Sometimes when you go out for a skirmish at a new site, driving down country lanes for extended periods until the backseat passengers start asking “are we there yet,” you arrive to find yourself pleasantly surprised and end up having a day to remember! Well, Sussex Airsoft was one of those days! Sussex Airsoft is run by the Pheonix Shooting Club, who have decades of real steel shooting experience in the region; both pre and post-1997. They established the Airsoft area on site in order to promote shooting to a younger generation in a full and enjoyable, yet very controlled, environment.

The initiative, which has been heavily invested in, works to introduce young players to both Airsoft and real steel shooting, allowing younger people and people in general to experience weapons, both imitation and later on real steel, and work as a feeder into the real steel side of the club, or if they are not interested in that, allow them to enjoy some airsoft.

As we arrived at Sussex Airsoft just before the first game at approximately 10am. We found that we were able to park within 30 metres of the safe zone. In fact all parking was nice and handy to where players were camped up in the safe zone, and they appeared to find it nice and easy to go back and forth to their vehicles. We were only on site long enough to get out of our vehicles when we were approached by very friendly site staff, who introduced themselves and gave us a quick rundown on the site, and help us get our gear to the safe zone and set up.

The safe zone was a fully covered area, roughly rectangular, with a cafe at one end and rows of benches and tables stretching approximately 100 feet. The cafe at one end had tables and chairs fully under cover. The cafe served the usual and very tasty shooting affair of burgers, tea, coffee, sausages and the like, and provided water for those of us who had brought our own Jetboils for the day. The toilets consisted of clean, portable units. Just opposite the safe zone was the sign in area, and gun rental station. This was contained within a secure 40 foot shipping container. The procedure was quick and simple and members of the Pheonix Shooting Club present to assist people with the process if required. In fact, the mix of real steel and Airsoft worked out quite well during the day. For example, at one point I found myself doing some work on a blank firing gun I had brought with me, with a club gunsmith, and we were able to solve a few issues with it during a coffee break! The real steel shooters took a keen interest in the Airsofters to ensure that they enjoyed the experience at the Club and were always on hand to help if required.

The site briefing was conducted quickly by the chief marshal, Rob; who has played and marshaled in the region for many years. Rob is a polite and experienced marshal of the old school, who is very good with younger players; Giving them that assurance he or she needs as they walk from the safe zone into that first game. A second marshal, helped out or briefed, during the day, and also spent some of the day preparing the site for an up and coming CQB training event. But, before that, back to the briefing and first game. The briefing took approximately five minutes and gave players a chance to ask any questions about the site and about the game that was going to take place. Finishing this, we all moved into a pine forest, with half the players going “up hill” to a fortification, and the rest gathering at a few fortifications “down hill.” The first game then consisted of “single shot only” and having the “down hill” team attempting to take the fortification of the “up hill” team. The game was timed and was quite intense, as you obtained fleeting images of people running through the pine forest and attempted to engage with single shot. The second game then reversed this position. The single shot was used all day as a method of play, and one could only wish that it was more common on many small to medium sites in games, as even when we ran games ourselves, it turned out to be a popular initiative that encouraged more tactics and game play, and minimalised the simple mag after mag play and bottlenecks you get on many sites.

The morning session completed at approximately 12.30pm. Lunch consisted of burgers, sausages, tea, coffee, and the rest of the usual affair from a very well stocked cafe. The majority of players enjoyed sitting together having a good joke about the morning’s gaming. Lunchtime was approximately an hour.
Following lunch, there was two distinct periods of afternoon gaming. One was ran by the second marshal and consisted of players breaking into groups of three, and taking instruction on clearing a killing house, then going through all the while being instructed on the correct movement and team positions. The majority of players enjoyed this greatly, with most standing around having a good joke, while the team went through, one at a time.  For the second, and longest stretch of the afternoon, players moved to another area of the site, uphill from the main real steel gun range. This was another area of what was a more natural forested zone that had scattered fortifications, and the gaming consisted of one team breaking out from a building and attacking the fortifications of the other team, in a fast fall back game. The gaming was fast, and with the addition of Airsoft grenades thrown by the defending team into the attackers was intense and got the blood racing.

Players came out of this afternoon gaming talking very positively about the experience. When I asked some players what they found was the best aspects of the day they quickly commented on the friendly, relaxed atmosphere and single shot games, as well as the size and unique site with differing types of forest providing unique styles of play and challenge, as the points that kept them coming back. Some of the younger players stated that they really enjoyed the smaller numbers and the single shot style lending to a far less aggressive play than that of some of the other sites they had been to.

During the afternoon I was taken on a walk around the site with the club chairman. I was very impressed by the size of the site, and an area known as “the valley.” This is an area within the forest where you have a stream running down a long valley of about half a mile or more, with slow rising banks on both sides. The banks rise to a level of approximately 100 feet either side of the creek, with mixed fields and woods along them. The valley is not being used just yet as it is being prepared for use later in the year.  This is an incredible area for Airsoft playing, and in fact, you could play an entire weekend in that one area without ever getting bored. Plans for this part of the site include a bridge or two over the creek (quite a wide creek), and fortifications scattered up and down the inclines. Added to the natural fortifications present, we cannot wait to return in the summer to play the entire day in this area of the site alone.

Up and coming events on site include a milsim with the very experienced marshals, as well as days specifically designed for playing in “the valley.”

In summary, this site is one of the best prospects for future Airsofting in the South East of England for those who like a good, social and friendly day. The Pheonix Airsoft Club stated that the whole emphasis on the site is friendly, social days in a similar way to the real steel section of the club. The club stated that there had been very few issues since opening, as they have simply extended the club atmosphere to the Airsoft aspects of the club, and this is strictly policed.  So, the verdict is simple; Excellent. We all left with big smiles on our faces and spent an hour or so at the local motorway services joking about the great day of old fashioned friendly skirmishing.  We cannot wait to return and believe that this site will be a favourite of any who give it a visit.

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Keith Slater is a Managing Director of MadBadger Airsoft in Essex, England.