THE
UK’S
NUMBER
ONE
AIRSOFT
MAGAZINE!
AIRSOFT ACTION
MIND YOUR HEAD!! R O T A PREnDin Russia See
G&P SALIENT ARMS GRY ICS BLACK LEOPARD EYE ALPHA SILVERBACK STEALTH RECON SCOUT UMAREX H&K MP7A1
EVENTS
AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPS NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL STIRLING AIRSOFT – OPERATION CRUCIBLE
PRACTICAL SHOOTING
THE TUNNEL OPEN DAY
INSIDE AIRSOFT AIRSOFT SNIPER PARTS UK
11
PROUDLY SUPPORTING PILGRIM BANDITS TECH TALK
JEFFTRON MOSFETS
NOV 2016
DEBATE | FAMOUS RAIDS | AIRSOFT SKILLS | WARRIORS | LOADED OR UNLOADED
NOV 2016 - £4.50
>
ASG/TEAM CZ COMPETITION WIN LARS HAGEMANN’S CZ 75 SP-01 SHADOW!
ARMOURY
9 772047 348032
EXCLUSIVE
*
®
The leading online airsoft equipment specialist and authorised distributor of all the brands below
Call
0131 654 2452 Visit
LANDWARRIORAIRSOFT.COM
FREE SHIPPING
**
*When you set up an online account. **On orders over £50.
Call
0131 654 2452 Visit
TACTICAL-CLOTHING.CO.UK
THE
UK’S
NUMBER
ONE
AIRSOFT
MAGAZINE!
AIRSOFT ACTION
ARMS GRY
MIND YOUR HEAD!! OR PREDARTussia
ARMOURY: SILVERBACK SRS
Seen in
ARMOURY
EVENTS
AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPS NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL STIRLING AIRSOFT – OPERATION CRUCIBLE >
G&P SALIENT ARMS GRY ICS BLACK LEOPARD EYE ALPHA SILVERBACK STEALTH RECON SCOUT UMAREX H&K MP7A1
11
PROUDLY SUPPORTING PILGRIM BANDITS PRACTICAL SHOOTING
THE TUNNEL OPEN DAY
INSIDE AIRSOFT
TECH TALK
AIRSOFT SNIPER PARTS UK
JEFFTRON MOSFETS
NOV 2016
DEBATE | FAMOUS RAIDS | AIRSOFT SKILLS | WARRIORS | LOADED OR UNLOADED
NOV 2016 - £4.50
ASG/TEAM CZ COMPETITION WIN LARS HAGEMANN’S CZ 75 SP-01 SHADOW!
9 772047 348032
EXCLUSIVE
20
12 ARMOURY: G&P SALIENT
24
Editor: Nigel Streeter Assistant editor: Gareth “Gadge” Harvey Graphic design: Havoc Design Ad design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter UK 13-issue subscription rate: £46.50 UK 6-issue subscription rate: £24.00 For overseas prices email: subs@airsoft-action.co.uk
Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6PL Tel: 01684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2016 Distribution: Distributed to the newstrade by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE T: 01895 433 800 Copyright © Calibre Publishing Limited 2016. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.
FIND US ON… facebook.com/AirsoftAction
EXCLUSIVE: NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL
36
82
EXCLUSIVE: AIRSOFT PREDATOR
MILSIM: HT IMMERSIVE SIMULATIONS
94
96
Search ‘Airsoft Action’
Letter, idea or question? Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea? Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the editor (nige@airsoft-action.co.uk), write to us at the Calibre Publishing address above, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.
SURVIVAL: SAFE WATER
SKILLS: ACTIVE SHOOTER
CONTENTS NOVEMBER MARCH 2014 2016
CONTENTS NOVEMBER 2016 6 NEWS 10 ROGUE’S GALLERY Cool photos taken by Airsoft Action readers. 11 THE ADVENTURES OF MAG Mag continues his adventures in Airsoft Action’s exclusive cartoon. 12 ARMOURY: G&P SALIENT ARMS GRY One of the coolest M4 platforms to be released in recent years has finally been released, is it a Michael Bay explosion of awesome or more of a wet Mk5? Scott Allan finds out… 16 ARMOURY: ICS BLE ALPHA Angelo Di Vito gets an exclusive look at what must surely be the most weirdly-named pistol of 2016! 20 ARMOURY: SiLVERBACK SRS If you enjoy playing a “bad guy” role then you’ll always have your eyes peeled for a RIF that offers great performance married up to maximum concealability; if you’re in an “urban sniper” type of player then Jerry Noone believes he’s found just what you need! 24 EXCLUSIVE: NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL Read Nige’s exclusive report from the largest event on the UK Airsoft Calendar, where he finds things are very different from his last visit. 32 MILSIM: STIRLING AIRSOFT Kelly “Femme Fatale” Hardwick joins the Chad Police to take part in Stirling Airsoft’s latest event in their on-going MilSim series. 36 EXCLUSIVE: AIRSOFT PREDATOR In this exclusive interview, Airsoft Action’s Russian contributors, Marty and Marta, talk to the people behind the awesome Predator costume. 40 INSIDE AIRSOFT: ASPUK Sniping is an integral part of airsoft, so Les Lee went to see the foremost supplier of airsoft sniper parts in the UK. 46 EXCLUSIVE: AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROS With over 150 shooters taking part, Nige reports from the largest airsoft practical shooting event in Europe.
52 LOADED OR UNLOADED: HELIKON-TEX Every airsofter needs good functional clothing, footwear and gear but let’s face it, we don’t always have the money or the inclination to buy into the so-called “Gucci” brands. In Part 1 of his report this month Jerry Noone takes a close look at the newest offerings from Helikon-Tex. 56 DEBATE: HOW DID YOU BEGIN? This month Gadge asks our readership perhaps the oldest question of all… “How did you get into the great Airsoft Hobby?” 60 GEAR: VALKEN THUNDER B GRENADE “Femme Fatale”, Kelly Hardwick, loves pyrotechnics so couldn’t wait to check out this new design from Valken – but did it go with a bang? 63 GEAR: NUPROL MAGAZINES Whatever type of RIF you run, you’re going to need to keep it fed with ammo! Jerry Noone finds the answer in the form of a new range of AEG magazines and shotgun shells from NUPROL. 64 GITAG: AIRSOFTRACKER Jerry Noone is always interested in looking at unique resources that will benefit not just players but the airsoft community as a whole. Recently he was lucky enough to speak to Ali, from AIRSOFTRACKER to find out what they’re all about. 68 POCKET ROCKETS: H&K MP7A1 Jerry Noone starts the first of a new series of reviews dedicated to CQBready “pocket rockets” by picking up a great little replica from Umarex, in the form of the fully licenced, true 1:1 scale Heckler & Koch MP7A1 GBB. 72 WARRIORS: 2 PARA - NI INTERNAL SECURITY Gareth “Gadge” Harvey writes about what some saw as a controversial deployment, as “The Paras” arrived in 1970's Northern Ireland. 76 PRACTICAL SHOOTING: THE TUNNEL OPEN DAY With more and more shooting clubs diversifying into Airsoft practical shooting, Airsoft Action reports from The Tunnel Target Sports Centre, the new home of Practical Shooting in the South West.
78 TECH TALK: JEFFTRON MOSFETS Frenchie wasn’t going to fettle the rifle he reviewed last month, until someone intervened… 82 MILSIM: HT IMMERSIVE SIMULATIONS Constantly in search of his MilSim “fix” wherever he may find it, this time Bill Thomas speaks to Gaz P about HT Immersive Simulations and the ongoing OP BLUE FOX MilSim series. 86 FAMOUS RAIDS: OPERATION OAK Billy Basics writes about one of the most daring raids of World War II, which was a total success and yet not a shot was fired. 90 FEATURE: THE M16 “WIDOWMAKER” Frenchie returns to the subject of the M16 and why the real-steel weapon gained such an awful reputation. 94 SURVIVAL: SAFE WATER Survival expert, Paul Yelland, gives us some advice on what to do if you run out of water. 96 SKILLS: ACTIVE SHOOTER Calibre Shooting’s Andy Nightingale gives us some tips on how to deal with this most difficult of scenario. 100 SITE DIRECTORY & PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUBS With the ever-growing popularity of Practical Shooting, we thought it was about time we started listing where you can go and take part - as well as over four pages of awesome airsoft venues! 104 AIRSOFT ACTION COMPETITION You’ve read our coverage of the Airsoft Surgeon European Championship and now you can win the pistol Lars Hagemann used to become the first Action Air European Production Division Champion, the superb ASG CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow, signed by Lars himself. 106 DEALER LISTING: AIRSOFT ACTION’S ADVERTISER INDEX Find who you are looking for in our listing of all the adverts that appear in this issue.
S W E N T AIRSOF EU FIREARMS GOOD NEWS DIRECTIVE UPDATE AT LAST! THIS IS ONE OF THE best (and most important) pieces of news Airsoft Action has received for a long time - so please read it and spread the word to every airsofter you know! A joint statement from UKARA, ATB and UKAPU: “We have some great news for UK airsoft... Lord Shrewsbury of the GTA has voluntarily decided to withdraw his amendment in regards to the airsoft exception from the Policing and Crime Bill 2015/16. This is the best possible outcome for UK airsoft. Lord Shrewsbury tells us he better understands airsoft now that he is properly informed and that he is extremely keen to work with us and move forwards as a part of a unified firearms community. Please get word out and apply the brakes on the campaign, there’s nothing we need to counteract right now, the airsoft exception is not being questioned and we certainly don’t want to create fruitless hassle for our valuable new ally. So to clarify, tweets emails and letters to Lords and Lord Shrewsbury should stop now. When asked to contribute to this campaign the response from the UK airsoft was phenomenal and you should feel proud of the good work you’ve put in. There was, however, a tiny element that was abusive (and even threatening) towards Lord Shrewsbury and needless to say, this is totally unacceptable behaviour and counterproductive and we condemn this behaviour unreservedly. Those individuals have been reported to the Police and we hope that they are subject to the full weight of the law. On the whole though, we saw an overwhelming positive response; even saw some mums writing to representatives to tell them that airsoft had been a huge force for good in their children’s lives. We’d also like to make you aware that the 3 UK airsoft associations have done a colossal amount (most of it behind the scenes) to get us this far and will continue 6
November 2016
to work for you over the coming months, so please keep supporting them in turn. Another group which gave us huge support was real firearms shooters and grass roots shooting organisations, such as Firearms UK. There wasn’t anything at stake for real firearms people and yet they leapt to the defence of airsofters. Keep that in mind should you see the firearms community facing hardship in the future. Things are not finished with the PCB by any means. We still have concerns that, even with the exception in place, if you unwittingly import a slightly hot fully auto AEG, or have your HPA or GBB replicas are tested at maxed out pressure and heavy ammo you could face Section 5 firearms charges (5 years mandatory sentence), which would be wildly disproportionate and unacceptable, even if it only ever happens to one of us. So we ask everyone to keep up to date with this Bill for the next few months and keep discussing it. If you are still receiving replies from MPs and Lords, please continue to post them on the group so we can “map the ground”. This group is very well informed and a useful asset in itself. https://www. facebook.com/groups/ UKairsoftlobby Be sure to “Like” UK Airsoft Players Union to keep up to date https://www.facebook. com/UKAPU/ but more importantly players should join UKAPU, so we can keep doing what we do http://www. ukapu.org.uk/join/ Airsoft Trade Body will have its website online soon so get involved if you run an airsoft business and want to safeguard it http://www.atb.org.uk/ Membership of old stalwart UKARA is of course available from their website http://www.ukara.org.uk/index.php Kind Regards, Matt Furey-King - UKAPU Tim Wyborn - Chairman ATB Frank Bothamley - UKARA” As you can see, this is a hugely positive step forward and goes a long way towards what we hope the future of airsoft will become - but as Matt said, it is not the end and we must all keep doing whatever we can.
AIRSOFT ACTION HAS RECEIVED the following Joint Status Report from ActionSportGames and Cybergun, regarding the proposal for amendment of the EU Firearms Directive: “It has now been 9 months since the European commission released their proposal for amendment of the EU Firearms Directive. From the moment the the proposal was released ASG and Cybergun decided to join their efforts against the proposal, which threatens the future of airsoft and airgun devices. We have been travelling to Brussels during the entire year 2015 in order to raise our concerns and secure that airsoft and airgun devices are not affected by the final text to be implemented. It has been hard work but as we informed you back in April, we feel that both the Commission, Council and Parliament members have listened to our arguments and concerns. And now we have the first official indication that our efforts have an actual effect on the process in Brussels! On July 13, the responsible committee within the Parliament (IMCO) voted in favour of deleting the proposed paragraph 1h from the Commission draft. This means that airsoft and airgun devices are no longer part of the scope of the proposed amendment of the firearms directive, whereby airsoft and airgun devices will not be considered as category C firearms. This is a victory for ASG and Cybergun, the airsoft and airgun industry as a whole and indeed for the airsoft players and airgun devices users. A victory that we are proud of and that we would not have won without the help of other organisations within the world of airsoft and airgun devices. However, we now have the first small victory with the Parliament, our fight against the Commission’s proposal continues as the Parliament, Commission and Council will open the so-called trialogue negotiations in September. The purpose of these negotiations is to reach a compromise on the final text. During this process the text may be revised again and, therefore, the potential risk that airsoft and/or airgun devices are included back in the scope of proposal of the amendment of the Firearms Directive. ASG and Cybergun will of course remain dedicated to the mission in Brussels and using all efforts to work with the representatives of the Parliament, Commission and Council in order to secure the future of airsoft and airgun devices within the European Union. So rest assured that ASG and Cybergun will actively try to influence the process over the next few months until the final vote in the Parliament, which at this stage is scheduled for November 22nd, 2016. We will keep you updated as soon as we have any news from the trialogue negotiations.” Hugo BRUGIERE (Cybergun) Christian TROLLE ANDERSEN (ASG)
AIRSOFT NEWS
Walther win Red Dot Design Award The WALTHER PRO HL11 head lamp and WALTHER PRO XL7000r flashlight have each received the coveted Red Dot Design Award. Since 1955, the prestigious honour with the red dot has been conferred on products with outstanding designs. The worldrenowned innovation award has advertising value as well. This yearís competition was open to manufactured goods which came onto the market in 2014 and 2015. A total of 5,214 products from 57 countries competed. The two PRO models, which were introduced as part of a newly designed flashlight range in 2015, clearly impressed the international panel of judges with their technical features and design. In the HL11 the three batteries are combined in a tube rather than arranged side by side. This is the
basis for a low-cost multi-battery system that can also take other regular or rechargeable batteries. Another example of excellent design is the lamp head of the massive XL7000r. The cleverly integrated bulge in the back allows focusing with a single hand. The fine corrugation on the housing provides a secure grip and, as gun enthusiasts are sure to notice, resembles the lands and grooves of a rifle barrel. Walther products are available in the UK from Armex Limited, the exclusive UK Distributor for Umarex. For more information, contact Armex on: 0121 643 4900
AIRSOFT COMMANDO Ram Training Ltd, the Midlands-based company that brought you Zombie Boot Camp and The Asylum, is very proud to announce the launch of a new CQB airsoft experience called “Airsoft Commando”. As airsoft grows, Airsoft Commando presents a new experience with a twist, as our instructor-led skirmish and scenario games are based across 2 separate sites. Airsoft
8
November 2016
Commando Site 1 offers an indoor CQB play area based over 2 levels of approximately 22,500 sq. ft. Site 2 is an urban gaming area of approximately 1.5 acres and another large skills house of 12,500 sq. ft. Players will love the upturned cars, bunkers and close combat environment, all offering numerous gaming options. The sites are well serviced, safe and floodlit to enable game play at night and we will also be offering a small retail outlet to stock up on supplies and, of course, a place to chill and have a brew. Airsoft Commando plans to host events all year around: weekends, weekdays and an evening each week. The team at Airsoft Commando are passionate about what we offer: safe play, great value for money and an enjoyable day out. Their future plan is to communicate with new potential players in the West Midlands area and in particular reach out to younger players. We want to foster teamwork, fitness and develop confidence. We are not looking to set the world on fire - just to enhance an already exciting and growing sport. Find out more at www.airsoftcommando.co.uk
AA GALLERY READERS’ PHOTOS
SPONSORED BY
ROGUE’S GALLERY
This page: pics from the National Airsoft Festival
10
NOVEMBER 2016
Information Fancy seeing yourself in Airsoft Action? Send in your photos via email (nige@airsoft-action.co.uk) or share on our Facebook page (/AirsoftAction), plus a few words describing what’s going on in the image.
This page: pics from the Euros
THE ADVENTURES OF MAG
CARTOON
www.airsoft-action.online
11
ONE OF THE COOLEST M4 PLATFORMS TO BE RELEASED IN RECENT YEARS HAS FINALLY BEEN RELEASED, IS IT A MICHAEL BAY EXPLOSION OF AWESOME OR MORE OF A WET MK5? SCOTT ALLAN FINDS OUT…
SALIENT ARMS GRY I HAVE ADORED THE SALIENT ARMS range ever since I laid eyes on their gold bolts back at SHOT Show a few years ago. I knew someone one day would commit to the license and have an Airsoft version made and I prayed that it would be one of the best manufacturers and not a cheap cop out. Well, G&P got the job and that should mean all is well! They have a track record of producing some outrageously good replicas, such as their Mk23 Stoner, their Magpul rifles of old and their near perfect Colt range. G&P are based out in Hong Kong and while their background is firmly set in the M4 market they do make some outrageously lovely M249s and MK23 Stoner rifles too. Many, many years ago they started out only making extras to enhance the Tokyo Marui replicas but in more recent history, they offered excellent complete packages, competitively priced and with great quality. Fast forward to 2016 and their M4 platforms seem to have slipped in my opinion. Not the quality internally, although there has been no real innovation on this front but externally they’ve lost the Colt licence and no longer make Magpul rifles, which
leaves them with their own branded Ball and MOTS range. To be honest, it’s like taking your flash Audi back to the garage after a couple of years to get the latest model and being told they only do Fiat now. Okay, that’s not an entirely fair comparison but it is how it feels for me. But this is a licensed replica they’ve made so everything will be fine! There is always the running joke about G&P… “Oh look! G&P have made another M4!” Thing is, they’re really good at it. The gearbox is very run of the mill, no MOSFETs, electronic triggers, recoil (okay they do a bit of a recoil range), stop on empty, so on and so forth (essentially all the advancements we’ve seen from the likes of KWA/PTS, Marui and G&G over the last few years) but then simple can be good and reliable. I’ve had a G&P Sentry since they first came out about 8 years ago and it still works fine - and I’ve not been kind to it. Okay I’ve replaced the motor and hop rubber because they’d worn out but it’s still the same bodywork and gearbox case and that is pretty good going in my eyes. The GRY rifle was shown on the Evike stand at SHOT Show this year (Airsoft Action had exclusive pictures of it as always) and the deep engraved markings and colourings all looked 100% accurate to the real thing. The same grey colour, nice weight and Magpul MBUS Pro Sights made it look like the ultimate replica for this year.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE REAL VERSION
The Salient Arms GRY has that same “something” that the LVOA has; the shrouded muzzle inside the rail that makes it look really mean. The patented “JailBrake” is a muzzle blast and flash reducer that is said to redirect the forces “unidirectly”, so that users either side do not experience harsh blasts from the muzzle. This would typically happen on an open range, which are commonly found in the US. Reportedly, the GRY can be fully serviced without the need for any special tools, which is handy (I know I struggle to even remember a multi-tool most days). Finally, the 5.56mm (or .223) rifle comes in two lengths; full sized 14.5” and SBR 12”, which is pretty consistent with the common lengths of all manufacturers these days. You get all that plus a Magpul stock, sights, grip and Geissele trigger for a very respectable $3,295 - which is pretty expensive even by US standards! 12
November 2016
armoury G&P SALIENT ARMS GRY
“I HAVE LOOKED FORWARD TO THIS RIFLE FOR A LONG AND LIFTING IT OUT OF THE BOX I CAN ONLY CONVEY MY UTTER DESPAIR AND HOW MUCH IT ISN’T LIKE THE PROTOTYPE I SAW IN JANUARY!”
THE AIRSOFT VERSION
I don’t normally comment on the box or packaging (I’ve seen the odd YouTube review that spends ten minutes on this and I never care) but having said that, the box isn’t the usual G&P boring brown box that occasionally has their logo on it. It’s a slick, white, glossy box that makes me feel like I’ve bought a new iPhone (Note to self: Look for SAI iPhone cover or invent one). I have looked forward to this rifle for a long and lifting it out of the box I can only convey my utter despair and how much it isn’t like the prototype I saw in January! There are white laser engravings instead of the deep engravings like the real version and I cannot fathom why you would do this other than cost? If you’re going to the expense of making a great replica, why falter on that point? The rifle is now black instead of the deep blue/grey of the SAI range. I can almost forgive this except for the fact that it is just paint. I could take it to B&Q and have the real one colour matched and mixed up, why is this black? Maybe these points are harsh and if I hadn’t seen the prototype looking 100% it wouldn’t have bothered me so much. Then I notice the sights, they are cheap plastic Troy replicas with no markings. At this point I am baffled. I have never seen a G&P rifle come with such cheap s**t looking sights! They’d have been better giving you a cheap Chinese flip up set or not bothering with plastic types that look awful. Thankfully the sights are easy to change. The stock is wrong! G&P have opted for a crane-style stock instead of the Magpul version. The pistol grip is almost correct looking and is at least a Madbull Strike Industries grip. At this point I don’t think I’ve ever been so sad to see a new rifle.
out of the box rifles on the available in the Airsofting world. Internally they have an 8mm bearing gearbox, so they can withstand you tinkering types with upgrades. Out of the box most G&P rifles are normally 310-360fps and they just seem to vary without any real reason. The inner barrel is a bog-standard 6.08mm barrel, same as TM and ICS. With companies such as G&G shipping some rifles with a 6.03, the standard brass barrel of a G&P is always something I would change as quickly as possible for either a Laylax, Madbull or Prometheus 6.03. While it is not necessary, the rifle will easily run an 11.1v Lipo, albeit at an outrageous 1,200-1,300 rounds per minute. Always best to check with your warranty provider before doing this. The Salient Arms GRY, despite my initial design disappointments, thankfully isn’t reflected on the performance front. While the range and grouping are not staggering they are very
SO WHAT ABOUT PERFORMANCE?
G&P always make a good performing rifle (generally speaking) but what really gets the blood pumping is the M120 high speed motors that are fitted as standard. G&P are some of the fastest www.airsoft-action.online
13
armoury G&P SALIENT ARMS GRY
respectable and what I would expect. So everything about the GRY should spell quality and in some areas it reeks of it, the rail system and flash hider are brilliantly made but then there are things like a plastic fire selector - why?! The rifle is surprisingly lighter than it looks, although a tad front heavy due to the long rail running all the way to the end of the rifle. The contoured rail is one of the more comfortable fore ends available at the moment and although there is no real reason to detach the front flash hider cover, you can do that just like the real version. Like many players out there I look at my upgrade options on any rifle I buy and this is just gagging to have to the some kind of electronic trigger fitted and a hop modification. With plenty of stock space you won’t be short on battery life either and should fit a 1450mah LiPo in there easily. Tight bore barrels are always worth a look at to, especially the Laylax 6.03mm or Madbull 6.03mm which are good value and performers and if you have more money to splash, have a look for a Prometheus 6.03mm. The gearbox itself is pretty sound and you shouldn’t really have to change anything there unless you are going for a dedicated high speed set up maybe with some 13:1 gears but you’d need to “G&P ALWAYS MAKE A watch your piston in this case. GOOD PERFORMING RIFLE A little bit heavy but as it’s a M4 it is very easy to use and even the longer (GENERALLY SPEAKING) 14.75” barrel it is equally well-suited BUT WHAT REALLY GETS to both indoors and outdoors without THE BLOOD PUMPING IS getting caught up in everything. Personally I would have some form of THE M120 HIGH SPEED front grip fitted to help my aiming out MOTORS THAT ARE FITTED and I would certainly bin the offensively cheap sights and drop the extra money AS STANDARD. G&P ARE on the Magpul types the real version SOME OF THE FASTEST has. The adjustable stock is positive and OUT OF THE BOX RIFLES there is little movement and that is at least a little encouraging. I would still ON THE AVAILABLE IN THE change the stock to the correct Magpul AIRSOFTING WORLD.” type straight away. I do personally like an 11.1v Lipo battery in a G&P, which gives a frightening rate of fire and a quick trigger response. It is not that I want to hose endlessly but I do always like the quick 3-4 round bursts to ensure my target takes the hit quickly and without fuss. The Ball magazine is pretty bland and I doubt I would use it personally. I would favour my existing old PTS E Mags that just never seem to die.
CONCLUSION
Why couldn’t it be the rifle I needed it to be? Why are there cheap plastic parts? Why are the sights, stock, grip, engravings and colour wrong? It is a £500 rifle for heaven’s sake! But I really am “rivet counting” and could forgive everything except the laser engravings. I still love this rifle but after seeing how close Krytac got with the WarSport LVOA, this feels like a cheap lookalike, rather than a licensed product. I don’t know if they’ll do a better version (maybe under a “Deluxe” banner) but this version, despite being a solid performer, has fallen a bit short of the mark for me personally. However, if you like the look then get to your local airsoft retailer and try it for yourself, you might think differently.
14
November 2016
features • Magazine Capacity: 130 • Length: 730mm / 810mm (short) 810mm / 890mm (long) • Weight: 3020g (short) 3180g (long) • Built Material: Metal & ABS • Inner Barrel Length: 320mm (short) 382mm (long) • Gearbox: 8mm Bearing Gearbox • Motor: G&P M120 Hi-Speed • Battery: Advise using 7.2v or 8.4v Battery (Not Included) • SAI Taper Metal Body (Black) • Short Railed Handguard with SAI QD System For Tool-less Rail Changes • SAI 11.5″ Taper Outer Barrel (short) SAI 14.75″ Taper Outer Barrel (long) • 556K Flashider (CW) (Short) • S Forward Assist Bolt Cover Set (COP078) • Plastic Selector (COP077BK) • Ball Ball Mid-Cap Magazine 130rds (MAG007BK) • Madbull Fully Licensed Strike Industries Grip • Plastic BUIS Sight • Crane Type Buttstock (COP068BK) • RRP £500
ANGELO DI VITO GETS AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT WHAT MUST SURELY BE THE MOST WEIRDLY-NAMED PISTOL OF 2016!
ALL GASSED UP AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE numerous manufacturers of airsoft RIFs and associated products and many of us have our favourites. Now for me, as I am not a lover of HPA systems, there are three types of propulsion you can use; springer, electric or gas, with several companies offering you the option of all three, Tokyo Marui being the main one that springs (if you’ll pardon the pun) to mind. In addition to this, there are some companies that only offer one, or maybe two options of propulsion. This is usually because sometimes it’s good to stick to what you are good at and what you know. In the middle of all the different options in the marketplace there is one company who have always stuck to what they are good at. For many years now they have consistently produced quality electric RIFs with cutting edge designs and innovations and that company is ICS. I have personally owned numerous ICS rifles and have always found that the build quality to be very good and with great reliability. The original CXP Concept rifle for me was easily one of the best all round M4’s on the market, with the split gearbox system
16
November 2016
making adjustments an absolute doddle. The new designs of the CXP are very pleasing to the eye with various models now available including the great looking APE system. Also with the PAR Mk3 there are various configurations available. So, just as fans of ICS are loving the new rifles and designs, what do ICS go and do? They throw in a massive curve-ball. They release a gas product - and a gas blowback pistol no less! If you had asked various knowledgeable players “Who do you think out of the electric-only manufacturers will release a gas product first?” I bet hardly any of them would have said ICS. A few months ago I was offered the opportunity to join the very successful ScoutTheDoggie media team by Ricky Cairns and John Welsh, which I snapped up. I was well aware that these guys were working very closely with several airsoft companies, including quite a bit of product development. One of those companies was ICS, who were very open to what is required in the UK market and taking on lots of ideas and developing them. So when Ricky called me to say that ICS were going to produce two gas pistols, one blowback and one not, I was very excited. We had numerous conversations about the ongoing development, as Ricky knows my passion for airsoft does lean towards gas products. So I was very pleased when Ricky contacted me to say the first production models were ready for testing and on their way to us from Taiwan. Within a month I had the blowback model in my hand… The BLE Alpha had landed! BLE stands for “Black Leopard Eye”. With thanks to Alice Chen at ICS and of course Ricky and John, we could start the gas product journey in the UK with ICS.
Armoury ICS BLE ALPHA GAS BLOWBACK PISTOL
UNBOXING
The box itself is very striking to look at, with the leopard’s head embossed on the lid along with the BLE registered trademark. Inside it was all very nicely laid out and included the pistol, magazine, cleaning/unjamming rod, spare back strap and an extremely good user manual - in English! What struck me the most about the pistol itself was the finish, with very neat moulding and nice clean lines. It has the look of a Glock crossed with the M&P Big Bird. The magazine also has the feel of a top quality product, with a very cheeky bit of innovation hiding under the base plate but more on that later. In the hand the BLE feels top quality and very comfortable and as I have quite small hands, I was really pleased with this. Players with bigger hands can obviously alter the feel by fitting the alternative larger back strap, which is very straightforward.
OVERVIEW
With a polymer lower frame, metal internals and aluminium slide, the BLE is no different to a lot of other pistols on the market presently. Where it does distinguish itself, is it has an ambidextrous magazine release and slide catch/stop. It also comes with an accessory rail so you can bolt on a torch, laser sight or anything else you might fancy. One slight disappointment is the outer barrel isn’t threaded, so no silencer, (possible upgrade ICS?). The trigger also has a two stage safety system via a trigger stop and a hinged trigger for added security. It has the BLE logo and “Alpha” in bold white print on one side of the slide and the origin of manufacture and “Black Leopard Eye” on the other. Just below
this on the lower frame, in very feint print, is a serial number. I have been advised that each pistol will have its own personal serial number. And finally, one huge selling point for the BLE is the fact it will fit straight into a Glock-style retention holster. I have one for my Glock so I tried it and it does fit perfectly!
