Returning Player Introduction

[Gareth]

Hello all,

While it doesn't appear that this website/forum gets as much traffic as it used to, I am still posting an introduction here as I dropped Facebook a while ago.

My name is Gareth, I am a US Army Veteran, 33 years old and I have been an Airsoft player on and off for a while.

It started with paintball in Highschool. While I liked it, it was pretty pricey and not as realistic as I wanted. This was back in the early 2000s. Started doing Airsoft while I was in the Army after deployment. I was stationed in Colorado and primarily played at a field called DMZ Airsoft for several years. It was run out of an abandoned Greyhound Racing building. Even helped host events and I organized and ran regular games on the weekends. Had a blast and many good memories. Played a couple times while on leave here in the PNW at a few indoor arenas that have since closed down as well as some guys' place up in Washington. This was a while ago like 2008-09 ish time frame.

Fast forward a bit, I moved back here in 2013. I only played a couple times but never really had the time or money as I was in college on a strict budget. A few years ago a house I was renting a room at had a fire and I lost all my airsoft stuff and most of my gear including some rare and custom Classic Army guns that are no longer made and ran flawlessly. No insurance either so it was a total loss.

Now onto today. I have really missed playing. I love getting geared up and spending all day skirmishing. I have new gear and a gun on the way and I am looking forward to getting back into the action. I now prefer to run GBBRs instead of AEGs as I like the feel of it and it more closely matches my real steel counterpart. Train as you fight so to speak. I have done light mil-sim but nothing ever too hardcore as I have actually done all that. Not saying I'm opposed to it but I’ve had some poor experiences with some super hardcore Mil-Sim guys taking all the fun out if it.

Onto a few questions I hope can be answered. I am located out of Tillamook Oregon. The two closest places are Camp R&R and Oregon Airsoft Arena. However, driving longer distances for actual events are not an issue should I have the weekend off of work. But it seems that most of my time would be at one or both of these places.

Camp R&R has pretty straightforward rules and regulations and is priced fairly. This place seems more my style but how is the weekend turn out and what are the ages roughly? I have no issue playing with younger people as I am used to it but would also like some people more close to my age. It doesn’t seem like there are moderators/admin/refs or whatever the term is nowadays present during the game so are there a lot of issues with people not calling hits?

For Oregon Airsoft Arena, their website is pretty confusing as far as pricing goes. It sounds like I pay for a 2.5 hour block of time but then they also offer memberships. Anyone know if Membership reduces this cost? Is it a decent sized Arena and well maintained? Due to it being in a more populated area will I almost exclusively be playing with people 17 and under (thats been my experiences at places like this). And, in general, what are your opinions on it as a place to play? Decent or wait for a day at Camp R&R?

Again, I have no issue playing with kids and teenagers. But I don't want to be the only Adult on the field.

Also, for general outdoor play what is the most common weight of BB we are now using? When I first started .25 was pretty popular and the standard for outdoor play. But now a days weights go up to .40 which would have been considered insane. Just curious.

Thank you all for your time and I hope to meet some of you in person. My first venture will likely be at one of the upcoming play sessions at Camp R&R

[Dennis - Crossbow]

Welcome back Gareth!

You are correct, with the proliferation of other social media options old school forums don't see as much action. We do however get a lot of visitors checking out events and reading old topics. We try to encourage hosts to post here as a one stop shop for PNW events.

Camp R&R is still one of my go to fields and has a good mixture of all age groups. Attendance can vary like most outdoor fields. There are at least 2 admins on the field though out the game and it would be a great spot to meet players and get your feet wet again.

Its been a while since I have played at OAA so I cant speak to the player demographics but I know the owners and are all good people. A few of them also attend events at R&R just to scratch the outdoor itch.

Rumor has it Camp R&R will be hosting a Convoy Style MilSim Lite event before summers end. That is one you should attend.

BB's can vary and really depend on your replica. My Team Phantom Fury, runs 0.28 in our AEGs and 0.32 in our DMRs and GBB. Snipers and HPA players are usually the ones that start stepping up to the heavy weights.

Here is a link to a list of fields in the area. viewtopic.php?f=159&t=43893

I hope to see you on the field!