Apologies to the experienced folks on the forum. I will probably sound like a seven-year old on a sugar high. I will also work to limit my use of exclamation points ...
I played my very first Airsoft game(s) yesterday at the Swamp out in Lebanon and it far exceeded my expectations for enjoyability. Staff and other players helped immensely with the experience. Even that little kid who FF'd me with a BB to the head from ten or so feet while I was returning to respawn helped shape the day's adventure and after-game tall tales in a positive way, believe it or not.
I went into this not knowing what to expect, having played paintball a couple of times, and having used and competed with real steel guns most of my life. Honestly, I found it a great deal more fun than paintball (possibly because of my load-out/gear) and vastly different from any real steel stuff I've done. I brought three guns with me, a G&G L85A2 (which went down pretty early in the game), a KWA AKG74-U and four mags, and a Umarex G19 replica. The rest of my kit was an inexpensive 4-mag chest rig and my real-world go-belt. It was handy that all of this, including the holster for the G19, was a one-for-one with my existing kit. AK-74 and AR mags actually run quite well in the same HSGI tacos, same for Glock mags, replicas or not.
The KWA was a total blast. Part of my fun is making sure I don't run out of ammo in the middle of anything. Each of the KWA mags holds just 40 rounds. Oddly, I enjoy magazine administration, and I had plenty of time for that while pinned down behind various buildings, shelters, shrubbery, etc. The KWA operates in a fairly similar manner to the real steel AKs I own, so it was an easy transition. I didn't do much F/A shooting, to conserve gas and BBs, and am noodling over how to best get a fast reload in the field for each mag, because the gas reservoir seems capable of handling it. Even so, the guys at Extreme Velocity in Eugene set me up with a nifty way to carry green gas on my go-belt. (Hard to top off the green gas in the mag when the port's full of mud. Full. Of. Mud. I'll need to remember this.)
After I got back home from the game, I learned that the Post Office had delivered an additional two AKG mags to the house. With a six-mag load-out, I think I may be able to get a little bit less thrifty with the BBs and risk some full-auto fire, which seems to be key to moving on the opposing team. I dropped the original mag for the AKG74-U and broke the feed lips, so once I get that fixed I'll have seven mags in rotation and will feel much better about not being stranded on the field, ammo-less.
I died A LOT. The bright red gnome hat I wore was a BB magnet. Like, wow, really. Apparently, it sticks up above most cover. I did my best to call my hits, and err on the side of caution if I thought I might have been hit. There was a time or two when it seemed like a BB would be mostly falling vertical when it hit, but respawning is good exercise, I guess, and no one wants a 0.38g sniper BB vibe check for not calling a hit. I also got a couple of satisfying hits on opposite team members. The AKG74-U is not the most accurate Airsoft gun, maybe, but it works well enough when someone blunders into you inside of 20 yards.
The only downside is that I didn't start doing this when I was younger/thinner/in better shape, LOL.