SitRep Issue 5

Page 1

irish airsoft magazine

making a ghillie suit straight shooter Airsoft in spain KWA MP9R Review Airsoft news the compound

www.sitrepmagazine.com


Editor’s


Welcome to SitRep Issue Five. Well, SitRep Magzine is now officially one year old so we’d like to say a huge thank you to all of our readers who have made putting this thing together such a rewarding experience. We’ve got a great issue for you once more with info on gear, sites, games and more. Inside this issue we have an interview with Paul Mulholland from The Compound telling us all about his new site and what is going on there right now. We also have an interesting look at Airsoft in Spain from Stephen Boyd, an Irish Airsofter who is now soaking up the sun on a daily basis and has left the world of wet, windy and muddy Airsoft behind him. Elsewhere we have a report from Rummy McCullagh on the part he played in the recent Operation: Rescue Falcom game in Bellurgan. By the sound of it he had a pretty rough time undergoing interrogation but managed to enjoy himself immensely anyway. We also have the usual mix of reviews, news and technical advice of course. This issue is a special one though not just because it marks SitRep’s first birthday, but also because it is in this issue that we will be launching our new Straight Shooters programme. Straight Shooters will involve a campaign to ensure that the highest values of sportsmanship and honourable play are aimed at by all Irish Airsofters. Have a read of the run down inside for all the details. We hope that this is something that all of our readers will be ready to get behind as a dishonourable player is not just wasting their own time but the time of everyone else on a site and it is the number area of frustration that can conspire to ruin a great day of gaming. We’d love to hear your feedback on the campaign so feel free to contact us through Facebook, Twitter or by email at info@sitrepmagazine.com Cheers The SitRep Team

Fabio, Keith & Damian The SitRep Team info@sitrepmagazine.com

s Letter


CONTENTS Issue 5 Airsoft News Dog Tagged KWA MP9R Review SitReps guide to making a ghillie suit Airsoft buy & sell Airsoft in Spain STRAIGHT SHOOTERS The Compound Operation:Rescue Falcon

EDITOR:

Fabio Venturini Fabio@sitrepmagazine.com ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER:

Keith Richardson Keith@sitrepmagaizne.com COMMERCIAL & ACCOUNTS MANAGER:

Damian Dobbyn Damian@sitrepmagazine.com Technical Advisor Sean Cahill

Copyright here and abroad of all material (except where otherwise stated) is held by the publishers and the original copyright holders. No reproduction is permitted without prior consent. IMPORTANT: Airsoft is a combat simulation sport and as such involves risk of injury to oneself and others. Great care must be taken carrying out any such activities. Airsoft activities should only ever be carried out under proper supervision on a properly sanctioned Airsoft site with medically trained marshals on hand. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for any injury, death, loss or damage which may result from undertaking Airsoft activities described in this publication. DISCLAIMER: The publishers make no representations, endorsements, guarantees or warranties concerning the products and/or services featured within this magazine. We expressly disclaim any and all liability relating to or arising from the sale, manufacture, distribution, use or misuse of such. Photographers Cover Design K. Richardson Sharpshooter Photography Keith Richardson

For advertising enquiries or to submit photographs or articles for publication please email us at info@sitrepmagazine.com


We Want

you

well, we want your opinions, Photographs and news that is. Join our Facebook page or e-mail us at info@sitrepmagazine.com


AIRSOFT NEWS

NEW membrane to release the CO2 in to the water chamber and propel the mortar from the firing tube. The range that we saw was pretty decent and this could definitely be used effectively in game – although recovering the mortar from a tree might be a pain in the arse!

ASG launches new ProLine Dragunov Modeled after the original Dragunov, introduced in 1963, known as the SVD (short for Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova “Dragunov Sniper Rifle”), this airsoft rifle features a very authetic look with real wood stock and front-guard as well as metal barrel, receiver and magazine. The cheek-rest can be removed for better aiming while wearing a mask, and gives a more comfortable handling of the rifle. The rifle fires of semi-automatic only and uses a custom gearbox. The package includes battery, charger and a highcap magazine.

Finally – A Decent Airsoft Mortar We’ve seen one of these in use and it was pretty damn cool we have to say… The HA-1A Airsoft mortar from APS/HAKKPTSU is available to buy online now. The mortar uses just water and CO2 as propellants making it pretty cheap to operate. You put the water in the rocket and load the warhead with the CO2. A plastic firing pin inside the rocket pierces a rubber


WS

Time to start saving for a new Camo set?

North and South Competition Launched

The first inaugural event of what is set to become an annual competition is set to kick off on the 27th of June. Being played between The Compound and Predator Airsoft, this year the competition will see five teams of eight players each from the Republic and five teams from Northern Ireland square off against one another over two weekends of play. The first weekend will be held in The Compound on the 27th and 28th of June and the second weekend will see the competition move to Predator on the 25th and 26th of August. Each team will have to compete in head to head battles on both weekends and will also have to compete in solo target challenges. There will be points gathered as a whole for both North and South meaning that the stronger teams should be able to lift up the average for their region. Teams will compete to win a trophy and no cash prizes or other prizes will be given. The objective of the cup is for all to have fun, create friendship and mix with other Airsofters from Ireland both North and South of the border as well as giving Airsofters a chance to play on new sites. The cost is €100 per person which covers two weekends away; four days of Airsofting plus food on the Saturday and camping. For further information see www.thecompoundireland. com & www.predatorcombat.com

This month, US soldiers will begin testing a camouflage pattern that looks more like reptile scales than terrain as part of the field-trial portion of the Army’s camouflage improvement effort. Army uniform officials completed tests that involved 900 soldiers taking a digital picture survey of camouflage patterns under consideration. The computerized survey had soldiers look at dozens of camouflage patterns and then rate their concealment performance. One of more unusual patterns chosen is made by Kryptek, Inc. of Fairbanks, Alaska. It consists of interlocking shapes that resemble a reptile’s scales, a look that has proven highly effective despite its nontraditional appearance, uniform officials say.


