1 – If you buy a cheap gun, you will miss playing time and spend more money keeping it running than a good mid-level gun would have cost you. You will save money by buying a good gun to start with and you will be much happier.
2 – The battery charger that comes with many guns will kill the life of your battery if it’s not a “smart charger”. Smart chargers shut off when the batter is fully charged preventing the battery from being “over charged” or overheating. BUY A SMART CHARGER if your gun does not come with one.
3 – Know where you plan to play. Different guns come from the factory shooting different speeds and the speed that your gun shoots could prevent you from playing at fields with a low FPS (feet per second) limit.
4 – BB’s have a lot to do with how well your gun will shoot. Most of the better guns will shoot .20’s, but they might shoot .25’s more accurately. You will not be able to shoot .12’s in the better airsoft guns without problems.
5 – A good mask is the most important item in airsoft. If you like the pirate look an eye patch for life might be appealing to you, but I would rather only use an eye patch for Halloween. A cheap mask will fog preventing you from seeing anything but a grey fuzzy image of the guy shooting at you. Players tend to lift their mask when it fogs, but this the worst possible thing you can do. You should call yourself “out” and leave the playing area before taking off any protective gear.
6 – Move, Move, Move. If you remain stationary you are just waiting to be hit and the odds of getting hit at a close distance drastically improves by remaining in one location. It’s not fun to leave the field looking like you’ve contracted some horrible skin disease because of closer than necessary hits. Remaining stationary requires the opposing team to come looking for you and more often than not this ends in a close battle.
7 – Work as a team! If everyone runs out of the starting area like roaches running from light, your “team” will be squashed like little bugs one by one by a team that is working together. Talk to your teammates, let them know what you see, ask them to cover you while you move. Engage the opposing force while other teammates flank them.
8 – Choose a “home” store and develop a relationship with that store. If you want the best prices on your guns and gear you will need to be loyal to a shop. If you constantly search for the lowest price no shop will give you their best pricing on an item. Loyally means something in retail and most airsoft shops will give you the hook up when they get to know you.
9 – Play with honesty! If other payers tag you as someone that doesn’t call your hits one of two things will happen to you. 1. People will no longer want you on their team or want you in the game. Players will ignore you on and off of the field. 2. Players will come after you with a vengeance resulting in multiple and I mean multiple hits at as close as possible distances (see #7). The second choice is the one that most players choose when dealing with someone that doesn’t play with integrity and it usually ends with a ref needing to get involved causing a huge scene that brings to light that you are a scumbag player…………..don’t be a scumbag player.
