Issue 10 - Jun 2012 by Airsoft Action

ACTION

THE Airsoft Magazine

WIN

EVOLUTIO N STAR RAN LONE CHE + ABBEY R MAINTEN ANCE KIT!

ASHBURY

ASW338LM RIFLES REVIEWED

THE ART OF SNIPING

SITE REVIEW UCAP: SANDPIT

This month: APO 338LM, Beta Project M200, G&G G96

The Sniper teaches the skills required to be a master shot

Nige heads to Kent, and one of the biggest sites in the UK

your first load-out ❱ sniper gear ❱ Inside: The Range ❱ CQB TArget systems

JUNE 2012 - £4.25

IS IT WORTH THE HYPE?

June 2012

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CONTENTS AIRSOFT ACTION - JUNE 2012

Editor: Nigel Streeter

READERS’ GALLERY YOUR CHANCE TO GET YOUR FACE IN THE MAGAZINE!

THE SNIPER DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A REAL SNIPER?

AIRSOFT NEWS FIRST WE AEG, CONTOUR CAM, MECHANIX WEAR AND MORE

SITE: ALL ARMS AIRSOFT RON MAHONEY GETS STUCK IN AT ALL ARMS AIRSOFT

REVIEW: APO ASW338LMI ONE OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT RIFLES OF THE YEAR: ANY GOOD?

SKILLS ROOM BILLY BASICS FINALISES HIS AMBUSH IN PART TWO

SITE: UCAP SANDPIT NIGE CHECKS OUT THE SANDPIT IN KENT, A MAMMOTH SITE

HUNTEERING AIRSOFT TOO MAINSTREAM? LET MATT BRAZILL INTRODUCE YOU TO HUNTEERING...

KIT TEST: SNIPER GEAR MATTY PHILLIPSON TRIES OUT SOME AWESOME SNIPER KIT

COLD WAR WARRIORS WATCH OUT – THERE’S SPETSNAZ ABOUT

ICONIC WEAPONS JAY SLATER TRACKS THE SPAS12 THROUGH FILM, VIDEOGAME AND AIRSOFT

REVIEW: G&G G96 MATTY P DONS HIS GHILLIE FOR A BLAT WITH G&G’S SNIPER

COMPETITION WIN THE LONE STAR RANCHER REVIEWED LAST ISSUE!

CUSTOM SNIPER EQUIPMENT CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME CUSTOM GHILLIE CAPE

REVIEW: BETA PROJECT M200 RATTY FINDS OUT IF THIS MONSTER IS WORTH THE CASH

Assistant editor: Anthony Platt Art director: Chris Sweeney Ad design: Anna Makwana Advertising: Hannah Benson Operations director: James Folkard Assistant publisher: Ruth Burgess Editorial director: James Marchington Publisher: Wesley Stanton

Full UK 12-issue subscription rate: £59.40 For overseas prices visit: www.airsoftactionmagazine.com Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street Leamington Spa.Warwickshire. CV32 5SZ Tel: 01926 339808 Fax: 01926 470400 E: info@blazepublishing.co.uk W: www.blazepublishing.co.uk © Blaze Publishing Limited, 2012 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Blaze Publishing Limited 2012. 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 publishers in writing. The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reﬂect those of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

RECOGNISE THIS PATTERN? TAKE A NOTE! YOU’LL NEED THE PATTERNS FROM ISSUES 1 - 12 TO ENTER OUR CAMO COMPETITION!

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FILMSIM: THE DROP GARETH HARVEY BATTLES FOR ARNHEM BRIDGE (SORT OF)

KIT TEST: CAMO GEAR MATTY PHILLIPSON GETS HANDS-ON WITH CAMO KIT

BIG BOYZ TOYZ RATTY COULDN’T RESIST A DAY OUT AT TANKS-A-LOT

BEGINNERS’ AIRSOFT YOUR FIRST LOAD-OUT DOESN’T NEED TO BREAK THE BANK, SAYS GARETH HARVEY

CQB TARGET SYSTEMS SIMON CHAMBERS CHECKS OUT SOME REALISTIC TARGETS

KIT TEST: TACFIRE GHILLIE FANCY BUILDING YOUR OWN GHILLIE SUIT?

INSIDE AIRSOFT: THE RANGE NIGE FINDS OUT MORE ABOUT LONDON’S THE RANGE

VIDEOGAME REVIEW THE WAIT’S FINALLY OVER FOR ALEX WHARTON: MASS EFFECT 3 IS HERE

nother 28 days and another issue of Airsoft Action hits the shelves! This month the mag has a bit of a ‘sniper-esque’ feel about it, reﬂecting the continued and growing interest that this (very, very specialised) skill attracts among airsoft players. There seems to be something primal in the way that a sniper can sneak up on their prey and take them down, before they even know it has happened. In this issue you will ﬁnd an article about ‘Hunteering’, an extreme airsoft sport that pits snipers against each other and where ‘one shot, one kill’ is the ultimate aim (no pun intended). In airsoft terms this is perhaps the ultimate personal challenge, requiring (as it does) a whole range of abilities and attributes to be successful. To help you on your way, we’ve got loads of kit and weapon reviews to point you in the right direction if you’re up for it. As it says in the hunteering article, airsoft requires a high degree of honour and this brings me back to a not-so-nice aspect of the sport I witnessed at a recent game – blatant cheating! I am not going to say where or when it took place but it got to a point where the site operator was seriously considering cancelling the day. Let me make this this absolutely clear… There is no place in airsoft for cheats or cheating! I used to be heavily involved in paintball, where I both ran and played in major tournaments. By the time I got out of it there was almost an acceptance of the fact that the team that was the best at cheating would be the team that won. If you want to know how successful that attitude was, just take a look at the state of paintball today. A number of companies will be running airsoft tournaments this year which is a great idea – but (and it is a BIG but) it is far easier to cheat when playing airsoft than in paintball, so cheating simply will not be tolerated. Any player caught will be both turfed out and ‘named and shamed’, something I think should happen in all games and not just at tournament level. Airsoft is about honour and if you are not prepared to bring that to the game, best you stay at home! Nige

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Letter, idea or question? Got something to say? A question for our experts? Or an article, or article idea? Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the assistant editor (anthonyp@blazepublishing. co.uk), send us a letter at the Blaze Publishing address on the previous page – or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

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READERS’ GALLERY Send your pics into anthonyp@blazepublishing.co.uk and see yourself in the mag – the more the merrier! Tony ‘George’ Stronach sent the picture below: “Me and my two mates Big Gazz (left) and Big Jef f (right) with yours truly (middle), having fun k at Combat South Woodland site. Loo forward to hopefully seeing it in a future issue of your great magazine!”

Photography student Rob ‘Panky Jr’ Pankhurst ha s been taking photos for his ﬁna l project - and they’re aw esome!

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June 2012

AIRSOFT | NEWS

AIRSOFT NEWS FIRST WE AEG OUT NOW

WE, known for producing some of the finest GBB weapons available, has now made its first AEG, a full-metal M4A1. Available now from European retailer Gunfire for €222 (direct conversion £180), the WE M4A1 features good-quality TMcompatible internals and some innovative new features. These include releasing spring tension on selecting ‘Safe’, extending the life of the moving parts. The gun also features a highspeed motor, reinforced gearbox with 8mm bearings, steel gears and light polycarbonate piston powered by a nonlinear spring and with a unique piston head. The cylinder head has a full air seal, allowing it to act as a ‘cushion’ for the piston head. According to Gunfire, stock velocity is ~400fps, though “easy and effective

power tuning is possible.” It is compatible with LiPo batteries.

SPECIFICATIONS WE M4A1 GUNFIRE WARRANTY: 12 months VELOCITY: 400fps POWER SOURCE: Electric GEARBOX: Reinforced V2, 8mm bearings TYPE OF FIRE: Single-shot, full-auto CONSTRUCTION: Metal, ABS LENGTH: 770mm / 855mm INNER BARREL LENGTH: 363mm WEIGHT: 3,050g MAGAZINE TYPE: Hi-cap magazine (included) HOP-UP: Adjustable BLOW-BACK: No PRICE: E222 AVAILABLE FROM GUNFIRE: www.gunﬁre.pl

TRADE NEWS US-based distributor, Raptors Airsoft, will now be shipping worldwide. In a press release, Raptors stated: “International dealers receive the same beneﬁts our local dealers do. Namely, fast shipping using USPS International Priority Mail, high-quality products, excellent customer service, and easy ordering.” Raptors distributes the following brands: SHS, Element, Hurricane, Super Shooter, A&K, Gens Ace, Battle Axr, CYMA and D-Boys. For more information about the wholesale programme visit: www.raptorsairsoft.com

UKAPU NEWS Last month we told you that Josh at Gunman Airsoft (www.gunmanairsoft. co.uk) has started a discount scheme for all UKAPU members playing at any Gunman site. Any member attending Gunman Norwich, Tuddenham or Eversley will receive a £5 discount on their green fees at each skirmish. UKAPU members can also get 20 per cent off their ticket price if they introduce a new hire player at Gunman. It is worth noting that these incentives run separately and can’t be combined together. Well, we’ve got more good news for you this month: Urban 6 Airsoft (www. urban6airsoft.com), based in Staffordshire, has decided to get in on the action as well! UKAPU members will receive 10 per cent discount on all consumables at Urban 6 including your everyday essentials like BBs and pyro. So if you play in Staffordshire and spend more than £50 on pyro and ammo in a year – and let’s face it, who doesn’t – then you can rack up some serious savings. Since last October UKAPU has introduced a total of six new incentives for members – on top of all the regular benefits you get for being a member. With the summer season rapidly approaching timing just couldn’t be better to take advantage of your membership benefits. Who knows, can we find you all another six before the end of the year? We certainly hope so! With membership costs just £5 for a whole year so you can quickly see why these discounts are such great value for members! If you have already joined UKAPU then thank you – if you would like to join then annual membership is available from our website www.ukapu.org.uk. Chris Neill – UKAPU Press Officer

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HEAD CAMS AT LANDWARRIOR Landwarrior Airsoft is now stocking the ContourROAM HD head camera. Able to record at 1080p (30 frames per second) it is the ultimate camera for high-quality game footage. The ContourROAM is a user-friendly head camera perfect for capturing high-quality video footage. Used by sporting and military enthusiasts it is ideal for taking hands-free videos at airsoft games – and Landwarrior is also stocking the various mounts and accessories required to get the most out of the camera. It features a 170° wide angle lens – the widest available on the market today – to enhance the ‘point of view’ experience. A built-in battery and instant ‘On-Record’ function maximise battery life and help with the waterproof properties (it can be submerged to a depth of 1m, so no bother with a bit of rain on the skirmish ﬁeld). The ContourROAM retails for £200. For more details visit: www.landwarriorairsoft.com.

PILGRIM BANDITS

‘But who are ye in rags and rotten shoes, you’re dirty-bearded and blocking the way, We are the pilgrims master, we shall go always a little further.’ Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, of the 7 Para RH, severely injured during a tour of Afghanistan in 2006, has continued his support for charity Pilgrim Bandits. Double-amputee Ben completed a tandem para jump in Dubai in February this year, and has since organised ‘Parkie’s Jump’ at the Army Parachute School, Wilts. A spokesman for the Pilgrim Bandits said: “This is typical of Ben. He’s a remarkable solider who consistently achieves the unachievable and is an inspiration to all forces amputees. Thanks to his untiring support we are able to raise awareness of Pilgrim Bandits and its work for all forces amputees.” In 2010 the Pilgrim Bandits secured charitable status and are now planning and implementing a schedule of ‘no sympathy’ challenges for forces amputees including: desert treks, parachute jumps, mountain climbing and skiing. Anyone interested in becoming a Pilgrim

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MOSSY OAK MECHANIX

Bandits challenger or supporter can visit www.pilgrimbandits.org.

Mechanix Wear, manufacturer of highperformance gloves, has joined forces with Mossy Oak camouﬂage pattern. Three Mechanix models are now available in the Mossy Oak pattern: M-Pact, FastFit and Original. Mechanix Wear M-Pact gloves are a ﬁrm favourite with many airsofters. Previously available in black or desert, the addition of the Mossy Oak pattern will mean they are even more useful in woodland battles. Unfortunately, Facebook has killed the art of the press release and the announcement was made with one line on the Mechanix fanpage: ‘Mechanix Wear and Mossy Oak have joined forces!’ At the time of going to print Mechanix had not responded to a request for a decent picture, so we’ve had to nab the one of its Facebook page… The gloves are available now direct from Mechanix Wear – www.mechanix.com – starting from $18 for the FastFit (pictured).

AIRSOFT | NEWS

CELCIUS COMPETITION WINNER Way back in our Xmas 2011 issue we ran a competition to win a Celcius MX2 CTW. After a few technical hitches getting the weapon halfway round the world we were finally able to get it to its rightful owner earlier this month. Meet our winner! Name: Gary Stratmann Age: 25 (and if you believe that, you’ll believe the world is flat!) Married to: Linda, a published Crime Fiction writer. Once went on a battlefield tour of Rourke’s Drift and, at a private Museum in South Africa, got a close look at an original Henry rifle. Handled a real-steel M4 about 25 years ago and, although it’s been a long time said the Celcius “feels really good to hold, just like the M4.” Gary normally plays at The Sandpit, Chobham and the Mall (where he enjoys zombie games), plus occasionally at Finmere. He also takes part in LARP events at The Secret Nuclear Bunker in Ongar, Essex. Gary said: “AA is a great mag – keep up the good work! I am really pleased to win the Celcius and will report back on how the gun goes. Thanks!”

SAS: ULTIMATE GUIDE TO COMBAT

JD AIRSOFT HAS MOVED JD Airsoft has moved! By the time you read this the Staffordshire-based retailer will be settled into its new, bigger and better premises. If you’ve visited JD Airsoft before you’ll be pleased to know the new shop is less than half a mile away – all of two minutes’ drive! The new address is: Unit 5, Virage Park, Walsall Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0NH. Room to move: JD Airsoft’s new shop during the ‘work in progress’ phase

Robert Stirling, author of Special Forces ‘guides to survival’, has released SAS: Ultimate Guide To Combat through Osprey Publishing. The book’s tagline – How to ﬁght and survive in modern warfare – tells you pretty much what the author has set out to achieve. Beginning with the basics, chapters cover: Tools of the trade; Food, shelter and dealing with weather; and Staying healthy. While this book will not teach you any ‘secrets’ of the SAS it will teach you how to survive in unforgiving, hostile territory. Later chapters, such as ‘How to avoid getting shot’ and ‘How to deal with suicide bombers’ are incredibly useful for the young recruit, or those contemplating a military career. The information is presented in a jocular, easyto-grasp style and is accurate, detailed and informative. What’s it got to do with airsoft? Well, nothing really (although the early chapters will be a big help for those heading out on their ﬁrst weekender!) – but we know many airsofters have a general interest in the military, and it’s a bloody good book. Plus it runs to 344 pages, which is a lot of paper for your money. The book is available from Osprey Publishing – www.ospreypublishing.com – from £9 (eBook) and £15 for the paperback.

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ASHBURY PRECISION ORDNANCE ASW338LM ASG’s Asymmetric Warrior 338LM, licensed by Ashbury Precision Ordnance, is a stunning VSRbased sniper. James Parker of Fireball Squadron ﬁnds out how it performs

he ASW338LM, by Ashbury Precision Ordnance, is a fullyintegrated precision riﬂe platform, engineered around the versatile .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge. The Ashbury allows snipers to engage targets in the open – including lightly-armored targets out to 1,500m. The ‘asymmetrical’ bit comes from the wedge-shaped upper rail, designed to bring the scope in alignment with the ballistic trajectory at long range. Thanks to the guys at Action Sport Games there’s now a fully-endorsed product with a true 1:1 scale, built using the original 3D

drawings used to produce the real rifle. The rifles are made by VegaForceCompany (VFC) and come in their own padded hardcase which already has the cut-outs for the accessories on offer. Upon opening the case you will find the Ashbury in two parts, along with a speed loader and one of the best manuals I’ve seen for an airsoft weapon. You get a 40-round metal low-cap magazine, a spare lower-powered spring (M90), the screw to attach the stock to the rifle and two different Allen keys, one for fixing the stock and another to adjust the hop up. Two other cut outs in the foam hold the suppressor and the bipod (not included), so you can carry everything you need for the Ashbury in one solid protective case. Assembling the Ashbury is quick and as simple as it gets. Align the stock at the back of the rifle and use the larger Allen key to attach it to the side-folding hinge. You’re good to go – all you need then is to attach your optic and accessories.

First impressions There has been a lot of hype about this riﬂe, and expectations were very high.

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THE ARMOURY | ASHBURY ASW338LM

“The folding stock has three levels of adjustment. Not only can you change the length of the stock but you can also change the cheekrest height and the vertical recoil pad placement” First impressions didn’t disappoint; using the original 3D drawings has paid off and the quality and ﬁnish could not be better. It features a die-cast aluminum receiver and CNC-machined upper rail and components, and has a full-length asymmetric top rail for optics as well as a carbon-ﬁber look forend which is very convincing. There’s also

side and bottom rails co-bore aligned with the barrel for mounting bipods and other accessories. One of the main things that stood out to me on the Ashbury is the trademarks and markings on the body, which look fantastic. The folding stock has three levels of adjustment. Not only can you change the

length of the stock but you can also change the cheekrest height and the vertical recoil pad placement. The button on the righthand-side of the stock is used to fold it to the left where it will lock into place. The monopod can be placed by pulling it towards the trigger and down, and can be extended by turning the thread. The pistol grip can be

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THE ARMOURY | ASHBURY ASW338LM

up chambers you turn clockwise for more hop and counter-clockwise for less. The Ashbury has a Marui VSR compatible inner structure and barrel, and a plethora of internal upgrades and aftermarket parts are readily available.