Vacant Hosts Charity Events for Childreach Two fundraising events in aid of Childreach International have been held recently at Vacanat in Naas, the first in April and the second in June. Organised and hosted by Vinny Cheung with the help of the guys at Vacant the events were hugely successful with almost ₏700 being raised for the important children’s charity. Childreach International works in partnership with local communities in the developing world to help improve children’s access to healthcare, education, and child rights and protection and does great work ain some of the most deprived areas of the world. SitRep is very happy to see Irish Airsofters really getting on board with charity events time and time again, and this is just the latest in a long line of successful charity fundraisers that have been held on Airsoft sites up and down the country. The success of this event and others like it is a credit to the Irish Airsoft Community and shows the public that we all take our civic responsibilities just as seriously as any other sporting or hobby group in Ireland.




even if you look rough



even if you look rough

Dog Tagged a place where you can share your best airsoft Photographs with the rest of the Irish Airsoft Community. If it’s you or your team in action, posing, funny or even chillin in the safezone send them in to us and get yourself tagged.


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K M W P A 9 R


KWA MP9R Having been one of the lucky ones to get my hands on a KWA MP9R, I was asked to do a review on the playability of it in Ireland. The MP9 was one of my favourite guns from the game “Rainbow six”, so for me this gun was definitely a must have. The build quality of KWA is always to a high standard and this is no exception. The fiber reinforced polymer makes for an extremely solid feel both in hand or shouldered using the foldable, fixed length stock. The gun when locked and loaded is very light, weighing little more than a metal pistol. When loaded the gun is well balanced and extremely manoeuvrable, ideal for CQB and situations where you need to adjust and acquire targets quickly. I have had mine for a year and a half with no problems making it really reliable. There are 3 rails for mounting your scopes, flashlights, lasers, hand grips or pretty much anything that bolts onto a 20mm picatinny rail. There are built in iron sights if you want to keep it light and use the holster. The NS2 system is one of the most gas efficient systems on the market, making the gun playable even

in cold temperatures. I played with it mid January with little or no effect on performance. The unique hop up unit is very sensitive and easy to adjust with the provided adjusting tool. The only downfall is that you have to take out the magazine in order to adjust it but once set you won’t have to adjust it again. I play with the mind set of “one shot, one kill” where accuracy is of the utmost importance. All my guns have been modified, from pistols using .25s to sniper rifles using .43s. So how does this stack up to my high critical standards?

charging handle back the magazine can break the loading nozzle in the gun rendering the gun useless until you replace the part, costing you time and money it is essential that you go through these steps. It does not have a safety switch, just a double trigger so be careful how and where you hold it when it is loaded.

Range and accuracy:

I was shocked at how good this glorified pistol was out of the box. I spent some time in achieving the desired bb flight, once the hop was Loading the magazine: set the range took me by surprise. The max range The magazines have a of an Airsoft gun at the locking mechanism which one joule with body shot makes for really quick and accuracy is about 50 easy speed loading. When yards. On single shot, I loading the magazine into was able to hit 40 yards the gun you need to pull consistently. On full auto and lock the charging bolt the shots were a bit back before you push the wild at that range with magazine in, then release a wide spread but it has the catch and you’re ready decent accuracy at 20to go. If you don’t pull the 30 yards.


Rate of fire: The rate of fire is unreal, firing 20-25 bbs a second depending on the temperature and the type of gas you use. Short bursts are recommended as each magazine only holds 50 bbs so it can potentially be emptied in little over 2 seconds.

Firing: The first thing that hits you is how loud it is. It has to be one of the loudest guns on the market which is great for room clearance as it usually distracts or shocks the person inside. Reports from experienced opponents have been that even

though it is so loud, the noise is dispersed making it extremely hard to pin point exactly where the shots are coming from. There is a great kick when firing which adds a bit of realism to taking the shot. The quick trigger response and snappy cycling allows for some really fast double-tapping which is always desirable when up close as semi-auto should only be used at that range. The one thing I found was that if you wear mesh, there is a blast of gas from the shot which usually causes you to blink. This can be avoided by wearing sealed goggles or tight shooting glasses.

Gaming: The MP9 is ideal as a primary gun for CQB games with a normal pistol as a secondary. Where the MP9 is your secondary and you have optics mounted to it which prevents you from using the holster, it can be cumbersome. When the magazine is loaded into the pistol the “T” shape tends to be awkward and is hard to find a comfortable carrying position where it is not in the way. The stock when folded sticks out at the bottom making it even more awkward. I’ve found a dump pouch to be effective to carry it when it is my secondary. If you don’t use any optics, the holster, which can be mounted onto a


tactical vest or leg platform, provides a really secure and adaptable way of carrying it.

Price and running costs:

The initial cost is pretty expensive especially when you factor in a few magazines. The KWA MP9 costs about €250 with 2 types to choose from: one with a moulded front fore grip or one with a 20mm Picatinny rail. The magazines aren’t cheap either at about €50 each. You will need a few of these if you are trigger happy or carry it as your main gun

in long games. The gas well in the magazine allows for a generous amount of gas which gives about 2 full re-loads for 1 gas fill depending on temperature. Green/ Red Gas costs about €10 a bottle and can last just a weekend depending how much you use it.

