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ARMOURY: ICS MAKAROV
ARMOURY: RAVEN UPDATE
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Editor: Nigel Streeter Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing Ad Design: Havoc Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter Cover Photo: Courtesy Helikon-Tex UK 13-issue subscription rate: £46.50 UK 6-issue subscription rate: £24.00 For overseas prices email: subs@airsoft-action.co.uk
KIT & GEAR: SIONYX ACTION CAMERA
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Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6PL Tel: +44 (0) 1684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2019 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. Distributed by Intermedia Brand Marketing Ltd.
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KIT & GEAR: A-TACS FG
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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.
FEATURE: PROJECT PRECISION
THE CAGE: CHEST RIGS
CONTENTS
Contents SEPTEMBER 2019
SEPTEMBER 2019
6 NEWS News from around the world of airsoft. 10 PLAYER’S GALLERY Airsoft Action readers doing what they do best! 12 ARMOURY: EDGE SA-E07 “Mr. AR”, Phil Bucknall, gets his hands on a fullylicensed “budget” AEG that is causing quite a stir for its quality, innovation and value for money – and ended up buying one for himself. 16 ARMOURY: ICS BLE PM2 after having “hands on” something modern and unique in the form of the “Korth”, this month Bill takes a step back in time with a replica that will delight both historical and OPFOR players, the classic BLE PM2! 20 KIT & GEAR: VLAMITEX HOLSTER What to do if your sidearm doesn’t play nicely with universal holsters? Steve T looks at a model-specific leather option from Germany. 21 KIT & GEAR: VIPER VX SLING Often overlooked, a sling is a vital part of every player’s kit. Phil Bucknall looks at a recent entry into the sling market from Viper Tactical but at its budget price, could it be any good? 22 ARMOURY: RAVEN PISTOL UPDATE Bill continues his overview of the very latest developments that are bound to keep you happy! 26 KIT & GEAR: SIONYX ACTION CAM Attending a night game without night vision can be a bit like trying to cross the M25 with your eyes closed – it isn’t going to turn out well! Tom “Anvil” Hibberd checks out a device that might help – without breaking the bank! 32 FEATURE: PROJECT PRECISION We’re faced with a wider community that often seems to look down on airsoft and we are the first to take steps to rectify this. “Project Precision” is the latest concept to give a more “positive take” on what we do! Bill picks up the story… 36 KIT & GEAR: AS A-MAG If you follow RedWolf Airsoft on social media then you may have seen the test they did, where they threw it about a bit, used it as a hammer and chucked it in a bucket of water! It was pretty cool but was the mag really that good? We asked Phil Bucknall to find out… 38 ARMOURY: GHK 553 Steve T explores the heady world of GBBRs to find out if GHK’s Sig 553 is worth the asking price, or if an AEG is all you need. 42 KIT & GEAR: ACCESSORIES Angelo DV takes us through a roundup of some of the accessories out there in the airsoft marketplace. 44 KIT & GEAR: A-TACS FG Want a sci-fi camo pattern that works on planet Earth as well as the moon of Endor? Steve T checks
out some of the current options for A-TACS FG. 48 AIRSOFT 101: NV SETUP Read Tom Hibberd’s review of the SiOnyx action cam then come back here to read how to set up your NV helmet. 51 KIT & GEAR: LION’S GEAR SOLUTIONS When Tom Hibberd and Scott Country International were looking at how to attach an Aurora Action Cam to a helmet, Lion’s Gear turned out to have the answer to a mounting problem. 56 ARMOURY: KWA M9 PTP Steve T finally lands his “Eleanor” - KWA’s M9 PTP - then has to work out if a training pistol is good to skirmish after all. 60 THE CAGE: CHERT RIGS Bill is back again this month with members of the Airsoft Action “crew” to look at another item of gear that gets regular use “in game” and that’s the venerable chest rig! “Old Skool” or thoroughly modern, it’s a piece of gear that suits every need… 64 ARMOURY: TM FNX Having nearly bought one a few years ago, Phil Bucknall was happy to see that TM have at last released this hand-cannon of a pistol – and bought one straight away! 70 VERSUS: STONER v RPD The argument regarding the benefit of a support gun over a standard AEG will undoubtedly go on and on but when it comes to a couple of iconic models, in the form of the Stoner 63 and the Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova, then Bill thinks there’s a VERY good reason to own both! 74 SURVIVAL: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS When playing we have probably all found ourselves in a situation we didn’t expect - and that can also be true for our daily lives. Paul Yelland offers some advice that might help in both cases - and beyond. 76 THE COLLECTOR: M1 GARAND After the wealth of choice last month looking at the AK, this month has a much smaller pool to draw on, as Frenchie turns his attention to the ubiquitous Garand. 78 FEATURE: DIY TARGET STANDS With longer, lighter days upon us, we don’t need much of an excuse to head into the garden for a spot of plinking but what can you actually shoot at? Phil Bucknall has come up with one cost-effective, easy to make solution. 80 LAST POST: AIRSOFT FRIENDSHIPS Following the sudden death of a close airsofting colleague, Frenchie reflects on the friendships and relationships that airsoft has created. 86 SITE DIRECTORY & ACTION AIR CLUBS Looking for a skirmish site, or your local Action Air Club? Then we may have the answer, with pages of sites and clubs throughout the UK.
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AA GALLERY AIRSOFT ACTION PHOTO SPECIAL
Recently, we had a selection of superb images sent to us from Helikon-Tex, one of which we have used on the cover of this issue. However, we thought the rest were too good not to let you see them, so the rest are shown here. Helikon-Tex have asked us to point out that eyepro was not worn because all photographs were taken under “studio” conditions, all mags were empty and all weapons “checked clear” before photography commenced.
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pre-Airfest recce
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Our regular full day skirmishes are open game airsoft every day inc: evening skirmishes to anyone aged 11years plus. i Pyro support from EG Grenade Co i Main Feature game scenario “Diamond Wars” £ 25 Walk On fee for those with their own loadouts i Full onsite weekend camping inc: deluxe camping £ 45 Rental Fee i One of Europe’s largest combat event trade shows Supported by: gets you everything you need to experience i Full onsite event catering an NPF Airsoft skirmish! i Airfest Festival bar & Friday Movie Night Play across two diverse battlefields alternately i The famous Airfest players party with live DJ’s dancers, each month - giving you access to some of the competitions and free refreshments! best airsoft combat in the UK i This year’s theme is New Orleans “Mardis Gras” rock your Mardi Gras beads Check out our facebook page: www.facebook.com / npfairsoft i Special guests, airsoft challenges i Big
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AA GALLERY AIRSOFT ACTION PLAYER PHOTOS
PLAYERS GALLERY G
Pictures from the England v Wales game held at Mid Wales Airsoft on 13th and 14th July. 10
SEPTEMBER 2019
AA GALLERY AIRSOFT ACTION PLAYER PHOTOS
www.airsoft-action.online
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armoury SPECNA ARMS SA-E07
“MR. AR”, PHIL BUCKNALL, GETS HIS HANDS ON A FULLYLICENSED “BUDGET” AEG THAT IS CAUSING QUITE A STIR FOR ITS QUALITY, INNOVATION AND VALUE FOR MONEY – AND ENDED UP BUYING ONE FOR HIMSELF.
UP UNTIL RECENTLY I HADN’T seen or heard a great deal about Specna Arms, even though they have been around for quite a while now. A good friend of mine runs an airsoft rental business on sites and uses over 60 ARs from this Hong Kong based manufacturer. He raved about how good and cheap they were but I never really paid them much heed and it wasn’t until I went to the Northern Shooting Show and actually saw the products first hand, that I was even that interested. You might’ve seen the AATV video that Tom and I did from the NSS whilst on the Specna Stand. Our conversation actually started with me trying to get some 0.28g BBs for our big BB test, that we did under my Clearwater Airsoft banner. They actually did give us some BBs but then we got talking with Artur - their Sales Manager - and he showed us what they had on the RIF front. Tom and I then spent a very happy half an hour with Artur and the Specna guys, who were very hospitable and also very passionate about their products - with good reason.
GOOD TO THE CORE
The first thing they showed us was from their CORE range… sort of their budget end of the market, although that’s a bit unfair given what you could get for your money.
that later. This “basic” gun had a quick change spring (amongst a host of other features you’d expect to see on much more expensive guns) and I was completely and genuinely blown away by the quality and thought that had gone into a budget gun - and it truly is budget when you consider its price of £115! I actually bought the next level up EDGE SA-E04, purely on what I’d seen with that CORE gun. Artur then went on to show us some of their other offerings, including an M40A5 finished in multicam paint scheme with bipod and scope (for just £150!) but we also delved into more detail of the EDGE line of guns, which is the series the test SA-E07 comes from.
LIVING ON THE EDGE
The EDGE lineup includes 18 models, all bearing the RRA logos on beautifully done metal lower receivers. If you know anything about real ARs, then you’ll know RRA aren’t a little provincial manufacturer. They’ve been going since 1996 and the company was formed by the Larsen brothers, who’d been working at Springfield Armories for ten years prior to that. In partnership with the famous Les Baer, they set up Rock River and the rest, as they say, is history. All of the guns in the EDGE family include Specna’s “Orion” reinforced gearbox; 6.03mm inner barrel
“I WAS COMPLETELY AND GENUINELY BLOWN AWAY BY THE QUALITY AND THOUGHT THAT HAD GONE INTO A BUDGET GUN - AND IT TRULY IS BUDGET WHEN YOU CONSIDER ITS PRICE OF £115!” I had a play with their CORE SA-C03, which is in essence an M4 carbine with 14.5” barrel and the KAC style RIS unit fitted. This was a nylon reinforced polymer receiver gun with a metal front end, was fully licensed and carried the Rock River Arms (RRA) Trademarks. For those of you who don’t know, RRA are a well-known and prolific manufacturer of ARs in the US - but more on 12
SEPTEMBER 2019
attached to a rotary hop unit; individual serial numbers; quick change spring with their ESA system; QD pistol grip - which requires no tools to access the motor and GATE X-ASR mosfets hardwired in out of the box! They also have better polymer parts such as the stock, pistol grip (which is a copy of the BCM gunfighter grip if memory serves and very comfy it is too), a short slightly
armoury SPECNA ARMS SA-E07
angled BCM style forward grip; SOPMOD stock and finally they come with two 125 round polymer S-mags, which are very easy to load and feed flawlessly as well as fitting very nicely in the magwell with no slop.
IN DETAIL
Let’s now look at the SA-E07 in more detail… It came in a really nicely branded box with a carry handle and the gun and accessories were held firmly in foam cutouts. My sample had a UK-spec spring installed already but had the original spring included in the box, along with a QC certificate from the tech that tested it prior to sending it out stating its FPS. There was also a poster style catalogue, a Specna lanyard, a sheet of stickers and a Deans to Mini-Tamiya lead (as the EDGE guns are wired to Deans in the factory). The gun itself is an SBR by any definition and is only 730mm long with the stock extended and it weighs just under 3kgs, so it isn’t overly weighty and perfectly fine to carry all day, or longer if extended games is your thing. Starting at the muzzle end, we have a metal sound hog but if you don’t like it, it has the almost industry standard 14mm CCW threading, so you can swap it out for a muzzle device of your choosing. However, be aware that the threaded section is slightly recessed into the rail, so some options may not fit. Sitting behind this and above on the end of the rail is Specna’s own spring-loaded, polymer, flip-up front sight (there is a corresponding polymer rear sight too at, well, the rear of the upper receiver). Whilst I am sure these will never see use as most people will chuck an optic on asap, if you do need them though, they are fine and have some adjustability for elevation and windage. The metal rail on the sample I had is octagonal in cross section and was painted tan, which seems reasonably durable but there are a few scuffs after a handful of games, nothing to be concerned about though and the paint isn’t flaking off in chunks. This E07 is the tan/black variant but you can get it in all black if you prefer. However, the rail is the one part of the gun I just, plain and simple, don’t like! Whilst the length and cross section of the rail are fine, I cannot understand why they have gone with a Keymod attachment system? In the real firearm world Keymod, for numerous reasons not all mentioned here, has been largely overtaken by MLOK, which in my humble opinion is loads better and
the general firearms community tends to agree too. Keymod is harder to produce as the tolerances are far more important for both the rail and the accessories, making it more expensive. In airsoft, tolerances aren’t always great so there’s potential for mis-fitting parts coming loose, or worse, coming off the gun entirely. More importantly though for us airsofters, MLOK looks better! That said, the rail is done well and has a full length upper RIS rail which is flush-fitted to the upper receiver, giving a nice long continuous RIS mounting for your optics and aiming devices. For the test I chose to use a clone Trijcon MRO red dot, as it is small and has a very bright dot. The receivers are full metal and serialised with a unique number as well as the aforementioned RRA trades. On the right hand side there is also an RRA hologram. The receivers continue into the metal buffer tube with a sling mounting plate and this is topped with a very nice polymer SOPMOD crane stock. This is where the battery and GATE mosfet live and I’ll confess, it took me a few goes to find the best way to fit a 2600mah
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armoury SPECNA ARMS SA-E07
7.4v split pack lipo. In the end I pushed the mosfet into the left battery tube pushed one stick into the buffer tube and the other in the right-hand compartment. I could then stick the plastic cap on before the butt plate was snapped into place. Internally, the E07 features the Orion gearbox. The Orion is a reinforced version running steel gears in 8mm bearings with a reinforced piston and full metal
then the BB weight is less important. Anyway, personal musings on FPS/joules aside, back to the SA-E07. One the range it was a doddle to adjust the hop and I love rotary style hop units, as they are just so much easier to get those small adjustments sometimes needed to take a BB’s trajectory from near vertical to in excess of 60m+ On the range it really was reaching out to a target that was known to be 60m away and the BBs sailed past it and I would be more than happy to use this anywhere without fear of being out gunned. Whether or not they’d have any energy left when they arrive on target past 60m is debatable but you will reach them at least. On full auto it has a steady RoF and the spread of BBs, even at range, is very acceptable with about 75% hitting a man-sized target at 60m.
IN GAME
teeth. It has an aluminium sealed nozzle, double sealed aluminium cylinder head, bearing piston head, bearing spring guide and the quick-change spring system I’ve mentioned already. Whilst talking to Artur in Harrogate, he told Tom and I that they pressure tested the Orion gearbox to over 90,000 rounds fired without letting go of the trigger before anything failed - that’s pretty impressive and should equate to excellent longevity in the field.
TEST TIME
Loading up one of the two 125rnd polymer midcaps with 0.28g BBs, it was time to put it over the chrono and it delivered an average over ten shots of 300fps,
“...THEY PRESSURE TESTED THE ORION GEARBOX TO OVER 90,000 ROUNDS FIRED WITHOUT LETTING GO OF THE TRIGGER BEFORE ANYTHING FAILED...” which equates to approximately 330fps with a 0.2g BB and a muzzle energy of 1.02J, so it is good to go at pretty much any site whether it be woodland or CQB. As an aside, I really think we, as a community, need to stop relying on FPS and BB weight and instead use muzzle energy, especially with things like joule creep etc. Knowing the muzzle energy is far more accurate and 14
september 2019
In game the gun has performed admirably each time it has been out. I can’t really think of anything else left to describe its performance as it just does what it is supposed to do with no fanfare or drama and to me that’s the sign of a good product. I would happily recommend the EDGE series from Specna Arms, as the foundations which the 14 different models are built around are sturdy and well put together. It’s just a case of aesthetics after that. I would also suggest that you’d be wise to consider this or any other EDGE model, even if you’re looking for a more premium AEG. You will get more than some premium offerings and have money left over for some magazines and a couple of green fees too. The Specna Arms Line up is available from multiple retailers in the UK and EU and thanks to Gunfire for lending me this one for testing. AA
armoury ICS BLE PM2 MAKAROV
OPFOR CLASSIC
ICS BLE PM2 MAKAROV
ICS HAVE BEEN PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS WITH THEIR NEW RANGE OF PISTOL MODELS AND AFTER HAVING “HANDS ON” SOMETHING MODERN AND UNIQUE IN THE FORM OF THE “KORTH”, THIS MONTH BILL TAKES A STEP BACK IN TIME WITH A REPLICA THAT WILL DELIGHT BOTH HISTORICAL AND OPFOR PLAYERS, THE CLASSIC BLE PM2! THOSE OF YOU THAT KNOW ME, or follow my reviews, will know that I have a “bit of a thing” about OPFOR airsoft and, in my mind, “historical” OPFOR is a fitting part of the game as a whole too. Not only does it give you a chance to spend whole weekends in the boots of your favourite era combatant, but it gets you heavily involved in the very history itself. The line between historical re-enactment and historical airsoft is a very fine one indeed and on many occasions you’ll find that many airsofters, myself included, have a foot firmly entrenched in both camps. When it comes to handgun models for US and allied forces, of course virtually every airsoft pistol manufacturer has a classic M1911 in their range and the sheer variety of accessories, everything from real wood handgrips to leather holsters, are easily accessed from numerous online retailers and at shows like Military Odyssey and War & Peace.
lot more limited. Yes, there are numerous manufacturers who have “classic” AK47s, with Real Sword even offering a rather superb “Type 56” with the folding spike bayonet included! There are Moisin Nagant boltaction rifles, PPSh sub-machine guns, AKMs and even Dragunov SVD marksman rifles available but up until now you’d be struggling to find a decent, fieldable Soviet era handgun. Most “ComBloc” players would happily have their “Little Red Book” in one hand but in the other would be a Luger, a revolver of some sort, or even a “broomhandle” Mauser - and there’s nothing wrong with any of those models but I for one have screamed out for a decent, power-limit friendly gas Makarov!
“ICS HAVE TAKEN THINGS A STEP FURTHER BY OFFERING, AS ACCESSORIES, TWO SUPPRESSORS, ONE AT 100MM LONG WHICH LOOKS DARN COOL” Up until now though, the choice for those who choose to play the part of VC, PAVN, Cold War Soviets, or indeed any generic modern OPFOR role, has been a
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I know that there are already Makarovs out there and I have a number of existing models in my OPFOR
armoury ICS BLE PM2 MAKAROV
collection. They are all lovely in their own way (even the humble springer version that I bought for a tenner at the original Airsoft Showcase in Reading some years back!) but, for various reasons, they’ve not really been “gameable”, being under-powered, over-powered, or just plain gas-inefficient! Thankfully that all appears to have changed thanks to ICS, who seemingly out of the blue, have just released the production version of the “PM2” that they’ve been teasing us with at various shows for a while now!
DISTINCTLY RUSSIAN!
The Makarov pistol resulted from a design competition for replacing the Tokarev TT-33 and the Nagant M1895. Rather than building a pistol to an existing cartridge in the Soviet inventory, Nikolai Makarov took up the German wartime Walther “Ultra” design; fundamentally an enlarged Walther PP, utilising the 9×18mm Makarov cartridge designed by B.V. Semin in 1946. For simplicity and economy, the Makarov pistol was of straight blowback operation, with the 9×18mm Makarov cartridge being the most powerful cartridge it could safely fire. In 1951, the PM was selected because of its simplicity (few moving parts), economy, ease of manufacturing and reasonable stopping power. It remained in wide front-line service with Soviet military and police until and beyond the end of the USSR in 1991. Variants of the pistol remain in production in Russia, China, and Bulgaria. Since the early 2000s there has been constant talk of the Makarov being fully replaced as the Russian service pistol, with numerous contenders being named as the “possibly, maybe”, with models such as the “Strizh” and “PYa” being discussed. The fact of the matter is that even today there are large numbers of Makarovs still in Russian military and police service and it is certainly still in service with many Eastern European and former Soviet republics, North Korea and Vietnam. It may be said though, that the Makarov PM is a tried and true, currently manufactured sidearm that has seen over 65 years of service in some of the world’s harshest climates. Throughout its history the PM has undergone several re-designs, including the upgraded PMM model that features a more ergonomic grip and increased magazine capacity over the original. Regarded as the
almost “perfect” sized pistol, the Makarov is a blend of effective concealment and reasonable firepower.
BANG ON!
With this amount of background and longevity I am absolutely gobsmacked that it has taken a manufacturer so long to replicate this “Hot and Cold War” warhorse in a truly workable form! Big kudos then, once again, to ICS for bringing us one! Now as I mentioned earlier a number of manufacturers have out their cards on the table in relation to the Makarov but oh boy, did ICS really pull out a flanker with this model or what? Whilst said “other” replicas are very nice the choice of not one but TWO proper “PB” looking suppressors that are available as accessories really nails the deal for me, and I’ll come back to that in a bit... This ICS Makarov is a nonblowback CO2 model and is constructed almost entirely from high quality alloy, featuring a full metal “frame and slide” with neat black “Soviet Star” polymer pistol grips. The pistol is sized well to fit in almost any era model-specific holster. It features a base magazine release with a single stack “column” 13 BB magazine. In its basic form the Makarov will chuck a BB downrange at a friendly 300-305fps using .20g BBs which makes it great for close range encounters. The CO2 bulb is easily fitted by simply removing the pistol grip (one flat-head screw in the rear secures this) and the hop adjustment is extremely easy to adjust as it sits on the top of the “slide”; ICS include Allen keys in the box for both the hop adjustment and for “driving in” the CO2 bulb. What’s also included in the box is undoubtedly the bit I love best though and that’s a second, threaded muzzle which will allow you to fit those suppressors!
www.airsoft-action.online
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armoury ICS BLE PM2 MAKAROV
Fitting this is also a snap, as just a single small screw holds the drop-in muzzles in place; it’s simply a case of remove the screw, slide out the original muzzle, slide in the new one and re-secure with the screw. Once you have the threaded muzzle in place then it’s onto the suppressors themselves and lovely they are too!
