CraftySnipers blog
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Hello and welcome to my latest blog entry. Yes I know that its not my normal day to release a blog but something has happened in the community and on my local club page that got me thinking. I am saying this now to all of you, but there may be parts of this blog that may offend some of you. Please note that it is not my intentions to offend anyone, I am just putting my point out there for all of you. Okay what are you on about this time Crafty? Well lets take this back a few weeks, I am getting ready for a match at Airsoft Commando and as far as I know everything in the airsoft community is good. I am checking my kit over and as many of us airsofters do I am also on Facebook checking out what’s going on in the world of airsoft and then I come across this image………..to say it is interesting would be an understatement. What can I say about this image, well lets look at the facts. This is a group of seasoned airsofters who has been in the field for a long time. I have come across them years ago but they was nothing like this image would lead you to think. So what do we have? Well we have 3 individuals holding a flag of the SS whilst also doing a hand gesture. First fact. As I said earlier on these are airsofters who have been around, they should know what is deemed as acceptable and what is not on an airsoft field. This image is most definitely not acceptable in airsoft. Now i know that the centre person is doing some kind of hand gesture. I have been told that this is some kind of racist symbol. I will just leave that there for all of you. Second Fact. The flag. It is a replica flag showing off the logo of the SS, an evil and despicable section of the German war machine during world war 2. These forces were responsible for atrocities that can never be forgiven or forgotten. Third Fact. Those words on the bottom of the post. “lol jokes we entnically cleansed a village” this may of been a joke but it went to far, these are airsofters joking about cleansing a village, a play on words from what the SS actually did during world war 2. So where does this leave us?
This post was and is disgusting and has caused so much offense through out the airsoft community, I can go onto many different airsoft pages on Facebook and find this photo and lots of posts from other players sharing there horror and anger to these individuals. I have very few issues with SS uniforms being used in reenactments as these events are used to show people a small part of what actually happened during the war, those that do not learn for histories mistakes are doomed to repeat them. On the airsoft field again I have no issues with people dressing up as the Wehrmacht, the German army. Just obviously keep the offensive patches at home. This image is a slap in the face to all airsofters and those brave men and women who served during the wars. If I was these individuals in the photo I would sell my kit and hand in my armbands, they are going to be in for a hard time when other airsofters figure out who they are. Oh and if you are going to say don’t worry there faces are blurred out don’t worry I have heard of a photo where there faces are not blurred out. I hope I have not offended anyone with this blog, I will be going back to normal blogs in the future. CraftySniper
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Hello and welcome to my latest blog review of Airsoft Commando in Yorkshire. I am hoping to review as many sites as I can possibly visit. I have reviewed Lincolnshire Airsoft Club, Combat Zone and now it’s the turn of Airsoft Commando. So is the site and club any good? Location and history The site is located very close to Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, in fact it’s only a few minutes from the motorway so it’s very easy to get to. It’s about 1 hour and 20 mins from where I am just outside of Lincoln. The site has been on the go for years and is well established in the area, it is almost a second home for Lincolnshire Airsoft Club as we do tend to visit Airsoft Commando quite a few times during the year. Airsoft Commando Staff The site is run by a family and all of them are involved during the day. The club boss known to all as Zippy is the boss (all though I am sure his wife would argue that point) Zippy deals with the club paperwork, the safety brief and generally has the last say on all issues through out the day. His other half tends the catering (which is awesome) she also runs a small shop selling some of the smaller stuff, yesterday she was selling badges. You will have to pay the high some of £2 for you to get any hot food on the day, but there also is cans of drinks for sale through out the say to any of the players. They also have there sons who help out with the running of the site and they also like to play too. These guys are great adding humor through out the day. In fact with the whole family going about there various duties it gives the club a friendly family run feel, they are very nice and helpful to any of the players, if it’s your first time to Airsoft Commando or you’re a regular this family are here for you. They also have a good group of marshals who mostly are players that know the site very well. When we were given our mission rules they were very clear with what we needed to know and any questions were answered quickly. The marshals seem to be very much on the ball for any issues that arise during a match again adding to the well run