Section Ten – Shopping Advice:
- Research first, buy later
Do NOT first buy an item from a retailer or bid on an item on eBay and -then- come on-line to ask “Hey, I’ve just bought X AEG or Y GBB, is it any good?”
You’re too late.
If you’ve lucked out, you may have made a decent buy. But if not, you’ve already made a mistake that you cannot undo.
Research and do your homework FIRST and THEN shop and buy.
Anything else is outright stupid .
You wouldn’t buy a car without first test driving it or reading in the magazines what they thought of the car, right? Same idea here.
- Who’s got the best prices?
Finally, having done all of your homework, you’re ready to make the purchase. Now, then, who has the best prices?
Again, here, a simple-minded “can anyone tell me who has the best prices” post will only land you in more trouble.
Prices change rapidly in today’s highly competitive airsoft market – retailers and private re-sellers/brokers are now in the practice of running “specials” all throughout the year. As such, you can never be guaranteed of getting the best price if you simply trust someone’s word for it (it may have been the cheapest place for him a month ago, a week ago, or even just a day ago – but the prices may have already changed in the interim).
Use the “Soft Links” on the AirsoftZone, the www.AirsoftPlayers.com “Seller Ratings” section, or the Arnie’s Airsoft (UK) “Web-Links” page to take you to the various retailers’ commercial websites. Spend a moment and look through their pages and note down their prices on a piece of paper (don’t forget cost of shipping!), and then, e-mail a few for a complete price quote, including shipping – and to check for item availability. Only by doing your own leg-work can you be guaranteed to get the best prices.
- Which retailer can I trust?
AirsoftZone offers a “Retailers” section. Fire up the AirsoftZone Forum search-function to help you locate past posts in this “Retailers” section that bears your interest. Remember, it does no good to just post a question asking about a particular retailer – by doing so, you’re at the mercy of a few members who deem it worth their while to respond to you. Instead, take the time to search the past posts to see what has been posted about these retailers IN THE PAST. It’s the history of each retailer that counts.
Similarly, check out AirsoftPlayers’ “Seller Ratings” section. It’s on their pull-down navigation menu off the main page. Give each of your potential retailers’ ratings section not only a cursory look to see how many positives and negatives they’ve accumulated, but rather, pay attention to what has ACTUALLY BEEN SAID about them within those rating posts.
Regardless of where you get your opinions from or where you eventually decide to shop from, remember that there will always be those who complain about retailer X or Y. It’s an unavoidable part of business – no one can satisfy their customers 100%, all of the time. This is particularly true of the Internet, where everyone and their uncle can come in, stand on the soap-box , and put their own two bits out for everyone to hear, no matter how right or how wrong.
Just look at on-line reviews of even top-notch hotels like The Ritz Carlton and The Four Seasons.
World renowned service, yet, people still complain. Why?
Because you always remember that one red traffic light that you hit on your way home from work or school.
Same idea here – the negatives, no matter how small, tend to stand out – while unless you get absolutely stellar service, you just don’t seem to remember, as clearly, your positive experiences.
Look not only at the individual complaints, but rather, look at the larger picture.
If a retailer has had 100,000 orders filled, and has 1000 complaints, is that any worse than a retailer who has only filled 1000 orders, but has had a 50-complaint history? The first case has a error-rate of only 1%, but the second retailer has had a 5% complaint history. Lower number of complaints doesn’t mean much – it’s how many complaints were made against how many orders were filled that’s the true concern.
Sure, you may hear that Wargamer’s Club Shop, RedWolf, or DEN Trinity may have had a number of complaints against them, but considering that they’ve been in-business for so many years and have served so many hobbyists to their complete satisfaction, the few complaints that you hear is next to nothing in terms of significance. So what if a smaller retailer has their entire past history of 100 orders perfectly? These larger retailers have filled tens of thousands of such orders without trouble.
Remember this difference during your research.
- Buying off eBay or off hobbyist Forum or other enthusiast website “classified” pages
When buying off eBay and other such auction pages, the same rule would apply to your airsoft purchase as any other purchase. Look at the seller feedback ratings.
When buying from a website “classified” page, check the AirsoftZone “Arms Deals Seller/Buyer Reviews” sub-Forum and JayKay’s Airsoft Buyer/Seller Review Forums (at: http://www.jkcns.com). Both will offer feedback on potential sellers and buyers.
Don’t skip this homework – failure to research your seller/buyer is the surest way to get scammed.
- Legal concerns
A. Purchasing overseas and importing
First and foremost, currently, import purchase of any type of airsoft replicas is fully legal for the United States at the federal level.
The less-scrupulous Stateside retailers will tell you that such import may be illegal (i.e. within the past year, a well-known US retailer was noted to have cited that GBB replicas are illegal – which is completely and utterly false) or may be very high-risk. That is just simply not true at all. Airsoft is legal, in all forms, for import into the US by individual retail purchase. And provided that the items satisfy US import codes (covered briefly and basically below), their entry is virtually guaranteed.
The only provisions required for legal importation of these goods, purchased from overseas retailers, is that they bear muzzle orange (with respect to color, depth/length, and "permanency") and that their offending trademarks are properly covered or obliterated to-specs.
However, much of this compliance with barrel/muzzle orange paint and trademark coverage issue depends highly on the variable interpretation of such laws by individual Customs inspection officers.
Example?
Western Arms actually has a true “International License” pertaining to their Strayer Voigt Infinity, Beretta, and Wilson Combat replicas. These goods bear trademark rights that actually are truly “international,” and should allow their entry into the US . However, from most retailers, they are still are covered-up. Why?

Although *_WE_* might know that the goods carry actual licensed trademarks, and the individual retailers might know, too – the Customs Inspector checking through our replicas may not be aware of such a special circumstance.

Unless something can be done to improve their knowledge, I truly do not think that having such items pass-through with full trademarks is a worthy risk for any consumer here in the US .

Legal or not, your inspecting Customs agent just might not know better -- and this has happened many more times than I'd care to count. As such, when importing goods, always ask your retailers to properly cover the trademarks (if desired, most of these coverage methods, just as with most barrel-orange painting, can be 100% “restored” to “collectors’ condition” once you’ve received them).

