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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2400 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 15, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Have you tried airsoft yet? I kind of want to myself, but I don't know if there are any facilities near me. With airsoft, you get to shoot other people, which is an application that you can't really explore with a real gun. It seems like it would be fun.

Otherwise, I don't think it's totally impossible to shoot a shotgun in the UK, is it? That's fun. One of my four guns is a pump shotgun. You'll have to visit a Mottizen in a freer state when you eventually visit America. You like pistols better, or rifles? You like milsurp or modern AR bullshit?

which is an application that you can't really explore with a real gun

There are places with a yellow-and-blue color theme that are ready to prove you wrong.

I've had my eye on it, but my milsim buddies who do play it live rather far from me :(

My impression is that it's less developed as a hobby in the UK, as compared to the States. Sure, it has a following, but it's quite limited.

I'm open to it, but it's not quite what I'm looking for:

  • I do enjoy a bit of the old LARP, but I actually am quite happy doing it in video games. There is a non-obvious tradeoff here: video games explore some aspects of the modern military experience better than most things short of an actual military training exercise can manage. It would be pretty hard to bring a tank or helicopter into play in airsoft, or the experience of being under sustained artillery bombardment while your buddy bleeds out next to you. Video games scratch that itch pretty well for me. Airsoft is great for other things, but I'm not that set on hiding in bushes or kicking down doors in real life.
  • I like actual guns. I'd like to own a Gucci d out AR-15 and a AR-10/DMR. I'd like to take it down to the range or go shoot tin cans with friends. It matters to me that the gun is an actual gun that shoots real bullets, even if I don't particularly want to use it in anger. I could, like many people, spend a ton on accurate parts for an airsoft kit, but it wouldn't make me happy. For that much money, I want the real deal.

Otherwise, I don't think it's totally impossible to shoot a shotgun in the UK, is it? That's fun. One of my four guns is a pump shotgun. You'll have to visit a Mottizen in a freer state when you eventually visit America. You like pistols better, or rifles? You like milsurp or modern AR bullshit?

I must (with slight shame) admit that I like "cool" guns. Tacticool, with all the drip. I could, in theory, get a gun license here (it's an enormous PITA) but I don't want to shoot a hunting shotgun or some ancient bolt-action rifle. I want a laser with a pad, I want an LPVO, I want to fuss over the perfect foregrip even if I'll end up using a c-clamp. Ideally, I want to go to Vegas and shoot an M60 while doing my best Rambo impression (before my limp arms or the rangemaster get the better of me).

I was actually planning on getting my hands on an actual firearm in the US. A dear friend of mine was getting married in Texas, which would have been the perfect opportunity. Sadly the visa officers at the London embassy disagreed with my ambitions. I still do plan to visit the States when I have a decent excuse, and you bet that going to the range is very high on the bucket list! I'm going to shoot hogs with a Barrett from a helicopter at some point in my life, or I've never really lived.

I'll keep an eye open for airsoft events in my end of Scotland, and if I can rent a kit for not too much money, why not? Thanks for hearing me dream aloud, haha.

Haha, your situation is too tragic for Scotland. I hope you manage to visit America someday.

I don't have anything tacticool yet. Actually, Illinois is probably passing another law, this one called the RIFL Act, so that gun manufacturers need to pay a bunch of money to Illinois to get a license to sell in the state, and if they don't, then FFLs can't even sell those manufacturers' products or they get fined. So I might have to pick up something marginally more tacticool soon, or I will have to drive to Missouri to buy anything (actually, that's not so bad anyway...). None of the neutered ARs that I want are in stock. Probably I'm going to end up buying a Ruger PCC in 9mm. But even if I lived in a freer state, I don't know if my guns would be as tacticool as you like. I probably wouldn't bother with foregrips; just a red dot and a light, and maybe a magnifier for the red dot. Oh, and maybe a suppressor.

I would recommend making a friend who owns an MP5 clone or similar. AP5 or Stribog, something roller delayed. I'm interested in them, myself. Apparently 9mm has more recoil than .223, which was shocking news to me. But if it's roller delayed, then it's less recoil. You also need to visit a range that lets you rent full auto guns. You also need to shoot a full magazine out of a semi-automatic shotgun. You also need to shoot an AK or an SKS. You also need to shoot USSR pistols. You also need to shoot a lever action. Please, plan accordingly.

