Issue 33 - March 2014

THE Airsoft Magazine

AIRSOFT ACTION

E AWESOM n Patch Desig N COMPETITIO

!

E U S S I g p 100 MORE NEWS MORE REVIEWS MORE ADVICE

EXCLUSIVE

REVIEWS

L PRACTICAL PISTO ENT EM SHOOTING SUPPL

TUC: A NEW WAY TO CARRY YOUR LONG

SHOT SHOW 2014

ALL THE NEWS FROM LAS VEGAS

MARCH 2014

COLD WAR WARRIOR l PISTOL SKILLS l SIGHT SAFETY l HEAVY METAL l INSIDE AIRSOFT

MARCH 2014 - £4.50

A PREVIEW OF THIS YEAR'S AIRSOFT SHOW

AA EXCLUSIVE

9 772047 348032

BAS 2014

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TM 416 DEV GRU POLARSTAR HPA R BLUE FORCE GEA TYR PICO MV

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THE Airsoft Magazine

AIRSOFT ACTION

E AWESOM Patch Design N COMPETITIO

100pg ISSUE! MORE NEWS MORE REVIEWS MORE ADVICE

EXCLUSIVE

REVIEWS

PRACTICAL PISTOL T MEN SHOOTING SUPPLE

>

SHOT SHOW 2014 ALL THE NEWS FROM LAS VEGAS

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AA EXCLUSIVE TUC: A NEW WAY TO CARRY YOUR LONG

MARCH 2014

COLD WAR WARRIOR l PISTOL SKILLS l SIGHT SAFETY l HEAVY METAL l INSIDE AIRSOFT

9 772047 348032

BAS 2014 A PREVIEW OF THIS YEAR'S AIRSOFT SHOW

MARCH 2014 - £4.50

TM 416 DEV GRU POLARSTAR HPA R BLUE FORCE GEA TYR PICO MV

Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant editor: Gareth “Gadge” Harvey Graphic design: Havoc Design Ad design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter

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Cover Photograph: Sean Strange Photography (www.sas-photography.co.uk)

Full UK 12-issue subscription rate: £66 For overseas prices visit: www.airsoft-action.co.uk

Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WE13 6PL Tel: 01684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.co.uk ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2014 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade

by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Calibre Publishing Limited 2014. 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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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.

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MARCH 2014

AS YOU PICKED UP THIS ISSUE of Airsoft Action you may have noticed it feels a bit heavier - that’s because it is! There is so much going on we’ve had to increase the number of pages to fit it all in!

The last four weeks have been some of the busiest I have known since I got into airsoft all those years ago. Maybe it’s because people are starting to believe the recession is really over, or maybe it’s because everyone is so fed up with cutting back they’ve decided to cut loose instead - or maybe it’s the explosion in popularity we’ve been predicting would happen. Whatever it is, I am more certain than ever that 2014 is going to be one hell of a year for our game.

The news from around the world is all good. PTS and Kriss, two companies who we thought had said goodbye to airsoft forever, have announced major plans for new kit and weapons; massive distributor ASG have announced the first 100% European gun; Far-Eastern manufacturers are starting to supply RoHS-compliant AEGs and airsoft in the UK is expanding ever-faster.

2014 will also be the year that airsoft moves a step closer to being recognised a sport. A bold statement maybe but one that I believe can happen as Practical Shooting returns and shooting clubs realise that competitive shooting in the UK is not dead - it just went to sleep for a while! With the 2014 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship announced for the first weekend in August and IPSC sanctioned matches already on the calendar, you can bet that many more will follow - and that can only be a good for airsoft in general.

The British Airsoft Show takes place from the 14th-16th February and if you can get there, then go! It is a great show with masses of kit and loads of guns - and you also get into the British Shooting Show, where you can drool over real-steel weaponry, from shotguns to .50cal.

I hope to see you there!

Nige.

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CONTENTS MARCH 2014

CONTENTS

AIRSOFT ACTION – MARCH 2014 6

AIRSOFT NEWS

55 WORLD WAR 1: THE CONTEMPTIBLES

The latest developments in the world of airsoft

Dan Mills continues his journey through the events of The Great War

10 READERS’ GALLERY

58 KIT: TYR TACTICAL PICO MV

Cool photos taken by Airsoft Action readers

We bring you a hands-on review of this hard to get piece of kit

12 RIFLE: TOKYO MARUI 416 DEV GRU We try out TM’s version of the rifle used by Seal Team 6 16 EVENT: OPERATION: SWITCHBLADE Billy Basics reports from FCS’ explosive Cold War event 21 KIT REVIEW: BLUE FORCE GEAR We take a look at a selection of this revolutionary kit from Georgia, USA

62 DEBATE: HEAVY METAL We asked you what you thought about using vehicles in-game and this is what you said 64 FEATURE: PATCHES Richard Bell explains why he’s hooked on these little pieces of art 68 KIT EXCLUSIVE: TACTICAL UNIVERSAL CLIP

25 SHOW: SHOT SHOW 2014

In this Airsoft Action Exclusive we ask “Has the sling finally met its match?”

Scott Allan gives us a roundup of what he discovered at the annual Las Vegas Show

72 INSIDE AIRSOFT: COMBAT SOUTH

29 RIFLE: POLARSTAR We get to grips with the first useable HPA airsoft system 33 EVENT: BRITISH AIRSOFT SHOW PREVIEW Nige looks forwards to this year’s Airsoft Extravaganza 35 PRACTICAL SHOOTING SUPPLEMENT As the level of interest continues to grow in this highly challenging discipline, we bring you the first ever magazine section dedicated solely to the sport 36 PRACTICAL ACTION SHOOTING Speed alone is not enough to be successful in this fast-paced discipline 40 IRON PLATE ACTION SHOOTING Five targets, five shots, five hits - in less than three seconds! Welcome to IPAS 43 INTERNATIONAL PRACTICAL SHOOTING CONFEDERATION Jim Sephton explains how he has brought this Worldwide organisation to the UK 47 SKILLS: REVOLVERS PART THREE

We go inside a company that has an enviable reputation for service in their shop - and an awesome site to go with it 77 FEATURE: EYE INJURIES Our resident optical expert explains what can happen and what to do if someone suffers an eye injury while playing 81 NORMANDY: THE LONGEST DAY Matt Limb OBE concludes his look at some of the lesser-known events of 6th June 1944 86 COMPETITION: DESIGN AN AIRSOFT PATCH We have teamed up with PatchWerk to give you a once in a lifetime opportunity to design a patch for the world of airsoft 88 SNIPER: SIMO HAYHA Known as The White Death, Simo Hayha lived a quiet life until his homeland was invaded 92 BOOKSHOP Special Offer for Airsoft Action readers from Military Pocket Books 93 BOOK REVIEW: DESPERATE GLORY BY SAM KILEY

Andy Nightingale rounds off his series about these little-used airsoft weapons

Known better as a Sky News Journalist, this is Sam Kiley’s riveting book about his time in Helmand

51 COLD WAR WARRIOR

94 SITE DIRECTORY

From the land of chocolate a cuckoo clocks comes this very unusual load out

If you’re looking for somewhere to play, you’re sure to find somewhere here

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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AIRSOFT NEWS OP: HELPING HANDS

On the 8th of November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the central Philippines, bringing catastrophic winds, disastrous rain and sea water that devastated more or less 10,000 lives. The international community responded kindly and the Filipino people are ever grateful for this unselfish act.

Currently there are still many families that need “helping hands” just to assist them to live another day and fight the “fight”. This 2014 and we, the Filipino Airsoft Community in England invite all airsoft players to join us in the “OPERATION HELPING HANDS” invitational charity airsoft game on the 6th of April, to be held at MadDog Airsoft site in Brampton, Cambridgeshire.

We would like to emphasise that all proceeds will be donated

PROTECT YOUR OPTICS Dorset-based company BelTec, the people behind the awesome Sentry Gun, don’t just make weapon platforms and their latest release is so simple, you have to ask “Why hasn’t this been done before?”

Their patented (yes, it really is - and we have seen the Patent Certificate to prove it) BB Shield is made of 6mm optically transparent poly, mounted on a machined RIS block which simply slides onto the rail in front of your optic and locks in place. The use of rubber dampers on the mounting allow a very small amount of flex in the shield, thus reducing the rebound and allowing greater impact levels.

Designed to offer maximum protection from bb-strikes, the BB Shield has been designed and tested to withstand multiple high power hits from heavyweight bbs, at near point blank range.

At a suggested retail price of £24.99, when compared to cost of replacing an expensive scope or sight, the BB Shield is a must-have for every player and, as it mounts on a RIS Rail, it will also fit in front of torches and other devices attached to your short or long.

Although highly unlikely to ever break, the actual poly shield is likely to become scratched over time, which would result in reduced clarity, so replacements are available in two sizes: Standard (68mm off the rail x 50mm wide): £6.99 Large (85mm off the rail x 60mm wide): £7.99 Custom-sized shield can also be made on request.

At the time of writing, we understand that BelTec are in negotiations with a major Airsoft Distributor, so you can expect to start seeing these simple but very effective units in your local airsoft shop very soon.

For more information, contact BelTec via the Sentry Gun website (www. beltecsafety.co.uk) or visit their stand at the British Airsoft Show.

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to support the rehabilitation efforts of areas devastated by Typhoon HAIYAN - known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines - through one of the Philippine telecommunication networks, the ABS-CBN’s Foundation: “Sagip Kapamilya”.

Please accept our profound gratitude in advance and we hope to see you all on the day of the event.

Thank you and God bless!

Contact Albert Onrubia for more information or to book your places: 07788298288 Ed’s note: Airsoft Action will be there to cover the event, so come along, have a great day out with some brilliant airsofters (who also happen to be really nice guys) and let’s see if we can’t raise a decent sum of money for a worthwhile cause.

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NEWS

NEWS

THE LATEST AIRSOFT HEADLINES

GREAT WAR AIRSOFT GOES OVER THE TOP!

Well it had to happen eventually. We’ve progressively seen airsoft get more and more niche over the years. Open days spawned ‘Nam and WWII battles, Zombie Horror adventures, modern MilSims and even Wild West weekends but now the guys from The Hill in Scotland are bringing you WWI Airsoft.

Now most of you are probably thinking “WWI? That sounds dull! I don’t fancy sitting in a trench all day in the mud then getting machine-gunned ten minutes before end ex!” But hang on a minute. You might be surprised to know that the “Great War” wasn’t all trench warfare and the early days of 1914 and the end moves in 1918 especially had some very mobile battles and heroic actions, more like the combat we imagine when we think of WWII. And it’s this sort of action that Warren Reynolds and the boys from Shoot N Scoot hope to bring to the skirmish field.

With the 100th anniversary of the start of the “War to end all Wars” coming up (that didn’t work out too well did it?), more and more companies like Soldier of Fortune are making reasonably priced repro WWI uniforms (Germans, Brits and even Americans who were around for the last couple of months!), so it’s no longer the preserve of those with more money than sense.

So if you think you might fancy something different, drop Warren a line at Shoot N Scoot and I’m sure he’d be more than happy to give you the details. If you’re really lucky he might even sell you a fantastic hand-built airsoft SMLE rifle to have a crack at the Hun with!

Like to know more? Well you can see what the guys are up to at: www.shootnscoot.co.uk and check out Soldier of Fortune’s WWI ranges at www.sofmilitary.co.uk

It seems to me the older I get the longer January seems to last!! That means longer between games for me and many others I’m sure; especially if like me you only get to play once or twice a month.

That led me to thinking about styles of play and types of games. I’ve noticed it’s been quite a hot potato discussion-wise on the internet and media sites of late. Me? I’m firmly in the skirmish camp.

I’ve not done a MilSim weekender or an extreme realism game. I respect those that do and it’s their choice but it’s not for me.

I think that might be down to a physical rather than psychological fear though!

My knees and back would give out long before my mind.

What it did though was get me thinking

AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2014 ANNOUNCED

Following the massive success of the 2013 Championship, Airsoft Surgeon, together with RedWolf Airsoft and The Grange are pleased to announce The Airsoft Surgeon Practical Airsoft Shooting European Championship 2014.

The Championship will be held at The Grange, just outside Coventry, UK over three days from the 1st to 3rd August and entries are invited from Teams and individuals for all classes: Standard, Open, Junior, Classic and Ladies.

Jim Sephton from The Grange said “We learnt a lot in 2013 and running the Championship over three days will ensure a much smoother event and less time pressures on the shooters between the sixteen stages. 2013 was a great success and we are looking forwards to an even better Championship in 2014.”

Free camping is available on site, with the site restaurant open on Friday night, an all-you-can-eat barbecue running on Saturday night (included in your ticket price) and The Grange’s on site bar providing liquid refreshment each evening.

2014 also heralds the return of sanctioned IPSC matches under the auspices of the UKPSA (The UK’s governing body for IPSC) with matches taking place at East Barnet Shooting Club, The Grange and FPS on the Isle of Wight.

The Club Match shooting calendar is also filling up, demonstrating just how fast the growth of the sport has become.

For more information about events at The Grange, contact Jim or Marie on: +44 (0)1676 532384 or via the AIPSC website: www.aipsc.co.uk

about a topic I raised a few months ago about tournament Airsoft. Not like speedball in paintball but something sympathetic towards our beloved hobby.

For me that would involve testing accuracy, speed, team work, communication and skill. Sadly, that’s as far as I got! I don’t know what would be the best way to do it but I’m leaning towards a sort of decathlon type of event but for small teams. I was even approached by a company looking to do similar things and wondered if it really could work.

So; you guys play. What would you like to see? Would you welcome a chance to showcase your skills? Take part in a controlled event and compete for prizes or

Upcoming UK matches for your diary 15th-16th March - Northern Practical Pistol Club 18th May - East Barnet 15th June - AIPSC @ The Grange 21st-22nd June - Northern Practical Pistol Club 19th-20th July - FPS 1st-3rd August - European Championships @ The Grange 23rd-24th August - Halo Mill …and that’s just spring and summer!

is that just not for you?

Drop me an email at chair@ukapu.org.uk with your thoughts. Best one wins a virtual cookie!

Until next time.

Phil Bucknall Chairman, UKAPU www.ukapu.org.uk

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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NEWS THE LATEST AIRSOFT HEADLINES

DIP YOUR RIF

So you’re out on site and a player legs it past you, carrying a 100% camouflaged rifle, decked out in the latest pattern and looking simply stunning (the rifle, not the player)! You look down at the black weapon in your hands and think “If only….”

New company Camolab are now offering a full Hydro Dipping service to the airsoft community and can dip pretty much every size and shape of RiF and, with prices starting from £39.00 for a pistol, £100.00 for a rifle and £130.00 for something more complex like an AK, it won’t break the Bank either.

Using only officially licensed camo patterns, Camolab have a wide range of patterns available and will provide support and information throughout the process, to ensure the end result is just as you would expect it to be perfect!

Camolab also have a range of pre-dipped magazines, pistol grips and front ends available to purchase. For example a MultiCam or A-Tacs AU dipped King Arms M4 mag will set you back less than £20.00, whilst a carbine handguard would be just under £40.00.

For more information and contact details visit their website: www.camolab.co.uk, or call them on 07798 893282.

THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE IS HAPPENING!

Thirty three year old Gloucester-based Dan Hatton has launched a terrifying event business, zombieXperience, where terrified guests must arm themselves and prevent Zombies from taking over the population.

Launched in October, zombieXperience has taken the country by storm. Launching with only one site located in Gloucestershire, the zombieXperience virus has now spread to three separate locations, Gloucestershire, Coventry and Sheffield.

Survivors must arm themselves with life like airsoft weapons and attempt to complete dynamic missions, putting themselves up against the industry’s toughest and most frightening walking corpses. Each week the missions and scenarios are different. Unlike other zombie based events, none of the zombieXperience events are scripted or with set ‘combat zones’.

The survivors receive mission briefs, as do the zombies. This makes each and every event totally unique, and also explains why they already have a large return customer base who have taken up zombie slaying as a hobby.

Priced at only £50 per person, zombieXperience is not only the best event of its kind, it is also the best value for money. They have taken a break from the norm and launched events in outdoor scenarios, with survivors taken on the elements as well as the walking corpses, in pitch black darkness.

With more sites soon to be announced, the zombieXperience is growing like the proverbial zombie virus outbreak….

Do you have what it takes to survive???!!!

For further info please visit the website, https://zombiexperience.co.uk or email info@zombiexperience.co.uk or Dan can be contacted direct on 07973156155

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READERS’ GALLERY

ROGUES GALLERY

SEND YOUR PICS TO NIGE@AIRSOFT-ACTION.CO.UK

AIRSOFT ACTION READERS SEND IN THEIR PERSONAL SNAPSHOTS FROM SKIRMISHES ACROSS THE UK AND FURTHER AFIELD…

All were taken at ucaps sandpit during augnov with the exception of th e ghillie one which was take n at zed adventures “battle lakes”.

All feature Taskfo rce E16

scott colemean at xsit e n wales with ics l85a2

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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MARCH 2014

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Patriot Heavy Fleece Jacket is designed to be used in tactical situations in difficult weather conditions. The jacket features an adjustable hood, useful in harsh weather conditions as protection against wind and various weather elements, as well as a set of pockets to carry essential equipment.

Elbows are strengthened for additional durability.

Patriot is versatile and durable upper apparel also available in camouflage versions. Jacket is suitable for both Military and Law Enforcement users. body moisture

body heat

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BRO, DO YOU EVEN OPERATE? FRESH BACK FROM THE SHOT SHOW, SCOTT ALLAN REPORTS ON TM’S VERSION OF THE NOW FAMOUS H&K 416D VARIANT

SCOTT ALLAN

Scott has worked in airsoft retail for many years – and played airsoft long before that. He likes big, heavy guns, loud explosions and MilSim games in particular

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TOKYO MARUI HAVE REACTED to a potential market with their new 416 Dev Gru rifle, which is quite a feat for TM given they normally drag their heels on just about every project they have undertaken. Some of the pistols they showed years ago still aren’t in production yet but they managed the Dev Gru off the back of the popular 416D they released just over a year ago.

Tokyo Marui, despite what many people still believe, is not in China nor is any of their production. Marui are based in Japan, which has higher costs of living and wages and therefore the goods are more expensive but generally better too. TM boast they have 80% of the airsoft market share in Japan and, to be honest it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if they did. They make by far the most reliable, best all-round performing airsoft rifles on the planet today. There have been a handful of companies who have come close to their quality testing, such as Real Sword and PTS but TM are much bigger and more consistent that either of those organisations.

So if they are so good then why is there any competition?

Well, Tokyo Marui care little about the market outside of Japan for some reason.

That and Japanese Law means they do not have to recognise trademarks in other countries. So all these H&K, Colt and Glocks that Tokyo Marui release are not licensed versions which is a great shame. Is any of this likely to change? Possibly in the future but in the meantime, the dribs and drabs of TM goods will trickle out of Japan around the world to whet our taste-buds. Which is great because players do love TM gear irrespective of it being lower-powered.

The HK416 DevGru is a variant of the standard TM 416D, which has been out for a little while now. Utilising their recoil shock system it offers “stop on empty features” much like a Systema PTW. The Marui rifle achieves this mechanically, instead of the electronic Systema cut off, which is better in my opinion.

The name “DevGru” stands for Development Group, which is a department of US SOCOM. It is more commonly known as “Seal Team Six”, who apparently undertook some daring raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan a little while back. This was all then incorporated into the movie Zero Dark Thirty, which airsofters largely treat as the gospel.

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THE ARMOURY RIFLE REVIEW - TM 416 DEVGRU

THE NAME “DEVGRU” STANDS FOR DEVELOPMENT GROUP, WHICH IS A DEPARTMENT OF US SOCOM. IT IS MORE COMMONLY THE REAL STEEL KNOWN AS “SEAL TEAM SIX”, The HK 416 is effectively an M4 design. It is Heckler & Koch’s punt into the huge US market and Oh my, didn’t they do a WHO APPARENTLY UNDERTOOK good job! Utilising the NATO standard 5.56mm round, it is excellent performer and this may be why it ended up as a SOME DARING RAID IN an Special Forces rifle. While nothing in the 416 was desperately in design, one of the key features was the gas system.

ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN A new Instead of using the fouled propellant gasses to cycle the LITTLE WHILE BACK.” weapon, H&K opted for a piston at the front sight post

which performs the same job. Less fouling in the mechanism translates into a more reliable system. Through much hardship and testing the HK416 did score consistently well yet there are still those who do not believe it is all they say it is. I suppose it would be like 1,000 joiners with the same set of tools, some would find fault and have a different opinion. Such is life.