B. Flashlights
Flashlights are what I consider essential low-light/night skirmish gear.
Why?
Not only is it useful for a variety of gaming purposes, but it is also essential for many “real-life” circumstances, such as first-aid or even helping you find your way back to the base-camp/safe-zone, should you become lost.
What is “necessary?”
Think about carrying one of today’s many “long-run time” LED-based flashlights. This can be something as small as a Photon Microlight to something as large as an Inova X5 or Lightwave 4000.
This is a basic survival tool should you become lost/hurt. It will put out enough light so that you can either see what’s sticking out of or into your leg or to help you trek back to base-camp, and will also help you signal your friends, if needed. But also, this item doubles wonderfully as a general-use light, giving you something to use when you need to go to the latrine at night or help you find things in your tent/car. Its long battery life, plus near fail-proof “bulbs” makes these items something that you should always carry.
But aside from this tool, why carry a flashlight?
Flashlights are also indispensable “tactical” instruments.
Now, before we go any further, let’s define this word – tactical – in terms of flashlight use.
The most common meaning of the words “tactical light” refers to the manner in which SureFire – what is perhaps the world’s leading manufacturer of high-speed “tactical” handheld and weapon-mounted flashlights – defines “tactical.” In this case, it’s something that’s bright enough to temporarily blind and daze/disorient a subject on the receiving end of the light’s output beam. SureFire defines this level of output to be at least between 60 to 65 lumens of objective light output.
However, “tactical,” as defined in Webster’s, means simply (1) of tactics, esp. in military or naval maneuvers, or (2) of or showing skill in tactics – which is itself defined as only “a means to gain an end.”
Now, then, what if this “tactic” is to be as stealthy as possible? Is stealth not a viable tactic of military maneuver?
In this case, then, wouldn’t the best “tactical” light be one which you can use – to, say, read a map of your Area-of-Operations or to signal your linemate – without giving up your location by “light compromise” by being overly bright, as with the “tactical” lights of SureFire’s definition?
Certainly it would!
Thus, we have two types of “tactical” lights, with two distinct and separate purposes.
Want a stealthy light?
Again, the LED’s work well, especially one with a shroud, such as the Photon Microlight III + Shroud. Get one with a red LED, and you have something that you can easily use to read maps of your AO night while maintaining your natural night vision and minimally disclosing your position to opposition squads patrolling the surrounding forest. Want something with a lockout to prevent accidental light discharge? The Arc AAA will fill this purpose just fine. Look around a bit – just about every major flashlight and tactical light maker now has a complete line of such LED-light units available, for a variety of prices. Just remember your purpose, and how you want these lights to perform as you look at their options (color, output power, lens shielding, switching, etc.) and you’ll be fine.
What about a more powerful light?
One capable of lighting up a relatively large area so that you can clearly determine threat level – one that has enough light output to temporarily dazzle, daze, and blind your down-field target?
Unfortunately, despite their claims otherwise, that Mini MagLite that you see rigged to the front of some players’ AEGs, that Tokyo Marui “Tactical Light” (which is nothing more than just that very same Mini MagLite, only in slightly different cosmetic construct), and the various LED-based flashlights all simply do not produce enough light output on an OBJECTIVE level to fit this bill.
SureFire , for good reason, defines this type of “tactical” use with the need to put out at least 60 to 65 lumens – or around 10,000 candlepower – as a minimum.
Unfortunately, this is a level of objective light output that no current LED-based flashlight can measure up to. Even the “brightest” of the bunch, such as the SureFire KL3 head (1W LuxeonStar emitter) fitted 9V-systems (producing a total of around 20 lumens, max) or the LightWave 4000 or the Inova X5 (both of which fall far short of this mark) is simply insufficient to fill this job description. [Note, as of 05/2003, we are still awaiting the introduction of SureFire’s promised 80-100 lumens 5W LED-based systems; similarly, Streamlight, which has come forward with several LED-based “tactical lights” – note the similar tone of the claim as Inova puts on their products – has ironically and cryptically not disclosed the lighting output of their lights, thus making one wonder exactly how applicable or capable their lights are in this context.]
To truly go “tactical” in this sense, at this present day and time, outside of custom-built LED projects, we are left with incandescent lighting as our one and only choice.
But exactly how bright is such as system?
To figure this out, one has to realize several different considerations.
Remember first that lumens and candlepower are two separate measures, and that they cannot be either mathematically nor realistically/practically converted.
Candlepower, as defined by Streamlight, is “a measure of the brightest spot in the focused beam. It is a function of both the output of the lamp and the efficiency of the reflector.”
Lumens, meanwhile, is a measure of “the entire light output of the flashlight regardless of beam focus.”
But to us, the end-users, neither figure really means all that much.
Instead, to get a better picture, we have to take into account both how much light there is, as is seen with the above two measures, as well as how “focused” the light happens to be. This is the only true way to get a useful practical measure.
Think of it this way.
That 60-Watt desk lamp that you’re using to help you read this post?
That lamp puts out over 800 lumens.
It lights up your room pretty well when you remove the lampshade, right?
But look outside your room door, down the hallway. I bet that after about 30 ft. or so, you can barely even see your German Shepard sneaking into the bathroom for a quick drink from the toilet.
As such, we have to rate these lights according both to how much light they throw out, as well as exactly how they throw that light.
Have a look here, at Brock’s excellent comparison page:
http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/flash.htm
Look specifically at the “Focus” and the “CP@ 7 meters” columns. To judge a light for our use, it becomes imperative that we consider both how much light is thrown out towards our target at a distance (the latter measure), as well as exactly how that light is dispersed (the former).
With that in-mind, let’s look at some of those lights.
First of all, let’s get a good feel for what, say, one of the “standard benchmarks” of this genre – the SureFire 6V system, with their standard P60 (65 lumens output) lamp and reflector unit can do. Scan down until you find the entry that reads “SureFire D2/P60” and now compare that with some entries right below – the MagLites. See how the “relative brightness” of the SureFire unit, which is about ½ to 1/3 the size of the corresponding 3 “D-cell” and 5D MagLites, slots in? That, my friends, is how “powerful” such a small SureFire light can be. It has the “lighting power” that, for all intents and purposes, is the same as a 4 “D-cell” MagLite.
Does the 4D MagLite attain “tactical” levels of brightness? By SureFire’s own definition, certainly. But at somewhere near 3 times the size, the MagLite is going to be awfully burdensome to drag around with you during skirmishes, and furthermore, it is going to be an absolute bear to mount to your AEG or even GBB when compared to the svelte SureFire!
And have a look at this:
To wit, the Mini MagLite that is also the basis of the Tokyo Marui “Tactical Light?” That only has an objective light output of 2,200 candlepower – the Mag 2AA on Brock’s page doesn’t even register a “relative brightness,” does it? That’s why these items are totally a joke when it comes to being used as “tactical lights” in the SureFire coined sense of the words.
So, with all that said, what, you ask, is a suitable “tactical” flashlight?
If you used Brock’s chart, basically, we have an arbitrary cut-off at the 10 CP @ 7M mark, and that will do it. Everything above that, OK. Everything below, no go.
Out of these, currently, perhaps the absolute “best deal” that you’re going to find for such “tactical lights” is the SureFire G2 Nitrolon. This polymer plastic bodied light is a near carbon-copy of SureFire’s legendary original P-series, and will support either the P60 (65 lumens) lamp (with about an hour’s run-time per set of 2 CR123 lithium batteries) or the high-output P61 (120 lumens, with about a half-hour run-time) lamp/reflector units. At under $25, this is an incredible bargain. Add to this an el-cheapo one-inch diameter Weaver-based scope ring, and for less than $30, you can have a nice, hard-mounted tactical light on your AEG (the P61 lamp will cost you about another $15 extra). Getting a little fancy, spend another $20, and you can easily buy the G&P remote pressure-pad tailswitch assembly, which will give you the ability to use a pigtail to actuate your light.

