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Any tips please guys?

Also does anyone here know the Cerebrus group in yorkshire?

Well it depends on what tips do you want.

If you want to buy yourself a gun, dont buy anyhing for less than about 130 euro oherwise the gun will just fall apart after a few games.

Second get good face/head protection as taking a headshot really hurts, but keep in mind that you need good "ventilation" as fogging can be a real pain in the ass.

Third get yourself a few spare mags and a decent battery (stock bateries tend to suck.).

Fourth get some sort of camouflage that would let you to conceal yourself. I cant really recomend any pattern because I dont know where you live but darker is usually better.

Fifth when playing try to stick close to other people as it decreases the chance of getting shot.

If you have any more questions ask and ill try to help.

As you're in the UK I'll chime in with some important stuff.

In the UK we have a law called the VCRA. Meaning that unless you are over 18 and have a defence (Being a registered airsofter/reenactor/museum or something similar) you can only buy an IF (Imitation Firearm) that is at least 50% brightly coloured. Only someone who is over 18 with a relevant defence can get a RIF (Realistic Imitation Firearm).

To get registered is easy really, you need to become a member of an airsoft site with the relevant insurance; to do that you need to play 3 games in 2 months and get a site membership or UKARA number or similar (Despite what some people say; you DO NOT NEED UKARA. It's just one of several defences available to airsofters.)

If you're under 18 you're going to be stuck with a 2-tone IF I'm afraid. If not; you're much better off playing your first few games with rental guns and saving your money for a RIF until you get registered.


I also agree with Daemonhammer; good general points there. Full face protection is a must, especially if you play CQB. I've always sworn by mesh goggles and a separate mesh lower personally, as there's no fogging issue; but some don't like it.

If you've got any questions dude just drop me a PM or something.

Legends, both of you - thanks

I'm 28 so no problems with the age limit. Part of me's attracted to the brightly coloured gear, though as I'm more inclined to pick up a sniper rifle perhaps going with the shiny stuff would be a bad idea lol.

As for tips that I'm after, I want to buy a middle tier gun to begin with, preferably one that has room for expansion / upgrades and needs very little maintenance. Can you point me in the direction of a particular manufacturer / model?

One trap I always find myself falling in to is being the new guy with all the gear but no idea What are peoples attitudes towards noobs? Is it a welcoming sport? I suppose that's a bit too much of a general question though as each club will be different.

How much would you budget to buy your own good quality gear to get fully off the ground?

On mesh, I'd read that it can be a bad thing as if bb's hit the mesh can dent, paint can flake off in to your eyes etc - has this actually happened to anyone?

Thanks!

 kitch102 wrote:
Legends, both of you - thanks

I'm 28 so no problems with the age limit. Part of me's attracted to the brightly coloured gear, though as I'm more inclined to pick up a sniper rifle perhaps going with the shiny stuff would be a bad idea lol.

As for tips that I'm after, I want to buy a middle tier gun to begin with, preferably one that has room for expansion / upgrades and needs very little maintenance. Can you point me in the direction of a particular manufacturer / model?

One trap I always find myself falling in to is being the new guy with all the gear but no idea What are peoples attitudes towards noobs? Is it a welcoming sport? I suppose that's a bit too much of a general question though as each club will be different.

How much would you budget to buy your own good quality gear to get fully off the ground?

On mesh, I'd read that it can be a bad thing as if bb's hit the mesh can dent, paint can flake off in to your eyes etc - has this actually happened to anyone?

Thanks!

Avoid getting a sniper rifle straight off.
Everyone wants one because they're cool, but it's a totally different way of playing. And they generally need to have lots of money sunk into upgrades to get them functioning well enough to be useful.

It's pretty welcoming in my experience; but it does definitely depend on the site you go to.

I've not had anything go wrong with my mesh goggles in the couple of years I've owned them. They're getting a little worn so I could do with a new pair but there's nothing really wrong with them. Decent quality mesh should hold up perfectly well. There's some small dents, but I've not had anything bad in my eyes; and I play CQB so they've taken some close range hits as well!

A beginner AEG that's always recommended by everyone I talk to about it is the G&G Combat Machine (Assuming you like M4s )
I've never owned one myself but most of my AEGs are G&G and I've had very few problems with them generally. I don't tend to use AEGs anymore though so I can't really help you much beyond that!