On test

moved backwards and forwards from the trigger to suit the shooter’s hand. Weighing in at 4.9kg (without any accessories added) the riﬂe is a bit on the heavy side, but nothing compared to a Cheytac. To help with the weight there are more quick detach sling points than you can shake your tacti-cool stick at, meaning countless variations of sling can be used. ASG claims that the riﬂe has a unique loading system, which allows correct placement of the magazine for added realism. I disagree – it does allow correct magazine placement but the system is not unique: it’s the same system Tokyo Marui used in its L96. It works by using a tappetplate-shaped piece of plastic that sits on the front of the cylinder. This then pushes the BB down a feeding tube to the hop-up chamber sitting further forward. The hop-up is adjusted from a small hole halfway down the top rail using the smaller Allen wrench supplied. Similar to other hop-

Time to talk performance. Although testing in a controlled environment is ideal it is never true to the conditions you will face using this rifle out on the field. We used a variation of ammo weights in the performance review. Before we started the gun was chronod – it fired at an average of 369fps using a .20g Blaster BB and the stock spring. We then took the rifle outside and started with .25g BBs. The hop-up was set and a man-sized target placed at 40m. At that range the rounds were surpassing the target but accuracy wasn’t great, with BBs flying left and right with a couple of hits. The target was then set out to 50m and the ammo was swapped for .3g rounds. More hits were recorded but range was sacrificed due to the heavier ammo, which meant half the shots landed on target and the rest fell short. We attempted to hit a target at 60m but simply couldn’t, and using a lighter-weight BB meant the accuracy was too low to hit a man-sized target. Lastly we swapped the target for an A5 piece of paper. Using .3g BBs we found the shots were dropping, and no adjustment to the hop-up in either direction was making a significant difference. Of 10 shots, seven hit the smaller target with a spread of 5in-10in. The range suffers due to the low power in stock setup, but because the Ashbury is Marui VSR compatible it could be made

into a solid shooting bolt-action rifle with the addition of some tried and tested aftermarket upgrade parts. Out of the box performance was disappointing considering the Ashbury is not a cheap rifle (retailing around £500-£550). To get the rifle performing well you would have to invest more money on top – and while it could be upgraded on a budget I personally would invest in the 170 upgrade kit from ASG, which includes a fully-assembled cylinder and zero trigger unit. Then I could hot-swap the higher and lower-powered bolts for when I play at Fireball Squadron, which runs lower fps limits. I would also buy the suppressor and the bipod to make what Carlsberg might dub ‘probably the best airsoft sniper made’. ■

(ASG) APO ASW338LM Licensed by ASG Manufactured by VFC LENGTH: 1,060mm (stock extended) 810mm (stock retracted) BARREL LENGTH: 420mm WEIGHT: 4,900g CONSTRUCTION: Aluminium receiver, CNC-machined upper rail MAGAZINE: 40-round HOP-UP: Adjustable OPERATION: Spring VELOCITY: ~369fps PRICE: £500 Complete with hardshell carry case, spare M90 spring and speedloader Huge thanks to JD Airsoft for supplying riﬂe on test JD AIRSOFT: 01543 466356, www.jdairsoft.net

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SITE REVIEW | THE SANDPIT

UCAP: THE SANDPIT As big as the City of London, UCAP’s Sandpit in Kent is known throughout the UK. Nige went along to find out why

s the Landrover bumped and ground its way along the track, with a vertical cliff on one side and a steep embankment on the other, I couldn’t help thinking this would be the perfect place to ambush an unwary Patrol. We drove another mile into woodland before ﬁnally coming to a halt as the track became too steep – even for the Landie! I followed the driver out of the vehicle and we climbed up the side of the track. Here we stood looking out over the landscape, and I was more than impressed. Sheer white cliffs stretched away to our right and continued into the distance. Azure blue lakes shimmered in the morning sunshine in front of us and I could just make out some buildings on the far side. “So, how much of this is the site?” I asked the driver. “All of it!” he replied. The driver was Andy Stevens, owner of UCAP Airsoft and operator of The Sandpit, which is where we were standing.

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The Sandpit is big – very big! Totalling something approaching 1,000 acres it covers the site of the old Eastern Quarry at Bean, in Kent. The quarry used to supply materials for the burgeoning local cement industry, but as the cement factories closed the quarry fell silent. While the Western Quarry now contains the Bluewater Shopping Centre, the Eastern was largely unused until Andy took it on. Access to the site is via Watling Street, and the drive to the Safe Zone gives an inkling of what lies ahead as the road winds down towards the bottom of the quarry before ascending steeply to bring you to the main car parking area. Players have the luxury of being able to use the rooms on the upper floor of (what looks like) an old office block, which also houses the site office and Platoon Store’s mobile shop. From here you can look out over the site and it’s almost too much to take in: pretty much everything you can see is part of the playing area! Immediately in front of the Safe Zone (and about 100ft lower) is a collection of

“The area was full of features that would fulfil the desires of just about every flavour of airsofter, from the sneakybeaky sniper to the full-on, balls-out, in-your-face CQB addict!” buildings, including the aptly-named Killing House, along with various outbuildings and stores. It is here that Andy greeted the 90-odd players, gave an outline of how the day would play and ran through the safety briefing. A straightforward attack and defend scenario would be played, with both sides using ‘rolling regens’ and one life medic rules to keep downtime to a minimum – this is very important on a site this size, to prevent the game from becoming stagnant. As the defenders fell back the game would culminate in an all-out assault on The Village, in an attempt to locate and secure three mortar tubes. With the briefing complete I followed the Orange Team out to their start point. This involved a trek past one of the site’s lakes and up to an area about half a mile away – from here the defenders could clearly be seen streaming out of The Village and taking up position on The Causeway (the only route back!). It might be stating the obvious but as we had to walk ‘up’ to get here, the only

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SITE REVIEW | THE SANDPIT

way back would be down. At game on the Orange Team headed in all sorts of directions. The more adventurous were soon scrambling down almost vertical embankments, hanging onto trees and shrubs to stop themselves from sliding to the bottom while others preferred to stick close to the track. Whichever route they chose it wasn’t long before cries of ‘contact’, followed by ‘hit’ and ‘medic’ were echoing off the solid chalk cliff towering over the area.

I have been to many, many sites and seen more games than I can possibly remember, and as a player I think I can recognise when a site is going to ‘play well’. The Sandpit is one of those places and, although I estimated that less than 10 per cent of the total was in use today, the area was full of features that would fulﬁl the desires of just about every ﬂavour of airsofter, from the sneaky-beaky sniper to the full-on, balls-out, in-your-face CQB addict! One thing’s certain though, The Sandpit doesn’t just play ‘well’, it plays brilliantly and every player I spoke to throughout the day agreed. The levels of cover are excellent and the topographical features are almost custom-built for playability, with valleys, hills, gullies and tracks just waiting to be used. As I mentioned at the start, Andy took me for a drive around the site before the game started and I got to see some of the areas that wouldn’t be used today, including the aforementioned ‘Ambush Alley’ (which reminded me, oddly, of places I have driven through in Africa), which led us into a 40acre wooded area overlooking the lake. One place I didn’t get to see is called Cardiac Hill and looking at the softness of the ground and the steepness of the slope I was happy there wasn’t enough time to walk (stagger!) up it. I could just make out the Safe Zone in the distance and to the left of that the site stretched away another mile or so. Back at the game and the attackers

had pushed the defenders back into The Village, having been held up for a while on The Causeway, a natural chokepoint. They were busy clearing the Killing House and other buildings with a copious amount of grenades. I have to say that by this time (the game had been going for just

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under the two hour limit – some players were beginning to ﬂag and one or two could be seen climbing the staircase to the Safe Zone. Not the hardcore, though; they just kept on going until game over was called. Following a lunch of jacket potatoes and chilli, the roles were reversed and it was the Yellow Team’s turn to attack. I don’t know if it was the amount of effort and energy expended by the Yellows in the morning, or the effects of a really wholesome, tasty lunch (or maybe both), but they were roundly battered in the afternoon. As is so often the

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case in airsoft it didn’t really matter. I didn’t ﬁnd a single person who hadn’t had a good day and although thoroughly knackered, everyone left with a smile on their face. Andy and his marshals had put on a great day. The site obviously has a huge amount to do with why players keep coming back but Andy also makes sure he gives them what they want: big boys’ airsoft, in a challenging environment that both encourages and rewards positive play. Was I impressed with The Sandpit? Would I play there myself? Hell yes! ■

UCAP: THE SANDPIT Bean, Kent, DA3 8NY PRICES WALK-ON: £30 RIFLE HIRE: £45 (includes green fee, riﬂe, facemask and up to 3,000 BBs) LOYALTY SCHEME: Play four games in 90 days at any UCAP site and claim a free game at any of its sites UCAP AIRSOFT 07590 818881, www.ucap.co.uk

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SNIPER ESSENTIALS We’ve got so much funky sniper gear to test we’ve done away with the usual kit bag feature this month – instead we’ll spread it across the mag, starting with a few essentials: ghillie suit and drag mat ARKTIS GETAWAY MAT PRICE: £50

A while back I spent some time playing with dozens of different shooting mats, trying to see if they had any application in airsoft skirmishing. The only one that really stood out – and the only one I can recommend – is the Arktis Getaway Mat. This is because it can be of actual use in an airsoft game, especially to a sniper. As the name suggests the mat is designed for covert use where a rapid withdrawal might be necessary. Simply drop everything you need to hand – spare mags, speedloader, sidearm, even pyros – on the mat, and should your position be compromised you can grab the pull cord and run with it. The mat pulls

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together like a bag, keeping everything secure. No chance of leaving behind your essentials – and as anyone who’s ever tried to ﬁnd a black metal magazine in scrubby grass will tell you this is a real advantage! The mat is fully-waterproof, but obviously its size and shape mean it won’t keep you completely dry on wet ground. It’s also very strong, with no loose threads to pick at. It has a hi-vis panel, to make it easier to see equipment on the mat, but I generally left it tucked inside the one large pocket. The mat has two rubberised pads for elbow or knee rests, giving a little comfort when kneeling or lying prone.

The main issue with most mats was the fact you’d either have to roll and secure them after use or leave them behind. The Getaway Mat negates that, naturally, and is so convenient. Arktis products are designed for real-life military and police applications, and the Getaway Mat isn’t necessarily an ‘essential’ bit of kit for your average ‘softer. But if I continue dabbling in airsoft sniping on bigger skirmish sites I personally will be getting one. It takes one more worry out of the situation, knowing that if you’re compromised all you need to do is grab that cord and pull it to get away PDQ.

PRICE: £50 – be sure to mention you saw it in Airsoft Action when ordering direct from Arktis, or you may ﬁnd it costs a bit more than that! Huge thanks to Arktis for supplying the mat for review ARKTIS: 01392 201614 www.arktisltd.co.uk

KIT TEST | SNIPER GEAR

JACKAL GHILLIE SUIT PRICE: £140

I’ll admit I was a little sceptical when I ﬁrst saw this. It has fantastic reviews pretty much everywhere but at ﬁrst sight I couldn’t see how it would be better than the other suits on test this issue. But it must be doing something right to be getting such glowing reviews online, and I wanted to know what. The suit on test comprises long jacket, detachable hood and leg gaiters. It is surprisingly comfortable, built on bug-proof netting and lighter than expected. The ‘foliage’ of the suit is nylon strips in DPMstyle colours with areas of lighter green strips. The blurb bills it as ‘rustle free’, which is a bit of an overstatement but the suit is

quieter than I thought it would be. Though we didn’t fully stuff our model in a bush for the pictures you can see how effective the suit is. The Jackal impressed me – it’s on a par with custom-built equipment but with the advantage of being separable, washable and lighter. The main downside of shop-bought ghillies is that they’re not customisable, but if the colour scheme suits the areas you play in most of the time that shouldn’t really be a problem – and you don’t need to spend half a lifetime building it piece by piece. When buying a ghillie it all comes down to personal preference. I hope to show

you some of the best available, and let you decide which one is right for you. This is an effective suit, lightweight enough to be worn all day without being uncomfortable (though judging by the pictures it may be best suited to summertime this side of the pond).

PRICE: £140 The Jackal suit is manufactured by Camosystems: www.camosystems.com Huge thanks to Jack Pyke, UK distributor of the Jackal, for supplying suit for review JACK PYKE: www.jackpyke.co.uk

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FRANCHI SPAS-12 An early return for Iconic Weapons sees Jay Slater get to grips with the incredible SPAS-12 – literally! In the movies “You want to know who I am? I’m a son of a bitch… who wants to be left alone.” The beer-guzzling rednecks wouldn’t listen. As a consequence they were to become SPAS-12 mincemeat. An über-violent Italian shotgun splatter flick, the use of the Bee Gees’ Evening Star would appear an odd choice of song for Blastfighter (1984). A shameless First Blood (1982) rip-off, this ‘pasta sangue’ exploitation flick by Lamberto Bava – once savaged by UK censors for its graphic intensity as bodies are peppered with 12-gauge or blown to pieces – is a guilty pleasure. It’s hard to go wrong with a revenge story and Blastfighter has primal justice delivered in spades. Not only does a retired cop wipe out an entire town of rednecks (the latter killed his daughter), the sting in

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this brutal tale is that he does so with a heavily-modified SPAS-12. As an expendable character says, this weapon is: “A riot gun with an interchangeable rifle barrel that will give you a six-inch bull’s-eye at 300 yards. It shoots anything: smoke bombs to flares. Rubber bullets, lead slugs, armour piercing. It will fire grenades, tear gas, explosives, you name it. And the scope has light intensification capabilities and is infrared. I checked it out and it’s a honey.” Predictably, the final reel is of hardcore violence and the SPAS-12 is put to good effect. Blastfighter was to inspire a fistful of bastards such as the post-apocalyptic Equalizer 2000 (1988) where the prominent firearm got the best lines. Also, the guns got larger and more ridiculous – as seen in the dreadful Rolf: The Last Mercenary (1984).

Rumoured to have been made with Italian and Ethiopian cash, the weapon is presumably a Thompson submachine gun with a motorcycle exhaust welded to the barrel. It was possibly funded by the Maﬁa as a tax loss, but chances are you will never see it – and thank your lucky stars for small mercies. Even worse is Terminator 2 (1990). Not to be confused with the James Cameron ﬂick, this Italian SF shocker set in a ruined Venice not only takes the plot from Aliens (1986) but also features a Schwarzenegger-lookalike wandering around aimlessly. And who needs lasers when you can snuff out aliens with the SPAS-12? Now imagine Michael Caine in Harry Brown (2009) going loopy on the estate with a SPAS-12. Wouldn’t that have been something special?

ICONIC WEAPONS | FRANCHI SPAS-12

The SPAS-12, looking fearsome in Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (2000)

The SPAS-12 has also become a videogame shotgun of choice in first person shooters. In popular online games such as Counter Strike, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 the SPAS-12 does what it does best: blow people away at close quarters. What it lacks in longrange effectiveness and a generous supply of ammunition, it makes up for with an impressive fear factor and the blood-curdling ability to mash people to bits. It’s a showstopper – and you love it. The SPAS-12 was designed as a combat shotgun, a weapon intended for use in the offensive role. The earliest examples put to use were trench shotguns during the First World War of 1914-1918. As its name suggests, this nasty piece of work was designed solely to clear enemy soldiers in trenches when the typical firearm was a revolver or bolt-action rifle: although each slug was a man-stopper, repeated firing was slow. The combat shotgun was devilish in its execution in that each shell consisted of multiple projectiles that increased a hit probability, especially in the confined space of a manned trench.

“What it lacks in long-range effectiveness it makes up for with an impressive fear factor and the ability to mash people to bits” for gas-operated semi-automatic repeater or the good ole’ fashioned manually operated pump-action. Packing eight rounds in an underbelly tube, by pressing and holding a button on the forearm slightly forwards, the operator can select automatic mode or backwards for pump manual. Another unique feature is a magazine cutoff that prevents the loading of a new round from the internal magazine when the gun is cycled, therefore allowing a specialised round to be inserted without firing the entire magazine first. Also worth mentioning is the hook-on folding-stock variants that can be rotated in 90° sections. Theoretically, the hook would nestle under the operator’s forearm so that the shotgun could be fired with one hand. Due to the weight, however,

this is a near-impossible task. The barrel of the SPAS-12 was externally threaded so that attachments such as gas grenades and smoke bombs could be ﬁtted. Originally banned from import in the United States the SPAS-12 became a popular weapon for police and Special Forces around the world, notably Austria, Indonesia, Malaysia and SWAT teams in the US. However, while versatile, reliable and able to make large holes in bad guys, it is heavier than similar shotguns on the market. Its complicated design also results in high prices. The SPAS-12 went on to inﬂuence the SPAS-15, a further development on this iconic shotgun. Intended as a law enforcement and military weapon,

The SPAS-12 The SPAS-12 was manufactured by the Italian ﬁrearms company Franchi S.p.A. from 1979 to 2000. Designed as a special purpose, military and police close combat weapon – SPAS reportedly stands for ‘Sporting Purpose Automatic Shotgun’ (lighter civilian version) or ‘Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun’ (heavier military version) – the SPAS-12 featured a selective action

Tokyo Marui produces the only airsoft SPAS-12 worth buying

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firepower and versatility are paramount. An improvement over the previous incarnation is the development of a detachable, singlestack box magazine along with gas-powered full-auto or manual pump-action. This allows multiple shots to be fired in quick succession, and the magazine change is much faster than reloading a conventional tubular shotgun. With a Roman eye for graceful styling and hardcore power, the SPAS-12 remains the king of the boom sticks. Think of it as having the pleasing aesthetics of Anna Falchi (look her up) with the knock-out right hook of Nino Benvenuti (look him up). The SPAS12 deserves its legendary status and is a highly-sought-after collectors’ item selling upwards of $2,500 or more. Considering that US homeowners can seek assurance with a used Remington 870 or a Winchester 12, 1200 or 1300 pump for around $200, the SPAS-12 remains the quintessential tough guy of shotguns. And we should know. When Airsoft Action blitzed Las Vegas on a jolly I tried my hand with a SPAS-12 armed with full-bore slugs. The recoil was tremendous – as if Hiroshima and Dresden packed a biblical TNT wallop in a flash. Not only was I crying like a baby, my shoulder nearly dislocated, the targets of clichéd terrorists were reduced to carnage. How’s that hot sauce for ya, Bin Laden?

