General noob questions about equipment

[dantheman]

Hey all,
a quick intro about myself; never played Airsoft before (have messed around with crapsoft though), currently I am 17 going 18 very soon (that's why i am not age verified), mature, willing to go out and play and have fun (and I don't cheat). I am not the average kiddo wanting to play soldier, I am more mature than that. blah blah blah ok back on track: I am currently thinking about getting the G&G M4 CQB-R here is the link: http://pocomilitary.com/catalog/prod...oducts_id=1864 (could anybody tell me if that gun is any good or if I should consider anything else? No Ak's though please). I am still wondering though, for the first couple of times should I just go out and play with a rifle, goggles and a couple of mags only or should I buy full gear? Also I was wondering what else is needed for a long fun game of A.S.? When I see videos of people playing A.S. they look like a real soldier, but I don't have that kind of money.......yet. Any ideas of what I should get? Also I have a Cobra MicroTalk Walkie-Talkie, is there a special headset that I can use and easily operate? (I have about six cobras at home thats why I am asking).
Well these are all the questions I have for know.
Thanks in Advance.
Dan the man

[Steven]

Hey, glad to see another member from B.C!

When you turn 18,introduce yourself onto Op-for / BCAC forums, and sign up for a game there. I suggest before buying a rifle, you wait, and go to a game. Hold, fondle, perhaps shoot some rifles, and see what you like best!

Now, as you're turning 18 very soon, I would advise you to wait on the G&G rifle. Age verification opens a whole world or goodies that would be 5x better, and there are some great deals in there.

For your first game, I would suggest renting a rifle, and perhaps see if you can also rent some sort of chest rig. You don't need full gear, but once you figure out what you want, gear is half the fun!

Headsets, and push to talks (PTT) can be found on various websites, depening on your radios. Try Redwolfairsoft.com, airsoftgear.ca( Run by Op-for Admin ), evike.com etc etc.

Also, for long games, it depends on what you consider long. But I'll try to give you a generalization.
-BB's
-Water
-Sufficient batteries to last the day
-comfortable, functioning gear
-Working rifle...

Things like that. Of course, as you venture more into milsim, and hard core impressions, there is alot more people bring/use.

[ap27]

As mentioned, getting AV'ed is a good idea especially since you're so close to 18. I'd advise the wait game here, you'll find a larger selection of rifles and the classifieds will net you some good deals that will go easier on the wallet. If its M4s you're interested in, it'll be even better as almost every other gun on there is an M4 :P
Dont forget, buying from other players will usually net you some extras that you'd normally have to go out and buy anyway. Battery/charger/magazines/scopes/sights etc. Plus our retailers have access to more exquisite ones should they suit your taste.
Attending a local game and renting out a gun would be a great way to get a feel for the sport. As for gear, you can make do with outdoor clothing and a vest with pockets for magazines, but dont skimp out on certain stuff. Eye protection and boots come to mind. You dont want to compromise on those. Other stuff would be gloves, elbow/knee pads if you need them and face masks (or paintball masks, as required on certain sites).

[Jamie James]

Originally Posted by Steven

Age verification opens a whole world or goodies that would be 5x better, and there are some great deals in there.

Would you mind elaborating on that?

Are you just referring to having access to the classifieds or are you talking about what is available from retailers too. I met with an age verifier Thursday. I am waiting to get verified before I buy my first rifle as I have seen a few people suggest new players do.

Thanks

[wildcard]

Originally Posted by Jamie James

Would you mind elaborating on that?

Are you just referring to having access to the classifieds or are you talking about what is available from retailers too. I met with an age verifier Thursday. I am waiting to get verified before I buy my first rifle as I have seen a few people suggest new players do.

Thanks

Getting age verified will give you acces to the classified, it does not however prevent you from buying crappy shit or questionable seller. Your best defence against it is make sure you do your research on the item, ask around the vets in these boards learn as much first hand experience about it as you can and if you can arrange with the seller a test session where you go to an agreed place test out the AEG/GBBR

[L473ncy]

Originally Posted by Jamie James

Would you mind elaborating on that?

Are you just referring to having access to the classifieds or are you talking about what is available from retailers too. I met with an age verifier Thursday. I am waiting to get verified before I buy my first rifle as I have seen a few people suggest new players do.

Thanks

More variety basically. You can find cheapo fixer guns all the way to $3000+ PTW's.

Mostly you're going to find guns within a more reasonable range like $300-600 maybe more depending on what else is included (ie optics, extra mags, extra battery, charger, half a bag of BB's etc.).

There are also some retailers that sell in the ASC classifieds only so you can also buy BNIB guns, and you're not limited to a few brands. Anything you can imagine you can get, all you need is patience and money (especially if what you want is a limited edition run or rare like some Classic airsoft (Escort, Sun Project, Daytona, etc.)).

