Airsoft Action - February 2019

AIRSOFT ACTION

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BOLT AKS74U RECOIL TOKYO MARUI MTR M4 GBB ASG STRIKE SYSTEMS OPTICS HOW TO WEATHER YOUR GUN REEL STEEL: THE TERMINATOR SWAT QUALIFICATION SHOOTING AIRTECH STOCK BUTT STABILISER

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INTERNATIONAL EXCLUSIVES

ARMOURY: BOLT AKS74U > 02

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ARMOURY: TM MTR

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Editor: Nigel Streeter Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing Ad Design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter Cover Photo: Iggy Roberts UK 13-issue subscription rate: £46.50 UK 6-issue subscription rate: £24.00 For overseas prices email: subs@airsoft-action.co.uk

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INTERNATIONAL EVENT: MAG AUSTRALIA 2018 KIT & GEAR: TRAINING PLATES

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Tel: +44 (0) 1684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2018 All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

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FEATURE: WEATHERING

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REEL STEEL: THE TERMINATOR

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LETTER , IDEA OR QUESTION? Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea?

Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the Editor: nige@airsoft-action.co.uk, write to us at the Calibre Publishing address above, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

Contents FEBRUARY 2019

CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2019 6 NEWS 10 ROGUE’S GALLERY

Airsoft action readers doing what they do best!

12 ARMOURY: BOLT AKS74U

Airsoft Action have been following the development of the very latest BOLT “Recoil” AKS74U since the first videos appeared online and now our resident lover of all things “Mikhail”, Bill, brings us his report on a right little cracker!

16 ARMOURY: TOKYO MARUI MTR

54 INTERNATIONAL: TEAM OZ1

Elsewhere in this issue of Airsoft Action you’ll find Iggy Robert’s report from the latest MAG Australia game, held in New Zealand. Here, Iggy tells us a more about MAG and how the team came to be.

58 FEATURE: WEATHERING YOUR GUN

We all like bright, shiny new things but sometimes “bright and shiny” doesn’t fit with the “look” you are trying to achieve. Dust Monkey gives us a quick overview of how to give your gun a distinctly “weathered” look.

Tokyo Marui has produced another Gas Blow Back M4… shock horror! But this time it is said to be something quite different but are they just giving us the sales chat? Scott Allan finds out.

59 KIT & GEAR: AIRTECH STUDIOS

20 INTERNATIONAL EVENT: MAG AUSTRALIA

60 REEL STEEL: THE TERMINATOR

Ioan “Iggy” Roberts recently moved “down under”, where airsoft is banned – but still manages to report from one of Australia’s biggest games to date. Read on to find out how…

26 KIT & GEAR: STRIKE SYSTEMS

Virtually every airsofter has an appreciation of a decent piece of glass on their rifle or pistol and good optics can run to some serious money! Bill takes a look at some very well-priced sights from ActionSportGames, in the shape of their own “in-house” STRIKE SYSTEMS brand.

28 INTERNATIONAL EVENT: SPAIN

Operation Skyline was a Stirling Airsoft 24-hour combat mission near Valencia in Spain to simulate the actions of the TF Dagger and Jawbreaker and Scott Allan was there to take part.

34 KIT & GEAR: TRAINING PLATES

Having been looking for some realistic-weighted training plates for a while, Tom Hibberd came across new British company, Travail Fitness and took their product for a baptism of fire at Strikeforce in Gloucester.

36 AA INTERVIEW: NORTHERN PACT

Airsoft Action is lucky enough to have many regular contributors who are not only dedicated airsofters but also experts in their own particular fields. Here, Bill chats with Ian “Taz” Stokes about things Russian and especially the Northern Pact online group.

40 KIT & GEAR: SLINGS…

When was the last time you thought about what you use to carry your rifle? Phil Bucknall believes there is a lot more to the humble sling than meets the eye, as he explains…

46 PRACTICAL SHOOTING: LWA

Whether you know it as “Action Air”, “3-Gun” or “MultiGun Syndicate”, they are all forms of practical shooting and now Scottish shooters can join in at a new facility right next to the Land Warrior Airsoft shop.

50 KIT & GEAR: 8 FIELDS TACTICAL GEAR

Every airsofter loves some great looking gear but not everyone has the budget to spend on “big name brands”.

Bill takes a look at some Chinese gear, by way of Poland, that gives some serious “bang for your buck”!

If “stock slop” spoils your Scorpion EVO, this new product from Airtech Studios could be the answer, as Steve Takle found out.

Artificial Intelligence is now a reality, with various “doomsayers” saying that its realisation will be the end of us! This makes the 1984 movie “The Terminator” all the more pertinent as our reality starts to resemble that of the movie world and the possible terrors that might bring!

Bill delves deeper into the time vortex to check out “reel” against airsoft…

64 KIT& GEAR: ROTEX III SUPPRESSOR

Although the benefit of a suppressor on an airsoft gun is debatable, the look they achieve is unquestionable. Phil Bucknall writes about one such device, licensed from B&T

by ActionSportGames.

66 ARMOURY: LANCER TACTICAL

The “entry level” market for AEGs has to be one of the most hotly-contested areas of airsoft manufacturing right now, so Bill takes a close look at a RIF from Lancer Tactical in the USA to see if it “has what it takes”.

68 SKILLS: SWAT QUALIFICATION SHOOTS

With many years of military service and private contracting behind him, Andy Nightingale was looking for another challenge and found something a bit different for airsofters to try.

72 INTERNATIONAL: JAPAN

When Scott Allan was invited to attend the Krytac Owners Meeting in Japan, he couldn’t resist and doubled it up with a visit to the Tokyo Marui Festival.

76 LAST POST: MESH EYE-PRO

Love them or hate them, you simply will not be allowed to play without them but the debate over whether to “mesh” or not rages on. As a long-time player and mesh-wearer, Frenchie shares his views on the subject.

78 SITE DIRECTORY & PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUBS

Looking for a skirmish site, or your local Action Air Club?

Then we may have the answer, with pages of sites and clubs throughout the UK.

s w e N t f o s Air 308Sniper Takes Airsoft Gear to a Whole New Level.

and regular shooting competitions are held with some very respectable prizes.

Kent’s premier “dedicated airsoft only” store has opened yet another floor of guns ‘n’ gear.

308sniper.co.uk

In the relatively short time of 3 years, Chris & Lindsay have gone from a single storey shop in Chatham to new, larger premises in Chatham, to keep up with overwhelming demand. They have not only acquired the bigger shop, the retail area has just seen a “third floor” open to carry more of your favourite toys.

twitter.com/308sniper2012

308Sniper can be found at Dogtag, Mayhem (both sites), Battle Lakes, Driverwood, Battle Sector X and Land of Mines on respective game days or of course, a warm welcome awaits you at the shop at 44 High Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4DS. facebook.com/308sniper youtube.com/308sniper2012

They put this success is down to their super-friendly, family run business model and their EIGHT (that’s right, eight) busy site shops in the South East where they provide unequaled service and prices. Offering names from Tippman to TAG, Nuprol to Valken and G&G to WE plus many, many more, the range of purely airsoft products is huge, and growing all the time.

And not forgetting the hi-tech electronic shooting range where you can not only try-before-you-buy,

Airsoft Surgeon Championship 2019 Announced!

Following a break in 2018 to allow for the Action Air World Championship in Hong Kong, the date of the 2019 Airsoft Surgeon Championship has been announced.

The event will take place over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th August, with the RO’s Match taking place beforehand.

The last three events have been held at Strikeforce in Gloucester but 2019 also sees the Championship move to a different venue: First Person Shooter (FPS), in Newport on the Isle of Wight.

FPS have recently acquired the use of an excellent building on the dockside and the guys are busy turning it into a superb, two-floor Airsoft and Practical Shooting centre. The venue is adjacent to the Premier Inn hotel, so shooters only have to walk next door to get to the site, plus with a restaurant on-site and the town centre just a five minute walk away, there are plenty of eating houses (and watering holes) to be found locally.

Airsoft Surgeon, Clarence Lai, told us: “The Championship welcomes ALL Practical Airsoft Shooters from around the world, whether you are new to the sport or a seasoned competitive shooter, it’s all about sharing experiences, having fun and mosts of all, friendships.”

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FEBRuary 2019

A new website is being worked on, which is expected to go live early in the new year with full details and registration.

The organisers are also working to obtain discounts for both the ferry crossing and Premier Inn, although Airsoft Action understands many shooters have already booked into the hotel individually, so as not to miss out on being right next to the Championship venue.

More information can be found at: www.airsoftsurgeonchampionships.com and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/airsoftsurgeonchampionships

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AA GALLERY READERS’ PHOTOS

ROGUE’S GALLERY

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FEBRUARY 2019

AA GALLERY READERS’ PHOTOS

A small glimpse of airsoft “Down Under”, courtesy of Iggy Roberts and MAG Australia.

Information Fancy seeing yourself in Airsoft Action? Send in your photos via email (nige@airsoft-action.co.uk) or share on our Facebook page (/AirsoftAction), plus a few words describing what’s going on in the image.

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armoury NUPROL BOLT AKS74U ROMEO SERIES

SMALL BUT DEADLY...

AIRSOFT ACTION HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VERY LATEST BOLT “RECOIL” AKS74U SINCE THE FIRST VIDEOS APPEARED ONLINE AND NOW OUR RESIDENT LOVER OF ALL THINGS “MIKHAIL”, BILL, BRINGS US HIS REPORT ON A RIGHT LITTLE CRACKER! EVER SINCE I WENT TO THE CINEMA in 1995 to watch “Goldeneye”, where Pierce Brosnan (in his “007” persona) makes good use of the diminutive AKS74U, I’ve had a real soft spot for the variant. “Bond” first acquires the “74U” during the opening scene at the chemical weapons factory and then uses one again most effectively during the escape from the Soviet archives.

From that moment on, the smallest of the Kalashnikov family was firmly cemented in my heart!

Fast forward to about 2005 and finally I was able

online of a “74U” using their BRSS system (more on that later!), that took the base AEG and gave it some real grunt! Nige and I searched them out at IWA in 2017 to check out the prototype and having very much liked what we saw there, were both keen to get our hands on the production model.

SMALL BUT DEADLY

Although my personal journey with the AEG version of the “74U” really didn’t happen until much later, the

“IN 2011, MY LITTLE “74U” MET ITS MAKER WHEN I TRASHED THE DUST COVER AND RECEIVER PLAYING AT RYPE VILLAGE - AND IT WAS A TEARFUL MOMENT WHEN I HAD TO SAY GOODBYE. SUFFICE TO SAY THAT IT WAS SOON REPLACED WITH ANOTHER “74U” AND THERE’S BEEN AT LEAST ONE IN MY PERSONAL AIRSOFT ARMOURY EVER SINCE!” to field an airsoft version of this super little carbine. It was about this time that I started playing OPFOR more seriously and a classic AKS74U was actually my very first “Soviet” AEG purchase. A very close mate of mine, Robbie, was building some absolutely righteous customs using a base “74U” AEG, upgrading the internals for performance and reliability and we had some superb games using them. Then, in 2011, my little “74U” met its maker when I trashed the dust cover and receiver playing at Rype Village - and it was a tearful moment when I had to say goodbye. Suffice to say that it was soon replaced with another “74U” and there’s been at least one in my personal airsoft armoury ever since!

Having looked at a number of “recoil” models from Taiwanese manufacturer BOLT in the past, you can imagine my excitement when I started seeing videos 12

FEBRUARY 2019

“real deal” has, of course, been around for significantly longer! The AK74 was developed in the early 1970s by Mikhail Kalashnikov as the replacement for the earlier AKM. It used a smaller 5.45×39mm cartridge, replacing the 7.62×39mm chambering of earlier Kalashnikov rifles. The AKS74 (“S” standing for “Skladnoy”, or folding), was developed in tandem with the full-stock version and was equipped with a side-folding metal stock, being developed primarily for use by airborne infantry. Both variants first saw service with Soviet forces in Afghanistan during the 1980s and continue to be used by the majority of countries of the former USSR. In 1973 though, a design competition was initiated in the Soviet Union to find a fully automatic carbine, which was a trend (probably initiated by the XM177 AR models used extensively by US Special Forces in the latter part

armoury NUPROL ROMEO BOLT AKS74U SERIES

of the Vietnam War) at that time. Like many designers though, Kalashnikov had the idea to make an even shorter carbine variant, almost a submachine gun, that retained the rifle chambering for commonality of use in relation to ammunition and spare parts. Kalashnikov was already quite a long way down the development path with his own design and although a number of other designers put forward competitors, it was the AKS74U ( “U” for “Ukorochenniy”, or shortened) that was adopted. Initially the carbine was issued to a few very select units but by 1979 it was far more widespread, being fielded by Special Forces, airborne infantry, rearechelon support units and vehicle and helicopter crews.

The carbine’s compact size was achieved by using a side-folding stock exactly the same as that used on the AKS74 and a short 206.5 mm (8.1 in) barrel with a redesigned gas piston operating rod. Due to this re-design

heavy it seemed. The real SU weighs in at 2.7 kg/6.0 lbs and the replica comes in at 3.2 kg/7.05 lbs, the slight additional weight being down to internal parts that don’t need to be there in the real world. There is also another reason for this weight - and that’s because the BOLT replica is made from steel and real wood and it feels absolutely rock-solid in your hands. I would go as far as saying that the folding stock closes more solidly than any “74 or 74U” on the market that I’ve come across!

This “74U” feels like it’s literally just come out of the

“THE EXTREME MUZZLE BLAST AND RECOIL SOON EARNED THE AKS74U THE NICKNAME OF “SUCHKA” OR “LITTLE BITCH”!”

the cyclic rate of fire rose to a hefty 700 rounds per minute, so in order to stabilise rounds, the barrel’s twist rate was increased to adapt the AKS74U for muzzle velocities in excess of 720 m/s (2,362 fps). A new gas block was installed at the muzzle end of the barrel with a muzzle booster and conical flash hider, which gave the 74U a very distinctive appearance.

The size reduction as whole resulted in a very small, relatively lightweight, effective and highly manoeuvrable weapon but one that needed upmost respect from the user. Such a short carbine which makes use of the 5.45mm round used in the full-sized rifle is a bit of a handful to say the least - as I found out when I had chance to fire the real thing. The extreme muzzle blast and recoil soon earned the AKS74U the nickname of “suchka” or “little bitch”!

BORN TO ROCK!

Although BOLT are still a relatively new manufacturer of AEGs, they specialise in a patented electric blow-back (EBB) system on all their rifles and aim to provide AEGs with a powerful recoil movement able to be used even with lower voltage batteries. BOLT Airsoft’s goal is to design AEGs as close to the “real deal” to satisfy airsoft players along with military collectors.

The BOLT “recoil” solution is called the “Bolt Recoil Shock System (BRSS)”, which produces kinetic energy from the gearbox and transfers that energy down through the receiver and into the main body. In addition to the recoil system, BOLT has also greatly reinforced the gearbox and the rest of the internals to withstand the powerful “recoil shock” and to enhance the rifle’s durability and performance. BRSS is a revolutionary system and I’ve used a number of their “AR” models in the past, along with their excellent “Keymod COBRA” AR/AK, which is quite a beast!

When the test sample of the “74U” arrived with me from iWholesales I was immediately impressed at how

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armoury NUPROL ROMEO SERIES

factory in Russia! With the deep-stained woodwork, distinctive conical flash hider and muzzle booster and the folding stock at the other it almost has that factory-

fresh feel about it. It arrives beautifully presented in a rather fetching “logoed” box; normally I don’t mention the packaging in my reviews but this is truly worthy of

dust cover you can, in turn, release the top part of the handguard and there’s space for a smaller 11.1 LiPo. Simple, but oh, so smart!

Given that the internals are the latest iteration of the tried and tested BRSS I had no doubt that out-ofthe-box performance would be right up there and I wasn’t to be disappointed! Using .20g RZR BBs the SU delivered a massively consistent chrono reading of 0.92 Joule/315fps which is absolutely perfect for use on all sites in the UK. I did try the BOLT with a number of different brand AK magazines and sadly it does seem very, very picky in this respect. Of all the models I tried other than their own, only my old MAG brand “AK74 bakelites” (which frankly fit anything!) seated well. This could be a small “downside” if you’re buying as a team.

In my experience airsoft SUs have amazingly, given their relatively short inner barrel, been really accurate and it’s one of the reasons why I love them so much.

With the 130BB “bakelite” mid-cap magazine (600BB HiCaps are also available) topped off it was time to set the hop and have at it! Like all AKs, the “74U” has the lever fire selector with up being safe, mid-point being full auto and fully down being semi. With semi engaged the BOLT went off with a right “crack” and a good jolt in the shoulder, sending BBs straight downrange to target at 30m. Cranking up to full just upped the “giggle factor” as the thump in the shoulder seemed to increase but affected accuracy not at all!

With a retail price iro £360 this is not the cheapest “74U” on the market, but oh boy, what a corker it is! I am most definitely biased because I love the “74U” so much as a model but after owning many I have to tell you that this is honestly one of the best I’ve come across in terms of components, general feel and performance and especially in terms of the “recoil shock”! As much as I adore my gas “74U” for MilSim, I can see that a BOLT AKS74U will undoubtedly end up in my armoury as it gives all the good stuff with the added reliability of an AEG in cold weather.

Is this finally the “74U” I’ve been waiting for?

Simply put… it is!

My thanks go to www.iwholesales.co.uk for the loan of the test sample. You can find BOLT Airsoft models in all good airsoft retailers! AA

note! In addition to all the usual features the BOLT is neatly finished off with a side-mounted optics rail. The battery compartment is quite small as it sits in the wood

handguard. I had wondered how BOLT would achieve this given the BRSS in the body but by releasing the 14

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armoury TM MULTI TACTICAL RIFLE

MULTI TACTICAL RIFLE

TOKYO MARUI HAS PRODUCED ANOTHER GAS BLOW BACK M4… SHOCK HORROR! BUT THIS TIME IT IS SAID TO BE SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT BUT ARE THEY JUST GIVING US THE SALES CHAT? SCOTT ALLAN FINDS OUT.

THE MTR 16, OR “MULTI TACTICAL RIFLE 16” Barrel is, in my opinion, a modern and typically dumb name. Why is it “Multi Tactical”? Surely you are either tactical or not? I suppose they had to call it something…

WHO ARE TOKYO MARUI?

Tokyo Marui is a very odd manufacturer, considering they “invented” airsoft as we know it. The idea of a manufacturing business is fairly simple: make stuff people want and sell it to them. Tokyo Marui, on the other hand, have another idea, they make airsoft rifles for the Japanese market with no real interest about the rest of the world. Distributors outside Japan are a rare thing and stocks fluctuate wildly. You would think this would damage the reputation of the company and cool

can end up being a real arm-burner on the supporting arm.

What is nice, is the step away from the military styling of the M4 and more toward the civilian AR market that is very buoyant in the US - and has been so for the last few years at least. A Picatinny rail, that gives you a continuous rail from the charging handle all the way to the flash-hider, crowns the MLOK full-length handguard. The barrel reminds me of some of the G&P, or maybe Madbull types that have been produced with this spirally fluted style in that nice silver finish. I’ve always liked a silver barrel (I’ve had one on my custombuilt M4 - that is also a 16” - for around 5 years now, I must be a trendsetter). The paintwork across the whole rifle is as nice as you would expect and this is helped

“THE PAINTWORK ACROSS THE WHOLE RIFLE IS AS NICE AS YOU WOULD EXPECT AND THIS IS HELPED BY THE CERAKOTE FINISH THAT IS VERY FASHIONABLE AT THE MOMENT. CERAKOTE IS AN ULTRA HARD-WEARING PAINT - A BIT LIKE IF CHUCK NORRIS PEED INTO A PAINT POT!”

people’s lust for their products …and would be wrong!

In fact, players seem to have a greater appetite than ever for the specialist and unique products that slowly, yet surely slip out of Japan. In Japan they rule the roost due to their tight laws and having recently attended the Tokyo Marui festival, maybe they are finally embracing the modern business culture?

THE MTR 16

First impressions? Marui always score high here - hell there’s even a ribbon around the box! A ribbon! It’s like buying a new Merc! But other than looks, the first thing that I notice is how light it is for a full AR15/M4 length rifle. Many electric M4s float around the 3-3.3 kilo mark (this weighs in at a lovely 2.6 kilos) and the long front 16

FEBRUARY 2019

by the CERAKOTE finish that is very fashionable at the moment. CERAKOTE is an ultra hard-wearing paint - a bit like if Chuck Norris peed into a paint pot! The full ambidextrous controls are positive and are a more modern design, instead of the stand types you would expect on a military-style AEG. One of the nicer ambifeatures is the bolt release, that is obviously irrelevant for most Airsofters using an electric rifle but for this MTR is fully relevant and actually really good.

The flat face trigger is meant to increase shooting speed. I’ve always been dubious about this and some of the flat triggers look a little iffy to me, maybe I’m just old-fashioned. The trigger guard is the enhanced curved style rather than the flat sort, that again makes it look a little more modern. The pistol grip is something I’m not

armoury TM MULTI TACTICAL RIFLE

keen on, it is a more vertical “pistol” style grip, some people like it, some don’t. It didn’t affect my testing, get in the way or feel uncomfortable, so it certainly worked perfectly well, I just don’t like it to look at. The stippling style texturing on the sides is good with the likes of Mechanix gloves that was a bonus. The adjustable stock is again a little too far out there for me, it looks a little like the ERGO stocks but then someone has gone mad with it! It definitely feels more like something G&G would come up with rather than Marui. As you would expect there are two QD points on it, it is a sixposition stock that reveals a receiver tail QD point when extended. Part of the stock is also removable if you need it to be even more minimalist for whatever reason, although I can’t think of a time when this has occurred to me personally.

While the M4 is a 5.56 slinging monster that’s now built by more manufacturers than I could count in one

form or another, the MTR 16 is still along the same lines as the new Type 89 and MWS GBB that Marui released a while back. What I like is how they have moved away from covering the same old ground and pushed the boat out just a little, whilst remaining true to the original(ish) designs. Very similar to what they did with the AA12 and then the SGR 12, make something realistic and then off the back of that, something quite different and funky - yet it could be a real rifle. One thing I didn’t care for is the 20-round magazine. You’re already at a disadvantage against AEGs on the average airsoft field although some GBB will scoff at this. That’s okay, I know you are wrong. Why then did Marui take the larger magazine which comes with the MWS and the Type 89 and say “You know what players probably want?