SPAS-12 in airsoft Airsoft examples of the SPAS-12 are numerous, but most suck eggs in terms of performance, build quality and reliability. The majority originate from Asia and resemble cheap plastic toys. Stunt Studios, HA232, ASG, Zida, KTW and HFC are all guilty of producing SPAS tat. The majority cost no more than a dirty pizza. These springers will

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break and offer very little in terms of power and range: sage advice is to save your folding green stuff and treat yourself to a Sloppy Giuseppe. Also, Umarex produce a midrange springer, but it’s best to walk on by. So what is recommended as an airsoft SPAS-12? Tokyo Marui produce the ﬁnest SPAS12. That said, ﬁrst impressions are not brilliant: on opening the box covered with decorative artwork, the contents of shotgun, packet of BBs, cleaning rod and shell are a tidy package. On prising the SPAS-12 from its styrofoam housing the shotgun is depressingly light, less than a quarter of the weight of its real counterpart. The reason for this is that the airsoft equivalent is mostly ABS plastic. It feels cheap. Had Tokyo Marui lost the plot? After all, this will set you back around £150 or more. But as we know the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In terms of performance, the Tokyo Marui sparkles. The winning formula is the typical internal reliability – out the box this bad boy is ready to rumble. Featuring a three barrel system with three internal springs, each shot will project three 6mm BBs in a fair spread at an estimated 280fps. Each shell holds 30 rounds, so 10 shots are at your disposal. When the hand grip is pumped back it resonates with a satisfying clack as the SPAS-12 is locked, loaded and ready to go. Range is impressive for a spring shotgun too. Typically, a human target will be sprayed with BBs at 80ft or so making this an excellent CQB destroyer. It also performs decently in woodland, too,

although a degree of skill is warranted to outsmart the more powerful GBB/AEGs. Another word of note is that the TM SPAS-12 is not a shell hog, unlike a number of notable gas shotguns. No shell-catcher required. However, youngsters and those with sparrow arms may find the force to pump this SPAS-12 hooligan a bridge too far. It does require a little muscle. The TM SPAS-12 can be modified externally with a full-metal stock at a price of just over £100. Another modification, at high cost, is of the TM SPAS-12 mutated to the gas-powered Maruzen 1100. A hybrid crafted by a Japanese airsoft wizard to be found on YouTube, the attraction of this SPAS-12 mongrel is that it ejects spent shells and is reinforced by Maruzen’s high-quality gas reputation. But as I emailed said eccentric and he was rude enough not to reply, that’s enough about him and his bloody gun. The TM SPAS-12 can therefore only be praised and recommended. Its performance in the field is unequalled in the world of spring shotguns. A sling, spare shells and a pouch of .25s are all but needed for some serious pump-action shock and awe. ■ The Tokyo Marui SPAS-12 reviewed for this article was kindly supplied by Fire Support : www.fire-support.co.uk

DID YOU KNOW?

Harry Brown (2009) would have been a much better ﬁlm if Michael Caine had gone mental on the estate with a SPAS-12. I could watch that all day.

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. .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I .W .. N I WIN...W

EVOLUTION LONE STAR

RANCHER REVIEWED IN THE APRIL EDITION OF

AIRSOFT ACTION! Evolution Airsoft has given us a Lone Star Rancher to pass on to one of you. Ofﬁcially licensed by Lone Star, the full-metal Rancher is a solid performer out-the-box and perfect for the new player and old hand alike. Check out Evolution Airsoft’s website – www.evolution-airsoft.co.uk – and for your chance to win answer the question and post or email your entry to us.

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COMPETITION | EVOLUTION RANCHER

QUESTION: In which year were the ﬁrst models released commercially under the Evolution Airsoft brand? 2012

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Post your entry to: Evolution Competition, Airsoft Action, Blaze Publishing, Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5SZ. Or, email your entries to competition@blazepublishing.co.uk, quoting ‘Evolution Competition’ in the headline. Entries received after 7 June will not be valid. One entry per household. Winner will be ﬁrst correct entry pulled from the editor's hat. Blaze Publishing would like to keep you informed of other offers and publications. Please tick here if you would NOT like to be contacted by post or email

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BETA PROJECT

M200 SNIPER RIFLE Having reviewed the Socom CheyTac M200, we thought we’d let Ratty loose on the Beta Project version as well

f you are a regular reader of Airsoft Action you may remember my review of the Socom Gear CheyTac M200 Intervention riﬂe a few issues ago. That one’s a gas-powered, shell-ejecting version of the infamous beast. I liked it on so many fronts but it did have its drawbacks – the price being a major one. You may also remember the review I wrote on the Beta Project Tactical AK, which I must admit is still one my favourite AEGs of recent times – I’m still singing its praises! So what if you could have an instantly-recognisable sniper riﬂe that was useable all-year-round, with a solid build quality (and preferably reliable to boot!) at a price meaning you don’t have to sell a kidney to own one? That would almost fall into Holy Grail territory! Read on; I may well make your day… Normally at this point I rattle on about the

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history of the real-steel counterpart but as I only did this a short time ago I won’t bore you all with a rehash of old information.

Beta Project M200 Sniper Rifle As I unwrapped the hefty box in my office that day I did wonder what I had been sent to review. Considering the weight of it, it was no real surprise to find an M200 inside, this time by Beta Project and in tan (or ‘Dark Earth’) which everyone knows is the new black! It comes disassembled, with the barrel/ bipod section separate from the main receiver/ bolt assembly. It couldn’t be simpler to put together – and then you have yourself one very big rifle at your disposal. The tan colouring is much the same as the Tactical AK and not too light. It’s available in black too. Pretty much the whole thing (with just a couple of exceptions) is made of an aluminium

alloy and is rock solid. It weighs in around 7.3kg and you just know you have a robust rifle in your hands. The stock has four positions but only properly locks in either fully-collapsed or fully-extended. This shouldn’t be an issue as without the stock fully extended you won’t be able to pull the bolt to the rear and cock the weapon. The stock release button is right on the back of the receiver so if you have sausage fingers like me it can be a bit fiddly to get to when the stock is fully-collapsed. Tucked up inside the rear of the stock is the small rear monopod which can be deployed easily and helps with stability on the real version. Moving forward down the rifle, the black pistol grip is made of a nylon fibre and fits nicely in your hand. It has a big baseplate to help with stability, and to stop the grip sinking into mud. Just forward of this is the trigger group housing and on the front of the

THE THEARMOURY ARMOURY| M2000 | M200 SNIPER RIFLE

“You cannot help but smile – this is one intimidating bit of kit. It’s like something out of Land of the Giants, it’s just so BIG!” trigger guard is the magazine release catch. The magwell is huge, but then it needs to be as the magazine is massive too. The bolt and cocking lever are again made of aluminium so if you upgrade to a more powerful spring you shouldn’t have to worry about upgrading these too. Cocking the bolt is four definitive movements, as with most bolt-action sniper rifles: up, all the way to the rear, all the way forward, and lock down. While you can do this action dry (without the mag fitted) you cannot do it with an empty mag fitted. A Picatinny rail sits above the bolt housing, allowing you to mount the optic of your choice. There’s also a hole here to access the hop with an Allen key. Although this is airsoft and you won’t be shooting at extreme distances, a scope suitable for the range we shoot at will look pretty odd and even a little pathetic. In fact, a friend of mine bought a

scope for his Beta Project M200 at the recent British Shooting Show and totally baffled the salesman when he said, “I don’t care what the scope does, it’s just got to look good on this!” And that should be your main concern when scoping this beast! The magazine, also made of aluminium, holds 100 rounds of ammunition making it really practical for game use. This eliminates the need to carry lots of spare mags that hold tiny amounts, or to reload in the field every 20 shots or so. Fitting the magazine is easy but, as always, give it a tap to make sure it has located properly. Just forward of the magazine housing, and pretty much the first part of the barrel assembly, is the carry handle. This is reinforced and attached with oversized bolts. As with everything on this rifle it gives you peace of mind that it won’t fall to pieces on

you, even if it does get a few knocks along the way. The barrel itself is free-floating, slightly shorter than the Socom Gear version but still finished off with a fantastic-looking muzzle break. The steel bipod is easy to deploy and fully-adjustable. My initial look over and play of the rifle finished, I stood back with it set up in my office. You cannot help but smile – this is one intimidating bit of kit. It’s like something out of Land of the Giants, it’s just so BIG!

Performance But the real question is: what’s it like to shoot? Will its performance be comparable to its build quality? With my BB loader at the ready, ﬁlled with Blaster Devil 0.20gs, it was time to load up the mag with just short of 100 BBs and set off to my range.

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It was a cold and damp day when I tested this – and as I’m over 40 I decided to lay out my shooter’s mat, not just to stop me from getting soaked but for comfort too! With the stock already fully-extended I folded down the bipod legs and adjusted the height. With the rifle set up I pulled the bolt back. Magazine firmly clicked in place I slid the bolt forward and loaded the first round into the chamber. The target was set at 100ft for the first test. Putting the stock into my shoulder and looking through the basic scope (even though it wasn’t zeroed in) that I had mounted, I took aim onto the figure 11. I pulled the trigger and thwack as the spring launched the BB towards his centre body mass. A metal ping let me know that I had hit him. Fantastic! I fired off half a mag, all of which hit the target. Then I adjusted the hop ever so slightly and reset the target another 20ft further away. Back on the mat I drew a bead on the metal Argentinian/Rusky/Terry Taliban/Fill in the blank target and fired off another shot. Success! I’m getting half good at this, I thought to myself. The more I used it the more I enjoyed it and the more it settled in. Realising I hadn’t chronod it yet I grabbed my Madbull V2 chrono and placed it front of the muzzle brake. First shot was 348fps, and the next five shots were within 3fps either way. I did have a random couple readings of 364fps, but an overall average of 347fps – which will please many potential owners.

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Summary If you know me then you will know that I am not, nor never have been, a sniper sort of person. One of the many reasons for this is I have never come across a sniper rifle that I could really live with. The Beta Project M200 Sniper Rifle may well have changed that. Yes it’s big and heavy, many people won’t want to lug it around all day, but for me that’s part of its appeal. It’s also very intimidating and upgraded springs (although different to AEG springs) mean that you will be able to properly ‘reach out and touch’ someone, skirmish site fps limits allowing. Even at 350fps it’s a corking bit of kit. The build quality is there, it is a solid chunk of kit. It’s also usable all year round and as it is spring-powered you don’t have to worry about ambient temperature or the usual ‘have I fired six shots in less than 20 seconds?’ or ‘will my battery last?’ sort of questions. Just keep cocking it and firing, as it’s gonna fire a round at nearly the same fps as the one before it – and the one before that and the one before that… you get the picture. Reliability? So far so good and again, because it’s spring there are very few moving parts and no valves or gears to worry about. Lastly, then, is price. At sub-£500 (prices vary between £450-£500) it represents great value for money – and if you’re specifically looking for an affordable M200 this is the one you want.

If you’re just looking for a sniper rifle that ticks all the boxes then look no further – you have found your wooden chalice! The only potential drawback, which has been repeated by many people I have spoken to, is the weight of the rifle. Also, with a bigger spring fitted it can be difficult to cock. Beta Project, for such a new kid on the block, has really got a grip with its kit. Between this and the Tactical AK it has two fantastic products and is going to have its work cut out maintaining this high standard of build quality and performance. Good luck to them – I wait eagerly for the next one! ■

BETA PROJECT M200 SNIPER RIFLE WEIGHT: 7,300g LENGTH: 1,240mm (stock collapsed 1,390mm (stock extended) BARREL LENGTH: 800mm HOP-UP: Adjustable POWER SOURCE: Spring (air cocking) SHOOTING MODE: Bolt action, semiautomatic MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 100 rounds PRICE: £450 Many thanks to JD Airsoft for providing the test riﬂe JD AIRSOFT: 01543 466356, www.jdairsoft.net

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BEING A SNIPER What does it take to be a real-world sniper? We couldn’t tell you – but we know a man who can… The Sniper explains all

his article is intended to give those with an interest in sniping – and possibly those with a general interest in the military – a brief glimpse into what it is like to be a sniper.

Training and selection The history of the sniper is long and varied, and many wars have involved sniping in one form or another. Most of these would be classed as sharpshooting by today’s standards. Sniping as we know it was developed in WWI, primarily by the German army. The Germans were among the first to use scoped sniping rifles though most armies developed some form of sniper training during this conflict. The very first British sniper school was founded in France by

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Major H Hesketh-Prichard. For those with an interest in the origins of sniping I highly recommend his book Sniping in France; written in 1920 it is still used as a reference today. The full text is available online in pdf format and well worth a read. I’ll leave the in-depth history to those with a passion for it and move on to the more interesting parts: the selection and training of a sniper. A lot of people seem to think that to be a good sniper you simply have to hit targets at extreme distances. Unfortunately, these people are wrong. Yes, the sniper is an expert marksman – but he is also an expert in camouﬂage, concealment, observation and many other skills. Most units’ sniper selection involves a pre-selection course, where a number

of attributes required will be determined. These include: intelligence level (most snipers have above-average intelligence), maturity level and physiological makeup. What I mean here is that your maturity level must be high enough to understand the consequences of your actions, and your psychological makeup is such that you can emotionally cope with your actions. After all, you could spend days watching a target, knowing that at some point you are going to pull a trigger and end their life. It takes a certain kind of person and strength of character to deal with that – and not all can. A sniper also needs a very high level of physical ﬁtness,

SKILLS ROOM | SNIPER as you can be operating alone for weeks at a time. Even for those with natural aptitude, a sniper’s training often takes months. Many of the skills mentioned will be honed to a ﬁne art. A lot of time is spent on the range, learning about weapons handing, ballistics, different types of weapons used, different shooting positions and techniques. Although nowadays there are many pieces of equipment to help judge distance and identify objects, time is still spent on observational skills. A sniper must be able to use one of the most vital pieces of equipment he has: the Mk1 Eyeball! He must still learn how to judge distance and properly identify targets without high-tech kit, before being trained in the use of laser rangeﬁnders and other equipment.

Skills One of the most essential skills for the sniper to master, to be able to adequately do his job and survive, is camouﬂage and concealment. Every sniper will make his own ghillie suit while on course. These used to be made by using an old combat smock and trousers and attaching hessian strips,

“A sniper must master one of the most vital pieces of equipment he has: the Mk1 Eyeball!”

DID YOU KNOW?

The word ‘sniper’ comes from the small, nimble game bird called snipe that was hunted by British troops In India. These birds were extremely difﬁcult to shoot and those who managed to hit one became known as snipers. The ghillie suit is used to camouﬂage and conceal the sniper, but it originated in the Scottish Highlands where gamekeepers used them to stalk deer on the exposed terrain. This use hasn’t changed – but the quarry has.

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which would then be weathered to break up the natural outline of the human body. In more modern times though the abundance of commercially-made ghillie suits are ﬁnding use within the military. Most snipers tend to

DID YOU KNOW?

use a commercially-available sniper cape as a base, to which he adds hessian strips. The sniper is trained to adapt his camouﬂage to his area of operations, be it woodland, urban, mountainous or arctic environment.

A few weeks after his record shots, Craig Harrison survived being shot in the head when a Taliban round pierced his helmet behind his right ear and was deﬂected out through the top. He later broke both arms when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by an IED but, due to his high levels of ﬁtness, not even six weeks in plaster affected his ability as a sniper and he returned to front line duty after making a full recovery.

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Almost as important as not being seen while you get to where you are going (and while you are there) is knowing how to get there in the ﬁrst place! Being able to navigate effectively is a major issue so map reading and navigation are required skills. However, the most important skill that a sniper has to master is stalking. Stalking is the ability to move unseen through many different types of terrain – from heavy foliage to open ﬁelds – without alerting the enemy to your presence. To be a successful sniper

SKILLS ROOM | SNIPER

“The point of a ghillie suit is to blend in with the natural surroundings and break up the natural shape of the body, and hessian suits create a much better effect” Kit and weaponry

(that is, one that comes back alive) this skill must be mastered and constantly practised as it will diminish over time – and if you get rusty you will probably get dead! There are many other skills that a sniper must develop, but they come over time. These include observational skills – such as the identiﬁcation of foreign vehicles and weapons – and the expansion of their own skills with different weapons and so on. As with anything, equipment and tactics have changed over the years to suit the theatre

of operations. One of the most important pieces of a sniper’s equipment is a ghillie suit. There is an argument that commerciallymade suits will save time (and due to their materials will not rot when wet); however the point of a ghillie suit is to blend in with the natural surroundings and break up the natural shape of the body – although this can be achieved with shop-bought suits, hessian suits create a much better effect. I always recommend constructing your own suits, whether it be from a smock or ghille capes.

