New Players Are The Future. How Do We Keep Them?

There is a certain life cycle to the game of airsoft from when you are one of the new players, to when you have some experience and become one of the grizzled regulars at your local airsoft field. We’ve all experienced it, and chances are not all of our experiences were overwhelmingly positive. If we’re being honest with each other, new players are the life blood of our hobby, and without them it cannot grow and prosper and give us even more people to share it with, so how do we keep them around?

 

Offer advice, constructively, not critically.

We all see the new players when they screw up. If your experience is anything like mine, it’s been the root cause for several walks to respawn or unnecessary shots to unprotected parts of your body because someone had poor trigger discipline. It’s very easy to get upset when these moments happen, but you have to put yourself in the new player’s shoes. This may have been you or one of your regular squad mates in the past. We can teach the new players without screaming at them, belittling them or generally being the jerk player that makes sure the new guys never come back.

Does the new guy run around constantly flagging you with the barrel of his airsoft gun? Politely instruct him why it’s necessary to pay attention to his gun safety.

Does the new guy bunch behind cover? Help him find somewhere better to post up. Give him some covering fire to get there safely.

Does the new guy have gear that clearly doesn’t suit their play style? Offer some advice, some recommendations or show him why you like the stuff you use.

Be kind, be patient, and teach instead of ridicule.

Be The Mentor You Wish You Had When You Started

We’ve all had a negative experience from our time as a new player. We couldn’t figure out what hop up was, or how to get our guns to shoot straight. Nobody ever explained to peek around cover and not over it. You accidentally flagged someone and got chewed out because you didn’t know better. We’re all human, we’ve all made mistakes.

It’s important to be the mentor to new players that you wish you had when you first started playing airsoft. This is the golden rule, treat others the way you wish to be treated. Take a new player under your wing, show him the cool hiding spots or popular flanking routes on your field. Teach them small unit tactics so they become someone you want to play alongside, and someone who will challenge you when you have to play against them.

Use our first tip, and offer advice constructively, not critically. Don’t be afraid to lend some bb’s from your speed loader to the rental kid. Lend some gear to your new player friends so they can have a better experience. Teach them how to properly set a hop up. Everything you do to make the new guys have more fun, makes them stick around for the long haul and ultimately make airsoft better.

 

Solve Problems. Don’t Create Them.

Every new player has one key thing in common. They’re going to run into some problems. Sometimes, these problems are technical like an issue with their gun or gear. Other times, these problems can be with other players. Often, new players are afraid to seek help for fear of looking “like a noob” and that can put a burden on them that ultimately leads to their not sticking with a new hobby or seeking bad advice from the less savory parts of the internet.

Whenever you have the chance, try to help these players solve their problems, and try not to be the cause of them.

You can do this by:

• Calling your hits
• helping fix the simple issues when you can
• grabbing an admin or referee to help new players deal with problems on field
• offering to show them the ropes and squad up

There are more ways than that to help out new players, but this should get you started. Remember, the key here is to help, not hurt the new guys.

Do Your Part To Make Airsoft Awesome

The easier we make it for new players to get involved, the better our favorite hobby will be for it in the long run. If we want to increase player counts at events, increase innovation in the industry by having more players for companies to make guns for, and overall make things even better for all of us, it starts with how we treat the new players.

Stay excellent to each other.

Want to pick up your own guns and gear to help out the new guys? Click HERE.

There’s been a bit of a buzz about the new rifles from Arcturus, specifically the AK models. But what exactly are you getting for your money? Let’s break it down.

  

Internal Build

The Arcturus will house a V3 gearbox that uses a microswitch trigger. This means that drop-in mosfets are unfortunately not able to be installed. However, the gears and piston are incredibly solid. It will take A LOT of stress to strip them down. The Quick-Change Spring System is definitely a plus. Being able to change the FPS without taking apart the gearbox is a great feature. Another positive is the 6.02 tight bore inner barrel that is installed out of the box. The compression is near perfect with a o-ring air nozzle and a full metal rack piston. The gearbox is excellently shimmed out of the box! Which is something rare from most manufacturers and should be acknowledged. This will increase the longevity and performance of the gun.

How do the externals hold up?

In one word; absolutely solid. The Arcturus bodies are on par with the durability of Classic Army or LCT bodies. If for whatever reason you wanted to replace the entire gearbox with another V3 it is possible. Each model has something different to offer. The M-LOK Rail included on a few models is very slim and feels comfortable in the hands. Out of the box, these guns come with a high cap magazine, mid cap magazine, and some include a nice accessory for the gun. Varying from a hand stop to a vertical grip. The pistol grip is very ergonomic. Unlike a traditional style or a Bravo style grip. The Arcturus pistol grip is a good in between. Being larger than a standard grip, but slimmer than the Bravo grip.

Is it worth it?

With both rugged exterior and beefy internals, the Arcturus AKs are definitely a contender and solid choice for anyone looking to get into the AK game. Especially when considering the price. All the Arcturus AK variants are set at a very affordable cost with great performance! With the plethora of different models available. You can choose the one that is perfect for you!