Chronograph: There are many variables as to the muzzle velocity of the bb when using a gas gun such as type of gas, the temperature and

the barometric pressure. I managed to source a reducing value which keeps the fps around 290-310 fps and a barrel adaptor which allows you to use a silencer or anything with a 14mm CCW thread. They are available by contacting Dave directly at: Email: Dangerwerx@ gmail.com Blogsite: http://dangerwerx.wordpress.com/

In my opinion and experience there is very little to criticise on the gun. The MP9 is a serious piece of kit which I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a CQB specific gun or for a secondary that packs a punch. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face when firing and induce the shock factor when breaching rooms. It has all the qualities I do look for in a gun ; range, accuracy, reliability, manoeuvrability, quick trigger response and light weight with a high rate of fire, making this a must to consider to add to your arsenal.


sitrep’s guide to making a

ghillie suit


The Eternal Question : Should I buy a Ghillie Suit or build one ? This is a question most airsofters agonise over when they consider dabbling with the sniper role over the Summer months as something different to their usual loadout. Making your own ghillie suit can be a very rewarding project, but be forewarned it is a very time consuming project and before you begin you should really determine if it’s worth your time. Making a full ghillie suit can take anywhere from 20 to 40 hours. While you may think that it will be a fun project in the beginning setting aside 2 hours each night for 8-20 days. You may have second thoughts on day 3 wishing you had just bit the bullet and purchased one. But with that said we are in a resession so everyone reminds us and the SitRep team wanted to give you budding snipers out there a viable cheap alternative to the shop-bought Ghillie suit. The mantra of Ghillie suit building is “The more time and effort you put into the building of the suit the better the result” and once it’s made you can continue to change it by adding or subtracting materials from it or changing the colour depending on your gaming environment . This is something that most players with a shop-bought ghillie will rarely do because of how much they spent on the suit in the first place. Our Ghillie suit design is predominantly for Summer use but can work in our climate all year round.

This suit is made for greenish vegetation (deciduous/conifer forest), elevated temperatures and eventually high humidity and rain. Therefore it needs to be based on a thin, light but strong material (nomex) which should allow the airflow to permeate underneath it keeping the sniper cool. It’s “designed” to camouflage the back of the body and it also reinforces the front of the suit, while the sniper goes prone(crawling). It can be combined with a thin, light load bearing system for example LC2, Mollebelt + H-Harnes or Y-Suspenders. Therefore the suit itself will NOT offer much space for the carrying of equipment ! This suit should be highly effective in the hands of an experienced, passive, stalking Sniper that works mostly alone or with a spotter. Materials needed: - US Nomex flight suit (OD) - US woodland boonie hat - Camouflage netting - burlap/jute (dyed in different coulours & undyed ) - rubberised nylon material (cordura) - dental floss - “shoe goo” glue - 1x bicycle tube / “ranger” bands / rubber bands - different spray paint colours in matt finish, brown/OD/Tan

Note : If you’re in the role of a designated marksman, or a sniper that’s part of a squad, you should look for a more versatile, lighter system that isn’t focused on the best camouflage effectiveness !


Preparing the suit Lay the camouflage netting over the flattened nomex suit. Attach the netting on the outlined intersections of the netting on the back of the nomex suit (see picture) with dental floss. Dental floss is very strong and will not rot. Do not use usual twine since it will rot on you! Do not use waxed dental floss or the knots will eventually open themselves after some use ! Instead of dental floss you may use nylon fishing line or some sort of strong, synthetic fibre. I recommend dental floss though, it’s strong it’s cheap, and it’ll do the job just fine. Cut off the overlapping netting around

the suit. Reinforce the sewn dental floss with a drop of glue. Use “shoe goo” to glue approximately 50 % of the intersections of the net while in position and follow the same steps as above for the backside of the legs. This will make sure that the netting remains adequately tight to your body and holds the natural vegetation under the netting. It also reinforces the whole netting super tight on the nomex suit, so it won’t come lose! If you decide to use glue, make sure it’s “shoe goo”! Hot-glue won’t work; “superglue” won’t work either. Instead of gluing, you may use dental floss ONLY, however this will take MUCH more time and effort. Shoe goo does the job just as good! Let the glue dry at least 1 day before returning to work on your suit. At this stage I sometimes tend to use a small bit of spray paint just to break up the base colour of the flight suit in certain areas. The image below gives an idea of the outer interestions I’ve marked yellow of the areas you need to apply the dental


floss. The inner intersections marked red are where you’d need to us the glue.

Applying the patches Cut the rubberised nylon into 6 pieces, matching the areas on your belly/ chest, legs/knees and your elbows. Make sure, when you apply the patches on the elbows that the patch is situated where your elbows actually touch the ground while crawling with the suit. You can glue the patch on with shoe goo or sew them on with dental floss. Just make sure the outsides of the patches are tight to the suit, or dirt will get underneath the patches. This will have a devastating effect on the suit and the patches because dirt gets between the material and eventually splits them apart ! I’d recommend gluing the patches and also popping in a stitch at the areas where the joints bend with the body !

Instead of rubberised nylon you can use canvas or other stiff materials. Remember: Rubberised nylon is available in OD and protects from moisture too. You can also put some padding underneath the patches, but keep in mind this will isolate your body in summer even more ! Always spray paint every inch of glue to eliminate any possible shining from sunlight. I’d also Spray paint some parts of the patches and the front of the suit to break up the outline.


Applying the jute/burlap I highly recommend to buy burlap in sheets, not in strips. You can either dye the burlap on your own, or buy coloured burlap instead (which makes things MUCH easier) You will need UN-dyed burlap anyhow. No matter what kind of surrounding and natural vegetation in your gaming area make sure your suit doesn’t get too dark. So don’t use much dark colours in your burlap. I highly recommend using more than 50% of natural burlap/jute. The rest should be earthy tones, different browns and tans. The problem is, if the suit gets too dark, because you have applied to much dark burlap, it’ll be VERY hard to lighten it up again. When adding natural vegetation to it, the suit will appear even darker. If you apply burlap strips: 50% of the fibres will come loose, you will lose a lot of material and the suit becomes thinner. Use burlap sheets instead and you can pull each string of burlap, there are some great youtube videos out there, that will instruct on how to do this. Bind a hand of burlap strings into the netting. I recommend to bind the burlap strings, not to knot them. If you look at the diagram provided it illustrates how to apply your burlap with the red and green lines: The red being the string of burlap,

the black line being a fibre of netting, the green line the direction to pull the strings. Instead of burlap and jute you can apply olive military bandages of strips of old camo cut from an old BDU. After applying the jute, I recommend “washing” it in dirt and mud to brake up the fibres.

