When was the 'Golden Age' of airsoft?

[hitmanNo2]

6 hours ago, alxndrhll said:

Biggest 'issue' I've seen creeping in more and more is how stand off-ish and 'clique-y' it's become. Everyone seemingly wants to find a reason to hate everyone else that isn't in the group they play with, and has an attitude going in to playing that it's going to be shit. Not that the latter is anything new, airsofters hating airsoft is a founding pillar of the hobby... for reasons unknown to me.

Maybe I've been lucky but I've been into airsoft since around 2001 and just started doing milsims in 2021/2022 but I've found everyone to be pretty chill for the most part.  I was put off milsims for quite a while as it seemed a little...try hard I guess but they're a lot of fun.  Maybe it's because I always play opfor (opfor, best for), but everyone seems really nice and happy to chat shit about gear or whatever.  At the end of the day, we're adults playing with toys in the woods.  If you take it too seriously, you're doing it wrong.  Take note TF.  If we're 10 mins into a weekend and someone from opfor walks up to you with no gun or whatever, hold off on the "STAY BACK" BS.  Be cool FFS.

[C-Diddy]

I've not been playing that long, starting in 2018. In that short time I've definitely seen changes; some good, some not so good, for me personally. 

 

There's certainly more people involved now, which has to be a good thing. There also seems to be more diversity in the players, with more females and younger players making up the numbers, which, again, is great to see.

 

From talking to the old and bold players, and as has been mentioned in the posts above, the quality of the RIFs have improved a lot too. It's a shame that  prices have increased, some quite dramatically, in the post-Covid, post-Brexit era, but that's par for the course in the current climate. My biggest bug bear with this is the lack of availability now. Restocks take ages to come through, but remaining positive, things are slowly easing on that front.

 

I'm not a fan of the influx of speedsofters I've seen recently, bombing all over the site with binary triggers, hoses and Dye masks, blasting 50 rounds a second of drum-mag braaaaaat-ta-tat-tat everywhere, but that's just me. I'm a more traditional, like my RIFs to be based on actual firearms, woodland, semi-auto firing 40-something, so it's not for me. I don't resent them on the field though. If anything, it motivates me to try harder and shoot the bendy little bastards!

 

The social media, YouTube thing is interesting. I follow the channels more in line with my approach to airsofting; AATV, Ollie Talks Airsoft etc. My son and his friends, who are all around 13 years old and have just started the hobby, are more inclined to watch people like KM and his limpet-like 'mate' Names Nicco. Thankfully, having experienced what gameplay is actually like, they know that that is not how it is. It is frustrating that people like KM have such a large audience that, to non-airsoft folk, they think that's what it, and by extension, us, are all like. That's the power of click-bait titles though.

 

While I don't feel I have been in the game long enough to comment on a golden age, I play and enjoy it more now than ever before. Having the boy come along now is a undoubtedly a part of that, but I do try and chat to other players much more as, on the whole, we're all a friendly bunch who love showing off our gear. 

 

There are a lot of comments about non-hit takers, but I suspect this has been prevalent for a good while, and depends on the quality of the staff on site. It's unlikely we'll get rid of them so, much like the classic egg-on-legs shouting for you to "push up at the front!" while they're blowing out their arse yards behind you, it's a part of the game. You can either get flashed up by it and tell old war stories about how it was much better 'back in the day' or ignore it and concentrate on having fun.

 

I tend to think if more people did that, there wouldn't be a 'Golden Age'; it would just be the standard airsoft experience. Then again, I am cracking on a bit now, so should probably go for a lie down. 

[MrTea]

56 minutes ago, C-Diddy said:

My son and his friends, who are all around 13 years old and have just started the hobby, are more inclined to watch people like KM and his limpet-like 'mate' Names Nicco. Thankfully, having experienced what gameplay is actually like, they know that that is not how it is.

 

Coming into airsoft late gifted me a much more realistic expectation of the hobby. I knew the popular airsoft videos weren't going to be a real depiction of airsoft but holy shit, I didn't realise how bad it was until I played at a couple different fields. I much prefer the airsoft content creators who are more bothered about showing off new/cool fields, guns/gear or just having a giggle with memes/jokes.

 

Cannot stand the likes of KM or NamesNicco whos whole personality appears to revolve around him being an ex squaddie and thats it. The majority of airsoft youtubers rub me up the wrong way because it doesn't show the average player experience.

Edited February 17, 2023 by MrTea

[Rogerborg]

8 hours ago, Terry_Rist said:

you are still stuck with the disadvantages that come with adhering to DMR rules

 

More-what-you'd-call-guidelines.

