Beginners guide to airsoft - 26-01-2012

Marksman's Guide to airsoft.

The Beginners Guide To Airsoft
In this guide I will be writing to try and help people who are new to the sport and help them to make the correct decisions.

Before you go off and start buying anything, the best thing to do is to go and play a few games first, that'll let let you know how you want to play and if it is something that you are sure that you want to spend money on- an believe me this is not a cheap sport.

YOUR GUN

Now it is first important to understand that getting a specialist rifle, such as a sniper rifle is NOT a good idea as you may quickly become bored or annoyed at not having the adaptability of assault rifles.

This is undoubtedly the part of your kit that you want the most, and it’s important to choose the right one for you as you will be using this lot, you should take time choosing one that right for you

There are many types of guns, as you should already know, but choosing a good gun to start with narrows it down a bit. Ideally you need one where you can easily get spares and upgrades very easily. You also will need magazines that are readily availaible, so the following rifles are probably the best to start with:

M16/M4's
http://t0.gstatic.co...cVfwC_DL0yW_C4Q

G36's


MP5's
http://t3.gstatic.co...3i4SQRRGbkVriHQ

AK47's.
http://t0.gstatic.co...uFiVVL8onisS75g

You should NOT get a gbbr (gas blowback rifle) for your first gun as they require more maintenance and looking after than AEG's (automatic electric guns), and as such are not advisable

These are guns recommended to new players.

The low end, cheap recommended makes are:

For M4's: Classic Army Sportline, ICS plastic series, G&G

For G36's: SRC, Jing Gong

For MP5's: Classic Army Sportline, Jing Gong, G&G

For AK's: Classic Army Sportline, G&G, Cyma


These are all good versions of each of the guns that won't hurt the wallet, but be aware that they won't be up to the same standards as their more expensive versions.

Magazines
You need to decide what mags (magazines) you want- low, mid or high capacity.

High caps have wheels on the bottom that you have to wind but you get much more rounds in them normally between 300 and 450

Mid caps have no winding, but are loaded from a speed loader and hold from 75 to around 150

And lows have no winding, but are loaded from a speed loader and hold from around 30-50

Batteries
Batteries should also be taken into consideration, do you want a larger one that'll last all-day but need a large place to put it (solid stock etc.) or smaller ones that don't need a full stock or to be seen.
Larger batteries are often put inside full, solid stock whereas the smaller types are normally kept in handguards.
you will also here about Lipo's (lithium polymer batteries)- I personnaly do not recommend these for beginners.

A standard, mini type battery
http://t2.gstatic.co...qBbC91zD_kXW1xw

Your physical size maybe a point to look at, if you’re small, an mp5 maybe better for you than a full stock m4 or AK47

SNIPER RIFLES
I cant stress this enough, getting a sniper rifel for your first gun isn't a great idea, it greatly limits the possibilities of what you can do with your gun and leaves you with one option- to snipe.
This is bad for new players as it is slow and you need a lot of patience, it is also frustrating being able to only use single shot guns. Most people get bored of them after 1 or two games and then have to pay more to get another AEG.

That's enough for rifles for now; let's move on to pistols, and handguns

PISTOLS
Ok firstly it is important to note that getting a pistol as a beginner it won’t see much use unless you set out to use it, so unless you desperately you should spend any money you have for a pistol on either A, a better rifle or B magazines/batteries/accessories for your primary weapon.

There are many makes of pistols, as well as variants and designs. Again if you are choosing a pistol you should spend time thinking about what type and model you want. The models for pistols i reccomend are m1911's and Hi-capa's, these have a lot of after market support, should something go wrong

M1911
http://t0.gstatic.co...g-yVdmAVm4DpbZU

Tokyo Marui, are usually a very good choice when it comes to pistols. When it comes to reliability they are second to none, however expect to pay more than you would for other makes to get one. They normally have plastic slides but they are great quality and plastic slides are often far more reliable.

WE, one of the cheaper makes of pistols are often praised for being cheap but maintaining a good quality for their price. Most of these are also full metal, including the slide unlike tm. This means there will be more kick- due to the weight but less economic with gas, using more for each shot.

Socom Gear, This company makes some great pistols, they are normally upgraded versions of the WE pistols, however, expect to have to pay for it.

Ammunition

The BB's you choose to use can affect the performance of your gun, and it is a good idea to try different weights and brands to find the best for you

Firstly, never use any weight below 0.2g, they will be lower quality and not as good

0.2g are the lightest, and cheapest but are affected by wind and other background conditions more than heavier ones
The heavier they are the less theyre affected by other conditions like rain etc, but after some point, the weight will decrease range
I normally find that 0.25 provide the optimum performance and range- however obviously there will be people who disagree, and that's because different guns like different weights.

Another thing with choosing your ammo is the make/brand. I would suggest the madbull and excel bb's and these are my most used and trusted makes. Excel is widely believed to be the best make of bb's. Blaster, also make very high quality bb's

Glasses, goggles and face protectors.

This is the single most important piece of kit you will own, do not buy cheap.
We were all new once, so I understand people not wanting to fork out on expensive face protection as it can be expensive.
Do not be lead down this road, you only get one pair of eyes, dont risk them by using rubbish face protection

The safety ratings/marking you should have on the eyeware are: ANSI Z87 (US Safety rating) or EN166 (European Rating also known as BS EN 166:2002) This will show that they have been approved and safe for usd

For glasses ESS ice 2.4, or 3.0 both are brilliant and not too expensive.


If you would prefer to wear goggles I reccomend the ESS V12's

Masks, I don't think masks with plastic Windows are helpful, they tend to steam up and be a pain, I suggest using the black bear mesh masks as I have seen them shrug off multiple high powered shots in quick succession and that is what a good masks should be capable of

Brands to look at: ESS, Bulle, Guarder, Heroshark, Black bear
I cannot stress this enough. SAFETY first, safety is the most important thing to remember

Boots

These are another extremely important item that should not be skimped out on, they will save your ankles someday, I believe that everyone has different tastes in boots etc, so I can't say the single best make.

What I would do is try waking boots, anything with good ankle support and/or head to your local army surpluses store and check their stuff out,
I find magnums to be of very good quality, however so looking at them may be a good idea for you.

Tactical vests, rigs and equipment

If you are new and just starting, the best vest for you I think will be a viper vest, they are cheap at less than £30 but will do the job until you fork out for a higher end product.

I have seen many of the older players using these and I have used one myself, I believe these easily sort out this problem.

this is a viper vest you can get for £20-30
http://t3.gstatic.co...Ud7V4fhWaJJzpHA

Combats/bdu's (battle dress uniform)

Quite simple really, head to your local surplus store and pick up some dpms (disruptive pattern material)- the british army style which can be found very cheap, look on ebay too.

If you want a specific type of camo, Google is your friend.

Look on land warrior airsoft too as they have some very uncommon unique camo styles on there for decent prices. These are good for teams to looks unique and as a group as most of these are not bought by most people. Most tend to buy multicam/dpm etc.

DPM ubacs (under body armour combat shirt)
http://www.premiersu...&ref=0634&save=

Thanks for reading.

Marksman