Budget wise; well... I hope you have lots of money! It's all very well trying to play cheaply but there's always something shiny that comes along that you must buy.

I bought this gun last year just to mess around with, and I personally think it's awesome for the price. It has a really good full auto mode, and if you detach the stock, and other bits, it would probably make a decent secondary, should you decided to upgrade to something more expensive.

 Smacks wrote:
I bought this gun last year just to mess around with, and I personally think it's awesome for the price. It has a really good full auto mode, and if you detach the stock, and other bits, it would probably make a decent secondary, should you decided to upgrade to something more expensive.

If you actually want to play airsoft; don't ever buy one of these!

Or buy from companies with "bbguns" in the title. As a general rule they only ever stock the gakkiest guns available; all in 2-tone. They're no good for anything more than back garden plinking.

When it comes to retailers I generally look at Zero One; Landwarrior and Airsoft World. There's other decent ones around but they're the main 3 I've used in the past.

I dont know if I should laugh or cry about the laws regarding bb guns in Britain. They are just riddiculus.

Tibbsy wrote:
If you actually want to play airsoft; don't ever buy one of these!

In all seriousness, may I ask why? I mean aside from the inevitable dick measuring you're likely to encounter at an airsoft field, is there any practical reason why you couldn't play airsoft with a gun like this?

 Smacks wrote:

Tibbsy wrote:
If you actually want to play airsoft; don't ever buy one of these!

In all seriousness, may I ask why? I mean aside from the inevitable dick measuring you're likely to encounter at an airsoft field, is there any practical reason why you couldn't play airsoft with a gun like this?

Its a 20 pound gun, its going to break before you run out of ammo.

Daemonhammer wrote:
Its a 20 pound gun, its going to break before you run out of ammo.

Except it didn't. As I said, I've had mine for over a year and it has run out of ammo loads of times.

Three great sites - ehobby, evike, and airsoft gi. Between these three, you'll find anything you need to start playing. As for companies, I've had good experiences in JG, Classic Army, Echo1, and G&G. All of those companies have good entry-level guns, and higher quality guns if you eventually get a little more serious. And the best entry-level for the price (in my opinion, and several airsoft buddies will agree) is the G&G Combat Machine.

I also recommend a full-face mask. Sure, you can wear goggles, but getting hit in the face suuuucks. I had an Invert Helix for a loooong time before I finally upgraded. It's a little bulkier, but it never fogs up and has that awesome visor.

And avoid going "sniper". The only people I've played with that were "good" at sniping had been playing for years, and dumped some nicer parts into their guns.

As for camo...meh, I don't think it's always needed, but it can help. If I wear camo, it's usually Russian Digital Flora or KLMK, or German Flecktarn. But, there's a huuuuge variety, so find something you like.

If I think of anything else, I'll post. Any other questions, lemme know!

 Smacks wrote:

Tibbsy wrote:
If you actually want to play airsoft; don't ever buy one of these!

In all seriousness, may I ask why? I mean aside from the inevitable dick measuring you're likely to encounter at an airsoft field, is there any practical reason why you couldn't play airsoft with a gun like this?

Simple really; it will be outranged by everything it comes up against; the gearbox will have a plastic body that is more than likely to tear itself to pieces within a game or two, rate of fire will be slow, even on auto and that will cause a problem with trigger response on semi (Assuming it even has a semi-auto option!) It'll also be so low-powered that no-one will even notice they've been hit with it!

In short; if you go into a game with one of these expecting good things, you're gonna have a bad time!

If you want to get one; go ahead, but the money will be better invested in a gun you can reasonable expect to use in the field straight from the box.


Daemonhammer; Yeah, the laws are silly. But they are law, so it pays to have a reasonable knowledge of them. It's a barrier for new players, especially under 18s but once you're established as a skirmisher getting guns becomes no problem.

mega_bassist; I've heard good things about ehobby and evike, but in the UK you need to be wary about importing RIFs. Much easier to buy guns within the UK as they've already sorted the customs stuff; I know some people have had an absolute nightmare while trying to import stuff. Up to and including having the guns seized and destroyed at customs.

EDIT: A word.