STRIP DOWN
This was the part I was really looking forward to as many people who know me will tell you I do a lot of work on repairing and upgrading gas rifles and pistols… a labour of love! Over the years I have stripped, repaired and upgraded most of the gas products out there - and developed many more grey hairs along the way. So out with the toolbox and let’s look at what makes the BLE tick. The slide is removed very easily and similar to removing the slide off a SIG style pistol, pull the slide back, turn the slide lock downwards 90 degrees and bingo. So let’s look at the lower part of the BLE first. The enclosed hammer mechanism is quickly taken out with one screw and a pin to take out in one unit. And likewise the trigger box removal is just one screw and a couple of pins and at this point I started to think this is just a little bit too easy. After reassembling the lower I moved on to the slide and all it’s internals. Looking at the internals of the slide everything appears to be in the right place. Inner and outer barrels and hop unit, fire nozzle and blowback unit and the recoil stay bar and spring. The first thing I noticed when I started to strip the parts was the recoil stay bar has one of those little lugs on the hop end which
“JUST AS FANS OF ICS ARE LOVING THE NEW RIFLES AND DESIGNS, WHAT DO ICS GO AND DO? THEY THROW IN A MASSIVE CURVE-BALL. THEY RELEASE A GAS PRODUCT - AND A GAS BLOWBACK PISTOL NO LESS!” www.airsoft-action.online
17
Armoury ICS BLE ALPHA GAS BLOWBACK PISTOL
like this… I mean really liked it. With the pistol and magazine fully reassembled it was time to move onto the shooting test.
SHOOTING TEST
locates into the front of the hop unit, ensuring it stays straight during operation. One thing I didn’t like was the fact there is no shallow rebate at the front of the slide to sit the recoil spring into when putting the stay bar back in. This makes it a touch trickier when trying to refit the stay bar but it’s no great dramas. The outer and inner barrels simply slide and lift out just like a Glock and the hop unit and inner barrel pull straight out of the outer barrel. I would just like to point out that in my opinion the inner barrel slid out a little too easily. Normally you would have to twist the hop unit slightly to remove it, but this came straight out. This loose fit was also responsible for a louder than normal rattle. For me the outer barrel seems to be a little under-engineered and needs a bit more work. The hop unit, however, was a different matter. It’s solid with a nice neat finish to it and has the adjustment wheel in the middle, two thirds of which are enclosed in the housing. There’s only two screws to remove to open up the unit like most systems and you can remove the hop arm, bucking and barrel. Another thing I noticed after reassembling the hop unit was the huge amount of adjustment available, to give more options on bb weights that can be used. I really liked the hop unit, it worked straight out of the “THE MAGAZINES CAN BE USED box very efficiently. WITH EITHER GREEN GAS OR CO2. Finally, onto to the part IF YOU PREFER CO2 THERE IS A that makes it all possible, the blowback housing and VERY SIMPLE KIT THAT CAN BE fire nozzle. Now this part FITTED TO THE MAGAZINE TO of stripping a pistol gas ENABLE CO2 USE AND IT CAN BE system is usually the tricky part, with the possibility of CHANGED BACK FOR GREEN GAS little springs and pins flying USE. BRILLIANT!” out. But let me tell you, this is the easiest removal of a blowback housing I’ve ever done, it’s just one screw! Take the screw out of the bottom of the rear sight and the blowback housing is out. The nozzle return spring is in the usual place for this type of housing, locating on a lug on the nozzle at one end and the front of the housing at the other. Once the spring is removed the fire nozzle slides straight off to reveal a very basic piston set. A plastic base held in with an M1 screw and a rubber gasket/O ring around the front to create the seal. It’s very simple but very effective engineering that just works, so why complicate it? On to giving the magazine a quick once over before the shooting test just to make sure everything was nice and sealed up. If you recall, earlier I mentioned something hiding behind the base plate. When I removed the base plate what I saw was something new to me. The fill valve was in the middle of what can only be described as a CO2 bulb end cap. After a quick chat with Ricky, I was informed that the magazines can be used with either green gas OR Co2. If you prefer Co2 there is a very simple kit that can be fitted to the magazine to enable Co2 use and it can be changed back for green gas use. Brilliant! I really
18
November 2016
For the shooting test I was using Classic Army green gas and 0.2g Pro-Pell bbs and the ambient temperature was roughly 1518 degrees. With the magazine filled with gas and bbs it was finally time to try out the fruits of ICS labour. I started out with a few close-range shots, up to about 10 metres. What became apparent very quickly was how snappy the trigger response was, with quite a short slide stroke, it made a great noise too. It gobbled up rapid single shots with no problem whatsoever and kept coming back for more. The accuracy was very good too, with nice groupings at this range and speaking of range, it was time to stretch out the distance a touch. At 25 metres it would give me the chance to see if this great looking hop set up actually worked. I’m more than happy to say that it lifted no problem and was shooting straight as an arrow. Later I tried some 0.25g, 0.28g and 0.3g bbs and the hop lifted them all. One slight downside was when the pistol got quite cold after a lot of shots, the hop rubber stiffened right up and some of the control was lost. A nine ball hop rubber or equivalent would sort that out in a jiffy. I put at least 10 magazines through the BLE one after the other and it didn’t miss a beat. One disappointment was it would have been nice to try Co2 with the kit installed but they will be available very soon. After completing quite a rigorous shooting test I decided to strip the pistol again to see if everything was still where it should be and I’m happy to report that it was. FPS results were ranging between 265 & 280.
IN SUMMARY
After having the BLE Alpha for just over a week now it is starting to sink in as to what ICS have achieved with this product. A fledgling effort into what is possibly the most competitive area of airsoft is going to make players think again when it comes to selecting a side arm. The construction is solid, it’s neat with a nice finish to it. It’s snappy and the hop works really well with loads of scope for adjustment and bb weights. Aside from the outer barrel I am struggling to fault it. Will it compete with what is out in the marketplace already? Trust me when I say at a sub £100 price point, I think these will be very popular with all types of players. For me, I will be using the BLE Alpha in a CQB environment simply due to its fantastic trigger response. The response I have had from a couple of members of Rhino and others who tried it was all very positive. If it leaves a big smile on your face when shooting then it’s a winner for me and I am beaming. Thanks to, Alice Chen (ICS), Ricky Cairns (S8) and John Welsh (Scout).
SPRING OPER AT ED SHO T GUN
SPAS 12
NEW
0092-0916_September2016
• • • •
!
246FPS – 75MPS Realistic looking shells Metal outer barrell 3-burst
Shells and speedloader included in package
Find more information on actionsportgames.com. ActionSportGames® is a worldwide leader in the business of replica firearms and accessories manufacturing – including Airsoft guns, Airguns, CO2 guns and firearms replicas.
0092-0916_AirsoftAction_SPAS-12.indd 1
Join us on Facebook – “Team ASG” http://www.facebook.com/actionsportgames
06-09-2016 12:46:30
SILVERBACK STEALTH RECON SCOUT IF YOU ENJOY PLAYING A “BAD GUY” ROLE THEN YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE YOUR EYES PEELED FOR A RIF THAT OFFERS GREAT PERFORMANCE MARRIED UP TO MAXIMUM CONCEALABILITY; IF YOU’RE IN AN “URBAN SNIPER” TYPE OF PLAYER THEN JERRY NOONE BELIEVES HE’S FOUND JUST WHAT YOU NEED! I’VE GOT TO ADMIT THAT I do like playing an Opposing Force (OPFOR) role in any game and it’s where I started out in airsoft many moons ago. Many players feel that OPFOR are there purely to offer the “good guys” a moving target to shoot at but the role is much, much more involved than that and certainly when you get up to full-on battle and milsims, it’s the OPFOR that can really drive the game along. These days there are more and more OPFOR groups representing both modern military forces and irregular “militias”; in many cases with the militia players that often means an uber-simple loadout that’s quite often based on “civvy” kit. Within my own OPFOR “militia” group we tend to favour Kalashnikov variants, most especially the diminutive AKS-74U and the “Bizon” as, with their stocks folded, they can be easily hidden away or stashed under an Adidas tracksuit jacket. One of the real “force” multipliers for an OPFOR group though are the snipers; a good sniper can often hinder a much larger group of opponents, stalling movement and generally making a nuisance of themselves. I took great pleasure at one game in waiting for the “NATO” team to end their evening “stand to” and then popping a few rounds down on them so that they had to do it all over again; if you’re involved in a longer scenario that runs overnight then this simple practice will deny your opponents much-needed sleep, lowering situational awareness, reaction time and perhaps most importantly, morale. The major problem for any sniper though is that they need to
20
November 2016
be able to easily and effectively conceal what is normally quite a long-barrelled rifle; this is fairly straightforward in a woodland scenario when the camo and ghillie suits come out of the pack but when you’re in civilian clothes, moving through a built-up area in the clear things become a little more difficult. Recently my group got pretty excited when we saw the Dragunov SVU “bullpup” in airsoft form but that is essentially, much like it’s even longer SVD forebear, a semi-auto DMR rather than a true sniper tool. At the Airsoft Showcase earlier this year I got talking to the guys from Fubar Bundy (http://fubarbundy.co.uk) and they had something to show me that brought an immediate smile to my face, the Silverback Stealth Recon Scout (SRS). Utilising a bullpup design makes the SRS nearly a foot shorter than its equivalent barrel length competitors, while maintaining concealability and manoeuvrability without sacrificing accuracy. The SRS Covert compresses the package even smaller, at the overall length of 26 inches, it maintains the lethalness of a full sized bolt action rifle whilst being the same length as an AKS 74U!
REAL WORLD GRUNT!
IN THE REAL WORLD THE SRS A1 is manufactured by Desert Tech in the USA. Desert Tech, formerly known as Desert Tactical Arms, was founded in 2007 and the SRS made its debut appearance at SHOT Show the following year. Over the last eight years they have established a strong reputation of creating the most accurate and compact rifle systems in the world. Designing is an art that they take very seriously. Located in West Valley City, Utah, Desert Tech employs an amazing team of dedicated workers with strong values and ethics that strive to provide the best firearms, ammunition and training possible for military, law enforcement and private gun owners. They are truly passionate about the products they
Armoury SILVERBACK SRS
“THE SRS COVERT COMPRESSES THE PACKAGE EVEN SMALLER, AT THE OVERALL LENGTH OF 26 INCHES, IT MAINTAINS THE LETHALNESS OF A FULL SIZED BOLT ACTION RIFLE WHILST BEING THE SAME LENGTH AS AN AKS 74U!” make and are extremely committed to being at the forefront in developing tomorrow’s weapons technologies. The Stealth Recon Scout is unusual in that it is one of the few true sniper rifles that has a bullpup bolt-action layout and that is rugged enough for combat. Because of the bullpup layout, the magazine and bolt are behind the pistol grip and therefore the operation is slightly different from most other conventional designs. It features an adjustable cheekrest and a raised, contoured buttpad helps to seat it more securely into the shooter’s shoulder. The “real deal” SRS A1 was originally designed around the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge but is also available in many other calibres, including; .260 Remington, 6.5X47Lapua, 7WSM .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Magnum and even the mighty “50 Cal” and a quick change barrel system means that the user can switch calibres in seconds, which makes the SRA amazingly adaptable to changing mission parameters. The SRS is fed from a five-round box magazine and uses a match fluted, free-float barrel. While the barrel is standard with a muzzle brake, this can be removed to allow access to a threaded muzzle for the attachment of a suppressor. The rifle is guaranteed to have a standard 0.5 MOA accuracy. The SRS Covert shares all the same features of the SRS A1 but uses shorter barrels and therefore a shorter handguard. The short-barrelled version of the rifle has been created to give users, particularly military and law enforcement, a more compact and manoeuvrable tool for close quarter scenarios and urban environments.
100% LEGIT!
In airsoft guise the SRS is every bit as impressive as the real thing and there’s a good reason why. Established in 2008, in April 2014 Hong Kong based Silverback Airsoft Ltd issued the following statement: “We are proud to announce that Silverback Airsoft Ltd. is now the exclusive holder of two very promising licenses: Desert Tech LLC. and MPS (Military Police Systems). It’s too early to give you a release date or a price range but we are already working on the SRS from Desert Tech and the AA-12 from MPS. We can’t give details at the moment but we’ll do it right, by hardcore players for hardcore players.” Fast forward to October 2015 when the team from Silverback, who describe themselves as “airsoft addicts and serious wargamers in Hong Kong, whose goal is to better serve our fellow mates in this unique sport with the most innovative and high quality products that one will require in any airsoft field situation”, finally made the announcement many had been waiting patiently for;
www.airsoft-action.online
21
Armoury SILVERBACK SRS
“Today we’re glad to announce that the airsoft Desert Tech Stealth Recon Scout A1 by Silverback Airsoft will be released on November 25th (2015).” …and what appeared was something that had airsoft snipers worldwide drooling; not only would there be a “standard” SRS A1 but also two other variants. This meant that the Silverback SRS series would come with three barrel lengths; the SRS A1 “long version” would have a 26-inch barrel and a three chamber muzzle brake, along with a full length quad rail system. The SRS A1 “standard version” would have a 22-inch barrel, 14mm CCW threaded and a single chamber muzzle brake and a full length quad rail system; finally the SRS “covert” came with a 16-inch barrel, 14mm CCW threaded barrel with no muzzle brake and a short quad rail system. In order to replicate the features of the real SRS, Silverback had to develop a new patented spring bolt system and this proved to be a push forward compression, spring guide-less design. The bolt is made of a steel cylinder, steel cylinder head and steel bolt handle. Piston assembly is of 6061 aluminium. It features a steel piston sear and the system will allow bolt quick change, with no tools needed. This is also compatible with AEG silent piston heads and AEG springs with a compressed length below 46mm and an inside diameter above 11mm. The Silverback SRS series come with a 6.05 AEG type precision inner barrel (SRS A1 Long: 680mm, SRS A1 Standard: 578mm and SRS Covert Short: 480mm respectively) and are equipped with an innovative two-sided hop adjustment system that utilises normal AEG type hop-bucking to enable precise adjustment. If you’re used to a regular rotary or sliding bar style hop adjustment, then at first this arrangement seems very intricate; take it from me though it’s incredibly “IT’S AS SOLID AS A ROCK. effective, allowing you not only vertical EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS adjustment but lateral as well to REPLICA JUST OOZES ensure your BBs go exactly where you want them too! The aluminium hop QUALITY, WITH ALL THE up unit, directly attached to the quick MATERIALS AND PARTS change barrel assembly, allows you to switch barrel groups in seconds while BEING PUT TOGETHER WITH keeping your hop setting. The hop SOME OBVIOUSLY VERY adjustment itself is done by using two HIGH LEVELS OF QUALITY screws on top of the rifle, through the receiver, with the provided key, without CONTROL.” removing the barrel, the magazine or the optic. The railed handguard is of CNC 6061 T5 aluminium and fibre-reinforced nylon that comes with additional rail sections; 3 pieces are included. The rail system itself is firmly attached to the receiver via a sturdy 38x2mm thread. The rifle stock is again made of fibre-reinforced nylon in Black, Flat Dark Earth and OD. The SRS variants also benefit from a functioning Monopod which is an extremely accurate replica of the Desert Tech LLC patented version, once again CNC 6061 aluminium; even the trigger is CNC aluminium, with position and preload adjustment. In fact there are NO injection moulded metal parts, NO zinc alloy and even all screws are in 10.9 steel. The steel magazine, with reinforced nylon internals has a 30 BB capacity.
REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE!
So, all good so far and I have to say that the SRS Covert is indeed put together like a tank; there are absolutely no creaks or wobbles anywhere and once everything is together (yes, there is some final assembly needed but nothing too arduous!) it’s as solid as a rock. Everything about this replica just oozes quality, with all the materials and parts being put together with some obviously very high levels of quality control. I decided to add an Angry Gun “SF 762” style QD suppressor which truly looks great in place, along with NcSTAR1.1-4x26optic, again on a QD site mount so that everything could be “minimalised” for transport and
22
November 2016
concealment. A NUPROL RIS Mount Bipod neatly rounded out the look and feel of the SRS and for ease there are QD sling mounting points to the rear of the butt; this thing is small enough that you could actually carry it on a singlepoint sling under your jacket! With the magazine filled with NUPROL 4.0 “Black” and loaded up with .20g BBs it was off to the chrono and it surprised me not at all that the SRS came in at a superbly consistent 1.48 Joule/400fps. Taking things onto the 30m range the SRS proved to be a complete tack driver; using .30g BBs it was hitting dinner-plate sized “Shoot ‘n C” targets each and every time at the furthest point of the range once I’d had a fiddle with the hop. As I mentioned before this is not as straightforward an adjustment as most out there but if you have patience and take things slowly the final result is staggering! As one used to a classic rearward-cocking bolt action I have to admit that I found the Silverback forward-push version quite hard to get on with, although I’m certain that if the SRS is your first “bolty” you probably won’t notice. I spoke to Steve at Fubar Bundy about this and he immediately confirmed that Silverback had already taken this on board and had a standard pull-back conversion kit to me with a couple of days. This kit contains a new bolt head with welded bolt handle, nozzle, a 41cc cylinder and a standard piston with carbon steel end. The kit also contains an APS2/96 type spring (which has been tested to raise the power to approximately 1.8Joule/440fps on the 22″ version), a Carbon Steel spring guide, dust cover and a buttpad extension. With this fitted the SRS for me became an absolute pleasure to use but as I stated before this is purely a personal thing. Now as you’d expect with all of these high-quality materials, cutting edge construction and superb performance, the Silverback variants are never going to be cheap; the Covert comes in at £429.99, the Standard at £474.99 and the Long at £504.99. This might seem a little steep when you can pick up a basic TM VSR for under two hundred quid these days but let me tell you, to get the VSR up to the standard of the Silverback you’re going to spend a LOT of money and still not end up with something that’s properly licenced. My advice to you is to try before you buy and I think you’ll soon find your mind being made up for you. The Silverback SRS variants are simply excellent rifles and if like me you want an OPFOR tool that is easy and discreet to carry but that will most definitely allow you to “reach out and touch someone” at distance then I believe an SRS will soon be added to your “wish list”! My thanks go to Steve at Fubar Bundy for the loan of the test sample and you can check out the entire range of rifles and accessories from Silverback by simply visiting http://fubarbundy. co.uk. Now most of us know what FUBAR means but I’ll sign off this month by telling you that BUNDY stands for “But Unfortunately Not Dead Yet”. Have fun airsoft people!
SALES . UPGRADES CUSTOM BUILDS REPAIR . ADVICE
Unit 5 Fourth Court Bridge Road Holbeck, Leeds LS11 9UG
Retail store now open in Leeds. Located just a few minutes from Junctions 2a and 3 off the m621 Full range of primary and secondary weapons plus accessories in stock and on display. Including the Desert Tech SRS sniper rifle
MAREX UK P RO LU IA
TM
OF FI
T UC D
C
FIELD SPORTS
EQUIPMENT
IE
NG
H
P
PL
AM
SU
ARMEX D
BY
ARMEX LTD, BIR
MI
MANUFACTURE
THE BLACK OPS SOUL ARMEX
TM
FIELD SPORTS
0113 3456768 www.fubarbundy.co.uk sales@fubarbundy.co.uk facebook.com/fubarbundyairsoft
EQUIPMENT
FUBAR4.indd 1
06/09/2016 17:53
NIGE REPORTS FROM THE LARGEST EVENT ON THE UK AIRSOFT CALENDAR AND FINDS THINGS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHEN HE WAS LAST THERE.
NATIONAL AIRSOFT F OVER TIME THINGS CHANGE, that’s a fact of life. Some things change for the better and some don’t but when it comes to the event known simply as “NAE”, it has changed beyond all recognition – and it’s all very much to the good! Five years ago Airsoft Action was launched at Ground Zero’s “National Airsoft Event” and at the time I said “If the sound of 1,600 voices shouting “hurrah”, followed by 1,600 guns firing into the air doesn’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, I suggest you check that you still have a pulse!” Fast forward to the August Bank Holiday weekend and that number has swollen to nearly 2,500 – and that is not the only thing that has grown at what is now called the “National Airsoft Festival”. Back in 2011 I made mention of how “good” the atmosphere felt and it is probably this, above all other things that makes this event so special; it is as much about the social side of airsoft as it is about the actual game and this was 100% reinforced as I clambered out of my car. Within minutes I had been greeted by Site Manager “H” and Dan Collins, the man behind the event, players were already coming up to say “Hi!” and pick up a copy of the new issue I had brought with me the whole area was “buzzing”! Looking around, I have to say that I was completely blown away by how much things had changed. On my last visit things were pretty sparse; yes there were a few Trade Stands and a couple of food stalls around the edge of the main area, with the “Zero One” marquee dominating the centre but that was pretty much it. This year the area was teeming with stands of every shape and size, with an entire area dedicated to a wide variety of food stalls – everything from burgers, to freshly cooked pizza, to Greek kebabs (which I have to say were absolutely delicious!) and, best of all, an Ice Cream van! In the
24
November 2016
Event NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL
distance I could see the guys from Incentive Designs and slightly closer, Viper Tactical and others. To the far right stood two huge marquees, one of which housed a massive Zero One shop, while the other contained the “Ground Zero Bar”, a stage for live music and behind that was the G&G CQB Championship Qualifier Course. Just in front of these stood a high platform that held an outdoor cinema screen and an area with loads of bar tables, so people could sit and enjoy their food and drink while watching the latest antics on-screen. Throughout there were speakers on poles with music playing continuously which also served as a PA system for messages, briefings and to call players to the game. If you have ever watched any “Vietnam” war films, the American camps always seemed to have music playing over scratchy speakers and this was very much the atmosphere created here – I loved it, especially as they played everything from ‘Nam to Eminem! Having got myself set up, I took a quick wander round to see what else had changed and found myself standing in front of “The Saloon”, a two-story, all-wood building looking like something taken directly from the set of “Blazing Saddles”! Complete with swinging doors and hitching posts, all it lacked was a couple of old-timers in rocking chairs, smoking clay pipes and chewing ‘baccy and you could have been back in the old Wild West. But this “saloon” was not watering hole, instead it houses two floors of firing positions for Ground
T FESTIVAL 2016 Zero’s range. Downstairs are standing positions while on the upper level, grass-carpeting allows snipers to zero their rifles while prone – and all the while music like “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” keeps the atmosphere dead right. A lot of thought, time, effort (and money) has gone into making the Saloon and that, as I found out later, is reflected throughout the site. Friday was all about getting there, getting set up, meeting old friends and making new ones and, although there was a short “Pistol & Shottie” game in the evening,
www.airsoft-action.online
25
play-proper would not start until Saturday morning, leaving plenty of time to get your kit and tent sorted. I mention the word “tent” as it seemed the vast majority of players had chosen to camp for the weekend and, here again, things were vastly different to five years ago. Back then I remember words like ”quagmire” and “mud-bath” being used to describe to camp site and, while this is determined by the weather (those who have ever visited Glastonbury will know exactly what I mean), I could also see how much effort had been put into making the camping area comfortable and accessible. What I couldn’t see though, was how far the campsite stretched – it seemed to go on for miles. I mentioned Glastonbury just now but think “music festival camp site” and that’s how big it was! Airsoft Action’s Kelly “Femme Fatale” Hardwick was at the event with her fella, staying on the camp site, so I’ll hand over to her to tell you what it was like… “As this was my first year attending the NAE I had no idea what to expect, from the photos and write ups from previous years I knew it was going to be a massive event! We left the midlands early Friday morning to make the 3.5 hour journey to Hampshire and arrived at around 10.30am on the Friday morning. Unfortunately, due to the sheer amount of players that attend the event, traffic is manic and very slow moving once you get into Ringwood itself – I would advise getting there pretty early on, on the Friday if you can as you’ll not only get a better pitch in the camping area but will beat a lot of the traffic that comes later in the day. “The event is very well signposted, from the exit on the motorway there are signs laid out to make the event easier to find and as soon as you enter the site gates the “Welcome to the National Airsoft Festival” signs let you know you’re in the right place. “Camping for the event is separated into three areas; “Loud Camping” which is the closest to the village, “Normal
26
November 2016
Event NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL
Camping” and “Quiet Camping” – we pitched up in the regular camping area. The camping areas are enormous and I really liked that you park your car next to your tent. The facilities in the camping area are very good – with numerous groupings of portaloos and rubbish collection points dotted about throughout the camping area so I was pleasantly surprised with the camping aspect of the festival (not being an avid camper). Campers and caravans are permitted on site but most ‘softers pitch up tents and Gazebos (some even bringing paddling pools and disco balls). “The village area is a large clearing in the site that is kitted out with toilets, picnic tables, food stands, company pitches and this year there was a number of retailers from Incentive Designs to Viper Tactical. Zero One go all out in the village and erect a 48,000 square foot marquee that they fill with their shop for the weekend – everything from GBBRs to patches to clothing and even upgrade parts! Alongside the shop, there is also a bar tent that is open from afternoon until late with live entertainment, the bar tent has a pretty cool décor – seats and tables made from hay bales and “Zero One” printed hessian sacks, which gives it a really relaxed feel and make it a great place to meet friends for a “quiet drink”. Unlike most festivals (let’s be honest, anyone who has ever been to any big music festival will know the feeling of paying over £5 for a pint of lukewarm “beer”), the drinks and snack prices are very reasonable – from £3 per pint (ice cold – so spot on!) and £2.50 for a measure of spirits. If there is no seating in the bar itself, the picnic tables outside are lit and kept toasty by fire pits – the atmosphere in and around the bar tent at night is awesome! “One of the most notable things about the NAE is the G&G CQB Championship course which acts as a qualifier for the championships in Taiwan! Teams of 2 go head to head over the 3 days to get the fastest time on the course overall. The course is comprised of the G&G 5x5 MET system – a board of interactive lights that need to be eliminated as quickly as possible, then a 2 stage walk through full of zombies and other weird and wonderful distractions with interactive lights to eliminate in the mix – fast-paced CQB, just how we like it! “In fact my only complaint over the whole weekend was the fact it rained on the Sunday which cannot be helped and as the site is a huge woodland area it did make gameplay a bit soggy - but the festival-goers braved the weather like troopers. As you can imagine, gameplay with 3 teams and over 2,300 is pretty intense! “Overall, I had a brilliant time and feel the event was a massive
“THE ATTACKERS PUSHED AND PUSHED AND, WHILE HEADS WERE KEPT DOWN ABOVE ONE OF THE TWO ENTRANCES, EVENTUALLY BREACHED THE LOWER LEVEL. SOON THE “TAP-TAP” OF SINGLE SHOTS COULD BE HEARD BELOW AS MORE AND MORE ATTACKERS FORCED THEIR WAY THROUGH THE MAZE.” success for Zero One Airsoft - and an eye-opening experience for me. My favourite aspect of the event was definitely the festival atmosphere and socialising throughout the weekend. “I am thoroughly looking forward to NAE 2017!”
GAME ON!
Following a thorough briefing on Saturday morning, the players headed out to their various start-points and the real serious stuff got underway – i.e. achieving objectives, shooting lots of opposition, not getting shot, shooting lots of opposition and being in the right place at the fight time. Oh… and shooting lots of opposition! Players were divided into three factions: Bravo, Delta and The Others and scores were achieved by (you guessed it) shooting lots of the opposition, achieving objectives and being in control of certain parts of the site at certain times. I have to say that I really enjoyed observing the huge differences in game play and styles; some players used the vast amount of cover
www.airsoft-action.online
27
“SUDDENLY THE AIR WAS FULL OF LITTLE PLASTIC WASPS, SO MUCH SO THAT IT BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT SEEK COVER; A TREE… A HUT… I WOULD HAVE GONE DOWN A RABBIT HOLE IF I COULD! ANYTHING TO GET OUT OF THE HAIL OF BBS THAT WERE SMASHING INTO EVERYTHING – INCLUDING ME!” available to get all “sneaky-beaky” and take out opposition patrols before melting back into the foliage, while others adopted the ”let’s all run down this track together, straight at the opposition and shoot as many of them as we can” approach. This usually resulted in mass casualties on both sides, with players streaming back to regen with their hands in the air and laughing their heads off; I don’t know how many times I heard “Did you just see what I did…?” Yes, I know there are some players who might turn their noses up and say “That’s not real airsoft!” but I can tell you something, it seemed a whole lot of fun! To go into a blow-by-blow account of what happened would be ridiculous - and completely impossible - as there was simply too much going on, so we (and by “we” I mean me and my better half, Vika, who was helping cover the event) decided to head to different parts of the action and grab as many photographs as we could. Later on, I found Vika in the middle of a massive fire-fight, pinned up against a tree, with players shooting (quite literally) past both sides of head and a line of BB strikes up her left leg – which is probably why she chose trousers over shorts the next day! As I moved around the site I came across structures that hadn’t been built on my last visit and probably the most striking of these was “The Jail” and “The Fort”; both of these were 28
November 2016
similar in that they were both two-storey buildings – but that is where the similarity ended! Recently completed, The Jail is a wooden construction featuring a number of barred cells on the ground floor (complete with barred windows and a small bench for the “prisoner”) with a central “Observation Post” above that afforded a 360 degree view of the surrounding forest. To the front of The Jail lies a series of dugouts and bunkers which, although completely overlooked by the OP, are too tempting to resist as cover by both defenders and attackers. Watching The Jail being repeatedly attacked made me wonder if it could ever be taken – then the attackers noticed an external “mousehole” type door and were soon pouring through it. “The Fort”, on the other hand, is a far more imposing concrete structure, that would test the mettle of any team trying to assault it. The upper storey is protected by a double defensive wall, affording a huge amount of protection for those up there, while providing free movement and all-round observation into the (very close) surrounding forestry, however, it is the lower level that would cause any attacking force the most problems as it is a maze – and I mean that in the literal sense! Moving through the pitch darkness, it is easy to lose your bearing with all the turns and twists and even with torch in hand, on my first couple of visits I found myself pretty much back where I started. I was on the roof as the sounds of an attacking force grew ever closer. The defenders had put out a number of defensive perimeters and, one by one, their radio comms fell silent as they were overrun. Sporadic, tentative shots started to buzz over our heads and soon we could hear movement coming through the trees, on all sides. I know it is just a “game” but the tension was almost palpable and the idle banter of a few minutes ago soon dried up as silence descended on those crouched behind the walls… and then it happened, all hell broke loose! The attackers pushed and pushed and, while heads were kept down above one of the two entrances, eventually breached the lower level. Soon the “tap-tap” of single shots could be heard below as more and more attackers forced their way through the maze. There are three sets of stairs to the upper level, the left and right set lead to points between the
Event NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL
upper defensive walls, while the middle set lead up into an enclosed OP at the centre of the building. It was up these stairs the attackers pushed until finally, a volley of grenades and BBs took out the remaining defenders and The Fort fell into new hands. I moved onto a different area in the certainty that The Fort would change hands many times over the weekend.