A smaller magazine for their rifle!” That’s like AMG releasing a Mercedes and saying “Now that you’ve had the 500BHP version, here is the better-looking version

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armoury TM MULTI TACTICAL RIFLE

with 400BHP!” For me it’s just a bit pointless unless you’re going to run it as a DMR but the magazines are only a couple of pounds different in cost.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES

Everything about this rifle is nice, my personal preferences aside but there are things I would change.

I’d lose the stock straight away and the pistol grip for PTS EP parts as I really do love them or, if you can get your hands on them, the Magpul grips and stocks.

Obviously, I’d add some sights on there too because for some reason Tokyo Marui doesn’t think you’ll need

out there says the internet, yet I rarely see them on a game field and if they are there it is a tiny percentage of the overall player base. Especially here in the UK, where our climate hammers the GBB system - great in the warm weather although the cold and damp is largely a lost cause to have a sustained engagement.

CONCLUSION

The MTR 16 is a beautiful rifle. The CERAKOTE finish will keep it looking new for a long time, the weight and balance mean it is easy to use even for a long time and the blowback is solid and crisp time and time again.

“THE MTR 16 IS A BEAUTIFUL RIFLE. THE CERAKOTE FINISH WILL KEEP IT LOOKING NEW FOR A LONG TIME, THE WEIGHT AND BALANCE MEAN IT IS EASY TO USE EVEN FOR A LONG TIME AND THE BLOWBACK IS SOLID AND CRISP TIME AND TIME AGAIN.” them. Again, there are loads of great sights out there that don’t have to be expensive, most players never consider any form of zeroing either and just look along their barrel but if you only have 20 shots you might want to be a little more careful.

For nearly £600 I would’ve hoped for a long magazine and a set of iron sights but those things aside I am impressed. The performance is solid as you could only dream of from a stock Marui rifle, although it still doesn’t defy physics. The cooldown effect does (and always will) effect GBB rifles and the Marui holds up

Missing sights is a shame and there are a couple of aesthetics for me personally that could be improved on but the ambidextrous controls are wonderfully positive and intuitive. Of the GBB rifles out there I would rate this highly against them but if you want something similar but less work, I’d look at the PTS or Marui Electric Recoil rifles which give you much of the same feel.

Some players will always love gas and I do kind of get it, it’s just not my style of play but I certainly salute their tenacity especially during the winter months. AA TECHNICAL DETAILS

well it must be said but a few magazines back to back and things did slow down noticeably, although less than many systems I have tried in the past. Fully automatic always causes more venting than a single shot with any system and this is true for the MTR too, but if you want fully automatic you should consider an electric system instead as they’re just better at it.

These really are a MilSim, indoor, Practical Shooting or die-hard player type of rifle. GBB are the best rifles 18

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Shooting System: Gas Blow Back (GBB) Length: 837mm/919mm (stock fully deployed) Barrel Length: 250mm Weight: 2,676g (empty magazine included) Capacity: 20+1 bbs (works with any MWS or Type 89 GBB Magazine) Adjustable Hop Up CERAKOTE Paintwork Full Metal Construction MLOK Front Rail Twist Fluted Barrel Ambidextrous Magazine Catch, Bolt Release and Fire Selector Adjustable Stock Power: 310FPS/0.89J (Temperature 22C, Nuprol 2.0 Gas and Blaster 0.20g BB) Price: IRO £585

0.20g

0.25g

3000pcs per bottle | 6mm | Precision Airsoft BB | www.hornettactical.com www.patrolstore.com/hornettactical

INTERNATIONAL MILITARY ADVENTURE GROUP AUSTRALIA

IOAN “IGGY” ROBERTS RECENTLY MOVED “DOWN UNDER”, WHERE AIRSOFT IS BANNED – BUT STILL MANAGES TO REPORT FROM ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST GAMES TO DATE. READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW… OVER THE YEARS THAT I HAVE BEEN contributing to Airsoft Action I have been following the progress or push for the legalisation of airsoft in Australia. This was because I knew I would eventually emigrate “down under” and I am now well into my new life here.

So what is the situation? Just before I emigrated I heard that there was a strong chance airsoft was going to be legalised in Australia a month or so after I arrived, however, that has not been the case, or to be exact, not quite the case.

Initially airsoft was legal in Australia but since a few horrific crimes involving real steel weapons, resulting in an almost instant tightening on gun laws, airsoft slipped into the category of an automatic gun and therefore was made illegal. Since then there has been a group called the Australian Airsoft Council (AAC) who have been pushing to change the laws on airsoft. The biggest problem is the lack of understanding; the police and government agencies didn’t even know or recognise airsoft, yet alone for it to be classed as a sport. Nor did they want to waste time and money changing policy on something so inferior to them.

This has been the case in all the states in Australia.

It’s not possible to import airsoft guns or even BBs and the Border Force is very stringent on checking imported goods. Naturally I was rather concerned that I would miss this big part of my life but, to my surprise, Australian airsoft fans have managed to find a way to enjoy this sport with the aid of their neighbouring country, New Zealand (NZ).

Every year a group of dedicated Australian Airsofters under the name “Oscar Zulu 1”, or Military Adventure Group (MAG) Australia, travel to the MAG airsoft site just outside of Christchurch, NZ and this year I had the opportunity to attend their annual game. <<xhead>> In New Zealand On the first day, after we got issued our hire guns or guns left in storage, Cal Chataway and Josh Mckenzie 20

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from MAG Australia, along with the guys from MAG New Zealand took everyone through the correct and SAFE operation of airsoft guns, followed by tactics at a team level, consisting of section fire and manoeuvre drills. After this a few small games were played in the afternoon to put to practice the morning’s training.

With the day over, we were taken to the accommodation; a number of dormitories in a holiday park. That night a few of the guys visited an airsoft store in Christchurch, called “Unlimited Airsoft” and the Australians were in their element looking at the AEGs and gas RIFs that adorned the walls. Many of them bought tactical apparel, BBs and even pistols, which they were going to use over the weekend (and then leave in NZ at the MAG airsoft site until the next time they visited).

GAME TIME!

The following morning the main game started, called “CONQUEST” and players from NZ were in attendance, which bolstered the Global Coalition team numbers.

There were three sides in the game, the Global Coalition (GC - Blue team), they wore MultiCam or any other kind of foreign camouflage. The United Federation Forces (UFF - Red team) wore the former Australian military, jelly bean pattern camouflage and the Private Military Contractors (PMC) wore tan trousers with black tops and baseball caps. The PMC team could play for either side and how they wore their baseball caps represented who’s side they were on; forward meant they were with the UFF and backward meant they were with the GC. Scattered across the site were key positions that had both a red and blue box and a radio on a barrel.

To indicate possession by either side, the occupying force placed their coloured box on top of the barrel then radioed into game “HQ” using the radio provided, notifying them of the team that now owned the

INTERNATIONAL MILITARY ADVENTURE GROUP AUSTRALIA

position. These key positions were fought over by both sides; the more positions and more time each position was held aided towards the overall victory. This was calculated by the overall time and number of positions held by each side.

The two main sides were sent to their start locations at their main bases and after a quick plan of what key positions to head for first, our team split down into its sections, each with a different location to head for. Our initial choice of locations were all closer to our base than the enemy’s and had support from neighbouring locations that our other sections aimed for. Blue Charlie section, that I was part of, were tasked with taking “the stockpile” and when we got there it was clear that there was no resistance in the area, however, the next location between us and the UFF was a different story. Named

“WW2” because of the stronghold’s design and build of concrete bunkers, trenches with sandbags and even a tunnel, the section we had there were seriously outgunned and in need of support. Our section commander left myself and our section sniper, “Blue Charlie Sniper” behind at the stockpile and pushed forward to WW2 with the other 3 from our section.

We set up an ambush should anyone walk in uninvited. Over the radio and in the distance you could the ferocious fire fight happening at WW2 but we remained in position, expecting to have to defend it with just the two of us after the advancing enemy had defeated our team members at WW2.

To our pleasant surprise another section from our side joined us and set up defensive positions. Blue Charlie Sniper then pushed forward to provide cover to what friendly forces we had left in WW2, allowing them to fall back. I pushed slightly forward into the dead ground between us and WW2, just to recce and disturb any enemy units that try to cut off Blue Charlie Sniper.

That was when I first saw the PMC team approaching our position. As they drew closer I radioed the section in the stockpile to confirm which way round the baseball caps were worn… Were the PMCs with us or against us?

A response crackled over the radio in my ear, as a member of the PMC team was less than 4 meters from me, confirming the position of the baseball cap as “forwards”, meaning they were against us! With that, I jumped up and ran at him with my rubber knife, surprising him with the fact I was so close and got him!

I moved on, shooting one after another and managed to clear the whole PMC team because not one of them suspected to be flanked as they assaulted the stockpile.

I only faced return fire from the last two PMC members as they switched targets to me. I shot them too and reported back to the section that came to defend the stockpile and waited for the return of Blue Charlie Sniper.

With Blue Charlie Sniper back we were sent to reinforce a section that was aiming to take control of www.airsoft-action.online

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INTERNATIONAL MILITARY ADVENTURE GROUP AUSTRALIA

the border and drone site positions but by the time we found them they were engaged in heavy fighting over the border. We decided guerrilla tactics would be the best way to aid them, by doing hit and run assaults from various circling positions against the defending enemy forces causing distraction and confusion, allowing our section to take the advantage of their split forces.

of wooden temporary structures full of rooms, allowing for that extra close action, followed by a car park area with more spread-out cover, including some cars and vans. The evening ended after around five games, by which time everyone was pretty exhausted and it didn’t take long until we were all asleep.

DAY TWO

The following day was the last day of the big game. All the positions were reset to what they were the previous evening but the teams had to start from their bases again. This time Blue Charlie Sniper and I accompanied our section as we pushed out to the stockpile again; Blue Bravo section were to take WW2. As soon as they got there they were under fire, so our “Charlie Section” pushed forward and flanked WW2 to support Bravo, who were now pinned down and being picked off.

We managed to disrupt and scatter the assaulting enemy, who retreated due to dwindling numbers. We then remained in WW2 with Bravo section for 3-4 hours, during which time I had my Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) lunch in a trench.

Towards the end of my lunch a disconcerting number of enemy forces were encroaching our position but I was determined to finish my cup of tea, so I remained in the trench, sipping away and monitoring enemy movements as my team mates exchanged shots with the ones that dared to come close enough.

Tea finished I stood up and noticed a single enemy slowly walking in a non-aggressive manner down the road that ran along our position and up to the entrance.

Blue Charlie Sniper was laying in a shallow fox hole next to the entrance of our position, shooting in the opposite direction to where this enemy was casually walking in. I wasn’t happy or comfortable with this and aimed my AK at this enemy as he walked straight into the entrance of our position. He slightly turned to face Blue Charlie Sniper and reached into his vest, pulling out a hand gun.

I put two straight into his chest! He just stood there in shock and disappointment. Blue Charlie Sniper now noticed his presence looked round, saw the enemy and

Due to our “Charlie section” being split up, we remained in the role of supporting other sections and undertaking our own disruption and hit and run missions on the enemy to weaken their defences and expeditionary patrols.

Throughout the first day, each section from both sides undertook a special mission of which a successful result meant that the overall team received a points bonus. We were tasked to search and recover a crashed dummy UAV which was defended by experienced local New Zealand players. We used teamwork, speed and aggression, combined with a distraction whilst one of our guys ran back to our HQ with the UAV we needed to retrieve. Once we knew he was clear we conducted fire and manoeuvre drills to break contact with the enemy. This was the first time “Charlie Section” worked together as a section in a skirmish and the result was a whitewash success!

The rest of the first day was much of the same as both sides fought and overstretched themselves to gain positions and, in turn, lose positions. The positions that exchanged sides the most were Spamburger Hill, WW2 and the Border. The drone position was mainly under control of the UFF and the stockpile was mainly under control of us, the GC. There would often be patrols from both sides, consisting of two sections, that would push the boundaries but they would never have the longevity to hold the gained ground.

That night the game was paused and we headed back to the accommodation. Later, those of us “I WAS RATHER CONCERNED THAT I WOULD MISS that had the energy, went for a game in the site owned by the Unlimited THIS BIG PART OF MY LIFE BUT, TO MY SURPRISE, Airsoft shop called “Area 67”. The AUSTRALIAN AIRSOFT FANS HAVE MANAGED TO site CQB and is well set up, with the FIND A WAY TO ENJOY THIS SPORT WITH THE usual shop, player set up area, range AID OF THEIR NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY, NEW and the game zone all in one large ZEALAND.” warehouse. The game zone consists 22

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INTERNATIONAL MILITARY ADVENTURE GROUP AUSTRALIA

his pistol then looked back and saw me. I nodded my head, to which he laughed and the enemy walked away with his hands in the air!!

During a lull in the attack, I reported to Bravo section commander because they were in command of this position. I was sent to man a foxhole in front of our position. It was low and pretty much isolated from the rest of WW2. I sat and listened to the battle unfolding through my radio, “MEDIC!!!” “Contact 12 o’clock!”

“Aghhhh! Contact 10 o’clock! Where is Charlie leader?” “He got hit along with 3 others! Ahhhwww!

HIT!!”

Eventually the enemy encompassed us and were closing their grip. My foxhole was now a great position to be in. Being so far out from the main objective and so low in the ground, no one noticed it - or that I was there. I managed to use this to my advantage, taking out three of the enemy and the medics that tried to treat them but after they were treated by another medic my position was compromised. I popped up and down in different locations within the foxhole but my position was being swamped. Just in time, Blue Charlie Sniper appeared at the edge of WW2 and took out all the enemy closing down on me one at a time. I was saved!

The attack was dying down when a group of French Polynesian guys (who worked very well together) set their sights on my foxhole. I took out one and then got hit instantly in my throat by his team mate. Then Blue Charlie sniper got flanked and overrun.

The rest of the day’s game was spent trying to grab and hold as many positions as we could for as long as we could. On one occasion I was extracted from one position by vehicle to aid the PMC team (with their caps backwards, i.e. friendly) in capturing the UFF team leader. We all met a sticky end in an ambush and even though I managed to escape initially, three UFF guys wouldn’t let me get away. After over 200m of hard targeting and dodging from cover to cover they eventually shot me. All laughing, saying well that was worth it, let’s hunt him again!!

Once they had respawned, the PMCs managed to capture the UFF leader and caused mass panic. Later when the PMCs were told to swap sides, they came after our Team Leader but we sent him deep behind our lines and to safety - although they did kidnap our youngest fighter. They pulled up to the “tail end charlie” of one of our foot patrols in a van, opened the sliding door, dragged him in whilst firing at the rest of the patrol and sped off. The patrol were confused and couldn’t help themselves from laughing at what just happened as they attempted to fire back. The guy that was taken was driven to game HQ, shot and then had to walk the whole site back to our GC main base to re-join the game.

It all came to a head when the GC were ordered to attack the UFF main base. Between us and them was a vast area of open ground with the odd building and mound of dirt. As we advanced simulated artillery was set off on the outside of the UFF base with an effective kill range of 25 meters, which took out those at the very fringe of the base. (They were told the actual danger area to avoid where the charges were.)

The initial explosions were followed by a blanket of smoke grenades covering our advance. When it started to dissipate smoke grenades deployed by the member of

the GC filled the air again. All this created an amazing atmosphere to assault through and then search for enemy fighters in the UFF main base. Huge numbers of casualties on both sides resulted in a costly victory for the GC. The firing slowed until it eventually dissipated.

There was no one left to defend and only a handful of the GC were all that were left standing.

Game over!

After returning the hire and personal guns to the armoury, the overall winning side was announced. It was a close game and only in the last hour or so was the victor clear - the GC won this time!!!

The evening saw a tradition for MAG Australia, started in the first year to celebrate the end of a great game, where all participants of the game descended for a huge meal and drinks at the “Lone Star Bar & Grill”. Here everyone exchanged their accounts of the game and everything airsoft and a few awards (named “The Dingo Awards”) were given to the overall best and fairest players, showing great team work and sportsmanship, of which Blue Charlie Sniper, Dave Peters, was the recipient of one.

After a long night of socialising with a great mix of likeminded people from the Southern hemisphere, I retired to my dormitory.

THE FINAL DAY

We were taken to a CQB site, called “The Arena”.

We were issued the hire guns we had for the main game and had a chance to have a look around the site’s plush shop, which looked like a dream come true to most of the Australian players, after which we headed out to the game zone.

The game zone was an eclectic mix of shipping containers, tyre walls and other boxes, organised into a layout mostly equal on both sides. Normally there would be a second story available, adding a great dynamic to 360 battle but the site was in the process of being reconstructed to suit all NZ weather conditions and just the ground level was available for our game.

The games were fast and intense and you were always near the action and a combination of adrenaline and exhaustion meant you were really on edge. With my rubber knife in one hand and AK in the other, I accompanied two avid airsofters I met over the weekend, one named Lucas from Brazil and the other Russ from the US. Working together we would tear through the site until we left an angle open and got picked off, or I got killed getting a knife kill at the same time. This was a great ending to a great weekend.

Overall, the MAG Australia weekend was fantastic and I was impressed with how well it was organised and run too, long may it continue or, even better, become a recognised legal sport in Australia.

For now though… Iggy out. AA

To find out more about Oscar Zulu One/MAG Australia and any future events, check out www.oz1airsoft.com The sites and shops we visited were: www.mag.org.nz www.AirsoftComabtGuns.co.nz www.unlimitedairsoftshop.co.nz

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KIT & GEAR STRIKE SYSTEMS OPTICS

STRIKE SYSTEMS OPTICS FROM ASG

AIRSOFTERS HAVE AN APPRECIATION OF A DECENT PIECE OF GLASS ON THEIR WEAPON BUT GOOD OPTICS CAN RUN TO SERIOUS MONEY! BILL TAKES A LOOK AT SOME VERY WELL-PRICED SIGHTS FROM ACTIONSPORTGAMES, IN THE SHAPE OF THEIR OWN “IN-HOUSE” STRIKE SYSTEMS BRAND. IN REALITY YOU MIGHT QUESTION the need for an optic on an airsoft RIF, given the engagement distances we use them at, but the fact is that we all want our AEGs and GBs to look the part, don’t we? It’s all very well having an “HK416” but, without the right optic and magnifier on board it does tend to look a bit bland and it certainly won’t be a “finished project” in anyone’s book. It doesn’t really matter if you’re going for a “NATO Operator” look, or a “Spetsnaz” loadout as all the door-kickers out there seem to favour the exact same optics these days.

ActionSportGames (ASG), with Paul, Ben and (former AA staffer) Gadge here in the UK and with the guys based in their native Denmark, especially my good friend Thomas. I’ve always held ASG up as a great example in the airsoft manufacturing community, as not only have they been at the forefront of some exceptional licencing agreements (which means more than favourable relationships with “real steel” manufacturers like CZ) but also hard at work behind the scenes to see that airsoft is dealt with sensibly when it comes to legality throughout Europe.

“WHILE ALL THE “REAL DEAL” BRANDS ARE AVAILABLE TO US AS AIRSOFTERS, AND SOME FOLK WILL CHOOSE ONLY THE “BRAND OF THE DAY” TO ADORN THEIR BELOVED RIF, MANY OF US ARE CONSTRAINED BY OUR WALLETS AND REAL LIFE WHEN IT COMES TO SETTING UP OUR AEG. ” While all the “real deal” brands are available to us as airsofters, and some folk will choose only the “brand of the day” to adorn their beloved RIF, many of us are constrained by our wallets and real life when it comes to setting up our AEG. Of course, there are also many “clones” out there, especially with regard to optics but this can be an utter “lottery” when it comes to what you receive in the post. I’ve had some excellent optics arrive direct from the Far east over the years but I’ve also had some right proper pigs!

So, if you’re not able to fork out a large chunk of cash for the “real deal” then where should you look?

To start with I’d say have a close look at the STRIKE SYSTEMS range from ActionSportGames (ASG)!

I have a good relationship with the team from 26

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They are great people to work with so when Paul, the ASG UK and ROI Sales Manager, asked me a while back if I would like to check out their “in-house” brand of optics, I was keen to make the most of the chance.

Unlike some manufacturers and distributors, ASG have historically been ready to put “their money where their mouth is” and soon I had confirmation that a selection of STRKE SYSTEMS optics would be winging their way to me direct from Denmark to test and evaluate. To date ASG have taken the onus off their retail partners by supplying test samples direct, so they’re not having to come out of anyone’s stock other than their own!

What arrived with me was a tight range of optics, both magnified, red-dot, and holo, each very stylishly packaged in their individual boxes with full instructions

KIT & GEAR STRIKE SYSTEMS OPTICS

in English, batteries where required, accessories and even a lens cleaning cloth!

STRIKE SYSTEMS SIGHTS

The “Dot Sight, Red” is a classic micro sight; it’s perfect for low profile configurations. The bright red dot allows for fast target acquisitions once you have it dialled in. The Micro Dot is perfect for fast handgun action, steady shotgun aiming and compact rifles and mounts easily on any Picatinny rail using the included hex tool. It can be turned on/off easily with one hand. I’ve been using one on top of some of my “postap” rifle and carbine builds for a while and it’s really stood up to a great deal of abuse!

The “Advanced 551 and 552 Red/Green Dot Sights” are designed to resemble a certain family of holographic sights offered worldwide and seen in use on many “Tier 1” military rifles. Both models are well put together using metal and hard plastic and feature a rear-facing keypad, with on/off and controls for changing the colour of the reticle (red or green), as well as adjusting the brightness. They are fully adjustable for windage and elevation. Two AAA batteries are stored in an easily accessible compartment that is securely locked by a lever mechanism, allowing fast and easy change of batteries should it be necessary. The sights have a simple screw on locking system that enables you to mount it on any standard Picatinny/Weaver rails.

