Vietnam Airsoft

A couple of weeks ago, I went airsofting at Fireball Squadron. Nothing really new there to report, slow news day, I hear you cry? Not so. I've recently been investing in some Vietnam gear, the airsoft craze that seems to be sweeping the nation. Everyone is doing it, lots of sites are running Vietnam themed events from Gunman to Combat South. I have a bunch of mates who have been doing the whole Vietnam thing for a while and are pretty serious about it, so I thought I'd join in. I already had an M14, an XM177 and a 1911 so most of the expense of changing themes was covered.

After a visit to Soldier of Fortune, eBay and some private purchases, I was ready to go. Toger stripe fatigues, a combination of 56 and 67 pattern webbing, jungle boots, claymore bag and my favourite guns of the moment, my Marui M14 and WE 1911.

I had been wondering why there was so much interest in VN airsoft recently. There have been a few tasty releases by G&P, notably the XM177, CAR15 and the awesome Stoner LMG (currently riding at the top of my wishlist), but no new Vietnam movies, not like the Ranger/Delta craze that went round following Blackhawk Down or the interest in Seal jungle ops with the advent of Tears of the Sun, oh no. So where has this upsurge come from.

Unfortunately, I have no answer. My theory is that it takes airsoft and the tactics involved therein right back to basics. No fancy optics, no bolt-on grippy bits, no Magpul accessories, just you, some basic web gear, your rifle and it's iron sights. All the trappings of modern day airsoft are stripped away taking you back to a time close to that experienced when you started playing. When you had only an AEG and some basic (probably DPM or Flecktarn) clothing and a couple of pouches. Vietnam era airsoft is a distillation of airsoft, forcing you to only go out with what you need, not what the latest magazine, website or training video tells you you need. It is a thing of real beauty.

When playing airsoft, you very rarely need to carry all of the equipment that you take with you. Obviously, there are exceptions, like weekend milsim events, but even then, I could have supplemented what I used at Fireball with a rucksack and that would have sufficed, even for an entire weekend.

I still love my two Armalite rifles, even if they are a little overburdened with accessories, but the purity of fun I got out of playing lo-fi airsoft was refreshing, to say the least.