SATURDAY EVENING
As has been mentioned before, The National Airsoft Festival is as much a social event as anything else and I have to say that Saturday evening was absolutely brilliant! I can’t say that it was any single thing that made it so good, it was a superb combination that added up to an atmosphere unlike anything I have experienced at any other weekender I have attended (although I suspect the excellent food and Bar had something to do with it). As dusk fell, oil lamps were lit all around the main area and music scratched away through the speakers, mixing with the hubbub of players exchanging “war stories” and adding to the ambience – hopefully there would not be too many sore heads in the morning!
SUNDAY
Rain! Why can’t the weather be kind all the time, it would make playing airsoft so much more comfortable but, despite the downpour, players were still making their way out to pick up where they left off the day before. Maybe one or two were walking a little more slowly and maybe there wasn’t quite the rush of Saturday morning but the sun soon came out again and by midday it was business as usual. As the day progressed more and more players joined the fray and as time ticked slowly towards endex at 4 o’clock, it seemed as though all of them were converging on the final objective… “The Village”. The Village is, as you might imagine, a number of wooden huts with windows and doors, some widely-spaced and others tightly-packed together – a challenge at any time but now all
three teams were hoping to grab the last available points by being in possession when “Game Over!” was called. It was shaping up to be one hell of a fight – and it didn’t disappoint! I walked into the village, secure in the knowledge that my orange Hi-Viz would identify me as a non-combatant and it worked (for a while at least). I could see the team already in possession, digging in, getting ready for the inevitable onslaught… waiting… waiting for it to kick off… …and just after 3:30 that is exactly what happened! Suddenly the air was full of little plastic wasps, so much so that it became impossible to not seek cover; a tree… a hut… I would have gone down a rabbit hole if I could! Anything to get out of the hail of BBs that were smashing into everything – including me! If I thought the earlier rain was a downpour, it had absolutely nothing on this – and it went on… The Final Score and on… and on… without pause. If anything as more players joined in, it rose to an almighty Delta: 1,468 crescendo and just to add even more noise, an The Others: 1,366 almost continual stream of rockets exploded 1,219 Bravo: above us and “melon bombs” let rip between the huts! G&G CQB Winners It is simply not possible to describe the noise, Ian Cobbledick and the atmosphere and the scene; it was, without Gavin Andrewartha, who doubt, one of those “you had to be there” managed to do the 5x5 moments and when, finally, shouts of “ENDEX!” grid in 14 seconds each and were heard above the cacophony, whoops of the course together in 18 delight rang out and shouts of “Bravo! Bravo!” seconds. competed with “Echo! Echo”… “Others! Others!” and the massed firing of guns in the Congrats to all! air! I know the word “awesome” is somewhat over-used these days but I can think of no other that does it justice! I have been to games and events up and down the country for the past five years and, without a shadow of a doubt, this was by far the biggest and the most fun I have attended for a long time but, as it says on the tin, this was not “just a game”, it was The National Airsoft Event 2016 and it lived up to its billing in every respect! I will close by saying a massive congratulations to everyone involved, including Site Manager “H” (who deals with absolutely everything with a smile), Dan Collins (for putting on such a wonderful event), Dean Rawson (for asking us along in the first place) and every single player for making the event what it has become. Airsoft Action will definitely be back next year – and this time I’m bringing my kit!
Scores and Winners:
www.airsoft-action.online
29
LCT AEGS IN STOCK The famed quality, real wood and steel construction of LCT AEGs in now available from Fire Support.
GREAT
NEW PRICES SOON!
COMING
LCT AIMS NV AEG LCT AIMS AEG Airsoft Gun. The Romanian version of the AKM and AKMS, identifiable by the vertical foregrip integrated into the handguard and metal folding stock was renamed as the AIMS.. Steel receiver and folding stock, real wood foregrip. Includes hi-cap mag Battery 8.4v Stick (Type 05) not included..
LCT LCKM-63 AEG LCT LCKM-63 AEG Airsoft Gun. Steel receiver, barrel and foregrip. Real wood pistol grips and stock. Front and rear sling points Single shot and full auto fire modes. Adjustable Hop-Unit includes 600rd hi-cap mag, Rear wired connector.
with
mini
Tamya
Battery 8.4v - (Type 03) or 7.4v LiPo part: KB-1922-2a
LCT.indd 2
08/10/2015 16:46
OPEN MON-SAT - BUY IN STORE OR ONLINE - REPAIRS UNDERTAKEN
www.fire-support.co.uk - 01733 247171
LCT TX-63 AEG LCT TX-63 AEG Airsoft Gun. The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s in the Soviet Union as the replacement for the earlier AKM. The rifle first saw service with Soviet forces engaged in the 1979 Afghanistan conflict. Presently, the rifle continues to be used by the majority of countries of the former USSR. Steel receiver, RIS System, Barrel, Flash hider, Gas block... Wood stock and Pistol grip. Front and rear sling points. Includes Hi-Cap Mag Battery 8.4v Stick (Type 05) not included..
LCT RPK NV AEG LCT RPK AEG The Real Steel RPK functions identically to the AK-47. It also uses the same 7.62x39mm ammunition. It has a similar design layout to the AKM and AK-47 series of rifles, with modifications to increase the RPK’s effective range and accuracy, enhance its sustained fire capability, and strengthen the receiver. Specifications: Built Material: Steel / ABS / Wood Gear Box: Ver.3 Magazine Capacity: / hi cap 600rds Weight: 3450g Battery: 8.4v Mini (Type 03) 9.6v Mini (Type 04)
CONTACT US FOR TRADE SALES OF ICS AND OTHER TOP BRANDS
sales@fire-support.co.uk - 01733 247171
LCT.indd 3
08/10/2015 16:46
OPERATION CRUCIBLE: THE TRIFECTA KELLY “FEMME FATALE” HARDWICK JOINS THE CHAD POLICE TO TAKE PART IN STIRLING AIRSOFT’S LATEST EVENT IN THEIR ON-GOING MILSIM SERIES. THE SCENE
THE AFRICAN CITY OF ATI has fallen. After the remains of the Chadian Army withdrew from the immediate area, Azearian State Fighters entered the city, raising their flags over Government buildings and declaring the area an Azearian stronghold. SOTF Chad withdrew from the city last year which, in turn, prompted new attacks against the Chadian forces. Confirmation of the late former President, who was brutally murdered in the streets of Chad, had allied himself with AS has only undermined any International Relations with Chad. Currently the Kanem Brotherhood is holding the position of interim government in N’Djamena and they have also declared their allegiance with AS. The stability of Chad and central Africa has reached breaking point. AS and allied KOA forces have begun distribution of arms across the country and more and
32
November 2016
more local militia and tribal groups have either allied with, or officially joined AS meaning tensions are high and the area is highly volatile. A small advisory training team comprised of International Special Forces from the US, UK and Europe remains in N’Djamena and are continuing to work with the small number of Chadian Uniformed Police at the order of the UK Government to help quell some of the unrest in the area but with the Azearian State, Knights of Azear and Kanem Brotherhood now focusing all their attention on N’Djamena, SOTF Chad has been diverted to reinforce the International Special Forces stationed in the city.
THE EVENT
On the weekend of 13th-14th August 2016 I was invited by Stirling Airsoft to attend their latest operation, Operation Crucible at Caerwent FIBUA village in Monmouthshire, Wales to experience all three of the main factions within their themed games – ISAF, Civilian Population and my own team, Chad Police. Let’s first talk a little bit about Stirling and what they do: Stirling Airsoft are one of the UK’s leading Airsoft events companies who bring together their varied backgrounds (including ex SF instructors) to bring Airsofters highly immersive large scale, scenario based 24 hour Airsoft events that challenge the participant both mentally and physically. The site they picked for Op Crucible is a site that is rapidly becoming one of my favourite sites for MilSim Ops. MOD Caerwent is a large military site which was formerly used as
MilSim STIRLING AIRSOFT
a Royal Navy Propellant factory that was dedicated to the manufacturing of explosives and storage of ammunition from 1939 to 1993. Since its closure in 1993 it has been used for a variety of activities from Airsoft to Field exercises and even car rallies. The site has an overall gated area of 7 miles that encompasses over 400 buildings and bunker structures but also the training area’s own railway system. The terrain is varied and ranges from open grassy areas to berms, hills, wooded areas, a fully-fledged road system and of course the hundreds of buildings on site. Because of its diverse landscape it opens the options for different playing styles, from close quarters combat to long range engagements and sniping opportunities. The site is around a 2 and a half hour drive from my home in the Midlands and unlike other MOD sites such as Sennybridge FIBUA it is super easy to find – being just off the A48. We arrived and signed in at the gates. Booking at Stirling is extremely easy and is done via the booking page on their website and with prices at £85 per person for the event it is one of the more affordable MilSim style ops, especially with the option to pay a £45 deposit online and the rest on arrival. As soon as we signed we set up our FOB in one of the munitions storage buildings set deep within 3 hills, had some food and some well needed rest before the start of the weekend. Stirling Ops last for 24 hours non-stop, no safe zones and no breaks so any rest you can get before the event is a plus! In the morning we awoke bright and early ready for the “FOR MY ROLE I TOOK ON THE PART OF A JOURNALIST FOR A LOCAL NEWSPAPER comprehensive safety (THE CHAD GAZETTE) AND WAS ESCORTED AROUND THE CITY BY MJ, THE LOCAL brief! I donned my civvie CIVILIAN LEADER IN THE CITY TO MEET THE LOCAL RESIDENTS. THE IMMERSION clothes and left the Police fob with my first port IS FANTASTIC AND IT REALLY FEELS LIKE YOU ARE IN THIS WORLD.” of call being the civilian population. This element For most of the Op I played with my own team, The Chad was completely new to me as playing a civilian within the story Police. The Police forces team has one objective during these requires more role play than I have previously experienced. For Ops and that is to keep peace within the city and to quell any my role I took on the part of a journalist for a local newspaper unrest/unlawfulness. Our duties started with patrolling the city (The Chad Gazette) and was escorted around the city by MJ, and setting up road blocks to monitor what traffic was going the local civilian leader in the city to meet the local residents. in and out of the city and to check there was no contraband The immersion is fantastic and it really feels like you are being smuggled in. As it became apparent to us that the in this world. As I was walking around the city documenting laws of the city were broken, we started bringing in locals the day to day life of Chadian locals, one thing became for questioning to get to the bottom of what was happening very clear – tensions were high between the two sides and within the city. It quickly became clear that locals were illegally unarmed civilians being shot on sight by ISAF forces only added smuggling arms into the city to fight the ISAF presence. to the tensions. Around every corner was unrest, ISAF and During the weekend we had multiple engagements with local residents going toe to toe as the soldiers prevented the the former presidential guard and the House of Dave attacking residents from going about their daily lives and jobs. From this our fob. At one point a well thrown grenade took out all of experience it was clear to see that the inhabitants were deeply the Police on stag outside and left just myself in the building, unhappy with the ISAF occupation of their city. I spoke to a lot defending it until my team mates respawned. Luckily our of the locals and the unrest mostly stemmed from the brutal building was a vast expanse of well-defendable tunnels and murder of their beloved President. I left the side under the entry was denied to any potential threat. understanding that something big was happening, excited One of the highlights of the weekend was the protest the for what was to come in the next few hours. civilians put on in memory of their late President, as we got
www.airsoft-action.online
33
MilSim STIRLING AIRSOFT
“WE WATCHED AS THE ISAF CAMP GOT ATTACKED ON THE HOUR, EVERY HOUR OF THE NIGHT. FROM MORTARS, TAG ROUNDS, PYRO AND TRACER ROUNDS. THE SKY WAS ALIVE WITH LIGHT AND COLOUR AND THE GROUND WAS AFLUTTER WITH MOVEMENT AS THE CIVILIAN MILITIA MOVED IN ON THE ISAF CAMP AND GAVE THEM HELL.” word a large group were moving towards the ISAF camp so we jumped into our vans and quads to provide support. We formed a protective barrier between the protestors and soldiers and as the crowds pushed and shoved into us, screaming for their beloved President, it was obvious how serious the situation in the city had become. The protesters sat down, waving their flags and beating the ground with instruments and their hands. Everything went silent and the leader of the march spoke powerful words. As we kept a watchful eye over the protest whilst the various leaders spoke about the problems at hand, a member of the crowd threw a smoke grenade to distract and the crowd started to disperse, a grenade suddenly appeared into the line of Police and detonated. It killed three of the Police force attempting to control the crowd. We engaged the crowd as they dispersed. After firing multiple rounds I helped the ISAF forces load our dead and wounded into a vehicle to return to base. This fuelled the fire between the two sides and left the police with a bad taste in their mouth. We spent the rest of the afternoon on overwatch and prepping for the night as this is when the locals would attack hard. As night approached our night patrols went out into the dark. From the berm that overlooked our FOB we watched as the ISAF camp got attacked on the hour, every hour of the night. From mortars, tag rounds, pyro and tracer rounds. The sky was alive with light and colour and the ground was aflutter with movement as the civilian militia moved in on the ISAF camp and gave them hell. ISAF as always put up a strong fight and the orders being screamed at the force could be heard through the site. When light broke on the Sunday morning and the noise finally died down, I donned my MultiCam gear and jumped
on the quad to the ISAF fob at the heart of Caerwent. Their fob was a large munitions building surrounded by sanghars and hesco blocks, a fortress – easily defendable but vulnerable because of the sheer size and ostentatiousness of the building. As I entered the camp it was clear from the expressions on the team’s faces that the night attacks had taken their toll on the force. However, as soon as the order was given to mount the vehicles, feet hit the ground running and the troops were on their assigned vehicles and moving out. I took a seat in the lead vehicle and watching the Saracen and Wmiks roll out with dust flying out from under every wheel was quite a sight, they were taking the fight to the heart of the civvie camp. When the order was given the troops dismounted the vehicles and started engaging the enemy forces, I disembarked and ran with a squad into the thick of it. One thing that really threw me off whilst running alongside the Stirling callsign was just how regimented the side is – there’s no running rogue and engaging whoever and causing chaos as I’m used to. You stick to your taskings. This means that the troops are a lot more organised and a force to be reckoned with. ISAF fought hard from all sides during the last few hours of the Op. Overall, I had an amazing weekend at Operation Crucible, the immersion and roleplay at Stirling Ops is second to none. You really feel as if you’ve been dropped into another time/ place. The action is always intense and the Stirling team put on a fantastic event. I can’t wait for the next instalment!
For more information about Stirling Airsoft and their upcoming events, visit: www.stirlingairsoft.com
www.airsoft-action.online
35
PREDATOR IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, AIRSOFT ACTION’S RUSSIAN CONTRIBUTORS, MARTY AND MARTA, TALK TO THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE AWESOME PREDATOR COSTUME. PHOTOS OF PREDATOR on the streets of Stavropol, a small Russian city, blew up Russian social networks. The creators of the monster was the Russian airsoft team “Knights.” Anton Tkachenko, the leader of the “Knights” discusses how they got the idea to create this monster, and what they plan on doing with him in our interview, exclusively found in Airsoft Action. Why did you decide to create Predator costume? I got this idea a long time ago. Personally, I have thought about it for two years. Actually, when I started playing airsoft, in 2009, one of local airsoft stores organized a game based on the Predator movie. It was quite primitive. The Predator mask was kept for a long time in this store (they made just the Predator’s head). When I was new to airsoft, I went to the store and saw the mask. I really liked the idea of the game. However, the implementation took place two years later. Why the Predator, not the other monster? Are you a fan of the Predator? I like this film, but I am not a fan. However, in the airsoft arena, it seems to me for example, a Predator is the most militarized character. In my opinion, it fits into the concept of airsoft the best. There was a thought that you can play airsoft with this costume and it will be interesting as well as unusual. You can implement and adapt it to airsoft, it is possible to make a gun that will shoot from the hip. I wanted some horror. The costume was made for the game and we will gradually develop the project. What direction do you want to develop the project? I want to try a new form for airsoft. It is a spectacular linear quest made for airsoft. We will have one side with a linear route, which will be supervised by the organizers. They will be in the group of players, the organizers will act as opponents and in the course of this route it will be a lot of effects and staged scenic surprises. In either case, players will have to shoot a lot to fulfill the tasks. Shoot whom? The second side’s roster will be completely comprised of the organizers. They will move through its pre-arranged route. We have already two rehearsals and it will be 2 more. We will have a small theater with a lot of effects. This game is for players to get their emotions.
to watch this film. We will move you in its continuation. Today airsofters rarely read the scenario, the legend before the game. However, if you have not watch this movie, it will be more difficult to understand the event. Logically, if a person goes to a game, he is preparing. So that’s your trick – movie as a prequel. Yes, it turns out that there is no input. Watch the movie and come to the event. The game will be at night, till 6am. We decide to forbid snipers guns and machine guns. And we have forbidden to use your own ammo. All balls and tracers will be issued by the organizers. Or rather, it will be hidden in the caches. We will offer quests for players, which will help to find these caches. The more attentive the players will be during the route, the easier it will be for the players to score. If they stand in one place and look around, they will not be able to shoot. The organizers, who are on the team of players, will be able to balance this moment. Predator will use the laser tag equipment, it will be directly related to a scenario of the event. To find this equipment players need to finish some quests. How do you kill Predator? By laser tag gun. In the final of the event, you will be able to find laser tag equipment and kill the Predator. There is not a lot of guns, but there will be a few of them hidden. We got the system of quests from Encounter quest game. There are some puzzles that the team need to complete. Not many, but it will be necessary to complete the puzzles. Don’t worry though, the heart of this competition is still the airsoft with guns and balls. Why did the idea of Predator game take 7 years for the implementation? Not 7, 4-5 years. When I saw the mask of the Predator, the same moment I decided to realize the full costume.
Indoors or outside? This will be a closed area, in a specific section of the forest. There are both open areas, plains and fully closed. There will be plain woods, ravines, swings. The route is very interesting. The route took 3.5 hours, with stops, to walk. Along the walk, we discussed all the ideas about surprises and missions for players.
How much time did you develop electronic elements? It took us 4 months to create electronics. We attracted a lot of people. We have 20 people on the team (it is the big number by the standards of our city Stavropol) and almost everyone one way or another was involved in the development and creation of this costume.
Which role the Predator has in this game? It is the tradition in Russian airsoft community to write a prequel, a legend for each game. But this time we did not write the legend. As a prequel we chose the movie “Predators” (2010). It was a separate picture. We took it for backstory. Logically we begin our game with the end of this movie. You cannot find the announcement of the game in the scenario. The players have only one task - to spend an hour and a half
What materials did you use as a basis of the costume? The basis of the costume is a large mascot: foam and cloth. All this is designed around the shape. We sewed foam, formed muscles, and then it all was painted. We covered it with net cloth, as it was in the movie Predator. All the elements of chain-mail we ordered one by one. They are made of tin. We took patterns as close as possible to the movie. One person did the bending and riveting. The head is
36
November 2016
Feature AIRSOFT PREDATOR
made of composite perforated foam (expanded polystyrene). We cut the head from a cube and completed the mask layout. The mask is the only decoration that we bought from a factory. We had the mask, and we designed the head especially for size and form of this mask. In the beginning the head was a little bland. There are 15 layers of papier-mache; it was enough for the sufficient strength. On top it looks like a plastic, with the same strength. It holds the balls with 300 fps speed. The only negative - it can not be used in the rain. Our city, Stavropol, is often rainy. If there is rain, the whole suit gets wet. Rubber gloves are specially stitched from the inside, we strengthened them and painted in the color of the suit. I really like the hands, perhaps, most of all in costume. Did you make some sewing patterns by a special computer program? No, there was no sketches. Dreadlocks are made from plastic pipes. We ripped, sewn, flat its out. We did it most similar to original Predator. Predator has modules on the hands. On the one hand there is the blades unit. It is created by the same principle as the head. There are perforated foam and papier-mache. This thing is very light and weighs almost nothing, while at the same time being very sturdy. On the left hand piece with multiple torches. Our electrician created a special scheme. This invention took him a month and a half, with a lot of experiments. There are many diodes and 3 buttons. You can choose to change the illumination mode. They are collected from the toys, electronic components. All this shines through a stencil, different Predators characters. There is laser target designator (LTD) on his head. All wires are reduced to one unit on the hand. All electronics that he has, are displayed on the control modules on the hands. The speakers, which simulates the roar and clatter, are on the hands
“YOU CANNOT FIND THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GAME IN THE SCENARIO. THE PLAYERS HAVE ONLY ONE TASK - TO SPEND AN HOUR AND A HALF TO WATCH THIS FILM. WE WILL MOVE YOU IN ITS CONTINUATION. TODAY AIRSOFTERS RARELY READ THE SCENARIO, THE LEGEND BEFORE THE GAME. HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE, IT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND THE EVENT.� www.airsoft-action.online
37
TACTICAL SNEAKER BOOT n Ultra-lightweight n Multi-sectioned sole for better maneuverability and grip n Tactical sports fit n Vented instep n Cordura side and tongue n Suede finish UK Sizes: 6-12 Colours: Black / Coyote / Green SRP: £44.50
>GET THE
TACTICAL ADVANTAGE
TACTICAL
STOCKISTS / CATALOGUE
www.vipertactical.co.uk
Feature AIRSOFT PREDATOR
“ALL SORTS OF SKULLS, SEEDS, WHICH IT MUST BE BEDANGLED. BUT WE HAVE TO STRING IT OVER TIME. IT IS NOT CHEAP TO PROPERLY DECORATE THE COSTUME. I DO NOT WANT TO HANG IT UP WITH CHEAP DECORATES… I WANT TO MAKE THE GUN ON THE SHOULDER TO MOVE ALONG WITH THE HEAD OF A PREDATOR.”
too. Flashlight was made only to help the operator to move around at night. A little later we will try to accommodate the NVD. The LTD module also turns on from the module on the hand, the gun also charges and shoots from the module on the hand. The charging mechanism is based on disk magazine of RPK. On Predator’s fingers there are two buttons for gun: one for shooting and second for charging. That’s why players absolutely cannot see moving of the Predator. The operator stands on the site, and visually he turned on LTD. And no one knows how he did it. He does not move his hand to the helmet. But… he begins to boom, boom, boom… you are dead! It is an unusual sensation.
It looks like the costume is very heavy… Oh, yes! 20 kilograms, I think. And what about operator, when he wear this suit? It is hot. However, it is night game, so it helps. During the event, the operator has time to relax. Also, there will be a special person to help Predator to navigate through the site. They will help him to take the helmet off, and disconnect the wire. What is height of the suit? Growth depends on the operator. For example, our operator is 6’ 4”. So you can imagine the final height of Predator, it is very bodeful. Before I started creating our costume, I watched a lot of cosplays of Predator, including many European cosplays. As for me, I feel some compassion to them. It would be desirable to feed, they are so lean. Therefore, we have taken into account this point. We wanted to get a large and impressive hero. If you remove the head with a mask, it turns people on steroids. Instead of it the costume is very comfortable, the operator can run and jump without missing mobility. Do you plan to create more Predator suits by order, to make it as a business? Yes, why not? Next year we want to design the second Predator. But first, we need to improve our initial Predator suit. It has not yet participated in any game, but we are already working hard to improve it. It has many shortcomings, we’ll fix that. If someone wants to order, we will do much better. Which shortcomings do you see, for example? Well, for example, it is lack of Predator trophies. All sorts of skulls, seeds, which it must be bedangled. But we have to string it over time. It is not cheap to properly decorate the costume. I do not want to hang it up with cheap decorates. I counted the price of it… Maybe later… Also, I want to make the gun on the shoulder to move along with the head of a Predator. Anyway, we already have a lot of offers from showmen and operators here in Stavropol. During the winter, we will have photo shoots and make some videos. We are open, we are ready to implement all the ideas with this Predator suit. We didn’t imagine that our Predator can be so popular. Alexander Levchenko, Maria Litvinova www.airsoft-action.online
39
T F O S R I A E D INSI
K U P AS
SNIPING IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF AIRSOFT, SO LES LEE WENT TO SEE THE FOREMOST SUPPLIER OF AIRSOFT SNIPER PARTS IN THE UK. AIRSOFT SNIPER PARTS UK WAS founded in 2011 when an Airsofter named Darren, who had a passion for everything sniper, opened the door to a new shop with the primary objective of creating a specialist service and retail outlet for airsoft snipers near and far. As you know, the role of a sniper is quite unique and it takes a pretty dedicated person to transition from a regular skirmisher to this isolated type of combat and, more importantly, to embrace this often remote and clandestine type of tactical life of stealth and seclusion. Therefore, as this story unfolds it might come as little surprise that after four years of running a business based on a sole devotion to a singular part of a multi-faceted “spobby” (my new name for our amazing sport/hobby), the business was put up for sale due to personal reasons. At that time, Paul Jakeman had a small online retail business but was driven by his passion to expand and when this opportunity arose, he was all over it like a rash and didn’t stop until he owned it. With his team and dynamic enthusiasm, ASPUK started to grow and grow... and grow some more until the name was a wholly recognised and respected retail business in the Airsoft world. Even though the ethos remained as a sniper’s paradise, Paul was now expanding at a very fast rate of knots in every corner of the market. Staying loyal to snipers was a primary objective
40
November 2016
but he also had to keep things profitable to maintain his new venture, so he quickly developed many areas that had to be incorporated (as in all new business enterprise). So contacts were made, business opportunities embraced and ASPUK’s reputation expanded and is now up there amongst the best of the best. I contacted Paul to find out more about the man and his mission and after a long and truly inspiring conversation, it was only right and proper that his devotion to Airsoft be exposed for all to see. So without further ado, let me introduce the man of the moment and the driving force behind ASPUK, Paul “Red Beard” Jakeman. Les: Hello Paul and thank you for allowing me and our army of loyal readers into the world of ASPUK to delve into some of the history, current affairs and future plans that are on offer to our fellow Airsofters. Perhaps we can start (where else) at the beginning and how you got to where you are today? Paul: “Hi Les and it’s a pleasure to be able to share my story as to where I am today and how I got here. The business Airsoft Sniper Parts UK was founded by the previous owner in 2011. In 2015 I heard that the business was being closed down due to personal reasons and I remember feeling that it was a shame to be losing an important part of our Airsoft community. At this time, I was still in full time employment and running my own very small online Airsoft retail business. A few weeks later I returned home on a Saturday evening from a skirmish and fired up the laptop as I always did to find out what had been
Inside Airsoft ASPUK
happening in the Airsoft social media world and it was there! A post on the ASPUK Facebook page “If there are any interested parties that would consider buying ASPUK please get in touch”. I jumped straight on it and that very same night we were very close to striking a deal. Two days later on a Monday evening in April 2015, the deal was complete and I was the new owner of ASPUK. In May 2015 we started re-trading and by August 2015 we had the keys to our first retail premises. On August the 16th we opened the doors to the public and this is the day I met with Paul from ASG and from there our little community here in Sheffield began to grow and grow. “Early in 2016 we opened “The Gun Loft”, this is the second floor within the shop and allowed us to increase our rifle and pistol stocks as well as doubling the square footage. Looking to the future we have just agreed to expand into the unit next door which will again double the shop in size allowing us to increase to a dual line shooting range, increase our overall stock range and offer a very comprehensive range of Airsoft equipment, clothing and survival gear.” Les: In addition to your vast range of products, can you give us a “heads-up” on the actual shop and any customer facilities that you have? Paul: “We plan to have hot and cold drinks, seating and customer toilets when we have completed the expansion of the shop but at the moment we have to allocate every spare inch to holding the stock. We do, however, have our very own shooting range which has a number of targets. All of our customers, friends and visitors are welcome to try before they buy on this lengthy 15 metre long indoor range, which also incorporates a chronograph that anyone is welcome to use at any time, completely free of charge. “The retail premises has a very rustic, bunker-themed feel to it, as previously mentioned, at the moment the shop is on two levels with around 1,000 square feet but you can expect this to be doubled when we acquire the adjacent unit in the very near
future. When you arrive we do not pressure anybody to buy and if you need any help all the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable.” Les: What brands do you stock and why and some general information on current best sellers, what is trending at the moment and any preferred brands and your reasons? Paul: “We stock numerous brands including ASG, NUPROL, Viper Tactical, Jack Pike, WE, ICS, Wolverine, Polar star, Tippmann, Madbull, Airsoft Pro Silver Back, Pro Tech, JG and Abbey. We are the sole UK distributors of SHS, PPS and the new SIRMI Face Guard (Authors note; see the October issue of Airsoft Action for an in depth report on this innovative piece of kit) and ASPUK are, after negotiations with NAQA (Italy) the sole distributor in the UK. “When we expand the shop premises we will look to significantly enhance our catalogue of manufacturers. We have been working very closely with the guys at ASG, including a trip to their head office in Denmark earlier this year. We have also been involved with ASG in a number of other events including an Accuracy International event at the Tunnel shooting range, along with Airsoft Action and others. We met all the team from NUPROL and Viper Tactical at IWA in Germany and hope to partake in many more in the coming years.” Les: Do you have connections with any other parties such as sites, any local teams or organisations, charities, etc. and the “word on the battlefield” is that you sponsor Wayne of BodgeUp’s Airsoft fame? Paul: “ASPUK has a very close working relationship with Black Dagger Airsoft site, where we have the onsite shop. We support a number of other local sites including Matlock Combat Games, Black hills Airsoft and Yorkshire Tactical Airsoft. We have sponsorship deals with Wayne at Bodge-Ups Airsoft who has a superb You Tube channel and website. We try to support him in every way we can, typically by sending him little bits of magic to install in his VSR as and when we have any new products come into stock. And finally we have our very own team, “The Wolf Pack”. This is headed up by Stuart and again a great group of people. We try to get together once a month and have a shoot somewhere.” Les: You have a very good reputation for outstanding customer service so what makes your customer service excel better than most? Paul: “Customer service-wise we try to go above and beyond to accommodate people’s needs. We truly do everything we can to help our customers. We have a policy in place with the sniper parts which means if people spend over £79.99 we will install all the parts for free. If it is a parts-based purchase, we will offer a full technical back up service and if anything is faulty from new it will be replaced.” Les: If an item isn’t in stock, how long before it can be sourced and sent to the customer? Paul: “Stock-wise it’s very difficult to say, as a lot of our parts are specialist manufactured so we have to wait for the whole process to conclude from manufacture to delivery, however, depending on our supplies we normally restock everything every couple of weeks depending on availability.” Les: My last question Paul, is there anything that I might have missed or that you would like included in this “Inside Airsoft” feature? www.airsoft-action.online
41
Inside Airsoft ASPUK
Paul: “Looking forward we will have the store expansion complete around Christmas time this year and then moving even further ahead, we will be looking at finding and building our very own Airsoft site. We have the basic idea as to what we want and we won’t settle for anything less than the best that we can offer, with the full background of our shop and specialist reputation to drive us forward to create a very formidable Airsoft site. It would be wrong to elaborate on our plans at the moment but let’s just say it will be something “rather special” and with our core interest heavily represented by specialised training and supplies, coupled with the dynamic
front line players and a strong defensive unit. This is just one of our future ventures and of course, our imminent shop expansion which is progressing nicely but above all else, we would be failing our customers if we didn’t strive at improving on what we have now, with more brands coming in all the time and continuing to improve the customer experience with ASPUK.” My sincere thanks go to Paul “Red Beard” Jakeman for this candid interview about the life and times of Airsoft Sniper Parts UK and the story so far. I am of the opinion that Paul is a very dedicated and overwhelmingly enthusiastic member of our community and I have no doubt that Paul’s aspirations will be fulfilled in the near future as in the short time that he has had ownership of ASPUK, he has made significant steps forward. I must emphasise that of course, ASPUK is a specialist shop catering for the Snipers amongst us but make no mistake, this is also a generalised Airsoft shop catering for every type of ‘softer so don’t think for one minute that it is a niche marketplace for the silent but deadly type of player, you will find M4s, AKs and a full range of assault rifles and sidearms in stock at all times. So what are you waiting for ‘softers, go visit some of Airsoft’s genuine nice guys! Les OUT!
