More Baby Punching Airsoft Related Fiascos

Apprehensiveness- 
There's a reason it's called a recon team, because were going into enemy territory! Get your head out of your @ss, guns up and aggression level 10! You want to hide and be timid? I hear the parking lot is a safe place, why don't you go there for some R&R while the rest of us overrun the opfors base camp.

Let's be honest, most guys play airsoft for three reasons, either their wives drive them crazy, they love Black Hawk Down, or they think they can play airsoft as well as they play Call of Duty. Hey don't get upset its cool, I'm a poser too. My reasons for playing airsoft are just as superficial as yours. However, the difference is when I see the opfor the wild beast inside me is released from his cage. When you see the opfor the butterfly is put back into his habitat.

Oh I'm sorry did I offend you? Well you offended me, when you pissed all over my brilliant plan to overwhelm the opfor's position. Sucks doesn't it? You know what helps with that? Growing a pair and chasing down the opfor like you’re trying to eliminate their species from the planet.

Excuse the rant but facts are facts. So let's be the man your mom always wanted you to be and go kill some bad guys? What do you say?

Spray & Pray- 
What about this guy, right? Apparently the stroke you just had caused your finger get stuck holding down the trigger, or you've never heard of trigger discipline, either way this stuff is getting old. Good news though, you didn't hit anything and you went through a bag of bb's. The bad news, your position is about to get overrun by me and my squad.

I think it's safe to say that a majority of airsofters come to this sport for the milsim experience it provides. Milsim, meaning just like real life but not exactly. If that's the case then semi-auto or burst should be used right? Not full auto like some third world rebel trying to pull a coup de grace on the currently entrenched government. Praying and spraying in airsoft does not have the same effect as it does in your favorite video game. Your kill/death ratio will not increase and you will not rise to the top of the leader board standings.

It takes more focus and skill to eliminate tangos using semi-auto than it does running through your mag in five seconds. In airsoft as in real life, skill leads to satisfaction and knowing you accomplished your mission through skill and tenacity rather than spraying and praying is about as good as it gets.

Conclusion

To sum it up, airsoft isn't perfect but it's all we got. Hey I'm not perfect, but who is? If we were then we wouldn't need airsoft. For some of us guns, gear and battle buddies are what make life bearable. So I think it's fair to say that for all the time and money we put into our hobby, a fun time and a tactically enjoyable experience aren't too much to ask for, are they? No they're not, so if you are one of these guys or know one, tell him to stop raining on our parade. If you don't knock it off I'm going to lose interest and start spending more time with my wife and kids.

Do you really want to put me in that position?... I hope not.

Guys Who Don't Call Their Hits and Other Things That Make You Want To Punch a Baby

As you probably know from previous posts, I LOVE airsoft. I consider airsoft my Cleopatra; it is simultaneously my love, my obsession and my inevitable downfall. Being the guy that I am, I've come to terms with this and look forward to my ruin. However, just like Cleopatra, there are things in airsoft that piss me off to no end and to rectify them I would bring down an empire. However, I am not Mark Antony and rectifying them is not in my power. The only thing that is in my power is to change myself, but why would I want to do that, I'm awesome! I'm definitely God's gift to something. Therefore, I'll have to live with life's little irritations until I learn to bend others to my will instead of beating them into submission.

Back on topic:

Things that piss me off, piss you off and piss your buddy off...

Hit Calling- 
Umm yeah, you flinched for a reason, because I HIT YOU! I know people always talk about honor and integrity but I'm sure most of them don't even know how to spell it. If you did then maybe you would call your hits. These guys are the worst and unfortunately they are everywhere. I know winning is fun and I know mowing down tangos is fun, but do you know what's more fun? Playing by the rules. I sound like a square you say? Uhh yeah, that's because you're the guy not calling his hits.

More than anything this guy the ability to ruin someone's day. Not only that, but if this is common and flagrant it can bring down a field. Nobody wants to go to a field that has a reputation of having players who don't call their hits. Attendance can take a hit as quality players will avoid this type of field like the plague. 13th century England much? Yeah you get my drift.