[Hudson]

For me, it was the mid to late 2000s.

 

I was fortunate enough to experience the days of Lightfighter Airsoft in Yorkshire; primarily the fantastic Clay Wheels site in Sheffield.

 

It was, and still is to this day, the best site I've been to.

 

A large, built-up industrial site ran by competent staff who actually cared about Airsoft.

They'd run decent, well-thought out days that could range from normal open days to dedicated theme days, and in-between.

 

Numbers were good, but not over-the-top. You never felt like sardines.

 

Contrast it to today, and unfortunately, very little remains in the majority of sites I go to now.

 

Many tend to be your standard paintball style woodland sites with open, bare ground and wooden or tyre barricades, or they're wooden CQB speedsoft fests.

And player numbers can often be way too high for the size of the site; higher running costs obviously mean that owners will be looking to do everything they can to pay the bills.

 

I still enjoy it somewhat, but the shine it used to have for me is long gone unfortunately.

 

[Dentonboy]

Some further observations:

 

IMHO, shouting on about "not taking hits" has been an occurance since I started in the mid-00s. I am more surprised if I don't hear it on a game day.

 

What has changed in my mind is the level of aggression that I see at sites. I wrote about it here (shameless plug): https://thegearconfessional.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/chapter-37-why-so-serious/

I cannot stand this side of things. When I started, I would say a typical day comprised 75% geeks (myself included), 10% impressionists and 15% rentals. The geeks would tinker away at their non-functioning Tanaka gas rifle, or compare slings and swap stories about how a girl once spoke to them. The impressionists wore UCP and fired their CA M249s from the shoulder. The rentals were inquisitive and game for a laugh. The game days were usually good-tempered, respectful events.

 

Now, not so much. The geek element has practically gone now that I've seen, maybe 5% of true geek players now are snipers tweaking their über rifles. 40% are impressionists, although most are geeks at heart. 30% of players now seem to be Monster drinking, loud mouth characters who'd look more at home watching Millwall play. The remaining 25% are rentals; either kids that look barely 13 or people on a stag (who fall into the Millwall fan catagory). I probably fall into the impressionists catagory - purely because I was fed up of cheap clone stuff breaking and had enough disposable income to buy RS kit when I found it cheap enough (sounds like a blog idea...).

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by Dentonboy

[Duff Beer]

For me the golden age for a lot of things was the early to mid 2000’s.  There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the quality of the guns, gear, and tactics is significantly better now than it was then, but the sport’s a little bit too ‘pro’ now.

 

I started playing in 2004, and back then it was a bit more ‘underground’ a bit more amateur (in a positive way).  Information was gained through forums, and there was a real sense of community.  Everyone knew everyone at the sites on first name terms, and there was a lot more trust about chronoing and general play.  People who has worked on their guns since the last game were keen to show off their work (usually a “look it does 16RPS now instead of 12!) and that was when they got chrono’d.  Hit taking wasn’t an issue (not that I find it is too much these days anyway, but that could be because of the sites I go to), and deliberate headshots were frowned upon.

 

There was more variation of kit and camo in the safezone too.  It was a time before Multicam was a true thing, so you’d have almost everything represented.  At Dover we had DPM, Fleckmuster, Australian, Cypriot, Flecktarn, US Woodland, UCP, M84, CADPAT, and civvies.  Guns were just as varied with an AR platform being at max a third of the players.  When was the last time you saw a P90 with a box mag in the field?  Pistols were just as varied as camo patterns with people running all sorts.  Has anyone seen an FN57 recently?  What about a P99?  There was a time when USPC’s and P226’s were all the rage, but Glock users were the minority (though you’d always get someone dual wielding G18C’s). 
 

Fully auto in CQB was also a thing.  I suspect the combination of 1J max, low rates of fire, and 0.25g being the heaviest ammo people would run being a factor.  You didn’t have HPA or DSG builds lobbing 30-40RPS down range to worry about.  Yeah you’d always have the couple of guys that took it a bit too seriously when room clearing, but a 12 gauge dynatech (over arm!) usually calmed them down.

 

As YouTube wasn’t a thing the tactical knowledge and general skill base of players was a bit more polarised.  There were the regular players/teams who usually had someone ex-military or armed plod who would teach them a few bits, but the rest was down to people reading and researching.  The better players used to take rentals/newbies under their wing and show them a few things during the games, and that’s something I don’t see anymore at the sites.  Little stuff like waiting a bit longer for the opposition to get closer before engaging, or standing back a bit off cover to give yourself room to peek out with the weapon up was shown in the first round.  There seemed to be more team play too.  I guess it’s easier to huddle a group of 30 players before a round then 75.

