Hello :) I'm new and I need some help.

[Alex Glass]

Hi,

Well, I've been playing paintball for about, 2 years, and recently I've been noticing that I liked milsim paintball more than the whole speedball thing. I've seen airsoft before and I am familiar with a few of the brands, but really I don't know much about what I am doing :P.

I Live in Burlington Ontario, which is north of Toronto, and I'd like to purchase my first airsoft gun, however I don't want my first gun to be some transparent plastic gun that's at walmart, I want something made by a legitimate airsoft company. My Price range is about from 100-400 dollars. Does anyone know of any airsoft shops/online sites where i can buy an airsoft gun?

Also, I'd like to find a place to play. Now I know every paintballing field within a 200 mile radius from my house, however I don't know any airsoft fields, can anyone please tell me where I can find one? I live near Toronto if that helps.

Also, this may be a noobish question, but I feel I really need to ask, does it hurt to get shot by an airsoft gun then by a paintball gun? Because getting shot by paintballs stings a little but really I've gotten used to it.

Cheers

[Defcon_Carl]

get age verified and you can get a decent one for $300-400. airsoft doesnt hurt if you are wearing the right equipment (ie vest,goggles,gloves etc).you hear it more than you feel it. you can however get a bleeder if it hits on exposed skin parts with a gun 360+ fps.

[Azuki]

Get AV'd, it'll open up alot. Some games are held outdoor, if you're verified you can keep an eye out for games going on in your area. If you ever head into Toronto check for stuff going on at TTAC3 which is one of the best CQC places around (several times cleaner than any paintball field too).

As for the pain, I played paintball for several years before starting up here. I'd say paintball hurts much more, and after being used to paintball I can shrug most hits off. They'll still leave welts, and a few hard hitting BBs on the noggin will still leave you rubbing your head for a while. Just dress up and keep your eye protection on like in paintball, you won't really mind it after a while.

[TokyoSeven]

Welcome new user.

If you havent already please take the time to fill in your profile, Where your from, your birthday etc.This forum holds a lot of information. Please keep in mind before starting a new thread, that there maybe an existing one already. Near the upper right hand corner next to the quick links and log out tab is the search tab. With that you can attempt to see if there is a thread on the topic, don’t get discouraged if you don’t find something right away, change up your search words as well, the search system doesn’t just find tittles it looks for word matches in the content as well. If there is an existing thread on the topic and something wasn’t clear, don’t be afraid to necro post, despite what some douche bags say, its perfectly fine.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and in time you will find all the answers. There’s a lot to learn and it cant be picked up in a week or two. But I’m time you will learn what you need.

Heres a little reading Id like you to have a look at.
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=51609
It will shed a little light on airsoft in Canada in general.

Now as for airsoft in Canada, just as a general consensus this website and the majority of its members follow the 18 years of age rule. Meaning that it is recommended that a person be the age of 18 before they acquire their first gun. It is recommended because 18 is the recognized age where a person can be held legally responsible for their actions. Now it may not be illegal in all provinces to own airsoft, but I do believe there is a province out there where there is an actual law stating that one must be 18 to purchase. Which one that is, I cannot remember. Hopefully someone can perk up and jump in on that part. The majority of fields used for airsoft play usually require that a person be 18 years of age as well, although I have heard of fields where there have been players as young as 16, with parental consent.
I would like to take a moment to touch on maturity. I find people of all ages quote maturity, unfortunately stating maturity is irrelevant when it comes to airsoft, for the most part at least. There have been people as old as 40 and up who have acted like they were 12. I have already stated why the age of 18 was chosen. Now from time to time I hear people who are underage say that they have grown up with firearms all their life and they hunt and everything etc. If this applies to you then you should pay attention to this, if not you should read it and take it to heart anyways. So you have hunted for a long time? Been around guns since you were little? Well good you should have a firm grasp of trigger and muzzle control then. Now unfortunately regardless how much experience you have with fire arms you can not use it as a bargaining chip to skirt around what has been set as a rule among this community.
In my personal opinion an airsoft gun is not a fire arm; however that’s my personal opinion. For me, an airsoft gun only looks like a fire arm but that’s where I draw the line in comparisons. They do not function the same, sure relations can be made but they still are not the same. Now although I may not consider an airsoft gun a fire arm, authorities will in most instances. If you get caught doing something stupid with an airsoft gun you will be charged as if you are committing an offence with a real fire arm. If you are under the age of 18, the damage falls onto your legal guardians, so the shit really hits the fan. If you’re 18 and over at least you can be held responsible for being stupid. That’s the jist of it, accept it or don’t.

This website has a process called age verification, where if you are 18 or older you can meet with a volunteer representative of this website who will meet with you in person, there is no way around this, no phone, no webcam, in person only, where they will require to see a legitimate piece of photo identification. After the process is completed, it can take sometime as this is all volunteer work, you will be granted access to this websites buy and sell section, where you can find both new and used guns, for fair and competitive prices. Although its not always the case, it is sort of an open market.

Things to keep in mind when initially getting into airsoft.

-Its usually best to start with an AEG.

