Tuesday 28 January 2014

Small Gun - Big Gun

The Israeli company CAA Tactical is a manufacturer of arms accessories. They make grips, stocks, magazines and a few years back, they launched their RONI product. This is a carbine frame which fits around a normal 9mm pistol, converting it from a side arm to a primary weapon in 5 seconds.

As you can see from the example above, a ambidextrous charging handle fits on the tail of the pistol slide, which is then clamped into the two halves of the RONI.

The manufacturer claims the RONI improves the accuracy of the pistol by reducing its recoil and muzzle jump, whilst weighing less than a 9mm sub-machine gun. For example, with a Glock inside it, the RONI weighs 30% less than an MP5.

The extra real estate and rail space of the RONI solution means that its easy to add sights, tactical lights and even a spare magazine on the stock.

Since its inception, CAA have produced a RONI variant for nearly all the well known "real steel" pistols.

Recently, they formed an Airsoft division of their company and sell the Airsoft version of the RONI.

At the time of writing, Hong Kong based Tiger 111 HK were offering a TM and WE SIG226 compatible version at a special offer price of USD 84

Tiger111hk CAA-RONI-Pistol-Carbine-Conversion-For-226-Series-GBB-(Black)

CAA also offer another version suitable for Airsoft Glock pistols.

CAA Airsoft have just announced the launch of their new Beretta compatible version which works with the M92 and M9 Airsoft pistols.





Friday 24 January 2014

Tupperware Guns


The name Glock is synonymous with Polymer handguns and many in the Airsoft and real steel shooting world think that Glock produced the first plastic gun.

Not true. Apparently, Remington introduced a 0.22 rifle called the Nylon 66 back in the late 1950's and it is often thought that this was the first use of a plastic frame.

Heckler & Koch came with their Polymer VP70 9mm pistol in 1968. Designed by the great H&K designer Helmut Weldle, it really was ahead of its time. Unfortunately, they only made around 400 units so it never really caught on.

The Glock 17 followed in 1985 and Gaston Glock certainly seemed to accelerate the use of Polymers in the firearms arena. Now in the 21st century, most weapons manufacturers have adopted the use of Polymer in their designs to some extent.

Polymer allows the weapon to be lighter and cheaper to produce.

It is argued by real steel "gun-buffs" that you get a greater muzzle lift when firing a Polymer weapon because of the different inertia and so they are less accurate. Also, there is talk of them being more susceptible to overheating with the potential for expansion and cracking due to temperature variations. Some critics say that metal shooting components sitting on top of the lighter Polymer frame and grip, raise the centre of gravity and this makes it harder to keep a handgun on target.

However, it seems to be generally accepted that their lighter weight, lower cost and greater short term durability in terms of resistance to corrosion means that they are here to stay. Certainly, Polymer is gaining popularity in the personal weapons market in countries like the USA where owners seem to prefer carrying something lightweight and are voting with their wallets.

Doubting Thomases have been vocal about the projected service life of Polymer, stating that as a relatively new construction material, its longevity is unproven and ask, will it last as long as a steel or alloy gun ?

Modern Polymer guns are modular and although it has been said that the plastic frame might crack or deform with age or misuse, its relatively inexpensive to buy a new replacement plastic part.

As was mentioned in an earlier post on this blog, Gaston Glock began in the plastics industry in his native Austria and entered the military world by supplying plastic entrenching tools to the army. His expertise in plastics probably brought a fresh eye to the subject.
There is a mystery around the exact make-up of the Polymer used in Glock pistols, but it is believed that he doesn't use glass strands in his material, in order to minimise problems in the extreme cold. Also, the flexibility allows some recoil to be absorbed by the flexing itself, so there is less "felt recoil" for the shooter.

As we go forward, new assault rifles coming on to the scene are making increasing use of Polymers, mainly to reduce weight. When an infantryman has so much else to carry over long distances, every little reduction counts.

Polymer is also being used to produce rifle magazines and it is even being used in the tips of bullets to aid flight and energy transfer on penetration.

As a material in the firearms industry, its definitely here to stay and no doubt, technology advances will yield improvements in plastic gun construction over the coming years.

Personally, I have Airsoft weapons like the H&K UMP in my collection where the upper and lower receiver, stock and mag is Polymer. Its light and works well, but as a traditionalist, I prefer the heavier feel of a steel and wooden model.

