gear for newbie

[BKSRT8]

Thanks for the replies.
I also was in cadets when i was younger. Oshawa regiment. Have very fond memories of cfb borden. My family moved and couldnt take me anymore otherwise i likely would be in the army right now. Tho i didnt finish highschool so i may not have made it lol
Anyway, im too old and fat for it now plus id never leave my kids, itd be too hard on them. So its time to find other ways to quench my thirst for combat.

Im a little concerned about actual airsoft/paintball fields allowing my kids to play. Ive already explained this to them. We are fortunate enough that we have family in the bancroft area and theres tons of space to play up there so no worries.

I was recently at Hero army surplus in oshawa checking out thier stuff. They have the g&g cm18 for a reasonable price. That is what i was going to get. Ive done some research on it and it seems decent for the price. Still looking for something for the kids.

I got into rc cars last year so i have a charger and am well aware of the risks of having lipo batts. Although battery fires are incredibly uncommon these days. Most accidents happen from running a car/motor at full power too long. Battery drains too fast. Too much heat.

How common are the sniper rifles? I plan on playing mostly outdoors so i thought about picking one up. Its probably pointless for indoor use but does it play an important role outdoors in bigger games or what? I probably wont buy one right way if at all but i was just curious.

All i really have for camo right now is my hunting camo(realtree ap). I suppose that will work for now? So maybe just grab a chest rig and face mask/glasses for now? I have my hunting boots as well and they were fairly inexpensive so im not concerned about ruining them. Anybody else play using hunting gear?

[AlexGPS]

One pointer. Invest in good high end face protection gear. If you think youll be running just with a pair of goggles or glasses then buy a good brand that is balistic tested. Dont run around with 5 dollar cheapo glasses and assume your fine. Bottom line is they are your eyes and you should protect them. You can skimp on everything else but not your eye wear and especially for your kids. At the begining you can run in hunting camo. Theres no issue in doing so. The only reason people opt to run military camo is the tacticool factor. You dont look as tacticool with hunting gear as you look with a full set of multicams. Als i think its a good idea you teaching your kids propper safety ettiquet since when they grow up and they are able to handle propper firearms they will know the safety behind it propper handling of firearms. Good for you mate.

[lurkingknight]

sniper rifles have limited uses, it's more of a play style. Since everything uses a 6mm sphere projectile out of a smooth bore, there's no huge advantages to longer barrels or a bolt action. They're one of those things that people really need to read up on and budget for accordingly as it costs more to get a sniper shooting well vs an aeg shooting well. On top of any aeg can be made to shoot pretty well, vs the preference for sniper rifles being a couple specific brands for their quality control.


you CAN damage a lipo with an airsoft gun, while constant draw is pretty well withing the standards, AEGs have voltage and current spikes and draw a lot at the start of the cycle. They're harder to measure without the proper hardware, so the safe bet is to get packs with higher outputs and burst ratings to handle the spiking. Stock it's probably not a huge issue, it's when you start getting into stiffer springs, shorter gears and bigger motors. Spikes in the high end upgrade guns have been measured by a couple mosfet makers into the low 100amp range. Normal constant draw on a stock gun is anywhere from 14-18 amps. On those higher end guns, constant draw is more like 20-30 amps constant.

[waylander]

How about the CM16 raider for the kids? Then you can share mags and batteries.

Sniper rifles in airsoft have no where near the advantage of their RS counterparts.

[Ricochet]

Most teams, fields, events are 18 plus or 16 plus. Any legitimate business with insurance may be 12 plus, due to insurance purposes. There may be a group or field in your area that is the exception, but who knows.

Gear to start:

Must haves
- good quality ballistic or paintball eyewear
- good quality footwear with at least 6" ankle support
- good quality gun $200 - $2000 (may have to upgrade it)
- batteries, charger, BBs, magazines
- headwear

Recommended
- BDUs in modern disruptive camo
- a vest or pc to carry your magazines
- a hydration system
- light, full coverage gloves

For youth
- full sealed goggles
- metal mesh mask (or paintball mask)
- helmet
- neck protector

This should maximize fun and safety for everyone. Look for good deals and but what's comfy. There are some good airsoft level gear, but avoid repros and replicas, either too expensive or made poorly. Buck up for real steel if you want your gear to last a decade. The little ones will grow out of their stuff quickly, so it isn't as big of a deal there.

I'd recommend M4 airsoft guns, they have the most parts, upgrades, gun docs, etc, etc, etc, available. Companies like King Arms and G&G make affordable starter guns, like between $200 - $300. Get you and your kids the same type of batteries, so you can all use the same charger. Cheap quality rounds will ruin airsoft guns and your experience, stick with BB Bastard or something like that. Luckily airsoft rounds are insanely cheaper than paintball rounds.

Get a sling for each gun so they don't fly out of your hands, or end up in the creek when you trip, slip, or fall.

Sniper rifles in airsoft:
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=158804

[ThunderCactus]

A bolt action rifle is a good skill enhancer, but little else.
The play style of a sniper or DM can easily be done with an M4 these days. There isn't much advantage in range, accuracy or even silence in a bolt action rifle anymore.
A polarstar locked in semi-auto with a silencer and 20 round mags would come close to replicating the experience.