So You Want To Get The Squad Involved…

One of the biggest perils of starting airsoft we get asked about is how to get your friends involved. It is quite understandable, as humans we are all very social creatures and don’t like to be alone. If you’d rather hit the field with back up, but none of your friends play, how do you get them involved?

 

We’re going to share with you a couple of helpful tips and strategies so that you and your friends can get playing quick fast and in a hurry! Come take a journey with us and see how to get the squad moving!

 

Start The Arms Race Yourself

This is the one we see happen the most often. Typically, you and several of your friends will discover airsoft through YouTube or other social media means and start getting excited. You may venture to a retailer like Airsoft GI and check out all of the awesome Airsoft Guns, but nobody knows where to go from there.

The first friend to locate the local field information, order his first gun and guilt trip his friends into joining is usually the instigator of the airsoft arms race. Sometimes your friends will just need a little push to get the motivation to get going.

It can help if you do some research on behalf of your friends and find them some affordable options to fit their needs and desires as well. A lot of players tend to begin with our Best Airsoft starter kits and work their way into higher end gear from their. Become the facilitator for your friends future airsoft addiction and you’ll all be hitting the field in no time!

 

Become The Team Armory

 

This tactic works very similarly to starting your local arms race yourself, but works better if you have friends that are perpetually broke. Just start buying up guns and gear until you have enough to outfit the squad on your own. We have so many options for great inexpensive rifles that actually perform when it comes time to hit the field, that it has never been easier to stock up and build your own airsoft armory. The trick here is to focus on guns that give you value and performance over cool looks and excessive features. If you want to get the gang together as fast as possible, the goal is rapid acquisition of guns and gear in record time.

Start with guns like the Apex Fast Attack line, or Lancer Tactical Gen 2 rifles. These guns all give incredible value and performance for your dollar and can be a great place to start.

 

Show Them Some Footage!

What about your friends that haven’t fully committed yet? What about your friends who aren’t even interested? How do you give them the spark to get them to join you on the field?

 

Airsoft is best when experienced, but if your friends need some extra motivation to join you for the weekend, whip out your phone and pull up some of the amazing gameplay videos you can find on the web from all of the Pew-Tubers you find on all the video sharing platforms on the internet! Check out youtubers like USAirsoft, The Airsoft GITV channel or others you find and share them with your friends. Getting to get a taste of the action vicariously can be a powerful hook to get your friends involved!

 

So What Is The Best Way?

The best way is whichever way works for you. Everyone is a little different and gets motivated differently. There are far more strategies than just the ones we’ve listed here, but we have found these to be the most effective options.

The important thing is the end result: Getting your friends to the field to sling plastic with you! Whichever way you accomplish that goal is a good one!

What ways have worked for you in the past? Reach out to us on social media and let us know!

 

Want to grab your own guns and gear to get started? Click here.

The 1911 is one of if not the most widely used pistol designs in the airsoft market. So many models from different manufacturers exist. One, however, would stand tall with a reputation of reliability, simplicity, and affordability. The Elite Force CO2 1911 has been around for several years now and is still one of the top selling items in airsoft and for good reason. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at what you’re really getting, and whether or not it’s a 1911 you want.

What you get our of the box!

Out of the box you get a solid, full metal 1911. Depending on which variation you buy, you will either receive a 1911 styled after the original 1911A1 design used since the World Wars and even into the Cold War or the Tactical or “Tac” version which sports a lower picatinny rail, upgraded white dot sights, and different textured grips. Both versions will feature 14mm ccw threads on the ends of the outer barrel. The magazine included is a 14 round magazine that is powered by a 12g CO2 cartridge. In addition, an individual allen key required to install the CO2 cartridge in place (don’t worry if you lose it, any HEX key set in mm will have the correct size needed)

To be, or not to be?

Due to the proprietary CO2 design, there isn’t much potential for future internal upgrades. This might not phase too many people starting out as reliability seems to be a deciding factor in purchasing their first set of airsoft equipment. However, a sizable percentage of the airsoft community prefer buying fully upgradable guns as tinkering is something many love to do. The fact that the Elite Force 1911 does not follow the standard Tokyo Marui design may off put some.

Quality and Affordability!

There is something to be said about it’s durability, reliable performance, and price. The CO2 blowback system is much snappier and kicks harder harder compared to standard green gas TM spec 1911s. The metal construction is actually quite sturdy and tough, being able to withstand a few accidental drops or blows and get back to kicking. The standard 1911A1 retails for $99.99 while the Tac retails for $119.95. At these prices, owning a sturdily built sidearm that already outperforms many TM spec green gas pistols in its stock form seems like a good deal. The choice however is completely yours to make.

So Your Airsoft Gun Ended Up In The Mud…

We’ve all been there: You’re out playing and having a good time with the squad and you trip into a nasty pile of mud. You’re covered, your airsoft guns and gear are covered. What do you do now?

We have the answers. Check out this quick tip video from Dave about how to get your gun clean again in just a few quick steps!

Need more tips? Try here.

Want to buy your own airsoft gun? Click Here.