 

All of that being said, I suspect a lot of it is rose tinted mesh masks.  Scraping together the money to buy more ammunition because I was a poor student, and only getting new gear when birthday’s or Christmas came around was tough.  Tappet plate failures could mean financial ruin, and getting to games was dependent on the goodwill of teammates and the promise to buy them a hotdog at lunch.  It was a fun time though, and I wouldn’t trade the memories for anything.

 

“What am bestest Famas?”
 

[Dentonboy]

Yeah, camouflage options...

 

CADPAT or Danish were incredible to see.

 

DPM, Flecktarn, US Woodland and French were the most commonly seen (or not...).

 

MARPAT and UCP were the Gucci choices.

 

I went DCU/Night Camo for years, then the MultiCam pull got me.

 

I reckon 2007 was when MultiCam really took off. I had a Chinese clone set in 2006 that faded (still in my folks' loft) and I didn't wear it a lot after that.

 

As said, these days it is mainly MTP (why not?! Surplus gear is so cheap) and MultiCam. You sometimes see a bit of Italian Vegetato, a pinch of DPM and a sprinkling of Flecktarn, and that is it.

 

My go-to for my last few games has been Ranger Green.

[Impulse]

14 hours ago, hitmanNo2 said:

Maybe I've been lucky but I've been into airsoft since around 2001 and just started doing milsims in 2021/2022 but I've found everyone to be pretty chill for the most part.  I was put off milsims for quite a while as it seemed a little...try hard I guess but they're a lot of fun.  Maybe it's because I always play opfor (opfor, best for), but everyone seems really nice and happy to chat shit about gear or whatever.  At the end of the day, we're adults playing with toys in the woods.  If you take it too seriously, you're doing it wrong.  Take note TF.  If we're 10 mins into a weekend and someone from opfor walks up to you with no gun or whatever, hold off on the "STAY BACK" BS.  Be cool FFS.

 

Yeah, that was my experience too. At the milsim I attended, the OpFor guys were really chill whilst the TF guys were... um... yeah. I find it can bleed over into the filmsim stuff as I think it's a certain elite-tacticool-oper8r mindset that draws people to that side, but it's not nearly as bad. At the Vietnam games I go to, literally all of the PAVN/VC guys are super chill and up for a laugh, whilst on the US/AUS side there are definitely some great guys who are super chill and up for a laugh, but there are also some who have a stick so far up their butt I'm surprised they can crouch in game. At the end of the day it's BB wars with varying levels of LARP. Like... you can't take yourself that seriously 😂

 

 

29 minutes ago, Duff Beer said:

Words that I agree with

 

 

Pretty much the same as me, but since you started only a year before I did it makes sense that our experiences would line up. Nowadays all I see is multicam/MTP (makes sense, it's dirt cheap) so when I show up in my MARPATs it makes me feel like a special little snowflake. I do need to get my hands on some desert MARPAT at some point, but finding it in my size is a real effort.

 

You're right in terms of the knowledge aspect too. I remember having a look around as a teenager and finding the US Army sniper training field manual as a PDF, then proceeding to learn through experience what worked and what didn't apply for airsoft. It was super fun and honestly I think I'm a better player for it. People are always amazed at my local site when I am basically invisible wearing no camo during the summer months and too many snipers rely on these super gucci leaf suits now to stay hidden when other players are nearby. Helps me stay hidden during Vietnam games too, since black pyjamas aren't the best camo  

 

I think the time we start airsoft definitely influences our decisions even today. I still love my classical style rifles (m700s, m14s etc) because I started airsoft around the time of Black Hawk Down and CoD4 (All Ghillied Up!) and those two pieces of media heavily influenced me getting into sniping in airsoft; my first RIF was a Warrior L96. Yes, I did the thing we tell everyone not to do and I bought a bolt action as my first gun and I loved it. My early go-to loadout in airsoft was an m14 at DMR power and m1911 because of Black Hawk Down and... I still use that combination sometimes to this day, though I am looking at sourcing a G&P m14 DMR stock for my HPA TM m14 because I want to be a unicorn (I have literally never seen anyone using one ever).

[JustMark]

1 hour ago, Duff Beer said:

The better players used to take rentals/newbies under their wing and show them a few things during the games, and that’s something I don’t see anymore at the sites.  Little stuff like waiting a bit longer for the opposition to get closer before engaging, or standing back a bit off cover to give yourself room to peek out with the weapon up was shown in the first round.  There seemed to be more team play too.