I have to admit that I loved the setup on the WE “Assassin” with the barrel extension and shroud, but I’m going to say that ICS have taken things a step further by offering, as accessories, two suppressors, one at 100mm long which looks darn cool, and one at 160mm long that for me is the winner for two reasons. First off it does genuinely reduce the “crack” at the muzzle as the suppressor contains foam baffles and for any selfrespecting OPFOR player that is a real bonus for those “sneaky-beaky” moments. Secondly, the longer suppressor mimics that of the Soviet-era “Pistolet Besshumnyy” or “Silent Pistol”! The Izhevsk Mechanical Plant introduced the PB, designed by A.A. Deryagin, in 1967. The PB was basically a heavily-adapted Makarov PM with a shortened slide and
I will tell you that during testing I experienced a few “teething issues” with the PM2 and I have advised ICS of this. When I first set up the pistol to test, all was fine and I was happily getting a very usable 0.86 Joule/305fps (ICS quote up to 0.99 Joule/328fps on this model) using a .20g BB. I left the pistol for a couple of days and went back to the chrono before I wrote this review - and the power was disturbingly all over the place, ranging from an insignificant 147fps up to 282fps! I took the PM2 back to the workshop, scratching my head all the way and after I’d released the remaining CO2 from the original bulb I inspected the main seal and found it to be very dry and somewhat brittle, probably down to the fact that the sample had made its way to me all the way from ICS in Taiwan in who knows what environmental conditions! I ran a NUPROL CO2 maintenance bulb through the pistol, firing off iro 150 BBs and then replaced that with a fresh standard bulb before heading back to the chrono and I was back to 300-310fps. I’m pleased to report that this has now remained constant. A glitch is always just a glitch and I’m happy to put this down now as a “one off” but if you do find power dropping off or varying wildly, it’s always best to check the simple things before gobbing off online, isn’t it?
SUMMARY
So, in conclusion, whether you are interested in the historical side of things, want something for OPFOR “business” that’s going to do the job, or you just want a pistol model that is a little different than most you’ll find at your local skirmish site, then this super model from ICS is thoroughly worth a look. If, like me, you fancy
“ICS HAVE ALSO GONE THE EXTRA MILE BY FITTING THE PISTOL WITH AN “AIR PRESSURE RELEASE FUNCTION” AND BY PRESSING THE HAMMER DOWN YOU CAN VENT THE REMAINING CO2 FROM THE BULB WHEN YOU’VE FINISHED PLAYING TO EASE REMOVAL AND ENSURE THAT IT’S 100% SAFE FOR TRANSIT.” a repositioned return-spring and the design retained the Makarov’s exposed hammer, double-action trigger and slide-mounted de-cocker. Whilst the PB suppressor is semi-integral, with the rear section encompassing the ported barrel, the ICS accessory closely mimics the detachable front section and makes their “PM” much closer to the real deal than ever before. Okay, I nerded out there for a moment but this stuff is important! From a safety perspective the PM2 features the standard safety lever on the rear upper left of the body, with a bright red spot indicating that the pistol is in “fire mode”. In addition, ICS have also gone the extra mile by fitting the pistol with an “Air Pressure Release Function” and by pressing the hammer down you can vent the remaining CO2 from the bulb when you’ve finished playing to ease removal and ensure that it’s 100% safe for transit.
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owning something to turn the tide on those pesky “Blue Force Operatorz”, then the PM2 is essentially a “musthave”! For more information on both models and full stockist details please visit www.icsbb.com AA
BLE-XPD
Equipped with REVO Valve System
BLE-004-ST
BLE-004-SD1
BLE-004-SD2
BLE-004-SB
Optinal
standard magazine for 17bbs
XPD VIDEO
extended magazine for 24bbs
FEATURE VLAMITEX HOLSTER
FOLLOW THE LEDER
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SIDEARM DOESN’T PLAY NICELY WITH UNIVERSAL HOLSTERS? STEVE T LOOKS AT A MODEL-SPECIFIC LEATHER OPTION FROM GERMANY. CHOOSING A HOLSTER FOR YOUR AIRSOFT sidearm is going to be different for many players, with various requirements from speed of the draw and release mechanism, to comfort and the potential to cause cosmetic damage to your RIF. Most players opt for an affordable polymer retention holster, which is fine unless you want to prevent premature wear to your pistol’s finish. The hard plastic material will inevitably cause wear marks on contact surfaces, which either produces a battle-worn patina over time or damages the appearance of your pistol, depending on how you look at it. A less destructive option is a custom Kydex holster, which shares the same benefits of a rigid structure that offers good retention but can be less abrasive on the weapon. But if even that’s too harsh for your tastes, then a more traditional leather holster is your best choice. That’s maybe a bit more “special agent” than “special forces” though, which could explain why you don’t see them being skirmished more often.
ICH BIN EIN BERLINER
Vlamitex is a German manufacturer based in Berlin that offers a wide range of holsters from Beretta and Browning to Sigs, Smith & Wessons and Walthers, as well as less mainstream options such as CZ’s Shadow 2 which is how I found them. As reviewed last issue, the competition-bred pistol has an oversized magazine release, meaning that universal holsters tend to eject the mag when you’re least expecting it. Not good - either for your combat situation or your wallet! So the hunt for a better solution began and knowing that real world holsters would be a perfect fit for the S2, the Vlamitex seemed to “fit” the bill - and at £35, it wouldn’t break the bank either! Upon arrival, the holster’s well put together with decent quality leather that smells more like automotive upholstery than a top of the range leather jacket. The black leather has a slight grain to it, while the suede inner surface is soft enough without being too luxurious 20
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to be hard-wearing. There are signs that this has been designed to be durable, with reinforced double stitching to either side of the sleeve that holds the pistol, plus a second layer of leather for the thumb snap. The outer features debossing for the trigger guard, ambidextrous safety and - pointless, but pretty - for the rear serrations on the slide. There’s also a big “X” for branding across the outer face that some may find a bit much, but it doesn’t bother me.
SEMI RIGID
The semi-rigid construction holds the Shadow 2 firmly in place, without causing undue wear from sharp edges and because it’s designed specifically for the pistol in question, the material is perfectly cut away under that potentially troublesome mag release. We’ve certainly had no issues with mags jumping out using it in-game. Designed for use on a slightly narrower belt, the slots will just about accommodate a 1.5in duty belt but it’s a bit of a faff if you want to change holsters on game day. The pistol itself is secured in place by a thumb snap that’s easy to release but ever-so-slightly fiddly to fasten without looking down to see that it’s lined up - I guess that’s the best way round. In fact, this model-specific holster is such a good fit that we’ve even run half a game with it unsecured and the Shadow 2 has stayed seated and perfectly safe about our person. Canted at a slightly forward angle to make it easier to draw from the hip when belt-mounted, the does its best to just get out Vlamitex of the way and let you access your weapon with the minimum of fuss. AA
KIT & GEAR VIPER VX SLING
VIPER VX TACTICAL SLING
OFTEN OVERLOOKED, A SLING IS A VITAL PART OF EVERY PLAYER’S KIT. PHIL BUCKNALL LOOKS AT A RECENT ENTRY INTO THE SLING MARKET FROM VIPER TACTICAL BUT AT ITS BUDGET PRICE, COULD IT BE ANY GOOD? YOU MAY RECALL I DID A ROUNDUP of slings a while back and concluded that it’s definitely worth spending a bit of cash on them, as you’re relying on them taking the weight your expensive replica in all manner of positions and under differing loads and the last thing you want is for the stitching to give way, or the hardware to fail. To that end, I recommended a few different ones but they were all pretty pricey real steel items, with my favourite being the Ferro Concepts Slingster but at £50 it might be outside the budget of many airsofters, so is there a cheaper way to handle slinging duties without compromising on strength? That’s what I wanted to find out when I saw a video for the new Viper Tactical VX Sling. I’ll be completely honest here; I’ve used some Viper products in the past I would’ve been hard pressed to recommend any of their old products to anyone. Time, however, moves on and it seems so have Viper. They’ve had a phoenix-like rebirth and their new line of tactical wear and equipment especially, under the “VX” branding, seems to be head and shoulders above what they have had before - so it’s time to see if they live up to the hype. I bought my VX sling via Amazon for about £17, so it is already three times cheaper than the Slingster I favour and I went for the Vcam pattern, which is Viper’s own interpretation of the ever-popular Multicam. It looks like a close match but when placed next to genuine Multicam it is easy to distinguish; not that that is a problem though. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it’s also obvious when looking at it, where the inspiration came from - and that’s the Slingster (to which it bears more than a passing resemblance) but that’s not a bad thing, as the Slingster design is excellent. Okay, so the VX is nice. The material is thinner than I’m used to, as is the padding but the hardware seems to be up to the job it’s being tasked with and
the stitching is neat and looks durable too. The pull for making the sling either longer or shorter is paracord but has a neat little rubber piece moulded over it so that it’s always easy to grab and pull and this is attached to a spring-loaded metal device which, when released, allows the sling to lengthen or contract smoothly. When you let go, the teeth lock down on the material stopping further movement. Unlike the Slingster, the VX comes with HK-style clips; one on each hand of the sling to attach it to the gun and it has little elastic silencers in Vcam you can slide over them to stop them rattling in use - neat touch! As all of my guns are set up to have the slings looped directly through hard points on the guns, I elected to remove the clips and just attach the sling directly and fitting this way is a small job, no more than a couple of minutes to make sure that its set up to your requirements. I wanted to really test this sling, given my views on cheaper alternatives, so I stuck it on my SR-25 (which is quite the beast both in size and weight) and in the games I’ve used it in, it has performed admirably. With frequent use of the slider there is no visible wear from the gripper teeth which I was concerned about as the material isn’t that thick. The stitching in all areas is still tight and no stray threads or frays at any point along stitch lines nor any worrying rips, abrasions or other signs of damage on the material. The thinner padding is a bit of a pain, literally, after a while but on lighter guns that shouldn’t be a concern. Am I going to ditch my Slingsters? No, is the short answer. With most of my guns being around the £500-mark, I’m happy having that added peace of mind. Would I use them on cheaper lighter guns? Most definitely - and if I was on a budget and it was this or some sling off eBay for £5, then I’d wholeheartedly recommend using the Viper VX! AA
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armoury RAVEN PISTOL UPDATE
! E T A D P U NUPROL HAVE HAD MASSIVE SUCCESS WITH THEIR RAVEN BRAND OF PISTOLS AND HAVE DELIGHTED AIRSOFTERS EVERYWHERE WITH WELL-PRICED HANDGUN MODELS THAT EVERYONE CAN ACCESS. BILL CONTINUES HIS OVERVIEW OF THE VERY LATEST DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE BOUND TO KEEP YOU HAPPY! IT ONLY SEEMS A VERY SHORT WHILE AGO that I was giving an overview on the then-new RAVEN pistol range, courtesy of our good friends at NUPROL, however, this is Issue 104 of Airsoft Action and I first looked at them in Issue 85 - how time flies and how fast things come to market these days! The RAVEN range is one that I got solidly behind from the outset, as what’s on offer are some corking designs for both “G” and “1911” styles. I got myself an EU17 from the initial delivery and thus far that pistol has encountered everything from +35 degree heat in Crete to “ice on the ground” cold at my local site in Kent this winter and to date it’s lapped up the abuse and kept
and with a few mods has ended up being an alternate “range pistol” for me. I added some fancy alloy grips and fibre-optic front and rear sights and it both looks and feels superb now, plus it’s proving to be no slouch when it comes to punching paper quickly. But sometimes you have to just ask yourself the question “Why did I bother?” as the latest RAVEN releases have added not only fibre-optics but also rear, slide mounted Red Dot Sights (RDS). In fairness, given the close relationship I have with NUPROL, I knew that this was coming but, like many, I wanted something that was unique and “special” to me and my personal 1911 certainly fits that bill (no pun intended, sorry!).
BANG ON TREND
This is an absolutely superb upgrade to the RAVEN range though and is “bang on trend” for what folk are looking for in relation to their pistols currently, as the moment for the RDS seems to be fully and wholly NOW. Like many of you I recently went to the flicks to check out “John Wick 3: Parabellum” and, lo and behold, there’s a Glock 34 MOS Gen 4 with Trijicon RMR being used by Halle Berry! Undoubtedly it’s a very cool look and it’s not just in this movie that we see it; if you look around the “pistol world” right now the RMR/RDS seems to be everywhere! But is “just because it looks cool” good enough reason to add and RDS or buy a RAVEN model with one already fitted? I have to look more closely at this to give
“IN FAIRNESS, GIVEN THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP I HAVE WITH NUPROL, I KNEW THAT THIS WAS COMING BUT, LIKE MANY, I WANTED SOMETHING THAT WAS UNIQUE AND “SPECIAL” TO ME...” right on going! I’ve recently added a RAVEN “Tactical 1911” to my armoury as it’s just a jaw-droppingly lovely design; whilst I’m not usually a 1911 man this one really took my eye 22
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you a sensible answer. Advancements in sighting systems have allowed us to enhance our pistols, from revolvers of old with machined-in sights to the huge amount of current semi-
armoury RAVEN PISTOL UPDATE
automatics with options including adjustable sights, tritium and fibre-optic inserts. Changes in iron sight options have enhanced our ability to see and track our sights but have offered no way to change the way your eyes see the sights and the target; we’re all still stuck with the “front sight, rear sight and target” thing. With the RDS for pistols this changes. Red dot sights are by no means a new thing as competition shooters have been using electronic sighting systems successfully for years (just ask “Airsoft Surgeon” Clarence Lai about this!). With companies improving red dot sights so they can be mounted directly to a slide and handle the rigours of slide-mounted recoil RDS systems can now be completely trusted. When you’re shooting a pistol using just the regular iron sights it requires three focal planes. This means the eye must do more work to achieve its task; it must take in and process the front sight, the rear sight and the target to align everything prior to you taking a good shot. With an RDS the eye needs to deal with just a single focal plane; the target. When shooting with an RDS you can remain focused as the dot overlays on the target and once the dot is placed in the correct targeting location you can make your shot. Remaining “potential threat” focused allows you to take in and process more information during an encounter and act accordingly. Simply put, an RDS allows you to stay more situationally aware, letting you keep an eye on potential threats rather that getting “tunnel vision” on a single target. In a skirmish situation this means that you can be aware of what is going on around you better, whilst when shooting for competition you can already have your next target in your peripheral vision ready for transition! I believe it’s easy to see why many shooters in the real world, even law enforcement professionals, are moving to pistols with the RDS!
extra models in total, which is one hell of a statement from our home-grown manufacturer! The new “Desert Digital” models, in my opinion, are 100% winners and even as a “solid colour” kind of guy I have to say I’d have one. Initially I was a little taken aback by the pink (VERY PINK!) models but commercially these are a sensible step, especially for the “cosplay export market” and the sales team tell me that all the lines are selling fast! Basically, with the new RAVEN models the guys at NUPROL have taken some already tried and tested designs which sell at a sensible price and added even more to the individual platforms. They’ve also given us more to choose from in how we want our personal pistol to look, feel and perform - and that to me is a yet another massively positive step forward. I know that there are further plans in the mill for even more to happen with the pistol ranges offered by NUPROL and, as always, I’ll say “watch this space” as we’ll be covering them off as soon as we know about them! AA
A GROWING RANGE!
The new RAVEN pistols with the RDS are great; the pistol slides have been designed specifically to accommodate the RDS, although the sight itself in black or a rather splendid “SF Tan” is available as a standalone item. As well as the new slide modification both front and rear “iron sights” have also been given a facelift, both to work efficiently with the RDS and to add fibreoptics to the mix. The RDS is easily controlled from two push buttons on either side of the frame and comes with a handy tool to make adjustments to windage and elevation (Up/Down, Left/Right), so that you can have your pistol shooting exactly where you want it to. All the RAVEN pistols are powered by Green Gas from the box and chrono iro 0.78 Joule/290FPS on a .20g RZR BB. All models have a great recoil impulse, even more so when you use the included CO2 conversion parts to run this pistol on a CO2 bulb, although you will need to buy the CO2 magazine separately as an accessory. In practical terms you will need to look at your holster for the new models with the RDS but I found that both my WAS and Kydex Custom models work just fine. I spoke to Ross at NUPROL about this and following our chat I’m sure that we’ll be seeing some new NUPROL holsters in the pipeline soon. The RAVEN range of pistols has grown yet again and if you total up the new RDS models with the new HydroDipped colour combinations that gives a whopping 63 www.airsoft-action.online
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KIT & GEAR SIONYX NIGHT VISION CAMERA
ATTENDING A NIGHT GAME WITHOUT NIGHT VISION CAN BE A BIT LIKE TRYING TO CROSS THE M25 WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED – IT PROBABLY ISN’T GOING TO TURN OUT WELL! TOM “ANVIL” HIBBERD CHECKS OUT A DEVICE THAT MIGHT HELP ...WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK! THE SIONYX DIGITAL DAY/NIGHT CAMERA is low priced when compared to conventional analogue night vision devices and comes with more features - but I wanted to find out how it compares when you try to navigate and fight with it. The SiOnyx Aurora was never really intended to be helmet-mounted and used as a Night Vision monocular, however, there’s a whole section of the airsoft community that are doing just that and I would like to say thank you to the Facebook community Airsoft SiOnyx Aurora Users Discussion Group, who have been very supportive and free with their advice. We received our review camera on loan from Scott Country International, they are a UK-based specialist in Night Vision and Thermal Imaging and have a wealth of knowledge, as well as solutions for nearly every budget!
WHAT IS THE AURORA?
The SiOnyx Aurora day night vision camera has three viewing modes, Day, Twilight and Night. These provide colour night vision in low light scenarios (twilight), full night vision with an additional infrared illuminator (night) and conventional full colour day vision. The unit captures images at the relatively low resolution (for a modern digital device) of 720p. The phone I use to shoot AATV, for example, can record happily in 4k. However, the Aurora uses a big sensor
“MOST OF THE CONTROLS THAT YOU WILL USE FREQUENTLY ARE ON THE OUTSIDE AND ARE, IMPORTANTLY, DISTINGUISHABLE BY FEEL IN THE DARK.”
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with big pixels that can capture a lot of light, compared to the electronics in daylight action cameras such as a GoPro. You can get a superior picture by modifying a high end DSLR camera but this would be somewhat inconvenient to strap to your head! SiOnyx say that a significantly higher resolution would come at a very high additional cost - possibly 10 times as much! At around 230grams, Aurora is sized to fit comfortably in one hand for easy operation and probably the biggest benefit over conventional night vision is its recording capability, where a 32Gb micro SD card (not included) will give you up to 4 hours of video. This is more than the battery which will last, which is around 2 hours depending on what features you have enabled. It can also be powered by an external powerbank via micro USB, which will greatly extend the usability and provide a counterweight. SPECIFICATIONS Sensor: Ultra Low-Light CMOS Night Vision: Moonless starlight capable Display: Colour or Monochrome Lens: 16mm; f1.4 (Night), f/2.0 (Twilight), f/5.6 (Day) selectable Video: 360p/720p .MOV FPS: 7.5, 15, 24, 30, 60 Photo: 0.9MP Shutter Speeds: 1.5’’ - 1/8000’’ IMU: GPS, Accelerometer, Compass Connectivity: WiFi, USB 2.0 Storage: MicroSD 32Gb max (not included) Viewfinder: Micro OLED Display H2O Resistance: IP67 Website: www.scottcountry.co.uk
KIT & GEAR SIONYX NIGHT VISION CAMERA
CONTROLLING THE AURORA
The menu system isn’t especially intuitive but you can find your way around it with the help of the online manual. Like most consumer products these days, the included paperwork is more of a “quick start guide” than anything else. Most of the controls that you will use frequently are on the outside and are, importantly, distinguishable by feel in the dark. A dial controls the mode the camera is in and the other main buttons are a shutter, zoom and gain. These also allow you to navigate the menu system. The lens modes (day, twilight, night) are handled by a short throw rotational switch near the front. The night position removes the IR filter from the lens. The focus does need to be adjusted for distance, or short-range situations and this is done in the normal way by twisting the lens. Eye relief is handled by a little diopter dial on the eyepiece.
This also has the additional effect of reducing the field of view and the width of the area that you can see. This is especially apparent when compared to dedicated traditional Night Vision. We filmed the same scene with the Aurora and the Sirius and I’ve overlaid the screenshots for you to look at.
MOUNTING
I attached my test camera to my normal bump helmet, this is an FMA shell that has had pretty much everything else replaced by “real steel” equivalents. I’ve got a primer on night vision helmet set up in this issue, so if you want to have a look at my exact set up and suggestions on pages 48 and 49, then have a read of that article. I would always suggest whatever you go for though, that you splash out on a proper shroud and mount even if the rest of your helmet is built for airsoft! The SiOnyx Aurora doesn’t use any of the standard military mounts as it is primarily an action camera. It does, however, have a normal 1/4 x 20 tripod attachment point and it’s this that people use to mount the camera to their helmets. At the time of writing, SiOnyx themselves aren’t producing a solution for doing this and this is where the Facebook group and Scott Country themselves came in very handy, as they put me in touch with Lion Gear Solutions. Lucian, from Lion, was very helpful and rapidly prototyped me an adaptor for my Wilcox Arm. He also provided me with a lens protector and is working on an adaptor to take a standard PVS-14 eyecup. They’ll be more details on all of these at the end of the article. If I hadn’t gone down this route, then I would have had to get a bit creative and make up something myself. That’s fine if you are a tad mechanically minded but not great if you just want a “fit and forget” solution.
TESTING
I put the SiOnyx through its paces in several different places, including inside my house, in the woods and in combat at a Gunman FilmSim. This meant that I got a good idea about how the Aurora performs under different conditions. I also arranged to compare it to alongside a Gen II+ FLIR Sirius, filmed through my iPhone via an adaptor. What became quite clear is that the SiOnyx is both outstanding and underwhelming at the same time. So let’s go through why that is! Field of View When used as a monocular, you have to zoom the Aurora to get a roughly 1:1 view, this means that you are already losing some resolution and image quality.
