Potential new player saying Hello!

[Drittzy]

Hi everyone,

My name is Matt aka Drittzy and I am new to everything airsoft! The sport has always interested me (largely thanks to the Armageddon expos and having had spring loaded BB Guns growing up), how ever I have only really started looking into it properly this past week.

Thanks to a brief run-in with one of your TAG members the other day, I have since been trolling these forums for information as well as checking out the videos + photos section (you have a new subscriber Sqwerthead!). And I have to say, I do like what I am seeing! As it looks like my best move now is to sign up for then show up to one of your Sunday events, I will refrain from asking too many questions right at the moment (even though I have a lot!).

Being brand new I currently own no gear. I am aware of being able to hire a club gun with BB's and safety glasses for $20 on top of any field fee's on the day and will most likely be doing this until I have learnt more about the sport. But I do have one question I would like to ask and that is the average cost for starting out in airsoft? You all have a lot of kit in the videos that looks like it doesn't come cheap! I am currently a uni student and so don't have a lot of extra funds to put towards the sport currently. I am aware there are on going costs when playing the sport like BB's, gas (if I use a GBB), field fee's + club fee's, petrol/travel, gun maintenance/parts etc. What I am trying to get a general idea for right now is how much approximately would I be needing to spend to get a basic kit together to play both CQB and large field games?

Thanks! I look forward to meeting everyone and learning more about Airsoft

[Sneakers]

Hey Drittzy

To get a basic kit together you really only need a gun and some magazines.

Most guns can be used at both CQB and field games, so for this I'll just use a basic M4 style AEG. These can range anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars (or less) to well over a thousand. One of our more recent recruits purchased one of these and it set him back $500 or so without any customs fees (which could add another hundred).

Magazines should set you back $50 or so for a pack of cheap M4 mags that should work.

If this is out of your price range, a high quality GBB pistol with a couple of mags would set you back $300 or so depending on which one you choose. A pistol would be great for CQB, but you may find yourself at a slight disadvantage in the forest. You would also have to carry around a speed loader (because the pistol magazines are of a much smaller capacity) and a can of gas. Using gas will also increase your running costs by a small amount.

You can get away with spending $20 on safety glasses. What ever you do, make sure your glasses have an appropriate safety rating on them. We recommend testing them before using them in a game.

This is enough to get you started.

The rest of our gear you can get away with not purchasing right away, or at all.

A decent set of camo might set you back $150

A decent vest might set you back $100 - $300 depending on which style you prefer (LBT or CIRAS)

Gloves should only cost $20 or so.

Most pieces of kit, such as camo and guns, can be purchased for less than the estimates I've given, but in most cases you get what you pay for. Going cheaper on some things will leave you with headaches down the track.

Anyway, that's all I can think of at the moment. You will have a much better idea of what gear you might want/need and what it might cost you once you get out and have a chat to our members. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. This is the best place for it.

[PepsiCo]

So I had previously written about 3 pages worth of junk and realized no one would read all of it so I'll just give you the revised version. Also these are my OWN experiences and my OWN opinions so others who are more experienced may disagree or have other suggestions so don't take this too literally, just take it as a friendly experience sharing time from a newb to newb

Buying your first airsoft:
-Get something big at the beginning, typically the aeg (primary). Don't plan to buy the whole loadout including primary/sidearm/vest/camo/gear but end up buying a pistol first. That's what I did and ended up spending enough money to have bought an aeg by purchasing spare mags and holsters gas, bbs and maintenance tools. Because I was spending so much money on my pistol, it made it so much more difficult and longer to get my hands on an aeg. So buy big and work your way down.

-You could choose to buy a pistol as your main with a few mags for a little cheaper than an aeg set up BUT you may be outclassed in certain situations, especially in the greenfield where weapon spamming is handy (trying to shoot someone hiding behind thick bush cover). However the price difference between a good pistol set-up vs good-enough aeg set-up is going to be very competitive. (Gas guns are costly to run and maintain with each mags costing easily $40USD EACH! and not to mention 1000ml gas bottles give you roughly 60 mag fills which is not a heck of a lot then you really have to pay attention with lubricating if running gas guns.

