I have often remarked that the challenge of making an airsoft film – when you are also playing in the game – is that you can only edit what you film. In other words: all the events and action is “live” and you cannot simply stop filming, back everyone up, and take a different angle! I have tried many approaches to defeating this problem such as using multiple camera’s, being an extra slice of awesome and filming everything that happens.

However, milsim proved a stronger challenge.

How can I make a film about a shooting event where for the first 10 hours I fired not more than a handful of BBs? In fact only one burst! I decided to focus on the story and one particular incident that happened to me on the Sunday morning when on sentry duty. Unfortunately, my part in the large battle that followed (see the awesome comment above) was entirely too dark to use as was the tunnels section at the end of the day. So, what we have is my filming as a dead player. I think the guys in the footage played very well indeed and were excellently commanded by Ed (the guy with the beard).

I am working hard at ways of defeating low light issues for the next film, but for now – here is Operation Snakebite.

Regards,

Basho

I again cursed the idea that I was the only sentry.

My team leader, Trip, had listened to our single-sentry concerns and then laid out what we were going to do, “Well,” he began, “we can leave, but if we do the AQT will turn on us. Or we can stay. The opposition will probably attack in the early morning, so I will make sure that we have the last sentry watches. I will go first. Basho, you will take the last watch.”

I didn’t sleep very well as what if the enemy sent in a silent unit to take out the sentry? We wouldn’t know we were under attack until we were all murdered in our sleeping bags! Consequently I kept my boots and fighting rig on when in my sleeping bag, with a drawn pistol next to my leg. I was determined not to be captured without a fight.

Four hours later it was my turn and here I stood, alone in the darkness, straining my ears to hear any noises and feeling the tension in the air. I was on the last watch, so I knew they would be coming any moment. I leaned over a barrel to get a better look at a suspicious tree and then, satisfied, turned away to walk on. Suddenly, there was the unmistakable crack of a stick being stood on – someone was right behind me! My heart beat in my ears as I flicked the selector switch on my M4 to full auto. I thought to myself: I must be fast and smooth, I must get off a burst in an arc to be sure of a hit then I have to shout the alert to the sleeping base. As my eyes strained to my left I suddenly saw a flash of unmistakable movement in my peripheral vision. He was coming low and left for a knife kill! I planted my foot forwards and span, pulling the trigger as I turned. The AEG motor kicked into life and started spitting high-speed BBs. I was sure that I was going to get at best a 50/50. My arm strained to draw the arc of fire as fast as possible and the opposition shape started to resolve, raising itself up in alarm of its own. The white BBs flew through the air between us and rattled into the –

- into the deer!

I released the trigger, but it was too late and the deer took a scything burst across the haunches. It brayed in fear, reared-up its legs high in the air and then bounded off into the night. Gone. Just as suddenly as it began it was over and I was alone again with only the sound of my heart pumping in my ears and my face flush with cold embarrassment.

A whispered voice came from one of the huts, “What was that? Is it a stand to?”

I pushed the selector to safe. “No mate, false alarm”.

“Right,” the voice said, tired, and went away.

I walked on, continuing my vigil. I knew that they were out there – probably laughing.

Operation Snakebite was the first game designed by Tier 1 Military Simulations; the ex-Royal Marine Commando run company specialising in “high end” milsim. The action was spread over 2 days at the sites of Dorking and Epsom run by Elite Action Games. The level of detail and effort that had gone into creating a believable roleplay environment was really impressive. For example, a couple of days before the event, I had been emailed a 26 page long PowerPoint briefing customised for my team. It included maps of the area, intelligence reports, “intercepted” communications and our orders.

I remember thinking that if the event was run with anywhere near the same level of passion that went into creating this document then I was in for a wild ride.

I was playing for a small team of Pakistani CIA types called the ISI.

Our mission was complicated and woven into the fabric of the storyline Tier 1 had designed for the event. It seemed that we had placed a spy in the AQT forces to keep an eye on them. This man was suspected to wanting to defect to the UK forces moving into the area. It was our job to monitor this defection. We could do it almost any way we wanted. The easiest way was to go under cover as AQT and watch him, but we could have similarly gone under cover with the UK forces or even struck out on our own. Once we chose, the die was cast and any action against the sheltering side would lead to conflict.

We drove down to Dorking at about 5pm and setup our gear. I had a lot of camera equipment to strap to myself, but we had lots of time. The briefings for the AQT team were at 2am in the morning.

By then I was already really tired after a week commuting into London, and so afterwards we grabbed a little sleep before the AQT hiked the 40 minutes into the game zone at 5am.

The thing that struck me immediately was that the players who had attended the Tier 1 training days had quite an advantage in the field. It showed in the way they moved, communicated and took cover as well in how they laid up a harbour position. My little four man team were all eyeing the bushes with great care.

Would the enemy attack us openly? I was expecting so. However, I was to find that the enemy had other orders and would only engage and fade. The large open-grass battles I had expected were replaced by much more realistic Special Forces type incursions. The resulting feeling that “eyes were always on us” (which they were) was palpable among the team.

This tension is the core part of milsim as there was the possibility of contact at any moment.