The width of the image isn’t too far from that of the Sirius but as the Aurora produces a rectangular view, rather than a circular one, it lacks the height of the picture from the traditional NV unit. This makes navigating and walking around harder as you have to look down to see your surface. It’s a bit like you are peering through a letterbox at the world around you. NIGHT VISION GENERATIONS First Generation (Gen I) passive devices, were introduced during the Vietnam War and could be used with ambient light instead of an extra infrared light source. They initially amplified light by around 1,000x but required moonlight or some other light source to function properly. Cheaper devices don’t feature any gating and can be damaged if a bright light source is shone at them. Second Generation (Gen II) introduced a microchannel plate (MCP). The MCP works as an electron amplifier. When the electrons pass through the MCP thousands more electrons are released. This extra process allows 2nd generation units to amplify the light many more times than 1st generation giving you a brighter and sharper image. Amplification can reach over 20,000x Third Generation (Gen III) adds a sensitive chemical, gallium arsenide, to the device, resulting in a brighter and sharper image. Gen III. provides the user with good to excellent low light performance. All the generations can be enhanced with enhanced resolutions and automatic gated power systems allowing the device to adapt to changing light conditions. These types of night vision device are normally denoted with the addition of a + symbol. I.e. Gen II+ etc.
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KIT & GEAR SIONYX NIGHT VISION CAMERA
Night Vision Performance The SiOnyx performs excellently in twilight and low light and this is what it is really designed for… filming your friends around a campfire, looking at a cityscape by night, coming into a port late in the evening after a fishing trip. In this context the Aurora excels and is at its best around sunset. The reality is, in airsoft a lot of night games aren’t held in the darkest hours and sources of light are all around. If you were using a SiOnyx you would be wise to stick to these areas or at least be looking at them. Battery Life Battery life is around 2 hours on a full charge which won’t get you through a night of playing. I used a 10,000mAh power bank connected via USB, which was sufficient to keep the SiOnyx topped up whilst I was using it. There’s a small quirk where the Aurora won’t power up if the power bank is connected, but this is easily solved by starting the device and then connecting the power bank once it is running.
FIGHTING WITH THE AURORA
It’s difficult to make a direct comparison due to the differing technologies, but if pressed I would say it’s a good Gen I+ equivalent in environments where the light levels require you to use the night mode. When it gets really dark a Gen II tube is much better but is probably also twice the price!
There’s an old adage “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is King!” and this very much applies to the SiOnyx. If you are playing against people without night vision, or with Gen I equipment, you’ll be just fine and likely do very well against them. If your opposition is fielding Gen II and Gen III NV, then you’ll likely be at a severe disadvantage - especially in the darker areas of the playing area - and if you are forced to use an illuminator you will stand out like a lighthouse on a dark sea. That is not to say I don’t like the SiOnyx Aurora because I do! Its manufacturers are marketing it as a low light action camera with some NV capabilities and that’s exactly what it is. It is fantastic around twilight and in well-lit areas at night. It’s not pretending to be a full-on Night Vision device and I don’t think we should pretend it is either. It can be pressed into service as an NV Monocular but that isn’t its primarily role. It is a great way of capturing footage of your games and friends in low light situations. At around £800 in the UK you’ll have to decide whether it represents value for money for you. If you want to see footage of the SiOnyx Aurora in action, head over to our YouTube channel Airsoft Action TV and check out our extended review and comparison. www.youtube.com/airsoftactiontv AA
The picture quality is massively improved in these situations by using a separate IR illuminator. However, if someone else is also using NV then you will stand out just like you were shining a white light torch. I found that I had to use an illuminator inside a building at night if there was no additional light source, such as a streetlight outside. It is also quite a visible device itself when looked at by an NV device. As there is no eyecup, a lot of the light from the screen is visible bouncing off your eye - making you very visible to other users.
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FEATURE PROJECT PRECISION
“THE QUALITY, CONDITION, OR FACT OF BEING EXACT AND ACCURATE”
AT AIRSOFT ACTION WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO CHAMPION NOT JUST AIRSOFT BUT SHOOTING SPORTS IN GENERAL, SO WHEN WE’RE FACED WITH A WIDER COMMUNITY THAT OFTEN SEEMS TO LOOK DOWN ON WHAT WE DO, WE ARE THE FIRST TO TAKE STEPS TO RECTIFY THIS. “PROJECT PRECISION” IS THE LATEST CONCEPT TO GIVE A MORE “POSITIVE TAKE” ON WHAT WE DO! BILL PICKS UP THE STORY… AS MANY OF YOU WILL KNOW, over the past couple of years I’ve had a bit of a “health issue” and that has had a significant impact on my “airsoft life”. Much as I still love a good skirmish or a long-duration MilSim, both of which are the lifeblood of our beloved airsoft, being laid up “post-surgery” has (sadly) given me time to reflect on how I can still get my fix and, indeed, how we move airsoft forward in a fun and positive manner. I’ve also been able to reflect on how airsoft in general is viewed, not only by the ill-informed “Joe Public” but also by other members of the so-called “shooting community”. In truth, I don’t know where the term “community” fits, as what I see are fragmented groups with their own specific agendas that are all too willing to give up their fellow shooters if their specific discipline comes under scrutiny. I would go as far as saying that we, in the airsoft
POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS
With this in mind, a couple of years ago I had a conversation with a few trusted friends about how we could change this to be viewed more positively. One particular friend, Jon Mills (who at the time was running the popular Darkwater Airsoft) and I took this as far as we could at the time, looking to competitive tactical shooting as a potential answer. I’d recently participated in one of the very first airsoft “Three Gun” days with Tim Wyborn and the crew at X-Site and although not in the running for any prizes on the day, thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The fact that we’d had a day of friendly competition using just the RIFs and gear that we already owned stuck in my mind and although some did run some pretty fancy (and darn expensive!) “race” setups, most of us just used our existing battle belts.
“IN TRUTH, I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE TERM “COMMUNITY” FITS, AS WHAT I SEE ARE FRAGMENTED GROUPS WITH THEIR OWN SPECIFIC AGENDAS THAT ARE ALL TOO WILLING TO GIVE UP THEIR FELLOW SHOOTERS IF THEIR SPECIFIC DISCIPLINE COMES UNDER SCRUTINY.” “community”, have done as much as anyone to ensure that what we do is generally well-managed and above all else, 100% legal - and all of this without the backing of any true central body (although I know there is a core of folk that will do anything and everything they can do ensure the longevity of airsoft). Again, sadly, with all of that in place we still struggle for recognition and support from the bigger shooting organizations as there is one fundamental aspect of airsoft that they can’t get their heads around… WE SHOOT AT EACH OTHER!
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This set me on a course of thought: that we could indeed have a form of airsoft (amongst all the others!) that could be fun, totally inclusive, need no other kit than that you owned for your normal skirmish day and, at the same time, eliminate the “shooting at people” aspect that might be viewed negatively. However, this was fundamentally covered in “three gun” and in the growing popularity of “practical pistol” shooting but the seed of that idea stuck with me.
FEATURE PROJECT PRECISION
PUBLIC INTEREST
pistol and possibly some shotguns shells. Personally, I’d have a small first aid kit/admin pouch and a dump pouch too but that’s just me. Other than some topnotch shooting glasses or eyepro, that’s it - although I will come back to this topic on another day. In terms of RIF, all that you’ll need are your normal skirmish tools but I believe that the inclusion of four elements will both push the boundaries for you and perhaps even lead you into new territory. For me, it was going back to a bolt-action rifle for the “distance precision” element and I’ve REALLY enjoyed getting back into this side of things as you’ll have seen from a couple of my recent reviews! As I’ve said before, I am very lucky in that I work with a number of the manufacturers and distributors direct, so I was able to try out different things but I specifically kept my setup to a sensible budget, using RIFs that most of us can find and afford! Some of these were already in my “armoury” but I traded up slightly to add some optics and accessories more in keeping with competitive shooting.
At various shows and events I watched closely as airsoft shooting competitions took place and, perhaps more importantly, how these were viewed by the nonshooting public. What I noted was that people actually enjoyed watching airsoft shooting and at the Northern Shooting Show earlier this year, the crowd on Saturday lunchtime watching the “three gun” was some five people deep - and I’d say that the vast majority were not airsofters! At the same show Nige and I shared some accommodation and it really gave us the chance to thrash out the idea that had been knocking about in my head for some time, namely a “four gun challenge” format that incorporated all the RIF elements that we use for a skirmish day. My concept was to incorporate regular pistol, carbine/rifle, shotgun, and distance rifle all in one go, using our normal skirmish-day gear, to create a format that could be safely and easily enjoyed at any site in the world with the minimum of setup. “Project Precision” was born then and there!
Course: 1 Course Stage Name: Type: The Pr Scenario ice of Th Target Based s: 3 P at Free aper & Cup of Firearm 2 Steel Coffee s / Rou Start / Scoring nds Req Stop: Start P : TP uired: Shot Ti C - Bes os mer / La Duty H t 2 Support ition: Hol Hits on st Shot andgun stered Hand ho Paper – 180 M = 8 Rou Load / Steel Arms at lding cu ax Tim nds Must Fa p of co ed Handgun. sides w e ll ffe S ith e ta an nding fa elbows Course d Primar ci be ng D y es nt to fo hand ho up rang crip Stop & rm 90 e ld at in Rob all tion: You ar g bage counte degree turn to l. night co e r w st an ith an gle. H toes to di lo ead / ey uching the susp ok you see fiv nvenience stor ng at the coffe marks. es leve e e l lookin underg ects are wearin individuals hae. You hear so counter havi g up-ran arment ng a cu ge. body ar g body armor ve entered th meone yell “g p of co On the ffe e m et becaus front do or show e and ba start si your ha e gnal pi or in yo nd ge g ar u s up” be l from be med w recogn vot and ith hind yo at your favorit iz hind th engage eir t-shi e the white ou handguns. u e Threat You thin and as you rts. ter shel Target k l and V s 1 thru elcro el that some of 5 from as within th tic stra ps of e Firing Area.
ELEMENTS AND COURSES
If you decide that you like the idea of this concept, then first and foremost we need to get “on the same page” and the first step for me was to find an easily accessible “library” of courses of fire. After a little searching I ended up on the American NRA website, on the page http://tpc.nra.org/past-courses-of-fire.aspx This informative page lists an absolute host of tactical competitive courses of fire used by Law Enforcement personnel and a simple click on any one leads to a printable document which gives a clear diagram of the course itself, what materials you will need to create it, how to run it, and how to score it! There it is, a comprehensive “library” that we can all get a “loan” from to head in the same direction. For example, if I said to you “this week let’s run scenario H1026 (“The Price of That Free Cup of Coffee”)” then all the information is right there for you!
AFFORDABLE FUN
With that sorted (at least in my mind) what else would you need? Well, for “Project Precision” all you really need is a good pistol belt that lets you carry a couple of spare mags for your carbine/rifle, a couple for your
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FEATURE PROJECT PRECISION
BILL’S SETUP
First up was the rifle/carbine and as I already had a tan NUPROL Delta Recon in hand, that was an easy choice! Mags were also in hand, so I simply added an optic on a QD riser and a compatible stock and I was “good to go”. I am a bit of a shotgun collector but I wanted something racy that wouldn’t break the bank… good old CYMA, their tri-barrel Tactical M870 Operator Shotgun fitted the bill perfectly! As you’ll have seen in the last issue, I rounded off my “longs” with the APS/Hakkotsu M40A3 bolt action, which I fitted with a NUPROL optic housed in a QD low mount and a “Harris” style bipod. Up until recently I was going to just run my existing RAVEN EU17 for the pistol element (although my fancy RAVEN Tactical 1911 was under serious consideration too), but of course, just as I decided this the new RAVEN RDS models appeared and that was that! The only modifications I’ve made to anything are purely cosmetic as at this stage as I want to run everything out of the box and see how I get on!
NEXT STEPS
If you like the idea of “Project Precision” (and there will be a few articles on the way to help you on your journey), then discuss it with your mates, suggest it to your local site or shop, pick some courses of fire from that NRA webpage and get shooting! And remember to send us your stories and pictures when you do as Nige has already said he will happily feature them. My thanks go to NUPROL, IWholesales, and Taiwan Gun for their initial support for “Project Precision”. Please do check out their websites for all the RIFs and accessories featured in this article. AA
NOTHING FANCY REQUIRED
Do you need anything fancy-schmancy for “Project Precision”? No, you really don’t! The concept is to run with whatever you already have, both in terms of gear and RIFs and just compete to have fun! I truly believe that this will show a really positive face of airsoft, both to the “governing bodies of shooting”, to the wider shooting community and of course, to the non-shooting
“DO YOU NEED ANYTHING FANCY-SCHMANCY FOR “PROJECT PRECISION”? NO, YOU REALLY DON’T! THE CONCEPT IS TO RUN WITH WHATEVER YOU ALREADY HAVE, BOTH IN TERMS OF GEAR AND RIFS AND JUST COMPETE TO HAVE FUN!”
public, so that can’t be a bad thing. For us as players it also, at least for me, takes me back to what I really enjoy about airsoft and that’s getting out in the fresh air and shooting with my mates in a safe and enjoyable environment. The thought of running a few courses of fire in a friendly yet competitive way, whilst the BBQ smokes gently in the background sounds like a cracking way to spend a summer’s day!
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KIT & GEAR AIRSOFT SYSTEMS POLYMER A-MAG
HAMMER TIME!
IF YOU FOLLOW REDWOLF AIRSOFT ON SOCIAL MEDIA THEN YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE TEST THEY DID WITH THE AIRSOFT SYSTEMS A-MAG, WHERE THEY THREW IT ABOUT A BIT, USED IT AS A HAMMER AND CHUCKED IT IN A BUCKET OF WATER! IT WAS PRETTY COOL BUT WAS THE MAG REALLY THAT GOOD? WE ASKED PHIL BUCKNALL TO FIND OUT… I HAD SEEN THE VIDEO SO I was pleased to be asked if I’d like to see how tough it was for myself. Remember that this is a magazine that comes as a set of 5 for around £30, with the ranger plates being an additional £7.50 so they are not expensive items made of hightech materials. From my own experiences, more often than not, cheap mags are not good mags, so I was pretty keen to see how it would perform.
THE TECHIE BIT
Firstly, let’s get the techie stuff covered off. The A-mag is an injection moulded polymer mag that weighs about 100g. It has minimal components to reduce friction internally; has a bb capacity of 85 and can be completely disassembled without any tools - although be careful when you do take them apart, as the first time I did it the main spring shot past my face and bounced off the ceiling in my lounge! It isn’t an outer shell with an insert containing the guts of the mag like my ERG EPM’s, so apart from the moving pieces it is a one-piece design. At present it is only available in black, although I understand that AS are working on other colours as we go to print. It also has optional “Ranger plates” that replace the flat base piece and slide effortlessly into place with a satisfying and positive click which stops it going anywhere. In due course the magazine arrived and I set about testing it. Of course, the first test was to see how it fed and if it worked well – and it did! It had absolutely no
issues feeding my 0.28g BBs and when in the test gun a Specna Arms EDGE E04 - there was no rattle. It was a good tight fit but still able to drop free with no outside help when the mag release was pressed. So far so good.
LET THE TORTURE BEGIN In the video online they did a few tests which I replicated, loading the mag into the gun after each one to check function. First off, I hit it with a hammer… a good half dozen times. Each time it bounced about a little and the odd BB flew out the feed tube but it didn’t show any more than the odd scuff. After that I used it AS THE HAMMER and knocked two nails into a piece of wood I had left over from making my target frames. The nails didn’t have broad heads so the force would be directed over a very small surface area. Again, a couple of BBs squirted
“I DRIVE A BIG OLD VW TOUREG 4X4, WHICH HAS A KERB WEIGHT LISTED AS 2900KGS. DO YOU SEE WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS? YEP, I PUT THE MAG ON THE TARMAC DRIVE BEHIND ONE OF THE REAR WHEELS AND THEN DROVE OVER IT A TOTAL OF EIGHT TIMES!”
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KIT & GEAR AIRSOFT SYSTEMS POLYMER A-MAG
out but the mag remained unmarked. so I used more force to drive the second nail into the wood further after seeing how easily it shrugged off the first. The mag still fit and fed flawlessly. Next, I threw it about a bit with it landing on stone each time - again, no visible damage to the mag and it still worked so I decided to take it up a notch or two. I drive a big old VW Toureg 4X4, which has a kerb weight listed as 2900kgs. Do you see where I’m going with this? Yep, I put the mag on the tarmac drive behind one of the rear wheels and then drove over it a total of eight times! This was the first test that produced some visible damage but it was purely cosmetic and the mag performed as it did when it first arrived. distance and waiting for the bang I went back to pick it up and although it looked a little more roughed up, mainly from the flare of the fuses I think, it didn’t melt the magazine or crack it and, yep, you guessed it… it STILL WORKED!! By now I’d used quite a bit of pyro and I wasn’t too keen to strap more than two Mk5s to it for fear of not being able to light them all off before the first one went boom, so I called it a day.
SUMMARY
FIRE IN THE HOLE!
Still not satisfied, I took myself off to Stormforce Airsoft in Rugeley, as they very graciously let me use their range for testing stuff all the time (thanks guys, it is greatly appreciated). Anyhow, on the range it was time to break out the pyros! First a pea grenade was taped onto the magazine and detonated. Not a sausage! It simply shrugged it off like all the other tests. Mind you a pea grenade is designed to explode safely, so I taped a Mk5 thunder flash to it vertically, thinking it would blast down the tube thus focusing the blast. It didn’t - but it did show how these Mk5s went bang! So for the next test I taped two side by side to the mag and carefully lit them - not an easy task once one is going! After throwing it a safe
It works! It works after quite severe and sustained abuse and it won’t break the bank. It may not be indestructible - apply enough force and anything will break - but you can rest assured it’ll take anything you can throw at it and keep on ticking. If you need some new mags and don’t want to spend a fortune, then you should really have a look at these. Thanks again to Airsoft Systems and RedWolf UK for lending me the mag for testing. Now, what else can I do to it I wonder… AA
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armoury GHK 553
BACK IN THE GBBR! STEVE T EXPLORES THE HEADY WORLD OF GBBRS TO FIND OUT IF GHK’S SIG 553 IS WORTH THE ASKING PRICE, OR IF AN AEG IS ALL YOU NEED. I’LL CUT TO THE CHASE and circle back to first impressions later because we encountered a big problem with the GHK 553 that I imported from Taiwan - 280 FPS average! That’s right; any old AEG could easily outrange me. In the price per performance stakes, that doesn’t seem like a great return on a not insignificant investment. No matter how awesome the 553 might feel, it proved to be a downgrade from an AEG worth a quarter of the price on its first game day. Consider me disappointed. It turns out that the supplied “sub one-Joule” nozzle intended for the UK market is very definitely under the equivalent 328FPS measurement - by nearly 50 FPS! Where I’d have been happy with just under 330 for breathing room at UK sites limited to 350FPS, such low numbers make the standard gun next to useless at just 280. While there’s no denying it matches the advertised <1J description, I had no idea it would be that far below and I’ve since found other owners, of both the 553 and the more affordable G5, in a similar predicament. With the standard nozzle promising between 380 and 395FPS depending on which site you check, that was out of the question for the UK too. Funny how they specify the more impressive higher FPS numbers though… GHK - if you’re reading - you should consider shipping with an adjustable nozzle as standard or be clearer to consumers about the power-down nozzle’s numbers. So had I made an expensive mistake with my lowpowered import? I’m happy to report not. It turns out you can get an aftermarket adjustable nozzle from FG Airsoft and, as a result, I can now dial in performance to suit a range of sites, right now averaging a steady 330FPS to allow for temperature variances. You could even tweak to within a mark or two on game day, if every last drop of performance matters to you.
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS SECOND
Opening the box for the first time and oh my, this is the real deal! It’s a solidly built, mostly metal construction other than polymer parts as you’d expect, such as the folding stock, grip and hand guards. The receiver has a luxurious grey finish that’s a manganese phosphate surface treatment Cerakote coating of the body, which should mean a hard wearing and durable finish. The 553 immediately felt great in the hand and cycled smoothly with no issues. While GHK’s 553 is available in the UK, the main advantage to importing from Taiwan is that’s the only way to get the engraved Sig trademarks throughout, presumably because of international licensing issues. The markings are both authentic and crisp but a greyer finish than the pictured bright white. We’d always prefer to buy within the UK but the trades alone were enough to prompt us to order from an overseas supplier.
