Blogger Tricks


April 25, 2009

Room Clearing Observations

This is not going to be a blog post about "how-to room clear" or on "room clearing 101" because basically there are literally thousands of right and wrong ways to enter and clear a room/building. Not only do I not have the time to write such and elaborate in-depth post (who wants to draw the formations and diagrams?), nor do I have enough (formal) experience on the matter, rather I am skipping the plethora of feedback I would get on the things I should/could have written. Yeah, lets not go down that path.



Instead this post will be on my observations on room clearing and how you could implement them to your CQC mindset. Remember, there is a large difference between room clearing in airsoft and military/law enforcement room clearing. Think of it as practical vs. tactical.


Sadly, the fact of the matter is in an airsoft game most of the people you play with are going to play like its a video game. Your not going to have a squad (or team; for you USMC aficionados) of men who not only know what to do but think on the same page. This verbal and non verbal communication that links soldiers in the field is what us airsoft players mostly lack. That is not to say that ALL airsoft players don't have it but rather in a game not everyone going to be in the same page.

April 23, 2009

Scopes, optics, sights -oh my!

Scopes, optics, and sights are probably foremost most sought after external accessory for an airsoft rifle. Why? Quiet honestly I feel that majority of new players feel its a neccesary external mod. With experiance comes knowledge and many find out soon that this is not true.


Now I havent had too much experiance with magnified scopes but if I were to get one Id choose something no > 3x reason being is that at higher power magnification it would become harder to track BB travel. The only a need for a magnified scope is in a DMR or Sniper rifle setup, on much more short barrelled weapons I feel that its a bit over kill.

However, I have grown to love the scope used by Sgt. Colbert (Alexander SkarsgÄrd) in the HBO Mini-Series Generation Kill.


This M4A1 is equipped with an M203 grenade launcher and  AN/PVS-17 scope. Doing some quick searching on the scope I find the retail price of $2k-$6k. If anything Id get a regular Leapers or G&P scope and make a cheap version (non-nvg).

In my experiance with optics I have had the RDS Aimpoint replica's. I went with a standard AMP RDS then to the AMP 30mm railed optic. Both worked fine except for one which kept breaking during gameplay. It became troublesome that I sold the tri-railed version fairly quickly.



So I quickly ditched that and got a hold of an EoTech 551 replica (non-holosight) and I absolutely loved this thing in well light area's. Its downfall was in its illumination strength. During indoor or night games this thing was great, however, during outdoor or area's with lots of light you could not see the reticle. I was able to switch from the green optic during the day to the red variety for the night. The only problem was is there was no protection of its forward lens so it quickly got shot out.

Now I am back to iron sights and I dont know why I left. Sure my target accquisition is not a quick as with the 551 but I feel that I have become such a stronger shooter with the irons. I have learned to zero in faster and better sight alignment wit the target. Its also great that I dont continuely buy batteries.

If I were to do it all over again I think I would have stuck with the iron sights, learned them, used them, get comfortable with them. Then moved on to other forms of optics. There is a reason why people use RBUIS (rear back up iron sight) because if all else fails there always a way to shoot.

UPDATE:
The extreme-fire SW-Computer came in today and I was very anxious to put it in. However, with my lack of soldering and gearbox experiance I will hold off on it untill I can get it to a friend who has worked on my AEG before. I am very impressed with its quality and build. I cant wait to get this thing wired in and running better yet I cant wait to get it on the field.

April 20, 2009

CQB CITY 04-19-09

Great turnout. If I didnt know any better it was beginning to feel like summer. More and more people are coming out to play as Spring begins to get a little warmer.


Saw a lot of happy faces at CQB CITY's Sunday OP. The gentleman who attended last game with his kid and friend were back and brought along even more people. Glad to see people are telling their friends about us. From the feedback we are getting @ CQB CITY is that people are coming from all over to play at our field, why? There is no other indoor field like us in Northern California.

A pizza delivery guy came buy to deliver pizza to the large party that attended and he was intrigued by all the guys with gun. I thought it was funny but turns out guy was interested and wanted to play too. I handed him a card and hoped he would return. 

This week's footage was a littl short (despite still being close to 10 minutes) I took more of a business roll this game. Ensuring players were set up, no real engagement issues, an overall customer service approach to the field.