There will always be ifs, buts and maybes but the simple fact is the 416 does pretty much everything well and, as always, has a price tag to match – much like the airsoft version!

THE AIRSOFT VERSION The TM HK416 DevGru comes nicely presented in typical fashion from Marui, with a blue ribbon around the box - a nice touch but ultimately unnecessary. The colour of the TM has been slightly criticised by some people as being inaccurate, this is due to the VFC “grey” bodywork. The most up to date versions of the “real steel” 416 are black, this was seen by myself first hand at the SHOT Show, so I can say that the Marui colours are not only close, they are exactly the same. I managed to spend a good hour on the H&K stand at the show and the TM is pretty faithful to the real version in almost every external way except the weight.

The markings are nice and clear and while they are unfortunately not official trademarks they are there. Some people complain they are not 100% accurate but then airsoft is never 100%, so personally I can live with the slight inaccuracies that would outrage others. Also in the package is a replica of a Tango Down vertical grip, an AAC styled silencer, Knights Armament style flip up sights and a crane stock. It’s not the most startling effort ever from TM but then every M4 is the same as the last - 99% of the time anyway.

PERFORMANCE At the heart of this rifle is Marui’s Version 2 Recoil Shock Gearbox, which is an absolutely brilliant bit of kit. While the new PTS ERG does provide more recoil, the Marui is not to be sniffed at. With their propitiatory quick change battery system and the ever-reliable hop system, these rifles should run almost

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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THE ARMOURY RIFLE REVIEW - TM 416 DEVGRU

indefinitely if left alone. Players should easily expect to hit out to 50 metres maximum with the hop set and the accuracy of a TM is always very good.

FEATURES POWER: 310FPS WITH BLASTER 0.20G BB

SUMMARY OF FEATURES It is not going to split any trees at 310fps but then again that should not really affect your range either. The efficiency and quality of the hop up unit is equally important to the power of the rifle.

So many times I have seen a poor 450 fps sniper rifle shoot nearly as far as a 350fps rifle with a good hop set up.

Tinkering can often be the only way to maximise performance but TM do all of this for you. At 3.7 kilos it is quite heavy compared to many other rifles on the market but it is still easily usable. The vertical grip means you can easily lift and point in the tightest of gaming areas.

The silencer is a quick screw on type and does help eliminate the muzzle report considerably. The fast change battery is equally loved and hated. Few players like a proprietary battery system but the TM version is good and if you really want to change it over it is not an overly technical task and one that any airsoft technician should be able to manage easily enough.

The hop unit is styled much like the G36 design and has a noticeable click as it moves, which is a great feature.

Also internally there is a guide which holds the hop unit and a brass barrel straight and true, another simple yet helpful design feature. The outer barrel appears to be bespoke, so in the unlikely event you want to change it, you might see some trouble there. The gearbox is entirely bespoke as are the gears and piston, so those who like to tinker around may wish to leave the DevGru well alone. All the parts internally are of a high quality and shouldn’t present any real problems. The bushings are 6mm nylon types (which is a strange thing to see these days) but again there is nothing wrong with this, it’s just that more companies are opting for 8mm bearings.

SO WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THIS RIFLE? The realism is the main factor in this rifle.

It does everything a Systema PTW does with added recoil and it’s half the price. You the put a magazine into the rifle and begin your patrol. Upon contact with the enemy you fire your magazine off in short controlled bursts, relishing in all 82 rounds recoiling into your shoulder until “thud”. The 416 stops...

You drop the magazine to release your empty.

Grab a fresh magazine, launch it into the magazine well and hit the mechanical bolt release. Thud! Back in the fight and ready to go.

You will never feel outmatched or outgunned with the 416 DevGru. There may be faster rifles out there, as well

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WEIGHT: 3.7 KILOS LENGTH: 800 – 880MM RECOIL BLOW BACK AMBIDEXTROUS FIRE SELECTOR 82 ROUND MAGAZINE (FOR STOP ON EMPTY SYSTEM) FAST CHANGE BATTERY SYSTEM QUICK CHANGE SILENCER VERTICAL GRIP FLIP UP SIGHTS MANY BESPOKE INTERNALS RRP £600

as more powerful but this is a really, really nice rifle.

The satisfaction of the game is key to your enjoyment as a player and I truly believe that systems like the Tokyo Marui are the future of airsoft. Recoil blowback, realistic action and operation with stop on empty systems are reaching the pinnacle of what airsoft is meant to be.

USE IN THE GAME FIELD Every M4 should be easy enough for your average player to use. The stop on empty feature does mean you have to use the specific Tokyo Marui magazine with the 416 DevGru, which is a slight pain as the magazines are more expensive than standard M4 magazines. That said they are also higher quality than most other manufacturer’s magazines too. The 3.7 kilos is around 700 grams more than your standard M4 which by the time you add a red dot and battery, you are going to look at 4 kilos. Not the heaviest but then not the lightest either, so any smaller-framed players may wish to bear this in mind. The quick change batteries are great but you are likely to need two for a game day and at over £40 a pop, it does suck a bit when you could have three regular LiPos for that money. As well as that, the batteries aren’t really pouch-friendly, unlike a standard battery. I did find the ambidextrous fire selector a little irritating as it

caught on my glove enough for me to notice when changing and on single shot it got in the way of my grip whilst the right side was in a vertical position.

Personally, I would either cut it down or remove it. If you are a lefty I’m sure it will be perfect as few M4 platforms are ever helpful for you guys ‘n gals.

CONCLUSION With a hefty £600 price tag the DevGru can be a bit hard to swallow. Then if you weigh up the features and realism and it does start to make sense. If all you want is something that looks a little bit like a 416 then you could consider the G&G T418, or the official Umarex HK416s (if VFC ever make them again). But if realism is your bag and you want something reliable then you can never go wrong with Tokyo Marui. Although this is double the price of a standard airsoft rifle, at the same time it is something more than a standard airsoft rifle. It is a great bit of design and engineering and the Dev Gru is half the cost of a PTW. It will boil down to the individual player and how far they are willing to stretch their wallet.

Is this the best value airsoft rifle? No - but is it one of the most reliable and the most fun?

Definitely!

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BILLY BASICS REPORTS FROM THIS EXPLOSIVE COLD WAR EVENT AND DISCOVERS THAT AIRSOFT IS MORE THAN JUST A GAME.

BILLY BASICS Billy spent 25 years in uniform, and has served in all the usual salubrious ‘holiday destinations’ around the world. He has always been a writer and doodler by habit

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IT WAS A FRIDAY NIGHT, THE SORT of Friday night when you just want some good grub, a few of your favourite tipples, park your carcass on the sofa, put your mind into neutral and watch “Mock the Week” - much like any other Friday night for yours truly! But it was not to be. Operation Switchblade had a green light and I knew that across the southern end of our great country weapons were being lovingly checked, mags stowed away, comms checks carried out and in amongst the traffic jam heading past Winchester and over the New Forest there would be 30 blokes with honour, valour and a bit of death and destruction in mind.

The clouds had been gathering for a few days now and the weather was looking a bit dodgy. It could have gone either way and I knew that Jamie (who runs the site) and Andy from Firefight had everything crossed for a reprieve from the rain just for a few days, so that the event would go well. A lot of work had gone into this and it’s so much more fun to play in good weather, rain really can stop play sometimes. I had a few things crossed too because I didn’t relish spending the weekend drenched either, but as it turned out we were to be lucky, both with the weather and the awesome game.

I was going to back to the site in Hurn, near Bournemouth where I had attended my first airsoft event (Operation Furious Angel) for our Ed and this time he wanted more - and that was just what we got. Not content to just play a similar type of game but with different objectives, Jamie and Andy had added more twists and turns and a load more bangs (and we all love bangs don’t we guys).

This time there was a sinister backdrop to it, gone was the chumminess of the PMC vs. the military and “may the best group win” (the one with the 50 Cal sniper as it turned out).

This time we were in the middle of the Cold War. With a faint rumbling of the convoy in the dim light, a column pulled into the compound. Aboard were some serious looking dudes in various different camouflage rigs who were here to play hard. Weapons were unloaded and we were straight into it.

In the weeks prior to the event Jamie had been supplying the players with regular Intelligence feeds and updates, so that the guys could prepare their kit and teams accordingly. But you can’t prepare for everything and I think the guys knew that Jamie had some twists and turns for them to negotiate, which would lead to some intelligent, exciting play ahead.

Jamie and Andy from Firefight (who had teamed up to run the game) covered the safety brief and described the AO to the guys. There would be marshals around but the more I got to know airsoft and the community, I was getting a real sense of blanket fair play from all the airsofters and events that I had been to thus far, which is impressive. More than can be said for the two paintball events I have been to, where I was pinned down for almost the whole of two games by a couple of guys that I had hit squarely in the face numerous times! Some people eh?

Let me introduce two characters at this stage to paint you a picture. There was a beautiful but mysterious Eastern European female gang Boss who had been ordering executions to cover up her deadly plan and, opposite her trying to put a stop to her

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barbarity, was MI6 agent Jay O’Connor, ruggedly played by Jamie himself (he’s not my type but I am told by a subject matter expert that he’s pretty rugged).

Before we kicked off the players were supplied with satellite imagery and the very latest intelligence reports of the location and developments. The name that kept on cropping up was the infamous “Chop Chop Square” and I for one was not looking forward to going down there but our Ed demands obedience and the lads had been tasked to collect DNA evidence no less.

It was clear from the outset that demands were going to be made on the players and for the duration of the weekend the monotonies of the world outside the gate were left behind.

Mortgages, kids, office politics could not have been on anyone’s minds, we were in the thick of it. That’s the one thing that I love about airsoft is that it takes you away from it all, we all live under the most ridiculous amounts of stress these days.

The narrative that ran through the weekend had been carefully crafted by Jamie and saw the appearance of MI6 agent Jay O’Connor who was harnessing the fire power of the Oracle forces to get HMG’s dirty work done (good on him).

He was planning on using Oracle muscle to escort him and a consignment of arms

EVENT REVIEW OPERATION SWITCHBLADE - FCS/GALAHAD ASSOC

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to a friendly warlord but the Eastern European chick was having none of it.

Jamie has a host of 4x4 vehicles at the site that he uses during the week to run his Close Protection school Galahad Associates and the air resounded all weekend to the sound of gunning engines, blokes shouting, howls of laughter and cursing as players scuttled back to the respawn areas.

All players had been issued with 24 hour ration packs to add to the reality and this was all included in the price of the event.

They retreated to their allotted basha areas and the flicker of hexi and that unmistakable smell wafted through the trees.

Although I was told in confidence (and this is not to go any further ok?) that a few of them slunk off to their cars for the night and for a bit of extra grub.

Did I mention the bangs? If you have ever been subject to a huge barrage of enemy artillery fire (I haven’t thankfully) or been near a bomb dropped by the RAF, then you’ll know it’s flippin loud and stops you in your tracks as it rips the air around you asunder!! As part of their offensive capability the Oracle operators and opposition forces had been equipped with Laser target designation equipment. It was in the shape of a laser torch which when held onto a specified white patch for two minutes on many of the objectives, would attract a loitering UAV or aircraft to rain down death and destruction.

In order to deny a site to the enemy, our two guys at Oracle had crept forward under cover and as part of a diversionary assault kicked off to our right had lased the white patch. The 018

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green laser cut the night air and panic ensued. The enemy were desperate to try and eliminate the laser team, but they knew they’d left it too late. The two minutes went slowly and despite their secure position I knew the laser team were feeling pretty exposed. It was a bold move but behind us we could just make out the whine of aerial engines and the enemy fled.

A deafening barrage of pre-placed pyrotechnic explosives (placed well above the guys’ heads where they couldn’t do any damage) shook the night and the enemy were well and truly routed. Oracle moved in cautiously, mopping up any opposition and retrieving their next vital piece of the puzzle. I spoke to one of the players afterwards and he said he’d never been to a game with so much “BANG” before and that’s an endorsement indeed I reckon.

I have no doubt that even before Operation Switchblade had concluded Jamie and Andy were thinking up the next game with more bangs, more play and bigger and better fun. I just hope Ed asks me to cover the next one. All in all an excellent game but I knew it would be. I think the Airsoft Deity is watching over me and I only go to great games, either that or they’re just all great, who knows?

Anyway, stay safe everyone and keep at it.

Billy Out.

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EVENT REVIEW OPERATION SWITCHBLADE - FCS/GALAHAD ASSOC

”THE TWO MINUTES WENT SLOWLY AND DESPITE THEIR SECURE POSITION I KNEW THE LASER TEAM WERE FEELING PRETTY EXPOSED. IT WAS A BOLD MOVE BUT BEHIND US WE COULD JUST MAKE OUT THE WHINE OF AERIAL ENGINES AND THE ENEMY FLED.”

INFORMATION FIREFIGHT COMBAT SIMULATIONS Web:www.firefight.co.uk Tel: 07973 240 177 GALAHAD ASSOCIATES Web:www.galahad-associates.com Tel: 01202 788 555

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KIT REVIEW BLUE FORCE GEAR

BLUE FORCE GEAR SEEMS TO HAVE A “MARMITE” REPUTATION IN AIRSOFT, SO WE ASKED SEASONED PLAYER, LIAM MCCORMICK, FOR HIS VIEWS. WHEN ASKED TO WRITE A REVIEW of Blue Force Gear kit I was very excited. I am no stranger to BFG products and have a selection of their pouches which I already use, so I was keen to get my hands on their other offerings.

Since their conception in 2004 BFG have striven for excellence, quality and innovation

in their ever-expanding product line ranging from ties and suspenders, to chest rigs and armour carriers. The flagship of the BFG range are the Helium Whisper Pouches, a revolutionary design combining their proprietary ULTRAcomp laminate with military grade elastic, resulting in an advanced, tough and lightweight piece of kit.

Blue Force Gear Ten-Speed Ultra-Light Dump Pouch The Ten-Speed Ultra-Light Dump Pouch is a sleek, compact, low profile pouch when stowed, taking up only 2 rows by 2 columns of molle and leaving a minimal footprint on your rig.

When pulled, the tab deploys a dump bag made of a lightweight ripstop nylon material with a drawstring closure to keep the contents secure.

In use I felt confident this pouch would easily hold 6 mags during rapid transition whilst on the move, without having to give the bag a quick re-org to fit more mags in. On finishing the day, I simply stuffed the bag back into the elastic pouch with the pull cord showing, ready for when needed next. Now whilst I do love this pouch, I must admit I was a little disappointed that it did not have drainage grommets in the bottom and while I am sure it would not retain its full capacity of water, given the varied theaters this is likely to be used in, I would have thought a mesh dump bag would have been the way to go to prevent a buildup of water/sand/mud etc.

This leads me to believe this would be better suited to urban environments.

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Blue Force Gear Ten-Speed Double M4 Mag Pouch and Pistol Mag Pouch The Ten Speed magazine pouches are truly universal when compared to legacy pouches from other manufacturers. Using them to hold my primary and secondary weapon magazines I found it easy to extract my mags onehanded when transitioning and at no point felt concern at the thought of losing the contents of my pouches. Whether I was sprinting through buildings, crawling through the undergrowth of woodland or simply holding my rig upside and shaking it to see if anything would fall out (they didn’t), I had absolute confidence in the product.

The great thing about these pouches is that they don’t just hold mags.

The pistol mag pouch not only holds a variety of single and double stack magazines but also securely held my Leatherman and Surefire without the risk of them falling out. The M4 Helium Whisper Pouch securely held my Oshiboom blank firing grenade, saving me the cost of having to buy an additional pouch to house it. My only concern with these pouches is that over time and with the constant insertion and extraction of items, it will stretch the elastic on the pouch causing an almost bleaching effect to the original colour scheme and the elastic becoming saggy and losing its retention capability. That said, it is a great all-purpose, lightweight pouch that when not in use returns to its low-profile flat shape until needed.

Here’s a question for you…. “Molle minus”, what does it mean?

Well, according to BFG it’s molle, minus the weight, minus the bulk and minus the complexity. Using the material called ULTRAcomp and a laser cutting process, they have developed load bearing systems with the thickness of a penny. They are more abrasion resistant than standard air textured nylon and formed from a single piece of composite, increasing the material strength under strain compared to the Natick snap system and thus providing a mass reduction in weight. The ULTRAcomp material is also hydrophobic, meaning it will not absorb water when submerged or subjected to the elements, again maintaining its lightweight profile and is anti-microbial to prevent the growth of bacteria when used in the field.

Blue Force Gear RACKminus Chest Rig I’ll be honest, my initial thought when I got my hands on the RACKminus chest rig was “WOW! This looks a very smart piece of kit.” Made of BFG’s ULTRAcomp laminate this is one tough, ultra lightweight low profile chest rig.

Being used to conventional molle chest rigs, I had to rethink what I wanted to carry on here, with no bib/admin panel and a reduction in molle from 16 columns to 12 you are not going to be able to carry a conventional load of pouches, but that’s no bad thing as it will ensure you carry only what you need without looking like an extra from Call of Duty.

Once pouched up and donned I went through the motions of adjusting the straps and found there was a lot of room to manoeuver and whether you are skirmishing in just a UBACS, or wearing a big bulky jacket this is a low profile rig that will fit the bill.

The H harness is incredibly comfortable, with mesh backing on the ULTRAcomp overture allowing it to breathe. The shoulder harness also has a row of 5 molle columns, allowing you to add a pouch, route cable/ hydration tubes or, as I did, thread excess webbing into it so I didn’t have to tape it up, keeping it from flapping about. After a day of skirmishing I truly love this rig and believe this is the next generation of load bearing design, simplicity at its best.

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KIT REVIEW BLUE FORCE GEAR

INFORMATION PRICES HELIUM WHISPER 10 SPEED ULTRALIGHT DUMP POUCH: £ 48.00 HELIUM WHISPER 10 SPEED DOUBLE M4 MAG POUCH: £ 32.00 HELIUM WHISPER 10 SPEED PISTOL MAG POUCH: £ 28.00 LIGHTWEIGHT MODULAR ARMOUR CARRIER: £ 290.00 RACKMINUS CHEST RIG: £ 120.00 Many thanks to Edgar Brothers for providing the review samples.

For more information, visit Edgar Brothers on the web: www.edgarbrothers.com

Blue Force Gear LMAC (Lightweight Modular Armour Carrier) With the plethora of plate carriers on the market today every manufacturer is competing with one another to provide new innovative features whilst keeping the rig fit for purpose and BFG have certainly done that.

The LMAC weighs in at under 1lb out of the box. Made of 500D ballistic nylon cordura with a mesh lining on the plate pockets to allow the rig to vent heat keeping you cool and comfortable, this is a tough lightweight rig. The 6x6 side plate pockets are removable, with a molle weave strip allowing quick removal if not required giving you the option to run the LMAC as a slick low profile front and rear system only. When attached the plate pocket adds additional molle real estate for carrying mags, comms and utility pouches. What is interesting is the plate pocket isn’t connected to the rear of the carrier with another molle strap but with a 2 inch elastic waist strap, allowing you easily to reduce or expand the size of the rig when adding or removing layers underneath. When the side plates are removed the LMAC seems to be identical front and rear, except with a subtle difference, BFGs “chin pillow”. This innovative feature came as a result of operators often receiving blows to the chin from the plates when operating in vehicles and tight spaces. Both front and rear have the obligatory Velcro for morale patches etc., coloured to the rig’s camouflage pattern and allowing you to add your team patches or keep it clean.

One of my favourite features of the Velcro molle flaps front and rear, while at first looking like your normal Velcro panel, these are in fact removable! BFG are taking the term modularity to the next level and whilst molle pouches allow you to tailor your load out to be mission-specific, it still takes time to swap out your gear configuration and re-weave it. So BFG introduced the interchangeable panel. This allows you to have several chest panels already configured and pouched up ready to swap out, whether this is a rifle, shotgun or pistol-heavy loadout.

The LMAC shoulder straps are adjustable and allow you to heighten or lower the plate carrier’s position, preference dependent. Both front and rear have attachment loops for cable/hydration routing or adding field repair buckles, giving you the option to integrate BFGs Vulcan backpack onto the LMAC without having shoulder straps over your plate carrier. BFG have a host of accessories to accompany the LMAC, from shoulder pads to 10 speed cummerbunds allowing you to further configure it according to your personal preference.