Haha, your situation is too tragic for Scotland. I hope you manage to visit America someday.

Truer words have never been spoken.

I don't have anything tacticool yet. Actually, Illinois is probably passing another law, this one called the RIFL Act, so that gun manufacturers need to pay a bunch of money to Illinois to get a license to sell in the state, and if they don't, then FFLs can't even sell those manufacturers' products or they get fined. So I might have to pick up something marginally more tacticool soon, or I will have to drive to Missouri to buy anything (actually, that's not so bad anyway...).

My condolences, that sounds like a pain. I seem to recall that transporting a gun across state borders is also a major pain, but I'm sure you know better than I would.

I don't know if my guns would be as tacticool as you like. I probably wouldn't bother with foregrips; just a red dot and a light, and maybe a magnifier for the red dot. Oh, and maybe a suppressor.

That sounds plenty tacticool to me! Now that you mention it, my dream gun absolutely has to have a suppressor, even if the licensing is a ball ache.

I would recommend making a friend who owns an MP5 clone or similar. AP5 or Stribog, something roller delayed. I'm interested in them, myself. Apparently 9mm has more recoil than .223, which was shocking news to me. But if it's roller delayed, then it's less recoil.

How does one specifically look for friends with MP5 clones? I imagine that involves lurking on gun boards, but I'd be laughed out of the room when they learn of my cursed place of residence haha.

Hmm.. A quick Google says you're right on the recoil. I imagine that both platforms are mild enough that it's not an issue!

You also need to visit a range that lets you rent full auto guns. You also need to shoot a full magazine out of a semi-automatic shotgun. You also need to shoot an AK or an SKS. You also need to shoot USSR pistols. You also need to shoot a lever action. Please, plan accordingly.

I have been a good boy and saved most of my salary. I can start to see why I bothered. I'm sure my girlfriend will understand the paper-mache engagement ring. I can probably pass of a necklace made of spent brass as a particularly avant garde American invention. Pray that ammunition prices recover, and that the range passes it on to poor tourists like me.

USSR pistols? Do you mean an actual Soviet handgun? I don't see anything else online! What do they offer that a Western handgun doesn't?

My condolences, that sounds like a pain. I seem to recall that transporting a gun across state borders is also a major pain, but I'm sure you know better than I would.

Not really. Just unload it and keep the ammo and the gun separate and you should be totally fine, I think. Don't get pulled over, just to be safe.

How does one specifically look for friends with MP5 clones? I imagine that involves lurking on gun boards, but I'd be laughed out of the room when they learn of my cursed place of residence haha.

I'm not sure! If I ever move out of this state and pick one up, though, I'll let you know. That's something worth paying $200 to make into an SBR, I think. And then another $200 to add the suppressor. Again, I'm thinking of picking up a Ruger PCC; that's straight-blowback and strictly worse than an AR in every way except for noise and cost of ammo, but perhaps it will satisfy you. Otherwise I would be surprised if no one else on the forum invited you to go shoot.

I have been a good boy and saved most of my salary. I can start to see why I bothered. I'm sure my girlfriend will understand the paper-mache engagement ring. I can probably pass of a necklace made of spent brass as a particularly avant garde American invention. Pray that ammunition prices recover, and that the range passes it on to poor tourists like me.

The last three that I listed should be reasonably cheap, at least!

I meant Cold War era guns in 9x18mm. The caliber is a little different, but I like them aesthetically for their all-metal construction. I shot a P64 once, it was pretty darn cool. I could have bid on an FEG PA-63 and won it for real cheap at a gun auction, but I didn't, and I seriously regret not bidding on it now...

My impression is that it's less developed as a hobby in the UK, as compared to the States. Sure, it has a following, but it's quite limited.

I haven't come across Airsoft, but paintball is fairly common - there are multiple sites within commuting distance of London, and most of them send a minibus to the nearest station every Saturday morning.

Clay pigeon shooting is also easily accessible in southern England (given UK gun laws, it is the main entry point into shooting sports), although you probably want a car to access it.

Paintball is even more divorced from my interests I'm afraid, but thank you for the suggestions!

I want to go to Vegas and shoot an M60 while doing my best Rambo impression

I didn't know you were a Stephen Paddock fan.

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