Looking for help on gear purchases!

[infernouk]

Hey guys

Just come back from my first airsoft day and it was great fun!

Im looking to invest in my own gear as the gun really ruined my experience, unreliable and inconsistent when i needed it to work!

Also only having 1 mag and having to carry my BB bottle in my jeans pocket sucked for movement! so ill need to sort that too!

Im looking for a gun thats well suited to mobility since the M16 i used was too heavy! yet also has some good range, the whole site i was at was woodland!

For gear i just need some good places to purchase with a decent range, im not into the whole replica military outfit, im happier with super light weight stuff so i can move fast, i just desperately need more BB/mag storage, also id rather black than camo!

So any gun/gear suggestions would be great! Im fully aware of the UKARA rules and am just researching at this point in terms of gear!

Cheers guys

[sparrowhawk]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

What is your budget

[emergencychimp]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

Great to hear you had a good first time out.

We can't recommend anywhere other than Zero One, part of the rules of the forum. There are loads of places out there, such as local army surplus stores. If You're going to use high caps, do you really need gear? I mean, just stick a mag in your pocket, you won't need all your ammo in 1 game, 2 high caps should be more than enough and realistically, 1 high cap should be enough. You can leave the bottle back in the safe zone or wherever you go between games.

As for gun, depends on your budget, but I would generally recommend a g&g raider, cheap and very good for the money. Great for new players as they can use it to figure out what they want when spending more money.

As for black over camo, it sticks out in a woodland, so even if you use tan, brown or green it would help you to move easier without being spotted.

[infernouk]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

budget is flexible to get the best of whatever i want,, i dont like to buy cheap!

Point taken on the camo but yeah seems i dont really need gear. i was refilling mid game using the sites M16s!

[MikeG]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

Glad you enjoyed your airsoft experience!

As for gear, you can spend very little or thousands. I would recommend ZeroOne. The guys there really know their stuff...and...you get a free skirmish voucher when you purchase a rifle from them.

So...gear etc....

1. As recommended above the raider is an extremely good 'starter' gun. It depends on your play style and budget and what type gun you'd like to use
2. You'll need a battery and basic charger
3. Ammo, 5000 round .20g bag
4. Spare mags - I would go for at least 1 ideally 2 spare hi-cap mags, gun should come with 1 s that makes 3
5. You could buy a cloth bb bag from a well known auction site for about £10, they carry 2000+ rounds silently.
6. A basic chest rig is a good idea to carry your mags/ammo pouch, but a dump pouch off your belt does just as well
7. Check out military web sites for cheap gear, including black
8. Eye protection - don't skimp - but you can buy some bolle glasses pretty cheap
9. Lower mesh face mask - I would recommend these unless you plan on losing a tooth, especially during cqb

Above will get you started nicely!

[sparrowhawk]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

well amongst all the stuff you need I would recommend these trousers
Helikon SFU NEXT Trousers Polycotton Twill

[Wilkes 1875]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

MikeG has a lot of good points and ideas, and +1 on the trousers.. You'll get tired of jeans soon, trust me.

One thing no one else seems to have mentioned would be boots, get some decent ones with ankle support!

I'd also seriously consider your options when buying your gear too, as then you don't need to purchase more down the line if you think it all through.

Consider whether you want hi caps or mid cap mags for example. I'd also recommend waiting for your UKARA before getting a gun.. again, it means you don't need to buy again when you're registered. I know rentals can suck, but it'll be worth the wait!

[Lt. Macka]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

I've been at this game for nearly ten years now and I'm looking at a G&G combat machine as well. Seems to be a decent gun for the price and I can't justify the price of a lot of the new kit these days.


I'd suggest the second hand market. There's usually guys on here selling up old kit they don't use any more. I've got a desert DPM vest in the loft I was about to bin that you can have if you pay the postage for it.


One recommendation over all others would be - at your next game ask your fellow players if you can have a look at their gear. 90% of airsofters are all about showing off so they will be happy to show you what they have. - Just see what you like. You might find you prefer a chest rig over a plate carrier.

Don't do what a lot of guys do and obsess over a particular look or load out - just wear what you find comfortable.

All the best
Andy

[infernouk]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

Cheers guys,

I wanted some more info on guns and brands and types that may be worth looking at if possible, all i know is that G&G and TM are meant to be really good? I find the M16 and M4 guns a little boring to look at and was considering something like an MP5 of P90 but then range may be an issue in woodland so was thinking of some varient of AR, though i find them a bit cumbersome running up and down woodlands!