The “Red/Green Dot Sight W.21mm Mount” is a rugged 30m red-dot sight constructed in anodized aluminium with a black rubberized coating, featuring a highly visible dual colour “Dot in Circle” reticle with 5-level adjustable brightness, as well as fully adjustable windage and elevation. It can be used on any airsoft gun with a 21 mm standard rail and when mounted on a M4/AR15 its height is perfectly centred to allow unobstructed use of the fixed sights. The button-type battery is stored in an easily accessible compartment and there are screw-off caps that protect the windage and elevation dials.

Adding as bit more of a “classic” look to the lineup, the “30mm Dot Sight, Red/Green, W. Mount” is a sleek, low-profile 30mm dot sight constructed in anodized aluminium with a sun visor that reduces glare for a clear sight picture in bright conditions. It features a highly visible red/green illuminated dot with a variable intensity brightness dial, as well as fully adjustable windage and elevation. It can be used on any airsoft model with a 21 mm standard rail and makes the perfect “DMR”

accessory!

I have to admit that the “Tactical 3x32 Scope W. Rail” is probably my favourite of the samples that were sent over. Built to withstand the recoil from most real weapons, this is a durable and tough scope with a professional appearance. The 3x magnification is ideal for any style of airsoft rifle or carbine, providing pinpoint accuracy on targets. The multi-coated lenses allow optimal light transmission for a crystal-clear image. This STRIKE SYSTEMS “Pro Optics” scope has a crosshairshaped reticle with a choice of red/green illumination.

The intensity of the red/green illuminated crosshair can easily be adjusted to 5 different levels. The scope has a 3x32 magnification and features two standard size rails on the tube, for mounting accessories like flashlight, laser or a small red-dot. I mounted one of the “Dot sight, Red” micro sights to use for “close in” engagements which works very well indeed.

The scope has integrated Picatinny/Weaver rail mount.

I have been very impressed with the STRIKE SYSTEMS optics that I’ve tried thus far and there are other magnified and red-dot scopes in the range that I am certain will be every bit as good. All the models described here have been on and off various RIFs over the past eighteen months, and all are still working every bit as well as they did when they arrived with me. I’ve even had the “Tactical 3x32 Scope W. Rail” mounted on a .22LR carbine and it’s worked just as well there, proving to me that it will certainly put up with small calibre use at the very least - just as I thought it would!

I’m of the belief, yet to be confirmed by anyone at ASG though, that the STRIKE SYSTEMS optics range is probably due for a bit of an update as we head through 2019, but the models I’ve tested and retested to date prove that their non-licenced products are every bit as good as those that are!

For more information on the entire range of STRIKE SYSTEMS optics and stockist details, please pay a visit to http://actionsportgames.com. AA

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INTERNATIONAL STIRLING AIRSOFT - SPAIN

OPERATION SKYLINE

OPERATION SKYLINE WAS A STIRLING AIRSOFT 24-HOUR COMBAT MISSION NEAR VALENCIA IN SPAIN TO SIMULATE THE ACTIONS OF THE TF DAGGER AND JAWBREAKER - AND SCOTT ALLAN WAS THERE. SYNOPSIS

AFTER THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS by al Qaeda, a team of 7 CIA men, named “Jawbreaker”, lands in Afghanistan to lay the foundations on which special operations will work to dismantle the Taliban regime and capture Osama Bin Laden.

The Jawbreaker team would be joined by operatives of the 5th Special Operations Group, Task Force Dagger (ODA 555) and together with the men of the Northern Alliance, the war in Afghanistan began.

TF Dagger, assisted by Jawbreaker, began coordinating aerial attacks on Taliban positions in the Shomali plains.

Working alongside Afghan Northern Alliance (ANA) soldiers, US Special Forces took the fight directly to the centre of the Taliban forces…. …or that was how it happened historically, the actual game went a little differently.

Photography: Christopher and Rocio Hughes of Stirling Airsoft

STIRLING AIRSOFT

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Stirling Airsoft are the UK’s leading Airsoft events company. They have no strict home site, which allows them to pick and choose their venues without any hindrance of their key goal – to provide the most immersive and current scenarios possible. Their venues range from Catterick Garrison’s training facility, Cope Hill Down, Stanta Training Village and, of course the infamous “Valley” in Wales. In later years the use of game sites in Spain has brought on new challenges and game scenarios that are, quite possibly, some of the best airsofting available today.

TRAINING

The first part of the event is training, provided by a professional ex-Regular and Special Forces staff.

During the training both the Stirling regulars and the Spanish players were trained in the latest techniques in movements and teamwork. This gave new players a

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whole new immersive experience and seasoned players a chance to brush up on old skills and practice new ones.

There is always something that can be taken away from training, in particular with a group of people you don’t really know, which was the case for me. As Sun Tzu said “Which army is stronger? On which side are the officers and men more highly trained?”

This would be my 8th year of overseas games and as always there are little techniques I found helpful, insights into the way modern SF outfits work and, of course, brushing up a little bit on my Spanish. The first game I played was in Madrid all those years ago and it hit 43 degrees and last time in Valencia it hit mid 30’s, so this year I was slightly concerned that it could be another tough one with the heat, or so I thought…

The site we would be a using was in the area of Castellon, with endless rolling hills and tracks everywhere. It was amazing and quite possibly one of the most geographically dense sites I’ve ever seen. The boundary fence was a little barbed wire fence so it really did look like the site went on forever.

The site came with a villa so the organising staff at least had a decent base in which to set up all the administration that was required for the weekend. There was even a pool and although we joked about it we didn’t go in – at least not this time around. Comfortable beds and a shower on Friday night were definitely an unexpected bonus in preparation for the long day and night to come. Most of the sites I’ve been on previously had been a case of sleeping rough in whatever corner I can find but I have that to come during the game.

Saturday morning started at a good pace but the skies are looming and heavy, the Spanish and British teams take part in a dual safety brief, in both languages so that there are no misunderstandings of the specific rules of the site. Hats off to the translator, Mark Hughes from Stirling, who coordinates most of the translation.

Game tactics and teamwork are taught, as the groups are bunched together sometimes with people they don’t

INTERNATIONAL STIRLING AIRSOFT - SPAIN

know and they all have to work together to achieve a smooth execution of the manoeuvre. The good old “EDI” training method was used: Explain. Demonstrate.

Imitate. An age-old style of military teaching that works very well for practical-based training.

THE RAIN IN SPAIN…

With the training all complete the real fun begins with the game starting up. Kick-off is at 11am and the drizzle has started off and on. The first objective is to move out to our FOB and secure the perimeter. Once there the support vehicle can move up with the rest of our equipment and we can begin pushing into the enemy controlled territory. About midway to the FOB the patrol gets contacted by the enemy, we have our full force in the patrol so the attack quickly whittles

long before the rain and the dark. Best laid plans and all that jazz. After what seems like an eternity for our Crye-laden battle brothers wearing red and blue tourist ponchos, attacking the FOB area we clear it out. The FOB isn’t a large structure, about 4 or 5 metres square with a dry area underneath and a watchtower on the top. The entire Spanish side (except for a small number) pile in below and myself and the Stirling guys stand in the rain.

The enemy engage again and at one point we have just two working rifles between the five of us but still, we hold our positions while the refugee team fumble around. One player who told us he was ex-French Foreign legion leaves because it is wet and there won’t be anywhere to pitch his tent. A few others drift off, completely soaked and miserable. The support vehicle

“IT IS 2AM AND WE’RE PRETTY DONE IN. I’M STILL PRETTY COLD AND GET MY ROLL MAT OUT, FIND A LESS WET BIT OF MUDDY GROUND AND TRY TO GET IT SORTED. SLEEP DIDN’T COME EASY THAT NIGHT. AFTER JUST NINETY MINUTES I HEAR SHOTS AND THE CALL OF “CONTACT!””. the enemy down to nothing. We patrol further on but it has become apparent the mapping we have isn’t entirely accurate and the scales don’t seem to relate very well. OS Maps don’t exist in Spain it seems and our version has left some of the call signs a little disjointed and we’re navigating on a rule of thumb.

The enemy contacts us again from the front and the rear in an ambush. The firefight lasts a few minutes but the Spanish had become more preoccupied with the fact that the rain had started and ended up in a bit of a mess. The ambush is finally cleared off after some tactical confusion, our causalities are dealt with and we continue further on with the patrol.

We eventually reach the FOB, it’s tipping it down and the enemy occupy the area. All our wet kit is on the support vehicle as we were meant to arrive at the FOB

arrives. I grab my kit from the roof and start changing out my layers. In the haste of packing my sleeping back and bivvy bag I didn’t put my sleeping bag inside it… so now it is also wet. I kick myself but figure my bivvy bag is good enough that it’ll make up for any difference.

I’m wet and really, really cold. But thankfully I’d packed enough auxiliary gear and warm kit to see me through.

I hope.

As the evening marches on the rain stops (finally).

Our numbers have dwindled pretty far and we’re struggling to make any serious headway into the enemy territory. I’m sporting a new set of helmet-mounted ARMASight BNVD 40 2QS Night Vision and the white phosphorus clarity is something quite special. This means navigating around is actually quite easy, now that the skies have begun to clear.

We make a push for a radio transmitter only a couple of hundred of metres from the FOB. There’s a large area of open ground and then the short sharp hill it’s located on, it looked all quiet. After about the third time we’d been completely outranged and cut down, we started trying new routes. We sweep around, attempting to come in from the rear with a small team. Once again we are caught out. It is always an issue when assaulting a fixed position at night who is alert and waiting for you.

Generally, they will always see you first.

Finally, we take the radio transmitter and the clear skies give us good visibility all around the area. Then the enemy return again - it feels like from every direction possible. They also hit our FOB but we are cut off unable to return to assist the few players we left guarding the base. So, cut off and surrounded we fight and are slowly yet surely whittled down until once again we are cleared off the hill.

We return to the FOB. It is 2 am and we’re pretty done in. I’m still pretty cold and get my roll mat out, find a less wet bit of muddy ground and try to get it sorted. Sleep didn’t come easy that night. After just ninety minutes I hear shots and the call of “CONTACT!”.

My glasses still on, I’ve left my rifle just beside my bag and my helmet with NV mounted. I roll out to grab my

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INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL STIRLING AIRSOFT - SPAIN STIRLING AIRSOFT - SPAIN

helmet and rifle with my senses all firing on overtime and the adrenaline pumping. I scan around and can’t see anything. After a few minutes I begin to relax, it looks like it was a quick hit and run from the enemy and I can see a torch in the distance running away. I climb back into my cocoon and try to settle down.

I wake about 6 am and it feels fresh and cold outside with sharp blue skies. My glasses are somewhere in

Zero!

If it’s one thing I’ve got good at the last couple of years it’s running, in particular endurance trail running so I am off like a rocket. There is a plan and that is to meet at a set point for an emergency extraction but that’s going to take time, so we have to play a cat and mouse game with the enemy, leading them away from the extraction point before looping around and getting

“I RUN BACK DOWN THE HILL TO DISCOVER WE ARE BUGGING OUT. THE INCURSION HAS NOW BECOME AN ESCAPE AND EVASION – OP SKYLINE HAS JUST BECOME BRAVO TWO ZERO!” my sleeping bag, I spend a few minutes digging them out so I can leave my enclave of warmth. I grab a bottle of water, brush my teeth and finish it off and have a Caffeine Bullet (my new favourite supplement for games). They’re full of electrolytes and 100mg of caffeine in a Starburst sized chew so I get all the dunt from a strong coffee without having to spend ten minutes making it.

ESCAPE AND EVASION

We get ready to make an early patrol and push once again into enemy territory but we only get about 100 metres before we come across an enemy patrol, which we engage. The fight lasts a few minutes and we realise we are outnumbered. We pull back toward the FOB and are in danger of being caught in a pincer movement with another team coming around the ridge. We are dug in but pinned. I make a last-ditch effort to run up and around the ridgeline. It’s about an 80-metre climb up and I spent 20 minutes hooking around in between the enemy assault. Finally, I get the drop on the three and clear the ridge off but there is more enemy on the way. I run back down to the FOB to discover we are bugging out. The incursion has now become an Escape and Evasion – Op Skyline has just become Bravo Two

to the pickup point before we are overrun.

The chase lasts over an hour. Up and over hills, climbing rocks and descending through forests. It’s outrageously good fun, occasionally the enemy catches up so we lay in ambush and hit them to slow them down. Then we bug out and leg it again toward our final point. The pickup is late…. We start to run again and finally it arrives just in the nick of time for us to pile in and blast off to safety.

The game really didn’t go to plan, it went more “Blackhawk Down” and “Bravo Two Zero” than an SF incursion into Afghanistan but then I suppose that is part of the fun of it. Stirling organisers constantly kept the game changing to suit the weather, players and abilities and that is a skill in its own right. It was a real shame the weather killed off some of the players but those who stuck in really loved it and had beaming faces by the end.

I try to get one of these Spain games in every year and the prices aren’t even that bad considering. Stirling transport kit over for £75, my flights were £80 return to Valencia and the game was the price of an average weekend at €75. Then a shared room on Sunday night at a hotel before flying home. All that is a small price to pay for the amazing experience of playing in another country in my eyes… even if it did rain in Spain! AA

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31

KIT & GEAR TRAINING PLATES

TRAVAIL FITNESS TRAINING PLATES

HAVING BEEN LOOKING FOR SOME REALISTIC-WEIGHTED TRAINING PLATES FOR A WHILE, TOM HIBBERD CAME ACROSS NEW BRITISH COMPANY, TRAVAIL FITNESS AND TOOK THEIR PRODUCT FOR A BAPTISM OF FIRE AT STRIKEFORCE IN GLOUCESTER. I AM A LONG-TIME PROPONENT OF kit “looking and feeling right” and empty plate carriers, whilst popular on the UK Airsoft scene, look really odd and don’t sit right when loaded. To that end I haven’t used armour since a brief stint with a Russian Fort Defender several years ago. To fill that out I used a cut up camping mat to simulate the soft armour and nylon chopping board for the hard armour plates. Luckily I had access to a small workshop, so was able to band saw the boards down to the correct shape. However, because of the light weight it kept riding up and didn’t sit on my body correctly - to be fair though, that may just be because I’m somewhat more rotund than the average Spetsnaz operator!

Skip forward several years and I decided to have another go. Initially I had a look at importing some real Level 4 steel plates (just in case there actually is a zombie apocalypse!). However, due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restrictions it just isn’t possible to bring some into the UK. So back to searching for the solution it was. Having dabbled in weight lifting and powerlifting I was aware of the trend in sports like CrossFit for using weighted training plates in carriers to add some difficulty to the events. This has bought the price down and hugely increased the availability.

run for time, all whilst wearing 20lb body armour for the men and 14lb for the women!

Due to the popularity they added the plates to their permanent range of equipment and, as part of the process, also added a thick neoprene sponge backing to provide additional comfort for prolonged activities and to spread the load. This has the additional benefit in Airsoft, as it fills out plate carriers and adds to the realistic look.

At first the product was just intended for CrossFit but, through word of mouth, players started to enquire about training plates to add an extra dimension of realism to their load outs. Travail listened to what they were after and started making lower weights of 7lb/3.2kg and 10lb/4.5kg a set, which more closely approximates the weight of real SAPI Plates.

TRIAL BY FIRE

Travail kindly sent me a set of the 10lb/4.5kg plates for testing. They came well-packaged and on opening the box I was immediately impressed with the quality of construction. All of the edges were rounded off and smooth. There was a good, thick, neoprene pad on the back and the steel was powder coated to protect it from

“HAVING DABBLED IN WEIGHT LIFTING AND POWERLIFTING I WAS AWARE OF THE TREND IN SPORTS LIKE CROSSFIT FOR USING WEIGHTED TRAINING PLATES IN CARRIERS TO ADD SOME DIFFICULTY TO THE EVENTS. THIS HAS BOUGHT THE PRICE DOWN AND HUGELY INCREASED THE AVAILABILITY.” Whilst browsing social media I came across a company called “Travail Fitness”, a fitness apparel and equipment company who were keen to spread the word about their weighted training plates. They had started making them for people at their local CrossFit gym, for those taking part in the yearly US Memorial Day (28th May) “Murph” WOD (Workout Of The Day), taken from Medal of Honor winner and Navy SEAL bad ass Michael Murphy. On this day thousands of people all over the world attempt the Murph hero of a 1-mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 press ups, 300 air squats and another 1-mile

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the elements and, more importantly, the user’s sweat! I opted for the curved plates to aid comfort. The curve is only in one direction, unlike a more fitted double curve plate. However, looking at some competitor’s products, a double curve can easily double or triple the cost due to the added manufacturing complexity!

I put them into my Pilgrim carrier and the plates fitted nicely into the front and rear pockets. After some adjustments to the carrier I had the plates in the right place on my body. For testing, the Airsoft Action TV Outside Broadcast Team headed over to Strikeforce

KIT & GEAR TRAINING PLATES

Airsoft in Gloucester. This is a 53,000 square foot indoor CQB site that allows short full auto bursts and due to this I quite fancied wearing some armour for the trip...

dogs and a stripped-down carrier under a big coat.

I could feel it in my ankles after a few days but the workout was a definite bonus. I’m considering getting some even heavier plates just for the training benefit!

A WHOLE PLATE OF BENEFITS

I’m really enjoying the Travail fitness plates. They’ve added another dimension to my gaming and can turn an average skirmish into a good training session.

They are very well made and are pretty inexpensive compared to most of the competitors. I’d whole heartedly recommend them to anyone that wants to add another dimension to their Airsoft sessions. Just listen out for those hits! AA

The plates conformed well to my torso. I could feel the added weight, though as it was well distributed it didn’t encumber me too much. The weight held my plate carrier in the correct position on my body and the stiffness allowed me to access my mag pouches and radio without my gear folding over. We played several games over the day and although I got hotter than normal, it was fairly easy to deal with. I did have to be extra conscious of hits as the padding and steel meant that I couldn’t really feel hits directly on the carrier unless they came from a very close range. You just have to listen out for a “thwack” in these cases.

Steel being shot, even through fabric, makes quite a distinctive noise! It’s pretty similar to being hit on your helmet.

I also did a series of walks up to two hours with the

Travail Fitness supply plates to private security companies for training of new operatives, police officers looking to move their careers towards firearms units and serving soldiers with an eye on taking the next step toward SF selection.

The plates come with a lifetime warranty, are powder coated to ISO9001, made from high grade CR4/ S275JRPO steel, are available in both flat or curved profile and have all the edges bevelled to avoid any unnecessary wear and tear on your plate carrier.

They’re available in medium E-SAPI (suitable for most carriers) and Shooters Cut, with more options being added all the time. They also offer a custom size option.

Prices are as follows: 7lb/3.2kg £29.99 10lb/4.5kg £41.99 14lb/6.4kg £51.99 20lb/9kg £61.99 You can order directly through their website: www. travailfitness.com and for more detailed enquires or custom sizes email: info@travailfitness.com

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35

INTERVIEW NORTHERN PACT

NORTHERN PACT INTERVIEW

AIRSOFT ACTION IS LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE MANY REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS WHO ARE NOT ONLY DEDICATED AIRSOFTERS BUT ALSO EXPERTS IN THEIR OWN PARTICULAR FIELDS. HERE, BILL CHATS WITH IAN “TAZ” STOKES ABOUT THINGS RUSSIAN AND ESPECIALLY THE NORTHERN PACT ONLINE GROUP. OVER THE COURSE OF 2018 I was lucky enough to have space in Airsoft Action to talk about the OPFOR side of things. I sincerely hope that regular readers enjoyed “Project OPFOR” as much as I enjoyed putting it together and that it gave you some “food for thought” if you’d ever wondered about ditching the cool-guy operator gear and living life a bit more simply!

However, simple is of course a relative term and the more I delved into the OPFOR world, especially that of “Main Force”, the more intrigued I became. Like many of you, over the years I’ve had many a loadout and I have to admit that my inner “stitch bitch” does tend to rise to each and every occasion, as I do like to at least TRY and get things halfway right.

During the course of writing “Project OPFOR” I found myself speaking more and more regularly to my fellow AA contributor Ian “Taz” Stokes, who went on to help me write the final article in the series. I’m pleased to say that we now chat to one another regularly - and not just about airsoft kit! Ian’s knowledge of things “RUSFOR” is apparently limitless; from RIFs down to simple things like boots and gloves and graciously he is more than happy to share that information. Not only that, but he’s also been really helpful to me as I’ve built up my own “Main Force” kit, both in terms of showing me where to find things and also (quite literally) supplying me with a couple of choice items that were on my list.

Ian is also the “main man” behind the “Northern Pact” group that you’ll find easily on Facebook. With over 3,000 members the group is pretty active with collectors, living historians and airsoft players in search of the “perfect loadout” - and I have to say that some of the gear on show is absolutely inspirational.

With this in mind I got together with Ian in our 36

FEBRUARY 2019

“virtual office” to ask him more about the group and how it came into being. This is what he had to tell me: AA: Ian, welcome to AA with a different “hat on” and thank you for taking time to share some of your thoughts with us. Let’s start with a very important one; can you explain the importance having a clearly defined “mission” for the Northern Pact Group and what is it?

Taz: “I started Northern Pact to help fellow airsofters with a passion for Eastern European gear, especially Russian. Apart from showing some ideas for loadouts, largely based on “real world” examples, I wanted there to be a single place to help other find the right gear, link them to trusted sellers and provide accurate information about how things should go together.”

AA: With that in mind, could you tell me more about how Northern Pact came into being?

Taz: “Northern Pact was created as a bit of a “two finger salute” to “Rushing Russians” group as when I wanted to start on Russian themes they were very unhelpful. They basically told me to start my own chapter and they would not help me, so I went ahead and did exactly what they suggested, starting Northern Pact. You can see by the number of followers what happened next!”

AA: Who or what were big influences in putting together Northern Pact?

Taz: “To be really honest the biggest influence was a couple of young lads many years ago and their passion for something different. They were playing with the idea of sourcing kit and taking tentative steps, so it was logical to take this forward into a group that did everything in one place.”

AA: Why do you think that there is such an interest in “Russian” style loadouts at the moment?