For me this sent my, already tired from London commuting, body into sleep mode. Whenever I found an hour to rest I laid back and slept. However, I always kept my pistol cocked and locked on my chest ready to leap into action at the shout of a stand to. Trip filmed me snoring away and Keith commented that if we did get attacked they could just stand me up as I was in combat position already. To see my reaction, Trip did indeed shout “Stand to!” and was happily laughing to see that I immediately sprung to my feet, pistol at the ready, and calling for targets.

About half-way through the day a patrol returned with a hostage and the next phase of the roleplay kicked in. I wasn’t sure if the guy had “volunteered” to be captured, but he played the hostage stoically as he was put into stress positions and (mock) tortured. Personally speaking this was a part of the event I was not too interested in and I stayed well away from the fellow and his tormentors. The prospect of being captured filled me with dread and such a possibility only added to the “realism” of the event, which meant that our patrols were even more nervous than before.

Then our “agent” finally attempted to sneak out of the base and Trip gave the nod to our four man unit to follow him. As we ventured out into the treeline, and out of sight of the base, the danger we were putting ourselves in hit home.

If there is one thing that this event managed to convey to me about “real” soldiering then it was the slice of fear I felt being out so unmanned, which was probably only a tiny percentage of how our troops must feel at times like this. How much courage they must display to prevail despite this feeling amazes me. We tracked the Agent through the trees and up a large bank. I was sure that he had spotted us and even more so that we were being led into a trap. Eventually the Agent disappeared into some scrub and we followed him to only land straight on top of him. His attempts to lose us had failed! I wanted to cap him there and then, but Trip instead gave him a talking-to and we all led back to the firebase.

I hadn’t fired a shot in that patrol, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that it was one of the most fun things I have ever done in airsoft.

An hour after we got back, the news went around that a prisoner exchange was on the cards. The brief was that we would only take 3 men to an agreed area and swap our guy for theirs. The AQT commander led a group out into the forest and we tracked through in lines using a large arc to ensure we had no surprises. Eventually we came across the small village where the exchange was to take place and setup an all-around defence.

The opposition approached, but the AQT commander didn’t like the look of it and ordered an assault. I am pleased to report that this was absolutely text-book. The opposition was caught flat-footed and went down hard with the AQT pushing forwards, killing the guards, fighting off the response and retreating in good order right back to where I was standing (I guarded the prisoner). It was a stunning performance.

Flush with our victory, we executed their prisoner (allowing him to bleed out and respawn) and went back to the firebase in great spirits. It was dinner time.

My dinner – a self-heating MRE – prompted the need for the toilet. I dug into my pack for my wetwipes and toilet roll and headed out of the base to find a suitable tree. I was very aware that I was alone, something that Stewart from Tier 1 had cautioned against in the training, so I took my pistol belt and a grenade. I picked my way over a little swampy stream and selected a suitable tree overlooking a ditch. I put my belt across my shoulders and started undoing my trousers as this was going to be as quick as I could make it. I came up to the tree and looked over the roots into the ditch. To my shock and horror, sitting in the ditch – their eyes wide with fear that I was about to poo on them – were three opposition players! I jumped back and their first shot went over my head. I scrambled to my feet and ran, but my boots slipped on the muddy ground and I slid onto my side. The grenade! I fumbled in my pocket and dug out the grenade, but it wouldn’t light and I was desperately scratching the striker when a BB thumped into my chest.

“Medic!” I shouted.

Immediately the base came to life with shouts of alarm and orders being flung around. A large group of the AQT thundered out of the base and down the bank towards our tableau. The opposition took one look at the numbers and fled up the hillside pursued by the AQT commander. So, that’s how the Taliban saved me from literally having my shit pushed back in!

I held that toilet until the end of the game.

As the evening drew in my unit went out and planted 10 pressure sensitive mines to the north of the base. My teammates were sure that these would help in the coming night, because clearly the opposition were building up to a strike against the base itself.

Many hours later…

The horror of my near capture and embarrassment at having shot up a harmless woodland creature was still on my mind as I trudged around the base on watch. The sun was finally starting to make an appearance and I was able to put the NVG away as it offered no improvement on my eyesight.  When to the north of the base I suddenly heard the absolute unmistakable sound of approaching forces.

They were crunching the trees underfoot, but rather than giving themselves away it was only reinforcing the rising excitement and adrenaline flooding into my body and I came instantly awake.

“STAND TO!”

The moment I sounded those words the opposition went loud and started firing at the base. I could clearly hear their commander (Tier 1’s Ed Denson) shouting orders to the sections and then all hell broke loose. My ISI unit mates (ready in moments) and I formed up and fought back, but the opposition rate of fire was immense. I wondered why there were so few defenders until I looked around and could see the AQT team running away (which I later discovered was their orders). Stoically my ISI brothers and I fought on like only the DAs can. Once the perimeter fire came too much the surviving members retreated into the hut and I posted Keith upstairs to fire down on the cover now taken by the opposition. I took a look out of a window and the opposition’s day spent hiding in ditches and setting up on the AQT was paying off as they were moving very well in the low light and obviously had this planned. Five men took cover in front of the hut and I threw a grenade to their side and then retreated further into the hut. I drew my pistol and took out the first three units who tried to dynamically enter on me and I am pleased to report that they all took it. The next guy to come in however was more used to CQB and I got taken out on a 50/50. All the tension left my body and we shared a gentlemen’s handshake. Fair play!

