New to Airsoft

[Whiskey1968]

Hello. Just wanted to post and say hi.

I live in Newfoundland and I have done a lot of hunting in my youth (moose, Caribou, duck and rabbit) and have a love of guns in general. As I step into this new world of Air Soft I find my love of guns to be even deeper than before. Just amazed at the accuracy of some of these replica's. Good craftsman ship, good materials and good engineering and most of all the fun aspect of using these in wars is just way to fun to pass up.

I just recently (today) purchased my first Air Soft Rifle (CM16 Raider-L DST) and looking forward to shooting a few rounds. If anyone has previous experience with this gun please feel free to chime in and give me some pointers.

I am also looking forward to participating in Air Soft Wars in the future and would like to get some info on this interesting sport from the vets on this forum. Info such as:

Starting any hobby is expensive, how much can one expect to invest in Air Soft the hobby if taking part in Air Soft Wars events? Not that cost will be a factor in my future hobby, I just want to get a feel for how much it will be, for lack of a better term, basic entry level. From there I will proceed to build my gear over time to meet the needs of the battle field.

Are there tournaments? If so, are there provincial or national? This brings me to my next question.

Can one take part in an event in another province? If so, how is it travelling with an air soft rifle? Reason I ask this is because my wife and I travel to Ontario (Kingston) every so often and I would like to check out what that area and surrounding areas have to offer?

In any case, I am sure you guys will be hearing from me as I step into this new hobby. Or as my friend would say.... New meat for the grinder.

[ThunderCactus]

I don't know what guns you were looking at but I've been a gunsmith for almost a decade, and "good craftsmanship", "good engineering", and "good materials" are not terms I would use to describe 90% of the market lol

Generally it's around $1000 to buy the gun and all the gear you'll want to play comfortably. So pretty comparable to most other sports. You can get by with much less, but anyone who gets any kind of serious ends up spending $1000+

There aren't really "tournaments" per say, the elite of us are not so critical of our skill to pit team against team on any sort of regular basis. You'll find one major quality of airsofters is the incredible sportsmanship, I like to think we're too humble to try and prove who's the best.
However, there are some national games that number 200-400 people. We're more concerned about who can lead a force to victory and who can work together the best, rather than which individual team is the best.

We love having people come from other provinces to play. It's extremely beneficial to all airsofters to travel and experience other airsoft cultures. It's the best way to share ideas and help the sport get better and more interesting overall.

Get in touch with your local community, pretty sure there are airsofters in St Johns.
And please refer to them as "airsoft guns". They do not qualify as being "replicas", which are illegal.

[BogardusFoul]

First of all, forget everything you know about firearms. The ballistics of airsoft is totally different.

There is a section on this web page that will list events all across Canada, sorted by province. There are no restrictions on playing in any province, your only concern is international travel and air travel. You can bring airsoft on a domestic flight and even international flights, as long as everything is properly declared, and all of the proper paperwork is filled out beforehand. Contact your airport for specific information. Driving across country poses the same risks as driving around your home town. As long as weapons are properly stored (ie out of sight and/or in a proper case) you shouldn't have and problems.

You can expect to spend any where from 300 to 1000 on starter gear. A good pair of boots and eye protection are primary next to your weapon itself. Don't cheap out on the gear that helps prevent your injuries.

[Whiskey1968]

Well, I have already learned quite a bit already. Thanks for your input.

As I am new to the Air Soft side of guns, and far from a gunsmith, what qualifies as good and not good, I have yet to learn. I don't know what problems can occur with them, have no idea what kind of durability they would have or even how weather effects performance. But still, I remain impressed with the look and feel of the air soft guns.

I am looking forward to getting into the hobby.

I am in need of assistance already . Wondering what would be some good upgrades to my current weapon (CM16 Raider-L DST)? What kind of sight would be best for it? Would I need a fore grip with flash light or better off with something else?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your posts guys.

[StrikeNoir]

Being new myself, I don't have much to offer on the topic. But I can tell you a couple things.

Never by a cheap gun, unless the purpose is litterally to just wreck it. By buddy got one from Crappy Tire a while back, and I feel like I could snap it in half right in my hands. Ignoring that, sizes up well, so that's good. Full AEG shooting a whopping 200 FPS! WOOOO! So yeah, never buy cheap.

Next, as far as I've read around the place, people don't recommend you buy any upgrades until you've been out gaming a bit. You know, get a feel for the sport, your gun, etc. If after the match you feel like having a foregrip would have helped you, pick one up! Same with sights. It was recommended to me that I just use the Irons for a while. I figure I'd see how it all faired out, and go from there. Most videos you see, people tend to have a red dot of some sort. But everyone's different.

[UBE Chief]

I would recommend getting something that has interchangeable magazines, i.e. M4, AK47. At least this way, if you run out of ammo in the middle of a firefight, you can ask for a mag and one will be given fairly easily.

