gear for newbie

[BKSRT8]

Hey, im new here. New to airsoft....been shooting for years, pellet guns and powderburners.
Im 28 this year and im getting fat in my almost middle age, my kids are addicted to anything that involves a screen so i decided we will attempt airsoft. My kids are 8-11 but i promise they are bomb proof so dont get pissy with me because they are young. They are tough as nails and super excited, so what im looking for is a list of MUST HAVES for the newb. I personally prefer an m4/AR platform as a main weapon. Im gonna likely go with mp5 size weapons for the kids due to the smaller size.

That being said, id appreciate any info you can give me on budget minded gear/guns. Whats good, what to stay away from as well as what i should look for in regards to clothing ect.
Thanks in advance

[ThunderCactus]

Good on you for dragging your kids into a sport as well!
Check with your local fields, as some will have age restrictions due to insurance.
Any field that does allow minors will almost certainly require full face protection. So they'll likely need paintball masks.
G&G is the standard noob gun around here. Perfect balance of toughness, affordability, stock performance, and upgradeability (which is really important for repairs, too)


Otherwise the list goes something like this:
Face/eye protection (mil-spec ratings are best for glasses and goggles, minimum is Z87.1+)
good boots
gun
ammo (.20g or above, find some good brands like BB bastard, green devil, madbull)
batteries (7.4v lipo batteries are best for stock guns, get them on hobbyking.com)
battery charger (also need good one, iMax B6AC is the favorite)
snacks (protein bars ftw)
and something to hold mags in, like a chest rig
camo isn't required, but recommended

[naminator]

If you are going with heavier full metal guns which you should, get a quality sling. It really makes a big difference. I can say that from personal experience as i ran a variety of platforms without a sling and running them with a low quality 2 point sling it makes a difference. Especially in longer outdoor games.

[Cliffradical]

Get them to double on an M60VN.
Put the 8yo on your shoulders like Master Blaster.

WHO RUNS BARTERTOWN

[AnthonyG]

I'd second paintball masks for the kids because they're easier and potentially cheaper than comparable two-piece solutions.

I just started in December, here's my list of items I have acquired (has overlaps with ThunderCactus's):

• Rifle
• Charger (Bought a Turnigy Accucel 6)
• Batteries (I got 7.2v Turnigy lipos)
• Goggles (purchased mil-spec Revisions)
• Mesh Lower Mask
• Gloves
• Rifle Sling
• Speed Loader
• Extra Mid-Cap Mags
• Boots
• Barrel Sleeve (depends on where you're playing)
• Ammo (0.25 was recommended to me)
• 1982 Canadian army surplus gear (C7 pouches + belt), holds my m4 mags

Nice to have but still working on:

• Plate Carrier
• Knee Pad (you can get away with one)
• Radio (Looking at Baofeng UV-5R and UV8-82)
• PTT (Kenwood Style adapter)
• Radio Headset
• Gun Bag/Case (Was recommended to check Canadian Tire for Hard Cases)
• Red Dot Sight (can be hard to get down on your iron sights with a mask on)

[AlexGPS]

All the other sugestions where spot on. Just one thing i have is with lypo batteries is that they are pretty iffy when it comes to charging them storing them and so on. They require specialized chargers and propper charging times and so on. Read up good before you invest in one. Also buy a fireproof bag since they require it. Its honestly something you NEED in order to have lypo batteries.

[RainyEyes]

Originally Posted by BKSRT8

That being said, id appreciate any info you can give me on budget minded gear/guns. Whats good, what to stay away from as well as what i should look for in regards to clothing ect.
Thanks in advance

Budgets vary. Considering that you're only getting into the sport, I would very much recommend an entry level gun. Not because we consider you an amateur at tinkering, or airsoft as a sport, but this sport is in fact very expensive.

An entry level gun will run anywhere from 180-250 CAD ALONE, not including the cost of extra magazines (a box of 5 will go for 50-70 depending on the platform), batteries (and the environmental fee mind you) as well as eye protection, body protection, helmets, face masks, etc.

Consider a budget of not more than $500 per person (this is on the generous side btw) if you are running a standalone primary without a secondary.

The worst thing that you want, is to spend over $1000 and realize that neither you nor your children are inclined to this sport.

Some people can't tolerate the pain. Remember, you are going to be firing on live targets, and they the same to you. It can be the case where you or someone else does not enjoy the sport once you try it out.

[naminator]

Screw every other suggestion in this thread. Listen to Cliff.



Plus a tiny fire team would be amazing.

[charlie_hozz]

I'm impressed that no one is saying his kids are too young. I would love to get my 11 year old to play but my wife wound kick my ass. Something you might look in a gun is a lower FPS(like CQB), guns don't hurt as much on a child.

[WPJ]

I think kids are fine as long as they are first instructed on proper safety, rife respect and handling as well as plain old target practice. Then ya hope they have tough skin. Heck I remember being 12-13 and getting on the range in Borden a number of times via my cadet unit firing 7.62 in the FN, then switched to air cadets from army hood and bag, air no longer got full bore we only had access to .22 insert in the FN at Borden, but at least I was on the range every month as we had our own .22 range in the armory. aww the memories, by the time I was 16 I was teaching the rife course at the squadron and also Assistant Range Safety Officer.

So no age is fine as long as parents, kids and field are all OK and there trained.

[ThunderCactus]

The three concerns of having minors at airsoft games are;
1) insurance
2) parents treating airsoft like daycare
3) immature kids

As long as they're allowed, parents are with them, they're trained properly, they do just fine.
There's a very large "minor league" team in winnipeg called cuddy's commandos that did a really good job of bringing minors into the sport.

[waylander]

I've seen kids playing at Capital, right now the minimum age is 12 due to insurance coverage. Most of the kids I've played with there have been pretty good.

In terms of equipment, if you're getting 3 of everything, I'd honestly try to keep it all the same stuff so that you gain experience working on one issue you know how to fix it on all of them. If you got 3 guns, all with difference gearbox's it's just more to learn at first. There are some good short barreled M4's out there and the 12 year old's I've seen handle them fine. If they are all M4, same make, same model, then you can also share mags, batteries... etc. Don't make it harder on yourself by having to get 3 different guns, 3 different types of mags, 3 different types of batteries.... etc.

[naminator]

Honestly I doubt the 8 year old would be allowed on many fields. The 11 year old is closer.


That being said I 100% support what you are doing OP. Teaching your kids about gun safety in a fun, enjoyable setting is the best way to do it and it is what I will be doing with my daughter as soon as she is old enough.

[lurkingknight]

We have a local field here that doesn't allow dropoffs.. if a minor is playing there has to be a guardian for the day present on the property or playing.

kids are very coachable for fair play and sportsmanship. I find it's usually the adults that get all hot and bothered when called cheats or calling cheats or doing the cheating.

paintball masks come in kid sizes don't they? that would be the way to go. The military stuff the bigger kids (us) use don't fit very kids well.

starter guns are g&g combat machines, CYMA AKs, any gun marked sportline, though the first 2 are proven pretty reliable for the price.

give a kid 1-2 highcaps, don't even worry about gear, it'll be hard to find anything that fits anyways.

[waylander]

Rothco makes vests for kids, I find that the kids enjoy "dressing up" as much as us adults do. Plus it gives them a layer of protection on the torso.