Getting back into airsoft, want advice.

[marine1]

My name is Trevor Finazzo, I am a Marine and used to play airsoft before I joined and was considering getting back into it. I was just wondering what steps I should take about joining a team when I come home on July 1st.  Any good information about how to join teams and good airsoft guns to buy would be greatly appreciated. I wouldn't call myself a noob cause I know tactics and am pretty good at what I do, I just didn't know where else to put this.

[theitalynstalyn]

Not the advice you're looking for, but it generally is not a good idea to put your full name on anonymous forums; It's something I avoid when I can, but that's just me.

[marine1]

Good to go thanks, I will update that.

[Phantom Reaper]

May 31, 2014 0:25:31 GMT -5 theitalynstalyn said:

Not the advice you're looking for, but it generally is not a good idea to put your full name on anonymous forums; It's something I avoid when I can, but that's just me.

I am inclined to disagree, anonymity is more optional here and then not by much. You're anonymous until you play with the people on the boards, or buy something from them. I know the names of plenty of people here. Anyway welcome to the forms Marine1 I would advice maybe a more original name as we already have an established member with Marine in their name. As for guns that my friend depends on the platform and what you want to spend. A good starter is always a G&G Combat Machine. as for joining teams simply look at the recruitment threads for a team in your area.

[snafu]

I think your forum name is fine dude. Just don't make a bit deal of changing it like some kids do around here.

[bobbunny]

A good primary completely depends on your budget and preference for platform. However, there are definitely a few pieces of kit that you should definitally pick up no matter what.
1. Good set of goggles
Never compromise protection, especially your eyes. A good pair can be found always for <$20 (I.E, ESS NVGs)
2. Mouth protection
This one is a little more optional, but I'm pretty sure everyone would agree having to spend money on a tooth job because someone managed to get a (plastic) bb into your teeth is bad. Mesh face masks can generally be found used around $15, or new around $25
3. Boots
Tactical tennies are good rarely, but for the most part, it's probably good not to risk breaking your ankle on a rock or something.
4. Knee Pads
Kneeling on concrete/rocks, kneeling on a BB, or simply taking hits (Which hurt like a mfer), these are an important piece of kit to get. Plus, you can do cool slides in CQB fields
5. Gloves
I've taken a few shots to the fingers without gloves before, and I will note that knuckle shots are the worst and can actually sometimes damage the bone. Full finger gloves, not terribly expensive, and will save you some pain.
6. Hydration Carrier
This one's a little more optional, but I'd rather bring 2L of water with me to a field than dish out money on bottled water and gatorade. Plus, if you have some sort of vest or chest rig, you can probably get a carrier for it and hydrate on the field.

[~Ranger~]

I agree with Bobbunny, good eye protection is one of the most important parts of the kit. I love my Arena Flakjaks, got 2 pair, one for my kid and one for myself, both costed roughly $20.

We both use them mesh lower face masks as well. I had my teeth shot a few years back, that shit hurt more than all hell. Busted teeth SUCK!!! Got our masks for like $15 each.

Then a hydration setup. Its very nice to be able to hydrate in the field. Check out Evike.com, I have a Condor Gen4 chest rig and hydration carrier. Low priced, works and looks good. "DID NOT COME WITH HYDRATION BLADDER" thats another $6-$10.


Of course you can skimp on any of these items, but more than likely, you will end up unhappy and end up getting better anyways so its better to buy once. "Meaning goggles"

Last... Welcome back to airsoft, and welcome to Michigan airsoft forums.

[Gunny87]

You also don't need to join a team right off the bat in order to play airsoft. Just show up to airsoft games. That way you can start getting to know other players and that's the best way of joining a team once you've played with other players and teams.

I also recommend investing in a set of green (M81 Woodland, Woodland MARPAT, AOR2 etc) and tan (DCU, Desert MARPAT, AOR1 etc) based BDUs. This way you have the option of playing on either side and aren't limited to always playing on only one team.

There's a ton of info on here regarding airsoft guns so definitely check out other threads in the Newbie Section, AEG, and airsoft discussion sections of this forum.

[Gimpalong]

The Michigan airsoft community is fairly tight knit. There are a few major teams with players scattered throughout the state (Suicide Kings, RAGE, Hellfish, ODA, Immortal, 3.14, etc), but most of us know each other through our interactions on the forums. Players don't necessarily stick just with their teams on the field, but tend to branch out and coordinate with other folks they know from the community. In other words, team affiliation is a lot less important than just getting to know a wide variety of folks who show up to games in different places.

Here's my generic quote about buying airsoft guns and equipment:

It's hard to go wrong selecting a gun provided you buy a reasonably priced AEG from a mainstream company.

For example,

Tokyo Marui
Classic Army
G&P
G&G
VFC
King Arms
Ares
KWA
ICS

Guns from the above companies should work well straight out of the box and shouldn't require any fixes.

Other "clone," "All China Made" (ACM) or low-price companies like

JG
Dboys
Cyma
A&K

make products that range vastly in quality and may often need a tune-up straight out of the box. I wouldn't recommend them for a first gun unless you're willing to do some work to get them skirmish worthy. I'm not saying these guns are terrible; they're not, but they are, generally, of lesser quality than the AEGs produced by the "mainstream" companies.

Now you'll probably get a lot of opinions about which companies are best/worst, which companies build the most reliable rifles, etc. That said, what you should do is settle on a particular rifle model (M4, M16, AK, G36, P90, etc) and then conduct some research to determine which company makes a reliable version of that model at a price point that you can afford.

For example, if you're interested in a G36, then you've got a variety of companies that you can look at including:

Tokyo Marui
Classic Army
Ares
JG
SRC

These companies produce G36s of varying quality at different price points and with different features.

So you've got to take some time and look at each company's G36 offering and determine which is best for you based on how much money you've got and other considerations like reliability.


In addition, as you delve into the gun buying process, you'll soon be overtaken by the urge to buy extra magazines and some sort of loading bearing kit or plate carrier.

RESIST this urge.

Remember, all you need to play is GOOD EYE PROTECTION, a gun, a high capacity magazine, batteries, batter charger and decent footwear.

Once you've got a gun, play a few games and figure out what works for you before making a big investment.

In my opinion, if you've got a $400 budget, it's far better to spend the majority of that money on a rifle, spare batteries and eye protection than dilute it in order to buy extra magazines and the equipment to carry it.