On the first weekend of November I was invited by the team at Shield
Airsoft to attend their Krytac LMG Release/Open Range Day to test the new
Krytac LMG and experience some real steel shooting. The event took place over
the 7th and 8th of November at the Tunnel Target Sports
Centre in Charmouth, Dorset. The price for the day was £32 including all
activities if pre-booked or £36 on the day. During the weekend there was chance
to take part in a range of activities such as the 6 Stage Competition for
Airsoft Pistol and Rifle on the 40m range, a 3 Stage Introduction to 22 real
steel on the 25m range, LMG blast in the 100m range, a chance to play against
the newly formed Shield Airsoft team in the Tunnels and a blast on the scenario
simulator. There was also an FAC workshop and question time with firearms
officer, Bob Parkhouse.
The Open Range day was held at The Tunnel Target Sports Centre in
Charmouth, Dorset which is the home to a 25m, 40m and 100 metre indoor ranges -
it has one of the only indoor full bore ranges in the UK rated up to .50
Calibre. They don’t just cater to seasoned shooters though, their ranges are
open to beginners as well, as full supervision is provided by NRSA and NRA
qualified Range Officers. The ranges are open to both members and non-members,
with The Tunnel offering a fully supervised one hour shooting experience for
non-members and beginners for the reasonable price of £24.50 which includes
range hire, rifle hire, 50 rounds of 22LR and full supervision. The Tunnel also
offers a Laser Judgemental Training Suite which enables realistic scenario
training in G36 and Glock 19 for security training. The site was granted
Section 7(3) status in 2014. Which means legislation allows the holders of
Firearms Certificates to store and shoot pistols of historic interest at S7(3)
sites. As The Tunnel is so far from my home in the Midlands I decided to stay
overnight in the Tunnel Pods. The Tunnel Pods are hand crafted, insulted
camping pods that either sleep 2 (standard pod) or up to 4 (family pods). The
family pods have their own toilets and washbasins whilst the standards have
access to the toilet and shower block. They all have their own decked seating
areas and access to the sheltered BBQ/snug area. The pods are really cosy and
provide all the amenities you could need (although bring your own bedding –
that’s the only thing that caught me out!) My pod cost me £35 for one night,
now I personally think this is a little pricey for what you get but it is still
cheaper than any hotel in the surrounding area.
So now you know about the venue, who are Shield? Shield are a firearms
and sights company that was established in 1982 by Jeremy White. They
specialize in military proven red dot sights and are the UK distributors of
Krytac (the new Airsoft venture of the Switzerland based firearms manufacturer,
KRISS group). They sponsor a team of 6 players who wanted to take Airsoft to
the next level by using real firearms techniques and tactics to reflect Shields
end goals within the Airsoft industry. Shield are family run business and it
was a pleasure to meet them during the event, they were friendly, welcoming and
easy to have a laugh with.
Let’s get down to the event itself, I started my weekend by putting
some rounds through the Trident LMG herself. My first impressions of the LMG
are very good. Despite being a support weapon, she is very light without
compromising on the quality of the internals, is aesthetically pleasing,
accurate with a great ROF and the semi auto function is a nice addition meaning
she can be used on semi only sites. You can either run the box mag provided or
M4 mags which during ops would be extremely useful. During the ‘Attack Team
Shield’ game we played in the tunnel, we came up against the LMG and it proved
to be a worthy adversary. Combined with the Shield CQS sight it’s accuracy
against us was quite something! We had a blast in the tunnel attacking and
defending the flag against team Shield! The Tunnel was full of gunfire, smokes
and bangs going off making the experience epic!
Although my favourite ‘Airsoft’ part of the weekend however was running
the 6 stage rifle competition in the 40m range. The competition stages were
lovingly built and put together by the Shield team especially for the weekend
and they did a fantastic job. The stages were a variety of scenarios that were
to be completed in the quickest time possible and ranged from room to room
breach and clear, car scenarios, stair clearance and other stages to battle it
out for a chance to win a Shield CQS sight! Now although I didn’t win the
sight, it was awesome to put the Krytac PDW, SPR and CRB through their paces on
the course!
Over the weekend I also got chance to have an introduction to real
steel shooting – by giving the 3 stage introduction to 22 shooting on the 25m
range a blast. We were given a safety brief by the instructors on the range as
real steel is obviously a lot different to shooting an Airsoft gun. I
absolutely loved every second of it – the sound and feel of the recoil of the
rifle really got my adrenaline pumping and left me wanting more. I was lucky
enough to get some pointers and tips on how to improve everything from my
accuracy to range times, which has really encouraged me to try take up
22 practical shooting!
I had an amazing weekend at the Open Range Day and LMG release,
the activities on offer were fun, engaging and exciting to take part in. The
cost for the day was excellent value for money due to the unique nature of the
activities – 22 rifle shooting isn’t something you get to experience every day!
The event was even better value if you pre-booked! Although it was a fair way
away from home, the experience was definitely worth it and I’m really looking
forward to the next Shield event! Count me in!Contact details:
Target Sports Centre
LTD
The Tunnel, Axminster
Road, Charmouth, Dorset, DT 6BY
01297560049
Shield Firearms &
Sights LTD
Bridport DT69DW
01297678233
www.shieldpsd.com
Photography: Peter Meade.
Photography: Peter Meade.
Hardwick, K. (2016). Krytac LMG Release. Airsoft Action. 57 (January), 46-47.
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