And why they belong in the bin. Plus a few concepts around the idea of ghillies and mobility for all Airsoft players. Assault ghillies in the Airsoft arena tend to be used by non-snipers as a means of extra concealment, and in itself that isn’t a bad idea. If you’re a support gunner for example, the idea of some kind of viper hood or cobra hood (head and shoulders only) seems like a good idea to help break up your outline a bit. It’s marketed as a “lightweight” solution, not that suits are heavy, and there are a lot of manufacturers out there jumping on the idea and making these quarter-sized ..read more

In most games, there is always a need for an opposing team. Somebody has to play the bad guy in order for there to be good guys. But it’s not really as clear cut as that, depending on the event you’re attending or the scenario you’re trying to play; OPposing FORce can be many things. And the loadouts are just much cooler than the regular Multicam look that dominates the field. I got a message a couple of weeks back from a local player who wanted an “insurgent” loadout but didn’t know where to start, so I figured it’d be an interesting topic to look at. Opfor gives you a lot of freedom not only ..read more

How do you know if you’ve had a successful day as an airsoft sniper? For most airsoft players, they look at whether they managed to capture the flag, save the hostage, locate the bomb, or avoid the zombies. It might be that you managed to fly head-first through a window in front of everyone, got enough footage to fill your week in with editing, or turned heads by wearing a silly outfit. For the sniper, it’s a little different. We support the team in achieving objectives rather than chasing them ourselves. We don’t go to make a scene or have everyone notice us. Our role, usually, is just to run ..read more

What exactly is a DMR in Airsoft? What sort of role does it fulfil? Why should I buy one? Many questions, and the first one cropped up in the team chat today so I thought I’d expand on it a bit. The DMR in Airsoft is an interesting complex, and deep down we all want one, although there are few seen in the field. On a personal note, I hate them (I’ll explain why) but I am trying to convince myself to buy one. So, let’s take it from the top. The DMR In the real world, a Designated Marksman’s Rifle sits somewhere between an assault rifle and a sniper rifle. Usually a scoped, accurate, higher powe ..read more

An interesting question popped up on the UKAL podcast a few days ago, which I was watching because Verage Airsoft was on as a guest. “What is Milsim?” is probably a question that can throw up many answers and interpretations. So, I thought I’d put mine out there. I love Sunday skirmishes. Easy, simple games where nobody has a clue what they’re doing and it’s just chaos. But it’s fun, and it’s where we go to unwind and see our friends, and make new ones. Milsim for me is the more serious, long game (usually a full weekend). It’s obviously more simulation than a normal game, and will require a b ..read more

(In Airsoft, no. If you’re in a combat zone, for god’s sake keep it on, I’m not being responsible for deaths). Ghillies in Airsoft. I know I did an article some months back on ghillies being cosplay or utility, talking about how many people wear them to look the part rather than knowing how to use them correctly. Today’s debate, however, is whether you even need one at all. Unless your Instagram name is “Ghillie Sniper Girl” or something, then you probably feel obliged to deliver for the masses. Or you might be trying to sell them. Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a sniper ..read more

What weight BB do you use as a sniper? 0.36? 0.45? 0.48? Different weights of course we know have different characteristics in flight. Lightweight bb’s at high velocity are unstable, heavier rounds move slowly but are more stable. And just to nip an old argument in the bud, all bb weights are affected when they clip vegetation – heavy ones will also deviate off course. But, what weight are your BB’s actually? You might buy some Novritsch 0.49 and assume they’re all just 0.49 grams, right? Wrong. But I’ll use a less extreme example to demonstrate… Here’s my personal favourite. Longbow 0.45‘s ..read more

A look at my green team/US Woodland/Rifleman loadout for airsoft. This is a great all-round skirmish loadout for a variety of events and it’s been working well for me. It’s ideal for woodland sites where you want more manoeuvrability than a heavy chest rig or plate carrier setup. Standing in the safety briefing at Dirty Dog Airsoft with about 150 other players, I was looking around at the variety of kits on show. Skirmish brings everyone together with a lot of different styles of loadout, from casuals to speedsofters to reenactors. I was admiring my friends Auscam loadout when a guy in period ..read more

Shit hitting the fan? Survival essentials? Or just better camping kit choices? A look at evolving the overnight bag a little to meet new challenges. I do like camping. With all the sniper events on the calendar as well as milsims taking precedence over simple Sunday skirmishes, the camping kit has seen a lot of use this winter. And it’s absolutely fine, as is my Airsoft kit. But…more kit is more good. And this week I’ve been putting a bit of thought into revamping it a bit. So, what’s wrong with it at the moment? Well, nothing really. It’s been stripped back over the years to quite a modern ..read more

Everyone remembers the gun. Very few remember to bring the radio. Airsoft teams are everywhere, and yet very rarely do any get organised enough to take advantage of having a team structure. “Yeah, but we play together so I know what they’re going to do and they know my game” is usually as good an answer as you’re going to get. And that’s pretty much the same as running around with the other hundred or so players at skirmish. Getting your team ready for a photoshoot with the site photographer is the easy bit. Nice matching outfits, few Instagram filters, great. You look like a team. But how do ..read more