feel of the site. *****/5 The actual site Airsoft Commando is a very small site located to the side of a farm, in fact you have to walk through the farm from the car park, you will walk past various farming equipment but I have never seen this equipment move during my time walking through the site so it is very safe. When you get to the site you will be in the safe zone. This is well marked out and protected by high walls. There is the main site office where you will pay for the day, there is a caravan which is where the food is prepared for the day. You have many tables dotted around the inside of the walls. Some of these are under cover, the newer ones are exposed to elements but because of the high walls you don’t really feel that exposed to the weather. The actual play site is quite narrow with high end sniper rifles being able to shoot from one side to the other but because of the dense foliage this is not possible. The site reaches out in a rectangular shape with trenches, dugouts and various structures. Some of them are sniper towers that give the shooter a commanding view of the battlefield but these are not too overpowered positions due to not having too much cover for the shooter. There is a small village with a multi room church, there also is some small single room buildings all made of wood dotted around the village. With the church being the main building most fights end up over this building. The church is able to contain a team with in its rooms. There also is a few smaller structures dotted around the outskirts of the site, one of them being a high walled area. This does not have any individual but can still provide fun and games when trying to defend or attack it. The other structure is the fuel dump which is a small area marked out with old fuel drums. The main part of the site is the woods themselves as this allows for sneaky hunting on players. Many of the trees and bushes are quite large and can hide a small group of players. This gives the site a much smaller felling and allows players to hunt other players. Sometimes it’s better to be in the woods rather then the buildings. But at the end of the day it’s your choice, defend a building or maneuver through the woods. ****/5 The downside of the site The buildings in the site are showing there age, some of the buildings I would not recommend climbing into if you are of the biggish size like me. The safe zone even though it’s is being worked on is still in some areas also showing it’s age, but it is being worked on as an on going project and the main thing is it is safe. So this is a bad site?
Oh heavens no, yes it is showing it’s age but I was able to fight in and around the buildings with no issues. Its just using your common sense on what steps to climb and what buildings to go into. The site is a great for hunting like I said earlier and I had a great time on my last visit to the site. The site is always being worked on and improved, this will just take time due to the small workforce. Every time I have been I have had a great time. It’s a site that gets the adrenaline pumping as you try and sneak through the woods and down the tracks only to find the enemy team dug into the trenches. The firefights can be fast and furious making players think outside the box. There is firing positions in the walls for tall people and smaller people so all in all this site is definitely one to visit if you want fast paced action. ****/5 Conclusions If you have not been to Airsoft Commando and you really like a good firefight (and who doesn’t) then I really do recommend you book your self into the next match. If you can look past some of the older buildings then you will have a great time at Airsoft Commando. And don’t forget if you pay an extra £2 on top of your booking in price you will get some great hot food, always a winner for me. ****/5 CraftySniper Hello and welcome to a slightly different style of blog entry, in this episode I am talking about what airsoft has done for me over the years. I will be talking also about the creation of CraftySniper and how I have progressed through the years to the airsofter I am today. Hopefully this will be very useful to for new players and will show them just what airsoft can really do and what skills it brings as well. Where did it all begin? Well for me it all started about 5 years ago. I was at work and it was fast approaching my birthday, my work colleagues all of which was the same age roughly as me had decided that it would be a good idea to go out and get drunk. Now being that it was my birthday I said all though I was okay with getting drunk I would prefer to do something eventful before getting drunk. Go karting was mentioned but seem as I am around 6”5 there is very little chance of me fitting in one, so the search continued. Eventually someone mentioned paintball. Now this is have never done but I did like the idea of shooting ones friends, I mean who wouldn’t ? So that was the choice made, we all booked into the nearest paintball site which was Combat Zone, a site that would become my home for another sport. We all rocked up and had a great day at the site. However I was left with two thoughts. One, I really like shooting my friends and two, just how expensive paintball really is. When I got home I realized that I really liked the sport but I could not justify the cost of repeated matches. So I started to to do some checking up on the internet to see what I could do too satisfy my itch for shooting people. I soon came