Here are some of the most frequent questions we are asked. it is not, however, an exhaustive list and therefore if you have any other please do not hesitate to get in contact with us and a member of staff will assist you.
Opening Hours
Our physical shop is currently open 4 days a week, Thursday to Sunday.
Our online shop is open 24hrs, we pack and dispatch Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday mornings.
Our physical shop is open 2pm to 10pm Thursdays and Fridays, 10am to 10pm Saturday and Sunday.
Purchasing
We are happy to take orders;
In person; 7, Eldon Way, Hockley, Essex, SS5 4AD
By phone; 01702 202318
Online; www.mpa-airsoft.com
We accept all major debit and credit cards as well as Android, Samsung and Apple Pay.
PayPal payment should be sent to amanda@mpa-enterprises.com or you may use the PayPal option online.
Online Store
Our online store is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Orders are dispatched Monday-Friday before 2pm. We will dispatch orders that are small enough to go by Royal Mail on Saturday morning.
Currently, we only dispatch to the UK.
We use:
The Royal Mail, UPS, DHL and Parcel Force.
Currently, our site has a flat charge of £6.95 for all deliveries.
Pandemic
Covid restrictions are now lifted across the UK and therefore we are open as normal for all activities and the shop.
We continue to have hand sanitizer and hand washing facilities available for customer and staff use.
You are not required to but if you wish we provide gloves for customers to wear when handling any goods in the store.
We have installed polycarbonate screens at the till areas to protect our staff and customers and continue to have them in place.
Our staff regularly clean the shop, the entrance, the stairs, toilets and ranges.
The shooting ranges will continue to comply with the NSRA guidelines for COVID safety for indoor shooting ranges when required.
We are no longer required to keep a record of all customers for the purposes of COVID track and trace.
Everything is OPEN!!!
Airsoft
Airsoft is similar to paintball but without the paint. Airsoft guns are more realistic, many are 1:1 replicas of the original real steel version. They shoot 6mm plastic or biodegradable balls called BBs. No paint means the sport requires honour and integrity. Call your shots when you’re hit and enjoy the games.
Airsoft is played all over the country and the world at many outdoor and indoor sites and enjoyed by thousands of regular players. It means different things to different people. Some take it extremely seriously, enjoying realistic military simulations and reenactments of historical battles. They dress in accurately copied, (sometimes genuine) clothing and use replica weapons from the period. They limit ammunition, supplies and games are restricted to be as true to the actual historical event as is possible. Others are serious about their weapons and kit trying to get the right authentic look. Some aren’t worried about dressing the part or what weapons they have, they just want to get out and have a blast.
Airsoft sites across the country have teams of staff working tirelessly to bring to you a huge variety of game scenarios and fun-packed days. Enjoy playing and working as a team, whether you’re a sniper or up the front with you’re pistol and assault rifle, get out their, make friends and unwind.
Speedsoft is a newer type of airsoft, very popular with younger players, especially in the US.
Practical airsoft shooting and target shooting encompasses all ages young and the young at heart.
Airsoft is played indoors and outdoors, in woodland, fields, old buildings and bunkers. The variety and fun is endless and you’re never too old to give it a go.
A RIF is a Realistic Imitation Firearm. Airsoft weapons are replicas of real weapons. Those that are brightly colour are not classed as realistic, tan, camouflage and black weapons are all RIFs.
18. This applies to two-tone weapons as well.
The United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association (UKARA) was formed in response to the 2006 Violent Crime Reduction Bill to enable a safe method of selling Realistic Imitation Firearms (RIFs) to the UK Airsoft player market.
UKARA registration is only available to Airsoft Players over 18 years of age.
To apply for registration, you must join a UKARA approved Skirmish Site and you must have fulfilled their membership criteria before you can be registered as a member of their site on our database. MPA Enterprises Ltd runs a UKARA registered airsoft site: Hockley Airsoft Arena and is also a UKARA registered retailer.
To gain full membership to our club you are required to play a minimum of three times over a period of two months. Once you have a full membership to the club you are entitled to apply to be added to the UKARA register. Please complete the paper form or online document and Amanda will register you. You will be required to present two forms of ID one has to be photographic and must have your current address.
This is the minimum requirement under the Violent Crimes Reduction Act.
Shooting Range
The shooting range is restricted to ages 8 years and up. There is no upper age limit.
We are now back to hiring weapons at £10.00 per hire and provide safety glasses to all customers and observers who require them..
The maximum number of people able to shoot on a point is 2.
£10.00 per hour for the first person.
£5.00 per hour for the additional person on the point.
As COVID restrictions have been removed you are no longer required to wear a face covering. We, however acknowledge for their own safety some customers may still wish to wear a face mask/covering in public, please feel free to do so.
Technical Work and Customization?
MPA Defence Industries Ltd is on-site next to the shop. Customers can bring in their weapons for repair, upgrade and customization.
MPA Defence Industries Ltd specialize in custom weapons, built to either our own design or to a customers.
We can engrave gun parts, such as slides with pictures and words.
We are now able to offer CNC slide cut-outs as part of our customization work.
UK Law & UKARA
In England, Wales and Scotland, the maximum power levels that Airsoft replicas are allowed to be is defined in the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Exceeding any of these limits could ultimately result in a prison sentence, depending on what has been exceeded.
In Northern Ireland, the maximum is 1J (as in Japan, Italy).
Locality | Max FPS for auto | Max FPS for semi | ||
England, Wales | 1.3J | 374fps ﹫ 0.20g | 2.5J | 518fps ﹫ 0.20g |
Scotland | 1.3J | 374fps ﹫ 0.20g | 2.5J | 518fps ﹫ 0.20g |
Northern Ireland | 1.0J | 328fps ﹫ 0.20g | 1.0J | 328fps ﹫ 0.20g |
The following apply to both Realistic Imitation Firearms and Two Tone Replicas.
- It is an offence to openly carry a replica firearm in a public place, or leave it in a place where it may be seen by the public. This still applies if it is covered but still maintains the shape of the replica or the replica can be seen through the packaging. Transporting and storing a replica in a case is recommended.
- When transporting a replica you must have a valid reason, for example; taking it to a game or a shop.
- It is a criminal offence to fire an airsoft replica at a non consenting person, or at an animal.
- You are not required to lock your airsoft replicas away in your own home.
UKARA stands for ‘United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association’. They maintain a large database of Airsoft Skirmishers in the UK who apply to be included on their register. This database is available to registered retailers to check an individual to see if they are eligible to purchase Replica Imitation Firearms (RIF). A UKARA Registration is recognised as a valid defence against purchasing an Airsoft Gun.
To obtain a UKARA registration an individual must visit a UKARA registered Airsoft Skirmish Site 3 times or more inside of 56 Days or 8 Weeks, at which point the site can enter your details into the UKARA Database.
- British Airsoft Club (BAC)
- Valid membership to a site that can be verified by owners
- You are a member of a properly insured historical re-enactment group or society.
- You are a film, television or theatre production company.
- You are (or are acting on behalf of) a museum
- You are a Crown Servant in pursuance of your Crown duties