INTERVIEW NORTHERN PACT

Taz: “I believe you can put it down to more widespread coverage; the interest has grown on the back of the Crimean conflict and the now heavy involvement in the Syrian conflict. Pictures are everywhere and became very high profile. (And of course more airsofters than ever are seeing the number of others adopting the Russian “look” at their local sites – Bill)” AA: I follow your posts online these days and you seem to have a great collection of gear yourself; where did this start, and how long has it taken you to build this up?

Taz: “Over the last five years I have slowly amassed a vast collection, from the early days of buying the overpriced limited availability items to the now vast array of everything being available through Northern Pact members and sellers.”

AA: Would you say that you have a “favourite” loadout, and what is it?

Taz: “My personal favourite (and possibly the most impossible to complete accurately) is the Beslan style FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) loadout. This event is probably the most iconic for Russian fans due to the amount of Russian Special Forces used and its outcome.

“Typically, the loadout comprises of “SS LETO” cotton non-reversible Partisan suits, which you can’t get for love nor money! “Tig and Altyn” helmets are about in plenty of types from real to replica, “Sbruya” Partisan harness also available if not cheap and body armour, from “Redoubts to Defenders” and Crispi “Sahara” boots among others can also be found if you look hard enough!”

AA: I see a lot of folk going to quite extreme, almost “living history”, standards with their loadouts on the Northern pact page. Is this what it’s about?

Taz: “No, Northern Pact is about airsofters who love their kit, especially Russian gear! There are supporting pages for every extreme from re-enactors to airsoft teams with generic styles. We provide accurate information, safe sources and sellers with honest reviews to help everyone, and anyone is welcome as long as it’s not at the expense of others.”

AA: What do you have in your personal collection of “Northern Pact” RIFs, and which is your favourite, and why? Is there a model that you’d like to see produced that isn’t available right now?

Taz: “Right now my personal Collection consists of TM Recoil AK74MN, AKS74, AK74SU, AK102, BO Mto tactical AK, RPK custom, RPK16 (my interpretation from earlier pictures), AK104 custom, NPO AK12, NPO As Val, Celcius CTW, E&L AKM and an SV98 custom.

“My favourite “go to” RIFs are my recoils because they have range and reliability.

“I would like to see the new AK12 and new RPK16 produced as the current issue; NPO are toying with the new version of the AK12. I would also like to see LCT realise weapons with the new EBB system pre-fitted as I cannot personally justify ripping out a perfectly good gearbox just to drop in the new EBB unit!”

AA: At last we have a great choice of “Russian” RIFs to choose from! In your opinion what is a good model for folk to start with? One that will fit different loadouts?

Taz: “The AK74M is, in my opinion, the best first

RIF to accomplish a plethora of concepts. For airsoft purposes the AK74MN model is the go-to starting point.

From Cyma at the entry level right up to TM at the top end they all great airsoft rifles.”

AA: In your experience what are the common failings when it comes to putting together a good “Northern Pact” style loadout and what can be done to correct it?

Taz: “Failings are usually down to labelling a loadout.

If you want to do an accurate kit then do so, but if you want to do a Russian “generic or inspired” loadout then still get the right kit. If you just want to use Russianmade kit then so be it, just be honest with what you want to achieve and listen to advice. No one will fault you for asking questions but putting Russian flags on MTP doesn’t make it a Russian loadout!”

AA: If anyone reading this wants to buy Russian gear for themselves where should they head?

Taz: “The first step is to join the community page!

Why? Because every decent Russian seller/store have become members and we get discounts and preferential rates from others. From Grey-shop.ru at one extreme, to specific collectors and sellers of older and rarer gear, you’ll find them all on Northern Pact.”

AA: Northern Pact has members from all over the world, and not just airsofters. Can you give the readers an idea of what this really means?

Taz: “Our membership stretches from serving members of armed forces not only in Russia, but across the globe and we have had instances where gear I have used has turned up with combat units in the real world.

We influence each other more than people appreciate!”

AA: How do you see the Northern Pact group growing in the future?

Taz: “As long as people appreciate that Northern Pact is an umbrella for a diverse range of reference pages, dedicated unit specific pages and a host of teams worldwide then we are the “Russian go to” Google page. We’ve not yet been unable to guide people for anything they may need. With the current interest in “all things Russian” the group seems to be set for even further growth.”

AA: Finally, I know that you’re involved in other online groups that will help any player wishing to learn about Russian Gear to research their personal loadout.

Can you tell me about this?

Taz: “I’m personally involved in two Russian Forces reference pages. “Spetsmag” is dedicated to conflict and specific units, almost a go-to library to start with.

The other, “Army Inside”, is an up to date Russian forces activity page full of pictures, films and reviews of what is currently being used across the whole spectrum of current Russian Forces.”

For more information on Northern Pact, Spetsmag, and Army Inside just check them out on Facebook as all have their own dedicated pages. AA

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37

KIT & GEAR SLINGS

SLINGS... “…a strap, band, or the like, forming a loop by which something is suspended or carried, as a strap attached to a rifle and passed over the shoulder.” (Dictionary.com)

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU USE TO CARRY YOUR RIFLE? PHIL BUCKNALL BELIEVES THERE IS A LOT MORE TO THE HUMBLE SLING THAN MEETS THE EYE, AS HE EXPLAINS… SLINGS? SURELY NOT A TOPIC THAT could possibly cover more than a paragraph before you run out of subject matter? I mean, after all, they’re just thinnish strips of material that hang off your gun and snag on everything that sticks out more than a couple of millimetres causing no end of grief for the occasional benefit of being able to keep your long gun about your person without having to hold it in your hands! Well, if that’s what you think then I have to tell you that you are, I’m afraid, very wrong and I hope by the end of this you will see the benefits that a decent sling, that matches what you want from it and is well constructed, can bring to your airsofting experience; that investing a little bit more than you might usually for something almost inconsequential can genuinely be a game changer.

I’ve been round the block more than once in this hobby and I have tried a huge number of different slings from the bare bones basic models to ones that are configurable in a number of different ways, depending on the need. I’ve used slings I’ve made myself from paracord (on my XM177), to the ubiquitous and classic “three

SLING TYPES

In general terms, the majority of slings can be broken down into “single point”, “double point” and, yes you guessed it, “triple point”. These terms relate (broadly speaking) to the number of contact points betwixt the sling and the gun and any sliding mechanism on the sling (for the three pointers). Very basically, the single point mounts to a plate typically found at the rear of the receiver and is a fabric loop with either a metal or polymer clip to attach it to the gun. These are great for CQB and a decent one, well set up, allows you to literally drop your primary and swing it quickly out of the way to access your pistol, or just to free up your hands. The downside of this is that it does mean the gun can swing around quite a bit.

With a double point sling it typically mounts to the extremes of the gun. In the case of an M4 that would be on the stock and a loop under the front sight post.

This gives options for slinging the gun over the shoulder to carry it when not needed and it can still be easy to transition by releasing the gun with your strong hand and

“YOU WILL SEE THE BENEFITS THAT A DECENT SLING, THAT MATCHES WHAT YOU WANT FROM IT AND IS WELL CONSTRUCTED, CAN BRING TO YOUR AIRSOFTING EXPERIENCE; THAT INVESTING A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN YOU MIGHT USUALLY FOR SOMETHING ALMOST INCONSEQUENTIAL CAN GENUINELY BE A GAME CHANGER.” point sling” used frequently on the HK MP5 series of guns and the L85 too. I’ve used slings that cost no more than a couple of pounds, all the way up to well over sixty and all sorts of designs. I’ve had single point bungee type slings - which are great until you start moving quickly and find that the bungee makes the gun bounce around uncontrollably and often into squidgy bits that should never have a gun hit them! I have even seen them used with a heavy gun that drops down and then, like a bungee jumper, springs back up at speed and hit the owner squarely on the jaw!!

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pushing down on the butt with your off hand to put the gun on your weak side. With real firearms that are made of steel etc., having the sling points so far apart doesn’t present a problem but with airsoft guns being quite a bit weaker, that can mean quite a lot of load going through it and that can and has caused guns to literally snap in half! Not ideal. The triple point kind of addresses this by having the two mounting points and a further third one on the sling itself, that can slide up and down enabling it to be used as a double or even a single point depending on the requirements of the user, making it a pretty

KIT & GEAR SLINGS

versatile addition to any weapon.

I’m going to focus on three slings that I have narrowed down through my own trial and error and think offer the best performance. All of my guns are M4s so my findings are based on their performance on that particular platform but it is a fair assumption to make that they will behave accordingly on other types of gun too. The three I have picked are the Magpul MS3, the Ferro Concepts Slingster and the Blue Force Gear padded Vickers Combat Application Sling or VCAS for short.

BLUE FORCE GEAR VCAS

Whilst I love my MS3 sling, I recently had shoulder surgery and the plate that now resides on my right collarbone makes some slings pretty uncomfortable, so I started looking for a padded sling. At roughly the same time I

MAGPUL MS3

I have been a big fan of the Magpul MS series of slings and used MS2 single points for a number of years.

When the MS3 came out I saw there were quite a few differences between it and its predecessor, so I got one to try out and it was amazing. As good as the MS2 was, the MS3 takes the performance to another level. The webbing used in its construction is much wider and stiffer and the fittings are bigger and better designed meaning they are easier to manipulate with gloves on. The adjuster

was looking I also found myself watching SIX and Seal Team and I won’t lie, I was influenced a smidge by those

“WITH REAL FIREARMS THAT ARE MADE OF STEEL ETC., HAVING THE SLING POINTS SO FAR APART DOESN’T PRESENT A PROBLEM BUT WITH AIRSOFT GUNS BEING QUITE A BIT WEAKER, THAT CAN MEAN QUITE A LOT OF LOAD GOING THROUGH IT AND THAT CAN AND HAS CAUSED GUNS TO LITERALLY SNAP IN HALF! NOT IDEAL.” to lengthen/shorten the sling is bigger and better made so, in combination with the thicker and wider webbing, it is much smoother and easier to adjust with one hand. Finally, the clips which secure it to the gun have a considerably better locking mechanism, which gives you faith that it isn’t going to let go on you all of a sudden.

I run my MS3 mainly in the single point configuration and it works brilliantly. The wider webbing means the weight of the gun is more spread out on the shoulder and body making it much more comfortable for longer.

All in all, it is an excellent sling that can be used as a two point sling if needed but it really excels in the single point configuration. Since getting mine, Magpul have released the MS3 Gen2 which is refined even further. The MS3 in its guises can be found all over and typically range from £59-£70. The different adaptors are also available from about £24 each as extras, so you don’t need to spend another £70 to get a different sling configuration.

shows, as well as my own preferences. Because I have QD sockets on one rail and rail mounted sling loops on the others, I wanted to get a padded two point number and the first choice for me was the BFG VCAS. Like the MS3 it isn’t a cheap sling, coming in at £60 for a MultiCam version with acetal fixings (for £70 you can get one with metal fixings) but it is definitely worth it.

When I got mine out of the packaging the first things that struck me was the build quality and strength.

I reckon you could use it to lift a car off the ground!

The webbing is wide and quite thick but easy enough to move when you are doing the fitting and initial adjustments but secure enough to then not move during use. The padded section isn’t huge but it is long and thick enough to be comfortable throughout the range of movement you’re likely to encounter in use as well.

The adjuster is very well put together and slick, meaning rapid adjustments aren’t a problem. The only downside that I have come across so far (after multiple uses), is that the stiffness of the webbing and the rear mounting point on my guns mean that transitioning from right to left shoulders isn’t particularly easy and it can get in the way, especially if it is set to be quite short overall. I think this is mainly a quirk of the PTS EPS stock I use, more than an issue directly relating to the sling itself. BFG produce a huge range of mounting accessories for the VCAS so you should be able to find one that allows you to use it on literally any gun and in any conceivable way, minimising the issue above.

FERRO CONCEPTS SLIGSTER

At the same time I got the VCAS I also got a Ferro Concepts Slingster, after receiving glowing references from a number of players whose opinions I trust. It is very

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KIT & GEAR SLINGS

similar to the VCAS but the webbing and padding are thinner and slightly more malleable, ergo more flexible.

The slider to adjust the length is also metal as standard and has a cool little rubber pull ring on it to facilitate adjustments. On that - there is plenty of adjustment in the sling, again like the VCAS, allowing it to be used on full size rifles or carbines without any issues. I found that the extra flexibility in the material actually made the sling more useable than the VCAS, especially when shooting left handed from cover. The padding is thinner than the VCAS as well but it isn’t uncomfortable by any means; in fact it slightly edges ahead of the VCAS as my favourite of the three.

SUMMARY

These slings aren’t just review samples I’ve had for a day or two; these have been used week in week out for quite a while now and have more than proven their worth.

Like any tool, getting the right one for the job can make a huge difference and I hope it has given you some food for thought. Whilst some might baulk at the thought of spending that much money on a sling, remember what it carries! Do you want to risk your RIF that has cost you hundreds of pounds to a £5 sling off eBay? Didn’t think so!

Stay safe and have fun out there. AA

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EVENT LWA PRACTICAL SHOOTING

PRACTICAL SHOOTING LANDWARRIOR STYLE! WHETHER YOU KNOW IT AS “ACTION AIR”, “3-GUN” OR “MULTI-GUN SYNDICATE”, THEY ARE ALL FORMS OF PRACTICAL SHOOTING AND NOW SCOTTISH SHOOTERS CAN JOIN IN AT A NEW FACILITY RIGHT NEXT TO THE LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT SHOP, SO FRENCHIE PAID THEM A VISIT. I SUPPOSE THE SANTA HATS WERE INEVITABLE, given that it was only one week before Christmas but they’re not the sort of thing you expect to see at a practical shooting event on a dark Tuesday evening. The other thing I hadn’t expected was the sheer volume of camo and site-appropriate load carrying gear – I’ll come back to that later. What I was reasonably confident about was a decent evening of target rattling, and there was no

“practical” shooting right here – I don’t mean full-on IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation) rules stuff but shooting over a course of fire with various targets, requiring the use of different weapons, all of which must be completed within a strict time frame.

In the case of LWA, this is a mix of pistol targets and rifle targets, arranged in a manner that gets more complicated with each successive round. The guys

“LWA DESERVE CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE LOUNGE AREA WHERE SHOOTERS CAN WAIT BETWEEN ROUNDS. THERE ARE PLENTY OF SEATS, THERE’S AN ARCADE GAME IF YOU CAN’T WAIT A MOMENT LONGER TO SHOOT STUFF, AN EATERY SERVING TEA, PROPER COFFEE AND SNACKS AND THE OVERALL IMPRESSION IS OF A NICE COFFEE SHOP …WITH GUNS!” disappointment there. So, welcome to a dark corner of Dalkeith and the denizens who scare plastic cups!

Scott Allan, not a man prone to sitting on his hands, took over the warehouse unit adjacent to Landwarrior airsoft (LWA) when it became vacant earlier this year.

He had (and has) plans for it, not all of which have yet been realised, however, it was always his intention to run practical shooting events to give airsofters and others something a little different from skirmishing.

I think we should clarify exactly what is meant by 46

FEBRUARY 2019

have gone the extra mile to create a comfortable and welcoming environment, Airsoft Action isn’t “Homes & Gardens” but LWA deserve congratulations for the lounge area where shooters can wait between rounds.

There are plenty of seats, there’s an arcade game if you can’t wait a moment longer to shoot stuff, an eatery serving tea, proper coffee and snacks and the overall impression is of a nice coffee shop …with guns!

Turnout was higher than normal during my visit, with nearly twenty participants present and as is the

EVENT LWA PRACTICAL SHOOTING

“LWA RUN AN “AIRLOCK SAFETY” WITH EACH SHOOTER PASSING THROUGH ONE SET OF DOORS AND BEING MET BY STAFF WHO ALLOW THEM TO LOAD THEIR GUNS AND IMPORTANTLY WHERE AEGS ARE CONCERNED, SAFELY FIRE A COUPLE OF ROUNDS TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS ONE IN THE CHAMBER BEFORE BEGINNING.” way of practical shooting, this did slow things down a little. To streamline the evening all the courses and rules had been printed off and given to each participant so, in theory, Alan just needed to cover the housekeeping and safety aspects of the event during his briefing. This he did while airsofters (and the majority were airsofters) played true to type, with some entering the shooting area asking what they were meant to do! D’Oh! LWA run an “airlock safety” with each shooter passing through one set of doors and being met by staff who allow them to load their guns and importantly where AEGs are concerned, safely fire a couple of rounds to ensure that there is one in the chamber before beginning. That done, they are then permitted into the competition area and allowed to shoot. It struck me as a slightly time-consuming way of doing things, however, it does mean a complete separation of “live” and “waiting” shooters and barring acts of gross folly or stupidity, no one should be exposed to the possibility of an accidental discharge. For that reason, I cannot criticise it.

The courses themselves were a combination of rifle/ pistol targets set up to increasingly challenge each shooter. There was no opportunity to walk the course before shooting it, so each participant went in blind before being told “Go”. This - and a tendency to hide

at least one target per course in a less than obvious position (behind a door for instance) - meant that while speed and accuracy count for much, a systematic approach also pays dividends.

www.airsoft-action.online

47

TACTICAL

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EVENT LWA PRACTICAL SHOOTING

To mix things up further throughout the evening, doors and rooms would be added to the course increasing its complexity, along with mandatory magazine changes and a Land Rover… Participants weren’t required to drive anywhere (thank God!) but they were required to mount the vehicle and shoot from within the gun ring – not something I have ever encountered on a practical course before.

The high turnout this close to Christmas indicates that LWA may well be onto something here, although airsofters generally enjoy the opportunity to play with their guns more than twice a month.

Practical shooting builds and reinforces several skills, mental and physical, teaching you to spot a target, properly identify the target and accurately engage the target along with an economy of shots. Some of the targets throughout the evening were “hostages” (effectively “no-shoots”) so you cannot blast away hoping to hit everything in as short a time as possible.

During their design, build and testing period, LWA discovered that they had to find a mechanism to limit shots on target. Although the course is semi-auto only (as you would expect), some players were wearing their triggers out putting as many rounds as possible onto the targets.

In order to curb this enthusiasm, more than two shots per target will incur a penalty, a sensible move which forces the shooters to limit themselves rather than needing intervention from the staff on hand. Players movements were restricted in the competition zone by a series of moveable red lines, partly for safety to keep them pointing downrange and partly to further complicate their task.

I spent a couple of hours on range with the staff and players, it was relaxed yet competitive, which is as it should be. As things stand there is no opportunity for those awaiting their turn, or those who have already shot, to observe. I think that’s a shame as there is nothing like an audience to put a bit of extra pressure on the shooter. Whether that is something that could or will be added remains to be seen. I got the impression that at present safety was the absolute priority and

given that one payer suffered a runaway AEG midcourse, you can understand why.

Another aspect I found… ermmm… “peculiar” was the preponderance of camo on show. Concrete floors and breeze block walls are generally grey, that’s the case here, further there are no other players to hide from…

I kind of get it, and I’m not suggesting that anyone should be forced to hide their MultiCam fetish but skirmish gear isn’t the best option for practical shooting.

Having arranged practical events in the past and shot a few, I personally found that a seriously stripped-down load out worked best. Latterly I used a dump pouch and holster, spare magazines (never more than two) went into the dump pouch where they are easily accessible when reloading.

Plate carriers and battle belts are great for the protracted engagements you’ll encounter on the skirmish field but, despite what you might think, they are not particularly fast in terms of mag grabs, at least not nearly as fast as practical shooting can demand.

I suspect that there is a learning curve involved here, especially for those who haven’t regularly shot practical courses and they may well get to a place where their gear is stripped to the essentials; they’d certainly be faster for it. For me also I enjoyed the fact that practical events created an occasion where I could shoot without having all the encumbrances of skirmishing.

Each to their own and the foregoing should be treated as the observations they are, not as criticism.

Truthfully, I found nothing to criticise in the way Scott, Alan, Kev and Neal went about running the evening.

The venue is great and should only get better – I know that there are plans afoot for additional activities to be added. Hire guns and gear are available for those who fancy a challenge but don’t want to shell out their hardearned cash on gear just yet.

I seem to have written a lot recently about activities that involve airsoft gear but which aren’t airsofting as we all know and love it. From my perspective that is a really good trend because diversity will strengthen the sport and encourage its continuing growth by presenting alternatives that might appeal to a broader base. Ironically, the practical disciplines are the one place where a brightly coloured gun is neither out of place nor a disadvantage, which is just as well as it does not really constitute a defence.

So, hats off to all at LWA! If you are in the area and fancy something a bit different, give them a call and go along. It’s a pleasant way to spend a few hours in highly convivial surroundings and what more could you ask for in these cold, dark evenings! AA

www.airsoft-action.online

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KIT & GEAR BUCKLE UP TACTICAL GEAR

8 FIELDS “BUCKLE UP” TACTICAL GEAR

EVERY AIRSOFTER LOVES SOME GREAT LOOKING GEAR BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS THE BUDGET TO SPEND ON “BIG NAME BRANDS”. BILL TAKES A LOOK AT SOME CHINESE GEAR,

BY WAY OF POLAND, THAT GIVES SOME SERIOUS “BANG FOR YOUR BUCK”!

WHATEVER YOUR STYLE OF AIRSOFT may be, from fullon MilSim weekends to occasional skirmish days, the fact is that you’re going to need some way of carrying extra magazines, ammo, pyro and general sundries.

Over the course of many games I’ve watched what people are using to work out if there are new ways that

conversations online about the very latest “tacticool brand” and comments about how important it is for me to have them. Fact is that I gave up following fashion a LONG time ago over function and instead look at what works best for me, not only on the field but also in terms of my bank balance!

“YOU MIGHT THINK THAT FOR THAT PRICE YOU’LL BE GETTING SOMETHING “CHEAP AND CHEERFUL” AND WHILE THE 8FIELDS GEAR PROBABLY WOULDN’T STAND UP TO A REAL-WORLD COMBAT ZONE, IT’S CERTAINLY PUT TOGETHER WELL ENOUGH TO STAND UP TO THE RIGOURS OF YOUR LOCAL AIRSOFT FIELD!” I can try to make this both efficient and comfortable.