I'm just a chairsofter right now, but I do have a SCAR-L with a foregrip and an ACOG scope, and I think I'm fairly well off. It's all up to personal preference.

[zombiesniper]

I have the CM-16 in black and have gamed i a few times. Currently have about 15k bb's through it between plinking and gaming.
Now I am also fairly new to airsoft but have no complaints about the gun other than you may notice a bit of mag well slop and possible feed issues with some generic plastic mags. I cured this with a 1/2 long piece of sticky backed fuzzy velcro on the inside of the the rear mag well.
Also I'd get a spare battery. Below is a video from earlier this month.

*WARNING* Some parts may contain colourful language.
If found to be offensive mods please delete or let me know and I will remove link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_gt0t5Zkrg

[Whiskey1968]

Nice vid mate.

And thanks for the advice on the mag. Mine seems pretty tight at the moment. Once I get a spare I will definitely check the fit and if need be will use your idea to rectify it.

I figured it was a fairly good gun from what I read about it and what I read about G & G. Mine was purchased from an air soft retailer here on the Rock. He was a nice enough guy and gave me the low down on what was a good entry level gun and what would be a good investment later down the road if I continued with this hobby.

Thanks again!!

[unknownvariable]

I think it is tempting for new players, but stay away from high capacity magazines (300+ rounds). They rattle like tic tacs and the wheel is annoying. Go with mid caps or real/low cap mags and you will have more fun. I personally love the Magpul pmags but they are pretty hard to find now.

Check some of the sections on this site for general recommendations as there is a ton from what optic to use to inner barrels and hop ups. You just need to search and do some reading. Read lots.. not all advice is good, but the general consensus is typically reasonable guidance. Just be realistic in your expectations. Airsoft guns, and parts are more about disappointment than success.

[Spadona]

Stop worrying about attachments and gear and new guns and whatnot. Find yourself some good (full-seal) eye protection, a pair of good boots, and go play! Don't be shy around other airsoft players who are decked out in camo and plate carriers. Talk to them and ask about their gear. The one thing you'll soon notice about airsoft players is that we love to talk about our gear. Ask them questions, and learn all you can from them.

After you play one game and talk to a few other players, you'll get a better sense of what you want, and what your next steps are.

[Whiskey1968]

Went and watched a few games last weekend. It looks to be a great bit of fun and a good bit of immersion with the various courses and scenarios they played.

I have gathered some gear, other than my rifle. Mainly my tactical vest, some extra mag's and pouches, a shemagh, thigh holster to accommodate my next purchase (not sure what to buy in terms of a pistol yet), comfortable fore-grip for the rifle and a good set of boots.

What I have left to get is good eye protection, a pistol, good set of knee and elbow pads and a helmet (The helmet I have already picked out, just a matter of ordering it) and looking into purchasing some camo pants and shirt.

Any suggestions on a pistol (or any other gear) to purchase would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all the help so far guys. I can't wait to start enjoying myself on the field.

[ThunderCactus]

KSC/KWA/marui for pistols
Most fields allow glasses, but I'd advise you to get mil-spec rated glasses, not just ansi Z87.1+

You're WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better off buying $120 pants that have integrated knee pads, rather than $60 pants with no knee pads, and $60 "the best" knee pads that still suck.
Elbow pads are overrated

[lurkingknight]

integrated kneepads might not work out for you, it's one of those one size fits all in terms of proportions. If you find a pair of knee pads that work really well, you can roll with them and invest the money elsewhere.

helmet is very optional. most people who don't wear them complain they are hot and they contribute to goggles/glasses fogging. I find it's not a necessity unless you're wearing night optics.

elbow pads are not needed, you don't really hit anything with your elbows or put much weight on them that they get sore. Knee pads are nice cause kneeling on rocks sucks.. or kneeling in mud/shit/crap on the ground you don't want to wear with you.

Get military glasses, they well exceed safety standards required to play. base z87.1 is single impact 1 Joule, I think 87.1+ is only slightly stronger and again, only single impact. Those types of glasses were meant to be disposable after taking a hit at velocity. An airsoft projectile in canada can reach upwards of 2.3J in a field legal spring rifle. Standard AEGs are 1.5J. Eye wear is not something to be a last minute consideration. Buy the right ones, always inspect the lenses and frames frequently, and be prepared to replace it.

Keep in mind body temperature regulation while you're playing.. wearing a lot of stuff looks cool, but in practical use, may not be much help, and may cause you to achieve heat exhaustion faster or goggles to fog up faster.

[Diadochi]

Ditto on the milspec eyewear. your eyes are worth a lot more than a single pair of nice eyepro. And if you are ever in Kingston when theres a game going on at prz, I would recommend going there. prz is in picton, which is about a 45-60 min drive from there and is an awesome field to play at. http://www.przpaintball.ca/

[Wli]

I suggest looking at a pair of revision ballistic goggles. With the money for them. Best way to see if gear works for you, put it on and run around your house for 20 minutes. If it already don't feel right, then you know ahead of time. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for in airsoft.