What product to carry?

[Vinny]

During the 2009 season we began to book airsoft groups at our paintball playing field. The response has been great and the excellent attitudes of airsoft players has only encouraged us to expand our business to include airsoft.

My question is what brands of airsoft markers/guns should we consider retailing? My experience is limited so I need some guidance on this subject. We would prefer reliable product versus product with cheaper retail pricing. In the paintball business we always found it was better long term to carry product that is more reliable and durable versus competitors who might be cheaper but more prone to technical failure.

Any brand suggestions? And please keep in mind as a retailer all black airsoft equipment is now prohibited so we would need companies who manufacture clear/partially clear bodies.

Thanks for any suggestions or assistance!

[TokyoSeven]

There are only a handful of companies out there that currently produce quality electric airsoft guns with clear parts.

Those would be G&G, KWA and SRC.

If you are interested in dealing with G&G, you should contact the people over at CAS.
http://www.canadianairgunsupply.com/catalog/purchasing/

If you are interested in dealing with SRC I believe Ken at 007airsoft would be the first place to contact.

At this time, I believe that only AK, Armalite, MP5 and G36 variants are available.

[Vinny]

Thanks for the prompt reply and the assistance. I will definitely check into those leads!

[TokyoSeven]

That is what we are here for, best of luck.

Dont forget to look into purchasing BBs! Sure plays can bring their own to the field but at least they can have a local place to purchase as well.

I recommend: http://www.bbbastard.com/

[L473ncy]

Where is your paintball field located may I ask?

Also I'm not sure how comfortable you are with this, however I believe a few fields have "building days" where a bunch of people will come out and change the field around; whether it's new bunkers, fixing things, general maintenance, etc. And from that they get free entry for the next game or two. I'm not sure if paintball fields do it with paintballers though but it's a good way to get people out to change the field and pretty much costs you nothing in manpower/money just free entry vouchers to the people that help out. (I guess similar to how PB fields will get "volunteer refs" in exchange for paint or field entry fee waived for their next game, however it seems that some volunteer refs aren't as "high quality" as a paid "full time" ref).

I personally suggest the SRC (Gen III) stuff, the QC seems to have stepped up a lot since their Gen II and Ken is overall a great guy to deal with.

EDIT: In addition to BB Bastard there is also Metal Tech/Airsoft Elite (if you're in the West) since BBBastard is quite expensive to ship out to BC and Metal Tech Mfg is in Kelowna so a lot more economical to purchase large orders from them. Pick up a variety of weights of BB's. .20's, .25's, .28's, even some .34's for snipers. BUT make sure that players chrono using .20's (as it's the easiest to chrono with). Remember you want to limit "energy" of the projectile not FPS of the projectile. 400 FPS on .20's translates to about 360 on .25's IIRC and so on. Arnies Airsoft I believe has an "FPS calculator" which also calculates energy (in Joules, and ft*lbs) based on weight and speed of the projectile.

[Kokanee]

You may want to get in contact with BBBastard. If there is not a reseller in your area, a very low risk way to cater to your airsoft customer base could be to sell ammo.

[SHÖCK]

As said before, only two guys with exclusive distribution are http://www.canadianairgunsupply.com (G&G, KWA) and http://www.007airsoft.com (SRC)

Velocity Arms http://www.torontoairsoft.com also has some other models based on JG and TM AEGs that have gotten clear receivers onto.

I'm not sure who is in charge of ICS guns, maybe http://www.mach1airsoft.ca/

[Con Murder]

Mach1airsoft.ca has a retailers add for ICS a great company making Canadian ready airsoft guns with an easy-to-upgrade style of mech-box. I would check them out, also servey those who play to find what bb's they like and also brands to stock. If your going to have accessories I recomend m4 mags and speed loaders, as those are the most common items the teams I know go through. Other mags are good but you need to know your customers to find what they need, every area has at least one m4 in it. That and they fit m16 so two birds with one stone.

[Vinny]

The playing field is Soldiers of Fortune Paintball located at 6320 English Church Road in Hamilton. We offer our customers 8 different scenario oriented fields on nearly 60 acres of playing area.

The notion of volunteers for buildings days does work. We definitely will try it for Airsoft players as well. Using volunteers for refereeing positions is a lot more difficult...some volunteers are great and perform better then paid employees but as a rule paid employees are more reliable. However, now that the government is raising minimum wage to $10.50 we will probably not be able to afford to pay our referees alot more...