I’ve gone through simple chest rigs (the ChiCom being the most basic), patrol vests (the old DPM ARKTIS is still my favourite), different belt-kit setups and numerous plate carriers from the most minimal to full-on RAVs. Put simply, I’ve tried a lot of different ways of carrying my “fighting load” and inevitably come back to a chest rig.

After much trial and error with drop-leg platforms I’ve decided they are just not my cup of tea and the same can be said about overly cumbersome body armour/plate carrier systems. Most usually I will combine a chest rig with some form of minimalist belt order and that’s “good to go” for me!

Occasionally though, there is a need to run a plate carrier, usually when it’s dictated by game guidelines or when I know I’m going to get up close and personal in a CQB setting. Although I (hopefully!) don’t need any ballistic or stab protection in relation to airsoft, the extra coverage afforded by even the most straightforward plate carrier will keep me comfortably in the game, even when I’m taking multiple BBs to the torso.

Perhaps it’s because of my more widespread interests in things tactical that I seem to always notice 50

FEBRUARY 2019

A couple of months back I was searching for some chest rigs for my mates and I and someone kindly suggested to me that I should look at www.taiwangun. com as they had a bunch of gear on sale for “silly money”. So it was that I had a look and found four separate rigs, along with some other bits and bobs that worked out to just over £40 in total, shipped to the UK! I sent a question to confirm shipping details and ended

KIT & GEAR BUCKLE UP TACTICAL GEAR

up chatting online with a chap at TWG called Kamil and, as we talked more, he suggested to me that I might like to have a look at their latest “8 FIELDS” gear, in the form of the “BUCKLE UP” system. He very kindly shipped me a box over containing various components of the system to have a gander at. These components were: • 90CM RIFLE BAG TRAVEL WITH BUCKLE UP FRONT PANEL – BLACK • BUCKLE UP LOW PROFILE PLATE CARRIER – BLACK • BUCKLE UP SPEED TRIPLE RIFLE MAG POUCH – BLACK • BUCKLE UP TRIPLE AK MAG/PISTOL POUCH PANEL BLACK • BUCKLE UP MULTI-MISSION FRONT-PANEL – BLACK • BUCKLE UP CHEST RIG – BLACK • BUCKLE UP CHEST RIG V3 – BLACK • AIRSOFT DEAD RED RAG POUCH – BLACK

Say you want to set up your plate carrier for general “recon”; well simply attach this panel to the velcro and buckle it in place. Running hot and heavy CQB? No problem; just add the multi-mission panel and you’re all

set with rife/carbine mag pouches, pistol mag pouches and even some elastic loops for cyalumes and bangs!

Rocking an AK? Again, no issue as there’s even a panel specifically for this and panels cost as little as £6 a pop for the Triple AK version.

ALL WORKING TOGETHER

The premise of the Chinese-made “BUCKLE UP” system is really all about the plate carrier and how you set that up. Some of us have been around long enough that we have multiple sets of gear to use with different AEGs, with different pouch configurations to take that into account. What the “BUCKLE UP” system does is to take that principle and give you a solution that is totally customisable and that’s achieved by having different pouch panels which do indeed simply “buckle up” to a single plate carrier.

First off is the “Low Profile Plate Carrier” and whilst this looks like other, much more expensive, items that I own, it retails for under £30! Now you might think that for that price you’ll be getting something “cheap and cheerful” and while the 8FIELDS gear probably wouldn’t stand up to a real-world combat zone, it’s certainly put together well enough to stand up to the rigours of your local airsoft field! The fabric used looks and feels to be a tough nylon mix and seems solid enough and the stitching is actually far, far better than I thought it might be; some attention has been given to this area, with reinforcement in all the right places.

The “Low Profile Plate Carrier” features a built-in admin pouch, front and rear plate panel pockets (hard plastic “plates” are included but you might want to upgrade these to something like those sold by J-TAC Custom) with loads of MOLLE, good shoulder padding, an elastic cummerbund for a great fit and a fast-clip/ velcro front panel for quick changes of your kit to save time. These clips and the large velcro panel are compatible with all “BUCKLE UP” pouch panels and chest rigs and herein lies the clever bit…

VERSATILITY BUILT IN!

Basically, with the “BUCKLE UP” system you can have a plate carrier with magazine carriage options for under £50, which is a bargain in anyone’s book. If, however, you want to add even further to the modularity of your overall system, then there are even chest rigs that will slot right in. Kamil kindly sent me the most simple chest rig in the range, which is just a simple multi-pouch affair somewhat akin to the old 1980’s “recce rigs”, along with their very latest “V3” rig which comes with all the pouches you could possibly need for a good day’s skirmish or a MilSim mission.

And again, by simply unbuckling the basic H-Harness from the rigs and removing a plain panel you can attach even these to your plate carrier, giving even greater versatility to an already uber-useful system! www.airsoft-action.online

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KIT & GEAR BUCKLE UP TACTICAL GEAR

Two additional items I also received were really unexpected and most useful bonuses! The first is very, very simple and it comes in the form of the “8FIELDS AIRSOFT DEAD RED RAG POUCH – BLACK” which retails for just £2.20! This little pouch, almost like an elasticatedfront BFG pouch, holds a red “dead-rag” which is easily

deployed to show that a players is hit. This is integrated with the pouch and can be easily put onto a helmet or MOLLE gear. While the “dead-rag” is still not as popular

in the UK as it is elsewhere, I am seeing it more and more and this little pouch may just help to make it an even more popular rule!

The other item which I wasn’t expecting but was very pleased to receive was the “90CM RIFLE BAG TRAVEL WITH BUCKLE UP FRONT PANEL – BLACK” and this really is a very nice bit of kit whichever way you look at it!

Made from a more sturdy 1000D nylon than the wearable gear, this front-panel opening soft case really does feel like it should cost way more than the 35 quid

been using this rifle bag on my trips to my local shooting club and it’s got more than a few admiring glances I can tell you!

All in all I’m actually rather impressed with the “BUCKLE UP” system. As well as running it at a few skirmish days it’s also been used on a couple of photoshoots with NUPROL and not only does it look

“VERY COMFORTABLE STRAPS AND A MESH “SOFT-BACK” PROVIDE GREAT COMFORT, EVEN DURING A LONG WALK TO THE SAFE ZONE - AND THERE’S EVEN A LITTLE SURVIVAL WHISTLE FITTED FOR IF YOU GET LOST!” that TWG charge for it! With an exterior water-resistant finish the inside is well padded with foam to protect and secure firearms/RIFs. It’s designed for carrying one assault rifle or shotgun but I’ve had no problem fitting in a pair of carbines. The interior base is also hemmed with velcro, where you can attach straps in any position to secure the contents. Very comfortable straps and a mesh “softback” provide great comfort, even during a long walk to the safe zone - and there’s even a little survival whistle fitted for if you get lost! The cover also has an outer zip compartment for accessories and three velcro panel mats and a detachable MOLLE front panel which allows you to fit pouch panels from the “BUCKLE UP” line. I’ve actually

great, but it’s already stood up to the same abuse as my “real world” gear and acquitted itself well. The gear is available in multiple colours and camo patterns if you’re looking to tie it in to a complete loadout.

If money is tight but you fancy some great looking, robust tactical gear then I’d say do have a look at the 8 FIELDS “BUCKLE UP” system as I think it is tremendous value for money!

My sincere thanks go to www.taiwangun.com for kindly providing the test samples and, as a footnote, I’ve noticed 8 FIELDS gear is now beginning to appear with UK retailers. AA www.airsoft-action.online

53

INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA - OSCAR ZULU 1

OSCAR ZULU 1 ELSEWHERE IN THIS ISSUE OF AIRSOFT ACTION YOU’LL FIND IGGY ROBERT’S REPORT FROM THE LATEST MAG AUSTRALIA GAME, HELD IN NEW ZEALAND. HERE, IGGY TELLS US A MORE ABOUT MAG AND HOW THE TEAM CAME TO BE. MILITARY ACTIVITIES GROUP (MAG) IS LOCATED just outside Christchurch in New Zealand (NZ). It was formed nine years ago by Linda and Noel, a couple that were big into airsoft but wanted to expand it into more of a fun military experience instead of speedball-style gaming. Since then, like many of our UK sites, it has grown and adapted as the game has. The site itself is over 42 acres of conifer woodland and clearings which are littered with paths, tracks and defendable positions.

Out of interest the FPS limits of NZ and used at the MAG site are: • 400 FPS for AEGs and GBB RIFs with a 10m minimum engagement limit.

• 450 FPS for DMRs with a 20m minimum engagement limit.

• 550 FPS for snipers with a 30m minimum engagement limit.

• Recognised “Champion Snipers” are allowed 620 FPS but with a strict minimum 30m engagement limit.

airsofter from Australia and naturally, MAG New Zealand gave them the time of their lives.

THE BEGINNING

Cal had been a member of AAC since the beginning, fighting the legislation to legalise airsoft in Australia.

Now he had his first taste of playing airsoft, he and Josh decided to go to NZ again the following year but bring a few more Aussies with them. After pitching the idea to Noel (MAG), he agreed and the first year of MAG Australia was created and has been happening ever since. That first year they brought five other guys over, then it increased to 21, then 48 and last year they had 102 fly over for the annual MAG Australia event!

After a while, they wanted to make it a bit more special for the people who came out. So Cal and Josh formed Oscar Zulu 1 (OZ1), an Australian airsoft team that you automatically belong to once you attend your first MAG Australia game.

OZ1 have a patch which indicates your experience in terms of MAG Australia games attended and this is

“AFTER PITCHING THE IDEA TO NOEL (MAG), HE AGREED AND THE FIRST YEAR OF MAG AUSTRALIA WAS CREATED AND HAS BEEN HAPPENING EVER SINCE. THAT FIRST YEAR THEY BROUGHT FIVE OTHER GUYS OVER, THEN IT INCREASED TO 21, THEN 48 AND LAST YEAR THEY HAD 102 FLY OVER FOR THE ANNUAL MAG AUSTRALIA EVENT!” MAG Australia came about when Cal Chataway won a competition run by the Australian Airsoft Council (AAC), for a fully paid trip to fly to New Zealand to play airsoft in 2013 at the MAG site. It was there he met the other winner, Josh McKanzie. Josh was also a first time

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done using a “star” system. Your first game patch is of a face of a kangaroo wearing a US WW2 style helmet with OZ1 on it. Then every MAG Australia game you attend thereafter you gain a star above the helmet.

Once you reach five games attended, you are entitled to

INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA - OCASR OSCAR ZULU 1

get a patch with 5 black stars. This is the last one and will remain the same from then on. Ok, so every year you have to buy a new patch until your 5th year but it creates a sense of belonging to the OZ1 family and is a great way for new players to find someone with more experience should they need anything or, if they are your team leader, you can see they have the experience to be able to lead.

According to Facebook, they have around 1,000 people that follow them and know what they do. There are roughly 50 players who return every year without fail and around 30 of them are official members, who are entitled to a special privilege - they can buy and store their own airsoft guns in NZ. They are then always available to use whenever they go to NZ. They also become members of MAG itself and therefore don’t have to pay a Green Fee when they visit MAG to play. In effect, MAG becomes their “home” site.

OZ1 usually have two trips a year over to NZ; one in April of which a few of the guys attend a MAG WW2 event and the second in October, which is the annual big MAG Australia event. For this “main event” they tend to go all out and have heaps of pyros, sometimes even tanks and helicopters have been involved too!

Until this year the main MAG Australia game was run by MAG, however, OZ1 have taken over the organisation and game plan for the event. This meant organising all the accommodation, Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s) - ration packs to you and I - airport pick-ups and then the game plan and rules. They start prepping for the game in February and registration opens in March.

The service of food and accommodation is an optional service and you can sort your own out if you wish but usually the best value for money is to take advantage of the service OZ1 provide.

They try to provide a full-on airsoft experience, with airsofting on all four days of the trip. Usually the first day is basic safety and tactics training or, as they did this year, a sniper school which was an additional cost but taught the fundamentals of sniping and the role of a sniper in airsoft. This was followed by an afternoon of

skirmishing and an option to go to a CQB game in the evening, again at extra cost.

The following day the main game started. Sometimes this goes straight through the night until the Sunday Afternoon, other times it pauses for the night and there is another opportunity for a CQB game. Sunday is the final day of the main game and Monday has a private CQB game at a different CQB site for all of the players of the main game. This is included in the cost of the whole weekend. All this is done to try their best to satisfy the players thirst for airsoft. There are often various opportunities to visit some of the airsoft shops in Christchurch, usually resulting in excitable purchases.

www.airsoft-action.online

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INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA - OCASR ZULU 1

ON-SITE MEDIC

Another service that’s provided is full time medical cover, meaning that a fully qualified medic is on site as long as the game is running. This service is provided and run

by Shannen, accompanied by Hayden, both qualified paramedics.

Shannen became good friends with Cal and Josh and volunteered his services as a real time medic when the “Aussies” came over. Initially it was just Shannen but issues started to arise when he was trying to play in the game and had to drop out to sort out any medical issues. It was also often hard being in a game mindset then trying to be a medic on the spot. Shannen said: “Having the two of us now means that we can cover it in shifts and allow the other to airsoft a little. This also means that we don’t get fatigued by always being “on duty.” The players have paid a lot of money to come over here and play airsoft, so we will do all we can to get them better and back in the game, meaning they are not suffering and wasting money.

“The main types of medical problems we encounter are dehydration, heat exhaustion, soft tissue injuries and previous history issues of people.”

DINGO AWARDS

At the end of the main game on Sunday evening, it’s become a tradition for all the players go for a meal and drinks at the “Lone Star Bar and Grill” to celebrate the end of a good two days gaming and it is here where the “Dingo Awards” are presented.

The Dingo Award is a patch with a dingo and golden shamrock on it. It was designed in honour and thanks to Keith, an Irishman that since the 3rd year of MAG Australia has helped out all the players and organisers - from designing the games to technical support and fixing the members guns free of charge whilst they went home to Australia. Keith returned to Ireland last year after OZ1 was formed and could stand on its own two feet, so to say.

The Dingo patch is awarded to the player, or players, that Cal and the organisers deem were the best and fairest players of the event. This is usually achieved through demonstrating great sportsmanship, helpfulness

and being a team player who often went “above and beyond” in some way, be it aiding the flow of the event or doing something substantial to get yourself to the game.

Overall, OZ1 wants to see airsoft legalised in Australia and they strive towards making that happen by working closely with the Australian Airsoft Council. Cal said: “I spent a good five years in the AAC before doing the MAG Aus thing. There are quite a few of us that are still actively involved with legislation in Australia. In one way or another we are all connected to advocates of airsoft, paintball and gel ball and encourage everyone to work together.”

Until then, they intend to maintain and grow their annual MAG Australia games.

For more information visit www.oz1airsoft.com or the airsoft site in Christchurch: www.mag.org.nz AA

www.airsoft-action.online

57

FEATURE WEATHERING YOUR GUN

HOW TO WEATHER YOUR AIRSOFT GUN

WE ALL LIKE BRIGHT, SHINY NEW THINGS BUT SOMETIMES “BRIGHT AND SHINY” DOESN’T FIT WITH THE “LOOK” YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. DUST MONKEY GIVES US AN OVERVIEW OF HOW TO GIVE YOUR GUN A DISTINCTLY “WEATHERED” LOOK. ONE OF THE SINGLE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS I get over at the Dust Monkey social media channels is “How do you achieve the dusty operator look on your airsoft guns?”. So, with that in mind, here is a simple technique to change the look of your airsoft guns (followed by a more advanced one).

allowed to dry and then weathered on top. Think “Lone Survivor” and the weathering on the guns and you are not far off.

So let’s start off… but first of all massive thankyou to NUPROL for sending over one of their Raven EU 17 in black to use as the base gun for this article.

THE EASY WAY

Dissemble the gun and using masking tape cover up any areas where you categorically do not want any spray going, in this case the barrel and internals etc. Once that is done lay the pieces on a flat surface OR hang them up, so you do not need to touch them during spraying.

Grab your dust or tan spray paint, I use “Krylon” but that’s just personal preference. In your free hand you need a rag of material; an old t shirt does the trick. You want to spray the gun and then immediately dab and wipe away the still-wet paint. For small guns like pistols you can spray in one go and wipe but for bigger guns you need to do it in sections due to the drying speed of some paints. As you will see, this quickly leaves your gun with tan paint in the recesses and an overall slightly lighter shading to the gun.

With this you have a dusty used “Operator” look on your gun with very little fuss. Leave to dry and voila, this process is now done.

THE SLIGHTLY HARDER WAY

There are other techniques for making your gun look weathered and one of my favourites we will go into now. I am a big fan of black guns sprayed tan and then

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FEBRUARY 2019

For this technique you need to spray the entire gun tan and allow it to dry. Once this is done and using acrylic paints (I like to use a dark brown and black for contrast), you dab these onto the gun. To do this you want to cut up some sponge into a small piece, dab this into the paint, then wipe away the excess and gently dab this over the gun, starting with the brown first. If you get more on the gun than you want don’t worry, it does not dry fast so you can simply wipe off unwanted paint. Once dry repeat with black but make sure you have very little paint on the sponge. I like to build black up gradually primarily around the ejection port and the upper receiver/barrel.

Once this is done I then finish it with some light spray with the tan and wipe again. This helps blend the colours and weathering to a more unified finish and you now have a distinctly more used and abused looking gun.

Hopefully you find this helpful and if you use the techniques, be sure to send photos to the Airsoft Action Facebook page so we can see your finished guns. AA

KIT & GEAR AIRTECH STUDIOS

NOBODY WANTS A WOBBLY BUTT!

IF STOCK SLOP SPOILS YOUR SCORPION EVO, THIS NEW PRODUCT FROM AIRTECH STUDIOS COULD BE THE ANSWER, AS STEVE TAKLE FOUND OUT. THE AIRTECH STUDIOS NAME MAY NOT be a familiar one, but they’ve been making airsoft upgrades since 2015. Based in Hong Kong, the company was founded by a team of airsofters after years of playing and modifying their own set-ups. They now work with designers from New York and the UK to create new products and we have one of their latest to test, new on the market - the Stock-Butt Stabilizer for Scorpion Evo 3 A1.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Everyone knows that first impressions count and Airtech’s packaging makes a good one. It’s a resealable pouch using quality materials in a striking silver, red, black, and white metallic finish. No, we wouldn’t buy something for the bag either, but it shows these guys are a professional outfit and not oriental opportunists.

“A SMALL BIT OF METAL IS JUST A SMALL BIT OF METAL UNTIL IT PROVES IT CAN DO THE JOB IT WAS DESIGNED FOR…” We were more impressed by the clear illustrations that do a good job of showing what it’s about, as well as the included credit card instruction sheet with numbered stages for installation and clear photography. That’s way more than some well-known manufacturers include with their parts. The text could have been bigger, but I am an old biffer with bad eyes.

small bit of metal until it proves it can do the job it was designed for…

I’m OK swapping barrels and buckings, but gearboxes scare me. Your gran could fit this. Pop out one pin to release the stock, pull it out, snap the stabilizer on and reverse. Five minutes, tops - and that includes reading the instruction card properly.

Honestly, I don’t know what they mean by installing “into the first and third compartment” but look at the pictures and do that. Monkey see, monkey do. All good.

It snaps into place like it was meant to fit - probably because it was. It seats with a satisfying certainty and just feels… right.

ROCK SOLID

Time to put it back together and see if it actually works, or whether we’re facing some filing time to make good.

Job done! It slides in and out without obstruction.

I added some silicon oil - because moving parts - but there’s no obstruction or fouling anywhere. And the result? The stock is rock solid. I hadn’t realised how irritating the standard stock slop is on my go-to gun, but I wouldn’t go back having fitted this part.

The slight wobble as standard never really bothered me but I’ve seen YouTube videos of people fitting tape, shims and putty to fix it. Now they don’t need to. This Stock-Butt Stabilizer does exactly what it sets out to do.

Available from your local airsoft shop and priced at less than £10.00, why wouldn’t you? AA

FIT AND FINISH

More importantly, the part itself is inside too. It’s small.

Almost unassuming. I like the embossed logo. I’ve found that if a company believes in a product, it’ll put its name to it. It’s well finished with a uniform appearance and no sharp edges or burrs, but a small bit of metal is just a

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59

REEL STEEL THE TERMINATOR

REEL STEEL

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS NOW A REALITY, WITH VARIOUS “DOOMSAYERS” SAYING THAT ITS REALISATION WILL BE THE END OF US! THIS MAKES THE 1984 MOVIE “THE TERMINATOR” ALL THE MORE PERTINENT AS OUR REALITY STARTS TO RESEMBLE THAT OF THE MOVIE WORLD AND THE POSSIBLE TERRORS THAT MIGHT BRING! BILL DELVES DEEPER INTO THE TIME VORTEX TO CHECK OUT “REEL” AGAINST AIRSOFT… I WAS JUST 20 YEARS OLD when the original “Terminator” movie first screened and oh boy, was it a different movie than anything I’d ever seen before and even back then, one that was chilling! Starring a youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger, a largely unknown Michael Biehn and a totally unknown actress called Linda Hamilton, it was a sci-fi movie that nobody knew at the time would go on to spawn an entire franchise of movies, TV spin-offs, and even toys and games.

time travel and ultimately into the paradoxes that could come from it. As the machine murdered its way across Los Angeles using a variety of weaponry, taking out anyone in the telephone directory (yes, a real paper one from a phone box!) with the name “Sarah Connor” in an attempt to kill her before her unborn son was even conceived, a soldier by the name of Kyle Reese (the right hand man to Sarah’s son John in the future… confused yet?) also travelled through time to protect

“WE HAD NO INTERNET, NO MOBILE TELEPHONES AND THE VCR WAS ABOUT AS GOOD AS IT GOT WHEN IT CAME TO “VIRTUAL ENTERTAINMENT”. GOING TO THE CINEMA WAS STILL A HUGE OUTING, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT WAS TO SEE A NEW “BLOCKBUSTER” MOVIE - AND “THE TERMINATOR” WAS CERTAINLY ONE OF THOSE!” Back then, the thought of an all-seeing and allknowing “SKYNET” was the stuff of fantasy and was about as far away as the moon. We had no internet, no mobile telephones and the VCR was about as good as it got when it came to “virtual entertainment”.