@OP: Wait till 18 before purchasing any guns. As for gear however, all you need to do is piece it together. You don't need it all at once and you'll pick up stuff over time. To start out I would suggest, good pair of walking boots (hiking boots, OR work boots but heavy steel toes are not comfortable/fun), set of combats (can be found as cheap as $30 for surplus OD tunic + trousers, check out PoCo, Daves, or Gorilla Surplus), and a GOOD FACE MASK (perferably ASTM approved since the PB fields in Van require it for insurance reasons (except for bigfoot since it's a dedicated airsoft field).

Breakdown of costs:

Boots (if you don't have any): $80-120
Combats: $30
Mask: $50-100+ (for example these JT Elites are only $50 at CT however consider something like the Flex8 or just shop around)
Killrag (not required but is probably a good idea): ~$2-4 (just pickup a red bandana from where ever or go to fabricland or w/e and pickup a few square feet of red fabric and make your own)
Gun: $300-500+ if you're poor like me a $400 gun will last you a while and you won't tend to grow out of it whereas a cheaper $300 gun you might get tired of after a season or so and want to start doing heavy upgrades to improve this or that which means downtime and not playing since your gun is down (or renting from someone).

Rest you can pick up as you play. ie. Vest, pistol, holster, radio etc. (I still don't have a radio and picked up a used vest for $70-80 after my first few games).

You also don't even need a gun out on your first time, hell you can just hire your gear.

If I get a chance to get out this summer and I can get my gear from Alberta back to Van you can hire my stuff. All I ask for is either a 12 pack (of GIB, or another microbrew/craft beer) or $25. You don't even have to go through me either, there's plenty of other people with gear for hire.

[dantheman]

thanks for the info guys, I appreciate it. Well no i am not really into M4's, actually yes they look cool, but like you said most of the guns out there have M4 designs, so what I am really interested in is a Bullpup design rifle, like the G&G F2000 (but 650 is a bit too much for me atm), so once I am AV'ed I might look around for that. Do I have to be 18 to play a game of A.S.? My birthday is close, but then again 3 months or so of waiting is still some time away, and I would like to play asap (I really need an outdoor hobby and can't think of anything else lol). I don't mind buying a rifle when I am 18 but I would like to play a little earlier if that's possible any thoughts on that?
And thats a great Idea with the renting part and trying stuff out, I shall do that.

[Steven]

3 Months will fly by in no time, believe me! People have waited years, you are much closer!

Op-for and BCAC both have an 18+ rule, though I believe FVAA, who play at Bigfoot airsoft let younger people play.

Regardless, 3 months is a worthwhile wait!

[dantheman]

yeah you are right, meanwhile I work and get some money together so I can buy everything when the time has come. One more question: I am looking for a good Bullpup rifle, any good ones out there? what about the F2000 by G&G? Looks great, you have any intel on that gun?
Thanks again,
Dan the man

[SuperCriollo]

To tell the truth you dont really have to be 18 to play airsoft. Just check out your local game section and see what you can do. One day on the field is worth more than a year of reading forums.

[L473ncy]

I assume dan is in Vancouver/Lower Mainland and if so both Op-For and BCAC have 18+ rules. HOWEVER, FVAA (Fraser Valley Airsoft Association) which play at the Bigfoot field don't and I believe it may be as young as 14+ (not 100% sure, but check up on that I know there is a lower age requirement).

As for bullpup.... You may or may not want one. I've tried one once and it's pretty "meh" TBH. I just don't like the ergonomics of them. You play CS or whatever other game that features bullpups and you're like "this is so kickass" but then you realize once you ahve to reload "OK... this might be a bit akward". BUT don't let that scare you off of them. The Australian army use the Aug (designated at the "F88" I believe) as their standard issue infantry weapon and you can always train your muscle memory on how to handle the weapon for easy reloading and such.

I say if you can scrounge up $600 then you'll be pretty much set for your first few games. Breakdown of costs:

Boots: (I assume you own your own,)
Combats: $30-50
PB Mask: $70 (ideal to have it "modular"/detachable so that if the field only requires goggles part only you can separate it from the mask and get a better cheekweld on the gun)
Gun: $450
Field Entrance: $20
BB's: $10-15

Extras:
Gas money if you carpool
Timmies or McD's (McGriddle meal = breakfast of champions)

[RaisinBran]

If you're under 18, check out FVAA, they play at Bigfoot.

If you're looking for a bullpup, the Tar-21 is amazing, used one but sadly I cannot afford one.

When I started going to games I only had my M4, 2 batteries and 5 midcaps. Now I have Propper Marpat BDU's, hiking boots, vest and a better Pball mask with anti fog!.

Rent first before buying something you'll regret.

[ap27]

Some of the more common bullpups right now:
Ares TAR 21
G&G F2000
Classic Army (and others) Aug A1/A2
ICS L85
RealSword Type 97
Tokyo Marui (if you can find one) or Cybergun FAMAS

[dantheman]

ok thanks, I will check out some of the bull pups you mentioned ap27. Does FVAA have a website? I checked on google but nothing really pops up. Thanks again everybody, can't wait for my birthday already!

[L473ncy]

Originally Posted by dantheman

Does FVAA have a website? I checked on google but nothing really pops up.

Fraser Valley Airsoft