Your area of operations will determine the type of webbing/load bearing equipment used. For most terrains a lightweight ‘belt order’ will be used to carry essential equipment (with all other equipment in your bergen). Another piece of equipment used often is a drag bag, as you will often be carrying an assault riﬂe along with your sniper riﬂe when moving to position. The area you are in will dictate the type of uniform worn on operations – but sturdy boots are vital kit no matter where you are. A sniper will often spend a lot more time than your average soldier selecting a pair of boots due to the nature of their job. It’s extremely important to choose a suitable colour for the environment you are working in. In particular, pay attention to the sole of the boot; many military issue boots have a bright yellow square on the sole (indicating it has a Vibram sole). Remember that nothing in nature is pure black, so the black sole of a boot also tends to stand out. Next time your mate is lying prone check out the soles of his boots!

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British armed forces use the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare family of riﬂes in two different calibres: the L96 in 7.62 calibre and the L115 in .338 Lapua. I could write pages about these bad boys alone, but best save that for another time.

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Alone again, naturally A sniper works either as an individual or in a two-man team and, contrary to Hollywood myth, one of their main functions is to provide detailed, up-to-date information on enemy positions and movements and to give Unit Commanders a reconnaissance capability. Of course, they also have the ability to strike the enemy from concealed positions and often at great distances. Sniper Craig Harrison is credited with the longest sniper kills after taking out two Taliban machine gunners with separate rounds from over a mile and a half away (measured by GPS at 8,120ft, they were actually beyond his L115A3s stated effective range). A wellconcealed sniper pair can, if working correctly, pin down units of greater numerical

superiority and demoralise enemy troops. Many people seem to think the sniper’s role is one to be envied. I often wonder how much they would envy it if they had seen the reality: peeing in a bottle, crapping in a bag, eating cold rations and often living a cold, wet, miserable existence for days at a time. And that’s all for ﬁve seconds of action – if you see any action at all. Snipers are some of the most highlytrained, well-disciplined individuals within the armed forces. While the above might not paint a very glamorous picture of what they do I personally found my time as a sniper the most rewarding years of my career. The airsoft sniper can beneﬁt from employing some of these skills – it may not be life and death but there's no reason not to be the best you can! ■

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ALL ARMS AIRSOFT Ron Mahoney heads to All Arms Airsoft for a day of gruelling action and long-range engagements

find it really helpful, when going from site to site, to be able to hook up with one of the local players and follow them to the site. It takes all the stress away – and they know all the rat-runs that your sat nav probably (or if it’s mine, deﬁnitely doesn’t) know. For my visit to All Arms Airsoft my guide, Dave Ormerod, suggested we meet at the well-advertised Boundary Mill shopping complex just at the end of the M65 in Colne, as a pretty easy landmark to hit. All Arms Airsoft is tucked away and right on the Lancashire-Yorkshire borders, nestling where the West Pennine Moors begins to transform into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. If you look at it on a map the area is peppered with numerous reservoirs and tarns fed by hundreds of small rivers and streams. The site itself is a typical small slice of the surrounding countryside. Covering some 62 acres it is bisected by three small rivers that create three canyons, which all lead back towards the main Safe Zone. In between the canyons, and the woodland cover they offer,

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are several open fields that would be tactically difficult to cross if you don’t use teamwork. The site has two main areas of man-made structures and bases built from a combination of corrugated steel sheeting and wood, which provide enough cover from BBs but don’t half make a racket when a couple of AEGs open up on you! Regular readers of Airsoft Action may well remember the article about Pro-Tact Training in the January edition, when editor Nige went to meet the team after watching their display at the Airsoft Arms Fair. The Pro-Tact team are some of the main driving force behind All Arms Airsoft, though it is very much a club run for members. The Pro-Tact lads try to encourage teamwork and developing new skills that will enhance game play. The club house is well organised with plenty of cover and even tables and chairs that gave it a bit of a transport cafe feel – all that was missing was a good greasy spoon full English, a mug of tea and a busty 1970s On The Buses canteen girl asking “anything you fancy?” Get it sorted Tyke! As we prepared for the warm-up game a few snowflakes started to fall. In minutes it had become much heavier and before we

SITE REVIEW | ALL ARMS AIRSOFT were good to go a layer of snow was building up and covering the site. Undeterred, the defenders moved off for the initial attack and defence phase. It was interesting to note that those wearing DPM clearly stood out against the snow-covered mixed woodland at a distance, but those wearing multicam blended in better. Maybe somebody did get it right with this (newish) pattern. The warm-up was basically an advance to contact across open ground with only undulations and the odd section of low drystone wall for cover. We moved cautiously across the area in an arrowhead-style formation; as soon as the forward players came into contact we were down into the snow and trying to lay down suppressing fire. Now some of you may well have come across this problem when playing in a continuous heavy snowfall: it’s nigh-on impossible to watch the flight of your BB, especially when using a scope. The snowflakes between you and your target obscure absoutely everything. It is a little easier with iron sights but with a scope, even on its minimum magnification, the shortened

depth of ﬁeld makes it much worse. In the real-steel world you’d obviously be able to watch for the strike of the round – but in airsoft just forget it. This meant the AEG wielders on our team were at an advantage in these conditions. Another sniper and I just had to hold back and supply whatever support we could.

Thankfully, as the advance continued the snow shower started to abate and the guys using optics had the advantage of nice, dark silhouettes standing out against the white background. Now it was advantage to the snipers. We carried on for another couple of warmup phases and then reversed roles so that the

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initial defenders would now chase up back to the Safe Zone where a hot brew and a change of baselayer clothing was in order (for those who had brought them). Outside the sky continued to lighten. In the time it took to resupply and kit up the snow had all but melted away, leaving patches of white and muddy brown playing area. For the next phase I was defending one of the fortiﬁed positions. This was quite

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interesting as the forward elements of our team began to fallback and we could see the enemy advancing along the tree line across one of the gorges. From here we could both clearly watch each other and the area to be fought over. We were the left flank of the area and this had a small bridge across the river that was in full flow with the freshly melted snow. This meant that trying to cross the river without using the bridge would end up with you getting soaked. I was actually quite happy to be spotted by the enemy team – in fact I positively wanted it as I could pop up and down behind a high bank of earth and each time I did I watched as a hail of BBs hit the bank well short of their target. The enemy knew I was out of range but figured if a couple of them kept me busy then others could try using the dead ground of a track to get down to the river. Thankfully what they didn’t know was that my teammate Steve, a bolt-action sniper, lay patiently at the base of a tree overlooking the bridge. They soon found out however and as I popped up again I could see three players wandering back up the track, rifles and hands in the air indicating that they had been hit. We were on a two-hit-and-out rule and as the game progressed the attackers, who had unlimited medic lives, realised they weren’t going to cross the bridge so they moved to

our right where their teammates were having more success. Once they had crossed at another point their sheer weight of numbers meant they could easily overrun our position. Writing it down it sounds like a pretty quick game, but it was far from that and there had been some good tactics on display. Over lunch Andy Nightingale (one of the Pro-Tact team) went through some of the courses they have run for the guys over the past couple of years. With everything from rope access training, close quarter defence, high-risk entry tactics and a sniper course from recent forces instructors. Although All Arms Airsoft runs as an open skirmish club it is as organised and switched on as many a MilSim set-up. After lunch the ﬁrst game was to be a push along the site from the furthest gulley. Setting up this game the defenders all emptied about two mags’ worth (or 300-odd) of BBs into a central ammo point (BB bag). The attackers did likewise but with half the ammo. Everyone was allowed one full magazine to start with. The two caches were then given to a couple of marshals who would act as a resupply point as the game progressed. This game was all about ammo conservation and picking your targets – because once it was gone, it was gone! With

SITE REVIEW | ALL ARMS AIRSOFT

“It took our team 20 minutes to round one bend and move about 20 yards. The enemy snipers were particularly effective as the rushing water from the river easily masked the noise of the shot” about a two-to-one advantage I joined the attackers. As we started down the steep-sided ravine it became obvious we were going to get bumped. Progress was slow to say the least; although we were on unlimited medics the defenders had to drop back each time they were hit. That said it still took our team 20 minutes to round one bend and move about 20 yards. The enemy snipers were particularly effective as the rushing water from the river easily masked the noise of the shot. Players tried all sorts of tactics, staying low in the valley or trying to move along the ridge – it didn’t really matter as a small but determined defence team made sure that every sod of soil gained was hard-fought for. On some occasions however the bend in the ravine exposed the defenders more openly and I had the best ﬁreﬁght of the day on one of those occasions. Slowly but surely the defenders were being pushed back and I now

recognised the structures from the earlier games so had an idea of how far we had to push. It also became apparent that the defenders were running low on ammo, as many of them were resorting to using pistols (though that said one of their team was bloody effective with his pistol, ambushing us at close quarters). With the final complex in sight our team split into a ‘river deep-valley high’ formation, the team down by the river keeping the defenders occupied. It was pretty obvious though that less and less fire was coming our way and our high team swept down into the final base with ease as the last three defenders tried to hold out from a bend in the river. The ‘low’ team, though, were flanking them and before long end-ex was called. It had taken a good couple of hours to advance down the valley and I don’t believe either side had performed badly.

It all goes to show how gameplay can alter depending on the ammo rules as one thing is certain – had the defenders had unlimited ammo we’d still be ﬁghting there today! It was a really enjoyable day with a friendly but committed bunch of players and marshals and, as the site is pretty accessible, players from both Lancashire and Yorkshire should certainly get themselves down to the end of the M65 – there’s more than just Boundary Mill there! ■

ALL ARMS AIRSOFT Lane House Lane, Near Trawden, BB8 8SN WALK-ON (members): £15 RIFLE HIRE: £35 (includes riﬂe, one full hi-cap, mask, coveralls, walk-on fee) CONTACT: 07909683464, www.allarmsairsoft.co.uk

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SKILLS ROOM | AMBUSH

AMBUSH SET

Following on from last issue Billy Basics makes sure all elements of his ambush are in place (and know what they’re doing) before the enemy stumbles into it

n last month’s article we talked about what an ambush is, looked at the groups involved (killer group, left and right cut-offs and the rear protection), their responsibilities and roles, and where they sit in relation to one another. And I also mentioned that it’s not as simple as it sounds to set-up and break down without the whole thing descending into a catastrophe – or a camping trip with guns – because you won’t always get your man. The Int might be suspect, the baddies might have decided last minute not to go because it was raining or the tea leaves told them that there was a bush packed with steely-eyed dealers of death and

they bottled it. Or it could be good ol’ Murphy’s Law ruining your day. So you’ll need a well-rehearsed, slick drill for retreating to ﬁght another day, and for making sure that you’ve got everybody that you set out with. After all it might be a night time insertion, or in very close country. To be honest it’s going to be one of the two, otherwise you’ll stick out like a bulldog’s balls. So now we’ll go through the whole thing from start to ﬁnish. You will have received your warning order that a job in is the pipeline (this is a piece of paper with who, what, when, where and so on). You will be on a few days’ or hours’ notice to move, so use this time under

your own steam sorting all your kit out, making necessary adjustments and last-minute tweaks and getting some rest. Meanwhile your PC and his 2IC will be on their recce to gather as much information as possible to ensure a successful mission and to minimise the risks to his men. This recce might be an actual patrol to the site if practical, or near it with another patrol; it might be a ﬂight over it in a heli; or it might be talking to to a patrol who have been there and reading their reports. It might even be cold, and all you’ve got to go on is mapping and wishful thinking with everything crossed. So what do you think he’s going to be

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“Safety catches come off now – if the enemy hears 20 slow clicks as he nears your killing area it amounts to one almighty unnatural sound that’ll have him slamming into reverse”

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searching for? He’s going to be looking for things that will screw up his day – he’s going to be looking at the ground, the weather, the hours of darkness, the stage of the moon, how far they have to patrol in, whether there’s a suitable site for a QRF heli to come and help or extract them. And so on and so on... He’s got to think of every realistic thing that could go wrong, at every stage, and prepare for it all. That’s an awful lot to think about isn’t it? And it’s on top of the shed load of kit you need to carry – and let’s face it, if I could rewrite the dictionary definition of ‘soldier’ I would put: ‘someone you hang heavy things onto’. But they probably won’t let me. So for the sake of brevity (‘if only’ my wife would be saying now, were she not fast asleep on the sofa next door) we’ll fastforward to you landing on the ground, after your orders and rehearsals, out of your heli/minibus (however you insert, depending on your budget) – and we’ll say there’s 20 of you. So that makes for: Killer group (eight), Left (four), Right (four) and Rear (four). These are good numbers to have: each is a compact and self-sufficient unit that could put down a weight of fire to get themselves out of a scrape, and each could probably extract a casualty some distance on its own. The whole group will move to an RV, a short distance from the ambush site, and will go into

SKILLS ROOM | AMBUSH all-round defence. At this point (if it’s gibbering) you might put your warm kit on in pairs, one watching while the other sorts himself out. Remember you might be here for a few hours. While you’re grabbing a last-minute snooze and your buddy watches, the PC will be on his confirmatory recce, with his Lead Scout and the commanders of all the other groups. The group commanders will be staying there to keep eyes on the ground. The PC and the commanders will go to the Killer group site. From there he will take them to their respective positions, ensure they are happy and know what they’re doing. They will also perform a comms check to the Killer group site. He will then leave them in an area to the rear of the killer group site, and return to the main body with his LS. When the PC and LS return to the main body you’ll receive a final brief and he’ll lead you off to the ambush site. On the way you’ll drop off your bergens or day sacks at the rear protection site before moving on. Arriving at the site of the Killer group you’ll be met by your group commander, where the PC left them. He’ll whisper for you to follow him and peel off to your locations, leaving the Killer group to occupy their area. The order of march needs to be thought out in the rehearsals to enable you all to move fluidly and not have groups crashing past one

another to get to their position. Rehearsals are absolutely key to success. It will take a few minutes for everyone to snurgle into a position that they will be able to stay in for a few hours without ﬁdgeting. The PC will then indicate Amush Set and at this stage the safety catches come off – because if the enemy hears 20 slow clicks as he nears your killing area it will amount to one almighty unnatural sound that’ll have the baddies

slamming into reverse and mounting a counterattack on you. You will be almost as unpopular with your comrades as I am going to be with the editor – I promised I would have this squeezed into two articles but it will have to be three now. We’ll leave our ambush party in position for a whole four weeks, and then we’ll ﬁnd out what happens next... Billy out. ■

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049

JOIN THE HUNT The niche hobby of hunteering brings all the elements of sniping together in one hardcore bolt-action package – where the hunter is hunted. Matt Brazil tells us more

f you’re reading this then you’re probably into airsoft in one form or another, or you’re really lost in WH Smiths, or you’re one of those ARRSe guys just flicking though this so you can take the mick out of us as Walts. Assuming it’s the first one then you’re also probably aware of the many different flavours of airsoft: skirmish, MilSim, FilmSim... or perhaps you’re one of those CQB/CRW guys that runs round in all black shouting ‘Hut hut!’ (Ask an older person if this film reference is lost on you.) What you may or may not be aware of is the sport of

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‘Hunteering’, played by the almost-mythical group known as the 6mm Hunters. Phantom and his buddies started out much like the rest of us I imagine: shooting friends and relatives in the posterior, graduating to some form of organised gaming then moving on to harder and more challenging games as addiction and tolerance levels increased. The difference between them and me is that they started over 20 years ago when airsoft was still played in black and white, so their tolerance level is up there with Trainspotting’s Mother Superior (if you know what I mean).

FEATURE | HUNTEERING

I think they got bored with their team annihilating all comers, and for whatever reason they decided to come up with their own game, speciﬁcally with the aim of making it as hard as possible. Hunteering was born, and with some minor tweaks over the years they have been happily playing with themselves (cough) at a couple of private locations in the UK. They occasionally release mouth-watering videos of the action on YouTube or DVD (which are well worth a look), and give advice to airsoft snipers the world over via forums. That’s how I got to know Phantom/The Bushman (depending on your forum of choice), and this article is my latest attempt to bring their sport to a larger audience, so I can actually get a game…

Hunteering So what is hunteering? Let’s be clear – this is not normal airsoft. It’s an extreme sport, designed by very experienced hardcore gamers and involves very little shooting. As Phantom puts it: “Hunteering is somewhat glamorised on our videos, with nice music

and little time between contacts. This is far from the truth. Like all extreme sports it has many ups and downs, requiring strength of character to reach the ﬁnish line.” Hunteering is a game of stalking, concealment, ﬁeldcraft and knowing when to shoot and when to move. It’s rough, wild camping for two days, in all weathers, with minimal kit, continually on edge and requiring mind-sapping levels of focus. “The excitement of hunteering comes after the event; playing it back in your mind and imagining how things could so easily have been different. Each event is run on the same simple rules, yet plays out to make its own unique story.” A standard game lasts 30 hours, playing either in pairs or alone (I plan to take teddy for when it gets dark). The basic objective is to cover a set area over the duration while being on the lookout for others. It’s a combination of hunting and orienteering (hunt-eering) done over an extended duration to bring physical and mental endurance into play. Your prey and your predator are highly skilled people, pushing themselves to the limits in a game where a single point can be the difference between winning and losing. “No ‘tag’ is the same,” says Phantom.

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“They’re never from stray pellets, as so few are ﬁred in the game, and each hit is a trophy to that player, no matter how it came to be won. Indeed, when I compare it to other games I’ve played, shooting players out in a hunteering event is so difﬁcult and uncommon that these single tags are more highly prized, and certainly more memorable than the 20 hits I might amass in a speedball game.”

