Airsoft Events: Operation Black Shield

Hey airsofters! Grim here with a quick update on an upcoming airsoft only event: Operation Black Shield. SC Village held this event last year, so I'm guessing the scenario, field availability and other good stuff will be the same.

So far, SC Village has only released the briefest of promo videos for it, which you can view below, but the event is to be held on July 14th through the 15th. You can purchase a one day ticket for $50.00 or a two day pass here (scroll to the very bottom for the two day option). Two day entry on the day of the event will be $95.00, so my suggestion is to preorder for $70. Here is a rundown of how the weekend will be broken down:


Itinerary

Saturday - July 14th, 2012

0700-0930: Registration Begins/Chrono Open
0930-1000: Safety Brief
1000-1400: Battle 1 Begins
1400-1500: Lunch Break
1500-1800: Battle 2 Begins
1800-1930: Resupply (Dinner Break)
1930-2000: Night Operations Safety Brief
2000-???: Night Operations Begin

Other necessary info:

Campsite Parking: $15.00

RV Parking: $20.00

Outfit Restrictions:

US Special Forces & Allies- Any Desert Camo

Liberation Army - Any Woodland Camo

Note: No Black Uniforms Allowed on Either Team

If you plan on attending the event, here are a few suggestions to make your long game weekend more comfortable:

• Hydrate! If you've ever played at SC Viper during the summer, you know that Chino gets HOT. A camel pack is practically mandatory and bring plenty of sports drinks and water to refill it. 
• If you plan on attending both days, you can purchase a camp permit for $15.00 and park your vehicle overnight. This saves on gas and you can mingle with your teammates. There are also a couple of motels within driving distance should you need to shower. And for God's sake, please shower. 
• Bring spare AEG's. Unless you're a tech and can fix your own guns, I suggest bringing at least one backup weapon and spare batteries. 
• Ankle support! Because of the varied terrain, good ankle support and comfort are a necessity. At my last two day event, I ended up leaving early because I took a spill and nearly broke my ankle. SO in a word...BOOTS

That's it for now, airsofters! These overnight events are usually a lot of fun, so I hope to see you there! As always, play safe, play hard and call your hits!

This hit called itself!

Kids, this is what happens when you don't wear full face protection. Courtesy of the OpFor at SC Viper in Chino.

Ironhead lives up to his name, although "bb magnet" might be more fitting.

Airsoft Review: JG (Jing Gong/Golden Bow G36K)

Call your hits airsofters! It's your ever lovin' Grim here with my review on my JG G36K that I purchased from Airsplat. Now, some of you are probably thinking, "Grim, don't you already have a G36C? Why by another variant of the same model?" You're also probably asking yourselves, "Grim, is it possible for you to be less awesome?" The answer to both would be "Why mess with perfection?"

Anyway, the real reason behind it was just that, well, I just love the G36 design. It's just a damned sexy looking gun. I'm also comfortable with the guns setup and JG hasn't let me down yet and I also needed something with more range than my G36C and Holy HELL does this thing have some range. Now, on to the review.


Real Steel Info (from Wikipedia)

G36K (K — kurz "short"): carbine variant with a shorter barrel (fitted with an open-type flash suppressor) and a shorter forend, which includes a bottom rail that can be used to attach tactical accessories, such as a UTL flashlight from the USP pistol. The carbine's barrel lacks the ability to launch rifle grenades and it will not support a bayonet. The weapon retained the ability to be used with the AG36 grenade launcher. G36Ks in service with German special forces are issued with a 100-round C-Mag drum. There are two variants of the G36K. The first and most commonly known has x3 scope/carry handle attached to the top, while the second is the one with the iron sights and rail (no scope included)

AEG Specs:

• Velocity: 340 FPS (0.20g BB's) 
• Range: 170-190 Feet 
• Barrel Length: 16 inches / 40 cm
• Integrated 3x magnifying scope
• Body: ABS plastic
• Folding stock

Now being a JG there are certain things that are a given that you'll be, well, given when you purchase this gun: an unjamming rod, wall charger, 8.6v 1100 mAh battery, crap bb's (WHY do they still give these? Can someone answer this for me?), very good english instructions, and one high capacity (470 rd) plastic magazine and a blaze orange barrel plug. The usual list for JG's anyway.

This gun is virtually identical to the G36C so it's made of ABS plastic, meaning it's very solid and has no wiggle. It has a skeletonized, folding stock and ambidextrous fire select and mag release. The main differences between this and the G36C are of course the longer inner barrel (16" vs. 11.5" on the G36C), the longer hand-guard and the integrated 3x magnifying scope.


Performance:

The range on this gun is fantastic! Using .20g bb's in combination with the 3x magnifying scope,  I could hit targets within the 170-175ft range with reasonable accuracy (as a side note, there are also "manual" sights on the top of the scope for quicker target acquisition). I think the 190 ft range that is advertised on Airsplat is on the extreme side, and I wouldn't bet the farm that you could even graze a target at that distance. However, I will address that again in the My Setup section of this review. Also, the rate of fire is consistent with the G36C, with a much tighter grouping at range.

Issues:

None. And I mean that. I freaking adore this gun! I honestly can't think of a single complaint. Even the weight of the gun is not that much of a issue.



My Setup:

Here is where it gets more interesting. As you can see in the picture, I've added some external upgrades to this gun. My goal is to turn this into a squad support weapon, so to that end I've added the following:

• UTG Shooters Folding Bipod (Amazon) 
• Matrix 1,000 rd Electric Auto Winding Magazine (Evike) 
• JG Full Metal Auto Tracer Unit (Airsoftmegastore) 

The reason for not going with a full drum style magazine was two fold: first, the gun is heavy enough as is, and adding an extra 1,500 rds just seemed excessive. Also, having the dummy 5.56mm rounds showing just looks freakin' cool. The magazine is activated by pressing a small button on the trigger side of the magazine, which automatically feeds bb's, enabling me to lay down ridiculous amounts of fire.

Now, a word on the range. Having added the tracer unit to the barrel has increased the barrel length by about 6" and along with the integrated scope the effective range of this AEG seems to be about 180 ft. I know that using this gun in tandem with the tracer unit at SC Viper, I was able to hit targets on the second story of the palace side two story building while shooting from the one nearest the field entrance. Not only that, but the tracer unit allows for me to use this gun during night games when used in conjunction with glow in the dark bb's.

You can obviously tell that I would highly recommend this AEG to anyone looking for a quality, affordable long distance rifle. It is definitely a hefty gun, so you will feel it after running around with for a few hours. But without a doubt this is a definite recommend on my part. 

So, as always airsofters, play hard but play safe and never take your airsoft guns out in public. Or we'll find you.

Airsoft Team Spotlight: Team Infidel

Goooood morning airsofters! Grim here with another airsoft community interview. There are some great airsoft teams out there, and it can be tough and even a little intimidating to get to the know them, especially if you are new to the sport. In an effort to introduce new players to some of the more established teams out there, we're starting a new segment on the blog called Team Spotlight. Today we have Brian "Warjunkie" Cruz from Team Infidel to tell us a little bit about Team Infidel:

Holy. Crap! I once saw a makeshift mortar being used at SC Village in Chino, but this Hades Arrow Rocket Mortar is designed from the ground up to be a true airsoft mortar. The guys over on Scout The Doggie's Youtube channel posted this video and I just had to share it with the airsoft community. I know what's going on my Christmas list this year!