Adding natural vegetation

Since only about 30 - 40 % of the “camouflage effect” comes from jute, that breaks up your outline of the body, adding natural vegetation is a vital factor. Cut a bicycle


tube into rings and bind them into the netting, rubber bands and ranger bands will do the job just fine too! In these loop holes you can ad twigs and grass. Leaves and other stuff can be stuffed under the netting itself too.

The hat or hood Glue/Sew camouflage netting over the ghillie hat. Make sure it’s long enough on the back and covers your shoulders as well. Make sure there is enough burlap bound into the netting, so that every part of your head, except your face is covered with burlap. This bushy appearance will break up the outline of your head and shoulders which in the field is one of the most identifiable shapes that can give away your position. Gloves, I recommend wearing camouflaged gloves. Make sure your hands are covered with something. Try eliminate every spot of bare skin, because it could give your position away.

Face Let’s face it, face paint is good fun... but you’ll sweat a lot in summer under your ghillie suit and it’s gone before you know it. I also wouldn’t recommend any type of balaclava, because it’s simply too warm. Some kind of net-balaclava however is very useful in my opinion. I recommend the “spandoflage mask” and every “real tree” netting mask. Goggles: Full face masks, are not so good in this kind of role. I’d recommend a pair of small mesh goggles. Gloves, hats, face and eye protection highly depend on your personal preferences. There is no ultimate choice, just as there is no one size fits all type of ghillie suit. Your preferences may differ from mine, but this setup works for me. Well that brings us to the end of our tutorial. One thing I would say is that although it does take time to build your ghillie suit, it is worth it because unlike other loadouts your guillie suit is unique to you and your own design and in my opinion it can outperform some of the more expensive shop bought suites, so whether you buy or build the best of luck and roll on the Summer for those sneaky one shot one kills...


The finished A


Article


Airsoft Buy and Sell

www.airsoftbuyandsell.com Airsoft Buy and Sell is a new site started by Stephen Knowles to make the buying and selling of second hand kit in Ireland a lot easier. The idea behind the site is very simple; since getting involved in the sport in 2009 Stephen found that he had accumulated a lot of kit and recently when trying to sell it found it very difficult to do so. The available social media at present does not give you the maximum exposure necessary to sell any of your second hand kit. On some sites once the ad is posted you start dropping down the pecking order and after less than one hour in some cases you can find yourself on page three or four depending on the ads posted. The other annoying feature of some sites which Stephen noticed is the amount of kit being sold through one advert, meaning that it can take a long time to filter out the kit you are after. So taking all that in to consideration, Airsoft Buy and Sell was born. It is a simple buy and sell site dedicated solely to Airsoft. You can place your item in to the specific category and sub-category

and away you go. You have the option of placing 2 x 5MB (or 1024x768 pixels) photos of your item and you have 30 days of free advertising. All AEG’s must have the FPS posted in the advert. Failure to display the FPS will result in the advert being removed. Viewers can browse the latest ads on the classifieds main page or view by categories. The seller can be contacted via their phone number if posted or directly through their ad placement page. The intention of the site is to allow airsofters to buy, sell or trade their items with other airsofters in a safe and moderated environment. Airsoft businesses can also post ads, but they need to follow the specific terms and conditions for business use. No new items are permitted to be sold, but returns and second hand items are permitted. Stephen hopes that as the site grows there will be opportunities for businesses to advertise on the site for a small fee, this will be in the shape of a leader board ad (702x108) or sidebar ad (125x125) for further details you can contact media@airsoftbuyandsell.com.


Hobby Airsoft leaders in licensed airsoft

Hobby Airsoft is one of Ireland’s leading airsoft retailers, with an excellent reputation for customer service, availability of stock, as well as quality of goods. Hobby Airsoft specialise in replicas featuring complete trademarks under world-wide exclusive licensing from Cybergun, as well as an ever expanding range of high end manufacturers such as G&P, G&G, ARES, King Arms, ICS etc. Here at Hobby Airsoft we have just launched our official G&P section – in stock and available we have scores of parts, accessories and rifles, such as the Magpul MOE Carbine, Stoner MK23 LMG, Sentry, M16 and of course, the world-renowned G&P M120 motor! To view our full range of products please visit our walk-in retail outlet in Greenogue Business Park (Unit 10, Block 613), Rathcoole Co. Dublin. Our opening hours are: Mon – Sat: 10.00am – 18.00pm Sunday: 12.00pm – 17.00pm

www.HobbyAirsofter.com

Phone : +353 (0) 1257 3102 or +353 (0) 598623 889 Dublin : Unit 10, Block 613, Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole Co. Dublin Kildare : Unit 2, Crookstown Business Park, Ballitore, Co. Kildare


Airsofting in

Spain By Stephen Boyd

“Your guns have arrived mate!” was Ricky’s Text. After two years of Chairsofting, a Cerveza fueled night on the net had me back into the game. Just a three day weekender at motorland watching Lorenzo and Stoner battle it out before I could get my hands on my obsessively researched KJW M4 GBBR. Airsoft in Spain isn’t illegal, it’s just not 100% legal. Antiquated gun laws make it illegal to transport RIFs around the country without permission, from my understanding, but the Police/ Civil Guard don’t care and are probably just as happy to fiddle with your toy as you are to talk about it. Haunting a forum of a local Airsoft shop, I was scouring the games page with Google Translate doing the hard work. I’ve been here four years and I still don’t speak Spanish; a dangerous mix of stupidity and lazi-


ness as my Teachers would say! I found an open invitation for a site known as “La Mansion”. All that was mentioned was a time, date and a synopsis of the game to be played. A quick forum search and the site location was pinpointed. Thank you Google Maps. Easing my way up a storm damaged dirt track to the car park at the Mansion, I realised a ZZR1400 motorcycle is not a choice vehicle for this type of terrain. Unpacking my gear among the cars I noticed that there were no marshals or site officials to be seen. Taking my M4 over to the apparent Shooting/Testing Range to zero the sights I let off a few shots. Krack-Krack-Krack! At 120db the M4 turned a few heads, “Que es?” Was the eager question of