-Remember to factor in the costs of gear for your kit, BDU's, footwear, vest or holsters, slings and most of all, eye protection. Money can fix teeth, but I don’t think we can fix a shot out eye yet.

-You don’t always have to have a side arm in the beginning, its something you can pick up along the way.

-In most cases its recommended to play with your gun stock for a while before considering upgrades. Upgrading can be costly and can cause complications in some cases.

-Don’t forget to buy magazines for whatever gun you choose. High caps are ok, but well they rattle. Mid caps and low caps in my personal opinion are best.

This link is a link to a page that has some information in regards to picking your first AEG. I suggest you take sometime and read it.

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=253

Gun reviews can be found all over the internet, regardless which search engine you use, a different combination of search words can yield different searches. Let me keep it short and sweet, for the bulk of it, AEGS are simple motors that drive pistons that compress a spring to expel air to propel a BB down a barrel. How you want that set up to look is up to you. There are many brands of companies out there that make airsoft guns, how much you pay maybe relevant to the quality you receive.

Today’s airsoft guns are nothing more than a motor driven gear set that cranks back a piston which is then released to push and compress air in a cylinder which is then directed out the nozzle to propel the BB down the barrel. How you want it to look is up to you. Although JG is a fair brand these days, and have come along way from what they used to be.

Here are some additional points to consider before your first purchase.

1. Cost, is the airsoft gun you desire in your price range? Is it in your price range in the future if you save. Is it the brand you want? Its not just about the looks of the gun, each and every company has their own little take and twist. An example of this is that ICS M4 have a different threading on the upper receiver than that of say a Classic Army M4. Taking that into consideration you would be limited to front ends made specifically for ICS guns if you choose to change out your front end eventually. Unless however you choose to purchase a rethreading tool to change the threading of your upper receiver. Which brings me to my next point.

2. Cost + availability or parts and your own ability to do upgrades. So you have chosen your airsoft gun. Now you want to do some modifications and upgrades. Do you know what you’re looking for in terms of compatible parts? Do you know where to acquire them easily and do you have the know how to do the work yourself or are in a situation where you know someone who can do it for you. If your not mechanically inclined and do not have access to an airsoft gun doc, I would recommend that you purchase something that has already been preupgraded or at least something that has already had the standard preventative maintenance performed on it be it used or new. Preventative upgrades are simple upgrades that will keep the airsoft gun running longer (maybe not forever but defiantly longer). Most airsoft guns come with nylon bushings; the bushings are what help hold the gears in the mechbox. Most people believe that under heavy stress they bushings can melt and warp, it is recommended that they be replaced with metal bushings. Another example of a preventative maintenance upgrade would be a spring guide. A tokyo marui M4 comes with its stock plastic TM V2 spring guide, while this maybe all fine and dandy for the time being with its stock spring, attempting to run a spring with to high a strength rating may cause that spring guide to break. Over time even with its stock spring the spring guide can weaken. It is suggested that this be an item that you do replace if performing preventative maintenance, usually with something along the lines of a bearing spring guide.

3. Is it available in Canada through one of our retailers? It’s a well known fact that attempting to import an airsoft gun from outside of Canada is equal to that of tossing your money in the toilet, lighting the toilet on fire and then pushing it out of the back of a moving school bus. It may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you are out a bunch of money and you also ruined a perfectly good toilet.

4. Magazines, you have your airsoft gun and you only have one magazine well that’s all fine and dandy but I’m certain there may come a day where you will require more than one magazine. You may wish to look into the different brands and manufactures out there to see what is compatible with what and how much it costs.

5. Other. You may wish to consider cost and availability of other items you may want in the future and their availability. For example lets say you bought some form of armalite variant and wanted to go the SR 47 look. Well unfortunately at this time do the Canadian law you would be unable to bring the parts in required since they are prohibited, even if it were possible it is en extremely rare mod to find and even more expensive to buy. Another example would be an under barrel grenade launcher. Hope you can find someone in Canada because importing is a no no. Other things you may wish to consider are the cost of a sling, maybe some gear and optics.

Tactics and gear questions, tactics and other movement and communication methods can be learned on the internet or will be picked up overtime as you play. Gear, people build kits that suite their needs, its not just about looking cool. Some people simple use a holster for a side arm and carry a few mags in pockets. Others prefer to carry a full kit. To each his own. Its something you build and develop to your playing style over time.

Finally this website also has a FAQ section that holds some useful info, it may not be entirely up to date, but I suggest you poke around in there as well. You may find something handy.

[Armyissue]

You also need a course in Orienteering.
Burlington is South West of Toronto.

It may also be easier to come up to Army Issue and get age verified and have half of your questions answered. (I am also one of the board retailers)
Coffee one milk, no sugar, or afternoon tea One & One
Cheers
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[Armalite]

Originally Posted by ShelledPants

Just a note: Canadian laws haven't changed, it's just easier to import large amounts of clear lowered guns.

I know that. Now there are ''pro-grade'' airsoft with clear lower or upper receiver, the retailers prefer importing Cansoft to take less risks of losing money.

[Disco_Dante]

If you buy something from Army Issue, he'll even give you a discount on your age verification! Half off!