I later found out that AQT retreat was all part of the roleplay plan for the day and setup the next part of the event at Epsom Tunnels. The idea was that the AQT had retreated into their underground base and the opposition had to weed them out with a frontal assault. We quickly relocated. Epsom tunnels are huge, almost beyond belief, and exceedingly dark.

They are perfect for a CQB skirmish, but not perhaps best suited for milsim without marshals. What happened was that as soon as grenades went off the whole environment became completely smoked out. After and hour or so of some very hard fighting, and having lost the ability to see, the ISI called it a day.

If I was to critique the game I would always try to stay away from simply nit-picking. I have had a hand in running airsoft events and I know how it is impossible for everything to go perfectly to plan. I think that Tier 1 should be highly congratulated in what they have achieved with this format and I can’t fault their dedication, intelligence and resolve.

What issues I saw were really to do with milsim more than T1.

The main thing I would counsel someone to consider when thinking of coming to a milsim event like this for the first time is the slight lack of open endedness. What I mean is: there is a story that we are playing through and certain people have orders. For example, if I had been given total freedom then I would have attacked the opposition in the night, rather than have them attack us as they would not have expected it. I love doing what the opposition don’t expect. Here that freedom is slightly constrained and stepping totally outside of the chain of command will only get you sent off. This is, of course, not something “wrong” with milsim, just different and in fact far more realistic to “real” soldiering. Frankly, in an event run this well you hardly notice it at all and that is the best compliment I can give T1 for Operation Snakebite; it was as slick as snake shit.  I had real moments of fear and heart pumping excitement and yet mostly without firing a single shot.

I loved the event and I will be back for more!

Regards

Basho

Basho and the DAs went to the Tier 1 Military Simulations’ Operation Snakebite at Elite Action Games in Dorking & Epsom

Basho (the author) has been playing airsoft for 10 years. He is a committee member of Team Delta Alpha (the DAs) and was the senior marshal at their (now closed) home site of Electrowerkz in London. Basho is now the senior marshal for Tier 1 Military Simulations.

The film of this adventure is here:

http://www.outsidecontext.com/2011/04/27/operation-snakebite-a-basho-airsoftmilsim-film/

They don’t have commanders at all.

I don’t blame them for this; as it is the commonly held consensus that leading airsofters is like” herding cats” and not worth the effort. Consequently, while airsoft players often dress like the most elite of Special Forces, in battle they lack the most fundamental structure that every unit in the armed forces learns from day one. It can be quite funny to watch players wearing thousands of pounds of kit get laced up by mongrel teams in jeans and toting AEPs because they are acting only as individuals not as a cohesive unit. I often refer to such “team’s” airsoft tactics as a Barbarian Horde approach, but actually this is an insult to the great Hordes of antiquity that worked well together. No the actual playing style of the average airsoft “team” is best illustrated by allusion to the teamwork shown in the movie Black Hawk Down…

…and I don’t mean by the US.

So, despite the impression shown in airsoft team photos, many of these people have no clue how to act together. No wonder the real army boys call airsofters “walts” – as you may be able to buy the kit, but you can’t fake the brotherhood. As my friend Trip puts it,

“All the gear, no idea.”

If Tier One has an objective then it is perhaps their mission to change this often sad display of teamwork shown on the skirmish field. All the drills I have learned, at the two training days I have now attended, have been focussed – absolutely focussed – on teamwork. Making it natural, making it fit and making it flow like water going down a hill rather than gardening up one. Like I said, “Criticism is easy”.

Analysis is not.

Before Christmas, team Delta Alpha visited Catterick for a Milsim game run by Stirling airsoft. The scenario was simple; one team were the Yanks, dropped into a favela and charged with capturing two gang leaders. The other team was the aforementioned gang and their objective was to annihilate the American presence. We played on the US side and we ordered to hold a house in a strategic location on the map and provide simple area denial. Taking the house took ten minutes, but since High Command couldn’t come up with anything else for us to do that wasn’t an ego fantasy on their part, we left the comms’ and went house storming. Now the DAs are not too bad at taking houses, indeed “door kicking” is our speciality as we all have had training from the Met Police fire arms unit SO19 (a benefit of having police officers in the team). However, it took many lives to achieve control of each house and moreover when were caught outside we got to bickering about “who should do what” and we were quickly surrounded and slaughtered. Since that day I have been trying to work out what went wrong.

Thanks to this course I now know what went wrong, why I was a part of the failure and, even better, I know how to fix it.

We arrived at Copehill Down FIBUA site, nestled in the hills surrounding Stone Henge in Wiltshire, at 9:30am. We were in a hurry as we had gone the wrong way and wanted to be “ready by ten” – it is very much our team ethos to not be the ones slowing the day down. As we pulled into the car park I could see all the Tier One boys had the same idea and they were all ready to rock on time as well. In their case this is probably due to the years of military discipline each possesses. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the site for over an hour. This seriously held us up as the site had to be thoroughly checked for un-exploded ordinance (UXO). There were about 60 people in total, mostly regular players for the other organisation, and I could see that they were what I would call “skirmishers” more than Milsim players. No bad thing of course, airsoft is a game played by all sorts of people.

