Stolen Airsoft Gear – Recover/Prevent
This is a troubling topic and in the minds of most Airsofters in the community, having their things stolen. Most of the times we have left our gear, guns, items on the table at the fields and not worry about it since this is a game of honor. Times have changed and people are stealing other players property. It could be a personal attack or an easy opportunity to take things.
Over the years more and more times Airsofters are having their property stolen and it is very difficult to find out who or get it back, sometimes it is seen on Buy and Trade pages and that is where the Airsoft Community is able to help track down the products but it is not enough sometimes. There are several groups just for this since it is getting worse.
So we need to stop going to the Airsoft Fields to play?
No, don’t avoid the fields and games but do it in a smarter way. Bring what you need and leave the rest in the vehicle out of sight. Most fields have lockers or setup areas that are quite big and hard to supervise even with cameras or refs but we need to make sure we are being proactive in these times. In the staging area leave your rifles and small items in the rifle bags or cases that you use to transport. Using a hard plastic case like the Condition 1 30″ Hard Plastic Rifle Gun Case is great option due to its affordable price and able to secure your items and it can be locked with you are not nearby.
Another option that will not require so much room would be the Lancer Tactical 600 Denier Polyester Double Carbine Soft Case
Now with these option or others you want to make it stand out because think about, everyone has a black bag at the Airsoft Field and everyone has a black suitcase at the airport. Get some spray paint and stencil in your name or team name to make it stand out from the rest. Now for the way to lock the soft cases you can use a cable lock for a bicycle or a more discrete lock that works on your hard case or soft case, Master Lock Padlock with a larger hook. Now your bags will not blend in or be easy to steal the contents or sell online since they are marked.
How to prevent people from stealing my vest or bags?
Duct Tape, use Duct Tape to secure your vest to yourself 24/7. Well we cannot always be wearing our vest and gear but we can do our best to keep it on in between games so we can load mags and not have it taken. Now as far as taken bags or gun cases or vests we cannot stop people from doing that while we are not present. The field should have people watching and making sure it is a safe environment but things happen.
Using the widely popular Apple AirTag in your vest or gearbags or even rifles will be the way you can keep track of your belongings and even have the police involved in getting your property back to your. These are GPS trackers and a lot of people use them for their keys or pets or even children since they are small and reliable.
How does this work for Airsofters and their items?
Since these GPS trackers are so small they can be hidden inside the plate carrier vest where the plate would go, super glued in place and out of sight and not an issue. The same can be done for the hard gun case or soft ones by securing the device in the corner and hidden. Now the Airsoft rifles are different case since their is limited room to work with. First spot would be int he battery compartment and some JB Weld to secure in place it will ensure the rifle is not lost. Another spot would be in the hand guard or in between the outer barrel and RIS unit. Looking online here are some good options. Apple AirTag for just under $30 and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag for a better price and it looks like a regular piece of black plastic.
This is one of the topics in Airsoft that is not fun to talk about but at least these suggestions along with the local community stolen items should decrease and not be a common thing. Teamwork makes the Dreamwork!
Written by Brian Holt
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