across the word…….airsoft. What is airsoft? Funny that, I was asking myself the same exact question. Obviously I knew nothing about airsoft and to be honest it did sound pathetic to me, little did I know just how this sport would take over my life in so many ways. When I was searching for what airsoft really was I quickly did a search on YouTube and boy was I in for a shock. There was these young people running around dressed up like real front line infantry and they was using what could only be described as real weapons. I quickly realised that this was something that I wanted to be involved in. Now where is the nearest airsoft club? In search of a club Now I was thinking here is a sport that I want to be involved in, I know that it takes place on most Sunday’s but I knew that knowing my luck the nearest club to me would be the other side of the country. A few more quick searches and I was in for a shock, there was a club about 45mins from my6 location…………..Lincolnshire Airsoft Club.# I quickly messaged them telling them that I was very new to the sport and wondering just how I would start this new sport, I needed details. LAC quickly returned my message and suggested that I turn up on a game day to see what is really involved in airsoft, I didn’t have to play but this would give me a chance to scope out the club and really see just what an airsofter really is. I still remember that day all those years ago, it was quite cold and I knew know one. The club boss, Ian did come up and speak to me though and to he he seemed very friendly and he really did know what he was talking about. He suggested that I tag along with a marshal for the day, this would show me what is involved in an airsoft match. He also told me to go and mingle with the players as they got ready for the matches, this would show me what kind of kit players was using. I was lost for words, there was all these players with these very realistic looking weapons. In fact I was finding it hard to not to think that I was in a Hollwood movie set with all these replicas. As I mingled and talked with the players one of them asked me if I had ever used an airsoft rifle. I said no I had not and that was it, we was off to the range to try out his rifle. I was handed a desert sand coloured M4 which really looked the part. He handed me a magazine and asked me if I knew how to use the M4 rifle. I said I knew where the safety was and as soon as I made the rifle live I took my first shots with an airsoft rifle. I was shocked at just how far these plastic bb’s were going and just how accurate they was. You could easily pick off a human sized target at around 50m with this M4. After the day I knew that airsoft was what I wanted to do and I wanted to do this through LAC. I had a chance to chat quickly with the son of the club boss, Nick and he told me just what a normal player would bring kit wise to an event. I had another chat with the Ian at the end of the day and he asked me if I wanted to come back on another normal match day and actually take part in a match. I said yes and that was that, I had to turn up a week later at Combat Zone for my first match using the clubs rental package. I have to say now that those 7 days were some of the longest in my entire life. It’s go time
I can remember a few things from my first ever airsoft match. One I was very nervous and I didn’t know where any of the objectives were, I also knew nothing of the site. I found myself running through various structures of the village at Combat Zone. I think we was trying to defend the village and I was in the middle of it. There was a furious fire fight all around me, rounds were plinking the structure that I was in and I was on my own. I tried to fire back at the enemy with my rental M4, I am quite sure that I hit no players but it felt good to be involved in this fore fight. Eventually I was hit, I went back to the starting point for the defenders and tried again to hold the village. Needless to say we didn’t hold it for long and the match was soon over. When the day was over I was a one very tired person but I was very happy and excited knowing that airsoft was something that I really wanted to be involved in. I also knew that LAC and the staff that run the club were very friendly and patient with new players. I had found my future. Thinking back to those early days I now know that I was very naive to all the parts of airsoft that was around me. Everything was new and shiny to me. I was so excited about airsoft that I purchased my very own airsoft rifle on the second match. Now obviously I did not have a ukara licence so even though I had my own rifle I could not bring it home with me, the club would have to look after it in there armoury. I can still remember that cold winters day in November when my ukara paperwork had gone through and I had played the correct number of matches to qualify as a full blown member of ukara and LAC. I was now able to bring home my new G&G CM16 Carbine rifle. Now obviously I could talk a lot about my early days but to save some time I will be splitting this blog up, so the next part which will cover just how the CraftySniper became will be posted up later. CraftySniper Hello and welcome to my latest review blog, in this episode I am reviewing one of the best, one of the most ultimate pistols on the airsoft battlefield right now. I am talking about the Tokyo Marui MK23, the deadliest most quietest pistol in my arsenal of replicas. If you are a sniper or you are thinking of