When we finally got going we were first given an introduction into the Tier One instructors together with some funny images of their service history, which relaxed the audience for the short classroom session that followed. This, like in the previous woodland training, was excellently presented by Stewart, who had no problems dealing with the class size. He started by showing us a short clip of the battle at the end of Saving Private Ryan, which he explained showed clearly how the advantage in a FIBUA assault was with the defenders and teamwork and tactics was the only way to prevail without enormous numerical superiority (something unlikely in airsoft). He then outlined the way the Commandos would capture Copehill. This explanation involved a birds-eye view of the site provided by Google Maps all highlighted and coloured as well as an outline of the stages of an assault and what to do in each stage. He also outlined how the team should be split up to achieve these objectives and how that provided for the best use of cover and support. One major difference from what I was used to was that most of the team is in a covering position with only one assault unit taking a room in the first house and the commanders feeding men into that “break in” point.

Then we all went outside and he showed us the Tier One boys doing it for real. This really put it in perspective and his explanation vividly demonstrated how each unit worked and supported the others. One of the major benefits of doing this training at Copehill is that the village is designed especially for the teaching of these very techniques and provides special “cut away” buildings to clearly show how to fight in a house. The Commando way of taking a house is cautiously, much more cautiously than most airsoft assaults I have been in, and I will be interested to put this training into practice when I next play in a FIBUA battle.

Then it was our turn.

Splitting into teams and then assigning roles, Team 1, Team 2, Cover Unit, Commander and Linkman, we drilled what we had learned under the watchful eye of the assigned Tier One instructor. After each run through he evaluated our performance and we switched the roles around and tried again. Stacking up outside doors in large groups is definitely out, and most of us were providing cover to the building before being moved up by the commander through the “linkman” role. We mostly attacked via windows and “mouse holes”. This was again new for me as I tend to avoid windows due to my size and have found that all the windows in a game will be defended. Inside the house we stayed in teams and moved through each other one corridor/room at a time, bursting into rooms as we went. Of course, the Commando way also includes a large amount of grenades used to clear each room and entering the room a split second later firing on full auto. In airsoft, this will often be expensive in grenade costs and full auto is mostly banned in houses, but Tier One has made the commitment to teach it as it really is. It is up to the player to fit the tactics to the potential rules of their site. Over six or seven attempts we actually started to work well as a team and there was lots of fun as we dived in windows and “fragged” rooms before bursting in and shooting up the targets. Given that most of the team had never played together before this was a real achievement. If only the “pick up” groups I had operated in during battles had been lucky enough to get this training I may have lived longer!

Then it started raining in earnest, but that didn’t stop us from the final challenge of the day: a Hogan’s Alley run against the clock for prizes! I partnered with Mike and we were tasked with the clearing of one side of a street using the tactics we had learned in the day and being assessed by the Tier One instructor. Mike, who is our latest recruit to the DAs, is a natural airsofter and I was honoured to partner him through the challenge. Even the Instructor was impressed by his ability and he missed winning “player of the day” by a tiny margin (as I found out later in the pub).

After the runs had all completed Tier One handed out the prizes, which included a hilarious moment when one player was tricked into thinking he had won a Gen-3 Night vision kit (worth £2000!) when in fact he had actually won something a lot better: The Fairburn-Sikes commando dagger is a classic of military design, but more than that it means a lot to the Marines who have had the honour of carrying it in the field. Its no-nonsense design and clean lines epitomizes the philosophy of the Commandos and the lucky guy being presented one was duly impressed (I heard he is going to mount it).

After that it was pub time, a fun chat with the Tier One crew and the ladies & gents on the course. Then a 3 hour drive back to Essex carried out by the ever reliable Keith and his large estate car nicknamed “Red October”. We arrived back home around 3am and immediately went to bed.

Since then I have had the odd twinge of soreness in the knees and these have reminded me of the day. Tier One remain new to running airsoft events, but they are consummate professionals with a real fresh vision for the game. I have often talked (usually drunkenly) about the DAs starting up an airsoft company, but these guys are not just players; they are all experts in what they know and very good at passing it on. Overall, despite the delays, this makes the training of the highest quality and worth the investment. The first Tier One game is coming in just a weeks’ time and I personally can’t wait!

Regards,

Basho

The rest of the photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/outsidecontext/sets/72157626276802189/
Please note that they are copyright Keith Silk.

Basho (the author) has been playing airsoft for 10 years. He is a committee member of Team Delta Alpha (the DAs) and was the senior marshal at their (now closed) home site of Electrowerkz in London. Basho in no way affiliated with Tier 1 Military Simulations, but Trip is as an airsoft consultant.

Basho now works for Tier 1 as senior marshal

Staffed almost entirely by Ex-Royal Marine Commandos, Tier 1 Military Simulations has taken the mission to bring the fun back into milsim while keeping the “experience”. Their first 3-day event, “Operation Snakebite”, is coming in April, attendance at which my team mates have talked me into. I am not a natural milsim player, being more of an urban and CQB regular at such sites as The Mall in Reading and Longmoor Urban Training Complex, but recently I have been trying my hand at a little realism. Last year my team and I played as the “scripted enemy” in Operation Zulu by TA Events, which involved getting “very muddy” with the best of them and I enjoyed that immensely. So, when I found out that Tier 1 Military Simulations was putting on a “Training Day” at Elite Action Games in Dorking, I signed up as it offered me the chance to “ease into it”.