Laggers-
Why can't you be ready on time! We both know you don't have a girlfriend! Is it because you stayed up all night playing Call of Duty with your buddies who also don't have girlfriends? Listen, there are three things you should be done prior to game time, load your mags, charge your batteries and unf*ck your gear! It's not the SAT's genius, so why are failing it just like you did that test!?! Hmm, I see community college and losing to the opfor in your future. But seriously, why can't these guys be ready on time? Brief starts at 9am, we came ready and prepared to roll over the opfor, its 10:30 and were still waiting for you because your battery died and you have to find someone to loan you one.

Shared a similar experience? Of course you have, this is one of the most common situations in airsoft today. No field is safe from it, these guys are everywhere. Like my dog's fleas, where there's one there's a hundred and they have the potential to kill our vibe and decrease our playing time, two things we could live with out.

Makes sense right? Of course it does, that's why I'm writing this blog and not you.

Medics... Your Squad's Worst Enemy

Let's begin by breaking it down a bit...

The two most complicated aspects of airsoft, overly detailed scenarios and medic rules. For many in our sport medic rules have become more of nuisance and irritation than an effective part of game play. Overwrought gimmicks like have turned what was supposed to be an integral part of the milsim experience into an tactical mess that has the ability to frustrate players and delay game play.

In a perfect airsoft world medic rules would be an effective and enjoyable part of game play. However, airsoft isn't perfect. Scenarios, teams and squads are prone to dysfunction. Hey that's life, adapting to your environment although difficult is the key to making things work in our world. Perhaps you think I'm being unfair or biased in my point of view? Maybe you're thinking just because I've been soured by my experiences with medic rules I am generalizing? Well you're right, I am generalizing and the reason I am doing so is because the logic behind my reasoning is universal. Whether you play in a different state or a different continent we all suffer from similar problems.

For the skeptics to my theory, here is a breakdown of my logic, one problem at a time...

Unfamiliarity- Being on a team is cool, having familiarity with each other and effective tactics based game play is even better. Unfamiliar teammates often decreases your ability to uses tactics against the opfor. But as many of you know more often than not you are placed on team that not only included your squad but a group of guys you don't know. Many times, due to this unfamiliarity squad based tactics are thrown out the window. Maybe you're stuck with a bunch of guys who don't listen and just want to assault hunting down every tango in sight. Maybe you're stuck with guys who are timid and all they want to do is defend. Either way you look at it your potential of being screwed is multiplied. Whether you pick a medic you are familiar with and can trust or a guy who said he wants it because he is the fastest, his chances of staying effective are slim.

Why?

What if you have a group of guys who don't listen because they think their tier one assassins and are running in different directions because they have different ideas on what it's going to take to win. How is a medic cover all that? They can't! Chances are the medic is going to stay with the most stable group of guys and those guys are the ones who are going to be respawning back in again and again. Where are the rest of the guys? They are hundred yards down the field calling for a medic on comms or yelling for one at the top of their lungs while the opfor over runs their position. There is no way your sending your medic to save that guy, and because of that your chances of winning the game just decreased by one gun.

# of medics- How many medics does it take to stay effective? At minimum one per squad, realistically you'll probably only have one or two depending on your teams size. There in lies the problem, if you are at a quality field who's admins run objective based scenarios one or two medics isn't going to cut it. As is often seen this type of field will run a scenario with multiple objectives and a time limit in which to complete them. In these situations the only choice maybe be to break up your team into even smaller groups to either beat the other team to the objective or complete each objective within the allotted time. So the question is, which squad do you send the medic with? There is no way to tell which squad has the greater chance of success in completing their mission. It's a toss up there is know right answer. So it may turn out that having to assign medics can be an unwinnable situation.

