OUTDOOR TACTICAL OUTDOOR DEVELOPMENT
PROPER PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE IN THE PREVIOUS INSTALMENT OF TOD JON SPOKE ABOUT HOW BEING PREPARED FOR AN AIRSOFT GAME IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS AND HOW FAILURE TO PREPARE CAN LEAD TO YOU HAVING A BAD, BAD DAY …AND NOW HE MOVES THINGS ALONG A LITTLE FURTHER!
S
o, you’ve booked into your favourite site or with your bestest gameday organiser, you’ve sorted out how you are getting there, who you are going with and you have a realistic expectation and understanding of the on-site facilities available. The site has shared their ongoing Covid Safety Guidelines and you are raring to go. Why wouldn’t you be? Airsoft is awesome fun! Let’s look at the essentials needed for a game day based on two scenarios; the first will be a fictional Skirmish Day and the second a fictional 24-hour Milsim event. Both fictional players will be wearing some form of BDU, body armour, boots, etc…. A skirmish day usually doesn’t require the specific kit that is often associated with a Milsim event and, as such, doesn’t require you to take as much with you. That said, we all love to run a few guns on our days out, so you may well be one of those players that requires a truck to carry your gear! So, let’s start with the most obvious of the kit, our prized possessions, the primary and secondary RIF.
RIF READY?
Firstly, are your RIFs “battle ready”?
If you’re running a new RIF this probably won’t apply but it is good practice and if it’s a battlehardened bit of kit that has seen tens of thousands of BBs, is it still “battle ready”? Have you performed maintenance on it, especially if it’s a gas system? Is the bucking OK, or could it do with being replaced? Has it been serviced recently - or at all? Are all the connections OK? Does it shoot within the site-specific limits? Taking into account all of these considerations now could save you from a big disappointment on the day. Are your batteries charged and ready to go? Do you have enough of them? Same question with magazines. Have you stripped, cleaned and serviced them recently? There’s nothing more frustrating (or annoying) than a mag failing you right when you need it most (this I know from experience)! If you run an optic, have you zeroed it to your RIF? Do you have a guard or protector for it and if so, is it fitted? Do you have ammo? We’ve all done it… turned up on site, gone to bomb up and … DOH! Don’t be that guy, don’t be me! Be prepared. You see where I’m going with this? If you set up a checklist of things for each and every time you’re off
“A SKIRMISH DAY USUALLY DOESN’T REQUIRE THE SPECIFIC KIT THAT IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH A MILSIM EVENT AND, AS SUCH, DOESN’T REQUIRE YOU TO TAKE AS MUCH WITH YOU. THAT SAID, WE ALL LOVE TO RUN A FEW GUNS ON OUR DAYS OUT, SO YOU MAY WELL BE ONE OF THOSE PLAYERS THAT REQUIRES A TRUCK TO CARRY YOUR GEAR!”
38
NOVEMBER 2021
