A sidearm or no sidearm?

[Sgt.Griff]

Desert Eagle and 3 mags. Makes grown men shriek like little girls when confronted by it.

[evansy]

I carry a pistol for a few reasons. Firstly because I have had those days where everything breaks on more than one occasion so my options would have been go home early or spend extra money to hire an AEG for half a day if I didn't have a pistol on me. I generally only carry 6 mids (3 in CQB) so if the action gets hectic I can run out of ammo pretty quickly. Lastly its habit. When I started airsoft I played urban/CQB for about 2-3 years and I'd use a pistol every game for clearing the smaller rooms. Now when I don't take a pistol it feels like there's something missing from my kit.

I think basically it's because I've been in the position where I've needed a pistol a lot so I want to take one out with me for when I need it.

 

As for what I use it's usually a TM 1911A1 or TM Mk.23 Socom. I do have others I take out every now and then but those two are my go to guns.

 

 

I don't carry a pistol as if your aeg goes down, you are probably going to go back to spawn and fix it or get a new aeg. Other reasons include

• $40 Magazines falling out without realizing
• Slow leaks in mags means they malfunction when you need them at the end of the day
• Crawling around leads to getting dirt inside the gun and having it jam
• Gas pistols just like to break

For a sniper I'd recommend an AEP otherwise, skip it.

To address that I'd just like to say that with a good holster (ideally one fitted for the pistol) you shouldn't loose mags.

Leaks are down to lack of maintenance, All gas weapons and mags require general maintenance to keep them in good working order.

If you're getting dirt and grime in your pistol then I'd recommend changing either the way you're carrying your pistol or the holster you're using. For example if I know I'm going to be playing where it's dusty/muddy and there's a good chance of going prone them I'm not going to chest mount my pistol in a half cut serpa/fobus style holster like some fancy tactical dude. I'm most likely going to use something like a safariland where 90% of workings are covered if I want to score "cool guy points" or more likely I'll use a US issue M12 with a flap so that only the grip is exposed and mount it just behind my hip so it stays out of the dirt.

As for gas pistols liking to break, I've only found that with the lower priced clones. Buy cheap buy twice as they say. Get something good and it will last a lifetime.

For example I got my TM 1911 when they were first released, it has been dropped too many times to count including once when the slide popped off it's rails, I've had the barrel bushing start forcing it's way out of the front of the slide after a 3 mag dump using propane in 40°C+ weather and it has been run on propane since day 1 and it still fires at 300+ fps and can hit a man sized target at 30m.

[T3CH]

^ what he said

 

Also 'everything likes to break eventually' I'd also like to add that I've never seen a an AEP work reliably after being submerged unlike ALL my GBB's, hell even the crappy BELL m9 works after a dip.

 

My personal sidearms are Hicapa dual stainless (straight pimpin yo ), Hfc M190, Bell M9, KSC Glock 23f

[tinydata]

Even when using a carbine a pistol can still come in handy. For example, our local cqb field has some really tight areas and I'll usually draw my sidearm while going through those areas.

 

Also, sometimes it is quicker to draw your sidearm than try to wrestle a new mag out of a pouch

[gisburn20]

I voted yes,

 

most of the time we play short games on a small woodland site , with quick access to the safe zone so unless Iam sniping I dont bother with a sidearm.

 

When I'm sniping I have to carry something to use inside my MED, so it's either a TM Glock 17 in summer or TM MK23 in winter ( if we have some teflon players turn up I might bring out

 

my stockless JG VZ61 in a modified full flap belt holster.

 

however when the marshalls announce a longer game type (2/3 hour spec ops or multi objective game) my sidearm becomes a priority. As these games can be quite , erm different...

 

 

for the spec ops games sometime the "operators" have to leave their AEG's with the marshalls to be collected at a "cache" or they cap primary ammo!, all sorts of tricksy stuff!

 

Which really test's small group tactics , going up against hordes of box magged M4's...

 

My favourite by a long way is my TM Glock 17, I had most of the KSC glocks and they just couldn't cut it , but the TM is staying!

 

TM MK23 comes in close second. NBB's are just so reliable, quiet and accurate (some would say boring though)

 

Carrying a sidearm should be considered, but you need to spend a fair bit on a decent holster, to protect your investment as well, I have found 4 GBB's laying around in the woods in the

 

last year alone as well as maybe 5 spare mags, all of these eventually found their owners, but putting a £150 GBB in a £12 dropleg holster? bad idea.

 

You see people running about with cheap badly adjusted holsters flapping about near their knees, it's going to end in tears!

 

 

 

Jim

[UrPeaceKeeper]

If you don't crawl or go prone at all then yeah you aren't going to get it dirty, but that isn't really playing.