E. The big one, EYE PROTECTION
Of utmost importance , eye protection.
DO NOT think that simple “safety glasses,” “lab goggles,” or “shop goggles” will suffice. These items may or may not offer sufficient impact resistance, and most do not provide enough of a “seal” around your facial bones to totally enclose your eye sockets. Several well-respected teams/clubs here in the US have already banned the use of such eye-wear at their skirmishes.
Instead, choose eye-wear that will actually “seal-in” your eyes.
Paintball goggles from JT style='font-size: 8.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>USA , Scott USA, and Brass Eagle are all highly impact resistant, and have withstood repeated testing by many clubs/teams – gaining wide acceptance for just about all skirmish events nationwide. Many would even debate that these are indeed the current “standard” eye-wear for airsoft. With paintballs impacting the lens at upwards of 12 Joules of force-energy (for a .68 caliber, 3-gram weight average paintball traveling at 300 fps.), it is easy to see why these paintball goggles more than suffice for even a very hot 3-Joule airsoft hits.
Alternatively, you can use actual “tactical goggles” that meet or exceed ANSI Z87.1 1989 impact resistance standards (this claim should be enclosed with the goggle, printed on the box, or described in the catalog you are ordering from). Made by such noted names as ESS, Bolle, Oakley, etc., these items will offer more than sufficient protection for airsoft, as long as they are truly full-sealing around the perimeter of your eye-cup area, and as long as they meet the above ANSI standard.
In any case, either going with paintball goggles or with true tactical goggles is NOT necessarily an expensive proposition – paintball goggle-and-mask sets can be had at discounters such as “WalMart” for around $20, and many such impact resistant tactical goggles can be had for under $30 from a large number of on-line tactical equipment retailers.
If you have more money to spend, spend it first on getting either a set of goggles that have anti-fogging properties, or, alternatively, an anti-fog lens for your goggle set. Should you have even more dough in your wallet, get a set that offers a built-in fog-reducing vent fan (i.e. ESS TurboCAM), or, an aftermarket miniature fan (such as the JT fan, for JT paintball goggles). These last two areas are critical for players who tend to sweat a lot (chemical anti-fogging, in the form of liquids or solid wipes, may also be necessary), and the fans are an excellent addition for those who wear prescription eyeglasses under their goggles (here, note that certain Bolle and ESS models offer a supplemental prescription lens frame insert within their outer goggle shell, and can be fitted for a supplemental prescription lens).
Actually, here’s what I recently wrote about this very topic, covering the issue of fitting goggles over the frames of prescription glasses as well as regarding the issue of “fogging” –
Much of this OTG ("over the glasses") fit issue depends on exactly what type of prescription eyeglass frame style you have.

With the large "aviator" frames, there's practically no goggle system that will fit comfortably over them.... However, if you have a smaller, lower profile set, as is what is popular "style" dictate today, you can rest assured that all but the most low-profile and highly contoured systems (i.e. Wiley-X SG-1, etc.) will work just fine for you.

Also, there are designs of USGI "combat eyeglass" frames which offer a low-profile "curve" around your face, yet still will retain a rather large (almost "aviator" in style) lens -- these items typically can be had from surplus or military-supplies stores, and includes a jig in the kit for you to take to your ophthalmic doctor or lensmaker to get a proper set of lenses with your prescription.

In terms of actual protection:

With ANSI Z87.1 1989 compliant/meet-exceed "tactical goggles," most of the ESS and Bolle systems will clear smaller-framed eyeglasses just fine. Both also further offer specific prescription insert frames (which you take to the lens-making opticians to get one made that is the same as your prescription every-day wear), should you desire a specific-for-application fit.

As for paintball goggles, most actually will clear small to even medium framed glasses just fine, with several of the larger makes offering specifically "OTG" goggle/mask systems that are cut more generously to allow clearance of even the largest-framed glasses.

If fogging is a worry for you (and every person is different), here’s an algorithm that you can follow:

First, you should look for goggles that utilize either a inner-aspect anti-fog "coated" lens or one that has a dual-pane lens setup (such as the soft acetate lenses that you see of "thermal" systems with JT USA and others' paintball goggles).

Should your goggle/mask system, regardless of paintball or tactical origin not have such lenses installed, you should seek replacement upgrade lenses or consider the self-installation of the "Fog City Fog" inner acetate lens (which has a foam-backed self-adhesive lined border that renders your single-pane goggle lens into a double-pane setup in the critical vision areas), which can readily be purchased on-line for around $10 per insert.

Next, if that is not sufficient to clear your fogging problem, you should consider applying supplemental chemical anti-fogging solution.

The key to making this effective is to make sure that you're applying the solution properly, and to regularly and religiously re-apply the solution every chance you get -- that means EVERY time you come back into the safe-zone after being shot-out or during breaks. EVERY TIME. Just as any chemical protective coating on a hard surface will wear off (you do re-wax your car every once in a while, right? what about lubrication for your GBB or AEG? what about remembering to wipe down your handgun or rifle and re-applying bluing solution? oiling down your favorite sword or knife blades? same idea here!), you must REGULARLY REAPPLY these solutions for them to properly confer fog-protection.

Apply to goggle lens AND your eyeglass lenses!

Playing in adverse weather conditions will greatly increase your need to re-apply such solutions, and you should be well-advised to decrease your time-intervals between such application to-match. Again, do so as often as you can, as regularly as you can.

Be careful with the inner acetate lens of the two-pane systems. They are very scratch prone, so use a proper "lens cloth" to clean and to apply anti-fog solutions to them. No, “tissues” aren't soft enough, you'll still scratch. Trust me on this.

Also, if you wear contacts, be careful -- these solutions work by depositing a physical microscopic particle barrier on the lens surface, and by their very nature, are volatile and "boil off." This often creates a vapor within your goggle/mask assembly, and can be an eye-irritant (I've found that RainX brand anti-fog makes my eyes water a bit when I first apply them, but, for example, the JT USA paintball-mask anti-fog solution does not -- depending on your own sensitivity as well as the particular chemical you use, this will differ) -- and the ability of contacts to physically concentrate through "edge-effect" the deposition/accumulation of such solution vapors on the surface of your eyes can be a serious concern.