Contact: Unit B2 Old Station Drive Sheffield S7 2PY www.airsoftsniperparts.com aspukenquries@outlook.com
www.airsoft-action.online
43
AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2016 WITH OVER 150 SHOOTERS TAKING PART, NIGE REPORTS FROM THE LARGEST AIRSOFT PRACTICAL SHOOTING EVENT IN EUROPE. “WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY” is how Airsoft Surgeon, Clarence Lai, opened the 2016 Airsoft Practical Shooting European Championship, an event that has grown into the largest of its kind in Europe. This year the event was held, as it was in 2015, at StrikeForce CQB in Gloucester, a venue which lends itself almost perfectly to practical shooting due to the huge indoor area, illuminated by diffused lighting from the mainly glass roof. This reduces the number of shadows and provides a wonderful “flat” light that is great for shooting.
SO, WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
You might have heard, or indeed read in Airsoft Action, about “IPSC” (International Practical Shooting Confederation), not something that trips lightly off the tongue and when you add the word “airsoft” to the front it becomes even more cumbersome (although it is often referred to as “AIPSC”). Don’t be fooled though, IPSC is huge! A visit to their website (www.ipsc.org) reveals regional organisations in nearly 80 different countries and world-wide competitions. According to the website, “IPSC shooters need to blend accuracy, power, and speed 46
November 2016
into a winning combination. Multiple targets, moving targets, targets that react when hit, penalty targets, or even partially covered targets, obstacles, movement, competitive strategies and other techniques are all a part of IPSC to keep shooters challenged and spectators engaged.” (Yes, that does say “spectators” and I suggest you hold that thought.) IPSC recognises all shooting disciplines, including; Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun and Action Air – and it is the last of these that should jump off the page at you because it involves the use of airsoft, not real guns! “Action Air” has become such a phenomenon that, in 2017, the first ever IPSC-sanctioned “Action Air World Championship” will take place in Hungary (for which Airsoft Action is very proud to have been chosen as the UK Media Supporter). To qualify for this event each potential National Squad member has to compete in a number of matches at different “levels” and this year’s European Championship had been recognised as a “Level 1” match, so would be important for those shooters wishing to get on the “Road to Hungary”. Obviously, Action Air is completely different to any other type of airsoft and while it is very much a team sport, the only person you actually compete against is yourself! Allow me to explain… To be successful you have to be quick and accurate, the mantra “shoot fast, don’t miss” is probably printed on every
Practical Shooting AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2016
shooter’s brain and it describes perfectly what IPSC is all about, as individual shooters move through a (sometimes complex) arrangement of targets trying to complete the course of fire (aka a “stage”) in as short a time as possible. To complicate matters further, there are different “Divisions” and each Division has its own set of regulations covering such things as weapon size and magazine capacity, for example – although shooters from one Division do not compete against those from another. Scoring too is totally different and involves a calculation based on the points gained and time taken, in fact it can become so complicated that it requires a computer program to work it all out. However, that also means nobody actually knows who has won until the last scores are in. One final thing that makes Action Air very different from skirmishing is the level of gun-handling safety, where even the most seemingly innocuous (to an airsofter) action can result in instant disqualification. The reason for this is that although the weapons are airsoft, the rules are not, they are real-steel and in real steel there are things you simply would not contemplate, such as pointing a weapon, loaded or otherwise, at another person (which would kind of make skirmishing a bit difficult)! So, the only person that can make sure things go right, is you. You can go through an entire competition without dropping a point but forget for just a split second which way your muzzle is pointing and will all have been for nothing… Instant DQ!
“ALTHOUGH THE WEAPONS ARE AIRSOFT, THE RULES ARE NOT, THEY ARE REAL-STEEL AND IN REAL STEEL THERE ARE THINGS YOU SIMPLY WOULD NOT CONTEMPLATE, SUCH AS POINTING A WEAPON, LOADED OR OTHERWISE, AT ANOTHER PERSON (WHICH WOULD KIND OF MAKE SKIRMISHING A BIT DIFFICULT)!”
www.airsoft-action.online
47
“IMAGINE RUNNING THROUGH A FOREST, SHOOTING TARGETS AS YOU GO, BEING WATCHED BY YOUR TEAM MATES, AGAINST THE CLOCK AND WITHOUT MISSING - AND DOING IT CONSISTENTLY TIME AFTER TIME FOR TWO DAYS… THAT IS WHAT PRACTICAL SHOOTING IS ALL ABOUT!”
THE AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
I first met Clarence Lai at the Airsoft Arms Fair in May 2012, held at The Grange and organised by Jim Sephton. Jim was already involved in AIPSC and had invited Clarence to run a number of Practical Pistol Workshops and I was privileged to be given total access to both Clarence and the Workshops. I have to admit I was a bit sceptical as, like many airsofters, I was a little dubious about what it could do for me, however, as I said at the time, I was hugely impressed and “watching him handle a pistol is not like watching someone simply holding a pistol, it is though it has become an extension of his arm and he doesn’t have to think about doing something with it, he just does it!” The Arms Fair was on the Saturday with an AIPSC match the following day, which I also attended – and to say that my pre-conceptions were totally swept away would be a major understatement! Watching the shooters actively move through a series of challenging stages, I could help but be impressed at the speed with which they moved and just how accurate they were. It certainly opened my eyes to what I lacked in both pistol skills and movement in a close environment. In 2013 I met Clarence again on the RedWolf stand at IWA in Nuremberg and in the middle of a conversation with both him and Chris Kong, Clarence announced that he was going to bring his hugely successful “Airsoft Surgeon” event from Hong Kong to the UK and call it The European Championship. By October everything was ready and the first event took place at The 48
November 2016
Grange, where 60-odd shooters competed from as far afield as the UK, Europe and the Far East. Fast-forward to 2016 and the tournament has grown to over 150 shooters from all over Europe, plus the UK and Far East and the standard has been raised to such a degree, that it attracted the attention of one of Europe’s top real-steel Practical Shooters, Danish Champion Lars Hagemann. Lars is a real-steel shooter with Team CZ, where he has successfully used a CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow at many, many events and won more accolades than you can shake a stick at. He met up with ASG’s UK Sales Manager, Paul Wignell, at The SHOT Show this year and then again at IWA, where he was introduced to Clarence and agreed to shoot at this year’s Euros - his first Action Air event. Not only that but he would also be shooting the exact same gun, an ASG CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow, in the “Production” division. I mentioned “Divisions” earlier and the Production Division is exactly as it sounds; you use a gun “out of the box” from the manufacturer – no additions, alterations or upgrades, just as it came off the production line. It has to be a replica of a handgun listed on the “IPSC Production Division List”, with a maximum barrel length of 127mm and a maximum mag capacity of 15 rounds (each Division allows a different number of rounds in the mag and this is one of the reasons that Divisions don’t shoot against each other). On top of that, a challenge was thrown down and accepted… Lars and Clarence would face off against each other in a one-off Special Stage and, as they shoot in different Divisions, it would be interesting to see who would come out on top. In terms of Action Air, I do not think this had ever been done before and it certainly would add some spice to the event.
THE STAGES
As I mentioned earlier, the event would take place over a number of stages, sixteen in all and each stage had been cunningly designed to both challenge and entertain. In previous years the design work had been done by Clarence himself but this year the task was taken on by Watford Practical Pistol Club and, in particular, the devious mind of Paul Courtney.
Practical Shooting AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2016
I have been to other matches where WPPC had designed the stages, so had some idea of what to expect and I have to say Paul and the guys did not disappoint in the slightest, producing some of the most original stages I have ever seen. I particularly liked the stage with the shooting platform suspended on chains, although I think one or two shooters might have cursed under their breath when they saw it! Each stage had been created to get the maximum out of every shooter, by providing a challenge to even the most experienced and yet not dishearten first-time competitors and, from what I saw and heard, they achieved this absolutely.
RANGE OFFICERS
Range Officers, or “ROs” as they are known, are the backbone to any tournament. They are responsible, above all, for the total safety of everyone at the event. It is their responsibility to ensure every shooter obeys the rules and competes in a fair manner, they also start, time and score each run, as well as handing out penalties for any contravention – right up to disqualifying a shooter if warranted. In overall charge is the CRO (Chief Range Officer) and this year the task was excellently handled by a mild-mannered Scotsman by the name of Ronnie Graham, who was ably assisted by Match Director, Justin Cooper (Justin is also the man charged with putting Team GB together for the 2017 World Shoot).
In previous years the Range Officers had been “separate” to the shooters, i.e. their sole function was to officiate the tournament and due to the lack of qualified ROs in the UK, it had been difficult to bring them in, in sufficient numbers. This year, however, ROs were invited from the countries taking part and the total number was more than doubled, meaning all stages were manned and there was no delays while waiting for ROs to become available. Many of the ROs were also shooting and this too was handled without any problem. Another change this year – and one that got a big cheer from the competitors when it was announced – was that shooters would not have to carry a wad of scoresheets round with them. Scoresheets, as you might suspect, are used to record a shooter’s points, penalties and time taken for each stage and are completed at the end of every run. Previously it was the responsibility of the shooter to ensure they had the correct scoresheet, for the correct stage and hand it to the scorer before commencing the stage. Inevitably this could lead to delays and confusion if scoresheets are lost or misplaced so this year, in a major change, all scoresheets were held at each stage and the shooter simply had to sign a tear-off slip (to say they agreed with the result) after it had been completed. I understand that next year, to streamline and simplify the process even further, scores will be recorded and digitally signed on hand-held devices, networked back to the main computer.
THE MATCH
When reporting on an event it is always difficult to express the action and excitement felt by the competitors and this especially true of airsoft, where spectators are generally not present. This is not the case with Action Air where, not only are you shooting in front of an RO and scorer but the rest of your squad
www.airsoft-action.online
49
and, invariably, many others who want to watch the action. Sure, everyone must wear eyepro and stay “behind the line” but nonetheless, performing in front of a crowd brings added pressures to bear and, more often than not, helps to raise your game (something I have both witnessed and experienced at tournaments I have attended and participated in, in the past). As I mentioned, there were sixteen stages to shoot over two days which, at a minimum, would require a total of 329 shots to complete. Think about that for a moment… 329 shots and each had to be on target. One wrong shot could lead to penalties and the possibility of failure and, on top of everything else, shooters had to move as fast as they could through often complex target arrangements, while being watched and judged. To put that in perspective, imagine running through a forest, shooting targets as you go, being watched by your team mates, against the clock and without missing - and doing it consistently time after time for two days… that is what practical shooting is all about (and why when you come up against a practical shooter in a CQB environment, they can be quite a challenge)! By 8:30 am on the 13th August, StrikeForce CQB was literally buzzing with the sounds of shooters getting ready, catching up with old friends and making new ones. One of the things I like about Practical Shooting is the “community spirit” and this is what Clarence was referring to when he opened the tournament. Practical Shooting is very much a “family” of shooters, where everyone does 50
November 2016
their best to help and promote a feeling of inclusiveness and, even at such a prestigious event as this, if someone needed help it was given without hesitation - no thinking “if I do that they could end up beating me” here. Clarence, Chris Kong and Justin all gave a short briefing then it was down to serious competition and soon the sounds of starting timers beeping, pistols firing and targets being hit filled the vast space, even the sun was shining (which warmed the interior and meant there would not be any gas issues). I am not going to go into a blow-by-blow account, that would simply not be possible but there are a few things I would like to mention specifically and one of those is Kiko. I first met Kiko and his parents when I visited the Southampton Black Sparrow Practical Shooting Club last year. Kiko was then just nine years old and I was completely blown away by this young boy taking on adult shooters with no deference to his age or size and now, here he was, taking part in the Europe’s largest ever Practical Shooting tournament. Even though he knew there was not much chance of winning, watching him shoot showed just what can be accomplished when you put down the Xbox or Playstation controller and pick up something far more worthwhile! The second thing is the number of different countries represented, which included Poland, Finland, Hong Kong, Belgium, The Nederlands, Denmark and Ireland, as well as the UK, which I believe is the largest number of different countries thus far. It was not so long ago that I was told the event “wasn’t really a European championship” because there “weren’t that many countries in it”… I think that has been well and truly put to rest! I’d also like to give a special mention to Lars Hagemann, for helping to bring “something extra” to the event. Although Lars is a Champion real-steel shooter, he was putting his reputation on the line by both accepting the challenge against Clarence (who is undoubtedly one of the World’s top Action Air shooters) and taking part in the Championship. It also showed what faith he had in the ASG CZ SP-01 Shadow which, for whatever reason, has had its detractors. Not only did the Shadow get through the entire Match without missing a beat, if you check the scores you’ll notice Lars did pretty well also – becoming the first ever Action Air European Production Division Champion in the process. So, I for one, take my hat off to ASG, Lars and the ASG CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow!
Practical Shooting AIRSOFT SURGEON EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2016
The Overall Results Classic Division 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Rafal Tomenek Roy Juurijoki Paul Foster David Rose Andy Inglis
Poland Finland Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain
Open Division 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Hiu Chun Lo Wang Ho Chan Jurgen Ronsse Maciej Piwowarski Luc Majaron
Hong Kong Hong Kong Belgium Poland Belgium
Production Division 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Lars Hagemann Jesse Nio Gaz Fletcher Marc Cauchies Quentin Depotter
Denmark Finland Great Britain Belgium Belgium
Standard Division 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Yin Tai Lee Pak Lam Lai Cheuk Hin Lam Ka Chung Chow Chun Keung Ng
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong
Finally, it would be impossible to end without mentioning the stage that drew the biggest crowd of spectators, Stage 17. The astute amongst you might have spotted that were only 16 Stages in the event but Stage 17 had been designed for one purpose only… the head-to-head between Lars Hagemann and Airsoft Surgeon and just about everyone there wanted to watch. It also featured the return of one of the most challenging targets I have ever seen; the contra-rotating, fourarmed, propellers first seen two years ago at The Grange. In Practical Shooting the targets are brown and sometimes they might have a white “No Shoot” target placed in front of them, partially obscuring it. No Shoot targets attract a penalty if hit, so are to be avoided at all costs. Imagine then being faced with a rotating, four-armed propeller with a target at the end of each arm, in front of which another propeller is rotating in the opposite direction, with No Shoot targets affixed and you get the idea… Even though a computer was doing all the work, while waiting for the final results to come through, the stage was packed as first Clarence and then Lars hurled themselves through it at very impressive speeds. The stage was then opened up to anyone else who wanted to give it a go.
Euros such a huge success. Yes, there was the odd hiccup and that is only to be expected but without doubt, this was the best Practical Pistol event I have been privileged to attend and it will take an awful lot to beat it. So well done ladies and gents, you did yourselves and the sport proud and I cannot wait to see you all back again next year.
For details of a spectacular competition where you can win the ASG CZ SP-01 Shadow that Lars Hagemann used to win the Production Division, plus a Team CZ shirt, all signed by Lars, turn to Page 104 now!
THE RESULTS
So, after two days of hard-fought competition, the last shot had been fired and everyone relaxed and waited for the results. The buzz of the previous day was undiminished as shooters recounted their successes and failures and it gave everyone chance to wind down a little – until Chris Kong and Clarence decided to hold the raffle and, at one point, were (quite literally) throwing mini-prizes into the assembled crowd. There were loads of prizes and it was a good way to fill the time and then, at last, the scores were ready and the awards presented. With all the trophies presented to the winners and runners up, a final speech from Clarence closed the 2016 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship – and there was more than one person suggesting that, in 2017, the word “European” should be crossed out and replaced with “World”! I will end by saying a massive thank you and congratulations to everyone involved, in whatever capacity for making the 2016 www.airsoft-action.online
51
EVERY AIRSOFTER NEEDS GOOD FUNCTIONAL CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND GEAR BUT LET’S FACE IT, WE DON’T ALWAYS HAVE THE MONEY OR THE INCLINATION TO BUY INTO THE SO-CALLED “GUCCI” BRANDS. IN PART 1 OF HIS REPORT THIS MONTH JERRY NOONE TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT THE NEWEST OFFERINGS FROM HELIKON-TEX.
HELIKON-TEX: NEW LINES HELIKON-TEX ARE ONE OF those manufacturers that are constantly pushing the boundaries of garment and gear manufacture forward and 2016 saw the launch of their new Urban, Outdoor and Range lines; these offer new designs and new fabrics and there is quite literally something there for everyone! Helikon-Tex, however, are by no means a newcomer to the tactical market as they were established in 1983. Initially their business activities were mainly concentrated with military surplus sales. However, changing trends and market demand in the mid-nineties set a new development direction and in 1999 they decided to start their own military and tactical clothing production. Their ever-expanding range is proof that the decision was the correct one as they now offer full-spectrum lines of top quality combat uniforms, waterproof and windproof sets, fleece jackets, underwear and head gear. Their hefty catalogue also includes quality bags and backpacks, tactical belts, MOLLE system pouches and accessories, as well as camping and survival equipment. Widely used by law enforcement, security and military personnel, along with outdoor enthusiasts Helikon-Tex clothing and kit has gained a thoroughly well-deserved reputation for quality and durability amongst users. And I do count myself amongst that highly-satisfied user group as some nine years ago I purchased a great looking coyote tan Helikon-Tex fleece, the “Patriot”. The price at the time compared to similar garments coming out of the USA was very competitive and attractive and I remember thinking to myself “Well, that’s a good price, if it last me a couple of years it’ll be great”. Fast forward to the present and the “Patriot”, although it is
52
November 2016
looking a little “battle-scarred” is still going strong. Now that to me is one hell of an investment and testimony to the longevity of Helikon-Tex garments! Since that initial purchase I’ve bought items from Helikon-Tex on numerous occasions and I am always keen to get “hands-on” when they drop something new into the marketplace. I’m lucky that I’ve got to know the family behind the brand and that they keep me fully up to date with new releases, so when Jedrzej, the son of the founder, contacted me pre-IWA and told me I needed to come and see him at the show as they had “a few new pieces” you can bet your last buck that I was going to do exactly that!
A STUNNING DISPLAY
Helikon-Tex always have a really top-notch stand at IWA each year and 2016 proved no exception to that; it was simply jawdropping! Not only do they work with the best quality fabrics and components with strict quality control measures in place but they also work with some unusual camouflage patterns which makes them quite unique. This, however, was not the
Loaded or Unloaded HELIKON-TEX
only reason to see them this year though as the “few pieces” that had been teasingly mentioned to me turned out to be a number of complete new lines of products broken down into a number of categories, “Range Line, Outback Line and Urban Line”. These new lines showed a new approach and a new structure. Having gathered a task force of designers and professional consultants to complete their R&D team, Helikon-Tex were ready to launch a wholly fresh and complex project codenamed “HTX”. In their own words: “The whole of the HTX concept is based upon the ingenuity of design. We have once introduced our bestselling UTP pants as our own, home-grown concept and with time it became evident that this is the way to follow. We are perfectly aware that in our world we have to transform and evolve, follow new challenges, revise old standards and never, ever settle for average.” …and from what I saw of
the new products these are no empty words. Starting with the “Outback Line” this is Helikon-Tex’s technical clothing and accessories range concept. From base layers through all intermediate levels of insulation for both dynamic and static activities to outer layers including wind shirts, softshells, hardshells and Climashield parkas. There are both solid classics and new “light & fast” style designs. The first new product is the Blizzard Softshell set; the jacket is a perfect light outer layer for most weather conditions. Durable DWR treatment, stretchable material and extra reinforcements combined with spacious cargo pockets give you a versatile softshell top with a military legacy and a solid feature set as you’d expect and it’s a versatile outdoor garment, meant especially for inclement weather use when hiking or mountain climbing. The matching Blizzard Pants feature two types of softshell fabric (two and four-way stretch) which are designed in a way that combines mobility, durability and breathability of the set. True to its military origins they feature spacious cargo pockets, extra ventilation channels, lower leg reinforcements and shoelace hooks. To complement the Blizzard outer layers there are also two new heavyweight fleece layering options to consider. Remember that old USGI ECWCS fleece? It was (and still is) a favourite with many folks. 320 weight fleece gives you a lot of warmth and what Helikon-Tex have done is to create something with a similar feel and a few more practical features. The Stratus has angled long zip chest pockets, mesh armpit ventilation, handy bicep pockets and tall standing collar. It is meant to be simple yet effective design that can be worn on its own or as a mid-layer. The Cumulus is a twin design to the Stratus heavy fleece; it shares the general pattern and reinforcements but in this variant
www.airsoft-action.online
53
CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK
WINDRUNNER #Airsoft Acion, AUGUST 2016
Outback is our technical clothing and accessories line concept. From baselayers through all intermediate levels of insulation for both dynamic and static activities to outer layers including windshirts, softshells, hardshells and Climashield® parkas. You’ll find there both solid classics and new “light&fast” style designs – everything to fit your activity profile and specific needs. Accessories developed for Outback line will focus on travel, gear packing and outdoor expeditions.
With its minimal weight and bulk Windrunner is a great all-round piece you can always carry in your pack. Featherlight nylon fabric with dense weave offers excellent protection from wind and has a good, easy-to-reapply DWR coating. Its perfect for athletic activities such as running, as the mesh vents under the armpits and mesh inner pocket provide good airflow channels. Windrunner windshirt performs equally well in cold weather when worn over warm fleece jackets, as it adds wind and light rain resistance as well as prevents body heat from escaping.
Loaded or Unloaded HELIKON-TEX
you’re getting a hooded jacket with spacious mesh inner pockets and simple hand warmer pockets. It’s a simple, utilitarian and very wearable piece. The “Urban Line” is the Helikon-Tex take on both the challenges and routines of a modern world, merging tactical, sporting and EDC elements into one. Pants, daypacks and light casual garments are all oriented to give you sharp looks and enough space to hold all your daily stuff. Keep in mind that everybody is trying to keep “low profile” these days! Hoodies are almost everyone’s favourite easy wearing and casual looking design. With the Urban Tactical Hoodie (UTH) Helikon-Tex wanted to keep all that, plus get you some extra features, such as concealed bicep pockets, secure kangaroo pockets and inner pockets and wire routing channels that work well with full zip design. They also made sure that UTH fabric is at the same time soft, pleasant to wear and as durable as possible. Keeping with the impression of “casual” the UTPs provide loadbearing capabilities and comfort typical for strictly utilitarian constructions. Designed for Law Enforcement and Contractors, the Urban Tactical Pants enable you to carry all essential equipment around hip and thigh line. A low-profile pocket setup keeps the EDC gear and ammo close to the body’s centre of gravity, which, combined with stretchable fabric, leads to fluent and quick tactical movements. Furthermore, all these solutions provide a design which is an incredibly useful product for concealed carry tasks. The UTPs are available in three fabric options for hot and moderate climates as well. The Women’s UTPs are designed for female users and to specifically fit the female body shape. This design is based on the experience gathered from the original Urban Tactical Pants and they offer all the features available in the men’s version. Women’s UTPs are available in one length (L34) for individual adjustment and there’s even an Urban Tactical Skirt to round out an impressive line-up. Sometimes easy looks can be misleading and the Covert Tactical Pants (CTP) are perfect everyday pants, as their appearance is definitely low-profile. At the same time they are feature-laden. The pocket layout includes IWB sheaths for weapons, magazines or valuables, while the new six outer pocket design gives you more than enough space for EDC items. Wide belt loops stabilise belts and holsters while a combination of cut and pattering and stretchable fabric allow for great freedom of motion. The CTP will look equally good when worn with plain polo or with a casual hoodie! Now I know that all the guys at Helikon-Tex are fellow shooting sports enthusiasts, so it’s no wonder that they wanted to create a “Range Line”, with great clothing and gear for the range. No matter if you’re an IPSC competitor, a onemile precision shooter or just a guy that shoots for a living, Helikon-Tex have something new for you in stock. I’ll visit the
new range of belts, gun bags, pouches and sniper-mats in the next issue of PMCI so as to do them full justice but the whilst the UTPs are a very popular range pants for many people, there were requests to make them even more comfortable and well-suited for shooting sports, especially to introduce more stretch and reinforcements in critical areas. So Helikon-Tex have listened to this feedback and you can see all the ideas rolled into their new, dedicated range pants nicknamed the Hybrid Tactical Pants (HTP). This looks to be an absolutely cracking design providing a combination of both a great feature set and some cutting edge fabrics - this is a model that I’m definitely looking forward to testing!
AND MORE TO COME!
As you can imagine it’s an incredibly complex feat for any brand, even one as well-respected and efficient as Helikon-Tex, to launch a whole new concept in one go but this is the start of the rollout of the HTX project and it’s very impressive to say the least. In addition to the three new lines mentioned in this article, in due course we’ll be seeing the further roll-out of the “Bushcraft, Patrol and Medical” lines which means there’s much more goodness to come and you won’t have to be “Loaded” to afford any of it! Once again, in their own words: “Naturally it is not going to happen all at once, we cannot bring you instant effects overnight but be assured that HelikonTex’s evolution has started… and you are invited to experience its effects for yourselves.” As I said earlier there are new equipment items that have also been launched and these are equally as impressive as the clothing. I’m always quite excited when Helikon-Tex bring new innovations to market and luckily my relationship with them is a strong one; they have true faith in what they create they’re always prepared to submit products for evaluation and “put their money where their mouth is” so next month I’ll be looking at their very latest tactical equipment. All the new designs are loading up onto the Helikon-Tex website as they become available, so for more information on the individual pieces please do visit https://helikon-tex.com. If any of the gear featured in the article is of interest, then simply head to www.military1st.co.uk who are stocking up on the new lines just as fast as the products are released!
www.airsoft-action.online
55
IN THE BEGINNING… THIS MONTH GADGE ASKS OUR READERSHIP PERHAPS THE OLDEST QUESTION OF ALL… HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE GREAT AIRSOFT HOBBY?
YOU MAY WELL WANT TO KNOW why we want to know but it’s pretty simple, this week I was having a bit of a tidy up around the “war room” at home and found a stack of old fantasy wargaming magazines from the 80s… Flicking through them I was astounded to find our own editor, Nigel Streeter, as part of the gaming mag’s team trying out “Paintball Live Roleplaying”. While there wasn’t much “roleplaying” going, on I remember thinking at the time that paintball wargames looked like a fantastic idea and it wasn’t long before I was nagging my older cousin Dave to take me to the local site. Paintball was the “buy in” for a lot of us but we’re not all paintball converts. After chatting to you readers we found out that a few of you were “back garden plinkers” using early springer kit guns before finding out about open days and organised gaming. Surprisingly, none of you seemed to have started on FPS shooters like “Call of Duty” and then decided to take your online gaming outside! Similarly, while we expected a few of you to have been taken to airsoft on work “team building days”, or Hen/Stag do’s, it turns out that for most of you it was a word of mouth thing and either being taken along by mates who already gamed, or simply finding out about the game online and going solo to your local site. A few of you, however, came from a “real steel” shooting background. Either from the target shooting scene and looking for a less restricted was to test your “edge”, or were ex-squaddies missing the banter of the platoon and the fun bits of exercises out in the field – without the hassle and with the
56
November 2016
option of going home when it got too wet and cold! One thing is for sure though, it was the RIF that sparked your interest. And so, while paintball might have started it off for some of us, we’ve no longer any interest in running around with a gun that looks like it’s made of plumbing and cleaning neon yellow gunk off our combats every week! So here it is. Your reasons for loading up your magazines, charging your batteries and strapping on your plate carrier every week! Shane Hobbs: “Started years ago with a Springer and coke cans in my back garden. As I got older I visited a shop in Reading called Rebel Troop and found out about a place called Fire Fight (now Absolute Airsoft) where I always wanted to try. Gave up my airsoft dream and had kids. Looked into hunting and found a shop many years later in Reading Town Centre, A2 SUPPLIES. They talked to me about the new rules of airsoft and then I got my first aeg (WE M4), then my secondary (WE G SERIES 19). My local site is now THE MALL and my airsoft collection has grown!” Brian Kerrigan: “I got in to it by my good friend Bad Wolf.” Kayleigh Kavanagh: “My brother and his friends got me going to a game and over four years later I still play and still love it!” Andrew Lane: “My Dad was a boy living in London through the blitz. As a kid all things Military were exciting and new in 1940’s. This was passed on to me and as a boy always played “war” using sticks for different guns, making the sounds. I discovered Airsoft three years ago after my younger brother’s mates got into it. Now I can relive my youth at 53 – and my love of tinkering with stuff.” Mo Boutrïf: “I watched a lot of YouTube videos about it.”