So how good would this be? http://www.airsoftgi.com/mobile/product_info.php?products_id=15830

It's still a combat machine but an upgraded mark I think? I'm really just going off what people recommend and personal choice of aesthetics.

Cheers!

Tibbsy wrote:
mega_bassist; I've heard good things about ehobby and evike, but in the UK you need to be wary about importing RIFs. Much easier to buy guns within the UK as they've already sorted the customs stuff; I know some people have had an absolute nightmare while trying to import stuff. Up to and including having the guns seized and destroyed at customs.

Yeah, I knew the regs on airsoft guns were pretty strict. I keep in-touch with an airsoft buddy in Ireland...maybe I'll give him a buzz for some advice!

 kitch102 wrote:
So how good would this be? http://www.airsoftgi.com/mobile/product_info.php?products_id=15830

It's still a combat machine but an upgraded mark I think? I'm really just going off what people recommend and personal choice of aesthetics.

Cheers!

Yup, that's exactly it. They basically put a rail system on it, and higher quality gears, and maybe a motor. Looks good to me. I've had two G&G's, and one minor problem with one of them.

Cool, do different barrel lengths have an effect on the shot?

 kitch102 wrote:
Cool, do different barrel lengths have an effect on the shot?

Yes.

Quality and lenght have an effect mostly on accuracy and stability but also can affect velocity.

Daemonhammer wrote:

 kitch102 wrote:
Cool, do different barrel lengths have an effect on the shot?

Yes.

Quality and lenght have an effect mostly on accuracy and stability but also can affect velocity.

This. It's just like it is in a real gun. That, and there's also different sizes. A very high precision barrel would be a 6.01-.02 (since most bb's are 6mm). I have a 6.03 in most of my guns. And the reason most people put a "silencer" on their airsoft gun is to use a longer barrel. The aesthetics is secondary

Also, I talked to my Irish mate, and he basically said the best thing to do is get your UKARA, rent a gun at a local field, and then talk to people over there. They'll be able to point you in the right direction. He did mention he's not up to date with all of the regs you'll have to follow, though.

make sure you double check the stuff on here

but most airsoft stuff is made in china anyways so buy from the source for savings and free shipping,

http://www.dx.com/c/hobbies-toys-899/bb-guns-accessories-831

quality is decent, you can get 50$ -300$+ quality level of guns there.

I wouldn't buy a Tokyo Marui, but that comes from personal experience. They're reliable, but their performance is sub-par compared to other companies now-a-days. And several of their guns (especially their AKs) are a pain to tear down.

 mega_bassist wrote:
I wouldn't buy a Tokyo Marui, but that comes from personal experience. They're reliable, but their performance is sub-par compared to other companies now-a-days. And several of their guns (especially their AKs) are a pain to tear down.

That's actually really good advice in the nick of time, I'd been looking at these first due to recommendations on a blog somewhere listing them as a top tier brand. For the price though I guess I wouldn't be going with these anyway!

 kitch102 wrote:

 mega_bassist wrote:
I wouldn't buy a Tokyo Marui, but that comes from personal experience. They're reliable, but their performance is sub-par compared to other companies now-a-days. And several of their guns (especially their AKs) are a pain to tear down.

That's actually really good advice in the nick of time, I'd been looking at these first due to recommendations on a blog somewhere listing them as a top tier brand. For the price though I guess I wouldn't be going with these anyway!

They used to be considered top-tier. TM held the top spot for a long time until about 7-8 years ago. While their internals are still quite reliable, a lot of their guns still use plastic bodies, they're harder to fix when there's a problem, and they only shoot about 300-320 FPS out of the box...which is cute (at least in the US where FPS isn't strictly regulated most of the time). And then there's the price...You can buy a KWA or VFC for the price of a fething Tokyo Marui

 mega_bassist wrote:

 kitch102 wrote:

 mega_bassist wrote:
I wouldn't buy a Tokyo Marui, but that comes from personal experience. They're reliable, but their performance is sub-par compared to other companies now-a-days. And several of their guns (especially their AKs) are a pain to tear down.

That's actually really good advice in the nick of time, I'd been looking at these first due to recommendations on a blog somewhere listing them as a top tier brand. For the price though I guess I wouldn't be going with these anyway!

