Already available at airsoft retailers and other magazine stands, the cover story of the latest Airsoft International Magazine issue is about the A-TACS FG camo, the camo that is the what we call the flavour of the year. Here's the intro the issue by the Editor... "Cheating, not taking hits, teflon warriors… Subjects that often come up when seated round the airsoft discussion table. You speak to some people, they say airsoft is a game of honour played by the noble and honest, you speak to others and it’s a great pastime ruined by liars and cheats.

At any given game you’ll hear the inevitable moans from would-be sure shots, pummeling round after round out of their guns at some distant target… 'Take your bloody hits!' and “I can see the rounds bouncing off of him” are favourites. I’ve said it before and I’ll likely have to say it again, but merely having your crosshair on something doesn’t ensure a hit, even is the target is in range of your gun. If you took it as a given that a player had been hit for every accusation made, the maths often don’t work out, it would mean that individuals would have shot the entire enemy team 3 or 4 times over in most cases. Surely they can’t ALL be cheating.

Often those guilty of casting such aspersions most frequently are players that have been at it for a while. Personally I think the problems arise because those players are basing their expectations off of that of a real gun. It’s forgivable since we spend such a great deal of time, effort and money on performance upgrades and realistic externals but it’s important to remember that you are still only launching a fraction of a gram of plastic through the air, no matter how many thousand pounds you’ve spent or how many hours you’ve invested in watching real steel training videos on Youtube.

If it was just a case of those few moaners not living up to their own expectations, it probably wouldn’t matter, but it’s not. Those cheat calls are an infectious thing and when bandied around at will, will soon have the whole game in a downward spiral, with every player on the field suddenly deciding each shot was a killer, but its target was a cheat. If I were to offer any advice, next time you come up against somebody you suspect to be a cheat, don’t get irate, don’t yell accusations, simply call yourself out, sling your rifle and go and join the nearest marshal. Once you are there spend a little time observing the game around you. Take note of how far BBs fly, how long they take to get there and how many actually get to their intended destination. You’ll be astounded."