Rulebook I’ll give you a cut-down version of the game rules, so you can get the basic idea – but if you’re into this so far then check them out on Facebook or their own forum that’s been running for a couple of years now (www. pursuitoutdoors.lefora.com). If there’s only a few playing then everyone is solo. If there are more than five then hunteers pair up – if the number of players is odd then a solo Counter is used, and a pair of Counters if it’s even. Teams are never more than two players and there’s always a counter (straws are normally drawn to pick who it is). Ammo is limited to 30 or 40 BBs per weapon (depending on its power level) and you can only carry a maximum of a primary and a back-up. No full-autos are allowed and semi-autos are power restricted compared to a bolt-action. The Counter gets double ammo for each gun carried into the game, just to spice things up! At game start the players set off in five minute intervals in any direction, with the Counter(s) setting off last. Once all players are in field there’s a 30 minute ceasefire

“They got bored with their team annihilating all comers, and for whatever reason they decided to come up with their own game, speciﬁcally with the aim of making it as hard as possible” where players may stalk and track each other as they dump or hide kit. The main objective of the game is to hit your opponents (if you can ﬁnd them), and each time a player does this they achieve one point. As with all airsoft sports this is a game of honour, so each player counts their own points but you are also expected to vocally acknowledge your hits, regardless of whether you can see the hunteer that got you or not. In order to stop lazy people (like me) just sitting and ambushing others there’s a navigation exercise to be done (taken from orienteering), with two possible variants and one common feature – the Counter doesn’t do it.

Navigation: controls As each team moves off to a position during the ceaseﬁre they must set up a control marker. The control marker cannot be hidden

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FEATURE | HUNTEERING Navigation: grids Alternatively, each team marks their start position and continues to document their route around the site on a laminated and accurate mini-map marked with grid squares, including times. The team needs to enter each grid square on each day. Each grid square missed each day loses the team a point.

The Counter

and must be visible from more than 10m in at least a 180° arc. The marker must be set up off the floor and preferably hanging at waist height, with sportsmanship used in placing. Once the control marker is placed each team radios in to announce they have set up, and waits at their control marker location. All teams must do this within the ceasefire time. The objective after ceasefire is then to find all the other control markers and punch their control card. Only once all are found can the team return to their control and punch their card to finish that day’s navigation. Each control missed each day loses the team a point.

The Counter has the beneﬁt of not having to navigate and can therefore ambush more than the other players. He also has extra ammo for each gun. To even things out the Counter must recover a large target during the game (a cardboard box is good) and set it up somewhere in the gaming zone, in such a way that it can be seen from pretty much all directions from at least 10m. It may be moved around at any time until the endgame is started. At a predetermined time the Counter radios all hunteers with the grid location of the target and description (on the ground, in a tree, so on). Hunteers may have already seen the target during their navigation but cannot shoot it until they have been radioed the location – hit the target (once) and your team gets a bonus point. Any hunteer team that hits the target may also go for a predetermined ﬁnish line inside the time limit to get another bonus point. So that’s hunteering in a nutshell. I hope I’ve done it justice but as I know I’m not the only one who’s tried to get games off the ground before, it’s never going to be

everyone’s cup of char. Phantom adds: “The bolt-action scene can be a tough place to build a playerbase. The viability of using a bolt-action at a regular skirmish against AEGs vastly depends on the terrain and game, so many people often return to AEGs after ﬁnding the single-shot game isn’t for them. “Meanwhile, hunteering is designed to be the game for bolt-action players, offering them what they want: space, time, and the ability to use ﬁeldcraft and strategy to win.” If you’re still reading this at least it’s kept you off CoD for a few minutes, or helped convince another ARRSe we’re not all Walts. If you fancy getting involved in a game then speak up on the forums – www. pursuitoutdoors.lefora.com – where you will be welcomed with open arms, I know I have been! ■

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053

During the Cold War there was one word guaranteed to strike terror in the hearts of any NATO serviceman: ‘Spetsnaz’. Gadge Harvey ﬁnds out more

petsnaz usually refers to Russian Special Forces, and usually by people who are thinking in terms of the UK’s SAS or USA’s Delta Force. Spetsnaz is, however, a very misunderstood word. A contraction of the Russian ‘spetsialnogo naznacheniya’ it simply means ‘special purposes’. Many types of Spetsnaz exist – including police and trafﬁc wardens! During the Cold War it was the Spetsnaz of the Russian Intelligence Services, the GRU, that were the elite strikeforces of the Red Army. Other Soviet forces like the Naval Infantry, MVD Interior Army and the KGB all had their own Spetsnaz raiding and intelligence-gathering units, but in this article

SOVIET SPETSNAZ RAIDER we shall concentrate on the scout/raiders of the Soviet Military Intelligence, known as the GRU (Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye Upravleniye). While often considered the counterpart to units like the British SAS, Spetsnaz units were less well-trained and more comparable to US Army Rangers. But the sheer quantity of men dwarfed traditional NATO Special Forces and put them in their own unique category. Spetsnaz troops were organised in brigades of four battalions (a battalion was roughly 500 men) – and it was believed the Russians could ﬁeld 16 Spetsnaz brigades in the early 80s! If your maths is a bit rusty

that’s 64,000 men – no NATO Special Forces unit could put nearly as many men into the ﬁeld as Russian Spetsnaz groups. As a comparison, the UK’s SAS was unlikely to have numbered more than 500 men during this period. GRU Spetsnaz teams take their lineage from WWII Russian scout units known as Razvedchiki (scouts) or vysotniki (rangers). These were either parachuted behind enemy lines in WWII or worked with partisans to destabilise German communications – their role in a future war was certainly very similar and members often referred to their ranks using the WWII nomenclature.

Saboteurs and assassins In a third world war the Russian army tasked their Spetsnaz teams with raiding jobs far behind NATO lines (much as with last issue’s NVA fallschirmjäger, but on a much bigger scale) to destroy key targets, sabotage nuclear launch sites and assassinate leading military and political ﬁgures. Some farfetched Cold War rumours alleged that Russian Olympic athletes were actually Spetsnaz soldiers, as being international sportsmen gave them the perfect opportunity and cover to be in European cities in advance of any war – although how true this was we will never know. The only well-known use of Spetsnaz teams was in Russia’s war in Afghanistan and even details of those operations are still hard to come by (rumours that Swedish coastguards had shot and killed Spetsnaz frogmen off the coast of Sweden in the 80s were vigorously denied by both parties!). Spetsnaz units were so shrouded in

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COLD WAR WARRIOR | SPETSNAZ

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secrecy that even today, years after the fall of the Soviet Union, very little concrete information about their training and organisation is known. For years western analysts believed the Spetsnaz soldier was trained to endure intense physical hardship and expected to undertake training scenarios that would be considered far too dangerous for NATO armies. Available footage of GRU Spetsnaz often shows them performing incredible feats of athleticism and acrobatics – sometimes in burning buildings or woods. Rumours circulated that a high proportion of recruits dies in training as it was so brutal, prompting one former Soviet training ofﬁcer to remark: “If a recruit died in Spetsnaz training, he simply wasn’t good enough for Spetsnaz.” Clearly it was not the tragedy it would be in the west! Training included everything you would expect in a modern Special Forces soldier: foreign languages, demolitions, unarmed combat (using a Russian martial art called ‘systema’), foreign weapons handling, parachuting and scuba insertion onto an enemy coastline. No expense was spared in the otherwise frugal USSR, and full-scale mock-ups of NATO bases and key high-valuetargets were created for teams to practise their skills on. Spetsnaz troops, unlike other nations’ Special Forces, had no distinctive uniform or insignia. They would dress in the uniform of locally garrisoned troops to avoid arousing NATO suspicions. Despite this a common form of dress was that of the Russian VDV airborne troops (with their distinctive striped blue shirts and sky blue berets) although the usual Soviet guards’ insignia of the VDV was not worn – which in itself was a small giveaway to the Spetsnaz soldiers’ true nature. The blue beret was rarely, if ever, worn in the ﬁeld, with most soldiers going bareheaded, using a headscarf or the hood of the combat suit.

Spartan equipment Our spetsnaz raider here is equipped lightly even by the Russian army’s usual Spartan standards. Dressed in a two-piece ‘sunbunnies’ or ‘stairstep’ KLM camouﬂage uniform and airborne vest the only other visible item of his uniform are the high-leg marching boots common to Soviet forces since WWII. Many people mistakenly identify this camouﬂage as a ‘digital’ pattern but it in fact is a progression of a 1940s sniper suit design created long before computer printing was a possibility.

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“Spetsnaz troops, unlike other nations’ Special Forces, had no distinctive uniform or insignia. They would dress in the uniform of locally garrisoned troops to avoid arousing NATO suspicions” Fighting equipment is carried on his belt and consists of the bare minimum required to fight with. Basic rations and sabotage equipment are carried in a shoulder satchel while his water bottle, ammunition and bayonet are kept on the belt itself. By NATO standards this seems utterly pitiful as soldiering equipment – but Spetsnaz soldiers were trained to be incredibly self-sufficient and live off the land, stealing necessities. Most of the belt equipment is carried to keep the raider’s personal weapon in action. Our Razvedchiki here carries the 5.45 AKS74 assault rifle, which at this point was a relatively new addition to Soviet small arms. His ammunition pouch carries an additional thee magazines and a cleaning kit. While essentially a weapon accessory the 6H4 bayonet in its Bakelite scabbard is also a piece of sabotage equipment – scabbard and bayonet combined to form a basic pair of wirecutters (note: we have used a real bayonet in this photoshoot purely in the interests of demonstrating the correct militaria – a player should never take any real

blade onto the skirmish field. There’s plenty of airsoft-safe rubber bayonets available!). This particular model of the AK74, the ‘AKS74’ is fitted with a folding stock (akin to that on the tank crew AKSU) to facilitate its use with airborne forces, compact airborne BMD fighting vehicles and make it easier to para drop. This compact rifle, with a highvelocity bullet, allowed Spetsnaz raiders to pack a large punch in a small package. In airsoft terms it’s pretty handy too with its rugged construction, big high-cap mags and simple ergonomics. There are a number of good versions of the AK74 at prices to suit all pockets on the market at the moment. For those of you considering creating a Spetsnaz impression to take to your local skirmish field you’re in luck no matter your AEG. The Spetsnaz reliance on being lightly equipped meant they were fully competent with western small arms and would frequently have used them on mission. This makes Spetsnaz a great Soviet impression for anyone venturing into Cold War airsoft... For once, less is more! ■

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G&G G96 Continuing our riﬂe theme, Matty Phillipson looks at G&G’s stable bolt-action, gas-powered beast

he G96 is G&G’s mainstay gaspowered bolt-action riﬂe. With a new, shell-ejecting version due this year we thought we’d take a look at the original. The name ‘G96’ is a bit of a misnomer, as it suggests it is a replica of the Accuracy International L96. However it more closely resembles a Remington 700, with an Accuracy International Chassis System (AICS) stock. In fact it is a clone of the Tanaka Works M700 AICS, but includes all of G&G’s upgrade parts for the Tanaka as standard.

First impressions The outer box is neat, with a carry handle and nice picture of the gun. Inside was disappointing – instead of foam or polystyrene the rifle (in two parts) is packaged in flimsy black plastic that broke into pieces with very little encouragement. I’m a stickler for keeping boxes, but I’d scrap the inner bit and make my own replacement. Inside the box you’ll find the manual, stock, barrel and trigger assembly, two Allen keys and a 15-round magazine (which will take 16 rounds easy). The rifle is available in black, desert, OD and wood variants. The finish is nice and even, and doesn’t scratch away too easily .The stock is a reinforced polymer which is less prone to warping or breaking than the usual ABS found on other models. It’s super-easy to assemble: just drop the trigger assembly and barrel into the stock and use the Allen keys to tighten the retaining screws. These screws are already in the stock and can’t be removed, and after being tightened and untightened several times they’ve not lost their thread. The barrel is free-floating and it has been noted there can be some degree

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of barrel flex, but personally I didn’t experience any issues. And before I forget – the trigger can be adjusted too, but I left it stock. Starting at the back the rifle has a firm rubber buttpad which can be adjusted (using one of the supplied keys), and a slightly raised cheekpiece for better scope alignment. There’s also an ambidextrous rear sling mount. The thumbhole stock is followed by a wide, oval trigger guard, and immediately in front of this is the mag release catch. This is pretty stiff and I managed to nick my finger on it, so be aware. The stock doesn’t have any movement in it all, thanks in part to an aluminium skeleton. With the barrel fitted the gun feels sturdy – and very nice to shoulder. The receiver is Remington Model 700 style, and made of aluminium. There’s a top rail for mounting optics, though the front part has only a small amount of space for mounting rings. A quick-detach bipod mount is a very nice feature too, as it allows you to remove your bipod (if used) within seconds if you need, for example, to kneel or stand for a shot. Adjusting the hop-up couldn’t be easier: turn the knob just in front of the rail (clockwise increases hop). This does away with the need to carry an easily-lost key in the field, and makes landing those long-distance opponents a tad easier. As stated this rifle features all of G&G’s Tanaka upgrade parts as standard. To that end, the bolt is a G&G Power Bolt which gets easier to cycle with use. Thanks to a firing pin selector you can tell if it’s cocked and you can only set it to safe when cocked, which is pretty handy. When the rifle is set to safe it completely disengages the trigger system, so pulling the trigger won’t break the safety function.

THE ARMOURY | G&G G96

“Despite this I was impressed. Gas power has its limits, especially in a ‘sniper’ riﬂe, so to land 80 per cent of shots on a man-size target at 100ft is damned impressive”

Oh, and just like with the real-steel riﬂe you have to pull the bolt back to insert or remove the magazine.

On test After I’d stuck the bits together, looked over every inch and gassed up the mag I was excited to take this out and see what it can do. Initially I put 15 0.3g BBs in the magazine, just to run a few through and see how it got on. I’d set my target about 80ft, then realised I’d left my scope inside. ‘Bugger it,’ I thought, and pulled a set of iron sights from my kit bag. Game on! First shot was done kneeling, and one thing was immediately obvious: this is a pretty heavy riﬂe! I pulled the trigger and with a pop and hiss the single BB ﬂew downrange, smacking the target and putting a smile on my face. Sticking with

the kneeling position I loosed off the rest of the mag, with all but one round hitting the target (no prizes for grouping, but that wasn’t my aim). With no spare mags kicking about it was a bit of a faff. Thankfully you get a decent runtime out of one fill of gas, with each fill lasting a good three mags’ worth of BBs. I love the hop adjustment, as I’ve never been a fan of the old ‘keyhole’ type. I’ve lost more Allen wrenches than I care to think about. But with the simple knob adjustment you can literally tweak and squeeze, and watch the trajectory change until it’s where you want it. One thing I noticed pretty quick is that, as it’s a gas rifle the accuracy can vary wildly. I don’t have a vice rig or any way to control all the variables that affect accuracy, but from what I could tell the occasional shot just decides to pop down

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the shops for a copy of Airsoft Action, although I’d done nothing different. They just veered of stupidly wide. Despite this I was impressed. Gas power has its limits, especially in a ‘sniper’ rifle, so to land 80 per cent of shots on a man-size target at 100ft is damned impressive. I’ve done a couple of rifle reviews now, and I read as many as humanly possible. Some people like to put groupings and suchlike in theirs. I’m not knocking the practice, as I read it avidly – but it’s not something I test for myself. Airsoft is my sport – I’ve never been a target shooter, and getting shots within an inch of each other has never mattered to me. My ideal grouping is 6ft tall, and 34in round the waist! After a few hours’ play on the range I emptied and regassed the mag, gave the barrel a once-over with a cleaning patch and headed back to the range armed with my V2 chrono and a bottle of Blaster 0.2g BBs. It’s one hot rifle! I was using Abbey Predator Ultra gas, to try and bring the velocity down a little. With a freshly-filled mag I averaged 482fps across 15 shots. I didn’t have time to retest with propane – but one reliable source tells me a 15-shot average using propane is around 550fps! Be

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aware of the velocity limits at your local site – using a lower-powered gas may help you to stay within an acceptable range.

Summary I’ve never had a problem with a G&G weapon. I know some people, for whatever reason, don’t rate G&G. Perhaps it’s the company’s old reputation living on in those who have not tried a G&G in years. If that’s the case and your dislike of G&G is based on ancient prophecy, I highly suggest you try out one of its newer models. Hell, the G96 is actually quite an old model, due for update this year, and it’s still excellent. Only the packaging harks back to the dark days. Some of you will be happy with the performance, but I know many might prefer to upgrade it. Well, as the system is a clone of the Tanaka 700 there are loads of upgrade parts already available. There’s also a hi-cap mag for the Tanaka, but we weren’t able to source one to find out if it’s compatible and G&G has not confirmed either. If you want to know if this is the best rifle money can buy for a sniper role, the answer is probably not. It is essentially an upgraded Tanaka 700, for a lower price. Getting a tightbore inner barrel fitted would be a good move, compensating for the lack of accuracy.

What I like most about this rifle, though, is the look and feel. I love the thumbhole stock, the grainy body and sleek metal barrel which make for something incredibly true to life. The rifle isn’t light and I had to remind myself it was a toy gun, not an actual firearm. With the addition of a proper rifle scope – in my opinion it’s a travesty to stick an ACOG or holo-style sight on this – this is one beautiful bit of kit. ■

G&G G96 WEIGHT: 3,890g INNER BARREL LENGTH: 655mm OVERALL LENGTH: 1,150mm CONSTRUCTION: Plastic (reinforced nylon ﬁbre); metal (aluminium, steel) MAGAZINE: 15-round HOP-UP: Adjustable FIRING MODE: Single-shot, bolt-action VELOCITY: ~480-530fps (depending on gas used) G&G-RECOMMENDED GAS FILL: 12kg/cm sq PRICE: Expect to pay around £300 Huge thanks to G&G Armament for supplying test riﬂe (check web for nearest dealer) G&G: www.guay2.com

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CAPE CRUSADE Want the quality of a custom ghillie, but can’t be arsed with the hassle? Meet Custom Sniper Equipment, and its excellent ghillie cape

hen Paul Waters ﬁrst decided to make a ghillie cape he wanted to create something he could use no matter the environment he found himself in. After getting his hands on a mesh vest he built a ghillie cape for his airsoft team, Team Alpha Wolf. At ﬁrst they shared the one cape, taking it in turns to skulk through bushes. But Paul had a lot of compliments for the cape; lots of people were impressed with the quality and effectiveness – and wanted to know where they could get their own.