They used to be considered top-tier. TM held the top spot for a long time until about 7-8 years ago. While their internals are still quite reliable, a lot of their guns still use plastic bodies, they're harder to fix when there's a problem, and they only shoot about 300-320 FPS out of the box...which is cute (at least in the US where FPS isn't strictly regulated most of the time). And then there's the price...You can buy a KWA or VFC for the price of a fething Tokyo Marui

Just to note; most sites in the UK have a limit on FPS (Generally 350) so TM aren't that badly outperformed here; I know some people who still swear by TM so I wouldn't discount them completely.

The plastic body thing might be a bit of a turn-off still though.

Tibbsy wrote:

 mega_bassist wrote:

 kitch102 wrote:

 mega_bassist wrote:
I wouldn't buy a Tokyo Marui, but that comes from personal experience. They're reliable, but their performance is sub-par compared to other companies now-a-days. And several of their guns (especially their AKs) are a pain to tear down.

That's actually really good advice in the nick of time, I'd been looking at these first due to recommendations on a blog somewhere listing them as a top tier brand. For the price though I guess I wouldn't be going with these anyway!

They used to be considered top-tier. TM held the top spot for a long time until about 7-8 years ago. While their internals are still quite reliable, a lot of their guns still use plastic bodies, they're harder to fix when there's a problem, and they only shoot about 300-320 FPS out of the box...which is cute (at least in the US where FPS isn't strictly regulated most of the time). And then there's the price...You can buy a KWA or VFC for the price of a fething Tokyo Marui

Just to note; most sites in the UK have a limit on FPS (Generally 350) so TM aren't that badly outperformed here; I know some people who still swear by TM so I wouldn't discount them completely.

The plastic body thing might be a bit of a turn-off still though.

Very true. I knew the FPS limit was lower over there. My local field limits AEG/gas guns are limited to 400, and snipers/DMRs to 500 (with a 10ft/20ft safety kill radius for autos/snipers).

Out of curiosity, have polarstars started showing up on your side of the pond?

 mega_bassist wrote:


Out of curiosity, have polarstars started showing up on your side of the pond?

They have yeah; there's not many but there's a few around.

I know a couple of guys with them.

EDIT: Your FPS limits aren't so different then. Here it's generally 350 for auto capable AEGs and gas guns; 400 for semi-only AEGs and gas guns and 500 for bolt-action.

Tibbsy wrote:

 mega_bassist wrote:


Out of curiosity, have polarstars started showing up on your side of the pond?

They have yeah; there's not many but there's a few around.

I know a couple of guys with them.

I figured they had, but didn't know for sure. They started showing up in my neck of the woods about 1-2 years ago. They're still more popular on the west coast, though. They started getting a really bad name because the win-at-all-cost MilSim guys started ramping up the ROF and FPS super high, and it was basically unfair to everyone else. I've been reading that some fields have outright banned them.

Tibbsy wrote:

EDIT: Your FPS limits aren't so different then. Here it's generally 350 for auto capable AEGs and gas guns; 400 for semi-only AEGs and gas guns and 500 for bolt-action.

That's pretty cool. I was under the impression that it was regulated to way lower FPS. But I will be honest, two of my guns definitely shoot closer to 410-420. But, my main is at a nice 380

I can't see why a milsimmer would run a polarstar; what with the seperate air tank and hose.

That's what puts me off them personally; if I wanted a paintball style air-tank attachment I'd play paintball! I'll stick with my gas MAC 11 thank-you-very-much!

Haha, you're right. I have a tendency to lump milsim guys with the win-at-all-cost guys, since all the milsim guys I've played with acted like that

Ah, the MAC11. Those things are fun...if you can keep up with the gas guzzling My current love is my VFC 416. A buddy of mine is getting married, and having to sell some toys; so, I got a real good deal on it

Sorry what's milsim?

 kitch102 wrote:
Sorry what's milsim?

Military Simulation.

Those are the guys that use low-cap magazines (Usually 30 rounds, like a real steel), they wear all the proper tactical gear, and they basically LARP as people in the military. Some people really get into it, and they're super serious. Hell, there's a huge event, called Operation East Wind which is 24 hour, weeklong, airsoft MilSIm where you basically roleplay as NATO vs the Eastern Bloc. Everything has to be period specific, down to the boots. As an example, I wouldn't be able to us my AK-74M, since it was put into service AFTER the USSR collapsed.