As a plate carrier the LMAC excels and has received a great deal of positive feedback from operators but I have to wonder whether it has a place in the airsoft market. Plate carriers are the airsofters choice of loadout at present but the driving

force behind today’s skirmisher loadout seems to be the unit/operator they wish to emulate, rather than kit they research and purchase for their personal preference.

When all said and done, by combining a single piece back panel with an ultralight, extremely durable high performance laminate, BFG have drastically reduced the number of working parts currently used on standard molle pouches. The most common molle attachment system in use utilises 27 parts at 84g. Helium Whisper technology reduces this down to 6 parts at almost half the weight, at 44g. With Helium Whisper the molle straps are integral to the pouch and not sewn on, eliminating the need for additional stitching and weight. Utilising their ULTRAcomp tough laminate material, BFG have raised the bar with products such as the RACKminus chest rig and plate minus carrier.

Blue Force Gear are certainly living up to their company mission statement “to design and produce gear that enables the modern warfighter to lose ounces and gain seconds”

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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SHOT SHOW SHOW SHOT EVENT REPORT REPORT SHOT SHOT SHOW SHOW 2014 2014 EVENT

SCOTT ALLAN HEADED OVER TO SIN CITY TO CHECK OUT THE LARGEST GUN SHOW IN THE WORLD. OVER 60,000 PEOPLE VISIT THE SHOW each year which is aimed at the trades who specialise in hunting anything that walks, crawls or flies. From Crossbows to Tasers and every conceivable firearm in between, the show is a truly eye-opening experience. The trade of firearms and associated gear is obviously colossal in the land of freedom and super-sized food.

So where does airsoft fit into all of this?

Clearly airsoft is very much the poor cousin at the SHOT Show, a little like your mate Dave singing karaoke at the Red Lion on a Friday night and then realising that next up is David Bowie. That said, there is growing recognition from many firearms manufacturers that the airsoft market does show potential. Of course by “potential” what I actually mean is greenbacks.... money. Yes that’s right, the right to bear arms is also a great opportunity to make a lot of money in a capitalist feeding ground and, like any pastime from golf to building model aircraft, the more money you spend the more desirable a product you will get. Spend a little and you will get a product that is largely available. If you spend a large sum of money you will get a better quality (and often artificially priced) product. So walk along to the huge specialist firearms manufacturers and you will see high prices being endorsed by big names such as ex-Magpul stars Chris Costa and Travis Haley.

The SHOT Show allows all the different walks of life within the shooting/ hunting trade to pour into one great big melting pot and cross connect. This is why it is such a great thing for Airsoft and although the 2014 show saw slightly smaller stands for most of the airsoft manufacturers, they were there and they do get their names out and the sport recognised.

Many big names such as Colt, Samson, H&K, Mega Arms and until recently Magpul, take large sums of cash from airsoft companies to use their names and you can understand why. Airsoft really does ride on the coat tails of the greatness that events like the SHOT Show have created. The civilian shooting market in the US is truly gargantuan, well over 300 million weapons are in the general public domain it is believed. This means that the industry is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and airsoft is another string to their bow.... and coin in their purse.

So why bother with Airsoft?

Well a nice clear example is the UK. We can’t own firearms due to our draconian laws that dictate individual police firearms officers have the right to deny anyone from having firearms if they do not think they need them. Which means the chances of ever having shooting like a Magpul training course is nigh on impossible.

Airsoft is our easy alternative to shooting and we pay for the privilege in license fees to the real steel manufacturers, in much the same way we pay for it in our Nike trainers (to have the latest successful athlete tell us we need the newest and greatest offering they have).

For me the alternative airsoft is what the likes of G&G in Taiwan do; they make their own self branded items which bear a resemblance to some real firearms, without being so close that they have to pay a licence fee. So we have the choice that the manufacturers offer to us and the SHOT Show is the mixing bowl where the ideas are born, deals are made, impressions are given and new products are launched.

So what was the low down this year?

The emphasis really did vary, some companies showed great promise and some others really didn’t seem to have put in a great deal of effort at all.

UMAREX Speaking with Umarex who distribute all of the H&K branded Airsoft rifles was quite positive. Oliver Lux has said they are hoping that production will increase at the factories in Taiwan so that the full range of HK416 models will be available soon and more regularly.

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There are also plans to release more of the HK desert-coloured rifles, as well as a G28-type rifle. Umarex also have the IMI license, which means things like their Sport Line Tavors should be more readily available.

GUAY GUAY (G&G) The G&G stand at IWA in 2013 was impressive, a largely interactive floor showing off a great number of products past, present and future. Sadly the SHOT Show stand was somewhat lacking, although this was down to a “lost slot” policy from the show organisers. While not earth-shattering, they did have their (lost in limbo) M1 Garand on display (no firm release date still), a VSS mock up and interestingly, a Combat Machine H&K M27 styled rifle, though it might not actually be a rifle they release. The American Springfield rifle will be released shortly which looks very good, although a drawback is that it is CO2 using the same system as the G980 (Kar 98). Personally I believe a spring system would be far more reliable than the less readily available small 8 gram bulb system. The ability to shoot in a short range with their METS target system looked good and offered non airsoft attendees an experience. There was also a large MG42 banner on the stand but no official details of.... well anything at all about it.

I CHIH SHIVAN (ICS) The ICS stand was bright and inviting. The new announcement is an electric blowback system for their gearboxes. While this is the first big gearbox change in quite a long time and positive, it does fall a little short of where G&G and KWA are pushing. The blowback appeared to be similar to the Classic Army system but will still be with the popular hot swap design. The new gearboxes will need new receivers, the existing rifles will not be able to accept the new blowback designs but the new rifles will be able to take the older, non-blowback uppers. The best news is some of the newer designs will finally be able to accept TM compatible front ends and parts. So no more ICS specific parts, which has to be a very positive step forward for the brand.

KWA Distribution was the key area here, with the closure of the Defiance wing of KRISS Arms we lost KWA in Europe... again.

There still isn’t anything firm at the moment which doesn’t help anyone in the UK. On display was the illusive ERG range which spectacularly failed to appear in the UK despite in stone promises from distributors. The old story of “still in testing” for the CE marking process continues and this leaves the European retail market out of the loop. There was a new prototype GBB MP40 which was a strange sighting, a new GBB SMG which bears no resemblance to any real counterpart. It will use the Vector magazine and bore a resemblance to a smaller sized Beretta Cx4 Storm. Also shown was a GBB Scorpion and a Beretta pistol that uses the spare magazine as a front grip. The ERG AK was also shown with no firm release date, which is a shame because it would be a first AK offering of its type to the airsoft market.

PTS SYNDICATE After the loss of the Magpul licence PTS were left with a bit of a hole to fill. They have just released the very sexy Mega Arms GBB rifle, although I would have been much more excited if it

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SHOT SHOW EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2014

has been an electric rifle. The replacement for the E and P MAG is on the cards, a 150 round polymer magazine named the EPM. It has a unique bumper base which has actually been tested on real AR15 platforms by Alex Ko and Jeff Takeda as a resting support, with positive results. One of the nicest features was an amber marker at the bottom of the dummy ammunition which shows when the magazine is full. There are other great things on the cards for PTS which we are very excited to see.

DYTAC I had a good meeting with DyTac who are keen to increase their market share within the UK. Good value M4 platforms are already available and DyTac have said they are looking to continue the improvement of the existing gearbox to be a stronger contender in terms of reliability and performance. The low cost rails and spares they produce are already a huge hit in the UK as good value alternatives to the likes of G&P and Madbull.

ACTION SPORT GAMES The Danish company is edging very close to the completion of their all new CZ Scopion EVO 3 A1 rifle, a World first. Better than this and most importantly, the whole thing will be produced and assembled in Europe.

Even the gearbox is stamped “Made in Denmark” and that is something to be very proud of. The EVO will offer pretty much everything a Systema PTW does without it being an M4! This is a massive undertaking for the distributor and an important step forward in the airsoft market place.

KRYTAC - Urm who?

Kraken Tactical are the new venture from KRISS Arms. After the massive international “handbags at dawn” with KWA, KRISS decided to go it alone, and you can understand why. While the full facts were never truly known you can appreciate the efforts they have gone to remain in the airsoft market. The rifles be an M4-type platform, they will not have a recoil engine but will have some great features in line with the modern releases from KWA and Tokyo Marui. In addition they will have a MOSFET pre-fitted and speaking to Allen from KRISS, he said he would like to have the design ‘tinkerable’ with easy access springs etc. It will be largely the M4 platform but with a SR47 and a Shrike in the initial line up.

More information will be at IWA show and the launch is scheduled for end of April 2014. The manufacturing is undertaken in Taiwan and Airsoft Action has exclusively learned and this is just the beginning of things to come.

So what about kit?

Airsoft is all about the latest and greatest gear. I could attempt to cover every major manufacturer and fail or give you a brief overview concentrating on the impression I got.

Kryptek is the new kid on the block as you all know, two years ago it was ATACs and before that it was always about Multicam. Kryptek did seem to have a large foothold around the show and during our meeting they seemed genuinely interested in the UK market and airsoft in general.

I found this refreshing as most manufacturers of patterns do not always show much interest in our market. Crye Precision for example have little interest in any market outside the US but then they have also just released several other shades (which is said to be in response to the Kryptek popularity). With Magpul’s Dakar race car sporting Multicam black, the interest is high in the new Crye colour schemes but whether it truly takes off as well as Kryptek remains to be seen. The new patterns from Crye did almost seem a bit of a side line compared to their new Shotgun range, with a six-drum magazine not dissimilar to the Jackhammer Shotguns. The Crye prototype shotguns come in a standalone or underslung version for the M4 platform. Personally I was more excited about the shotguns than the new patterns they offered.

As with every SHOT Show, there are a million kit ideas that come to almost nothing. One nice rig I spotted was made by Pantac USA, with possibly the best quick release system I’ve ever seen. The release tab, which usually unthreads all the rig, is a nightmare to put back together.

The Pantac version simply releases the four buckles (two on the shoulders and one each side). The rig then simply falls away from the user. The buckles can then simply be clicked back together again.

All in all the show is always enjoyable, the airsoft side could have been a little stronger and the new releases a little more solid. That said what is a “maybe” last week could be a released product tomorrow and that just seems to be the way it is with the airsoft market.

As always Airsoft Action will have the up-to-date reports and the latest release reviews for the biggest brands around. Next stop IWA in Germany!

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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THE ARMOURY RIFLE REVIEW - POLARSTAR

Is this technical marvel from the USA the first usable HPA airsoft weapon? Mike Jones has been taking a closer look.

Mike Jones Michael has been playing airsoft for seven years now, and loves to write.

He’s not afraid to lead the charge, but you’ll usually find him standing around with his arms in the air.

JUST OVER A YEAR AGO one of my fellow team mates started plastering our chat group with something called a “PolarStar” and, at the time, I didn’t pay a lot of attention. Fast forward to the present. More and more of the team were now also making lots of noise about this PolarStar business, which had become a household name to them. That was it. My curiosity took hold, I had to find out more.

PolarStar Airsoft is a branch of PolarStar Engineering, a company based in Delaware USA. It started out making high end upgrades before it took a giant R&D leap into the unknown. The result is a precision, fully CNC’d Fusion Engine drop-in replacement for your AEG gearbox: Version 2, 3 and M249. Notice that it’s not called a Fusion gearbox because there are no gears, no motor, spring etc… The only moving parts are the nozzle and the release valve, that’s’ it! “How is it possible?”

I hear you cry. Well, the Fusion Engine is powered by HPA (high pressure air) and is electronically controlled by a very clever little FCU (fire control unit). The FCU is a user-friendly controller similar to a fancy-pants MOSFET and sports a digital display and joystick that lets you program the functions you require, such as: rate of fire, power, loading speed, semi auto only and burst 1-9 to name a few. In reality it means you can go from high cycle CQB to semi auto DMR in just a few clicks and it is easier to use than a NES controller. www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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“Top quality but excluding the small tubing from the pistol grip, not off the norm but on firing, the “norm” decided to take a holiday.

I was very, very impressed”

HPA, in case you weren’t aware, is the same propellant that powers paintball markers (and scuba divers), so temperature isn’t an issue. Now instead of skirting the elephant I’ve decided to go at it head on. The biggest critique for the PolarStar system is the external power source. Like paintball they need a canister of HPA on your person to work but don’t worry, it’s not hanging out of the butt stock or as big. Instead there is option a) a small tube leading from the grip which disappears into your webbing or sling. From there it meets with a step down regulator into the 1000-3000-4500PSI canister which fits perfectly into a water bladder or canteen pouch. I myself was instantly put off by this notion. What?

Attached to the gun? No, I don’t like that! That was until I dropped in after a game and saw the same team mate who’d started this ruckus off fully rigged with all his kit when I thought actually… I didn’t really notice the small line, or being attached to the gun. As it was pointed out to me; would you throw a Systema on the floor? Some of you may (but not me) and it’s the same thing here. If you need to switch to a side arm you would rely on your sling to bear the load of your rifle as you proceed forward. Some of you may still not be convinced but don’t fret.

The answer is here... Option b) Canisters built into a stock are starting to poke their head above ground and with growing popularity will come variety. The drawback is that you won’t have the same volume as with the bigger tanks but if you’re used to complete weapon freedom this is the way to go.

PolarStar knows while lots of us like to tinker, just as many don’t. For the latter they have released, alongside their Fusion Engines, a complete build. At the time of writing, there are just two ranges: Armalite Series M16, M4, etc. and Kalashnikov 47,74UN. PolarStar don’t technically make their own rifles, instead they use shells, if you like, of well-known manufacturers and drop the Fusion Engines in, tweaking anything that may need it and I’m pleased to say the rifles are what you expect in this price range.

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“Most of the people I know who can afford it, or have enough kit to sell, have bought one. Most of the people I know who have been shot by one are currently saving.”

VFC make the Armalite while LCT make the AKs and the only difference is the limited edition M16, which has a stamped PolarStar logo on the underside receiver. While all this is well and good, what makes the PolarStar system so special? I mean it doesn’t have blowback or recoil, you may need to carry an external power source and it’s not exactly a budget rifle, sitting in-between a Celcius and a Systema. Well, I’m glad you asked.

A good place to start would be the magazines. By that I mean there not proprietary like the Systema, Celcius or the TM recoil series. If they fit and feed, be it low/mid or high, you’re good to go. Another is maintenance as, with only two moving parts, wear and tear is limited to a few O-rings and if you’re a fan of sneaky beaky the dBs of each shot is whisper quiet; great if stealth is your ally. While the PolarStar has the same old hop we love or loath for some reason, I don’t know why, they have brilliant range. That being said, it’s still an airsoft rifle so there are obvious limitations but in our realm range isn’t one.

Saving the best for last is performance. Round for round, shot for shot, I’ve never seen anything so consistent. Jim Sephton, my host at The Grange, explained that while an AEG has the usual spring, gears and lots of other mechanical gubbins, if there’s the tiniest bit of play somewhere in the relatively complex gearbox, then the system will struggle to be consistent but as mentioned earlier, the Fusion engine only has two moving parts.

Well, I’ve waffled enough. Let’s get our hands on some guns and go down the range.

FIRST UP THE M16…

ARs aren’t specifically my cup of tea, but the power of persuasion shouldn’t be underestimated and the PolarStar offering was what you’d expect from a rifle of this price bracket. Nice deep black (not that shiny stuff) but beside that, there’s not a lot to say for it externally. Top quality but excluding the small tubing from the pistol grip, not off the norm but on firing, the “norm” decided to take a holiday. As I’ve already said the range and accuracy is a definite pro, but seriously this is not to be underestimated. Given we were using .3s but still I was very, very impressed.

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THE ARMOURY RIFLE REVIEW - POLARSTAR

NEXT UP TO THE MARK, THE AK74UN… Already drooling as the rifle was handed to me, I tried to remain unbiased to the wood and steel delight. If you’ve ever had the chance to hold a LCT AK you’ll know what I’m talking about and if not, then let me explain.

The metal on better AKs, while being very good, is still lacking a little and the same goes for the wood but this is not the case for LCT. Apart from Real Sword you can’t ask for much more from an external point of view. Sadly, when on the range I was a little disappointed as, after the stellar performance of the M16, I was expecting much of the same.

Maybe the hop could have been set better but the range was decreased and the accuracy saw a little dip also. Having been raised on AEG’s barrel length, to an extent, didn’t really matter. Super stubby M4s can rattle rounds off into the distance alongside longer arms. It doesn’t seem the same applies to the PolarStar and while there was a decrease, it wasn’t dramatic. It was probably what you’d expect. Perfect for CQB.

very polished version of the original incarnation. The finish was noticeably very good with a solid feel.

When test firing, Jim decided to demonstrate some more of the functionality. After a few clicks he had programmed the FCU to show off what this clever little system can do. While the other two tests had been set in bog-standard mode this was “tweaked”. On trigger pull I was greeted with a 9 round burst at a silly ROF that flew down range and pummelled my target! Even with the standard box mag we still ran out of ammo before I’d gotten bored.

To summarise the range test; I was a little disappointed that the mighty AK74UN didn’t perform better but was blown out of the water by the M16 and 249!

At present in the UK the PolarStar system is still pretty new. Some Site owners seem hesitant with them, while some don’t allow them at all. My belief is that they fear the system can be tampered with to allow a player to clean chrono then ramp up the FPS, thus breaking rules and, more importantly, their insurance. While it is possible to have a PolarStar shooting at 500+ FPS it’s pretty easy to spot and difficult to adjust once set.

There are two ways to majorly adjust the FPS with the Fusion Engine.

The first is via the nozzles, which are colour coded; a green nozzle can go up to an absolute maximum of 360~FPS and is the nozzle standard for UK rifles. The second is the step down regulator. This has a “match lock” function which is essentially an anti-tamper. So in terms of deliberate power cheating, the system is actually safer than an AEG with quick spring change ability.

One question I’ve been in turmoil with since this article was just a blank page is: Would I buy a PolarStar?

To be blunt, no I wouldn’t. That’s not to say I don’t think the product is a brilliant feat of engineering and I’m sure the next time I go shooting with the lads they’ll make me eat my boonie but it’s just not for me. That being said, no matter how much I squint at the price and wave it off due to my own preference, there is something very alluring about it. I’ve very much been a believer that if an airsoft gun shoots bbs then it will be fine.

It’s what you do on the field, with your team etc. but still I find myself looking at the PolarStar system from time-to-time, pricing it up. I think what’s caught my eye is the quality of build. Sometimes when you’re looking at a product, regardless of what it is, you notice little short cuts or after-production mods which basically it means R&D didn’t do their job properly. The Fusion Engine makes “bespoke” seem like tat!

Most of the people I know who can afford it, or have enough kit to sell, have bought one. Most of the people I know who have been shot by one are currently saving.

FINAL WORDS… Before you judge the PolarStar with its gas bottle and air rig please see it in action. I mean really see one being used in the field. After that if it’s still not for you then so be it. If however range, accuracy and consistency are high on the priorities list and you’re looking for crème de la crème kit, get in contact with Jim Sephton at The Grange to find out more.

INFORMATION

FINALLY, THE A&K 249..

While not being assembled by PolarStar I’ve decided to include the 249 as the specific Fusion Engine is a ten minute drop in job which was carried out by Gunmunki (The Grange’s expert tech).

As sad as it may be to admit, holding a support weapon always makes me feel a bit manlier. I remember when the A&K 249s first came out in the UK, they were good but not great but this offering was certainly a

Fusion Engine: £ 450, M16: £675, AK74UN: £700, Air Rig: £175 HPA Canister: £45 Typical Total: £950 The Grange - 0121 2882248 Frog Lane, West Midlands, CV7 7FP Update: Since this article was written, PolarStar have also announced the launch of an M240 Fusion Engine, for use with the Echo One M240

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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BRITISH AIRSOFT SHOW PREVIEW

WITH PROMISES THAT IT IS GOING TO BE BIGGER, BETTER (AND WARMER) THAN LAST YEAR, NIGE LOOKS FORWARD THIS YEAR’S AIRSOFT EXTRAVAGANZA. IT HARDLY SEEMS POSSIBLE that a year ago we were all looking forward to the British Airsoft Show at Stoneleigh Park, in Warwickshire. Held alongside the British Shooting Show, the previous three years had seen the “airsoft bit” grow from a couple of stands in a tent, to a hall that was packed with visitors from opening to closing time - and some didn’t want to leave then either!

