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New to the forum from sunny Scotland


Inkall

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Hi,

 

I heard around that this was one of the best forums for tech advice so I figured it would be a good idea to sign up and have a look about.

 

Of course I hope I can be a bit more useful than just asking for help when something goes wrong and looking at all the pretty pictures in the gear threads!

 

Ink

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Good point, I think that's a habit I picked up when I was wee incase someone online was a creepy stalker right next door.

 

On which note ... I'm actually in Aberdeen.

:o

 

Been a chairsofter for a long time, dabbled with low powered springers as a kid and full air rifles on and off, picked up a couple of airsoft guns I liked but only very recently took my sorry *albartroth* out to get shot by people who knew what they were doing.

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Erm, then to put it politely you are *fruitcage*-ed airsoft wise :P.

 

I have been here for about 4yrs now and the closest site is ok if you are a player with a typical balanced loadout that likes paintball game style slogs but it can be bad for lack of variety.

 

Other than this you have The Hill down in Dundee, however this is run a bit like a 'private playground' and if you are on the right team then it isn't so bad, but if not then it can get a bit annoying.

 

Further down you have Crail and then the sites around Edinburgh and Glasgow which I have seen are all much better but take a while to get to.

 

'FireKnife'

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Yeah the site up here, which to be fair I've only been to the once sofar, is still in rather a paintball mindset what with it being a paintball site too. I do think they are trying new stuff though, for the last couple of hours on the day I went they tried a few different scenarios which they'd not tried before, some didn't really work, some did work and they sounded like they wanted to take those and tweak them to be better.

 

Do want to give some of the central belt sites a go, I'm from Edinburgh originally and have family down there so with enough planning could stay overnight in the burg and travel out to a site over a long weekend rather than taking the long drive down, and worse taking it back after a full day.

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That is true, though I could do with visiting more sites myself. Sadly airsoft is limited here and every attempt I have made for a proper site is always scuppered by some thing eventually. There really just isn't the numbers to do a proper dedicated site (plus there are some players up here that should not be allowed near RIFs at all).

 

As for Battlegrounds / Bunker 31 it is not bad but the fact they run paintball and airsoft on the same days is the reason I don't go. It is a nightmare and makes the games very hit and miss, often with a lot of them breaking down into flankless slogs (if you could go out and flank / change angle of attack it would be half decent but I don't want to be blinded by a dumb inbred with a paintball gun thanks) which like many other things ruins the game. Plus I know it is not as bad now but there was a few players that were known for rule bending and a general 'I am a regular' attitude. It is getting better but it is a mile off and first thing they need to change is to have dedicated days as they are easily puling in the money with both groups of players.

 

'FireKnife'

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Aye the day I went there were only a handful of paintballers in and I think they were only there for a half day so we had a fairly wide run of the place, especially on those last few games where we were using pretty much the whole site apart from the big tree/heather area which is on the other side of the safe zone.

 

I don't think that heather area is used for paintball at all and it was probably the most enjoyable area of the site we played in cause it's a wide area with a few wee rises and ditches, trees along both flanks and scattered around the middle and all the open ground is knee high heather so can be snuck through with a bit of luck. Lots of options really.

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Hmm, sounds a tab better than when I went where we the airsofters (about 20-25 of us all told) got funneled into a single section of the site away from the huge area the 10-15 painballers had to themselves.

 

The heather area would be ok but it is way too open for some types of play, often I see complaints about the fact that others feel it bogs down but as with many things each to their own :P. It just feels that really it is the site that is saying 'oh well we need the cash so come along and deal with it' where it should be 'we are paying to 50% of the upkeep of the sites, we deserve as much of a say as the others that use the site' etc.

 

Either way I think the biggest thing they should do is say 'right whole of the site to yourself' and just open it up more by having airsoft days over paintball days. I know they do that some times but about 6 days out of a possible 25-26 is not that great. I do like the idea of expanding airsoft in the North East but a combination of lack of players, sites and a few players that play in a little group alone somewhere and should be left to do so doesn't really help.

 

Though while I am at it I can also look at my pistol shooting ideas as those are a touch more feasible due to cost, return and site size.

