AKS-74U

So this rifle has sat in a box for a couple of months and it wasn’t until recently that I decided that it needed a total overhaul. After I ripped apart my Sig 552, I had what was left of a high speed gearbox so I attempted to to fit it inside my Dboys 74u. The mosfet and shitty Chinese wiring made it a nightmare to get it fit in. So it sat in a box.

I decided it was a time for second run at it. The silver 7mm Guarder gearbox is way tough, but there was no way for the upper receiver release button would not fit. I actually had to jump BACK to the stock gearbox. I’m not too upset about this, I still carried over all of the other internals. JG gears, Deepfire cylinder head, ICS piston, and Systema cylinder and piston head, etc. The Guarder gearbox was my first attempt at a high speed gearbox. Totally did not work out at all by any stretch of it. Short stroking gears and soldering in mosfets just isn’t my thing. The first thing that I stripped out from the gearbox was the wiring harness. The Angel mosfet is still good to go, i’ll be saving that one for another day, but the rest could not be salvaged. The actual switch assembly was still good to go so I transfered it back over to the Dboys gearbox.


I decided to start with brand new RC car wiring so I made a quick stop over at Covina Hobby and went with 14 guage wiring. Well, 14 guage is just too big. I had to make a another trip to a different RC shop to get 16 guage wiring. Eventually, I got everything set. I drilled out a hole in the top of the upper receiver and with the deans connectors, it now carries the battery externally.

While I was at it, my muse kicked in and I found a simple way to strap on a sight. I found a KAC lower rail just laying around so I got to thinking. I pulled out the heat shroud and flipped it upside down. I put two more sets of holes in the top of the 74u’s upper receiver and strapped down the rail using two zip ties. Its not the most secure or stable, but its not like I’m using live ammo. Right now I have a Leapers 7x40 scope on top right now. Its not very practical, especially with this rifle. It hits hard, but would really need a red dot sight. In any case, I feel I’ve demonstrated some pretty nifty innovation. It will hold over until I track down an MTK83 side mount. I’m definitely looking forward to using this rifle more!

Austrian Death Machine

No, not Arnold Schwarzenegger, but my Steyr AUG. This has been an interesting project. This one goes back to my whole OG assault rifles that I have put together during the last couple of projects. It is certainly not my last. There will be other old school rifles to come. We’re expecting some new items to come in over the next few weeks so I will certainly be adding to my collection.

I started with only one AUG that I found in our scrapyard that was made by Classic Army. It was only missing a few parts and the gearbox had no life. The part that was missing was the back plate that holds the gearbox in place.

I thought I would try to fabricate a part which would not have been that hard, but instead I figured it was best that I try and find another AUG. The planets must have aligned because the following day, while rummaging through the scrapyard again, I found a JG AUG that had nearly all of its parts and actually functioned. it was missing a few pieces like the safety and the take down pin for the upper receiver. BUT it did have the gearbox plate and that was what I was going for.

I got the rifle back to the lab and went to work. The one thing that the JG had was the built in scope. It also came with a green stock rather than the black one that the CA has. What was also neat was how the two upper receivers were interchangeable. Definitely a plus! As I was playing around with them, I found that the JG barrel would not fit in the CA upper, but the CA barrel fits in both. Pulling the motor out was a pain in the ass. It has to be properly aligned with the trigger otherwise you can pull all day and nothing will happen. After I got the motor out of the JG, I noticed funky wiring. There were two sets of red wiring going into one lead. The way the rifle works, is that when you pull the trigger half way, it will operate on semi, but when you pull the trigger completely, it will operate on full auto. The JG gearbox did function on both, but only outside the rifle. As soon as I re-installed it, it functioned only on full auto. Not a big deal. The more I inspected the wiring, the less I wanted to mess with the CA gearbox. After pull out the CA gearbox, I decided I actually found the green lower receiver of the JG more attractive even without the trademarks.

I also decided that I would do more work on the barrel of the JG. I chopped off the the front end of the barrel and brought it down by 6 inches giving it a great CQB length barrel. My only issue is that the new CQB barrel only fits on the scoped upper receiver. I’m working on that though. It looks pretty slick with the short barrel and the silencer attached.

I haven’t been able to skirmish with it yet. I’ve been meaning to have a day out at a field where I can really put my newest rifles to the test. I’ve also made the change over to lipo. I discovered 7.4v lipo batteries and now I want to replace all of my nicad and nimh batteries with them. I picked mine up at a local hobby shop and will probably continue to do so. In any case, lipos put out a much more consistent rate of power compared to nicad’s and nihm batteries. 7.4v lipo’s easily compare to 9.6’s. The discharge is even just a little bit higher

Getting On Line

Giving your Airsoft team the ability to move like a team

Last month I talked about how to organize your team, now that we have established a baseline of what we are working with, I am able to slowly walk through the basics of tactics and move you through how to utilize advanced tactics on the battlefield. Again the advanced milsim tactics are only going to be successful if you have a team following the orders form the Squad leader and working together as a team.

