Airsoft Action - July 2017

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A I R S O F T

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AIRSOFT ACTION

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DEPSOC360 HAYLEY D3CR-X VIPER HEX-TECH PACKS

EVENTS

ARMOURY

STAR WARS GUNFIGHTERS OPERATION DUSTOFF MIDLANDS AIRSOFT FAIR NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW

VCRA RE-VISITED JULY 2017

WARRIORS

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INTERNATIONAL

GIVE IT TO A GEEK

ADRIATIC AIRSOFT: CROATIA

REA L S T EEL

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‘A’ S Q UA D R O N

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FN FAL RESURRECTION

TRADE-INS

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I T ’ S A C L A SSI C

9 772047 348032

LEGAL

07

PROUDLY SUPPORTING PILGRIM BANDITS

JULY 2017 - £4.50

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A&K K5 LCT RPD WE KRATOS SECUTOR RUDIS SILVERBACK SRS-A1

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M A G A Z I N E

AIRSOFT ACTION

GEAR

DEPSOC360 HAYLEY D3CR-X VIPER HEX-TECH PACKS

EVENTS

ARMOURY

STAR WARS GUNFIGHTERS OPERATION DUSTOFF MIDLANDS AIRSOFT FAIR NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW

JULY 2017

|

INTERNATIONAL

GIVE IT TO A GEEK

ADRIATIC AIRSOFT: CROATIA

R EA L S T EEL

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‘A’ S Q UA D R O N

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FN FAL RESURRECTION

TR A D E - I N S

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I T’S A C LA SSI C

9 772047 348032

LEGAL

WARRIORS

07

PROUDLY SUPPORTING PILGRIM BANDITS VCRA RE-VISITED

JULY 2017 - £4.50

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A&K K5 LCT RPD WE KRATOS SECUTOR RUDIS SILVERBACK SRS-A1

ARMOURY: LCT RPD

ARMOURY: SECUTOR RUDIS

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Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant Editor: Gareth “Gadge” Harvey Graphic Design: Havoc Design Ad Design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter Cover Image: Axle Ethington UK 13-issue subscription rate: £46.50 UK 6-issue subscription rate: £24.00 For overseas prices email: subs@airsoft-action.co.uk

Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6PL Tel: 01684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2017 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Calibre Publishing Limited 2017. 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

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EVENT: NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW

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EVENT: STAR WARS

KIT: HAYLEY D3CR-X

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FEATURE: UK V USA IT’S A CLASSIC: LOADOUTS BOONIE HAT

CONTENTS MARCH JULY 2017 2014

CONTENTS JULY 2017 6

NEWS

8 ROGUE’S GALLERY Cool photos of Airsoft Action readers.

11 HOW TO AIRSOFT Airsoft Action’s new exclusive cartoon.

42 HEAD TO HEAD: LBE Ioan “Iggy” Roberts uses LBE for both his work and leisure activities, here he looks at the pros and cons of the kit we wear.

44 INTERNATIONAL: CROATIA

12 ARMOURY: LCT RPD Every so often a new AEG hits the market that just screams out “Buy me!

Now!” Jerry Noone takes a very close look at the new RPD support gun from LCT, a “must have” replica for certain players.

Four years ago Bill Thomas had the pleasure of speaking to Kreso Glavica, the head man at ADRIATIC AIRSOFT – ALFA in Croatia. Since then they have continued to speak and it’s been a real joy to see what takes place on the notso-secret-island of Mrcara!

16 ARMOURY: WE Kratos Lesius Leeus gets his mighty hands on a mythologically-named pistol – but does it live up to its God-like billing?

46 EVENT: STAR WARS

20 ARMOURY: Secutor Rudis Angelo Di Vito gets to grips with a pistol from Taiwan inspired by Roman gladiators.

24 EVENT: OPERATION DUSTOFF 89 players assembled to be transported back to 1960s Vietnam for the fourth instalment of Denn Demery-Kane’s Operation Dustoff. Stuart Howes joined the NVA to report from the front line.

28 EVENT: NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW The Airsoft Action Crew made their way to the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate to attend the second Northern Shooting Show and boy did it test their mettle! Jerry Noone tells us more.

32 KIT: HAYLEY D3CR-X Kelly “Femme Fatale” Hardwick casts a critical eye over Haley Strategic’s muchloved chest rig.

34 LUL: VIPER HEX-TECH PACKS VIPER recently updated their clothing range with some fabulous additions and Bill Thomas gets his hands on their very latest pack models - which are not just new designs but also use a brand new fabric!

38 ARMOURY: SILVERBACK SRS-A1 Diane Montagnier is no stranger to sniping, so when she got hold of the SRS-A1 she couldn’t wait to see what made it such a favourite.

With visions of exploding Death Stars and serried rows of Stormtroopers, Chris Wray donned his blaster and headed off to Fireball Squadron to join the battle against the rebels.

50 EVENT: GUNFIGHTERS Grimsby is probably better known for fishing than airsoft but Gadge mounted up to go try his hand at a new form of gaming.

54 LEGAL: VCRA RE-VISITED Frenchie dons his powdered wig and tries to clarify just exactly what the (legal) state of play actually is. All rise…!

72 CAMOUFLAGE: DEPSOC360 Bill Thomas takes a close look at what lies behind the superb camo featured on last month’s cover.

74 REVOLVERS: DAN WESSON 715 PART 2 Andy Nightingale continues his look at the Dan Wesson 715 from ASG and focusses on the added extras that are available.

76 GITAG: FN FAL RESURECTION This month, inspired by a fellow Airsoft Action team member, Jerry Noone sets out to refurbish and customise a King Arms FAL! 79 FEATURE: UK V USA LOADOUTS As Kelly “Femme Fatale” Hardwick continues her travels around USA airsoft, she’s noticed some differences, when compared to the UK. 81 TRAINING: A-SQUADRON CP COURSE Paul Yelland returns to experience yet

58 ARMOURY: A&K K5

another course run by ex-SAS soldier,

Jerry Noone takes a look at a model from A&K Airsoft and finds that contention surrounds it just as it did with the gasser.

Bob Podesta and learns there is a lot

62 EVENT: THE MIDLANDS AIRSOFT FAIR

85 IT’S A CLASSIC: BOONIE HAT

With a keen eye for a bargain, Gadge heads out to one of the UK’s favourite Airsoft Boot Fairs, The Midlands at The Gaol.

For as long as soldiers have fought

66 REAL STEEL: UZI SMG

“Boonie Hat” has become a firm

In every generation a certain weapon becomes a cultural icon – and in the 1980s the weapon was without a doubt the UZI 9mm SMG.

favourite with airsofters.

68 FEATURE: TRADE-INS Kicking back one evening, Frenchie’s thoughts turned to the age-old custom of trading in your old stuff for something newer.

more to being a professional CPO than meets the eye.

in hot climates they have had wide brimmed cloth hats to protect them from the sun’s rays and the US Army’s

86 SITE DIRECTORY & PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUBS Looking for a skirmish site, or your local Airsoft Practical Pistol Club?

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

s w e N t f o s Air

Evolution Airsoft: TangoDown Worldwide Release TANGODOWN® INC. ENJOYS OVER ten years of bringing the highest quality products to United States Armed Forces and Law Enforcement. Their reputation for unique design and quality manufacturing of weapon components has earned them first choice when it comes to stepping into arms way.

TangoDown® constantly shoot, train and listen to operator’s needs. Their goal is to make the warrior’s weapon lighter and more efficient, whether a pistol, carbine or belt fed machine gun.

Evolution Airsoft has entered in a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement with TangoDown® Inc. and is proud to bring to the Air Soft world the replicas of the TangoDown ECR (Enhanced Combat Rifle).

The Quick Removable spring guide, which is accessible in seconds by simply removing the buffer tube, allows the immediate access to the main spring without the need of taking out the gearbox from the receiver.

As it is standard on any Evolution Airsoft gun all internal components are pre-upgraded, all key parts like the outer barrel are made of one piece cnc machined from billet, and the realism and attention to details is pushed to the next level.

Everything packed in a top quality box that is beautiful as the gun inside!

For more information, visit: http://www.evolution-airsoft. com/tangodown.html

With the TangoDown ECR series Evolution Airsoft introduces a new type of gearbox in their products line. The new gearbox comes standard with an Integrated Mosfet Unit and Quick Removable Spring Guide.

The Mosfet Unit increases the duration and reliability of the trigger switch eliminating the problems caused by the “electric arc” which is typical of standard trigger unit designs. At the same time the more efficient electric flow management increases the Rate of Fire.

Airsoft Surgeon Championship THE 5TH AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP is just three months away and now it has been endorsed by the UKPSA, as an officially supported Level 1 Match.

This has been a long time coming and proves what can be achieved when you belive in what you are doing. Well done Chris Kong, Clarence Lai and all involved over the last five years.

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AA GALLERY

SPONSORED BY

READERS’ PHOTOS

ROGUE’S GALLERY

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July 2017

AA GALLERY READERS’ PHOTOS

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july 2017

AA GALLERY READERS’ PHOTOS

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.

CARTOON

www.airsoft-action.online

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ARMOURY LCT RPD

ULTIMATE OPFOR WEAPON EVERY SO OFTEN A NEW AEG HITS THE MARKET THAT JUST SCREAMS OUT “BUY ME! NOW!” JERRY NOONE TAKES A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THE NEW RPD SUPPORT GUN FROM LCT, A “MUST HAVE” REPLICA FOR CERTAIN PLAYERS. IF YOU ARE A REGULAR reader of Airsoft Action magazine then you’ll know that I have something of a soft spot for OPFOR RIFs, especially those from the Cold war era. For just over a year now I’ve been running an AKMS from LCT Airsoft and thus far it has performed superbly well. It’s seen some MilSim action with real-cap mags and some skirmish days with mid-caps and whatever magazine I throw into it has just worked, feeding flawlessly without missing a single beat. I’ve dropped it, thrown

it into vehicles and generally abused it in all kinds of weather and, just like a real AK, seems to just say “so what?”

As a player who very much enjoys the OPFOR role, Soviet Bloc weapons have become a bit of a passion, so you can imagine my excitement when LCT first started showing “prototype” images of a new RPD support gun. I’ve had RPKs in the past but there’s just something about the RPD with that big drum magazine that screams out to me as “the one”.

“Li Cheng Technique Business Company” was established in 2004 with the brand “LCT Airsoft” and they’ve been quietly making some superb airsoft replicas since and their extensive range of “Soviet” rifles, carbines and SMGs has to be seen to be believed. LCT AEGs are made from a mix of steel, wood and aluminium; they are extremely well finished with a hard wearing coating that is more resistant to wear and tear than normal airsoft AKs, with excellent and realistic colour matching.

In fact many high-end AKs from other manufacturers are actually originally made by LCT! Having now met the team from LCT in person on several occasions, they are constantly looking to new and sometimes quite obscure, replicas that they believe have a place in the airsoft market and to my mind they have certainly hit pay-dirt with their RPD. But what, you may ask, makes this such an important airsoft support gun?

FULL AUTO ROCK N’ ROLL

Introduced way back in 1953, with a design timeline dating back to 1943 (that’s right, even older than the AK47!), the “Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova or Degtyaryov Light Machine 12

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ARMOURY LCT RPD

Gun” was for many, many years the standard support gun of the Soviet Army. It was created to replace the ageing DPM and developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge; this was the same cartridge used in the AK-47 which allowed ammunition compatibility within squads and units and it remained the Soviet ammo standard until the 1970s.

The RPD was a support gun that used a gas actuated piston system (long piston stroke) and a locking system consisting of hinged flaps set in recesses on each side of the receiver, which were controlled by inclined surfaces on the bolt carrier assembly and it fired from an open bolt. The RPD was strikerfired (the bolt carrier acts as the striker) and featured a trigger mechanism that was limited to full auto fire only. The bolt was equipped with a spring-loaded extraction system, while a fixed insert in the receiver housing served as the ejector. Spent cartridge casings were ejected downward through a chute in the bolt carrier and receiver. The RPD had a manually operated lever-type safety mechanism that secured the weapon from accidentally firing by blocking the bolt catch when engaged.

The gun fed from the left-hand side from a segmented, open-link metal belt (each segment held 50 rounds). Two combined belts (linked by a cartridge), containing a sum total of 100 rounds were stored in a metal drum, attached to the base of the receiver. The feed system was operated by a roller connected to the reciprocating bolt carrier assembly and the belt moved during the rearward motion of the bolt carrier.

The weapon was equipped with a non-removable barrel with a 3-position gas adjustment valve, a folding bipod, wooden shoulder stock and foregrip, pistol grip and open-type, leaf-style adjustable iron sights. The sights were composed of a front post (adjustable for both windage and elevation) and a notched rear sight mounted on a tangent with a sliding elevation adjustment knob and marked with range indicators from 100 to 1,000m.

One interesting fact that is worthy of mention, is that during the Vietnam War use of the RPD was not limited solely to the VC and NVA but it was also fielded (and highly respected) by members of the elite Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG) Recon Teams. SEALs had their Stoners but for SOG it was

the RPD all the way. MACV-SOG was a highly classified, multiservice United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War and, as such, they used all techniques and weapons available to them to successfully carry out their behind-the-lines operations.

An online search will show you many instances of this but the words from an article written on www.americanrifleman. org sum it up for me: “(But) many teams did carry another light machine gun, the Communist Bloc RPD. Modified by Special Forces weapons men, the RPD’s barrel and butt were chopped, reducing its

“DURING THE VIETNAM WAR USE OF THE RPD WAS NOT LIMITED SOLELY TO THE VC AND NVA BUT IT WAS ALSO FIELDED (AND HIGHLY RESPECTED) BY MEMBERS OF THE ELITE MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM – STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS GROUP (MACV-SOG).”

length to 31”, shorter than a Thompson submachine gun. This also reduced the RPD’s weight to 12 lbs. and balanced it so well that you could practically write your name with it. SOG men also modified its 100-round belt to hold 125 rounds and inserted a slice of linoleum in the drum to eliminate any rattle.

Firing the full-power 7.62x39 mm AK round, the RPD was SOG’s deadliest small arm.” www.airsoft-action.online

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ARMOURY LCT RPD

After the introduction of the Kalashnikovstyle support weapons, such as the RPK and PK machine guns in the 1960s, the RPD was withdrawn from most frontline units of the former Warsaw Pact.

However, the RPD remains in active service in many African and Asian nations and is also highly prized by “freedom fighters” around the globe to this very day.

LCT LOVELY!

Okay, before I go any further with the review of the airsoft RPD let’s get the thorny question of the price out of the way. www.fire-support.co.uk kindly loaned me the sole RPD they have in stock to look at and test and they have it listed on their website for £999.00.

Yes, you heard that right! The LCT RPD is not going to leave you with much change from a grand and what could possibly justify that price?

I’ll start from the beginning when it comes to my personal relationship with airsoft RPDs. This replica has been one of the “holy grail” models out in airsoft-land; whether you be a Cold War Russian player, a ‘Namsoft commando, or indeed a modern day OPFOR MilSimmer, then it’s way high on the list of “things I must have”. Nearly ten years ago I became involved in a project to create a functioning airsoft RPD and after taking mouldings from De-Acts, sourcing real RPD drums and some serious fettling, the group concerned finally got one to work.

“NOWHERE AND NOTHING ON THE RPD LOOKS AS IF IT HAS BEEN RUSHED OR BODGED AND I’D GO AS FAR AS SAYING THAT IT’S PROBABLY BETTER MADE THAN THE REAL THING EVER WAS.”

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My financial input to the project was somewhere iro £350 but there were ten of us in the group that created it, who all contributed equally. Yup, that’s right, developing our “baby” cost us collectively the best part of £4,000!

I still have my RPD but to this day it’s never been skirmished as it’s just too darn fragile but it’s a fine “wall hanger” and conversation piece. Other friends through the years went down the RPD route and I have to admit that I saw some great fullmetal examples created by clever engineers from real RPD parts but once again these cost serious, SERIOUS money and involved some pretty cutting edge engineering talent.

With that as a background I still gulp when I look at the price of the LCT but given that this is an all new, from the ground up replica of the very highest quality the price starts to make sense. Please remember, if you will, that when the first Inokatsu M60 hit the market it was also well into four figures!

An RPK is in the main an AK with a longer barrel, different butt and some cosmetic changes so creating one is not that hard, especially as in airsoft guise the internals are pretty much the same as any other AK variant; in fact if the RPK is your bag then LCT do a lovely kit for this, as well as an AEG iro £340.

So what does make the RPD so special then? Well, simply put LCT have made a true 1:1 replica of the RPD with stamped steel and wood, the same way the original guns were made during the Cold War! The RPD just absolutely oozes quality, with absolutely impeccable steel (NOT alloy or “monkey metal”) metalwork and superb, highly burnished woodwork.

The attention to detail is utterly staggering wherever you look.

Muzzle? Absolutely spot on! Folding steel bipod? Yup! Three position gas regulator? Yup again! Nowhere and nothing on the RPD looks as if it has been rushed or bodged and I’d go as far as saying that it’s probably better made than the real thing ever was.

Internally things are equally impressive as the RPD benefits from an all-new 9mm bearing Gearbox, a High-Strength Polycarbonate Piston, CNC Aluminium Hop-Up chamber, Steel Gear set, Quick Change Spring and a MOSFET wire assembly design for lower resistance, saving power for the 23,000 rpm motor!

Overall at 1043mm/41 inches long and weighing in at 7040g/15.5lbs, this is no lightweight to be casually hooned around your local skirmish site! The LCT RPD has been painstakingly designed (in my opinion) with a very specific user in mind and that user will undoubtedly understand the role that it has been created for, that of laying down suppressive fire when they want to , where they want to, with laser-like precision and a lightning-quick trigger response.

The combination of a MOSFET, a 515mm, 6.02mm precision inner barrel and 2,800 round drum magazine lets you do exactly that! With three AA batteries and virtually a full bottle of .20g RZR BBs installed in the drum magazine it was time to head to the range to see if the RPD lived up to its stunning looks in terms of performance. I fitted an 11.1 LiPo easily into the butt by way of the clever rotating buttplate, fitted the magazine and I was good to go.

Unsurprisingly, as LCT fit UK compliant springs at source before shipping (big thumbs up there LCT!), the RPD chrono’d superbly at 0.99 Joule/328fps and the trigger is indeed superbly responsive, so it’s actually easy to get single shots away once you get used to it. Not that you’ll want to though, as in its intended role as a support gun the RPD REALLY shines, laying down streams of BBs exactly where you want them, easily and accurately way out past the 30m extent of the range!

If like me you like your “Cold War” or OPFOR airsoft, then I have to truly say that you WILL want an LCT RPD. Yes, it’s big, it’s heavy and it is indeed expensive but oh my goodness, this thing just looks fabulous and it performs like a beast!

LCT have really created something quite staggering here, something that many of us have been waiting years for and I am openly going to admit that a bunch of my personal RIF collection will be getting sold off to fund one. This is quite literally as good as an out of the box AEG gets.

‘Nuff said!

ARMOURY WE KRATOS PISTOL

GOD OF

WAR THE FABLED TITLE “Kratos - God of War” takes on several meanings under many ancient travesties, a list of war gods and goddesses from the mythology of the world. An example being that distinguished between the art of war as influenced by the goddess Athena and the primal bloodlust craved by the war god Ares and Ares, in case you didn’t know next time you pick up your Honey Badger, was one of a few “Gods of War”, from whence your rifle acquired its manufactured moniker.

"Kratos was the personification of strength and power in Greek mythology, son of the Titans Pallas and Styx. He was the brother of Nike (victory), Bia (force), and Zelus (zeal) and the four siblings were the enforcers of Zeus. Along with Hephaestus and Bia, he managed to constrain Prometheus and

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LESIUS LEEUS GETS HIS MIGHTY HANDS ON A MYTHOLOGICALLYNAMED PISTOL – BUT DOES IT LIVE UP TO ITS GOD-LIKE BILLING?

bind him at the peak of the Caucasus, as punishment for his actions against Zeus’ will.”

Okay, a little bit of Greek mythology for you there but interesting to see a few ”airsoft related” words in the mix don’t you think? I mean, I know airsoft has been around a long time before I started playing but I didn’t know Greek Gods were playing it all those centuries ago!

In the early 1980’s, WE-Tech was the biggest manufacturer of steel moulds for some of the major airsoft companies, so it should come as no surprise that in 2003 WE-Tech (or WE as it is usually known) decided to up the ante and launch their own line of GBB pistols and rifles. To pull a quote from their website: ”From being a professional steel mould manufacturer over

ARMOURY WE KRATOS PISTOL

30 years ago to creating our own line of full-metal airsoft pistols and rifles, the journey has been tough, but rewarding.

The combination of experience, skills, and the relentless pursuit of excellence is what define us in the airsoft industry today”.

In 2008, WE introduced their patented Advanced Weaponry Simulator System (AWSS) to professional bodies, such as the military and law enforcement to provide a safe but highly authentic precision instrument to use to the highest standards of realism. The platform was a resounding success in both authenticity, reliability and cost to performance ratio for both the professionals and of course, airsoft and this commitment to excellence has taken WE to where it is today.

WE have to date produced over 200 pistols and rifles in both GBB and AEG power format and I think it’s fair to say that it is extremely unlikely that you haven’t come into contact with a WE gun at some time during your airsoft career. WE typically overwhelm the glass cabinets, walls or shelves in all Airsoft shops because, quite frankly, there is almost something for everyone in their extensive range, particularly the pistols. You would be hard pushed to find a pistol of higher quality at such an affordable price and the selection is enormous and far too extensive to go into detail any further here because this gun review is about one particular model only, the recently released WE KRATOS, aka “The God Of War”.

The “real steel” Walther P99 was a leap of faith for Walther “FOR THE MONEY IT’S A PRETTY GOOD GUN. IT IS VERY COMFORTABLE when its development began in 1994. It wasn’t released until THE HAND AND IT DEFINITELY HAS A PLACE IN THE AIRSOFT WORLD.” three years later and was initially chambered for the popular 9mm stop release levers which, when combined with ambidextrous round but a couple of years later it was also built to shoot the magazine release levers built into the base of the trigger-guard, .40 S&W. Approximately five years later it was “upgraded” make these pistols truly left-hand friendly. All variations of the and became known as the P99AS (anti stress) together with a P99 use adjustable rear sights with white inserts. Magazines are couple of other variations, namely the P99 DAO and P99QA of double-stack design. (quick action). These second generation pistols also included the P99 Compact as demand deemed it to be appropriate.

THE W.E.T. ONE

THE TECHIE BIT

The Walther P99 is short-recoil operated, locked-breech pistol. It uses a modified Browning locking system, with the barrel engaging the slide with a single large lug entering the ejection window. The frame is made from polymer and has interchangeable grip back-straps. Three back-straps of different shape are included with each pistol, so users can adjust the grip to their own preferences. The trigger is striker-fired, with an automated firing pin block safety, and varies with the model.

The standard P99 is double/single action with a de-cocking button. Earlier P99s and current production P99DAOs are double action only and the P99DAO also features a slightly different automated safety built into the trigger. The third variation of the P99 family is the P99QA, which features a partially pre-cocked trigger for a constant trigger pull from the first to the last shot.

One feature, unique to the P99 series pistol triggers, is that despite being striker-fired, these pistols do not require the user to press the trigger during disassembly to disconnect the sear from the firing pin. This is done by using the de-cocking button, built into the top of the slide. This button is relatively large on the standard P99, as it is routinely used to de-cock the striker and much smaller on the P99QA, as it is used only during disassembly to disconnect the firing pin from the sear.

The P99DAO does not have such button, as its firing pin is always disconnected from the sear and at rest, except for the time the trigger is being pressed.

