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The sport of Airsoft is popular worldwide, bringing hundreds of thousands of players to the field annually to fire plastic BBs at each other through a series of fantasy-minded scenarios. At first glance, it looks like a bunch of grown men playing dress-up, who are afraid of "real" guns and only seem to have time to play in between long sessions at the gym. The truth is, it's none of these things, and I only learned that recently after sitting down with Christopher Wratten, owner of Ballahack Airsoft in Chesapeake, Virginia.

When starting into airsoft as a new player, there are many things to learn. One of the key parts of having an airsoft replica perform on the field and allow you to have a fun time is the hop-up. So what exactly is the hop-up? If you are just starting out, and reading the manual that came with your replica, the pictures show that it makes the bb “hop up” in the air during its path to its target. But there is much more behind this than that. The hop-up, and what it does, along with what BB weight you are using can totally change how your replica performs, and how your day out on the field goes.

Not gonna lie, we kinda missed Vegas. OK, there’s a lot of stuff we didn’t miss, like the stale cigarette smoke ambiance of hotel casino floors, overpriced everything, taxi drivers that take circuitous routes to the strip… There’s plenty to hate about Sin City, but the big Show, hosted by the NSSF is not one of them, even with all the hoops the attendees had to jump through in order to attend. Be that as it may, my critique of social issues is not why you are here. You want to read about all the new Umarex gear slated to come to the retail shopping space in 2022. So without further ado, here’s the BIG NEWS from the big UX for this year!

I do not recall a time in my life where we’ve depended so much on the abilities of third-party shippers to get products the last mile. The last mile is industry jargon for store-to-consumer. Most of my life this was a matter of going to the store and picking up the items I wanted in person. In this “order it online” world we live in, there is an incredible amount of shopping done from our computers and especially our mobile phones. The world of commerce has always rolled on commercial shippers’ wheels, but not like it’s rolling today.

It’s not a trade secret. Even the most daft among us know that there’s some weirdness afoot in the global and local markets. If you haven’t heard the clarion call to start getting stuff stocked up now, whether it be for Christmas or whatever-- here it is one more time. If something you want is in stock, you had better get it now rather than wait. This isn’t a bold sales pitch. It’s just a fact that you need to get used to. Even though the Christmas shopping season is still officially a few weeks away from its usual start, if you are not shopping now you are way behind the curve. This is a crazy world where anything can happen. With the past as a predictor, we have learned to expect the unexpected.

It’s that time of year again when your airsoft hobby can finally be intertwined with your “real life”. So many airsofters are embarrassed to talk about their hobby, because it feels controversial - much like the issues that violent video games went through in the 90’s, where all the mom’s were convinced that video games were going to turn their kids into budding psychopaths. It’s awkward to share a hobby where you use realistic looking guns to shoot at each other whilst also simultaneously trying to convince people that you are NOT a serial killer or a disturbed individual.

Umarex has made a GLOCK 17 Gen 5 paintball gun, you have no idea how excited I am! Just to start off, the GLOCK 17 is the original GLOCK. The model 17 was named the 17 after GLOCK had 17 different patents made for the first pistol. It was not well received in the beginning, who wants a polymer gun? The answer now, EVERYONE. It is one of the most popular pistols and the GLOCK fan base continues to grow every day, me being one of them.

Playas, the Elite Force crew wants to thank you for being there for us. Sincerely, you are the reason we exist, and are very grateful for your support. Furthermore, know that we are working hard at getting the warehouse stocked back up-- it just seems like it’s taking forever. That’s one of the reasons this email is so important. When we get restocked we can let you know here, first. Share this email with your friends-- after you’ve picked up what you need! Thank you, again! Team EF.

One of my favorite loadouts is the modern day cowgirl. I created this look for a Desert Fox Events game in 2019, and ended up loving it so much that I have used it several times since then. I took inspiration from one of my favorite western movies, “Tombstone”. I love the black trenchcoat look of the lawmen, but I also appreciated the flair of the cowboys and Johnny Ringo. Since this is airsoft and we can create loadouts based on fantasy, not reality, I decided to meld the two characters into one modern-day cowgirl look.

Magfed paintball has exploded in popularity in recent years and continues to grow, thanks in no small part to the support thrown behind it by some of paintball’s biggest manufacturers. However, tactical magfed paintball has also received a major boost from an incredible source, the world’s foremost name in airguns, airsoft guns, and air-powered tactical training equipment—Umarex! The Umarex magazine fed paintball line is both unique and innovative, taking realism for tactical paintball games, force-on-force training, and affordable practice to an amazing new level!