If I had to carry it everywhere with me, all day - well that would be different wouldn't it ??






Sunday 19 January 2014

Flip Me




For those of you who enjoy the posts in this blog, please be aware that Airsoft SOFSIM produces a free digital Flipboard magazine, participates in Twitter and has its own Facebook group for group discussion.

There are many Airsoft related websites and groups across the Internet, but the specific focus of Airsoft SOFSIM is a combined interest in soft milsims (Airsoft military simulations) and what is going on in the real world of weapons and defence.

All the Airsoft SOFSIM formats share this interest as a common thread but the contained information varies slightly between them to give each format its own distinctive feel and flavour.

Flipboard was launched in 2010 by a Californian company and is essentially an "app" for iOS, Android and Windows 8 devices. It allows digital online magazines to be created, where the viewer can flick through the pages on their tablet or smartphone in a similar way to a real book. Unlike paper magazines which are updated weekly or monthly, Flipboard allows instant updates. This means that the Airsoft SOFSIM magazine on Flipboard is continually updated.

At the time of writing this post, our Flipboard magazine was carrying 106 live articles with the oldest being only two weeks old.

The link for the Flipboard magazine is:

Airsoft SOFSIM on Flipboard


Is it an AK - No its a Galil !!


You could be forgiven for glancing at the above photograph and thinking the assault rifle was an AK of some description. In fact it is an Israeli produced Galil.

It is believed that Yisrael Galil fought with the British Army in World War 2 and was involved with the Haganah, where he got involved in weapons manufacture.  He started work with Israeli arms manufacturer IMI and had a hand in the development of the Uzi in the fifties, eventually becoming known as the "Father of the Rifle".

The Israeli Defence Force used the FN FAL for many years but it was less than ideal for the conditions they found themselves fighting in and during the Six Day War in 1967, the Israeli forces captured a number of AK47s from the enemy and were able to evaluate them. Pleased with what they saw, the IDF decided to search for a new weapon and invited proposals. There were evaluations with a number of foreign contenders, but in the end, they went with a submission from Galil, which was based on the AK47 design, but chambered for the lighter 5.56mm ammunition.

There followed a number of improvements and modifications including a dalliance with components from the Finnish Valmet rifle. Since the sixties, there have been a lot of Galil variations and although it was initially based on the AK47, today it bears only a passing resemblance with no component commonality.

The same maker, now called IWI, currently produce the AR Assault Rifle which is chambered for 5.56mm NATO rounds and two other versions of the rifle, the SAR shortened version and the Micro version.
IWI also make a 7.62mm Galil for export only.

There is a 7.62mm sniper version called the SNIPER SA which has Harris bipod and a Nimrod X10 sight.

IWI is a member of the SK Group, which also owns Meprolight Ltd. (Electro-Optic systems), Pulse Inteco Systems Ltd. (Lasers and Night Vision systems) and Uni-scope Ltd. (Optical periscopes), so they have access to the full package.

In addition to the IDF, users include the Estonian military and the South African Defence Force. Many South American forces use a version of the Galil manufactured by Indumil in Colombia or the Galil Ace rifle.

Thursday 16 January 2014

LiPo Batteries - Miracle or Timebomb ?


LiPo, or Lithium-ion polymer batteries to give them their full name have taken the radio control modelling world by storm and secondarily, have found their way into Airsoft AEG weapons in the last couple of years.

Their inherent ability for large discharge currents and a high number of charge/discharge cycles before their design performance starts to degrade, has made them very popular with Airsofters. They certainly seem to last longer and give a cleaner trigger response than the older battery technologies used.

I use 7.4V 25C 1450mAH capacity stick batteries in my Airsoft weaponry and not only are they small, but one will last me all day, which is a great benefit as it saves me having to worry about charging at lunchtime when skirmishing.

However, the chemistry of LiPo means that there are some associated risks in using them.

Overcharging, crushing, puncturing or short-circuiting this type of battery can cause a fire. Manufacturers insist that you use a correctly designed, balanced LiPo charger (you should never use a NiMH battery charger for LiPo) and you should never leave a charging battery unattended. It has been stated by suppliers that LiPo batteries should be kept in a partially charged state (NOTE: not on-charge) and I therefore periodically charge my batteries up when they are in storage, to avoid them becoming too discharged through the natural self-discharge that can occur between games. I never, ever, leave my LiPo connected to the charger once they have charged up and always disconnect them and switch the charger off at the mains.