The most recent Anti-Stress feature is, in fact, a modification to the trigger system which makes the trigger pull for the first shot in Single Action mode much longer than for subsequent shots. The Anti-Stress feature is activated each time the pistol is reloaded. Another safety feature is a striker cocking indicator, made in the form of a small pin, which protrudes from the back of the slide when the striker is cocked. First generation pistols had a slide release only at the left side of the frame, while second generation guns may have optional ambidextrous slide

IN

This is a very realistic replica of the German giant’s P99 9mm handgun and boy does it look good, although I do find its title somewhat insignificant - but not in a detrimental way. I would have thought such a menacing name would be assigned to a more “aggressive” and diverse battle-ready piece of hardware, such as a mil-spec P226, an M9 or even that big old hand cannon, the Desert Eagle, whereas I find that the aesthetics and

www.airsoft-action.online

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ARMOURY WE KRATOS PISTOL

smooth lines of the Kratos look quite urbane and almost too subtle in its presentation. But in all honesty, so long as it does the job, these refinements really don’t matter and are therefore simply a matter of taste.

Starting at the business end, this sidearm wouldn’t be the same without a screw-on silencer facility, otherwise when James Bond (of the Pierce Brosnan era) ditched the legendary Walther PPK and somehow had the P99 issued to him by the MI5 gadgeteer Q, his ability to be a stealthy British Agent may have been compromised on more than one occasion!

Moving along the metal slide, the front sight is fixed (as you would expect) and the rear is adjustable. With solid white dots on the sights, it gets the job done. A rail sits under the muzzle for attachments and a little further back is a fair sized trigger guard with ample room for a gloved finger. A nice feature is the ambidextrous mag release levers either side of the curvaceous trigger. Ah yes, the trigger…

Personally, I really do prefer a short and light trigger pull so this was a little disappointing for me. It registered at around 8-10 pounds of pull and the pull was a long way before things started to happen. Even after that seemingly wasted first 10mm before contact was made on both single and double action, a further 5-8mm of squeeze was needed before it decided to spit out the plastic ball! But really, does it matter during a skirmish? Methinks not but I wouldn’t choose it for pistol comps that’s for sure. One small downside was the upper slide grips wouldn’t give you the best and most effective purchase as they were limited to the rear of the slide only and they are quite finely cut grooves, so this may be an issue for some.

The metal ejection port cover has “9mm x 19” stamped into the steel and just below is a serial number - on this test model it was 001007, which immediately made me think I had James Bond’s issue pistol (as it ended in 007) but this twinge of excitement dispersed when I found out that they all have that same number.

There are other WE markings on the pistol but nothing overwhelming. The loaded chamber indicator is situated at the rear of the slide and as we travel down the gun, the pistol grip is both comfortable and functional with a selection of interchangeable back straps which add to the tactile awareness.

Finally, the 22-round magazine slides in and out nice and easy, so fast mag changes are quite within this gun’s ability.

For me, this pistol ticked a lot of boxes when it came to

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handling. Everything was functional, smooth and sophisticated to wield so having given it a thorough once over, it was time to take this puppy to the range.

ON THE RANGE

T’was a fine spring day with a little breeze but not enough to affect the results of the test, so it was the usual set up (10 and 30 metres with green gas and Nuprol RZR .20s). Unsurprisingly, the ten metre grouping was about the size of a hamburger (with just a couple of flyers) and at 30 metres a fairly consistent and decent centre mass grouping. Pretty much what I was expecting and in line with many other WE pistols. It has a nice, smooth recoil (it ain’t gonna dislocate anyone’s shoulders) and it does indeed feel nice in the hand due to well thought out ergonomics. I appreciate that everyone has different size hands but for me, it did feel very much at home (I take medium sized gloves to give some perspective) because it was so very well balanced, the weight was just right and if we were allowed handgun ownership in the UK, this would be a definite consideration.

SUMMARY

For the money it’s a pretty good gun. It is very comfortable in the hand and it definitely has a place in the airsoft world.

Apart from the minimal slide grips and that rather unpleasant squishy trigger, it’s a fine secondary. I particularly liked the lines of this pistol which make it easy on the eye. It shoots well and the internals are the usual high WE quality, so reliability and longevity shouldn’t be an issue.

Les OUT!

features Length: 178mm Barrel Length: 100mm Weight: 678g Colour: Black Material: Metal, Plastic Hop-up: YES Shooting Mode: Safety, Semi-Auto Magazine Capacity: 22 Rounds Power (Muzzle Velocity): 310FPS/0.9 Joules (0.2g, Green Gas) Manufacturer: WE Price: around £100.00

ARMOURY SECUTOR RUDIS

ROMAN INSPIRATION ANGELO DI VITO GETS TO GRIPS WITH A PISTOL FROM TAIWAN INSPIRED BY ROMAN GLADIATORS. SECUTOR? HAVE YOU HEARD of them? No, me neither - or at least I hadn’t until a few months ago when I noticed their name cropping up within UK airsoft pages on Facebook. I started seeing pictures of a rather funky looking 1911/Hi Capa.

This was combined with some nice cut outs in the slide and different coloured outer barrels plus a removable thread cover sticking out of the front, very similar to an MP5 but not similar to any other 1911s. One thing that was very obvious was a distinctive “Roman gladiator” vibe to this pistol, so I took it upon myself to have a closer look at this new player on the UK airsoft scene.

SECUTOR

Secutor are based in Taiwan and are currently bestowing some very nice looking gas products into the UK airsoft market and beyond. Although they are not the OEM, they are putting their own Roman gladiator inspired touches to them.

Time for a bit of history...

The “Secutor” was a gladiator who wore very heavy armour due to the close proximity of the battles he would fight. He was the one with just the eye holes in his helmet and the protective metal shoulder piece (I always wanted to be that one). His battles would normally be fought against the “Reiarius”, the

20

JUly 2017

gladiator with the trident and the net (I never wanted to be that one).

The “Rudis” (which is the name of the pistol I’m reviewing) was actually some form of arena referee. Referee? For Gladiator battles? Who knew that they were even a thing? And it also the name given to the wooden staff that was used to separate the combatants prior to them ripping each other apart. So you’re getting the Roman vibe now I hope and this prevalent with all their products it seems.

Right, time to crack on with the important stuff, the Rudis pistol itself.

I will admit after seeing some great close up pictures of the Rudis, I was very keen to get my hands on it and put it through its paces. The day of delivery came and I eagerly ripped open the packaging to get to the treasure inside.

The box itself was a little bit larger than I was expecting but there was a reason for this. Inside the box is a high density foam insert with the cut out for the pistol and also the magazine. This is a great idea because you can simply drop this foam insert into an existing hard case, or even one of the pockets on the side of your gun bag. Big thumbs up for this.

So what do you get in the box? Obviously you get the pistol and CO2 magazine, an allen key to lock in the CO2 bulb, plus

ARMOURY SECUTOR RUDIS

a spare fire nozzle (scratches head, but more about that later) and also the usual basic but required user manual, at least it was in legible English.

Lifting the pistol out of the box I was instantly taken by the weight of it, it is a very solid-feeling pistol even without the magazine in. The magazine was also very sturdy and nicely finished off and the allen key, well that was just an allen key but not one made out of cheese.

The overall finish of the pistol I have to say is absolutely superb, it’s very similar to a Cerakote finish and has a nice tactile feel to it. The slide is well-machined and the cut outs are very smooth with no sharp edges or burrs. There are also some very nice markings on the slide, including the name of the pistol and also some Latin phrases along the top. In addition to this, the outer barrel has the calibre of the pistol by the ejection port and a very nice etching of a Gladius sword that is coloured to stand out more, plus the cut out in the slide that reveals this also follows the contours of the sword, very nice!

As mentioned earlier, the outer barrel extends beyond the slide and has a knurled thread cover that can be removed so you can attach a silencer. At first I really didn’t like this as I am a bit of a purist when it comes to the 1911 and to me it just looked a bit “odd”. But the practicality of not having to buy an additional silencer adapter outweighs this. The usual safety features are present, with the butterfly safety catches along with the beaver tail safety and, of course, nicely marked up rear and front sights.

seal airtight for prolonged use). The magazine is one of those slimline double stack mags that looks like it shouldn’t be a double-stacker, but it is. The capacity is 24 bbs, well that’s how many I got in so I loaded it with some Draft Club 0.28 bbs.

Now that may come across as being slightly optimistic putting 0.28s in but in my past experience of KJW hop set ups is that they are usually “THE HOP WAS SET TO ITS LOWEST SETTING BUT AS very good. The hop was set at the I WAS USING QUITE HEAVY BBS FOR A PISTOL, I DID lowest position for the initial firing test and was adjusted to suit during testing.

HAVE TO ADJUST THE HOP TO GET A NICE AND FLAT The first thing you notice as soon TRAJECTORY, HOWEVER, THE ADJUSTMENT WAS MINIMAL as you pull the trigger is the noise, this AND I HAD THIS PISTOL LIFTING 0.36S WITH EASE.” thing is very loud! It actually made me jump a little but then I am quite highly strung. The kick is unreal and gives you a good old jolt right up your arms… me likey! As I mentioned STRIP DOWN earlier, the hop was set to its lowest setting but as I was using It’s ok that a pistol looks great but there’s not much point if quite heavy bbs for a pistol, I did have to adjust the hop to get when you look beyond the cosmetics it simply doesn’t perform. a nice and flat trajectory, however, the adjustment was minimal So out with a few basic tools and let’s pull this baby apart. and I had this pistol lifting 0.36s with ease.

I know that Secutor are not the OEM for this pistol and Over a 10 to 20 metre distance the groupings were as was lead to believe that it is KJ Works, who I’m a huge fan tight as expected from what is effectively a skirmish pistol and of anyway. The slide removal is typical of most 1911s; push not particularly aimed at target shooting or practical pistol out the slide stop and slide it forward, no dramas there. One thing I instantly noticed was there wasn’t loads of excess oil everywhere which, to be honest, really gets on my nerves with some new pistols. Perhaps it was because the people at Secutor had already stripped it to add their own parts and touches. I also noticed there was a little bit of play between the slide and the lower when you hold the front of the slide - but maybe that’s just because I’m really fussy.

The inner barrel is easily removed from the outer and is the usual “twist and pull” affair and is nice and snug to minimise any of that annoying inner/outer barrel rattle. The hop unit was very sturdy, which I’ve come to expect from a KJW pistol, with no barrel twist whatsoever and the hop rubber is of a decent quality and was nice and supple, so it should settle down very quickly after a few bbs are blasted through it. The hammer spring and reset are of a decent quality just like the rest of the parts. Onto the lower frame and again a very nice external finish with everything where it should be with a sturdy mag release set up and an adjustable trigger, yes an adjustable trigger. Unfortunately the tiny allen key that was also supplied didn’t fit the grub screw used to adjust this but more on that later.

SHOOTING TEST

Time for my favourite part which is getting some bbs fired down range. The CO2 bulb was very easy to fit (a quick tip here… always put a little dab of silicone grease on the top of the bulb so it keeps the top seal nice and lubricated and the www.airsoft-action.online

21

ARMOURY SECUTOR RUDIS

“THE OUTER BARREL HAS THE CALIBRE OF THE PISTOL BY THE EJECTION PORT AND A VERY NICE ETCHING OF A GLADIUS SWORD THAT IS COLOURED TO STAND OUT MORE, PLUS THE CUT OUT IN THE SLIDE THAT REVEALS THIS ALSO FOLLOWS THE CONTOURS OF THE SWORD, VERY NICE!” environments. Saying that though, with the addition of a tighter barrel and a nine ball hop rubber I’m sure it would hold its own in competition. Next I thought I would see what kind of range I could get out of this and can safely say I had it hurling 0.28 and 0.3 bbs well over 40 metres plus with ease. Obviously the accuracy suffers at that range but that’s no different to any other airsoft pistol. The trigger response is spot on as is the trigger reset. I mentioned earlier that it had an adjustable trigger but I’ll be honest I never touched it due to the fact it was more than adequate straight out of the box.

Next I loaded the magazine with 0.2g bbs to put it through the chrono and test the power and as this is a CO2 powered pistol, this was a very important part of the test. The results I got at slightly lower than room temperature were in the region of 330 fps +/- 10 fps (1.075J) which is very consistent for a stock pistol, with roughly 3-4 bb reloads to each bulb.

I mentioned earlier that the pistol came with a spare nozzle in the box. This is a low power nozzle with a restrictor fitted to keep the fps in check during the warmer months, where the power could possibly get over some site limits. Alternatively, there is a green gas mag available for the Rudis. I tried a green gas mag out of another KJW 1911 and it fitted and more importantly it worked with the power at approximately 300/310 on Guarder Black. Again this will rise during the warmer months so make sure you keep an eye on it.

SUMMARY

The Secutor Rudis is very well put together and has a nice finish to it with rock-solid internals. The hop set up works and performs extremely well, with good adjustment and control.

The CO2 efficiency is good too, giving you more time to shoot as opposed to gassing up. The addition of the low power nozzle is great but they may want to include some very basic instructions on how to change the nozzle (it is very simple). I also really liked the pre-cut high density foam insert in the box.

What didn’t I like? I’m struggling a bit here… I’m not convinced about the look of the outer barrel extending beyond the slide and I didn’t like the little bit of play between the slide and the lower but I am being very picky with that.

So would I own one? Yes I would! It’s a real heavyweight of the pistol market which adds so much to the realism. It’s loud, it’s accurate and has great range but most of all, it looks absolutely terrific. What more could you ask for?

So as a Roman emperor would do in the arena to denote a victory, it’s a thumbs up!!

Big thanks to Marine at 020 Marketing and Secutor for supplying the test unit (which we might just be giving away in a future issue…).

22

JUly 2017

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17-05-2017 11:34:11

event OPERATION DUSTOFF 4

OPERATION DU S 89 PLAYERS ASSEMBLED TO BE TRANSPORTED BACK TO 1960S VIETNAM FOR THE FOURTH INSTALMENT OF DENN DEMERY-KANE’S OPERATION DUSTOFF. STUART HOWES JOINED THE NVA TO REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINE. Pictures courtesy of Oscar at wyvernlarp.com FREE WORLD FORCES CONSISTING of US & ANZAC infantry, US Special Forces and Seabees supported the locally raised ARVN to secure the area from the threat of communism imposed by Viet Cong Guerrillas and North Vietnamese regular soldiers.

The premise and storyline were excellently written and well explained on Saturday morning’s briefing. Organisation was good and wristbands were a good initiative to simplify admin.

Play started around 10 am on Saturday and would continue unabated until just after 4 pm. My first excursion from the NVA headquarters had me walk into untested territory - and straight into a well-executed short-box ambush laid by the camouflaged men of the US LRRP. This rather set the tone.

24

JUly 2017

The US and Australians had orders to win hearts and minds whilst repairing the Fort William firebase; our orders were simply to go out and make life hard for them. To this end, small groups would engage sections of the enemy wherever they were spotted and regular probing attacks were made on both the main base and the forward operating centre.

To further bewilder the Americans, attached to them were the troops of South Vietnam. ARVN troops quickly set a name for themselves as being inept, excitable and down-right sketchy. Given orders by their American adviser they gained a war-cry of “L Shape” that would be heard all over the game for the next two days. Whilst somewhat un-PC, the indigenous troops added a dynamic rarely seen at games as the most unoperator and combat ineffective troops.

Whilst most troops were contesting various objectives, the US reconnaissance teams were doing a good job of looking for the VC tunnel entrances – being used as respawn and resupply points – and keeping watch on the NVA HQ that was over the border in Cambodia. Having no engineers of their own, they had to bring up infantry to actually destroy the spider holes and, despite our hardest efforts, they were successful in blowing at least three tunnels.

Some players in the VC were also side-lining as members of the civilian population to reconnoitre US defences and attempt to blow supply caches. One such group was successful in injuring the US commander and a number of his men before themselves being gunned down. Other civilians were nicer with the occupying forces and enterprising Mr Wong was a regular feature seen alongside troops shortly before they were ambushed.

event OPERATION DUSTOFF 4

U STOFF 4 Whilst sitting in our base rearming for another strike, the ARVN platoon dropped in and handed us a “liberated” radio and set of codebooks. Now, instead of striking on opportunity, we could coordinate ambushes to where we knew troops would be and what they would be after. Our gift from our southern friends condemned many of the free-world troops.

Intel on a supply drop was gleaned from our new radio and our troops got to it before the Americans. When they opened the drop canister it had been booby-trapped and subsequently blew the harried GIs and initiated a VC ambush. Described as a “lemming train” by one of the US soldiers, they took severe casualties to recover their precious food and ammunition but ultimately got most of the vital supplies.

Shortly after, ARVN soldiers kidnapped the US commander just as a small group of NVA were trying to storm his compound. Out went the South Vietnamese and in came the North as new temporary owners of Fort William. Whilst we filled the US airwaves with propaganda and gibberish on another captured radio, the Fort was looted for intelligence and after a small abortive counterattack we left an empty Fort and went back across the border to tell our glorious leader what we had seen.

Armed with this new intelligence we were given orders to make a concerted effort to remove the enemy from their emplacements atop the high ground. The VC and NVA rallied and a simultaneous assault from three sides started to apply a lot of pressure to the beleaguered garrison. The

most resistance came from a tower complex that was both the linchpin of the US defence and the main reason our attack was ultimately doomed.

My main contribution to this assault was to post a grenade through a break in a wall of the US cordon only to panic as it hit something and rolled back towards me before detonating.

Familiar medic rules where used for Dustoff, whereby anyone can bandage a teammate to bring them back in, with an extra bandage allowed for wearing of a helmet or body armour and an additional bandage from the designated medic.

Free-World troops called for Medics and Vietnamese called “Bác Sĩ” to attract medical attention and it was this that allowed me to re-join the assault after my grenade blunder.

As the clock ticked toward the 4 pm end-ex the battle for the towers became attritional. Both sides were well dug in and most people were still in position when the day finished. As the end was called VC and NVA players kicked themselves as they saw first-hand how close to breaking point the defences had been. This was a lesson learned for the next day.

Overnight there was the usual fat-chewing and social but also a small boot sale that had been well publicised on the Facebook event page beforehand. Whilst the players were winding down, Denn and the other event organisers were deciding the game plan for the second day – an organic plan that was affected by the events of day one.

Some slight confusion about timings on Sunday morning meant the first engagement of the day was between a handful www.airsoft-action.online

25

event OPERATION DUSTOFF 4

of VC and an entire section of Australian infantry. We’d heard that they were headed to the drop zone to recover the last of the equipment and they retrieved the goods with little resistance. It was good to see their cohesion and use of smallunit tactics which reflected the quiet professionalism of their historical counterpart.

Again using our radio, we discovered that another of our precious tunnel entrances had been discovered by “the men with green faces”. They fought hard to hold until relieved but ultimately numbers prevailed and we kept the trapdoor open for business. Whilst we made ready to dig in for the expected counterattack we were called away to the main assault. They presumably blew the tunnel later.

We joined the main assault already in full swing and lessons had been learned from the previous day. The towers were a priority and I made up for the previous day by executing a throw into it that I was rather proud of. Other areas of the base resisted fiercely but were slowly beaten out and the base passed into possession of the People’s Republic of Vietnam.

Various small counter-attacks and probes were fought off, using our newly acquired towers but this depleted each person’s 300 rounds of valuable ammunition and as we sent runners off to bring ammunition forward, cries of “L Shape!” announced the arrival of the defecting men of the ARVN. As they left to pursue their own agenda, the long expected counterstrike arrived and was as brutal in its attack as they had been in defence. It hit a dug in but complacent enemy and the camp was shortly back in the hands of its original owners.

Knowing when you are beaten is important when you are far numerically inferior and it was decided that the tower compound was not worth pursuing further. Whilst some troops went to harass reinforcement columns, a sizable group moved through boggier terrain to make another assault on the original US HQ. The small number of US guards was removed and the tortured prisoner freed from his cage. A distress call had, however, been made. Once again we found ourselves digging into former US positions expecting the full brunt of an assault and once again we got it.

Due to the location of the Fort within the site there was a much narrower axis of attack than most attacks of the weekend and to try to interdict this VC mortars were firing on likely staging points. The “ploom-boom” of airsoft mortars really added to the sense of atmosphere of desperation as the rounds were landing increasingly close to our defences as the green machine advanced. Once within range, they utilised incendiary grenades (colour-coded smokes) to burn us off the outer wall and compress us in the more exposed centre of the encampment.

Whilst a valid tactic to remove us, this also denied large areas of manoeuvre to the assaulting troops and made it so most of the fighting was to take place in close quarters between troops who had to cross a hail of withering fire to engage with their enemies. This was the last engagement of the event and it was close fought between all sides. By the end of the day the Vietnamese had been pushed out of the compound - but there was not a lot left to fight over.

After ensuring everyone had no magazines and empty chambers, photos were taken of the various groups and a debrief from Denn thanked everyone for their sportsmanship and they in turn thanked for organising such a good event.

‘Namsoft is a great experience I’d highly recommend. Whilst many players had spot-on kit setting them back hundreds of pounds, there are invariably “stand-in” options and even kit for free loan. It plays as a Vietnam War Film and is often tongue-incheek when not at the deadly business of trying to wipe each other out.

And like all games, “You don’t know man, you weren’t there!”

“SOME PLAYERS IN THE VC WERE ALSO SIDE-LINING AS MEMBERS OF THE CIVILIAN POPULATION TO RECONNOITRE US DEFENCES AND ATTEMPT TO BLOW SUPPLY CACHES. ONE SUCH GROUP WAS SUCCESSFUL IN INJURING THE US COMMANDER AND A NUMBER OF HIS MEN BEFORE THEMSELVES BEING GUNNED DOWN.” www.airsoft-action.online

27

Event Report NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW

NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW 2017

OVER THE WEEKEND OF SATURDAY 6th AND SUNDAY 7th MAY NIGE AND THE AIRSOFT ACTION CREW MADE THEIR WAY TO THE GREAT YORKSHIRE SHOWGROUND IN HARROGATE TO ATTEND THE SECOND NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW AND BOY DID IT TEST THEIR METTLE! JERRY NOONE TELLS US MORE. 2016 SAW THE VERY FIRST Northern Shooting Show in Harrogate and although the “Airsoft Experience” area was abuzz even with good weather it proved to be challenging.

The show though was a resounding success and really gave everyone concerned a chance to establish airsoft well and truly as part of the wider world of UK Shooting Sports!

In the run up to the 2017 Richard Stokoe, the show organiser told us; “Due to demand and the success of the first Northern Shooting Show, this year’s show is set to grow by more than a third! Exhibitors have been quick to act and book their places for the 2017 show. The dates, location, venue and overall organisation proved a BIG hit with the trade. We showed there is a definite demand for a shooting specific show that can attract shooters from the North as well as further South.

For the 2017 show we have introduced the NEW 4,320m2, £12m single span exhibition hall which sets to increase the show by a 1/3 in terms of indoor exhibition space.”

As you can imagine therefore expectations were high and we all arrived to set up on the preceding Friday with high expectations but it was to 28

JUly 2017

be a weekend of mixed emotions for us. The Great Yorkshire Showground is an absolutely stunning venue, a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces; as all the stands began to set up the whole area turned into a somewhat riotous carnival representing all that is good in shooting in the UK. The “Airsoft Experience” area is based away from the main show halls but this by no means meant that footfall would be any lighter, as we were surrounded by a wonderful collection of military vehicles and an absolutely stunning living history display by the guys from www.crusader80.com which really drew the crowds. Airsofters, of course, knew exactly where to head and it was superb when familiar faces started to appear, including fellow contributor Angelo who I’d personally not met face to face before.

Although somewhat depleted in the number of stands, there was certainly something for everyone to see in the airsoft area and if you were looking for information, or an airsoft “bargain” then the “Experience” area was certainly the place to visit. Paul from ASG was at the forefront of things with his ever-expanding display, this time featuring models from ICS now that ASG are distributing that brand in parts of Europe.

We provided the completed “Rasmussen Rifle” that was featured last month which he kindly displayed and I have to say we were all a little overwhelmed at the positive and emotional response it received; this will be going up for auction soon and given the response, I think we’ll be supporting Marks’ family well.