However, I don’t think anyone can deny that 2013 was the year that British Airsoft really came out of the shadows and claimed its rightful place alongside more “mainstream” shooting activities. You only had to look at the crowds flocking around the stands, eager to find out what the incredible guns on display were all about. Sure, there was the odd quizzical look when someone holding a Section 1 Licence, or a Registered Firearms Dealer was told it was against the Law to sell them a RIF but, for the most part they were simply stunned by the vast array and selection of weaponry available - and even more so when the sound of explosions and revving vehicles heralded the start of another Stirling Airsoft demonstration!

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This year both shows are on for a full three days, a day longer than previously and, from what I have been told by the event’s organisers, looks set to be the most successful show ever, with even bigger crowds - which did cause me a moment of concern. Last year there was only one entrance open to Stoneleigh Park and it took Gadge nearly two hours to get to the event from the Motorway, such was the queue! This year there will be two entrances operating and the organisers hope that by running the show over three days, the queuing problem will be resolved - we will see.

Of course, Airsoft Action will be there and we’ve got a few goodies lined up for you…

For one day only, on Friday the 14th, “Sniper One” Dan Mills will be with us throughout the day and at 11:30 and 2:30 will be holding a Question and Answer session at the AA Stand. If you have ever wondered what it is really like to be a Sniper, then Dan is the guy to ask and, as he is no stranger to airsoft, might even be able to give you a few hints and tips on how to improve your skills.

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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BRITISH AIRSOFT SHOW PREVIEW

There is no charge and you don’t need to book but I recommend you get to the stand a little early as we don’t have much space.

For the whole of the show, Andy Nightingale and the guys from Pro-Tact Training will be running a series of Mini-Courses, covering a range of skills such as Weapons Acquisition, Handgun Fundamentals, Weapon Safety, Stance and Ready Positions. Believe me when I say these guys know what they are talking about, they do this for real and train guys whose lives might depend on what they learn. Timing hasn’t been arranged yet so come along to the stand to find out more.

So, who’s going to be there?

At the time of writing, these are the companies that have confirmed they will be attending: RedWolf Airsoft Just BB Guns Enola Gaye Pro-Airsoft Supplies Swindon Airsoft Supplies Only BBs Land Warrior Airsoft Stirling Airsoft Red Alert Airsoft Beltec/Sentry Gun CX Global Trend Component Shop JD Airsoft Badgertac UKAPU Dave’s Custom Airsoft The Grange That is one awesome array of airsoft shoppingness - all I can say is you’d best make sure you’ve got two things on you… A good pair of boots and a fat wallet - which I can guarantee will be much thinner when you leave!

I for one am looking forward to a superb weekend and it would be great to see you there - come and find us, even if it’s just to say “Hello!”

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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FEATURE PRACTICAL SHOOTING

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING…

We’ve all heard of Practical Shooting but what’s it all about? RedWolf.tv presenter Tim Selby explains.

PRACTICAL SHOOTING COMPETITIONS such as IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation), pronounced as IP-sik, are known for speed and accuracy to achieve the maximum score. But without the right form and technique, you will never be able to reach your fullest potential. Just ask Airsoft Surgeon Clarence Lai, the man behind the Airsoft Surgeon Practical Airsoft Shooting European Championship; quite possibly the longest name for a competition.

Clarence Lai is mainly known for his high quality airsoft Race Guns and parts but he is also a highly ranked Real Steel IPSC competitor. He firmly believes that the airsoft counterpart to competition shooting should be taken as seriously as the real thing and wants to it spread worldwide and bring the airsoft community together.

As I previously mentioned, practical shooting is largely based on form and technique. If you don’t have these qualities down pat, you won’t achieve your highest score. These techniques include the proper stance, how to take the pistol out of the holster, how to hold the pistol properly and effectively with both hands, how to line the sights and lastly, how to pull the trigger. This is just for standing still, there are different techniques for single-hand shooting and shooting

on the move but Clarence Lai teaches you everything in his Training courses at the end of the competition.

In IPSC, there are different competitive divisions. “Open” division is considered to be the quickest as the pistols used have compensators, red dot sights and high-capacity magazines. Next up would be the “Standard” division, where pistols MAY NOT have the compensator, red dot sights or a high-capacity magazine and has to fit inside an IPSC box with specific dimensions (225 mm × 150 mm × 45 mm (with tolerance +1 mm/-0 mm)). The “Classic” division is where the competitor uses a pistol with no modifications and has a capacity of 10 rounds and is also known as the “Many Reloads” division!

The Airsoft Surgeon Practical Airsoft Shooting European Championship has a number of different categories for the competitors. These include the Men, Women and the Under 18s but we don’t take it easy on the women and under 18s as a lot them can shoot more accurately and faster than most of the men!

The Airsoft Surgeon European Championship is on the 1st-3rd of August, at The Grange, not far from Coventry. I look forwards to seeing you there.

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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PRACTICAL ACTION SHOOTING AS ITS POPULARITY CONTINUES TO GROW IN THE UK, CHAMPIONSHIP SHOOTER MALCOLM DOWDING TELLS US MORE ABOUT THIS FAST-PACED, HIGHLY-COMPETITIVE SPORT

PRACTICAL SHOOTING IS A WORLDWIDE shooting sport involving real (where

So where did this all start?

legal) or airsoft/CO2 powered pistols, rifles and shotguns. “Stages” are designed

In 1976, in Missouri USA, a group of international shooting enthusiasts who had been undertaking “Practical”-style sport with pistols, as an experiment from self-defence shooting origins, created the I.P.S.C (International Practical Shooting Confederation). This was set up as a worldwide body to regulate and organise Practical Pistol (PP).

A representative from the UK was at the 1976 meeting and in 1977, the U.K.P.S.A (United Kingdom Practical Shooting Association) was formed to officiate PP in the UK. Up until the handgun ban in 1997, full-bore PP matches were held all around the UK. Once the ban had been introduced interest in PP was largely lost, apart from a few clubs where shooters were now trying recently introduced, multi-shot CO2 powered pistols.

With experienced UKPSA members running matches since 1997 to today, interest has increased - especially with the proliferation of airsoft powered pistols available to shooters.

Some Firearm Certificate holders who are members of Licenced shooting clubs and where authorised, do still shoot full-bore and .22 rimfire Long Barrelled Firearms (LBF), in UKPSA run

to challenge the individual shooter whilst under the strict supervision of a Range Officer, to complete the stage using speed and accuracy. The objective is simple; hit as many targets as you can, as quickly as you can, whilst moving around a course of fire, within the allotted timespan.

If you have tried shooting accurately whilst the adrenalin is pumping, you’ll know this is not as simple as it sounds!

Practical matches under the LBF banner .

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FEATURE PRACTICAL PIPSTOL

PRACTICAL PISTOL IN DETAIL Matches PP is normally run in the UK as a match consisting of anything from ten to 16 stages, shot over one or two days at clubs and grounds used by licenced shooting clubs and, more recently, airsoft “skirmish” clubs and sites.

Every stage is generally different from each other by way of the length of it, as in number of targets, amount of space the shooter has to move along, any technical or testing actions needed such as different positions (standing, kneeling, seated or prone), around barricades or with strong-hand/weak-hand only sections .

Scoring The WINMSS scoring program, which is free to download off the internet, is used by many people running matches and APPs are also available to use when not using a PC/Laptop to score the match. Using WINMSS, all scoring can be inputted and viewed, score sheets printed and final match “Overall” and “Stage” scores printed off or saved.

When a shooter has completed a stage the RO will check all targets and call out the hits and they are written down on official score sheets. The “Stats” official, or person whose job it is to enter the scores, does so by completing the boxes with the numbers of different hits, misses, Procedural penalties if any (i.e. not shooting a target, moving too far when limits are set

Stages Each stage is run by a Range Officer (RO) under one-to-one supervision. The RO times the “run” using any of the commercially available shot-timers, such as the CED 7000 or ‘Are you Ready’ yellow timers. The RO is also there to ensure the shooter complies with all necessary safety rules (of which there are many), such as; remaining within stage safety angles, no unsafe handling (i.e. shots let off whilst moving or when not aiming at targets) and that the area around the stage is safe for all including any

etc.) and the time . The program adds the hits and divides them by the time and displays all, including the “Hit Factor” (H/F) that those details make up, for example: Shooter A -total of 25 points in 6.54 seconds = H/F 3.822 Shooter B -total of 23 points in 5.29 seconds = H/F 4.347 Shooter C -total of 25 points in 5.83 seconds = H/F 4.288

other shooters and people watching . The wearing of eye protection on a range is mandatory for all! A briefing as to what the stage entails will be given by the RO before anybody commences shooting and all shooters have time to walk through the stage, checking where the targets are, safe angles to hit them at and where to undertake any reloads. Many experienced shooters will run through the stage over and over in their heads, miming the moves they will make, before they step onto the stage for real.

Targets A stage may be made up of paper IPSC-style “classic” (kite/coffin shaped) cardboard buff coloured targets, or steel targets called “Poppers” or “Plates”. The paper targets must receive two hits minimum to count and have a number of scoring “zones”.

The inner “A” zone scores 5 points, the middle “C” zone scores in airsoft/CO2 PP as 3 points (4 or 3 points in real pistol matches around the world) and the outer “D” zone is 1 point, therefore a maximum of 10 points per target. White “No-Shoot” targets are also mixed in as wanted, to make the stage harder for the shooter as a “No-Shoot” hit costs MINUS 10 points per hit (with a maximum 2 hits per No-shoot).

The astute amongst you might have noticed the lack of a “B” zone; this is because on earlier targets this was seen as the “head” and is no longer acceptable to shoot in a competition environment, so has been removed. www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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“AS AN AIRSOFTER, THE BENEFITS YOU WILL GAIN FROM INCREASED TARGET ACQUISITION SPEED, BETTER BALANCED MOVEMENT AND MORE ACCURATE SHOOTING WILL MAKE YOU A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH”

In this example, Shooter B has the higher hit factor, shooter C next,

at club open matches (Level 1 competitions). A PP holster can cost

then shooter A and clearly shows that scores are determined by both

anywhere from £10 to £200! The shooter would also normally have

speed and accuracy - and it is not always the case that the fastest run, or

magazine pouches on the belt to hold spares for any necessary reloads

highest score determines the winner.

in case of an empty pistol, or malfunction during shooting.

The scoring program arranges all scores with the top shooter of

Any safe and suitable pistol can be used, with Tokyo-Marui Hi-

the stage being shown as 100% and all the other shooter’s scores

Cappa or custom-made ones being a relative “standard” type, with

being shown as a percentage downwards, with stage points allocated.

30/32-round magazines powered by Green, Red or Black gas and

A match/stage/division winner is the one with the most points overall

any weight of 6mm BB can be used. In most organised matches the

combined.

loads are 18 rounds for Standard and 28 (or as many that fit in the

Each match normally has two “Divisions”: “Standard” division is for those people using pistols with fixed or “iron sights”, be they

magazine) for Open division.

With regard to clothing, at Club level anything suitable is okay but

simple fore and rear sights, white or coloured plastic dot and where

in properly organised matches such as UKPSA and worldwide IPSC

the holster is placed on, or behind the hip bone line down the leg.

matches, camouflage clothing must not be worn. Of course, suitable

“Open” division shooters use pistols where they have any type

eye protection is mandatory for all - including RO, marshals and any

of sights attached, i.e. red-dot or laser and where the holster and magazine pouches can be anywhere on the belt.

spectators on the stage.

Practical Pistol is one of the most closely supervised and safest shooting sports in the world and organisations like the UKPSA run

Equipment

occasional Safety Courses to bring shooters up to a competition

The equipment for shooting PP normally consists of a safe and suitable

standard of safety where, with experience they can shoot at matches

holster to hold the pistol when not kept in a case/pistol slip. This is

worldwide.

held on an appropriate belt at waist height (no drop-leg types), except

If you were wondering just how popular PP is around the world, I have just done a quick check on the IPSC calendar and there are 160+ shooting events already listed for 2014, from Austria to the Philipines, Russia to Venezuela and all stops in between - even Aruba is hosting a match and their island is only 33Km long!

If you haven’t tried Practical Pistol Shooting yet, then I highly recommend you give it a go.

As an airsofter, the benefits you will gain from increased target acquisition speed, better balanced movement and more accurate shooting will make you a force to be reckoned with, especially in a CQB environment or when things get “up close and personal!”

To find out more information about the UKPSA, visit their website: www.ukpsa.co.uk, where you will find contact details for all their Regional Organisers.

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SPEED IS NOT ENOUGH

MARK HURDING, ONE OF THE UK’S TOP IPAS EXPERTS, INTRODUCES US TO THIS RAPIDLY EVOLVING AND HIGHLY SKILLED DISCIPLINE

IRON PLATE ACTION SHOOTING, or IPAS, was created by Steve Taylor and Graham Wilkes in the late nineties in response to the handgun ban in the United Kingdom. Essentially IPAS is speed shooting at steel plates, known in the USA as “Steel Challenge”.

The sport was developed to test a shooter’s speed and accuracy with a pistol, the weapon is kept holstered on the hip (no shoulder-holsters or cross-draws allowed). The starting position is with the competitor facing the targets “square on”, with his hands in the “surrender position”. The shooter, on the start signal, engages the targets as fast as possible from a static standing position. Only one shot on each target is required and the plates can be engaged in any order, as long as the “stop plate” is engaged last. The total time to engage all the targets is taken and the fastest time wins. Sounds easy enough? Top competitors can complete a run of five plates in under 3 seconds and remember, you start with the pistol holstered and your hands in surrender… Trust me, it takes some doing!

It is a very dynamic and exciting sport to both participate in and also as a spectator, the adrenalin rush is immediate and of course must be controlled, (there is no point in fast missing!) but the real world application for this type of shooting is obvious.

It would not be uncommon for Special Forces Operatives and law enforcement officers around the world to find themselves in a situation where they may need to engage multiple targets in a close quarter situation with their handgun, so practicing the techniques required to become a top level IPAS competitor would benefit any shooter who relies on his sidearm.

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FEATURE PRACTICAL SNIPERS OF SHOOTING WORLD WAR | IPAS II

“TOP COMPETITORS CAN COMPLETE A RUN OF FIVE PLATES IN UNDER 3 SECONDS AND REMEMBER, YOU START WITH PISTOL HOLSTERED AND YOUR HANDS IN SURRENDER… TRUST ME, IT TAKES SOME DOING!”

IPAS It is a totally inclusive sport with shooters of all ages and abilities competing together. The IPAS association runs the sport in the UK and hosts several matches each year, held at various clubs throughout the UK. Safety is a priority so those new to the sport will be required to have safe gun handling. There are many clubs already shooting IPAS where you can learn how to shoot and practice safely before entering a competition. The IPAS association also offers coaching for “newbies” on how to shoot fast and accurate and training for individuals who wish to become an Official IPAS Range Officer.

The great thing about IPAS is its simplicity; it is very easy to understand, easy to set up and the scoring, well, your time is your score. There are between two and five metal plates “down range” depending on the particular stage being shot (the metal plates are usually 10”x10” and fixed to a wooden post standing about 40” high). The target plates are painted grey and the “stop plate” is either red or blue. The shooter is required to start with the pistol holstered on the hip (as mentioned earlier drop leg holsters, shoulder holsters etc. are not allowed) and the shooter’s hands

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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INFORMATION For more details on shooting IPAS visit the Action Air Shooting forum at www.actionairshootingukforum.com/phpbb

must be raised in the “surrender” position at the start of each run.

On the audible start signal the shooter engages each of the grey plates (one shot on each plate) in any order but the stop plate must be hit last. The last shot will stop the timer and the total time for that run will be called. There are five runs at each “stage” and the worst time can be discarded. The other four runs are added together and the competitor with the fastest overall time for the match wins. Simple!

There are various “divisions” available to suit an individual shooter’s skill set and weapon of choice and two main categories; “Open” and “Standard”. An Open division gun can be as “tricked up” as you like, with extended barrels, red dot sights or even lasers. A Standard gun can be modified and enhanced but not with an extended barrel and can only have “iron sights”. Although most competitors use Co2 powered air weapons firing .177 calibre lead ammo, 6mm airsoft pistols are becoming more widespread and popular.

All in all, IPAS is a dynamic and safe action shooting sport that will test the pistol craft of shooters of all abilities. Try it for yourself and you won’t be disappointed.

Mark H

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Steve Taylor

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FEATURE AIRSOFT PRACTICAL SHOOTING

AIPSC is rapidly becoming one of the most popular disciplines in UK Practical Shooting.

Jim Sephton tells us how rapidly it has grown at The Grange.

AIRSOFT PRACTICAL PISTOL SHOOTING was something we were introduced to by Victor of Popular Airsoft, back in October 2011 during the lead up to the Airsoft Arms Fair - and we fell in love with the sport. The AIPSC club at The Grange opened its doors in November 2011 and we’ve never looked back.

Although airsoft pistols are used for the sport, that’s where all similarity to airsoft skirmishing ends. That having been said, the skills you gain from practical pistol can make you a true terror to face in a CQB skirmish environment, as many of the shooters at Gunman Airsoft Midlands can attest.

IPSC rules state that any gun should be treated as loaded live firearm at all times (yes, even unloaded airsoft pistols) and all of the DQ (Disqualification) offences in the sport are based around this principle. Good gun discipline and safe handling techniques are at the heart of the sport, making it a great learning and training environment for airsofters, target shooters, Airsoft Practical Pistol shooters and Real Steel Practical Pistol shooters alike The sport offers some of the most adrenaline-fueled shooting you are ever likely to encounter in a sporting environment in the UK. Combine that with a universally friendly attitude from participants, practice taking place inside warm, dry buildings and some exceptionally pretty guns and it’s no wonder the sport is growing so rapidly in the UK.

Airsoft practical pistols or “race pistols” as they are known, range from the utilitarian to works of art, with price tags ranging from hundreds to thousands of pounds. The reason for the price tags is the materials the guns are made from.

Most standard airsoft pistols are zinc alloy or ABS, race pistols are aircraft grade aluminium and stainless steel. The biggest problem faced by airsoft pistol shooters is the cold, as shot after shot goes down range the internal temperature of the gun crashes. If it gets too cold the slide locks and the magazines gas out, therefore the capacity to deal with the cold has to be at the heart of any good race pistol design. This leads to materials being chosen that won’t contract with the cold, ensuring that the gun keeps firing.

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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We are several years down the line now from where we started and our own guns have evolved from their humble Tokyo Marui origins to top class race pistols, as we’ve learned how to build guns to the specification levels required to compete in the sport.

There are some key things we’ve learnt along the way.

1. Always base your race gun on a Tokyo Marui 2. You’ve got three valid choices; Hi-Capa, Glock or 1911 3. Start with what you’re comfortable with (you don’t have to spend the earth) 4. Upgrade your gun when you are better than it is - that way it will evolve to fit you as a shooter.

5. Clean and maintain your gun and magazines after every session The AIPSC club at The Grange has become a great training centre with multiple shooters starting to appear in the top 5s of national club matches, after a relatively short time in the sport. We are always on the lookout for new members to join our regular club sessions and offer private coaching and workshops (which is also a great way to do something different for a works event, or Stag /Hen party).

Having got the guns sorted, the club up and running and the rules straight in our heads (thanks to Jim Gibney from the UKPSA) we moved onto running matches, rather than just attending them, starting with 3 national Club Matches through 2012 and 2013. Then with the support of Clarence Lai (Airsoft Surgeon) and the RedWolf team, we took on the challenge of moving from national to international. What came from that partnership was the Airsoft Surgeon European Practical Pistol Championship.

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The 2013 Championship was an intense roller coaster ride for us, with some incredible shooting and many memorable moments. The late nights and early starts are already fading from memory, which is probably why we’ve agreed to do it again.

The 2014 Airsoft Surgeon European Practical Pistol Championship will be held over the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of August. Giving us a theoretical limit of about 160 competitors, but when you’re drawing shooters from all over Europe, that’s not very many. So if you’d like to join us, make sure you keep your eyes on our Facebook page and website for when the booking links go live.