 

'FireKnife'

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Yeah it would seem that with the limited number of players it would make more sense to try and get something like a CQB site which would compliment a hopefully improving woodland experience at Battlegrounds.

 

My immediate thought goes to Kartstart which is basically just a warehouse in amongst the industrial sites at Bridge of Don, if that can keep itself going I would hope a CQB site could do the same, especially considering how bad the staff were when I went karting last month.

 

Competition from another woodland site, even if it was another case of a different activity adding airsoft onto the side, could help both sites improve their set ups. However it would depend on how many people were willing to go to the increased number of events if the sites worked together to make their airsoft days not conflict with each other. I'm sure some are happy with no more than once every month or two, and I'm probably in the minority of being pretty sure I'd go every weekend if I could afford it.

 

Pistol shooting ideas? Sounds interesting, especially seeing as the only target shooting (outside of the Uni teams) I'm aware of in the area are the Grampain Air Rifle Club who go out to New Deer and of course the Aberdeen Full Bore Gun Club.

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True, but it is a *suitcase* to do in Aberdeen. They have no issue with people walking all over the countryside with a shotgun or rifle blasting away at all sorts of animals but a group of sensible people playing a game, oh no, no, no, no.

 

Hmm, that is an idea but as I have said it is either a case of silly prices being asked for rent (that whole third most expensive city to live in the UK etc) or the council being a bit funny about it. Either way it is gradually getting harder damn it.

 

Lets say it this way, if I was in the Central Belt, or anywhere around Newcastle and then from Manchester / Liverpool downwards I would find a couple of good sites easy and play every week, no restrictions unless it rained too much and was hazardous. Up here I just can't feel that effort with what is available and others I know are in the same boat. Have the cash but nowhere to spend it. Also what doesn't help is the VCRA as Battlegrounds don't (and shouldn't as they don't have the right insurance) offer it and the next nearest site can be a bit iffy about getting it sorted.

 

Well it is essentially an idea I got from me other hobby which is archery combined with my interest in IPSC and IDPA. Basically Open and Defensive style shooting events against targets, if enough come along open it up to doing skirmishes every other weekend and up the insurance.

 

Got to start somewhere and in a place like this it is a lot harder, sure the competition is small but so is the player base. Not to mention the fact that lets face it areas of Aberdeen get trashed about as much as any other city, especially with that whole animosity towards the non-locals that come here for work / Uni etc.

 

'FireKnife'

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Yeah between the council out in the sticks and the prices in town (not to mention possible opposition to "promoting guns" or some such nonsense) I can see it all being one hell of a minefield.

 

Battlegrounds is UKARA registered now. I'm not a huge fan of UKARA's set up but I caved in because some retailers will refuse to accept anything else as proof of exemption, and should I ever import anything I know it's best to have about 15 different sources to give the Border Agency.

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Well I would like it to be easier but alas that is the big issue of being here. I would like something good to happen, though I don't see the community banding together as sadly some just seem to be happy with the basics they have etc, some like myself just want more and to get the hobby out there, stigma aside.

 

Really, last I heard they didn't have it but some people (not the site owners) were trying to pass off that they did. Either way good to hear. Well for me I have about 6-7yrs on here, about 2yrs worth of site pics and enough sources to back me up so I don't have to worry on that front. Hell it is better than three stamps on a piece of paper and an eight digit number but then I have been doing this a while all over the UK hahaha.

 

'FireKnife'

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  • 3 months later...

I've played at Bunker31 a couple of times now and really enjoyed it. The longer, more tactical games have been much better than the paintball type short games.

 

I've found most people really friendly and helpful too - players and staff.

 

It seems that they cater for Airsofters as a niche market. If you think most Airsofters with their own kit and ammo are gonna turn up and spend £20 to play. Most paintballers are gonna pay £30 (inc rental kit) and probably spend another £30-60 on paintballs. The paintball has to be far more profitable for them.

 

As I say, I've enjoyed it so far and I only  live about 10 minutes away - which helps.

 

I think the way forward is for those playing to take it in the direction that they want to see it going.

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