We arrived early on Saturday to meet with the Tier 1 crew; a four man team of instructors led by the smart looking and straight backed Stewart and his business partner Eddie. After dropping my bergen (holding all my camping gear and packed for the field with rations, a bivi and my roll mat) we were invited into a small hut. It was then that I realised that Tier 1 were not your normal airsoft instructors. In the hut were five tables all laid out with pencils, print outs and paper pads. As we sat down I also noticed that there was a large plasma flat screen to the front displaying what surely must be a PowerPoint screen. Stewart came in with the others and introduced themselves. In an airsoft world where many people have “served” in one form or another, but more importantly where there are a ton of fakers and exaggerators who claim undue respect through fictional exploits; 1000 yard stares and “issue” gear, these guys stood up and told us where they had served. The entire group had over 50 years’ service in the Royal Marine Commandos between them including decades as instructors. If there is such a thing as getting the “real deal” in airsoft, this is it.

Once the lesson started, and the PowerPoint started moving, I relaxed. Stewart was clearly a professional at teaching. I detected that this was no ego trip for these guys and they had the serious aim of teaching us real Marine tactics straight out of the manual. He had a well laid out day planned with short classroom sessions to discuss the tactics and answer any questions, split by practical tuition in the woods and finally culminating in performing the drills learned under fire at night in a test to see if we have picked any of it up. Despite being extremely tired from London commuting, I found it all clear and well presented.

The lesson started and I took notes. We learned that Operation Snakebite would be “Patrol Warfare” with orders given to platoons to patrol between GPS coordinates with certain orders when contacting the enemy (who have been given orders to patrol a dissecting path) and it would be in this way that they would introduce some form of control to the event that will be otherwise unscripted. But first, we needed to learn what different types of patrol there were.

Soon we were out in the field putting the lessons to good use in three groups. Our first jaunt was patrolling with Bergans in a line formation with the Team Leader at the front. We practiced halting and finding cover, crossing obstacles, how to reccy a village and the use of silent signals to communicate. All led by our short and stoic instructor who very quickly corrected mistakes and offered advice. I asked him what he had done in the Commando’s. He replied that had been a sniper mainly and had never played airsoft or even been shot by an AEG. We immediately offered to rectify that, but he declined with a smile, reminding us that the night event will include “live” fire. I could immediately tell that this night event was going to involved my being shot at by an ex-Commando sniper!

At the end of this patrol we met up with the others and were taught how to lay up a harbour. Harbours are how Commandos form a defensive position in the field. This can be for many reasons, but the most obvious is to be able to sleep. We were shown how to peel into a triangle of one group per side with a command element in the middle with support weapons at the points. Then how to recy the area in front and lay out sentries and communication string. This was particularly interesting stuff as I have never heard of harbours before and it was all explained expertly and made perfect sense.

After a late-lunch of hotdogs we went into a lesson of laying up an Observation Post, something the instructors were all experts in. After taking copious notes we were invited outside to see one for real. Stewart gave us a 30 meter area of trees and asked us to spot the OP. I must admit that I couldn’t see any possibility that people were hiding in that area but, after being led around the rear of the copse, I saw that the other three ex-Commandos were layed up in a smart OP mere yards from where my feet had been. It had a guarded entrance, sleeping/cooking area and front Observation Post all draped in cammo netting. Very impressive and something I would need to know when on ops.

After this we went for a lesson in defensive contact drills. This was more familiar territory, but I still learned a lot of new things. We were taught how to form a tunnel formation on a “contact front” and then peel back while firing, how to form a “gatepost” leading to a “baseline” formation and then retreat by sections. How to manage a man down while providing fire support to the men dragging the casualty from the field. This was all practical and useful stuff that enabled my small team to learn to work together and put down impressive levels of fire onto the enemy.

As the sun dipped down and the night fell the already cold day became freezing and the test was upon us. We had to patrol in the pitch-black night through the wood, following chemical lights tied to trees at 50 meter intervals. We were going to come under fire along the way and we had to react with the drills we had just learned, all under the watchful eye of Stewart who was wearing high end night optics. I wish I had been, as in my mesh mask I couldn’t see hardly a thing. I could just make out the man in front and would be performing the drills basically with my eyes closed. As we picked our way through the wood we suddenly had fire from the left.

“Contact left!” Screamed Trip.

I spun left and went down on one knee and started laying down aggressive and large amounts of fire towards the sound of an AEG firing at me. I had loaded my P-Mags as “Real Caps” and so I was soon performing a mag change (many long hours of practicing in front of the Magpul DVDs paying off).

“Peel right!” Shouted Trip.

It was then it all went to pieces. After a minute of everyone running in different directions, shooting each other and bumping into trees, Stewart called a halt and brought us in. He then took us through the contact and our reaction. It was very impressive, even with the NVG, that he had a total grasp of what happened. He gently led us through it and promised that the other teams had also messed up the first one; we would get better he told us. It was a bit embarrassing for us and Trip in particular took it all to heart as we were a team of very experienced players and used to being together. Only two months ago we executed a perfect peel drill to an aggressive contact when playing at Stirling Airsoft. That had left jaws on the floor, but that had been during the day; this was at night. I was suddenly reminded that Operation Snakebite was to be a three-day event and night ops was to be expected.