If this still doesn't do it for you, you can next/then try ADDING forced air induction or extraction TO THE ABOVE METHODS. The ESS TurboCAM is a perfect example, and JT USA also makes a fan system that specifically fits to their brand's paintball goggle/mask systems.

Finally, as another consideration, I've found the BLOK airsoft-specific mask system to be tremendously fog-resistant. I don't know why -- just that it does work. And this will clear most small-framed glasses just fine.

--

In addition to these considerations, remember the following general principles that should always be applied.

Even though they are relatively heavier than their 6mm counterparts, these large-caliber BBs unfortunately also present a much larger overall aspect to the physical forces that a BB typically encounters on its way out of the barrel – specifically, wind resistance. Due to their larger overall area, not only will they simply catch more wind, but their actual “density” is less than that of a comparable .36 or .43 gram 6mm BB, and this makes them even more susceptible to deviations caused by such factors.
This is borne out in even close-ranged target-testing, of which the Marushin Taurus Raging Bull 444 was tested by both myself and friend and fellow enthusiast Snowman(40) of the UK in recent “accuracy tests” (found on his private hobbyist page here: http://www.snowman40.8m.com/). Both of our results conclusively demonstrated the above academic supposition/hypothesis regarding the 8mm BBs’ susceptibility to external conditions.
Taking this into consideration while also factoring in skirmish-safety muzzle energy/velocity limits as we have discussed above just previously in Section VII, we can come to the objective conclusion that the 8mm genre is ill-suited as a skirmish-use BB, and is instead meant either just for show (i.e. a “paper tiger” if you will, serving only to impress your friends with its big gaping barrel bore at the bar or at the range), or should be taken to “terminal” upgrade levels (levels of which are unsuitable for skirmish gaming use, and should only be reserved for demonstration-purpose or competition target-shooting pieces) in order to show its real advantages, if any, over the 6mm genre.
Finally, the last “aberration” that we need to touch on in terms of BBs have to do with biodegradability.
Until recently, we’ve all been under the supposition that Excel BBs are biodegradable. This is, unfortunately, far from true. As you can read for yourself from the following thread, http://forums.ukairsoft.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32219&highlight=excel, respected enthusiast Reverend G of the UK conclusively tested the Excel BBs and revealed, along with information from other enthusiasts, that the traditional Excel’s are “biodegradable” in essence under the specific context and provisions of certain Japanese environmental and industrial law, and are not truly “biodegradable.” More recently, Excel and Tokyo Marui have both introduced their “True Biodegradable” BBs, and this field is also now being entered into by an European company, BioVal (whose products have yet to be seen here, Stateside, and whose claims of biodegradability and unknown-reason muzzle velocity/energy increases have yet to be independently confirmed by hobbyists – as of 05/2003).

Section Nine – Gear:
- A general word about gear for newbies
If you are coming into this truly "serious" about skirmish gaming, you'll want to see if you can hold-off on gear for a while.

Why?

Well, it's simply just very hard for newbies to figure out exactly what piece of gear will be "right" for them....

Until you get a few full game *_DAYS_* (not just individual games) under your belt, it will be hard for you to get a good feel for what you, as an individual, would prefer.

Sure, you can think, academically, that you'd like to have a full tactical vest, and that one with a cross-draw holster would be “cool.” But say you eventually turn out to be a “crawler” or prefer something that's less heat-retentive -- you'll quickly find out that the spiffy looking vest you bought not only does not meet your needs, but can specifically hinder your movement and totally be the opposite of what you desire.

As a newbie, it’s hard enough for you to figure out what kind of gear you need (i.e. a vest or a load-bearing harness? a drop-leg thigh holster or a belt-holster? do I want to carry my mags on my chest or on my legs, or at my waist?) without also needing to contemplate ancillary considerations such as “how much should I spend?” or “how good do I need for my gear to be?” at this point.

Without knowing what your preferences are or what your budget happens to be, this choice is virtually impossible.

For a newbie who is serious about beginning, just focus on the basics.
Just go for the bare-minimums at this point, as once you truly settle down, you're likely to go through several major gear configurations, and having you, at this early point in your hobby career, spend hundreds of dollars on "high-speed gear" would be a waste if you're just not going to be happy with them later.

Just look at all the airsoft imitation/clone tactical gear (Guarder/IS, MilForce, Swat Systems, etc.), the USGI issue gear, the mid-to-high-range "real-deal" tactical gear from Eagle Industries, Tactical Tailor, and BlackHawk Industries, to the really high-speed gear offered by makes such as HSGI, SOTECH, SOE, LBT, and others, and you can see that the variety offered is mindblowing and that the cost ranges from tens to literally hundreds of dollars per piece of kit.

Take it easy at this point, and have an eye out for the future, that's what's important as a newbie.

Don't fly off the handle and waste your money right off pursuing gear that you have little understanding of, and have even less knowledge about whether if YOU, yourself, will like them in the end.
As a new player, unless you are entering into a VERY well-established team/club (i.e. The Cimmerians), there’s really no absolute and necessary and required load-out you will need to bring to your first game. And even if you did join one of these established and highly disciplined/rigorous teams/clubs, chances are that should you make contact with the players/organizers. They will either exempt you from having to have such complete gear, or, alternatively, give you a complete list of exactly what’s required and where to go to find them – to make life easier for you.
While this means that you likely won’t have to go all-out and spend the big bucks on tactical gear when you first join these teams/clubs (on pieces of gear or clothing which you may or may not need later), or, should you be joining a club that has more relaxed dress-codes or perhaps even one without a guideline as to what your load out should be, you should still be prepared to spend about $20 to $50 to equip yourself with the “bare essentials” of skirmish play.

One caveat, though, as I mentioned previously, is that you *_can_* effectively use the various airsoft “buckshot” shells (for the gas-SunProject M203) to score defilade-effective hits, to a degree, with plenty of practice and a bit of luck.

The BBs are discharged in both sufficient quantity and also at sufficiently low velocities that having them literally arc over and behind defilade is possible -- and there have been many US hobbyists who've used these items with both quadrant as well as blade sights ("adapted" for airsoft engagement-ranges, of course!) to such effect.
So what good, then, is the TM? Again, it’s much the same as the above arguments for the TM shotgun replicas – the primary use of these M203 replicas is that they serve as a viable backup that is instantly co-sighted and co-targeted with the primary (i.e. no need to draw your sidearm if SHTF situations during reloading of the primary). Also, thanks to their tri-inner-barrel design, their effective range far exceed that of any current SunProject M203-gas-use round -- and even can provide service as a viable multi-shot (instead of single-shot) secondary when, say, entering a CQB-environment when your primary AEG is considered "too hot" by your field/event rules for close-range engagements.
It is thus the explicit purpose for which the replica is chosen that makes either the TM or the SunProject "superior" above the other.

