FEATURE: TACTICAL OUTDOORS

AN AIRSOFTER’S GUIDE TO TACTICAL OUTDOOR DEVELOPMENT

AS 2021 MOVES FORWARD IT SEEMS LIKE THE WORLD IS FINALLY REAWAKENING AND, AS IT DOES, THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE HAS MOST DEFINITELY KICKED BACK INTO HIGH GEAR AMONGST THE AA CREW! AS A GROUP OUR AIRSOFT ADVENTURES HAVE TAKEN US ALL OVER EUROPE AND THE USA AND NOW, WITH OUR ESTIMABLE LEGIONNAIRES, EVEN FURTHER AFIELD. HERE, JON STARTS LOOKING AT GEAR THAT CAN TURN A GREAT AIRSOFT EXPERIENCE INTO A TRULY MEMORABLE ONE.

2020… What a year that was! I, for one, am glad it’s over as it’s given me time to sift, sort and de-clutter all my kit. It also gave many of us the time to kick back, relax, spend time with our close loved ones and work on areas of our lives that, maybe, we had neglected. One thing it didn’t let us do, was play our beloved airsoft. This time out became apparent when I wanted to use items I’d forgotten to take to a recent outing with my fellow Red Cell contributors and, even more so, when I used the Attack Sense System that had been set up there (No, I don’t want to talk about it and yes I AM the guy that will be writing a newbie guide to Practical and Competition Shooting)!

All of the skills and drills I had learned over the years had gone out the window. While it was somewhat frustrating, I managed to pilfer those missing items from my colleagues and had a great day of airsoft.

My utter unpreparedness got us recalling (as a group) all the daft things we had done over the years at games - and there are many, MANY of them, especially when it comes to the years that the likes of Nige, Bill and Boycie have been involved with airsoft and where Nige and Bill’s travels have taken them! How we’d forgotten kit, over-packed and struggled to carry our gear through a scenario, got soaked to the bone and almost frozen solid. You know, light-hearted, generalised tales of misery, stupidity and most often, ignorance. That’s not to say we are arrogant or overconfident in our abilities, we (mostly me) hadn’t considered something and had to learn the hard way that we should have. It was an amusing conversation!

That got us pondering on the common mistakes that we ALL make at one point or other during our time in the game. “We” decided that it might be an idea if “I” (notice how “we” became “I” there!) wrote a series of columns where “we” take a look at some common mistakes, misunderstandings, things that never cross your mind to take with you and how to have the best experience you can at a game day, a

“MY UTTER UNPREPAREDNESS GOT US RECALLING (AS A GROUP) ALL THE DAFT THINGS WE HAD DONE OVER THE YEARS AT GAMES - AND THERE ARE MANY, MANY OF THEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE YEARS THAT THE LIKES OF NIGE, BILL AND BOYCIE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH AIRSOFT AND WHERE NIGE AND BILL’S TRAVELS HAVE TAKEN THEM!”

weekend event, or a scenario that lasts even longer.

Along the way we will point you in the direction of suppliers and manufacturers who offer up various bits of kit that can and will help you out. That’s not to say you HAVE to take our recommendations, it’s just that in our collective experiences of airsoft, bushcraft and outdoor pursuits, these bits of kit have served us well.

We will take a deep dive into what you REALLY need as a minimum and why you need it, then onto the things that are nice to have to compliment these basic items.

SO WHERE TO BEGIN?

It’s all in the planning. We’re civilised folks here at Airsoft Action (unless there’s a CQB scenario involved… looking at you again Bill!) and in the interest of being polite, I’ll direct your attention to the “5” Ps: • Proper. • Preparation. • Prevents. • Poor. • Performance.

What kind of game are you playing? Is it a skirmish, BattleSim or MilSim? Is it a series of short games with a break between each one, a day with a lunch break or are you out in the A.O. for 12/24/36/48/72 hours? If you are playing a long game, will there be a F.O.B, will you be operating roaming patrols or will you be part of a Q.R.F. squad?

Before you even start to look at your kit, you will want to be considering a whole host of factors, some of which I touched upon above but other things that none of us have had to consider before due to the pandemic. If you’re planning on a skirmish game or a “broken day” game, you don’t really have a huge deal to worry about but you do have certain things to consider to insure you have a comfortable day. • How will you be traveling there and will you be going alone? • Is there a sheltered Safe Zone or are you working from the boot of your car? • Is there food and drink available from the site or do you need to take your own? • In this newly emerging post Covid World, will the site take cash or do you need to pay by card for the game day and on site items? • Are there toilet facilities? • Do you need a face mask and hand sanitizer when moving around the safe zone areas? • Is there an on-site shop to replace the BBs or gas that you may have forgotten? • Is this a new site to you? It may be that there is a site map available online that you can print out so you can find your way if you get lost.

See where I’m going with this?

There are a myriad of factors and things you SHOULD be considering before you even look at what kit and gear you will be taking. We’ll be working again with some of our long-term friends and partners in the industry like Snugpak, Helikon-Tex, VIPER, and Military1st to find gear that’s affordable and fit for purpose - not just for airsoft but for all our adventures - and putting things together in a way that’s straightforward and easily digestible.

In the next instalment we’ll take a look at the 6, sorry, “5” Ps in more detail and start breaking down what you need and why you need it. AA