Becoming an Airsoft Enthusiast

[Armyissue]

FACT
guys will pay double for something they need
women will buy stuff they don't need because it's on sale

Army Issue has switched all the price tags to have SALE written right on it.
She will encourage you to buy this stuff now.
Sorry for not thinking to do this last year already.
See you soon.
Danke where you been man I just got in a .....

[EchoFourTwelve]

Originally Posted by Armyissue

FACT
guys will pay double for something they need
women will buy stuff they don't need because it's on sale

Army Issue has switched all the price tags to have SALE written right on it.
She will encourage you to buy this stuff now.
Sorry for not thinking to do this last year already.
See you soon.
Danke where you been man I just got in a .....

OH my fuck, you're a genius.

[r.d.fretz]

SALE...

...you Evil Bastards!!

Like a babe in the woods I have no defense against you!

[r.d.fretz]

After having now gone to TAC14 and learning a great deal more about the different weapons and gear, I feel its time to post a little more info on what I’ve learned about becoming an Airsoft enthusiast. “Enthusiast” being the most polite term for those captured by the obsession of Airsoft. This is a money pit of joy and frustration, never seeming to have “enough” of anything!

I have spoken to MANY people at the convention, many retailers and several people on the ASC forums, and have come to the conclusion that I will never have a “complete load out”, nor will I ever have “enough” guns, mags, and accessories. Much to the great joy of retailers…

It seems that the most common, least expensive and best all round upgradable gun would be the M4 from King Arms. There is still debate with GBBR and different manufacturers of course. I’m simply saying this is what I’ve come to learn is a good place to begin. The gun is highly upgradable and super easy to find accessories for. It isn’t the lowest grade of cheap, and is decidedly not the $1500 top of the line model either. It’s affordable and upgradeable, a good starter gun.

Pistols are frustrating beyond words! There are so many types and all close in price while some slightly better than others, there are also the different options to choose from, GBB being the most popular. There is a huge debate between propane and CO2. There isn’t a world of difference between them, but there are differences. So far I have only managed to narrow the choices down to the M9, M1911 and the M229.

As for getting all decked out with a full load out vest and so on is something of a luxury. Same with BDU’s, they aren’t strictly needed. They do make you “tacticool” though… I would recommend two things as completely NOT negotiable. You need good eye protection. And you need to use decent BB’s to prevent jamming as much as possible.

I’m not going to debate full mask over goggles and face guard. Some places require full face protection; other places allow just goggles or even glasses. So before the guns and pistols, but decent eye protection, and spend a little extra. The prices vary widely with each flavor of mask and goggles. You could go all out and get a sleek full face mask or goggles and mouth protection, or anything between. Just don’t skimp out, this is the one place you really can’t go cheap and hope for the best.

As for the BB’s, I have spoken to many people who have been into the obsessive sport for years, and they all say one thing in common, DON’T USE CHEAP BB’s! By saying “cheap” I don’t mean price, I mean quality. There are good BB Companies that offer quality at very reasonable prices. I have heard good things about several BB companies, so the choice is up to you for what you want to run through your gun. I personally prefer to buy Canadian and buy quality at a reasonable price. I’m sure there are a million variables that will make your gun get jammed with BB’s regardless of what brand or quality grade, I just prefer to have as few issues as possible by purchasing good quality without going bankrupt.

When I learn a bit more of the sport and play a few more games, I will be talking about ‘style’ of play and how to figure out where you might fit in this vast sport. Although I think its pretty safe to say that those who are the “spray and pray” types looking for a “speed ball” type game will not be welcomed by very many for very long. You should also note this is real life play, not “COD”! Just because you think you’re a ‘hero’ with a PS3 or Xbox, it doesn’t mean jack in the real world! There are no controllers, when you shoot a teammate; he likely won’t be too close to you again when he does respawn. Courtesy and respect go a long way with airsofters. I have talked with enough of them to know that a “couch hero” isn’t going to make many friends until he begins to listen to the people who have actually been out on fields and actually played some games.

[FirestormX]

In terms of pistols, they're actually pretty simple, for the common pistol models:
Buy Tokyo Marui (plastic) or KWA (metal).
If you don't have the money for it, buy KJW.
If you can't find a KJW, buy a WE.
If your WE doesn't shit out on you in the first few games, buy a lottery ticket.
Avoid absolutely everything else.

I should mention that KWA and KSC are usually the same product. KSC is primarily sold in Japan, while KWA is aimed for markets outside of Japan. There's all sorts of other threads on the internet, full of a bit of fact and lots of speculation. But for the most part, a KSC and a KWA are on par with each other, and you can google the specific pistol model that you want to buy in order to find out if there's any differences.

For gases:
If you're playing indoors, and it's going to be warm, run green gas (propane). It's cheaper and easier. Most people will run green gas outdoors too, weather permitting.
If you're playing outdoors in the cold, or want some extra FPS without modifying the gun, go with CO2. Make sure your gun can handle CO2, of course. Don't go putting a CO2 mag in a TM.

Some people also like CO2 because they don't have to refill their mags with gas after emptying it each time, and because they can load up a shotgun card with CO2 canisters for refilling on the field. But you can just take along an AI gas can for that.

