Just trying to get a taste of the hobby...
 

A couple of friends and I got interested in some super cheap airsoft guns from www.backyardartillery.com and quickly discovered the import regulations into Canada.

Needless to say, once I started reading this forum and other sites, I found myself getting hooked. The issue is my wife is on mat leave with our 4 month old so cash is in short supply.

I know I'll get ripped for this, but we just want to try it out. We want to go into a field with a couple of cheap plastic guns, and get a taste for the hobby before investing $1k or more on gear.

Is there anywhere in Canada that I could find similar $40-$70 baby airsoft guns, either online or in Manitoba, to get a taste of the hobby? I've seen the simple guns at CT but I'd rather have something that isn't transparent or baby blue...

Much obliged, and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

Not really, but since your in Winnipeg and you want a taste, why not go to Xtreme Tactics and rent on their indoor field for a taste?

www.xtreme-tactics.com

Using the cheap plastic guns in a field will not give you a taste for this hobby. For around 45 bucks you can go to Xtreme Tactics as Wise Owl suggested, play a game and have some fun. Take a look at their website and join their forums. Also you might want to check out the MAA at MAA Forums if outdoor play is more your style.

OR go try paintball.. if you like the rush you get from playing paintball then you will certainly like playing airsoft.

Airsoft is similar to paintball. You do not need to worry about being marked by paint, you do not have to wear full masks (although some people prefer to and advise it), you have a wide range of different rifles, submachineguns, pistols, shotguns, sniperrifles to suit your preference.

If you cannot get yourself to one of the organize airsoft games in winnipeg then you are better off trying paintball instead of spending money on cheap airsoft guns (this will not give you any feel of the game).

cheers

Great, I hadn't seen that site before. I've emailed them and I'll try setting up a game for us in the near future.

I'll check out MAA as well. I wasn't sure how they were with handling rookies though. I doubt I could invest in that kind of gear for a year or so.

Regardless, thanks for the responses. I appreciate the advice!

Your best bet is a local game, and renting something decent. Then you can decide what you prefer to do. The odds are pretty high that you will be hooked.

At the very least you will have tried the game with something that is not total crap.

Speaking from personal experience it's best to call XT if you have any questions or better yet just drop by :roll: . The staff there is a great bunch of guys and can answer most of questions.
If you want to see some of the hardware there will be a gun display show this Saturday (Feb 11th, 2006) between 2PM and 7PM. A game will more than likely follow the show and I imagine there will be a number of new players at that game so if you can make it out it would be a good introduction to the sport.

Don't worry about the $1K expenditure.

It'll get a LOT larger than that.

Hmm... Are you TRYING to scare me off, or...

Not to scare you.... But you will for sure want more and more....

No, he's just telling you the truth :lol: Most people think they will be able to fit everyting within that $1k, but than it becomes $2k, $3k and so on :)

$3k... kinda an understatement dont you think?

Yeah I started off this hobby thinking I'd only buy an AEG and one side arm to goof around with......then you realise that you wouldn't mind other pieces to your small growing collection and next thing I knew....BLAMO... I've got 15 pieces in my collection and it hasn't been a year yet!!!

You are probably right :) I guess that was said about airsofters with reasonable spending habbits :lol:

If you can come down to XT on Saturday between 2 and 7 pm, the local XT and MAA players are holding a "gun show" of sorts for new players. Might give you an idea about what you like, and what you want. You'll likely be able to do some target shooting and such as well, and it'll give you a much better idea about quality, prices, etc.

Hope to see you there!

Just like to toss in that it's understandable needing cash for other things when starting a family or adding another kid to one, so don't feel like you have to rush into things.
The sport isn't going to go anywhere in a year so by all means take your time and go to some games and rent and just enjoy what you can till you can get your own gear.

Airsoft is realy addictive as others have already said, you can get started for that 1K but most will love the sport so much that it leads to way more by choice.

Welcome to the forum and airsoft.

I can say from personal experience that visiting Xtreme Tactics is a fantastic idea. Back when I was thinking about investing in airsoft I went to Winnipeg and shot off some rounds at their range. The folks there are fantastic and will certainly answer any questions you have. You'll try it once and that will be the hook. They also have a locked room with just about every AEG you can think of (NOT FOR SALE). They might just let you have a look at some of them.

Yeah, I've already heard back from the folks at XT. I don't think I can make the show this weekend, but I think I can coerce 20 co-workers and friends to sign up for a private game.

I'll start there, and see where it goes.

And to fufil my n00b obligations, allow me to ask: "WhAt gun R best 4 teh shootign?!@!one!1eleventy!2!2two??"

No one with a wife and kid would speak leet so fluently!
J'accuse!
GET HIM!!!!!!!!

Your only problem would be your wife. I mean it's practically like golf, unless of course you can get her into the sport aswell. Otherwise I picture you sleeping on the couch for a while after going to a game.

Hey, I'm a geek by trade, so my uber-l337n355 comes with the job.

My wife is lukewarm to the idea right now, but I admit to having had one or two hobbies with cash layout that ended up on the shelf. She also thinks that running around in the woods shooting people is a bit 'creepy'.

I suppose it is in some ways, but I grew up with an avid military historian for a father, so mil-sim has always interested me, and military hardware is like some sort of highly irregular pornography to me...

Don't take that the wrong way please!

He'll fit in nicely, methinks.

I'll drink to that :cheers:

Ha! Thanks guys.

Maybe I'll see you out there sooner rather than later...

There's a wrong way to take that?

Sure there is! I mean, I've never really 'loved' a piece of military hardware. You know, in the biblical sense.

Of course, the time I got to stare down the barrel of a GAU-8/A hanging seductively off the nose of an A-10 at the Winnipeg International Airshow, I got close... :lol:

I remember going to the show in '87 and my father letting me 'hang' off of that very same barrel :grin:

I'm still waiting for them to built a 'portable' version of that for Airsoft... Minigun eat your heart out. :innocent:

Yup, the world's first tank-killing Airsoft Gun. Uses depleted aluminum pellets.

That's because you haven't gone through the ASC 'initiation' yet.

if you want to be frightened you can figure out the value of some of the larger collections out there, retailers collections don't count.

Ha! No need...

My friend John (who is also getting into this with me) just dropped $1,200 on a P90 TR, Red-Dot sight, flashlight, laser pointer and associated hardware and accessories...

I was going to get a UTG MP5 to start, but now I need to get that CA G36 to keep up with the Joneseses!

If this is your first purchase, please consider buying the Tokyo Marui model instead.

-_-
 

The current Classic Army lines work just fine. I haven't heard any flaws from CA users here in the States.

Unless you own a current model CA product, don't be too hasty to say they're shit. I've held and disassembled a new CA and TM G36 side by side, and the CA is just as well built as the TM, with a better body finish and coming with steel gears and bushings pre-installed. The shimming was just as good as TM, and the CA had a faster ROF on the same battery, too.

Granted, I've also owned old-model CA products....THOSE were shit.

I still stand by what I said regarding getting Tokyo Marui for your FIRST AEG.

Well, it's all academic at this point. The cash isn't there until my lovely wife gets back to work, so it's rental gear at XT for me in the meantime.

Thanks for the advice both ways though.