becoming a sniper then this pistol really needs to be on your list. I will be reviewing the externals and the internals of this beast and hopefully showing just how good this replica really and why it deserves to be in anyone’s collection. So what’s a TM MK23? Well I am glad you asked, basically the MK23 is a non blow back pistol, so basically the slide does not rack back through the replica firing. However you can manually rack the slide back to load a bb into the chamber. So in terms of the millions of Glocks and 1911’s we all see in the airsoft battlefield the MK23 is very old fashioned. Also it’s made of plastic, but I will go into more details surrounding the externals in the external section of this review. Basically most players who do not know the MK23 by TM would consider it an old fashioned, large, cumbersome beast which is very unrealistic when held up against other cheaper replicas in the airsoft field. External review Okay lets dive straight into it, this replica is made of plastic. It has a plastic slide, a plastic lower frame, plastic pistol grips, a plastic trigger guard, plastic front and rear basic sights. What is metal is the hammer, rear most safety lever, side mount safety, trigger,mag release and a threaded outer barrel for your suppressor. So basically all the moving parts on the externals are made out of a good metal, the plastic on the other hand is slightly weak and can be moved through squeezing the upper slide especially when the MK23 is disassembled. Now most TM MK23’s are quite old as they are very hard to find brand new, so most peoples MK23 mine included are showing signs of age through use. But to be honest I have seen worse in other airsoft products. My MK23 has a few small scratches where it has sat in my holsters over the years. The threading is showing signs with all the times I have screwed the suppressor on and off over the years too, but all in all it’s still in great shape. Now for all those people who love markings on there airsoft product the MK23 has a few, on the left side of the replica there is the markings for……. HK US-GOVT. Cal. .45, on the slide HK .45 on the pistol grip Possibly a unique serial number too all though this could be a mass produced number On the right there is the following markings…….. HK Cal .45 on the slide Tokyo Marui Co.,LTD Made in Japan US SOCOM MK23 The suppressor also has some markings which say US GOVT and Tokyo Marui. So the MK23 has a good few markings showing it’s connection to the real steel replica. Externals grade ***/5 only let down due to the age of my MK23, new ones would be in better shape. Internals review Now we get onto the part that makes this replica one of the best. Because this replica is capable of lifting heavy rounds and sending them out over incredible distances. With a few small modifications the MK23 can send .4’s to over 70m!!!!!! Internally speaking the MK23 is very simple to use and look after. To access the internals all you need to do is slightly pull back the slide until you can pop out the side mounted safety lever. Then you just slowly push the slide forward and the slide will come off the lower. The hop wheel is located in the inside the slide, so you will have to separate the slide from the lower to dial in your hop on the MK23. If you want to get to the barrel and hop bucking then you will have to slowly slide the outer barrel and hop chamber off of the nozzle. Just a few more small screws to take out and you will be able to change your bucking and barrel. You do not need to be a scientist to dismantle the MK23 and there really is only one small spring that can pop out. But to be honest if you are slow and working on a clean table then you will have no issues at all. Now comes the fun part, upgrading the MK23. The MK23 takes TM VSR inner barrels and buckings, so what ever works really well in your upgraded VSR sniper rifle then it should work very well in the MK23. Reassembling the MK23 can be fiddly but once again if you are slow and take care it should take no longer then 10 mins. Internals Grade ****/5 only let down by a fiddly slide when putting back on the MK23 The Metal Gear Solid MK23 Yes I know as a gamer you will most likely came across the MK23 in the MGS series of games, I was the same. So you can actually buy the MK23 that comes in a hard case. Also included in the case is a working, yes working suppressor and a LAM light unit. When you attach the included suppressor and the light unit the MK23 becomes the one out of the MGS series of games, allowing you to become Solid Snake. Unfortunately the light unit is not that good, is does work as a torch but you won’t be blinding anyone which I suppose is a good thing. It also comes with a low powered red laser, again low powered so as not to hurt anyone. The batteries for both lights are stored in the light unit itself. There is a switch at the rear of the unit that allows you to have the torch one all the time or only with your finger on the lever switch. You can butcher the light unit and put in a brighter bulb and lens to focus the light if you wish but like I said it does involve butchering the unit and I a rule of mine is never to open up a TM product unless it’s broken. The suppressor works really well and allows the MK23 to become one of the quietest pistols in all of airsoft. Because there is no slide racking back as you fire the MK23 and the suppressor actually working as a suppressor the MK23 becomes one evil hand cannon. So what’s my thoughts on the MK23?