Going to the cinema was still a HUGE outing, especially when it was to see a new “blockbuster” movie - and “The Terminator” was certainly one of those!

We all know the story… A virtually indestructible cyborg is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her.

Straight away we were thrown into the paradox of 60

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REEL STEEL THE TERMINATOR

her and, in due course becoming the father of the yet to be born John Connor…

Yup, me too! On paper this all seems very confusing and long-winded but in director John Cameron’s movie this was all condensed down into just 107 minutes of non-stop, roller-coaster action!

I have to admit that I’ve watched every instalment of the “Terminator” series with great interest and enjoyment and I’ve even dabbled in the “Sarah Connor Chronicles” series (which was cut WAY too early in my opinion!) because the whole “Terminator” universe absolutely fascinates me. I’m known amongst some of the younger members of the Airsoft Action team as a bit of a “techno-luddite”, as I have just the most basic mobile which is rarely even switched on and to me the internet is purely a tool. Being brought up with movies like the “The Terminator” has certainly had a bearing on my adoption of things “AI-related” and I do tend to be a kind of “off-grid” guy! This is very much a considered decision…

HARDBALLER

I am of the belief that in the early days of airsoft replicas there were actually quite a large number of models whose creation was directly driven by certain popular movies and one of the main firearms used by Arnie in the original movie was the AMT Hardballer .45 Longslide. This is the handgun with the large top-mounted laser sight that appeared on all the publicity posters and VCR covers and which has become a bit of an icon! The AMT Hardballer is one of a series of pistols that were clones of the .45 ACP Colt M1911 and were made

by Arcadia Machine & Tool from 1977 to 2002. The Hardballer was the first entirely stainless steel 1911 pattern pistol and featured adjustable rear sights and a lengthened grip safety. An airsoft replica was made by Western Arms and, as per the real thing, was characterised by its extra-long slide. At a whopping 267mm, this gun was long! The top of the slide was serrated and the replica even had “Bomar-style” sights for easy aiming. An interesting “factoid” about the movie “Hardballer” was that the rather rudimentary “laserlock” sight was a one-off made by Laser Products Corporation, which would later become SureFire!

“pump or auto”. This is a bit of an inspired choice as later in the “Police Station” scene Arnie is shown using it one-handed, where the semi-auto function would prove invaluable. The Uzi, of course, was a classic “bad guy gun” in 80’s movies and for any cyborg wandering incognito around Los Angeles in an M65 jacket, would be easily concealable.

Okay, I’m going totally Tokyo Marui here, as their “SPAS-12” is still an absolute cracker of an airsoft

shotgun and even as an early model, had the now-common 3BBs at a time mode.

The TM version comes without the unique over-folding stock but these can still be picked up online if you search hard enough. The same goes for the TM Uzi and I’m chuffed that I still have an original in my collection. A number of manufacturers have tried to replicate the iconic Uzi in airsoft form but to my mind the TM is still the “daddy”.

Shotguns play a large part in “Terminator”, with the “good guys” having to make do with a plethora of more mundane pump-action models; namely the Ithaca 37 that Kyle Reese “acquires” from a Police Cruiser. In addition to having an extended 7-shell magazine tube, Reese saws off part of the stock to give it a pistol grip

SHOTGUNS

Of course, there’s another couple of “must-have” firearms when it comes to “The Terminator” and those are the “12-gauge auto-loader and the Uzi 9mm”! The shotgun Arnie lays his hands on while in the gun store is a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun and the store salesman mentions that the shotgun is Italian and could go

instead, making it easier to conceal under his trench coat. Arnie has his own Ithaca 37 but the model he uses is the standard riot model with a full stock and

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REEL STEEL THE TERMINATOR

4-shell magazine tube. Now there’s a couple of airsoft ACM gas shotguns that closely resemble the Ithaca (I still have a cracking 8mm version that I bought in the USA) but for airsoft purposes I’d go for one of the great

seen primarily during the assault on the police station, dual-wielded alongside the SPAS-12. To the best of my knowledge no manufacturer has yet made an AR-18 AEG and it remains one of those “unicorns” that many

“870” models out there, especially the awesome TM gas “870” or the S&T spring series, as they do both “cut down” and “standard police” models straight from the box. The wood butts and grips of the S&T’s are also easily interchangeable, so creating a cut-down pistol grip model with an extended tube is certainly doable.

LONGS

In terms of “long arms”, there’s the M16A1 used by the police which is easily available in airsoft form but I’d have to point you towards the G&P M16A1 “recoil” as a great AEG model, or indeed the WE openbolt gasser if you want something with some real “oomph”. In the future it’s nice to see that the “resistance” still use the Heckler & Koch HK91A3.

One is most notably seen wielded by a fighter responsible for guarding the entrance to a human bunker and this to me makes complete sense as a 7.62x51mm battle rifle would be a logical choice against heavily armoured cyborg enemies. A Valmet M82A bullpup was used as Kyle Reese’s “plasma gun” (known as the Westinghouse 40 Watt Range M-25A1 Phased Plasma Carbine in case you’re interested) and although I’ve never personally seen an airsoft version, there are body kits out there (based on an AK donor) that would probably let you create one.

Finding a “phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range” is probably a no-no though and as the gun store salesman says, “Hey, just what you see, pal!”

One rifle that is almost impossible to find these days in airsoft form (and in “real” form to be fair!) is the AR-18. The AR-18 is used with two 40-round magazines taped together “jungle style” by the Terminator and is

of us wish for but that we are unlikely ever to see. That’s not to say that there has never been an airsoft AR-18, as I’m sure there are some “customs” knocking around and JAC actually made a “bullet valve” model back in the day that was powered by an external gas/air tank…

REVOLVERS

I’ve covered “Police” revolvers in previous “Reel Steel” articles so I’m not going to dwell on these again here but suffice to say that the Smith & Wesson Model 15, Ruger Security Six, Colt Python, and Smith & Wesson Model 36 all get their fair share of screen time in the movie and luckily airsoft “wheelguns” seem to be getting popular again!

Once again, there are actually far fewer firearms in “The Terminator” than you might think and this certainly ratcheted up in the follow-up movies! What there are in the original though, are some quite interesting and rare models that in some cases have seen direct airsoft replicas. Some are now sadly out of production but they ARE out there and perhaps “they’ll be back” one day - just like the Terminator! AA

“Listen and understand!

That Terminator is out there! It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!”

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KIT & GEAR ASG B&T ROTEX III SUPPRESSOR

ASG B&T ROTEX III QD SUPPRESSOR

ALTHOUGH THE BENEFIT OF A SUPPRESSOR ON AN AIRSOFT GUN IS DEBATABLE, THE LOOK THEY ACHIEVE IS UNQUESTIONABLE. PHIL BUCKNALL WRITES ABOUT ONE SUCH DEVICE, LICENSED FROM B&T BY ACTIONSPORTGAMES. THERE IS A HUGE SELECTION OF AIRSOFT suppressors on the market today, from very cheap and simple tubes with a +14mm thread at one end and a -14mm thread at the other. Whilst they have a place, they don’t really resemble any real-world suppressors; some of which are incredibly complicated devices. With our RIFs (more often than not) being powered by batteries and using gears etc. to fire the BBs, the benefit of a suppressor is not all that clear, as there are no hot gases expanding that need to be slowed to reduce the sound signature - even with GBBRs. In fact, the loudest part of either gun is the sound made by the mechanisms that make them work and a working suppressor is going to do nothing to reduce the noise from that and yet we buy thousands of them year in year out of all shapes and sizes.

One thing that has been increasing over the last few years is the trend to have licensed products and there are quite a few companies that have fully licensed suppressors in their line ups. PTS, for example, have led the charge in this area and have a number of different ones, including AAC but today I’m going to be looking at a European company that has had a huge impact on airsoft and is the only company to fully produce an AEG in Europe. I am of course talking about ActionSportGames (ASG), in Denmark.

Part of the ever-increasing stable of brands that are affiliated with ASG are Bruger & Thomet (B&T for the rest of this article for brevity) and, as part of that license they produce some really nice replicas, one of my favourites being the MP9. I had one many moons ago and it was on this replica that I got my first taste of a B&T suppressor.

The one for the MP9 is huge but extremely well made and carries the trademarks of B&T as per the real steel item. Because of this I wanted to look at their other offerings but they are not the cheap alloy threaded tube that cost £10, oh no, these are premium products and the price reflects that. So it wasn’t until quite recently 64

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that I finally got my hands on the B&T Rotex III C QD suppressor.

Why the Rotex? Well, I don’t know if you have noticed on the field but every man and his dog seems to be rocking some form of short HK416 with a replica surefire SOCOM II suppressor on it. I have to confess to liking that particular set up and it really does fit with a lot of load outs and not just the ST6 kit but I also like to be a little different, whilst still having some links to real world use. I believe the Rotex is in use with several armed forces and SF units especially in Europe.

THE ASG VERSION

The ASG version comes in a card-backed plastic tube, which is pretty understated but it serves its purpose.

Taking it out of the packaging you can see the quality of the product straight away. It is really well built and the QD mechanism is replicated faithfully, as is the ratchet system on the can that mounts it to the QD block. Also included is a flash hider; this is an A2 style birdcage flash hider and it is best to use the one supplied. I tried it on one already fitted to a gun and it was just a little too small for the can

KIT & GEAR ASG B&T ROTEX III SUPPRESSOR

to go over. Inside the suppressor body is a tube for the BB to pass through so, unlike some airsoft suppressors, it doesn’t alter the sound or suppress it really. This is a cosmetic addition to your RIF rather than a functional one.

I really like the markings on the can and the finish as it looks pretty durable but only time will tell. The shorter one (that I have) is probably the better of the two styles simply because it is shorter but there is a longer 160mm version though. If you want it and for a SPR or DMR RIF I can see that it would look quite good. Mine has the flat grey finish but there is a tan version also if that fits better with your kit. The only “negative” I can find about the B&T Rotex is the calibre markings. Why oh why do airsoft manufacturers keep putting 6mm on their products?

We know they fire 6mm BBs but we’re going for some semblance of reality with the products we choose, so marking them like that kind of ruins it a little for me. I’m sure it won’t be a major issue and if you’re into painting your kit then it’ll be gone in a couple of sprays but I for one would like to see 5.56mm on things like this, especially the licensed products.

Overall, if you are in the market for a high-end suppressor and want something different to the SOCOM II, then you would do well to look at the ASG B&T Rotex offerings.

The ASG B&T Rotex III QD Suppressor is available from ASG stockists priced iro £50. AA

We have been providing excellent customer service since 2008.

Sales - Repairs - Advice - Upgrades

FREE DELIVERY ON ALL ORDERS OVER £80

Buy Online at www.tacticalairsoftshop.co.uk Visit us - Croydon House, Unit 3, 1 Peall Road, Croydon, CR0 3EX Call us -020 3490 8008 Email: enquiries@tacticalairsoftshop.co.uk www.airsoft-action.online

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armoury LANCER TACTICAL SD CARBINE

LANCER TACTICAL SD CARBINE

THE “ENTRY LEVEL” MARKET FOR AEGS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY-CONTESTED AREAS OF AIRSOFT MANUFACTURING RIGHT NOW, SO BILL TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT A RIF FROM LANCER TACTICAL IN THE USA TO SEE IF IT “HAS WHAT IT TAKES”.

AS MUCH AS SOME MIGHT SAY THAT airsoft has “had its time” and that, with constant legal scrutiny in the UK, airsoft has only a limited life, I have to say that I find this hard to believe. It seems that new sites open on an almost weekly basis, or that existing site operators add a new venue even if it’s only a “pop-up” that offers a unique place to play for a limited time. I’m also amazed every time that I walk into my local shop that there seem to be new players looking to buy their very first AEG, or even people dropping in to ask what airsoft actually is!

used in airsoft, paintball, law enforcement, and military training. They carry a wide range of AEGs featuring polymer construction for beginner airsoft players, to full metal construction variants for MilSim. Some of their AEGs come equipped with blowback “recoil” for enhanced realism.

I spoke to a number of friends in the airsoft industry in the USA and all of them told me that Lancer Tactical have a solid place in the market there, especially with the “entry level player” given their extremely keen

“THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE TO CHOOSE FROM - FROM AN ABSOLUTELY CLASSIC “BARE BONES M4A1” THAT WOULD MAKE A GREAT BASE FOR A CUSTOM BUILD, RIGHT UP TO THE “INTERCEPTOR SPR”, WHICH IS AS MODERN-LOOKING AS IT GETS.”

The market for “entry level” AEGs seems to be a battleground just as hard-fought as any site you’ll find and with so many really good sub-£200 AEGs available to new players (or players that want a cost-effective back up), I sometimes wonder if there is space for new brands to even get in the fight.

Courtesy of Sportsmarketing SMK though, players can now access the latest Lancer Tactical models from their local retailer and there’s something for everyone to choose from - from an absolutely classic “bare bones M4A1” that would make a great base for a custom build, right up to the “Interceptor SPR”, which is as modern-looking as it gets.

Lancer Tactical was established in 2012 to bring affordable, budget-friendly products to airsofters worldwide. Their product line consists of quality automatic electric guns (AEGs), as well as tactical gear

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pricing (Airsoft GI have a basic “Commando Carbine M4” for just US$99!). Once upon a time many of us would look upon “plastic guns” with some contempt but the fact is that modern materials mean that a replica can be as strong as their metal counterpart.

CHECK YOUR TARGET!

When the first test sample of the Lancer Tactical Gen 2 M4 SD Carbine arrived, I do have to note that out of the box it did need some “fettling” to get it working correctly, nothing major but work nonetheless. I spoke to SMK at length about this and they assured me that this was highly unusual and took my comments on board to feed back to Lancer themselves. They also offered to send me another sample and I’m pleased to report that this turned out to be spot on and functioned perfectly out of the box! To put my mind at rest I spoke

armoury LANCER TACTICAL SD CARBINE

to a few retailers I know, both in the UK and the USA, that stock Lancer Tactical and they all told me that they’d encountered no problems with the models they had in stock or had been sold. It would appear that even big companies have the odd “Friday Afternoon Special” but any good retailer will sort any “teething problems” out before you even see the RIF in question. It’s really no biggie and test firing it at the shop should set your mind at rest.

The “M4 SD Carbine”, in addition to the polymer body, features a free-float style fully-railed polymer handguard which allows you to dress it up with almost any Picatinny-mounted accessory you can dream of, from optics to vertical grips or taclites to lasers. Instead of a “standard” flash hider, this RIF features a slim, recessed mock suppressor to finish off the outer barrel, giving the gun a neat and tidy “operator” look. The included flip up sights make for a fantastic option to get you in the game straight from the get-go.

Internally, the M4 SD Carbine uses the same solid, workmanlike parts that feature in nearly all of the Lancer Tactical Gen 2 series M4 airsoft models but tuned to a lower FPS for players who need to utilise their AEG in a CQB (close quarters battle) situation. These features include a 6.03mm inner barrel, low resistance wiring throughout, a quick-change spring function, rotary hop up, and 8mm bushings to make sure your gun is firing at a crisp 0.83 Joule/300fps which is perfect for the UK. This AEG can be up-tuned to a higher muzzle velocity by simply using a different spring thanks to the quickchange spring system and you can change from CQB to outdoor (and back) by unlocking the mechanism and replacing the spring without opening up the gearbox.

The included 9.6v “nunchuk” battery (with charger… ditch this!) will keep you in the game for a good while but personally I’d invest in a quality 7.4V LiPo and charger. The battery nestles snugly into the buffer tube, which comes equipped with a sling plate so that you can carry it with a simple single point sling. The whole package is rounded out by a metal 300 BB high capacity magazine which again means you can get straight out to play a game without having to invest in extra magazines.

DOWNRANGE

The M4 SD works surprisingly well on a 7.4V LiPo, giving a trigger response that is far crisper than you would expect. When you crank things up to an 11.1V

though, the trigger response is great on semi-auto but I would recommended that you run it on nothing more than a 7.4V as it is, after all, an “entry level” AEG with internals built to a price!

Chrono testing was carried out using .20g BBs and these fed smoothly in testing. The hop-up is easily set thanks to the rotary design and once set stays where it should. Lancer Tactical (I’m sure thanks to SMK) have looked carefully to legal power levels in all the countries they sell to, so I was not at all surprised when the M4 SD registered a consistent CQB and UK-friendly 0.84 Joule/302fps.

The accuracy was acceptable too, given the 10.5 inch outer barrel, with the M4 SD happily spitting BBs out to hit sandbag targets on the 30m range.

All of these features combined make for a neat little package that gets even the entry level or budget minded airsofter onto the field. As much as Lancer Tactical appear to cater more for the newer player, given the light weight of just 4.2lbs/1,906g, I can also see these as being ideal for those of a smaller stature, or snipers that want a “back up” that’s not going to add a huge amount to their load.

SUMMARY

Whilst the “all plastic” construction might put off some “elitists”, I think they’re missing a trick with some of the latest releases from the likes of Lancer Tactical.

Personally, I always get a big smile on my face when my backside gets handed to me by a “newbie” with their “entry level AEG”. If it spits BBs, has reasonable range and is accurate, then any RIF deserves a place on the field. I believe that the new Lancer Tactical models may not “wow” you, which may be against them in a highly-competitive area of the airsoft market but as a workmanlike, well-priced option they’re certainly worth a look.

The Lancer Tactical Gen 2 M4 SD Carbine sells iro £150 and is available from most good airsoft retailers.

My thanks to SMK for the review model and you can check out the range of Lancer Tactical models they offer by visiting www.sportsmk.co.uK. AA

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67

SKILLS QUALIFICATION SHOOTING

WITH MANY YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE AND PRIVATE CONTRACTING BEHIND HIM, ANDY NIGHTINGALE WAS LOOKING FOR ANOTHER CHALLENGE AND FOUND SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT FOR AIRSOFTERS TO TRY. I’VE SPENT THE LAST FEW MONTHS LOOKING for a new challenge that I can get my teeth into but kept coming up with the same answer... Competition shooting. I’ve been down that route before and I must have shot every competition out there, some with great success and others with total embarrassing results. My quest for something new took me back to my days in the military and the qualifying shoots we had to do to justify our positions and ranks that we held at the time. I know most of the chaps used to frown upon the APWT

that I thought I would never get a reply from and was pleasantly surprised by the response, with FBI, LAPD SWAT and ATF amongst them. And so the work begins.

I asked Nige if I could share these qualifiers with you and he and his merry band of assassins thought it would be something a little different, and maybe even a chance for some of the skirmish teams to set their own standards. In the following issues of Airsoft Action I will include a different qualification shoot from a wellknown military or law enforcement department for you

“I EVEN SENT SOME EMAILS TO AGENCIES THAT I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER GET A REPLY FROM AND WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY THE RESPONSE, WITH FBI, LAPD SWAT AND ATF AMONGST THEM.” (Annual Personal Weapons Test) and the likes, but I really enjoyed them. I shot the APWT recently and decided to go that little bit further and look for something that I could do with airsoft.

I’ve been lucky enough to have trained and worked with and alongside of some of the world’s great law enforcement departments and peace makers, so decided to get in contact with a few of the guys that are still active in this line of work. Each department - and there seems to be a lot of them - has their own set of qualifying shoots that have to be met annually for the team members to hold onto their jobs. This was just the thing I was looking for. Within no time at all I was receiving emails with qualifying shoots from all sorts of departments. I even sent some emails to agencies 68

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to try out. I have tried to keep to the original script as much as possible but I have had to make a few subtle changes due to the fact we are using airsoft guns and not real steel firearms.

CHANGES

As you can all appreciate, airsoft doesn’t have the same ballistic effects and accuracy as a real firearm. With this in mind I have had to reduce the distance from the firing point to the target, as some of the stages run out to over 25 yards. Also, the size of the score zone has been reduced. This will enable you to bring the target closer to the firing point. This reduction in target size will simulate the target being at a further distance yet allow you to make your shots count with your RIF. Let’s

IMAGE COURTESY US NAVY - PUBLIC DOMAIN

QUALIFICATION SHOOTING

SKILLS QUALIFICATION SHOOTING

IMAGE COURTESY US NAVY - PUBLIC DOMAIN

face it, we will never be able to hit a 8 x 4 inch target accurately at 25 yards with an airsoft pistol when being timed! I’ve also had to make slight changes to the target design as well, while keeping as close to the original target as possible. All the targets are easy to print on an A4 size piece of card, that way you won’t have to spend a fortune on the more expensive original targets.

All the qualification shoots are timed, so you will need access to a shot timer. I am using the CED 7000 Shot timer from Double Alpha Academy but you can easily download a shot timer app on your smartphone that will suffice. The PAR times (the total time in which you have to make your shots) have to be met in order for you to qualify. If you fail to finish a stage within the specified time, you will have failed the shoot. Although I have made subtle changes to the targets and distance, the times remain the same as the original qualification shoot. The method of instruction for each shoot can be somewhat confusing to understand, so I have reworded the brief to make it as simple as possible yet keeping to the same run.

KIT AND EQUIPMENT

Most of the qualification shoots that will feature in AA will require you to have the same equipment each time, however, there are some shoots that require you to have other items to hand and I will add these to the kit requirements list in each issue. You will also be able to download the targets for free from the Airsoft Action website and print them onto A4 size card.

Because I have been prattling on a bit here I will start of the first qualification shoot with a quick and simple one…

LAPD SWAT “A” COURSE Equipment needed: Suitable range to shoot on Handgun and belt holster 2 x magazines and pouch Eye protection Gas and BBs CSQT01 Targets and frame Shot timer Method: You will need to set out your target ranges from the firing point at 3m, 5m, 6m, 9m, 12m and 15m.

Target should be at level height with you.

Shooter will stand on the firing point with the handgun loaded and made ready. On the cue from the shot timer the shooter will engage the targets. Once finished the shooter will show clear and return to holster.

Please note that the IPSC rules of loading and showing clear are a good idea here.

times. You will need 6 rounds to complete this stage.

Stage 3 Distance from target to firing point is 9m. Failure Drill (fire 2 shots to the body and 1 shot to the head) within 4.5 seconds. Do this twice. You will need 6 rounds to complete this stage.

