Magpul FPG Conversion Kits Available Now!

Since the original Magpul blog entry done during the first week of Shot Show 2010 many have awaited it's arrival to retailers. That time has not come just yet but official Magpul PTS conversion kits have shown up on one popular retails site. Ehobbyasia is well known for their selection of products and relatively competitive pricing. It is also the first that I have seen to offer the Magpul PTS Folding Pistol Glock (FPG) for KSC/KWA G18C.

Read more »

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 Skarsgård) 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.

Night Ops checklist

Ill be participating in a night OP @ the city. As an avid hobbyist airsoft player I think its a good rule of thumb to have a pre-game ritual. This is the time where you check double check your equipment before the day of. Why? Makes sure you dont travel to a game and have something fail on you and your left watching people play or asking for a hand out.

This is my usual base checklist everyting else builds upon this:

• Check Tac Light [batteries/brightness]
  
• Check Laser [batteries/pressure switch/alignment 50ft]
  
• Check Main [proper feed/hop-up/lubed]
  
• Check Secondary [recoil/mag leaks/proper feed/hop-up 15ft]
  
• Check Vest [fit/pouches]

Its always a good rule of thumb also to bring enough things with you just in case you need a quick fix. I usually bring my multi-tool [Leatherman Juice S2], duct tape, electrical tape, & folding allen key [Spin Doctor; for bicycles]. I have used all of them on occasion to help out a fellow player, fix broken or falling pieces, or have used a combination of them for improvised tools. I keep things relatively small, why? I dont wanna carry my whole Airsoft outlet with me. Usually after a game I feel worn out and the last thing I wanna do is bring all the stuff in.

Today I did a little maintenance on my G17

Its a HFC Glock 17 or now commonly referred to as the HFC DarkHawk. But up until today I had a KJW barrel in it. I reverted back to the original HFC barrel and spring and did some Teflon modding. Taking from the Teflon mod's they do on clone spring sniper riffles I wrapped the barrel and hop-up bucking in Teflon tape. Wow. I was rather impressed with the distance and float of the BB. At 20 yrds out it floats nice flat float and a slight curve at the end. Thats how I like it. Each shooter has a preference.

Tomorrow morning I will zero in my weapon to a little closer than usual is that at night games people want to remain planted in their spots. However, when I play I try to zero in on their position thus having closer targets. Hopefully this will work out.

WE GBB M4 V2

I like how this guy takes straight from the Magpul Dynamics video.
Apart from great discipline there would be no need to check for a stove pipe or double feed on a GBB Airsoft rifle.

Went over to a friends house to pick up my MP5 I let him borrow. He needed a secondary-primary (weird right?) because he has yet to have received his GBB M4 mags before a OP @ CQB City.

While I was visiting I was able to shoot a couple rounds really play with the WE M4 GBB (version 2). This thing is very solid looking. Metal were its suppose to be and plastic the rest (hand guard and stock. Other than the wobble in the stock this gun is very solid. The front post iron is all metal and is just like an actual AR. The mags hold 30 rnds and enough gas to last two BB fills (60rnds total).

What I liked the most was the working mechanics of the rifle. It functions just like an actual AR. When there are no more BBS in the mag the bolt catch works. As you insert a new mag you have to press the bolt catch to move the bolt forward. Even a working forward assist when the spring is compressed. To clear jams you can Rack-Tap-Bang (S.P.O.R.T) as demonstrated in the above videos. Semi is very controled and manageable. On full auto its just like any GBB pistol somewhat slugish (compared to an AEG).

This version 2 chronos at a nice 320 fps. Perfect for fields that require <400 fps rifles.

Overall I am SOLD on the GBB M4. The only drawback is of course the mags @ $40-$50 a pop they would become rather expensive.

MBUS Available @ EHobbyAsia

Made of polymer material (same as Magpul PMAGS) these Magpul Back-Up-Sights (MBUS) offer a real nice flip-up sight. With release buttons on its side and top it makes for a real nice sight for when your optics or position require you to go to irons. The sight requires an adjustment key to adjust the front post. These sights fit standard 20mm rails. They retail for $89.99 as seen on Ehobbyasia.com.

Having sold my replica 552 and RDS I have been using my iron (with great results). So this may be in my future external purchases.

Still have no idea what I am talking about? Check out Christ Costa @ the Magpul booth at SHOT Show 2009 demo its real steel counter-part (although still made out of polymer) the PTS MBUS:

Art of the Tactical Carbine - Magpul Dynamics

Title: The Art of the Tactical Carbine

Price: $39.95

Website: www.magpul.com

Disk 1: Magpul Basic Carbine Course

Disk 2: Magpul Advanced Carbine Course

Disk 3: Reference

Finally, I had a chance to get through the whole set. All I can say really is WOW. Coming from an airsoft perspective (no formal real steel training) I can see this as one big reference. It really is something that I will look back on over and over again. The instructors Chris Costa and Travis Haley do a wonderful job at breaking down the essentials and basics and re-build them to fit the shooter. This DVD collection should be used as a way of establishing some ground rules and basics for the operator to build upon.

As an airsofter I find it very helpful in pointing out drills and basic rifle management. One section that got me rewinding over and over again was on the types of reloads. Why is this important? Basically better manage your magazines the faster and less steps you take off whoever your engaging. Both Chris and Travis go over equipment placement and how a better set-ups can shave seconds (and essentially save lives) on the field. For an airsoft player most of the time we put pouches on our molle webbing without ever thinking about the practically. Efficiency not fluidity is what they stress. They want to make sure that the operator stays in control of the moment and wants to ensure that the shooter has to do the least amount of work to put a mag in. Ive seen some players place them on the back of their plate carriers (wtf?) and to be honest I think on my next (airsoft) gear purchase I will put defenietly consider its placement.

Heres a video that you WONT find on YouTube or anywhere else for that matter. Its a special section on "Drawing the Secondary" on the 3rd disk. All of the rights go to Magpul Dynamic and I am solely putting it on the page for education and reference for the dvd.

Drills (USMC)

Real Steel here. Here a Marine demonstrates shooting drills and a tactical reload:

Green Mountain Rangers

Most enthusiasts are probably familiar with members of GMR (Green Mountain Rangers) especially those who participate in the Op: Irene games.

This is one of my favorite helmet cam videos. Why? Simply because it shows the intensity of the sport. Granted all tactics and training were thrown out the window during some of the gameplay but that just shows -one can imagine- the true emotion of combat. Things get close, things get disorienting, things get out of hand but you want to make sure the steps your taking are the right ones.