ACTION AIR: PAMG

BACK IN ISSUE 129 JON STARTED HIS JOURNEY INTO ACTION AIR, THE WORLD OF COMPETITIVE AIRSOFT AND PRACTICAL MAGIC! THIS STEP, ON WHAT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LONG ROAD, GOT HIM THINKING ABOUT PRACTICAL SHOOTING AS A MORE GENERAL ALTERNATIVE WEEKEND OPTION TO A SKIRMISH OR MILSIM, AND SO THIS TIME HE AND BILL EXTEND THEIR THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCE TO LOOK AT THE KIT YOU MIGHT NEED FOR PRACTICAL AIRSOFT MULTIGUN (PAMG) IN A SIMPLE FORM!

As I continue to take my first fledgling steps into the world of true “Action Air” competitive shooting, after many years of discussion and rumination I finally started to get the ball rolling and began to pen the rules and regulations required for a simplified anyone-canhave-a-go practical multi-gun airsoft discipline; the airsoft world is ultimately an inclusive one, and I thought it would be fun to create something for everyone, be they Action Air Star or simple Sunday skirmisher, that could be both enjoyable and rewarding. Taking heavily from IPSC rulings, with

safety being at the forefront, I got to work. To date the skeleton and much of the flesh are ready and in place; testing of courses of fire will begin shortly with a view to running sessions in 2022.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what kit in detail and start to look at the airsoft platforms that will be required for you to be able to participate in a PAMG competition.

CLOTHING AND GEAR

Through PAMG we want to encourage individuals from all walks of life to join in and you don’t necessarily have to be an airsofter to compete. You might be interested in other shooting disciplines and are looking at expanding your skill set or a complete novice having never even fired a gun before. To this end, PAMG has a few guidelines around kit, gear and weapon systems.

The first thing to get out of the way when it comes to clothing, footwear, and gear is ditch the camo! Indeed IPSC, IPAS, and indeed PSP strictly forbid camo for competitions and I can understand why; why would you need head to toe “MultiCryTigerCam” when you’re in a place where you actually want to be seen? That said many shooters that I know do look very seriously at the tactical brands for their clothing as these garments are designed with the dynamic movement needed to excel in comfort in mind. So, we’d urge you not to use camo gear at a PAMG match, but to look at block colour alternatives; we aren’t shooting at each other so we don’t need to be hidden! Serving, Veteran or Law Enforcement are welcome to wear uniform if they wish but again, this is a not encouraged. Body armour or Plate Carriers aren’t required either for the same reasons. You will need to carry spare magazines so the use of a good belt kit and/or ultralight chest rig will more than suffice.

Red Cell recently spoke about belt systems and this month they’ve got into some specifics on their belt setups, their preferences and manufacturers, so there’s some inspiration to be had here. As a bare bones set-up, a PAMG belt setup will include: • a pistol holster • a rifle magazine pouch • two pistol magazine pouches • shotgun shell holder

As for clothing, whatever you are comfortable in is essential! A pair of jeans or tacticool pants, a well-fitting top so that it doesn’t snag when you draw a pistol on the course of fire, and of course eye protection! Bill is often to be found getting his “rangetime” in, and also knows a bit (okay, A LOT!) about technical clothing and gear, so I’ll let him expand on this.

A good part of my working life revolves around being down at my test range looking at airsoft replicas and putting them through their paces. On average I test fire many different airsoft models each and every week, whatever the weather. I’m also on the range in my spare time as well, working on and training with my own RIFs, and that can be in terms of skirmishing “skills and drills” or in relation to shooting disciplines in general.

I am by no means a competition shooter but I do enjoy the challenges of a well thought out course of fire, and like many of you out there I’m lucky to have a good bunch of friends to shoot with on a regular basis. Therefore the idea of a safe, yet more relaxed form of competition sits well with me. Some of the crew have reached the point of buying in specialist practical shooting rigs instead of relying on what we generally use to play airsoft, but I tend to use what I already have as, a) I already own it, and b) I‘m comfortable and (hopefully!) efficient in using it!

Jon’s PAMG concept means that players can be involved in the competition side of things using whatever RIFs and gear they already own, keeping the costs down; in time I’m sure some would make the full jump to “practical” which could bring some new blood into that side of things from a wider pool. I looked at what kit I normally use for a game and for the clothing I use at the range though, as they are a little different from one another. I also looked at videos online again, especially the one that has done the rounds of Keanu “Wick” three gun training at Taran Tactical. He wears simple jeans, a t-shirt, and a ballcap. That’s it, nothing fancy there. Kit-wise he has a pistol belt, holster, and pouches for his carbine magazines and shotgun shells.