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FEATURE AIRSOFT PRACTICAL SHOOTING

“The sport offers some of the most adrenaline fuelled-shooting you are ever likely to encounter in a sporting environment in the UK” INFORMATION THE GRANGE FROG LANE, BALSALL COMMON WEST MIDLANDS, CV7 7FP O1676 532384 AIPSC CLUB - SESSIONS OPEN TO ALL SUN: 3PM - 5PM MON: 7PM - 9PM

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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SHOOTING SKILLS REVOLVERS - PART 3

LOADING & RELOADING IN THE FINAL PART OF HIS SERIES, PRO-TACT’S ANDY NIGHTINGALE LOOKS AT HOW TO LOAD YOUR REVOLVER AND RE-LOAD IT UNDER STRESS

ANDY NIGHTINGALE

Andy has seen active service around the world – and now runs Pro-Tact, a not-for-profit group providing tactical training for the airsoft community and private security forces

OVER THE PAST TWO ISSUES we have looked at the history of the revolver and how it can play a roll in the airsoft world and also how to grip, present and master the two stage trigger. In this the third and final article on basic revolver skills, I want to look at the way we load and reload the revolver in a high stress environment.

When manually loading and reloading an auto loading handgun the process is quite simple, all one has to do is to take the ammunition, which is stored in a handy and convenient magazine, locate the hand grip of the gun and insert the magazine. Then if the weapon isn’t already cocked, rack the slide back and the weapon is ready for firing. When it comes to loading and reloading the revolver however, the process is somewhat quite different and time consuming.

In the early years of revolver design, before break open

and swing out cylinders, one had to insert each round into individual chambers. In the heat of battle this was a great concern and at times proved fatal. With modern revolver designs and the advent of speed loaders even the novice can, with little practice, perform a speed reload in a respectable time. Airsoft revolvers such as the Dan Wesson that we feature here are no different from the real steel revolvers of today. Unlike the auto loader it does take time to master the reload, but it is not something you will need an armourer’s degree in.

As a general rule, we normally wear the gun on the strong side of the body and place the spare ammunition on the weak side. This enables the shooter to perform reloads with speed. However with the revolver, the process of reloading requires us to partially dismantle the gun before we can insert the new rounds. Under normal circumstances

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this is quite simple but in the heat of battle all the fine motor skills used to insert six small round pegs into six small round holes simply disappears. Manual dexterity becomes a manual nightmare! This is why we use the Universal Revolver Reload (URR).

I am a right-handed shooter simply because I can perform more complex tasks with my right hand than with my left. When using an auto loader the task of reloading is simple; I just grab the magazine with my left hand, insert the magazine into the gun and job done. Because the revolver needs to be partly dismantled and the spent rounds ejected before I can insert the new rounds, the task becomes much more complex and the dexterity in my left hand is nowhere near as good as it

is in my right hand. It therefore makes sense for me to perform any complex task with my right hand.

This is a task that is simple to learn and use but, like all shooting skills, it is a perishable skill that needs to be practiced.

Before we go on it is important to point out a few safety rules.

First of all make sure that the revolver you use is unable to fire (remove the CO2 bulb if using an airsoft revolver). Secondly adhere to all the normal safety rules when handling a gun (refer to the September 2013 issue of Airsoft Action for more details). Third make sure that all the airsoft shells are empty of any BBs.

PLEASE NOTE: The following drills are for right-handed shooters only. Left-handed shooter drills differ slightly but are not mentioned here.

Universal Revolver Reload (URR) 1. Pointing the revolver in a safe direction and with your finger off the trigger, bring the gun into the body and rest the grip on the belt line of the trouser.

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2

3

4a

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4c

2. Bring your left hand onto the frame with your thumb on the left side of the cylinder and the first two fingers on the right side of the cylinder. #1 3. With your strong hand thumb unlock the cylinder with the cylinder release catch and roll the revolver over to the right. This will open the cylinder up. #2 4. Now rotate the muzzle to the vertical position and grasp the cylinder between the thumb and two fingers to steady the gun. Remove your right hand from the grip.

5. With the right hand in a flat palm, eject the spent cases with one full tap of the ejector rod. #3 6. Rotate the revolver down into the middle of the body and with the right hand retrieve the speed loader with the new rounds and insert them in to the cylinder. #4a #4b #4c 7. Re-establish a shooting grip and close the cylinder.

If for any reason you are running wounded shooter drills at your skirmish game then the process of reloading the revolver with one hand under combative conditions will become a real nightmare for you.

Don’t despair. There is a solution. It will take time to master as it will take time to perform but it can be done.

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SHOOTING SKILLS REVOLVERS - PART 3

Wounded shooter drills for right handed shooters 1. Rest the grip of the revolver in the body to aid stability when reloading.

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6a

6b

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2. Bring your right hand on top of the gun with your thumb on the cylinder release catch and your fingers on the cylinder. #5 3. Release the locking catch with the thumb and at the same time push the cylinder open with the fingers. #6a #6b 4. Holding the revolver by the top strap, wedge the cylinder open with the fingers and push fully down once on the ejector rod with the thumb to eject the empty cases. #7 5. Insert the barrel into the wait band of the trouser and retrieve the new rounds and reload. #8a #8b 6. Re-establish a grip on the revolver and close the cylinder on the body. #9 The drills involved for the universal reload and the wounded shooter reload are complex and need a great deal of dexterity, however the drills do work.

They take time to master and will perish of not practiced on a regular basis. Like all drills that you are new to and learning, take your time to get the sequence right - you may not get a second chance in the heat of battle.

As stated before there are very few revolvers used in airsoft skirmish scenarios and I for one would like to see more of them. So if you do own an airsoft revolver master the skills take it to a skirmish and impress the hell out of everyone with your new skill set. With practice and patience you will be as good at reloads with the revolver as the bog standard skirmisher.

Stay safe and happy shooting.

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”Under normal circumstances reloading is quite simple but in the heat of battle all the fine motor skills used to insert six small round pegs into six small round holes simply disappears. Manual dexterity becomes a manual nightmare!” www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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COLD WAR WARRIOR SWISS KIT

GARETH 'GADGE' HARVEY

Gadge is our resident history buff and FilmSim fanatic. He has a passion for WWII, Nam-soft and Cold War gaming – but still finds time to fit in an open-day skirmish

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NOT JUST CLOCKS AND CHOCOLATE

ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL AND STRIKING OF COLD WAR COMBAT UNIFORMS WAS THE ALPENFLAGE UNIFORM OF THE SWISS… AND NO LESS STRANGE WAS THE ARMY THAT CHOSE TO WEAR IT!

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DURING THE FORTY-ODD YEARS of the Cold War the Swiss maintained their traditional status of “neutrality”, as they had in previous global “shooting wars” but, unlike other professional armies of the age, the Swiss also employed a unique military system where every man was, in times of crisis, able to take up arms and defend their nation.

While the Swiss have always prided themselves on being militarily neutral in most of the conflicts of the 20th Century (yet oddly having a historical reputation as the world’s foremost mercenaries since medieval times), they were in no doubt whatsoever that should the Cold War get “hot”, the Soviet Union was unlikely to respect their desire to remain neutral and so took in-depth (some might think incredibly paranoid) steps to preserve their status.

Under Swiss Law all males over 18 are eligible to serve in the military and constitute the greater part of their “citizen soldier” army, with only around five per cent of soldiers being career professionals. Once of age, young Swiss men undertake basic military training of around 20 weeks, which would vary slightly depending on the arm of service they were selected for. This initial training would then be toppedup with refresher courses at regular points during the soldier’s civilian life, until they were 49. As, unlike Britain, Switzerland has a strong tradition of hiking, shooting and outdoor pursuits many Swiss men took to military service much more readily than recruits from other western conscript armies, such as West Germany and Holland.

In fact, while a small proportion of conscripts each year would be deemed unfit for national service, even among the Swiss themselves, this proportion was significantly higher among recruits from urban areas less used to the hardships of outdoor life.

SOVIET INFILTRATORS Throughout their service Swiss soldiers were expected to keep their uniform, weapon and ammunition stored at home – ready to mobilise at a moment’s notice. The Swiss however were not blind to the potential threat of the Soviet Union so close to their borders and aware of the ease in which an unprepared nation could be quickly overwhelmed. Fortified redoubts were constructed in the Alps and most towns and villages had wellconstructed bomb shelters and bunkers to make every urban area a potential death trap to Soviet forces.

An almost paranoid fear of Soviet Spetsnaz infiltrators using army uniforms to infiltrate these positions and border checkpoints caused the Swiss government to highly regulate the stocks of army weapons and equipment (including hand held anti-tank munitions!), with each soldier held accountable for every item issued and any losses to be reported immediately.

Surplus or worn out uniforms were slashed to ribbons or burned to deny their use to a potential enemy, which meant that for many years undamaged Swiss combat kit was the “holy grail” for many collectors of Militaria, with individual smocks in good condition often fetching hundreds of pounds on the collector’s circuit. Many such collectors were dismayed however when in the early 90s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Swiss army changed its pattern and rendered the old one obsolete. Swiss uniforms were sold off for pennies and a full suit could be bought for as little as ten pounds!

MULTI TERRAIN PATTERN The uniform itself was quite simply far ahead of its time.

While clearly based on a WWII German pattern known as liebermuster, to collectors the Swiss combat suit was a slightly re-worked version of the late WWII pattern. To many the uniform looked garish with its blocks of red and white but in many ways it was the first true “multi terrain pattern”, decades ahead of multicam and more recent “breakthroughs”.

Many collectors refer to the Swiss TAZ (TASS) 57 and TAZ (TASS) 83 combat uniforms as “alpenflage” but the Swiss soldiers themselves called them “tutti-frutti pyjamas” or “Vierfruchtpyama”! Whether the uniform uses the official designation TAZ or TASS depends on the area of Switzerland it originates from, as the Swiss use four languages officially and under the French nomenclature it is an abbreviation of “Tenue D’Assault”, whereas in the German cantons it is known as “Tarnazeug” - both terms loosely translate as “combat uniform”. For the sake of this article and simplicity we shall only use the German abbreviation.

The Alpenflage TAZ 57 uniform was modified in the early 80s to include a lightweight BDU style version and tank crew overalls among other things and renamed TAZ83. The uniform itself is unlike many Western combat uniforms as we will see when we look at it in detail, however the most striking feature is that it did not require the soldier to wear combat webbing or an assault vest, as all the infantryman’s required pouches were integral to the jacket and trousers, or attached to the small removable daysack that came with it.

No-one at present makes an AEG of the Swiss SIG510 (or STg57) assault rifle used in the late 80s, so we have chosen to represent a fighter from the Kosovan Liberation Army or UCK. The UCK were equipped during the Balkan Wars of the early 052

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COLD WAR WARRIOR SWISS KIT

with many units until the end of the Cold War. Here we show it with a variety of covers made during the 40s and 50s, although later on a matching alpenflage pattern cover would be made.

Notable parts of the heavyweight and well designed TAZ57 combat jacket include both plastic/vinyl waterproof re-enforcing patches on the elbows (and on the knees and thighs of the trousers not shown here) and a camouflaged sniper veil, which could be rolled up and secured with a small fastener at the front of the hood when not needed.

The capacious hood is also large and designed to be worn over the helmet in inclement weather.

GUERRILLA WAR

90s by the USA with surplus Swiss uniforms but many of them used Eastern Bloc weapons as shown here; equally of note some examples of Swiss combat uniform have even been seen in service with some Russian Federation interior units. For the purpose of illustration however, if one overlooks the anachronistic sniper rifle, all the other equipment is representative of Swiss military kit between the 1950s and early 80s.

WWII GERMAN INFLUENCE As previously mentioned, the TAZ 57/83 uniform looks close up to be garish and ineffective but it is surprisingly efficient in both urban and rural environments, where the red and white blend into the surroundings and confuse the eye. In many ways it’s six colour pallete shows similarities with modern multiterrain patterns and the Swiss 1990s variant of this pattern even more so, where the red is deleted and replaced with a more neutral shade. Given that the Swiss fully intended to fight any clash with the Russians in their cities or in the Alpine fortifications, the colour patterning is less unusual than it first appears. In addition to the alpenflage pattern, the Swiss army used several variations of a “splinter” camouflage pattern, ranging from a near carbon copy of the WWII Wehrmacht scheme, to a more broken up and stylised version. Splinter pattern groundsheets and helmet covers continued to be issued and used with Swiss forces side by side with alpenflage items up until the 1980s.

Given the surprisingly novel and forward thinking uniform of the Swiss soldier, it is surprising to note that other aspects of his uniform were hopelessly outdated by the 1970s.

Our soldier here is pictured as an example of early 80s kit. His trousers, shirt and field cap are of the newer TAZ83 type. His black leather boots however are covered by triple buckled black leather gaiters, with a leather instep strap, to provide a somewhat old fashioned “WWII era” way of preventing water and debris entering the soldier’s boots. Of even more ancient vintage is his steel helmet, which is of the Swiss 1918 pattern!

While a more modern combat helmet would be introduced in the 1970s this venerable WWI design served

Completing this simple but incredibly practical ensemble is a small, three pocket daysack and a camouflage “zeltbahn” shelter half. The pack is of a basic but functional design and clips directly onto reinforced sections of the combat jacket (as well as having an adjustable waist strap) and is akin in size to the 30 litre patrol packs worn by most modern soldiers. Utilising a WWII German concept (but in a rectangular rather than triangular configuration) the zeltbahn shelter part is designed to be buttoned alongside a comrade to make a basic tent for shelter (and in larger groups more elaborate constructions can be made) for a buddied-up pair of soldiers - or as we show here it can be worn as a makeshift camouflage cape with water proof properties (although a plastic alpenflage pattern poncho was introduced in the 1970s).

As aforementioned, our soldier’s rifle is a Soviet SVD sniper rifle, while these would not be in service with the Swiss army of the 80s it is likely that Swiss soldiers would have been trained to be familiar with Soviet small arms, given that they fully expected to fight a guerrilla war against soviet aggressors.

So if you fancy something a little different for your Cold War look then tutti frutti pyjamas might be your thing… You can guarantee some sarky comments in the safe zone but probably a few less at the end of the day as you’ve picked off the opposition and sent them packing, perfectly concealed in this excellent combat uniform!

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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View our full range of clothing and equipment online now

t our dedicated Order online or visi Airsoft shop Re-enactment and

Visit our North Wales store to view our range

Soldier of Fortune, 13 Tyn-Y-Llidiart Ind Est, Corwen, Denbighshire, LL21 9QX

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Email: sales@sofmilitary.co.uk Tel: 01490 412225

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FEATURE WORLD WAR 1 | THE CONTEMPTIBLES

In the second of his series through the events of The Great War, Dan Mills introduces us to our guides for the rest of the journey.

DAN MILLS A former army warrant officer, Dan served in the forces for 24 years, seeing service on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq

SHORTLY AFTER THE OUTBREAK of war in the early days of August 1914, Great Britain mobilised its Regular Army and ferried it across to France. This collection of units was called “The British Expeditionary Force”, or BEF. It numbered 160,000 all ranks - very small compared to the vast conscript armies of Europe and amongst its Battalions was the First Battalion South Wales Borderers. I have chosen this battalion to follow in order that we can watch their progress throughout the war.

The 1st SWB had been very busy over the years. After reforms the 24th of Foot had become the South Wales Borderers on 1 July 1881, with the regimental depot in Brecon since 1873.

They had seen service in Egypt, Gibraltar and India, before being posted back to Aldershot Garrison in 1910 and, on the outbreak of the First World War, were one of the first battalions to be deployed. First Battalion The South Wales Borderers paraded at Bordon and set sail for France, arriving at Le Havre on 13th August 1914.

They formed up as part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade within the 1st Infantry Division. Also within the Brigade were;: 1st Battalion The Gloucester Regiment 2nd Battalion The Welsh Regiment 2nd Battalion The Royal Munster Fusiliers Attached for certain periods were; 1/6th Battalion The Welsh Regiment 1/4th Denbighshire Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1/9th Battalion, the Kings (Liverpool) Regiment

The term “British Expeditionary Force”, applied in the Great War, tends to apply to all the regular units first deployed and present on The Western Front, up to and including The First Battle of Ypres in November 1914, though “BEF” seems to have been applied throughout the conflict for all British troops.

It was so called (the BEF) since the Haldane Reforms following the 2nd Boer War that had ended back in 1902.

Expeditionary warfare was the way forward back then, the Empire was well versed in sending its soldiers off to battle and had formed an army capable of expeditionary operations.

These soldiers were all regular, professional soldiers having seen active service in The Boer War and India amongst others. Newly landed in France, they became known as “The Contemptibles” after it was reported that Kaiser Wilhelm The Second gave orders to “exterminate first, the treacherous English and walk over General French’s contemptible little army”. Therefore, those regulars who fought through that period were nicknamed “The Contemtibles” as a slight to the Kaiser.

After the hurried deployment overseas the BEF soon found itself outgunned and outnumbered. The Germans in their sweep to Paris to quickly knock France out of the war were simply too numerous, withdrawal and defend became the order of the day until the Germans were held in check. By the end of 1914, after only roughly four months of combat, the old British regular army was virtually wiped out. The Contemptibles suffered massive casualties but they had bloodied the German nose and stopped the advance. www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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MONS The British Expeditionary Force fought its first major battle at the Belgian town of Mons, not far over the border with France. Battle flared all along the advancing German front line in a bid to hold and stop the German rapid advance. The British, with the French army on the right hand side attempted to hold the line along the Mons to Conde Canal, with strong points at the bridge crossings.

The first contact between the two armies happened near Obourg when a British Cyclist Recce Unit came upon some Germans. Private John Parr was killed and became the first British fatality of the many, many thousands that would occur during the War. Things were still primitive in these early days, bikes and horses were very much in full use on both sides, as was brightly covered uniform!

The German artillery opened the battle with a barrage at dawn on the 23rd of August, a mere eighteen days into the war and at 09:00 the huge assault began. Defenses were strong at the four bridges across the canal, many German battalions were sent in to clear them, advancing towards the British in “Parade Ground Order”!!

The regulars mowed down these exposed Germans with accurate rifle, machine gun and artillery fire, with the Hun believing batteries of machine guns faced them as the rifle fire was so accurate.

The success was however short lived, as by sheer weight of numbers the approaching Germans spread out and poured into the defenses.

On one bridge, Lieutenant Dease won the Victoria Cross for his actions. After every man in his section had been killed or wounded he manned the machine gun

Maurice James Dease VC

The call went out across Britain to “Join Up and Serve!” along with cries of “Your Country Needs You!” The new army formation, soon called “The Kitchener’s”, was made up of Territorials and new enlistments who had flooded to the recruitment offices to sign up.

The 1st Battalion South Wales Borderers fought through the main battles as part of the BEF in this first year, seeing action in Mons, Marne, Aisne and Ypres amongst others - names forever since being emblazoned on the colours as Battle Honours.

Those old regular soldiers still standing at the War’s end became known as “The Old Contemptibles”.

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FEATURE WORLD WAR 1 | THE CONTEMPTIBLES

post, being shot several times until his evacuation after a fifth wound. He died in the Aid Station.

The inevitable happened though and the BEF was forced to retreat after the Germans pushed through on the French side and the sudden French retreat dangerously left the right flank exposed. A tactical withdrawal was put into place; units disengaged and withdrew, though many were withdrawing under full contact with the advancing enemy troops.

At times the situation got desperate and, by darkness the following day, after retreating in good order to the fallback defensive lines near the Valenciennes to Maubeuge Road but, with the French continuing to retreat, they had no choice but to abandon the new positions and carry on the withdrawal.

The retreat continued over four hundred kilometres with the Germans in close pursuit causing chaos, whole units disappeared and more guns were captured since the losses during the American War of Independence.

It is worth mentioning here the action fought at Le Cateau.

The two Corps making up the BEF had become separated in the withdrawal. They had planned to reunite after the pull out at Le Cateau but Haig’s 1 Corps were nowhere to be seen.

2 Corps, under Smith – Dorrien decided to establish a defensive position and hold as his troops were exhausted and needed a period of organised stability. The Germans caught up and attacked heavily on the 26th August.

For the second time that week the professional British soldiers caused massive casualties with accurate, sustained rifle fire against the German attackers. However, also for the second time in a week, the German numbers began to count.

They swept either flank aside and began to encircle the British troops, only to be suddenly reprieved by a French counterattack by Cavalry on the British left flank.

The BEF and French consolidated on the outskirts of Paris along the River Marne, before the next stage of the War started.

So the first units had been bloodied in the first battle and the hold out against overwhelming German strength went down in folklore. The small “contemptible little army” caused casualties far outweighing its size, but it had suffered greatly and would need reinforcements before facing the Hun again.