Comms- For more experienced airsofters, it's common knowledge that at any game you attend only 30%-60% of those involved will be running with comms. There lies the problem, in a good size field how can medics be expected to help others when the dead player has no way to contact anyone? They can't, so that means if your on a team where 60% of your guys aren't' running comms and they are have no other way to contact the medic, along with your assigned mission you just added the potential to lose 60% of your force. For anyone who has experienced similar situations, you know it can piss you off more than the opfor not calling their hits.

Solutions

There are multiple solutions to this problem. For my part, I am partial to the timed spawn in place rule, with the option to move depending on the position of the opfor or the spawn at a predesignated location rule. These are simple and they work, two important factors in developing medic rules. Some work better than others, effectiveness depends on the strength of your admins, your ability to simplify, the environment and the participants involved. This means that there is no perfect solution, with adaptability comes trial and error. Creating the perfect airsoft experience doesn't come easy, ask those who run games.

Thomas Edison, when asked if he was frustrated at attempting 1,000 different ways to build a light bulb before he succeeding said, "No, we now know a 1,000 different ways not to build light bulb."

Food for thought...

Why You Think You're Better Than Me

Sooo... you're probably wondering how I know, right?

Am I a psychic? Did you tell me when we were out getting drunk the other night? Was I part of the opfor you destroyed at the last game? Not likely, the reason is because I used to be you. That's right, whatever you are or think you are that was and used to be me. Does this mean were soul mates? NO. Besties? MAYBE. Individuals with a common hobby? ABSOLUTELY!

So what is it?

How about I start by telling you what it's NOT. It's not because you're better at airsoft than me. Good! Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk details. Here are the three reasons you think your better than me...

1) Guns

2) Gear

3) Guns & Gear

Sounding familiar? I thought so. If it doesn't than you're either in the place that I am in right now or you're in denial the same way an alcoholic is in denial about being an alcoholic. Don't like my comparison? That's because you know I'm right.

Anyway back on topic:

Why you think you're better than me. Are you rolling hot with that replica CIRAS plate carrier? Do you hold your primary like Chris Costa from Magpul Dynamics? Did you modify your new HK416 to look like a replica of the style carried by tier one delta operators? The answer is YES! Now don't get me wrong doing stuff like this doesn't make you a bad guy or anymore of a poser than I am. Hey I do it, who doesn't want to look like a tier one operator? However, what it does do is create the potential to turn you into an @sshole. Why is this? History has proven that the guys who got it, know they got and make sure everybody else knows they got it.


Having the coolest gear and coolest guns are awesome,  hey that's a big part of airsoft, but letting it get to your head isn't. I've been to a number of fields where guys came out rolling 20lbs worth of gear with the most legit guns I've ever seen and then were summarily owned by the opfor come game time. Blame it on cheating, blame it on the scenario structure, blame in on your teammates failings, but you know what the real problem was...YOU. @ssholes ruin everything and acting like one because you know you and your stuff is the best and assuming that fact alone guarantees victory "ain't worth a velvet painting of a whale and a dolphin getting it on".

This isn't everyone, heck it might not even be you, but if you play you've either been this guy at one time or have seen them out there getting it handed to them. Now like I said facts are facts and my facts are what I used to be this guy, room to talk you say, yes I have some. Why? Because I was a big one! Man did I enjoy show boating, who wouldn't? All it earned me was undeserved confidence and hatred from a lot of people though. Acting like this has repercussions and although you may not have seen them yet karma will make sure that you do. Worried? Either Google karma so you can learn how to kill it otherwise you'll have your day.

Now let's talk about why you might be better than me. Teamwork and tactics, these words go together like peanut butter and jelly. Man, I could be wearing civi's carrying my mags in my pockets and running a WalMart gun but if I have teamwork and tactics consider yourself owned. My chances of owning you just multiplied exponentially. This is where the heart of airsoft lies and all the guns and gear in the world isn't going to get it for you. Some of us have this in spades and some of us don't, either way you want to be better than me? GET IT!