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And Custom Sniper Equipment was born. The Ghillie Cape is a ‘one size ﬁts all’ mesh vest that covers your arms, back and upper chest. It comes with a hood and is loaded with elastic for adding natural cam. It uses the same materials a British Army sniper would be issued to make his own suit, including hessien and old surplus uniform. Five different materials are used to create the cape. “There is nothing on the market that’s like what a British Army sniper would make himself,” Paul said. “The cape takes me hours, stitching and attaching the additional materials to the vest. Once it’s complete I take it for a walk around my local forest with my dog to get it dirty and distressed.” Since featuring Custom Sniper Equipment on our Facebook page Paul has had a number of orders, from Canada and USA as well as closer to home. Building the suits takes a lot of his time – but what are the plans for the future? “I am hoping to expand this venture into a sniper-based online shop that sells other tactical equipment, in time,” Paul told Airsoft

Action. “I am also looking at making Velcro-on ghillie gun covers and ghillie gloves in the future.” It’s also probably no coincidence that Paul’s latest design – the ghillie babygrow – comes not long after a new addition to his family! This is exactly what it says on the tin, and proving a very popular idea. What began as an attempt at building the perfect airsoft ghillie, based on a true military cape, is ﬂourishing into an exciting venture. As the pictures show there is a reason these capes are becoming very popular and the orders are coming in – they’re bloody good! ■

CUSTOM SNIPER EQUIPMENT The ghillie cape seen here is handmade to order and can therefore take some time to complete. Get your order in early! PRICE: £100 Check out the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/ CustomSniperEquipment – for some more excellent pics of the cape in action.

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EVENT REVIEW | FILMSIM

THE DROP:

BATTLE FOR ARNHEM Resident military historian Gareth ‘Gadge’ Harvey heads back to Gunman Airsoft’s Eversely site for The Drop, a recreation of the WWII battle for Arnhem

rit paras descending from the heavens, panzer grenadiers ﬁghting at close quarters with Polish airborne, RAF supply drops to the beleaguered allies, lost and mis-dropped comrades and the complications of hidebound high command... all stuff I remember from the epic ﬁlm A

Bridge Too Far – and from the last airsoft battle I went to too! Anyone who’s ever watched old war ﬁlms on a Saturday afternoon or read Commando comics as a kid knows the tragic story of the battle for Arnhem. Imagine heroic paras dropping into a city swarming with heavily-

armed German tank units, ﬁghting a weeklong last stand – and then being stabbed in the back by an overcautious high command. Pretty good material for an airsoft game I’d have thought... And I was right. Dieselmonkey (my long suffering airsofting buddy) and I were invited to play in Gunman Airsoft’s ‘The Drop’ event, based around A Bridge Too Far. We were to play as part of the Brit command group. We were not disappointed, but let me elaborate. The title of the classic ﬁlm is a bit misleading really; while the goal was control of Arnhem’s main bridge across the Rhine

(to quickly cross into Nazi Germany), the allied troops barely got to the foot of the bridge and actually fought for one of the 800-metre-long approach ramps surrounded by a small group of houses. A heck of a lot of the ﬁghting actually happened in the heavilywooded country around Arnhem. While the Netherlands is a relatively ﬂat country there were still a few rises and hillocks which could dominate the surrounding lowland and these needed to be fought for. Gunman wisely chose this to be the scenario for their event and it was a good call – I’ve played previous ‘battles for Arnhem bridge’ based on

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possession of a 12ft log bridge over a stream, which have always seemed a bit naff to me. As soon as we arrived we could see that the guys had organised a good event here. With over 100 players in attendance and car park full to brimming we knew we’d be in for some epic airsoft. Sometimes a large amount of players can seem like a good thing but results in poor gaming for all involved as many sites can’t support lots of players. Gunman Eversely, however, has both the acreage and the terrain to support a WWII battle on this

scale. WWII games can often become a little unwieldy with large numbers as only the platoon leaders have radios to keep command and control – but Gunman had a clever way around this... By now most of Gunman’s players are used to the unique blend of skirmish rules and roleplay that make up a FilmSim event – but there were new rules to try out this weekend. The ﬁrst was a biggie, applied to everyone, and was called the ‘standing orders’ rule. Under the new rule, if your squad – which

generally numbered around eight guys – was reduced to four men or less you were not allowed to advance on objectives or take command posts; you had to either go back to regroup or hold position until the rest of your team moved back up to you. While some players were initially unsure about this it did result in better battles – rather than sporadic ﬁreﬁghts between twos and threes, squad versus squad combat reigned!

Resistance is NOT futile The second rule was purely for fun. To represent the nature of WWII allied relations the Dutch resistance and the Polish paratroopers had one ‘interpreter’ in each squad who could talk to the command squad. The rest of them simply didn’t speak English and so could only freely talk to other members of their squad. Much of the time this didn’t have any real impact but on odd occasions a mix of sign language and pointing were used to explain that an enemy fortiﬁcation was over the hill! So with these new rules added to the concise, but comprehensive, safety brief the respective sides were led into the battle area. For the Germans the brief was relatively simple for day one: guard and protect six or seven key objectives and prevent the Allies capturing them.

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EVENT REVIEW | FILMSIM

“Gunman wisely chose the surrounding countryside as the scenario for their event and it was a good call – I’ve played previous ‘battles for Arnhem bridge’ based on possession of a 12ft log bridge over a stream, and these have always seemed a bit naff to me” The Allies on the other hand had a slightly trickier proposition, as not only did they have to fight over the same key locations but also had to link up with their ‘misdropped’ comrades scattered about the site – namely a reduced platoon of Polish paratroopers and a motley band of Dutch resistance fighters. Linking up all their elements proved to be a harder task than expected for the Brits. While the Dutch fighters were quickly contacted, and via the interpreter were tasked with slowing down Axis troop movements, the Poles were nowhere to be seen. Unable to wait for much longer the British fighting patrols stalked the woodlands looking to take out targets that included a radio control tower, anti-tank guns, a fuel dump and most importantly two anti-aircraft guns. While these anti-aircraft guns were in play the RAF would be unable to resupply the airborne forces with the food, water and ammunition to continue the battle. Things seemed to be going too well for the Allies. One by one the anti-tanks guns and radar posts fell, and before long the first AA gun was destroyed. Only the fuel dump remained to sabotage, and one more AA gun to silence… and this was nearly the Allies’ downfall. This last AA gun was vital to holding up the Allied plan but with all the other objectives destroyed the Germans could now

mass nearly all their squads to defend it – and they had wisely sited it on a hilltop feature covered with dug outs!

Tactical mistake The British commanders were almost tearing their hair out as this hill seemed simply untakeable – but a new opportunity arrived as the plucky Poles traipsed in looking thoroughly exhausted but cheerful (it would seem that the guys had become a little ‘geographically embarrassed’ during their escape and evasion

through the German lines!). After giving the Polish players a little time to rest the allied commanders tasked them into the area. Here they made a major tactical mistake. Once the second AA gun was out of action the Brits would have to choose one of two LZs to protect while the RAF dropped supply canisters – and damn big things they were too, being full-size repro airborne drop crates! The Poles were tasked with seeking out ‘drop zone X-ray’ and holding it so that as soon as the gun was taken the drop could be made.

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Unfortunately their extra firepower would have been better used in the assault on the gun, and by the close of play of day one the AA gun was still pumping tracer rounds into the air whenever the RAF approached (clearly this is where the players’ imagination comes in, but having a light airfield nearby came in handy for atmospheric propeller plane noises!). As with other WWII games across the country, after weapons were made safe and evening meals had been cooked the campfires were fed with fresh wood and a fun-filled party began. But knowing that a hard day lay ahead for both sides it wasn’t long before every player was in their sleeping bag – and before they knew it waking up bleary-eyed to another beautiful spring day.

Full-scale assault Day two began with a full scale assault on the hilltop AA. Now the ability to throw all the allies into the fray made a big difference as they were able to pile on the pressure, but it was still some time before the position was taken. But the AA gun was finally silenced and the chipper voice of bomber command came over the command radio asking us which zone to drop the supplies on. After a quick conference with the platoon commanders the decision was made to try for both! While the allies managed to dominate a lot of the ground the decision to go for both drop zones still backfired as one of the pathfinder groups deployed their marker smoke off target. With a life or death race now on to recover the canister everyone threw their all into the fight – and while the Brits were overjoyed to safely recover one of the canisters a radio call from the RAF stated they had seen Axis troops looting the second canister. But with one canister recovered and all other objectives in hand the allies could still get a good result of a draw – which seemed to be bordering on a minor victory given the effort involved

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– if we could just get the supplies to the Divisional HQ. Splitting into four columns with three creating diversions and the left flanking column carrying the canister (a big object requiring at least two guys to lug it about) the Allies moved out. The Germans strung out a blocking cordon but despite some close calls from grenades lobbed over hedgerows and a few sporadic firefights the decoys did their job and the real resupply party made their way to HQ – fighting through a bog as much as through the enemy! The union flags of the Allied command post were in sight when the whistle blew for final end-ex! There was some confusion here as the event still had some time to run and we knew we were still in possession of the canister… but with safety in mind, and thinking perhaps there might had been an accident, a call was made to ceasefire to find out what had happened. It would seem we had all been victims of the ‘fog of war’. An Axis scout had thought he had seen the canister reach the Brit HQ and told the organisers the Brits had done their job. Luckily the real canister

was only about 50 metres away when this call was made so nobody was too put out. With only three Germans and a 50-metre dash between HQ and the squad of 10 Brits the Allies were as good as there anyway! While it may have been tempting to write the review and omit the above I don’t think it would have been fair on the readers, players or the organisers. The above ‘mishap’ and the way it was quickly dealt with – no grumbling and even a few laughs – is, to me, what airsoft is all about. You might have the greatest scenario in the world but life sometimes chucks a spanner in the works, and it’s the ability of airsofters with imagination, good humour and resourcefulness to get over it which ultimately makes an event a winner. Once again Gunman Airsoft delivered an excellent weekend event. While perhaps a move in a different direction for Gunman, with some new rules and some clearly-deﬁned factions (rather than the ‘any Allied’ versus ‘any Axis’ battles the WWII scene started playing all those years ago). So with a top site, top weather, fantastic food provided and the excellent company of some of the best-natured WWII nuts I’ve ever met I can do nothing but give Gunman another ﬁrm thumbs up! ■

GUNMAN AIRSOFT Gunman Airsoft runs a range of FilmSim and other events, runs open skirmish days at sites in Cambridge, Norwich and Eversley CONTACT: 07854 277264, www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk

Countryside Matches for those who love to share the rural life

LOVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE www.countrysidematches.com www.airsoftaction.com

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O T E B I R SUBSC

N U G AIR Shooter Call 01926 339 808 Or visit www.airgun.tv

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KIT BAG | SNIPER KIT Matty Phillipson checks out some kit designed to disguise you as a bush: the Deerhunter Sneaky 3D Camo Suit and Magnum Spider 8.1 Multicam boots

CAMOUFLAGE KIT MAGNUM SPIDER 8.1 MULTICAM BOOTS PRICE: £150

e’ve had a lot of boots in these pages in past issues, but none as immediately striking as the Magnum Spider 8.1s in Crye Multicam. Primarily a lightweight desert-spec boot, the Multicam pattern makes them ideal for this feature. Way back in the first issue of Airsoft Action I learned that nothing in nature is pure black, so if you’re pretending to be a bush and the sole of your boot is on show the effect is somewhat ruined. Every visible surface of these boots is in Multicam pattern. For most people this is probably little more than a novelty – but if you like your bushcraft, cam/con or boltaction sniping you will see the value of this. While there are other methods of disguising your boots these take all the hassle out of it – simply stick your legs in and hey presto, invisible feet. They are extremely comfortable and caused no problems. They’re Magnum boots, so you can be confident they’re up to task. The performance is as you would expect – bloody good, and your boots will be one bit of kit you don’t need to worry about. These are desertspec boots, so when I took them on the hills of Snowdonia they were well out of their comfort zone. The soles are extremely grippy thanks to ‘fins’ on the toes and they dry out relatively quickly so could be used without too much hassle on a longer event or weekender. These boots worked perfectly with my ghillie load-out. It just means one thing less to worry about – you don’t need to keep checking whether your boots need a retouch to keep you invisible. If you’re prone with your eye on the glass you can be confident your soles – or any part of your boot for that matter – aren’t a lighthouse to any flanking opposition. Looking at the rest of the articles in this issue I’ve got a lot to learn from the hunteers – but I’m a half-arsed sniper and anything that makes it easier for me is fine!

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And of course, they do look awesome (even when muddy!). If you’re a Multicam geardo then you should be sorely tempted by these. They are genuine Crye Multicam pattern and have a host of tech specs I didn’t encounter: non-metal shank avoids hassle at metal detectors; mesh designed to keep sand out; fast-rope-friendly fabric; and Tec-Tuff leather toeguard. In short, these are well worth the price – they’re built to last in challenging environments (and did I mention they look awesome?).

The Magnum Spider boots are available in both black and desert as well as Multicam. The pattern does add a fair bit to the price tag as it’s genuine Crye Precision Multicam – these are no market knock-offs! Many thanks to Military 1st for providing us a pair for review. If you’re not fussed about the pattern then check out the website – Military 1st also stocks the Magnum Stealth urban boot which I use for indoor games. PRICE: £150 CONTACT: Military 1st: www.military1st.co.uk

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KIT BAG | SNIPER KIT DEERHUNTER SNEAKY 3D SUIT SUIT: £73; IN PACKAGE: £74 (TESTED); GLOVES: £7 For the rest of you half-arsed snipers, let me introduce my second bit of kit here – Deerhunter’s Sneaky Suit. This was brieﬂy mentioned in a previous issue and caught my eye, and the editor was kind enough to let me borrow his to see how it fared in airsoft use. For those of you who haven’t seen it before, the Sneaky 3D Camo Suit is covered from tip to toe in strips of spiky ‘leaves’. This creates an impressive 3D illusion, and unlike the fake depth you’ll see in layers of standard camouﬂage suits the shadows thrown by these strips of material can really distort your vision. It’s a simple oversuit and comes as separate jacket and trousers. It’s very lightweight and as a pullover it’s perfect for anyone lacking time, funds or desire to handbuild their own full-on custom ghillie suit. The whole thing is secured with pullstrings, elastic and popper buttons and can be whacked over your usual clothes in about 20 seconds. The buttons are a bit prone to falling off and a bit of glue on the top and bottom ones wouldn’t go amiss. The suit itself is surprisingly hard-wearing,

airsoft takes place in. The brighter greens and bluish shades that many camouﬂage patterns adopt, in the hope of standing out on the shelves, have been left out – you’re left with the raw colours of the English countryside. It might not be the most striking pattern in the world but what may look drab in the shop really works in the ﬁeld.

given how flimsy it seems. It snagged on thorns and the like but didn’t tear at all. I was using the M/L-sized suit and would recommend you go larger than you would normally for a camo outfit. More material means more leaves – and that means more shadows. It’s effectiveness isn’t just down to the cut-out leaves, it’s the Innovation camo itself. Deerhunter may be a more familiar name to the hunting community in the UK, and its own Innovation pattern has a dedicated following. A blended mixture of browns, beige and dark green, you couldn’t find a better match to the landscape most of my

Deerhunter’s Sneaky 3D Innovation Suit slips over any civvies to instantly transform you into… well, a bush! The material’s strong, and the threedimensional leaves stretch from head to toe. You won’t overheat in it (dress accordingly underneath), and there’s the option of investing in the matching, leafcovered gloves if you want the whole set. Camouﬂage: Deerhunter Innovation 3D PRICE Suit: £73; In package: £74 (tested) CONTACT Deerhunter: www.deerhunter.dk

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TANKS-A-LOT:

FULL MONTY DAY Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Ratty gets back into some heavy metal

p at 06:00; dressed and boots on; woke my mate up in the next room; cups of tea gulped down and on our way to the tank park… Have I been transported back in time to the mid-80s to my days as a young trooper with 2 RTR? Thankfully (should that be tankfully…?) not! Today, we were off to Tanks-A--Lot for a ‘Full Monty’ tank driving day experience. So far, the Big Boyz Toyz feature has covered speciﬁc vehicles and places to buy. I fully understand that we are not all in the fortunate position to be able to buy and maintain a military vehicle of any description – so the next best thing is probably a tank driving experience. This deserves a look too.

Tanks-A-Lot I ﬁrst met Nick from Tanks-A-Lot 12 years ago at the War and Peace show. Since then

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his business has grown considerably and is probably now the most synonymous name for tank driving days in the country. Situated just outside Helmdon, Northants they are centrally located and easy to get to. Back then experience days were few and far between. Tanks-A-Lot, having been around in these early days, has been able

to expand into other areas too. It has been featured on TV, including Scrapheap Challenge and Salvage Squad and has provided vehicles for ﬁlm and TV work as well as ﬁlm premiers and computer game launches. On top of that it has been involved with other commercial promotional works and photoshoots. Tanks-A-Lot is well-known

“The smiles of the guys and gals were getting bigger as they went up and down and round and round – but what got the biggest smiles was when they ploughed through the slushy mud!”