Debate HOW DID YOU BEGIN IN AIRSOFT?
Pic courtesy of Cerberus Airsoft
Veerle Van Gorp: “Started about 5 years ago after my separation with my husband. No one got me into Airsoft! I Googled it and got really interested in what it was about and booked my first game. “Airsoft got me through a bad patch in my life and was a good way to vent. “Now I’m an admin to support ladies airsoft on the UK and it is called “UK Ladies Airsoft Group” on Facebook, as airsoft is getting more popular with us ladies.” Stuart Hardwick: “After getting divorced in 2000, I had taken up Archery. One of the chaps at my local club handed me a copy of Gunmart. In the back was an advert from Rebel Troop. “A quick visit later and I had an M4A1. Found a local skirmish site, turned up and enjoyed myself. 16 odd years later and I still get a buzz from playing. I just wish my knees were up to the battering they keep getting!” Jon Stockman: “When I was 7 my Uncle got a spring SA80, so when I turned 8 I got a springer Uzi… 26 years later I shudder to think how much I’ve spent since then.” Scott Allan: “I blame Airsoft Action’s very own Stephen Pringle. I only went to buy a Thompson and I ended up owning LWA!” John Thorn: “I bought a tm G36C off Stephen. I never got a shop!” Sam Fellows: “I never had an interest in shooting or military stuff but I was introduced to Mr Gaz Perkins in 2007. He was running airsoft events locally and he showed me all the kit and explained how it all worked and after my first game I was hooked to airsoft (and to Gaz it seems as we have been together ever since then). Haha!
Gaz Perkins: “I was introduced to airsoft in 1990 and been trying to escape since!” David Garrington: “I started buying LS model kits back in 1989, running around tutor class shooting BBs from my black and chrome 1911. Then I found Ian “Ratty” Armitage and Paul Baldock at Greenham Common back in 1997 and the rest is history.” Stephen Pringle: “Guns. They make it hard to get real ones, so...” Matthew Adams: “Taken to a game by some friends and liked it. Then hooked up with Gaz Perkins and now it’s like sticky brown to a smackhead!” Matthew Dingle Daniels: “Had a few early spring shell ejecting airsoft guns in the mid 80’s then TM’s 1st Gen MP5 with no hop-up about 1995. 1998 discovered Greenham Common along with David Garrington and others.” Christopher Fearn: “After 13 years in the military, I found I missed the camaraderie out in the civilian world. A lad from my Civvy workplace brought in a few of his RIFs for some modifications and I was hooked. I have found a great bunch of guys and girls playing down in Cornwall and I haven’t looked back. I’ve been playing less than a year but can’t see myself stopping anytime soon. “It’s great fun and an amazing team game and if you have like-minded people alongside you can have truly unforgettable days, whether you win or lose!” John Thorn: “Ex-practical pistol shooter, bought a gas Ksc Glock 18C, then a TM G36C a year later. I started skirmishing and have been hooked ever since!” Paul Harding: “Went into Airsoft Armoury for a look around,
www.airsoft-action.online
57
Debate HOW DID YOU BEGIN IN AIRSOFT?
“Cerberusair” pic courtesy of Cerberus Airsoft
came out 3 hours later and £800 poorer! Hadn’t even played a game! That was around 2003 I think?” Sean Greenwood: “Being TA at the time when Paul Harding spoke about airsoft at work, it was something I was keen on taking up. Ain’t looked back since just wish I played more.” Brendan Robb: “My story is maybe a little different than most. I was at a music festival chatting to a bloke and nearby there was a knobgoblin with a rubbish slug gun shooting his mates in the back. The guy I was chatting with made the comment “if I had my airsoft gun I would love to open up on him”. We got talking about airsoft and next payday I went and spent stupid money on a springer pistol from the store, only to later find I could have gotten an AEG for the same amount. That was 11 years ago, still hooked on it.” Ian Cobbledick: “3 years ago I was looking for some reallooking guns for a photo shoot. I trawled the interweb only to find this airsoft thing... so decided to do the 3 games to get my UKARA so we could use realistic looking weapons. Been every fortnight since lol... And I never did get around to doing the photoshoot!” Chris Martin: “I wanted to travel to far away towns, meet interesting new people, then shoot them with tiny plastic balls.” Linda van Kollenburg: “I’d spent 15 years in the Army and when I came out I was looking for something to “plug the hole”. Played paintball a couple of times but I missed realism. Then friends of mine pointed me towards Airsoft. Been playing since... Hole plugged!” Rogier Schepers: “Bought my First BB Gun when I was 17. Played for years with a couple of friends in the forest and on an abandoned factory terrain. I am 45 now and still like to pewpew now and then. A lot has changed over the years, regrettably not always for the best... however, still enjoy my Time on the Field. I kinda miss the old days though…”
www.airsoft-action.online
59
VALKEN THUNDER B SHOCKER GRENADE “FEMME FATALE”, KELLY HARDWICK, LOVES PYROTECHNICS SO COULDN’T WAIT TO CHECK OUT THIS NEW DESIGN FROM VALKEN – BUT DID IT GO WITH A BANG? Photography thanks to Henry Nicholson
ANYONE WHO HAS PLAYED AIRSOFT with me knows I love using Pyrotechnics in-game, whether it is a Solid state BFG such as the TRMR or the SWAT VTG, TAG round or a disposable bang. Sometimes they are the difference between gaining entry to a tricky to access room or a stalemate, the difference between winning and losing. These devices have become integral to Airsoft game days with an increasing amount of players using them and the choice available is quite comprehensive. So when Nige handed me a bag full of Valken Thunder B Shocker Grenades my eyes lit up at the prospect of testing them! The Valken Thunder B Shocker is a CO2-powered sound distraction device which utilises a CO2 cartridge and a pin/spoon system to create a 130db bang. Once a cartridge is inserted and the pin is removed/spoon released the cartridge is pierced and the plastic shell begins to fill with CO2 – which is recognised by a distinct hissing sound. The shell has been designed to have a weak seam to enable the user to “predict” when the device will detonate. The grenade is split into two parts, the reusable section which contains the munition (CO2) and the disposable plastic shells. It is worth noting that you can also fill the shell with BBs to turn it into a BB grenade - and a handy little tip I received was to also place a small amount of talcum powder in it to make a nice cloud as well. Now one thing I will say about these grenades is they are SO loud and I would seriously suggest wearing 60
November 2016
ear protection whilst using them, I did not expect the massive bang that comes from this relatively small piece of kit. They are definitely a top notch distraction device in fact, if one of these went off next to you I’d be surprised if you didn’t need new knickers! When using these in-game, after the device had deployed its munitions there was almost always a shout of “What the f*ck was that?!” In regards to what the grenade’s primary objective is – distraction - I’d give it a 10. After deployment people are more concerned with making sense of what was just detonated than their surroundings, meaning you can go to work. I can think of a fair few game situations where I could have done with something this loud to scare my opponents. I really like the aesthetics of the Shocker grenade, it mimics a real world grenade design in a classic green colour. The shell has been designed with ergonomic indents on the body of the shell to make them more tactile and easier to handle and I love the raised skull design that is on the side. The white weak seam is easy to identify and it is easy to determine how the device works from how it looks. I did, unfortunately, have some problems during testing, mainly down to what I think are potential design flaws in the product. For instance, whilst holding the loaded grenade at an odd angle the pin slipped out, which would have been no issue if I was also holding the spoon, however, as I only had my hand around the shell it could have been an issue if I hadn’t heard the sound of seeping gas and thrown it to a safe distance before it had chance to detonate. I feel this could be easily rectified with a simple change in design of the pin, which if it was hooked would eliminate this problem. I would have also liked the detonation time on tests to be a little more consistent for me to gauge when the device would go bang – the time between pulling the
Kit VALKEN THUNDER B SHOCKER GRENADE
pin and the device detonating was between 4-10 seconds which is too big a variant with such a product in my opinion. A few of the bangs did take me by surprise. The very last test of the day unfortunately rendered the device unusable. Now I hold my hands up, this could have been user error but I feel this could be an issue other players experience so it must go in the review. We primed the grenade, pulled the pin and threw it, bang it went and everything looked good until we inspected the device closely after attempting to fit a new shell. The previous shell’s thread had become lodged in the device thread, we tried removing the shell but with the force of the detonation, it was well and truly lodged in there rendering the reusable part of the grenade a dud – I feel
that this could maybe be rectified by using a pair of plyers to dislodge it. Overall, I was pretty disappointed with the Shocker Grenade. One of the main thoughts whilst writing this review was “great idea but not ready yet”, although the product looks pretty badass, is innovative and has great potential to be a huge hit with the Airsoft community. However, there are a few improvements that would need to be made (in my opinion) before it is ready to hit the wider market – such as a redesigned “hooked” pin to ensure it doesn’t fall out before the user is ready to deploy the munition, especially for players that like to have ‘nades hanging from their rigs. I also feel that it would need to be more predictable in regards to detonation times as they were a little inconsistent for my liking. With products of this nature the detonation time needs to be predictable every time to ensure user safety (no one needs one of these going off in their hand!). I would love to see these improvements made and give these another try but for now I’ll be sticking to my tried and tested favourites. n Since receiving this review, Airsoft Action has spoken to Valken who told us they are most grateful for the feedback, the points of which have been noted and, as with all new products improvements will be made as it develops. They also thanked Kelly for her honest, forthright opinion. For the latest news and updates on all Valken Airsoft products, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ValkenAirsoft/
“I DID NOT EXPECT THE MASSIVE BANG THAT COMES FROM THIS RELATIVELY SMALL PIECE OF KIT. THEY ARE DEFINITELY A TOP NOTCH DISTRACTION DEVICE IN FACT, IF ONE OF THESE WENT OFF NEXT TO YOU I’D BE SURPRISED IF YOU DIDN’T NEED NEW KNICKERS!”
www.airsoft-action.online
61
KIT MAGAZINES
NUPROL MAGAZINES
WHATEVER TYPE OF RIF YOU RUN, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED TO KEEP IT FED WITH AMMO! JERRY NOONE FINDS THE ANSWER IN THE FORM OF A NEW RANGE OF AEG MAGAZINES AND SHOTGUN SHELLS FROM NUPROL. THE TEAM AT NUPROL, EVEN though they are good friends of mine, keep surprising me with their grasp on the airsoft market. They’ve rolled out some superb gear in the past few months and it just keeps on coming! The latest development in their massive range of guns, gear and accessories is something that every single airsofter worldwide needs and that’s dependable, free-feeding magazines and whatever your style of airsoft play, from full-speed skirmish to hardcore MilSim, NUPROL have what you need! To start the ball rolling they’ve concentrated on magazines for probably the most popular replica out there, the M4. There are currently three full metal magazine “STANAG” style models in the range. The first is an out-and-out skirmish magazine, a baseplate-winding, 370 BB, Hi-Capacity model that retails around £12.50. The second model is a little more interesting, in that its a 330 BB “Flash” mag. Although it’s still a Hi-Cap, it’s a lot easier to operate than the old wheeled design that’s been with us for years. Instead of winding that big old wheel round and round, you simply drop the baseplate, pull down on the cord three or four times and you’re good to go! These are going for about fifteen quid. The last of the M4 models, though, is probably my personal favourite as it’s a MilSimmers dream. Its full metal like the others but it’s a clever bit of design in that you can easily change it from 140 BB capacity to 30 BB capacity! To do this you simply unscrew the baseplate, remove the inner cassette and change the capacity setting. These are selling for about £13.50 and are incredibly versatile. Last but by no means
least, if you’re an AK fan like me there is even a classic 500 BB AK “Flash” mag in the lineup; expect to pay around £16.00 for one of these. And shotgun users haven’t been left out either, as the “Essentials Shotgun 30rnd Shell Pack” has been designed for use with 3BB tri-barrel shotguns and single barrel shotguns. Tokyo Marui, Double Eagle, CYMA and ASG shotgun models are all compatible. The shells are made entirely from a strong Polymer and are finished with a shiny red label with NUPROL branding. The shells are easily loaded from the top, by using a standard speed loader. These are just £9.99 for a pack of four! Having tried all the mags and the shells in my own RIFs I can tell you that they all fit well, feed perfectly and are bomber tough. If you’re in the market for some new magazines then I’d seriously suggest you check out the new models from NUPROL at your earliest convenience. For further details and stockist details please visit www.nuprol.com
“HAVING TRIED ALL THE MAGS AND THE SHELLS IN MY OWN RIFS I CAN TELL YOU THAT THEY ALL FIT WELL, FEED PERFECTLY AND ARE BOMBER TOUGH.”
www.airsoft-action.online
63
AIRSOFTRACKER JERRY NOONE IS ALWAYS INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT UNIQUE RESOURCES THAT WILL BENEFIT NOT JUST PLAYERS BUT THE AIRSOFT COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. RECENTLY HE WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO SPEAK TO ALI, FROM AIRSOFTRACKER TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY’RE ALL ABOUT. AT THE AIRSOFT SHOWCASE I had the opportunity to speak to a host of good folk from the UK community but such was the nature of the event, that there were also people in attendance from further afield. One of these was Ali from Estonia highlighting the new online resource AIRSOFTRACKER. AIRSOFTRACKER, which is an online tool bringing together players, site operators and retailers has been undergoing its BETA testing for a while now and as I write it’s actually starting to go live; in fact just this morning I received an update on a game being run this coming weekend. By logging into AIRSOFTRACKER with my own unique player ID I can see games and events that are local to me and by amending the settings I can see things that are happening further afield, even
internationally and I’ll even be able to book in and pay online! There are areas of the site where you can post up your own personal or team profiles and link up with other players with a common interest and there will also be areas for information and micro news. If you register you’ll be also able to track clubs, organizations and even your favourite shops, who will be able to place “special offers” on their own pages. Ali told me that the whole purpose of AIRSOFTRACKER is “getting new people into airsoft worldwide; he very kindly agreed to answer some more in-depth questions and this is what he had to tell me: AA: So Ali, in your own words please tell me what led you to set up AIRSOFTRACKER? Ali: “It all began in 2015 in Tallinn, Estonia where the AIRSOFTRACKER team is currently located. Like most newcomers to airsoft, I knew nothing about it. A good friend of mine called me to play with him and purchased a ticket for me. It was a big surprise for me that I couldn’t find any information about this event myself. I really loved the game – and that day it was very clear to me that game organisers and site operators are doing and incredible job. From that moment, I started spending more time with them and now I am very lucky to admit that I’ve got lots of close friends among game organisers all over the Europe. What makes airsoft the best sport for me is that game organisers are always inventing something new; scenarios and game rules, they are rebuilding game sites, adding military equipment and the like. All that adds additional layers and you never get the same gameplay. “Coming back to your question there are actually two big problems that we see right now. The first one is how we can help our beloved sport to be popular among a wider audience. We have set an ambitious goal for ourselves; to let everyone
64
November 2016
GITAG AIRSOFTRACKER
know what airsoft actually is and let everyone try it at least once. “The second task that AIRSOFTRACKER took as a priority is making airsoft in game process more interesting, thrilling and entertaining for players. Nowadays using mobile phones and other small devices makes this task possible.” AA: Who are the key people involved? Ali: “Back in 2015 it was only an idea. I started thinking of what I needed in order to make it happen. With the help of different IT accelerators like VUNK (http://www.vunk.eu/) and Estonian incubators like Digix (http://digix.eu/), we managed to build a great team of developers that are working right now towards one goal; making airsoft more affordable, easily accessible and entertaining sport. “We established a company, shared roles, invested our money to the project and started thinking how we can achieve our goals. There were hundreds of ideas, lots of requests from players. But from day one we realised that we can only succeed if we start working tightly with game organisers. That’s why before starting doing something, I as a CEO of Airsoftracker decided to go to other countries to speak with game organisers and site operators. The result is that we now have supporters from the UK, Germany, Italy, Austria, Finland and Baltic countries. They are shop owners, site operators and individuals who are making their own games.” AA: When and where did you start running the BETA version and how’s that been going? Ali: “Indeed we launched our early beta in the end of July in UK and Baltics. In collaboration with our first clients we managed to do promo-games gathering hundreds of players together. Their feedback was very promising and we got new ideas on what we should improve in the system and what new functionality they are waiting from us. “We are constantly developing our system having two goals in mind: simplifying the work of game organisers and giving the best user experience for players starting from finding a game event and ending with playing on the field.” AA: Who do you see as your target customer for your service? Ali: “They are airsoft game organisers, players, shop owners and of course people who have never played this game.” AA: What are the key features of the service and how do they benefit players? Ali: “If you go to AIRSOFTRACKERS’ main page you will see a global airsoft game events search engine. Now you can easily find games near you, filter them by date, game type or exact name. Using a map feature players can see upcoming events that are abroad. “The key moment is that all events are published by real
game organisers, who themselves have their own public pages in the system. Players have their global airsoft player profiles, where information about every game he or she joined is available for others. Players can create their teams and purchase “group” or “team” tickets for which a game organiser can set a discount price. We thought that it will be a good idea to let player have their own personal tickets where they see, what type of airsoft game and which side they are going to play in, what missions and objectives should be completed, etc. It’s a first step in moving some features from computer gaming into real airsoft battles. Each player can now send a link to his friend and tell him: “Hey, pal, click join button, select one of the tickets for the side and buy one”. No more sending posts, submitting forms, writing letters or calling somebody. Another option is buying a group ticket (which is usually much cheaper) for the whole team. All purchased tickets are going to all of the player’s profiles. Quick and easy. “Players nowadays do not see any stats of how many games they played, what guns they used, which teams they played against, where and how often they were hit, what were their waypoints, what objectives they accomplished and so on and so on. And of course by having all that AIRSOFTRACKER makes entering our sport very easy for non-airsofters and newcomers. All that concepts have been already used in computer shooter games, so for a gamer it will be quite easy to read the objectives and join the game.” AA: There are benefits for site operators too; can you tell me about those? Ali: “Let me start by saying that our very job is basically increasing the revenue of the game organisers and shops. We are building the technology that has the potential to revolutionise airsoft forever. In the first stage we are focusing on the airsoft event registration app which makes life easier for both players and organisers and comes with inbuilt free event promotions. “There are some cool features for game organisers that AIRSOFTRACKER is proud to present: own public pages, search optimised advanced game event publishing especially designed for airsoft, game map, selling tickets of different configurations and quantities, setting payment methods and receiving money instantly, player management, mobile check in application before the game starts and much more coming each month.” www.airsoft-action.online
65
MINI MODULAR PACK
LAZER GARRISON PACK
A multifunction load carrier which can be attached to a MOLLE or used independently. Can also serve a civilian with the day to day practicality and features such as convenient sized pouches, bladder holder and general size. Mesh helmet hammock located on front with compression straps for adjustment
n n n n n n n n n
Size: 19 ltr (approx) Material: 600D Cordura Colour: Titanium SRP: £45.00
Lazer MOLLE Panels on front/sides Fully mesh vented back Internal Nylon hood closure 2 x Main compression straps Sternum strap with QR buckle Padded shoulder straps Elasticated rim on lid 1 x Grab handle Velcro ID panel
LAZER SHOULDER PACK
LAZER RECON PACK
A lightweight and conveniently sized shoulder pack, ideal as a travel/grab bag. Its exterior and internal pockets are capable of bearing most personal belongings and padded straps add the comfort factor.
With padded shoulder straps and foam Ventex back panel this makes a comfortable load carrier. The pack can be reduced using the compression straps or added to with the LAZER MOLLE attachment panels.
Size: 10 ltr (approx) Material: 600D Cordura
Size: 35 ltr (approx)
Size: 35 ltr (approx)
Colour: Titanium
Material: 600D Cordura
Material: 600D Cordura
SRP: £34.95
Colour: Titanium SRP: £45.00
Colour: Titanium SRP: £27.50
>GET THE
TACTICAL ADVANTAGE
TACTICAL
STOCKISTS / CATALOGUE
www.vipertactical.co.uk
GITAG AIRSOFTRACKER
AA: How do you see AIRSOFTRACKER evolving in the future?
AA: And does the service work for retailers and shops too? Ali: “AIRSOFTRACKER becomes an ideal place for shops and retailers, because they will be able to do personal offers for players. Also we know that many game organisers are working tightly with shops and retailers. That means that while buying a ticket for a game, a player can make additional purchases from a local shop that has joined the AIRSOFTRACKER global system. These functionalities will be available soon when we will have a good amount of gamer organisers and players.” AA: You’re already working with a number of shops and organisations already; who are they? Ali: “Yes, we are really proud to have Airborne Airsoft, Pro Airsoft Supplies, Wolf Armouries, The Cage Airsoft, Red One Airsoft, StrikeForce CQB, Swindon Airsoft and many more among our supporters!”
Ali: “There are a lot of things that we plan to build for the sake of airsoft community and industry as a whole. For instance a universal airsoft search engine for finding friends, game sites, shops, tournaments and more, that we are about to launch. Another thing is adding ratings, comments and media sections to game events pages. We all know how players love to share their videos with their gameplay. But a big problem is that people don’t know where, when a video was shot, what players were participating and what was the actual waypoint of the player. “If we talk about in-game process, than we see a great potential there too. Modern technology is moving from virtual reality back to real life but with own enhancements. Virtual games with augmented reality features are getting more popular. We personally think that it perfectly suits airsoft. It is a very hard task to connect a real battle game with some technological features from mobile app and not ruining the real gameplay. “We already have a vision, mobile app prototypes and developments that are intended to give game organisers more control over gameplay than they have today. It can be achieved only with collaboration with game site owners and game organisers. That’s why I will use this great opportunity that Airsoft Action kindly provides and ask game organisers who are interested in having such piece of technology on their games to contact us! “We are now only in the beginning of a long journey.” AA: If someone reading this article likes the sound of what you offer what should be their next step? Ali: “It’s very easy; go to airsoftracker.com, create your global airsoft player profile, find a game you like, select one of the sides and ticket for it and register for a game. “Every signed up user is actually considered to be a player. It’s very easy to start creating your game events; just create your own game organiser page on your profile home screen. You can do it even if you’re an individual game organiser. After we verify your information you will be able to publish your games and start selling tickets. “For actual cooperation, interested parties are encouraged to contact me directly at ali.baloi@airsoftracker. com or by calling +44(0)7512 639968.” AA: Thanks for speaking to me Ali and I wish you and your team every success! In the very nicest way, Ali and his “cybergeeks” have created something rather unique and splendid and I hope that it will indeed help to connect the airsoft community not only locally but globally!
www.airsoft-action.online
67
POCKET ROCKETS:
H&K MP7A1
68
November 2016
JERRY NOONE STARTS THE FIRST OF A NEW SERIES OF REVIEWS DEDICATED TO CQB-READY “POCKET ROCKETS” BY PICKING UP A GREAT LITTLE REPLICA FROM UMAREX, IN THE FORM OF THE FULLY LICENCED, TRUE 1:1 SCALE HECKLER & KOCH MP7A1 GBB. THE SUB MACHINE GUN (SMG) has been with us for many years now and, in fact, their use as a military weapon can be traced back to the MP18 Bergmann, used by Stormtroopers in the latter stages of WWI. Chambered for 9mm Parabellum and feeding from a box or “snail drum” magazine, the MP18 proved devastating in the close confines of trench fighting, although with its distinctive wooden furniture it was as long and heavy as many modern day assault rifles! The Bergmann did bring focus to many military minds around the globe though and by WWII most armies had some form of SMG available, albeit in limited numbers. Even in the early days of WWII the German army had the 9mm MP38, soon to be the cheaper to manufacture MP40. With its folding stock and 500 rounds per minute rate of fire, it proved the ideal weapon for a new form of mechanised warfare. We Brits had the STEN. All metal, bug ugly, easy to produce and simple to maintain, the STEN was a wartime expedient that was available in vast quantities when it was most needed. The Americans of course had the venerable Thompson, followed by the M3 “Grease Gun”, the Russians had the PPSh-41 followed by the PPS-42/43, the Aussies had the Owen and even the Japanese had the Nambu Type 100. One trend that WWII brought was that SMGs needed to be produced in large quantities, quickly and relatively cheaply. The fine-machining and beautiful wood furniture present on early models soon disappeared, being replaced with stamped
POCKET ROCKETS H&K MP7 NAVY
parts and plastics. The weapons themselves became generally shorter, lighter and more compact. Folding stocks became more and more common as troops began to deploy from vehicles on a regular basis.
MACHINE PISTOL WORLD!
During the Cold War years numerous weapons such as the Samopal CZ25, the Uzi, the Ingram MAC10/11 and the Steyr MPi 69 were produced, which took things in another direction entirely. All of these weapons, albeit that their internal operations were unique, shared one thing in common: they all housed the magazine in the pistol grip. All of them were relatively lightweight, with folding or collapsible stocks which made them very short indeed; in the case of the Ingram this was a miniscule 269mm or 10.69 inches when the wire stock was collapsed! All of them used pistol calibre ammunition, in the main 9mm Parabellum but gave vehicle-mounted personnel the option to carry a fully controllable weapon capable of automatic fire. During the latter part of the 20th Century as terrorist threats became greater, the short SMG and Machine Pistol soon became a regular sight amongst bodyguard, police and SF teams. If anyone out there remembers the attempted assassination of US President Ronald Reagan in 1981, you’ll also undoubtedly remember that one of his bodyguards was seen brandishing an Uzi which miraculously appeared from under his suit jacket! At this point I truly believe we entered the era of the Personal Defence Weapon, or PDW.
THE RISE AND RISE OF THE “PDW”
When it came to military and police markets one brand pretty much ruled the roost. From the late 1960s onwards the Heckler & Koch (H&K) MP5 series dominated the SMG/Machine Pistol market and has continued to be the “weapon of choice” for many units to this day. Sure enough there was a PDW variant of the MP5, the K or “Kurz” (meaning “short”). This, however, had no stock, sliding, folding or otherwise until the early 1990s when a side-folding synthetic stock was added and the model was renamed the MP5K-PDW. This marked another important turning point, as a premier manufacturer of SMGs began officially using the term. At the same time, H&K were looking in new directions as well. NATO requirements in 1989 called for a PDW and by 2001 H&K had the first of their MP7 models in production. Body armour became the norm rather than the exception and the older, pistol calibre weapons proved ineffective against such protection. H&K developed 4.6 x 30mm ammunition that was able to defeat the type of armour often found in the hands of terrorist and criminals but that produced minimal felt recoil and in response to the NATO requirement they developed a weapons platform around the ammunition. The MP7A1 was manufactured mainly of carbon fibre reinforced polymer with metal components only where strictly necessary. The weapon was fitted with a removable full-length MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) rail on the top of the receiver for mounting a variety of optional targeting devices and a folding foregrip which allowed great muzzle control. Folding iron sights were fitted as standard to the top rail or an optional 24-hour reflex sight could be attached in seconds without tools. The MP7A1 handled like a pistol yet allowed targets to be engaged like a rifle. With its 7-inch barrel the MP7A1 was and is capable of firing 10 shot semi-automatic groups at 45 metres of less than 2 inches! Unlike competing designs, the handgunlike appearance (not to mention the similarity to other tried and tested weapons like the Uzi) and fully ambidextrous design of the MP7A1 ensured immediate acceptance by several of the world’s leading special operations units and due to its light weight, small size and minimal width, the MP7A1 was especially suitable for VIP protection details, pilots, drivers, guards and support personnel who required hands-free carry of their defensive weapon while performing other tasks.
“ONCE THE 40 ROUND MAG IS GASSED-UP AND LOADED YOU SIMPLY SNAP IT UP INTO THE PISTOL GRIP; THIS IS AS INTUITIVE AS HAND-MEETING-HAND AND YOU’RE SOON READY TO ROCK AND ROLL. THE COCKING HANDLE PULLS REARWARD AND WHEN YOU RELEASE IT THE BOLT SLAMS INTO BATTERY WITH A VERY SATISFYING THUMP.”
A WORTHY REPLICA!
There have been a number of airsoft replicas of the MP7A1 that have come to market, yet until the fully licenced version from Umarex appeared, all of them ultimately had design flaws which greatly took away from the appearance and even handling. Some were undersized, some had added fins to get around the licence situation and all, in my opinion, lacked that “certain something”. With the launch of the Umarex (VFC) version this all changed. The Umarex H&K MP7 is completely 1:1 in scale and offered in both electric and gas versions. I first came across them when I visited my friends at Fire Support a while back and was immediately taken, especially as they were showing not just the stock MP7A1 but also an MP7 “Navy”, but more on that later. When I was offered a gas blowback version to review I was overjoyed. The MP7A1 arrived with me in its striking black and red H&K “No Compromise” box and the weight and heft of the replica immediately impressed me. It felt 100% solid and workmanlike and looked simply stunning. The attention to detail on this replica is really first rate and the quality of build superlative. The A1 benefits from the folding foregrip as standard. If you want rails then as the “Navy” variant, the MP7 mimics the set-up used by SEAL Team Six with the front folding foregrip replaced by a tri-rail with accessory positions at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Both variants come, of course, with the full- length top rail and iron sights adjustable for windage and elevation fitted as standard. The three-position sliding stock is full metal, as are all the other parts that should be, with the polymer of the main body replicated perfectly; trust me when I say you will not find a mould line or blemish anywhere on the Umarex! Being the gas version, the MP7 handles pretty well too. As the gas is held in the magazine the replica functions pretty much like the real thing; it has “working parts” rather than
www.airsoft-action.online
69
POCKET ROCKETS H&K MP7 NAVY
a big old gearbox inside. I’m a big fan of gas airsoft replicas, although many I have tried have suffered from gas-venting problems, especially on cold, damp British mornings. Luckily I received the MP7 during the summer months and thus far it has performed flawlessly and the gas guns are just getting better and better.
READY TO GET IT ON!