Talking of growing ranges Trent, “The Red Van Man”, was there with the NUPROL tent and again it was filled with more

Event Report NORTHERN SHOOTING SHOW

goodies than ever before, including the prototype of their new long rifle case. The NUPROL tent is always bright and inviting and I witnessed a lot of people stopping by to chat and enjoy the products on display.

Right beside us was Paul from Airsoft Sniper Parts UK (ASPUK) who told me that business was brisk, which comes as no surprise given some of the shiny goodness they had on display! Amongst this was the very first run of beautifully packaged, made in Sheffield “Sniper One” parts; Paul has promised me a set when it’s all complete and I’ll be reporting fully on this in a future issue. Luckily ASPUK also had a great range of VIPER products on sale but I’ll come back to that later.

Next along the line was Steve from FUBAR BUNDY who was really showcasing not only their “Silverback” rifles but also some rather tasty stock and custom RIFs. He also had a G&G “MET” system up and running which meant that anyone who wanted could really “have a go”. Across the aisle was a very well received newcomer, in the form of the Mateusz and the guys from GUNFIRE in Poland who were showcasing what’s new and interesting in their lineup; again, I’ve always liked the custom work that GUNFIRE do and their take on the humble STEYR AUG had to be seen to be believed! It was interesting to see that they were also showcasing their own gas, BBs and clothing which I’m speaking to them about. If you wanted anything in relation to clothing and gear www.mrsurplus.co.uk had a huge tent with lots of MTP “gucciness” on offer.

INSIDE AND OUT

One of the great things about having a dedicated airsoft area away from the main show halls is that we actually get to have ranges and the practical pistol demonstration supported by www.patrolbase.co.uk and the guys from Halo Mill certainly received a LOT of attention!

But there was much more to see inside the show halls themselves, whatever type of shooter you might be and it was great to speak to Jonathan from TacTree and see their ranges of 5:11, Mechanix and VIPER gear, to Bentley at VORTEX OPTICS and to Tor from CANNAE PRO. Tor had come over from the USA to launch the distributorship of their products in the UK with Scott Country and I’ll be working closely with them to bring some reviews in to land.

Now I did say I’d come back to those fleeces and boy did

we need them; Andy N actually got his wallet out and bought one! Last year at the show we were blessed with sunshine and warm weather, although the wind blasting through the airsoft area did turn it into a bit of a dust bowl. This year we thankfully avoided wet weather other than a bit of drizzle but the wind was howling and often saw us cowering a bit inside the Gazebo to avoid the cold wind and the driving dust clouds.

In a couple of ways I hope that Richard will bring us up into the main show for next year, both for protection from the elements and for easier access to other shooters.

For this is where the Northern Shooting Show is really worth its weight in gold to the UK airsoft community! Andy was busily showing off the MantisX, not just to airsofters but also to “real steel” shooters” who were amazed that such a training-tool existed; these same shooters were also taken aback by the GBBRs and GBB pistols we had on display and went away with a different opinion of what we do. I had the chance to speak to many people about the legalities that face us as airsofters and had a couple of long-distance .50 cal shooters shocked by what the PCA means for us; they honestly had no idea but went away with a new appreciation of the “seriousness” of airsoft and the hoops that we, like they, have to jump through.

It’s my opinion that we still need to integrate more fully with the rest of the shooting community and I believe firmly that moving up to the main halls would let us do this more easily. With knowledge comes understanding and with understanding comes acceptance. As a UK shooting community, of which airsoft in truly part, we need to stand together and the Northern Shooting Show is just one avenue to help us achieve just this!

Thanks to everyone that came and spent time with us over the weekend and I sincerely hope you gained as much from the show as I did; dates for 2018 have been set now for Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May so I hope to see you there!

For more information please keep an eye on www.northernshootingshow.co.uk

www.airsoft-action.online

29

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kit HALEY D3CR-X CHEST RIG

KELLY “FEMME FATALE” HARDWICK CASTS A CRITICAL EYE OVER HALEY STRATEGIC’S MUCH-LOVED CHEST RIG.

HALEY D3CR-X AS FAR AS GUCCI KIT goes, “Haley Strategic” is a name that is up there and the D3CR Chest Rig is revered in the community as one of the best chest rigs on the market and a “must have” for MilSim enthusiasts. But are they really all they’re cracked up to be? My friends over at Land Warrior Airsoft in Dalkeith, Scotland sent over the newest generation of Haley chest rigs, the D3CR-X, for review and here are my thoughts.

The new Haley Strategic Disruptive Environments Chest Rig X has been designed to improve comfort and storage capabilities for the operator, whilst still working perfectly with the existing range of comprehensive D3CR accessories. The new design means the Chest Rig has 4 rifle magazine pouches that accept both AR type magazines, as well as AK 7.62 x39mm and 5.45 x 39 magazines! The new 2 Multi-Mission pouches are also a very much welcomed additions - they are super useful, for tactical snacks, radios and small med kits etc.

The 4 pistol mag pouches are versatile pouches that accept 1911, Glock, Sig, M&P, XD and other standard double, or single stack pistol mags, as well as many other useful bits and bobs including handheld torches, multi-tools, and (the most useful for my own gameplay) 40mm grenades. For me that means my trusty TRMR impact grenade and a few Enola Gaye smoke grenades/flashbangs!

The rig features an all new “X” harness for ultimate adjustability and a full Velcro front panel that allows the rig to be outfitted with accessories, as well as assist in the full contact connection with plate carriers. One of my favourite aspects

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about the chest rig is the full panel of Velcro because it allows me to swap the front panel from my Warrior Assault Systems Recon Plate Carrier out, for the D3CR-X panel really easily - just upclip the straps, rip off the panel, attach the panel and do up the clips and the jobs a good ‘un! This is particularly useful when I am switching between playing Skirmish and MilSim Ops, as the gameplay is so different a different loadout is needed.

Just like the D3CR-X’s predecessor, the rig is designed (and even optimised) to be super low profile and to go to work in confined spaces, including vehicles. When used on its own, the rig is low profile enough to be worn fully loaded and not make marks on a normal/loose fit jacket or hoodie. When it is used on a body armour platform with a quick release system, the rig can be attached or stowed in seconds. This ultimately gives the end user the versatility to transition from low visibility to high visibility or vice versa in seconds. One of the main notable differences is that this new rig purposefully doesn’t have a dedicated radio or medical pouch and this means that regardless of the posture of the operator, all the mission essentials such as comms and med kits can remain on the end user.

Let’s chat about the quality. The D3CR-X is made from genuine MultiCam so it is tough and durable. The construction of the rig is phenomenal, as would be expected from any Haley Strategic product. The retention bungee cord grab tabs are reinforced with rubber for longevity and for extra grip when wearing gloves and pulling the tabs over magazines, which is a

kit HALEY D3CR-X CHEST RIG

nice touch. Each of the magazine pouches has a drainage hole at the bottom of the pouch to ensure water can drain from the pouches on those wet game days/ops – a feature I have not seen on imitations of the Haley rigs. The X harness straps are strong and have molle systems on the front (for the D3 weapon sling) which means even though you’re wearing a chest rig you don’t have to sacrifice the security of having a rifle sling.

I have used the D3CR-X both on its own during HTIS Operation Blue Fox 2 and as the front panel on my WAS Recon PC. I do favour using the rig as a mounted panel on my plate carrier. The rig, when worn on its own as a standalone piece, is very lightweight and easy to wear for prolonged periods of time – this was my rig of choice for STAG duties and patrolling (when I knew I would be on my feet for a substantial period of time but I wouldn’t be engaging in too much contact but had the essentials on me just in case sh*t did hit the fan!).

The X harness means the rig works really well with most backpacks - I paired mine with a Nuprol PMC Hydration backpack to give me extra space for carrying smokes and my hydration bladder. As the rig is easy to mount it was plug and play – I didn’t even have to unload it. Like I said previously, just rip off the Velcro back and slap it on the PC. The ease of this transition is perfect. My only gripe with using the rig as a mounted piece is that is does overhang the sides of my PC a tad – it doesn’t affect the use of it and it isn’t noticeable when worn but it’s just something that gets to the perfectionist in me! Haha. Used with my PC it gives me more opportunities to carry mags, smokes and the mission pouches give me a little extra something without adding too much weight or bulk.

What about price I hear you ask? Gucci kit comes with a Gucci price tag. The D3CR-X retails for £179.99 from Land Warrior so it is pricey but if you’re an airsofter who wants a high quality chest rig that will last, this is the perfect option and you won’t need to buy another (unless you wanted it in another colour of course!). The D3CR-X is available in

MultiCam, Coyote, Black, Ranger Green, MultiCam Black and Disruptive Grey so no matter what your loadout is there is a colour way to suit.

Overall, I think the D3CR-X is a fantastic piece and it has become a staple in my MilSim loadouts, it is pretty pricey so I would say it is a purchase you need to be sure of, however, the quality means you won’t have to buy another chest rig for a long time so for me, that’s a win!

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33

Loaded or Unloaded VIPER TACTICAL HEX-TECH PACKS

VIPER RECENTLY UPDATED THEIR CLOTHING RANGE WITH SOME FABULOUS ADDITIONS AND BILL THOMAS GETS HIS HANDS ON THEIR VERY LATEST PACK MODELS – WHICH ARE NOT JUST NEW DESIGNS BUT ALSO USE A BRAND NEW FABRIC!

NEXT GEN VIPER HEX-TECH PACKS I’M GOING TO ADMIT THAT I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to pack models, having worked in that industry for a considerable time in my “past life”. Packs are integral to what we do, especially if you’re into longer scenarios, or in staying out in the game for as long as possible.

Many site operators are creating increasingly complex games which keeps everything fresh and interesting for players as a whole but with ammo restrictions and scenarios that encourage you to be out on the field for longer periods of time, you need to give some serious thought to what you need and how you’re going to carry it. For longer “BattleSim” style games you may need to be carrying extra BBs, gas, food, water and other “snivel gear” that will allow you to be out, for longer.

Now in most cases it’s simply a case of having something straightforward and simple, a small pack that will enable you

to carry your gear to your “harbour” area where it can be left safely with your extra supplies until you need them. Sometimes though, you’ll need a bigger pack that can accommodate overnight essentials too but “gear luggers” are a whole other ballgame so I’m going to look here exclusively at the new small packs and bags from VIPER. VIPER really upped the ante last year when they substantially upgraded their pack offering and IWA 2017 saw them enlarge this line even further, with the introduction of not only new models but of a new, strong yet lightweight fabric technology, “HexTech”. Hex-Tech has been developed by VIPER to be both tough and very lightweight. The Woven PVC/ PU Coated Hexagon pattern enhances durability and creates a very stylish, rugged look and feel. With the new rubberised VIPER badge all of the models look thoroughly “up to the minute” and the choice of sizes and styles means that there is something there to suit all users and, as is always the case with VIPER, without breaking the bank!

A PACK FOR EVERY DAY

I know that one of the “key notes” for “Loaded or Unloaded” is that certain items can be multiuse, meaning not only can you use certain items for airsoft but also in daily life, so as to make the most of your money. Whilst not strictly a “pack” as such, the TACTICAL SNAPPER at £26.95 is a tactically styled satchel that will swallow all the things you need if you’re heading off to an airsoft game, the range, or to the office. The SNAPPER can be hand-held or carried over your shoulder thanks to a removable padded shoulder strap. With an overall capacity of 7.5L and dimensions of 30 x 24 x 10cm, it has a front zipped compartment, padded fleece internal compartments, a zipped clearview admin pouch and Lazer MOLLE webbing located on front, back and sides. There’s also a velcro ID panel, retention straps and a padded webbing grab handle. This a great bag for carrying maps, briefing notes and those essential odds and ends that you want to take to a game but not necessarily use in it.

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Loaded or Unloaded VIPER TACTICAL HEX-TECH PACKS

The BANSHEE at £23.95 is a really neat “messenger” style pack with a single, padded, over the shoulder strap. Coming in at 12L with dimensions of 42 x 25 x 14cm, the BANSHEE is easily big enough to carry BBs, gas, some water and snacks and even a lightweight waterproof. It has fleece lined zipped compartments on side and shoulder strap, a main zipped compartment with internal mesh pocket, a side mesh bottle pocket and padded back panel. The shoulder strap is also fully padded and there is Lazer MOLLE webbing located on the front and a sturdy webbing grab handle. If you want to run “fast and loose” this is definitely a model worth considering.

The TACTICAL PANTHER lands at £39.95 and is a handily sized grab and go tactical pack. At 17.5L and measuring 42 x 24 x 22cm, it’s big enough to carry what you need for a full day on the field without being cumbersome. It features expandable side pouches, a front zipped compartment, internal mesh pocket, a padded back panel and added shoulder straps.

Once again there are Lazer MOLLE webbing attachments located on front and exterior pouches, webbing utility straps located on the sides and a velcro ID panel. As this is a pack that will carry a bit more weight and stay with you perhaps a bit longer throughout the day, you also get a sternum strap and a survival chord grab handle.

At the £35.00 comes the first of VIPER’s new “expandable” models, which unzip to give you a heap of storage options. The RAPTOR transforms from 4-14L by simply undoing a zip but still benefits from padded shoulder straps, a quick release chest strap, front zipped compartment and an internal nylon bladder sleeve with rear bladder tube outlet. There is also elastic hydration/comms retention, a fully padded back panel, Lazer MOLLE webbing located on front pouch, a velcro ID panel and a main grab handle.

If you fancy the same size pack but with

a slightly different design then at the same price there is the TACTICAL VENOM model to look at.

The TACTICAL EAGLE packs is a very interesting design as it is an expandable vertical backpack for all those daily essentials, that easily transforms into a patrol pack with a little extra storage when required. The capacity can be as little as 5L so it’s extremely compact when you need it to be but unzipping the main compartment lets it bellow out to an incredibly handy 20L for when you need that extra space. In terms of features there’s a front zipped compartment, padded shoulder straps, a padded back panel, Lazer MOLLE webbing located on the front pouch, a velcro ID panel and main grab handle. This is a very versatile pack which again comes in at £39.95, which is great value for money.

Going back to a more traditional style and also at £39.95 is the TEACTICAL JAGUAR pack.

With an overall capacity of 19L and dimensions of 42 x 24 x 22cm, this is the perfect size for a single day patrol pack and has additional features to make carrying your load easier. There’s a front zipped compartment and a good sized zipped main

“VIPER REALLY UPPED THE ANTE LAST YEAR WHEN THEY SUBSTANTIALLY UPGRADED THEIR PACK OFFERING AND IWA 2017 SAW THEM ENLARGE THIS LINE EVEN FURTHER, WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF NOT ONLY NEW MODELS BUT OF A NEW, STRONG YET LIGHTWEIGHT FABRIC TECHNOLOGY, “HEX-TECH”.” compartment with mesh internal pocket. It has a padded back panel, padded shoulder straps, webbing utility straps located on sides and a sternum strap to keep that load balanced and in place, plus there’s an external bungee retention helmet hammock if you need to carry your lid.

As with the other models there’s Lazer MOLLE webbing located on the front pouch, a velcro ID panel, webbing grab handle and in addition you get four VIPER D-Rings; this is a cracking little pack and would certainly be

www.airsoft-action.online

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CH E -T X E

TACTICAL

HEX-TECH MATERIAL Uniquely designed, tough, yet lightweight. PVC/PU coated to enhance durability. Woven with hexagon pattern to create a stylish, rugged, look and feel.

get the tactical advantage

H BROWN COYOTE

BLACK

EAGLE PACK

TITANIUM

SRP

£42.00

n Expandable, 5-20ltr n Front zipped compartment n Padded shoulder straps n Padded back panel n Lazer MOLLE webbing located on front n 1 x Velcro ID panel n Main grab handle n Comes with spare puller Capacity: 5-20ltr (approx) Dimensions cms: 45 x 23 x 26 Material: HEX-TECH Colours: Brown Coyote, Green, Black, Titanium

GREEN

RAPTOR PACK

SRP

£35.00

n Expandable, 4-14ltr n Front zipped compartment n Internal nylon bladder sleeve n Rear bladder outlet n Elastic hydration/comms retention n Padded back panel n Lazer MOLLE webbing n 1 x Velcro ID panel n Main grab handle n Comes with spare puller Capacity: 4-14ltr (approx) Dimensions cms: 34 x 24 x 22 Material: HEX-TECH Colours: Brown Coyote, Green, Black, Titanium

VENOM PACK

SRP

£35.00

n Expandable, 4-14ltr n Ambidextrous shoulder strap n Front zipped compartment n Fleece lined zipped pouch n Internal nylon bladder sleeve n Rear bladder outlet n Padded back panel n Lazer MOLLE webbing n Main grab handle n Comes with spare puller Capacity: 4-14ltr (approx) Dimensions cms: 34 x 24 x 22 Material: HEX-TECH Colours: Brown Coyote, Green, Black, Titanium

UPDATES / STOCKISTS / CATALOGUE

www.vipertactical.co.uk

Loaded or Unloaded VIPER TACTICAL HEX-TECH PACKS

my personal choice. I’ve been carrying one both on and off the airsoft field for a couple of months now and it certainly serves well as an ideal EDC pack.

TIDY!

I’m increasingly impressed by what VIPER are bringing to the table at the moment and these additions to their pack range show that they are thinking a bit more “outside the box” when it comes to both design and the use of fabrics. The range overall has come on leaps and bounds in the past couple of years and shows every indication of continuing to both improve and expand.

Whatever your requirements for a “day use” pack I believe that one of the new designs will suit you and as every model is available in Coyote Brown, Black, Green and Titanium there’s certainly going to be one to suit your choice of loadout. All the designs look great and work well, which is absolutely what you need when it comes to a small pack on or off the field. I’m absolutely fascinated to see what VIPER do next with their range but if it’s something as good as I’m seeing with these new pack models then it’s most definitely going to be worth waiting for!

To keep up to date with the new VIPER tactical products as they become available please visit www. viperkit.co.uk. You can also follow VIPER TACTICAL via their Facebook and Instagram pages which are regularly updated.

www.airsoft-action.online

37

ARMOURY SILVERBACK SRS-A1

DIANE MONTAGNIER IS NO STRANGER TO SNIPING, SO WHEN SHE GOT HOLD OF THE SRS-A1 SHE COULDN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT MADE IT SUCH A FAVOURITE.

NOT JUST A JACKEL SILVERBACK AIRSOFT IS AN AIRSOFT manufacturer established in 2008 in Hong Kong by passionate airsofters. They describe their goal with those words : “serve our fellow mates in this unique sport with the most innovative and high quality products that is required in any airsoft fields situation.”

The main information is that Silverback Airsoft has the exclusive license agreement of Desert Tech LLC. and MPS (Military Police Systems).

HISTORICAL NOTE

The SRS-A1 (Scout Recon Steath) Desert Tech LLC is probably one of the most known bullpup and accurate sniper rifles in the world. It’s also a very convertible snipe because of its ability to change of caliber (to .308 Win to .338 Lapua), barrel length (22 inches to 26 inches), handguards length, chambers and many other things, including the race trigger.

Thus, the airsoft replica is the perfect copy of this snipe and has real marks engraved but also a unique serial number.

Made of CNC steel, nylon fiber reinforced, the overall quality is

very high regarding the other airsoft guns. The first replicas are manufactured since November 2015.

Nowadays, the SRS-A1 is available in 3 versions: • SRS A1 Covert 16 inches • SRS A1 .308 22 inches • SRS A1 .338 LM 26 inches …and with many options: • Pull bolt version • Push bolt version • Conversion kit push to pull • Accessories & parts (magazines, hand guards, barrels, silencers, flash hiders, rails, etc.)

• Colors (black, olive drab, flat dark earth) It’s really simple to change the global appearance, if your budget allows it. Indeed, the price is very high. It cost about 500 GBP to 600 GBP! But, regarding to the price, a Silverback Airsoft replica may last a lifetime!

UNBOXING

The SRS-A1 22 inches pull bolt version is delivered in a cardboard box with a sticker of the mark’s effigy. The box is not as beautiful as the Tokyo Marui’s but it works in order to protect its contents during storage and transport as all the contents are protected by a strong pre-cutted foam. It also contains a 30 rounds magazine, rails, grease, screws, Allen keys for the disassembling and a very complete and clear user manual.

This model, the 22 inches version, weighs 3.22kg for 850mm length The SRS is not ready to play. It is necessary to put together the external barrel and the bolt. Then, thanks to its many setting options, it’s possible to adjust the race trigger or its position, adjust the stock buttpad (2 pieces included allows to change the stock length), the cheek riser or the monopod at your convenience. Therefore, the replica hasn’t mechanical sights or optics. It is really necessary to plan an optic before to play. We can notice 2 QD swivel attachment points : on the right side and on the left side of the stock.

The first impression is really conclusive! It’s heavy and it’s strong! The receiver is a monolithic CNC aluminium piece. The 38

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ARMOURY SILVERBACK SRS-A1

external part is really clear but there are a few failed moldings under the SRS. It doesn’t really matter to me because the real SRS has the same.

The power is about 420 fps (in France, and depending the country regulation) but it is quite sure that the power can reach more than 500 fps without any reinforcement upgrade needed.

The push bolt version is really hard to use for someone who doesn’t know that point. It takes a little time to succeed. The pull version is easier to use.

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?

This SRS is really simple to disassembly, in order to change parts or cleaning. Indeed, it’s really important to often grease the mechanics and to clean the inner barrel that gets dirty quite fast. A big cleaning will be necessary before using the SRS. First of all, it’s necessary to remove the butt pad and its pieces that allows us to give the good length to the replica.

This manipulation gives access to the specific CNC Steel spring guide, to the spring and the specific bolt block (including specific steel cylinder, steel cylinder head and steel bolt handle).

The piston, specific too, is made of 6061 aluminium but the piston head is standard AEG. Interesting point, the spring is an APS-2 type for the pull version, like this SRS and an AEG type for the push version.

Then, we must unscrew 4 screws (Allen key 5) above the trigger guard on the right side and a screw on the left side to put on “unlock” position. This manipulation allows to unlock the outer barrel. At that time, the outer barrel, the inner barrel and the hop up block can be removed from the frame.

A small screw on the outer barrel must be removed in order to separate the inner barrel and the hop up block.

We can see that the hop-up block is really specific : it’s not possible to change any piece. But, it’s a really strong piece that may has a very long lifetime!

2 screws on the hop-up block (Allen Key 1,5) keep the inner barrel on a good position. When the block is opened, it gives access to the green hop up rubber (60°), which is an AEG type. The barrel is made of brass and has a 6.05mm diameter (according to the manufacturer). It’s seems that the inner diameter is smaller than that. The barrel is an AEG type and is 578mm long. It’s a pretty good initiative from the manufacturer to have chosen AEG rubber and AEG barrel.

Indeed, it’s easier to change these parts, AEG barrels are very diversified in length. On that point, the SRS is very easy to upgrade. Furthermore, the

inner barrel has a O-Ring in order to center it inside the hop up block.

To continue the disassembly, the hand guard has to be removed. With a Allen key 2,5, unscrew the lonely screw on the top of the hand guard. Then, the hand guard can be unscrewed. Thereafter, all the visible screws on the stock have to be removed with the same Allen Key. After that operation, the frame can be opened in 2 separate parts.

On the left part, the bolt block and the cheek riser are still fixed. We just need to remove the 2 last screws and the 2 swivels attachment’s screws (Allen key 2,5). Then, the cheek riser can be separate from the frame and the bolt too.

At that time, it’s possible to remove the trigger block when the security part is taken away, and to unscrewed the 2 screws (Allen key 3). The entire trigger block (parts, block, trigger) is specific.

Behind the bolt, the sear appears. This set, sear and spring set are the functional part of the bolt. The sear is really important but pay attention to the spring that is often removed from its place. Indeed, this small spring is a little bit too much soft. If the bolt doesn’t work or if the cocking lever is not well adjusted, it’s possible to have mis-feed or arming problems.

It’s not complicated to resolve this issue quickly: just adjust the coking lever or put the spring back in place. It is also possible to change this spring by a stronger one.

CONCLUSION

The SRS-A1 Pull Bolt is a really amazing airsoft snipe and the overall quality is really impressive.