In the past we would hire referees on a trial basis at minimum wage and if they made it past the trail period we would give them a .50 raise plus minor profit sharing (they received a small portion of the funds generated from air & Co2 fills). Usually, they would make between $1.25-$1.50 an hour over the minimum wage plus they received generous discounts in store and on field. So overall it was beneficial both ways...they made more money and we had better employees and the customers were generally more satifisfied with the level of customer service. However, since minimum wage in the last 3 years has gone from $6.85 to $10.50 (this year) we might have to reduce or eliminate the wage increase...

Anyways, sorry to get off track! I see BB Bastard is a popular choice for ammo. What weights would everyone recommend?

[DrZooker]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Anyways, sorry to get off track! I see BB Bastard is a popular choice for ammo. What weights would everyone recommend?

Most of the players play with .25 or .28 gr. Sniper uses .30 or higher.

[Diabolic Tyrant]

Originally Posted by DrZooker

Most of the players play with .25 or .28 gr. Sniper uses .30 or higher.

Dont know where you play but, The average Player uses .20 gram BBs or .25. Snipers Use anything from .28+. Get in touch with the user scarecrow or check out this Link. Hope to play at your field soon!

[Vinny]

So the weight of ammo used by players should also be regulated? And what about the FPS?

As far as I know the rules for FPS were:
400fps for AEG users
450fps for Snipers (spring powered rifles)

Is this accurate? Sorry for all the questions but as I mentioned my knowledge is really limited.

[m102404]

The general FPS rules are based on power levels at the muzzle.

They are translated into mere-mortal terms (i.e. simple for dummies like me) into:
Outdoors: 400fps with 0.20g BBs
Indoors: 350fps with 0.20g BBs

If you shoot a heavier BB the FPS might be lower, but that's not the point. If you shoot a heavier BB at the same 400fps...you're obviously shooting much "harder".

There are NO exact translation numbers such as..."if you shoot XXXfps with 0.20g BBs...you'll shoot YYYfps with a different weight BB". That's why the standard is 0.20g BBs....it's just everyone leaves it out of the rules when they post.

Also note...for indoor. There's typically no wind and shorter distances involved. "Light" 0.20g BBs are 99% sufficient for indoors. "heavier" BBs just hurt more....and that's not really the point.

[Armyissue]

Didn't I see you guys at the Sportsmans Show selling Airsoft?

[Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw]

Thats a general rule for FPS on a field with lots of brush to punch through, is outdoor so has to battle wind, and longer engagement distances. With those high FPS rules there is generally a mercy rule of 10 feet. Try to recommend the players use some kind of mouth/face protection. Here in southern Ontario we have Sniper Clinics that show a person is responsible and safe with the operation of a bolt action rifle with higher FPS. Level 2 are allowed up to 500 FPS, Level 3 up to 550 FPS. This course is run by our very own sniper guru ShaDo, any questions should be directed to him.. Whether you choose to recognize the certified bolt action operators with the hotter guns is completely up to you. Because they are certified does not mean they are entitled to anything, the final decision is up to the field/host.

If you intend to rent out airsoft guns, try to have a regular gun doc available as airsoft guns tend to act up quite alot. And noobs who don't know how to use one, what to listen for, what to feel for might break a gun rather quickly. Learn yourself how to do things like spring swaps. Stock up on parts like springs and offer to do spring changes to those who show up early for a nominal fee. Chronograph everyones gun to ensure no one is running a hot gun. Deal swiftly with people who feel the rules don't apply to them.

As far as BBs go, BB Bastard should be your number one. Stock up on .20, .25, .28 and .30. If people want anything else they can either ask for in advance when you make an order, or get it themselves. When chronographing peoples guns ensure they give YOU an empty mag, load 3 .20 BBs (this is what is used to get accurate chrono results. All FPS ratings are with .20 BBs).

Would be a great idea to have charging stations if peoples batteries go kablamo. Maybe sell extra batteries as well. Im sure you already have goggles to rent out for people who need them. Does your field allow rated goggles that aren't PB goggles, or are people restricted to JUST PB goggles? Having refreshments on hand would be nice. Coffee, hot chocolate, juice, snack bars, chips, chocolate bars, etc...