There are also quite a few movies on You Tube which show people deliberately puncturing or shorting LiPo batteries to show the effects that ensue. Have a look at what happens - typically they all hiss, smoulder and smoke a lot. Some even spew flames. It's not hard to see how they could cause a fire.

In an attempt to provide a degree of protection, many battery suppliers also sell fire safes or fire bags.

I charge and store my batteries in the fire bag that you see in the photograph above. The bag is made of a fire retardant material and is sealed by a Velcro strip to limit the Oxygen supply in the event of battery combustion.

Again there are movies on You Tube that show some makes of fire bag burning, so it seems that not all the bags for sale out there are up to much !!!

To my mind, if you follow all the safety rules and use a specially designed, quality fire bag laid out on a fireproof surface such as a concrete floor away from anything else, you have taken precautions. Logically, if a battery is damaged, it will smoke and although these bags cannot be expected to contain that, hopefully they will control the flames to some extent and reduce the risk of nearby items catching fire. What is not clear and I leave you to make up your own mind is how to evaluate the effectiveness of the different products out there. Which are the quality ones ?

There doesn't seem to be a lot of proper fire bag product reviews on the Internet with any sort of scientific testing ??

Having seen what happens to a LiPo when its deliberately punctured for "edutainment" on You Tube and bearing in mind how some batteries are squeezed into tight spaces in Airsoft rifles, it occurs to me that one specific risk is that the outer casing of a LiPo battery could become physically damaged after a lot of use. Examining my own LiPo batteries, the outer plastic wrap is slightly imprinted where internal parts of the stock have pressed against the battery inside the gun. I now inspect the battery very carefully for any sign of physical wear when I take it out of the rifle after a game.

Finally, I have to say that I'm not a LiPo battery expert, so don't hold me responsible. This post is just an attempt to get Airsofters to consider the risk of using LiPo batteries without taking adequate precautions.

DO make your own study of the subject and make up your mind.

Tango Mike

Friday 10 January 2014

Did We Inadvertently Help The Japanese in WW2 ?


As mentioned in my post about the World War 1 centenary, there was a huge loss of life during that conflict.
Most people know that the British and the Americans fought the Germans and some know that the Russians fought the Germans. I guess that not many people know that the Russians lost almost as many soldiers as the Germans in that war and each country had almost twice the number of losses suffered by the British Army.

What very few people know, including myself until very recently is that the Japanese fought on the side of the Allies. The Japanese are believed to have had around 1200 casualties, principally fighting the Germans in the far east.

Japan had signed an alliance with Great Britain in 1902. When war broke out, the British asked Japan for help with the German naval squadron based in the far east. Their concern was that the German Navy would be able to disrupt trade and lever the war effort. At that time, Germany had various colonies in the Asian Pacific rim and Japan saw an opportunity.

Japan entered the war on August 23rd 1914 and a few months later, worked with the Royal Navy to seize the German naval base at Tsingtao in China. Japan was also able to seize the German controlled islands in the Pacific which gave them Japanese naval bases at Yap, Ponape and Jaluit and eventually allowed them to build their own base in Truk. In fact, the British agreed that the Japanese could take all the German colonies north of the equator.

Truk became the main Japanese naval base and for the first two years of World War 2 was considered an unassailable fortress. Yap became an island stronghold with around 6000 men and Jaluit had over 2000 men stationed there.

US naval forces eventually had to take Truk as part of their westward advance in a reverse Pearl Harbor attack and lost 25 aircraft in the process. The Japanese suffered huge losses and the media at the time referred to the attack as retribution for Pearl.

It just shows you governments need to be careful who they assist today because they might well be the enemy of tomorrow !!


Thursday 9 January 2014

Love and War

Take Your Hits - You Swine



I've often heard Airsoft players talking about what is fair in the game.

Virtually every skirmish I go to, somebody gets out of their pram about hit-taking.

"He is isn't taking his hits, Mr.Marshall, it's not fair".

"Take your hits, you xxxxxx xxxx"

Airsoft is largely an honesty game.

If we don't take our hits, it takes the fun out of the game. You can spend ages lying in wait or stalking the opposition, only to shoot them fair and square and have them shrug it off. Unlike real bullets, its hard to prove it. Its your word against theirs, unless a Marshall has seen them do it or has tested them by shooting the person himself.