Taken away from that context, neither stands alone as being superior or inferior to the other in terms of durability, reliability, or performance.

Just like as the difference is to be had with the TM spring-powered shotguns and the Maruzen gas-powered pieces, the true determination of which one is superior depends on their particular application.

Each one has its own strengths and deficits -- and must be mated to the task at-hand. Just as you would not drive a F1 car to a CHAMP or IRL event and expect it to win, the same cannot go the other way around, either. The best tool is the one which simply suits the purpose at-hand.
The only thing that can *_truly_* be said is that due to the much greater effective and absolute range of the Tokyo Marui M203, it makes it virtually impossible to properly "lob" BBs, especially at medium to closer-range targets -- and that due to the much lower end velocity/energy with which BBs are discharged from the various SunProject M203 gas-use shells, it makes such "over the top" lobbed-shots at least CAPABLE of being accomplished, albeit with TREMENDOUS practice.
A word of caution, though – if you’ve been shopping around for these M203s, RedWolf's description of the CAW/MM “Moscart” shells may be right as to how the item operates, but it is SERIOUSLY flawed otherwise....

CAW/MM never meant for their 6mm or 8mm Moscart cartridges (aside from the monstrous 165 BB-capacity “BB Shower” shell) to contain anything more than 24 to 18 BBs, each. This is clearly designated on the product packaging as well as with CAW/ MM's official on-line advertising, press-releases, and catalogue.

Furthermore, it is also published directly by CAW/MM themselves that their Moscart shells are NOT intended for use with any gas other than true HFC134a (see below-referenced Arnie’s Airsoft article by Darren-Jon Ashmore), and even then, there is a highly graduated fill-to-temperature ratio that MUST be maintained to prevent main seal malfunction.

Using higher-powered gasses such as Taiwanese “Green Gas” or as RedWolf suggested even “Red Gas” will practically guaranty early failure of these shells -- and is well documented in the various technical posts made by fellow enthusiasts and players on-line.
In order to retrofit/upgrade your CAW/MM Moscarts for field-reliability, all that’s really needed is to replace its internal main seal. This is covered in-detail below, in the reference link that takes you to Blake’s airsoft hobbyist site.
Here are the reference articles --
http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/reviews/m79/moscart_review.htm - Darren Jon-Ashmore’s excellent assessment on the CAW/MM Moscart shells to be read with -- http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/reviews/caw_barrelset/caw_barrelset_review.htm -- which contains a more detailed technical assessment. Pay special attention to CAW/MM’s recommended fill time (with HFC134a ONLY), for these shells.
http://www.geocities.com/blakes_airsoft/old/m79so/m79so.html - Blake, who is a true OG and a fixture of the on-line airsoft community, authored this excellent CAW M97 review – what I find most valuable is his technical article on the Moscart shell further down the page.

Section Seven – Understanding velocity/energy:
If you come from a paintball background, you undoubtedly are familiar with safety rules as they apply to velocity capping your marker.
Let’s talk for a moment about why they did this.
The easiest way to think of it is to take a baseball as an example.
Let’s say that we’re sitting at the dinner table, and I “rolled” the ball at you. It hits you in the chest, and you laugh because that was a pretty funny and unexpected stunt.
Now let’s say, instead, that I chucked/pitched the ball at your chest as hard as I could. That’s going to hurt, right?
Why? Because of this simple physical equation……
Force = Mass x Velocity
We hold the mass of the object, the baseball, the same.
We’re changing the velocity – or how fast the baseball travels – in this case, it changes from my rolling it on the table to my hurling the ball at you. The latter is much faster, right?
Thus, it produces more force.
With paintball, it’s the same. Each paintball comes off of the factory line being limited in terms of size – .68 caliber, and weight (mass) – around 3 grams; thus, if we can limit how fast it goes (limit the velocity), we can control how much force, and therefore damage, it will produce.
But for airsoft, as you will see in the next section, we have a wide selection of BB gram weights, and thus our MASS varies. With our airsoft replicas, because the FORCE that they produce is constant as long as you keep the same spring, this thus means that your observed muzzle velocity will vary depending on your BB mass.
Example:
We’ll say that you’re the spring – the amount of force you can produce is pretty consistent, correct? If you were to, say, bench-press a maximum of 250 lbs. now, you’ll probably still be benching, max, 250 lbs. tomorrow, right?
OK –
So now I’m going to ask you to push a 1,500 lb. race car down the street, as fast as you can possibly make it go. Not too bad, right?
What if I asked you to push a 5,000 lb. SUV?
Even if you could get the SUV rolling, you’d find that it is going to be rolling along much slower than that light race-car that you just pushed before, with the same amount of force and effort.
Same idea here.
Put a heavier BB into your replica, and you’ll notice that its muzzle velocity will decrease – however, because the SYSTEM PROVIDING THE POWER has not changed, the total ENERGY OUTPUT, or the total FORCE, will not have changed.
This means that with your replica, if you see a velocity of 500 fps. with 0.20 gram BBs or 2.32 Joules of force-energy, when you substitute-in .36 gram BBs, because you’re still pushing with 2.32 Joules of force-energy, your muzzle velocity will drop to 372 fps.
Pushing a heavier BB with the same force– so you get less velocity.
So how does this tie-in with safety?
Well, with paintball, because the mass of each paintball is constant, we can regulate how much force the marker puts out by turning down velocity. When velocity goes down, force decreases. And as it is force-energy that inflicts damage (think about the difference in FORCE that I exerted in the first example with the baseball, at first, I just softly rolled the ball at you, and with the other instance, I forcefully threw the ball at you – force hurts!), it is actually this factor that we’re controlling for.
With airsoft, because the mass of the BB can be changed (different gram weights), velocity itself means nothing without a reference to the specific BB mass you are using.
In real world terms:
Say a field has rules of 500 fps. with 0.20 gram BBs as their upper limit. AirsoftOhio events are limited like this specifically for “sniper rifles” (full-auto capable replicas must chrony at lower levels). This means that your energy limit is 2.32 Joules.
So you start to soup-up your sniper rifle replica, and give it a test.
With 0.20 gram BBs, you see that you’re shooting at 550 fps., or 2.8 Joules of force-energy! Oh no! This exceeds AirsoftOhio limits! So what do you do? You remember the above equations, and substitute in a 0.25 gram BBs – and presto, your velocity drops to 490 fps. Perfect, right?
WRONG .

- Where to shop?