BIG BOYZ TOYZ | TANKS A LOT

for buying and selling vehicles too – and it doesn’t stop there either. We arrived at the Tanks-A-Lot venue just before 08:30 and were directed to the car park before heading off to the booking ofﬁce to check in with all the other attendees. We met up with Nick – he was busy applying a little cam cream to the day’s participants who were all dressed in their issue coveralls. We were gathered together for the initial safety brieﬁng and an outline of the day’s activities. Looking around at the participants it was impressive to see not just a wide age range but also a strong percentage of females getting stuck in.

With the briefing over, the 80 or so of us were split down into teams: Red, White, Blue, Black, Yellow and Green. Each team would rotate through the various modules and each person in the team would try and achieve a maximum individual score (for reasons apparent later!). We were to shadow the Black team for the day, which had good mix of people including a couple of husband and wife teams, a few work colleagues and a group of friends looking for something completely different. Our first module took us to the armoury, which would be an airsofter’s paradise, stacked floor to ceiling with all manner of rifles, pistols, SMGs and support weapons. We were treated to short chat by our ‘colourful’ instructor before the team challenge was set – stripping and reassembling a .303 Bren gun. We were shown in slow-time how it was done, and after a couple of demos it was the team’s turn. Everyone in the team had to do at least one part of the strip/ reassembly. The team with the quickest time would win a prize at the end of the day. Each team could practise as often as they liked (time permitting!) but only had three timed attempts, the quickest of which would be logged. After several attempts the Black team set a good time of 22 seconds. Would it be fast enough to beat off the competition? Only time would tell.

Real big boys toys For our second module, a short walk led to us an area with some vehicles to drive. First up was the Supacat, a six-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, go-anywhere vehicle.

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A wooden target (looking surprisingly like a French soldier of the time) was set up and everyone had a turn at shooting a flintlock musket (loaded with a lesser charge and a paintball) at him. After that we moved onto the team challenge of firing an 18th century mortar, for which the target was a mock fort entrance. Everyone in the team had a job to do, whether it was measuring distance to target or working out how much gun powder was required. We had three attempts at hitting the fort. Each time there was a large flash followed by a big bang and we all watched the rubber mortar round fly through the air. The team had two misses and the last round just bounced over the top of the fortification, but still a big cheer went up! From there it was time for lunch and back in the canteen we had a good variety of scram to choose from, including chicken curry, lasagne, sausage and mash and a vegetarian option. There was even pudding! Bloody luxury. Following lunch we were herded into the back of some AFV 432s and taken to a different area of the site and the clay shooting area. After another safety briefing (we were about to use a proper firearm, after all) it was down to business. Each person The course was fairly tame but with steering via handlebars and a powerful VW diesel engine in the rear, this was wise – them Supacats can get some serious speed! Each participant rotated through and once buckled in was supervised around the course. Meanwhile, on the adjacent but far more undulating (and much muddier) course were a couple of Lance Missile Carriers. These tracked vehicles sounded awesome and, again under supervision, everyone rotated through to complete a lap of the course. The smiles of the guys and gals were getting bigger as they went up and down and round and round – but what got the biggest smiles was when they ploughed through the slushy mud! After an hour or so of this it was onto our next task – and back into the 18th century! Our enthusiastic instructor set the scene and was keen to tell us about his equipment (the Black Bess) and how good we were at giving the French a good kicking and the reasons why. This was made funnier by the fact our team had three French ladies in its ranks! I must admit I know very little about this time period and I soaked up many of the facts and figures about battles and life as an English soldier.

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BIG BOYZ TOYZ | TANKS A LOT had a practice shoot before having a crack at three clays. Hits and misses were recorded against their names and, as with previous modules, these scores would be added together for the big end-of-day prize. Our next stop was the AFV 432/Russian TS2 (Gvozdika) drive. The course was much larger than the others, with more mounds, bigger dips and far more mud. Each participant could really put these through their paces. I worked on 432s back in the day, and compared to more modern stuff they look like shoeboxes trundling around. With the experience on the lance missile carrier earlier, everyone in the team seemed much more conﬁdent behind the tillers – but the Gvozdika was a different kettle of ﬁsh entirely. These large self-propelled guns are not only amphibious but, unlike everything else we had already driven, use a manual gearbox and have a clutch! They have a real powerful grunt and watching them traverse the area they seemed pretty unstoppable. A few of the team gave these some real stick, especially through the muddier sections of the course. Simply fantastic!

The Full Monty Our last module of the day was a talk about survival. Our host, former Royal Marine John Sullivan, is a jungle survival expert. His skills are often called upon for treks through inhospitable areas around the world. He has even been seen on the National Geographic Channel. With photos and stories behind them our team listened intently. It was the quietest they had been all day! We were all then bussed back up to the canteen area where tea and biscuits were served while the scores were added up and the results read out. The Red Team had won the Bren strip competition, with a time of 19 seconds. The Black Team came second and had held onto the lead all day until the Reds came through at the last moment. Personal scores were marks out of 40. Several people achieved 37, a couple even got 38 and Mark Harris got 39, which was truly amazing. And his prize? Well, Mark got to crush a car with a 56-tonne Chieftan tank! Everyone gathered a safe distance away and watched in awe as this giant trundled over the old Rover. The end of the day had been reached and it was course dismissed as goodbyes were said among team members.

To say this was ‘just a tank driving day’ would be an injustice. The modules couldn’t be more diverse and there was something for everyone. Some were more physically demanding than others but with the day lasting around eight-and-a-half hours it’s a full-on day that taxes you on all fronts. Nick and the team at Tanks-A-Lot are very friendly and helpful and more than happy to chat about the machines you are driving and what else they are up to. A Full Monty day costs £245 and is worth every penny. There is a spectator fee of £30, for which you get to ride in the vehicles, take as many pics of your friend as possible (and your lunch/refreshments are included too). So for the cost of a new AEG you can have a day that you won’t forget in a hurry. For me, being back around so many armoured tracked vehicles got my juices ﬂowing, almost the same as when I joined up. I know that infantry types hate being cooped up in tin boxes but when you have been in (or even up close to) a proper tank then I hope you can see the attraction of those of us who spent our working lives in these Goliaths of the battleﬁeld. If you can’t justify £245, then half-days are available too. Tanks-A-Lot also does

corporate days, so if your business is looking for a ‘team-building event’ or just a jolly day out then this could be right up your street. If you get the bug for buying an armoured vehicle (or already have!) then Tanks-A-Lot also run driver training days and can get you to DSA H License standard, allowing you to drive tracked vehicles on the public highway (and believe me, that is a huge grin!). There is so much more that they do, including the ‘Tank Limo’ hire (a stretched AFV 432) – and a tank hearse is on its way too! I would like to thank Nick, Susie, Andy and the rest of the Tanks-A-Lot team for their hospitality on the Full Monty day I attended, and also for the help with the ﬁner details when putting this feature together. See you all soon folks! ■

TANKS-A-LOT To ﬁnd out more visit the website at: www.tanks-alot.co.uk Alternatively, send an email to info@tanks-alot.co.uk – please mention Airsoft Action in any correspondence (you won’t be disappointed!)

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BUYING YOUR FIRST GEAR So you’ve been to your ﬁrst skirmish – what next? Gareth ‘Gadge’ Harvey talks us through your ﬁrst kit choices

ast month we looked at the basics of going to your ﬁrst airsoft skirmish at your local site’s regular open day, and what you did and didn’t need to take with you. Sooner or later though you’re going to want to get out of those rental overalls and into your own tactical gear. In this article we’ll look at getting an effective ﬁrst load-out that won’t break the bank. Firstly, it’s important to realise that for some people image is everything. They’d much rather spend £2,000 to recreate ‘Ghost’ from Modern Warfare than actually play a game. For the majority of us it’s a tricky balance between comfort, effectiveness and look – don’t be intimidated, go your own way. Don’t get me wrong: top-end, high-speed tactical gear (with matching top-end pricetag) is damn good – but there is a world of cheaper kit that works pretty well too.

The art of not being seen

British DPM is a good, cheap camouﬂage for new players – more effective (and probably cheaper) than your mate’s jeans!

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The thing that usually concerns people the most is ‘which camo pattern should I get?’ Well, unless you’re part of a team who all choose the same design you’ve got an incredible amount of freedom here. It’s usually a good idea to pick a pattern that matches your local site’s terrain, but as we said last month as long as you’re not in Blaze Orange you’ll be pretty well-hidden (as long as you stay still – the Viet Cong fought the US army to a standstill wearing black pyjamas so you’ll be ﬁne in plain green combats in the woods if that’s the look you prefer). Initially you’ll want some hard-wearing trousers, jacket and perhaps some sort of

FEATURE | BEGINNER’S KIT A standard full facemask might set you back £10 – far less than a dentist’s bill

soft cap to skirmish in. Try to avoid one-piece overall type suits as they can be a real pain when you need to go to the loo! It might sound obvious but military surplus stores are the way ahead here. Armed forces kit is always built to last and take on the rigours of the modern battleﬁeld so the skirmish site will be no problem for it. Also, uless you’re really into the ‘look’ forget about helmets, plate carriers, helicopter extraction rigs and all that jazz for now… There’s plenty of time for all that later.

Quite a few of you will know exactly how you want to look. You may well have an idea from a picture you’ve seen in Airsoft Action, a game you’ve played or another local skirmisher you’d like to look like. Themed load-outs are great fun but they can become very expensive (especially if you want an ultra-modern look) so for now we’ll assume you just want some basic kit of your very own.

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Comfort + safety = fun

The South African Assault Vest is an excellent cheap lond-carrying solution

Your first kit Good low-cost starting options in the UK include the German army’s dot-based flecktarn pattern and the tried, tested and trusted British brushstroke DPM. Desert loadouts have become very popular in the last few years due to the high-profile operations British and American units have undertaken in Iraq and Afghanistan, but think about it for a minute: is your local site covered in rocks

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and sand or is it dense green woodland where you might look a bit daft? American army ACU digital camo is available quite cheap and deﬁnitely a good choice for urban and CQB sites (where quick, decisive movement makes camo irrelevant). While it can stand out badly in British woodland one advantage it has over the European basic uniform design is built in knee pads.

I used to think kneepads were for wusses until I knelt down quickly on the corner of a house brick. As I limped back to the car park my opinion was quickly changed! You don’t necessarily need military-grade pads: simple decorators’ kneepads worn under your trousers will suffice. Alongside kneepads in the category of safety and protection come gloves and scarves. Gloves are obvious really and it’s easy to find a pair to suit you, although big padded leather ones often make it very hard to change magazines and open pouches. Some guys cut off the thumb and trigger fingers of their gloves to give them better touch sensitivity, but again it’s all down to personal taste. The Macwet gloves, which Pro Airsoft Supplies (www.proairsoftsupplies. co.uk) have got a hold of, are a fantastic compromise, but not the cheapest option. A thick shemagh type scarf can be a godsend; not only is it great for taking the chill off cold days but you can wrap it up around your lower face for protection in close range firefights if you’ve decided to opt for goggles rather a full facemask. Last month we stressed the importance of decent hydration on the skirmish field and here’s the good news: hydration systems are very cheap. While the reliable water bottle is great you’ll soon find that a back-mounted water bladder with a hose for quick slurps is a comfy and effective way to carry your water. You can get good military-standard camelback for around £15 if you shop about a bit. Try for a new one (and if you do buy a surplus one make sure you replace the bladder) – you just don’t know how hygienic the last owner was and a poorly-maintained water bladder can breed all sorts of nasty stuff… While we’re on the subject of the things best bought new, it would be foolish not to mention boots. There is an old military maxim that a soldier is only as good as his feet and it’s mostly true for airsoft too. Twist an ankle, get a bad blister or slip over and split your lip and you’re off site for a while – if not the day. Secondhand boots might seem like a good option but they will have been moulded over time to the original wearer’s feet – they won’t be so comfy on you and could even cause serious foot problems. It really is worth investing in a pair of new military-grade boots and again this won’t be extortionate. Brand new surplus army boots are as little as £20. Any of the boots featured in last issue are bargains and will last a decent chunk of time

FEATURE | BEGINNER’S KIT – and if you have a little cash to splash check out the Magnum boots in Multicam featured in this issue (page 71)!

Cheap shooting glasses such as these Bolle glasses can cost as little as a ﬁver

Humping it about Load-carrying gear is usually most players’ other main concern. Lots of site veterans will have all sorts of intricate rigs but all you really need to be able to carry is BBs, spare mags, batteries and water. A great cheap starter option is one of the South African Assault Vest (SAAV) type rigs available. These come in nearly every common camo pattern and are copies of the original tan M83 SAAV used, unsurprisingly, by the South African Defence Forces. These were lightyears ahead of their time in the 1980s and still work well Taking no chances: mesh facemasks can prevent broken teeth (and a scarf never hurts either!)

today. With the front covered in over a dozen pouches of various sizes and a small daysack attached to the back, you’ll probably be struggling to ﬁnd things to ﬁll it with! Check out Military 1st (www.military1st.co.uk) for a huge range of patterns at a reasonable price. Equally good among the ‘cheap’ options (and we’re talking a total webbing expenditure of less than £30 here) are surplus sets of Brit 58 pattern webbing, DPM chest rigs and some of the cheaper repro brands of the British PLCE webbing. One word of warning, however: check that your vest/webbing/chest rig is able to take the magazines for the gun you either rent most often or intend to buy! A lot of ‘western’ webbing is designed for M4-style mags and won’t accommodate the larger magazines of guns like the AK47/AK74 and the P90.

Being blinded isn’t cool The next item you’ll need to buy to complete your load-out is probably the least ‘sexy’ of the bunch, and one a lot of players pay lip service to and really, really should take more seriously. Eye protection, of course. You’ve only got one set of eyes; you can ﬁx broken teeth and mend broken bones but if you lose an eye to an unlucky shot then that’s you out of the hobby for a long time, possibly for good – and you’ll never be as good as you were with no depth perception. Don’t scrimp on eye care. As usual I’m going to recommend quality eye protection that includes a full facemask

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Hydration in action: a camelback can be incredibly useful on the ﬁeld

“You can fix broken teeth and mend broken bones but if you lose an eye to an unlucky shot then that’s you out of the hobby for a long time – possibly for good” that covers the lower face and ears – but I know I’m wasting my time typing that so let’s be realistic and assume you’re going to want some quality shooting glasses and take a risk on the teeth… A good set of shooting glasses can cost you as little as £5 for clear Bolle basic models. These work fine but you’ll really notice the difference if you upgrade to something like the British Army’s ESS Ice system or the Revision Sawfly series (for as little as £20). Both have much comfier nose bridges, retaining straps on the arms (so you’re less likely to lose them) and most importantly, interchangeable lenses (usually clear, amber and tinted) so if you lose or damage one you’ve got a back up. You can also adjust your view to suit the light levels around you. Shooting glasses can fog up, however, and many players prefer a mesh eye piece. Many very good players swear by these and it may be worth checking out local players’ recommendation if you feel a

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mesh mask is the way forwards for you. As a lifelong ‘glasses’ wearer I’d be deceiving you if I gave a brand recommendation – and if you don’t get on with mesh yet suffer with fogging then Abbey Solutions’ Anti-Fog is a cheap and very effective remedy.

Hark who’s talking I suppose this article would not be complete without a word about radios. On some sites they’re unnecessary, while on larger woodland sites they can be essential. Unless you’re part of a team you don’t really need a radio to keep in touch with the other guys and usually your mate will be within talking or hand-signal distance. But if you’ve got the spare cash they can add an extra element to your play by letting you take part in bigger coordinated actions. If you’re buying one it’s always worth getting a radio with an attachable earpiece as there is nothing worse than spending 10 minutes sneaking up on the other team

only to have your presence announced by a squawk of static and a garbled shout from a comrade in a firefight miles away! So there you go. Some tips on getting your first skirmish rig together, learned from hardearned experience of buying rubbish because it looked good and eventually finding the stuff that works… Hopefully I can help you avoid those same mistakes (and overdraughts) that inevitably come with trial and error. Airsoft isn’t a cheap hobby – a load-out starting from scratch should set you back between £50 and £200 but you’ll find good kit generally keeps its value so if you decide airsoft isn’t for you, you can always pass it on to the next young hopeful! (And before you write in telling me I was £3.50 out on one of the above price, please note all prices are approximate and will obviously vary depending upon where you buy your kit.) Next month we’ll be looking at the pitfalls of buying your first gun. ■

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ON TARGET Simon Chambers, of Pathﬁnder Group Military Simulation, introduces the Airsoft Action crew to CQB Target Systems, manufacturer of some of the ﬁnest CQB targets around (for when you simply must shoot lots of holes in something)

he team leader slowly eased the mirror round the door frame until he had a good view of the interior of the room: three Tangos and one hostage, fair odds for his four-man team. One bad guy stood left of the table, one to the right and the terrorist leader was standing behind the female hostage giving her some grief. He eased the retractable mirror back around the door frame. Turning silently to his team stacked up behind him he signalled for his ﬁrst man to take the guy on the left, his next man to take the guy on the right and his number four to provide backup as he took center. His backup man’s job was to shoot anyone they missed. It had to be quick. With a hostage’s life at stake they wouldn’t get another chance. Facing the door he held up three ﬁngers. Three – two – one. Go! Go! Go!