the surrounding players (what is it and can I have a go). Speaking my best Spanglish I asked how much it was to play here? I was answered with a smile and told it was “Gratis” (Free)!!! Apparently on abandoned Land/ Derelict sites the local authorities turn a blind

eye to the weekly skirmish with the attitude of “as long as we don’t get called out to a problem regarding you we don’t care what you do!” I got the gist of the game - a typical Take and Hold scenario using the Mansion as the goal. The Mansion is a 15 room house with a two-level

tower on its western side. Apart from the occasional hobo, it’s been abandoned a long time, gutted of anything of value. Its terraced gardens reminded me of the Fenix Mansion in Gears of War only on a smaller scale. The surrounding terrain is a mix of overgrown fields, steep hills and a


reservoir to the rear of the location. Starting on the attacking side, I got paired up with a guy called Jordi who was happy to teach me a few useful Spanish Airsoft phrases to get me by. Letting Jordi take point we advanced on the objective - the terrain is very open forcing me to adapt my style of fieldcraft; having to rely on the terrain features rather than vegetation to conceal our approach from the Opfor. During a few engagements where I clearly had the element of surprise the Opfor didn’t acknowledge their hits. Sitting in the respawn, checking over my M4 making sure it wasn’t a gun issue I saw that the Bio-BB’s had started to decompose causing them to stick together and deform! Scraping the BB’s out of my mags, I was irritated that my day was over but a teammate saw the situation and offered me a speedloader full of .33s’.


The teams were then switched around and I found myself defending the east wing of the Mansion overlooking the driveway and the garden to the south. The terraced garden gave good cover and concealment, allowing the Opfor to approach to within 5 meters of the Mansion, but it took a brave man to scale the final wall and storm the Mansion, especially when every window had an AEG poking out shooting around 350fps. The Opfor’s frustration grew, as desperate “Light Brigade” style tactics were attempted on the driveway. During one of the final waves my gas mag vents in full view of the charging enemy hastening their advance and panicking my clumsy attempt at a Costa

inspired speed reload. With a mag in and the M4 flicked into “OH SHIT!” mode the rapidly approaching horde of all 3 men were quickly turned round and sent back to respawn. With the game being called to an end everyone returned to the car park, smiling and speed talking their friends through the day’s kills. Checking my watch I discover that it was only 1 o’clock and realised that Airsoft, just like everything else in Spain, stops for the Siesta and that I had a week’s worth of muscle pain to look forward to after two long years on a chair.


Unit 1a , Ballybogan industrial estate , Ballybogan road , Glasnevin ,Dublin 11, Dublin, Ireland Contact : 087 140 8195

The camo shop

The Camo Shop is the Irish distributor of the Helikon brand. One of the leading range of action sports,military,fishing,hunting and outdoor clothing on the market today. Everyone looking for superior quality clothing at a reasonable price. Our materials are professionally manufactured by people with experience in developing military and outdoor clothing . We offer a wide range and reliable service and at a cost that competes with lower grade items . If your looking to get properly kitted out for the outdoors look no further than The Camo Shop.


STRAIGHT SHOOTERS Airsoft is a game of honour - we can all agree on this. Unfortunately though, this honour is sometimes lacking on the field of play, whether it be at a weekend skirmish or a large scale event. Just like with any sport where an element of competitiveness exists, the temptation to try and get away with something or to bend the rules will always be there for some players. In response to this, SitRep Magazine in conjunction with RedBarn Airsoft and Tigerland Airsoft has decided to start a campaign to promote honourable play in Irish Airsoft. In the coming months you will start to see a new type of patch being worn on the arms of those players

who stand out as being the most honourable players and who have shown themselves to have a passion for promoting the best parts of our sport to other players and to the public. These patches will be awarded by us, based on the players honour, integrity, sportsmanship and general good conduct on and off the gaming field. There will be a three tier Patch/ Badge, Honour PatchŠ. The Design itself will remain the same with just the colour differentiating the level. This is done to enable a player to strive to improve his sportsmanship and honour in and out of the game and by so doing replacing his first patch for the next and so on. Patches can also be removed from players who are found not to be upholding of the key characteristics of the Straight Shooters Honour Patch. It is our hope that these STRAIGHT


SHOOTERS will inspire other Airsoft players, both young and old, veteran and newbie to step up the quality of their gaming so that Irish Airsoft will one day stand out around the world as being the most honourable type of Airsoft going. Many of us now play abroad whenever time and budgets can allow for it and Airsofters from Ireland are known for their energy and enthusiasm at each of the international games that they attend. The STRAIGHT SHOOTERS patch holders will bring a new level of prestige to Irish Airsoft abroad with their high level of sportsmanship. As part of this campaign we will be running articles in future issues of SitRep Magazine to promote the ideals of fair play and the rules which we should all be playing by in order to keep our sport alive and attractive to new players and old. Our plan is to select a weekend in 2012 which will be used to promote Fair Play on sites across the country with the STRAIGHT SHOOTERS campaign. In the lead up to this

weekend – and hopefully on every weekend following it – the subject of Fair Play will be strongly promoted on sites and in shops and passed on by teams and more experienced players. Although we are aware that this is something that many of you already believe to be very important and which is often emphasised on sites around the country – we believe that by backing this up with a visible country-wide campaign, this message can be given further strength and recognition. We know that our readers are players who take Airsoft seriously and believe passionately in its promotion and support so we hope that we can count on you all to get behind this campaign. The patches will be trial run on Red Barn and Tigerland initially and hopefully will be run out to other sites in the months following. Please watch this space closely and keep an eye on our Facebook page to watch out for further updates on STRAIGHT SHOOTERS. The SitRep Team


