For a good majority of the airsoft collective, MILSIM (short for Military Simulation) is the holy grail of airsoft experience. This is what you spend every weekend skirmish at your local field building up to! This is why you spend all your hard earned dollars on fancy new gear and airsoft guns! We all know what you’ll need to hit the field, but what about some other essentials? Let’s take a look and see what else you’re going to need.

This list isn’t all inclusive, but click the “read more” link, to see what we think are MILSIM essentials:

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The Crossdraw vest is not an end-all, be-all platform, but it will accomplish everything you need and more for the player that is looking to get started with something inexpensive and versatile!

Many new players often ask us about the importance of load bearing gear, and a fantastic option when you’re just getting into the game is the Crossdraw Vest. Though it might not carry everything you might eventually need, the basic Crossdraw generally has pouch real estate for most items you’ll need as a beginner.

Everyone’s preferences vary quite a bit, but as a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to carry enough magazines to get you through a game and back to the staging area, a sidearm in the event your gun goes down or for clearing tighter spaces, and enough magazines to keep said sidearm running. Most folks will also attach some kind of dump pouch to their vest, plate carrier or belt kit, allowing them to quickly and easily store expended magazines rather than fiddling with getting them back into the pouch when you need to get your gun up fast. It’s always advisable to have a spare space for other miscellaneous items you might want to bring with you too – pens, a notepad, a small first aid kit, etc.

If you couldn’t tell where this was going by now – a Crossdraw Vest handles all of these duties with ease!

While not as modular as a pure MOLLE platform, these vests are a great way to get out and play with minimal both minimal thought given to setup, and a minimal hit on your wallet!

Looking for the best way to get into airsoft? Search no further! Checkout our New Player bundles, featuring a Lancer Tactical Gen 2 M4, a few mags, the Crossdraw Style vest we’ve outlined above, Elite Force BBs, and a Paintball style mask for face protection. Check it out!

Everyone who has played airsoft for more than a couple games has experienced cheaters. These Supermen of the Sphere run around the field seemingly invulnerable. Were it not for constant twitching, recoiling, and convulsions, as their bodies react to being pelted with plastic from every direction, you could mistake them for a Kryptonian. Everyone knows the frustration of firing at a cheater. You may be tempted to yell, “Call your hit!”, try to flag down a ref or even pull out a cheater mag or gun to let the sucker feel it next time. But what if they’re not actually cheating?

“My BBs were flying straight! Of course I hit him”

Far less common an experience, but not so far as to be unheard of, is being called a cheater simply because you’re good, and they’re not. Most BBs will have a fairly visible flight path for about 150-200 feet, depending on the shooters eyesight, background and the use of optics. In some situations, the BB may be visible reliably over a much shorter distance. I, for instance, have terrible eyesight, and will have trouble seeing my BBs at about 80-100 feet without a magnified optic.

The issue comes in to play as the part of the BB’s flight path most visible is also when the BB is carrying the most kinetic energy. As the BBs reaches the end of its path, it flies with far less energy. This makes it far more susceptible to outside effects. It is possible for a BB to fly straight for 200 feet, and veer off significantly in the last few feet causing the shot to miss.

Older, more experienced players tend to own and build guns that have increased range, and also understand the ranges they’ll be effective from. Likewise, younger, less experienced players tend to use guns which achieve less range. This is a consequence of both more affordable guns and less knowledge about how to tune a hop up unit. Also, novice players tend to engage everything they see. That guy who’s 200 yards away? Yep, the new guy is shooting at him, too. As far as he can see, the BBs are heading straight for him. He doesn’t see that BBs striking the ground 100 yards in front of his target.

The Bottom Line

You may be able to see a BB hit the target, but that tends not to be reliable. The best barometer is the flinch response. People naturally flinch away from pain, and it is largely an involuntary reflex. If the person didn’t flinch, he or she may not have been hit, or may not have felt it. It may be frustrating, but it also isn’t cheating. If the person flinches away, and then continues playing call a ref. Cheaters are a natural byproduct of a competitive sport. To stop the behavior, an authority may need to be involved. The player will learn or be removed from the field.

Every time a new M4 model airsoft gun gets reviewed, the entire internet gets the same reaction.

“Oh, it’s just another M4, why do we care?”

What does it take for a gun to be more than just “another M4”? Is it performance or external quality? Is it some new hot shot feature like recoil or last round locking? To me that answer isn’t an easy one to nail down. What sets the E&L M4 apart from everything else is its attention to quality and performance.

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