We were determined to get better and I am glad to say that we did. Of course the chaos of the contacts, which came from all directions along our route, lent a realistic element to the training that practice can never give. I ran out of ammo and had to transition mid fight, Trip ran into a load of wire hanging from a tree and had to cut himself free (winning our argument about knives in milsim in the process), guns went down, men tripped up. It was marvellous chaos and pressure like all good training should be. By the end we were doing it very well and Stewart announced that our last contact was “75 to 80%” of perfect. That was good enough for me.

After the event we dropped off our gear, ready to camp overnight, and went to the pub with the Instructors. They were very interesting and good company as we drank like only airsofters and Commandos know how.

I asked our team what they thought of the event. Trip has been in airsoft as long as I and is leading the DA Team’s transition to playing more milsim. He and Keith (who has passed Stirling Selection) loved it and are looking forwards to our special role in the event.

“How about you Simon?” I asked our other team member, a stocky Ex-Paratrooper.

“How many jumps did you do?” Asked Trip.

“Oh more than I can count mate,” he answered smoothly, “I used to be 6ft 6!”

I laughed so much I spat out my beer on the table.

“I think its excellent training,” he said, “these guys really know how to teach this stuff.”

I had to agree, Tier 1 don’t teach watered down airsoft versions of real tactics, it is all the real deal. The philosophy is that if we learn the real Commando way of doing things then we will naturally perform better under fire in airsoft. It’s a great idea. Most teams are little more than a barbarian horde in combat or, like myself, unused to woodland. This training has enabled me to react like an element in a larger team. As far as I am concerned the argument about the value of training is dead; if the training is of the quality of that provided by Tier 1 it is worth every penny paid and every effort put in.

Regards,

Basho

Basho and the DAs went to the Tier 1 Military Simulations Woodland Training day at Elite Action Games in Dorking. They paid £50 for a full day of training with food and drink provided as well as overnight camping at the event. This was training given in advance of Tier 1 Military Simulations’ first game coming in April.

Basho (the author) has been playing airsoft for 10 years. He is a committee member of Team Delta Alpha (the DAs) and was the senior marshal at their (now closed) home site of Electrowerkz in London. Basho in no way affiliated with Tier 1 Military Simulations, but Trip is as an airsoft consultant.

The crew from Aliens review the Magpul PTS AEG in the field

“Game over man, game over!”

Gorman: Morning, Marines. I’m sorry we didn’t have time to brief you people before we left Gateway, but…

Hudson: Sir?

Gorman: What is it, Hicks?

Hudson: Hudson, sir.

[points]

Hudson: He’s Hicks.

Gorman: Basho, please tell us about the new equipment…

Basho:  “Ok men here it comes, most people don’t review guns in two parts.  No, they instead setup a target, perhaps in their home, shoot a few times at it and give you the benefit of that wisdom.

What there is of it.

I too have written ones like this, but then I stopped.  When I reviewed the TM Desert Eagle Hard Kick I noted its lack of long range accuracy, its mighty jump in the hand that ruined your second shot aim, the lacklustre gas performance in the mags.  Then I went out and played with it and realised that I had forgotten the most important piece of information; the DE scares people.  I have actually had people cower when I pull it out.

That is priceless information!”

Hudson: “So, is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another newb’hunt?”

Gorman: “All we know is that there’s still no contact with the colony, and that Team Beans may be involved.”

Frost: “Excuse me sir, Beans? What?”

Gorman: “Team Beans.”

Hicks: “It’s a newb’hunt.”

Basho: “So, this review is another gun, perhaps a real winner, and certainly flavour of the month, tested out where it belongs: in the field.  Out in the mud and leaves where I can tell its hidden abilities.

The Ground Zero Weekender is not like many other airsoft games.  Not only is it larger, now sporting over 1200 players, but its size actually has a strange effect on those who attend.  They bring all their new toys to play with.  People make an effort for Ground Zero, an effort they not often make for a muck about down any old woods. I saw people dressed as characters from Intel Adverts, whole teams in Vietnam load outs and more multicam clad warriors than at the last Delta Force BBQ.

For the Magpul PTS to score highly on the “Bling’ometer”, it would have to be very special indeed.”

Vasquez: “Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are.”

Drake: “Go, Vasquez. Kick ass.”

Vasquez: “Anytime, anywhere, man!”

Basho: “I sure hope you are right”

[Gorman scowls then, thanking Ripley with a nod, takes over the pred-op briefing.]

Gorman: “All right, we have Basho’s first report on the basic weapon on file.  I suggest that you all read it.  An addendum follows.”

MOTHER: OPSED-2501. FILE ACCESS GRANTED.