The first thing your team is going to need to master, is the different types of formations you can move and hold in. Reacting to contact is one thing but you need to know how to patrol and get to your objectives in a safe and secure way so if you do encounter an attack you have the ability to easily counteract what the enemy was trying to do. Your basic means of movement formations are the File and Wedge. The file is when you and your teammates move in a single file line, one behind the other. This formation is used for very thick brush and has great security on you flanks but very little security to your front and rear. The other main formation is the Wedge. With a squad sized team you will actually have 2 small wedges where fire team will form a V shape and the second fire team will form another V shape behind them walking in the same direction. The wedge gives you great Flank and front security, but still limited rear security.

The biggest and most important thing your team needs to practice and learn is how to get on line. Whenever you encounter an attack this is always the first step to reaction, Getting On Line. This is where all your soldiers will run to the fire team leader or squad leader and get in a horizontal line together facing the enemy. This is now where the Squad leader is going to make the decision on what needs to be done, break contact or start a Squad Attack. Having all his men in one large line getting in the prone or taking cover and returning fire to the enemy lets him gauge the situation at hand and then easily issue orders because everyone is right there.

Breaking Contact

After coming in contact the Squad leader will assess the situation and decide what needs to be done. In the US Military we use a 3:1 ratio. We will not attack unless we have 3 coalition to every 1 enemy we have come in contact with. So if the squad leader feels he does not have the firepower and manpower to defeat the enemy he may make the decision to break contact. One of the main methods of breaking contact is the Australian Peel. This is where you will bound backwards with your team taking turns laying suppressive fire down on the enemy. As one guy runs backwards everyone is firing to the enemy, once he gets behind everyone and lays down and starts to fir himself, the next guy starts to retreat backwards and goes behind him. This is designed to have the team suppress the enemy as they pull back.

Do not look at breaking contact as retreating, later on I will explain how to do a baited ambush or diversion attack in which you can use the breaking contact as a trap for your enemy. This just means you want to pull back for a bit and give you Team leaders and Squad leader the ability to possibly formulate a new plan.

Squad Attack

On the other end of the spectrum is the basic squad attack move. When the squad leader decides it is time to go after the enemy and attack them he can use the basic squad attack method. This should start with the whole squad on line suppressing the enemy. One fire team will stay on line facing the enemy and continuing to fire at them in hopes to keep their heads down and their attention drawn. The second fire team will then get up and sprint to the enemy’s flanks either right or left, and then get on line as well. So now you have an “L” shape of fire being thrown at the enemy. If you outnumber your enemy this quickly overwhelms them and you will see if properly executed is very successful.

There is a ton of detail that goes into these moves but these are the brief and general breakdowns in attempt to try and get the basics drilled in and laid down.

Stopping in a Hostile Area

If you are behind your opponent’s lines and you are in a danger area of being found or ambushed and need to stop for whatever reason you need to know how to be secure when you stop. The main and easiest means of having a secure stop, is a tight 360. Make sure all your guys form a circle facing out while your squad leader and fire team leaders meet in the middle of the circle. You don’t want to leave any portion uncovered and let someone sneak up on your team because you had your backs to them.

Okay now that we have some basic movement techniques and organization to the team we can start getting down right sneaky with some very fun and cool tricks to play on your opponents. Be sure to check the next issue of AI for the beginning of Advanced Mil-Sim Tactics. If you have any questions feel free to email me at Donnie@ai-mag.com

Sniper - Part One

Intro To Sniper Roles

First off, allow me to thank all of you who have expressed interest into our Blog and the Airsoft community.

We at ATCT want to give the best tactical training and consulting that we can offer to you. We have a wealth of knowledge at ATCT. All of our consultants have professional skills that have been proven in real world conflicts From Africa to the Middle East to the mean streets of the USA. We would like to bring a more realistic environment to the airsoft world; one that offers more of a planning and professional tactical and technical aspect. We at ATCT like to use airsoft as a training aid, we have found that, if used properly, can help hone are skills to razor sharp perfection. One of these skills is the Art of Snipering.

Snipering is an art and should not be thought of any other way. This is not a glorified job. Snipering is a profession and we have communities for our profession. The biggest thing that sets The US military trained sniper apart from the rest of the world is that we have the best sniper schools in the world...from entry level to our most advanced schools. It takes a special person to want to be apart of this community, for it is not a profession that is smiled on. If you are doing you job correctly then no-one; and I mean no-one will ever know that you were there, but if you make a mistake, the BS starts, and everyone has an "expert opinion" about your profession. With that being said: don’t screw the pooch and you will never have to answer for a dumb mistake.

"What is a sniper?" you ask yourself. Many folks may have an answer to this question, but not necessarilly the right answer.

Allow me to give you a little history behind the sniper. The term SNIPER comes for a little bird in Africa called a snipe, (yes, this true. For most of us that have grown up in the country remember taking our friends snipe hunting. And, if you don’t know this game ask someone who does and he or she will teach you... I am sure of it). The snipe was a little ground bird that ran very quickly across the earth. Those who could identify and shoot this fast little bird were given the title "sniper".