-What I've seen generally is that unless you buy Tokyo Marui or some other Japan made airsoft guns, the out-of-box FPS will usually be in the 360-400FPS range which is a no no which would mean spending the extra dough on new springs and the tears you will shed when you take apart your very new aeg gearbox. Try to find an AEG that has lowest FPS possible. anything -/+ 300 would be most ideal I reckon. It means you will be safe to use 0.25g BBs which seems to be quickly becoming the clubs' and airsofters' favorite weight of BBs. (When I bought my gun, the first thing I did was swap out the springs with an M100 spring to lower the FPS as mine was suppose to be shooting 360+. Turns out the new springs made my gun shoot 390FPS which would be rather painful if hit. Then my next set of M95 springs shot 385+ so I had to cut it the hell down and now it shoots 345max and the spring is missing a quarter of it's original length....so take care with FPS.)

-Once you have your gun, or even before. The first things you should acquire are eye and face protection! Don't skimp too hard on goggles/glasses! If any of your gear breaks, you can always replace it. But you can't replace your eyes!! But at the same time, don't go overboard and spend half you budget on it either (unless you want to ) I ended up buying a pair of ESS turbo fan goggles for over $200NZD including shipping and have since found. Any half decent goggles with certified ratings would have done the trick. BUT, you look so badass in a pair of ESS turbos Also look into some decent full-face/half face masks. Shemaghs (arabian scarves) are NOT the best form of face protection as you will still feel the impact + hard to breathe through + makes you really really hot + fogs your goggles regardless of fans in your goggles. Mesh protections is probably the best you'll get for your bottom half of the face. Protect your teeth as you most likely will not grow another set in your life time

-Gear: Vests, BDUs, Holsters Gloves Sights Pouches and so forth. So many things. Buy them all if you can afford it but chances are you'll be buying a few pieces at a time. I would recommend buying yourself a nice cheap vest or chest rig to house your mags in for your aeg. Don't try carrying them in your pockets, you will lose them and we'll have to search for it and Sneakers will owe someone else a bj...so a vest is a good starting point for your gear. Plus you look bad ass in jeans and only a few gear. The whole Private Military Company (PMC) looks is quite cool. Just chuck on a vest, knee pads and maybe a shemagh just for added bling and bam, you're one bad ass looking player easily identifiable by everyone in BDUs and MARPATs so you get shot up real nice. But, at least friendlies will identify you faster too

Well I've written too much again so I'm going to just leave it here for now...it's only a matter of time people get annoyed with the quantity I write

Good luck! And seriously, ask these guys as many things as you want, they will answer it all for you Best move I ever made while contemplating airsoft was jumping on this forums and asking these guys and going out for a game. Go out for a game, you'll love it and won't regret it at all!...unless you have tests and assignments due......because most of your time will go into researching airsoft I predict

[Drittzy]

Thanks for your input Sneakers

I will definitely be waiting till after I have been to at least one Sunday event before I make any hasty decisions on what to start buying!

I'm thinking I will most likely go for a nice quality GBB pistol first rather then a AEG rifle/SMG. My thinking being that if I choose to pursue the sport then I will at some stage be wanting a decent sidearm. With my current budgeting status I would much rather go for a high quality pistol (knowing I have the option to hire a club gun for forest games if needed), then a medium quality AEG for the same price. My only concern was that GBB guns can have issues in cold weather and this being a potential problem going into the colder Christchurch months?

Checking out some of the websites listed in previous posts about buying guns, I have been taking a look at a few GBB pistols. Sadly I don't know anything about brands and so for the moment have been going mainly by looks, gun material/s and the stats listed by the sellers. As I am also around 5'3 and of smaller build, I would rather a smaller style/size pistol. Based on those factors, these are the two guns that have mainly caught my eye so far.

http://asgc.co.nz/index.php?main_page=p ... cts_id=398 <== mostly due to its size. Price isn't as high as some of the others and so I am wondering about the quality/brand?

http://asgc.co.nz/index.php?main_page=p ... ts_id=1657 <== I like how this has a M1911 look with a modern twist. Only concern is a real M1911 is actually quite big for my hands and this gun is definitely getting up there price wise for me!