The purpose of having a bolt action rifle is to hone your shooting and hunting skills. They force you to really pick your shots, you won't necessarily be heard if you miss, but you can't spam semi auto or fire full auto, either. It forces you to stalk targets in such a way that would guarantee one shot = one kill, often times without giving away your position.
Now the advantage of that, is the skill set transfers over to other guns as well.
You could just learn the same skills with an aeg, but I find the bolt action rifle really forces you to develop those skills much more effectively.

The general advice here though is be a riflemen first, then learn to hunt riflemen.
Once you have a good idea of how YOU would react to a situation, you'll have a better idea of how other people will react. It's important to understand the basics of shooting BBs before trying to be a sniper as well.

[Wilkie]

Something to worry about however is whether or not the child has the phisical strength to manipulat the bolt of a bold action rifle. Lots of spring guns would have pretty heavy actions for a little guy or girl

[naminator]

If you are running an M4 or variant, you have a V2 mech box. You could get your kids MP5's. They go from the MP5k all the way up to the MP5SD5 which is significantly large but shares the some internals.

They are also a bit lighter than M4 platforms I find which might be preferable for younger kids.

[RainyEyes]

As a beginner, I have no hesitation to say steer clear AWAY from SNIPER RIFLES. They will be cheap at first (200+) but then there are parts that WILL (100% guaranteed) to break in a short amount of time. The replacements/upgrade parts that will NOT break, WILL cost you well over $1000 over time, including the original price of the sniper rifle.

Consider a comfortable platform you are familiar with (such as common AR-15 platforms) and something small and light for your children if they find something they like. Consider an mp5k.

Lastly, please, for the love of god, do not drop off your children to play airsoft on their own. Indoor or outdoor, accidents can happen, and if they fall or get hurt, they need to be looked after. I remember one night where I was playing at Ultimate Airsoft, 8 v 8, and 4 of my teammates were under 15 (or appeared to be). It wasn't a fun night for me since they didn't know how to push up, and don't have the testosterone or mental capability to push up. You MUST provide parental guidance if you wish for them to participate.

[BKSRT8]

Im hopefully gonna see if i can get my cm18 this weekend and ill let the kids dick around with it a bit.....if its not too bad a fit I may get 2 more. If not im definatly going the mp5 route for them. Maybe a small AK variant?

[Datawraith]

It would be a good idea for them to play around with the CM when you get it and see how they like it.
I wouldn't recommend going AK's if you have an AR-15 platform, mainly because the gearbox is different, making learning process of teching difficult, and because mags are different, so gear to hold them would probably be different.
As well, an M4 CQBR (with a nylon fibre shell, not metal) would work quite nicely for them, seeing as it's (relatively) small, light, and is completely cross-compatible with your CM. M4 CQBR's are similar in length to an MP5SD.
Maybe get a JG G36C and a magwell adapter, although it's fairly heavy, but I think the best option is a nylon fibre M4-CQBR.
My 2cents.

[beta678]

Originally Posted by BKSRT8

Im hopefully gonna see if i can get my cm18 this weekend and ill let the kids dick around with it a bit.....if its not too bad a fit I may get 2 more. If not im definatly going the mp5 route for them. Maybe a small AK variant?

Like people have said, MP5's are deceptively big (short of the MP5K's), they're almost the same size as an AR (grip is also a bit larger than AR grips so smaller hands might have issues). If you're looking for something small/compact, one of those SBR or "tanker" M4's might actually be the way to go, plus you're retain mag compatibility between all of you.

Would avoid AK's for kids as the length of pull on their stocks might not be ideal for shorter arms. Plus its a completely different platform which means another set of mags and potentially batteries and maintenance issues.

Bit of an example I grabbed off google between a compact M4 and a collapsed MP5 (missing the muzzle break).

[BKSRT8]

Wow i didnt realize the mp5 was so large...i did mess around with one at the store but i didnt notice that it was that big. I think my oldest will be ok with an m4 but my youngest may still need something smaller....i dunno, if it fits ill buy 2 more. I looked at the scorpion too....its gonna be all different again but at least hed be able to play too...ill have to get mine first and see.

For batts do they all use a 3S lipo? I dont have any lipos at the moment, i sold my electric truck with the batts but i had Venom 5000mah 3S for it. They were hard case tho, i mainly see soft shell stick packs for the guns. How much life does one get from a battery? My truck would run for 15-20mins on a charge running 1/2-3/4 throttle most of the time. These guns arent running constantly like my truck was. You must be able to get a good 2-3 hours no?

[naminator]

Lot of variables for how long your battery would last.

As an aside that MP5 vs M4 post is a bit deciving. That tanker M4 is very short by most standards. Also that M4 if it is full metal model will be farely heavy. The MP5 would be lighter if it has plastic furniture. Honestly your best bet is to get your kids to hold a few different guns. The ones that fit them and they like are what you should get. We can talk about mech boxes, mag compatibility ect, but why force your kids to use something they might not like.

If you want to run a CM16 an your youngest wants an MP5 and your 11 year old wants an Ak74u then why not? At most you are looking at 50-70$ for a box of mags. THey all use the same ammo, similar batteries ect.

It is like shopping for camoflage. Some people like multicam, some like cadpat, some like atacs. Nobody is technically wrong, everybody has preferences..... Except people who use UCP. Those people are provably wrong.

[SuperCriollo]

I'd say get a plastic bodied M4 with a short barrel.

I'd recommend an Ares CQC Sports-line. They have a nylon body, which makes them light and easy to point. Also I think a adjustable stock must be a must.

Ultimate airsoft runs these guys as rentals, which I guess speaks for their durability.