In terms of the what common pistol models are available in Canada, you have the following platforms (and their variants - there can be a lot of variants):
M9s
1911s
Hicappas
P226s/P229s
USPs
Full sized Glocks
Compact Glocks
Subcompact Glocks
XDMs

[Jimski]

to the conclusion that I will never have a “complete load out”, nor will I ever have “enough” guns, mags, and accessories.

you will, right after you've found out that most accessories and strappy gear are useless things in airsoft

[Armyissue]

Originally Posted by Jimski

you will, right after you've found out that most accessories and strappy gear are useless things in airsoft

Jimski, it is with great self control, discipline and conferring with other staff that you have not received a perma Ban for such foul and blasphemy.
a warning seems inadequate for your transgression and they wont let me have you Caned.
The ASC gods require three mea culpa's and a $50 donation to the tactical beardless men of asc foundation.
and never ever utter that again.

[Danke]

I think the black panel van is cruising up and down his street.

[Jimski]

mea culpa
mea maxima culpa
all gear is useful, all the upgrades shall be bought

[r.d.fretz]

Originally Posted by FirestormX

In terms of pistols, they're actually pretty simple, for the common pistol models:
Buy Tokyo Marui (plastic) or KWA (metal).
If you don't have the money for it, buy KJW.
If you can't find a KJW, buy a WE.
If your WE doesn't shit out on you in the first few games, buy a lottery ticket.
Avoid absolutely everything else.

Very well said. This is the kind of "cut to the chase" sort of thing I'm trying to put together here. This whole post is really for others who are new to the sport, who want to know what they should be looking get into. With all the options its a bit nice to have a little help to narrow those choices down.

[FirestormX]

Glad it helped.
I should complicate things a little bit, by mentioning that the list is in order by quality. There's little things with different guns that you'll want to be aware of, which are specific to each model of gun. So make sure you do your research.

For example, KWA G19s are 1:1 scale, while other manufacturers might not be.
Or, most models by KJW are TM compatible (which is a plus), but sometimes WEs are more TM compatible than a KJW, so you have to take that into account for the long run.

I should also mention that KWA and KSC are the same product in most cases (I'll edit the post to add that).

[Emre1337]

In regards to pistols, I have a WE Xcelerator Dragon (Essentially a 5.1 High-Capa) and to be honest, I love this gun. People have written a lot of mixed reviews about WE pistols, most of the criticism is directed at the internals, saying they're weak compared to other brands, but I've had no such problems with mine. The cycle rate is super fast and the blow-back is very hard and crisp. I would definitely recommend it. I also have a KWC SW40f which runs CO2, not quite as good as the High-Capa but it's definitely a nice beginner pistol. Only downside is magazines for it all but obsolete. Most sites don't carry them anymore. On a side note, I've always been a bit sketchy about TM's because they're plastic. Not sure how reliable they are compared to metal slides but technically you could always buy an aftermarket metal slide for one I guess.

[r.d.fretz]

Originally Posted by FirestormX

For example, KWA G19s are 1:1 scale, while other manufacturers might not be.
Or, most models by KJW are TM compatible (which is a plus), but sometimes WEs are more TM compatible than a KJW, so you have to take that into account for the long run.

What the..... Son of a...!! I'm begining to hate pistols almost as much as I love them! Choices, options... These were invented by retailers! Those evil bastards... LOL

[FirestormX]

Originally Posted by Emre1337

Not sure how reliable they are compared to metal slides but technically you could always buy an aftermarket metal slide for one I guess.

TM plastics are generally quite reliable - although it depends on the gun in question. If you want full metal, I'd recommend going KWA, as they're quite well built.

If you swap a plastic TM slide for a metal one, you may want to change some of the internals, too. TMs are built to cycle a lighter slide, and shoot at sub-300 FPS on duster. If you move to a heavier slide, you may want to get a stronger valve knocker (I think that's all you need? I've never had to do it), to release more gas per shot, to cycle the heavier slide.

Originally Posted by r.d.fretz

What the..... Son of a...!! I'm begining to hate pistols almost as much as I love them! Choices, options... These were invented by retailers! Those evil bastards... LOL

It's actually not too bad with airsoft. There's very few pistol models readily available in Canada, so the first thing you need to do is pick one that you like to wrap your hand around. Ask to feel what other people are running. If you've got friends with different pistols, ask if you can use their pistol for a round.

Once you figure out what you like the feel of, you can move on to researching what companies manufacture the gun - there will probably only be a few. Then research the differences between the two. Looking around online is a pain in the ass for that sort of thing, though. If you type is "is a WE hicappa crap", you'll get a lot of results saying that it is. If you search "is a WE hicappa an amazing gun", you'll get a lot of results saying how much people love it.

You can usually rely on the rule of thumb that a TM or KWA will outperform a KJW, which will outperform a WE, which will outperform most other brands. If you're looking at a rarer model (eg the SW40f), then you might need look into other companies (eg KWC), and build your own opinions.

Availability of mags and replacement parts for these less popular companies can be a big deciding factor (as Emre pointed out). Availability of accessories (basically just a holster) for a less popular model of gun is also important.

Finally, once you've made your decision, look around to see which retailers in Canada have the pistol...And hope that you find some in stock.
If you can't find some in stock, you can start asking retailers if they can import one for you, or when their next shipment from company X will be coming in.

Airsoft pistols basically boil down to the way they feel, and the way they perform (and I guess how cool they look as well). You don't have to worry about stopping power, how concealable it is, etc. Just that it feels good, and works well.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by Emre1337

In regards to pistols, I have a WE Xcelerator Dragon (Essentially a 5.1 High-Capa) and to be honest, I love this gun. People have written a lot of mixed reviews about WE pistols, most of the criticism is directed at the internals, saying they're weak compared to other brands, but I've had no such problems with mine. The cycle rate is super fast and the blow-back is very hard and crisp.

If you think a WE with a heavy slide has a fast cycle rate (it doesn't), try a stock TM Hicapa.