Question, is http://www.trademe.co.nz/ a no go for buying guns? I have been looking at a few on there going for less then those on the websites TAG members have recommended, but I am worried I would be getting a lemon or a cheap knock-off

[Sneakers]

You raise a good point with the GBB/winter thing. I had issues with my brand new pistol last year, but that very well could have been due to a lack of maintenance (Was my first pistol, had no idea how to maintain/clean it). You will definitely find gas guns have less power in them during the winter. I'm not sure what the average FPS is for those using green gas or propane in ~10c weather.

Trademe is definitely one you should exercise extreme caution with.

You would be correct in thinking WE is a lesser brand. It is definitely second to Tokyo Marui

If you like the look of the 1911, I would suggest looking at a hi capa. They are quite similar, but you might find that with the 1911 you have trouble getting through a full magazine of BBs before you run out of gas. There is no shortage of gas pistols at the club so I would recommend groping ours before you place any orders.

Also, consider buying pistols from here. You will get more for your money than if you were to buy locally.

[PepsiCo]

I went into airsoft with this exact thought: "I'll buy a real nice pistol now so I'll have a nice sidearm for when I get an AEG" Though it is appealing to get a GBB Pistol straight out of the batting cage. A few things I've mentioned in my long ass post. A GBB will consume more money and more frequently. A bottle of gas will cost you EASILY $20-$30 per bottle depending where you buy it from where as once you have a battery and charger for an aeg, you're set til it fails on you. And with GBB you really REALLY REALLY REALLY need to properly lube them or they will fail on you and most likely break something internally or dry out your o-rings which is more $$$ to replace and time to fix. And also one GBB Pistol mag will be = to anywhere between 1-5 AEG mags. I only bothered getting 1 extra mag for my GBB because I noticed once I had my AEG, I used my pistol 1% of any games and 0% shooting at home because gas is expensive, yo.

As for brands, apparently tokyo marui is tops. Well...affordable tops. You have brands like Systema which make airsoft for actual government training purposes for police and military so yeh...
My GBB Pistol is a WE Tech M92 Samurai Edge Barry Burton Mod. and it looks and sounds AWESOME...BUT...performance wise, I might as well be throwing the BBs by hand. The internals aren't very reliable. My hop up unit, after on drop on the ground, has gone to shits and won't hold its setting so I've had to chuck some threads in the screws to hold it down. Also the externals aren't the best. After my first week of owning it, it looked like I'd had it for a year..and I hadn't even taken it to any games or done anything extreme with it. Oh, and not to mention my rear sights fell off one day and it requires constant loving with epoxy to hold it in place...BUT I still love it to bits...BUT I would probably, sooner or later, upgrade to a tokyo marui M92 (plastic or otherwise).

I bet after coming to your first game, seeing everyone with their kick ass AEG's you'll very soon want an AEG of your own My one mistake was I bought the pistol BEFORE I went to a game and got to see these beasts and hold them. Too bad Sneakers won't be there with his TM HK416 this week...seeing and holding that thing pretty much sold me to AEGs and Airsoft all together.

[Drittzy]

You make some interesting points PepsiCo, so thank you for the wall of text! I was happy to read it

It will definitely be best for me to wait till after I have had a chance to check out some of the other players kits so I can get a feel for what I could potentially like. I think funding will be my achilles heel at the end of the day. I am currently only working part time while I study and my course costs are rather expensive at times (week long block course in Auckland in the second week of June is costing me around $600 ). This was my main reasoning for thinking about a pistol first.

How ever I wasn't aware that the gas bottles only give roughly 60 fills for $20-$30 a pop and also the cost for the extra mags I would need if it is to be my temporary primary! Not to mention a holster, quick loader, tool kit, lube and parts. These little things will indeed, as you say, add up slowly to the point where I might with I had gone for the AEG first. I am still a little bit on the fence though. I really don't want to be paying for a AEG unless it is of high quality as I will want it to last me a while. As things are at the moment I really only have a maximum budget of around $400 tops I can use to put together a basic starter kit (this is not to say I wont have funds down the track for the sport, I am just on a strict budget ). I know Sneakers prices aren't exact but I will use his as a guide line for putting together what I would think to be gear I would want to have before playing.

