New to...well...just about everything

[Checkpoint24]

Hey everyone, glad to find such an active airsoft forum in AZ

Anyway, my name is Cole, originally I'm from Phoenix but now live in Lake Havasu. I did a little bit of airsoft in my younger years, but nothing serious and its been while since I've even touched the sport. I have a pretty strong desire to get back into it though. I drive race cars all around the west coast (Vegas, L.A, Phoenix, etc), and that is my first love. Nonetheless, I try to always keep myself physically active when I'm not in the race car to improve my cardio, and I'm going to make the justification that airsoft at least can't hurt with that being that its an extremely fun way to be super active

To be honest, I'm pretty much a total newb. I've done some research and it seems like G&G and Echo 1 are good choices for an AEG...but then I need to decide if I wanna go AEG or gas. I don't wanna spend a ton of money for my first "quality" rifle especially since I want a sidearm and some gear to go with it. Regardless, seems like there are plenty of options, and hopefully I'll be able to steadily roll myself into the sport one item at a time.

Lastly, I saw that there are some threads from a few years ago of games in Lake Havasu, but nothing real recent...does anyone have any idea of any people that play regularly in Lake Havasu?

Thanks

[Fung Li]

Welcome! 
While personally preferring gas guns, I would recommend an AEG if you are a new player.  They are generally much cheaper and easier to maintain and buy upgrades for.  Just a suggestion..

[birdman]

Hello Cole,

    As Fung Li said, an AEG would be a smarter choice. AEG's are more reliable then gas guns right now, and it's a lot cheaper. If you're looking for a sidearm Exarach on here makes custom Hi-Capa's for a reasonable price. If you're interested in that we can definitely get you in contact with him. As for Lake Havasu games, I haven't seen any on this forum that I can recall, do you might be shit outta luck there.

[Shdsteel]

Welcome!

[Checkpoint24]

Thanks guys. Almost surprised to hear that AEGs are more reliable than gas, I would think there would be more moving parts with an AEG...Am I looking in the right direction with G&G and Echo 1 then? I'll keep Exarach in mind, though I don't think I'll be needing anything too fancy for the sidearm.

I guess if nothing else I do go to Phoenix quite a bit, there's always vanguard

[spazz]

lol, there will probly be a hate train here shortly for vangaurd. the reason, lots of lil kids call that place home.
aegs have allways been more reliable than gas guns.
 g&g and echo1 both make some nice entry level guns. jg and d-boys, cyma also make some cheap reliable (with some mild tuning) entry level guns. take you time and pick the gun you realy want thaat way you arent trying to tradde up and spend more money than you want to later. there are quite a few techs here on this site (like me) that can help you get your gun to the performance level you desire if you need it. if you go g&g stay away from the blow back models. they always need the most work and every tech that is worth his salt will tel you that you should remove it the first time you have it worked on. also, if you go with the g&g combat maching you should change the bronze bushings out for steel ones asap. the bronze bushing are prone to failure.