In terms of clothes, ill likely get some combat trousers as recommended above and just wear an under armour heat vest on top with a chest rig or belt to carry a spare mag. I dont like all this replica army stuff!

[MikeG]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

I use the following at Ground Zero woodland (which is as much cqb as open woodland):


1. Tokyo Marui Pro Line High Cycle AEG MP5A5 - 25rps and 400round drum mag. Its a very intimidating weapon as players will testify - sounds just incredible.

2. Ares Amoeba HoneyBadger AM-013 - lovely balanced weapon and can be programmed for 3 round burst, auto, single, safe.

I use both with a red/green dot and single point sling. They are well built but lightweight and are perfect for GZ woodland/cqb

I also have various others like SCAR, couple of M4s and a TM M14 DMR

Hope that helps

[sparrowhawk]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

If you want something different then check out ICS SIG 552 MRS

[Lt. Macka]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

What you need to remember is that every gun you see is basically a shell built around the same basic design. They all do the same job and as a general rule, they perform pretty much the same out of the box.

Your mp5 will shoot just as hard and as far as a similar m4. The p90 will be much the same. Accuracy may vary slightly with the barrel length but not much.

Ultimately you should pick what you like the look of. - m4's are very customisable with thousands of different aftermarket parts and add on's, which is the attraction for a lot of folks. Being a bit different is fine, but bear in mind that guns like the p90 or mp5 will require different mag pouches. Which can restrict your choices. Not a huge problem but it could be a factor.

All the best
Andy

[infernouk]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

Cheers guys, Ive had someone else recommend me a SIG as well! may be the one for me!

When you say guns are the same, am i to assume a similar FPS gun will all fire the same then? or should i be buying SMG for small maps, AR for larger etc etc

[emergencychimp]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

Cheers guys, Ive had someone else recommend me a SIG as well! may be the one for me!

When you say guns are the same, am i to assume a similar FPS gun will all fire the same then? or should i be buying SMG for small maps, AR for larger etc etc

This isn't COD! (though yes, smaller rifles are easier indoors, but that isn't down to performance, just how easy they are to move with)

The performance and range isn't defined by the FPS, the main factor is how good the hop is. FPS has an effect but it's not simply the higher the fps the further it shoots, a high fps gun with no or terrible hop will not shoot as far as a relatively low fps gun with a good hop set up.

Most guns out of the box perform the same (ish) certainly close enough for a new player such as yourself to not be able to tell.

As for the whole M4 is boring, yeah it is to some. However, they are plentiful and very easy to customise, spare parts are easier to find and cheap, often available second hand. Mags are easier to find as is gear to store said mags. Also, they work quite nicely. Also, when you tinker/upgrade parts and you balls it up, there will be loads of people who can help versus a less popular gun with less parts, that are harder to find, cost more, with limited gear options and limited advice available when it goes wrong.

I would also stress this gun is 1 of 2 things,

1) The first and last gun you'll ever own, you'll lose interest in the sport and sell it within 12 months
2) It'll be the gun that teaches you exactly what you want from a gun, ie, size, shape, performance, ROF, trigger response and it will give you a cheap platform to get started.

Either of those options mean that you will not want to pour your life savings into it, so my advice is get something cheap and good out of the box and the gun of the moment (last 2 years) that fits that nicely is the g&g raider. Sig 552's look lovely, after playing a game, Kane and something, I wanted one bad! However, whatever gun you actually get you'll probably fall in love with it, then after you have used it, lust after something else.

Lt Macka has given some great advice, everyone LOVES talking about their gear and guns at a skrimish, take advantage of that, it's a great way to meet people at your site and you'll learn more than you could learn online.

I would recommend you do a couple more games, renting etc before you spend too much money.

[MikeG]

Re: Looking for help on gear purchases!

Chimps advice is spot on. I have never known an air softer who sticks with their first gun as there's so much to learn around play style etc.

I would echo the above and say:

1. Grit your teeth and play another game with a rental and whilst there speak to a bunch of guys who would be willing to show you their guns and even use some on the practice range if your site has one. Most airsofters will be happy to show you their shiny toys!

2. Buy a good starter gun so you have your own whilst taking time to look around - again, you can't go wrong with the raider and at worst it'll be a backup gun once you have the 'perfect' weapon.

I bought an M4 variant first out and don't regret it at all, but have also bought a dozen other guns since...sigh.

- - - Updated - - -

Btw, where are you based - where is your local skirmish site?