-Goggles/glasses = $20-$30 (I have a small head so finding ones that fit could be tricky)
-helmet/face guard = $30-$40? (I am a bit of a wuss so will be wanting one or both of these, same issue as the goggles though with size)
-Vest = $80-$100 (seen a few cheap ones around the $80 mark on TradeMe although not sure on quality)
-Spare mags = $40-$50 (depending on what weapon I get)
-Gloves = $20-$30 (for cheaper pairs seen)
Already this is a total of $190-$250 before getting to a AEG or GBB gun.

I don't think I will be able to get a decent quality AEG I will be happy with for around the $200 mark. Not saying I will get a high quality GBB pistol for that price but I think it would still be better then its AEG counterpart? (running costs I can budget for a long the way as long as they aren't super expensive like major breakages right off the bat).

From what I can tell at the moment my options would be to get the gear listed and then a middle range GGB till I can afford a high quality AEG. Or to get a decent set of kit and think about getting a AEG down the line, meaning I would have to hire a club gun for the events I go to.

No doubt seeing everyone's AEGs will make me completely change my mind and want one straight away haha!

[PepsiCo]

Hahaha I get carried away thinking about airsoft hence the wall of texts.

You should stay on that fence as long as you can...research as much as you can. I spent two weeks researching the perfect gun for me and my wallet and I think I did pretty well coming from 0 knowledge of airsoft. One advice, don't give too much attention to youtube reviews. They're usually 12 year olds with rich parents ands know how to read the website they purchased it from or sponsored airsofters who get endorsements for up selling their products. But they are still a good reference. It's like looking up Wikipedia to get an idea of a theory when writing reports. Just don't cite it as they're usually non credible.

[Sneakers]

You can use much cheaper gasmate propane cans ($10 each), however you will need a $40 adapter. Your pistol will run at a higher FPS due to the higher pressure. The downside to this is you will need to replace the slide in the medium - long term.

You can get a lower face mask for $20.

If you have a mouth guard, that will suffice for tooth protection. At TAG we discourage head shots, so you shouldn't need face protection right away for our green field games.

You don't need gloves right away, so you can postpone that purchase.

[Alroys]

Wall of text much

First think and probably the most important is before you buy anything come out for a game and talk to some of the guys and just get a general idea of what sort of rifle you want.

Id recommend getting an aeg over a pistol first as the idea of using a gas weapon during winter does not seem like a good one.There are several reasonable aeg you can get for around $200 shipped ones i can think of being the JG G36 and CYMA M14
Also with these guns if you decide to replace with them something better latter on you can generally sell for most of what you.

For vests on a budget id say your better off looking at used military ones like a British chest rig or nz army vest as they are about the same price as cheap Chinese one and are significantly better quality.

Quick budget
AEG $200
Mags $60
Vest $70
Glasses $30
Facemask $20
Speedloader $20
Total $400

Also as pepsi said ignore pretty much all review on youtube most of them are 15 year old Americans saying there gun can shoot 400 feet or retailers who will say anything to sell them.

[Poncho]

As everyone said do come out to a couple of games first.
When I first started I was only 17, didn't really have a good size income so I brought just the seg first which was a G&G M4, then I got all rest of the things bit by bit.
I would recommend doing that because as you play you get to know what you style of play and you can build your kit around that.

[Eda]

YouTube airsoft reviews; where all guns shoot at least 200 feet.

[Sneakers]

YouTube airsoft reviews; where all guns shoot at least 200 feet.

Out of the box, at under 350 FPS.

[Eda]

YouTube airsoft reviews; where all guns shoot at least 200 feet.

Out of the box, at under 350 FPS.

Hitting coke cans.

[straightjacket]

on this subject... G&G products, are they any good as this is around my price range. specificly the combat machine series.
thanks.