Once the 40 round mag is gassed-up and loaded you simply snap it up into the pistol grip; this is as intuitive as handmeeting- hand and you’re soon ready to rock and roll. The cocking handle pulls rearward and when you release it the bolt slams into battery with a very satisfying thump. The safety lever is fully ambidextrous with clear pictograms indicating Safe, Semi and Full, so it’s easy to select mode of operation and this is when the fun REALLY starts. Switching to semi sends BBs off downrange with each squeeze of the sensitive trigger and the bolt hammers back and forth with each one. Switching up to full-auto gets even better as the motion and inertia of the bolt going to and fro really puts a little punch into your shoulder. When the magazine is empty the bolt, like with the real deal, locks to the rear. It’s then a case of mag out, mag in, hit the bolt release (again ambidextrous) which is located above
the trigger and you’re good to go all over again. If you need to adjust the hop this is achieved by turning the fake gas adjuster immediately over the muzzle; and once set, the hop stays set. For testing I made use of .20g HARDBALL BBs and NUPROL 4.0 High Performance Gas and over a series of 10 shot strings ended up with a consistent average muzzle velocity of 1.04 Joule/335fps. This was during pretty warm weather which would indicate to me that the replica is site friendly out of the box, although as with all gas guns I’d suggest that you chronograph regularly, especially on very hot days. The MP7, although short, shoulders and handles well. Over iron sights the accuracy was good out to the usual airsoft engagement distances, which was impressive but when I added a red dot sight things got interesting real fast. The MP7 is by its very nature an excellent CQB gun and with the addition of a sight that lets you keep both eyes open makes target acquisition a snap, it becomes an absolute dominator. Overall I have to say that the MP7A1as a gas variant was all that I’d hoped for and more. It’s a small but solid package that delivers performance from the word go and priced at £245 for the A1 the £270 for the “Navy”, you’re really not paying a lot for what is a replica in all ways. The MP7 comes with a single 40 round magazine so you’ll undoubtedly be looking to acquire more of these and this sadly, as with all gas replicas, is where things start to get a little pricey. You’ll need to buy VFC/Umarex specific magazines; these are pretty easy to find but expect to pay £45 for a 20 rounder and £55 for a 40. The really good thing about the Umarex replicas though (and this goes for all of them), is that they are all fully licenced. Rather than buying in some unlicensed copy that’s nearly but not quite, an MP7, you can buy confidently in the UK and benefit from both the accuracy of replication and true warranty support. The MP7 GBB is one hell of an airsoft replica, backed up by very good people and a solid warranty. Again, trust me when I say you can really buy one of these with confidence and you’ll still be enjoying that bolt slamming back and forth for years to come! My thanks go to www.fire-support.co.uk for supplying the review sample. If you fancy the look of the MP7 then please pay their website a visit for more information and a host of other great CQB-ready creations.
www.airsoft-action.online
71
BRITISH ARMY PARACHUTE REGIMENT NORTHERN IRELAND INTERNAL SECURITY
GARETH “GADGE” HARVEY WRITES ABOUT WHAT SOME SAW AS A CONTROVERSIAL DEPLOYMENT, AS “THE PARAS” ARRIVED IN 1970”S NORTHERN IRELAND. FOR ALMOST FOUR DECADES the British Army fought a “shadow war” in Northern Ireland. A “war” nearly every regiment and corps served in with distinction over those 40 years but it would be 2nd Battalion “The Paras” that would become synonymous with “The Troubles”. The “cherry beret” of the Parachute Regiment would be feared and respected in equal measures by both Republicans and Loyalists alike. From their initial deployment in 1971 through to the Good Friday agreement, “2PARA” would spend more time in the province than any other British army battalion. To many, the decision to deploy the Parachute Regiment was controversial. While every branch of the British Army of the 70s and 80s could be considered to be “exceptional” by global standards, The Paras were truly the British Army”s elite shock troops. As one veteran succinctly stated “The British Army as a whole trains for defence but The Paras… they train mainly to attack!” For certain, sending the young men of 2 Para to Ulster certainly sent a message to the IRA and other republican factions that the British Army meant business. Their formidable reputation was accompanied by their distinctive camouflage Denison smocks and maroon berets (or Para pattern helmets) that set them aside from regular army units and made it clear when the army had sent “the Paras” into a “hard area”.
72
November 2016
AGGRESSIVE ESPRIT DE CORPS
Regrettably, the Paras aggressive training and elite esprit de corps were contributing factors in the tragic “Bloody Sunday” shootings, when the battalion was sent into counter a civil rights march which turned into a riot and the resulting confused skirmishing left 13 civilians dead. At the time it was widely believed the battalion were reacting to shots fired from terrorist gunmen in the crowd but later enquiries have since disputed these claims. Despite this tragedy the Parachute Regiment continued to be a very visible presence on the street of Northern Ireland, preventing militant groups from terrorising the population and backing up the British Government and the Northern Ireland police force in establishing law and order. As we have mentioned, the Parachute Regiment pride themselves on being the elite of the British Army (notably a high proportion of SAS volunteers also come from the Parachute Regiment) and scornfully look down on other infantry units as “crap hats”, unworthy to wear the prized maroon beret and jump wings of the regiment. One can easily understand this pride when one considers that after completing an already arduous Combat Infantry Course, each recruit then has to undertake the gruelling “Pegasus Company” and Parachute training courses (usually referred to as “P Company”, or simply “PCoy”). Over the course of five
Warriors PARACHUTE REGIMENT – NI INTERNAL SECURITY
“BEFORE CUSTOM MADE PROTECTION WAS AVAILABLE MANY SOLDIERS SIMPLY TAPED FOOTBALL SHIN PADS OR ROLLED UP THICK MAGAZINES SUCH AS “PLAYBOY” AROUND THEIR LOWER LEGS TO TAKE THE STING OUT OF THROWN MISSILES AND, TO A SIMILAR DEGREE, THE RESPIRATOR HAVERSACK COULD SOMETIMES BE SEEN WORN AS A “SPORRAN” TO PROTECT THE MORE SENSITIVE AREAS!” days, eight strenuous tests must be completed to earn the right to a “cherry beret” and “wings”. These include several runs and route marches, such as 10-mile run with a 16Kg bergan to be completed in just under two hours, a further two mile run to be completed with a bergan in under 18 minutes, cross country “steeplechase” manoeuvres, a “log race” with team of recruits carrying a large wooden pole, a race with a weighted stretcher simulating a casualty and a killer 20-mile endurance march to be completed in just over 4 hours. Other tests as part of P Company incorporate an aerial assault course suspended high above the ground, called “The Trainasium” and finally, close-combat “milling” against another recruit, in which they have 60 seconds to display a maximum amount of aggression and fighting spirit. Having completed all of these tasks will still not make you a “Para”, however, jump training is also required which further tends to weed out those without nerve and a “do or die” attitude! The Basic Parachute Course is a further three weeks of training, starting with simulated jumps and cumulating in simulated tactical jumps with full kit. All of these jumps must be successfully completed before the coveted “wings” are awarded, the recruit is no longer a “hat” and is now considered a fully blooded “Tom” by the regiment. Our “warrior” this month represents a Private of 2 Para preparing to take part in “internal security” operations and supress a planned riot. As he waits outside an overt observation post (OP) he checks his equipment for the coming operation.
UNIQUE COMBAT EQUIPMENT
As we have previously touched upon, the Paras have, since WWII, worn a distinctive “Para smock” in brushstroke camo. For a long time they continued to wear their unique camo scheme while the rest of the army wore the well-known DPM pattern, until “Para smocks” began to be manufactured in DPM in the 1980s. Our Para here wears a 68 pattern combat smock (as worn by regular infantry units) but has opted to wear the much older “50 pattern” sateen OG trousers. These, alongside the similar 60 pattern trousers were favoured by the Paras as they again set them apart from “hat” units. DMS pattern boots (a modernised rubber soled version of the WWII ammo boot) are worn here with woollen puttees which both bloused the trousers and prevented loose stones and dirt entering the boots tops. Accompanying his basic uniform are a “scrim scarf” made of green netting, popular with soldiers at the time but actually intended to be a camouflage “face veil” and the hard-earned maroon beret with its winged Parachute cap badge. Most importantly though, it is apparent our Private is well equipped for the worst of eventualities in the expected riot. Prominently his protective equipment includes a fragmentation vest. These were often US M69 models purchased from the American Government as Vietnam War army surplus but by the 1980s most British Soldiers were wearing models with improved covers, or the more discrete INIBA (improved Northern Ireland body armour) vest worn under the smock. Protecting our trooper’s hands are a pair of black leather “Northern Ireland gloves” with padded sections on the backs of the hands. These pads were originally intended to protect the back of the hand when leaning “in the aim” against walls and rubble. There are, www.airsoft-action.online
73
Warriors PARACHUTE REGIMENT – NI INTERNAL SECURITY
For a short duration “riot duty”, combat equipment is kept to a minimum and is restricted to “reduced order webbing” on his belt. Shoulder yokes are dispensed with to aid wearing the bulky M69 flak vest and his 58 pattern webbing belt kit consists only of his ammunition pouches, an older “44 pattern” water bottle carrier (again favoured by the Paras and easier to use than the 58 pattern versions) and his respirator haversack. As well as being adequately protected out Paratrooper is also incredibly well armed. His primary weapon is the venerable 7.62 L1a1 Self Loading Rifle or “SLR”. Troops in Northern Ireland were often only allowed to carry 20 rounds of ammunition for self-defence and had to follow strict protocols on when and where they could open fire, which was stated on a “yellow card” in the Northern Ireland “aide memoire” issued to them. The astute will notice that the rifle sling is linked to the back sling loop of the rifle and looped around the wrist rather than attached to both sling loops. This creative expedient prevented a quick and strong rioter from pulling the rifle away from the solider by simply yanking at the rifle’s sling. While the rifle would not usually be taken into the “scrum” of a riot, our Para’s other weapons are more suited to a “non-lethal” engagement. Slung over his back our soldier carried a “rubber bullet gun” capable of firing baton rounds. As these could potentially cause fatalities there were also strict engagement rules. One again, however, a former Northern Ireland veteran explained how a “good shot” could bounce the rubber bullet off the pavement and into the groin or stomach of a rioter to “take the wind out of their sails”! At times members of a riot duty would need to force their way into the lines of rioters and “snatch” the ring leaders out to try and diffuse the situation… hoping that arresting the agitators would persuade those less committed to give up and to this end our man carries a military police baton to fight his way through the mob! This month’s “warrior” may be seen as a controversial impression to many and you may want to be careful and play the role “sensitively” if you adopt it for a Sunday skirmish. The good news though is that despite becoming “classic” kit in its own right, it’s still all relatively cheap to purchase and easy to find - and best of all, ARES have just reissued their cracking SLR AEG!
however, anecdotal accounts of soldiers filling the “cushions” with lead shot for a heftier “punch” in a riot. Toward the latter days of “the troubles” the army would issue plastic and foam shin and forearm guard protectors as a “well-schooled” rioter could expertly bounce a stone off the floor into the shins or the groin. Before custom made protection was available many soldiers simply taped football shin pads or rolled up thick magazines such as “Playboy” around their lower legs to take the sting out of thrown missiles and, to a similar degree, the respirator haversack could sometimes be seen worn as a “sporran” to protect the more sensitive areas!
RUBBER BULLETS AND PLASTIC BBS
Further protection for a riot situation is provided by our Para’s MKV steel helmet (again an improvement of the WWII MKIII “turtle” helmet) with a reinforced ballistic visor to protect against attacks from thrown missiles, petrol bombs or acid. Many riots would result in barricades and cars being set on fire and generate immense amounts of smoke and fumes and so our Para also carries his S6 protective respirator, further enhancing the fearsome look of the “riot duties” soldier.
www.airsoft-action.online
75
ACTION AIR PRACTICAL PISTOL ARRIVES AT THE TUNNEL WITH MORE AND MORE SHOOTING CLUBS DIVERSIFYING INTO AIRSOFT PRACTICAL SHOOTING, AIRSOFT ACTION REPORTS FROM THE TUNNEL TARGET SPORTS CENTRE, THE NEW HOME OF PRACTICAL SHOOTING IN THE SOUTH WEST. SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS (SWPS) were recently invited to relocate their club to The Tunnel Target Sports Centre in Charmouth, Dorset. SWPS is one of the newest Action Air Practical Pistol Clubs to set up in the UK. Originally formed by husband and wife team Luke and Dawn Williams who are from Somerset, SWPS had been looking for a facility to call “home” since 2013 and have now set-up their club base at The Tunnel. The SWPS duo have been shooting Action Air Practical Pistol for over four years and were originally based on the Isle of Wight; getting their first taster of Practical Pistol competitions whilst shooting in association with the Isle of Wight based Practical Pistol Club, First Person Shooter (FPS). Regularly attending Level 1 Club Competitions at UKbased Practical Pistol Clubs in Burnley (NPPC), Huddersfield (Halo Mill), East Barnet (EBSC & WPPC), High Wycombe (XPSC), and the Isle of Wight (FPS) and attending Level 3 UKPSAsanctioned Competitions at the new Birmingham-based facility Bravo One (GPS), SWPS are pleased to be making progress towards establishing an Action Air Practical Pistol competition venue in the South West. The Tunnel Target Sports Centre is the UK’s premier range facility; featuring 25m, 35m, 76
November 2016
and 100m ranges, archery facilities, training facilities and a gun shop set in 15-acres of countryside off the A35 near Axminster. The Tunnel Target Sports Centre is a Home Office approved club and is affiliated with the National Rifle Association (NRA) at Bisley and offers facilities for air-gun, small bore, and full bore shooting. The former A35 road tunnel closed to traffic in 1991 and in 2009 work commenced to turn the listed structure into the Target Sports complex that first opened on 10th July 2010. Recently celebrating its 6th Birthday, The Tunnel hosted its 6th Public Annual Open Day on Sunday 21st August 2016. SWPS ran a short Action Air Steel Challenge, with shooters having three attempts at a 10-popper short course of fire, with their best time being logged and the fastest time overall throughout the day set to win a Shooting Experience Voucher to use at The Tunnel. The Open Day visitors could choose from a selection of Airsoft Pistols to use on the Practical Pistol Steel Challenge that SWPS provided, including two Custom Hi-Capa 5.1 pistols, a WE XDM, a WE M&P 40, and an ASG CZ P09. The Tunnel also provided their recently purchased ASG CZ SP01 Shadow and WE Glock 17 for the Open Day visitors to use. With 230 visitors passing through the doors of The Tunnel’s facilities during the Open Day, over 55 of those visitors chose to participate in the Action Air Steel Challenge. With ages ranging from 7 years old to 50+ years and with a lot of interest being voiced regarding the Action Air Practical Pistol practice sessions that SWPS will be running at The Tunnel, it is hopeful that the Open Day has tempted several shooting enthusiasts to favour a new discipline; looking set to further expand the Action Air community in the South West.
Practical Shooting SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS
The majority of the Open Day visitors choosing to try their hand at the Action Air Steel Challenge were people who had no previous Action Air experience; all of which seemed to enjoy the activity. Not only was the 35m range filled with a general competitiveness from the Open Day visitors being eager to beat the fastest time of the day, there was also an air of family rivalry between sons, daughters, and their parents and friends as they competed to beat each other! The prize for the fastest time on the Action Air Steel Challenge was awarded to Wayne Gillard after achieving a time of 5.82 seconds. The SWPS Action Air event at the Open Day was supported by pistol manufacturer Armorer Works and iWholesales Ltd, an importer and wholesaler of Airsoft BB guns and accessories. Herman Mok from iWholesales Ltd manned an exhibition stand during the Open Day in the 35m range alongside the SWPS Action Air Steel Challenge, displaying a variety of Airsoft Pistols, Rifles, and Shotguns. Some of the Airsoft Pistols demonstrated by iWholesales Ltd during the event included an Armorer Works Custom “Molon Labe” 1911, a WE Force Custom Glock 34, a WE MK25, a WE P38, a WE P226, a WE M92F Beretta, a KJ Works VP70, a WE Glock 34 Series Gen3 Semi-Auto Pistol, a WE 1911 Tactical MEU Pistol, and 8 x Armorer Works Custom Hi-Capa pistols. In addition to the Airsoft Pistols, iWholesales Ltd also showcased 8 x AR15 pattern rifles in various custom formats and a Saliant Arms licensed M870 APS Shotgun. SWPS were proud to present the official UK Launch of the Armorer Works Limited Edition K00001 “Blaster” pistol. The handmade Armorer choice GBB is crafted by the Armorer Works Custom Master Armorer Artisans and features brass coloured details. The SWPS-hosted Action Air event at The Tunnel’s Open Day was the 1st Public viewing of this new Airsoft gun; which is based on the pistol used by the Star Wars Character, Han Solo. The Action Air Practical Pistol activity was also supported by
RedWolf UK, ASG, and Airsoft Action Magazine. With SWPS running the Action Air Practical Pistol Steel Challenge on The Tunnel’s 35m range, the 25m range was used to showcase .22lr rifle shooting and air rifle and the 100m range hosted full bore centre fire .223 bolt action rifle shooting. In addition to these shooting disciplines, the Open Day also gave visitors the opportunity to try outdoor Archery which is another new addition to The Tunnel in 2016. In between trying the wide variety of shooting disciplines on offer during the Open Day, The Tunnel also had their boltaction .50cal and Accuracy International .338AX on display for visitors to view, along with The Tunnel’s onsite shop displaying a selection of new Falke rifle scopes and red dots. The Tunnel Target Sports Centre is the home base for the GB Olympic Pistol Team and will now also be the home base for the South West Practical Shooters Pistol Team SWPS. SWPS will be running Action Air Practical Pistol practice sessions fortnightly on Thursdays in The Tunnel’s 35m range from 1st September 2016 and are aiming to host a Level 1 Club Competition at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre in the Summer of 2017. For more information about the facilities available at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre, visit their website www.thetunnel. co.uk , email: info@thetunnel.co.uk, call 01297 560049; or email SWPS directly at: swpsclub@outlook.com Written by: Dawn Williams South West Practical Shooters (SWPS)
“SWPS RAN A SHORT ACTION AIR STEEL CHALLENGE, WITH SHOOTERS HAVING THREE ATTEMPTS AT A 10-POPPER SHORT COURSE OF FIRE, WITH THEIR BEST TIME BEING LOGGED AND THE FASTEST TIME OVERALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY SET TO WIN A SHOOTING EXPERIENCE VOUCHER TO USE AT THE TUNNEL.”
www.airsoft-action.online
77
FRENCHIE WASN’T GOING TO FETTLE THE RIFLE HE REVIEWED LAST MONTH, UNTIL SOMEONE INTERVENED…
JEFFTRON V2 MOSFET LAST MONTH WHEN I WAS reviewing the Classic Army XM16E1 I made the following observation; “I have pretty firm views on Mosfets but I’ll leave this here and see how it does.” That was my firm intention – I would leave the rifle as was, after all I don’t play loads these days, so why mess around with it? That was all well and good until Scott at LandWarrior Airsoft asked if I’d like to review the new JeffTron Version 2 Processor unit. Ah… Okay, so that’s effectively an ASCU (Airsoft Systems Control Unit) but with more options and a longer guarantee.
I could have stood on my principles… I could but, of course, I didn’t! So this month for your delectation and education I have fitted the JeffTron and I have made all the mistakes that you can make with this unit so you don’t have to! In my defence, they were not so much mistakes as the pitfalls you can reasonably expect to fall into when fitting one of these and they are all flagged up in the instructions. First things first… What exactly is the Version 2 Processor unit? You will forgive me if I dump the description from JeffTron’s website here: “Professionally made program-controlled device with motor active braking, designed for airsoft electric guns (AEG). It adds new ways of shooting, controls rate of fire, precocking, active braking and low battery indication. Device is fully integrated inside the gearbox v.2 instead of the original trigger contacts, compatible with Tokyo Marui standard.
MAIN PARAMETERS: • Easy installation inside the gearbox version 2 • Presoldered wires allows faster and easier installation into the gun, it is long enough for all kind of weapons • It preserves trigger mechanical lock in SAFE position • Six new shooting modes, one of them is unique compared processor units located outside gearbox • Adjustable burst (from factory are 3 shots, it can be changed in the range 1 10 shots) • Smooth change rate of fire using PWM motor control • Pre-cocking function for instant shot in SEMI fire • Quick first shot at reduced rate of fire • Mosfet with motor active braking 78
November 2016
Tech Talk JEFFTRON VERSION 2 MOSFET
• Adjustable strength of active braking (can be also disabled) • Low battery indication 2S and 3S Li-pol, 3S li-fe and 3S li-on • Coated with lacquer, it protects device against water • Monitoring current, voltage and temperature of Processor unit components • Trigger gun is used for programming this device, motor vibrates as a feedback for user • Programmed settings are stored in processor unit memory, so it doesn’t lose changes after disconnection the battery
FIRE MODES: • Safe - Semi – Auto (unchanged gun function) • Safe - Semi - Burst/Auto • Safe - Semi - Semi • Safe - Semi - Burst • Safe - Semi - Semi (delay between shots, motor vibration when it is ready to fire) • Safe - Burst - Burst/Auto • Safe - Semi/Burst - Burst/Auto (unique fire mode only in this drop-in processor unit)
• In package is included 1000 mm red wire 1,5qmm (AWG16) with silicone insulation • Designed for spring M180 and ROF 25bb/s. • For right function is necessary to have a functional gearbox cut off lever, selector plate, reverse latch, trigger and trigger block, as it has the standard gearbox • Specified for common batteries up to 14V (Ni-xx 8.4 - 12V, lipol 7.4 - 11.1V) • Current device consumption only 4.5 mA in idle state • Device increases gun rate of fire and battery holds longer, than with basic wiring • With active braking in semi fire mode piston isn’t partially
“AS IS OBVIOUS FROM THE MANUFACTURER’S DESCRIPTION, THERE ARE MORE FIRE MODES THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A REASONABLE STICK AT. NOW CHOICE IS A WONDERFUL THING BUT (BEING AN OCCASIONALLY GRUMPY SOD) I DO BELIEVE YOU CAN HAVE TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING.”
SPECIFICATIONS: • Only for electric airsoft guns with gearbox version 2 with switch designed according the Tokyo Marui company • Versions with universal wiring, which are long enough for all kind of weapons. Simply cut wires to the required length and attach connectors • On the devices are presoldered high quality 2 black wires 1,5 mm (AWG16) with silicone insulation, length 300 mm to the motor and 700 mm to the battery. The blue wire 0.25 mm (AWG24) with a length 300 mm is used for connection anywhere on the red cable
stretched, spring is fully released, parts in mechabox aren’t under strain and nozzle locks hop-up chamber in greater part (depends on ROF) • In weapons with very high rate of fire (ROF) active break solves multiple shots in semi mode • The braking effect is the most powerful with high torque motor • In auto fire mode piston stops in random position due the mechabox design. But it stops much faster with active brake.”
www.airsoft-action.online
79
Tech Talk JEFFTRON VERSION 2 MOSFET
…UNQUOTE! In my day job I fit a lot of ASCUs – they are invaluable for improving trigger response amongst other things and they are very good. They have their drawbacks – the micro switch has for too long been a little delicate and prone to damage by enthusiastic players. Repairing that has probably cost me what little eyesight I have left as it is the fiddliest thing I think I have ever done. Availability has always been a problem as well, which is frustrating when you are crying out for them to get guns done for customers. So the prospect of an alternative was very welcome, even if the two units proved to be complementary. The first thing to note is the position of the micro switch in the JeffTron. Instead of being directly pressed by the trigger it is activated as the trigger passes it. Beyond it is a stop block to arrest the forward movement of the trigger. This is where I would shim to reduce trigger travel but I have avoided it for this review. The small silver square below the wire on the board is the cut-off switch – this determines what state the gearbox is in at any given point. Unlike the current generation of the ASCU the JeffTron looks a little crude but I see simplicity and ease of access. The Version 2 Processor will both front and rear wire with equal ease. Moreover the unit makes use of most of the original parts of the gearbox, reducing installation time.
This is the unit mounted in a gearbox. It uses the existing cut off lever although as I discovered you may need to file that down very slightly. At the bottom of this image you can also see the manual safety which is activated by the selector plate. This is retained but it is vital that you check its function as it can bind on the wiring preventing the gun from going off safe! JeffTron warn that you should leave installation to a professional if you are unsure and I would concur with that suggestion. If you are familiar with gearboxes and confident of your soldering ability there shouldn’t be too much to concern you. If not, please find someone who knows what they are doing and I don’t mean your mate who is a whiz at upgrading guns! Installing this caused me no major problems but I did have to file the processor unit slightly to get a good fit and I went back into the gearbox twice after installation to fine tune the cut off lever and to resolve a problem with the safety. Patience and experience is key here. After the initial installation the unit self-tested correctly but tended to shoot full auto on semi every six or seven shots. The guide pointed to the cut-off lever and a lack of clearance between it and the cut-off switch. A gap of 0.5-1.0mm is recommended which is frankly difficult to measure with everything in place so I cleaned the cut-off lever and lightly filed the front edge. Although there was no appreciable difference to my eye, it solved the problem. In addition it was necessary to
slightly modify the safety lever to allow it to move freely within the gearbox. Prior to doing this it was hit-or-miss whether or not my rifle would come off safety when I selected the fire mode. Not really much use - even if it was completely accurate for the real XM16E1! As is obvious from the manufacturer’s description above, there are more fire modes than you can shake a reasonable stick at. Now choice is a wonderful thing but (being an occasionally grumpy sod) I do believe you can have too much of a good thing. For myself I prefer the basic semi/full setting as it’s correct for this rifle but I have sat and gone through the various options. They all do what they say one the box so it’s up to you to decide what you want and what suits you and your playing style best. Programming is straightforward, effected by pulling the trigger several times to select categories and to toggle options. My favourite became pulling the trigger eleven times – the factory reset – to get me back to where I need to be! I suggest not losing the instructions as I doubt you’ll remember all the options available! In operation the unit is entirely predictable and smooth. My trigger feels much like it did, which shouldn’t be any surprise. The gun’s reaction is snappy and largely unchanged from before installation. That’s to be expected given my preferred set up but with other options dialled in you can have all sorts of burst-based fun, even selecting a semi-only option if you choose. Would I recommend and fit these to other guns? In short, yes. They are fairly simple to install, the components are all of good quality, especially the wire of which there is more than enough! Small things like that make the difference between a neat install and trouble, so they do matter. I would highly recommend careful use of heat-shrink (not electrical tape!) to secure and protect the wiring loom, especially the point at which you splice the thin blue switch wire into the positive lead. It’s neater and it’s stronger. I chose to do this outside the receiver but I could have done it inside the gearbox itself. Here you can see the start wire underneath the heat-shrunk wires leading to the battery. There are plenty of choices available as far as fire control modes are concerned and in addition there is the ability to protect your batteries, especially Li-Pos, by configuring the low-battery warning system. This will warn you as the battery gets low and eventually prevent the gun from firing at all until you replace the battery.
Although the switches on the unit are both tiny, the way that they have been deployed – with the trigger and cut-off lever brushing past them rather than directly pressing upon them - should ensure long life. JeffTron obviously think so, as they offer a two-year guarantee on all their units. Frankly that’s enough to keep even a grumpy old tech like me happy. My thanks to LandWarrior Airsoft for the review unit. The JeffTron Version 2 Processor unit is available from them for £49.99 – nearly £30 less than its rivals. LandWarrior are currently carrying all the JeffTron mosfet units, including the Version 3 processor for AK, G36 and other AEGs with the version 3 gearbox.
www.airsoft-action.online
81
HT IMMERSIVE SIMULATIONS CONSTANTLY IN SEARCH OF HIS MILSIM “FIX” WHEREVER HE MAY FIND IT, THIS TIME BILL THOMAS SPEAKS TO GAZ P ABOUT HT IMMERSIVE SIMULATIONS AND THE ONGOING OP BLUE FOX MILSIM SERIES. EVERY SO OFTEN YOU HAPPEN to find a new Military Simulation group purely through a shared interest and so it was that I got talking to Gaz P; both of us have a huge interest in the “hardware” side of the events, specifically in relation to Opposing Force (OPFOR), their gear, guns and tactics. We started talking about gas rifles and their use in MilSim, just how true to life they could be made to look and how that helped in the immersion of a good scenario; it’s often the props and the “scene setting” which turn a good event into a great one and when Gaz shared some pictures of the CQB event Operation Shorthand, held at an amazing new site “CQB Bedlam”, I had to know more about his group HT Immersive Simulations! Gaz went on to tell me that “Bedlam” was opened for its first event, “Shorthand” and turned out to be an awesome venue, covering three floors, four staircases, seventy flats and over fifty other rooms including canteen, pool room and library, all making for an intense and immersive scenario site. But it was the attention to detail that really blew me away, the props, the “left behind” AKs and the intel packages and pictures pasted to the wall all helping to create an atmosphere that would draw the 82
November 2016
players into the scenario and keep them moving forwards. Recently the two of us had chance to get together and of course I wanted to know even more; this is what Gaz had to tell me. AA: Hi Gaz! Please can you tell me how and when HT Immersive Simulations (HTIS) came into being and who the team consists of? HTIS: “HTIS is an airsoft game group made by airsofters, run for airsofters. It started off as a site for my team and then later grew as we found more players that wanted a slightly more immersive experience to what they were getting; that was back in 2012 when we were mainly writing and managing games as contractors to special events. Later on myself, Matt, Pete, Sam and Simon all put our heads together and pushed towards where we are now. All with the help of some really dedicated guys that volunteered their time “Our events are geared towards more Military or Movie simulation scenarios, rather than the normal “open day” style gaming run at most airsoft organisations. We run games that rely on uniforms for team identification; our games are run in various ways from full-on 24hour survival events staying in woods in adverse weather, to intense close quarter battles inside office buildings and movie/historical based scenarios. “We also listen to our players and adjust games if they are not working and try and keep everyone having a good time. Fancy a Private Game? HTIS have a few options for this. We don’t do STAG events or birthdays, however, we do organise serious events for small groups based on themes of their
MilSim HT IMMERSIVE SIMULATIONS
choosing. We also offer team training events and assist in training with other agencies. You can always contact us if you are interested in any of this. “HTIS will also help out other Airsoft or other Sim-type events that need help organising games or immersive style events and in the past and we have organised major events for RedWolf UK and Scare Events. “We also run the “HTIS RECCE CHALLENGE”, a really gruelling game! For 24 hours and overnight in a mountain forest, a team of four has to navigate to beacon points by certain times, avoiding enemy patrols and sleep out in what they carry. There is no safe zone and no breaks. Hunter Force are given various taskings and a base camp (missions vary) and there are sometimes hostile forces to assist the RECCE team and hinder Hunter Force. If the RECCE team complete their mission a special patch is awarded, if they fail they can try again another day.” AA: Do you have a Home Site or do you use sites as you need them? If it’s the latter what type of site do you look for? HTIS: “HTIS have access to sites with diverse terrain to fight over, from urban buildings, small woods, mountain forest lands, old bunker systems and other exciting areas. Some sites are semi-permanent, while others we have access to for a very short space of time. “We have a very large, mountainous site on the Herefordshire/Wales border that has been with us from the start. However others, such as our CQB and FIBUA sites are offered on a rotation until they are destroyed or sold. These sites are often shared with Police or Military and offer some really unique places that would normally be held only for the dreams of airsofters. “We have had hospitals, huge office blocks, tower blocks and nightclubs to name a few!”
