RIP Mikhail Kalashnikov

A matter much more important than the Christmas season has just came up, Mikhail Kalashnikov has died at the age of 94.
Mikhail Kalashnikov developed the modern 'Assault' rifle' for the 20th century.
The Ak47, firing its 7.62x39 cartridge, is still debated to be the best rifle even to today. 60 years since the dawn of its existence.

His only american counterpart is John Moses browning, and in my humble opinion.
John M. Browning < Mikhail Kalashnikov
People still have the 'Ak vs Ar' debate, and the AK was developed almost 40 years before the AR. Engineering at its best, when your product is still relevant 70 years after its birth, you have created a masterpiece.
If you want to read more about the Kalashnikov, scroll down to "The AK74".

Mikhail's first try at firearms design. A Sub Machine gun, (1941) was not adopted.

Ah, the Christmas season

The Christmas season, or 'The Holidays' for the easily offended Communists, is an interesting time to be an Airsofter. Its either you don't know what to get your friends and family who happens to airsoft, or you are worried you are going to get that crossman LPEG.
Either way its a frustrating, but also rewarding time for airsofters, as you get to give the gift of gear. ALLAH POTAT.
Some great gift ideas for the advanced airsofter in your life would be a gift card to their favorite airsoft store. You cannot go wrong, they know what they want/'need', but you dont. Its not lazy, it is smart.
Because getting something you don't need or even want is not fun. You have no idea what to do with it, and you feel bad selling it on Ebay or trading it.

If you still feel gift cards are lazy, even though I think they are the best option, you cannot go wrong with optics (Non magnified, Dot type) ,ammunition for their real firearms they may or may not own. A great gift is a box of ammo with a promise of a trip to the range.(Or other shooting location) Or even rail accessories, you are hard pressed to go wrong with anything magpul.

Another thing, take advantage of the Black Friday and Early christmas deals! Black friday is by far the best time to score a deal on some airsoft gear, but be careful, do your homework. A lot of guns that are priced low are there for a reason. They suck.

Buy early! Being lazy could cost you 47.50 in one day air shipping, or a crappy present. Give yourself at least two weeks of time till the big day.

Airsofters are finicky people, this makes gift buying really difficult. If they dont like it, they probably wont keep it. Dont be surprised or offended if they trade or sell it to buy another piece of gear.

But small, buy quality. Your gift does not have to be the newest and coolest gun, a small piece of gear made by a well renowned company will suit better if not the same. If you notice they are missing a glove, or just need a new pair of gloves for example, I would suggest buying a 23 dollar pair of Mechanix gloves.They will last for ever, and special forces members have been known to use them as well. A new sling, boots, eye protection, or even a pouch made by companies like Blue force gear, Crye, Oakley, will make an Airsofter VERY happy. They will use a piece of gear they like for a long time. When a product is built to last, and they like it, you have given a great gift.

Those are all my tips and tricks for surviving the holiday season with an Airsofter.

Them Feels. (Missing my GBBR)

If you read my "About me" Page on here, you would know I owned an upgraded WA GBBR recently.
I've always envied the GBBR users at our local fields, even while seeing their downsides. Cooldown, limited magazine capacity, COST. But I still yearned for one.
About three months ago, that feeling overtook me. I posted my baby, my VFC M16, on Airsoft Craigslist,'looking to trade for GBBR'. Took about three weeks, and many lame offers. Some offers were to good to be true also.  But when a guy offered an upgraded Western Arms GBBR, I took it.

When it arrived, the intense similarity to my REAL Ar15 astounded me. And the first time I shot it, I was hooked. He had put in a CNC aluminum bolt carrier, IA bolt (Nozzle), and NPAS,200% buffer spring and an steel lower parts kit.

The first time I shot it, WOW. Felt very foreign, as I was so accustomed to using an AEG. It felt..Awesome. The trigger response was literally instantaneous, and chrisp. And you could fire it on semi-auto faster than you could blazing away on full auto. The full auto was slow, at best, but it really allowed you to use it, and make those shots COUNT!

Magazines, were..EXPENSIVE, but the realism of having to dump close to empty magazines out of safety and reusing when all your other magazines were out was, Realistic. G&P Pmags hold around 35-40 rounds, giving INSANE realism, I had two.

The plastic lower and upper receiver that came on the WA, were disappointing at best. Plasticy, almost toy like, a metal replacement would cost around 200 bucks! LOLNOPE. I had broken the trigger guard, but had 'fixed' with super glue, and the upper receiver threads were. Stripping.

I loved it anyway. But I guess I loved Airsofting in the winter more, because as winter approached, I knew I wouldn't be able to use it. :(

So, I packaged it up, and shipped it off for an Ares TAVOR (Read below)
To be honest, I will probably be picking up another GBBR at some point. Beginning of summer 2014??...Maybe. Likely.

The AK74

The venerable AK47, Developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947, it has become the worlds most popular service rifle. The long stroke gas piston design makes an incredibly reliable, and tough firearm. The rifle being able to fire even while minor dust and debris that would stop a weapon using a gas impingement system in its tracks.  Accurate enough, though not capable to deliver MOA standards set by the AR, it is a rifle capable of modern firefight engagements. The round fired by the AK47 is that of the 7.62x39, this round, in Kalashnikov's own words, is "The best service cartridge for modern war". Its large, 30 caliber, 128 grain bullet that moves at an impressive 2500 feet per second. This makes the Ak47 arguable difficult to control on fully automatic, but is still useable in rapid firing.

In the 70's, as the Russians watched the Americans switch from our well-renowned M1 Garands to the new M16. The M16 firing the 5.56 round,puny by 7.62x39 standards. The 5.56 flings a 55g, 22 caliber bullet at 3,000 feet per second. (Read more the 5.56 BELOW) The russians were intrigued by our switch from our even larger than 7.62x39, 30-06 round. They saw we had found that the smaller cartridge had led to a soldier's ability to carry more ammunition, and discharge a full magazine with greater speeds.

And the Ak74 was born! Kalashnikov did not want to switch to a smaller caliber for the AK, but he was influenced by the russian government. The round they created was the 5.45x39, its a very similar cartridge to the 5.56 NATO.

AK's in airsoft mean the russian crowd, they have developed more of a subculture rather than a group. The 'Russian Crowd' are in a whole, quite picky on the gear and their choice of weapons. For them, it seems, its AK or nothing at all. It may be the Russian philosophy that leads them to cling to the AK. Basic, Effective, No BS.

Unless you have a death wish, don't bring the AK into 'modern' times, unless it is with the approval of Kalashnikov himself. (Cite the KREBS AK)
http://www.evike.com/products/35760/ If you use this monstrocity, there without a doubt, will be your family, gathered around the table, writing your obituary.

I recently picked up a quite old echo1 AK74, the price was right, and I needed a backup gun. I was especially excited when I magnet tested the receiver and they tested positive for steel. This means, in my limited knowledge, that this is a DBOYS made from old VFC molds.

Im excited to get out and try the new AK. I haven't played in about 4 weeks, and it feels like a lifetime!