MAGAZINE ISSUES The mags start off as a tight fit but a combination of use and AK-style forward-seating technique takes care of that. More problematic are the well documented restrictive magazine feed lips that make using a conventional thumb-driven speedloader impossible - even with the included
armoury GHK 553
feel brilliant! Okay, it means making concessions but adaptors, we can only fill the original mags halfway. the overall experience adds so much to any game that Instead, the included tube loader piles in the BBs with no problem. Which is OK in the safe zone but more it more than cancels them out. The sheer physicality than a bit of a faff mid-game because right now, we’re of a moving bolt - albeit half-travel on the 553 - adds feedback that no electric RIF can equal; not even with a using a conventional speedloader to fill the tube loader recoil system. to fill the magazine. Who has time for that in the heat of battle? Anyone with a preference for realistic scenarios will The mags wear in over time but you can file down appreciate the reduced ammo count that forces you the feed lips for a shortcut to alleviate this problem, to really consider your next move in the context of the if you wish – and even if you make a hash of it, spare game as it unfolds moment by moment. Sure, you could lips only cost a fiver. Interestingly, a second batch of just pile in with a hi-cap mag in your AEG - which would magazines fed okay from a standard speed loader, so make life a whole lot easier - but where’s the challenge you may not even encounter this problem. in that? The original Sig magazines have a very clever external Every shot from the 553 is accompanied by a more moulding with a clip-to-clip mechanism that allows dramatic sound than an AEG and more felt recoil in the multiple mags to clip together without any tools or shoulder too. And one unexpected advantage is that accessories. That’s reproduced here but we wouldn’t in a recent game at close quarters, one player actually recommend more than one pair to be coupled. And called his hits before I even pulled the trigger because while it can help with an in his words, “Your gun initial rapid-fire mag swap, scares me!” the problem is that those Only having used the “EVERY SHOT FROM THE 553 half-moon protuberances 553 in anger for a couple present a tangle-fest of outings, I can honestly IS ACCOMPANIED BY A MORE for anyone using elastic say that if all airsofters DRAMATIC SOUND THAN AN bungees to secure their used a GBBR, then every mags, adding crucial game would be a lot AEG AND MORE FELT RECOIL seconds to every reload as more fun. That’s because I IN THE SHOULDER TOO. AND you try to finagle one out play strategically anyway, of its pouch. They fit well carefully select my shots ONE UNEXPECTED ADVANTAGE in STANAG pouches and if and rarely spray and pray. IS THAT IN A RECENT GAME you use other fastenings But the reality is that on AT CLOSE QUARTERS, ONE such as Velcro, then don’t a Sunday, you’ll be playing worry about it. against people with hi-cap PLAYER ACTUALLY CALLED HIS One nice touch is that mags who tend to lean HITS BEFORE I EVEN PULLED GHK replicates the real on the trigger and at the mag’s translucent finish, end of the day, there’s no THE TRIGGER BECAUSE IN HIS with a two-part innerway you can measure up WORDS... outer construction. While beyond field craft, tactics the inner takes care of and marksmanship, that is. “YOUR GUN SCARES ME!”” the business, the dual But if you’re masochistic layer build means that enough to want to stack you can add a sticker kit the odds against yourself with bullet graphics between layers to replicate the before you’ve even left the safe zone and want the appearance of a fully loaded magazine. It’s a small detail most authentic experience you can get, then you need a but one that many softers will appreciate. GBBR. But does that mean you want THIS one? Those mags are heavy though, at about 390g each. That might not sound a lot but with each mag carrying ELEPHANT GUN just 32 BBs, you’re going to want to carry half a dozen The elephant in the room here is Tokyo Marui’s MWS, into a skirmish, which equates to nearly 2.5 kilos for which is commonly acknowledged as the best GBBR just 192 rounds - that’s less than a single mid-cap for an that’s both affordable - in relative terms - and readily AEG. available. It’s a safe option and one that we’ve certainly
WHY BOTHER?
If everything so far has made you think that an AEG sounds more convenient, then you’re not wrong. But the reason players persevere with GBBRs is because they
enjoyed using but that limits you to the M4 platform which may or may not suit you - and doesn’t appeal to me. There are other manufacturers that offer GBBRs but the consensus always seems to come down to a choice
“THE INCLUDED TUBE LOADER PILES IN THE BBS WITH NO PROBLEM. WHICH IS OK IN THE SAFE ZONE BUT MORE THAN A BIT OF A FAFF MID-GAME BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, WE’RE USING A CONVENTIONAL SPEEDLOADER TO FILL THE TUBE LOADER TO FILL THE MAGAZINE. WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE?” www.airsoft-action.online
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armoury GHK 553
between TM or GHK, for both the most accurate and most reliable options without spending four figures. I know I’m in the minority here but I feel that Marui no longer deserves the kudos they were once afforded, so I chose GHK based on their reputation and full metal construction - after all, if you’re going all in, go all in! After the afore-mentioned teething problems with FPS and nozzle versions, some research, additional spend and fitting, I’ve ended up with an assault rifle that makes me feel like an absolute hero on game day. Without doing a direct head-to-head review with an MWS, I can’t say for sure which is the better GBBR but what I can tell you is that I’ve never felt more on top of my game than when using the 553.
STRIP AND LUBRICATE, MATRON!
Whilst an AEG doesn’t really require work until a problem presents itself, a GBBR needs regular maintenance - but it is easier to work on. As long as you strip a GBBR between games and lubricate the moving surfaces, you’re pretty much good to go - much like a real firearm. It’s an easy procedure but one that many players ignore... and then wonder why their GBBR doesn’t work as it should. GHK’s 553 takes down much as the real thing does - and is beautifully simple in the process too. But one
well documented problem is the incredibly tight fit of the forward release pin for the upper and lower receiver. They weren’t kidding! After a month of ownership, I’m already on my third plaster. But that aside, as someone who avoids taking RIFs apart because I know they just won’t work after an idiot like me puts them back together, I’m already more confident working on the 553. While we’re speaking of upgrades, you might be glad to know the ICS cheek rest pops straight on, albeit blocking the folding stock’s capability to lock back. That doesn’t bother me since I never run a gun like that and the functional and aesthetic improvement is well worth it. And if you later decide the 553 is too short, there’s an upgrade kit to turn it into the longer 551.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Evaluating GHK’s beautiful 553 is really hard. Despite the solid production values, if you intend to leave it as standard, then 280 FPS totally kills its usability in the UK. Don’t even bother. If you want to buy a RIF to outperform all other RIFs out of the box, then this is not the one you’re looking for - you’d be better off with an AEG for a quarter of the price. But it’s a completely different story if you’re happy to lightly mod and release the 553’s full potential. I’m happy to report that task is not beyond even the most ham-fisted fettler such as myself. I have sausage fingers and a lack of patience to boot, but even I was able to install the new nozzle that single-handedly turned the 553 from an expensive folly into a genuine dream gun. With AEGs both more widely available and more affordable, do you need a GBBR like GHK’s 553? No. Should you want one? Definitely! AA GHK 553 SPECIFICATIONS Length: 740mm (Max) Inner barrel: 245mm Hop-up: Adjustable Weight: 3,050g (with magazine) Construction: Metal, with polymer parts Finish: Cerakote grey Capacity: 32 rounds Power source: Green gas Power: 280FPS as supplied with <1J nozzle (tested)
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FEATURE ACCESSORY ROUNDUP
AIRSOFT
ACCESSORIES ANGELO DV TAKES US THROUGH A ROUNDUP OF SOME OF THE ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE TODAY. Armourer Works Hi Capa Drum Mag One thing I have noticed over the last few years is that more and more players are using their pistol, as opposed to a rifle as their primary weapon. Now this can be down to the quality of pistols being much better and also sites running pistol only games, or it could be because they have been waiting for this product, (perhaps not). I was sent this drum mag some time ago by the lads at Extreme Airsoft, to basically see what I thought of it. Well I’ll be totally honest and say I have never been a fan of things like this, as gas products aren’t the most reliable at the best of times anyway. But I wanted to investigate further. The drum mag arrived and as soon as I picked up the box I was quite shocked at the weight of it, a really solid product. It was quite large too, to be hanging out of the bottom of a pistol but the aesthetics really grew on me. Now at the end of the day this is a drum mag, so there’s not too much you can say about it bit I’m certainly going to try. The capacity of the drum mag is approximately 300 BBs - plus as much gas as you can fit into it! One thing to point out here, is that gas mags normally vent when they are too cold and the pressure has dropped. This happens due to the sudden expansion of the gas when the release valve is struck. However, with this drum mag the expansion happens on the first shot so the shots after that will be so much more consistent. It was time to pop the mag into my Hi-Capa and give it a go. Shot after shot the consistency is there with no apparent cool down, I even popped it into the fridge for a couple of hours and it still worked fine. One thing I will say though, is make sure the mag catch on your 42
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pistol is up to the job and this mag is heavy and will need to be held very firmly. That’s it really, this is a very well built and sturdy product that will certainly get big pistol users very giddy. Big Thanks to Extreme Airsoft for supply of the product. DTD Mk23 Retention Holster Many moons ago when I started playing airsoft, the Mk23 pistol was considered a real budget pistol as it was very cheap and many beginners snapped them up. The main brands of these were the TM (with or without the LAM unit), HFC & ASG. However, since then the Mk23 has acquired quite a cult following with the market awash with upgrade parts. Better hop set ups and better inner barrels etc. etc. but the fly in the ointment was always a way of holstering the pistol. With the silencer attached the Mk23 is a really long pistol, so most traditional holsters just didn’t cut the mustard. Recently I got a Mk23 for myself and was determined to find a quality holster system for it and I saw a post on Facebook from a small company called DTD. I liked the look of the system they had produced and contacted them to see if I could get one. I was then contacted by Sebastian who is one of the guys behind the system. The holster itself is actually a 3D printed retention holster so it will easily clip in and out making transition to your pistol very easy indeed. The quality of this holster is first rate with no flashings or burrs anywhere.
KIT & GEAR ACCESSORY ROUNDUP
The pistol easily clips in and is very solid with no rattle whatsoever and with the quick press of a button the pistol is released. It also comes with a belt loop and an allen key to adjust the angle of the holster and a really cool touch is that the allen key clips into the holster too. All in all this is a great solution to what was a real nightmare for Mk23 users. An excellent product all round. Many thanks to DTD for the test holster. Viper Workbench Mats In most Airsoft players there is a techy waiting to get out
Viper very kindly sent three of the mats for me to try out and I was very impressed with the quality. The ones that were sent included two rifle mats, an AK and an AR15 that are probably as long as the rifles themselves, which is a great idea as it prevents any of the rifle coming into contact with the bench surface. In addition to this, I was also sent a smaller pistol one which coincidently was perfect for my dining table - Mrs DV is very pleased! These are made from high density rubber on the back to prevent any slipping and on the top the coating is very similar to a very expensive mouse mat, with some
and many like me convert their dining room table into a workbench. Now if your other half is like mine, she will soon be on your case regarding marks, scratches and burns on her dining room centrepiece. But that could be a thing of the past with the new workbench mats from Viper.
really cool diagrams on the of a Glock, an AK and an AR15. They are heavy and very flexible so thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curling up at the ends like some workbench mats I have seen. These are a great addition to any tech workshop and I am sure they will be very popular indeed. Big thanks to Viper for supplying the test products. AA
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KIT & GEAR A-TACS FG
REBELLION CAMO REVIEWED WANT A SCI-FI CAMO PATTERN THAT WORKS ON PLANET EARTH AS WELL AS THE MOON OF ENDOR? STEVE T CHECKS OUT SOME OF THE CURRENT OPTIONS FOR A-TACS FG. RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY, A-TACS FG will forever be recognised as Star Wars Camo for a certain sector of the nerdgasm. When the rebel forces advanced on Imperial bunkers in the forests of Endor’s moon in the last episode of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, the uniform looks like it comes from the Columbus, Georgia camo company. But the notion that Hamill, Ford and Fisher were kitted out in A-TACS is apocryphal; an urban myth that seems to gain credence the more it spreads. The fact is that while the movie came out in 1983, A-TACS Camo wasn’t established until 2009. So time travelling costumiers aside, there’s just no way Han Solo’s camo trenchcoat was anything other than a lab coat sprayed green by a talented props person.
A NEW HOPE
A-TACS is the work of serial camo creator Phil Duke and former Green Beret, Clint Hoover. Duke has long pioneered modern digital concealment patterns and continues to do so in 2019, with the new A-TACS iX pattern. After 25 years in the United States Army,
range of operational environments. Intended to advance traditional camo, the use of digital geometric-based patterns was designed to blend into the background noise of the environment. The shapes don’t attempt to recreate the environment, but use distortion and a palette of natural colors digitally sampled from real-world elements, combined with a mathematical algorithm that writes organically-shaped pixels using the specific color information. The result is a unique “pattern within a pattern” that allows A-TACS to effectively break the human outline that’s claimed to minimise the “blobbing” effect of other patterns.
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Originally designed for use in open, rocky or arid environments, AU was later followed by an FG variant that not only added more green tones, but actually created a new pattern from the ground up. Utilising numerous shades of green sampled directly from a variety of forested elements combined with different shades of earth, A-TACS FG Camo was developed to be effective in a wide range of temperate environments.
“THE FIRST A-TACS PATTERN WAS AU AND, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, AU ISN’T AN ABBREVIATION FOR AUSTRALIA, BUT ARID URBAN. DEVELOPED BY DIGITAL CONCEALMENT SYSTEMS (DCS), IT WAS CONCEIVED AS A UNIVERSAL PATTERN FOR A WIDE RANGE OF OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS.”
Hoover started working with A-TACS Camouflage in 2013 and is now a co-owner of the company. The first A-Tacs pattern was AU and, contrary to popular belief, AU isn’t an abbreviation for Australia, but Arid Urban. Developed by Digital Concealment Systems (DCS), it was conceived as a universal pattern for a wide 44
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Just like the green and pleasant land that most Airsoft Action readers might encounter on game day… Airsofters don’t need to be restricted by standard issue cost restraints that led to the USA’s ubiquitous Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP). If you always play in British woodlands, then buy DPM - that’s what it was designed
KIT & GEAR A-TACS FG
for, after all! But maybe there are better alternatives to those hard-edged shapes. Depending on the vegetation in your local site, maybe Flecktarn, M90 or Tiger Stripe will prove more effective. If you want a camo pattern that’s broadly effective across the parameters of green vegetation, then A-TACS FG could be what you’re looking for.
ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Let’s work from the bottom up - both in terms of clothing and price. Invader Gear is a relatively new manufacturer based in Austria, but they’ve quickly gained traction with a reputation for producing quality gear at affordable prices. And on this evidence, there’s no reason any aisofter would need to look elsewhere. The first pair of pants is their Revenger TDU trousers. Like the rest of their range, they’re not officially A-TACS, but their “Everglade” colourway is an effective facsimile. At just £37, the Revenger is within just about anyone’s budget too. The colours look great, but at 65% Cotton and 35% Polyester, the material is surprisingly thick - this is definitely not a tropic option. In fact, it’s so stiff that it feels a lot like military surplus waterproofs. There’s a re-inforced seat with draw-string adjustment at waist and hem, as well as pockets for knee armour. For less than £40, we’re pretty impressed. Next up is the Predator combat pants from the same manufacturer at around £75. So what does doubling the price get you? Despite using the same blend of materials, the Predator’s material is lighter. It also features stretch panels around the knees and seat, as well as removable hard armour at the knees and velcro waist closure instead of a button. The Predator is definitely the more versatile pant, with more pockets and fitment straps on the legs. The colours are also slightly darker.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Moving up the price range to £120 and the “Combat Hose” from Germany’s Leo Köhler. Founded in Poppenhausen as long ago as 1927, it’s still a family business. The company certainly has heritage - and a price tag to match - but many users complain about loss of colour through washes. I’ve only laundered these trousers once, but they’ve held up okay so far; just wash cool as per the label, instead of warm. There are many and varied pockets with more zips, poppers and straps than either of the offerings from Invader Gear but there are also a couple of shortcomings. There might be pockets within pockets on the butt to provide velcro fastening if that’s where
you like to keep your wallet, but unbelievably, there’s nowhere to insert soft knee armour, even though there are double material panels. With the official A-TACS licence behind them, the appearance of Köhler’s Hose is subtly different. The colour’s greener than Invader Gear’s Revenger, but less brown that the Predator. There’s not much in it, but there is a difference between licenced and not. That alone might not justify the higher price, but the Köhlers are a well constructed pair of trousers, with reinforcement and double stitching on key areas of wear or failure. Their track record in supplying armed forces wins out in combats that we not only would we be confident to wear for a skirmish, but also into, well… combat. We found that the measurements on all three trousers were on the generous side - and none feature waist adjustment - so we’d go one down if you’re between sizes.
THE PHANTOM MENACE
Of course, for full effect any camo loadout needs an effective top half to match the legs. Invader Gear also offers a UBACS in the Everglade scheme, Spec Ops style. The price is also good at just £35. While the sleeves are 65% cotton and 35% polyester, the torso is 80% cotton. It’s a small distinction, but it means that this top is less likely to instigate a sweat-o-thon than other similarly priced shirts, while still being able to wick sweat. It’s slightly heavier than the body on most UBACS, but it’s also a more effective olive drab for British woodland sites, rather than the more usual Flat Dark Earth or Tan. The collar is a zip fasten, with pockets ready for soft armour at the elbows and the usual velcro pockets you’d expect on the biceps. But unlike their pants, this is a snugger fit than expected, so we’d size up. Leo Köhler’s A-TACS FG UBACS not only features a tan torso, but also collars such as you’d find on a rugby shirt. Instead, we chose another licenced option from Missouribased Propper. They’ve been producing kit since 1967, so they have their stuff pretty much dialled in by now. One instant win over the competition with their UBACS is the fact www.airsoft-action.online
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KIT & GEAR A-TACS FG
that the camo carries over across the 60% cotton jersey torso - unlike pretty much every other option on the market. Of this, we very much approve. But as a result, the material is just that bit heavier across the chest. It’s not at all uncomfortable, but heavier = hotter, so anyone looking for a cool option might want to look elsewhere. That said, there’s less instasweat than conventional Polyheavy garb. We think the heavier weight is worth the tradeoff for more camo cover. Propper’s design also stands out for having a shorter zip collar, as well as sculpted shoulders with expansion panels. It also has more and better pockets, including space for soft elbow armour again. Okay, at £69 it costs a bit more than your standard UBACS, but between the tailored shape and well thought out features such as the thumb holes in the sleeves, you can see where the extra manufacturing cost has gone.
REVENGE OF THE SIX-AND-THREEQUARTERS
As a final aside, what you really need to “cap” off any camo outfit is good headwear. At the time of writing, Propper’s A-TACS FG Boonie isn’t available in melonbonce sizes, so I’ve opted instead for Condor Ourdoor’s Mesh Tactical Cap.
Oddly, Condor’s entire A-TACS range is limited to just four peaked caps, with a mesh or full material version for AU and FG patterns. You get the usual Condor quality for a reasonable price - and it fits my 61cm head just fine - but unlike other options, you can opt for a mesh rear to help with heat dispersion. The velcro patches fore and aft mean that you can either add morale patches or plug in 3D camo options if you so choose, even though it’s “just” a baseball cap. It’s a good option at just £16.
THE LAST JEDI
Let’s be honest, other than ghillie-ing up as a dedicated sniper, for most games, most of the time, the camo you choose in airsoft is pretty irrelevant. Unless you exclusively play MilSim, there are minimal differences at typical engagement distances under usual game rules. With good field craft, you’ll probably be okay as long as you wear neutral tones instead of a pink tutu. Once you look past the standard issue MTP and unless you need to conform to a squad loadout, every player has their individual preference and all things considered, mine would have to be A-TACS FG. It might not fit in with conventional camo, but I think it’s a) effective and b) distinctive - and b is only valid because of a. I’m happy to report that there’s a range of FG options to choose from in 2019 - and this mini group test definitely doesn’t even begin to cover them all. We’ve come a long way since airsofters’ only option was military surplus... Which would I choose out of the options covered here? If I was on a budget, I’d pair Invader Gear’s Predator pants with their UBACS and be quite happy, thank you very much. But all things considered, I’d have to go for the Propper full body camo UBACS and Leo Köhler pants. I’d probably still get shot as often on a Sunday but I’d feel good about it - and may just help get the forcefield down in time for the rebellion fleet... AA
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AIRSOFT 101 NIGHT VISION HELMET SETUP
IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD A CHANCE TO READ TOM “ANVIL” HIBBERD’S SIONYX AURORA NIGHT VISION DIGITAL CAMERA ARTICLE IN THIS ISSUE, WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO THAT FIRST AND THEN COME BACK HERE! ALL DONE OR ALREADY READ IT? GREAT! LET’S GET GOING… FIRST THINGS FIRST… BONE DOME When you are pricing up your night vision solution you also need to think about the rest of the gear you will need to use it properly and safely. The first of those is a helmet. There are solutions that are a series of “bars and straps”, rather than a complete helmet but they don’t really distribute the load on your head very well. This is because you can’t place pads just where you need them - They are nicknamed “head crushers” for a good reason. My helmet started life as an FMA clone of an OpsCore FAST (Future Assault Shell Technology) Helmet, these are very common in airsoft games but not all are created equal. If you are shopping for a helmet, avoid at all costs the ones with a moulded in shroud, as this is the one component you will almost certainly be replacing.
removable plastic shroud that was just about okay to hang a GoPro off but really wasn’t capable of handling the weight of a night vision device. There are several options available, including a genuine Ops-Core shroud but I managed to acquire a very well-made Wilcox option online. There are airsoft clones of proper shrouds available, however, I would recommend against using one if possible. They won’t be made of proper materials and sometimes don’t fit very well. I know of one make where the arm doesn’t even fit into the shroud without getting out the Dremel! ARM The next thing you’ll need to think about is your mount or arm. This is a (normally) a very adjustable device that allows you to position your night vision device correctly in front of your eye, or eyes, depending on wether you’ve chosen a binocular or monocular option. There are lots of options for this with the two leading contenders being Norotos and Wilcox. Both of these
“THERE ARE SOLUTIONS THAT ARE A SERIES OF “BARS AND STRAPS”, RATHER THAN A COMPLETE HELMET BUT THEY DON’T REALLY DISTRIBUTE THE LOAD ON YOUR HEAD VERY WELL. THIS IS BECAUSE YOU CAN’T PLACE PADS JUST WHERE YOU NEED THEM THEY ARE NICKNAMED “HEAD CRUSHERS” FOR A GOOD REASON.” SHROUDS The shroud is the rectangular feature on the front of your helmet. Most people use it to mount an action camera but its real use is to attach the night vision arm to your helmet. My helmet came with a pretty awful 48
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are hard to find in the UK and clones are available from airsoft manufacturers, so be careful what you are purchasing! FLIR do a range of mounts that are available from Scott Country International for their products. I have a Wilcox L4 G24 Arm that is excellent though
AIRSOFT 101 NIGHT VISION HELMET SETUP
“HAVING HALF A KILO OF GEAR ON THE FRONT OF YOUR HELMET CAN, QUITE LITERALLY, BE A COMPLETE PAIN IN THE NECK AND UNLESS YOU HAVE THE NECK OF A FRONT ROW RUGBY FORWARD, VERY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME.” probably overkill, however, when I’m testing gear I need to be sure that the review kit isn’t going to fall off!