All the building materials are very high quality (steel, CNC aluminium, etc.) and the finishing work is very close to the real firearm. In spite of its weight, this replica can be very modulated due to the large choice of upgrade parts and the facility to upgrade its performances.

Thanks to all of this, the SRS has probably a very long lifetime on our fields!

www.airsoft-action.online

39

Head to Head PLATE CARRIER V WEBBING V CHEST RIG

LBE HEAD TO HEAD IOAN “IGGY” ROBERTS USES LBE FOR BOTH HIS WORK AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES, HERE HE LOOKS AT THE PROS AND CONS OF THE KIT WE WEAR. AIRSOFT IS A WONDERFUL arena of costumes. What do I mean by that? Well, you can literally rock up to a skirmish wearing anything you please. There is advised kit and clothing but I’m sure many of you have witnessed (if not worn yourselves) fancy dress or even the mankini!! However, for the most of us it’s a case of uniform, camouflage or security force outfits with some kind of load carrying kit for magazines, ammo, water, side arm and your precious (rubber) knife!

The most popular load carrying kit for airsofters seems to be between tactical vests, plate carriers and webbing but is there one of these that is best suited overall or are different load carrying kits suited to different environments?

I have, over the years, used variants of all three in the military and in airsoft - it is a requirement (and understandably so) to wear a plate carrier on real time operations. I also had a “battle belt” that clipped to the bottom of the plate carrier to keep all pouches etc. away from my front plate.

This was for safety reason but also allows you to get lower down in the prone position and still access your pouches.

In training, webbing is often used as the emphasis is on tactics, load carrying as well as skills and drills.

When I started airsoft “back in the day” we all bought tactical vests as we just needed something for the BBs and extra mags. Then we all started doing our own things. I went for a Warrior Assault System plate carrier, others went for webbing whilst some stayed with the trusty old tactical vest. Now, I have turned to a webbing-based loadout for FIBUA (urban) and forest-based sites, one in MTP and the other in black to keep in-line with my loadouts.

THE PLATE CARRIER.

I found the plate carrier a great bit of kit where all of the pouches were close to hand for quick and easy access. The kit wrapped around my centre mass as if it was a second skin, allowing nearly full movement when in the field. It also acts as a body warmer in the colder months by 42

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trapping body heat and making it all the more comfortable in the wet, dull winter conditions. In CQB it also suppresses the pain of a hit from a short range shot - a great option for the younger player or anyone with a lower pain threshold.

After a day or longer of skirmishing I could feel the pull on the front of vest due to the heavier pouches (ammo and sidearm, magazines) being held there, which would cause aching. I often tried to counter balance this with a day sack on my back but this made me far more bulky and less agile than I felt I could be.

My biggest reason for leaving plate carriers was on more than one occasion I doubted (or didn’t feel) a hit from a BB. This, as you’re all aware, is a bit of a big issue in our sport.

So I wanted to make sure I would feel every time I got hit in a skirmish and felt I needed to minimise the amount I was covered. I changed my load out to webbing with a yolk which has a molle back and padded shoulder straps.

I have since, on a few occasions, been on the opposite end, where I shot a member of the opposing team in the centre mass at close range with a very audiable slap. The player then turns around and shoots!!! This, to me, justified my reason for changing.

WEBBING

Webbing opens up your “centre mass” meaning you are far more likely to feel if you’re hit but it also places all the magazines, side arm and utility pouches around your hip level.

This, along with the yolk, disperses the weight more equally around the body and also allows for more airflow to keep that bit cooler in summer. In airsoft this loadout seems to work very

Head to Head PLATE CARRIER V WEBBING V CHEST RIG

well, although I may be biased due to being trained to use this type of set up while being on exercise with the military.

There are still a few issues with webbing.

Going through narrow doorways or spaces in bushes etc. is only achievable sideways.

Opening and closing pouches that are directly behind you, as well as placing items into those pouches, can be a little tricky. Lastly, it can be a little slower reaching into the pouches to get your magazines. This can make a significant difference when fighting in a CQB environment.

TACTICAL VESTS

Tactical vests are often the most affordable option and are still fit for purpose. I would recommend anyone starting out in airsoft to initially go for a tactical vest before finding their fighting style etc.

The tactical vest has many similar properties to a plate carrier. It wraps around your core in the same way meaning that your magazines are quickly to hand.

They are very lightweight and literally just carry your basic kit needed for skirmishing. Tactical vests are usually thin so wouldn’t stop the player from feeling the BB hit.

They are often a not as versatile as a plate carrier or webbing but that depends on which one you get. The biggest issue with a tactical vest is you can’t personalise, or customise it to your fighting style or loadout. With the webbing and plate carrier you can add the pouches you want where you want, often using a molle system. This is the main reason airsofters often change from using a tactical vest.

Plate carriers, webbing and tactical vests all come in whatever camouflage or colour you would expect to see in an airsoft site.

I feel you could almost have a different load bearing choice depending on the environment of the site you’re going to skirmish on.

The plate carrier or webbing is the best choice for the more experienced airsofter. Tactical vests are, in my opinion, a good choice for anyone new to airsoft because of their affordability, they can be a great stopgap whilst you find you’re fighting style, or even whilst you choose what sort of site you like to skirmish on. Then you can buy what suits your needs or takes your fancy the most.

If you’re doing MilSim, or specific loadouts from fiction or reality-based characters, then you are limited to what they wear, or what suits the look but within reason choose what works for you too.

Currently, for airsoft, I use webbing in all environments. This is because I like the fact that I am undoubtedly going to feel when I am hit and I don’t get too hot in the summer months with the old “body warmer”. Most importantly to me though, is the fact that the weight is distributed equally around my hips and shoulders. I don’t mind squeezing through small doorways as a drawback to my choice. I can see the best option for CQB or FIBUA could be a plate carrier or tactical vest.

Overall it’s really down to what works best for you. There are pros and cons to each option in different environments and whichever you feel gives you more pros is what you should “roll” with.

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43

international CROATIA

CROATIAN AIRSOFT FOUR YEARS AGO BILL THOMAS HAD THE PLEASURE OF SPEAKING TO KRESO GLAVICA, THE HEAD MAN AT ADRIATIC AIRSOFT – ALFA IN CROATIA. SINCE THEN THEY HAVE CONTINUED TO SPEAK AND IT’S BEEN A REAL JOY TO SEE WHAT TAKES PLACE ON THE NOT-SO-SECRET-ISLAND OF MRCARA! BACK IN THE 2016 ISSUE of Airsoft Action, fellow contributor Alan Murray produced a superb report on “OPERATION PATHFINDER II� which had taken place that June on a tiny island in the Adriatic. This was not the first time I had come across www.adriaticairsoft-alfa.com as Kreso, the head man there and I had actually been corresponding for some time!

Mrcara is located in the southern part of the Adriatic Sea, near the larger island of Lastovo. It had been the property of the former Yugoslavian Army until 1979; they left the island, leaving behind military buildings, bunkers, underground tunnels and chambers, machine gun nests, trenches and even a submarine pen!

Games on the island are structured with various missions incorporating primary and secondary objectives. Players will be in a small team competing against other small teams.

Single players will be assigned to a team upon arrival on the airsoft field. Everyone is welcome to Adriatic Airsoft events and they will take bookings from single players, or a whole team. The advantage of this airsoft site is that you can experience the most authentic military environment in this particular region because of the original military buildings. The Adriatic Airsoft-Alfa battlefield can provide you with the unique experience of “airsoft warfare� both on land and sea, particularly during spring and

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summer. It is also very attractive as a destination thanks to its natural beauty.

Sun, crystal clear sea and airsoft? What more could you want?

Alan’s report was incredibly positive about the game and the experience as a whole so I thought it was time to “return to Mccara Island� and speak a little more to Kreso about airsoft in Croatia.

AA: Hi Kreso! Please can you tell me a little about how airsoft has developed in Croatia in general over the years?

Kreso: “Hi and thank you for this opportunity to introduce ourselves and Croatian airsoft as well. Airsoft in Croatia is growing from year to year and Croatia is becoming more and more popular with airsoft players from all over the world.�

AA: Obviously you have Mrcara to play on and we’ll come back to that in a moment; do you have many other established sites?

Could you tell me a little more about them?

Kreso: “For the moment, our airsoft business is related only to our island but we have plans to open other sites in Croatia but let it be our little secret for now đ&#x;˜‰. Also, there are other teams who are organising deferent kinds of events in other locations all over Croatia, which are also very attractive and well organised.â€?

AA: Do sites and players have any legal restrictions to contend with?

Kreso: “There are legal restrictions but airsoft in Croatia is legal and you don’t have to get any special licence or similar to own an airsoft replica.�

AA: Mrcara is a very special site; could you tell us more about it?

Kreso: “Yes indeed, it is special. Firstly, the island is under

international CROATIA

concession to our company, so in fact it is our “private island”.

It was a former Yugoslavian navy outpost but since the 1980’s it has been uninhabited. Regarding animals, there is no risk of poisonous snakes, spiders or wild animals, so players can really relax and enjoy airsoft. It’s an original military environment, no civilians to interrupt the game; sun, sea, nice food and bunch of airsoft players from all over the world, what else could you wish for?”

AA: What’s a normal game like for you?

Kreso: “A normal game for me is when everybody is having a fun without getting hurt. That’s what airsoft is in fact: FUN. So, when I see smiles on players’ faces, I know I have reached my goal. Here in Dalmatia, a region which is part of Croatia, we like to say: “take it easy”, so no pressure, no need to get nervous, everything is calm and easy… that’s how we live. If you don’t feel well to play, grab a beer and hit the shade, or sea, whatever you like!”

AA: What is a popular style of play in Croatia, regular skirmish, MilSim or both?

Kreso: “In Croatia we like to play MilSim and “Arcade” style games.“ AA: Do airsofters in Croatia train either as individuals or teams?

Kreso: “They train as teams, mostly. Every weekend each team is organising training on their own territory, inviting other teams to join and after the training comes the best part; beer, grill, many laughs and stories of what happened on the field.”

AA: You have a very specific climate to deal with, especially in the summer; what’s important to you in relation to loadouts?

Kreso: “The most common loadouts, regarding the climate are MC and Woodland. The game area is quite hard, with concrete, rocks, tree roots, tough roads etc. so we highly recommend wearing helmets, gloves, knee pads and other protection equipment. Extreme caution is needed during night and it is advised to use flashlights. Every participant must wear protective goggles through the game. It is recommended to use protective facial masks in the buildings where shooting would be on short distance. Again, gloves, helmets and knee pads are more than recommended. Hydration is obviously high on the list too!”

AA: What is the situation with airsoft and tactical gear in Croatia; is it easy to get hold of?

Kreso: “It is the same as in the most parts of the EU. There are local retailers but most players are ordering their gear via online shops from all over the world. So, generally, it is quite easy to get the gear for airsoft here in Croatia.”

AA: Are there particular brands and models of airsoft replica guns that are important to you?

Kreso: “I stick to G&G, a Raider (M4) and have done for years now. That said we do see all brands from around the world represented when players visit Mrcara so it’s easy for us to keep up to date with the very latest developments.”

AA: Could you tell me about plans for upcoming operations on Mrcara?

Kreso: “This year we have last part of The Pathfinder Trilogy in June and one private (closed) event for Czech airsoft players in September.”

AA: If anyone is visiting Croatia and is interested in airsoft in general or in visiting Mrcara for a game, where should they head for information?

Kreso: “I am available to respond 24/7 to any kind of question (he really isn’t joking, I can tell you that from personal experience!) and everyone can find me on FB or contact me direct via Email: adriaticairsoft@gmail.com” AA: Many thanks for your time talking to me Kreso, it’s been a pleasure as always and I wish you and Adriatic Airsoft continued success, and I will take up your invitation to visit Mrcara, I promise you!

Kreso: “The pleasure is mine. Thank you. “

“WE LIKE TO SAY: “TAKE IT EASY”, SO NO PRESSURE, NO NEED TO GET NERVOUS, EVERYTHING IS CALM AND EASY… THAT’S HOW WE LIVE. IF YOU DON’T FEEL WELL TO PLAY, GRAB A BEER AND HIT THE SHADE, OR SEA, WHATEVER YOU LIKE!”

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event STAR WARS

STAR WARS

WITH VISIONS OF EXPLODING DEATH STARS AND SERRIED ROWS OF STORMTROOPERS, CHRIS WRAY DONNED HIS BLASTER AND HEADED OFF TO FIREBALL SQUADRON TO JOIN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE REBELS. All photos by PETER BATES. I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO Airsoft games but today’s game was something new and I am not going to lie, I was feeling like a big kid. Today I was going back to a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away… (cue music) STAR WARS. That’s right Star Wars! This game had been planned for a while but we were never really sure if it would or could happen.

However, here I am today at Fireball Squadron in Birmingham, in my Imperial Officer uniform.

The game is set just after the battle for Endor, on moon “Sigma 957”. The mission is top secret and known only to a

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small selection of high ranking officers. The war is not going well for the Empire with troops and resources stretched. Had this mission been 6 months ago it would have had an Imperial blockade but now Imperial forces here are having to work in secrecy, away from the Rebellion but, unknown to them, this moon was being watched by a small party of rebels, who followed the Imperials down.

Due to shortages the Imperial force is mainly made up of troops from the Imperial 34th army with support from Biker scouts. The rebels were a mix of Rebel commandos.

After a safety brief the 3 squads went to their respective HQs, which were on the border of the game but not in play, so safe to relax at them. We got issued all the kit we needed, CP bag, Medics bag and of course our selection of missions, the first of which is set. After that we could choose which mission we wanted from the 13 remaining, that way the game is totally random and there won’t be a certain enemy squad waiting for you at a certain time, etc. You always have to be on your toes.

Our First mission set the tone as to why the Imperials were on this moon and what they were after. It’s believed there may still be a Tarkin initiative cell on this planet, hidden or cloaked, that may still be working on their project or have the information needed – what they are suspected to be working on is still classified. The first mission was for all 3 squads to move on force, take control and hold 2 old Imperial checkpoints and locate 2 cases of scanners that had been seen by a scout patrol nearby. Once located, install them and get them working so they can start searching for any hidden or cloaked locations. It was meant to be an easy, quick mission to get us going, with Rebel squads out mapping the area and a low risk on enemy contact.

As our 3 squads set off I was still getting a buzz from seeing the Biker scouts ahead of the Imperial Army troops. Just as we

event STAR WARS

approached the checkpoint towers we had our first contact.

Then all of a sudden a Jawa popped up out of the bush, shouted something in Jawanese and ran off! It turned out there were Jawa npcs moving around the site, interacting with both sides from time to time and both sides had missions to interact with them. Just as soon as he had disappeared and we reached the 2 towers we encountered a proper contact. I moved down the line to try and work out where the fire was coming from, the scouts pointed to a very bushy area, so I threw 2 grenades in that direction… both had screams as rebels were hit! I suspect there were maybe 2 rebel squads, or they were moving lots to try and fool us. What was that quote from Rogue One “Make ten men feel like a hundred“? It was beginning to feel like that! Squad 2 found the cases and returned, so I moved back to help supervise the installing of both sensors. It was not long until we had both sensors in the ground and we fired off sensor tracking rockets (pyro charges), allowing us to fall back to HQ. After we had a quick look through our mission options, there was a concise agreement among the squad we wanted to do our supply run early. We need to retrieve a box of supplies (usually a mixture of sweets and pop) that was stored in an old Imperial storage. We set off and headed on a direct route but about half way there saw a rebel squad that looked like they were chasing a Jawa but they were moving away from us so we carried on with our mission. We reached the storage area with no other contact and saw a collection of black tubs marked with Imperial cogs. Our mission was to take one of those back to our HQ. We also came across a collection of bottles of (what I can only presume was) blue milk, which I suspect was connected to a Rebel mission.

We headed back with our supply box with no contact and once back at base we opened the box to reap our rewards – inside were bottles of water, bags of sweets and biscuits and lots of Star Wars/Sci-Fi themed sweets. Also inside was a side mission should we wish to do which was head to a marked area where we would find a donation box for the homeless Jawa’s and aliens.

Being the kind squad we are and trying to win the hearts and minds of the locals we set off with our donation of a bag of Haribo and a packet of Jammie Dodgers. We made it to the homeless donation box with no contact but by this point our donation to those poor starving aliens had shrunk, half of the jammy dodgers had gone, so we placed what was left into the

box and returned to base, knowing we have helped the locals out.

Just as soon as we were back we had new orders, our kindness of allowing the locals to use some of the old Imperial Gonk droids was being abused as they were letting the Rebels use them to charge their power cells. Our mission was to locate three of the Gonk droids and blow them up. Not long after we set off towards the first we came under rebel blaster fire. They had taken out over half the squad so we deployed smoke and the medic was busy getting the wounded back in the game.

Just as we got back to full strength the Rebels withdrew and we managed to get to the first and second Gonk droids with no further contact. I was walking away from the third Gonk that was just about to blow as I turned to my left, where a Rebel squad emerged on a winding path from large area of undergrowth. I’m not sure who was more shocked to see each other but I just managed to shout contact and dive behind a barricade before a hail of fire whizzed overhead. The rest of my squad were quite far to my right leaving me cut off. I could not move from the barricade, every time I tried I was met with a hail of fire. Two troopers managed to get closer to my position to support me as two more deployed smoke. As the Rebel squad pushed forward, under a barrage of covering fire,

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CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK

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event STAR WARS

I managed to run for the cover of some trees and we managed to withdraw to complete the mission.

Having completed the Gonk mission we returned to HQ .

As the other two squads were both moving out on separate missions we decided to have some lunch and take on fluids.

After a nice break we chose our next mission and both this and the following one had something we all liked, it was blaster pistols only!

The first mission was to head to a supplies depot and pick up a case of explosives to use them on the enemy. We moved to the storage base and found the case which contained 6 BB grenades, we moved out to try and locate any Rebel patrol and after 20 minutes we heard something so went to investigate.

We saw a Rebel patrol at an old bombed out temple building, so we chose to engage them. As I threw the first grenade nice and high it hit a massive tree branch and headed straight back at me. There is no running from grenades, not even your own, so bang and I dropped to the floor! Thankfully the rest of my squad were a better aim and took out most of the rebel squad with grenades and pistol fire. A trooper came and bandaged me so we were back to full strength but as we were about to pull back 3 grenades came in and took out 5 of the 6 in the squad. A Rebel patrol was returning from a mission and come in behind us, so it was not long before all 6 of us were down and out and had to bleed out back to our HQ. Just as we returned a Jawa came to our base to deliver some drugs for our officer who had apparently ordered from the local Jawa drug store but I suspect this may have been a something to do with a Rebel mission. I took the drugs off him and let the Jawa go…

The next mission had us deploying charges down a fault line to help our 2 sensors try and track down the cloaked or hidden base. The sensor had picked up something but it was not enough to get a location… soon as we made it to the first checkpoint tower we came under fire. As we started to set up the first 2 charges we held back the Rebels with our pistols but a couple of the Rebels that maybe sensed we had only pistols, tried to charge the tower. They were both taken out with pistol fire and this gap allowed us to set off 2 charges and withdraw further up the track where we set up a line to hold.

We slowly moved along the trail as the charges were blown one at a time. After all 8 charges we blown we headed back to our base through the village but upon entering it we encountered heavy fire from a Rebel squad that were doing some business at the local blaster store (Dossks Blasters), with both sides taking a few casualties in a quite intense firefight.

Just as things were looking quite bad for us, it was suddenly all over. The other trooper squad was heading to Dossks and turned up behind the Rebels and took them all out. This allowed us to get patched up and head back to base with no further encounters, except for seeing 2 Jawas sat at the homeless donation box eating what we believe to be the last of the Jammie Dodgers we had donated.

Talking of Jawas, our next mission was to serve an imperial

arrest warrant on one of them. To help arrest the first one we saw that matched the description, we collected a set of imperial binders and set off. We moved out on patrol. It was not long we saw one pop up in a bush shouting something… suddenly I see 5 troopers all running at it! As it screamed and ran off into the bushes, I don’t think I have ever laughed so much as seeing this Jawa run away, being chased by 5 grown adults shouting “he is making a run for it” and following into the bushes. After many Jawa screams later they came back out with him cuffed and we headed off towards the prison.

It was only when we got close to the prison that the Jawa started to play up. As we escorted him (once again cue more Jawa acting and screams) and then trying to get him into the prison, three of us were just stood outside crying with laughter.

Thank god no Rebel patrol was in the area! After he was safely locked away in a prison cell we managed to return to HQ. We then successfully completed three more missions, including recovering a black box from the Rebel e-wing that had been shot down, blowing up a couple of speeders and collecting tax (chocolate coins) from Dossks Blaster shop. All three missions had minor firefights with Rebel patrols but all got completed successfully.

All in all, what an epic day! I had players telling me they had moments like it was in a film. I still can’t get over how good everyone looked, the Rebels in “Endorcam” were very hard to spot. Even though the Imperial scouts may have stood out they looked amazing, everyone involved had make a great effort to bring the world of Star Wars alive in an Airsoft game.

I must thank everyone involved in this game at Fireball and Peter Bates from The Airsoft Project who took the photos for the day and made us all look good.

Now where did I put those plans for a new Death Star?

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event GUNFIGHTERS

GUNFIGHTERS BLANK FIRE COMBAT GRIMSBY IS PROBABLY BETTER KNOWN FOR FISHING THAN AIRSOFT BUT GADGE MOUNTED UP TO GO TRY HIS HAND AT A NEW FORM OF GAMING. DESPITE LIVING IN THE NORTH of England for some time, I’d never really had a decent reason to visit Grimsby before. Last month, however, Nige the Editor asked me if I’d mind taking a trip “oop North” to check out a rather exciting new skirmish gaming venture. Yeah, I know Grimsby is in Lincolnshire but it is pretty far North East to me!

The project in question is “Gunfighters”, an interesting hybrid of blank fire battling and “laser tag” technology allowing players to experience the deafening roar and muzzle flash of a gunfight, while allowing a “safe” way of recording “hits”. I’d seen similar systems during my time in the army and while I’d never been fortunate enough to take part in an exercise using the British Army’s MILES system (Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System), I’d always found the kit fascinating and was more than happy to trek up to Grimsby to find out more.

So without further ado, my airsofting buddy Mark Gibson and I prepared for a lengthy drive from Nottingham to Grimsby to take part in a session of Gunfighters at the excellent Arena Airsoft.

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Arena Airsoft is a fantastic indoor airsoft venue on an industrial estate on the towns outskirts, while its fairly nondescript from the outside, inside is a virtual labyrinth of twisting tunnels, elevated walkways and shadowy alcoves which make perfect ambush locations… all in all an ideal setting for a pistol based skirmish.

Arriving at Arena Airsoft we entered the well -equipped safezone and watched a handful of lucky Airsoft Action readers who had been selected via our Facebook page for a fee trial of “Gunfighters” get kitted up and ready for action. As the guys strapped on FAST helmets and plate carriers we spoke to the man behind Gunfighters, Stephen Kelly and he explained how the system worked.

Each player is armed with either a pistol or a carbine (for this trial game only Glock pistols were used) which fires 8mm blank cartridges. The blank-firing pistol is connected to a clever end-of-barrel device that detects when a round has been fired and sends out a signal at the same time that can be registered by sensors worn by the players on their plate carriers. A successful “hit” causes a flashing light on the vest to illuminate

event GUNFIGHTERS

and after all a player’s “hits” are taken, the light remains constantly on and marks them as “dead”. The game organiser is able to tailor both the signal and the receptor to allow a broader “spread” of the shot (perhaps to simulate a shotgun, or to allow less skilled shots a greater chance of hitting the vest sensors) and also to adjust the amount of hits a player can take.

Given the ultra-realistic nature of the Gunfighters game, safety is paramount. While you might not expect players to still have to wear eye protection it is actually vitally important, as the close range vented gasses from the 8mm blanks can cause serious eye injuries to the unwary and unprotected player.