Simple, to the point.

I already run a number of belts from Direct Action and Helikon-Tex with a very similar setup so that was a no-brainer; in fact the minimalist Competition Multigun belt setup from Helikon-Tex seems pretty much tailor-made for PAMG, and it works brilliantly in game in conjunction with their Competition Multigun Chest Rig or a plate carrier. My favoured holsters are Kydex models made by our good mate Taig at Kydex Customs, and pistols fit perfectly, are well retained and easy to clear. The holsters are model-specific, but Taigs “easy on-off” fittings make changing them out a breeze.

I usually wear a mixture of tactical and outdoor

performance brands when I head to the range as I find those give a nice balance between comfort, protection from the elements, and durability. The outdoor gear is also designed with dynamic movement in mind, so I find what’s good for climbing and mountaineering is also good shooting attire. Usually I’ll revert to a polo style shirt, but recently I’ve been using Helikon-Tex Shirts, and what can look better than a plaid shirt? The HelikonTex Flannel Shirts are what! Based on their classic MBDU shirt, and made of lightweight, yet durable fabric the MBDU Flannel Short provides proper antibacterial properties even during prolonged use, while the UPF50 index provides UV protection. Side VersaStretch panels guarantee freedom of movement during dynamic activities, and zippered pockets with YKK zippers on the chest and shoulders will accommodate all your essentials! The Greyman Shirt though is probably my favourite as it gives not only a smart look, but also low profile features. It’s a neat, classic style with buttoned chest pockets, buttoned front and as well as buttoned sleeves, but for your essential EDC items the shirt has a hidden, internal zippered pocket, and another hidden, yet useful feature is a swatch of special cloth for cleaning glasses which is integrated into one of the shirts sides. All of these make the Greyman Shirt a perfect choice either for rangewear or for everyday use.

Although hopefully during the summer months I won’t be needing a fully-fledged hardshell I do want something that can be worn over a microfleece to add an additional layer against wind chill, and ideally I look for garments that are lightweight and have a minimal pack size. The Windrunner Windshirt, also from Helikon-Tex and one of my favourite bits of gear, is an ideal carry item because of its minimum weight and size. In relation to trousers I have to admit that a solid pair of jeans is all you really need, but sometimes though you want to go a little more “hardcore” and once again that’s where my trusted plain green UF PRO Striker pants come out. I won’t go into detail on these as I’ve spoken about them before, but suffice to say that they are designed and made to perform, and the stretch panels work perfectly to give a great range of dynamic movement. I also like the fact that they have the integrated but removable kneepads; these are invaluable when the ground is rocky or gritty. Footwear is really a matter of personal choice, but depending on the weather it will either be my Salomon Speedcross runners or in the winter my Gore-Tex-lined Merrells.

HARDWARE AND AIRSOFT PLATFORMS

As a final word this time, when it comes to the “hardware” (ie the shooty things!) that you’ll need then PAMG is divided into two categories.

OPEN – Any RIF that has been modified in ANY way including optics.

PRODUCTION – Completely unmodified and using iron sights only (with the exception of the Long Gun).

Now that we know that, what do you need?

Pistol – Whatever you like as long as it’s SEMIAUTO ONLY, just remember that it has to fit into a category, so my Vorsk Vengeance with its RMR means that it falls into the “Open” category, My Army Armament R17 is factory standard, so it would sit in “Production”. • Carbine or Rifle – Any carbine or rifle that is capable of firing in SEMI-AUTO mode. PAMG is about accuracy and speed so “Full Auto” is NOT required. If you’ve upgraded the hop, nub, barrel or any other modification it fits in “Open”, if it’s untouched it sits in “Production”. I run a Nuprol Recon Alpha, with a tight bore barrel, upgraded rubber and nub and an Aimpoint clone optic. • Shotgun – This can be gas or spring powered. It must be a “shell” fed type as you will be required to “reload”. I run a “Magpul” styled CYMA spring shotgun. • Precision Rifle (aka “Long Gun” – This can be either a Bolt Action Rifle or a Semi-Automatic Rifle. Having an optic here doesn’t affect your class. I run an A&K SR-25 as my Long Gun with a Nuprol Optic.

Taking these categories into account, you don’t have to spend a fortune on these platforms and fortunately, most of you already have most of the kit! In the next instalment of PAMG we’ll look in detail at a few of the setups the crew has been putting together, and I think you’ll be surprised just how easy it is to create a MultiGun setup of your own! AA