PADS The pads that came with my helmet weren’t especially great to begin with but when the weight they were carrying went up, they became totally unsuitable. They were basically too soft and deformed too much under load from the Night Vision, crushing the helmet shell into my head. I replaced them with a set intended for a MICH helmet. These are much more suitable, supportive and comfortable. STRAPS My FMA helmet originally came with a dial adjust set of straps with poor materials and worse, plastic fasteners that kept coming loose all the time. This was made even worse as soon as I started carrying any sort of load on my helmet. The plastic band that the straps were attached too gave me headaches after only 30 mins. These were all replaced by a set of straps from a Crye Airframe helmet that were much more suitable.
ADAPTOR If you are using a monocular you will almost certainly need an adaptor to attach your Night Vision Device to your mount. These are very model-specific and will differ depending on what unit you have and what you are connecting it too. Some people use two separate monoculars joined via a bridge and most binocular devices are on an adaptor that will attach directly to your mount. For the SiOnyx review I used an adaptor specifically 3D Printed for my measurements by Lion Gear Industries. COUNTERWEIGHT Having half a kilo of gear on the front of your helmet can, quite literally, be a complete pain in the neck and unless you have the neck of a front row rugby forward, very difficult to deal with for any length of time. The most common way of dealing with this, is to mount a counterweight pouch on the back of your helmet to offset the weight of the night vision device. In the real world these are often filled with steel blocks or even lots of batteries. They can also be used to carry chem light sticks and IR patches to make it easy to distinguish team-mates. This is one area where I’m not going to recommend a real product. I have a decent repro that is made well enough and normally houses a 10,000mAh power bank that can power my GoPro or the SiOnyx when I was testing it. Counterweight pouches can get really complex so which one you choose is dependent on what you need from it. HELMET COVER Some airsoft helmets are covered in paint that glows under night vision or has plastics that are very shiny. I have a First Spear cover that is treated to not show up under night vision and blend into the background. There isn’t much point in wearing something that gives you away!
THE ALTERNATIVE If I were doing this all again, I would go straight away for a real helmet from Ops-Core, Team Wendy
or even a ballistic version from a company such as Nexus (distributed by UK Tactical). Although expensive compared to an airsoft clone, they come with most of the components you need without having to upgrade. My team mate, Gadge (recently of this magazine), did just this when it was apparent his new Night Vision mount was not going to fit his airsoft helmet shroud correctly and, overall, has saved money over my approach! To be fair, he did have to add a few pads to make sure it settled on his head correctly. I hope this article gives you an idea about what goes into setting up a helmet for night vision. You’ll also need an IR illuminator for very dark areas and some way of aiming, either a NV Compatible red dot that allows you to sight through your NV or an IR laser mounted to your airsoft gun. To see more of Tom’s and Gadge’s Night Vision setups, head over to Airsoft Action TV on YouTube and check out our video on them. www.youtube.com/airoftactiontv AA
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KIT & GEAR LION’S GEAR SOLUTIONS
IF YOU’VE READ TOM “ANVIL” HIBBERD’S ARTICLE ON THE SIONYX ACTION CAM, YOU’LL HAVE NOTICED HE MENTIONS LION’S GEAR SOLUTIONS. WHEN HE AND SCOTT COUNTRY INTERNATIONAL WERE LOOKING AT HOW TO MOUNT AN AURORA ONTO A HELMET, THEY TURNED OUT TO HAVE THE ANSWER TO A MOUNTING PROBLEM.
The SiOnyx Aurora was not built as a night vision monocular and has a traditional tripod mount. Unlike the PVS-14 NVD or FLIR devices, there isn’t a veritable plethora of adaptors and j-arms made for it yet. It might be possible to creatively convert something made for another platform but that comes with its own challenges and you run the risk of making a very expensive mistake.
TO THE RESCUE
In came Lion’s Gear Solutions, a small 3D Printing company based in Europe and Lucian was very helpful when we discussed what I needed. We decided on a Hyperion Dual Bridge ($89/€79) that was built especially for my pupillary distance. The pupillary distance (PD), or inter-pupillary distance (IPD), is the distance measured in millimetres between the centre of the pupils, of the eyes.
expensive NV gear to your helmet anyway, regardless of what mounting system you are using. They also sell the The Mission Adaptive Combat Helmet Optics System (MACHOS) ($199.00/€179.00) which features an adjustable pupillary distance, as well as pivoting arms and device connection plates which will allow compatibility with SiOnyx Auroras, PVS-14s and many other devices. Both adaptors are compatible with WilcoX L4 G24s, Norotos TATMs or modified Norotos Rhinos and possibly other dovetail compatible mounts.
PROTECTING YOUR ASSETS
As well as the Hyperion, Lion’s Gear Solutions sent me a Aspis lens cover ($19/€17) complete with a very clear polycarbonate sacrificial lens to protect the SiOnyx Aurora from harm during play. Now I didn’t take any hits on the lens and, quite frankly, I’m not prepared to shoot my test unit but it certainly inspired confidence and made me feel better about exposing it to harm.
BRIGHT EYES
During my testing one of the issues I noticed with the SiOnyx Aurora was the amount of “light splash” coming from the view screen. It’s very noticeable, especially to another NV user. Conventional analogue units partially deal with this with the use of an eye cup and Lion are now producing an adaptor that allows the use of a US standard ITT PVS-14/17 eyecup. This replaces the stock, standard eyecup on the Aurora, it is 3D printed from plastic and is called the Top Hat. Prices are yet to be finalised and you’ll need to supply your own eyecup to fit to it. Due to the difficulties in obtaining original metal dovetails outside the US, Lion have chosen to make a version out of a tough plastic. They are still evaluating the material at the moment, so I chose to add a couple of zip ties just to make sure I didn’t lose the camera midgame. I would also suggest that you dummy cord your
PRICES & POSTING
All the prices were correct at time of going to press but don’t include postage. This is around around $25 so I would order as many items as you can at once to save some money. You can find Lion’s Gear Solutions on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks again for the review products! AA www.airsoft-action.online
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armoury KWA M9 PTP
EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING? STEVE T FINALLY LANDS HIS “ELEANOR” - KWA’S M9 PTP - THEN HAS TO WORK OUT IF A TRAINING PISTOL IS GOOD TO SKIRMISH AFTER ALL. WHAT IF YOU WANTED THE CLOSEST experience to operating a real world sidearm that airsoft has to offer? There are many candidates that offer a reasonably authentic experience but what about when that last minutiae really matters? When you want to feel as close to real as you can? Or even credibly work on your drills if you use the actual firearm but want a more costeffective training tool? That’s exactly the mission brief for KWA’s Professional Training Pistol (PTP) line of airsoft RIFs - and by whichever God you worship, have they hit the nail on the head! This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful airsoft replica of a sidearm that I have ever handled. Forgive me for coming over all giddy but I’ve lusted after
Image courtesy of KWA
“THIS IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AIRSOFT REPLICA OF A SIDEARM THAT I HAVE EVER HANDLED. FORGIVE ME FOR COMING OVER ALL GIDDY BUT I’VE LUSTED AFTER KWA’S M9 PTP FOR A LONG TIME - AND HELD OFF BECAUSE OF THE £200 PRICE TAG.”
KWA’s M9 PTP for a long time - and held off because of the £200 price tag. I’m not disappointed now that I finally have one in my collection.
TIME FOR ACTION
Hollywood picked up on the M9 in the 80s for good reason - it was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 1985, replacing the venerable 1911 and narrowly beating out SIG’s P226. As such, the M9 was the perfect icon for an optimistic age that would see the fall of the Berlin Wall and witnessed the transition from long-serving real steel to polymer firearms, such as the Glock 17, towards the end of the 20th century. As a gentleman “of a certain age” - ahem, old bugger! - I grew up on a steady diet of 80s action movies and if the M9 was good enough for Martin Riggs and John McClane in Lethal Weapon and Die Hard respectively, then that’s what I wanted. I had an all-plastic springer version before airsoft was even a thing and spent many hours championing my choice against Browning Hi-Power Beverly Hills Cop fans. Yes, you could accuse me of buying into the platform before this review even started. But the most recent notable airsoft version of the M9 was G&G’s GPM92. Somehow, it managed to both feel less authentic than the older KWC heavyweight and also vented gas on my particular unit, rendering it unusable. I only mention that not to do G&G a disservice but to illustrate that I’ll take function over form every time.
TRAINING PAST
KWA takes its training firearms very seriously, with the range including everything from M4s and AKs to 226s and 1911s. While they’re all very different weapons, the common denominator is that they’re 56
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armoury KWA M9 PTP
all designed to offer cost-effective training solutions for armed forces around the world, from law enforcement to the military. Across various platforms, KWA’s Unique Selling Point for their PTP range is that it offers the end user – i.e. anybody undergoing firearms training - the exact same experience of handling the real weapon but in a more affordable airsoft form. KWA’s marketing claims that every 750 BBs fired equates to the cost of just one “sim round”. That’s a significant saving, no matter who’s footing the bill. As such, KWA has gone to extreme lengths not only to incorporate the same operating interfaces on its M9 including a functional decocker - but also to ensure that the RIF’s weighting and balance matches its real world counterpart so that operatives have a genuinely viable alternative to training with real firearms. The M9 PTP matches the real deal in terms of dimensions - and therefore holster and accessory compatibility - but it also weighs in at 1.075kg (tested) against the real M9’s 1.16kg. That’s pretty darned close. According to KWA, the weight distribution also replicates the real world weapon.
TRIED AND TESTED
This is hardly a new release, as KWA has been producing the M9 PTP for many years, with minor updates along
the way including the introduction of the second generation around 2007. There have been so many variants of their M9 that it’s hard to keep track of, with the slides on most versions bearing the white-blazened legend, “KWA”, “PTP”, or even “PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PISTOL” - all of which are obnoxious to the eye to varying degrees. It’s enough to put you off, but more on that in a moment... Good luck trying to find a new KWA M9 PTP in the UK in 2019. America is better catered for, but it’s rarer than hen’s teeth right now in dear old Blighty. Cast your net slightly wider though and you can still find them for sale on the continent. A word to the wise based on personal experience though - it turns out that
we mentioned earlier - this time the contintental version is both less intrusive and just plain “cooler” than UK models. To the left, it reads “U.S. M9 ARMED FORCES”, as well as the PB logo (Pietro Beretta), while the right mentions CAL 6mm BB in suitably small script. It’s worlds apart from the training school vibe of other editions.
GOOD THINGS COME IN...
The packaging is disappointing. An utterly boring cardboard outer with a polystyrene tray. Meh! But break through the clear film to liberate the pistol itself and you’ll be immediately struck by its heft. Upon handling this RIF, you’re bound to notice the feeling of a quality product. The slide racks so slick, the mag releases and reseats like a dream and that trigger? Oh, the trigger is so light and so smooth. It’s utterly predictable in double action and a genuine delight to use in single action. It makes every airsoft pistol I’ve handled previously feel positively agricultural. And that includes TM Hi Capas, WE Glocks and even ASG’s new Shadow 2 as reviewed last issue. There’s no denying they’re all fine RIFs, but this... this is in another league.
IT’S A NUMBERS GAME
The KWA M9 PTP averages 337 FPS for the first 10 shots from the green gas mag, then around 320 until empty. That’s pretty decent, but KWA’s NS2 gas management might be starting to show its age, with 1.5 mags of BBs at best before needing to re-gas on average. Or it might just be that the metal slide matching the weight of its real world counterpart is that much heavier than the average airsoft pistol, so needs more gas to shift its weight fore and aft. Either way, we’re looking forward to comparing this with ICS’ new BLE-BM9 soon, with the new REVO valve system that promises up to four magazines per fill. If you’re looking for max BBs on one gas load, then KWA’s PTP will disappoint but if MilSim is your thing, then one mag before top up isn’t even an issue. We loved the ability to lock the PTP’s mag spring back while loading, but were less enamoured with the need to use a speedloader plus adaptor to fill via the lips, while newer competitors allow you to thumb-drive into a cutout in the stack. It’s a small detail, but one that makes this M9 harder to justify for a skirmish, with its increased load times. On our outdoor range at 25m, the PTP proved to be an absolute trooper once we’d dialled in the hop-up. A proper old school weapon, there’s none of your fancy windage or elevation adjustment - just get on and shoot the thing! Use your skills as a shooter to adjust for the
“A PROPER OLD SCHOOL WEAPON, THERE’S NONE OF YOUR FANCY WINDAGE OR ELEVATION ADJUSTMENT - JUST GET ON AND SHOOT THE THING!” Switzerland is not in the EU, so goods despatched from there to the UK are subject to import duty. Who knew? Oh, everyone else. That was a costly mistake… But that said - and revisiting those dreaded trades
conditions. And let’s be honest - who really needs to dial in those factors for airsoft? From a rested position at that range, the PTP was
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armoury KWA M9 PTP
reliably making respectable groupings. That buttery trigger helps so much by making the break point utterly predictable every time, so you know just when the shot will be sent.
HOPPING MAD OR INSPIRED?
One peculiarity of the PTP is the hop-up adjustment - and this is both a positive and a negative. Most pistols require the user to remove the slide to adjust the hop-up, which seems inconsequential to experienced airsofters, but is actually off-putting to novices. Instead, as is standard from KWA, the PTP’s hop is adjustable using a bespoke tool via the ejection port with no disassembly required. It’s ironic that KWA has a more userfriendly hop adjust than most when not many noobs would buy it given the top-end price tag. It’s a brilliant solution, but it also requires the use of an accessory that’s included in the
packaging. It’s less than 5cm long and could be easy to lose - and then your hop is as good as fixed. Fortunately, KWA has machined an eyelet into the shaft, so you can easily attach it to a keyring or lanyard.
DOES A TRAINING TOOL MAKE A GOOD AIRSOFT RIF?
Ah, now THAT is the question! It’s all well and good having a pistol that looks and functions just like the real thing but - unless you just want to practice drills - the primary objective for any airsoft gun has to be whether it’s a good airsoft gun, right? As long as you’re willing to make allowances for filling up with gas every time you reload with BBs then… yeah. Why not? It shoots straight and has decent range, doesn’t feel like it will break if you drop it and looks boss in my book. And let’s be honest - that’s half the battle won right there. Is it worth the outlay? In terms of pure performance, hell no! You could spend half this to the same effect. And most softers would be well advised to do just that. But as an experience? Oh, yeah! I’ve always said that I want airsoft RIFs that are as close to the real deal as I can get and you know what? Here it is.
LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR
KWA’s M9 PTP may not be the sexiest new product on the market and it certainly isn’t the most efficient, purely as an airsoft sidearm. But in terms of feel - and putting you in the moment - I’ve not found an airsoft sidearm to rival it. The sheer quality of execution elevates KWA’s M9 PTP above anything else I’ve experienced. AA
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THE CAGE CHEST RIGS HOLSTERS
THE CAGE:
CHEST RIGS BILL IS BACK AGAIN THIS MONTH WITH MEMBERS OF THE AIRSOFT ACTION “CREW” TO LOOK AT ANOTHER ITEM OF GEAR THAT GETS REGULAR USE “IN GAME” AND THAT’S THE VENERABLE CHEST RIG! “OLD SKOOL” OR THOROUGHLY MODERN, IT’S A PIECE OF GEAR THAT SUITS EVERY NEED… IN MY OPINION A DECENT CHEST RIG (indeed more than one!) should have permanent residence in any self-respecting airsofters personal “Cage” of gear’ as I genuinely believe it’s one of the most useful bits of kit you’ll ever own! Whether you’re a full-on skirmisher or MilSim “warrior”, a chest rig will fulfil all that you need in terms of load carriage or simple gear-hauling; there really is a model that will suit both your budget and your style of play! Interestingly, when I threw the question of “which chest rig do you prefer” out to the Airsoft Action team, I was genuinely surprised by the reaction. Whilst many of the “old and bold” own and use different models for different scenarios (more on that in a bit), it appears that the younger generation, by and large, are more attuned to plate carriers! I believe this actually says a lot about how airsoft itself has changed! When I first started out playing and DPM was “de rigeur”, most guys I knew used some form of belt-mounted load bearing gear, usually ’58 pattern webbing as it was cheap and easily available.
If, in those days, you wanted to look all “ally” and “operator” (I don’t think that phrase even existed back then…) then you’d go for a chest rig over your SAS or RM pattern smock, usually a Webtex model but if you were properly “into things”, then an ARKTIS. I was all set as I already had a classic ARKTIS rig that I’d bought from a Royal Marine in Deal but in the years that followed the ante was upped, as folk started appearing with rigs from the likes of BLACKHAWK! And then more esoteric models, like the original LBT models. Movies like “Blackhawk Down” showed DELTA wearing BLACKHAWK! .223 Chest Rigs over PT body armour sent things in a new direction and soon airsoft fields were awash with “Slick” setups, with the load bearing element worn separately to the armour carrier. But even then the chest rig was nothing new! Many will rattle on about the Rhodesians being the “daddy” of the tactical chest rig story but, in reality, the “rig” has been somewhat of a staple throughout military history, often being worn by “special units”, or at the very least those that could be
“MOVIES LIKE “BLACKHAWK DOWN” SHOWED DELTA WEARING BLACKHAWK! .223 CHEST RIGS OVER PT BODY ARMOUR SENT THINGS IN A NEW DIRECTION AND SOON AIRSOFT FIELDS WERE AWASH WITH “SLICK” SETUPS, WITH THE LOAD BEARING ELEMENT WORN SEPARATELY TO THE ARMOUR CARRIER.”
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THE CAGE CHEST RIGS
classed unconventional! If you look way back at pictures of pirates and Royal navy Boarding Parties, you’ll quite regularly see pistols and knives being carried across the chest and of course the humble canvas/webbing rifle bandolier was also often worn “crosswise” to aid in accessing ammunition! Back in WWII there are pictures of bandoliers being worn across the chest by both allied and axis troops and when you get into Vietnam this was fairly common practice, although it wasn’t just bandoliers that were used!
This was the heyday of the “ChiCom” rig for the Type 56/AK47 rifle and once the Americans cottoned on to how useful this bit of kit was, certain units soon started using them too! Not only the “ChiCom” was used but also the rig for the SKS rifle, as 20 round magazines for the M16 fitted this perfectly! Soon certain units were fabricating their own “in country” rigs designed for the longer 30 round magazines and the SEALs in particular were great fans of this style, often operating in the chest deep waters of the Delta, where such equipment kept magazines and ammunition clear of the muck.