 

It's not? I could have SWORE it was called smart game play. Not to go OT too far here, but prone is one of the worst fighting positions. I call it the Die in Place position because once you are spotted, if you don't get up and move right away, you are a dead man. I'd rather be slightly more exposed and kneeling, where I can fight, and as soon as rounds start coming close duck out in a hurry without causing some ruckus of a noise, than lay prone anywhere. Prone has it's place if your gun requires it to be deployed to use correctly (SAW's, Barret ) but for the average rifleman if you are in need of getting closer to the earth, moving is going to be a more effective "get out of the *suitcase*" card than proning out in place is. Even in ambush situations prone is over rated. Start the ambush, hang in for a few moments, retreat back to another fighting position and finish off the remaining folks of the ambush.

 

Do guns in holsters get dirty? Certainly, take care of your guns and it shouldn't be too much of an issue, even on the field. You don't have to run around jumping into every wash and sand pit to "really play" the game. Effective movement choice and holster choice and location will help prevent dirt from getting into your guns.

 

To answer the OP's question, I don't have a sidearm anymore, I used to, and I plan to again. If I do, it will most likely be a full sized Glock, and I'll probably through the taclight on it too and run a form fit holster (Serpa/Safariland) on the leg or the waist if I can get it comfortable.

[T3CH]

my stockless JG VZ61 in a modified full flap belt holster.

 

Oh, I've got one with a broken stock as well, what holster did you modify? I was using the Covert shoulder rig for it, but I just cant get the damn thing comfortable.

[gisburn20]

Didnt break the stock , just removed it to save weight, then added a small rail in place of the rear sight to fit a "doctor" style RDS.

 

The holster was a modified full flap ambi drop leg intended for a Desert Eagle, I took off all the straps, cut out a small section from the rear edge to allow it to be holstered with a mag in.

 

I use it on a belt or attached to to a safariland dropleg platform. It's not the quickest draw, but it's very secure, and keeps the AEP and RDS safe and clean whatever happens.

 

Unfortunately the RDS was shot out a couple of months ago and I cant justify buying another at the minute.

 

I wish I knew what brand the holster was ( "surplus shop" 2nd hand bargain bin special) 'cos I'd snap up another in a heartbeat, before I modded it , I used it for my MK23 and it would

 

also swallow a G18c with a TM prolite mounted on it.

 

VZ61 leather holsters turn up on ebay every now and then , shoulders holsters and belt mounted versions too.

 

Jim

[T3CH]

figured it had to be fairly big, hmm desert eagle sized, will poke around for suitable ones

[Max S]

I carry a sidearm so I can take people out close range, 10 foot minimum engagement.

[thatoneguy92088]

It's not? I could have SWORE it was called smart game play. Not to go OT too far here, but prone is one of the worst fighting positions. I call it the Die in Place position because once you are spotted, if you don't get up and move right away, you are a dead man. I'd rather be slightly more exposed and kneeling, where I can fight, and as soon as rounds start coming close duck out in a hurry without causing some ruckus of a noise, than lay prone anywhere. Prone has it's place if your gun requires it to be deployed to use correctly (SAW's, Barret ) but for the average rifleman if you are in need of getting closer to the earth, moving is going to be a more effective "get out of the *suitcase*" card than proning out in place is. Even in ambush situations prone is over rated. Start the ambush, hang in for a few moments, retreat back to another fighting position and finish off the remaining folks of the ambush.

 

Do guns in holsters get dirty? Certainly, take care of your guns and it shouldn't be too much of an issue, even on the field. You don't have to run around jumping into every wash and sand pit to "really play" the game. Effective movement choice and holster choice and location will help prevent dirt from getting into your guns.

 

To answer the OP's question, I don't have a sidearm anymore, I used to, and I plan to again. If I do, it will most likely be a full sized Glock, and I'll probably through the taclight on it too and run a form fit holster (Serpa/Safariland) on the leg or the waist if I can get it comfortable.

 

Yeah it can be a die in place position when you are all turtled out in marine gear with helmets and other useless *suitcase* like I was before I ditched it. Judging by your avatar, you are just as turtled out as I was. With my aeg I can lay it in the dirt or pick it up with dirty hands and I don't have to worry about the dirt gremlins wrecking havoc on it. Maybe you guys in the lush green forests don't have to worry about dirt and dust, but out here its all dirt, shrubs and mesquite trees.

[danielsilva]

Since i always play with real caps ( be it with the GBBR or with the AEG ), having a secondary weapon is mandatory. I usually go with the CYMA Glock G18 AEP on a frontal mag pouch and the TM/Guarder P226 Tan Sexyness on the thigh Serpa CQC.

 

If i know i'll be playing in a very dirty environment i just put the P226 on my back on the duty belt.

[signal319]

Prone ftw, it's saved my *albartroth* on many occasions; I see your points and they are valid, but it depends on the situation. Prone aids concealment and good camouflage, I used it heavily on Sunday and it allowed me to get a LOT closer to the enemy than anyone else did.

 

And yes, I carry a Glock 23 GBB, very useful at times, although I only keep it in a zip pocket on my smock. Not very good for quick-draw and can get bashed about, but I'm not going to lose it. Just one magazine to save weight - if I've got problems with my AEG I get down into cover or withdraw using my pistol to cover myself, not carry on with just the sidearm, because I'll be less effective.