Different sites handle it differently - from a cold indifference where its largely swept under the forest floor to a zero tolerance where cheaters are sent home at lunchtime for not taking hits.

At the end of the day, what does it matter if you get hit. Its only a game and you can usually re spawn back into the game in 5 minutes. Admittedly, on some occasions, the shooter is in error - their shots fall short and the opponent wasn't hit. Also, some players on the receiving end get hit at long range and the BB doesn't impact through thick clothing. I remember an occasion playing in heavy rain, where rain drops falling on me from tall trees made me think I was being hit, every few seconds. Sometimes, the worst offenders are those playing a skirmish for the first and last time - just an opportunistic fun game for that day only as a birthday or stag treat. We're not coming back, who cares ?

For those of us who are serious and serial players, its between us and our consciences. If we don't take our hits, how would we feel if those we shoot, did the same to us ??

However, there are other inequalities in Airsoft. How many hardened and experienced players do you hear talk about upgrades ? how much is spent on getting that sniper rifle more accurate and harder hitting ?
Is it therefore fair for a sniper with a £1000+ upgraded state of the art sniper rifle to be pitched against the rental player with a worn rental AEG using ironsights ?

Is it fair for a player using high capacity flash magazines that have 300-400 BBs in them and don't need winding to compete against a realism enthusiast using low cap magazines with only 30 BBs inside ?

Is it fair that players operating in a team and moving strategically are put up against individuals operating without fire support ?

Is it fair that magnified sights are pitched against x1 red dot sights or just guns with the basic ironsights ?

Well its their choice, I hear you shout.

To some extent, that is true, although it can also be a matter of how much disposable income the player has to spend on their Airsoft hobby.

Most Airsoft skirmishes operate with common safety rules but are largely freestyle when it comes to players being allowed any level of technology or weaponry within certain muzzle velocity limits.

Of course, wouldn't it be boring and restrictive if Airsoft were organised into classes based on what weapons and technology assistance you had and varied handicaps were applied to create a level playing field. Probably totally impractical to manage too.

Of course, you could argue that those really seeking realism and total fairness should fight in battles where everybody has the same weapon types. Can you imagine a battle where every player fights with a standard stock Garand M1 rifle - no spray and pray there !!

This post is a little tongue in cheek, designed to get people thinking.

The next time you encounter people not taking hits, remember:

All's fair in love and war....

Tuesday 7 January 2014

World War 1 Centenary




You probably haven't heard much about it yet, but you will.

28th June 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the event which started the Great War.

On that date in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife was shot by a 20 year old Bosnian Serb called Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo. He used an FN 1910 pistol.

The Austro-Hungarians issued an ultimatum to Serbia which resulted in the first shots being fired one month later.

The Russians mobilised in support of Serbia and Germany invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. Great Britain was forced into the war in defence of Belgium on August 4th.

The war, said to be the war to end all wars, raged for over 4 years and at its end, the death toll was estimated to be as high as 65 million people.

In 2014, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is leading plans to build a commemoration fitting of this significant milestone in world history, working alongside partners including the Imperial War Museum, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission .

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged £5m funding that will help conserve, repair and protect First World War memorials and burial sites across the UK and overseas where British and Commonwealth servicemen and women are buried. He said at a visit to Flanders last month:

"Next year’s centenary of the start of the First World War will be a time for the whole nation to reflect on the events that saw so many young people of that generation make the ultimate sacrifice. Nearly all of us in Britain have some family connection with that conflict, and it is the many millions of small, personal stories that resonate as loudly for us as the big, world-changing battles and campaigns.
As part of that, it is absolutely right that we help communities up and down the country to ensure that their local war memorials are a fitting tribute to the fallen and increase people’s understanding of what happened. We simply should not tolerate damaged war graves in our country. Our memorials and cemeteries must be places of respect and education. This funding will help make it happen, and I am proud to be able to announce it today.

More planned events will unfurl as we move through 2014, but a Facebook page has already been set up:


First World War Centenary on Facebook


Sunday 5 January 2014

From Humble Beginnings






Some of today's biggest arms manufacturers started from very humble beginnings, often producing some very diverse products in their early days.

Of course, some well known names like the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, which produced the Bren and legendary Lee Enfield .303 rifle flowered and wilted.