“The regulars mowed down these exposed Germans with accurate rifle, machine gun and artillery fire, with the Hun believing batteries of machine guns faced them as the rifle fire was so accurate”

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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TYR: GOD OF WAR, VICTORY AND HEROISM

OUR RESIDENT TACTICAL OPTICIAN, ANDY BOURNE, GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH TYR’S PICO MV PLATE CARRIER

Andy Bourne Andy Bourne BSc(Hons) MCOptom is an ophthalmic optician, former reserve forces officer, and keen milsim airsofter.

He is an associate optometrist with the Vision Surgery and Research Centre, UK, and his research has been presented worldwide. He currently divides his time between hospital, general practice and airsoft - although not necessarily in that order.

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PROTECTION IN THE FORM of body armour has been a fact of life for most modern forces for over a decade. Over twenty years since the ill-fated US Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu and the general concept of protective armour for the guy on the ground has, on the face of it, changed little. But there has been a steady evolution, not revolution, borne by experience hardwon in theatres of conflict over the past twelve years of the so called “War on Terror”. In that time, many small companies have sprung up with their own take on the protective plate carriers used widely in military and wider circles. One of those companies is quietly making a name for itself, thanks to the quality and functionality of its gear: TYR Tactical.

TYR TACTICAL TYR Tactical is based in Arizona and has risen in recent times to become a highly respected brand. Named after the Norse God of war, victory and heroism in battle, they have a reputation for innovative product design and have produced a range of tactical pouches, bags and armour carriers using their proprietary material pluma vires. This is a composite of cordura and Kevlar designed to be hard wearing but crucially, light in weight. As the concept of lighter, more ergonomically-friendly armour carriers gains traction amongst military users, TYR has listened. The result is the PICO family of plate carriers.

The PICO was designed as a low profile, scalable armour carrier which embraces TYR’s central commitment to weight reduction. In its standard configuration the PICO can carry up to 9 M4 magazines with no external pouches necessary. A three magazine kangaroo pouch, plus space for another three mags on each side of the carrier in the cummerbund spaces makes for an enviable out-of-the-box carrying capacity. The cummerbund has PALS adaptors for attaching MOLLE pouches, and the rear of the carrier is similarly configured with PALS.

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KIT REVIEW TYR TACTICAL

PICO The PICO MV is a variant of the PICO, lightly revised to accommodate standard SAPI (Small Arms Protective Insert) and ESAPI (Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert) plates. It sports a modified frontal aspect to accommodate these armour plates, but is otherwise identical to the PICO. Recently, it was announced that the Danish Army were to adopt the TYR PICO MV system as their issued plate carrier.

Unfortunately, these carriers are quite thin on the ground, as TYR manufactures most of their inventory to order, making for long lead times. However, we have been lucky enough to get our hands on a PICO MV system, so let’s look closer…

The first feature that stands out about this carrier is the airlight mesh inners to the plate carriers. The padding gives some standoff from the body and improves cooling.

The shoulder straps are adjustable by finding the anchoring buckles, which are inside the rear plate bag. Fastening the cummerbund is by Velcro fields located underneath the front flap, in the conventional manner. The cummerbund is elasticated where it attaches to the rear plate bag, giving ample ability to cope with various waist sizes, and clothing layers. Unlike the LBT6094 system, there is no internal cummerbund to fasten first. This is an elegantly simple set up and at this point it is worth noting that the PICO family are sized according to the plate size to be accommodated, not by the sizing of the wearer. This is facilitated by the excellent adjustability of the carrier.

Our particular example here has had the standard TYR front kangaroo molle flap changed out for a custom TYR hybrid M4/9mm flap, which holds three M4 magazines, and piggybacks three 9mm pistol mags or other similarly sized items, such as a backup torch. Above the flap is ample Velcro for IFF patches, as well as elasticated loops, which gives enough space to fit a map board or admin pouch if desired.

On the left side, one of the cummerbund magazine pouches has been used.

Thanks to the excellent padding on the cummerbund itself, there is no feeling of the magazine digging in to the wearer at all. Clearly, these side pouches could easily be used to stash a PMR radio, speedloader or other items. The magazine retention in these side pouches is by sleeves, which are Velcro fixed. This means that the sleeve can be easily removed to allow for the stowage of equipment without the elastic mag retention bungees getting in the way. Another example of how TYR’s concept of adaptive, scalable equipment works. Below the front flap is a lower abdomen platform.

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“However the torso moves, the X frames can follow, bending forward and back, twisting and rolling side to side, at no point was a build-up of load felt on one side or the other.”

Containing soft armour, this confers extra protection in the vulnerable zone between belt line and plate carrier, as well as extra carriage for tourniquets, cyalumes or similar. Easily detachable when not required, it is held by Velcro.

The pouches on this carrier are a mix of TYR and Blue Force Gear, both brands which champion weight reduction. There is a TYR GP pouch to the left side, complete with elastic loops for external stowage, and a Blue Force vertical utility has been pressed into service to carry the radio equipment. To the rear, a TYR 70oz hydration carrier takes care of the water and, once more, is surprisingly lightweight when compared to, say a Blackhawk hydration carrier of the same capacity.

Looking at the Brokos belt, the first thing to strike the observer is that it is attached to the plate carrier. Recently, this type of load carriage system has become more widespread. LBT arguably were the first to bring the concept to widespread notice with the LBT-2711 CASS or Comfort Armour Suspension System. Crye Precision has the StKSS (Structural Kinetic Support System), and TYR Tactical has the X Frame. The concept is to allow the transference of some of the weight of the plates in the carrier to the belt and hips. This eases the load on the shoulders, reduces fatigue and lower back pain.

tension on the frame stays, the amount of weight transferred between shoulders and hips can be finely tuned. The Brokos belt is an excellent load carrier with a high degree of comfort.

As plate carriers go, this author has not come across one as unobtrusive to wear, despite the scale of protection on offer. Striking is the lack of bulk or weight evident in earlier generation carriers such as the Paraclete RMV and Eagle Industries CIRAS. The scalable nature of TYR’s system is demonstrated by the extra up-armour options available to the wearer of the PICO MV. The basic carrier can be enhanced by a number of protective additions. A larger cummerbund, lower abdomen platform, groin protector, ballistic drop leg thigh panels and shoulder/deltoid panels all give the wearer an enviable adaptive system, which can be configured to the perceived threat level. TYR Tactical has taken the lessons learned in the past decade of conflict and produced a remarkably user friendly system.

If you can get one, (and unfortunately that’s a big if), you are unlikely to be disappointed.

INFORMATION SRP: £751.00

TYR’s X FRAME TYR’s X Frame stays are a carbon fibre/polypropylene mix, making for light weight but high tensile strength. They are able to slide over each other, which supports the wearer as their torso can rock from side to side without unwanted load transference. The stays are anchored inside the belt and the opposite side of the plate carrier, forming an ‘X’ shape. This was quite revolutionary when wearing the whole system. However the torso moves, the X frames can follow, bending forward and back, twisting and rolling side to side, at no point was a build-up of load felt on one side or the other. By adjusting the 60

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TYR PRODUCTS ARE DISTRIBUTED IN THE UK BY EDGAR BROTHERS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT EDGAR BROTHERS VIA THEIR WEBSITE: WWW.EDGARBROTHERS.COM

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ARE VEHICLES IN AIRSOFT THE BEST THING EVER OR INDESTRUCTIBLE ANNOYANCES?

IT’S DEBATE TIME ONCE AGAIN and this issue we’re discussing “heavy metal”, not Iron Maiden but in-game vehicles.

What we were interested in getting the low down on, was your views on having vehicles in-game. Do they enhance your play or are they an almighty embuggerance?

In the last ten years we’ve seen airsoft games go from including the odd jeep or “technical” at top end events, to vehicles now being so common place that most sites have a Land Rover or similar to use for VIP protection scenarios - or at worst as ersatz tanks!

At the zenith of the scale, companies like Tier 1 and Stirling airsoft provide helicopter insertions at some events for a lucky few and the site of an APC clanking around the site is almost common place at many a MilSim. Not to be outdone, the WWII scene has got in on the act and motorcycle combinations, GMC trucks and even armoured cars have been incorporated into historical gaming days… But the question is still, is it worth it?

While many players felt that vehicles added to the immersion and that they

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didn’t mind paying a premium if it was something they could utilise, ride on or medevac out on quite a few players balked at the idea of stumping up an extra £50 or more to be at an event where the other team got to play with all the toys while the insurgents looked on. A few however thought that even just having the OpFor “mobile” was well worth the extra expense.

In the age of litigation and “health and safety gone mad” (as some would have you believe) there are serious constraints as to what you can really get away with when it comes to battlefield mobility. Obviously shooting at a chopper isn’t a clever idea but it’s probably not too bright to try and hit a driver in the face even if he’s only doing ten miles an hour. To this end, many sites make their vehicles “un-killable” by small arms and require a number of close pyro explosions to take even a truck or jeep out of action. The practical reasons for this are obvious; the last thing you want is a driver losing control and it’s also often very hard for a driver to hear BBs hitting parts of their vehicle, or judging whether they are “hit” in a firefight and still concentrate on safe driving - but this does cause problems to some of you when a Mitsubishi truck takes on the airsoft equivalent of Challenger II armour in game. It can be massively frustrating to be pinned down by an indestructible truck when in reality your AK47 would have it in pieces using less than a magazine. The immersion and suspension of disbelief disappear but is there a safe alternative?

Many players and sites have tried nerf rockets (impossible to hear them impacting on you while driving a 4x4), damage absorbing “plates” (again nigh on impossible to see or hear) and remote or detonated pyro (unreliable and if a player’s too close seeking protection behind the truck… potentially dangerous) but few have found the perfect solution.

In general though this month we seemed to have a fairly one-sided debate, with most of you of the opinion that as long as they were used in a safe and controlled manner and that nobody took the micky, then vehicles were real game-enhancers and well worth a few extra quid on your playing fee – especially at the big events or at military training area sites. AA

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DEBATE IN-GAME VEHICLES

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HAVE YOUR SAY

Oliver Holmes - “Hell yes as long as the rules are fair. I’ll pay reasonable extra to ride in them.”

Mark Spencer - “We have a downed helicopter at Tac House Spartan in Chesterfield - it is a modded transit van.”

Rod Armstrong - “I have found that they are a bit of a double-edged sword. If they are used just to transport players around, then that works great, in fact that’s exactly what the FV432 at Lightfighter used to be used for and very effectively, with the end result that nobody really got irritated with the thing. I have played in many games where the “invulnerable” Land Rover has made an appearance and it’s usually used to make a game move in a particular direction by being invulnerable. Without going into airsoft politics it can be both a good and a bad thing in a game where you expect to engage something that shoots at you, personally I wouldn’t pay extra for this and have seen it used and abused. Again though, they could just be used as transports.”

Sean BE - “I think having period vehicles enhances the game play and that includes wrecks and working vehicles.

It adds to the realism and I am all for it. I wouldn’t however look to pay more for the experience.”

Nicky J Mantle - “I would say it’s more to do with “safety” giving the driver a burst of full auto could cause him to crash or drive into someone. I have no issues with paying extra or not being able to engage them.”

Scott Allan - “Vehicles do help with the suspension of disbelief. Safety is always key though.”

Billy Gumbrell - “We have been collecting vehicles at Bluestreak over the winter for game scenarios this coming year. A small Nissan van which has been used in extractions in the past but will become multi-role including as a mobile sentry gun. A Land Rover Discovery to be used as a CP team vehicle and in the future, cut down to a technical with mounted belt-feds and a BMW 7 2.8 will be used as a Presidential limo. All vehicles are being fitted with means to detonate pyro (marshal detonation) and will be marshaldriven too. Being able to ambush a VIP and have to take out his security team with real chance to “blow up” vehicles with various methods is not the norm. But it is bloody good fun!”

Matt Burns - “At Airsoft Plantation we use vehicles on a regular basis; the 7.5 tonne to transport the troops to the far side of the site, where there is usually an ambush waiting somewhere along the way. We also have three 4x4 vehicles that have been painted green, these are used to escort a VIP. Again this is ambushed and we have to protect the VIP and take them to the RVP. So in a nut shell, if you use the correct vehicle in the correct situation this can enhance the airsoft experience.”

Malcolm McColl - “I personally have had great experience with the use of vehicles at MilSims, primarily as transports to keep the game flowing (outflanking, insertion and hunterforce). The only real issue I’ve had with them is the “invincible Land Rover”.

Sam Beech - “At the likes of Stanta and Copehill they add that bit of realism to the game. Even funnier when guys from your site are on the enemy side lobbing stuff at you!!”

HAVE YOUR SAY Got an opinion to share on this debate? Got an idea for a future topic? Get in touch with

Airsoft Action via the address on page 4, or email gadge@airsoft-action.co.uk. Watch out for future debates on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AirsoftAction.

Chris Martin - “If there was a way of “destroying” vehicles in-game instead of using pyro (Berget use an AT-4 infra-red system I think?), then that would be awesome. It would also create a good game objective for an opposing team.”

Lance Gilbert - “Tag airsoft’s helli weekender a couple of years ago was absolutely fantastic! A couple of Landies, a Rapier missile system and whilst everyone got a chance to go airborne in the Huey (for what looked great value with the photo shoot of them sitting Rambo-style off the landing skids), I gotta go top gunner in one of the in-play army Snatch vehicles ‘n give them a big greeting from my RPK as they jumped out on the LZ and ran to the woods!!”

Matthew Gillard - “The trucks at Airsoft Plantation definitely enhance the gameplay, being ambushed suddenly while driving along is definitely a brilliant way to start a game and gets everyone going straight away.”

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SELF-CONFESSED “PATCH AFICIONADO” RICHARD BELL, DELVES INTO THE WORLD OF PATCHES AND ASKS “HOW DO YOU WEAR YOURS?”

RICHARD BELL RICHARD HAS BEEN BEEN INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING AND TACTICAL INDUSTRY SINCE A VERY YOUNG AGE. HIS PASSION STRETCHES ACROSS MANY SUBJECTS AND AREAS OF INTEREST, INCLUDING GEAR, PATTERNS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, PATCHES, PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART AND HE IS ACTIVE IN THE TACTICAL AND AIRSOFT MARKETS, BOTH IN THE UK AND OVERSEAS.

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FOR THIS ISSUE’S LITTLE FORAY into the gear world, I thought we could look at something that I am sure all of us have and I for one am currently sporting three as I write this... patches. Yep, morale patches to be specific. I am not looking to delve into the Regimental or role-specific identification patches but that of the commonly classified ‘Morale’ patch that we see being sported by just about everyone who has an interest in the tactical world. It has gotten to the point that if you don’t ‘have a patch’ and you are involved in some way to the tactical world, you will be taken as a part time player. It is big business and a number of individuals and companies have gotten worldwide status in this specific market sector. It has also become a collector’s market, with trades and deals being struck via shows, range days, events and via the internet. Those that collect Patches as a passion have earned a rather less than dignitary title, but for this publication we will refer to them as ‘Patch Aficionados’.

Patches, Morale or other, distinguish individuals from others ranging from training, teams, roles, interests as well as showing support for companies and even events and charities and the earliest documented evidence I could find for that was in 1862.

The story goes that a General, Philip Kearny, Army of the Potomac’s Third Corps Commander found a number of men lounging under a tree. He assumed that these were wayward men, stragglers and as such went to reprimand them in a typical officer’s fashion. The men took the verbal chastising and then politely informed him that he had made a mistake as they were not part of his brigade.

At which point Kearny turned into a model gentleman, apologised and said he would take steps to recognise his own men in the future. He then proceeded to order all his men to place a piece of red cloth on the front of their caps, so that they would be distinguished from others and recognised by their own officers.

This piece of cloth went on to be known as the ‘Kearny Patch’ and thus started the system of where we are today.

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FEATURE PATCHES

You will find that most patches obey certain rules in respect of production. They normally fall into two different manufacture categories, which are embroidered and rubber - although recently I was exposed to a patch made out of ‘Kydex’ so is this the future material? However the embroidered and rubber patch are the most common, with the rubber patch being the preferred option for a variety of different reasons, one of the key being the amount of ‘abuse’ it can withstand, thus retaining its original glory!

SEE PIC 1 So what can you do with a patch? Well just about anything you wish, however there a few basic guidelines that 99% adhere to. They can vary in size from 1” squares up to 10cm x 10cm as that is the standard ‘loop’ size on most tactical garments produced, although there are larger versions out in the world.

SEE PIC 2 They need to be made out of solid colours (no shading), with seven colours being the normal limit and they should not have any ‘holes’ in them as this will drastically reduce the strength of the patch. Patches are machine made and as long as the ‘mould’ (for rubber and PVC) or ‘pattern’ (embroidered) is correct you can shape them anyway you wish. In that regard they have and can become small pieces of art in their own way. Does this mean that they need to be over designed? No, not at all as some of my most cherished patches are so simple in design and presentation.

SEE PIC 3 You can also incorporate other materials such as GITD (glow in the dark).

SEE PIC 4 So why do people wear them both in the field and on a social basis (and yes I wear mine for both)? Simply it’s down to that individual as to why they wear what they wear. I can only give you examples of why I wear mine. I use them as a branding and marketing tool for kit and gear that I happen to be wearing, an event that happened that day, a state of mind, training or playing mantra that I will be adopting, a whole raft of different reasons will dictate what I wear and the reasons I wear it. By no

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means is the list below an exhaustive one but hopefully it will cover off some of the main areas.

Most companies when either starting out or established will look at a patch as a means to help promote themselves and it has become a recognisable branding tool in the tactical world. It has also become a valuable tool when drawing attention to their product or services as a form of prize, more commonly found on social media sites, but this is not always the case.

SEE PIC 5 Most commonly found in airsoft and paintball, teams from all across the world will look to get their own patch, that sense of comradeship, of pride and to let everyone know who is on the field.

SEE PIC 6

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Nearly all training companies now have their own patch that are an indicator to others where that individual has been and who they have been instructed by. In the real steel circuit, more so than airsoft this is very common, although the airsoft community has started to follow suit SEE PIC 7 Charities and sponsored events for the military, certainly over the past five years, have recognised the patch as an appropriate form of media. This falls within the similar vein as companies making people more aware, reach a greater audience and promote their cause as well as a financial contribution.

SEE PIC 8 Over the past decade a number of events have happened that have shaken the world and people’s beliefs and values. These have in some cases be made into something that can be worn with pride by those as a visible reminder. SEE PIC 9 More and more communities now have their own patch, so those that support that particular community can be identified. These have turned into little competitions with ‘where has my patch been’.

SEE PIC 10 Politics and Beliefs is not a rabbit hole I wish to delve down, so here is an example to explain it...

SEE PIC 11

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Well it’s the beginning of a new year and with that comes the shows and events across the world. The patches that are produced for events or individuals can be the most sought after of all patches, they may be a limited run for that and if you are not there or know the ‘secret handshake’ you may not be successful in securing one.

SEE PIC 12 But let us not forget that these are ‘Morale’ patches and can be made for fun and these are born out of anything that happens from movies that are released, quotes by people, threads and conversations that happen in real time or on the internet which result in the ‘that’s a brilliant idea, let’s make a patch’! Yes it can be that quick and simple.

SEE PIC 13 So why do I love them, collect them, wear them, what draws me to them? We’ll all of the above and some more. It really is a personal thing and swings between patches that I feel are just beautiful works of art, they symbolise something to me, in sometimes a hidden and subtle manner (yeah I didn’t go into symbology as that’s a whole different understanding of patches), it’s my very simple way of supporting something I believe in, right down to ‘I must own it’.

Some Patch Aficionados have collections that will surpass any wall space you have in your house, having close to 500+ in their collection, how many do you have? Have you started searching for them after reading this? I do hope so.

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INFORMATION REFERENCE MATERIAL: TREVOR PAGLEN ‘I WOULD TELL YOU BUT THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE DESTROYED BY ME’ PUBLICATIONS. ALSO A BIG THANK YOU TO

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SOME GOOD FRIENDS WHO HAVE ALLOWED ME TO SHOWCASE A WIDE SELECTION OF THEIR WORK; PATCH-WERK, COMBAT SWAG, ORCA INDUSTRIES AND MOJO TACTICAL.

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TIME TO SLING YOUR SLING? THE TACTICAL SLING HAS BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS BUT HAS IT FINALLY MET ITS MATCH? RICHARD BELL THINKS IT MIGHT AND BRINGS US THE FIRST REVIEW OF A VERY STRONG CONTENDER…

Richard Bell Richard has been been involved in the shooting and tactical industry since a very young age. His passion stretches across many subjects and areas of interest, including gear, patterns, new technologies, patches, photography and art and he is active in the Tactical and Airsoft markets, both in the UK and overseas.