Likewise, the deafening noise of players rapidly discharging 8mm blank fire in an enclosed environment meant that ear defenders were vital to take part. Having had the basics explained to us we waited while the players “bombed up” three magazines apiece, donned their protective kit and got ready to do battle.

Players were sent to their respective start zones and sent on their first mission to recover ammo boxes hidden around the arena. The arena itself was in parts shrouded in shadow, while other areas were lit by red emergency lights and a few dangerous to traverse spots fully illuminated. The start whistle was blown and the players dashed for the “BEFORE LONG A DEAFENING BOOM ECHOED AROUND THE COMPLEX… AT cover of the shadows. Before long a FIRST MARK AND I THOUGHT SOMEONE HAD THROWN A FLASHBANG BUT deafening boom echoed around the WHEN THE SECOND AND THIRD BOOM ECHOED OUT IT WAS CLEAR THAT complex… at first Mark and I thought someone had thrown a flashbang WAS JUST THE NOISE OF THE GLOCKS!” but when the second and third boom echoed out it was clear that was just the noise of the Glocks! Green hit sensors lit up one by one and eventually a lone player emerged at end-ex in possession of the most containers. With the players psyched up and in high spirits we went back to the ready room to reload and chat about the experience.

AWE INSPIRING ATMOSPHERE

Without a doubt the players were loving it! One thing missing in airsoft for many people is the flash and bang of a firefight and Gunfighters provided this in spades, creating an awe inspiring atmosphere. As an observer I was amused to have noticed all the players visibly flinch and recoil when shot at as they were clearly expecting the sting of a BB strike to hit them at the same time! Chatting to the players about this, it was clear that while they all enjoyed the spectacle of a proper “gunfight”, they did at times forget to check their “deadlight” as they were expecting the physical impact they were used to.

While we chatted we discussed ideas with Stephen to maybe incorporate a buzzer for an audible signal, or perhaps some sort of vibration feedback within the vest. In fairness though, I imagine that you would soon get used to checking the light more often in the same way that experienced airsofters know when their kit has been hit, even if they can’t feel it.

Soon the players were back in the fray and while they battled away I chatted to Stephen about the Gunfighters project.

At the moment Gunfighters is in its early days and in the process of fine-tuning the system. As a “fully mobile” venture, Stephen is able to take the vests, guns and carbines to any suitable airsoft site in the UK and is looking to run many more gunfights around the country. Due to the nature of the shot registering device fitted to the blank firer, each gun has to be specially modified and set up, which means that (unlike airsoft) there is no room for “walk on” players who might have their own blank firer. This, to be honest, is a good thing as unlike airsoft, in which a physical projectile is sent towards the target, the Gunfighters system uses an invisible beam sent from an electronic device attached to the gun – an unscrupulous player with their own device could set it to fire dozens of “shots” for each blank registered, or even increase the signal strength and spread to get an advantage. Clearly it’s a system that has to be tightly moderated by the organiser to be fair and fun.

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event GUNFIGHTERS

THE FUTURE?

As we chatted the players began to return to the ready room having chased each other around the corridors in a close range shootout and they were clearly eager for another round. To mix things up a bit Stephen added a bit of a “wild card” to the next gunfight. Once again the players would have to retrieve containers from the arena but in this game there would be a “Terminator” in play. The Terminator could shoot the players out but could not himself be killed but to even things up a little, the Terminator could not run but had to move slowly and methodically around the Arena. My comrade Mark was selected to be the Terminator which, as a veteran live roleplayer, was right up his alley. He was soon well “in character” and robotically prowling around the venue snapping off shots at any player unwise enough to be seen.

At the end of this last fun game the players came back to the ready room after making their guns safe and handing in their magazine and ammunition. Without a shadow of a doubt “Gunfighters” seemed to be a fun and exciting experience for all involved. In many ways it is a gaming system that is very much complimentary to traditional Airsoft. It has similarities to airsoft but also great differences. For certain, the noise,

flash and spectacle of a gunfight creates a fantastic experience that in many way is more immersive than a Sunday skirmish but the lack of a physical “punch” is missing to experienced airsoft players (although I’m sure to those who have never played airsoft would not notice this as an issue). Gunfighters also requires a little more awareness of health and safety than airsoft. While there is potential for injury with any AEG there is a little more “explosive” danger from a badly maintained or handled blank firer and anyone stupid enough to remove their ear defenders in game could potentially damage their hearing.

Players must also pay attention fully to the safety and game play briefs and learn how to clear the inevitable occasional “stoppage” of their pistol in a safe and controlled manner but, on the other hand, any player who owns an AEG has to, in some way, learn to maintain and upkeep their chosen weapon as well.

In conclusion we felt that Gunfighters was a fantastic experience that every airsofter should have a go at. I can’t see the MILES system ever replacing airsoft due to the inherent problem with private ownership and kit set up which makes “walk on” play almost impossible but, it’s an awesome complimentary hobby that we would love to see grow and grow in the UK. The ideal perhaps would be a system that incorporated all three… an AEG If you like the sound of Gunfighters or are with the report and flash of a blank firer with a a site owner looking to host a blank fire “laser” element for longer range shots. battle why not get in touch with Stephen at Who knows what the future will hold but for Gunfighters: info@gunfighters.com and visit now get out there and give Gunfighters a go. their website: www.gunfighters.com

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Legal

T O N S ’ IT Y D * * L AB !

E C N LICE VCR ACT RE-VISITED

FRENCHIE DONS HIS POWDERED WIG AND TRIES TO CLARIFY JUST EXACTLY WHAT THE (LEGAL) STATE OF PLAY ACTUALLY IS. ALL RISE…!

HAVING WRITTEN ABOUT THE POLICING and Crime Act (PACA) recently, waffled on about the importance of accurate chronos as a result of the PACA and then tripped over an interesting new defence at the shop, I thought it was time to revisit the parts of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (VCRA) that affect airsofters and the defences available to us. Yes, I can hear a lot of you groaning but the level of ignorance regarding the VCRA and UKARA (UK Airsoft Retailers Association) is genuinely perplexing and there are undoubtedly a load of players out there who have never had a chance to properly understand what is going on. I therefore crave your indulgence while I try and explain what it all means and what, if anything, has changed in the last decade.

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Legal VCR ACT RE-VISITED

Right…

Before October 2007 you could buy an airsoft gun without any restrictions. I cannot think of any retailers who didn’t apply an “over 18 year” rule but beyond that if you fancied one, all you had to do was lay down the cash. From October 2007, when the applicable sections of the VCRA came into force, things changed. In simple terms the law changed to restrict who could be sold realistic imitation firearms (RIFs), with the express intention on the part of the Government of ending their sale and forcing us all to use brightly coloured guns. A fair amount of lobbying, numerous visits to the Home Office and one change of minister later, it was accepted that airsofters had a legitimate need to use realistic looking guns. Phew! Of course nothing is ever quite that straightforward and there were conditions. The Act says this:

IMITATION FIREARMS

36 Manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms (1) A person is guilty of an offence if— (a) he manufactures a realistic imitation firearm; (b) he modifies an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm; (c) he sells a realistic imitation firearm; or (d) he brings a realistic imitation firearm into Great Britain or causes one to be brought into Great Britain.

It then goes on to say this: Specific defences applying to the offence under s. 36 (1) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 36 in respect of any conduct to show that the conduct was for the purpose only of making the imitation firearm in question available for one or more of the purposes specified in subsection (2). (2) Those purposes are— (a) the purposes of a museum or gallery; Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38) Part 2 — Weapons etc. 39 (b) the purposes of

theatrical performances and of rehearsals for such performances; (c) the production of films (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48) - see section 5B of that Act); (d) the production of television programmes (within the meaning of the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) - see section 405(1) of that Act); (e) the organisation and holding of historical re-enactments organised and held by persons specified or described for the purposes of this section by regulations made by the Secretary of State; (f) the purposes of functions that a person has in his capacity as a person in the service of Her Majesty. (3) It shall also be a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 36 in respect of conduct falling within subsection (1)(d) of that section to show that the conduct— (a) was in the course of carrying on any trade or business; and (b) was for the purpose of making the imitation firearm in question available to be modified in a way which would result in its ceasing to be a realistic imitation firearm.

You’ll note that there is no mention of airsoft whatsoever.

This is because we were dealt with by way of a Statutory Instrument, Arms & Ammunition 2006 which contains this “permitted activities” means the acting out of military or law enforcement scenarios for the purposes of recreation; That’s us that is! The airsoft defence actually referred to organisations that held third party public insurance covering their activities; sites in other words.

We therefore get to the position where airsofters can be sold realistic imitation firearms if they are members of an

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Legal VCR ACT RE-VISITED

organisation that holds appropriate third party public liability insurance covering “permitted activities”. Whew! In slightly simpler language, it is a player’s membership of a site that holds insurance that provides the defence. That is really important and, if my experience is anything to go by, still woefully misunderstood and the reason for that misunderstanding is UKARA. UKARA didn’t set out to cause confusion, confusion amongst some seems to have grown up around it, so let’s see if we can clear up what it is and what it actually does.

UKARA exists to represent airsoft retailers and came into existence solely to represent airsoft retailers in the face of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill. Had there been no mention of imitation firearms in the VCRB, there would have been no UKARA. Only retailers can be members of UKARA and only retailers contribute to its funds, so any other reference to “UKARA membership” is simply wrong.

During the negotiations with the Home Office it became clear that the government wanted to see some form of membership scheme and it was glaringly obvious to UKARA that some method of checking whether or not they could sell online to any given player was an absolute necessity. Enter the UKARA player database. The amount of utter rubbish that is written and spoken about this scheme is truly mind-boggling, however, it’s really quite simple and exists for one reason and one reason only - to facilitate RiF sales.

Why does UKARA own the database? The simple answer is that they were the only group willing to pay for it.

Consequently they insisted on controlling it. By controlling read “paying for its ongoing maintenance and upkeep”. Yes, loads of people have suggested that they could write a database and they probably could. Would such a database be robust enough to support an entire industry, even one as small as airsoft?

That’s much more questionable.

How does it work?

There a few steps to this but they are fairly simple. Sites apply to UKARA to be registered on the database. At this stage they have to prove that they are properly insured as it is a requirement of the defence.

Once accepted, the site is issued a three letter identifier, “LWA” for LandWarrior Airsoft for example.

The site then accepts members and issues membership numbers in the form “LWA12345”. By filling in a form and submitting it to a UKARA retailer, a player can have his or her details added to the database which simplifies buying RiFs from any other UKARA retailer.

The really important part is this - it is the membership of an insured site which grants the defence. You don’t need to be on the UKARA database - that just makes the buying process easier for everyone. There are other schemes, some purely site-based others purporting to be national however the truth is that with the UKARA scheme working well enough (present problems notwithstanding) and costing players and sites precisely nothing, it remains the most dominant method of checking and confirming a defence. No player pays to be entered onto the database, nor do sites pay to take part.

Hopefully that is pretty clear so I’ll move onto the novel

membership scheme and by holding third party public liability insurance which covers each member while they are cosplaying.

Forget airsoft for a moment because this is actually closer to re-enactment societies and those are covered on the face of the Act; that is to say that their exemption is part of the legislation and not the gift of whichever minister is keeping the seat warm.

Since this was a very novel defence it was painstakingly checked - was the insurance genuine? Yes it was. Could membership be confirmed? The customer had a membership card, the personal details of which tallied with his driving licence. Could we find any good reason not to accept the defence? Nope, we couldn’t.

To airsofters this might seem too easy and just “not right” but it conforms to the letter of the law, the same law that made it legal for me to sell an AK47 to a man simply because he belongs to a Viking re-enactment group. Believe me when I say that ten years ago, had we not obtained a defence for airsofting your local site would be a modern warfare reenactment society…

I have been unable to confirm exactly who is behind JustCos as the domain is owned by a company, that’s owned by a company, that’s owned... You get the idea. I find it odd that the website’s ownership is deliberately obscured but that doesn’t make it necessarily dodgy. There is no way to tell if it’s a retailer or a legitimate Cos Play group but that is ultimately irrelevant. The defence is, “A FAIR AMOUNT OF LOBBYING, NUMEROUS VISITS as far as I can see, legitimate, although TO THE HOME OFFICE AND ONE CHANGE OF MINISTER obviously, if in doubt seek qualified legal advice. I was actually more surprised that LATER, IT WAS ACCEPTED THAT AIRSOFTERS HAD A we haven’t seen something like this long LEGITIMATE NEED TO USE REALISTIC LOOKING GUNS. before now than I was to learn of its PHEW! OF COURSE NOTHING IS EVER QUITE THAT existence and I neither recommend nor condemn it.

STRAIGHTFORWARD AND THERE WERE CONDITIONS.” All that aside, the existing system is by and large functioning well even if those using it sometimes seem a little confused by it. The defence I encountered. This was from a company/organization, fact that there has been such a hue and cry during its recent “www.just-cos.co.uk”. What was interesting about this was difficulties ironically attests to that fact. the fact that it appears to be an entity established purely Remember - it’s not a “licence”, it’s a “defence”. to allow Cosplayers to buy RiFs. It does this by having a

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ARMOURY A&K AIRSOFT K5 MOD 1 AEG

WHEN IS A KRISS VECTOR NOT A KRISS VECTOR… JERRY NOONE TAKES A LOOK AT A MODEL FROM A&K AIRSOFT AND FINDS THAT CONTENTION SURROUNDS IT JUST AS IT DID WITH THE GASSER. SINCE THE INTRODUCTION and subsequent legal shenanigans surrounding the GBB version of the unique and individuallooking KRISS Vector, many airsofters have been eagerly awaiting an electric version.

I am going to come straight out and say this as I normally make a big thing about correct and legal licencing when it comes to airsoft replicas; The A&K Airsoft K5 Mod 1 is undoubtedly a KRISS Vector in all but name but it is not a licenced product and is already surrounded by a furore of legal wrangling that may well see it disappear from retailers in the foreseeable future. Should you buy one? That’s up to you and your conscience alone.

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On August 31, 2016 KRISS USA made the following public statement: “KRISS USA, developer and manufacturer of the KRISS Vector family of firearms, has been made aware of an unauthorized and unlicensed reproduction of its KRISS Vector SMG in the form of an AEG replica by A&K Airsoft. Despite several official notifications, A&K Airsoft has pursued into the continuation of this project and is planning release of this unlicensed product.

“KRISS USA is an innovation leader in firearms technology, revolutionizing firearms operating systems and designs with the KRISS Vector Submachine Gun. “KRISS USA is heavily invested in the technology and design of the KRISS Vector, including non-lethal, training and recreational shooting models through its brand KRYTAC, in order to deliver to its customers an uncompromised level of quality and performance to reflect its brand values. KRISS USA is prepared to take all necessary actions to aggressively protect those investments and commitments.

“KRISS USA will be actively pursuing manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers, to the fullest extent of the applicable laws, for any infringements on its patents, designs, trademarks and rights in the United States, Europe and Asia for the unauthorized manufacturing and distribution of KRISS product replicas. Furthermore, KRISS USA is actively preparing its actions in the countries of Poland, Russia, UK, Italy, Taiwan and Japan.”

The release of this statement ranks right up there as a “holy cow” moment, much like that made by GLOCK about unlicenced airsoft versions of their iconic handguns and you have to ask yourself “well, why should I care, it’s only airsoft isn’t it?” The fact of the matter is that KRISS USA have spent many hundreds of thousands of dollars on developing a unique and revolutionary weapons platform, so it’s really no surprise that they want to protect their investment, even when it comes to the global airsoft market.

And it’s not like KRISS USA are an airsoft-averse real-world firearms manufacturer either, as they have really put a lot of effort into their Krytac-branded range of AEGs and continue

ARMOURY A&K AIRSOFT K5 MOD 1 AEG

SMG is the military and LE version with a 5.5 inch barrel and select-fire, while the civilian semi-auto version of the SMG is called the SBR (“short barrel rifle”). The CRB (“carbine”) version is available with a 11.5-inch permanent extension to the standard barrel and a “pistol” version with an end cap instead of a stock is also available, the SDP (“special duty pistol” or “security detail pistol”).

A&K KLEVER!

to do so. Where the problem arises is in the realms of timing and route to market. KRISS USA have been promising an AEG Vector ever since their parting of ways with KWA in relation to the GBB version and they have yet to deliver, although we are promised that (finally) the release is imminent.

That of course, in a world of increasing “instant gratification”, is too long for many to wait and A&K have somewhat boldly stepped into the void with their take on the KRISS Vector, possibly putting their “nuts on the line” in the process! The Vector, although a true “marmite gun” is certainly popular, featuring as it does in numerous iterations of the “Call of Duty” video games franchise and of course most recently in “Ghost Recon: Wildlands”. It’s one of those guns that you either love or hate but to many it’s a definite “must have”, so I’m going to step aside now from the legal world for a moment and look at the A&K on its merits as a skirmish tool.

RADICAL REAL DEAL

Unveiled in 2006, the KRISS Vector series is a family of weapons based upon the parent submachine gun design developed by KRISS USA, formerly Transformational Defense Industries (TDI).

They use an unconventional diverted recoil known as the “Kriss Super V” system combined with in-line design to reduce recoil and muzzle climb.

The principle behind the “Kriss Super V” recoil system is to direct the force from the gun’s recoil downwards, counteracting the natural tendency for the gun to “climb” upwards as it fires.

When the gun fires, the bolt moves backwards and rides up the sides of a buffer. This imparts the force of the bolt into that moving mass, which then moves downward and counteracts the upward tendency of the firearm. At this point, the gun is balanced, recoil is counteracted and the sights stay on target.

That’s the principle anyway; I’ve had a chance to shoot the real Vector on a couple of occasions now and although I will admit that ergonomically it’s actually pretty cool and that the separate safety and fire selector make a lot of sense to me; you can easily, for instance set the selector to single/two shot burst/ full auto and keep the safety engaged. Personally on the “big boy” .45ACP version I found single shot very controllable with little felt recoil, two round was cool but on full auto it was still a bit of a beast laying down as it does some 1,200 RPM! That all changes with the 9mm version though, which is eminently more controllable in all modes of fire. The gun uses standard GLOCK magazines, which makes the job of finding spare magazines much more straightforward and in the real world it also allows you to only carry one type of magazine for both your primary and your secondary if you carry a GLOCK pistol.

There are four main variants marketed by KRISS USA; the

So in the vacuum left by the absence of a licenced or indeed “real-steel” manufacturer-produced airsoft electric model, A&K have jumped right on in to no doubt capitalise on a very obvious demand and, in their defence, they did publicly make comment in December 2016 when www.airsoftnews.com asked… “(We also asked) A&K directly on this matter and they revealed, that they are OEM producer for an “EU based airsoft company”, which name they didn’t want to disclose. They will not be selling products under their A&K brand, nor to anyone besides the company that ordered the development & production of the AEG.” But the fact of the matter is that we’re now all seeing the “K5 Mod 1” being made available by many retailers worldwide as blatantly A&K. Okay, so far so confusing but have A&K

“SO IN THE VACUUM LEFT BY THE ABSENCE OF A LICENCED OR INDEED “REAL-STEEL” MANUFACTURERPRODUCED AIRSOFT ELECTRIC MODEL, A&K HAVE JUMPED RIGHT ON IN TO NO DOUBT CAPITALISE ON A VERY OBVIOUS DEMAND.” actually done a decent job of replicating the VECTOR or not?

A&K are a Chinese manufacturer of AEGs and are probably best known for their takes on the Masada, M249 and M60.

A&K is considered to be an “entry level” airsoft manufacturer by many due to price but I have to say in fairness that I’ve owned one of their M60s and it’s been nothing but solid and reliable. They’re no strangers to controversy though, as A&K was closed down during the 2009 Chinese crackdown on airsoft manufacturers, with their factory boss being arrested.

Come 2010 though they were back in operation!

The “K5” is actually quite a cool AEG and coming back to

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TACTICAL

get the tactical advantage PATROL GLOVE

RECON GLOVE

VENOM GLOVE

n Polyester/spandex n Micro fibre palm n Webbing finger pull

n Polyester/spandex n Padded micro fibre palm n One piece rubber knuckle guard n Rubber/Velcro wrist fastening n Thumb/finger grip

n Polyester/spandex n Micro fibre palm with reinforcing n Rubber finger impact protection n Hardshell knuckle protection n Rubber/Velcro wrist fastening n Glove puller

Colours: V-Cam, Titanium, Coyote, Black, Green Sizes: S-XXL SRP

Colours: V-Cam, Titanium, Coyote, Black, Green Sizes: S-XXL

£12.95 SRP

£22.50

Colours: V-Cam, Coyote, Black, Green Sizes: S-XXL SRP

£29.95

WEBBING FINGER PULL

UPDATES / STOCKISTS / CATALOGUE

www.vipertactical.co.uk

ARMOURY A&K AIRSOFT K5 MOD 1 AEG

the real deal it does mimic the Vector very well indeed in terms of appearance but not in all terms; the Vector SMG for instance weighs in unloaded at 6lb/2.7Kg whilst the replica is a solid but hefty 8.82lb/4Kg! Throughout, the K5 is made of a tough ABS material which has a good finish and no visible blemishes. Internally things are pretty unusual too as although everything is thoroughly workmanlike, the gearbox/motor setup is surprisingly similar to that you’d find in an M14 AEG. There’s a metal hop unit which is accessed by pulling back the charging handle to reveal a rotary setup which is simple to adjust and set.

The safety/fire selector setup mimics the real thing nicely and both are ambidextrous. At the sharp end are three sections of rail at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock for all your accessories and there’s a continuous top rail with flip-up sights mounted as standard.

All are completely solid. The battery is housed in the pistol grip, swallowing an 11.1 LiPo (although a 7.4 is recommended) and easily accessed via a retained floor-plate. The folding stock is nice and solid too, held firmly in place when extended or when folded forward to the right for carriage.

In terms of performance the K5 is actually very good too!

The 200 BB Hi Cap is again sturdily built and fits perfectly into the magwell with nary a wobble. I loaded up with .20g NUPROL RZRs, fitted an 11.1 LiPo and set off to the chrono. Here I was very pleased to record a consistent 1.04 Joule/335fps which is both site and UK legally friendly,

although slightly higher than the 0.95 Joule/320fps that’s stated. A&K cleverly build the K5 with an extended inner barrel (iro 230mm) and supply a very nice-looking and good quality suppressor shroud to cover this, giving a sharp overall appearance. Of course this in turn helps with accuracy (no probs on the 30m range!) and on the two shot burst function it’s a real winner in my opinion.

The A&K K5 Mod 1 is on sale in the UK right now for about 350 quid, with spare Hi Caps at just £20 a pop, so overall for such a unique AEG I think it’s also very well priced.

Overall I have to say “what’s not to like” and under normal circumstances I’d have no hesitation in recommending it to you but at the back of my mind is still that legal question; that’s more of a question for the retailer to struggle with though and I’d have to say that if they are prepared to sell you a K5 and you really can’t wait for your Vector, then you’d do yourself a favour by buying the A&K! Thanks as always to www.fire-support.co.uk for supplying the test sample, so please do pay them a visit if you’re intending to head out into the “Wildlands” any time soon!

www.airsoft-action.online

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event THE GAOL MIDLANDS AIRSOFT FAIR

T I K R E T T BE ON A BUDGET

BREAKING A BARGAIN OUT OF A PRISON!

WITH A KEEN EYE FOR A BARGAIN, GADGE HEADS OUT TO ONE OF THE UK’S FAVOURITE AIRSOFT BOOT FAIRS, THE MIDLANDS AT THE GAOL. THE ONE PROBLEM I HAVE with airsoft is that, like many players, my kit aspirations far outweigh my wallet's ability to fund them. The obvious solution is to get second hand kit but while many internet trades are great transactions, in many cases they are fraught with problems. Far better to get to grips with “new” kit first hand and try stuff out in person - and where better to do it than at an airsoft fair?

I’m no stranger to Airsoft fairs and I have to say the one hosted by The Gaol is one of my favourites. You can pretty much find anything you’re after there and usually at a fair price. Commercial airsoft retailers line up alongside everyday hobbyists selling their spare kit to help provide a bonanza of airsoft bargains. What’s more, there is the chance to try out your pistol skills at the CQB range, or take part in one of the short games being played all day and find out if you can handle an intense skirmish site like the Gaol.