The RSAF dates back to 1816. Government owned, it was built in Enfield in the UK to take advantage of the water power from the local River Lee to drive its machines, not to mention easy water transportation to the Woolwich Arsenal via the Thames and a close proximity to the gunpowder factory in adjacent Waltham Abbey. Its fortune waxed and waned as wars came and went although the site employed 2400 people in its peak.

After the Second World War, activity at Enfield started to wane again. The RSAF was eventually sold to a private company in 1984 and it was closed in 1988 by BAE, the last owner.

One of their final weapons was the SA80 (or L85) rifle. Now the site has been developed for housing with only a nod to its earlier purpose, mirrored in the name of the streets. Ironically, the gunpowder factory site which is vast, still exists as a museum and an Airsoft group use some of the land.


The Belgian company FN Herstal were founded in 1889 and the name was derived from the original name, Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre and the fact that the factory was at Herstal.

In addition to rifles, they also built cars for about 30 years at the start of the 20th century and only stopped manufacturing motorcycles in 1965.

Beretta of Italy have been family owned since 1526 and may be the oldest armaments company still in existence ?

Apparently, they still have the original documents for the sale of muskets to the the authorities in Venice in that year.

Remington's father was a farming blacksmith in New York state who branched out into gun barrel production in 1816 and never looked back.

Samuel Colt's father was a textiles factory owner. It was said that Samuel got the idea for his revolver whilst observing a ships wheel being turned on his passage to Calcutta. He dabbled with many new technology ideas during his life including the galvanic cell, electric detonators and underwater telegraph cables.

The famous Browning Armaments company sold fishing rods as well as firearms when they started in business.

The origins of SIG Sauer lie with the manufacture of Swiss railway rolling stock (dating back to 1853).

Even the new arrivals on the firearms scene didn't always start in the gun business. Gaston Glock, the Austrian engineer who pioneered the pistol of the same name, didn't get involved with guns until he was 52 years old. He made his fortune in plastic curtain rods.

Perhaps gun makers are made not born.



Saturday 4 January 2014

The Rifle That Doesn't Know Left From Right





The Beretta ARX160 Assault Rifle is part of a new breed of automatic weapon.

Developed in 2008, it is part of the Soldato Futuro program and is the result of joint collaboration between the Italian Army and and Italian company Beretta. Beretta are famous for their type 92 pistol and their tactical shotguns.

Umarex are now selling an Airsoft AEG version of the weapon, which is made for them by S&T Arnament.

The real steel version is still quite new to the arms arena but is slowly gaining ground outside the Italian military. The ARX160 has some interesting features which set it apart from the other kids on the block.

Weighing just over 3Kg, this largely polymer rifle has dual ejection ports, which means the user can determine which side the spent cartridges are ejected from. Similarly, the charging handle can be operated on either side. Together with an ambidextrous magazine release and fire selector, the ARX160 is ideal for either left or right hand shooters, as the standard rifle can be adapted in less than a minute by the user.

In addition, barrels can be swapped by the user in a similar time frame which makes it possible to quickly switch between the shorter 12" barrel for close combat and the longer 16" barrel for more open engagements.

The rifle needs minimal lubrication and can be stripped down without special tools. There are no retaining pins to fall out or get lost.

The iron sights are spring loaded so flip down when not needed or to avoid damage when struck and the stock is retractable and can be swung to one side for CQB work.

Available in 5.56 x 45mm or 7.62 x 39mm NATO calibres, the ARX160 comes with four mounting rails and a wide range of accessory and mission options including the underslung Beretta GLX160 Grenade Launcher, a bayonet and what Beretta call their Tricompensator. This is a suppressor-looking device which is attached to its own barrel section and is fitted when needed just like a new barrel. As the name suggests, it has three purposes - that of suppressor, muzzle brake and flash hider.

The Umarex Airsoft version is officially licensed by Beretta so it has the trades and is available in black only.
It is currently being offered by eHobby Asia in the longer barrel version (which takes 14mm CCW attachments) at USD 325. Lets hope it makes it to the UK retailers.

The Airsoft version



Demonstration of the real thing on You Tube



Thursday 2 January 2014

The SCAR - a Marmite Rifle ?


The FN Herstal SCAR has been with us for about five years. Originally developed to take advantage of a US requirement to replace their M4 and older M16 rifles, it found itself in a shoot-off with two other manufacturers.