Stage 4 Distance from target to firing point is 6m. Failure Drill within 4 seconds. Do this twice. You will need 6 rounds to complete this stage.

Stage 5 Distance from target to firing point is 5m. Failure Drill within 3.5 seconds. Do this twice. You will need 6 rounds to complete this stage.

Stage 6 Distance from target to firing point is 3m. Failure Drill within 3 seconds. Do this twice. You will need 6 rounds to complete this stage.

Stage 7 Distance from target to firing point is 9m - 3m. Shooting whilst on the move. Fire 6 rounds to the body, 1 to the head. Do this twice. You will need 14 rounds to complete this stage. (You must be moving whilst taking a shot).

Total shots needed for this qualification shoot is 50.

You must score 47 points (hits) or more to pass the qualifying standard. Count all hits inside the score zone as one point. A broken line counts as a point. All hits outside the score zone are a miss. If you fail to fire all your rounds within a PAR time then you have failed the qualification shoot and must start again from the beginning.

To download the targets, head over to: www.airsoftaction.online/qualification-shoot-targets.

In the next issue of Airsoft Action we will have a look at the requirements for the FBI qualification shoot.

Good luck! AA

Stage 1 Distance from target to firing point is 15m. Fire controlled pairs to the body within 5 seconds. Do this 3 times. You will need 6 rounds to complete this stage.

Stage 2 Distance from target to firing point is 12m. Fire controlled pairs to the body within 4 seconds. Do this 3

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Airsoft Zone Unit 2, Detection House Brooklands Approach Romford, Essex.

01708 733275 www.airsoftzone.co.uk

Land Warrior Airsoft 44/1 Hardengreen Bus. Prk Hardengreen Lane Dalkeith, EH22 3NX 0131 654 2452 www.landwarriorairsoft.com

JD Airsoft Unit 5, Virage Park Green Lane, Cannock WS11 0NH 0845 600 5144 www.jdairsoft.net

Eton Guns 103 High Street Eton, Nr. Windsor SL4 6AF 01753 800009 www.etonguns.co.uk

No Limits Airsoft Unit 4, King Street Gateshead NE8 2YP 0191 441 4574

www.nolimitspaintballandlaser.co.uk

DTW Airsoft A3 Moorside Business Prk Colchester Essex, CO1 2ZF 01206 790046 www.dtwairsoft.co.uk

Surplus Store Unit 2, Access House Stephenson Way Three Bridges, RH10 1TN 01293 525880 www.surplusstore.co.uk

TacTree Unit 3, Stag Business Park Donnington Wood Telford, TF2 7NA 01952 565670 www.tactree.co.uk

Johnsons of Leeds 2, Vulcan Foundry Haigh Park Road Leeds, LS10 1RT 0113 277 5237 www.johnsonsofleeds.co.uk

Invicta Battlefield Airsoft Pook Hill Wood Farm Wilden Park Road, Staplehurst, TN12 0HP 07876 263290 www.invictabattlefield.co.uk

Looking for somewhere to buy Airsoft Action?

Your local Newsagent sold out?

Then why not visit any of the fine airsoft companies listed here?

They all keep Airsoft Action in stock and while you are there, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to have a good browse round to see what else they can tempt you with...

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FEBRUARY 2019

Buy Airsoft Action from any of these shops or sites - and get your copy before it goes on sale on the High Street!

Combat-UK 13-15 Market Place Stevenage Herts, SG1 1DH 01438 362922 www.onlyairsoft.com

Unit 8, Winston Avenue Croft Leicestershire LE9 3GQ 01455 285605

308 Sniper 66 High Street Chatham Kent, ME4 4DS 01634 921278 www.308sniper.co.uk

Socom Tactical 70 Reading Road South Fleet Hampshire, GU52 7SD 01252 616 868 www.socomtactical.net

Eagle6 Airsoft Sutterton Enterprise Park Sutterton, PE20 2JA 01205 460385 07944 904604 www.eagle6.co.uk

Airsoft Plantation Goatsmoor Lane Stock, Billericay Essex, CM4 9RS 07771 556395 www.airsoftplantation.co.uk

MidWales Airsoft Unit 3, Severnside Shopping Centre Newtown, SY16 1AA 01686 627594 www.midwalesairsoft.co.uk

The Vault Airsoft Store Brook Garden Centre Whittington Way Old Whittington Chesterfield, S41 9AG 01246 260860

Allsorts Airsoft 9 Arundel Road Littlehampton BN17 7BY 01903 714688 www.allsortsairsoft.co.uk

Red Alert Airsoft Hartshill Copse Burdens Heath Bucklebury, RG7 6SX 07941 087070 www.redalertpaintball.co.uk

www.thedepartmentcqb.co.uk

Sell Airsoft Action in your shop or on your site and get a FREE ADVERT on these pages PLUS a PREMIUM listing on theairsoftdirectory.com!

Contact Nige on 01684 878003 or by email: nige@airsoft-action.co.uk for details. www.airsoft-action.online

71

INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA JAPAN - TOKYO - OSCAR MARUI ZULU AND 1 KRYTAC EVENTS

TOKYO MARUI FESTIVAL & KRYTAC OWNERS MEETING

WHEN SCOTT ALLAN WAS INVITED TO ATTEND THE KRYTAC OWNERS MEETING IN JAPAN, HE COULDN’T RESIST AND DOUBLED IT UP WITH A VISIT TO THE TOKYO MARUI FESTIVAL AS WELL. When the mystical and mighty Allen Lau from Krytac said to me “Have you ever thought about going to Japan? There’s a brilliant owners meeting there for Krytac and I think you’d really like it” it got the cogs in my head turning. I’d never been to Japan, sure I had seen all the stuff on TV and knew what to expect: robots, cosplay, crazy trains, sushi and Takeshi’s Castle.

What more could there be?

Working with KRISS USA, the parent company of Krytac, does have its benefits and one of them is meeting up with the very cool Mytchel Luong to hang out in Tokyo with. We checked out the Airsoft shops there to get a feel for what their stores were like and it amazed me the brands that were big. Krytac is one of the cornerstone brands in Japan, alongside Tokyo Marui naturally. I was also surprised to see very little G&G there and pretty much no sign of WE, ICS, King Arms etc.

the public view - such a refreshing change from the UK’s stance on replicas. For example, I recently took a call from Amazon saying they were going to close my Business Seller account because we were selling gun parts. The fact they are replica parts is lost on them because they are, in large, idiots who cannot see past their immediate need to be offended by the latest craze.

We live in a nation that openly flaunts how we should all be more accepting - unless you are interested in any kind of shooting, in this instance you are instantly in the wrong and must be controlled! What a terrible society we live in for anyone interested in shooting. Japan has ultra-strict firearms laws so everyone is super excited

by Airsoft any no one is worried by this, in fact no one batted an eyelid really at the Marui show being so overt.

Makes you think…

Marui are the real inventors of Airsoft, or at least

“WE LIVE IN A NATION THAT OPENLY FLAUNTS HOW WE SHOULD ALL BE MORE ACCEPTING - UNLESS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ANY KIND OF SHOOTING, IN THIS INSTANCE YOU ARE INSTANTLY IN THE WRONG AND MUST BE CONTROLLED!”

THE MARUI FESTIVAL

The Marui Festival was first up and it was held in the electronic superstore area called “Akihabara”. It is kind of a little like Vegas with all the flashing lights and craziness, anime shops, hedgehog cafes (you play with them not eat them) and, of course, the SEGA game centres. Here you can play a number of insane games where the Japanese youth seem to lose their teenage years trying to master them. It’s a naturally fascinating area to wander around and much like Hong Kong, Japan buildings are multi-storey, so you have to look up to see what else is in a building.

The Marui festival location is on the main street, it has tensa-barriers around it but is largely open to 72

FEBRUARY 2019

in its modern incarnation. I recently read on Facebook someone saying “I never knew Airsoft was so big over there”. Of course I laughed a little and then told them Tokyo Marui invented Airsoft, as we know it - they quickly deleted the comment. I was unsure how the show would be executed but I was definitely blown away by the openness and the professionalism of the set up. We’re talking Shot Show standards and it’s all completely free, you just have to sign… err… something when you enter. I’ve no idea what it said as it was all in Japanese and my Google translate app kept telling me something about Felicity and Horses. I got my wristband and my free coffee and I was good to go. I’d seen photos before on sites such as Popular Airsoft and it all

INTERNATIONAL JAPAN - TOKYO MARUI AND KRYTAC EVENTS

looked quite similar as previous shows. The number of Staff behind the counters impressed me and also the numbers of youngsters keen to see all the goods. Some were clearly Airsofters as they had the camouflage gear that boasted so, others looked like they had merely stopped by. They also had a genuine MH6 Little Bird Helicopter on a trailer and they’re still worth many millions of dollars, so God knows where it came from!

New releases are spread around the show that covers maybe 1500-2000 square feet of Marui goods. A few newer low-end pistols, an AK recoil with a folding stock (yawn) and then they mighty new Mk 46 Mod 0 Recoil!

This will be the first electric recoil support weapon I’ve

ever seen released and I’m glad it’s a Marui. Whilst there was a strict “No Touching” policy and very little English, I did learn that it is full metal, the cocking handle works, the dummy rounds move to make it look like they are feeding into the rifle and it’s likely to be £600-700 once it reaches our shores around April/May next year.

It is a bit of a step up for Marui to move into that type of Airsoft weaponry and I’m excited to see what else they produce off the back of this, although they can be bloody slow at releasing alternative variants of an AEG. I mean, the AK recoil has been out for how long? And only now the folding stock version is on the radar for release.

The Japanese love the USA and are fascinated by their firearms culture, to reflect this Marui had flown in Anson Beck from Falcon Operations Group to give a marksmanship demonstration. I’d actually met him a couple of years ago at Shot Show through Alex Ko of PTS Syndicate. The demo was decent albeit a little slow paced as all the translations were made, it covered all the main basics you would come to expect. A bit of Q&A and Anson clocked me (mainly because I was the only Western face in the crowd) and we grabbed a quick coffee afterwards. He told me that he was impressed by the Airsoft culture in Japan and their eagerness to learn with what they had available.

All in all the show was an eye opener with some nice things on the horizon from TM and for a free show in the public eye, I think it ticked all the boxed very well.

The players support Marui in a big way and that is very cool too. I’d love to see something like this replicated in the UK soon.

THE KRYTAC OWNERS MEETING

Doing my research I’d looked up the Tokyo Sabage Park in the past and saw that Chris Costa had played there at

the first of the Krytac Owners meetings, so I was keen to see what the site was like. First off, it’s not in Tokyo, actually it’s pretty far away in another city called Chiba, about 50km away. Secondly, it’s an awesome little site and I do mean “little”. Weirdly, I remember speaking to Airsoft Action’s Frenchie many times about the perfect site and Sabage Park pretty much nailed it! It’s around two football pitches in size, entirely enclosed with safety netting (that doesn’t actually stop a BB from my experience) and running up the centre is a wide catwalk about 3 metres high. The gaming staff and visitors can spectate from this place.

The two sides have a different look and feel; the left side is made of Hesco Bastion Barriers and sprinkled with a few old cars. The right side is more conventional wooden square CQB type buildings. There are paths through from one side to the other so you can cut back and forward (if you live that long). The teams on the day are split into 4 colours and each plays the other in a Round-Robin before the show down between the winning two teams at the end of the day.

Laylax also invited all of their vendors out to have a pitch and sell their goods or show them off. Everything from patch sellers, high end custom work to wasteland survival Airsoft groups, it’s all there and it’s all really well done. The player base was crazy too; from MilSim load outs to your average hoodie and jeans type player, anything went - including two guys dressed up as Furries (it’s a thing… apparently!). And special mention goes the to guy with the red Tenga rifle, Tenga hooded cape and a number of them mounted on a belt… Google the brand. I’m still at a loss to what that was about.

The event was something special to attend and the Japanese player base is incredibly friendly and humble.

I asked about honesty and gun chronographing and it confused the site owner …a lot! After a few attempts at rephrasing the question my translator had a quick discussion with the owner and came back with “This is not an issue in Japan, players do not understand why you would want to cheat.” I fell in love with the place in that moment and the players were insanely fast and accurate too. I spent the first few games getting hammered before I finally got used to the loaner LVOA I had.

I don’t think the owners meeting is for everyone but the format is something that should be carefully considered for here in the UK. I for one would most certainly make the trip again. AA

www.airsoft-action.online

73

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last post MESH EYE-PRO

MAKING A MESH OF EYE-PRO LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM, YOU SIMPLY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY WITHOUT THEM BUT THE DEBATE OVER WHETHER TO “MESH” OR NOT RAGES ON. AS A LONG-TIME PLAYER AND MESH-WEARER, FRENCHIE SHARES HIS VIEWS ON THE SUBJECT.

IT’S A SUBJECT AS OLD AS AIRSOFT ITSELF – mesh or plastic eye protection? The arguments are well rehearsed… mesh masks or goggles are robust and most importantly for many players, they simply don’t steam up. Plastic eye protection (“eye-pro”) in the form of safety glasses offer excellent protection but are prone to condensation when perched on the face of sweaty airsofters.

To the best of my knowledge, no site has banned either because of perceived safety issues but should sites be concerned about this subject and, more importantly, should players?

At the risk of challenging your attention straightaway, it will come as no surprise that the efficiency and safety of mesh eye-pro is covered by a European standard; EN: 1731. Like our old friend, EN:166, which covers safety glasses and goggles, 1731 comes in a variety of flavours from high speed, low energy, up to high speed, high energy. Mesh glasses are not permitted for anything above the high speed, low energy category and above that only goggles or face shields can be rated. Low energy, as defined by these regulations, is 0.87 joules.

So, technically, a mesh face shield meeting EN:1731 A (high speed, high energy) will offer far superior 76

FEBRUARY 2019

protection when compared with a set of EN:166F safety glasses. If only it was that simple...

I love and have used mesh off and on for years, but I have always been aware of the inherent conundrum

LAST POST MESH EYE-PRO

of protecting my eyes with something that has holes in it. Ultimately, as my need to wear spectacles became pressing, I started using safety over-glasses, not attractive but functional and provided two layers of protection if you assume that ordinary spectacle lenses have slightly more protective qualities than fresh air. I just had to find a way to deal with condensation.

pull myself back – is mesh better or worse than safety glasses? In terms of the available regulations it’s neither but the likelihood of a BB shattering tips the balance in my opinion.

Airsoft mesh products don’t appear to be constructed using a mesh that would meet EN 1731 – if they were there is a higher likelihood that they would better

“I LOVE AND HAVE USED MESH OFF AND ON FOR YEARS, BUT I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AWARE OF THE INHERENT CONUNDRUM OF PROTECTING MY EYES WITH SOMETHING THAT HAS HOLES IN IT.” Manufacturers of safety equipment suggest that where there is a risk of mesh penetration by small particles, additional eye-pro is required. That would be plastic eye-pro, i.e. glasses or goggles. It’s also worth noting that to meet EN1731 the mesh must have 15 apertures per cm2, no less. Some basic measurements suggest that popular mesh airsoft offerings are nearer 10 holes per cm2, well below the standard. That lets more light and air through, which is great for comfort but not so good for protecting your eyes.

Let’s summarise. Firstly, I am not aware of any site that insists or checks that all players use a minimum of EN:166F glasses – typically the actual eye-pro worn is up to the player, the site will simply ensure that it is worn.

This means that players could be wearing something that just looks like adequate eye-pro. Secondly, as far as mesh specifically is concerned, I am willing to bet that very few mesh products intended for airsoft are either tested or marked for EN:1731. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t pass, but we just don’t know. Thirdly, and most importantly, no one to my knowledge insists that EN rated eye-pro is worn under mesh eye-pro. Really, they should. Where there is a danger of particles passing through the mesh, EN:1731 on its own isn’t sufficient.

And that is the crux here as, despite rumours to the contrary, any BB will shatter in the right (or wrong) circumstances. That means that you end up with shards of plastic in your face and eyes, and many of us have experienced this. With properly spec’d and worn EN:166 glasses or goggles, this doesn’t happen.

There is also an issue of design, as with EN:166, EN:1731 mandates either googles or a full-face shield for uprated protection. Since Parliament finally fixed the muzzle energy of airsoft guns at 1.3 and 2.5 joules respectively for full auto and single shot, airsofters should ideally be using EN 166 or 1731 rated at B - high speed, medium energy - which translates to up to 6.2 joules of protection.

Regrettably there is no way to enforce such a recommendation, airsoft being a rather fragmented pastime. I say “regrettably” not because I want to force every player to wear cumbersome face shields, but because if (or when) a player suffers a significant eye injury and Health and Safety become involved, they will start asking very pointed questions about the provision of eye-pro and its suitability and the standards required.

This has happened before, it will happen again.

At this point the laissez fair approach which has held so far will once again be called into question.

I have wandered away from my start point, so I’ll

prevent the ingress of bits of broken BB. What they need is a fine mesh made from a decent quality material and at present that is lacking.

That raises the question of degradation and this can affect glasses and mesh alike, it’s just more obvious on mesh. Rust weakens the steel mesh is made from and there is no easy or sensible way to determine how far it’s been weakened. Given that and the presence of rusty mesh face masks up and down the country, in cupboards and on sites, how far can we trust mesh? The same is true of safety glasses – that polycarbonate can degrade with age and should be replaced periodically.

UV light can (and I emphasise “can”) damage and weaken polycarbonate over time, so can impact damage even though it may not be obvious when inspected.

Any eye-pro needs to be checked regularly and replaced periodically to ensure its optimal performance.

The biggest problem here is not the manufacturers, although they could enforce the standard if they chose to, but the fact that there exists no mechanism to ensure that airsofters must wear adequate eye protection. I have lamented the lack of an over-arcing governing body for airsoft which could deal with that and we are highly unlikely to ever see legislation that enforces the standards for eye protection within airsoft. This means that players will buy what’s offered in the belief that it will do the job and, sadly, that may not be the case. I sincerely hope that it doesn’t take a serious injury and a resulting, expensive, legal claim to force the matter but I worry that may just be the case. AA

www.airsoft-action.online

77

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

SYMBOL KEY

IS IT WOODLAND OR URBAN? CHECK THE KEY! UKARA MEMBER

SHOP ONSITE

WOODLAND

PYROS ALLOWED

URBAN

BATTERY CHARGING

DESERT

REPAIR SERVICE

INDOOR

DISABLED FRIENDLY

Email nige@airsoft-action.co.uk to add or change a site listing

ABER AIRSOFT – THE BUNKER

AIRSOFT KGB

AMAZON EVENTS

BADLANDS AIRSOFT

Allt-lywd Wood Farm,

Porkellis Moor near Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0 Chef1322@hotmail.com

Hellingly, East Sussex, BN27 4HL

Rowlands Castle, Hamps PO9 6DP

Tel: 0844 2570433

Tel: 07534 465589

www.amazonoutdoorevents.co.uk

www.badlandsairsoft.co.uk

AMBUSH ADVENTURES – CHOBHAM

BARNSLEY AIRSOFT

Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8SL

Tel: 07779 236166

Tel: 01252 315225

www.barnsleypaintball.co.uk

outside Llanrhystud, nr. Aberystwyth, Wales.

Tel: 07511554740

www.kgbairsoft.com

www.aberairsoft.co.uk

AIRSOFT PLANTATION ABSOLUTE AIRSOFT Maidenhead, SL6 3SS Tel: 07871 314951

Goatsmoor Lane, Billericay, CM4 9RS Tel: 07534 636289 / 07771 556395 www.airsoftplantation.co.uk Email: apairsoftplantation@gmail.com

www.ambushadventures.co.uk

www.absolute-airsoft.co.uk

BATTLETEC AIRSOFT AIRSOFT SKIRMISH

ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES Tong Wood, Newport Road Wolverhampton TF11 8PN

Stoulton, WR7 4QW Tel: 07764 587410 www.airsoftskirmish.co.uk

ACE COMBAT Kent, TN12 7DG Tel: 01303 814803 www.acecombat.co.uk

AIRBORNE 101 AIRSOFT CLUB

robinsonm24@btinternet.com

Studley, B80 7LY Tel: 07764 587410 www.airsoftskirmish.co.uk

North Lanarksire, ML7 5 www.airsoftasylum.webs.com

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FEBRuary 2019

New Forest National Park, SP5 2DW

www.battletec.co.uk

Tel: 07781 104068

Tel: 01252 315225

BETTER BATTLES Ravenshead, Notts, NG15 9DH

APOCALYPSE AIRSOFT

Tel: 07967 940043

Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7QP

www.better-battles.com

Tel: 07872 348 576 www.apocalypseairsoft.com

ALL ARMS AIRSOFT

BLACKDAGGER AIRSOFT Grasscroft Wood, Barlow Lees Lane,

Near Trawden, BB8 8SN Tel: 07909 683464

ARENA AIRSOFT

www.allarmsairsoft.co.uk

Grimsby, DN31 3JD

Dronfield, S18 7UR www.blackdagger-airsoft.co.uk

Tel: 07752 404060

ALPHA 55

www.arenaairsoft.com

AWA HERTS Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM23 4BJ

ALPHA ELITE GAMING Le Mont de Rozel, Jersey, JE3 5 Tel: 01534 733697 www.aegairsoft.je

BORDERLINE AIRSOFT 51 Green Road, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim

Halkyn Wood, North Wales CH8 8DF www.alpha55.co.uk

AIRSOFT ASYLUM

La Couture, Guernsey, GY1 2

AIRSOFT SKIRMISH CQB

Downpatrick, Co. Down, BT30 Tel: 07718 032541

AMBUSH ADVENTURES SOUTHAMPTON

www.ambushadventures.co.uk

Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk

Shafton, Barnsley, S72 8RE

Tel: 07732 184957 www.awaherts.com

Northern Ireland, BT39 9PH Tel: 028 9303 7030 or 07729219341 www.borderlinecombat.com

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – SHEFFIELD WOODLAND

COMBAT SOUTH WOODLAND

DOGS OF WAR

Fareham, PO17 5ND

Houston, Renfrewshire PA6 7BP

PR46JX Tel: 07790 715059

Sheffield, S6 6JE

Tel: 02392 655636

Tel: 07853 195290

www.bravo22airsoft.com

Tel: 07891 469492

www.combatsouth.co.uk

www.dow-airsoft.co.uk

BRAVO 2-2 AIRSOFT Leisure Lakes, Mere Brow, Southport

www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CONTACT! FIGHT SCHOOL

DOG TAG AIRSOFT

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE WORKS (URBAN)

Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, CM14 5

Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4SE

Tel: 01438 368177

TEL 01293 852 314

Off Badger Lane, Hipperholme, Halifax,

www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

www.holmbushpaintball.co.uk/airsoft

COOL UNDER FIRE

DRAGON’S LAIR

Doddington, Kent, ME9 0JS

Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA

Tel: 07960 532613

Tel: 07703 530189

www.coolunderfire.co.uk

www.dragonslairairsoft.co.uk

CORNWALLS ELITE AIRSOFT

DRAGON VALLEY AIRSOFT

Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4HF.