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BARGAINS GALORE

For me, it’s all about the bargains and so to prove a point I decided to take £120 to the show and find out exactly what I could get for my money. So on a beautifully sunny morning, Tom Hibberd and I (and the long suffering wife) got in the car and drove straight to the Gaol, without passing go but we did collect a few hundred quid on the way.

Arriving at the Gaol we found that dozens of airsofters had got their earlier and the place was heaving with players and punters, many wearing tactical kit having just taken part in one of the taster skirmishes, or toting a recently purchased RIF (of course , as with any sale you needed to provide a valid defence to buy). Paying a modest £7 each to enter the fair (which also gave us a strip of tickets for the £1,000 in kit prize raffle) we decided to do a full round of all the stalls before buying anything. As usual, no plan survives contact with reality and the

event THE GAOL MIDLANDS AIRSOFT FAIR

first stand we came across had some incredible bargains that we just couldn’t risk slipping through our fingers. I was lucky enough to blag some US ‘nam style jungle boots for a mere tenner and a soviet era AK silencer/suppressor (ideal for my cold war loadouts) for £12, while Tom was delighted to find a handful of real steel AK47 magazines with inert ammunition in them for an incredibly cheap £3 each! For me I’d already made it worth the journey with these two purchases alone, as had I bought them new they would have cost me the best part of £100 or possibly more. Likewise Tom was actually in the middle of doing a project on upgrading airsoft magazines into a more “realistic” look and couldn’t believe his luck. Well we hadn’t even left the first room yet and we’d already gotten a good deal.

Moving into the main cell block area we took some time to say hello to the guys running the pistol range and the Enola Gaye stand before looking at some of the outdoor stands, including a great stand by NUPROL. While there were some great bargains on hand, the one thing that really caught my eye was a tan plate carrier by Diamondback Tactical. I’ve always quite liked diamond back kit but being real steel proper tactical kit it is not the cheapest option for airsoft. Luckily the store holder wanted a fairly reasonable price but, as I’m a shameless git at times, I decided to haggle and was able to get the plate carrier for a mere £45. Moving further into the show I looked around some of

the smaller traders selling on their own surplus to requirement kit and ran into a chap I’d spoken to online about collecting Soviet kit but never been able to meet up with in person.

Achievement Unlocked! I could now put a face to a name and not only was I able to say “Hi” in person, he sold me a great and fully functional chrono for a mere £20 (which is just as well as the old one had just given up the ghost). My last bargain while I had cash in my pocket would be a cracking FAST helmet with a dark tan overspray paint scheme and a lower face guard attached. As regular readers will know, I’d recently invested in a FAST helmet but as my wife has started playing at my local urban site as well, I thought it would be a good idea to get her her own lid. The problem was at this point I had about £16 left in my wallet and the seller wanted £20. With a subtle mix of pleading poverty and displaying the last few coins and notes in my wallet, I was able to get him to accept sixteen quid for the helmet and both of us ended the trade happy. By this point Tom and I were both pretty much spent up and decided

“FOR ME, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BARGAINS AND SO TO PROVE A POINT I DECIDED TO TAKE £120 TO THE SHOW AND FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT I COULD GET FOR MY MONEY.” it was probably time to head off home but before we left we thought it best to pop in and see Justin Reffin, head honcho of The Gaol Events. It’s always good to see independent airsoft site owners enjoying their work and Justin was no exception, clearly happy with the great turnout at the fair and seeing lots of his regular players mingling with those who had travelled from afar for a bargain.

A TASTE OF GAMING AT THE GAOL

Justin spoke to Tom and I about the success of the Midlands Airsoft Fair: “It’s our 7th Midlands Airsoft Fair we have hosted at The Gaol and we have seen an increase in retailers and second hand sellers at each one, together with the attendance going up it seems that it is turning into a great social event twice a year for players to attend. It’s also a great chance for new www.airsoft-action.online

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event THE GAOL MIDLANDS AIRSOFT FAIR

Replica FAST helmet for a mere £16.

The cover is from my old lid.

PBS1 Supressor fitted to my trusty AKSU

“WITH A SUBTLE MIX OF PLEADING POVERTY AND DISPLAYING THE LAST FEW COINS AND NOTES IN MY WALLET, I WAS ABLE TO GET HIM TO ACCEPT SIXTEEN QUID FOR THE HELMET AND BOTH OF US ENDED THE TRADE HAPPY.” players and the more seasoned to pick up some bargains and get their hands on a variety of kit along with having the opportunity to chat to distributors regarding their products.

Of course, for us as a site, hosting the event it’s also a great chance for players to come and get a taste of the site and get an idea what the venue is like to play on with our short games throughout the day and if you add in the Practical Shooting course, it becomes an event you can really make a day of.”

To be honest it was hard to disagree with any of that but being spent up my day was practically over and so Tom and I decided to have one last mooch around the entrance and café area to say goodbye to a few people before heading home. As we finished off our rounds we ended up at the very first stall where I’d found my bargain jungle boots and I noticed that since a few things had been sold a few more gems had been unearthed in the mountains of second hand kit. Most notably a lovely molle pistol holster which would be perfect for my new plate carrier- and what’s more, it was a mere £2! Deciding that practicality trumps the goal of the article I decided to go “over budget” and stump up the extra couple of quid (or to be more precise, I asked Tom really nicely to lend me some cash as I was genuinely spent up at this point!) and score this last bargain of the show.

So there you have it, not only are shows like the Midlands Airsoft Fair a great day out with the opportunity for some cheeky gaming and a chance to meet up with old pals (and make some new ones too) but you can clearly bag yourself a total bargain (or ten!) if you don’t mind a bit of haggling. I can’t honestly say exactly what my treasure trove of militaria would have cost me if I bought it new but I’d have a guess that I probably got around £300 worth of stuff for slightly more than one hundred quid.

As for the next Midlands Airsoft Fair… well I might just be going as a trader next time and try and get rid of some of the mountains of surplus kit I’ve amassed over the last ten years – I’m sure the wife would be overjoyed to get the spare room back from its current designation as “the kit bunker”!

Item1: Diamond Back Plate Carrier £45 Item2: Dual ammo pouch £5 Item 3: Templar Assault Systems pistol holster £2 Item 4: Tactical Tailor dual pistol ammo pouch £5 Item 5: Vietnam War style US jungle boots £10 Item 6: PBS1 Russian AK47/AKM sound suppressor £12 Item 7: Reproduction FAST helmet with lower face protection £16 Item 8: Chronograph £20 Total £115

www.airsoft-action.online

65

Real Steel THE UZI SUB MACHINE GUN

“WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET AN UZI.”— AXL ROSE

M M 9 I Z U IN EVERY GENERATION A CERTAIN weapon becomes a cultural icon – and in the 1980s the weapon was without a doubt the UZI 9mm SMG. From Miami Vice to the The Terminator the Uzi SMG was Hollywood’s favourite firearm and found its way into dozens of action movies, TV shows and video games but its origins lie back in the Israeli struggle to establish their independent state deep inside hostile Arab territory.

After Israel gained independence from British government in the late 1940s, it found itself in a tricky situation. Most of the fledgling Israeli Defence Forces’ weaponry was a disparate assortment of hand me downs and “captured kit” from the WWII stocks of western nations. Most notably, they had no decent reliable sub machine gun and, instead, relied on a motley assortment of Stens, Mp40s, Thompson M1A1s and homemade SMGs. While many of these shared the same ammunition, none of them had any commonality of parts and this provided a logistical headache for the embryonic IDF.

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Mere hours after the state of Israel declared independence in the May of 1948 it was attacked by an alliance of its neighbouring Arab states. A coalition of countries determined to destroy the Jewish enclave before it could gain any security and establish itself. Israel, amazingly, managed to defeat the combined forces of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt using its hodge-podge arsenal of WWII surplus but it was clear they would need better weapons if they were to survive.

Enter brilliant weapons designer Uziel Gal, a German Jew who had escaped Europe before the start of the war as a child and studied in England before heading for a new life in Israel.

Gal had fought against the British in the Israeli’s battle for independence and had shown interest in weapons design as a young man. As a veteran of the 1948 war against the Arab nations, Gal knew exactly what the IDF needed and based on his enthusiastic designs for a new SMG, he was given a design post with Israeli Military Industries (alongside another officer, Major Kara) and tasked to develop a new SMG to defend the nation. Both Gal and Kara were influenced by post-war Czechoslovakian SMG design and found that the idea of a telescopic bolt to reduce the size of the weapon, when coupled with a pistol grip-housed magazine created a compact platform perfect for paratroopers and vehicle crews, as well as line infantry. Both men submitted designs for trial in 1951 and Uziel Gal’s design won out over Kara’s as it was cheaper to produce and slightly more reliable in dusty and sandy conditions due to its looser tolerances. By 1952 the weapon had been patented as the “Uzi” and entered service with the IDF in 1954.

Real Steel THE UZI SUB MACHINE GUN

As aforementioned the beauty of the Uzi is its simple open bolt blow back mechanism (which helps prevent over heating at the cost of trigger response time) in a small package. Gal achieved this by allowing the breech block to wrap around the rear of the barrel as it moves forwards and chambers a round.

Further size reduction was possible by putting the magazine into the large pistol grip (which also contains a “grip safety” that is pushed in when the pistol grip is grasped and allows the weapon to fire). The pistol grip housing of the magazine also aided soldiers in rapid reloads, particularly at night, as the “hand finds hand” principle allowed instant location of the magwell.

The UZI’s firepower is in no way diminished by its small stature (while still weighing in at around 3.5kg!) and it is capable of firing 600rpm out to a maximum effective range of around 200m. The recoil on this diminutive SMG is stabilised by either a folding frame stock at the rear or, as in some early models, a slide-on wooden stock. Despite having a grip safety the Uzi also features a “safe” setting on the fire selector located above the pistol grip, alongside settings for Automatic and Repetition (single shot). Ammunition is the tried and tested 9mm parabellum and while 25rnd magazines initially came as “standard”, a large 32rnd magazine was available. Nowadays magazine sizes from 10rnds to 50rnds can be sourced.

By the 1970s and 1980s the UZI has become a strong contender on the world military markets. By now Gal’s SMG was not only used by the Israelis but also by the Dutch to

MM

arm their elite commando units and by the West Germans who had adopted it as the “MP2”, as a cheaper alternative to their domestically produced MP5, in Bundeswehr formations. Across the pond the US secret services and military Special Forces like Delta had adopted the UZI for covert work, while paradoxically at the same time, their criminal rivals had made the UZI into a weapon synonymous with drug cartels, crime lords and gang violence! The above are just a sample of “end users” of the Uzi smg and at the time of writing the Uzi SMG has had over 60 nations purchase and use it.

Unfortunately though for us airsofters, getting a skirmishable Uzi is a bit of a nightmare. Tokyo Marui made a reasonable model some years ago, with the odd feature of having the piston run around the barrel and in some way replicate the telescopic bolt. However, it’s been out of production for a while and spare parts are almost non-existent, making it a risky purchase for the keen airsofter wanting to get a lot of use out of it. Since the Toyko Marui offering there have only been some poorly made Far East all plastic RIFs available, from companies like Well which, while cheap, as in around £40, are simply not effective enough to be serious skirmishing tools. This scarcity of a skirmishable Uzi is both surprising and a bit of a shame given their popularity in fiction and word history.

We can only hope that a new film or computer game comes along soon to put the Uzi back in the limelight and encourage one of the better AEG manufacturers to give this “pocket rocket” a future on the skirmish field.

www.airsoft-action.online

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feature TRADE-INS

KICKING BACK ONE EVENING, FRENCHIE’S THOUGHTS TURNED TO THE AGE-OLD CUSTOM OF TRADING IN YOUR OLD STUFF FOR SOMETHING NEWER.

TRADE ME UP SCOTTY! I WROTE ABOUT SECOND HAND sales recently and as is the way with these things, that got me thinking about related issues. As I relaxed of an evening, pipe and smoking jacket to the fore (as you do), my mind wandered to the subject of buying guns and gear in general. I’ve been doing this airsoft thing for a while (a fact I fear I may have mentioned more than once) and it’s very much the case that some things have changed, others not so much. Specifically, I was thinking about shop trade-ins but being of an expansive frame of mind at the time, I covered more ground than just that.

In an attempt to impose some order on my musings I’ll start (and finish) with “trade-ins”. In theory these are a fine idea, you want something new, you own something of value; surely there is a deal to be done? The short answer is yes, there usually is but there is always a “but” with these things - what 68

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you think your gear is worth and what a retailer thinks it is worth are two very different things. Water vs a Chihuahua sort of different…

To give a working example; you currently own a Tokyo Beast Ultra-M4 with added knobs and whistles. You have had this for two years and like a sensible person (in this example, not generally) you haven’t done any upgrades, you’ve looked after it and not dragged it across rocks. Consequently it is in good, used condition. The finish is still largely intact and its performance is pretty much where it was when it came out the box. All the original accessories are present and correct and you still have the box, moreover the box is not full of holes as you tested your gun on site and not in your bedroom. (This is shaping up to be a best case scenario methinks…)

The Ultra-M4 retailed for £350 at the time you bought it.

Feature TRADE-INS

Applying my rough rule of thumb, its residual value will not exceed £233.31 (two-thirds of retail) and that would be for a box-perfect example, effectively unused. You want to trade it in against the new Mega-Ultra-M4, also from Tokyo Beast with its realistic jamming-at-vital-points-in-a-firefight feature. This retails for £400.00. After trawling Facebook and various forums you reckon your gun is worth about £200 and are somewhat taken aback to be offered just £100 by your friendly local retailer.

What happened?

In truth, nothing that couldn’t have been anticipated.

Private sales will almost always garner a better price for the seller. In part this is because the buyer is also a private individual and is only interested in your gun and the best price he or she can get it for. Beyond that there are literally no other considerations. Retailers aren’t in that position, they have to take account of what models are popular at present, what’s actually selling, is anything selling?! What is a realistic price they can ask for your gun when they come to sell it, how much VAT will they have to pay and how often? Technically it’s twice, once when buying and again when selling. There are provisions for reduced rates when dealing with second hand goods but I know of few retailers who go to the lengths of actually calculating second hand sales separately from their overall sales. I have done it in the past and it’s a thankless task as the amounts of money involved are seldom significant against the turnover of a reasonably successful retailer. All that said, it is still a consideration. Further, the retailer has less tangible concerns like the amount of staff time it will take to clean up and present your gun for sale, most likely on-line. Those members of staff could be doing other things which may be deemed more important and I know of no airsoft retailers who

run a significant staff surplus, it’s usually the polar opposite.

Knowing all of this, you can now understand the sucking air through the teeth, faraway look in the eyes and huddled conferences that occur when deciding on an offer. Let’s be utterly honest, most retailers would like you to (a) not offer a trade in, or (b) give it to them for free but that doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be had and made.

I suspect that occasionally retailers take the p*ss with their offers but they still want to sell you the Mega-Ultra-M4 so there will be a bit of give and take. If you are fortunate enough to offering something rare you can reasonably expect to get a better offer - the retailer is seeing pound signs (that’s what

“IF YOU THINK CONDUCTING A NEGOTIATION WITH A SHOP IS A BIND, IT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO HAVING TO DEAL WITH A POTENTIAL ONSLAUGHT OF MESSAGES AND POSTS ONLINE.” they do it for after all). It doesn’t mean that you can name your price unless the retailer wants what you have for themselves as opposed to for the business.

This process is generally more fraught if you are trying to trade gear in as it tends to be more individual and player’s attitude towards their gear varies enormously. Some look after it conscientiously, while others take it as a badge of airsofting prowess if it gets filthy and well-worn. The latter is generally of no interest whatsoever to a retailer unless it is genuinely rare and unique (I regret that the fact that you owned it is

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seldom enough!), they simply won’t be interested. Even in the former instance expect much more tooth sucking and pregnant pauses, as kit can be a pain in the rear end to re-sell for reasons that aren’t hard to divine. If your kit is very specific - let’s say a complete set of 1968 Vietnam webbing - then it might be easier to resell and therefore be worth the effort. If on the other hand, if it is a filthy heap of very well used Viper gear expect a polite refusal - Viper gear is aggressively priced and widely available new, there is almost certainly no significant market for it second-hand. Clean it up and try flogging it at your local site.

Retailers are looking to make a profit - always. That’s how they survive and hopefully thrive. There is no point in getting humpy about that fact and no point in getting angry about it in the shop as it won’t change their mind. Try negotiating, they will nearly always make the lowest offer they can and there may actually be a little room for maneuver. If you are really not happy with the offer politely decline it and sell privately.

Having read this far you may well be wondering why anyone would bother trying to trade anything in. You are unlikely to realise much or any sort of profit and you can almost always get a better price through a private sale. There are a couple of good reasons, however and the most influential of these is convenience. It is simply more convenient for many players to off-load their old kit even if the price offset isn’t as much as they’d like, in effect they are paying to avoid the hassle of selling privately and those of you who have sold gear privately know what an utter hassle it can be. If you think conducting a negotiation with a shop is a bind, it is nothing compared to having to deal with a potential onslaught of messages and posts online telling you that your price is all wrong, your gear is crap (but will you take a fiver?), you are evil incarnate, that model is out of date (well d’uh), can you twotone it, can you upgrade it? Why didn’t you upgrade it? My mate Malcolm can upgrade it for £50, I don’t like the colour, I don’t like that it’s not new, why isn’t it new, why isn’t it a different model, do you have a (completely unrelated) model for sale? Can I buy your car/wife/children? Why can’t I buy your car/wife/children? Why do you hate me?! Why didn’t you answer my post within fourteen nanoseconds even though I posted at 03:23. You get the idea….

Experiences will vary and most of my online sales have been relatively simple and pain free. Facebook’s virtual ban on selling anything gun-shaped has also made it more inconvenient to advertise your wares. There are still forums but they seem to be far less influential than once they were. Airsoft sites are usually

quite relaxed about letting people buy and sell face to face so that might be worth a try. There are alternatives.

If you decide to go for a trade in, know what to expect. A clean, well-cared for gun will get things off to a better start; boxes matter (it makes them easier to ship), accessories less so.

In my experience many players appreciate the very different constraints that apply to trade-in versus private sale and the most common comment I hear when negotiating a trade in goes along the lines of “I know I can get more privately, I just can’t be bothered”.

That’s a perfectly good reason.

Retailers don’t mind carry a bit of secondhand kit, especially if it’s slightly rare or unusual but it isn’t their core business; this colours their approach to trades. They aren’t a lending library, trading their way through a bunch of guns as your taste changes - try that and you’ll find their goodwill evaporating quite quickly. Be realistic and understand where they’re coming from and you’ll find your time better spent leaving you to enjoy your shiny new Mega-Ultra-M4 until something else catches your eye!

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Kit DEPSOC360

DEPSOC 360 BILL THOMAS TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT WHAT LIES BEHIND THE SUPERB CAMO FEATURED ON LAST MONTH’S COVER. Pictures courtesy of 0241 Tactical and Axle Ethington.

AIRSOFT ACTION ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED in looking at unique manufacturers that create those specialist bits of kit that we all need but that are sometimes hard to find. A few years back I started speaking to Sean from 0241 Tactical in the USA and it’s been his pleasure to watch the company go from strength to strength, especially as they just introduced a whole bunch of new kit in DEPSOC360!

On last months’ cover we had the pleasure of using a stunning image provided by 0241 Tactical in the USA from the DEPSOC 360 photoshoot and, as promised, this time I’m going to look much more closely at what this new pattern is and where it’s come from.

Sometimes it seems to me that the only things some people are interested in is the latest bit of “tac-gucci” kit to come to market, irrelevant of whether it actually works or not. I’m

therefore always delighted to meet good folk who have “been there, done that and got many T-shirts” and turned their hardwon knowledge to creating quality gear that really serves a purpose. When I first met Sean from 0241 Tactical he was still a serving US Marine but one that had already started turning his wealth of knowledge into some righteous bits of “snivel gear”, those little items that can add up to making a huge difference to your comfort in harsh conditions and letting you perform optimally.

What I also found especially interesting was that 0241 Tactical have never shied away from working with cutting edge and unique camouflage patterns and also with classic patterns like ERDL and Desert Tiger Stripe which have been proven to work effectively. Sean however is not one to “let the grass grow” and he’s always looking out for cutting edge camouflage patterns; enter DEPSOC360!

DEPSOC360 was born out of a need, a need that saw development of a totally new camouflage pattern by HDI. While working with U.S. Military Snipers on a concealment design project, the snipers asked HDI if they could come up with a range-effective camouflage, complaining that small-repeat patterns are ineffective at operating ranges.

DEPSOC360, with its large brush shapes, shadow effects and digitally matched natural colors create depth and break the human outline. Over the course of nearly three years, dozens of versions, consequent field trials in some of the US military’s hottest battlefields and input from several elite military contacts, HDI and fabric printers such as MMI built what they and their users believe to be the most effective family of camouflage ever fielded. DEPSOC360 was designed for use by the military elite in the heat of battle and saw every soldier who used it home safely. Now it’s available to the civilian market.

0241 AND DEPSOC360

0241 Tactical opened their original store in back in 2011 while Sean and his wife were living in San Diego. They started making a few items and they sold quickly on eBay so they ordered more material and sold more. It’s been snowballing into more and more products and eventually everything morphed into a webstore, www.0241Tactical.com and the business has become

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kIT DEPSOC360

a full time occupation for them.

0241 started off making small yet important items, such as Neck Gaiters, Goggle Covers and Hats but they’ve grown so that their range now includes Tarpaulins, Basha Shelters and Clothing. Given that it’s very difficult to mass produce uniforms in the United States they feel that they are pushing that as much as they can with their Tactical Operator’s Pullovers (TOPs) and Tactical Over Trousers (TOTs); I own an 0241 Tactical TOP myself and it really is a great piece of kit. They’ve also formed some clever alliances with other US manufacturers such as HeadOnTactical (http://headontactical.storenvy.com) to provide tactical gear in the same patterns their products are made in to give the customer more of what they are looking for in one place.

Sean told me: “When we started off we envisioned primarily military personnel utilising our gear. However, as we expanded our camouflage patterns into non-issue military patterns we saw an opportunity for security service contractors, law enforcement, hunters and the recreational community to use our products.

We target military and law enforcement for our products but if other communities can use them, then that’s great.

“We cater to everyone that we can sell to legally and in good conscience. We’ve had orders from Police Departments worldwide and in 2013 we got our first large military purchase from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group in Virginia.

We’ve been serving them regularly ever since. We also supply the US Air Force SERE School in Washington with our products on a regular basis. We’ve supplied various military units from around the world including American customers in Iraq. We’re pretty open to supplying anyone as long as we’re not shipping to countries whose principles are contrary to our own or precluded by law.”

Recently I saw that Sean had been working closely with DEPSOC360 and he told me: “DEPSOC Camouflage has quickly become my favorite pattern. I first saw DEPSOC at Shot Show 2013 and was at first taken back thinking what is this pattern? Real-Tree? Tiger Stripe? Both? It wasn’t; it was so much more.

“It’s a more complex and more effective pattern given the pattern’s three dimensional look. The more I looked at DEPSOC360, the more I saw its effectiveness. As luck would have it, in 2015, I met the owner and began working with him to energize the DEPSOC360 brand for the tactical and military markets.

“DEPSOC360 has seen use with in the commercial hunting market but the pattern was developed for the military and that is what we’re primarily focusing on at the moment. Military

snipers needed a pattern to break up the human silhouette at longer distances than typical military patterns can.”

DEPSOC360 Clothing has been available for a while now but was designed for the non-military with hunters in mind.

The uniforms were not Mil-Spec in construction or design so 0241 developed a line of gear that met military/tactical specifications. DEPSOC360 is available in a variety of patterns for different environments but they have created an All-Terrain Camouflage (ATC), Desert and an Arctic pattern with military users in mind. DEPSOC camouflage patterns are feasible for military applications worldwide use (versus specialised to one geographic location).