The Compound The Compound is one of the newest sites to open in Ireland and the setup looks pretty exciting. Paul Mulholland runs the site and took some time out to tell SitRep Magazine a little bit about it... 1) When did you first get introduced to Airsoft and how long was it before you decided to open The Compound? I’ve been playing Airsoft for two years now and I would say after about a year or so I thought to myself “I reckon I could

take a bit of my knowledge and create something different.” It was last year when I said “right, that’s it I’m going to do this,” and I started looking for sites to use. 2) Had you been involved in the running of any sites before this? No, this is my first time running an Airsoft site. Last year in March I ran an eight person Airsoft competition in Rathbeggan Lakes and I got such good feedback from it that it encouraged me more so than ever to try and open my

own site. 3) Can you give us a brief history of how the site came in to being - where there any particular difficulties? I was originally looking for a quarry so I could build a purpose built village in it. One day while looking at a particular website


that listed all of the disused quarries in Ireland, I found a one not far from Gibbstown. When I looked it up on Google Maps I thought it looked too small for what I wanted, so I started to browse around the area, which is when I saw Gibbstown Demesne. Well to cut a long story short I eventually found the owner and we came to an arrangement and hey presto, the rest is history as they say. What was you original plan for the site and have you been able to fulfil this? My original

idea was to work on the site first and open in the summer of 2012, but talking to a good friend of mine Tony McCann from The Airsoft Centre, he convinced me to open up right away and work on it with the revenue that came in. I have to say, Tony helped me a lot and gave me a lot of useful information on getting started. What is the makeup of the site in terms of size and terrain types? The whole site is massive with a bit of everything for everyone; there is a


forest area at the end of the site which is unique in its self because it has a tunnel dug into the rock face that leads to an old fish pond (very small lake) which leads to some great gaming. It has surrounding fields, which will be really only used for big events and camping. It also has a walled garden with 20ft high walls. This alone is five acres in size and then the best bit, which I’ve left to last, is The Compound itself. This is an old farm estate Its best features are a 150 metre long shed, three courtyards, dozens of stables, other barn build-

ally don’t play the same game week after week. I decide each week which games I’m going to run by seeing what numbers arrive on site on the day and play games accordingly. I have a good imagination so I like to mix it up. I suppose one of the favourite games people like to play is the bomb game. I know it’s not original but what is original is that there is a bomb, detonator and Sgt. Meadows (our in house hero/dummy). What you have to do is get Sgt 4) What sort of games do you run on the site on Meadows to the bomb and find a key on him to a regular day and how much is it to play and/or arm it. Then you need the rent equipment? I gener- detonator, this is a briefings and of course the old school house, which has a corridor that leads from one end of the house to the top room which is one of the best sniper positions on the site. Not forgetting all the little alleyways which lead to an indoor/outdoor CQB experience. It’s hard to explain in words, but trust me once you play here you will be hooked; especially since there is nothing else in Ireland like it.


case full of lights and switches. Each switch has to be turned on in the correct sequence for it to arm. When it is armed, you retreat to a safe distance and use the remote control to detonate the bomb. Sounds easy, but try and do this with a time limit

and people shooting at you and it leads to absolute chaos and fun. Skirmishing costs are €15 for a half day, €25 for a full day and there’s an annual membership fee of €5. 5) We see that you have been organising some

MilSim type games - can you tell us about these? Are these the type of games that your regulars have been asking for? To be honest, I tried one but have decided not to pursue these in the future because I want to use the site for skirmishes, night games and special events rather than MilSims. I’m going to leave it to the lads in Bellurgan, Mark and Paul. This way it’s better for all involved. But I have been approached by LARPers who are going to use the site for their LARPing events so I suppose that’s the only type of MilSim-like game


you will see on my site again. Unless somebody wants it for a private MilSim game that is. 6) What do you think is the state of Airsoft in Ireland right now - are we in a strong position from the point of view of a site owner? Great question; I think the problem is that Airsoft is not known about enough in this country and I think that site owners and retailers should get together to create a body such as the UKARA. Not for restricting the selling of Airsoft guns though, more so for promotion of the sport. After all it’s us who really want the sport to be known because we have the biggest interest in making the sport bigger, not the normal skirmisher. We have the drive to get it where we would love to have it and that of course is for more players, better knowledge of the sport, greater availability of Airsoft gear and of course the use of pyro on sites. 7) What plans do you have for the future of The Compound that you would like to tell us about? My biggest plan at the moment is to clean up the site because it was used for storage of plastic and a lot of it

is still lying around. I also want to create some cover points in the alleyways but I will never use tyres for this. I want to try and keep it real and use other components for cover. I also have a lot of other ideas of things that I want to get done but I just can’t say tell you about them yet. Just keep watching this space. One thing I can tell you about is that I have been in touch with Predator Combat Games in Northern Ireland and we have decided to start an annual North V South Cup. This is going to be great fun. I will of course release more info about this soon. Don’t forget to check out our website for news and opening dates because at the moment we don’t open every weekend but generally are open most Sunday’s. For more information on The Compound check them out online or contact them at the details below: www.thecompoundireland.com email: info@thecompoundireland. com Phone : 087-1813911


WARNING Restricted Area Authorised personnel ONLY

Please be aware no liability will be accepted for any damage done to AEG’s or injury caused to life or limb. The information that follows is offered as a guide to maintain your AEG. Remember, if in doubt always seek out some help! Don’t be afraid to ask, if there’s one thing about the airsoft community (family), airsofters will always recommend someone they trust to help with your beloved AEG. Now, that said,

FOLLOW ME!


G E A s ’ y n n u G o t e m o c l e W e s r u o c t l u a s as Where we will teach you skills and knowledge to help you overcome the assault course “that is AEG repairs”.

Cyber Gun AK47 Welcome to this months AEG assault course. Here we have everyone’s favourite bad guy gun an AK47. This particular model is by Cybergun. As always: safety first .Take your A.E.G. somewhere safe, and fire her in single shot two or three times. This clears the chamber and puts the piston in its most forward position.

1) Locate and remove battery cover from upper receiver.


2) Pull back bolt cover to reveal Hop up adjuster. With a fine Philips screw driver remove the thumb nail adjuster. Pay attention to its position, as it’s possible to refit back to front.

3) On left side of upper receiver locate and remove small screw.

4) On right side of upper receiver is a stainless steel bar that operates a latch for holding on the battery cover. Holding the latch to the rear, push the bar forward and rotate to disconnect.