ALL OF US HAVE A SLING (or several), or used to own one. We are used to them; they have been around for centuries dominating the market in various different permutations, but all that is now been challenged by the arrival of the Tactical Universal Clip, a ‘Sling-Less’ system to allow the user an option between ‘sling and no sling’.

I have been very fortunate to have spent over a month with this system using it in a variety of skirmish environments and on several different armour carriers and I can assure you that if you have not heard about it before now, you will certainly be seeing a lot more of this piece of kit in the next couple of months!

There are currently two different TUC systems available, which cover off the primary platforms used by Police forces in the USA. The main one is the ‘M4 Buffer Tube’ attachment and this is the system that I have been using. The second system is designed for solid stock weapons such as Shotguns, there are others in T&E as we speak and I will cover those later in this review.

The TUC system comprises of just two primary parts; the M4 Clip and the MOLLE Chest plate attachment. The M4 clip is attached to your M4 and the MOLLE system attaches to your rig in any place you feel is best suited. It does include an instruction manual and I would suggest you read it because if you make an assumption, you may generate a stoppage straight away on the charging handle of your M4!

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KIT REVIEW TACTICAL UNIVERSAL CLIP

To be honest, front and centre would be the most sensible place until you become more accustomed with it.

As this is a new system, it’s a new way of working and thinking and, as such, you have to learn new muscle memories and I would suggest you follow a few very simple steps to start to build up that familiarisation.

Before attaching anything get the two pieces out of the box and do some basic dry runs marrying them up. Place the ‘chest plate’ to your body and visualise the movement that you would look to carry out. It’s not a time-consuming piece of kit to attach, this goes back to muscle memory and for you to see what this piece of kit is designed to do. You will need to put practice in carrying out the transition between ‘shouldered’ and ‘clipped’ but you will pick it up very quickly and then you can start to have some real fun.

One of the key elements of the TUC system is the ‘Pin’ that it comes with.

The ‘pin’ I used was the ‘short’ version, measuring in at 1.5 inches. You have a choice of two other pin sizes (Medium and Large) and this is where you want to make sure you are in tune with your gear. What you want to look at is how many magazines you carry on your plate carrier MOLLE chest rig. If you only use single depth pouches then the clearance is ‘short’. If you have double depth then its medium and should you use a triple depth pouch, then you would need a large pin to clear that protruding nylon from your rig. As the chest plate is MOLLE attached, you could technically attach it anywhere that you have MOLLE and they are currently developing a ‘back plate’ mounted system for just that.

My review has been based around the M4 buffer tube System but as this was designed by a police officer and ‘shotguns’ and other solid stock weapons are in use, they came up with ‘pin’ attachment solution for those platforms. The chest plate stays the same, only the pin set up changes and again, you can vary the length of the ‘pin’ to suit your needs.

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The materials used have been chosen for both strength and weight. The chest plate is made of Nylon 6-6 and is used when high mechanical strength, great rigidity, and good stability under heat is required. The Pin is made of 6061-T6 alloy, as used in the construction of upper and lower receivers of many AR-15 variants and finally, the M4 clamp is made from 2024 alloy. This little product can easily take the weight of your M4 and more should it be required (product specifications from www.tacticaluniversalclip.com ) This system was developed by a Police officer for his brothers and sisters, to make life a little easier under an array of conditions. This does not mean it has no military function, but that was not who it was designed for originally. Yes, you may find a few areas of limitations when using this system but the same can easily apply to a ‘sling’.

Neither system is perfect but at least with the TUC you now have a choice.

The activities I carried out while doing this review ranged from fast aggressive movements over uneven terrain, assaulting positions and vehicles and even some basic roping, all of which was easily carried out with the TUC. The one thing I did notice when using the TUC was how it did not restrict access to any pouches, even when attached to my plate carrier, something I have found slings to do in the past.

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For those that wish to have a little more security they have created a ‘movement retention’ harness.

So what are the applications of this moving forward? I can predict that with the weapon platform adaptations that are currently being carried out by Tactical Universal Clip and the T&E that is being carried out by key police departments across America that this will be of interest to a number of Governments for their own police force. Now before you all jump the gun, our police force does not use M4s or many solid stocks, they predominately use H&K (G36 & MP5) both of which have a TUC system being developed. They are also developing a TUC system for other weapon platforms, so if you have an exotic ‘airsoft’ rifle give it some time and you too could be utilising this system.

The TUC is available to order from Land Warrior Airsoft (www.landwarriorairsoft.com)

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THE PERFECT COMBINATION? LES LEE HEADS OFF TO REPORT ON A POPULAR SOUTH COST RETAILER, ONLY TO FIND THEY ALSO RUN ONE OF THE BEST AIRSOFT SITES HE’S EVER SEEN HAVING BEEN WELL AND TRULY BITTEN by the airsoft bug, of course I wanted to visit all the airsoft shops within reach and just a short car journey away was Combat South, in Portsmouth. So, with credit card at the ready I paid them a visit and whilst perusing their goodies, I met Russ Banks and his Mum Judith. I hope you can relate when I say they made me feel like one of their own, even though at that point I hadn’t even spent a penny.

So the usual chit-chat and banter followed and trust me when I say, I can banter for England! It was during our conversation that I discovered that they also operated a woodland site - and little did I know just how magnificent their site was until I paid my first visit.

Combat South Woodland.

Way back in the mid-1990’s Russ, Steve, Judith and Paul Banks were hosting a shooting gallery at various Air and Military shows. They realised that not only did people enjoy shooting the guns at paper targets, but perhaps there could be a need and/or desire to take their RIFs out into the big wide world and transition from simple target shooting, to full blown airsoft battles in a well accommodated and controlled environment - such as a purpose built woodland battle zone! I can only speculate that Combat South was a very appropriate name, all things considered.

Paul and our very own Ratty, from (then Airsoft Adventures and now) BadgerTac, were great friends with the Banks family and only too pleased to help them locate a suitable area, develop the site and give good advice and guidance, which helped create Combat South. Thus what is, in my opinion, one of the UK’s best purpose-built sites was created from the soil up.

The site is an easy find in Wickham, near Fareham, Hampshire, around a 15 minute drive from Portsmouth or 20 minutes from Southampton and a hard top 072

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inside airsoft COMBAT SOUTH

road leads to a large car park so access is nice and easy. When you walk on to the site, which is directly adjacent to the car park (so no massive hikes for you and your gear), you will be greeted by tall trees, a very comfortable covered association area and that all-important bubbling tea urn in this safe zone.

Immediate facilities are the sign-in area, equipment hire, refreshments, male and female toilets and the on-site shop, selling the all important consumables and things that go flash and bang. A charging station and resident gunsmith can be found here also. What I found most impressive was the First Aid station. This has a unit all for itself, complete with a med bed, stretcher, defibrillator, oxygen, the biggest First Aid kit I have ever seen and two highly qualified medical staff, who’s professions are in the medical industry - one is even a midwife, I kid you not! (Maybe she specialises in exit wounds?) So it’s fair to say that Health and Safety are an absolute priority for the Combat South team, so that is one of my focus points well and truly satisfied, cause when you consider the variety and number of players on a typical game day can vary from 70 to 150 and of all ages (14 minimum here) and sexes and levels of abilities, then there is a fair chance that there may be a need for a splinter to be excised or a sprain to be given the “R.I.C.E.” treatment (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation - in case you were wondering).

98 acres of woodland gives plenty of scope for a wide variety of games and a lot of work has been done to create a village about the size of Emmerdale, a huge fort with multi level objectives, a host of bridges, bunkers, towers and trenches.

However, before anyone gets released from the safe zone all players are briefed and guns chronographed. A feature that I really liked was a secondary safety brief for new players and/or visitors to the site, that was a well thought out practice and gives newbies a better than average first time experience.

At 10am the first game gets underway which takes the battles through to 1pm, when the famous Combat South lunch is served and WOW, do these folk know how to lay on a lunch! This isn’t just any old BBQ, but more of a banquet offering a variety of dishes and (I’m told) that Combat South is renowned for its generous lunches with seconds available if wanted. Napoleon Bonaparte said “An Army marches on its stomach” and the guys at Combat South were obviously listening. Very impressive indeed!

“Combat South - probably one of the best sites on the South Coast and a fully stocked airsoft shop selling just about everything that you might need to kit up and go combat crazy in the challenging woodland nearby”

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Afternoon play kicks off at 2pm, games are varied to suit demand and will typically run until 4-4.30 as weather and light permits.

This was my first experience of a technique used to combat cheating called “Marshall Law”. I don’t want to give too much away but from what I saw, this was a very effective way of dissecting the few less than honourable players that simply won’t take their hits and eliminating one of our biggest gripes in the sport. This unsportsmanlike behaviour can spoil a game if players don’t play by the rules. Think about it, if we all started denying that we were hit then we would have to resort to using some type of marking system, such as paint - no thank you very much! Let’s just Man Up and take our hits guys and girls.

Combat South are not only a walk on site, corporate groups make a variety of bookings and one that was particularly memorable was an 18th birthday party that booked the whole site for the complete weekend! How cool is that for a birthday to remember? Steve added that nothing can really prepare you for what Stag Do’s throw at you. I can only imagine! The site is also often used by military personnel due to its close proximity to the Royal Naval Dockyard and no doubt the site authenticity. Sounds like a no-brainier to me having such a good training ground close to the base.

It’s worth pointing out that from May thru August, evening games are played on a Wednesday with just a £10 walk-on fee and, of course, their website will give you all the details on this.

Finally, I really do need to mention In Country Vietnam. This exclusive event is held in August every year with plenty of the previous games available to view on YouTube. Check ‘em out as I did and I think you’ll be making a booking for that one.

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Combat South - The Shop Located just ten minutes south of the M27, the shop is bright, purely airsoft-specific and takes up the whole of Unit 4 Fairways Business Centre, utilising the top floor as a bright and airy showroom which stocks everything you could need.

Steve is the first to admit that it has been said he has an unhealthy passion for Tokyo Marui products due to their reliability, build quality

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inside airsoft COMBAT SOUTH

and unrivalled performance. When Steve and his family started in Airsoft in the mid 90’s, TM products mainly filled the market. Steve commented “I just love the way that you can do something to them and they work, they just do what they should.

The development that TM has put into their pistols over the last five years has been amazing and they are the best pistols around. The concept of their new Recoil range is quite superb. The TM 416 was only debuted last summer but was easily our biggest seller in 2013 in that short period.” Steve also stated that they are very much in favour of ICS guns along with G&G, G&P and WE products.

In addition to the extensive selection of rifles and pistols, the shop also specialises in 5.11 products, Webtex and the very affordable Viper brand and Mechanix Gloves, etc. plus the huge range of consumables and everything else you will need. Everything is clearly displayed and priced which makes viewing easy. Also located in the shop is a purpose-built indoor range, so that you can try before you buy. In-shop ranges are still fairly rare but are a very welcome feature, in my opinion. Let’s face it, who would buy a car without a test drive first and whilst on the subject of cars, parking is a-plenty right outside.

All of the staff has at least ten years playing experience under their tactical and pouch-laden belts, so the advice offered is sound and experienced by the team.

So that pretty much sums up both aspects of Combat South - probably one of the best sites on the South Coast and a fully stocked airsoft COMBAT SOUTH shop selling just about everything Unit 4 Fairways Business Centre that you might need to kit up and Airport Service Road go combat crazy in the challenging Portsmouth PO3 5NU woodland nearby.

Tel: 02392 655636/07837 507134 Quite simply it’s the whole package.

INFORMATION

Enjoy your visit.

Les… Out!

Email: steve@combatsouth.co.uk Web: www.airsoftgames.com Combat South Woodland Web: www.combatsouth.co.uk

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068 January 2014

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FEATURE SIGHT SAFETY: EYE INJURIES

Our resident eye specialist, Andy Bourne, tells how to deal with a frightening scenario that could so easily happen - and it’s not for the squeamish!

Andy Bourne Andy Bourne BSc(Hons) MCOptom is an ophthalmic optician, former reserve forces officer, and keen MilSim airsofter. He is associate optometrist with the Vision Surgery and Research Centre, UK, and has written widely on the latest advances in optics and refractive surgery and his research has been presented worldwide.

He currently divides his time between hospital, general practice and airsoft although not necessarily in that order. You can contact him at www.Facebook. com/AirsoftOptician or tacticaloptician@ airsoft-action.co.uk

THE FOLLOWING IS A hypothetical discussion, an illustration of what may or may not happen on a typical skirmish field, at a typical site. It is not an account of an actual event that I have witnessed or heard of. It could, however, come to pass.

So it had finally happened. You look over to the source of the screaming and see a player on their knees, hands clutched to their face. They are leaning forward, forehead almost touching the wet grass. Their RIF dropped alongside them. The rest of your team had been removed a few minutes ago by the opposing team’s ambush. There are just the two of you left and no one within 30 metres.

This guy had been complaining for most of the morning about how his glasses kept misting up. In the safe zone the conversation had naturally ground round to all the usual remedies and specifics against fogging. You know the sort of thing: Washing up liquid, spit, so and so fog treatment, mesh every possible solution to the perennial airsofter’s problem.

You’d noticed that, in game, he had been lifting his glasses to get a bit of air flow under them and occasionally taking them off to give them a wipe. But you’d given little thought to it; after all, how many times had you seen this before? It was no big deal. Plus that’s the Marshalls’ job, right?

So what now? What do you do?

Eye injuries are invariably painful. The cornea (the clear part of the eye) is extremely sensitive, which is a defensive mechanism.

It is easily damaged so, at the slightest touch, two things happen. Firstly the eyelids snap shut, often spasming, such is the strength of the muscle action. And secondly, lacrimation, or eye-watering begins in earnest as the eye seeks to protect itself from further injury and rinse out anything that is in contact with the corneal surface.

The first reaction is to try and prise those eyelids open to have a look. This is very uncomfortable to the casualty and of little use to the first aider. Let the eye’s defences do their work and protect the site. Plus those dirty fingers aren’t going to help anyone.

If possible, establish the mechanism of injury. Was it a bb strike? A pyrotechnic charge? A branch across the face? This will help in assessing the potential seriousness of the injury and the next course of action.

The most important proviso of any form of first aid treatment for an ocular injury is this; the injured eye MUST be examined by a healthcare professional. The most innocuous of scratches can develop into a serious problem after the event, sometimes days after. The cornea of a healthy eye is a barrier that prevents the passage of almost all known bacteria.

But if there is a scratch or other compromise, any number of

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ULCERATION CAUSED BY CORNEAL DAMAGE

pathogens may gain access. However tempting it may be to assume that “it’s just a scratch”, the eye must still be assessed. The usual treatment regime is to prescribe an antibiotic eye drop or cream to be used for 5 days. This is designed to protect against opportunistic infections gaining access to the damaged area and setting up a larger problem. A significant bacterial infection can be sight-threatening. It is also worth noting that this is why the practice of patching or bandaging up the eye has been abandoned. An eye that is patched for 48 hours simply provides the ideal conditions for bacterial breeding; a warm, dark and moist environment.

Patching should be for no more than a couple of hours where possible.

Tree branch injuries and other foreign body trauma can also introduce fungal agents into the eye. These will also cause great problems for the cornea and likely will require swift medical treatment to successfully deal with the infection. Again, the danger here is that the eye may feel quite OK for the immediate period after the injury, but may become red and very painful 24-48 hours after the injury.

Bits and bobs getting into the eye, such as fragments or particles, sand, dust, or even pyrotechnic fragments are best treated by copious irrigation.

If possible, a first aid kit is the best source for a specific eye wash and most good sized kits will carry a single-use eye wash. If this is not available, then good old tap water. The watchword here is “lots”. Keep that water going in, it isn’t going to do any harm. It’s not a comfortable experience, but it is very effective.

Another likely scenario in the case of a bb impact is that of a blunt trauma injury. The eye may look relatively normal, if it is possible to look at it, but there may be internal damage. This again would require a specialist examination to exclude further problems. It is possible that the retina (internal membrane of the eye that senses light) could be damaged 070

MARCH 2014

in some way. Such damage is never evident from inspecting the eye without specialist equipment. Indeed it can be difficult to find even then.

A detached retina is invariably treated as an emergency and the sooner the eye can be treated in a hospital eye unit, the better the likely outcome may be.

So the pitfall with eye injuries is to assume that, as the pain and shock subside, that the injury is “nothing to worry about” or “just a scratch”.

This may at this stage be true but it may not be for long.

As a bare minimum, it is usually wise to obtain an antibiotic treatment to guard against opportunistic bugs causing problems. Such treatments are prescription-only and are not available over the counter at pharmacies.

One old favourite I have regularly come across which can be bought over the counter is Golden Eye Ointment, which is effective against only one very specific bug. Sadly it is one that is extremely rare, which means that the ointment is rarely any use. My advice; avoid it.

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FEATURE SIGHT SAFETY: EYE INJURIES

FOREIGN BODY DAMAGE TO CORNEA

FUNGAL INFECTION OF CORNEA

FOREIGN BODY EMBEDDED IN CONJUNCTIVA AND ASSOCIATED BLEEDING

So, the course of action in any eye injury should be as follows.

7U\ WR ÀQG RXW H[DFWO\ ZKDW KDSSHQHG :KDW FDXVHG WKH LQMXU\" Remember that the casualty is likely to be in a great deal of discomfort, and their eye will be watering enthusiastically.

5HVLVW WKH WHPSWDWLRQ WR WU\ WR ÀVK DQ\WKLQJ RXW ,I WKHUH·V evidence of bits in the eye, wash out.

'RQ·W SDWFK WKH H\H GRQ·W DVVXPH WKDW EHFDXVH WKH ELWV DUH out, all is well.

6HHN SURIHVVLRQDO PHGLFDO DWWHQWLRQ , KDYH QR LVVXH VHHLQJ VRPHRQH ZKR WKLQNV VRPHWKLQJ PD\EH LQ their eye. They are unlikely to know for sure. Let us decide.

5HPHPEHU \RX RQO\ JHW WZR H\HV VR ORRN DIWHU WKHP DQG GRQ·W HYHU HYHU WDNH \RXU H\H SUR RII ZKHQ \RX DUH LQ JDPH

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g

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The LEVEL 7 is lightweight winter jacket

which provides insulation and protection against frost, wind and light showers.

Climashield® Apex™ provides thermal insulation and ultimate warmth. Two chest pockets are lined with fleece to provide protection against frostbite.

The hood can be easily adjusted without removing hands from the chest pockets via two drawstrings located there.

Climashield® Apex™ insulation (grammage: 100g body; 67g hood).

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FEATURE NORMANDY - THE LONGEST DAY

IN THE SECOND OF HIS TWO-PART SERIES, MATT LIMB OBE, AN EXPERT ON THE NORMANDY LANDINGS, LOOKS AT MORE EVENTS FROM THAT MOMENTOUS DAY.

MATT LIMB OBE Matt is now a freelance photographer who has served in both the Regular and Territorial Army, in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and other locations. Whilst commanding a TA regiment it became the first TA regiment to be compulsory mobilised for operations since the outbreak of WW2, to support operations in Iraq.

For his command of his regiment during the Iraq war, Matt was awarded an OBE in the Operational Honours List in October 2003.

Matt also operates Matt Limb Battlefield Tours and is an expert on the history of the beaches of D-Day and the trenches of World War One.

WITH ALL THE HEROIC ACTIONS that took place on 6th June 1944 it is hard to believe that only one Victoria Cross was awarded; the award, which is the highest possible award for valour in face of the enemy, was awarded to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis of The Green Howards. Originating from North Yorkshire, Stanley Hollis was the eldest son of a fishmonger, who at the outbreak of war in 1939 joined The Territorial Army and arrived in France with the British Expeditionary Force just a year later and then escaped off the beaches at Dunkirk as France fell to the Germans. It was for his actions on 6th June 1944 at a German gun battery, then later the same day a second action in a nearby village, that Stan Hollis was award the Victoria Cross.

But he was not the only beneficiary of a medal that day, one other notable recipient was the Duke of Normandy - and at this point I can feel the scratching of heads working out who was the Duke of Normandy! Well he was a pigeon. But no ordinary pigeon, he was a pigeon serving with the National Pigeon Service and the first bird to arrive back in England with a message from paratroops on the morning of D-Day. For his actions that morning the Duke of Normandy was awarded the recently instituted PDSA Dickin Medal, often referred to as the animal’s Victoria Cross.