 

Yeah, as a new player myself I can attest to this, to the extent that my first session I felt like it was potentially not something I wanted to bother with.  Glad I stuck with it though and went off to figure out what I could do to feel less like a moving target...

 

[Danno46]

Ahh the ye olde worlde days, when UKAN and Arnies was the font of all knowledge, Wolf Armouries was about the only real shop you could go into, spent hours on Airsoft Dynamics website or Den Trinity, Guns’n’Guys, UN Company 

 

And  the only bb’s you could get was Excel 0.2’s !!

[Dentonboy]

28 minutes ago, Danno46 said:

Ahh the ye olde worlde days, when UKAN and Arnies was the font of all knowledge, Wolf Armouries was about the only real shop you could go into, spent hours on Airsoft Dynamics website or Den Trinity, Guns’n’Guys, UN Company 

 

And  the only bb’s you could get was Excel 0.2’s !!

 

I may be wrong, but didn't Airsoft Dynamics implode spectacularly, with unfulfilled orders, people losing money left-right-and-centre..?!

 

Still, no Special Airsoft Supplies...

[Duff Beer]

40 minutes ago, Danno46 said:

Ahh the ye olde worlde days, when UKAN and Arnies was the font of all knowledge, Wolf Armouries was about the only real shop you could go into, spent hours on Airsoft Dynamics website or Den Trinity, Guns’n’Guys, UN Company 

 

And  the only bb’s you could get was Excel 0.2’s !!

I was always (and still am) an Arnies user.  I remember when Zeroone was a warehouse only, and Airsoft World was Airsoft Scotland.  
 

I was contrary and ran 0.23g Excel’s.  I’ve still got about 4000 rounds of Super Grand Master 0.29g as well which I use up the L96.  
 

2 hours ago, JustMark said:

Yeah, as a new player myself I can attest to this, to the extent that my first session I felt like it was potentially not something I wanted to bother with.  Glad I stuck with it though and went off to figure out what I could do to feel less like a moving target...

 

I’m pleased you stuck with it!

[hitmanNo2]

20 minutes ago, Dentonboy said:

I may be wrong, but didn't Airsoft Dynamics implode spectacularly, with unfulfilled orders, people losing money left-right-and-centre..?!

 

Still, no Special Airsoft Supplies...

Yup.  Airsoft Dynamics exited the scene rather badly.  Still, I wasted lots of time looking at their site during lunch on my school's computers.  Back when you could look at any gun stuff on the school network without it being blocked.

 

I remember seeing the photos to pre order the TM G36C and thinking it looked impossibly cool.

[BigStew]

11 minutes ago, hitmanNo2 said:

Yup.  Airsoft Dynamics exited the scene rather badly.  Still, I wasted lots of time looking at their site during lunch on my school's computers.  Back when you could look at any gun stuff on the school network without it being blocked.

 

I remember seeing the photos to pre order the TM G36C and thinking it looked impossibly cool.

From what i remember he was a bedroom drop shipper that didn't under stand tax had to be paid. bought my 1st GBB from airsoft Dynamics KSC G18C.

[mightyjebus]

5 hours ago, Danno46 said:

Ahh the ye olde worlde days, when UKAN and Arnies was the font of all knowledge

I've got one of Arnies G3's somewhere......

[AK47frizzle]

For me,  around 2010 was the golden age.

 

We had... Justbbguns.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by AK47frizzle

[strykerles]

23 hours ago, Dentonboy said:

Yeah, camouflage options...

 

CADPAT or Danish were incredible to see.

 

DPM, Flecktarn, US Woodland and French were the most commonly seen (or not...).

 

MARPAT and UCP were the Gucci choices.

 

I went DCU/Night Camo for years, then the MultiCam pull got me.

 

I reckon 2007 was when MultiCam really took off. I had a Chinese clone set in 2006 that faded (still in my folks' loft) and I didn't wear it a lot after that.

 

As said, these days it is mainly MTP (why not?! Surplus gear is so cheap) and MultiCam. You sometimes see a bit of Italian Vegetato, a pinch of DPM and a sprinkling of Flecktarn, and that is it.

 

My go-to for my last few games has been Ranger Green.

 

Recently I've been seeing more PMC loadouts, jeans and shirts kinda thing

 

MTP and multicam are still the most common seen. A few in black, the odd ghillie and me In digital flora :D

[TheFull9]

On 16/02/2023 at 16:18, Emergencychimps said:

For me it's whenever the person gets their rose tinted glasses out. 