[hunter512]

Always carry a secondary, either a TM MEU or a TM P226, I normally play as a support gunner and I feel genuinely guilty about lighting people up with a LiPo'd, bearing bushing'd 249 at close range and the 60's got a fairly obscene ROF too. Both will let off more rounds on a quick trigger squeeze than I'm comfortable with at CQB ranges.

[Shubes]

I run standard caps so I carry a USP on my back hip. Stays safe in my serpa holster, gets a little bumped around but not too much. Still able to have a quick draw if a reload is not practical

[UrPeaceKeeper]

Yeah it can be a die in place position when you are all turtled out in marine gear with helmets and other useless *suitcase* like I was before I ditched it. Judging by your avatar, you are just as turtled out as I was. With my aeg I can lay it in the dirt or pick it up with dirty hands and I don't have to worry about the dirt gremlins wrecking havoc on it. Maybe you guys in the lush green forests don't have to worry about dirt and dust, but out here its all dirt, shrubs and mesquite trees.

 

There are a good number of Marines and Marine impersonators in Arizona aren't there? I have to admit, when I was in Arizona, my last game there was a guy in a USMC loadout with "Gillette" for a name tape on his back, got me hooked on the loadout. I don't find it encumbering in the slightest. Even with my AIII on, it's not very encumbering at all. Proper fiting gear goes a long way for that. No matter what you wear or use, Prone is still harder to get out of in a hurry than kneeling.

 

And "us in the lush green forests" have more dirt than you can imagine, and it's just as bad as any bit of sand I encountered in my year and a half stint in Arizona.

 

If you want to talk about realistic fighting, then fine, by all means go prone for those moments when you need more concealment, but I found very little use of prone in Arizona, and there is only about three times off hand I can remember fighting from it, one of which has a picture. In Nebraska I do so even less, so dirt and grime getting into a sidearm isn't an issue. If it is, then reconsider your holster choice or location or just take better care of equipment between games and you'll find that you wont have issues with pistol location or dirt and grime.

 

As for me and Pistols, I don't carry one now, I never found a use for one when I had one and the only reason I'm considering one in the future is because I want the muscle memory for when I join the Police, nothing more.

[mrpugster]

GBB pistols are just FUN!!! Would definitely get one and maybe get a AEP if your game-play/type suggested

[Guybrarian]

The field I play at has a TON of indoors fighting, which is pretty cool in of itself. So I always have my TM Desert Warrior on me. I need to start carrying an extra mag on me, but haven't picked it up yet. This weekend, I'm playing on a woodland field doing a "hunting scenario" , though, so I really doubt that my pistol's going to be of much use. Still bringing it along though.

[Crocodilo]

My Glock 18 AEP have saved me quite a few times, so it will always be by my side.

I'll get 100 bbs mags for very soon.

[TheL96Sniper]

I don't have a sidearm atm.

 

I hope to get one soon though.

 

Pistols the best thing since a loaf of bread...

 

So your running low on ammo in your lo/mid cap... whip out the pistol.

 

Hi caps... you have wound them too much/little pull out the pistol and way you ago.

 

Then you wanna have fun? Pistol time.

 

Soooooooo many reasons for a pistol.

[Amenthea]

TM 226 with 3 mags. It depends on your play location for me, when I'm doing anything that requires buildings/tunnels I always use it, and if I don't I always end up thinking back and realising I should have used it instead of the AEG. I take it to woodland games too but it only gets used maybe once or twice just due to the kind of play style going on. I crawl/dive/skid etc around a lot and haven't managed to get my 226 that grimy yet. I have dropped it a few times and it still works.

 

Also, the sheer joy of firing a GBB pistol does it for me

[Max S]

I've never actually had to use a sidearm, so I don't think it's worth it.

[jotohomomoto]

I use GBBRs exclusively so a pistol is basically a necessity!!!

 

 

[GrenadierMasada]

I use my sidearm frequently. When im in a hallway firefight, its much easier firing around corners with a pistol instead of shouldering a rifle and having "no blind fire" rules in effect where i play. As well, i use the pistol for clearing and ambush attacks in rooms. Ive also used the pistol as distraction devices when clearing rooms.

 

People who don't use their sidearm probably get shot out early in games too i'll probably get shizz for saying that.

 

But to be honest using a sidearm effectively through games will keep you alive. Ive used the darned things to hold back whole lines bc adjusting shots with the pistol is more quick than spray and pray techniques and if you're hop is just right with the proper BB you can get head shots with a single shot, when they stick out to "check clear" a hallway or zero in on your position down a hallway.

 

sidearms are a need, not a want. lol (thats what i told myself at least)

[Bob_Marley]

I usually have mine with me, mostly because its fun. But for other reasons also - for example, if I'm carrying my minimi around its handy to have something easier to swing around inside buildings and whatnot. If I'm playing at a site with certain "semi only" areas its absloutley needed - the minmi has safe and not safe, no option for semi - so I need something that does. Also, if the feed plays up, the batteries powering the box mag get jolted the wrong way, etc, etc its nice to have something to shoot with to discourage the enemy while I leg it to a safer position to fix the issue.