PICKING A STYLE
Suffice to say that the chest rig has been around in one form or another for some considerable time and the choice of styles and load carrying options are now considerable. In my mind though you can break it down into three distinct areas: “Recon Rigs” The first style is one that I’m very fond of and this will include the original “ChiCom”, in that the rig is designed to carry spare magazines and very little else. Often used in conjunction with a patrol pack, “the recon rig” gives you immediate access to ammunition that could be restricted in a conventional belt position by the straps/belt of your pack. Although the “ChiCom” is the best
example here, more up-to-date designs are available from numerous manufacturers and I have a super splitfront version from US brand “Head On Tactical”. “Range Rigs” Chest rigs are really having a comeback moment when it comes to “training”. In the real world, a “training
rig” harks back to that DELTA setup where you wear it over - and in addition to - a low volume body armour vest (LVBAV), as it’s easy to get on and off when you’re on the range. An example here would be the Haley DC3 family, or the Direct Action Hurricane Hybrid. “Fighting Rigs” Upping the load carrying aspect of the rig, the “Fighting” version takes its lead from the “recon and training” and then adds additional storage. A great example of this is the original ARKTIS, the LBT 1961, or coming up to date the Helikon-Tex Guardian and the Direct Action Thunderbolt. In this category I’ll also include the multitude of MOLLE platforms that can be configured to your liking. This is a broad overview but in essence, boils the designs down to their essence. Super-light and basic, light yet versatile and then full-on “I’m out for a fight” style - basically the choice is yours! When I asked the crew what their preferences were, they told me: Phil: “Spiritus Systems Microfight MK4 for me. I have the extender wings which I use for a radio in the left
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CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK
MBDU® - Shirt and Pants Advanced Battle Uniform
- Anatomical cut with adjustable cuffs and easy to adjust waist - Side VersaStretch® panels for additional freedom of movement - Reinforced knees, compatible with Low Profile Protective Pads
www.helikon-tex.com
Journey to perfection
THE CAGE CHEST RIGS
and a pistol in the right. I have inserts for 5.56, 7.62 and 9mm sized mags so it’s really easy to switch between mag types and I don’t need a rig for each. I also have the double pistol mag pouch fitted and have the option of using either a full flap to seal of the front pocket or a half flap for, well, half the pocket. I have the WAS dangler pouch underneath for grenades. That means I can carry everything I need for a game in a small package and it works great; especially if it’s a warm day like yesterday. I used this instead of my WARRIOR DCS.” Tom: “I’ve got a couple of expensive chest rigs, Head On Tactical and Platatac that I use for modern loadouts. However, I keep coming back to the grand-daddy of them all, the venerable ChiCom. It’s perfect for retro loadouts and is still being used by OpFor to the present day. Indeed, it was just being used by a good friend this last weekend at a Gunman 1990s Filmsim. Sometimes simple really is the best.” Scott: “I’ve been running the Haley rig for years. Covers all the basics without much fuss.... apart from your wallet!” Steve: “I scored a good deal on a Condor Modular Chest Set (OD Green), for less than £50 on Amazon, including hydro and admin pouches. Great quality as standard, but an even more amazing price. Can’t fault it TBH.” Nige: “I don’t use a chest rig normally, the only time being the
first Pilgrim Bandits game at Humber Airsoft- which was also my first “proper OpFor” run out. I used a ChiCom (borrowed from a certain Mr. Thomas) and found it perfectly suited to my needs for the day and would be more than happy to use the same again.” Callum: “Sorry boss I don’t use chest rigs, I’m a plate carrier hussy! That said, I’m about to go deeper into my Russian love and get a chest rig… curse you all!” It’s a pretty “broad church” when it comes to chest rig models amongst the team but personally I am a bitch for them! Amongst the collection I still have my original ARKTIS for “Cold War” reasons, a number of ChiComs in different colours, a repro SEAL “in country” canvas model and a number of modern versions. I still love the original lightweight BLACKHAWK! .223 model and the LBT 1961 is a classic that I wouldn’t be without. In terms of “modern” rigs I have models from UR Tactical and TAG, along with the Head On Tactical Split Front, the Guardian from HelikonTex and the Hurricane Hybrid from Direct Action. Along with my good friend Bjorn from Klockar Airsoft, I’ve recently also been testing the new “Vulture” range rig from One Tigris and apart from a couple of small design tweaks we’ve discussed with them, this is another little corker and well-priced too. Speaking of price, if you fancy adding a chest rig to your own “Cage” then both VIPER and NUPROL are doing models that are really budget-friendly. If you’ve not yet made the jump to a chest rig then trust me when I say give it a go, you won’t regret it! AA
If you have any old kit or gear tucked away in a cupboard, garage or shed that you have thought about sticking on eBay, or a forum to get rid of it, then why not donate it to the Pilgrim Bandits instead and Tez will make sure any money raised from its sale will go towards helping even more people – and you can be sure of the undying gratitude and thanks of those who it helps to live again. Please contact Tez on either his mobile: 07748 800 981 or email: terry.arnett@pilgrimbandits.org
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armoury TOKYO MARUI FNX TACTICAL .45ACP
TM FNX: TACTICAL HAND CANNON
HAVING NEARLY BOUGHT ONE A FEW YEARS AGO, PHIL BUCKNALL WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT TM HAVE AT LAST RELEASED THIS HAND-CANNON OF A PISTOL – AND BOUGHT ONE STRAIGHT AWAY! FIRSTLY, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY on the real FN FNX-45 tactical… It is produced by the world famous FN Herstal Firearms company, who has an amazing heritage in the civilian shooting, military and law enforcement arenas. They have supplied long arms to the US military for decades and the FNX was developed for the US Joint Combat Pistol Program. It is a full-sized handgun with a stainless slide and a polymer lower frame into which steel rails are embedded. As you’d expect for a gun of this size, it fires a big old round - the .45ACP and it holds 15 of these hearty rounds in the huge double stacked
magazine. It has a rail on the dust cover for torches or lasers and comes with either a threaded or non-threaded barrel. The stainless steel slide has a cutout on the top, just in front of the high profile suppressor-ready Trijicon tritium iron sights. This cut out can take two different RMR types of red dot depending on the base you use. All of the controls for the gun are ambidextrous and it can operate as Double or Single Action. The FNX has four different interchangeable back straps, to tailor the grip to the individual user to some extent. The military version comes in FDE and the civilian version is available in either black or FDE. Whilst looking into the FNX, it was stated that it is used by several militaries around the globe but I couldn’t find any active unit that carried it as a standard issue, or even optional gucci kit sidearm, so it isn’t likely to fit if impressions are your load out. Maybe if you model yourself after a tactical LE squad though, as there are more than a few PDs that allow their officers to carry it both duty and off duty.
THE AIRSOFT VERSION
Image: Southern Prepper
In airsoft we have had a pretty good FNX replica made by VFC under the Cybergun banner, as they hold the FN licensing. I very nearly bought one a few years ago but the bad reputation of Cybergun was hard to push aside and, at that time, VFC hadn’t really built up the reputation they have now for quality gas blow back
“ONE THING MARUI HAVE ALWAYS DONE WELL WITH THEIR PISTOLS, IS MAKE THEM LOOK LIKE THEIR METAL COUNTERPARTS AND IN THE SHOP MORE THAN ONE PERSON ASKED IF IT WAS METAL, EVEN WITH IT IN THEIR OWN HANDS AT THE TIME!” 64
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armoury TOKYO MARUI FNX TACTICAL .45ACP
pistols so I left it and hoped - as I normally do - that good old Marui would pull their fingers out and produce one. Well, it has taken a while but they have finally released the FNX Tactical and this time I didn’t “umm” and “errrr” but got myself off to Defcon Airsoft, as they had put one aside for me the morning they arrived in the shop.
BIG BOX – BIG GUN
First, the box! Following the trend of recent Marui releases, the boxes are pretty stylish now and this one is no exception. Oh, it’s also a bloody big box too giving you an indication of the size of the hand cannon contained within.
Inside is the cut out for the pistol, one for the magazine and then the interchangeable back straps are on the right side. The back straps come in small and medium and there are two of each. One features knurling like the pistol grip and the other has horizontal lines across it. There is, of course, the little box with a bag of BBs and a barrel plug. Just out curiosity, has anyone ever used the BBs that come with guns? Contained in a polystyrene insert stuck to the box lid are the manual and a few other leaflets and a couple of targets. The gun itself is entirely plastic/polymer. Marui cannot make metal slides for GBBs as it is restricted by Japanese law but that’s not to say it looks plasticy because it doesn’t. One thing Marui have always done well with their pistols, is make them look like their metal counterparts and in the shop more than one person asked if it was metal, even with it in their own hands at the time! As I already alluded to, this is a BIG gun! I’m much more used to small handguns such as a G19 or H&K USPc, so there was a bit of an adjustment period to this. I had to fit the small back strap to make it comfy to hold but with this done and the almost vertical angle of the
grip, it turned out to be perfectly comfortable to wield and I was able to reach all of the controls with minimal movement of my shooting hand. The slide is chunky and there is a lot of material in it, so I feel more than confident running it on propane/green gas. It also has quite long metal rails, giving it extra strength and it is on these rails that the slide lock engages, thus preventing the plastic being damaged. Whilst there are some markings on the slide, they are not 100% accurate to the real one but I’m guessing only the real die hard trademark fans will worry about it and I’d be willing to wager that someone will bring out a metal slide kit for it in due course, which will no doubt address that particular concern. The serrations on the slide’s sides are aggressive enough to grip easily even with gloves on and they are front and back. On the top of the slide is a set of replica Trijicon high profile suppressor iron sights, which are actually very easy to acquire when aiming. There’s just a few more salient points to cover off regarding the slide before we move on. Firstly, the blowback unit has the new oval shape profile - driven mainly by the second point I wanted to mention and that is the removable panel sitting in front of the rear sight. If you take this off, you will see two “Tetris block” shaped nubs. These are for mounting the Marui Prodot scope - their version of the RMR - using the extra screws provided with the gun. I sat looking at this part of the gun for a good few minutes as I tried to work out how my RMR would fit on there, as it had round mounting holes and even though it was blatantly obvious my little mind didn’t want to acknowledge it and this also led to the very first time I’ve felt really angry with Marui! By using the propriety mount to limit customers to the Marui sight, they are risking alienating an awful lot of potential buyers, who, like me may have an optic set aside for this gun only to find it won’t fit! As I’d already bought the optional suppressor, I couldn’t justify spending another £50 or thereabouts… maybe in a couple of months I’ll look at getting one. The final thing relating to the slide is the hop adjustment. For some reason they have it underneath the hop unit and
“I SAT LOOKING AT THIS PART OF THE GUN FOR A GOOD FEW MINUTES AS I TRIED TO WORK OUT HOW MY RMR WOULD FIT ON THERE, AS IT HAD ROUND MOUNTING HOLES AND EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BLATANTLY OBVIOUS MY LITTLE MIND DIDN’T WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT.” www.airsoft-action.online
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not in the chamber as per the G19, so any adjustments that need to be made means taking the slide off each time. Luckily, once it’s set it doesn’t move easily so it will hopefully only be a once in a while job.
BARELLING ALONG
Moving to the barrel, it features a 16mm threaded muzzle, capped off with a nice little knurled cap. A cap that I can already imagine will try to make a break for freedom at the first available opportunity and probably while playing at a woodland site too! To this you can thread the optional suppressor, which has a very good finish and, once on, feels secure enough even after quite a few magazines through the gun. It’s a foam filled can and does actually alter the report of the gun - down from quite a satisfying bark, to a more muffled pop. It would’ve been nice if Marui included it with the gun (considering they did so with the HK45 tactical, which is a cheaper gun and they both share the same can), rather than charging £40 more for it.
RANGE TIME
How does it shoot though? That’s what you really want to know! Well… It shoots very well and with a nice kick in the palm of your hand, even when using 144a gas. As you would expect, the DA trigger pull is quite heavy, not that I think many will use it DA as single action is much lighter but the trigger reset is quite long. It isn’t overly heavy considering its size, so it doesn’t become a burden over the course of a long game and as most of the weight is in the magazine, it is very well balanced in the hand. My home “range” is approx 25m and with a fully loaded and gassed up magazine, it sent them all out to that distance easily locking the slide back when the last BB left the muzzle - and this was before I’d made any adjustments to the hop. With the hop dialled in and a fresh charge of green
gas in the mag off we went again. This time the BBs easily floated past the 25m mark so, having run out of room, I waited to test it again next time I played, before games started. Within 50m there was a fair chance of hitting your target and I reckon it probably went further but I seriously doubt anyone would feel it at that distance. I put it over the chrono and it had an average over ten shots of 248FPS/0.8J using 0.28g BBs, so well within site limits. Using it in game was great fun and I managed a couple of kills right on the limits of its range. Dropping the mags out was fun and the big bumper on the bottom of each mag took most of the impact but I wouldn’t be doing it too much on hard floors. The big old bumper on the real gun is actually there to serve a purpose; it’s to aid in aiming when lying prone by making the gun roll back, thus bringing the muzzle up. I didn’t test that out when I played but the bumper does make gassing the mags up a little challenging. If your gas can has a short nozzle you may need to get an extension for it (Abbey make one if memory serves). Another consideration is holstering, where it could present an issue as there aren’t many made specifically for the FNX that don’t cost a small fortune or require importing from the US. I found with a little adjustment my Warrior universal holster worked fine but without the suppressor fitted and I also have a kydex taco style holster for it on loan from Kydex Customs, to see if it functions as well with the Marui model as it does for the VFC but again, I had to leave the suppressor off. On reflection, as cool as it looks with the suppressor it just makes a big gun even bigger but worse, it makes it substantially less useable all round and so I would suggest that unless you absolutely must have it, I’d give it a miss, especially as you’re gonna have to pay more for it. Get another mag or put the cash towards a holster. AA
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versus STONER V RPD
COVERING FIRE!! STONER V RPD THE ARGUMENT REGARDING THE BENEFIT OF A SUPPORT GUN OVER A STANDARD AEG WILL UNDOUBTEDLY GO ON AND ON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO A COUPLE OF ICONIC MODELS, IN THE FORM OF THE STONER 63 AND THE RUCHNOY PULEMYOT DEGTYARYOVA, THEN BILL THINKS THERE’S A VERY GOOD REASON TO OWN BOTH! WHETHER TO BOTHER WITH A support gun is an argument that I hear all too often as, in AEG form, the only single benefit that I can see is in the size of magazine/box/drum that can be carried! Whilst I am more of a Mid/Lo Cap player, when used correctly a good support gun can be worthy of the increased weight and size IF it’s used as it should be - and that is as a SUPPORT tool for laying down large volumes of suppressive fire. More and more I see even basic skirmish sites putting up restrictions for the use of standard AEGs that are used as “support guns” by simply adding a “C-Clip” or drum mag. Bluntly put, the average Hi-Cap mag carries 450+ BBs and if that ain’t enough then in my world something has gone a bit awry! If you’re going to be a true support gunner then shoulder that pig and do it right. You may well ask then, just why I’m writing this month about two out and out support guns and my answer to you is simply this; in my opinion both the Stoner and the RPD are outstanding AEGs and as they, quite literally, went head to head in the jungles and paddies of South East Asia during the Vietnam War, then they totally fit the brief of “VERSUS”.
OLDER THAN THE AK
Gun” was for many, many years the standard support gun of the Soviet Army. It was created to replace the aging DPM and developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge; this was the same cartridge used in the AK-47 which allowed ammunition compatibility within squads and units. The Vietnamese forces were more likely to have used a model directly copied from the Soviet version, the “ChiCom” Type 56 (RPD) Light Machine Gun, which had a machined steel receiver, air cooled barrel with a gas port underneath. A folding bipod was attached to the barrel near the muzzle. It had a wooden butt, pistol grip and two-piece foregrip. The receiver top was marked with 36 in a triangle, 56, a Chinese character (type) and the serial number. During the Vietnam War, the RPD and its Chinese copy served the Viet Cong and the People’s Army of Vietnam as their standard light machine gun. But the use of the RPD was not limited solely to the VC and PAVN, it was also fielded and highly respected by members of the elite Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG) Recon Teams. For SOG it was the RPD all the way but for the newly formed SEAL teams, it was the Stoner that was cherished.
With a design timeline dating back to 1943 (that’s right, even older than the AK47!) the “Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova or Degtyaryov Light Machine
“…THE AVERAGE HI-CAP MAG CARRIES 450+ BBS AND IF THAT AIN’T ENOUGH THEN IN MY WORLD SOMETHING HAS GONE A BIT AWRY! IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE A TRUE SUPPORT GUNNER THEN SHOULDER THAT PIG AND DO IT RIGHT.” 70
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VERSUS STOVER V RPD
“MUCH LIKE THE REAL STONER, THE G&P AIRSOFT VERSION IS BOTH EXPENSIVE AND INCREASINGLY RARE! WHEN IT WAS FIRST RELEASED I WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THE ORIGINAL “VIETNAM AIRSOFT (VNAS) FORUM” AND AS SOON AS I SAW IT, I KNEW I HAD TO HAVE ONE!” EUGENE STONER
When Eugene Stoner, designer of the AR-15/M-16 series of combat rifles, left Armalite Corporation in the early 1960s, he decided to design a unique weapons platform that used a common receiver to transform one base into a rifle, carbine or light machine gun without using special tools, plus would be inexpensive and simple enough for mass production. To see the project through, Stoner convinced Cadillac Gage, a U.S. military contractor, to provide financial aid to establish a new small arms development branch of the company. Initially chambered and tested in the 7.62×51 mm round used by the M-14, a subsequent design incorporated a change to the increasingly popular 5.56x45mm .223 cartridge of his M-16 rifle and was designated the “Stoner 63”, with the first ones produced in early 1963. Like the M-16, the Stoner used plastics instead of wood when necessary but unlike the M-16, it used a gas piston instead of the direct impingement method for operation. The “Spec Ops” website tells me more of the story: “…after months of unit trials it was decided that the Stoner 63 was too unreliable for general issue and recommendations were made for improvements. These included ejection port dust covers, modifications to the feed mechanism, a stainless steel gas cylinder, a different fire selector and improved safety. Stoner met these changes and the new weapons produced were given the designation Stoner 63A, which didn’t reach production until 1966. Even so, they were hurriedly deployed to South Vietnam in small numbers, and in some of the most appalling conditions imaginable, the Stoner began to forge a reputation for itself not with the average G.I. or Marine, but with the Navy SEALs who used the preferred version, the LMG, with deadly efficiency.” Using box or drum magazines, the Stoner provided valuable fire support to the small SEAL teams operating in the swamps and jungles of the Mekong Delta when engaging enemy forces at close range. The Stoner was smaller and weighed much less than the M60, which also required belts of ammunition to be slung over shoulders because it did not have a magazine. Unlike the units that encountered the Stoner in the trials, reliability remained excellent thanks to constant maintenance by the ever-scrupulous SEALs, even in the harshest of conditions. The Stoner became their “emblem” in Vietnam almost as much as the coveted “Budweiser”, and everywhere the “men with the green faces” went, the Stoner went with them.
TWO OUTSTANDING AEGS!
Much like the real Stoner, the G&P airsoft version is both expensive and increasingly rare! When it was first released I was heavily involved with the original “Vietnam Airsoft (VNAS) Forum” and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have one! Cue a very pleading telephone call to Frank at Fire Support who promised me one as
soon as they landed and to the best of my knowledge “my” Stoner was one of the very first to have field-time in the UK. And what a super AEG is was - and still is! Made of a blend of metals and polymer, the weapon has excellent balance without being too unwieldy and feels more like a slightly oversized battle rifle than an LMG! Inside it has a version 2 type gearbox with 8mm bearings and a G&P M120 high speed motor. It uses a 440mm long inner barrel, putting it about midway between an M4A1 and M16. Despite its obvious “machine gun look”, the Stoner has semi and full-auto settings making it more flexible for use in skirmishing depending on whether you need to conserve ammo, shoot inside a building or lay down a hail of suppressive fire! The box magazine holds 1,200 BBs, which is a little less than most airsoft “boxes or drums” but the Stoner makes up for this with pinpoint accuracy and superb range and what you have is still more than enough ammo for support use, as a trip to one of the “In Country” weekenders proved to me beyond doubt. The Stoner runs beautifully on a 7.4V LiPo and although some of the original models came it pretty hot, mine was down-powered to 1.07 Joule/340fps on a .20g BB when it came in and has remained there ever since! LCT have gone much the same way with the RPD and made a true 1:1 replica with stamped steel and wood, the same way the original guns were made during the
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versus STOVER V RPD
Cold War! The RPD just absolutely oozes quality, with absolutely impeccable steel (NOT alloy or “monkey metal”) metalwork and superb, highly burnished woodwork. Nothing on the RPD looks as if it has been rushed or bodged and I’d go as far as saying that it’s probably better made than the real thing ever was. Internally things are equally impressive, as the RPD benefits from an all-new 9mm bearing gearbox, a HighStrength Polycarbonate Piston, CNC Aluminium
Hop-Up chamber, Steel Gear set, Quick Change Spring and a MOSFET wire assembly design for lower resistance, saving power for the 23,000 rpm motor! The combination of a MOSFET, a 515mm, 6.02mm precision inner barrel and 2,800 round drum magazine lets you lay down suppressing BBs wherever and whenever you want them! As LCT fit UK compliant springs at source before shipping (big thumbs up there LCT), the RPD chronos superbly at 0.99 Joule/328fps. The trigger is superbly responsive so it’s actually easy to get single shots away once you get used to it - not that you’ll want to though, as in its intended role as a
support gun the RPD kicks ass, laying down streams of BBs exactly where you want them, easily and accurately, WAY out there! Neither of these AEGs are cheap, with the G&P Stoner going for upwards of £500 and the LCT RPD coming in at nigh on a
grand! However, both are up there with the very best that any airsoft manufacturer produces and as far as I’m concerned both are worth every penny! Although the Stoner has disappeared from all but collections these days (although myth and rumour has it that Chicago PD still has some in their armoury!) the RPD is still very much at the fore of things and can be used for loadouts covering many conflicts including present day. If the thought of owning a truly iconic airsoft support gun tickles your pickle, then I can heartily recommend both of these amazing AEGs. Yes, you’ll have to save up your pocket money for a while to buy either but either will probably go down as one of the very best airsoft guns you’ve ever owned! AA
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SURVIVAL SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS WHEN PLAYING WE HAVE PROBABLY ALL FOUND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION WE DIDN’T EXPECT AND THAT CAN ALSO BE TRUE FOR OUR DAILY LIVES. PAUL YELLAND OFFERS SOME ADVICE THAT MIGHT HELP IN BOTH CASES - AND BEYOND. OPERATING IN A TACTICAL SITUATION puts a person into a high stress state and causes hyper alertness that is fuelled by the adrenaline pumping around the body. This adrenaline release helps a person to react quickly to any threats encountered and is part of the bodies fight or flight function. When a person is expecting conflict, they are able to mentally and physically prepare themselves before the event happens, but when away from high stress situations and back in normal life, a persons response to an act of violence or aggression can be dulled and not as effective which makes them vulnerable. As we drift through everyday life, we can become complacent about the safety of our surroundings – especially familiar environments such as the route to and from work, the local pub and supermarkets etc. Car journeys to a frequently visited destination can seem boring, so we tend to switch off from what is happening outside of the vehicle. But we need to remember although the actual route we take will always be the same, the situations that are developing around us are constantly changing and can occasionally pose a threat. Every time you walk down the street, I can guarantee there will be people looking down at the screen of their smart phone whilst walking along and wearing headphones listening to music, instead of paying attention to what is going on around them. This can make these people easy targets for street robberies or other acts of violent crime. Being cautious and aware of potential risks, both on and off the skirmish field can prevent needless exposure to threats. When patrolling you will already be expecting to make contact with the enemy. Your walk will be slow, and mind focused on identifying potential ambush points. Your observations will be methodical – bouncing from feature to feature, looking for any sign of enemy presence. There could be areas that need to be avoided – places that have been identified as potential killing ground and choke points that might have been booby trapped. Emergency Rendezvous Points (ERV’s) may well be established to head back to should things turn sour,
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with an escape plan in place if you need to get away quickly. All these considerations that have been taken into account as part of a tactical situation can be watered down and applied to everyday life to help us become more aware of potential risk, and then deal with an incident when it happens. This could be spotting an individual amongst a crowd of people who is acting suspiciously or being aware of an aggressive driver who is now following you after a ‘road rage’ incident whilst travelling somewhere in your car. Even having an ERV arranged and an escape route planned to get out of a town or city quickly following an incident such as a terrorist attack is worth considering. However, to recognise and then deal with these threats first requires a change of habit and thought process. On the skirmish field, we automatically look for threats by scanning the area around us. If we approached everyday situations in the same inquisitive way, we would be more aware of risks to our personal safety and end up in a better position to avoid them. But this is easier said than done and requires some mental training.
