Welcome To Blackjack Airsoft

Where to start? 

I'm a 30-something (ahem almost 40 ahem) year old guy from North East England who has just gotten into Airsoft and so I thought what better way to keep a track of my journey and share my experiences as a new player than to blog about it.  I chose the name Blackjack because I love to have a flutter in the casino and Blackjack is my game of choice.  I love going to Vegas and when I got married this year my wife bought me an Ace of Spades tie pin for good luck so Blackjack it is.

I'd never even heard of Airsoft until about 6 weeks ago when my twin 12 year old boys asked me to take them during the school holidays.  I asked what it was, where was it and how much does it cost (typical Dad like questions).  This led to them frantically searching to find there nearest site and dig up some information to convince me that Airsoft was a cheap and cheerful day out.  Oh how naïve I was!

Shut up and take my money!

They found a site that wasn't too far away from us (I've since discovered there was at least 2 closer but that's a story for another day) and that we could hire equipment and have a full day of fun for a mere £35 each.  I looked at the website and started to read up a little about it.  As a caring father who doesn't want to see my kids injured I obviously had lots of questions the boys couldn't answer.  Does it hurt?  How safe is it?  How old do you need to be?  How many people will be playing?  Do kids and adults play together? 

We'd played LazerQuest and had also been to a local outdoor laser gun place called Battlefield Live http://www.battlefieldlivesouthtyneside.co.uk/Pages/default.aspx and had a really good day out but this all seemed very much more serious.  I've never been paintballing but have been hit with one during a 10K Assault Course I did and I know that it left a hell of a bruise on my rib so I was obviously a little apprehensive of throwing my boys into this.

The site the boys found was NTAC (Northeast Tactical Airsoft Club) in Shildon, Durham http://www.ntac.co.uk  I emailed the site and asked if my boys were old enough to play and about hiring equipment.  The guy got back to me straight away (I later found that this was Andy the owner) with the relevant info.  I could bring them along, stay with them for the safety briefing then either leave them for the day or hang around and that there would be free tea and coffee to keep me going or alternatively I could play. 

I have to admit that I fully expected my boys to get out on the Airsoft field, get hit on the back of the head with a BB pellet, have a few tears and want to come home so the thought of paying £105 for the 3 of us to play for 5mins felt a bit much so I opted to take the boys along that weekend and just pay for them to play but hang around to see if they wanted to come home before I'd even gotten out of the car park.

I also found out that in order to play the boys would need boots and so being typical 12 year old boys they own only school shoes and numerous pairs of trainers so I found myself having to buy them some boots in order to play.  So lets add another £50 for a couple of pairs of relatively cheap hiking boots to the £70 day out ...... they better bloody enjoy it is what I was thinking and also how many coffee's do I need to drink to get my moneys worth!

So NTAC only play on Sundays so that Sunday morning we got up, sun was blazing and we drove the 35mins to Shildon.  The directions on the website were great and helped by SatNav we found the place without any fuss.  We were advised as it was our first time and because we needed to hire kit to turn up around 9:00am with a safety brief at 9:30am followed by the game starting at 10:00am.  I expected to find the place pretty quiet and wasn't expecting the sight that greeted us.

Real Camp Bastion - Not near Durham

As we pulled up the farm track towards where I could see some portacabin/container buildings I thought I'd taken a wrong turn coming down the A1 and ended up in Camp Bastion.  I knew it seamed a little more serious than LazerQuest but this was like a military compound.  There must have been approx. 70 people there all in full camo clothing, holsters strapped to legs carrying handguns, rifles slung around necks, helmets, gloves, tactical vests ...... these guys were kitted for war.  In contrast my boys had shiny new boots, jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt.  Never had a pair of noobs ever looked more out of place. 

Not exactly wearing the right gear are you son?

This actually didn't phase the boys and rather than be put off they just thought it was an even cooler thing to do and my level of Best Ever Dad points rose by a couple.  We quickly got sorted, signed the waivers and then waited for the safety briefing looking like 3 lost refugees.  Safety briefing completed, which was both obviously very serious but delivered really well and made sure everyone fully understood what was expected, the boys went to get their kit for the day.  Kitted up in camo jacket, full face paintball style mask and rifle in hand the boys headed out of the safe zone and I made myself that first cup of coffee.

20 mins later or so the boys came back and I prepared myself to kiss goodbye to never sleeping for 6 months due to drinking £100 worth of caffeine when they said "This is awesome! Can we come back again?".  This it seemed was just a quick break to get a drink as the heat was really building up.  The boys were loving it.  They went back out and I continued on the coffee in the baking 28degree sun.  One of the Marshalls there came over for a chat and said "its much less boring if you get kitted up and go out with them you know!  That's how I started".   I knew he had a point but not having any boots with me this wasn't an option today.  Lunch came and the boys were telling me how much fun they were having.  This from 2 boys who spend most of their lives plugged into an Xbox or a PC like a life support machine - I was genuinely happy they were having a great time.  The Marshal I'd spoken to early came over, handed me a hi-vis jacket and some eye protection and said "come out with me this afternoon.  At least you can see what they're up to but be warned - you might still get hit".  I then followed him out for the afternoon session and watched the game with interest.  He told me how he'd got started, bringing his sons along much like me and how long he'd been playing and I have to admit I was really sorry I hadn't joined in. 

NTAC on the day the boys played - very welcoming bunch

As he'd explained I did get hit.  A few times in the leg and once on the chin however at least I knew what the boys were experiencing when it came to the did it hurt question.  I asked him loads of questions and right there I was hooked.  I'd not fired a gun but was convinced I couldn't wait to play next time.

And so this is how I got started in Airsoft.  I intend to talk about my journey, my experiences, the kit I'm buying and the games I'm playing in order to give anyone just starting out some info from someone equally as clueless but equally as excited by being shot at with plastic balls and having to explain the bruises on my legs to my wife.