5) On the left hand side of the battery carrier, locate and remove the small Philips screw.

6) Now carefully slide the battery carrier to the rear and remove.

7) Turning the rifle over, locate and remove these four screws that hold the barrel to the receiver.


8) Watch carefully as you draw the barrel forward away from the receiver. Once clear of the air nozzle, tilt the barrel down slightly to clear the receiver and remove. Be aware the nuts are now lose and may fall out. Likewise the spring in the right hand corner of the image may all so fall out.

9) Very carefully push a fine flat head screwdriver under the side of this cover. Move from side to side, take your time as this part is plastic and easily broken.

10) Now remove the Philips screw. The selector arm can now be removed


11) Try to leave the selector arm spacer in place so you can see which end is the top. Once noted, remove the part.

12) Locate and remove the Philips screw and then the pistol grip.

13) The mechbox is now ready to be removed. First make sure the loom in the stock is loose. With the AK on its left side, slowly push the mechbox up. When you have enough room, disconnect from the loom. Pay attention to the ratchet system that operates the selector switch.

14) Remove the ratchet system. Now remove the locking slide by pushing or pulling forward.


15) Remove the dust cover from behind the trigger.

16) Locate and remove six mechbox screws plus one ratchet mech screw.

17) Separate the motor from the mechbox. Now insert a small screw driver into rear of box, apply downward pressure to hold spring in place.

18) Remove mechbox cover. Carefully remove spring, piston and all other parts. Pay close attention when removing gears; these may have shims either side. You may not be able to see them for all the grease or some could be stuck to the in side of the lid. Do not mix them up.


19) Once cleaned, replace all parts. Reassemble mechbox and replace motor.

20) When refitting the ratchet, you need to turn over the box to realign it with the selector plate.

21) This small triangle piece fits first.

22) When fitting this part of the ratchet. Make sure the first tooth on the silver part is in sync with the first tooth on the black part.


23) With the loom reconnected and while holding the ratchet in place: Insert mechbox into receiver and at the same time feed the loom back into the stock. Once in, check no wires are pinched.

24) Fit pistol grip and lock in place with screw.

25) Replace selector arm spacer.

26) Replace selector arm, and cover.


27) Replace the four nuts and spring.

28) Carefully reattach barrel to receiver, paying careful attention to the air nozzle as it needs to be aligned with the hop up as you go.

29) Replace four screws.

30) Replace battery holder. Note how it locks with the receiver. The stainless steel bar can be a bit tricky to fit. Once in, replace the small screw. DO NOT over tighten.


31) Replace thumb nail on hop adjuster.

32) Replace battery cover.


Operation: Rescue Falcon Reported by Rummy McCullagh photography by Marcin Białas

Laying in a ditch with the sun in my eyes and a pistol in hand I found myself stuck between two choices: make my move to the right bringing myself very close to the enemy compound or to the left bringing me closer to a group of unknown voices. As I travelled near to this unknown group I saw my first Azmeni rebel walk right into my path facing into the open field to my side, I tried to lie still in hopes of going unnoticed but my flight suit was not designed for concealment. His head turned to my direction with eyes of surprise on his face. I acted first but my panicked shots only forced him to drop into cover. As I made flight back down the ditch shouts of alarm rang from multiple directions and I found myself running without thought of my destination, a loud burst of gun fire chased me along the open green with the very last shot catching me in the arm.

The fun had just begun !

During Bellurgan Park’s recent event, Operation: rescue Falcon, a 24-hour MilSim with two factions fighting it out in search of four missing pilots alongside many other objectives, I started off as a downed pilot behind enemy lines. As the other pilots started the game in search of friendly forces I found myself crawling around with the Rebel soldiers breathing down my neck from the very start. I got caught roughly an hour into the game which then was the start of the interrogation/ torture process which lasted around four and a half to five hours with a short failed escape attempt happening three hours into it. Sitting in a quiet room my first visitor was a short youthful Rebel, he brought an offer, go down the easy road and tell them what they wanted to know or face ‘The Big man’ and from there on myself and The Big man became well acquainted. After finding myself blindfolded he started off with trying to intimidate me for answers, shoving me


e b o t r s a e w l h a s e u D b s m Arm ” a n “a or an Rebels f t e s and the around, pushing me off my chair, banging and shouting over and over. When he left my only companion was the awful music and ear screeching noises they played in an attempt to make me crack. From time to time they would put me in stress positions and as fatigue started to kick in each position became harder to endure than the last. At one point I heard shouts of enemy contact which brought thoughts of rescue by my Coalition friends, but it was never to come. Time became impossible to keep track of, my mind moved in and out of a trance like state listening to the sounds played and looped while my Rebel captors left me in the cold between interrogations.Finally, I got my chance to escape. I gathered my gear as fast as possible and took a look into the rear room. A barn door left ajar and a pile of hay below, this was my escape route. I jumped the short distance and took off, but quickly found myself lost and without a clue

to where I might find freedom. I took a left down a hill and stopped in some heavy plantation, a quick stop to readjust my gear for a long run and a count of my ammo. Just as I broke cover to make my next move a strolling Rebel happened to walk along the top of the hill on his way back into the compound I had just made my escape from, again I found myself shot and again I was captured. Roughly an hour and a half later the Rebels patience had run out and I was dragged outside, put to my knees and offered a last chance to save my own life... The trigger was pulled and my time as a pilot finally came to an end. At this point I was taken out of game and offered a large cup of coffee to warm the body alongside the company of some of Bellurgan Park’s unseen faces. After a chat about the experiences of the event up to that point I headed back to the car, dropping my pilot


l e b e R I d s a t e h l g e i h my s s�. t s t “A into o h s t d s e r v i o f m the k o o t

gear I rearmed myself as one of the soldiers from Task Force Lima and travelled until I met up with other members of the Coalition force. One pilot dead (myself), one found safely and two unaccounted for. We travelled back to our FOB to meet up with our Intelligence Officer (IO) and the rest of Task Force Lima (TLF). Our arrival was greeted by another group of Coalition soldiers arriving back at the same time with another pilot and a large black bag in tow. The black bag contained the body of the fourth pilot; found dead on his ejector seat. Our force broke up into three sections; two groups heading off into the distance with orders from the IO and an ambush was to be set for an Arms Dealer and the Rebels in what we thought would be their meet up point, the Village. As our teammates moved off, I was left at our FOB with 3 people, the IO and two Pilots,

and as we waited in the base a lone figure walked into our view on the edge of a field. Confused as to who we were watching the figure moved calmly towards a gate which lead to the Village. It was our lucky day! We ran towards the lone figure and caught him just as he got to the gate, after questions about his identity our IO searched him and found some odd looking canisters alongside