“WE RUN GAMES THAT RELY ON UNIFORMS FOR TEAM IDENTIFICATION; OUR GAMES ARE RUN IN VARIOUS WAYS FROM FULL-ON 24HOUR SURVIVAL EVENTS STAYING IN WOODS IN ADVERSE WEATHER, TO INTENSE CLOSE QUARTER BATTLES INSIDE OFFICE BUILDINGS AND MOVIE/HISTORICAL BASED SCENARIOS.” AA: What’s a normal day like at HTIS? HTIS: “It really depends on the type of event you attend but an example of a CQB day would be as follows… “We usually have a pre-arranged RV for everybody, where an escort vehicle meets players and convoys them to site (this is often required due to the security arrangements of the locations). Once through security we get everybody into the car park and then up to the safe zone/ holding area. A briefing is given which outlines the site specific “dos and don’ts”, then a safety brief as you would expect and then a scenario
www.airsoft-action.online
83
Blue Fox 2 promises to redefine large scale immer-sim games in the UK. If you've ever wanted to fight over planes, helicopters, trains, a variety of buildings and woodland spanning a total of over 350 acres then this is the event for you, you will even be able to fight across one of the UK's shortest registered motorways! We are proud to be working in partnership with some of the biggest and best brands in airsoft to ensure an exciting and unique experience to players and will have a number of retail stands present as well as an onsite restaurant and bar to enjoy during the Friday evening. We are also pleased to announce that all bookings will automatically be entered into a raffle to win a brand new CZ805 Bren, or an Accuracy International AW308 courtesy of ASG!
Find us: On Facebook: @htisbluefox Online: www.hittakers.co.uk
Proudly supporting:
MilSim HT IMMERSIVE SIMULATIONS
brief to give everybody the taskings for the day. At the CQB sites we usually run a “broken day” like you would expect at open sites. This allows breaks for reloading, re-briefing and, most importantly, refreshment. The day is tasking and scenario based and no “winning” side keeps people more likely to play honestly. Each side will dictate the flow of the day by completing or not completing tasks which have a knock on effect to the scenario rather than giving them a “win”.” AA: I know that you ran OP BLUE FOX on a very prestigious site; what was the scenario for that? HTIS: “Op Blue Fox was a weekend we did in collaboration with RedWolf Airsoft in 2014. It was heavily based on the film Black Hawk Down and was run at the fantastic Rype Village facility in Lydd, Kent.” AA: And how did the scenario play out? HTIS: “We essentially allowed complete free play but used set events at certain times to ensure the story flowed. This meant that the story board was maintained by using planted characters who rallied players with them to certain areas for such occasions as the Helo Crash, at which point large pyrotechnics were used to simulate the crash before staff were put in to act as crash survivors. Players then had to either over-run or rescue the survivors (depending which side they were on). If players were happily engaged in other areas of the site for these events they were allowed to continue and it only enhanced that
feeling of chaotic city fighting as seen in the film.” AA: You’ve recently gone live with the “Warning Order” for OP BLUE FOX 2 in November 2016 on another pretty unique site; what, at this stage, can you tell me about the OP and the venue? HTIS: “Op Blue Fox 2 is being held at the fantastic Fire Service College in Moreton in Marsh. It is a huge facility with several trains, complex buildings, woodland areas, coaches, airliners, helicopters and even some awesome social facilities such as bars and cafes. The scenario for this one is a fictitious one based in the modern day world. It involves a Guerilla Organisation who are supported by Russian Forces against a NATO Coalition with the assistance of armed Police. It is a full weekend game and is £95 per person with very reasonable cafe and bar prices. The event is on the weekend of the 11th -13th November.”
AA: If anyone is interested in joining you for one of your game days, training sessions, or MilSim events where should they head for information on the HTIS schedule? HTIS: “Either pop along to our Facebook page or to the website. Public events are posted there. The CQB and FIBUA events (excluding BF2) are Members Only events due to location security. If you want to get involved with those, just simply attend our open events and you will be added to the members list.” Facebook: H T Immersive Simulations/ Op Blue Fox - HTIS- Op Blue Fox Website: www.258th.com AA: Thanks so much for speaking with me Gaz and I know that a lot of folk are already looking forward to BLUE FOX 2. I hope to see some of you there! n We have just heard from HTIS that indoor accommodation is now provided for all players, so all you need to take is a sleeping bag and roll mat/camp bed. Luxury!
www.airsoft-action.online
85
BILLY BASICS WRITES ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST DARING RAIDS OF WORLD WAR II, WHICH WAS A TOTAL SUCCESS AND YET NOT A SHOT WAS FIRED.
OPERATION “EICHE”(OAK) RESCUING BENITO MUSSOLINI YOU ARE DOUBTLESS ALL FAMILIAR with the name David Stirling, I’d be surprised if you weren’t. Stirling founded the Special Air Service (SAS), now arguably the most famous Special Forces in the world today, in the Western Deserts of WW2. Stirling, a young Guards Officer was wounded during a training exercise and as a result of his injuries was confined to a hospital bed in Cairo, it must have been maddening for a character like Stirling, who was a man of action and adventure, to be cooped up in a ward unable to do anything. Stirling, a student at Cambridge, had been planning an ascent of Mount Everest when the war started and the young man rushed home to enlist. He lay on his bed and seethed with energy and ideas to take the fight to the Germans and give them a bloody nose, his vision was for small teams of highly trained men who were fearless and cunning, who would dare and win. Stirling’s repeated attempts to try and get his plan in front of the top brass met with rejection after rejection. Undeterred and still on crutches,
86
November 2016
as if to exemplify the motto that the SAS were to live by “Who Dares Wins”, he scaled a fence, eluded a guard and broke into a senior General’s office to present his idea, which was agreed …and the rest is history. Otto Skorzeny, a young German officer, was cut from similar cloth to the young British Guards officer. Fighting on Eastern Front, Skorzeny was wounded in the back by shrapnel during an action against the enemy. Even though he was quite badly wounded Skorzeny would only accept the most basic first aid, bandage and an aspirin before insisting to be returned to the positions occupied by his men. A few hours later he succumbed to his injuries and collapsed and was medically evacuated from the front to recuperate. Men like Stirling and Skorzeny don’t sit still for long (well not voluntarily anyway) but when they do, or are forced to due to incapacitation or injury, their minds are seldom idle. Skorzeny burned with the same fire that fuelled Stirling to give the enemy a bloody nose. Not long after he left hospital but still not yet fit to return to the front and active service, he was given a staff job until he was fully recovered. Skorzeny filled his time reading and studying every paper and document that he could lay his hands on to do with guerrilla tactics and small team raids.
Famous Raids OPERATION OAK
Fast forwarding to the night of the 24th July 1943 and out of the dark skies above an Italian hilltop resort known as Gran Sasso, sixteen gliders appeared. Silent apart from the gentle creaking of the leather and canvas, they circled, slowly descending like keeneyed vultures towards a dying zebra. Their target the hotel below. The pilots scanned the ground for signs of the enemy, seeing none they headed for their landing sites. Rolling and bouncing onto the grass they juddered to a halt and Skorzeny and his Paratroopers leapt out with an Italian General in tow and dashed towards the hotel. It was only a few short years since he had been released from hospital and yet his exploits and daring would lead Winston Churchill to declare Skorzeny the most “Dangerous man in Europe”. But who or what was Skorzeny and his men after? A few months earlier the Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini, who had allied Italy with Germany’s war machine, had been toppled by the Italian Grand Council of Fascism who voted a motion of no confidence against Mussolini. On the same day, the king replaced him with Marshal Pietro Badoglio and had
him arrested. Hitler was absolutely furious - and desperate not to lose such a valuable ally. Under personal orders from Adolf Hitler, Captain Otto Skorzeny and a force of German Paratroopers were ordered to undertake a rescue attempt to liberate the Italian Dictator from the clutches of his own countrymen. The Italians were aware that Hitler wanted him back so they kept moving Mussolini from place to place, in the run up to the raid Skorzeny, using a network of spies and informants on the ground, was tracking him and looking for a vulnerable point to strike. The Italians initially moved him from and too a series of island hideouts in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy, Skorzeny and his team of dogged trackers were hot on their tales though. On one occasion Skorzeny’s sources led the hunt to an isolated island. He wanted to confirm for himself visually that Mussolini was there before he committed to planning and carrying out the assault. Commandeering a Luftwaffe pilot and plane he took to the skies to get eyes-on. The plane passed over the island while Skorzeny trained his camera acquiring
“SILENT APART FROM THE GENTLE CREAKING OF THE LEATHER AND CANVAS, THEY CIRCLED, SLOWLY DESCENDING LIKE KEEN-EYED VULTURES TOWARDS A DYING ZEBRA. THEIR TARGET THE HOTEL BELOW. THE PILOTS SCANNED THE GROUND FOR SIGNS OF THE ENEMY, SEEING NONE THEY HEADED FOR THEIR LANDING SITES.”
www.airsoft-action.online
87
Badger Tac Tuesday - Friday 12:00 - 18:00 Saturday 10:00 - 17:00 01296-658600 | www.badgertac.com enquiries@badgertac.co.uk
Serving Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and beyond.
Dedicated Gas & AEG Showrooms
Accessories & Pre-owned Tactical / Survival Kit Services:
Sales Repairs Upgrades Custom Builds Advice
Game Days 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month Private Hire Corporate Events Team Building
Famous Raids OPERATION OAK
Hauptsturmf¸hrer Otto Skorzeny squeezed as a third passenger in the plane to accompany Mussolini and his liberation. Skorzeny got the Knight’s Cross.
images as they flew overhead but as he neared the island, another aircraft swept in behind them. Such was the concern for Mussolini’s security that they had arranged air cover and after a brief pursuit Skorzeny and his pilot were shot down, landing in the sea. They were rescued and resumed the search; Mussolini was of course moved elsewhere. During the research I read a report that he was shot down a second time but this was unconfirmed although it makes for an illuminating aspect to the tenacity of Skorzeny. Sometime later, hunting for clues the team intercepted a coded Italian radio message. Skorzeny used the reconnaissance provided by his agents and informants, cross referenced against what they already knew and determined that Mussolini was now being imprisoned at the Campo Otto Skorzeny (the tall man to the right of Mussolini) and Imperatore Hotel. A German Fallschirmjäger on the way to the Fieseler Storch luxurious ski resort during Operation Oak. high in the Apennine Mountains. This time they could not risk a further reconnaissance flight, they would have to muster what information they had to act quickly before “El Duce” was spirited away again. Back to the night of the 24th July 1943 and the gliders swooped out of the darkness and landing on the mountain, only one crashed in the end, causing minor injuries. Out leapt Skorzeny quickly followed by General Fernando Soleti of the Polizia and the rest of the paratroopers. Up against them as they sprinted towards the hotel were over 200 well-equipped Carabinieri guards. At the first opportunity as the Italian guards emerged to find out what was going on Skorzeny deployed his secret weapon. General Fernando Soleti got to his feet and strode towards them with Skorzeny at his side covering him, the rest of the paratroopers had no doubt gone to ground and were inching forward training their weapons on targets and nervously waiting for the shooting to start. Soleti launched into a blistering tirade accusing the Italians all of treason, as they emerged from the building he ripped into them, they would all hang for what they had done. However there was a way out for them, lay down their weapons hand over “El Duce” to him
and they would live. Skorzeny’s troops then overwhelmed Mussolini’s captors without a single shot being fired. While General Soleti was congratulating himself, there was one more thing to take care of, they weren’t quite out of the woods yet. Skorzeny dashed inside the hotel hastening from room to room until he found what he sought, he attacked the radio operator and his equipment smashing it to prevent the QRF being called in. Skorzeny then formally greeted Mussolini with ”Duce, the Führer has sent me to set you free!” To which Mussolini replied ”I knew that my friend would not forsake me!” Within minutes the air outside was filled with the noise of an approaching aircraft, it taxied to the front of the hotel, Skorzeny and Mussolini jumped aboard and were gone. Mussolini was flown from Campo Imperatore to Vienna, where he stayed overnight at the Hotel Imperial and was given a hero’s welcome. Operation Oak was in fact led by First Lieutenant Baron von Berlepsch and commanded by Major Otto-Harald Mors, both Fallschirmjäger Officers. But as the result of a propaganda coup organised by Heinrich Himmler and propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, Skorzeny and his Waffen-SS troopers were granted the majority of the credit for the operation.
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini boards the Fieseler Storch that flew him out of captivity.
www.airsoft-action.online
89
THE WIDOWMAKER THE M16, WHY WAS IT SO VERY BAD? FRENCHIE RETURNS TO THE SUBJECT OF THE M16 AND WHY THE REAL-STEEL WEAPON GAINED SUCH AN AWFUL REPUTATION. LAST MONTH I REVIEWED THE Classic Army M16E1 (XM16E1 to be utterly pedantic) and frankly I raved about it. In truth, had I been reviewing the original rifle, the review might have been very different. Since Airsoft Action kindly gives us all a bit of slack as far as subject matter goes, I thought it might be both interesting and (hopefully) informative to try and tell the story of the adoption of the M16 and why it suffered so many problems, resulting in a reputation which still dogs it to this day, many decades later. Unusually, I will try and add a selective bibliography at the end of this piece for those of you who want to read further, although some of it is tortuous I warn you! The US Military had been looking at small calibre, high velocity (SCHV) ammunition for many years prior to the advent of the AR-15. Despite the “big bore” fans it was widely recognised that there was a limited need for infantrymen to engage the enemy at a thousand meters and that there was a definite advantage to smaller, lighter military ammo in terms of increasing the amounts each soldier was capable of carrying. This was discussed prior to the adoption of the M1 Garand, with serious consideration being given to a .276 calibre round, recommended as far back as 1928. This was apparently countermanded by Gen. MacArthur but in truth, the presence of surplus 30.06 ammo and the Government’s unwillingness to stump up the cash to produce new ammunition probably had as much to do with it.
90
November 2016
Fast forward to the 1950’s and Eugene Stoner, working for the ArmaLite division of Fairchild, patented a new gas operating system for rifles and designed it the AR-10, a 7.62mm calibre forerunner of the AR-15. At the same time the Department of Defence (DOD) were looking for a replacement for the venerable M1 Garand and were leaning towards the Springfield M14 rifle – a selective fire weapon based on the M1 but fed by a 20 round box magazine. The Army looked at the AR-10 but at that point the M14 had formally been adopted as the basic military rifle. The DOD lost interest in the .223 project but others were convinced of its merits. Although a reasonable rifle, the AR10 failed to garner many orders but the concept interested General Wyman of the Infantry Board and School at Fort Benning. Stoner and Armalite were invited to join a weapons program which would result in the AR-15. Wyman was sufficiently impressed to order 10 of the new AR-15 rifles for testing. Stoner based his new weapon on the Remington 0.222 sporting round and the initial results were very encouraging. The Army liked the low weight of the rifle and the low recoil impulse which, in theory at least, should improve marksmanship. Enter General LeMay of the US Air Force. The USAF was looking to replace its ageing M1 and M2 carbines with a modern rifle and after being given the opportunity to try the
Feature THE M16
AR-15 for himself, LeMay frankly made a damned nuisance of himself for years trying to get Congressional approval for the purchase. LeMay faced serious opposition and may have failed were it not for the increasing US involvement in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) and the change of administration following the election of John F Kennedy and his appointment of Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defence. In 1962 LeMay’s request for 8,500 rifles was finally approved, however, history was also taking a decisive hand as the AR-15 was going to Vietnam in the hands of military advisers and as a direct result of Project Agile, a project to find a rifle suitable for the generally smaller soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In contrast to what would come later, the initial reports were highly favourable; the rifle was light and manoeuvrable in jungle conditions, it was reliable and accurate and demonstrated a high level of lethality, the so-called “meat ax” effect. It would subsequently emerge that this vaunted lethality was the result of a light bullet travelling at the very limits of ballistic stability, a situation which didn’t actually improve accuracy at all. Regardless, Project Agile reported that the AR-15 was far superior to any other military rifle in service at that point. The Army and the DOD weren’t so convinced and the machinations that went on during the testing phase of the AR15 are worthy of a book in themselves, however, one example will suffice… Whilst undergoing arctic testing by the Ordnance Corps (who had previously been solely responsible for the provision of military weapons), reports emerged of serious problems with function and accuracy. Gene Stoner immediately flew to the testing facility in Alaska where he found key components missing from the test rifles and foresights held in place with welding rod, rather than the taper pins designed and supplied for the purpose. As soon as he corrected these “faults” the rifle once again performed as expected. There is much speculation that the Ordnance Corps did not like (and did not want) the AR-15 but Robert McNamara took an opposite view. He eventually dealt with the problem as he saw it by effectively disbanding the Ordnance Corp. making the acquisition of the AR-15 a commercial exercise. So far, so – okay… McNamara ended procurement of the M14 and the Army found itself effectively being told to replace them with this new rifle – now officially classified as the M16. Since life is never entirely straightforward, the Army demanded changes to the AR-15 which had performed so well in testing. The most notable addition was the bolt forward assist (BFA). The Army did not like the idea that the action in the M16 could not be manually closed. If the M16 failed to chamber a round, the soldier had no choice but to recharge the weapon. Had they but known it, they were simply storing up problems for the future. It is often suggested that the BFA was insisted upon after the problems with the rifle became apparent but this is belied by the evidence. The Army insisted… and they got it. Most USAF M16 variants were never fitted with the BFA and none of the weapons evaluated during Project Agile had them. Stoner himself was adamantly opposed to the change deeming it utterly unnecessary and a potential hazard. Insufficient cleaning rods were provided – one per rifle - but no spares were available in theatre. No bore cleaning brushes were ordered until matters had become almost desperate although, again, Stoner had insisted upon their importance. Soldiers were told that the new rifle required no regular cleaning. Unlike the M14, the bore and chamber of the M16 were not chrome-lined. It was believed that the high quality steel used would resist corrosion sufficiently without the addition of chrome. There was one final change, the significance of which would not be realised until many years later – the Army approved the use of a ball power in their issued ammunition, as opposed to the extruded propellant originally intended for the round. This decision, more than any other, was to have devastating consequences for soldiers in Vietnam. The original 5.56mm round used a powder designated IMR
4457, an extruded powder. The Army had massive stocks of ball powder (spherical) produced by the Olin Corporation. Although both powders produced similar peak pressures in the chamber, there were some very significant differences. After the Army approved the use of ball powder, Stoner was approached to give his opinion. Stoner asked, “Why are you asking me now?” Vee said, “I would have felt better if you would have approved the package.” Stoner replied, “Well, now we both don’t feel so good.” Stoner was well aware of the potential difficulties in store. I lack the space to get massively technical here. Yes, it is true that ball powder fouled the chamber and bore far
“STONER WAS APPROACHED TO GIVE HIS OPINION. STONER ASKED, “WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME NOW?” VEE SAID, “I WOULD HAVE FELT BETTER IF YOU WOULD HAVE APPROVED THE PACKAGE.” STONER REPLIED, “WELL, NOW WE BOTH DON’T FEEL SO GOOD.”” quicker than the IMR4457 but there was a more fundamental problem: rifle actions are timed so that what needs to happen occurs when it needs to happen. Specifically, the action only tries to extract the spend case once the brass has had a chance to return to its original dimensions and is no longer firmly wedged inside the chamber. Ball powder burned slower, meaning it continued to burn further along the bore. As a direct result the gas that was tapped off to operate the rifle was at a higher pressure and travelling faster than those produced by IMR4457. Consequently the bolt carrier unlocked and tried to remove the empty case before breech pressure had dropped sufficiently, the result was that the case rim would be ripped off without removing the empty. The rifle would then attempt to chamber a fresh round leading to a solid jam. The only way to clear this was by using the cleaning rod to batter
www.airsoft-action.online
91
Feature THE M16
out the empty case, which took time, something that soldiers in a firefight are notoriously short of. As a result, soldiers died when they shouldn’t have. As a result of increasing concerns from soldiers in the field a Congressional Subcommittee under the chair of Richard H. Ichord Jr. investigated the situation regarding the M16. Initially Ichord and the committee leant towards the Army view that Richard H. Ichord Jr. insufficient cleaning was the root of the problems. They were to change their minds… Amongst other evidence they heard from Gene Stoner who confirmed that the ball powder the Army accepted was responsible for the failure to extract and the increased rate of fire that was causing accelerated wear. Stoner asserted that he had argued this with the Army but to no avail. In Stoner’s opinion the use of ball powder, with the resulting higher rate of fire and extraction problems were “probably one of the worst conditions you can get...” The Committee’s report was damning, blaming the Army for insisting on using what was effectively an untested propellant, failing to properly train troops in care of the rifle and a failure to provide adequate cleaning equipment. In a telling phrase they stated that “the failure on the part of officials with authority in the Army to cause action to be taken to correct the deficiencies of the 5.56mm ammunition borders on criminal negligence.” The Army were to spend years chasing the problems that arose directly from this one decision. Chrome plating the
bore and chamber much improved extraction but the higher pressures meant that the bolt carrier was now literally battering the rear of the receiver. Colt fitted a heavier buffer to counter this which did lower the rate of fire and better cushioned the impact of the carrier but never addressed the faster-thandesigned opening of the bolt. One is left to wonder whether avoiding the Olin ball powder altogether might have made the history of the M16 very different. IMR4457 wasn’t perfect and its use might have forced the Army to accept a slightly lower muzzle velocity but this, along with proper cleaning tools, might well have avoided the catastrophic situation with the rifle in Vietnam during the 1960s. It was to take years for the reputation of the M16 to get over the disaster of its rushed deployment. Questions have rightly been raised about the true lethality of the 5.56mm round. One of the first changes to the rifle was to tighten the rifling to one twist in 12 inches from the original one twist in 14. This improved accuracy, especially with heavier bullets but meant that the rifle now tended to punch very neat holes in its targets. This debate continues to this day. The truth is that the M16 remains as controversial within the military and shooting communities as the day it was introduced. None of this takes away from Stoner’s design and the subsequent work done by Jim Sullivan after Stoner left ArmaLite. For me, the original XM16E1 is one of the most beautiful military rifles and it remains one of the most ergonomic weapons ever designed. References: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/01/09/jim-sullivan-m16vietnam/ http://www.gundigest.com/article/the-ar-16m16-the-rifle-that-wasnever-supposed-to-be http://www.jouster.com/saga_of_M16/saga_of_the_m16_part_1.pdf http://www.jouster.com/saga_of_M16/saga_of_the_m16_part_2.pdf (Culver’s account is very personal but the essential facts are borne out by further reading)
www.airsoft-action.online
93
MAKING WATER SAFE TO DRINK
SURVIVAL EXPERT, PAUL YELLAND, GIVES US SOME ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO IF YOU RUN OUT OF WATER.
Find the cleanest source of water possible
WITH THE WARMER WEATHER now upon us, skirmishing can become thirsty work, so it is important to drink plenty of fluids during game play. But what if you run out of drinking water part way through a mil-sim event where, due to the scenario, resupply is just not possible? It is extremely important that you stay well hydrated to remain fit and effective but how is this possible if you cannot replenish your water supply? Well, I will explain..... You might be thinking that finding a safe water source to drink here in the UK can’t be too difficult. After all, we are an island nation that is surrounded by the sea with plenty of inland waterways, so all you have to do is dip your water bottle into any of these and you are sorted. Unfortunately though, this is not the case as drinking untreated water is a real gamble with your health – as for drinking sea water, just don’t do it. I know of one person who decided to drink untreated river water at a skirmish site during a hot summers day. The result was forty eight hours with a stomach upset which led to them loosing more fluids and salts thus increasing their dehydration. Drinking untreated water is a gamble that you could get away with, but then again, you may not. All sources of water should be treated as potentially contaminated with one exception – rain water. As long as a clean container has been used to collect the falling rain, there is no need for any further treatment.
HOW TO COLLECT WATER
The easiest way to replenish your water supply is to find a reasonably fast flowing river or stream containing water with a clean appearance. If there are fish present in the water, then this is a good indicator that the river is healthy. If however, you
94
November 2016
notice dead fish and animals in or around the water – including (unseasonal) dying vegetation, then find an alternative location. Another issue to bear in mind is that animals will be using the river to drink from as well as you. Animals will defaecate and urinate as they gather to drink at the waters edge, so it would be wise to collect your water from further up stream and away from these areas. Step 1: Stay safe and don’t take risks near water Step 2: Identify a suitable location Step 3: Find fast flowing (white) water – the cleanest source available Step 4: Place the opening of your water bottle just under the surface of the water and fill. When replenishing my water supplies from a river, I tend to use a strong transparent plastic bag to collect the untreated water. This keeps my water bottles clean and free from any nasty organisms that could be living in the water and the fact that the bag is clear means that I am able to inspect the water quality.
FILTERING WATER
Once the river water has been collected, there are two processes that need to be carried out before the water is safe enough to drink. The first process is to filter out any small bugs and particles of dirt from the water. This can be achieved by improvising a filter from a piece of very fine woven material such as a shemagh and The straw on the left will filter and chemically purify water. The blue device on the right is a micro filter which are becoming more popular
Survival SAFE WATER
water flows down through the increasingly fine layers, smaller foreign objects are filtered out. The final layer of the filter is the cloth. The water that has been collected in the container underneath is now ready for purifying.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS BEING FILTERED OUT FROM THE WATER?
An improvised water filter
pouring the water through it and into a clean container. The alternative is to use a commercially available water filter. These are small enough to fit inside a pouch or day sack and allow you to produce filtered drinking water without having too much trouble. Some of these filters have a built in chemical purifier making the water that has passed through one of these combi-filters safe enough to drink with out any further treatment. If using a purchased filter, it is very important to know whether the water is being filtered and purified by the device or just filtered. Water which has only been filtered will still need to be purified by using other means. Always follow the manufacturers instructions on how to use the filter. It is important to note that the filtration process will not remove any chemicals that have contaminated the water. If for some reason the situation is dire, and you need to collect water but have no access to a water filter, one can be built from an empty plastic drinks bottle and a small piece of finely woven cloth. First cut the bottom off from the bottle and make two small holes through the plastic on either side near the edge of the cut. Thread some cordage through these holes so that the bottle can be suspended. Next remove the bottle lid and tie the piece of cloth around the opening of the bottle. Find some sand (usually located around the waterline on the bank of a river) The layers of the water filter. From and whilst holding the the bottom - cloth, sand, charcoal, bottle upside down put small gravel, larger stones, moss in a handful. Make sure that the sand is sitting level and then add a layer of crushed charcoal (if available) from an old camp fire. The next layer to go on top of the charcoal is some fine gravel. Keep adding layers of larger items until the bottle is full. The idea is that the bottle is hung from a stick with a container placed underneath to catch the filtered water. Unfiltered water is poured into the upside down bottle and the coarse layers catch the big objects such as flies and insects. As the
Apart from the dirt particles This little blighter is the reason why river water that are present in untreated should be filtered and purified before drinking water, there are also some organisms which, if ingested can make you very ill. These come under the categories of viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasites. Some of these can be effectively filtered out, but certain contaminants such as viruses are not removed by filtration but can be neutralised by the second stage of water treatment – purification.
PURIFYING WATER
There are two ways in which water can be purified - chemical and boiling. Chemical purification involves adding chlorine liquid / tablets to filtered water. It is important that the water is as clear as possible because dirt particles within the water can make the chemical less effective in killing off the viruses and bacteria. To use chlorine based water purification A small gas camping stove can quickly get your water boiling tablets, always follow to purify it the manufacturers instructions, but as a general rule one tablet is placed into one litre of water and left for thirty minutes. The second way to purify water is by boiling. A camping stove or open fire can be used, but realistically, you are not going to be building an open fire during a skirmish. So, using a small stove such as a jet boil is more preferable, but you are going to have to wait for the water to cool down if you want cold drinking water. It is important that the water is brought to a vigorous rolling boil. This is to make sure that all of the micro organisms within the water are killed. Once there are big bubbles being produced, the water can be considered purified and then removed from the heat source and allowed to cool. Not all sites / events have running tap water, so on occasions all water needs to be brought in. Extra bottles of water can be carried in patrol packs – but water runs out, especially with increased consumption during skirmishes in the heat of summer. When there are big bubbles present in the boiling water, it can be considered purified
www.airsoft-action.online
95
CALIBRE SHOOTING’S ANDY NIGHTINGALE GIVES US SOME TIPS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS MOST DIFFICULT OF SCENARIO.