I was glad to get up in the thick of things, some real honest close quarters stuff. Hope too see more as the summer months roll on by:


As always Ill try to make a player highlight every game I ref. This week is Romeo and his A&K M249. Always a favorite of mine the guy is honestly there to have fun and his whole loadout is awesome. If you are ever considering getting an M249 check out the video:



UPDATE:
Since this is airsoft related I will go ahead and update you on my the status of my mosfet. So I ordered a AB mosfet from a Airsoft Forum user that I have delt with before. When it arrived (in a small 1st class envelop) it was torn open on the side and mosfet missing. Immediately I e-mailed the guy and under good faith shipped me another one. A few days later a similar envelop arrived and SAME THING. The envelop was slit on its side and mosfet missing. At this point I was furious and I didnt know who to be mad at; the seller or USPS. I filled a claim via e-mail and formal complaint over the phone with the United Stats Postal Investigation Services today. I decided it wasnt the sellers fault as being a small package perhaps a number of things could have gone wrong in transit. So right now it looks like I paid a $20 for an envelop.

So I go searching for a mosfet and I decide to bite my lip and go high-end. It was between www.extreme-fire.com or www.unconventional-airsoft.com's computerized mosfet. One was based in the US, and the other in Canada. Each was open for user development and each feature high-end mosfets. So why computerized? Better yet, what do you mean computerized? Like a regular AB mosfet there is a FET that will stop the rotation of the motor so your spring is never compressed, it will increase trigger response & ROF, while still deliverying longer trigger life. With the addition of a computer chip things can be controled or simulated. Such as motor speed adjustment to deliver 3-burst or 2-burst shooting, simulated gun jam for RTB (rack-tap-bang), or even muzzle flash.

Ultimately I choose Extreme-Fires SW-Computer mosfet. I felt it was resonably priced and what I wanted in a mosfet plus an added bonus of playing around with settings with a totally programmable chip. Meaining that I can replace the chip onboard my mosfet unit for custom settings like semi-only, 2burst only, etc. In addition I can run all the wiring without a fuse, even if I choose to go Li-poly some day. As we speak it is being built to order and should receive it within the week. I am excited, I hope there are no problems with this package otherwise I will be pretty pissed off. Once wired up and operational I will update you all with it.

April 09, 2009

Mosfet woes...



So whats a mosfet? Think of it as an electronic gate between the trigger and the motor. Its there so that the trigger doesnt dump un-regulated power directly to the motor. What does that mean? Its more efficient, increases your rate of fire (ROF), and increases trigger response.

Some mosfets like the one above include active breaking (AB) which means that it will always do a full rotation of the gears so that your spring is never compressed when off the trigger. Why is this good? Increases the life of your spring so you don't loose FPS no more half trigger press. More advanced mosfets like the ones from Extreme Fire feature a electronic controller which allow for a 3-burst setting.

Long story short, trust me its long, I found my mosfet went bad.

There are great quality mosfets and poor mosfets. The mosfet that I bought from a company that will remain nameless (*AHEM* HHAIRSOFT *AHEM*) apparently could not handle the energy from an Airsoft gun. Probably why they provide a thermal resettable fuses as an option when you buy a mosfet. I sourced another mosfet, hopefully a better build quality, and awaiting its arrival for me to install. Do not get my wrong I have nothing bad to say about the company its a great mosfet wish I got the resettable fuse to save me another purchase.

I also switched over to Deans connectors because of lower resistance.

Moral of the story? You know the inline fuse to the positive battery connection on a store bought AEG? Yeah dont remove that. If I had kept that I would be buying a fuse rather than a whole other mosfet.

April 06, 2009

CQB CITY 04-04-09



Sorry for the belated post once again. Had to restore the comp due to a computer failure (virus). Anyway its back 100% and got a chance to edit the video. For this one I used Vegas Video and Virtualdub together. During recording I used a Dynex monopod as a counter-weight for a makeshift steady cam rig.

The day game was a another success. No real major foul ups or arguments. Everything went by smooth. Got some great footage of "Us Forces" (camo) and the "Insurgent Forces" (non-camo) players.

No POV footage in this video as I tried to focus more on the players than myself. I had more than 2hrs worth of USABLE footage and had to compress that down to 10 minutes.

So I added some bonus footage:


Ill try to make this a per game basis. What I will do is interview a player at the game to display they weapon. This is Oscar not only is he a player at CQB CITY but a customer of mine at the big box retailer. This is a metal RPK-74, has a guarder wood kit and shoots fairly well:


Thats all for now.

April 02, 2009

FS: JG MP5 SD6


What: JG MP5 SD6
Asking: SOLD
Condition: Fair

SOLD



April 01, 2009

FS: Y&P USP NBB



What: Y&P USP NBB w/ magazine
Extras: OD MILFORCE LH drop-leg
Asking: $45 shipped

About - What we have hear is a very nice NBB USP. Great for the novice or the more avid airsoft player. The slide and frame are both plastic (painted slide). There is a safety and slide catch but both are there for show. Since the slide is static and does not move the slide catch is primarily there to hold the slide in place.