MOTHER: Displaying file: “Basho – MAGPUL PTS Addendum report”

Notes:

1. The first thing that hits you when you are trying to sling the Magpul PTS is that it is not heavy.  Even with a battery and loaded P-Mag in, it still is lighter than many AEG’s.  This is due to mainly to the size of the gun, the skeletonised stock and the light but strong plastic in the hand guards.  I slung it to a Chalker “Tactical Bra” sling that hangs the gun directly on the bodies centre line.  It was short enough that when I knelt it did not strike the mud, but of course if you are tiny then this may still happen to you.
2. I ran the PTS on both P-Mags and standard King-Arms mid caps.  I personally had no problems at all with mags or feeding.  The P-Mags do fit tightly in the well and can be a little more of a pain to change quickly, but with practice I was quick enough to fight strong.
3. I dragged the gun through mud, in puddles, in leaves.  I crashed to the ground, dived and rolled, all sorts of stuff.  The gun took it all.  It is a tough little customer.
4. It drew only a few envious looks.  To quote the late, great, Douglas Adams: The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. “Make it evil,” he’d been told. “Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with.”

[Deep in the woods, the Delta Alpha team get ready for battle]

Lex: All right, sweethearts, you’re a team and there’s nothin’ to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna kick some, is that understood? That’s what we gonna do, sweethearts, we are going to go and get some. All right, people, on the ready line! Are ya lean?

DAs: Yea!

Lex: Are ya mean?

DAs: Yea!

Lex: WHAT ARE YOU?

DAs: Lean and mean!

Lex: WHAT ARE YOU?  Get on the ready line, DA’s, get some today! Get on the ready line! Move it out! Move it out, goddammit! Get hot! One, two, three, four! Get out, get out, get out! Move it out, move it out, move it out! Move it out, move it out, move it out! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Aaarrrrr, absolutely badassess! Let’s pack ‘em in! Get in there!

[In battle the command-team watch over the personal camera and see a guns-eye view of the play]

Hudson: “There’s Beans all over the place! They’re coming out the f*cking walls man!”

Basho: “Now I could tell you about my play with this gun. I could wax lyrical about it and even perhaps manage to put something across about how it plays.  But this cannot compare with seeing it for yourself yourself.  So, I attached a camera to the weapon and recorded its play in the field.  I have two files for you.”

MOTHER: OPSED-2502. FILE ACCESS GRANTED.

MOTHER: Displaying file selection.  Please pick an option:

1.  Band of Dark Angels.  This file contains footage of the GZ event and lots of the gun in action at the end.

2.  Magpul part two.  This is the footage of play cut out from the above and lots of extra footage of the gun firing at various targets.

Not bad for a human!

As you can see from the footage, this is a great AEG and a definite buy if you get a chance.  Let’s ask one last character from the film, what he thinks:

GET ONE! HHHSSsssss

Regards,

Basho

PS:  I did have lots of photos of the gun at the event, but my iPhone had a malfunction and I lost them all the day after I came back   Sorry!

If you liked this review, try some of my others!

WA AMT Hardballer

Classic Army SCAR

And remember to always wear full face!

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“Revenge is a dish best served cold”

- Old Klingon Proverb -

An English man enters Uncompany’s shop in Hong Kong. A single shop assistant hovers at the counter.

“What brings you to Hong Kong?” he asks.

“I came to see a man,” the Englishman replies.

“Who is he, may I ask?”

“Hattori Hanzo”

The shop assistant looks shocked.

“What do you want with Hattori Hanzo?” he asks nervously.

“I have need of a Japanese Magpul PTS as I have many newbies to lace at the Ground Zero Weekender”

The shop assistant considers this, “You must have big-ass newbies to lace if you need a Magpul PTS”.

The Englishman leans over the counter, “huge”.

“Follow me”.

Introduction

When I first started airsoft – all those years ago! – Magpul were exactly what the name suggests; a company that made little rubber devices to attach to your M4 mags to make them easier to pull from your pouches. I didn’t have enough money to afford them and so used some string and tape.  Oh how things have moved on since then!  Magpul started building custom guns, the type only seen in photos from ShotShows.  Then I saw this:

…and like the rest of us I fell in love.  What a space age future look bit of kit!

Since then the name Magpul has come to mean to airsoft what the name of Gucci means to fashion.  Airsoft has always been split into two worlds, that of players and chairsofters.  For once, a company was releasing products that appealed to both.  Then came an announcement:

The Store Assistant (Hattori Hanzo) and the Englishman (Basho) enter the attic.  The room has racks of custom AEG’s held silently, lit by sunbeams. Motes of dust float in the air.

As Basho examines the weapons Hanzo speaks,

“Funny, you like AEG’s… personally I prefer pistols!”  With a flourish he bangs the floor and a paper target slides out from the wall at end of the room.

Basho whips back his jacket to reveal a Western Arms AMT Hardballer!

The gun bursts from its low profile holster and Basho fires once at the target.

Hanzo walks over to the target and regards the shot:

“I will make you the gun,” he says, “the Ground Zero Weekender is a month away.  I suggest you spend the time practicing.”

The Magpul PTS AEG MOE Carbine is the first AEG from the the PTS Division who are a part of the Magpul company aiming towards training and therefore of great interest to airsofters.  Their website is slick as hell and everything points towards a Gucci product.  The specifications tell us that the internals are as hot as the externals, and this is not just a basic body kit over TM parts (nothing wrong with TM of course).