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FEATURE | CQB TARGETS

The team burst into the room in a wellpractised drill. The left hand Tango with an AK at the ready received two rounds to the center mass of his body from the team member’s MP5 while the right-hand man got the same treatment. The team leader and back up covered the hostage and the last surviving bad guy. Ceasefire! As silence fell on the room the instructor in the back of the room called end ex. As the team filed out of the room the Instructor caught the team leader’s arm. “Why didn’t you shoot the hostage taker?” he asked. “He wasn’t armed,” was the quick reply. No, this isn’t an SAS training mission (although it could well be). It was in fact a training exercise run by Pathfinder Group Military Simulations at the old RAF Sopley training facility in the heart of the New Forest. The Pathfinder Group recently took delivery of its new CQB targets and quickly put them to good use. Senior instructor Roy Mobsby, a former Paratrooper and Warminster-trained small arms weapons and tactics instructor, had been looking for full-size targets for some time. His club members had grown tired of the British Army Fig 11 and Fig 12 targets and so he had scoured the country (well, surfed the internet) for something different. He could get fluorescent zombie targets that glowed in the dark… or American torso

targets that oozed bio-degradable slime when shot… but realistic targets were hard to find. He had almost given up when he finally found a company who made the type of targets he was after – and by coincidence they were called CQB Target Systems and were based on the Isle of Wight, a stone’s throw from Sopley. Rob and Garry, co-founders of CQB Target Systems, are justifiably proud of their highresolution targets. Designed for both fullbore

and airsoft these targets are some of the best and most realistic seen in a long while. The airsoft targets are printed poster-size on thin card which means they take more hits and can be re-used several times, unlike the paper-thin military targets that are shredded after a few short bursts. The range of targets consists of ‘Shoot’ and ‘No Shoot’ targets, and a few friendly forces so accidental blue on blue incidents can be trained out of your team. The

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targets teach them to identify the target before pulling the trigger. Most of the bad guys come dressed with shemaghs or balaclavas, but many are in plain civilian clothing. Anyone can be a shooter and it’s up to you to identify them. Many of the targets lend themselves to police training. The woman in the window with a pistol could easily be the lady next door who has finally cracked under pressure. Do you shoot or don’t you? That’s for you as the shooter to decide. For the would-be snipers among you there is a range of very good personal targets half-hidden by walls, leaving you a head and shoulder shot or the hostage-taker with his arm around the neck of the hostage threatening to shoot or stab her to death. Do you take the shot? A few of these targets are in silhouette with scoring areas so you can practice until your eyes and trigger finger ache from the strain. The American system is to shoot two rounds to the body and one to the head, triple tap, where as the British system is a double-tap center mass of the body. We leave the single shot to the head to the SAS sniper and those with the skill to do this. If you miss you wont get a second chance – you or your buddy are dead. Most of CQB’s targets come with two scoring boxes: center mass for a quick takedown or head area for sniper/marksman training. Either way these are very versatile targets. CQB Target Systems’ life-size target images are printed in poster quality on thin board with a high degree of definition. Black and white targets allow the target to be identified and engaged even in low light conditions. Each target has its own designated kill zones and once used can be quickly replaced by dropping

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“The team burst into the room in a well-practised drill. The left hand Tango with an AK at the ready received two rounds to the center mass of his body from the team member’s MP5” another target into the custom-built frames produced and supplied by CQB. Alternatively you could patch the target before another scenario starts. More importantly, they are affordable. The heavyweight stands which complement the target range are robust and designed to meet the demands of both fullbore and airsoft shooters. The stand can be raised or lowered, allowing you to place the targets behind or beside desks and other furniture on your range to make them harder to hit – and they even have adjustable feet for uneven ﬂoors. The targets can be quickly changed to provide a different scenario. More than 42 target designs are available at the moment. CQB intends to develop its range to include more than 100 realistic targets, including more silhouettes, full-size targets and a range of kneeling targets. If you run a club, or organise any target

shooting, these targets can help create a more immersive, realistic experience. Pathﬁnder has found them to be the only targets on the market that suit realistic CQB target shooting. As a shooter I enjoy the marksmanship aspect – these targets encourage shot placement and decisive, lightning-fast reactions. Unlike goredripping zombie targets you have to be able to identify Shoot and No Shoots without missing a beat – and try not to shoot the hostage in the face! ■

CQB TARGET SYSTEMS For more details and to see the full range of targets, stands and packages available visit: www.cqbtargetsystems.co.uk CONTACT: info@cqbtargetsystems.co.uk For information on the Pathﬁnder Group contact Roy: 0238 089 9369

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KIT TEST | CUSTOM GHILLIE

CUSTOM CONCEALMENT Matty Phillipson’s sniping endeavour goes awry – but not all is lost as he learns the beneﬁt of custom-building your own ghillie

didn’t even dare to breathe; crouching low, keeping my hands, face and boots covered by the heavy TacFire Systems ghillie vest, I wondered whether the approaching patrol was friendly or not. This was one of my ﬁrst attempts at being a ghillie sniper – and though massively unsuccessful in many

respects that was clearly down to my own incompetence. I’d found myself alone on the outskirts of a wooded area as the sun began to drop. But I can’t fault the suit. I crouched, secreted in the edge of a thick deciduous bush; I could hear the cracking of twigs, the mufﬂed conversation, and the unmistakable rattle of various bits of kit. I

waited – and it paid off. Minutes later the patrol staggered by, and a blue armband told me they were baddies. I hadn’t intended an ambush – I’d started out with the intention of being a sniper. But needs must, and I quickly adapted a plan (I wasn’t about to pass up this chance at a bit of action!). The enemy patrol was making enough

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noise for me to rearrange my position so I was more concealed from their position a few steps down the track, and leaving myself a crawlspace escape if needed. I drew my sidearm, a cheap-ish springer pistol holding about 16 rounds, took decisive aim on the trailing man and let ﬂy a round, which hit him square in the back. “Hit!” his cry warned his mates of my presence, but not my location. They immediately scattered and dropped, staring back the way they had come, searching for the assailant in their midst. Knowing I was pushing my luck I let off three more rounds, dropping the man nearest me. They still were unsure where I was, and a few members of the group started heading back, scouring the bushes as they made their way cautiously toward me. Now or never, I thought to myself, and threw a frag in their path, immediately followed by a smoke. “Pyro in!” The shout went up as the guys dived out the way, though one was caught short. As the smoke billowed out I quickly withdrew down the crawlspace, leaving behind a scene of utter confusion as the patrol wasted valuable minutes searching for an opponent that was long gone. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve experienced playing airsoft. After endex I had a chance to speak with the guys

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I’d ‘ambushed’ – they could barely believe it had been just one man posing as a bush that had caused such havoc.

TacFire Systems Ghillie Vest I’m a fairly inexperienced player – certainly when it comes to playing a sniper – so I can only put it down to the effectiveness of the suit (and a bag of pyros never goes amiss either!). Those chaps had strolled by me, not three feet distant, and not one of them realised there was something out of the ordinary. The colours of the jute available are perfect for the sort of environments you’ll find on UK airsoft sites, which can vary hugely. As it comes as a kit you are free to add as many layers as you want for the ultimate effect, something I know a lot of people will prefer over ready-made suits. Personally I’m lazy, and incredibly grateful to TacFire for sending my suit complete! The base ghillie suit is a heavy-duty nylon mesh vest (open fronted with arms and detachable hood). Also included with the kit is 6lb of natural jute, in three different colours. Leafy, woodland and desert colour schemes are available (we were using woodland), or you can order a custom kit with whichever colours you want. Jute, by the way, is very flammable. It is definitely wise to regularly treat the suit

with a flame retardant. Also, I wouldn’t recommend using this in heavy rain for long periods of time – it won’t damage it (though it will start rotting eventually), but it will get bloody heavy! The ingenuity of this ghillie comes from the way you build it – which will be familiar to anyone who’s made a latch hook rug, as it’s exactly the same. The knot hook is included. You can add threads individually or in bulkier knots: experiment with spacing, colours and density. It’s important to keep checking the suit as you build it – from a distance, and even against the terrain in which you plan to use it – to make sure it’s looking how you want it. And as the instructions say, sometimes less is more. The suit in the pictures has a knot of four or five threads every inch, with an inch between rows. It took Dan at Tacfire around 10-12 hours to build my suit (thanks Dan!). As it moves into autumn I’d perhaps want to modify it to increase the density of the darker threads – and the beauty of the latch hook method is that it’s possible to do that. It takes time and I know that won’t suit everyone (me included). But for a hardcore airsoft sniper who wants a well-priced ghillie they can hand-build and is willing to put in the time to get the most out of it, this may well be just what you need to hide in plain sight.■

KIT TEST | CUSTOM GHILLIE

TACFIRE SYSTEMS GHILLIE VEST KIT PRICE: £90 Available in Woodland, Leafy, Desert and Custom (each includes 6lb jute) Huge thanks to TacFire Systems for supplying a kit and completed suit for review TACFIRE SYSTEMS: 01268 692615, www.tacﬁresystems.co.uk

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THE RANGE Situated close to the centre of London, The Range is home to Tactical Target shooting. Nige went along to meet the guys and ﬁnd out more

hen Benny ﬁrst told me about The Range it seemed an almost perfect idea: open an airsoft shop in the heart of London and allow customers to try before they buy on a custom-built range. Eight months later I found myself opposite 418 Edgware Road looking across at the shop, sandwiched as it is between a Euronics discount centre and a pharmacy and not looking at all out of place on this very busy thoroughfare. The shop is owned by Benny’s business partner Paul, with whom he shares a passion for shooting. Between them they

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have developed a ‘themed showroom’ – everyone is welcome, but it’s not your traditional airsoft shop. There are no rows and rows of guns and riﬂes on display; instead the retail space is ﬁlled with loads of target shooting accessories and a selection of tac gear – and this gives you a hint of where Benny and Paul want to take their business. Both guys are experienced pistol shooters and wanted to bring the fun and excitement of practical pistol shooting to airsofters, along the lines of IPSC but without the burden of non-applicable

real-steel rules. Hence the introduction of Tactical Target shooting, where those taking part shoot at a series of targets in a variety of situations, against the clock. As with practical pistol, being fast is not enough on its own: you also have to be accurate and that takes practice – lots of it! Thankfully The Range can help here as well, with introductory/training sessions run on a regular basis. For those who really want to get some time in it is also possible to hire The Range for private sessions. Behind the retail area you’ll ﬁnd the range itself. It is made up of two standard

INSIDE AIRSOFT | THE RANGE shooting lanes, just over 8m long with a motorised (paper) target retrieval system and a variety of static targets, including reactive steel targets which contain an electronic hit indicator. Designed to be as ﬂexible as possible, both shooting booths feature a collapsible equipment rest which can be lowered out of the way for shooting in kneeling and prone positions. Ideal for practice, it provides the perfect environment for people to ‘try before they buy’ and customers are also welcome to use it for hop-setting and zeroing the various scopes available in the shop. Needless to say, Benny and Paul also run Tactical Target shooting competitions, which have attracted interest from a wide variety shooters, both civilian and in Her Majesty’s employ! Out in the shop the emphasis is again on pistols rather than riﬂes (although The Range can supply just about any airsoft weapon you want). Much of the wall space is taken up with items such as speed holsters and Airsoft Surgeon spares and accessories, as is the window display. I noticed that the shop window is protected by a full security shutter and asked if the location of the shop, which (to my untrained eye) appeared to be in a strongly Muslim area, had given rise to any concerns. “Not at all,” Benny replied. In fact it’s been the opposite – on more

“It provides the perfect environment for people to ‘try before they buy’ and customers are welcome to use it for hop-setting and zeroing the various scopes available in the shop” than one occasion mothers had brought their sons in. Some had done so to sate their curiosity, some to teach them respect for guns and some because they had been asked to – but all preferred the safe, controlled environment to that of the streets! Both Benny and Paul are known in the area and work hard to ensure their activities don’t upset the local community and, from what I saw in the few hours I was with them, they are succeeding in that very well. The Range is not your average airsoft shop, but then your average airsoft shop doesn’t have a Tactical Target shooting range out the back! ■

THE RANGE 418 Edgware Road, London, W2 1ED www.airsoftrange.co.uk, 0207 724 6781 OPEN: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday – 12:00 to 18:00

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Alex Wharton delves into the ﬁnal instalment of the Mass Effect franchise. Its ending (among other things) contributed to the monolithic publisher being awarded the ‘Worst Company in America Award’ – but what’s the game like?

o say I was excited for this game would be an understatement. I was gagging for it as soon as I ﬁnished the second instalment. Much like a great movie or book I needed to know how the story ends, who lives or dies, and exactly how the war against the Reapers concludes. For those of you that haven’t played any of the Mass Effect games – what the hell have you been doing? I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, that they are some of the best games ever made. To ﬁll you in, the game centres around Commander Sheppard. The player controls him through the missions and challenges of a galaxy in turmoil. The Reapers are coming, and their plan is to wipe out everything. Mass Effect saw you take on a rogue agent working for the Reapers. Mass Effect 2 twisted everything: Sheppard now had to work with an organisation called Cerberus, widely-regarded as a terrorist group, with the power and belief to back your attempt

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to stop an alien force called the Collectors. Living up to their name they are gathering up races for their nefarious deeds, readying themselves for the coming Reapers. Mass Effect 3 starts out after the events of an expansion for ME2, so those who haven’t played the expansion may be a little confused. Short version: Sheppard is now on Earth and has been grounded as the Alliance isn’t quite sure if they can trust him. After all, you may have saved the galaxy twice already but last time was with the help of Cerberus. As the game begins, Earth command is panicking with reports of Reapers closing in. You get to witness their attack ﬁrsthand. Reinstated as Commander and reunited with the Normandy (your ship) you are sent away from Earth to gather forces from the other races to help. It’s not quite as emotional as the opening sequence of ME2 but it does a good job, and you are ﬁlled with resolve to lay some smackdown on anything that gets in your

way. Anyone who’s played the earlier games already will be well and truly caught up in the fight for the galaxy, and with the characters that form your crew. Bioware has done an amazing job of playing on this. You can import your character from the previous games, so choices you made years ago in ME1 reverberate all the way up to ME3, affecting the story and what you can do. For example I had to pick between two races at war; one became an ally in the fight, the other is wiped out. But others have played the game and were able to save both, create peace between them, and gain both forces in the fight against the Reapers. There are sections of the game that one player will experience that others may not ever know exist. This means that you can have been working on a character for years – taking them through death-defying acts and coming out victorious. You will see the character you created evolve and become more powerful, form relationships with your crew and squadmates. Now you have to take on the ultimate enemy: a machine race created to destroy everything every 50,000 years. The game centres around gathering forces to boost the military might of the galaxy. It starts out as a quest to get help for Earth but the races of the future are petty and short-sighted – so to get the help you need you first have to help them. This means launching rescue missions left and right, gathering lost squadmates and solving disagreements. I felt ME3 didn’t flow as well as the previous games. Each mission seemed disjointed – enjoyable in itself but certain lines of dialogue just threw it off for me and pulled me out of the game. For example,

GAME REVIEW | MASS EFFECT 3 a Mass Effect game has never had before. Four players defend an area from spawning enemies. Occasionally they have to hack computers or defuse bombs. There are 10 waves of increasing difficulty before a two minute countdown to extraction. Players can choose one of six classes and one of four characters in each class to level up individually, giving a fair bit of replayability. The enemies that you fight will either be Reaper forces, the Geth (a race of robots with a single conscience) or the forces of Cerberus. While I can’t see this type of gameplay keeping me going a long time I’ve been playing it constantly for three weeks now and have only maxed out three classes. On its own Mass Effect 3 would have been near-as-dammit perfect. But it has to compete with itself. As the finale of a trilogy it should

“Anyone who’s played the earlier games already will be well and truly caught up in the fight for the galaxy, and with the characters that form your crew” after each mission you check in with Alliance command, Admiral Hackett to be specific. After one such mission where I’d saved some things that would help the war effort, I speak to him and he thanks me. The things I’d saved, which 30 seconds ago had been down on-planet with me, are already at Alliance command and Hackett’s putting them to good use. Taking into account the trip up to my ship, filing a report, maybe a touch of downtime before checking in with Hackett – they should not be there yet! Surely it would have been better to just word the conversation along the lines of: “That’s great, can’t wait to put them

to good use when we have them here.” A simple tense change would mean that you didn’t notice it. It’s a small gripe I know, but in a game this good it’s an oversight that shouldn’t have made it through production. The combat system has evolved more in this instalment too. The Mass Effect series has always sold itself as an RPG shooter and number three is no exception. A combat roll has been added, along with a melee attack, for when things get really hairy. Both of these speed the combat up and make it more ﬂuid, welcome additions. It’s also allowed Bioware to add a multiplayer aspect to the game, something

be the best – it should have ended in epic fashion. It should have tied up all of the questions that the other games raised. But while the game is undoubtedly awesome the ending lets it down big time, unfortunately. It raises more questions than it answers, seems to ignore many of the choices that you made throughout the games and generally left me dissatisfied. The ending should leave you emotionally drained. You should know how everything ends. I didn’t even get to see if some of my squadmates survived the final fight! Ignoring this large flaw (some may enjoy the ending, so don’t let me put you off!) you need to play this game. If you haven’t tried a Mass Effect game yet, go out and pick up the first one. It’s a little rusty and you have to accept that it’s a very talky game, but it’s the start of something truly amazing. Mass Effect 2 was the best of the three in my opinion, but the third part is certainly no slouch. This game has depth, real characters and it will make you smile. If you are willing to get sucked into the story it’s evocative and emotional. It has flaws – but this is definitely the best singleplayer game of recent years! ■

MASS EFFECT 3 DEVELOPED BY: BioWare PUBLISHED BY: Electronic Arts Out now on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 PRICE: From around £35 depending on platform

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