ACTIVE SHOOTER! THE ACTIVE SHOOTER IS NOT the ordinary run of the mill bad guy, nor are they someone you can negotiate with. The active shooter is concerned with one thing and one thing only - and that is to shoot and kill as many people as possible. Active shootings can happen anywhere and at any time and normally without any prior warning. More often than not active shootings happen in highly populated areas such as schools, markets, parks and churches. The active shooter will usually have a motive for their killing spree and will be, in some cases, prepared not to come out of the situation alive. Because the active shooting can start at any moment and in almost any public area, it is virtually impossible to get the right force-onforce team to the situation and neutralise the threat before the numbers of casualties starts to escalate. In many parts of the world public servants such as school teachers, security guards, council officials and the likes take on specialised training to deal with such incidents as a first responder. This type of role dramatically reduces the incident rate before the fully trained task force or the police or security force can deploy and attend. Time is of the essence when an active shooter strikes. As an airsoft skirmisher, no matter what type of game play you enjoy, you should take a look at active shooter drills and learn the basics. When you are indulged in CQB you are, in essence, involved in an active shooter scenario. The aim of the game is to stop or neutralise the threat before it gets worse. During a hostage scenario there is little immediate threat and we can afford time to work things out before storming the building with a High Risk Entry team. There is also time to plan and rehearse the assault, maybe even negotiate a peaceful end but when the bullets, or in our case plastic, starts flying there
96
November 2016
is no time for planning. It has now become an active shooting and the shooter must be stopped as soon as possible. However, there must still be an element of caution and safety to be displayed by the incident responders or assault team. Active shooters are volatile and can be anywhere in the building or surrounding area. More often than not they are also dressed to blend in with their surroundings. I don’t mean wearing a full Gillie suit but dressed as, or like, those around them. It is paramount that all first responders and assault teams take the time to train in all aspects of CQB and learn how to evacuate a building or area safely and effectively. Most of the drills for active shooter are the same drills that you would use for any High Risk Entry situation, so if you and your team are happy with what you have, then there is no point in changing your tactics. There are, however, several ways in which you can approach the building or room that may contain the active shooter and this runs into different types of formation.
4-MAN RESPONDER FORMATIONS Y Formation: The Y formation uses two responders at the front with a third responder in the middle but a couple of paces to the rear. The forth responder is situated behind the third a further two paces as rear guard. The front left responder’s area of responsibility is to the front and left flank. The front right responder’s area of responsibility is to the front and right flank and the centre responder’s area of responsibility is to the front. It is important that the centre responder does not fire to either the left or the right flank for fear of hitting his fellow responders. The rear responder is rear protection for the team.
CALIBRE Shooting Skills ACTIVE SHOOTER
“THERE IS ALSO TIME TO PLAN AND REHEARSE THE ASSAULT, MAYBE EVEN NEGOTIATE A PEACEFUL END BUT WHEN THE BULLETS, OR IN OUR CASE PLASTIC, STARTS FLYING THERE IS NO TIME FOR PLANNING. IT HAS NOW BECOME AN ACTIVE SHOOTING AND THE SHOOTER MUST BE STOPPED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.” T Formation: The T formation is very similar to the Y formation other than it affords maximum fire power to the front and flanks. All three front responders can train the weapon to the front with the left responder covering the left flank and the right responder covering the right flank. The centre responder covers centre, left and right flak. It is possible in this formation for other members at the front of the formation to give covering support to either flank without fear of shooting fellow team members. The rear responder is the rear protection for the team. Diamond Formation: This formation gives 360 degrees of team protection during advance to contact. The responders form up in a four person diamond shape as they advance. The front responder can cover front and left and right flanks. The centre right responder covers front and right flank. The centre left responder covers front and left flank whilst the rear responder covers the rear. This formation can give maximum support in either direction simply by changing the direction of travel towards the threat. With this formation support can be given to the flanks without fear of hitting your own team members.
3-MAN RESPONDER FORMATIONS V Formation: The V Formation can be executed in two ways; either as a V formation or an inverted V formation. The V formation sees the front left responder covering front, left and right flanks with the right front responder covering the front, right and left flank. The arcs of fire cross to the front. The rear responder is rear protection of the formation. The inverted V sees all three responders facing forwards with no rear protection. This affords maximum security and firepower to the front and flanks. The inverted V is best used when the formation has an Overwatch to protect its rear. On Line Formation: The On Line formation conducts all three responders in a line with weapons trained to the front. The two end responders will cover the front and the flanks whilst the centre responder will cover the front and also the rear as they move.
2-MAN RESPONDER FORMATIONS Left and Right Formation: As the tittle suggests one responder takes the front and left flank whilst the other takes the front and right flank. This formation has maximum fire power to the front but very little to the flanks. The responders will take it in turns to turn and protect the rear as they move to contact, Single File/File: The single file formation is simply one person in front of the other. This is ideal for tight spaces or stairs. It affords little all-round protection. File is the same as single file but with the responders staggered one left, one right. This is a much more workable formation over single file. It affords maximum firepower in all directions simply by changing direction of the formation without fear of shooting the other responder.
SINGLE RESPONDER FORMATION Lone Formation: This is by far the worst case scenario to be in. If you have no backup then you may well have to go it alone. For this you must have your wits about you at all times. You will have to cover 360 degrees all at the same time. You must move quickly and with as much stealth as possible in order to survive. I never said it was going to be easy. These formations, although simple, need to be practiced as often as possible. Just like shooting a gun is a perishable skill if not practiced so are the skills needed to accompany them. Once that rust sets into your skill set it won’t be easy to execute. So practice and practice regularly. Don’t forget: “Train hard, and fight easy.”
CALIBRE Shooting provide tactical training courses for the Security Industry and Air-Soft community. If you would like more information about the courses we provide, visit www.calibreshooting.co.uk
www.airsoft-action.online
97
DIGITAL EDITIONS
Got a digital device? Then you can take your favourite airsoft magazine with you! Airsoft Action is available to read on just about every type of digital device, including iOS, Android, Windows 8/10 and PC, with apps that can be downloaded FREE from any app store. Airsoft Action is available on PocketMags, Readly and Magzter and is supported by apps for all major devices.
HALO MILL
Taking you beyond 350fps!
Tel: 01484 840554
Sponsors of the AIRSOFT ACTION Site Directory
SYMBOL KEY
IS IT WOODLAND OR URBAN? CHECK THE KEY! UKARA MEMBER
SHOP ONSITE
WOODLAND
PYROS ALLOWED
URBAN
BATTERY CHARGING
DESERT
REPAIR SERVICE
ATROOP AIRSOFT
AIRBORNE 101 AIRSOFT CLUB
ALL ARMS AIRSOFT
ARENA AIRSOFT
ABER AIRSOFT – THE BUNKER
AIRSOFT ASYLUM
ALPHA 55
AWA HERTS
Clocaenog Forest, LL16 4SP Tel: 07967 394976 www.atroop.co.uk
Allt-lywd Wood Farm, outside Llanrhystud, nr. Aberystwyth, Wales. Tel: 07511554740 www.aberairsoft.co.uk
ABSOLUTE AIRSOFT
Maidenhead, SL6 3SS Tel: 07871 314951 www.absolute-airsoft.co.uk
ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES
Holbrook Coppice, Buidwas Bank (A4169), Buildwas, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk
ACE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES
Downpatrick, Co. Down, BT30 Tel: 07718 032541 robinsonm24@btinternet.com
North Lanarksire, ML7 5 www.airsoftasylum.webs.com
AIRSOFT COMMANDOS Sutton, near Ferrybridge Tel: 07723 061386 andyace@ntlworld.com
AIRSOFT KGB
Porkellis Moor near Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0 Chef1322@hotmail.com www.kgbairsoft.com
AIRSOFT PLANTATION
Goatsmoore Lane, Billericay, CM4 9RS Tel: 07534 636289 / 07771 556395 www.theofficialairsoftplantation.co.uk theofficialairsoftplantation@gmail.com
Tong Wood, Newport Road Wolverhampton TF11 8PN Tel: 07786 192832 www.aceairsoft.co.uk
AIRSOFT SKIRMISH
ACE COMBAT
AIRSOFT SKIRMISH CQB
Kent, TN12 7DG Tel: 01303 814803 www.acecombat.co.uk
100
NOVEMber 2016
Stoulton, WR7 4QW Tel: 07764 587410 www.airsoftskirmish.co.uk
Studley, B80 7LY Tel: 07764 587410 www.airsoftskirmish.co.uk
Near Trawden, BB8 8SN Tel: 07909 683464 www.allarmsairsoft.co.uk
Halkyn Wood, North Wales CH8 8DF Tel: 0845 257 6937 www.alpha55.co.uk
ALPHA ELITE GAMING
Le Mont de Rozel, Jersey, JE3 5 Tel: 01534 733697 www.aegairsoft.je
AMAZON EVENTS
Hellingly, East Sussex, BN27 4HL Tel: 0844 2570433 www.amazonoutdoorevents.co.uk
AMBUSH ADVENTURES – CHOBHAM Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8SL Tel: 01252 315225 www.ambushadventures.co.uk
Grimsby, DN31 3JD Tel: 07752 404060 www.arenaairsoft.com
Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM23 4BJ Tel: 07732 184957 www.awaherts.com
BADLANDS AIRSOFT
Rowlands Castle, Hamps PO9 6DP Tel: 07534 465589 www.badlandsairsoft.co.uk
BARNSLEY AIRSOFT
Shafton, Barnsley, S72 8RE Tel: 07779 236166 www.barnsleypaintball.co.uk
BATTLETEC AIRSOFT
La Couture, Guernsey, GY1 2 Tel: 07781 104068 www.battletec.co.uk
AMBUSH ADVENTURES SOUTHAMPTON
BETTER BATTLES
APOCALYPSE AIRSOFT
BLACKDAGGER AIRSOFT
New Forest National Park, SP5 2DW Tel: 01252 315225 www.ambushadventures.co.uk
Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7QP Tel: 07872 348 576 www.apocalypseairsoft.com
Ravenshead, Notts, NG15 9DH Tel: 07967 940043 www.better-battles.com
Grasscroft Wood, Barlow Lees Lane, Dronfield, S18 7UR www.blackdagger-airsoft.co.uk
SITE DIRECTORY
Email nige@airsoft-action.co.uk to add or change a site listing
FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
BLUESTREAK AIRSOFT
Westcott Venture Park, Westcott, Aylesbury, HP18 0XB Tel: 01296 658600 www.bluestreak-airsoft.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE SANDPIT (DESERT)
Bolton Wood Quarry, Bolton Hall Road Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 1BQ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
CONTACT! FIGHT SCHOOL Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, CM14 5 Tel: 01438 368177 www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk
COOL UNDER FIRE BORDERLINE AIRSOFT
51 Green Road, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim Northern Ireland, BT39 9PH Tel: 028 9303 7030 or 07729219341 www.borderlinecombat.com
BRAVO 2-2 AIRSOFT Leisure Lakes, Mere Brow, Southport. PR46JX Tel: 07790 715059 www.bravo22airsoft.com
BRISTOL AIRSOFT Bristol, BS1 2HQ Tel: 07776 288826 www.bristolairsoft.com
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – RIVOCK EDGE Keighley, BD20 0LS Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – SHEFFIELD WOODLAND Sheffield, S6 6JE Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE WORKS (URBAN)
Off Badger Lane, Hipperholme, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX3 8PL Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
BRIT-TAC AIRSOFT Sheffield, S2 5TR Tel: 07795 631331 www.brittacairsoft.com
CHESTERFIELD IMPERIAL AIRSOFT
Brimington, Chesterfield, S43 1DQ www.cia-airsoft.co.uk
BUNKER 51
Charlton, SE7 8NJ Tel: 0870 7549653 www.wolfarmouries.co.uk
CLOSE ACTION AIRSOFT Corby, NN17 3BB Tel: 07740 165787 www.close-action.co.uk
BUSH VALLEY AIRSOFT
Runham Woods, Lenham ME17 1NQ Tel: 07786 448608 Email: bushvalairsoft@gmail.com
COMBAT ACTION GAMES
Combat Street, Felthorpe, Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 4DR. Tel: 07748 023832 www.facebook.com/combatactiongames
C3 TACTICAL
Longhope, Gloucestershire, GL17 0PH Tel: 07597 938011 www.c3tactical.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE OUTPOST (WOODLAND) HPC, York Road, Flaxby, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG5 0XJ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
CORNWALLS ELITE AIRSOFT
Truro, Cornwall, TR2. Tel: 07863 240153 www.cornwallseliteairsoft.co.uk
COTSWOLD AIRSOFT Bourton Woods On the B4479, Blockley Near Bourton-on-the-hill www.cotswoldairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07724629140
CUMBRIA AIRSOFT
Dumfries, DG12 cumbria.airsoft@virgin.net www.cumbria-airsoft.com
DANGER CLOSE AIRSOFT
Ellough Lark Raceway, Benacre Road, Ellough, Norfolk . Tel: 07455 906132
Caerwent Training Area, South Wales, NP26 5XL Tel: 07921 336360 www.dragonvalley.co.uk
DOG TAG AIRSOFT
Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4SE TEL 01293 852 314 www.holmbushpaintball.co.uk/airsoft
ELITE ACTION GAMES – WORTHING
Worthing, BN13 Tel: 01784 433023 www.eliteactiongames.com
ELITE BATTLEZONE
Bexley, Greater London, DA5 1NX Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk
EXPERIENCE AIRSOFT Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 0AN Tel: 01380 728982 www.experienceairsoft.co.uk
FIREFIGHT COMBAT SIMULATIONS Lewisham, SE13 5SU Tel: 07973 240177 www.firefight.co.uk
DARKWATER AIRSOFT LTD.
Mobile: 07947 558433 www.darkwaterairsoft.co.uk Email: darwaterairsofthythe@gmail.com DARKWATER AFTER DARK C.Q.B, (Battlezone Building), Britannia Lane, Kingsnorth, Ashford, TN23 3NA facebook.com/afterdarkcqb DARKWATER SITE, Dering Wood, Church Lane, Shadoxhurst, Ashford. TN26 1LZ facebook.com/darkwaterairsoftdarkwater
FIFE WARGAMES
DELTA TEAM 3
FIREBALL SQUADRON
Skelmersdale, Lancs WN8 8UT Tel: 07986 053076 www.deltateam3.co.uk
Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 07582 684533 www.fireballsquadron.com
DOGS OF WAR
FIRST & ONLY: ANZIO CAMP
DRAGON’S LAIR
FIRST & ONLY: BUNKER WOOD
St Andrews, KY10 3XL info@fifewargames.co.uk www.fifewargames.com
FINMERE AIRSOFT Buckingham, MK18 4JT Tel: 07976 184897 www.finmereairsoft.com
COMBAT AIRSOFT
Just off the A11 outside Thetford Norfolk follow signs for Combat Paintball Tel: 07703 045849 www.combatairsoftgames.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE COMPLEX Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RP Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
Doddington, Kent, ME9 0JS Tel: 07960 532613 www.coolunderfire.co.uk
DRAGON VALLEY AIRSOFT
COMBAT SOUTH URBAN Portsmouth, PO6 3LS Tel: 02392 655636 www.combatsouth.co.uk
COMBAT SOUTH WOODLAND
Fareham, PO17 5ND Tel: 02392 655636 www.combatsouth.co.uk
Houston, Renfrewshire, PA6 7BP Tel: 07853 195290 www.dow-airsoft.co.uk
Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA Tel: 07703 530189 www.dragonslairairsoft.co.uk
Leek, ST13 8 Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
Kidderminster, Worcs, DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
www.airsoft-action.online
101
FIRST & ONLY: KHE SANH
WOODS
Otley, West Yorkshire LS21 2NA Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
FIRST & ONLY: MANCHESTER
WOODLAND
Bolton, BL7 9TS Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
FIRST & ONLY: THE HIVE
Middleton, Manchester, M24 1AZ Tel: 0161 727 8863
FIRST & ONLY: THE ARMOURY Wrexham, Denbighshire, LL13 9RG Tel: 0161 727 8863
FIRST & ONLY: THE ACADEMY
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 6QF Tel: 0161 727 8863
GASS AIRSOFT – PENN
HUMBER AIRSOFT
North Lincolnshire, DN21 www.humberairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07792 680297
MIDWALES AIRSOFT
Penn Bottom, Bucks, HP10 Tel: 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk
GASS AIRSOFT – PIDDINGTON
ISLAND RECON AIRSOFT COMBAT
MILITARY OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT
MILSIM UK
LAC SITE 1
NCIS AIRSOFT
LAC SITE 2
NOMAD AIRSOFT
LAC SITE 3
NORTHERN ALLIANCE AIRSOFT
LAC SITE 5
NORTHFLEET CQB
Piddington, Oxfordshire, OX25 1 Tel: 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk
GRANGE FARM AIRSOFT Leicester, LE9 9FP www.gingerliberationfront.com
GREENZONE COMBAT Co. Armagh, BT60 1NE Tel: 07772 919974 www.greenzonecombat.com
GUN HO AIRSOFT
Guisborough, TS7 0PG Tel: 07525 435696 www.gunhoairsoft.co.uk
FIRST & ONLY: THE ASYLUM Kidderminster, DY10 3PT Tel: 0161 727 8863
GUNMAN AIRSOFT – CAMBRIDGE
FIRST & ONLY: THE OUTPOST
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 Tel: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk
FIRST & ONLY: SLEEPY HOLLOW
GUNMAN AIRSOFT – MIDLANDS
Kidderminster, DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863
Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV16 5LS Tel: 0161 727 8863
GROUND ZERO WOODLAND
RAF Honiley/The Grange Frogmore Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common, West Mids CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532 384 info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk www.shop. suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk
Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 2DF www.groundzerowoodland.com
FREE FIRE ZONE
Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DH Tel: 01733 247171 www.freefirezone.co.uk
FRV AIRSOFT
Annacloy, Downpatrick, BT30 8JJ Tel: 07730 586926 www.frvairsoft.com
FULL METAL AIRSOFT
Cilyrychen Quarry, Llandybie, Ammanford, Camarthenshire, SA18 3JG Tel: 01269 850404 www.fullmetalairsoft.co.uk
102
NOVEMber 2016
GUNMAN AIRSOFT – NORWICH
Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 Tel: 07854 277264 www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk
Near Shorwell, Isle of Wight, PO30 Tel: 07964 751047 www.islandrecon.co.uk
Gorebridge, Midlothian, EH23 4LG Tel: 0131 654 2452 www.airsoftedinburgh.co.uk
Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk
Gainsborough, North Lincs, DN21 4JH Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk
Saxillby, LN1 2JW Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk
Kirton Rd, North Lincs, DN16 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk
LINDSEY AIRSOFT
Manby, Lincolnshire, LN11 8HE Tel: 07955 487983 www.lindsey-airsoft.co.uk
Abbey Cwm-hir, Midwales, LD1 6PG Tel: 07497 480243 www.facebook.com/Midwales-airsoft
Wrightington, WN6 9PL Tel: 01942 514724 www.militaryoutdooradventure.co.uk
Checkley, Staffordshire, ST10 4NS Tel: 07523 916607 www.milsimuk.co.uk
Edinburgh, EH14 4 nick@ncis-airsoft.co.uk www.ncis-airsoft.co.uk
Fenwick, Ayrshire, KA3 6AY Tel: 07904 998250 www.nomadairsoft.com
Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3LQ Tel: 01845 565465 www.northernallianceairsoft.co.uk
Northfleet, Kent, DA11 9AA Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk
NSC AIRSOFT
Hetton, Sunderland, DH5 0 Tel: 07983 333521 www.nscairsoft.co.uk
MATLOCK COMBAT GAMES
NTAC
MAW
OBAN AIRSOFT – ILL ARGYLL
MIA
OP-TACTICAL UK – TEAN-OPS
Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5FW Tel: 07974 507166 www.matlockcombatgames.com
Durham, DL4 2ER Tel: 01642 281220 www.ntac.co.uk
HILTON PARK AIRSOFT Wolverhampton, WV10 7HU Tel: 08000 354490 www.paintballuk.com
HOMELAND TACTICAL AIRSOFT
Spanby, Lincs, NG34 0AT Tel: 07971 560249 facebook.com/HomelandTacticalAirsoft
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 Tel: 07793 404346 1midaw@gmail.com
Cornwall, EX23 9JL Tel: 01288 331748 www.airsoftsouthwest.co.uk
Argyll and Bute, PA37 1 Tel: 07967 710185 www.argyllsurplus.com
Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT Tel: 07964 990831 www.op-tac.co.uk
SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
OVER THE TOP AIRSOFT CLUB
RIFT AIRSOFT (COTTENHAM)
S.W.A.T. AIRSOFT
Cambridge, CB24 8RL Tel: 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com
Boathouse lane, South Wirral, Cheshire, CH64 3TB www.swatairsoft.eu Tel: 07703 177756
PATHFINDER GROUP AIRSOFT MILITARY SIMULATION
SECTION 8 AIRSOFT
TA EVENTS
PHOENIX AIRSOFT
SG1 COMBAT GAMES
TACTICAL WALES AIRSOFT
Anglesey, LL71 www.ottairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07731 744471
Former RAF Camp Sopley/Merryfield Park, Hants, BH23 Tel: 02380 899369
Welbeck Airsoft, Academy, Budby Road, Notts NG20 9JX Tel: 07956 587213/01623 812483 www.phoenix-airsoft.co.uk
PLATOON 1HQ
Rochester, Kent, ME1 1 HQ Tel: 01634 829063 www.ptt-1hq.co.uk
PLAYERS OF WAR
High Bonnybridge, FK1 3AD Tel: 07767 203979 www.playersofwar.co.uk
PREDATOR COMBAT GAMES Ballynahinch, BT24 8NF Tel: 02897565651 / 07825169631 www.predatorcombat.com
RAVEN’S NEST
Suffolk, IP8 4 Tel: 01473 831563 www.ravensairsoft.co.uk
RAW WAR AIRSOFT CUMBRIA Wigton, Cumbria CA7 3SZ Tel: 01900 85645 www.airsoftcumbria.co.uk
RED1AIRSOFT
Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB Tel: 07974 026517 www.s8airsoft.com
Co. Londonderry, BT45 8NA Tel: 07713 273102 www.sg1combatgames.co.uk
SKIRMISH AIRSOFT BILLERICAY
Billericay, Essex, CM11 2TX Tel: 01277 657777 www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk
SKIRMISH EXETER Exeter, Devon, EX4 5 Tel: 01548 580025 www.airsoftexeter.co.uk
SOUTHDOWN AIRSOFT
Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0LR Tel: 07766 770830 www.southdownairsoft.com
SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – BLOXWORTH
Wareham, Dorset, BH20 7EU Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk
SPEC OPS AIRSOFT– THE ROCK Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EG Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk
RED1AIRSOFT CQB
STORMFORCE AIRSOFT
RIFT AIRSOFT COM’S SITE 3
SUSSEX AIRSOFT
Coventry, CV3 6NX Tel: 07831 429407 www.stirlingairsoft.com
Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4LD Tel: 07515 937633 www.stormforcepaintball.co.uk
Slinfold, RH12 Tel: 020 8150 9284 www.sussexairsoft.co.uk
Co Tyrone, BT71 4DY Tel: 07922 377131 Facebook: search ‘Torrent Warfare’
TROJAN AIRSOFT
Macclesfield, SK10 4SZ Tel: 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com
TROJAN AIRSOFT – OLYMPUS CQB
Weir Mill, Viaduct Street, Chestergate, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7JP Tel: 07428 024874 www.trojan-airsoft.com
TACTICAL WARFARE AIRSOFT Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PL Tel: 020 8665 1299 www.tacticalwarfare.co.uk
UCAP AIRSOFT
Portsmouth, Hants, PO17 6AR Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk
TECH BRIGADE
Newgate Street, Hertfordshire. SG13 8NH Tel: 07841 713356 www.techbrigade.org
TASK FORCE SKIRMISH Cowbridge, S Glamorgan, CF71 Tel: 02920 593900 www.taskforcepaintball.co.uk
THE BUNKER
Aberystwyth www.aberairsoft.co.uk Tel: 07841 462806
Glasgow, G45 9SB Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.thedepotglasgow.com
THE DESERTERS AIRSOFT STIRLING AIRSOFT
Chipping Warden, OX17 1LZ Tel: 07751 586781 www.riftairsoft.com
Reynoldston, Swansea SA3 1AS Tel: 01792 473336 www.tacticalwales.co.uk
THE DEPOT
Chislehurst, Bromley BR7 6SD Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk
Red1 CQB. Kings Langley, WD4 8RN Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk
Hemel Hemstead, Herts, HP2 7QB Tel: 07894 059794 www.ta-events.co.uk
TORRENT WARFARE
Redford, DD11 Tel: 07751 878175 www.thedeserters.co.uk
THE EX SITE
Mold, CH7 4 Tel:07840 001975 www.theexsitewales.co.uk
THE WARGAMES CENTRE Lundholm Road, Stevenston, Ayrshire, KA20 3LN www.thewargamescentre.com wargamescentre@gmail.com
UCAP GREEN OPS
Linch, West Sussex, GU30 7 Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk
UCAP SANDPIT Bean, Kent, DA2 8 Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk
ULTIMATE WARGAMES – FAWKHAM Fawkham, Kent, DA3 8NY Tel: 01268 796130 www.ultimatewargames.co.uk
ULTIMATE WARGAMES – LIMPSFIELD Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0RH www.ultimatewargames.co.uk
URBAN6AIRSOFT – ZONE 13
Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0QN Tel: 07432 291729 www.urban6airsoft.com
URBAN6AIRSOFT – THE BLOCK
Wood Street, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 3AB www.urban6airsoft.com
www.airsoft-action.online
103
Competition
WIN
ASG - LARS HAGEMANN
LARS HAGEMANN’S PISTOL AND A TEAM CZ SHIRT
AIRSOFT ACTION IS DELIGHTED TO BRING YOU YET ANOTHER UNIQUE COMPETITION, COURTESY OF ACTIONSPORTGAMES AND TEAM CZ MEMBER AND ASG AMBASSADOR, LARS HAGEMANN.
YOU’VE READ OUR COVERAGE of the Airsoft Surgeon European Championship and now you can win the pistol Lars Hagemann used to become the first Action Air European Production Division Champion, the superb ASG CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow, signed by Lars himself. If that wasn’t enough, the prize also includes something money cannot buy; an official Team CZ shooting shirt signed by Lars, plus a bottle of ASG Accuracy International Precision BBs, as used by Lars to win. Danish Champion, Lars Hagemann, is one of Europe’s top real-steel Practical Shooters and has used the CZ SP-01 Shadow to win more accolades than you can shake a stick at. We asked Lars why he chose to use the CZ SP-01 and his answer was simple: “Because it is the best!” To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer three simple questions and get your entry in before the closing date. All the answers can be found somewhere in our Airsoft Surgeon European Championship article. So here are the questions:
1) What is the IPSC discipline called that involves the use of airsoft, not real guns? 2) What was the minimum number of shots required to complete this year’s Championship? 3) Which company produces the airsoft version of the CZ SP-01 Shadow? Good luck! (If you’d like to find out more about the SP-01, visit: www.actionsportgames.com/products-search-248. aspx?productid=18409@@SHOP1)
Post your entries to: Airsoft Action CZ SP-01 Shadow Competition, Airsoft Action, Calibre Publishing, Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Malvern, Worcs, WR13 6PL, or email to: competition@airsoft-action.co.uk with “Airsoft Action CZ SP-01 Shadow Competition” in the subject line. You can also enter online, via the Airsoft Action website (www. airsoft-action.online). Entries received after midnight on 19th October will not be valid. One entry per person. The winner will be the first randomly drawn from all the correct entries. 104
November 2016
ANSWERS:
1 2 3 Name:................................................................................................................. Telephone:.......................................................................................................... Email:................................................................................................................. Calibre 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.
SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
URBAN ASSAULT
Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, PE26 1 Tel: 01733 247171 www.urbanassault.org.uk
VIKING AIRSOFT
Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0UN www.vikingairsoft.co.uk
WARMINSTER AIRSOFT
Warminster, BA12 7RZ www.warminsterairsoft.co.uk
XSITE AIRSOFT OUTPOST Dunstable, LU6 2EE Tel: 01494 881430 www.xsiteairsoft.co.uk
XSITE AIRSOFT – LANE END High Wycombe, HP14 3NP Tel: 01494 881430
PRACTICAL PISTOL DIRECTORY AIPSC
The Grange, Frog Lane, Balsall Common, West Midlands, CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532384 www.aipsc.co.uk Facebook: A.I.P.S.C info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk. Every Monday night 7pm– 9pm (except bank holidays). £5 or £10 with pistol and shooting rig hire. UKPSA-qualified coaches. UKPSA-qualified Range Officers.
COBRA ONE ZERO AIRSOFT Unit 9 Imperial Buisness Centre Mortimer Road, Hereford, HR4 9SP www.cobraonezero.co.uk Facebook : cobra one zero Airsoft
DOUBLE TAP PSC
StrikeForce CQB, Morelands Trading Estate, Bristol Road, Gloucester GL1 5RZ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ Double-Tap-Practical-Shooting-Club979585958732937/?ref=hl doubletappsc@gmail.com
EBSC
MOD approved gun club PP, IDPA, IPAS, IPSC, 2GUN www.ebsc.co.uk ebpracticalpistol@gmail.com
HALO MILL
The Penthouse, Colne Valley Business Park, Manchester Road, Linthwaite, Huddersfield HD7 5QG Tel: 01484 840554 www.halomill.com
NORTHERN PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB (NPPC)
Tanner Street, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 1NA Tel: 07816 992417 www.northernpracticalpistol.co.uk 4 indoor ranges
WATFORD PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB WatfordPPC@gmail.com
SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS (SWPS)
Action Air IPSC Club Based at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre near Charmouth The Tunnel, Axminster Road, Charmouth, Dorset DT6 6BY Contact: SWPSClub@Outlook.com
WETHERSFIELD AIRSOFT TARGET SHOOTING CLUB (WAT SIC)
Wethersfield Village Hall, Braintree Rd (B1053), Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4EB. https://www.facebook.com/WATSiC/ Open Thursday & Friday evenings. Set-up from 6:30pm. Club shooting commences by 7:30pm. Pack-up starts at 9:30pm if you can stay to help. Contact via FB or 07939557029. Indoors. Club offers Action Air plus 2 & 3 Gun training and events.
XSITE PRACTICAL SHOOTING
Fryers Farm Lane, High Wycombe, Bucks HP14 3NP Tel: 01494 881430
www.airsoft-action.online
105
DEALER LISTINGS
ADVERTISERS INDEX Land Warrior Airsoft
Inside Front Cover + 3
Airsoft Zone
7 + Inside Back Cover
JD Airsoft
9 + 34 + 80
NUPROL
15
ActionSportGames
19
FubarBundy
23
Fire Support
30 + 31
Viper Tactical
38 + 66
ASPUK
42
iWholesales Crawley Surplus Store
45
Platoon Stores
45
A2 Supplies
58
Urban Airsoft Megastore
62
Pro Airsoft Supplies
70
Blue Fox II
84
BadgerTac
88
Silvermans
92
Dragon Valley Airsoft
92
Military Outdoor
92
Airsoft Action Digital Editions
98
IPSC 2017 Action Air World Championship
99
Military 1st
106
2014
44 + 74
Outside Back Cover