WHERE CAN I FIND DEPSOC360?

As I write, Sean has both All-Terrain Camo and Old Desert Camo in production in ACU Style uniforms, as well as combat shirts with another 0241Tactical partner and these are now ready and available to buy.

Additionally, 0241Tactical developed its own suit (tops and bottoms) in DEPSOC360 as well as boots, caps, balaclavas and various other tactical gear. This means they can outfit a user from head to toe in DEPSOC360 right now. I’m excited to see DEPSOC progress as it is gaining more and more traction with the US Military. DEPSOC360 owns its own textile printing operation which allows 0241Tactical to service military, law enforcement and civilian personnel with individual or large orders. This beats the traditional business model of introducing a new pattern and hoping it gets picked up by enough manufacturers to make all of the different components needed for a complete kit. 0241Tactical working with DEPSOC360, can provide a one-stop shop for a complete loadout, so no need to hunt around in various stores looking for gear.

Camouflage patterns seem to come and go with an almost alarming regularity these days but something tells me that we’ll be hearing a LOT more about DEPSOC360, especially if Sean has anything to do with it! Having now seen the pattern “in the flesh” I can certainly attest to its efficacy so if you and your team are looking for a loadout that’s completely unique and fully available I’d suggest that you drop Sean an email!

Check out their website at www.0241Tactical. com and if you don’t see what you want, email them at sales@0241Tactical.com and let them know what you’re looking for and in what pattern/material. If they can get it and it’s feasible, they’ll work with you and that’s all any of us can ask for, isn’t it?

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Revolvers DAN WESSON 715 ANCILLERIES

ANDY NIGHTINGALE CONTINUES HIS LOOK AT THE DAN WESSON 715 FROM ASG AND FOCUSSES ON THE ADDED EXTRAS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.

DAN WESSON 715 ANCILLERIES IN THE LAST MONTH’S ISSUE of Airsoft Action I took a look at the fantastic new Dan Wesson 715 range of Airsoft revolvers. In this month’s issue we’re going to look at what else ActionSportGames has to offer the wheel gun worriers.

HOLSTERS

So as not to disappoint, ActionSportGames has once again listened to its customer’s feedback and catered for their growing needs. As usual there are the quality Strike Systems holsters. These holsters are specially designed to fit all the ASG Airsoft revolvers. There are 2 sizes of belt mounted outside the waistband (OSW) holster.

The smaller of the 2 will hold the 2.5” and the 4” Dan Wesson revolvers. The larger holster will hold the 6” and 8” versions. These revolver holsters are made from a soft shaped and molded

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material with a soft inner lining to protect the handgun and comes with a top strap to secure the gun in the holster while on the move.

Also if you’re feeling a little bit “James Bond”, you can always opt for the Strike Systems covert shoulder holster. This is a 2 piece fully adjustable holster that consists of a horizontal cross draw holster on one side and a double magazine/speed loader pouch on the other. Ideal for covert/close protection applications.

BAG AND BOX

Security and protection for your revolver during transit and storage comes in the form of a bag or box. The hard box is made from a strong polymer with 2 clasps to securely fasten the lid. Inside the box you will find a foam insert to neatly secure your revolver and a speed loader. On the lid of the box, on the outside, is the Dan Wesson signature logo. This is a great way to keep your revolver safe and secure during storage and transit.

The other alternative is the Dan Wesson bag. Large enough to house the 6” revolver, this bag has elastic loops on the inside to hold up to 12 Co2 bulbs and 3 small internal mesh pockets to store other items such as Moon Clips, safety flags etc. This smart grey bag has a quality full length zip in order for the bag to open up fully and comes complete with double webbing handles for ease of carry. The bag is nicely finished off with the

revolvers DAN WESSON 715 ANCILLERIES

Dan Wesson signature logo embossed in white on the front.

SIGHTS AND RAIL

Although the Dan Wesson series of revolvers come supplied with good open sights (a fully adjustable rear sight for elevation and windage and a decent front ramp sight), there is scope (pardon the pun) to add, well, scopes.

ActionSportGames offer several types of red dot sight that compliment the revolver perfectly. A specially designed accessory rail system is offered in silver, steel grey and red to mount the sights onto.

This is a must if you’re running the revolver as a competition gun.

SPEED LOADER AND SHELLS

As for ammunition, there is the ever popular range of quality BBs. All ASG revolvers come complete with 6 shells and a speed loader. However if you need more shells then these can be purchased in packs of 6 or 25 in either full power or skirmishacceptable, power down shells.

The speed loader is a similar design to the Safariland speed loader; 6 shells are loaded into the base and then secured in place by a twist of the knob. As the speed loader is offered up to the drum, the extractor star on the drum engages a release button in the centre or the speed loader. This releases all 6 shells at once dropping them into the revolver’s drum. There is also a specially designed holster for the speed loader that can be attached to your belt. This makes access to the speed loader much faster for quicker reloads; again a must for competition shooting.

compatible drum can be purchased separately for all 6” DW 715 Revolvers with a serial number below 16K and is easily fitted, while all the 4” and 2.5” DW 715 revolvers are Moon Clip compatible. If you have one of the original ASG Dan Wesson revolvers and want to convert it to accept the Moon Clip system, then the 715 Moon Clip compatible drums will also fit these models. Spare Moon Clip compatible shells and Moon clips can be purchased from all ASG stockists.

There is also a Moon Clip holster that attaches to the belt to make access to the shells quicker and easier to load. The holster comes with 12 shells and 4 Moon Clips. A must if you shoot revolvers in competition.

Moon clips are nothing new to the world of shooting but only ASG have made it possible for the Airsoft community to be able to utilise this system of speed reloading. Another breakthrough in airsoft from ASG. So does ASG really have everything to offer the revolver shooter? Yeah, I pretty much think so! However, I do feel that, as a revolver nut, there could be more in the line of revolver models and accessories available - but that’s just my opinion.

ActionSportGames really are the industry leader where quality 1:1 scale Airsoft revolvers are concerned. I for one will eagerly await what they have to offer their customers next.

Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long.

MOON CLIPS AND DRUMS New on the market and only from ASG, is the Moon Clip system.

This is an old and trusted reloading system in the real steel world of revolvers and has been used successfully for many years and by many of the world’s greatest revolver pistoleros.

The Moon Clip is a small, star-like shaped disc that attaches to the rim of the shells. This is a much quicker way to reload the revolver over the old bulky speed loader system.

Unfortunately the Moon Clip system will only work with Moon Clip compatible shells and a Moon Clip compatible drum in the revolver itself.

The Moon Clip

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GITAG FN FAL RESURRECTION

FAL-TASTIC! THIS MONTH, INSPIRED BY A FELLOW AIRSOFT ACTION TEAM MEMBER, JERRY NOONE SETS OUT TO REFURBISH AND CUSTOMISE A KING ARMS FAL!

INSPIRATION FOR AN AIRSOFT BUILD comes from many directions as games, TV shows, movies and our friends all have an impact of what takes our fancy.

Much like my friend and fellow writer, Gadge, I’m really inspired by all things “Cold War” and seeing his reports of the “Gunman Airsoft” events and the like really makes me a little embarrassed that I don’t get out to more of these themed games. I have a full set of British Infantry gear that is era correct, along with my much cherished STAR LA1 SLR and my old Tanaka Heavyweight Browning but Gadge has been teasing

me to “come to the Dark Side” and join him on the “Soviet” team.

Therefore, slowly but steadily and with much guidance from my always-knowledgeable colleague, I’ve been building up my Russian gear and thoroughly look forward to picking up my AKMS and joining Gadge at a game later in the year. It got me to thinking though, as how you might get into the whole “Cold War” airsoft scene on a budget, so I had a bit of a chat with Josh from Gunman and asked him if he’d ever thought about a third faction for his games in the form of “mercenaries”.

My line of thinking went down the path that with a suitable “era-correct” RIF and a little imagination it should be quite cheap, simple and straightforward to create this type of loadout with a mix of civilian and military gear. Josh came back to me to say that it was an interesting idea and could work well in certain scenarios, so I set about transforming my idea into reality.

BATTLE SCARRED

Although I own a number of RIFs that are completely correct for the 1980’s I decided that I’d really like to create something a bit unique for the “merc” role, so set about researching what weapons that were most popular with them and, other than the venerable AK, there was one that really jumped out and that, of course, was the FN FAL! Online sources tell me: “The FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Léger), is a battle rifle designed by Dieudonné Saive and Ernest Vervier and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (FN Herstal).

During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, with the notable exception of the United States. It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries.”

So a FAL it had to be! Luckily my initial search for an airsoft 76

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sight block, I discovered that the previous owner had also cut down the gas tube to accommodate the battery; this doesn’t really effect the rigidity of the front end as the front handguard helps with this anyway and it does mean you can get a decent battery into what is in truth quite a tight space. Also at this stage I removed the modern flash-hider, protected the CCW thread with some tape and went in search of the era-correct one, which a mate in Hong Kong helped me source.

BACK TO BLACK

With the flash-hider sourced and inbound it was time to get the rest of the metalwork back to its former glory. Normally I would strip everything down and send it to Mark at High Calibre Coatings to be Cerakoted but as I wanted to keep this build very much on a budget, I decided to strip the camo paintjob back myself and simply repaint the FAL. The first step was to tenderly go at the camo paint, which was several coats thick, with some paint stripper to get rid

variant coincided with the Southern Airsoft Boot Fair where I laid my hands on an old King Arms FAL with a battery and four Mid-Cap magazines for £100; bargain! The FAL, though perfectly functional, had obviously seen a long and hard “service life”. A “Para Carbine” version with the side-folding metal stock, it had been shortened further with a barrel chop that was a bit messy and had been fitted with a “Vortex” style flash-hider. Much of the original detail had been obscured my several thick coats of camo paint and it generally looked like it had been round the block… not once but a few times!

My first job was to strip it down and there I encountered my first challenge; I’m used to my SLR which disassembles from a central point but with the FAL things are a little more involved. With the “Para” you first need to remove the folding stock assembly by removing a bolt at the rear of the receiver.

With this done you then remove the pistol grip, drop the motor, remove the fire selector and then release the gearbox from the receiver. Luckily my mate Chris is a bit of a “FAL Fan” as he’s into his “Rhodie” Living History and was able to advise me on how this was best done; he comes into play in this story again later.

Thankfully the internals proved to be in fine form; although the FAL looked a bit rough externally what the gearbox told me was that it hadn’t actually been used that much. My chance purchase actually began to look like even more of a bargain!

Once I removed the front handguard, which is simply a matter of removing the retaining bolt that goes through the front

of the bulk of it. This is nasty, messy job and you need to be sure to wear rubber gloves when working with the aggressive paint stripper but a couple of applications soon had both the gun and the mags back towards bare metal. It was then a case of getting involved further with some wet and dry paper, gradually going finer and finer to get a smooth surface ready for painting. Once I’d got the old paint off I gave everything a

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wipe over with white spirit and left everything to rest for a couple of days.

When I was ready to paint I gave all the parts a final brush over to remove any dust (and stray dog hairs!) and got a rattle-can of NUPROL Matt Black ready to go. I fitted the correct flash-hider and tidied the front end up a bit and then I was game on. All the painting was done outside but if you’re doing this in a garage or workshop then do make sure that the fumes are able to disperse safely as you work. I chose not to use any primer as in time I want the FAL to “weather” without any undercoat showing through.

After applying three very thin coats of the paint (don’t rush this!) I was happy that a smooth overall finish had been achieved and left everything in my workshop to “cure” for a couple of days. I then turned my attention to the front handguard. The one that comes as standard with the King Arms is quite a flimsy plastic affair and with the rest of the rifle now looking so good

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I wondered how I could bring this part up to scratch.

I decided to try and give it a “wood” paintjob which came out quite well and I could have left things there but a further conversation with Chris (I said he’d be back!) secured me a custom wood handguard cut down and re-fitted from old “Aussie SLR” set.

This had originally lived on a “Rhodie FAL” carbine project that Chris had been working on but he’d decided to go in a different direction so the wood handguard was going begging; BOOM! Once again, as with many “era” projects the handguard had been lightly camo sprayed but a little judicious sanding, some re-staining and an application of Teak Oil soon had it looking great again and when I fitted it to the FAL I knew my work was done.

Overall, thanks to some “horse trading” and a little forward thinking this entire project has cost me no more than £125 and I’ve ended up with a very unique and in my mind, highly attractive, era correct carbine that performs very nicely.

Many “SF” soldiers of the 80’s, especially the Americans and Australians went for barrel chops in real life, so going back to my “merc” theme this worked well. The carbine is just over the length of an AKSU as you’ll see and with the folding stock I can easily secrete it into an “Adidas” bag, which makes it great for those “sneaky beaky” moments.

I’m really happy with the way this has turned out and it just goes to prove that if you let your inner “GEEK” out to play sometimes you can end up with something special!

Now I have the carbine completed it’s time to look to the loadout itself and I’ll come back to this in “Loaded or Unloaded” in a future issue.

Feature UK V US LOADOUTS

UK AIRSOFT VS US AIRSOFT: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? AS KELLY “FEMME FATALE” HARDWICK CONTINUES HER TRAVELS AROUND USA AIRSOFT, SHE’S NOTICED SOME DIFFERENCES, WHEN COMPARED TO THE UK. AFTER BEING IN THE US for a couple of weeks and having played a couple of games at different fields across the country, I feel like I have now experienced enough game play in the States to give an accurate account of just how different Airsoft is in the US, compared to the UK. I also felt like this would be a good follow up article to my “Femme Fatale Stateside” article, where I briefly touched on some aspects of the game play.

Let’s start with player diversity:One thing that definitely took me by surprise is how popular Speedsoft and SpeedQB is over here. In the UK speedsofters aren’t very common but in US CQB, they make up possibly 60% of the players on a typical CQB game day. Outdoor play differs slightly but there are still a fair few people in shorts, tights and a dye mask. Just like the UK there is a big divide in the playing styles, from MilSimmers to Skirmishers and Speedsofters. There are also WAY more kids under the age of 18 that play Airsoft in the US, especially in CQB. Loadout Diversity:- We all know in the UK that one of the most popular camos for loadouts is MTP (Multi Terrain Pattern) and MultiCam but on the US Airsoft scene MultiCam is seen as a “beginners kit” and isn’t very common at all on regular Skirmish days. It is, however, popular at MilSim events when teams are divided by camo patterns. During my game days here I have seen a fair few Russian loadouts, ACU, AOR 2 and of course the uniform of black hoodies, shorts, tights and dye mask that makes speedsofters so recognisable.

I have been trying different loadouts from the DesertUnicorn armoury whilst here in the US, including both AOR 2 and ranger green!

FPS limits:- This is another aspect of American Airsoft that differs from our own Airsoft scene. Whilst most CQB fields in the US (I’m told) run a 350 FPS limit like us, there are still sites that operate limits of 400 FPS - which I personally think is a little too high, especially as their style of CQB is very different.

Most of their outdoor fields operate at an average of 400 – 410 FPS. I didn’t get why Dye paintball masks were so popular with US players but after playing their CQB, I probably wouldn’t want to play indoors without one.

Dead rags:- In the UK we simply shout “Hit!” and raise

our arms when we have been hit (or lay on the ground in MilSims) but in the US some sites won’t even let you onto the field unless you have a “dead rag”. A “dead rag” is a red piece of material (that either comes as a simple piece of fabric or as fabric on a pull tab in a pouch) that players use to identify themselves as out of play – they get hit, shout hit, deploy their dead rag and place It somewhere on their body, usually across the chest or on their head then they walk back to respawn or out of the play zone. This really helps, especially when playing super-fast paced CQB as it helps player identify those who aren’t in game. www.airsoft-action.online

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Safe zones and gun barrel covers:- Another aspect of American Airsoft that is completely different in the US is their safe zones. At outdoor sites lots of players choose to take their own gazebos and tables because the sites are usually packed out. The site we visited in Lake Elsinore had an undercover area but it wasn’t quite equipped to fit the 180 people on site that day! CQB sites are pretty similar to ours but they are generally a little bigger due to the size of the sites. Just like our own safe zones no dry firing is allowed but the American sites require all players to have gun barrel covers on their RIFs in the safe zone and up until they reach the game zone – just another safety precaution to prevent injuries. I really think this is a great measure that we might want to adopt in the UK, especially taking into account a fairly recent incident at a site in the UK involving a young man and a sniper rifle which left him blind in one eye.

Price:- One of the aspects that surprised me the most was that Airsoft game day fees over the pond are a lot cheaper than back home in the UK. An average game day in the US costs between $20-$25, which is around £16-£20, whilst the average that we pay back home is around £30 for a game day. I think one of the reasons for this is because of the amount of players that regularly attend skirmishes, it’s not uncommon for

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there to be between 100-150 players every game day. Airsoft is a lot more popular in the states.

Game day:- In the UK, our “holy day” of Airsoft is Sunday but in the US it’s Saturday. Which means a lie in on a Sunday!

Yay! Overall, whilst the sport is essentially the same, there are a fair few aspects such as kit, FPS limits, safety measures and game day fees that are pretty different over the pond. The US Airsoft scene has little quirks that would surprise a few UK Airsofters if they made the trip over.

A Squadron CLOSE PROTECTION COURSE

PAUL YELLAND RETURNS TO EXPERIENCE YET ANOTHER COURSE RUN BY EX-SAS SOLDIER, BOB PODESTA AND LEARNS THERE IS A LOT MORE TO BEING A PROFESSIONAL CPO THAN MEETS THE EYE.

A SQUADRON

CP COURSE I HAVE SPENT OVER HALF of my life looking after people when they are injured and at their most vulnerable - that’s the path in life that I chose and during this time I have been witness to how cruel one human can really be towards another. I have only ever dealt with the aftermath of violence, so I thought that now was the time for me to learn how to protect a person from being attacked.

I should make it clear from the start that to work as a Close Protection Officer (CPO) within the UK, you will need to obtain a license to do so from an organisation called the Security Industry Authority(SIA). To get a license, a person will need

to attend a Close Protection Officer training course because to work as a CPO unlicensed is a criminal offence. The Close Protection Course that is provided by A Squadron is not a certified SIA Course which means that you cannot operate as a CPO after completion. But what the A Squadron course does give you, is a unique introduction into the world of the Close Protection Officer though the eyes of a professional who really has a vast scope of experience in real life CP work.

The A Squadron Close Protection Course was held over one day in Hereford and taught by Bob Podesta and Faith Cowling.

On previous courses I have had a reasonable idea on what the

“A DISTINCTION WAS MADE BETWEEN HOW A PROFESSIONAL CLOSE PROTECTION OFFICER OPERATES WITH A GENUINE VIP (ALSO KNOWN AS “THE PRINCIPLE”) AND THE OVER-THE-TOP-BOUNCER-TYPE “BODY GUARDS” WHO CLOSELY SURROUND SOME “CELEBRITY” JUST TO BOOST AN ALREADY OVER-INFLATED EGO!”

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A Squadron CLOSE PROTECTION COURSE

“I MANAGED TO GRAB HOLD OF BOB’S ATTACKING ARM WHILST ANOTHER TEAM MEMBER MANAGED TO KEEP BOB PINNED AGAINST A STEEL GIRDER AS I DELIVERED SOME (VERY GENTLE) KNEE STRIKES TO THE ATTACKER’S GROIN. I WAS FEELING QUITE PLEASED WITH MY REACTIONS UNTIL BOB CALMLY SAID “YEAH OKAY BUT YOU COULD HAVE JUST SHOT ME INSTEAD”!”

day will probably involve but with this course, I genuinely was entering unknown territory and could only guess what Bob and Faith had in store for us. There were around ten people attending the close protection course which made a good size group. Most of us had worked together on previous courses but there were also some new faces amongst us.

The course started with the standard briefing which addressed the administration side of things and then it was quickly followed by an introduction into the general role of the Close Protection Officer. A distinction was made between how a professional Close Protection Officer operates with a

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genuine VIP (also known as “the Principle”) and the over-thetop-bouncer-type “body guards” who closely surround some “celebrity” just to boost an already over-inflated ego!

The make-up of a CP team was broken down into individual roles, starting from the 1IC. It became clear that each member of that team - regardless of status - had a vital role to perform in keeping the VIP safe.

The first type of close protection scenario to be discussed was foot drills. When a VIP is walking around, it is known as “Foxtrot”. There are various team formations to adopt when the Principle has “gone foxtrot” which provide varying levels of all round protection. Certain VIPs are difficult to work with and do not want to be crowded by their protection team, whilst others might not wish to have their team visible whatsoever.

What was made clear is that all of the foot drills are wellrehearsed beforehand and need to be fluid and adaptable to deal with situations that are encountered when out on the ground. Routes are pre-planned and (ideally) a recce is carried

A Squadron CLOSE PROTECTION COURSE

out by members of the CP team prior to the event. Security advice is relayed to the Principle by the OC of the CP team – but it is just that, advice. The Principle cannot be ordered around by the team and the VIP can often leave the team in situations where they will need to think on their feet and adapt plans when the Principle makes spontaneous changes to a route.

Communication between each member of the CP team is vitally important. Each team member carries a radio and wears a covert ear piece with microphone. This is worn underneath a civilian jacket and the wires need to be fed along the inside one of the jacket arms so that the radio PTT and mic rest inside the palm of the hand, ready to be discreetly used. Because I have long arms, I found that the wire was not quite long enough to feed the PTT and microphone fully down into my left hand, which meant that I ended up walking around with a slightly bent elbow and arm position which probably made me look slightly “different”.

The course was split into two groups and a 1IC and 2IC were nominated for each of the teams. Everyone was given an alpha numeric call sign. Because we were rehearsing foot drills, each call sign started with “Foxtrot” and followed with numbers, such as Foxtrot one, Foxtrot two etc. The only difference to this was for the 1IC who was known as “Sunray”.

Faith assumed the role of a VIP and each team took it in turns to escort her around the buildings. It was during my team’s rehearsal that I encountered my first crazed attacker, who was trying to get close to the VIP as she walked around. I was to the rear of the formation, which was the direction from where the attacker appeared. Bob had already covered in detail what drills needed to be carried out in the event of an attack, so whilst I was holding the attacker away at arm’s length, the rest of the protection team had swung into action and ushered Faith away to safety.

The attacker that I had to deal with was unarmed but they could have easily been carrying a knife or gun. Bob explained about the risks from different weapons (including explosive devices) and it was made quite clear to us that the safety of the VIP came before that of the protection team. Apart from the specialist police and security service units that are responsible for protecting The Royalty and Politicians, private close protection teams will be operating unarmed within the UK. Because we were looking at close protection from a military perspective, it meant that we could practice with (airsoft) weapons.

Enthusiasm fuelled the A Squadron indoor firing range with team members practicing the pistol and primary weapon drills previously taught by Bob. We then had a chance to run through some self-defence techniques. Faith resumed her role as VIP and each team took it in turns to protect the Principle from a range of armed and unarmed attacks. When it was the turn of the team that I was part of, the attack came from my flank in the form of Bob lunging towards the VIP with a knife. I managed to grab hold of Bob’s attacking arm whilst another team member managed to keep Bob pinned against a steel girder as I delivered some (very gentle) knee strikes to the attacker’s groin. I was feeling quite pleased with my reactions until Bob calmly said “Yeah okay but you could have just shot me instead”!

The next scenario involve a double attack, where an

attacker appeared at the front of the formation, so Faith was quickly shielded and turned around to escape with me to the rear only to be faced with a very determined second attacker with a knife, who was now blocking our escape route. Both attackers had been quickly taken down by the rest of the team but in my eagerness to protect the VIP, I spun her around for a second time to escape the knifeman but in doing so lost my balance and ended up in a very undignified heap on the floor with the Principle!