For some of the better deals on various optics, I would recommend that you start your search at the following sites:

www.cheaperthandirt.com
www.tapco.com
www.cabelas.com
www.sportsmansguide.com
www.natchezss.com
www.swfa.com

All of these US-based discounters and retailers offer excellent deals on scopes and various sighting accessories – but as always, I highly recommend that you shop around for the best deal. As with shopping for your AEG or GBB, the different Internet retailers will often have very different prices on the same product, and you can never predict when one retailer will run a special sale.

Should you be interested in something that's a bit more exotic, consider starting your search here:

http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Guns/Accessories/Optics/

And finally, for those of you who REALLY are interested in obtaining any kind of sighting optics, I highly encourage you to read the following post:

http://vettaserv.pct.net/aszone/forums/message.cfm?topic_id=5100&forum_id=14#56192

Section Five – “Shotguns”:
There are two basic airsoft shotgun replica types to choose from – I’ve narrowed down your choices to these two as I feel that other variants, from other “lesser” brands, do not offer sufficient durability, reliability, and/or performance for suitable skirmish-field use .
First, there’s the spring-cocking/spring-powered variant from Tokyo Marui. These replicas use a near-coaxial tri-inner-barrel design that is configured so that the three BBs that are simultaneously discharged with each trigger pull will hit nearly the same focused area at the same time.
Second, there’s the Maruzen gas-operated replicas – these are either fed either through a “magazine” or are fed via mock “shotshells” that must be individually loaded with BBs, cycled, and ejected per shot. Shooting anywhere from 3 to 10 BBs per shot through a single inner barrel, these items offer much more “spread” than with the TMs – and furthermore, are also quite a bit weaker in terms of muzzle energy/velocity, and thus deliver shots that are shorter-ranged. There are also Maruzen shotgun replicas that are spring powered, which deliver less BBs per shot to-target.
Now, your foremost consideration with regard to shotgun replicas is that you'll have to make some decisions as to your playing style.

If you're looking for a replica that's suited for outdoor use, where you likely need a good effective range (at least that of stock Tokyo Marui AEGs) and minimal spread of the BBs (so as to effect accurate shots at-range), then the Maruzen gas-operated versions are simply NOT for you.

In the above case, the Tokyo Marui shotgun replicas, either the M3 or the SPAS, will fit your bill much better.

However, if you're looking for a short range area-saturation item, then the Maruzen is your ticket. With the TM shotguns, their tri-inner-barrel design, while offering superb individual BB flight trajectory (which translates into stock AEG-level effective range) really effectively minimize BB-shot spread as to make it, for all practical purposes, non-existent. Sure, it's great to use outdoors, where the triple-shot on what is essentially one center location will help penetrate thick undergrowth and thus effectively increase your chances of scoring an elimination, but without spread, you don't really get the "shotgun effect."

With the Maruzen M870, even at a range of 10-15 ft., with use of HFC134a gas and six to seven 0.20 gram BBs, the spread of the BBs will literally fill a 2-ft. diameter circle.

Combine that with a muzzle velocity that's likely in the range of 150 to 180 fps. (for each BB) with such a load, and you get an item that is perfectly suited for indoor CQB "corner clearing" or "door breaching," as the multiple low-velocity projectiles will saturate a decently large area, while the low-velocity will virtually guaranty that your opponent will not be hurt by the massive number of BBs traveling his way.

With use of Taiwanese "Green Gasses" or other higher-powered gasses, at a range of 15 ft, all 6 to 7 BBs from the Maruzen will hit an area no bigger than 3 inches in diameter. Back up to 30 ft. in such a situation, and you will see an impact radius of more than 3 FEET in diameter. And as most BBs tend to fall within the 25 to 30 ft. area, with only a few making it all the way out to the 30 ft. mark, best effective-range with this piece, when using a load of 6 to 7 0.20 gram BBs and Taiwanese "Green Gas," is likely somewhere just over 25 ft. At that range, maximal shot patterning can be expected.

The full-sized M1100, with its extended inner-barrel, can easily push this range out to well beyond 40 ft., with some hobbyists reporting an effective range of nearly 60 ft.

Meanwhile, with a TM M3 or SPAS 12, you can expect a tight, almost spot-on shot out to well in excess of 80 ft.
Figure out this difference – what it is that you are seeking, how you wish, exactly, for your “shotgun” replica to perform, and you’ll instinctively make the right purchase choice. Don’t lie to yourself, thinking that you can use the TM M3 to fulfill the Maruzen M1100’s job and to meet the latter’s performance parameters just because you like the way the M3 looks will land you in a big mess. This is about how each item truly performs, figure out what you want, and you’ll be happy. Lie to yourself about this, and I can guaranty that you’ll be putting the replica up for sale on eBay the very next day.

Section Six – “Grenade Launchers”:
The reason why I decided to place this section after the shotgun replicas is simple.
Basically, you can think of the Tokyo Marui spring-cocking M203 grenade launcher replicas as simply a mechanical carbon-copy of their shotgun replicas.
And similarly, you can think of the SunProject gas-operated M203 unit as a much larger Maruzen gas-operated shotgun.
Simple, right?
Well, the technical considerations for their use is much the same as well.
Because of the tri-inner-barrel design, as an area-saturation piece, the TM absolutely fails. However, as its internal construct is the same as any of the TM shotties, it is a completely and truly devastatingly effective skirmish piece given the expressed purpose of effecting precision shots (since it co-aligns with the AEG's main barrel, this can be easily achieved) at-distance.

The SunProject, regardless of which shell is chosen, is totally ineffective in providing precision long-range shots, and is only useful as an area-saturation piece -- and even then, only at closer ranges.

To debate the effectiveness of each piece as an absolute – without context as to how it is to be employed – is virtually impossible; that's akin to comparing a TM spring-powered shotgun to a gas-powered Maruzen without first considering the all important question of why or how you plan to use it.

Their expressed purposes are different, and instead of me telling you which one you should purchase, it should be your decision based on YOUR specific usage needs.
Now, with the Tokyo Marui M203, its expressed purpose is easy to determine – it is designed to be used by those who want to place accurate long-range shots as a viable backup to their “co-axial” primary AEG.
With the SunProject, this is a bit harder to decipher, because there are quite a number of different “cartridges” available for its use. Here, I think that one of the most complete and best presentations comes from Stinger, a well-known and well-respected American hobbyist who currently resides in Japan – the author of the well-known and well-read Rising Sun Recon airsoft news report:

Also, remember that dot intensity will greatly affect your perception of the dot as well. There's a reason why multiple intensities are offered, and it is not only so that you can see the dot in bright surroundings, but is ALSO VERY IMPORTANT in that this feature allows you to set the sight to a low-enough setting in dimmer ambient conditions so that you will not receive excess glare from the dot, which can cause the dot to visually "blur" and make your shots less accurate.
Finally, this is something that all of the top IPSC shooters, even Brian Enos, have said – if you’re using a red-dot sight, there’s virtually no reason for you to be focusing on the actual dot itself. When you’re looking at the target, because your eyes are naturally focused on it, there’s no way you’re going to also be able to focus on the dot itself, therefore, it automatically seems a bit “blurry.” But in-use, that blur should not matter, as once the dot is superimposed over the target, you should be on-target, assuming that you’ve judged your range and leading considerations properly and correctly. Now, this may see a bit un-natural to ironsight shooters, but this is the proper way to use red-dot sights. And as such, that slight “blur” of the dot that you’re complaining about in your red-dot unit? Don’t even worry about it.
C. More specifics, “traditional” scopes
Even when it comes to just having a scope, debates will rage as to whether so much or so little magnification is "needed" or is "nice to have." To wit, we've got the 1.5x of the "Military" model TM AUG being cited by many of its users as being near-perfect for airsoft engagements, but yet, others prefer still either no magnification or even higher.
And similarly, with the red-dot sight, we can also sit here and argue for days as to what kind is most suited for use - and whether if some magnification is good.

Just remember this sentence:
There's no right or wrong here -- it's all personal preference.

In my opinion, with "traditional" optical scopes, you run into the problem of perhaps having too much magnification for airsoft needs. Typically, players will purchase scopes made for air-guns or shotguns, as they both offer lower magnification values. More often, however, you'll find that players will purchase scopes with variable power objectives. This allows the player to utilize a low zoom/magnification factor for normal sighting ( 2x to 4x), with the option to crank up the magnification to offer "zoom" of far-away, and often much out-of-rage, targets (9x to12x).
Even at 400 fps. with 0.20 gram BBs, 6-9x is essentially all that you will EVER need to "self-spot" your shots at-range (150-200 ft. downrange). Usually, anything higher than 6x is typically considered non-useful for any type of "assault" role, and is instead reserved more for either the ultra-high energy/velocity "snipers/sharpshooters" or is used instead as a "spotting" scope as I’ve mentioned above, which can come in handy for recon on larger fields.

Eye-relief is a further limitation with traditional scopes as our game requires eye protection that's oftentimes bulky – making it hard to achieve the required relief distance from the end of the eyepiece to your eye (usually, as I’ve cited above, anything with a relief under 3 inches makes for more difficult sighting than ideal in skirmish situations). As such, make absolutely sure that your scope offers proper eye-relief -- the website or catalog you're ordering from should have this critical figure listed in/on their specs page or product description.

Finally, if you decide to go with a model that has a small objective, you will likely experience greatly reduced FOV, which not only increases your risk for "tunnel vision," but can also make target acquisition and tracking quite a bit slower in comparison. Of course, as with red-dot sights, the larger the objective, the greater the amount of money you'll need to spend – and also remember that the larger lenses also mean greater area for incoming BBs to hit and damage, again, a trade-off.
Finally, a word on "illuminated reticule riflescopes," which use electricity/light-amplification mechanisms to help light up the crosshairs.

This does *_not_* mean that you're getting effective "night vision" If anything, the illuminated reticule will work AGAINST your natural physiologic night vision, and make things even worse (as it will be lighting up the foreground of the view, with the background still being pitch black).

Such scopes are only effective during the rather more well-lighted hours of late dawn and early dusk, where it helps bring contrast between the scope's crosshairs and the more subtle background under those specific conditions.

Want to use a scope at night? You'll either have to have a powerful light (SureFire is among the leaders in low-light sniping both in terms of supplying specific-task hardware as well as offering training in this respect for LE/military applications) or will have to have TRUE night-vision/thermal equipment. Otherwise, you're just lying to yourself. [We’ll discuss night-vision basics in the “Gear” section.]


D. So, which one should I choose, red-dot or traditional?

As to which of these devices is "better?" - well, that's up to you to decide. I can tell you the advantages and disadvantages of each, but I cannot tell you what will be the right choice for you, individually. You must make that decision for yourself, based on your own personal preferences and your specific needs.

- Protecting the Lens

Regardless of which option you choose, you should think about possible damage that may occur to the delicate optics of these sights should they be hit by an incoming BB discharged from your opponents.

To shield your expensive optical lenses from damage, it's best to purchase a pair of inexpensive (less than $5 per pair, if you look in the right places) "scope covers." Several types, such as the Butler Creek "Blizzard" caps, are available with a clear lens-cap, which allows you to sight through the protective cover, with the option of removing such protection when you decide to try for more accurate shots (removes a bit of parallax error induced by having the frame of the cover superimposed over the sight-picture). These are available from just about *_ANY_* Stateside firearms accessories retailer, hunting-supplies retailer, or tactical equipment retailer, and even often from airsoft retailers. While the clear lenses on the Blizzard caps can be shattered by a point-blank shot with a 0.20 gram BB traveling at a bare 280 fps., it will significantly disperse the initial shock energy, acting like a “sacrificial” lens unit, thereby physically saving your underlying lens from damage.
You can also very easily purchase lexan, plexiglass, or other clear plastic sheeting for very reasonable prices from any major home-improvement retailer in the US, such as Lowes or Home Depot

Basic plasticworking techniques of cutting and heating/bending the plastic will allow you to make these items into perfectly viable lens shields that are in the vein of the FreedomArt lens protector, with your only additional task in figuring out how to properly attach the shield to your sight/scope.

Also, airsoft-specific “lens shields" such as the FreedomArt Lens Protectors, available in a variety of sizes and easily trimmed with a craft-knife (i.e. "Xacto Knife"), can offer even more sturdy protection, also at a reasonable price. The FreedomArt lens protectors can often be found through high-end US retailers, and definitely can be "special ordered" through them – alternatively, they’re almost always on-call at any of the larger HK retailers.
Their measurements, each, are:

Large -

6.5 cm wide at widest point

6.7 cm tall, plus another 1 cm for the base
1,5 cm “deep” (I'll explain more about this later)

Medium -

5 cm wide at widest point

5.7 cm tall, plus another 1 cm for the base

1.5 cm "deep"

Small -

3.5 cm wide at widest point

4.7 cm tall, plus another 1 cm for the base

1.5 cm "deep"

The "depth," if you'll notice from pictures of this product that you can find on-line, is how the "L" shape at the BASE of each unit is configured. You can thus have two different mounting methods, with the "L" facing "in" towards the sight, or with the "L" facing “out.” This offers you two choices as to how closely you can mount the lens protector to the actual lens of the sight/scope.
A similar product is also offered by Just and ICS, both of which are Taiwanese airsoft marques. They each basically consist of an L-shaped hard-mount secured to the circumference of the scope via a single “Zip Tie” – the shield, which covers the lens, then screws into this secured mount.
A final alternative is the Tenebraex Kill-Flash (note that there are now several different clone/imitation makes, each with its own individual fitting requirements). You will often see this device affixed to the objective lens of the scopes that grace high-end real-steel tactical law-enforcement sniper-rifles or military field-use AimPoint Comp-series red-dot sights. Their main purpose is to eliminate reflections from the lens of the optics that they cover – as effective field concealment. The Kill-Flash accomplishes this by superimposing a fine honeycomb network of baffles over the lens, which when viewed through the optics from your end, is practically invisible (much like those cool one-way windows on city busses that seem opaque, but are actually not). With the Kill-Flash devices, you can also expect a damaged Kill-Flash, with an "embedded" BB in its honeycomb, but again, what's important, your optics, will be saved behind it. It’s also a “sacrificial lens.”