Busy environments such as city centres can hide all manner of risks to personal security
Any conditioning that trains your mind to recognise and respond quicker to a threat is going to be a good thing. To be aware means noticing detail. It is this detail that will indicate that there is potential for trouble or that something is already happening. How often do you
SURVIVAL SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
walk down the street and look around but not actually take notice of anything? How often do you drive home from work and reach a certain point in the journey and suddenly think “I can’t remember driving past …….” So, to be able to respond, we first need to be aware. Try this; the next time you walk down a busy high street discretely look around at what is going on. Start off by focusing on one detail like trying to pick out everyone who is standing still in the street or sitting down on a bench. When cars drive past, try to remember a few basic details such as the make and colour. When driving in your car, observe the detail of the vehicle in front of you and regularly check the drivers mirror to do the same for any vehicle behind. Carrying out mental exercises like these encourages us look and notice detail, rather then heading blindly into a situation that could result in you or your family becoming a victim. Of course, there is a very fine line between awareness of risk and paranoia, so it is important to keep a check on reality. There was a recent case where I was out one evening and walking towards a busy pub. As I approached the pub, I noticed a black 4x4 parked where it shouldn’t have been - right outside the front door. When walking past the 4x4 I glanced inside and noticed a large gas cylinder sat on the rear seat. This looked suspicious, firstly because of how the vehicle was parked and secondly because of the way the gas cylinder was sat. I immediately recalled an attempted attack on the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London back in 2007 where gas cylinders and petrol had been left inside a vehicle as an IED. Although there was potential, the probability of an IED being in that 4x4 was very low, but it still made me consider it. Sure enough, after making further checks, the 4x4 didn’t pose any threat and belonged to some locals who were drinking inside the pub. Although the likelihood was that all would be innocent, my thought process worked because I was alert enough to recognise the potential for
This is when physical training becomes extremely useful. Exposure to Close Quarter Battle (CQB) training puts you into up close situations where you are suddenly faced with a threat and only have seconds to act. Practicing unarmed combat and room clearance drills will certainly condition you mentally by hardening your response to the threat and improve your reaction time. Harness any fear because it is normal and in fact can help sharpen your senses, so there is no shame in being scared - the important thing is to stay in control and remain focused. In everyday life you will not be carrying a weapon, so unarmed combat will be your only option for defending yourself.
CQB prepares you mentally for up close and personal combat
The first rule in any civilian self-defence teaching is to avoid trouble before it happens. The next rule is to escape the danger at the earliest presented opportunity. Remember, there is nothing wrong with running away from an attacker who has pulled a knife out on you. However, if it does come down to using force to stop any kind of violent attack, the two self defence systems that I have found to be effective are Krav Maga and Tactical Edge. Krav Maga is an Israeli fighting system and Tactical Edge has been developed and taught within the UK. Both are devastatingly effective against stopping an attacker. There are no niceties about either of these fighting systems – they just get the job done quickly, which is what you want – not a prolonged struggle with an attacker.
Scene of the unexploded car bomb outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London
an IED threat by using observation skills, but at the same time applying a bit of common sense and reasoning. But just for a minute, think of the devastation that could have been caused had there been an IED placed in the 4x4 and not discovered. It was thanks to an observant ambulance crew who noticed the car bomb outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London that nobody was injured or killed. In these modern times, anything is possible, and nothing is safe. Avoidance is the best way to stay safe when out in public. I try to avoid choke points such as narrow walkways and give obvious troublemakers who are drunk or on drugs a wide birth. I don’t flash my wallet or mobile phone around in the street and I am always aware who is around me. However, sometimes trying to avoid trouble just isn’t enough and the trouble will come and find you.
Defending against a knife attack using Krav Maga
Although every person has a right to defend themselves, it is important to only use what force is deemed necessary and proportionate to threat posed – remember controlled aggression, not losing control. Get this wrong and you will probably end up in court justifying your actions. But if you were truly in fear for your life then the saying “I’d rather be tried by twelve than carried by six” sums it up pretty well in my mind.
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75
THE COLLECTOR
A GARAND GATHERING M1 GARAND
AFTER THE WEALTH OF CHOICE LAST MONTH LOOKING AT THE AK, THIS MONTH HAS A MUCH SMALLER POOL TO DRAW ON, AS FRENCHIE TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE UBIQUITOUS GARAND.
THERE ARE MANY ICONIC FIREARMS and the subject of this month’s article is right up there… The M1 Garand, or as it was officially known, “U.S. Rifle, .30 calibre, M1”. The Garand was the only semi-automatic rifle fully deployed by any of the combatants at the start of WWII, although by the end of the war there were examples fielded by the Red Army and the Wehrmacht. Designed by John Garand, a Canadian who became a naturalised U.S. citizen, early Garands were primer actuated, an operating system that depends on the primer being allowed to unseat and apply rearwards pressure on the bolt to operate the weapon and was
chambered for the U.S. 30-06 round. Following early trials, the rifle was redesigned to a gas-operated system and rechambered for the .276 Peterson round, as the United States army followed the then popular move towards smaller, faster rounds with flatter trajectories. In this guise the Garand was the clear winner in trials and the U.S. Army recommended adoption of the Garand in the new calibre.
A POOR DECISION
Fortunately, while the trials were ongoing, Garand had continued the development of the gas operated, .30 calibre rifle. “Fortunate” because General Douglas MacArthur, then Army Chief of Staff, ruled decisively against adopting the new calibre. This was probably not MacArthur’s first poor decision, nor would it be his last. Why he was so averse to the new calibre is not clear but the U.S. Army would persist with its love affair with large calibre, full powered rounds until the introduction of the AR15 in the 1960s. Garand was ready with the 30-06 version of his rifle having redesigned it in parallel with the .276 version and it was therefore adopted in that form in 1937. It would take until 1940 for all the teething problems to be resolved, hardly unusual then or now. The biggest change was to discard Garand’s gas trap system in favour of a gas port in the barrel as this was both more consistent and reliable. The M1 was fed from an eight-round en-bloc clip, inserted from the top of the action. This method was chosen because the Army did not want a removable box magazine that projected beneath the rifle - although
“...THE TALE THAT ENEMY SOLDIERS WOULD LISTEN FOR THE “PING” OF AN EMPTY CLIP HITTING THE GROUND ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY APOCRYPHAL, IN THE MIDST OF BATTLE IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE COULD HEAR SUCH AN INSIGNIFICANT SOUND.” 76
SEPTEMBER 2019
THE COLLECTOR M1 GARAND
how much better the gun might have been with a simple ten-round box magazine is open to debate. Apparently, the arguments raised by the Army against a box mag were almost identical to those raised against the same feature in the Lee Enfield rifle some 50 years earlier. Ah well… Also, the tale that enemy soldiers would listen for the “ping” of an empty clip hitting the ground are almost certainly apocryphal, in the midst of battle it is unlikely that anyone could hear such an insignificant sound. The M1 would serve the U.S. Army well through WWII and the Korean war and was still on active inventory when the US entered the Vietnam war. It was phased out in favour of the M14, which was ultimately an M1 with a box magazine (the full auto function being disabled as it was unmanageable), and the M14 was rapidly replaced by the M16. Much of the Army inventory was given to allies or sold on the surplus market and civilian versions of the M1 are still in production today.
AIRSOFT M1
There aren’t too many M1s to choose from – G&G, ICS and now A&K all make electric versions of the rifle. I haven’t seen the A&K option but I’ll hazard a guess that it’s a clone of one of the other two – probably the G&G. The holy grail of M1 replicas is the Marushin gas-powered Garand, in either 6mm or 8mm version, complete with ejecting clip. They are still out there and their gas operation means that they much more closely mimic the real rifle - but that realism comes at a price. Of the electric versions available, I personally lean towards the ICS Garand for a number of reasons. Internally it is less complicated than the G&G and the wood stock, although nothing like the walnut of the original, would require less work to make it look the part. It works well enough, deploying a MOSFET to ensure reliable single shot performance – one of the sensible uses for a MOSFET. The magazine is slightly neater than the G&G version, it holds 42 rounds and two are supplied with the gun. Metalwork is pretty much standard AEG – black, not blued because alloys simply won’t take the chemicals involved as steel does. This is, for once, not a bad thing as the
evidence suggests that the parkerised finish applied to the M1 was black. That said, some extreme variations in colour exist and seem to depend on service, frequency of cleaning and oiling, length of storage and whether or not the guns were stored in Cosmoline to preserve them. The upshot is that anything from black to a pale grey on the metalwork is acceptably accurate. The G&G suffers from the “pretty wood” syndrome I have complained about before – it is lacking in grain and figure - and the colour, a sort of faux mahogany red, is simply wrong. That might seem more than a little nit-picking but if you are going to recreate a firearm from the middle of 20th century, I think you should be trying to get it right. Functionally it is fine, I just prefer the ICS. The Marushin is lovely and if you simply want a replica, is easily top of the list. Sadly, like most gas guns, its suitability for regular skirmishing has to be questioned; these are functionally similar to the original but without the benefit of consistent and high gas pressures to operate them. As a result, they are not hugely reliable and you won’t want to lose your clips as they leap from the gun. Most of my time spent with Marushin M1s has been trying to get them to run reasonably well. I don’t think I ever succeeded to my satisfaction. If you are a WWII re-enactor, or a themed airsofter, the ICS tops the list for me. It works well enough to be regularly used, it looks better than the alternatives, with the possible exception of the Marushin but it beats that rifle hands down as it isn’t as fussy or as delicate. If you just want to sit at home and rack the bolt and have it close on your thumb, hunt down the Marushin by all means but their scarcity and cost (circa $600) might make a deactivated rifle a better wallhanging option. I would be happy to display the ICS version as well as to play with it. A little time and stain would darken that stock nicely and it would always look more like the real thing than the G&G. The fact that it works well too means that this is, for once, a relatively simple choice – ICS wins the day! AA
“THE HOLY GRAIL OF M1 REPLICAS IS THE MARUSHIN GAS-POWERED GARAND, IN EITHER 6MM OR 8MM VERSION, COMPLETE WITH EJECTING CLIP. THEY ARE STILL OUT THERE AND THEIR GAS OPERATION MEANS THAT THEY MUCH MORE CLOSELY MIMIC THE REAL RIFLE” www.airsoft-action.online
77
FEATURE DIY TARGET STANDS
DIY TARGET STANDS WITH LONGER, LIGHTER DAYS UPON US, WE DON’T NEED MUCH OF AN EXCUSE TO HEAD INTO THE GARDEN FOR A SPOT OF PLINKING BUT WHAT CAN YOU ACTUALLY SHOOT AT? PHIL BUCKNALL HAS COME UP WITH ONE COST-EFFECTIVE, EASY TO MAKE SOLUTION. WE ALL LOVE SHOOTING and I bet when we’re not shooting then, more often than not, we’re thinking about it; browsing websites; planning that next purchase or upgrade for a current gun; reading/watching reviews online or just simply hanging about on Facebook groups and pages chatting away with fellow players. Sometimes we might even grab a RIF and come up with some excuse about needing to “zero the optic” or “check the hop settings” and head to the garden to have a bit of a plink. All good, but what do you plink? What do you set up as a target? I’m sure everyone reading this can relate to rummaging in the recycling bins for some cans to shoot at or making a target out of some card and drawing on a few concentric circles and then leaning it against something before you start blasting away. I know I’ve done both and I also remember more than once when I got a delivery thinking “Oooh, that box is perfect for making a target; I’m gonna keep that!” The problem with these is that they aren’t really that good. Cardboard targets degrade pretty quickly after a few mags and soon just look like a mess of shredded
which opens you up to a whole host of issues about discharging a low powered airgun in public… So I decided to build some. First things first. If you’re going to shoot things in the garden, then make sure your target area is safe; that no pets are around or small children. Always wear shooting glasses and ensure that what’s behind your targets won’t be a problem. To that end I bought a roll of scaffolding debris netting - the green netting you see so often at airsoft sites around safe areas. I got this from eBay for about £11 and that was a 1x5m roll, more than enough for me but bigger rolls are obviously available should you need it. Following on from the Northern Shooting Show, I’d bought a few Newbold dangler targets made of a self-healing polymer and I also got a handful of small demo 50mm discs of the same material from the Calibre Innovations guys. I was confident that the ones I got would be light enough to know if you’d hit them or not. I’m no master carpenter but I knew roughly what I wanted to do to make the most of these targets and also some cool Shoot’N’C ones (that show up a BB
“BELIEVE YOU ME, YOU’RE NOT AS GOOD A SHOT AS YOU THINK YOU ARE, ESPECIALLY WHEN TRYING TO HIT A TINY DISC 10M AWAY WITH A HANDGUN AND AGAINST SOMEONE ELSE - AS MY SON AND I PROVED WHEN WE WEREN’T LAUGHING AT EACH OTHER’S WOEFUL ATTEMPTS AT ACCURACY!” packaging material all over the lawn. If its cans, then you’re picking them up every time one gets knocked over and as they deform, BBs can ricochet off all over the shop - worst case scenario being that they go over your boundary lines and into someone else’s garden,
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strike with a bright green bloom around the impact), which I’d bought for the BB tests I was planning for my Clearwater Airsoft page and AATV. I had a quick look on t’internet for some timber that wasn’t going to cost a fortune and some little hinges
FEATURE DIY TARGET STANDS
and I ended up getting some miniature hinges from eBay and some stud timber from Homebase, in 2.4m lengths. In total I got four lengths and it came to about £10 with another £2 for the hinges and finally £4 for some 4x75mm screws. I wanted to be able to use A4-sized targets on the frames, so that influenced the design mostly as the horizontal pieces had to be close enough to secure the targets top and bottom. I also wanted different heights, to make it a little more challenging and also have multiple targets on the frames so I wasn’t changing them every five minutes. This meant that for the large three target frame I had uprights of 60cm and horizontal beams of 90cm; spaced so the bottom of the upper horizontal beam was 30cm from the
top of the lower one. The feet are 20cm lengths on each target frame, regardless of height or width. The same spacings were used for the taller target but the uprights were 90cm and the horizontals were 20cm wide. The smallest frame had 40cm uprights and the same 20cm horizontal pieces allowing for one A4 target to be fitted. The duelling tree was a small baton approx.1.5x3x120cm. I carefully screwed the hinges into the target bases with the supplied screws and then onto the post 15cm apart and offset on either side, so the screws didn’t interfere with each other. Finally, the frame with the danglers. I used 90cm uprights and 60cm horizontals spaced 30cm apart, with the danglers secured using the included screws at equal(ish) distances apart hanging, between the two horizontal members - I didn’t measure them out, rather placed them by eye. Because the frame uses the same spacing as the others, I also know I can swap out the Newbold targets for paper ones if I want to. All in all I have a selection of targets/frames that’ll last a lot longer than boxes or cans; certainly enough to build a small course of fire in the garden and to practise, practice, practise ‘cause believe you me, you’re not as good a shot as you think you are, especially when trying to hit a tiny disc 10m away with a handgun and against someone else - as my son and I proved when we weren’t laughing at each other’s woeful attempts at accuracy! I have some other plans in mind and will share them in the mag when I get round to building them. Until then... happy building! AA
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last post AIRSOFT FRIENDSHIPS
IN MEMORY OF A TRUE GENTLEMAN AIRSOFTER WRITING THIS FEATURE IS ALWAYS a bit hit or miss for me and depends to an extent on something intriguing, or annoying me during the preceding month. This month is no exception. I am, however, going to start with a genuine Last Post. A couple of Fridays ago I had the sad honour of attending the funeral of Chris Bell. Chris had been a colleague at Airsoft World for many years, a regular driving companion as we ploughed back and forth to War and Peace and Military Odyssey and a friend. His sudden death came as a real shock and was doubly painful as he was engaged to be married. That Chris was a keen airsofter will be no surprise and he was passionate about his WWII kit, going so far as to buy and restore a Wilys jeep with all the fun and frustration that came with that. He and I once did a presentation and demo at my son’s primary school for a group that was on it’s way to France to visit Normandy. That was fun! In fairness we spent most of time there wondering (a) why they agreed to let us do it and (b) whether we’d lose any kiddy fingers to the MG42! Airsoft was not well represented at his funeral; I was neither surprised nor saddened at that, the turnover of players in the sport means that many who had been his contemporaries will have, like Chris himself, moved on with their lives. Being a bit traditional I was all black tie and suit but I tip my hat to his friend Shaun who was there in full camo with their team badge proudly displayed. Chris was that rare beast, a true gentleman – he had a kindness and willingness to help that enriched the lives of those he knew and who knew him, and I shall miss him. Rest in peace my old friend. It would be difficult after that to then go on a rant about something inconsequential that has annoyed me, rather this has got me reflecting on the nature of the friendships and relationships that I have shared through airsoft. I started playing at The Hill, near Dundee. During one game, coming under fire on a steep hill, I hit the dirt and while not actually getting hit at that point, it was probably a matter of time. Another player, slightly above me up the hill grabbed my vest and physically hauled me up the slope and into cover behind a fallen tree. I would do the same for
“I DON’T SUBSCRIBE TO THE “FAKE SOLDIERS, FAKE CAMARADERIE” APPROACH, ALTHOUGH I DO THINK THAT THE FACT THAT WE TURN UP WITH THE EXPRESS INTENTION OF SHOOTING EACH OTHER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.” 80
SEPTEMBER 2019
LAST POST AIRSOFT FRIENDSHIPS
other players over the years but I have never forgotten that feeling of being exposed and being helped without asking by another player who saw and appreciated my predicament. Thank you for that memory Jamie. I have lost count of the number of times I have helped players, some I didn’t really know at the time, with their kit before a game and others have done the same for me. As we all know, you cannot always reach the myriad straps and buckles involved in load carrying rigs, or plate carriers and there is an almost unthinking willingness to help another player, in a way that I am not sure that we would do if we were faced with adjusting someone else’s clothing away from the site. I once told Beth Hannigan, who along with her husband Ernie, runs the Players of War site, that as a site organiser you don’t really have friends, you have customers. My point was that we had an obligation to ensure that everyone had as good a game day as we could manage and that no matter how well we got on with them, it was important to always bear in mind the nature of our relationship. Obviously, friends were made, some I still have to this day and others slipped in and out of our lives as they pursued their own airsoft journey. In that, airsoft is no different to any other activity, but I do think that there was a willingness to help and encourage others that I haven’t encountered in other spheres. While waiting for Chris’ funeral service to begin I was chatting with a player I haven’t seen in years. He was talking about how he had responsibility on site for new players these days and how rewarding it was. I pulled him up, gently pointing out that there was time when he was less than enthusiastic about newbies and younger airsofters and he replied by saying that the best thing is that they do what they’re told. I could write a whole piece about the irony in this short conversation, but I won’t. I completely shared the view he has arrived
at – I always believed that new players were vital and that young players were far less trouble that older ones. In all the years I was involved in airsoft I only once had to ban a young player from the site and that was for petulantly and dangerously shooting out his brother’s tooth – after the game had finished. In fairness, his father was packing him into the car straight away and I did say to him that when he’d learnt his lesson, he’d be welcomed back. His mother was going to give him more grief than I ever could! My rambling aside, I was genuinely pleased to see that change of heart and approach in another player which will only help the next generation coming through. Why all this should be I don’t really know. I don’t subscribe to the “fake soldiers, fake camaraderie” approach, although I do think that the fact that we turn up with the express intention of shooting each other as much as possible has something to do with it. Help and support, where offered, is done regardless of whether the recipient is on your team or not and that is admirable. Whether it’s fixing kit, helping with hop adjustment, whatever, it creates a bond and a feeling in the recipient of being involved in what’s going on, that they are worthy of some attention. I have always loved that about airsoft and I think it is one of the best aspects of the sport. I would be disingenuous if I suggested that airsoft gave rise to special friendships, I don’t think it goes that far but it does have within it the capacity to welcome new players and to make them feel part of the whole. My friendship with Chris was based on much more than just playing the game, but airsoft has an important role in our relationship, so as well as saluting Chris, I’d like to acknowledge all the players who’s company I have taken pleasure from over the years. Here’s to all of you, you’re really not too bad! AA
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SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
SYMBOL KEY
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ABER AIRSOFT – THE BUNKER
AIRSOFT KGB
AMAZON EVENTS
BADLANDS AIRSOFT
Allt-lywd Wood Farm,
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Hellingly, East Sussex, BN27 4HL
Rowlands Castle, Hamps PO9 6DP
Tel: 0844 2570433
Tel: 07534 465589
www.amazonoutdoorevents.co.uk
www.badlandsairsoft.co.uk
AMBUSH ADVENTURES – CHOBHAM
BARNSLEY AIRSOFT
Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8SL
Tel: 07779 236166
Tel: 01252 315225
www.barnsleypaintball.co.uk
outside Llanrhystud, nr. Aberystwyth, Wales. Tel: 07511554740
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Off Badger Lane, Hipperholme, Halifax,
BRIT-TAC AIRSOFT Sheffield, S2 5TR Tel: 07795 631331 www.brittacairsoft.com
BUNKER 51 Charlton, SE7 8NJ Tel: 0870 7549653 www.wolfarmouries.co.uk
BUSH VALLEY AIRSOFT Runham Woods, Lenham ME17 1NQ Tel: 07786 448608 Email: bushvalairsoft@gmail.com
C3 TACTICAL Longhope, Gloucestershire, GL17 0PH Tel: 07597 938011 www.c3tactical.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE COMPLEX Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RP Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – THE OUTPOST (WOODLAND) HPC, York Road, Flaxby, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG5 0XJ Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.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
West Yorkshire HX3 8PL Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
CHESTERFIELD IMPERIAL AIRSOFT Brimington, Chesterfield S43 1DQ www.cia-airsoft.co.uk
CONTACT! FIGHT SCHOOL Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, CM14 5
DOG TAG AIRSOFT
Tel: 01438 368177
Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4SE
www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk
TEL 01293 852 314 www.holmbushpaintball.co.uk/airsoft
COOL UNDER FIRE Doddington, Kent, ME9 0JS
DRAGON’S LAIR
Tel: 07960 532613
Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA
www.coolunderfire.co.uk
Tel: 07703 530189
CLOSE ACTION AIRSOFT Corby, NN17 3BB Tel: 07740 165787 www.close-action.co.uk
COMBAT ACTION GAMES Combat Street, Felthorpe, Norwich,
www.dragonslairairsoft.co.uk
CORNWALLS ELITE AIRSOFT Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4HF.