Well needless to say I will never repeat NEVER sell my MK23 and I am keeping it externally the same as when I got it all those years ago. I would recommend changing the bucking but only once the TM one has died, it’s actually a good bucking. You can change the inner barrel for a longer one and run it into the suppressor but this WILL increase your FPS. Normally the MK23 will shoot at around 320-340 pending on temps. Adding a longer barrel and hot temps will see this replica go over 350 fps and reach up to 400FPS!!!! All that from a pistol, no wonder it’s amazing. If you have a chance to get an original TM MK23 then get it, even if you are not a sniper these things are awesome. A great hunting weapon. Overall rating *****/5 Simply put amazing!! CraftySniper As many of you know I am a member of Lincolnshire Airsoft Club. For many years this club was based just outside Kirton in Lindsey in Lincolnshire, but a couple of years ago they had to move out of there old sites. They ended up at a paintball site in Lincolnshire called Combat Zone. Now before you turn away because I mentioned paintball you might want to read on because this has turned out to be great news to LAC. There has been many many matches where 100+ players have turned up and had a great action packed day. So this is my review of Combat Zone and what they have to offer to not only airsofters but also paintballers too. A bit of a back story Combat Zone is located just a few short miles from the city center of Lincoln. They have easy access to the city and the Lincolnshire area via the A46, the site is located just off of the A57. They have been in the paintball business for over 16 years and what they don’t know about paintball is not worth knowing. They also have over 80 years of staff experience so if you have any questions regarding paintball then these guys are the guys you need to be speaking too. Combat Zone is a 25 acre site with 10 maps on site, now obviously these maps are setup for paintball matches but they are always looking to improve the site and the unique maps. They have buildings in the form of a church, a two story building, a fully stocked out village with small buildings and so much more to offer. After all the running around you will become very tired and maybe you will want a drink and some food, well Combat Zone has you covered with a shop which sells snacks and drinks. There also is a hut which sells simple cooked food. To be very honest if you turn up for a paintball match or an airsoft match you will be well catered for at Combat Zone. So lets here about the airsoft Crafty Well I am a person who likes to get to the site nice and early. You do have to travel down a dirt track to get to the front gate, once you get passed the gate you will be in the main car park. There is plenty of space for a full days shooting fun. But at the height of summer it can be quite tight especially if there is a paintball event taking place at the same time as an airsoft match. Once you have parked up and you have unloaded the car of all your airsoft kit you will have to have a small walk to the safe zone. On your way you will go past the toilets for both men and women. You will then pass the range where paintballers test there weapons before a match, airsofters can also test there replicas here but it’s also used as a place where club marshals can test your replicas fps. You will then be in the safe zone where there is multiple large booths and picnic tables for you to put your kit on. On a normal LAC game day one section of the safe zone is a dedicated shop and a place where you can get your rentals sorted out. This is a safe place where for example you can hand in your car keys to the LAC shop girls and they will look after them if you do not want to go on site with them in your pocket. And yes this has happened before and you can very quickly guess what happened to the keys. Maybe an hour before the matches start there will be a call for all players who have there own replicas to go to the range to have there replicas tested and zip tied. Once all the paper work is sorted out you will go onto the church ground for a safety talk. Finally once all of this is sorted out you will be taken to a map for a match. Now most of the time we start of with a quick fire match to get every one warmed up for the day. It will be something like attack and defend the island or attack and defend the two story building. If there is no other paintballers on site then after the firs match then the fun begins because LAC will introduce larger matches. Sometimes we have site wide matches and that is where the fun is and what shows Combat Zone off because you can have out in the open firefights, you can be hiding in the deep dense woodland bushes and you can be fighting in and around buildings. The sight is not as big as some sites in the UK or even Lincolnshire but it guarantees fast paces action where anyone with a sub 350 fps replica to a 500 fps sniper can have fun. Combat Zone is simply put amazing in summer with all the foliage and buildings, it can be a bit more testing in winter when all those places you was able to hide in just are not there but speaking personally I like a challenge. Another very important thing to mention is the almost special relationship between Combat Zone and LAC. Combat Zone is always looking for ways to improve the site for everyone but just recently they have gone out of there way to improve the site for airsofters. Crafty conclusion
I have been going to Combat Zone for nearly as long as I have been attending airsoft matches and yes in the past especially during winter I have found the site to be a little too sparse for airsoft needs but this was three to four years ago. Now I would really recommend the site to anyone who is into airsoft or paintball. It’s well worth a visit. Crafty rating *****/5 CraftySniper |
AuthorHello, my name is CraftySniper and this is my Blog section. I have been doing airsoft for 5 years and its one of the best sports I have ever played. Archives
May 2019
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