Cart Contents and The Perfect Moment

What can be considered an airsofter's perfect moment?

Building the perfect gun? Racking up surrenders? Defeating the opfor despite their overwhelming numbers? Having the perfect sniper rifle to own the whole field? Whatever it is, it's safe to say that every airsofter has their perfect moment. A time when the culmination of all your hard work pays off and despite what you tell your wife, you're glad your true priorities lay with airsoft. I mean let's be honest, you know you love our wife, your kids, or your girlfriend but when you're in the moment which of those compare to eliminating wave after wave of unsuspecting tangos?

Haha none of those! Go ahead and act like I'm wrong or a little too obsessed, but whether you think with your d*ck or your brain (we know you don't think with your heart, we're men), we both know I'm right. No need to thank me for pointing out the obvious, we're brothers and it's my job to point out your faults just like it's your job to do the same for me. Besides, isn't it better if I do it, rather than your wife or girlfriend? At least we'll agree I'm right and you won't even have to do anything to make it up to me afterward. Win, Win right?

Anyway back on topic:

What's my perfect moment... what drives my fantasies... CART CONTENTS. I love going to my favorite sites and filling up my online cart with items that at times I neither need nor can afford, but that I desperately want. You suffer from a similar affliction you say? This is me not being surprised. Who doesn't want to purchase as much airsoft stuff as humanly possible? If your answer to this is not me, then please get off my blog because you're liar and you're killing my vibe.

Let me paint you a picture... by best airsoft day. Logging on to my favorite airsoft shopping website and taking my beautiful and generous wife's credit card and emptying my cart contents. Sh*t! I haven't felt this good since I lost my virginity! I'm just kidding, I feel that good all the time... I'm Kirby. Do you know what the greatest innovation in delivery service history is? Tracking numbers! Knowing exactly when my package will arrive brings me as much satisfaction as seeing my son hit a home run... well maybe not that much but it's close. We all know that saying "sorry boss I have to go home early today, my kid is sick" actually means " the FedEx guy usually gets to my house about three so I need to go home and wait for my package".

Opening that package is like Christmas all over again, except it happens more than once and you actually get what you want not what someone else thinks you'll like. Anyway that's the short version of my example. Whether it's on your short list or at the bottom of the totem pole, you've all shared similar experiences. Despite the rivalries, the bad blood, the conflict, airsofters always have one thing that creates a common bond... they love AIRSOFT.

CQB (and why it's more satisfying than your wife or girlfriend)

To borrow a line from one of my captains, "Let's be honest, we're all posers here today. We're just grown men running around with toy guns." Whether you want to admit it or not, it's true. Now I'm not condemning what we do or what we are because sh*t it's a lot of fun, but facts are facts (this has a point).That being said one of the focus of our hobby is finding the ideal environment in which to practice our craft.

Local communities often provide fields which are awesome but can grow wearisome as time goes on and for some of the hardcore enthusiasts with the means, traveling is a not only fun it's a necessity. Different fields offer different roles, some offer field based assault and defend, some offer jungle style guerrilla tactics and some offer high adrenaline CQB madness.

Fields such as Fort Ord in Marina, Ca (http://cqbchallenge.com/) offer the latter and might I say, it's a pretty big serving. As I mentioned before, airsofter's pallets are always changing, a style of game play one might enjoy today may be despised tomorrow.

But who doesn't want to be a bad @ss CQB assasin?

Go ahead and act like this isn't your thing, but we both know that when you watch Tears of the Sun you wish you had an H&K MK23 and were clearing that village with Bruce Willis and his guys. One of my favorite things to do in airsoft is transition and learning to do it well, but most of my play is often field based, the type of environment where transitioning to pistols is at best infrequent and often times non-existent. Let's be honest, honing your transitioning skills in front of the mirror sucks (go ahead and act like you don't do it)! There are no tangos in your bathroom, where is the adrenaline rush that comes with close quarters combat? There is none, that's why CQB fields are the perfect place for an airsofter the hone his skill and widen his area of expertise. Corridors and doorways make for intense situations, ones in which reluctance means death and speed is the key to victory.