DRAGON VALLEY AIRSOFT
Tel: 0773 153 1113
Caerwent Training Area,
www.cornwallseliteairsoft.com
South Wales, NP26 5XL Tel: 07921 336360 www.dragonvalley.co.uk
Norfolk, NR10 4DR.
COTSWOLD AIRSOFT
Tel: 07748 023832
Bourton Woods, On the B4479, Blockley
www.facebook.com/combatactiongames
Near Bourton-on-the-hill
D.T.W AIRSOFT
www.cotswoldairsoft.co.uk
Colchester, Essex CO1 2ZF
Tel: 07724629140
Tel: 01206 790046
COMBAT AIRSOFT Just off the A11 outside Thetford Norfolk
www.dtwairsoft.co.uk
follow signs for Combat Paintball
CUMBRIA AIRSOFT
Tel: 07703 045849
Dumfries, DG12
DEPARTMENT CQB AIRSOFT
www.combatairsoftgames.co.uk
cumbria.airsoft@virgin.net
Unit 8, Winston Ave, Croft, Leic. LE9 3GQ
www.cumbria-airsoft.com
Tel: 01455 285605
CONTACT FRONT
www.thedepartmentcqb.co.uk
Wattons Lane, Matchams, Bournemouth
DANGER CLOSE AIRSOFT
BH24, 2dg
Ellough Lark Raceway, Benacre Road,
Tel: 0845 116 2830
Ellough, Norfolk
info@contactfront.co.uk
Tel: 07455 906132
ELITE BATTLEZONE Bexley, Greater London, DA5 1NX Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk
COMBAT READY CQB
DARKWATER AIRSOFT LTD.
38 Full Street, Derby DE1 3AF
Mobile: 07947 558433
Tel: 01332 493258
EXPERIENCE AIRSOFT
www.darkwaterairsoft.co.uk
Email: info@combatreadyairsoft.co.uk
Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 0AN
Email: darwaterairsofthythe@gmail.com
www.combatreadyairsoft.co.uk
Tel: 01380 728982
DARKWATER AFTER DARK C.Q.B,
www.experienceairsoft.co.uk
(Battlezone Building), Britannia Lane,
CERBERUS AIRSOFT – RIVOCK EDGE Keighley, BD20 0LS Tel: 07891 469492 www.cerberusairsoft.co.uk
COMBAT READY OUTDOOR Middle Wildpark Farm, Wildpark Lane, Brailsford, Ashbourne DE6 3BN Tel: 01332 493258 Email: info@combatreadyairsoft.co.uk www.combatreadyairsoft.co.uk
Kingsnorth, Ashford, TN23 3NA DARKWATER SITE
FIREFIGHT COMBAT SIMULATIONS
Dering Wood, Church Lane, Shadoxhurst,
Lewisham, SE13 5SU Tel: 07973 240177
Ashford TN26 1LZ
www.firefight.co.uk
facebook.com/afterdarkcqb
facebook.com/darkwaterairsoftdarkwater
FIFE WARGAMES www.airsoft-action.online
87
SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
St Andrews, KY10 3XL
STEALTH WOODS – OTLEY
info@fifewargames.co.uk
Stealth Woods, Dob Park, Norwood Bottom Road, Otley LS21 2NA Tel: 0161 727 8863
www.fifewargames.com
FINMERE AIRSOFT Buckingham, MK18 4JT Tel: 07976 184897 www.finmereairsoft.com
FIREBALL SQUADRON Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 07582 684533 www.fireballsquadron.com
FIRST & ONLY:
Staffordshire ST13 8TL Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
FIRST & ONLY: CROSSFIRE WOODS – PRESTON Moss Lane East, Preston PR4 3SP 0161 727 8863
FIRST & ONLY:
Bull Ring Farm Rd, Leamington Spa CV33 9HJ Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
GREENZONE COMBAT
Tel: 0161 727 8863
FIRST & ONLY:
FIRST & ONLY:
Oak Road, Wrexham, Denbighshire LL13 9RG Tel: 0161 727 8863
THE BASE CQC – YATESBURY 1 Jugglers Ln, Yatesbury, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 8YA Tel: 0161 727 8863
GROUND ZERO WOODLAND Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 2DF www.groundzerowoodland.com
Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DH Tel: 01733 247171 www.freefirezone.co.uk
FRV AIRSOFT Annacloy, Downpatrick, BT30 8JJ Tel: 07730 586926 www.frvairsoft.com
Cilyrychen Quarry, Llandybie, Ammanford, Camarthenshire, SA18 3JG Tel: 01269 850404 www.fullmetalairsoft.co.uk
Near Kinver, Kidderminster DY11 5SA Tel: 0161 727 8863
GUN HO AIRSOFT Guisborough, TS7 0PG
Kent TN12 0HP Tel: 01622 831788 / 07876 263290 www.invictabattlefield.co.uk
ISLAND RECON AIRSOFT COMBAT Near Shorwell, Isle of Wight, PO30 www.islandrecon.co.uk
Tel: 07525 435696
LAND WARRIOR AIRSOFT
www.gunhoairsoft.co.uk
Gorebridge, Midlothian, EH23 4LG Tel: 0131 654 2452
GUNMAN AIRSOFT – TUDDENHAM Cavenham Road, Tuddenham, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6DF Tel: 07711 774461 (Doug) or 07711 774401 (Josh) www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk/gunmanairsoft-tuddenham/
www.airsoftedinburgh.co.uk
LAC AT COMBAT ZONE Saxillby, LN1 2JW Tel: 07775 877057 www.lincolnshireairsoftclub.co.uk
LAGAN AIRSOFT CLUB
GUNMAN AIRSOFT – MIDLANDS
Belfast BT170AE / Tel: 07733128484
The Grange, Frogmore Grange, Balsall
LEEDS AIRSOFT: THE FOUNDRY CQB
Common, Coventry CV7 7FP Tel: 01676 532 384
Estate, Swan Meadow Road, Wigan
Drakelow Tunnels, Kingsford Country Park,
Wilden Park Road, Staplehurst,
17G Stationview, Dunmurry,
FULL METAL AIRSOFT
THE OUTPOST – KIDDERMINSTER
INVICTA BATTLEFIELD
Tel: 07964 751047
FIRST & ONLY:
Unit S2 Mill 1, Swan Meadow Industrial
FIRST & ONLY:
www.greenzonecombat.com
THE ARMOURY – WREXHAM
THE MILL CQB – WIGAN
Tel: 0161 727 8863
Co. Armagh, BT60 1NE Tel: 07772 919974
Stealth Woods, Dob Park, Norwood Bottom Road, Otley LS21 2NA
Tel: 0121 643 2477 info@grangelivegaming.com
FREE FIRE ZONE STEALTH WOODS – OTLEY
Bravo One Birmingham,
THE JUNGLE – HARBURY
www.firstandonlyairsoft.com
FIRST & ONLY:
GRANGE LIVE GAMING 93–99 Holloway Head, B1 1QP
ANZIO CAMP Blackshaw Moor, Nr Leek,
Tel: 07792 680297
GASS AIRSOFT – PENN Penn Bottom, Bucks, HP10 Tel: 07907 788970 www.gassairsoft.co.uk
info@suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk www.giairsoft.co.uk/Skirmish-days
GUNMAN AIRSOFT – EVERSLEY The Welsh Drive, Fleet Road (A327), Eversley, Hants RG27 0PY Tel: 07711 774461 (Doug) or 07711 774401 (Josh) www.gunmanairsoft.co.uk/gunmanairsoft-eversley/
Haigh Park Road, Stourton, Leeds LS10 1RX Tel: 0113 277 7707 / 07968 258952
LINDSEY AIRSOFT Manby, Lincolnshire, LN11 8HE Tel: 07955 487983 www.lindsey-airsoft.co.uk
MATLOCK COMBAT GAMES Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5FW Tel: 07974 507166
HILTON PARK AIRSOFT
www.matlockcombatgames.com
Wolverhampton, WV10 7HU Tel: 08000 354490/ www.paintballuk.com
MAYHEM AIRSOFT Upper Harbledown, Nr. Canterbury, Kent
FIRST & ONLY: SHELL SHOCK WOODS – BRIDGNORTH Uplands Coppice, Off B4363, Bridgnorth,
GASS AIRSOFT – PIDDINGTON Piddington, Oxfordshire, OX25 1 Tel: 07907 788970/ www.gassairsoft.co.uk
HOMELAND TACTICAL AIRSOFT Spanby, Lincs, NG34 0AT/ Tel: 07971 560249 facebook.com/HomelandTacticalAirsoft
Shropshire WV16 5LS
CT2 9AX Tel: 07802 837440/07949 486510 Email: mayhemairsoft@hotmail.com www.mayhemsoutheast.com
Tel: 0161 727 8863
GRANGE FARM AIRSOFT FIRST & ONLY:
Leicester, LE9 9FP www.gingerliberationfront.com
88
SEPTEMBER 2019
HUMBER AIRSOFT North Lincolnshire, DN21 www.humberairsoft.co.uk
MIDWALES AIRSOFT Abbey Cwm-hir, Midwales, LD1 6PG Tel: 01686 627594
SITE DIRECTORY FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
www.facebook.com/Midwales-airsoft
OBAN AIRSOFT – ILL ARGYLL Argyll and Bute, PA37 1
MILITARY OUTDOOR ADVENTURES Wrightington, WN6 9PL Tel: 01942 514724 www.militaryoutdooradventure.co.uk
Tel: 07967 710185
RED1AIRSOFT CQB
www.argyllsurplus.com
Red1 CQB. Kings Langley, WD4 8RN
Checkley, Staffordshire, ST10 4NS Tel: 07523 916607 www.milsimuk.co.uk
Tel: 07964 990831
www.op-tac.co.uk
NCIS AIRSOFT
Fenwick, Ayrshire, KA3 6AY Tel: 07904 998250 www.nomadairsoft.com
PATHFINDER GROUP AIRSOFT MILITARY SIMULATION Hants, BH23/ Tel: 02380 899369
PHOENIX AIRSOFT Welbeck Airsoft, Academy, Budby Road, Notts NG20 9JX
NO LIMITS AIRSOFT Unit 4, King Street, Gatehead, NE8 2YP info@nolimitspaintballandlaser.co.uk Tel: 07464 482410/ 0191 441 4574
NORTHERN ALLIANCE AIRSOFT Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 3LQ Tel: 01845 565465 www.northernallianceairsoft.co.uk
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
Coventry, CV3 6NX Tel: 07831 429407 www.stirlingairsoft.com
www.riftairsoft.com
RIFT AIRSOFT (COTTENHAM) Cambridge, CB24 8RL
Shotts, North Lanarkshire, ML7 5AB Tel: 07974 026517
www.s8airsoft.com
SG1 COMBAT GAMES Co. Londonderry, BT45 8NA
NORTHFLEET CQB
Trickley Coppice, London Road, Bassetts Pole, Sutton Coldfield, B75 5SA Tel: 0121 323 1000 info@npfairsoft.com www.facebook.com/npfairsoft
TA EVENTS
Holbrook Coppice, Buidwas Bank (A4169),
Hemel Hemstead, Herts, HP2 7QB Tel: 07894 059794 /www.ta-events.co.uk
Buildwas, Telford, Shropshire, TF8
SKIRMISH AIRSOFT BILLERICAY
PREDATOR COMBAT GAMES Ballynahinch, BT24 8NF
Tel: 01277 657777 www.airsoft-billericay.co.uk
www.predatorcombat.com
SKIRMISH EXETER Exeter, Devon, EX4 5/ Tel: 01548 580025
RAVEN’S NEST Suffolk, IP8 4 / Tel: 01473 831563 www.ravensairsoft.co.uk
www.airsoftexeter.co.uk
TACTICAL WALES AIRSOFT Reynoldston, Swansea SA3 1AS Tel: 01792 473336 www.tacticalwales.co.uk
SOUTH COAST CQB Browndown Road, Lee-On-Solent PO13 9UG Tel: 07533 434203
Wigton, Cumbria CA7 3SZ Tel: 01900 85645
SOUTHDOWN AIRSOFT
www.airsoftcumbria.co.uk
Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0LR Tel: 07766 770830 www.southdownairsoft.com
Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069 www.red1airsoft.co.uk
Warlingham, Surrey, CR6 9PL Tel: 0203 490 8008/07983 657093 www.tacticalwarfare.co.uk
TAZ AIRSOFT
TECH BRIGADE Newgate Street, Hertfordshire. SG13 8NH Tel: 07841 713356 www.techbrigade.org
TASK FORCE SKIRMISH Cowbridge, S Glamorgan, CF71 Tel: 02920 593900
RED1AIRSOFT Chislehurst, Bromley BR7 6SD
TACTICAL WARFARE AIRSOFT
Farr, Inverness IV2 6XB Tel: 07848 448408
Hetton, Sunderland, DH5 0 Tel: 07983 333521 / www.nscairsoft.co.uk
Tel: 01642 281220 www.ntac.co.uk
S.W.A.T. AIRSOFT
Billericay, Essex, CM11 2TX
RAW WAR AIRSOFT CUMBRIA
Durham, DL4 2ER
Slinfold, RH12 Tel: 020 8150 9284 www.sussexairsoft.co.uk
SHROPSHIRE AIRSOFT WAR GAMES
NSC AIRSOFT
NTAC
SUSSEX AIRSOFT
Boathouse lane, South Wirral, Cheshire, CH64 3TB www.swatairsoft.eu Tel: 07703 177756
Tel: 02897565651 / 07825169631
NPF AIRSOFT, NPF BASSETTS POLE
Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4LD Tel: 07515 937633 www.stormforcepaintball.co.uk
www.sg1combatgames.co.uk
Tel: 07713 273102
PLAYERS OF WAR High Bonnybridge, FK1 3AD
STORMFORCE AIRSOFT
SECTION 8 AIRSOFT
Tel: 07786 192832 / www.aceairsoft.co.uk
Tel: 07767 203979/ www.playersofwar.co.uk Northfleet, Kent, DA11 9AA Tel: 07968 448475 www.elitebattlezone.co.uk
STIRLING AIRSOFT
Chipping Warden, OX17 1LZ
Tel: 07751 586781 / www.riftairsoft.com
Former RAF Camp Sopley/Merryfield Park,
NOMAD AIRSOFT
RIFT AIRSOFT COM’S SITE 3
OVER THE TOP AIRSOFT CLUB github.io / Tel: 07895 478634
Edinburgh, EH14 4 nick@ncis-airsoft.co.uk www.ncis-airsoft.co.uk
www.red1airsoft.co.uk
Tel: 07751 586781 Anglesey, LL71 8VW www.ottairsoft.
SPEC OPS AIRSOFT– THE ROCK Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EG Tel: 07984 656947 www.specopsairsoft.co.uk
Tel: 07956 522691/01727846069
OP-TACTICAL UK – TEAN-OPS Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT
MILSIM UK
www.specopsairsoft.co.uk
www.taskforcepaintball.co.uk
SPEC OPS AIRSOFT – BLOXWORTH Wareham, Dorset, BH20 7EU Tel: 07984 656947
THE BUNKER www.airsoft-action.online
89
SITE DIRECTORY
Email nige@airsoft-action.co.uk to add or change a site listing
FIND SOMEWHERE TO BE THIS WEEKEND…
Aberystwyth www.aberairsoft.co.uk
– FAWKHAM
Dunstable, LU6 2EE Tel: 01494 881430
07964 751047
Tel: 07841 462806
Fawkham, Kent, DA3 8NY
www.xsiteairsoft.co.uk
Open five nights a week 7pm-10pm Info@islandrecon.co.uk
Tel: 01268 796130 www.ultimatewargames.co.uk
THE DEPOT
High Wycombe, HP14 3NP
Glasgow, G45 9SB Tel: 0161 727 8863 www.thedepotglasgow.com
THE EX SITE Mold, CH7 4 Tel: 07840 001975
ULTIMATE WARGAMES – LIMPSFIELD
Tel: 01494 881430
Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0RH
YORKSHIRE TACTICAL AIRSOFT - THE MANOR
www.ultimatewargames.co.uk
Church Lane
www.theexsitewales.co.uk
URBAN ASSAULT THE WARGAMES CENTRE Lundholm Road, Stevenston, Ayrshire, KA20 3LN
Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, PE26 1 Tel: 01733 247171
VIKING AIRSOFT Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0UN
THUNDER PARK AIRSOFT
Sheffield S75 3DQ 01226 414004 To Book
www.urbanassault.org.uk
www.thewargamescentre.com wargamescentre@gmail.com
XSITE AIRSOFT – LANE END
www.vikingairsoft.co.uk
WARMINSTER AIRSOFT
www.thunderpark.co.uk
Warminster, BA12 7RZ
Food & drinks available on site
www.warminsterairsoft.co.uk
WEST MIDLANDS AIRSOFT
Co Tyrone, BT71 4DY Tel: 07922 377131
F O B (Woodland), Hollington Road, Upper
Facebook: search ‘Torrent Warfare’
Tean, Staffordshire, ST10 4JT
Engine Lane, Shafton, Barnsley S72 8RE 01226 414004 To Book
TROJAN AIRSOFT
included, free tea and coffee available all
Macclesfield, SK10 4SZ
day. Site memberships.
Tel: 07428 024874
Tel: Paul – 07861427553
www.trojan-airsoft.com
Email: paul@wmairsoft.co.uk
YORKSHIRE TACTICAL AIRSOFT - THE PINES
Weir Mill, Viaduct Street, Chestergate,
WEST MIDLANDS AIRSOFT High Command (CQB),
Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7JP
Doulton Trading Estate, Doulton Road,
Tel: 07428 024874
Rowley Regis B65 8JQ
www.trojan-airsoft.com
On site parking, HPA top-ups, secure safe zone, male & female toilets, hot lunch included, free tea and coffee available all
UCAP AIRSOFT Portsmouth, Hants, PO17 6AR Tel: 07590 818881
www.ucap.co.uk
day. Site memberships.
www.wmairsoft.co.uk
UCAP GREEN OPS Linch, West Sussex, GU30 7 Tel: 07590 818881 www.ucap.co.uk
WORTHING AIRSOFT Arundel Road, Worthing Tel: 07877 210898 www.worthingairsoft.co.uk
ULTIMATE WARGAMES XSITE AIRSOFT OUTPOST
SEPTEMBER 2019
UKPSA-qualified Range Officers Equipment hire available www.ebsc.co.uk
HALO MILL The Penthouse, Colne Valley Business Park, Huddersfield HD7 5QG Tel: 01484 840554 www.halomill.com
01226 414004 To Book
Fryers Farm Lane, High Wycombe, Bucks HP14 3NP
PRACTICAL SHOOTING DIRECTORY
Tel: 01494 881430
SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS (SWPS) Action Air IPSC Club
GRANGE PS
Based at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre
Bravo One, 93-99 Holloway Head,
near Charmouth
Birmingham, B1 1QP
The Tunnel,
Tel: 0121 643 2477
Axminster Road,
http://www.grangelivegaming.com
Charmouth,
Facebook: GPS
Dorset DT6 6BY
info@grangelivegaming.co.uk. Range
Contact: SWPSClub@Outlook.com
open for booking Wed-Sun. Club nights every Thursday, 6.30-10.30.
TYPHOON SHOOTING ACADEMY Mondays in Braintree, Essex.
WATFORD PRACTICAL PISTOL CLUB WatfordPPC@gmail.com
DOUBLE TAP PSC
Details on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/290646868310496
StrikeForce CQB, Morelands Trading Estate, Bristol Road, Gloucester GL1 5RZ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ Double-Tap-Practical-Shooting-Club979585958732937
TYPHOON AIRSOFT TARGET SHOOTING CLUB
FPS ACTION AIR IPSC
Both clubs offer Action Air, 2 & 3 Gun,
24 Scarrots lane Newport Isle of Wight PO30 2JD 90
UKPSA Coaches
XSITE PRACTICAL SHOOTING
Tel: Paul – 07861427553 Email: paul@wmairsoft.co.uk
PP, IDPA, IPAS, IPSC, 3GUN
Bawtry, Doncaster, DN10 6DG
Great North Road
www.wmairsoft.co.uk
TROJAN AIRSOFT – OLYMPUS CQB
MOD-approved gun club
Manchester Road, Linthwaite,
On site parking, HPA Top ups, covered safe zone, male & female toilets, hot lunch
EAST BARNET SC
ebpracticalpistol@gmail.com
Bawtry Forest
TORRENT WARFARE
Facebook:@fpsiow
YORKSHIRE TACTICAL AIRSOFT - THE PIT
Luxulyan, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL305FA Tel: 01726 858613 or 07590 030887
www.4dsportsclubs.co.uk
Fridays in Sible Hedingham, Essex. Details on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TyphonCQB IPAS and Dynamic Action Sport. Contact via FB or 07939 557029.
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