 

Ahh beat me to it.

 

I think if we magically went back to the selections/availability of guns and kit from any time more than a few years back everyone would lose their minds.  Plenty of brands and products have come and gone, but there's never been a wider selection overall than there is right now I'd bet a lot on that.  If you asked folks whether they though TM would make a recoil HK417, an AA-12 and a gas AK back when I started the forum threads would go nuclear.  That's just one brand too.

 

Many sites have definitely come and gone that's a big one I think and that will probably be something that affects certain people massively.  If you had that perfect site that was right on your doorstep, great facilities, layout you enjoyed immensely, good player base, really well run, cheap prices, nice lunch etc etc and then that all just vanished one day, it'd be a really big deal I'd imagine.

 

Obviously I personally wouldn't mind seeing some people stop thinking of Sunday skirmishes as a competitive sport vs a fun experience, or for the toxic clickbait content to go away, but all things considered there's no time I would go back to if I did have a time machine.  Apart from when the mall was open maybe, that was the best site for me by a good margin and my enthusiasm for actually playing is somewhat lesser since it went, but I wouldn't swap it for the range of 'stuff' available now.

[mirinjawbro]

probably from the age of 13-18. so 2000-2005 ish

 

getting my first GBB, then AEG, so many hours on uncompany and wgcshop adding things to the basket

 

collecting the guns from counter strike 1.5

 

now theres a million guns and brands and upgrades youtube everything. .

 

i still buy guns but no longer get excited. wish i could get it back

[Rogerborg]

On 18/02/2023 at 20:29, AK47frizzle said:

For me,  around 2010 was the golden age.

 

We had... Justbbguns.

 

 

I lolled, but I've just bought one of those, in (CURRENT_YEAR - 1).

 

Granted, in black, not flare-gun orange.

 

They're as bad as you'd expect from something loved by BBgnuz4Uz.  

 

 

 

[JimFromHorsham]

Arnies .

 

Combat south woodland site lunches .

 

TOP M60’s .

 

Fireball weekenders .

 

Town Assault 2 .

 

Metal slide Glock 19 & Mac 11’s for £60 .

 

Pyro … lots and lots of pyro being thrown like confetti .

 

Road trips to Airsoft Warehouse &  Airsoft Armoury .

 

happy days & fond memories

 

 

 

 

[rj1986]

On 18/02/2023 at 15:26, hitmanNo2 said:

Yup.  Airsoft Dynamics exited the scene rather badly.  Still, I wasted lots of time looking at their site during lunch on my school's computers.  Back when you could look at any gun stuff on the school network without it being blocked.

 

I remember seeing the photos to pre order the TM G36C and thinking it looked impossibly cool.

 

https://arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/44401-all-users-be-advised-do-not-use-airsoft-dynamics/

 

Memories

[Groot]

Golden Age of Airsoft was Circa 2005. 

Everyone ran normal AEGs and a few snipers... Who had hot guns because Joule creep hadnt been invented yet. Running either 0.5 teflon coated or 0.29 Maruzen Super Master Grades. 
It was a level playing field with no HPA Shit or speed softers. 

You tuned your AEG to 350 FPS on 0.2s and that was it. You ran ran 0.25 Excel if you were fancy or you hosed 0.2s 
Hops were stock except for the cut down biro tubes to replace the stock bit. So everyone had fairly equal ranges. 
BBs were £6 for 4000 and everyone ran 8+ Highcaps. 
We all have 9.6v 3300 Nicads in bags on stocks or the nunchuck ones somehow crammed into the foregrip. 

No one was a whiny prick and cried about being lit up .. Because being lit up was how it was. 
Health and safety was no existant. If you got hurt then you shouldnt have been doing what you were doing to get hurt and everyone knew that. 
Pyro was crow scarers in tenis balls. £20 for 200. 

AND.. This is the most important bit.

The sites.. There was so many amazing sites. Ex Military, factory, entire industiral areas, shopping centers and TV Stations.
They are all houses now but there was a 5 year or so period where the sites were incredible.  
That and the companies that ran the games were fewer and more focused on the game play. Not turning a profit. 

Fuck Airsoft now is total shit by comparison 

[AK47frizzle]

17 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

I lolled, but I've just bought one of those, in (CURRENT_YEAR - 1).

 

Granted, in black, not flare-gun orange.

 

They're as bad as you'd expect from something loved by BBgnuz4Uz.  

 

 

 

I was planning to buy one too and display it on the shelf but in the beautiful flare-gun orange 😁