Not all the heroes who went ashore on 6th June 1944 were soldiers, or even pigeons!

As someone that has worked behind a camera for many years, one of my all time heroes waded ashore on the notorious American Omaha Beach that morning; he was the photographer Robert Capa. Born in Budapest and eventually exiled from his homeland, Robert Capa initially made his name as a photographer covering the Spanish civil war.

As he came ashore on 6th June, with the first wave of Americans on Omaha beach, he photographed the very first moments of D-Day. Sadly later in the day many of the photographs were lost forever, but the remaining images captured the sheer terror and horror of the early minutes the Americans faced getting ashore. Capa went on to follow the Americans through The Battle of The Bulge and witnessed the capture of Berlin at the end of the war. Sadly he died just a few years later doing what he loved most,

photographing soldiers in action, this time in the Indo China conflict, better known as the Vietnam War, when he stood on a land mine and was killed instantly.

Much has been written about American Omaha beach. It suffered the most casualties on D-Day but they were still far less than the level that had been planned or expected, especially in the first wave of troops ashore. But much less has been written about the other American beach, Utah. Interestingly over 20,000 troops were ashore on Utah beach and by nightfall they had joined up with the 82nd US Airborne Division as they pushed in-land almost unopposed. So Utah can be looked on as great success, a massive amount of men and stores were ashore and it had the least number of casualties of any beach on D-Day. But the Americans landed in the wrong place!

‘H-Hour’ on Utah Beach was late due to naval control vessels missing it, which led to the first wave going ashore over a mile and half south of the intended location. The mistake may have soon been identified but it was too late, as wave

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after wave of troops came ashore on the wrong beach! The Americans were lucky, local resistance was minimal and the beach was near a road which provided the ideal exit off the beach, all resulting in a great success. If you visit today and travel to the intended point of disembarkation, you can still see massive defensive positions as part of Rommel’s Atlantic Wall. Had the Americans come ashore at the ‘correct’ point, I feel the history of 6th June 1944 would read very differently.

Planning for any expeditionary warfare like D-Day will soon recognise that the re-supply of troops on the ground will be vital to the success of the operation. The possibility of taking a French Port intact, that could then be used by the allies was thought highly unlikely. The answer; build your own port and tow it across the English Channel.

Building the Mulberry Harbour was started in a matter of hours after the invasion and they were operational within days. Based on the Port of Dover, and built with over half a million tons of concrete, it was responsible for the re-supply of the invasion force and designed to have a life of just months; but almost seventy years later much of it still sits proudly almost a mile into the English Channel as a reminder to its ingenuity and thinking of an industrial power house that supported the allies.

The second great logistic operation to sustain the troops in Normandy was PLUTO the ‘Pipe Line Under The Ocean’, which was a wide-bore pipe placed on the sea bed, running from the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England to the French coast, through which fuel was pumped to run the tanks and fighting vehicles and sustain the troops. Operation PLUTO is considered one of the greatest feats of military engineering ever achieved and the lessons learnt become the principles of pipes used in the development of today’s offshore oil fields. Sadly, unlike Mulberry little is left of PLUTO as much of the pipeline was salvaged for scrap after the war.

D-Day: Landing

The love affair of war and the film industry has never been greater than the films made following the story of events surrounding D-Day and Normandy, some are fictional and others based on fact. Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, was a huge success based on a true story - but the name was not Ryan it was Niland; a German-sounding name that may not have worked well in the title! Maybe the best known, which has been described as more of a documentary than a film, is The Longest Day which boasts a list of stars from Sean Connery to Richard Burton and from John Wayne to Henry Fonda. Interestingly, the title is taken from a briefing given by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the German Commander of the defensive Atlantic Wall, who said shortly prior to D-Day “Believe me gentlemen, the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive, for the Allies as well as the Germans and it will be the longest day...”

Rommel was correct, the first twenty four hours was decisive.

The allies were ashore but on some beaches only just; some with less than five percent of the stores and equipment required and clinging to a small patch of ground measured in meters, not miles.

150,000 men went ashore on D-Day, within a month it would be nearer two and half million. Had you been a betting man, as the sun went down on D-Day, you would have had a safe bet on the invasion failing and a local German commander near Omaha beach reported “... the invasion has failed and no reinforcements are required”.

”Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the German Commander of the defensive Atlantic Wall, said shortly prior to D-Day “Believe me gentlemen, the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive, for the Allies as well as the Germans and it will be the longest day...””

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FEATURE NORMANDY - THE LONGEST DAY

But the allied strengths of air superiority, effective command and control plus surprise and the use of airborne forces turned the tide. Within days the beaches had linked up, giving greater freedom of movement and the in-load of vital stores and supplies was made easier.

World War Two is known as a great World changer, it bought about the collapse of The Third Reich, the fall of the Japanese and Italian empires and the formation of The United Nations, it also bore witness to the start of the Cold War as America and The Soviet Union emerged as great superpowers. But it also bought a date that will be remembered by every schoolboy; 6th June 1944 and the D-Day landings.

It may have been The Longest Day that witnessed unconventional thinking by the allies to support the invasion, the use of airborne forces to shatter the enemies cohesion and the Americans landing on the wrong beach; but it was a day that changed the course of the war and, in turn, World history.

Operation Pluto: Conundrum loaded with pipe

Into the jaws of death...

Matt Limb Battlefield Tours offers people the chance to really understand the a anticipation, fear and camaraderie of those who fought. From the mud filled trenches of the Western Front and The Somme, to the tank tracks of Normandy and the D-Day beaches, you can experience and explore first-hand how battles and campaigns were won, or lost and what is must have been like to grapple with the enemy at close quarters.

To find out more, contact MLBFT: Tel: 01476 560645, Email: info@mlbft.co.uk, web: www.mlbft.co.uk

INFORMATION

WAR HERO: Stanley Hollis VC

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072 January 2014

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COMPETITION AIRSOFT ACTION AND PATCHWERK

K R E W H C T A P D N A N O I T C A T F O S AIR N O I T I T E P M O C ” H C T A P A N G I S E D -“ ARE YOU A BUDDING ARTIST? HAVE YOU DESIGNED A PATCH? WOULD YOU LIKE TO? WELL THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO BREAK OUT THE CRAYONS OR MORE TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED GADGETS AND GET GOING! AIRSOFT ACTION AND PATCHWERK have come together to offer you airsoftloving players and readers the chance to be immortalised in a once in a life time opportunity to design a Limited Edition patch to represent your passion.

The winning design will be produced on high impact rubber; it will be machine washable and will last a lifetime of playing.

The patch will be a one-off run of 500 and will never be repeated… Ever!

So the question you need to ask yourself is… Do you want your creative flair to be seen and rocked across airsoft skirmish fields around the world? If YES carry on! If not… well you should suck it up and have a go anyway, you never know.

The Rules are simple but must be adhered to as failure will result in a nonsubmission.

1) Your design can be no larger than 10cm x 10cm or 3.9inch x 3.9inch (if you are unsure how big that is, draw out a frame and stick inside the lines).

2) You can use up to a maximum of 6 SOLID colours to generate this piece of patch awesomeness; however NO SHADING can be used. If you look at your own patches you will probably notice that most use between 3 and 4 solid colours.

3) Be clear with your design, if you are not that great at drawing then support it with notes indicating to the judging panel what you are looking to present.

4) Each design entry must be submitted via ONE email to: patchwerkcomp@ airsoft-action.co.uk containing all the relevant information. Individuals can submit multiple entries if they find their creative juices flowing, but each entry must be on ONE email only!

5) This is not a “team” or “site” patch, this patch is to represent airsoft for all players around the world.

6) PLAGURISM will not be tolerated under any circumstance. Yes it’s difficult to sometimes think of something that has not already been done before, but if you just rip off another design you will be disqualified. The judging panel know this industry very well, so take it that you have been warned.

7) In your submission you must include your full name, contact email address and country of residence.

8) Have fun and enjoy it! You may never get another chance like this again.

The competition is open to all ages and entries will be accepted up to midnight GMT on Wednesday 12th March 2014. Due to the International nature of the competition and Judging panel, the winner will be announced in Issue 36 of Airsoft Action, which goes on sale on the 8th May. Good luck!

SEND TO: patchwerkcomp@airsoft-action.co.uk or Airsoft Action PatchWerk Competition, Calibre Publishing, Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcs., WR13 6PL

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PROFESSIONAL SUBTERFUGE

Uk Europe Canada NewtedZeal and Uni States Global Subterfuge

WWW.ENOLAGAYE.COM

Follow us on Instagram @smokegrenades Follow us on Facebook.com/smokegrenades

Shop & field enquires welcome tel: 01189 714470

WWW.ENOLAGAYE.COM

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SIMO HAYHA “THE WHITE DEATH”

IN THE SECOND OF HIS SERIES, DAN MILLS INTRODUCES US TO A SNIPER THAT BECAME BOTH FEARED AND HATED BY RUSSION TROOPS.

DAN MILLS A former army warrant officer, Dan served in the forces for 24 years, seeing service on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq

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SIMO HAYHA WAS A SIMPLE MAN with a simple background, but when the vast Soviet armies invaded his home country, Finland, Simo picked up a rifle and shot them in their hundreds.

Born in the countryside near the small town of Rautjarvi in 1905, he would grow up to be named by his enemies as the White Death, a natural hunter and rifle shot who went on to snipe well over 500 kills in the Winter War with Russia from 1939 until 1940.

When Simo Hayha came into this world, Finland was part of the Russian Empire known as the Grand Duchy of Finland. As he was growing up in the wilds hunting game, tracking and shooting, the Russian Empire collapsed and it was during the First World War in 1917 that Finland gained its independence - on territory that the Russians would want to claim back at the earliest opportunity. They did not wait long.

During the power struggles of the thirties and forties many countries had an eye on territorial claims, expansion of their country’s borders and boundaries.

Sides were slowly emerging as pacts were made, with agreements on who was having what after the victory and the subsequent land carve up.

The Russians had made a pact with the Germans, they would assist them during the invasion of Poland then pull back and sit on their own defences letting Germany move on across Europe’s lands doing the fighting. The two had a non- aggression pact not to fight each other and part of the agreement was that Finland would once again belong to Russia. It is worth noting however that Finland also had a non-aggression pact… with Russia!

In 1922 Simo joined the National Guard and soon became known for his shooting prowess as he shot his way up many leader boards and was awarded the title of “Master Marksman”. Three years on saw him being conscripted into the Finnish Army, in which he served his time, earning the rank of Corporal before

his discharge and return to the woods and forests around his family farm.

FAST FORWARD TO THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER 1939…

The Second World War had started; Poland lasted a matter of days (thirty six to be exact) as the armies of Germany and then Russia had rolled over the Polish defences and crushed them.

Summons were sent and demands made on the Finnish, who, after a month of negotiations and not favouring communism, rejected them.

After aggressive politics had failed, Russia invaded in November 1939, however the easy rollover victory they had just encountered in Poland did not come quickly this time as the Russians had not counted on the best asset the Fins had; their Scandinavian winter.

Russia, as it had done in the past and most recently against the Polish, relied on its superiority of numbers. Indeed it greatly outnumbered Finland in manpower and weaponry, still relying on very little tactics other than a full frontal assault with complete disregard for casualty numbers, as the dead and dying were trampled by the men behind until the target was overwhelmed and taken.

The Finnish Army was no match for this, instead having to rely on less manpower and material but

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FEATURE SNIPERS OF WORLD WAR II

making the most use of the land. Much of Finland was blanketed in deep, freezing, snow and advance routes would be naturally channelled by lakes, swamps and marshes, making progress difficult for the attackers and easily predictable for the defenders.

Routes were blocked by vast bunkers and defences. These would stop the Russian advanced guard in it tracks and then small hunting or ‘Jager’ parties of men would ski around the blocked up troops sat freezing in the snow and destroy them. The Finnish made it hell for Russian troops who soldiered there that winter of ‘39. With their lines of advance and supplies backed up for miles and miles they became sitting ducks.

Daylight hours were few during the winter months and the Russians had to endure freezing, long cold dark nights fraught with danger from ambush and attack, with dwindling and destroyed supplies.

Simo Hayha had joined the 34th Jager (Hunter) Regiment, based in the forests protecting the Karelian Isthmus on the Kollaa front. This front stretched along the Kollaa River near Lake Ladoga and was to block the Russian invaders from carrying out a right-flanking manoeuvre on the Mannerheim line of defences. It seemed he would spend his time switching between sniping and infantry soldiering, as he tallied an impressive 200 plus kills, using his infantry weapons too!

Once his shooting ability was noticed he was issued a M/28-30 sniper rifle, a Finnish copy of the Mosin-Nagant, and began to receive specific tasks. Known for his enduring patience and field craft skills, clad from head to toe in whites (including his rifle), he would use natural features along with the snow to conceal his firing position.

All successful snipers use natural camouflage, it is the way forward. What made Simo Hayha’s achievements even more remarkable was that he used only iron sights, no telescopic sights.

Along his section of the front line numerous casualties were mounting from an enemy sniper. The usual targets; Officers and NCOs, signallers and such that you would expect at the top of a sniper’s list. Simo was sent to flush him out.

Tending to make his final approach in the darkness of the night, he would build up his final fire position and sit, rigid, waiting for his target. On this occasion he waited all day, his only sustenance was cubes of sugar and, as the long shadows began to fall casting nights spell he noticed movement. The enemy sniper had foolishly called off

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the watch before darkness and stupidly emerged from his hide. Simo put a round straight through his head!

As news of his exploits grew in both armies, the enemy tried to flush him from his hiding places using artillery. On many occasions the hillsides and forestry blocks were shelled time and again in order to disrupt sniper activity. Simo Hayha was wounded on one such occasion, but managed to escape, though peppered with shrapnel.

Rarely using a number two, Simo hunted the wilds like he did when he was growing up; alone and out in the elements with his rifle, comfortable in the cold and snowy conditions he was at his best.

As his tally grew so did the size of the opposition. The battleground was changing, many more artillery pieces were brought up to blast the way clear for the Russian hordes to advance and the once large, formidable forestry blocks began to resemble the Western Front of the Great War. This made the terrain easier to clear, manoeuvre and see into and it was inevitable that the Finnish would be defeated in the end by the sheer weight of mass the Russians threw into battle. With the defences now much cleared the Fin’s desperately resorted to standard infantry warfare over partisan and it was during one such attack that Simo’s days of fighting came to an end.

Simo was leading a section attack, countering against Russian advances when, during close quarter combat he was shot in the face.

The bullet went through his mouth taking out his left jaw and cheek bone, instantly knocking him out. His comrades took him to safety. He was alive but for him the war was at an end.

By mid-March it was all over, an armistice was signed and Finland lost territory and assets to Russia.

The Winter War lasted less than one hundred days but, in that short period of time, men such as Simo Hayha outfought their enemies, defended their homeland from the communists and gained high tallies.

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Simo Hayha’s confirmed final score is believed to be 505, which is over five kills a day average, Though over the years there has been some argument, the figure of 542 gaining acceptance.

Making a full recovery after the war, but remaining badly disfigured Simo Hayha returned to the hills and forests and hunted moose.

Unmarried, he died aged 96 in 2002.

“I only did my duty, and what I was told to do, as well as I could.”

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AIRSOFT

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344 pages of combat skills for Airsoft enthusiasts, TA & Regulars. Easy to read packed full of essential tips & skills you need to know.

RRP £10.00 with this voucher code AASB13 at www.milpkbk.co.uk Webshop Checkout £7.00

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Are you a Cadet/Adult instructor? You should have one of these pocket books in your kit!!!

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RRP £10.00 with this voucher code AASN13 at www.milpkbk.co.uk Webshop Checkout £7.00

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BOOK REVIEW DESPERATE GLORY - SAM KILEY

DESPERATE GLORY SAM KILEY

KRIS ROBERTS REVIEWS AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST SAM KILEY’S BOOK ABOUT HIS TIME IN HELMAND WITH BRITAIN’S 16 AIR ASSAULT BRIGADE

I HAD BEEN LOOKING for a book detailing the British experience of the current conflict in Afghanistan for some time.

For some unknown reason, most of the books I’ve read these past few months have focused on the American point of view and I was eager to re-dress the balance and bring my attention back to Blighty. I’d had a copy of Desperate Glory sitting on my shelf for nearly a year, so I decided that this was the perfect time to dust it off and give it a go.

Sam Kiley is an award-winning journalist who, over a twenty year career, has covered conflicts around the world, including Somalia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone to name a few. With such a track record he was perfectly suited to follow the 16 Air Assault Brigade into Helmand Province for a six month tour. A tour which would take him to the front lines of a vicious and ruthless combat zone.

Kiley was granted unprecedented access to all ranks, from the Brigadier in command down to the Rifleman on the

ground. As such he was able to offer a broad view of the situation that faces our troops on a daily basis, and the demands that are placed on them not only from the enemy, but from a government thousands of miles away.

As a witness to the war rather than a participant, Kiley is able to provide the reader with a larger canvas to view than the one offered by a firsthand personal account. Because of this he can cover different events and details and combine them as a whole, so that what we are left with is not only a bigger picture, but a deeper perspective. What with him being in a position to observe soldiers in action, from aggressive patrols into enemy areas, the static defence of Forward Operating Bases, and the large scale convoys that are used to bring supplies, Kiley gathers together a wealth of information and experience from various fighting men and women.

The fighting itself takes centre stage throughout the book, and Kiley doesn’t shy away from highlighting the brutal reality and extreme violence that takes place. We are introduced to the soldiers, listen to their stories and opinions as the author interviews them, and then read in horror as some are killed in action just a few days later.

Kiley manages to deal with the matter of fact issue of life and death in a balanced and compassionate manner, taking time to show the emotional and psychological effects that the war has on the troops. I’ll freely admit that I was in bits reading about the Corporal who kept talking to his dead friend as he dragged his lifeless body along a drainage ditch and away from enemy fire.

What becomes really apparent as the book moves on are the restrictions placed on the troops that, while serving to placate the general public back home in the UK, are nothing short of tactical lunacy. I appreciate the need for political consideration and that hearts and minds must be won at home as well as among the local population but for the soldier on the ground, whose life is at risk, the frustration must be unbearable, and Kiley does well to show these frustrations from a fighting man’s point of view.

Gripping, thrilling, insightful and often heart-wrenching, Desperate Glory manages to show the horrific nature of war and how, despite the odds, remarkable men and women thrive and excel themselves in the most adverse of human endeavours. A must read for anyone looking to further their understanding of what modern warfare entails.

“I’ll freely admit that I was in bits reading about the Corporal who kept talking to his dead friend as he dragged his lifeless body along a drainage ditch and away from enemy fire”

INFORMATION DESPERATE GLORY Author: Sam Kiley Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

RRP: £7.99 (paperback)

www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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MARCH 2014

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094

AWA HERTS

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SITE DIRECTORY

Huge thanks to our friends at Airbana (www.airsoftmap.net) for supplying data

FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

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www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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096

February 2014

MARCH 2014

North Lincolnshire, DN21 www.humberairsoft.co.uk 07792 680297

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SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

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www.airsoft-action.co.uk

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DEALER LISTINGS

ADVERTISERS INDEX Land Warrior Airsoft ................................................................... 2

RedWolf Airsoft ......................................................................... 3 Airsoft Zone.............................................................................. 9 Patrol Store ............................................................................ 11 Airsoft Armoury ...................................................................... 15 BadgerTac ............................................................................. 20 Patrol Base ............................................................................. 25 JD Airsoft................................................................................ 29 Enola Gaye............................................................................ 34 eHobby Asia .......................................................................... 39 Gunman ................................................................................ 42 Helikon Tex ............................................................................ 42 BadgerTac 2 .......................................................................... 46 Military 1st............................................................................. 46 British Airsoft Show .................................................................. 47 EW Trading ........................................................................... 55 Eton Guns .............................................................................. 55 SWAT ................................................................................... 59 Crawley Surplus Store .............................................................. 64 NRG CQB............................................................................. 64 NoVAT .................................................................................. 64 Dragon Valley ......................................................................... 64 Military Outdoor ..................................................................... 64 Airsoft Direct ........................................................................... 72 Patrol Base ............................................................................. 83 Airsoft World .......................................................................... 91 Pro Airsoft Supplies .................................................................. 92

090 February 2014

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