After covering foot drills, we moved on to look at vehicle convoy drills. There was a considerable amount of detail to remember about driving in formation and entering and exiting a vehicle with a VIP. Again communication is the key, with the only difference being the call signs had changed from being “Foxtrot” to “Charlie”. Each car is numbered, for example, if there are three cars in the convoy they will have the call signs Charlie one, Charlie two and Charlie three. We practised the vehicle drills which included dropping off and picking up the VIP until the detail began to sink in. The intense repetition involved in the A Squadron style of training is a very effective method of learning – especially for somebody like me who grasps new subjects better by doing and making mistakes, rather than listening to someone talk in a classroom environment.

There was one final surprise in store for us during the afternoon session.

We were to put all of what we had been taught into practise by taking part in a live close protection training exercise, which was going to take us all into the public eye. The team had been tasked to provide (unarmed) close protection for a VIP (played by Faith) as she visited various shops and public places around Hereford. The key here was to blend in and not look like a CP team, something that I struggled with due to nerves.

The first drop off and “going Foxtrot” phase with the VIP around a large supermarket on a busy Saturday afternoon was an experience that I will never forget. Once I recovered from my nerves, I found that I could focus more on the task in hand. The VIP proved to be quite the diva when it came to changing plans at the last minute and not wanting to fully co-operate with her CP team. A few observant members of the public did notice what we were doing, which made it all the more important to appear professional even though it was only a For information about the CP Course, or any training exercise. other A Squadron courses, visit their website: After visiting a few http://www.a-sqn.com, more shops, the car email trainingwing@a-sqn.com and foot drills started to or phone on 07762 507146. take shape. The entire team seemed to all sync together and quickly became able to adapt to a constantly changing situation, allowing the VIP to return home safe and well.

The training exercise was hard and extremely intense but it gave us all an insight into what is involved in being part of a close protection team. Although I did not gain an SIA license from attending this course, what I did still walk away with was a vast array of personal knowledge on the subject of close protection and this knowledge could one day get me, or somebody else, out of trouble.

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Bomb Up Airsoft 22-23 Arkwright Court Arkwright Road Runcorn, WA7 1NX 0800 131 3012 www.bombupairsoft.co.uk

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

The Gaol Events Oakham Enterprise Park Ashwell Road, Oakham Leics, LE15 7TU 07976 457602

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Johnsons of Leeds 2, Vulcan Foundry Haigh Park Road Leeds, LS10 1RT 0113 277 5237 www.johnsonsofleeds.co.uk Leicestershire Airsoft Unit 3, Industrial Estate Melton Road Queniborough, LE7 3FP 07526 372108

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If you would like to stock Airsoft Action in your shop or on your site and get a FREE ADVERT on this page at the same time, contact Nige on 01684 878003 or by email: nige@airsoft-action.co.uk for details.

It’s A Classic THE BOONIE HAT

FOR AS LONG AS SOLDIERS HAVE FOUGHT IN HOT CLIMATES THEY HAVE HAD WIDE BRIMMED CLOTH HATS TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE SUN’S RAYS AND THE US ARMY’S “BOONIE HAT” HAS BECOME A FIRM FAVOURITE WITH AIRSOFTERS. OVER TO GADGE...

THE BOONIE HAT AS FAR BACK AS THE world of the ancient Greeks, Athenian light cavalry and skirmishers would wear wide brimmed cloth hats to help cope with the scorching summers. In the days of the American West, cowboys and US cavalry alike had wide brimmed Stetsons. And in the age of Empire, British and Australian troops would wear slouch hats to defeat the heat.

But it would be WWII that would see the end of stiff and formal sun hats and see in an age of comfortable soft cloth headwear.

Allied forces in WWII used a variety of soft sun hats; the US Navy and Army had the “hat herringbone twill” or “Daisy Mae hat” but it would be the “giggle hat” of the Australian (and later UK forces) that would set the pace. Developed at the very end of WWII, these soft cloth bush hats were handy to stow, practical and also easy to keep clean and laundered. The “bush hat” or “giggle hat” would also be seen in service in Britain’s small wars in Malaya and Borneo and would eventually arrive in Vietnam as part of the

Australian contingent “in country”.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the “giggle hat” (so called because it made the owner look ridiculous) became a popular item to “acquire” from commonwealth troops and led the US army to develop their own version – the boonie hat.

Taking its name from the US army slang for backwater wilderness areas (the “boondocks”), the boonie hat was an instant hit with the troops. In design it differed somewhat from the commonwealth item, having a flatter top and a band stitched around the crown to attach local foliage, a chin strap and on some models an insect net. The current us Army version known as the “hat, sun, hot weather” is instantly recognisable to airsofters worldwide and available in a bewildering array of camouflage variations and flat colours.

Despite being a solid and practical bit of kit, like all soldiers’ things boonie and bush hats are often modified by the troops using them. During the Malayan emergency UK forces would insert wire into the brim and crown, allowing the user to style/customise his hat into a different shape from his colleagues, while “friend or foe” identifying coloured shapes could be sewn onto the hat and changed daily as the enemy often wore similar headdress. In Vietnam many soldiers adorned their boonie hats with locally made jewellery, or badges featuring pithy political comments about the war.

In modern UK usage it has become something of a fashion to cut the brim of the hat down so as to be almost non-existent (presumably to aid visibility but totally negating any protection from the sun or rain!). Even the Russians in Afghanistan had their own version of bush hat, the 1940s designed “panama”.

One thing is certain, the design may change slightly over the years but the boonie hat and bush hat are here to stay as long as soldiers fight under blazing suns. www.airsoft-action.online

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SITE DIRECTORY

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

ATROOP AIRSOFT

AIRBORNE 101 AIRSOFT CLUB

ALL ARMS AIRSOFT

ARENA AIRSOFT

ABER AIRSOFT – THE BUNKER

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ALPHA 55

AWA HERTS

Clocaenog Forest, LL16 4SP Tel: 07967 394976 www.atroop.co.uk

Allt-lywd Wood Farm, outside Llanrhystud, nr. Aberystwyth, Wales.

Tel: 07511554740 www.aberairsoft.co.uk

ABSOLUTE AIRSOFT

Maidenhead, SL6 3SS Tel: 07871 314951 www.absolute-airsoft.co.uk

ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES

Holbrook Coppice, Buidwas Bank (A4169), Buildwas, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk

ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES

Downpatrick, Co. Down, BT30 Tel: 07718 032541 robinsonm24@btinternet.com

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

AIRSOFT COMMANDOS Sutton, near Ferrybridge Tel: 07723 061386 andyace@ntlworld.com

AIRSOFT KGB

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

AIRSOFT PLANTATION

Goatsmoore Lane, Billericay, CM4 9RS Tel: 07534 636289 / 07771 556395 www.theofficialairsoftplantation.co.uk theofficialairsoftplantation@gmail.com

Tong Wood, Newport Road Wolverhampton TF11 8PN Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk

AIRSOFT SKIRMISH

ACE COMBAT

AIRSOFT SKIRMISH CQB

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

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

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

Near Trawden, BB8 8SN Tel: 07909 683464 www.allarmsairsoft.co.uk

Halkyn Wood, North Wales CH8 8DF Tel: 0845 257 6937 www.alpha55.co.uk

ALPHA ELITE GAMING

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

AMAZON EVENTS

Hellingly, East Sussex, BN27 4HL Tel: 0844 2570433 www.amazonoutdoorevents.co.uk

AMBUSH ADVENTURES – CHOBHAM Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8SL Tel: 01252 315225 www.ambushadventures.co.uk

Grimsby, DN31 3JD Tel: 07752 404060 www.arenaairsoft.com

Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM23 4BJ Tel: 07732 184957 www.awaherts.com

BADLANDS AIRSOFT

Rowlands Castle, Hamps PO9 6DP Tel: 07534 465589 www.badlandsairsoft.co.uk

BARNSLEY AIRSOFT

Shafton, Barnsley, S72 8RE Tel: 07779 236166 www.barnsleypaintball.co.uk

BATTLETEC AIRSOFT

La Couture, Guernsey, GY1 2 Tel: 07781 104068 www.battletec.co.uk

AMBUSH ADVENTURES SOUTHAMPTON

BETTER BATTLES

New Forest National Park, SP5 2DW Tel: 01252 315225 www.ambushadventures.co.uk

Ravenshead, Notts, NG15 9DH Tel: 07967 940043 www.better-battles.com

APOCALYPSE AIRSOFT

BLACKDAGGER AIRSOFT

Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7QP Tel: 07872 348 576 www.apocalypseairsoft.com

Grasscroft Wood, Barlow Lees Lane, Dronfield, S18 7UR www.blackdagger-airsoft.co.uk

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BLUESTREAK AIRSOFT

Westcott Venture Park, Westcott, Aylesbury, HP18 0XB Tel: 01296 658600 www.bluestreak-airsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE SANDPIT (DESERT)

Bolton Wood Quarry, Bolton Hall Road Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 1BQ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CONTACT! FIGHT SCHOOL Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, CM14 5 Tel: 01438 368177 www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

COOL UNDER FIRE BORDERLINE AIRSOFT

51 Green Road, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim Northern Ireland, BT39 9PH Tel: 028 9303 7030 or 07729219341 www.borderlinecombat.com

BRAVO 2-2 AIRSOFT Leisure Lakes, Mere Brow, Southport. PR46JX Tel: 07790 715059 www.bravo22airsoft.com

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

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – RIVOCK EDGE Keighley, BD20 0LS Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – SHEFFIELD WOODLAND Sheffield, S6 6JE Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE WORKS (URBAN)

Off Badger Lane, Hipperholme, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX3 8PL Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

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

CHESTERFIELD IMPERIAL AIRSOFT

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

Doddington, Kent, ME9 0JS Tel: 07960 532613 www.coolunderfire.co.uk

CORNWALLS ELITE AIRSOFT

Truro, Cornwall, TR2. Tel: 07863 240153 www.cornwallseliteairsoft.co.uk

COTSWOLD AIRSOFT

CLOSE ACTION AIRSOFT Corby, NN17 3BB Tel: 07740 165787 www.close-action.co.uk

BUSH VALLEY AIRSOFT

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

COMBAT ACTION GAMES

Combat Street, Felthorpe, Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 4DR. Tel: 07748 023832 www.facebook.com/combatactiongames

C3 TACTICAL

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

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE OUTPOST (WOODLAND) HPC, York Road, Flaxby, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG5 0XJ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

DOG TAG AIRSOFT

Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4SE TEL 01293 852 314 www.holmbushpaintball.co.uk/airsoft

ELITE ACTION GAMES – WORTHING

Worthing, BN13 Tel: 01784 433023 www.eliteactiongames.com

ELITE BATTLEZONE

CUMBRIA AIRSOFT

EXPERIENCE AIRSOFT

Dumfries, DG12 cumbria.airsoft@virgin.net www.cumbria-airsoft.com

Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 0AN Tel: 01380 728982 www.experienceairsoft.co.uk

DANGER CLOSE AIRSOFT

FIREFIGHT COMBAT SIMULATIONS

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

Bexley, Greater London, DA5 1NX Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

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

DARKWATER AIRSOFT LTD.

Mobile: 07947 558433 www.darkwaterairsoft.co.uk Email: darwaterairsofthythe@gmail.com DARKWATER AFTER DARK C.Q.B, (Battlezone Building), Britannia Lane, Kingsnorth, Ashford, TN23 3NA facebook.com/afterdarkcqb DARKWATER SITE, Dering Wood, Church Lane, Shadoxhurst, Ashford.

TN26 1LZ facebook.com/darkwaterairsoftdarkwater

FIFE WARGAMES

St Andrews, KY10 3XL info@fifewargames.co.uk www.fifewargames.com

FINMERE AIRSOFT Buckingham, MK18 4JT Tel: 07976 184897 www.finmereairsoft.com

COMBAT AIRSOFT

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

CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE COMPLEX Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RP Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk

Caerwent Training Area, South Wales, NP26 5XL Tel: 07921 336360 www.dragonvalley.co.uk

Bourton Woods, On the B4479, Blockley Near Bourton-on-the-hill www.cotswoldairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07724629140

BUNKER 51

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

DRAGON VALLEY AIRSOFT

COMBAT SOUTH URBAN Portsmouth, PO6 3LS Tel: 02392 655636 www.combatsouth.co.uk

COMBAT SOUTH WOODLAND

Fareham, PO17 5ND Tel: 02392 655636 www.combatsouth.co.uk

DELTA TEAM 3

Skelmersdale, Lancs WN8 8UT Tel: 07986 053076 www.deltateam3.co.uk

FIREBALL SQUADRON Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 07582 684533 www.fireballsquadron.com

DOGS OF WAR

FIRST & ONLY: ANZIO CAMP

DRAGON’S LAIR

FIRST & ONLY: BUNKER WOOD

Houston, Renfrewshire, PA6 7BP Tel: 07853 195290 www.dow-airsoft.co.uk

Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA Tel: 07703 530189 www.dragonslairairsoft.co.uk

Leek, ST13 8 Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

Kidderminster, Worcs, DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

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SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

FIRST & ONLY: KHE SANH

WOODS

Otley, West Yorkshire LS21 2NA Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

FIRST & ONLY: MANCHESTER

WOODLAND

Bolton, BL7 9TS Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com

FIRST & ONLY: THE HIVE

Middleton, Manchester, M24 1AZ Tel: 0161 727 8863

FIRST & ONLY: THE ARMOURY

GASS AIRSOFT – PENN Penn Bottom, Bucks, HP10 Tel: 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk

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

Leicester, LE9 9FP www.gingerliberationfront.com

GREENZONE COMBAT Co. Armagh, BT60 1NE Tel: 07772 919974 www.greenzonecombat.com

FIRST & ONLY: THE ACADEMY

GUN HO AIRSOFT

FIRST & ONLY: THE ASYLUM Kidderminster, DY10 3PT Tel: 0161 727 8863

FIRST & ONLY: THE OUTPOST Kidderminster, DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863

FIRST & ONLY: SLEEPY HOLLOW Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 5LS Tel: 0161 727 8863

Guisborough, TS7 0PG Tel: 07525 435696 www.gunhoairsoft.co.uk

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – CAMBRIDGE

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 Tel: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

GUNMAN AIRSOFT – MIDLANDS

RAF Honiley/The Grange Frogmore Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common, West Mids CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532 384 info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk www.shop. suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk

GROUND ZERO WOODLAND Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 2DF www.groundzerowoodland.com

FREE FIRE ZONE

Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DH Tel: 01733 247171 www.freefirezone.co.uk

GUNMAN AIRSOFT– NORWICH Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 Tel: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

HILTON PARK AIRSOFT Wolverhampton, WV10 7HU Tel: 08000 354490 www.paintballuk.com

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Near Shorwell, Isle of Wight, PO30 Tel: 07964 751047 www.islandrecon.co.uk

LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT Gorebridge, Midlothian, EH23 4LG Tel: 0131 654 2452 www.airsoftedinburgh.co.uk

LAC SITE 1

Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LAC SITE 2

Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

LAC SITE 3

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

LAC SITE 5

HOMELAND TACTICAL AIRSOFT Spanby, Lincs, NG34 0AT Tel: 07971 560249 facebook.com/HomelandTacticalAirsoft

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

Abbey Cwm-hir, Midwales, LD1 6PG Tel: 07497 480243 www.facebook.com/Midwales-airsoft

MILITARY OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Wrightington, WN6 9PL Tel: 01942 514724 www.militaryoutdooradventure.co.uk

MILSIM UK

Checkley, Staffordshire, ST10 4NS Tel: 07523 916607 www.milsimuk.co.uk

NCIS AIRSOFT

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

NOMAD AIRSOFT

Fenwick, Ayrshire, KA3 6AY Tel: 07904 998250 www.nomadairsoft.com

NORTHERN ALLIANCE AIRSOFT

Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3LQ Tel: 01845 565465 www.northernallianceairsoft.co.uk

NORTHFLEET CQB

Northfleet, Kent, DA11 9AA Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk

LINDSEY AIRSOFT

NSC AIRSOFT

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

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

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

MIA HUMBER AIRSOFT

MIDWALES AIRSOFT

Kirton Rd, North Lincs, DN16 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk

MAW

FULL METAL AIRSOFT

Cilyrychen Quarry, Llandybie, Ammanford, Camarthenshire, SA18 3JG Tel: 01269 850404 www.fullmetalairsoft.co.uk

ISLAND RECON AIRSOFT COMBAT

MATLOCK COMBAT GAMES

FRV AIRSOFT

Annacloy, Downpatrick, BT30 8JJ Tel: 07730 586926 www.frvairsoft.com

Wilden Park Road, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0HP Tel: 01622 831788 / 07876 263290 www.invictabattlefield.co.uk

GRANGE FARM AIRSOFT

Wrexham, Denbighshire, LL13 9RG Tel: 0161 727 8863

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 6QF Tel: 0161 727 8863

INVICTA BATTLEFIELD

Cornwall, EX23 9JL Tel: 01288 331748 www.airsoftsouthwest.co.uk

Hetton, Sunderland, DH5 0 Tel: 07983 333521 www.nscairsoft.co.uk

NTAC

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

OBAN AIRSOFT – ILL ARGYLL Argyll and Bute, PA37 1 Tel: 07967 710185 www.argyllsurplus.com

OP-TACTICAL UK – TEAN-OPS Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT Tel: 07964 990831 www.op-tac.co.uk

SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

OVER THE TOP AIRSOFT CLUB

RIFT AIRSOFT (COTTENHAM)

PATHFINDER GROUP AIRSOFT MILITARY SIMULATION

SECTION 8 AIRSOFT

Anglesey, LL71 www.ottairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07731 744471

Former RAF Camp Sopley/Merryfield Park, Hants, BH23 Tel: 02380 899369

PHOENIX AIRSOFT

Welbeck Airsoft, Academy, Budby Road, Notts NG20 9JX Tel: 07956 587213/01623 812483 www.phoenix-airsoft.co.uk

PLATOON 1HQ

Rochester, Kent, ME1 1 HQ Tel: 01634 829063 www.ptt-1hq.co.uk

PLAYERS OF WAR

High Bonnybridge, FK1 3AD Tel: 07767 203979 www.playersofwar.co.uk

PREDATOR COMBAT GAMES Ballynahinch, BT24 8NF Tel: 02897565651 / 07825169631 www.predatorcombat.com

RAVEN’S NEST

Suffolk, IP8 4 Tel: 01473 831563 www.ravensairsoft.co.uk

RAW WAR AIRSOFT CUMBRIA Wigton, Cumbria CA7 3SZ Tel: 01900 85645 www.airsoftcumbria.co.uk

RED1AIRSOFT

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

RED1AIRSOFT CQB

Red1 CQB. Kings Langley, WD4 8RN Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk

RIFT AIRSOFT COM’S SITE 3 Chipping Warden, OX17 1LZ Tel: 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com

Cambridge, CB24 8RL Tel: 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com

Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB Tel: 07974 026517 www.s8airsoft.com

SG1 COMBAT GAMES Co. Londonderry, BT45 8NA Tel: 07713 273102 www.sg1combatgames.co.uk

SKIRMISH AIRSOFT BILLERICAY

Billericay, Essex, CM11 2TX Tel: 01277 657777 www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk

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

SOUTHDOWN AIRSOFT

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

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – BLOXWORTH

Wareham, Dorset, BH20 7EU Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

SPEC OPS AIRSOFT– THE ROCK Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EG Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk

STIRLING AIRSOFT

S.W.A.T. AIRSOFT

THUNDER PARK AIRSOFT

TA EVENTS

TORRENT WARFARE

TACTICAL WALES AIRSOFT

TROJAN AIRSOFT

TACTICAL WARFARE AIRSOFT

TROJAN AIRSOFT – OLYMPUS CQB

Boathouse lane, South Wirral, Cheshire, CH64 3TB www.swatairsoft.eu Tel: 07703 177756

Hemel Hemstead, Herts, HP2 7QB Tel: 07894 059794 www.ta-events.co.uk

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

Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PL Tel: 020 8665 1299 www.tacticalwarfare.co.uk

Co Tyrone, BT71 4DY Tel: 07922 377131 Facebook: search ‘Torrent Warfare’

Macclesfield, SK10 4SZ Tel: 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com

Weir Mill, Viaduct Street, Chestergate, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7JP Tel: 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com

TECH BRIGADE

Newgate Street, Hertfordshire.

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

UCAP AIRSOFT

Portsmouth, Hants, PO17 6AR Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

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

UCAP GREEN OPS

Linch, West Sussex, GU30 7 Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

THE BUNKER

Aberystwyth www.aberairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07841 462806

THE DEPOT

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

UCAP SANDPIT

Bean, Kent, DA2 8 Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – FAWKHAM Fawkham, Kent, DA3 8NY Tel: 01268 796130 www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

THE DESERTERS AIRSOFT

Coventry, CV3 6NX Tel: 07831 429407 www.stirlingairsoft.com

Redford, DD11 Tel: 07751 878175 www.thedeserters.co.uk

STORMFORCE AIRSOFT

THE EX SITE

Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4LD Tel: 07515 937633 www.stormforcepaintball.co.uk

Mold, CH7 4 Tel:07840 001975 www.theexsitewales.co.uk

SUSSEX AIRSOFT

THE WARGAMES CENTRE

Slinfold, RH12 Tel: 020 8150 9284 www.sussexairsoft.co.uk

Luxulyan, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL305FA Tel: 07751808055 www.thunderparkpaintball.co.uk Food & drinks available on site.

Lundholm Road, Stevenston, Ayrshire, KA20 3LN www.thewargamescentre.com wargamescentre@gmail.com

ULTIMATE WARGAMES – LIMPSFIELD Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0RH www.ultimatewargames.co.uk

URBAN6AIRSOFT – ZONE 13 Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0QN Tel: 07432 291729 www.urban6airsoft.com

URBAN6AIRSOFT– THE BLOCK Wood Street, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 3AB www.urban6airsoft.com

www.airsoft-action.online

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SITE DIRECTORY

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

FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…

URBAN ASSAULT

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, PE26 1 Tel: 01733 247171 www.urbanassault.org.uk

VIKING AIRSOFT

Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0UN www.vikingairsoft.co.uk

WARMINSTER AIRSOFT Warminster, BA12 7RZ www.warminsterairsoft.co.uk

XSITE AIRSOFT OUTPOST Dunstable, LU6 2EE Tel: 01494 881430 www.xsiteairsoft.co.uk

PRACTICAL PISTOL DIRECTORY AIPSC

The Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common, West Midlands, CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532384 www.aipsc.co.uk Facebook: A.I.P.S.C info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk.

Every Monday night 7pm– 9pm (except bank holidays). £5 or £10 with pistol and shooting rig hire. UKPSA-qualified coaches. UKPSA-qualified Range Officers.

COBRA ONE ZERO AIRSOFT Unit 9 Imperial Buisness Centre Mortimer Road, Hereford, HR4 9SP www.cobraonezero.co.uk Facebook: cobra one zero Airsoft

WATFORD PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB WatfordPPC@gmail.com

DOUBLE TAP PSC XSITE AIRSOFT – LANE END High Wycombe, HP14 3NP Tel: 01494 881430

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

EBSC

MOD-approved gun club PP, IDPA, IPAS, IPSC, 3GUN UKPSA Coaches UKPSA-qualified Range Officers Equipment hire available www.ebsc.co.uk ebpracticalpistol@gmail.com 07752 713 970

HALO MILL

The Penthouse, Colne Valley Business Park, Manchester Road, Linthwaite, Huddersfield HD7 5QG Tel: 01484 840554 www.halomill.com

NORTHERN PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB (NPPC)

Tanner Street, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 1NA Tel: 07816 992417 www.northernpracticalpistol.co.uk 4 indoor ranges

XSITE PRACTICAL SHOOTING

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

SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS (SWPS)

Action Air IPSC Club Based at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre near Charmouth The Tunnel, Axminster Road, Charmouth, Dorset DT6 6BY Contact: SWPSClub@Outlook.com

WETHERSFIELD AIRSOFT TARGET SHOOTING CLUB (WAT SIC)

Wethersfield Village Hall, Braintree Rd (B1053), Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4EB. https://www.facebook.com/WATSiC/ Open Thursday & Friday evenings.

Set-up from 6:30pm.

Club shooting commences by 7:30pm.

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

Contact via FB or 07939557029.

Indoors.

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