The specifications are as follows:

Systema Ver II Turbo Gear Box and Motor Set Systema BS 6.04mm Barrel (303mm). Systema Hop Up pack. Systema Metal Chamber Set PTS Diecasting Metal Receiver PTS MOE Hand Guard (Polymer) PTS MOE Grip (Polymer) PTS MOE Stock (Polymer) PTS Modular Sling Adaptor with Sling Mount PTS PMAG (Mid Cap 120 Rounds) (Polymer) PTS MBUS – Rear Sight (Polymer) Muzzle Velocity – 350 FPS Color – Dark Earth

Hattori Hanzo sits in front of the Basho examining his new product, “I’m done doing what I swore an oath to God 28 years ago to never do again. I’ve created something that laces people. And in that purpose I was a success.”

Basho watches the old gunsmith handing the new AEG and Hanzo continues,

“I can tell you with no ego, this is my finest AEG. If on your journey, you should encounter God, God will cry ‘hit!’”.

Basho takes the gun reverently from Hanzo’s hands and his eyes look at the greatest maker of AEG’s on this earth and says;

”Domo.”

Basho looks at the finished product:

The box is nothing special compared to some out there, but it got back safe from Hong Kong with no worries.

The stock tube is a work of art.  No rattle of the tube itself, the stock rattles a little of course.  The action is smooth and simple.

The features of this stock:

MOE™ M4 Carbine Collapsible Butt-Stock – Military Model
Magpul® Original Equipment (MOE™) is a line of Airsoft M16/M4 accessories designed to provide a high-quality, economical alternative to standard Airsoft M16/M4 parts. The MOE™ line distinguishes itself with a simplified feature set, but maintains Magpul engineering and material quality.

The Magpul® MOE™ Stock is a drop-in replacement butt-stock for carbines using mil-spec size Airsoft receiver extension tubes. Designed for light, fast action the streamlined A-frame profile avoids snagging and shields the release latch to prevent accidental activation. The extra-power lock mechanism uses a premium chrome-silicon spring to avert auto-collapse failure and maintains strength by resisting spring relaxation. The Military Model includes a standard 0.30” rubber butt-pad which provides positive shoulder purchase to prevent slippage even with body armor or modular gear.
Features
- Mounts on Military Carbine Receiver Extension tube (Not included) from manufacturers such as Colt, Armalite, LMT, S&W, etc.
- Premium chrome-silicon lock spring provides positive locking and long service life
- Sloping cheek weld combines a slim profile with user comfort
- Shielded release latch prevents snagging and accidental operation
- Side mounting slots accept optional cheek risers for NON-AR15 / M16 applications
- Compatible with Single-Point® sling mounts

This cover doe not close, or at least neither Trip or I can get it to close.  By the looks of it the internals are blocking the body.  I don’t mind it open, but it may get damaged and let in water!  I will have to mod a solution.  As with many AEG’s, pulling back the slide reveals the hop up.  The grip is very comfortable, but standard stuff.  The selector switch is crisp for a new product.  The body itself is plastic, but has a chunky solidness to it and removes all chance of creek.  Every single angle is covered in trades, as keeping with the Gucci product

The foregrip is a classic two part, but has no rails on it as standard.  The Uncompany rep tried to sell me a custom front end which had four rails, but that was ugly in the extreme.  I am going to get the “Drop in Rails” from the net that look like this:

Getting the battery container off is a real bother, it is the classic pulling back of the ring and pulling off of the plate, but it is very stiff and tricky to put back on – requiring a few tries.  Not something I will want to do in battle.

The wiring looks to be of very high quality.

I am using a 8v small battery, but the gun does say to use only a 7v.  The Uncompany guys say that the 8v is fine, but a 9v will break the piston.  Suffice to say, I will be converting to Lipoly ASAP.

The sling attachment ring at the rear is adjustable to left or right, and this is a neat little idea.

The Flash hider is a horrible orange plastic one, but no fear!  A full metal one comes with the gun.

The rear sight is a very nice pop model and completely adjustable.  The sight hole clips down to adjust for range.  I will be attaching a Red Dot of course.

Here is a quick vid of the rate of fire and the moving parts in action.  Not the chunky thud of a single shot.  This is a well balanced system!

The P Mag.

One P Mag comes with the gun.  Much is being made of the P Mag.  It is being heralded as the best mag you can buy.  Consider this YouTube on the subject:

Every angle is covered in trades again.  All the mags are marked as 30 rounds, but actually take 120 BB’s.

The fit into the gun is solid as I have every seen.  No wobble or anything.

How does the gun handle in the hand?

The length of the gun is similar to that of any other M4, or LR.  Slightly longer that a commando.  The weight is very well distributed and the ergonomic fore grip aids target acquisition.  The full battle report will come later as I have no access to a safe place to test the gun live ATM.

So, that’s it for now.  I think the Magpul is a great AEG to own and something that will stand out in the field, if you can get hold of one!

I bought mine by flying to Hong Kong and going into the Uncompany shop.  This was about £2.5k.  I don’t suggest you do that!  You can order it for US$ 529.00 here (when in stock!)

Regards,

Basho

If you liked this review, try some of my others!

WA AMT Hardballer

Classic Army SCAR

And remember to always wear full face!

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