Now there are two types of CQB, so let's take some time now and differentiate between the two...

Type 1: Hey guys! My buddies and I are in a John Woo movie, there are white doves flying around us and were invincible! Instead of using strategy and tactics to overcome the opfor, we're going to clear this building with sheer will power and a lot of mags.

This first type is all too common among airsofters today. Strategy and tactics are thrown out the window in favor of living in the moment and being the star. I think it's safe to say that this form of CQB has a very low success rate.

Type 2: Hey guys! My team and I are going to use team based strategy and dynamic entry tactics in order to eliminate all the tangos occupying this building. We're planning on using minimum amounts of ammo to maximize our number of kills while at the same time surprising the opfor and watching each other's six.

Now type 2, this is what airsoft should be. It's called milsim for a reason and when executed correctly with tenacity and skill is extremely satisfying. When executed in such a way the rewards are endless, bragging rights are well deserved and your dreams of being cooler than you really are (why else would you be in this sport) come to fruition.

Stacking, dynamic entry and clearing rooms make the perfect combination for a top notch airsoft experience. This is the kind of thing you should be asking Santa for on your wish list... next to your Mantis and your authentic CIRAS plate carrier of course.



Disclaimer: Kirby is not in anyway affiliated with Fort Ord or Roundhouse Productions, he just thinks they're awesome.

Why "Dark Earth" is Your New Favorite Color

D-A-M-N I love Magpul!

How could you not!?

But seriously who doesn't... apparently a lot of people. Magpul is an acquired taste to say the least. It's a lot like your first ex-wife you either love her or you hate her, there is no in between. Apparently the Magpul kool-aid has been running dry recently and it confounds me. However, my opinion is somewhat bias, as an example let's just say that if I ever remarried my tuxedo color would be Dark Earth with an OD tie and my soon to be wife would be wearing foliage green with a schemagh... get the picture?

I understand that in the airsoft world with the market constantly "upgrading" and so many new products and innovations pallets tend to change from time to time, but I can't see myself getting over Magpul anytime soon. I guess the same could be said about people who worship TM Hicapa 4.3's (a conversation for another time). When airsofters find something that works they tend to stick with it.

Example: I've come to the point where I despise any other stock (cranestocks, fixed stocks, retractable stocks), other than Magpul MOE Stocks. I know I've developed tunnel vision when it comes to anything not Magpul but so what! If you can't indulge in your hobby then what can you indulge in? Whatever the wife says is ok? I think that only applies for everything other than airsoft (insert whipped sound here).

Recently some teamies and I went on an extended airsoft trip to So'cal and I must say it was a hell of a lot of fun, but the highlight was our visit to the infamous Evike store(again a conversation for another time). Walking into that store made me feel 18 year old walking into his first strip club. Yes, exactly like that, my hormones were racing, I wish I had brought more twenties and my buddy needed a new pair of shoes or at least some booties. Anyway, do you know what the best part was? It wasn't the Magpul section, it was finding out that everything in the Magpul section was in stock. It almost brought me to tears the same way watching the movie "Rudy" does when he finally gets to play and his dad cheers him on or when my kids told me I look like I'm going bald (ouch!).

Anyway, I know I'm not the only one here who feels this way. Every airsofter has their vice, some love 1911's or Gucci-cam, others love plate carriers and grenades. Recently I have seen more and more new players developing Magpul obsessions than anything else. At times it seems the "old guard" has lost its interest in everything Magpul but with the popularity of airsoft on the rise and the huge influx in fresh meat... um I mean new players, it looks like Magpul has quite a while before its shelf life expires.

http://www.magpul.com/

Have an obsession you'd like to share? Let me know!

Winning=Cheating?