Another time in history where the sniper had made his mark was during our Civil War between the Union forces of the United States and the Confederate Force of the south. Both sides used them very well, the Union had an organization know as the United States Sharp Shooters(USSS). If ever you have the opportunity to visit a civil war cemetery and you see this on a head stone, this is what it means. The Confederate Army of the south employed snipers just as well, some of the biggest kills during the war from both sides were done by snipers. To be a sharpshooter one had to try out and place 10 shoots into a 12" pie pan at 200yds. With the weapons of the era this was a task all in itself!

The mission of the sniper is simple: deliver long precision rifle fire at , key targets, select targets, targets of opportunity, and to gain battle information for further ground combat operations. 98 % of the snipers mission is surveillance and reconnaissance and only about 2% doing direct target interdictions(shooting).

The snipers specialized skillset includes camouflage, marksmanship, and surveillance. Today I would like to discuss the factors to camouflage with you and explain how basic and easy it can be!

CAMOUFLAGE:

Skillful camouflage techniques can not only determine the success of a snipers' mission, but whether the sniper lives or dies. Snipers have outstanding marksmanship skills which are honed through schools and know-how with much fomalized training in the craft. However, his camouflage and concealment is solely up to his imagination. Knowledge of camouflage allows the sniper to carry out his target mission rather then becoming a target himself. The sniper must conceal himself, equipment and his position. This not only applies at all times while moving to the ORP and hide position. but sometimes more importantly when exiting enemy territory and entering friendly lines.

TARGET INDICATORS:
To master camouflage, the sniper must first understand target indicators. Target indicators are certain actions, or lack of other actions that determine whether or not a friendly or enemy soldier is detected. A sniper team must know and understand what target indicators are in order to remain undetected when moving or operating in a hide position. Knowledge of target indicators is also used by the sniper team to detect the enemy

SOUND:
This indicator is particularly noticeable in the dark. Although some sounds, including certain sounds of movement, might be dismissed as natural, other sounds of movement, such as the rattling of equipment, and talking, are distinctly unnatural.

MOVEMENT:
This indicator requires sufficient light. The human eye is attracted to movement, and it detects quick or jerky movements more easily than it does slow movements.

IMPROPER CAMOUFLAGE:
Reflections (shiny facial planes or inanimate surfaces), outlines, and shapes that contrast with their backgrounds draw certain attention to a position

DISTRUBANCE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND WILDLIFE:
The sudden flight of birds, the abrupt cessation of animal sounds, or the fearful reaction of animals to unknown stimuli will draw the enemy's attention and can compromise the sniper.

BASIC MEHTODS:
A sniper must use three basic methods utilizing proper camouflage. They are HIDING, BLENDING, and DECEIVING. Hiding is when the sniper places him behind any obstruction that hides him and his equipment from the target. Blending is used when a sniper is within he surroundings and using tactics to avoid visual detection. Deceiving is when the sniper draws the enemy to a false position.

There two types of camouflage NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL.

Natural camouflage is when the sniper uses that vegetation and his surroundings Be sure to use to proper camouflage! For example, if in a position for a long period of time you should change out the natural vegetation that you have used, for it will slowly die and change colors which would lead to visual detection by the enemy.

Team members use materials or substances produced for the purpose of concealing with color or coverage. Examples include camouflage sticks or face paints, nets or veils with which members can cover all of their exposed skin such as their faces, hands, and the backs of their necks. When using camouflage sticks or face paints they lighten the shadowed parts of their faces and darken the shiny parts. They can use stripes, blotches, or a combination of both depending on the local terrain:

A sniper is a master at camouflage and deception of the enemy.

This is what I like to call sniper "arts and crafts". We pride ourselves in being able to stay concealed while the enemy operates all around our positions. As I said earlier: 98% of the sniper's mission is reconnaissance and surveillance. It is paramount that a sniper uses all natural and artificial camouflage to keep himself hidden from the enemy, because his whole mission may depend on it.

One of the biggest thing to remember is that as a sniper you are only a small instrument used in the big battle. Having said that, you are an important asset by virtue of being the eyes and years of the mission.

Another point is that your discipline is what makes the mission. Discipline is probably a snipers' most important tool. Discipline to stay focused at your task and not trying to glorify the job are what are important.

I believe if you put the right sniper in the right place at the right time he can change the world. The disciples of this craft must be as silent as they are professional.

I hope you have enjoyed this segment on camouflage and if you have any question feel free to email us here at ATCT, attn. BUCK.


I would like to leave you with a quote from one of the greatest snipers that operated for this great nation of ours.

“A GOOD HIGH FIRM GRIP, FOCUS ON YOUR CROSSHAIRS, BREATH, RELAX AND WAIT FOR THE RECOIL” Carlos Hathcock.

May all your shots be straight and true

Thanks
“BUCK”

Instead of doing a more traditional last 3 parts to this Sniper write up Buck would like to offer his time to you. He asks that you email any and all your sniper questions to

Donnie_airsplat@yahoo.com

And he will gear his next 3 posts specifically to your questions, so please pick his brain while you have the chance! And we look forward to your emails.

Donnie