It'll look good on a GBB, and again, just about any GBB will have some kind of aftermarket attachment available, but it will not function as a true suppressor.
- Mock suppressors and “accuracy”
Search around a bit, and you’ll undoubtedly find references, discussions, and questions about the ability of a mock suppressor to add to the effective range of a replica – be it GBB or AEG – in that it adds either range and/or “accuracy” at-range.
Is this possible?
Certainly, but let’s examine this in closer detail.
If you’ll recall from our discussions above, the main determinant, holding all other factors to be equal (same Hop engagement, same BBs used, same spring or gas propellant used), that affects effective range is inner barrel length.
The longer the inner barrel (very important: within certain technical limits) the better the overall effective range.
So, then, if we extended an inner barrel actually though the bore of the mock suppressor, in essence using the mock suppressor as a place to cosmetically hide and to physically protect an inner barrel extension for our new barrel setup, we’ll have an excellent way to extend the inner barrel, right?
And that’s precisely how you would seek to gain better accuracy from the use of a mock suppressor.
However, there are also some precautions.
If the inner barrel ends before the muzzle opening of the mock suppressor, you must absolutely make sure that the path through which the freely-exiting BB takes through the bore of the mock suppressor is clear of any interference. If you’ve got some foam padding or some washers in there to try to absorb some of the muzzle noise, be sure that your exiting BBs won’t come into contact with it – if they do, you’ll get deflection of the BB from its intended flight path, and that will spell disaster for your replica’s accuracy.
Second, also remember that much of what’s gained through a barrel-extension is done so because of the extra time the BB spends in the bore of the inner barrel. Thus, if you have a secondary inner barrel in the bore of the mock suppressor which screws on and attaches to the primary inner barrel (such as the current KSC M93R II mock suppressor unit or the KSC KAC SOCOM mock suppressor unit for the KSC H&K Mk23Mod0 SOCOM GBB), the “gap” between the primary and secondary inner barrels can also introduce a bit of variance. And however small that may be, it can also negatively impact final overall accuracy.
Section Four – Sights, scopes, and lasers
- Mounting considerations
First thing to decide is how to mount your chosen optic – it is also the easiest to sort out, as it is totally up to you to decide. Your personal preference.

Some things to consider as you make this decision include whether your facial/eye protection will let you get a good cheek-weld to the buttstock. This is particularly important if your mounting rail is close or along the same vertical plane as your cheekrest. The best example of this is to think of the TM KAC SR-16, whose flat-top receiver sits directly in-line with the buttstock. This is as opposed to the setup of the TM H&K G3 SG/1, for which a distinct “riser” over by the cheek is needed to raise your eye in-line with a scope mounted to the receiver. Together with this consideration is the actual height of the mount and/or the rings, which you should carefully consider so that you can achieve proper eye-alignment and still have good cheek weld. For example, a too-tall set of rings will result in you having to lift your face off the buttstock (which may be advantageous depending on your facial/eye-protection preference above), while a setup that is too short in profile may cause an impossibly low cheek-weld. Remember that some of this will have to do with the scope’s objective lens and/or eyepiece bell housing – the larger this housing, the more clearance you must factor in.
Another factor to consider as well is whether or not you'd want to keep the stock "ironsights" in-place as a close-range or backup-use sight. Often, you can purchase scope mounts or rings that allow you to sight-through via specialized cut-outs, should you desire such as setup.
- The Scope/sight itself
A. General considerations
First thing to consider is the scope housing (main body tube) size, which is usually listed directly on the product spec's page. If not, then ask this of your seller/retailer.

This, as you know, is critical to meet the requirements of the particular mount RINGS that you've chosen.

For airsoft use, most mount ring BASES will be 20mm, aka Weaver, aka Picatinny RIS/RAS. The RINGS themselves will usually be either of 1 inch or 30mm diameter, depending on the scope tube size we are speaking of here.

Either 30mm or 1-inch versions are fine, but you will find that the 30mm tube diameter is much more common with higher-end items, and thus both the scope and its rings will be much more expensive. 1-inch rings can be had much more readily, and also will tend to be much, much cheaper.
Also consider the following:

(1) A larger objective diameter is excellent as it both lets in more light as well as allows for a larger downfield view (FOV), thus decreasing "tunnel vision" (whereby the shooter is so focused on the picture that’s within the tube of his sight/scope that he/she completely loses total field-awareness) – but it also drastically increases your chances of incoming BBs causing damage to your optics’ lens( es). Consider the question of how to protect your scope before you buy (to be addressed later in detail).

(2) Eye relief.

This is one of those factors that should also be listed in the spec's. Again, if not, ASK your retailer/seller.

You'll want something with AT LEAST 3-inches worth of eye relief. This is because of typical US gaming requirements by clubs, teams, fields, and events to wear full-sealing goggles.

Eye relief is the distance from your exit pupil (in other words, your eye) to the eyepiece lens. As such, when you're wearing eye-protection, especially goggles, you'll want to insure there's enough space to accommodate this.

And no, don't think that because your goggle is only one-inch "deep" that you can get a 1.5 or even 2-inch eye-relief scope. Since you're not able to literally get in that close, with one item butting up right adjacent to the next, you'll need more eye relief than you think.

Think of 3 inches as a minimum.
(3) Consider your magnification needs as based on your muzzle energy/velocity. For a 400 fps. with 0.20 gram BB setup, you'll only need 3x to 6x magnification to be "effective" in an airsoft "sharpshooting/sniping" sense. Anything above 6x, and you're looking at using that for "spotting" or otherwise scanning downfield for recon. Even up to 550 fps. with 0.20 gram BBs, 6x to 9x is more than sufficient, and even then, the higher magnifications are much more useful for scanning the length of the playing field in a scout format more than it is useful being an actual aiming aid, as your magnification factor can often exceed the consistency of your BB.
Optical aiming aids can be had in several different forms -- from red-dot sights to the more "traditional" optical scopes.

Both have limitations as well as advantages, however, you can typically obtain well-equipped models (which address airsoft needs) of either genre for well less than $100.