Caerwent Training Area,

Tel: 0773 153 1113

South Wales, NP26 5XL

www.cornwallseliteairsoft.com

Tel: 07921 336360

BRISTOL AIRSOFT Bristol, BS1 2HQ Tel: 07776 288826 www.bristolairsoft.com

BRIT-TAC AIRSOFT Sheffield, S2 5TR Tel: 07795 631331 www.brittacairsoft.com

BUNKER 51 Charlton, SE7 8NJ Tel: 0870 7549653 www.wolfarmouries.co.uk

BUSH VALLEY AIRSOFT Runham Woods, Lenham ME17 1NQ Tel: 07786 448608 Email: bushvalairsoft@gmail.com

C3 TACTICAL Longhope, Gloucestershire, GL17 0PH Tel: 07597 938011 www.c3tactical.co.uk

West Yorkshire HX3 8PL Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CHESTERFIELD IMPERIAL AIRSOFT Brimington, Chesterfield S43 1DQ www.cia-airsoft.co.uk

CLOSE ACTION AIRSOFT Tel: 07740 165787 www.close-action.co.uk

Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RP Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

D.T.W AIRSOFT

Near Bourton-on-the-hill

Colchester, Essex CO1 2ZF

COMBAT ACTION GAMES

www.cotswoldairsoft.co.uk

Tel: 01206 790046

Combat Street, Felthorpe, Norwich,

Tel: 07724629140

www.dtwairsoft.co.uk

Norfolk, NR10 4DR. Tel: 07748 023832

COMBAT AIRSOFT

HPC, York Road, Flaxby, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG5 0XJ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE SANDPIT (DESERT)

CUMBRIA AIRSOFT

DEPARTMENT CQB AIRSOFT

Dumfries, DG12

Unit 8, Winston Ave, Croft, Leic. LE9 3GQ

cumbria.airsoft@virgin.net

Tel: 01455 285605

www.cumbria-airsoft.com

www.thedepartmentcqb.co.uk

DANGER CLOSE AIRSOFT

ELITE BATTLEZONE

Just off the A11 outside Thetford Norfolk follow signs for Combat Paintball Tel: 07703 045849 www.combatairsoftgames.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE OUTPOST (WOODLAND)

COTSWOLD AIRSOFT Bourton Woods, On the B4479, Blockley

www.facebook.com/combatactiongames

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE COMPLEX

www.dragonvalley.co.uk

Corby, NN17 3BB

Ellough Lark Raceway, Benacre Road, Ellough, Norfolk Tel: 07455 906132

COMBAT READY CQB 38 Full Street, Derby DE1 3AF

Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

Tel: 01332 493258

DARKWATER AIRSOFT LTD.

EXPERIENCE AIRSOFT

Email: info@combatreadyairsoft.co.uk

Mobile: 07947 558433

Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 0AN

www.combatreadyairsoft.co.uk

www.darkwaterairsoft.co.uk

Tel: 01380 728982

Email: darwaterairsofthythe@gmail.com

www.experienceairsoft.co.uk

COMBAT READY OUTDOOR

DARKWATER AFTER DARK C.Q.B, (Battlezone Building), Britannia Lane,

Bolton Wood Quarry, Bolton Hall Road

Middle Wildpark Farm, Wildpark Lane,

Kingsnorth, Ashford, TN23 3NA

Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 1BQ

Brailsford, Ashbourne DE6 3BN

facebook.com/afterdarkcqb

Tel: 07891 469492

Tel: 01332 493258

DARKWATER SITE

www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

Email: info@combatreadyairsoft.co.uk

Dering Wood, Church Lane, Shadoxhurst,

www.combatreadyairsoft.co.uk

Ashford TN26 1LZ facebook.com/darkwaterairsoftdarkwater

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – RIVOCK EDGE

COMBAT SOUTH URBAN

Keighley, BD20 0LS

Portsmouth PO6 3LS Tel: 02392 655636

Tel: 07891 469492

www.combatsouth.co.uk

www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

Bexley, Greater London, DA5 1NX

FIREFIGHT COMBAT SIMULATIONS Lewisham, SE13 5SU Tel: 07973 240177 www.firefight.co.uk

FIFE WARGAMES St Andrews, KY10 3XL

DELTA TEAM 3 Skelmersdale, Lancs WN8 8UT

info@fifewargames.co.uk www.fifewargames.com

Tel: 07986 053076 www.deltateam3.co.uk www.airsoft-action.online

79

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

FINMERE AIRSOFT

FIRST & ONLY:

GRANGE LIVE GAMING

INVICTA BATTLEFIELD

Buckingham, MK18 4JT

THE JUNGLE – HARBURY

Bravo One Birmingham,

Wilden Park Road, Staplehurst,

Tel: 07976 184897

Bull Ring Farm Rd, Leamington Spa

93–99 Holloway Head, B1 1QP

Kent TN12 0HP

www.finmereairsoft.com

CV33 9HJ

Tel: 0121 643 2477

Tel: 01622 831788 / 07876 263290

Tel: 0161 727 8863

info@grangelivegaming.com

www.invictabattlefield.co.uk

GREENZONE COMBAT Co. Armagh, BT60 1NE

ISLAND RECON AIRSOFT COMBAT

FIREBALL SQUADRON

www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 07582 684533

FIRST & ONLY:

www.fireballsquadron.com

THE ARMOURY – WREXHAM

Tel: 07772 919974

Near Shorwell, Isle of Wight, PO30

Oak Road, Wrexham, Denbighshire

www.greenzonecombat.com

Tel: 07964 751047

FIRST & ONLY: ANZIO CAMP

www.islandrecon.co.uk

LL13 9RG Tel: 0161 727 8863

GUN HO AIRSOFT Guisborough, TS7 0PG

LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT

Staffordshire ST13 8TL

FIRST & ONLY:

Tel: 07525 435696

Gorebridge, Midlothian, EH23 4LG

Tel: 0161 727 8863

THE BASE CQC – YATESBURY

www.gunhoairsoft.co.uk

Tel: 0131 654 2452

www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

1 Jugglers Ln, Yatesbury, Calne, Wiltshire

Blackshaw Moor, Nr Leek,

SN11 8YA

FIRST & ONLY:

Tel: 0161 727 8863

CROSSFIRE WOODS – PRESTON Moss Lane East, Preston PR4 3SP

GROUND ZERO WOODLAND

0161 727 8863

Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 2DF

www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

www.groundzerowoodland.com

www.airsoftedinburgh.co.uk

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – TUDDENHAM Cavenham Road, Tuddenham, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6DF Tel: 07711 774461 (Doug) or 07711 774401 (Josh) www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk/gunmanairsoft-tuddenham/

FREE FIRE ZONE

STEALTH WOODS – OTLEY

Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DH

Stealth Woods, Dob Park, Norwood

Tel: 01733 247171

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – MIDLANDS

Bottom Road, Otley LS21 2NA

www.freefirezone.co.uk

The Grange, Frogmore Grange, Balsall Common, Coventry CV7 7FP

FRV AIRSOFT FIRST & ONLY:

Annacloy, Downpatrick, BT30 8JJ

THE MILL CQB – WIGAN

Tel: 07730 586926

Unit S2 Mill 1, Swan Meadow Industrial

www.frvairsoft.com

Estate, Swan Meadow Road, Wigan Tel: 0161 727 8863

FULL METAL AIRSOFT Cilyrychen Quarry, Llandybie, Ammanford,

FIRST & ONLY:

Camarthenshire, SA18 3JG

THE OUTPOST – KIDDERMINSTER

Tel: 01269 850404

Drakelow Tunnels, Kingsford Country Park,

www.fullmetalairsoft.co.uk

Near Kinver, Kidderminster DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863

Saxillby, LN1 2JW Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LAGAN AIRSOFT CLUB 17G Stationview, Dunmurry, Belfast BT170AE / Tel: 07733128484

FIRST & ONLY:

Tel: 0161 727 8863

LAC AT COMBAT ZONE

Tel: 01676 532 384 info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk

LEEDS AIRSOFT: THE FOUNDRY CQB Haigh Park Road, Stourton, Leeds LS10 1RX Tel: 0113 277 7707 / 07968 258952

www.giairsoft.co.uk/Skirmish-days

LINDSEY AIRSOFT GUNMAN AIRSOFT – EVERSLEY The Welsh Drive, Fleet Road (A327), Eversley, Hants RG27 0PY Tel: 07711 774461 (Doug) or 07711 774401 (Josh) www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk/gunmanairsoft-eversley/

Manby, Lincolnshire, LN11 8HE Tel: 07955 487983 www.lindsey-airsoft.co.uk

MATLOCK COMBAT GAMES Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5FW Tel: 07974 507166 www.matlockcombatgames.com

GASS AIRSOFT – PENN Penn Bottom, Bucks, HP10

FIRST & ONLY: SHELL SHOCK

Tel: 07907 788970

WOODS – BRIDGNORTH

www.gassairsoft.co.uk

HILTON PARK AIRSOFT Wolverhampton, WV10 7HU

MAW

Tel: 08000 354490/ www.paintballuk.com

Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 Tel: 07793 404346 1midaw@gmail.com

Uplands Coppice, Off B4363, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 5LS Tel: 0161 727 8863

GASS AIRSOFT – PIDDINGTON Piddington, Oxfordshire, OX25 1 Tel: 07907 788970/ www.gassairsoft.co.uk

HOMELAND TACTICAL AIRSOFT Spanby, Lincs, NG34 0AT/ Tel: 07971 560249

MIA

facebook.com/HomelandTacticalAirsoft

Cornwall, EX23 9JL : Tel: 01288 331748

FIRST & ONLY: STEALTH WOODS – OTLEY Stealth Woods, Dob Park, Norwood Bottom Road, Otley LS21 2NA Tel: 0161 727 8863

GRANGE FARM AIRSOFT Leicester, LE9 9FP www.gingerliberationfront.com

HUMBER AIRSOFT North Lincolnshire, DN21 www.humberairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07792 680297

www.airsoftsouthwest.co.uk

MIDWALES AIRSOFT Abbey Cwm-hir, Midwales, LD1 6PG 01686 627594 www.facebook.com/Midwales-airsoft

80

FEBRuary 2019

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

MILITARY OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

OBAN AIRSOFT – ILL ARGYLL

RED1AIRSOFT CQB

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT– THE ROCK

Argyll and Bute, PA37 1

Red1 CQB. Kings Langley, WD4 8RN

Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EG

Wrightington, WN6 9PL

Tel: 07967 710185

Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069

Tel: 07984 656947

Tel: 01942 514724

www.argyllsurplus.com

www.red1airsoft.co.uk

www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

OP-TACTICAL UK – TEAN-OPS

RIFT AIRSOFT COM’S SITE 3

STIRLING AIRSOFT

Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT

Chipping Warden, OX17 1LZ

Coventry, CV3 6NX

Tel: 07964 990831

Tel: 07751 586781

www.militaryoutdooradventure.co.uk

MILSIM UK Checkley, Staffordshire, ST10 4NS

www.op-tac.co.uk

www.riftairsoft.com

Tel: 07523 916607 www.milsimuk.co.uk

NCIS AIRSOFT

www.stirlingairsoft.com

OVER THE TOP AIRSOFT CLUB

RIFT AIRSOFT (COTTENHAM)

Anglesey, LL71 8VW www.ottairsoft.

Cambridge, CB24 8RL

STORMFORCE AIRSOFT

github.io / Tel: 07895 478634

Tel: 07751 586781 / www.riftairsoft.com

Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4LD

Edinburgh, EH14 4 nick@ncis-airsoft.co.uk www.ncis-airsoft.co.uk

NOMAD AIRSOFT Fenwick, Ayrshire, KA3 6AY

Tel: 07515 937633

PATHFINDER GROUP AIRSOFT MILITARY SIMULATION

SECTION 8 AIRSOFT

Former RAF Camp Sopley/Merryfield Park,

Tel: 07974 026517

NO LIMITS AIRSOFT Unit 4, King Street, Gatehead, NE8 2YP info@nolimitspaintballandlaser.co.uk

www.stormforcepaintball.co.uk

Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB www.s8airsoft.com

SUSSEX AIRSOFT Slinfold, RH12 Tel: 020 8150 9284

Hants, BH23/ Tel: 02380 899369

SG1 COMBAT GAMES

Tel: 07904 998250 www.nomadairsoft.com

Tel: 07831 429407

www.sussexairsoft.co.uk

PHOENIX AIRSOFT

Co. Londonderry, BT45 8NA

Welbeck Airsoft, Academy, Budby Road,

Tel: 07713 273102

S.W.A.T. AIRSOFT

Notts NG20 9JX

www.sg1combatgames.co.uk

Boathouse lane, South Wirral, Cheshire,

Tel: 07956 587213 / 01623 812483

CH64 3TB

www.phoenix-airsoft.co.uk

SHROPSHIRE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES

Tel: 07703 177756

PLATOON 1HQ

Holbrook Coppice, Buidwas Bank (A4169),

TA EVENTS

Tel: 07464 482410/ 0191 441 4574

www.swatairsoft.eu

Rochester, Kent, ME1 1 HQ

Buildwas, Telford, Shropshire, TF8

Tel: 01634 829063/ www.ptt-1hq.co.uk

Tel: 07786 192832 / www.aceairsoft.co.uk

Tel: 07894 059794 /www.ta-events.co.uk

Tel: 01845 565465

PLAYERS OF WAR

TACTICAL WALES AIRSOFT

www.northernallianceairsoft.co.uk

High Bonnybridge, FK1 3AD

SKIRMISH AIRSOFT BILLERICAY

NORTHERN ALLIANCE AIRSOFT Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3LQ

Tel: 07767 203979/ www.playersofwar.co.uk

NORTHFLEET CQB PREDATOR COMBAT GAMES

Tel: 07968 448475

Ballynahinch, BT24 8NF

www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

Tel: 02897565651 / 07825169631 www.predatorcombat.com

Trickley Coppice, London Road, Bassetts Pole, Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 0121 323 1000 info@npfairsoft.com www.facebook.com/npfairsoft

RAVEN’S NEST Suffolk, IP8 4 / Tel: 01473 831563 www.ravensairsoft.co.uk

RAW WAR AIRSOFT CUMBRIA Wigton, Cumbria CA7 3SZ

NSC AIRSOFT

Tel: 01900 85645

Hetton, Sunderland, DH5 0

www.airsoftcumbria.co.uk

Tel: 07983 333521 / www.nscairsoft.co.uk

RED1AIRSOFT NTAC Durham, DL4 2ER Tel: 01642 281220 www.ntac.co.uk

Tel: 01277 657777 www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk

Northfleet, Kent, DA11 9AA

NPF AIRSOFT, NPF BASSETTS POLE

Billericay, Essex, CM11 2TX

Chislehurst, Bromley BR7 6SD Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk

SKIRMISH EXETER Exeter, Devon, EX4 5/ Tel: 01548 580025 www.airsoftexeter.co.uk

SOUTH COAST CQB Browndown Road, Lee-On-Solent PO13 9UG Tel: 07533 434203

SOUTHDOWN AIRSOFT Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0LR Tel: 07766 770830 www.southdownairsoft.com

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – BLOXWORTH Wareham, Dorset, BH20 7EU Tel: 07984 656947

Hemel Hemstead, Herts, HP2 7QB

Reynoldston, Swansea SA3 1AS Tel: 01792 473336 www.tacticalwales.co.uk

TACTICAL WARFARE AIRSOFT Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PL Tel: 0203 490 8008/07983 657093 www.tacticalwarfare.co.uk

TAZ AIRSOFT Farr, Inverness IV2 6XB Tel: 07848 448408

TECH BRIGADE Newgate Street, Hertfordshire.

SG13 8NH Tel: 07841 713356 www.techbrigade.org

TASK FORCE SKIRMISH Cowbridge, S Glamorgan, CF71 Tel: 02920 593900 www.taskforcepaintball.co.uk

www.specopsairsoft.co.uk www.airsoft-action.online

81

SITE DIRECTORY

Email nige@airsoft-action.co.uk to add or change a site listing

FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

THE BUNKER

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – FAWKHAM

XSITE AIRSOFT OUTPOST

FPS ACTION AIR IPSC

Aberystwyth www.aberairsoft.co.uk

Dunstable, LU6 2EE Tel: 01494 881430

24 Scarrots lane

Tel: 07841 462806

Fawkham, Kent, DA3 8NY

www.xsiteairsoft.co.uk

Newport Isle of Wight PO30 2JD

Tel: 01268 796130 www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

THE DEPOT

THE EX SITE Mold, CH7 4 Tel: 07840 001975

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – LIMPSFIELD

Tel: 01494 881430

www.4dsportsclubs.co.uk

Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0RH

YORKSHIRE TACTICAL AIRSOFT - THE MANOR

EBSC

Church Lane

PP, IDPA, IPAS, IPSC, 3GUN

Sheffield

UKPSA Coaches

www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

URBAN ASSAULT Lundholm Road, Stevenston, Ayrshire, KA20 3LN

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, PE26 1 Tel: 01733 247171

VIKING AIRSOFT Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0UN

THUNDER PARK AIRSOFT Luxulyan, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL305FA

Facebook:@fpsiow

S75 3DQ 01226 414004 To Book

www.urbanassault.org.uk

www.thewargamescentre.com wargamescentre@gmail.com

www.vikingairsoft.co.uk

Tel: 01726 858613 or 07590 030887

WARMINSTER AIRSOFT

www.thunderpark.co.uk

Warminster, BA12 7RZ

Food & drinks available on site

www.warminsterairsoft.co.uk

TORRENT WARFARE

WEST MIDLANDS AIRSOFT

Co Tyrone, BT71 4DY Tel: 07922 377131

F O B (Woodland), Hollington Road, Upper

Facebook: search ‘Torrent Warfare’

Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT

included, free tea and coffee available all

Macclesfield, SK10 4SZ

day. Site memberships.

Tel: 07428 024874

Tel: Paul – 07861427553

www.trojan-airsoft.com

Email: paul@wmairsoft.co.uk

S72 8RE 01226 414004 To Book

YORKSHIRE TACTICAL AIRSOFT - THE PINES Great North Road Bawtry, Doncaster, DN10 6DG 01226 414004 To Book

PRACTICAL SHOOTING DIRECTORY

Weir Mill, Viaduct Street, Chestergate,

AIPSC WEST MIDLANDS AIRSOFT High Command (CQB),

Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7JP

Doulton Trading Estate, Doulton Road,

Tel: 07428 024874

Rowley Regis B65 8JQ

www.trojan-airsoft.com

On site parking, HPA top-ups, secure safe

UCAP AIRSOFT Portsmouth, Hants, PO17 6AR Tel: 07590 818881

www.ucap.co.uk

Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

FEBRuary 2019

Tel: 01676 532384 www.aipsc.co.uk Facebook: A.I.P.S.C info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk. Every Monday night 7pm– 9pm (except bank

included, free tea and coffee available all

shooting rig hire. UKPSA-qualified

day. Site memberships.

coaches. UKPSA-qualified Range Officers.

Tel: Paul – 07861427553 Email: paul@wmairsoft.co.uk

WORTHING AIRSOFT Arundel Road, Worthing Tel: 07877 210898 www.worthingairsoft.co.uk

82

West Midlands, CV7 7FP

holidays). £5 or £10 with pistol and

www.wmairsoft.co.uk Linch, West Sussex, GU30 7

The Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common,

zone, male & female toilets, hot lunch

UCAP GREEN OPS

Equipment hire available ebpracticalpistol@gmail.com

HALO MILL The Penthouse, Colne Valley Business Park,

www.wmairsoft.co.uk

TROJAN AIRSOFT – OLYMPUS CQB

UKPSA-qualified Range Officers

Engine Lane, Shafton, Barnsley

On site parking, HPA Top ups, covered safe zone, male & female toilets, hot lunch

MOD-approved gun club

www.ebsc.co.uk

YORKSHIRE TACTICAL AIRSOFT - THE PIT

Bawtry Forest

TROJAN AIRSOFT

Open five nights a week 7pm-10pm Info@islandrecon.co.uk

www.theexsitewales.co.uk

THE WARGAMES CENTRE

XSITE AIRSOFT – LANE END High Wycombe, HP14 3NP

Glasgow, G45 9SB Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.thedepotglasgow.com

07964 751047

WATFORD PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB WatfordPPC@gmail.com

DOUBLE TAP PSC StrikeForce CQB, Morelands Trading Estate, Bristol Road, Gloucester GL1 5RZ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ Double-Tap-Practical-Shooting-Club979585958732937/?ref=hl doubletappsc@gmail.com

Manchester Road, Linthwaite, Huddersfield HD7 5QG Tel: 01484 840554 www.halomill.com

XSITE PRACTICAL SHOOTING Fryers Farm Lane, High Wycombe, Bucks HP14 3NP Tel: 01494 881430

SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS (SWPS) Action Air IPSC Club Based at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre near Charmouth The Tunnel, Axminster Road, Charmouth, Dorset DT6 6BY Contact: SWPSClub@Outlook.com

WETHERSFIELD AIRSOFT TARGET SHOOTING CLUB (WAT SIC) Wethersfield Village Hall, Braintree Rd (B1053), Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4EB. https://www.facebook.com/WATSiC/ Open Thursday & Friday evenings.

Set-up from 6:30pm.

Club shooting commences by 7:30pm.

Pack-up starts at 9:30pm if you can stay to help.

Contact via FB or 07939557029. Indoors.

Club offers Action Air plus 2 & 3 Gun training and events.