GZ Weekender Prep
The weekender wouldn't be right if we didn't have some new toys though so true to form, we got ourselves some.
For starters Darkie and Bio have new Goggles. We are all for safety and you should never EVER skimp on your eye protection. Most Airsofters will spend hundreds on their gear but just a few pounds on cheap shooting glasses or purchase glasses from their local DIY store.
While these are OK for the most part, they can let BB's in round the edges which can still result in eye damage, or worse still, on some cheap glasses a round to the arms of the glasses will see them break and part company from your eyes leaving you totally exposed!
Dr. Airsoft has some great reviews of masks and goggles on Youtube and I recommend you check them out.
The one which prompted us to go for the ESS however was:
Although ESS do not recommend anything other than the profile with Cortex clip for Airsoft, they are a fully sealed goggle and this will be twinned with some lower face protection to lower the chance of BB's penetrating from the lower edges.
Bio, ESS V12, Mask
Although the lower face doesn't offer a full seal it should seriously minimise the probability of a BB penetrating the goggle seal.
The primary reason for purchase however would be for the sake of not loosing teeth. Unfortunately NightWolf has previously lost a half tooth, something which I don't fancy doing much, and this often leads to costly dentistry to fix. Not having particularly much in the way of spare cash, I don't want to take any changes, especially having been hit in the tooth before (which luckily didn't break but is now weakened).
Hopefully this will allow me to take a few more risks I would usually avoid this weekender.
DarkSaber with her new toy.
Darkie has also decided she wants to do a DMR type role, we we built her a customised M4.
This has a long 469mm, 6.03mm bore Prometheus barrel and clocks in at 350fps every shot +/- 0.5fps. The weekender shall be a worthy test of this one!
I have also has purchased a G36E front end in preparation for creating an MG36, however do not have the right box mag type yet, so this will be going as a backup in case the M249 fails or becomes too heavy.
Talking of the 249, upgrades!
6.03mm Tight Bore (Vanaras) and a new Madbull hop rubber had been put in. Combined, these two items have added around 40fps so it's now clocking in at a healthy 343fps +/- 3fps which shows just how bad of an air seal the default hop rubber really gives. Hopefully this will allow a greater suppression range which has always been a little lacking previously.
And finally, we now have team patches!
I've sewn the first one onto my "lightweight" Flecktarn shirt (which is slightly lighter in colour than a normal one) and have to say it looks fantastic.
New Camo
Well after much a debate about the best pattern for us to use in UK woodland games we've settled on Flecktarn.
Flecktarn blending in nicely.
There are several reasons for choosing this over UK DPM (which each of us already has a load out of)
1) An excuse to buy new gear is always good 
2) It actually works better at our local sites, especially in the autumn. We have lots of pines and orangey brown trees locally. Flecktarn is simply better at blending into this kind of surrounding.
3) Not too many people wear Flecktarn. We needed to stand out somehow (but not on the obvious way) and using a different camo pattern is a great way for us to do this in a sea of British DPM.
Naturally it's not going to be that kind of colour all year round but it should be fine in most situations, nothing that a good bit of bush craft can't fix.
We had initially considered ACU due to its colour match to the colours used by the Luna Wolves (grey/white), but high cost and poor concealment made us change that idea.
Tiger Stripe had also cropped up as a potential as it actually works pretty well in the UK and is reasonably unique. The problem however again, came down to cost. £18 for trousers then £18 for a shirt? No thanks!
Issue Flecktarn is far easier to come by and quite a bit cheaper.
£9.95 for a Parka, £6 for a shirt and £10 for trousers? Hell yes!
Image source: northeastshooters.com via Google images
Post Christmas game update
So the Christmas game was one heck of a tiring day out.
Up early, drive to work to pick-up Nightwolf who had just completed a Night Shift (00:00 > 08:00), rush to the ferry port, travel to the island (Isle of Wight), drive across the island, get geared up, play game.
I thought I had it bad. Poor Nightwolf proceeded to stay awake for the entire day and run/marshal a game AFTER an 8 hour shift. THEN he endured the drive/boat ride home for about 7pm, to then go on shift again at 0:00. Madness.
Anyway.
The trip to Island Recon was the first time at the site for both Darkie and myself.
We started with the usual fare. Turn up, gear up, sign on and pay, safety brief, start the first game.
We were briefed on the scenario for the day, Santa vs. Elfs. Luckily we happened to be on the "Santa" team. Even more lucky, it was a defence game. That early in the morning I didn't much fancy running, even more so that the M249 was actually heavier than I had expected once all geared up.
The objective was for the "Elfs" to get to the Santa fortress and blow the gates allowing them to over-run us. All we had to do, was hold them off.
The 249 proved most worthy at laying down long, sustained bursts of fire, with a not bad range and accuracy either. Looks like my re-build after purchase was really worth the effort. Darkie managed to empty several G36 mags to the point of actually running out of ammo.
I managed to stay alive for most of the game purely due to the medic (who was running around everywhere and eventually gave up his gun in return for manoeuvrability) reviving me. Eventually he died leaving us unable to revive and most of the rest of us falling to the overwhelming numbers (respawns) of the Elfs.
After what seemed like forever the elves finally managed to get to our base and detonate their bomb. It was all over however we managed to hold out for quite some time.
The second game saw us turn the scenario around. The Santa team had to attempt to recapture our base from the naughty Elfs, in a quicker time than they had taken it from us.
A quick ammo-up (as quick as filling 4 G36 mags and a box mag can be) and we were back out into the field.
Assaulting the base actually proved to be easier than defending due to the extra elevation afforded from that direction. It was a constant push that eventually gave us the edge with the final assault resulting in someone yelling to me "gunner, we need covering fire, hit that complex", and me holding down the trigger and pelting the entire solid structure that we were attacking. As our team flanked both sides with me keeping the heads down in front, the enemy was eliminated securing us a victory.
We proceeded onto the final game before lunch with yet another victory scored for the Santa team.
Everyone stopped for lunch which was laid on (as it always is) by the fine staff at Island Recon. Hot dog and onions was very much welcome on the otherwise incredibly cold day, and Darkie and I had a cup of tea from the urn as well.
Another ammo refill (number 2), and we were out again.
Another couple of games and the Santa team had again won (clearly Red is better camo in the woods?).
The finale of the day saw the Santa team assaulting the Elves strong hold. Luckily for us this was again, down hill. The Elfs really didn't stand much of a chance against us though they were able to call artillery which took out a few of our team and slowed the advance.
Kaiser, being the crazy pyro that he is, fired up the home-made smokes giving a nice thick cover across the enemy base and adding to the already intense atmosphere, but that didn't stop us. We kept pushing until every last Elf was out of the game.
At the end of the day we gathered round for the spectacle that was the Santa bombardment of the Elf base by way of several detonations my Kaiser.
The games ended and we started our return to base to pack-up and go home.
Far too much ammo was expended by me (a bag at least to myself), and Darkie managed to damage a hop-up unit. But a good day was had by all.
Thanks goes out to all the players and staff at Island Recon. Without you (every one of you) the day wouldn't have been what it was. It really goes to show that it's the players that make our sport what it is.