“Thr e thro e flash ugh t light movi s h e f ng to orest fanned w thre ards u slowly e diff s fro direc erent m tions ”. a hidden shotgun. There was no doubt that this was the Arms Dealer. Now our little group contained four high value members and I. We would make a sweet target for the enemy who just at that point happened to come across us from the other side of the gate. The situation was less than desirable: two lightly armed pilots guarding our captive with myself and our IO waiting at either side of the gate’s edge. As the lead Rebel moved into my sights I took the first shots. One down - but now shots were flying past us. Two down - with more unseen Rebels in the distance. Three down - with our IO picking off the last Rebel. Lucky that it was only a small patrol passing by. We moved over the gate with a new objective of evacuating the Arms Dealer. Moving around the village we gave it a wide berth. We couldn’t afford to be seen but the sun was going down which helped mask our movements.

Thankfully the rest of our journey to the extraction point was uneventful. After the Arms Dealer’s extraction we made our way back to the FOB. What started off as an easy walk turned into an intense movement through the enemy with the darkness of night only adding to the experience. First we regrouped with a small number of TLF soldiers at an outpost not far from the village. We could hear loud voices and sporadic shooting which only put us on edge. Three flashlights fanned through the forest slowly moving towards us from three different directions. Everyone stopped and crouched like statues, waiting and waiting. Relief finally came with an order to pull back and go around. We walked and crawled the long way around the village passing by the rays of light. Arriving back at our FOB we regrouped and made plans, the enemy numbers falling back to their compound as the forest became


long before. More shouts of alarm as the rebels realised we were in the compound, with torches they covered the alleyway we had used to get in and now were also at the front door.

quiet. Our new plan was to raid the enemy and bring the fight to them. We crept to their base, never venturing far from the road. As we came really close we split and some moved across the road but the Rebels started flashing their lights down the roadway to their compound listening out for noises they weren’t sure they had heard. A sentry takes a few shots down the path looking for a reaction and someone took the bait, a Coalition soldier fired a few shots back and now the Azmenistan rebels knew we were upon them. Three of us, including one pilot, decided on a full move around to the compound’s rear entrance. Pouring fire into the courtyard, the enemy turned one of their vehicles towards us and used the headlights to illuminate our position. Blinded and outnumbered we slowly picked off a few rebels before falling back and moving back into their base from another direction. Moving up through an alleyway I realised we were beside the barn door I had jumped out of earlier in the day. The three of us pushed up and crawled into the back entrance, quietly moving through the back room and in to rescue a pilot who had been captured not

Trapped in the back room with three high priority members of the Coalition I fired shots onto the enemy holding the alley and suppressed them long enough for the recently rescued pilot to jump and escape. Now it was the second pilot’s turn to make the run but my ammunition had run dry. Quickly swapping position with the IO I was now holding the door between the two rooms with Rebel soldiers pushing in on us. Dry firing my rifle in hopes of warding the rebels off the second Pilot made his run under the cover of the IO’s shots but quickly the pilot was shot down. The Rebels finally started to realise I had no ammunition left and started to creep up to our position with their shadows giving away their movement. I ran towards the IO and slapped him on the shoulder saying ‘WE HAVE TO GO!’ As I jumped the IO shot a Rebel down from the alleyway and then made his own escape running passed the bleeding out pilot. I crawled under the beams of light over to the pilot and did the only thing I could to make sure he wasn’t captured: I knifed him.


It was time to call it a night and we moved back to our FOB for some well needed food and a sleep. Recommencing the battle the next day the information the pilots had withheld from the Rebels during interrogations finally was realised by all, a full on Invasion over the border into Azmenistan by Coalition forces. After a morning raid into the enemy compound one of their jeeps was captured for Coalition use. The vehicles used at Bellurgan Park really added to the event, there is nothing quite like sitting in the back of a jeep racing down roads and through open fields firing out the back at anything that moves. To this moment I’m not even sure what our objective was at that time. My mind was focused on having too much fun shooting at a chasing vehicle. Finally we were taken out by one of the best grenade throws I’ve ever witnessed and our High Priority Intelligence Officer was captured. Only half an hour to go and now the fighting was disorganised and random, everyone trying to add to their kill count. In the last minutes of the event the Rebels got another

victory by killing the IO. Unfortunately for the Azmenistani Rebels their hard fought battles and two high profile executions weren’t enough, the Coalition offensive was a success. Looking back over the event the one thing that I have to mention is the great honesty and sportsmanship between the players. Not once did I hear a complaint about people not taking hits or arguments about rules. The event was played out smoothly with the two Embedded Marshals Paul and Mark constantly in communication making sure the event was action packed which made writing this difficult as there are far too many moments I want to include but nowhere near enough space. My verdict is that the event was undoubtedly a great success for Bellurgan Park and Irish Airsoft. I look forward to the next big event being held there which you can find more information about on their website at http:// www.troops-in-contact.com/


At The Armoury we have airsoft equipment for the entry-level player to the professional. If you are looking to upgrade, repair or customize and you do not want to wait weeks or sometimes months for a small delivery, well we at the Armoury provide same day dispatch and free shipping within the Rep. of Ireland at very competitive prices. So whether it’s enjoying our website, taking advantage of the services we offer, or simply gathering information from one of our expert team members, we know you’ll be pleased with your experience at The Armoury !

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