Post by madhatter on Feb 13, 2014 20:02:09 GMT -5
Hello fellow midwestern airsoft enthusiasts -
I've been toying with the idea of starting this thread for the past couple of months.
I know there was some bad history and an incident in the area that may have had an impact on the number of players in the Chicago/suburban area. It seems in a city/area this size, we should have a lot more WWII airsoft players?
I'm at a point where I'm weighing how much more heavily I want to get into the immersion of WWII airsofting. While I'll always continue to collect WWII airsoft guns, I find myself wanting to get out and play with a few of my weapons (my new Marushin M1 is not helping this at all). I've been looking at impressions for the past couple of months, but don't want to pull the trigger on anything if there isn’t going to be a good opportunity to utilize it. I know a lot of people would say, get it and start showing up to events – but I’m the kind of guy that, when doing things, goes all in. I’d rather not spend that sort of money on a good impression to then have to start showing up to events at random. I thought I’d test the waters here a bit, see if I can find a couple like-minded individuals, who have similar views to my own (it’s OK if you don’t).
What I’d like to do is create a small US Infantry unit. I’m not looking to do paratroops, rangers, or anything as my personal opinion is there’s a lot of them out there. I think we need more infantry. I also want to play with people whose main goal is the experience, camaraderie, and immersion. I’d like to strive for historical accuracy, both in our impressions and how we play. I don’t want to be a bunch of guys running around with Thompsons with hi-cap mags. I’d like to play with realistic load outs, and realistic weapons.
With that in mind, and to give this the greatest shot of success, I was thinking of doing the 29 Reconnaissance Troop, part of the 29th Infantry Division. I think a recon troop or cavalry troop is the best way to jump into things, mainly because:
• They operated in small units (4 man scout sections were very common)
• The types of skirmishes in many historical airsoft events are historically accurate for this sort of small unit
• Recon troops were notorious for their ability to “acquire” items that weren’t necessarily common issue, so there’s a lot of room to work within
These tenets would allow a small group to be more or less equipped in many different ways, and truly capture the immersion aspect of the hobby. The big question is, can I find three other people of like mind in the Chicago area?
I’m looking to get started and maybe try to attend 2-3 airsoft events a year (more spring/summer/fall - I freeze enough in the winter without going to any events). I figure we are somewhat centrally located in northern Illinois, so going up to the Ostfront Airsoft events are a good possibility, also maybe some of the events up in Michigan (those two areas seem to have more historical airsoft activity). I know there are many kids in the hobby, which is great, but being 37 years old, I’m looking for guys who are 18 and up. Not trying to offend anyone with this, if you're a kid and reading this, trust me, you'll understand when you're 37!
This may seem like a lot of wants, but I thought I’d throw it out there and see if there’s anyone in the area with like minds. If not, it’s OK, I’m very happy being an avid collector of WWII airsoft firearms!
I've been toying with the idea of starting this thread for the past couple of months.
I know there was some bad history and an incident in the area that may have had an impact on the number of players in the Chicago/suburban area. It seems in a city/area this size, we should have a lot more WWII airsoft players?
I'm at a point where I'm weighing how much more heavily I want to get into the immersion of WWII airsofting. While I'll always continue to collect WWII airsoft guns, I find myself wanting to get out and play with a few of my weapons (my new Marushin M1 is not helping this at all). I've been looking at impressions for the past couple of months, but don't want to pull the trigger on anything if there isn’t going to be a good opportunity to utilize it. I know a lot of people would say, get it and start showing up to events – but I’m the kind of guy that, when doing things, goes all in. I’d rather not spend that sort of money on a good impression to then have to start showing up to events at random. I thought I’d test the waters here a bit, see if I can find a couple like-minded individuals, who have similar views to my own (it’s OK if you don’t).
What I’d like to do is create a small US Infantry unit. I’m not looking to do paratroops, rangers, or anything as my personal opinion is there’s a lot of them out there. I think we need more infantry. I also want to play with people whose main goal is the experience, camaraderie, and immersion. I’d like to strive for historical accuracy, both in our impressions and how we play. I don’t want to be a bunch of guys running around with Thompsons with hi-cap mags. I’d like to play with realistic load outs, and realistic weapons.
With that in mind, and to give this the greatest shot of success, I was thinking of doing the 29 Reconnaissance Troop, part of the 29th Infantry Division. I think a recon troop or cavalry troop is the best way to jump into things, mainly because:
• They operated in small units (4 man scout sections were very common)
• The types of skirmishes in many historical airsoft events are historically accurate for this sort of small unit
• Recon troops were notorious for their ability to “acquire” items that weren’t necessarily common issue, so there’s a lot of room to work within
These tenets would allow a small group to be more or less equipped in many different ways, and truly capture the immersion aspect of the hobby. The big question is, can I find three other people of like mind in the Chicago area?
I’m looking to get started and maybe try to attend 2-3 airsoft events a year (more spring/summer/fall - I freeze enough in the winter without going to any events). I figure we are somewhat centrally located in northern Illinois, so going up to the Ostfront Airsoft events are a good possibility, also maybe some of the events up in Michigan (those two areas seem to have more historical airsoft activity). I know there are many kids in the hobby, which is great, but being 37 years old, I’m looking for guys who are 18 and up. Not trying to offend anyone with this, if you're a kid and reading this, trust me, you'll understand when you're 37!
This may seem like a lot of wants, but I thought I’d throw it out there and see if there’s anyone in the area with like minds. If not, it’s OK, I’m very happy being an avid collector of WWII airsoft firearms!