic, mostly attack/defend games with a capture the flag game mode. Worked fine considering the small size of the zones.

 

Car Park/Entrance: A long muddy driveway that got worse as the rain came down during the day. Follow the obvious path down. The entrance to the site is signposted. Car parking is adequate and right next o the safe zone. 

 

Toilets: Three portaloos. They all smelt pretty bad, probably didn't help with all the rain. Didn't dare go in! At least there are three of them! 

 

Food: Burger was included in the price which was good. Though I didn't inquire if there was an alternative. Nothing obvious though. 

 

Bad: 

 

Clientele: It wasn't "All" bad. But there were very few people turn up on the day. With so few people on your side, it only takes some people not playing for the objective and just muck about, to essentially lose the game before it even kicks off. I am all for having a laugh, but not at the teams expense. They were referencing and were clearly a fan of a Forum/Facebook Airsoft/Comedy/Authority celebrity. In fact they may even be a member here. 

 

Hit taking: Frankly awful, some of the worst I have personally experienced. A couple of instances of blatant cheating. I shot someone who I believe works at the site in the leg whilst I was hiding in the brush. BB Bounced off the leg, player flinched, looked down at their leg for a few seconds, brushed at it with their hand, then just kept shooting. As in the safety brief, even if you aren't 100% sure you got hit, take it anyway.  It took me a couple of extra shots to get them to take the hit. Sadly the extra shots gave my position away to someone in the other direction.

 

Another situation, CQB, ultra close range. I fired at someone through a doorway whilst they were looking the other way, bb bouncing off of their vest. They turned around and shot me, claimed that I dry fired. Note I shot with a GBBP. If I dry fired or ran out of ammo, the slide would have locked back. I showed them that, rattled off two more shots and then it locked back on empty. They still insisted I dry fired and carried on. 

Another situation, enemy player firing through a gap in the stockade wood that smaller then an A4 sized paper (Not allowed) I fired back at them, watching BB's pinging off them, guy clearly getting frustrated, maybe 10 or so landed without taking their hit. They fired back at me, I immediately took my hit and walked off. Complained to the marshal and the guy left early after one more round. The guy was a known regular. 

 

I was accidently killing my own team coming up the top of the stairs on the bus, even pointed out to the marshal. My own team weren't even calling their hits. No wonders the enemy team weren't either!

 

Last game I played, last man standing, hiding behind a barrier. I knew the enemy was all around me, within 10-15 metres. I went full on rambo and let off at least 10 shots directly at multiple players before they realised where the fire was coming from, this was at a distance I couldn't miss. No kills whatsoever. A guy who was watching me who was already claimed I had hit at least 3 of them and couldn't believe they didn't call it. 

 

So really bad experience. Two people who I had chatted to throughout the day were independently complaining about how bad it was throughout the day and both left early and vowed not to return. 

 

Shop: Very little on offer. Didn't get a good look. 

 

Poor implementation: It's a new site, but it is obvious at least two of the 4 zones we played are too short for airsoft distances as the respawns were in range of each other. The wire fencing between zones has to be removed and just use the entire site at once. I hear that this will happen soon. 

 

Conclusion: 

 

A real struggle of a day and probably the worst day of Airsofting I have been to in some time. The playing area has good potential, but it would have taken so little effort to open up the zones into one big playing area. 

 

Hit taking and clientele were pretty bad. 

 

I probably wont be back, There are many other sites between myself and Chobham that do the same thing but better. Campaign, the site they used to own is still being run by the landlords at least once a month and from what I hear is a better site at time of writing. 

 

Bullpup Watch: Famas and SRS. 

 

Best Guess Map: 

Edited May 29, 2021 by Asomodai

[Hatchet]

Cobham, not Chobham. Other than that, yeah. I've played there but it was a Saturday so hard to judge numbers and got the impression they'd just taken over so I cut some slack in terms of small paintball playing arenas.

 

Feedback seemed well received, but not sure if this has been acted on based on subsequent reports.

[Stodgy]

I was at both days mentioned and totally agree with the review. None of the feedback has actually been implemented which I hasten to add was extremely constructive and well intentioned. 
 

Some of the rules are also poorly implemented. One being no solid pyro to be above waste height. But if your on the first floor it’s ok to drop it down but you can’t throw back up. Makes no sense whatsoever and causes games to stall with no hope of clearing buildings which has netting around the raised walkway which you can’t shoot through. 
 

The other thing that bugs me is that inside it’s semi auto only. Alas one of the player marshalls had a binary trigger which is certainly not in the spirit of semi only. 
 

Its a shame as it could be a really good site. But if they carry on as they are I suspect it will struggle and just carry on as it is. 

[Danno46]

So is this the same guys running Ambush who used to run the Chobham site and the sites that used to be in Aldershot? 
 

 

[Asomodai]

On 02/06/2021 at 16:53, Danno46 said:

So is this the same guys running Ambush who used to run the Chobham site and the sites that used to be in Aldershot? 
 

 

 

Not sure about Aldershot, but yes to the Cobham Campaign site. 

[Jaylordofwaargh]

So, a 'player marshal' on days where an actual marshal is needed to help people call their hits.....

 

Now, a marshal that takes off their highvis or lobs a pyro to help a team through a choke point that they are stuck at (really stuck) im ok with. 

This behaviour is detrimental to  business.