It seems a common occurrence that winning is often equated with cheating. Why would this be? Envy? Bad sportsmanship? Disgust? Any category you place it in, it seems that the days of appreciating your enemy's victory and learning from your mistakes may be long gone. Through past experiences, I have noticed that after a well played game instead of a pat on the back on good words, the winning team is often greeted with dirty looks, hushed comments, and angry glares.

What did we do wrong? Is using well executed tactics to overwhelm the opfor suddenly a bad thing?

No, I don't believe it is but it seems that the more successful teams are often viewed in a harsh light. To some the feelings of animosity that arise from these types of situations do not bother them. For many airsoft is a time to spend with buddies/teammates building camaraderie and being tacticool, paying little attention to the whims of others. To others hard feelings can sour even the best of airsoft experiences. Feelings of conflict and animosity between teams and forum patrons can have terrible repercussions in close knit airsoft communities . As for me, I enjoy being hated it suits me, but as many of you have probably learned already this is not always the case.

Bad sportsmanship seems to be the culprit a majority of the time, so the question is... can we overcome this hurdle? Most likely not, bad sportsmanship is created by the individual not the group. Though they can be addressed by an admin, moderator, teammate or captain, in the long run it is not up to them to rectify these issues.These feelings spreads like a disease in which permanent damage can be done to friendships, rivalries and communities. However, unlike many diseases there is no "perfect" cure  in which all hard feeling can me remedied. As it was created by the individual it needs to be addressed by them as well. Overcoming ones weaknesses is not an easy thing to do but the results of doing so can have may benefits throughout their team and community.

Any thoughts? Let me know!

Tactical Airsoft Magic

Tactical Airsoft Magic- The art of placing your team/squad in a tactical position in which the optimum level of dynamic interaction with the opfor guarantees victory.

Although I've been playing airsoft for a few years, only in the past year have I experienced this at its pinnacle. It came in the form of  a MOUT facility in Southern California in which we were tasked with clearing building from one side of the field to the other in order to capture and embassy held by the opfor. The embassy has held at an elevated position and we were forced to approach it from different angles. While our support lay down some heavy cover fire, three of us approached the building from the west and south. As we converged on the Embassy, we stacked perfectly on the south side door and without hesitation transitioned to our side arms and entered the building each  moving into different rooms. The three of us racked up 8 kills/surrenders and won the scenario.

A feeling of exhilaration passed through me as I felt a sense of accomplishment as I had not felt since I passed the third grade. One in which great tactics and dynamics lead us top victory. Though on more than one occasion I have had the same feeling since then, the first is always the most important and memorable.

I think it's safe to say that at one time or another were have all experienced this, be it stacking on a doorway and clearing a building, over running the opfor or successfully defending your outpost until the last man, the feeling of accomplishment is universal.

Do you have a similar story? If so let me know!

The Introduction

Hey guys... or girl. My name is Kirby, well that's not my real name but in the heat of 6mm warfare that's what I'm known as. I love airsoft, long walks on the beach, and ignoring my family so I can spend my time chairsofting. I don't love everything that airsoft is because it is far from perfection, but what isn't these days. So, I've decided to share my love for airsoft with you, perhaps we'll bond on this excursion of airsoft enthusiasm, perhaps you'll find me long winded and a bit off kilter or perhaps you'll think I'm a total @sshole, heck maybe we'll become besties. However, there might be a strong possibility that we are more closely linked that you may think.

Do you wake up in the morning and thank the airsoft gods for providing us with the tools necessary to hone our craft, and the environments in which to use them?.

At times do you ignore your wife, your kids, parents, friends in order to immerse yourself in everything airsoft related?

Hmm, see we do have more in common than you thought.

Through much consideration I've decided that the content of this blog is not going to be informative, or helpful, or at times coherent. This blog will be filled with observations, opinions and perhaps some witty rhetoric. I do not consider myself an airsoft "Yoda" per say but perhaps through my posts strings of wisdom will begin form in which enlightenment, debate or even condemnation will occur, and for future reference I am ok with all three of those, so have at it!

More to come...