The US eventually purchased a quantity of what they call the MK16, the 5.56mm version of the SCAR. In a slightly baffling set of events, the deliveries were eventually halted and the MK16's replaced. The authorities suggested the order cancellation was a funding issue.

However, the American forces have since continued with the Mk17 which is the 7.62mm SCAR variant and there is even talk of a mod kit which allows the MK17 to handle both calibre's of ammunition.

The SSR or MK20 Sniper Support Rifle is a derivative of the Mk17 and is capable of a sub-minute angular accuracy out to and beyond 1,000 yards. The Real Steel SSR features an extended receiver rail for mounting in-line night vision and thermal devices with standard/sniper optics. It also has an enhanced adjustment-free trigger that is rugged enough for field use but precise enough for long-range target engagement.

The cosmetics of the SCAR seem to make it something of a Marmite rifle amongst Airsofters - you either love it or hate it.
Often an initial weapons choice for "softing" is based on looks or perceptions and the appearance of the SCAR could be considered to be an acquired taste.

A number of manufacturers produce a SCAR replica and these include varied offerings from G&G, Umarex/VFC, WE, D-Boys, Tokyo Marui and CA.

As you can see above, VFC also produce a replica of the SSR.

Certainly the ergonomic benefits of the SCAR make it a winner in my book. I particularly like the side mounted charging handle as opposed to the rear mounted one on the M4. While VFC have added reality by designing their weapon to strip down like real steel, all makers offer the elephantine SCAR signature stock with its extendability and adjustable cheek rest. Some models also provide the facility to switch the charging handle to the opposite side, just like the real thing.
It's interesting that some like the G&G allow the stock to be swung to the side and locked into position, which is added reality.



Despite the bitter-sweet tale with US SOCOM, FN have sold their rifle to the military users of a number of other nations which includes the French and Belgian special forces, the Chilean Marines, the Peruvian and New Zealand armies and even the German Police in the back yard of messrs Heckler and Koch.

From an Airsofting perspective, it must be said that the SCAR poses a viable combat assault rifle alternative for those players who like M4 and HK416 loadouts.


Now its just a question of choosing which Airsoft maker ??

Who said "softing" was easy..........

Wednesday 1 January 2014

The Pink Riot

Plethora of Pink Airsoft Guns - photo courtesy of Deskpoper.com 
Girls have played Airsoft for years.
In the far east where Airsoft started, they even air Animé movies about it.
In Japan, a TV channel broadcast Stella Women's Academy, an animated movie about a schoolgirl who joins her school Airsoft club.
Stella and her classmates are cute wide-eyed animé girls who play in pink jackets and pleated skirts.

So Airsoft is officially cool and an increasing number of female players are regulars at UK Airsoft sites.

Why ?

Do girls play for the same reasons as the boys ?

Its a difficult question and one can easily drift into sexism in trying to answer it. I can only reply from my personal observations and opinions.

There are some really good female players out there and why shouldn't they be. Many of the successful female players I've seen pose a smaller silhouette than the guys they shoot with, they are more agile and often quite ruthless when it comes to winning - I've seen situations when a guy will momentarily hesitate to shoot a girl player at short range, running some fairer sex stuff in his head and she just lights him up.

In my own experience, I've seen few women over the age of thirty playing unless they are there with spouses or boyfriends. Teams of girls in the 18-25 age group seem quite popular, but they seem to be focussed differently. While the guys are dressing like a US Navy SEAL in the latest CAM and high tech head gear or skirmishing rigged out as a Russian WW2 sniper, the girl teams seem to tone down the military associations and go more for the matching team look. Perhaps girls see Airsoft more as a competitive team sport rather than a chance to play war ??

Pink and purple airsoft weapons seem to be gaining in popularity and my local retailer was telling me recently how they are selling pink M4 variants like hot cakes.

Personally, I am grateful for those ladies who fight with pink guns and their hair and faces uncovered - it gives me a chance to see something of the other team in the dark recesses of the local woodland site. Their desire for chic apparel and looking good out on the battlefield often means that pink guns, shiny faces and trailing blonde hair often helps my old eyes discern them from the foliage. Mind you, I've still been rinsed by a few, which probably says more about my playing skills than them.

For the final opinion, I asked my wife why she thought that there weren't so many mature women playing Airsoft.

She said it was because men have bugger all else to do on a Sunday and women are always busy having to do something more important.

Fair enough...

Courtesy of Gainax Company