idiots guide to guns ???

[HitEmUp]

hi guys am brand new to the world of airsof and guns , ive done alot of paintball but not this !

i seem to be a little lost whilst scrolling through here when people talk about guns .. like hopper , hicaps etc .... what are these things lol

anyone got an idiots guide to airsoft guns ??

 

[Richard65]

hi guys am brand new to the world of airsof and guns , ive done alot of paintball but not this !
i seem to be a little lost whilst scrolling through here when people talk about guns .. like hopper , hicaps etc .... what are these things lol

anyone got an idiots guide to airsoft guns ??

hicaps refers to the magazine - high capacity which holds from 300 - 500 pellets roughly; then you have mid caps that hold 100 or 200 and low caps which hold maybe up to 50 - I have not looked up actual figures as it will vary a bit on the type of gun.

The hopper, I believe, is the bit that feeds the pellets into the barrel. Probably a lot will be similar to a paintball gun and if you go to the section of the forum headed `guides' I have just seen a very good one for anyone new to airsofting.

 

[Saltyyy]

Okay, so "Hop up" (Hopper in your terms ) is basically a unit that give the gun it's range. A nub is pushed onto a piece of rubber, this piece of rubber wraps around the barrel and causes a small dent in the barrel if you will. The BB catches this nub on the way out putting backspin on it, giving it range. This will need to be adjusted for BB weight etc.

Hi Caps are a type of magazine in which you open a window a pour BB's in, wind a wheel at the bottom and it loads them up. They range from 200-600-2000 rounds depending on the magazine type. The disadvantage of these is they rattle after getting through a few and are a pain, good for newbs though.

Mid caps are a type of magazines in which you used a speed loader to push them in onto a spring fed track. They don't rattle and give you the realistic reload feel. Hold usually 100-200 rounds.

Low caps are like mid caps, but hold around 30 rounds

Gearbox! The fun part. Uses a motor to spin 3 gears, which pulls back a spring loaded piston to shoot air onto the BB. At the same time the 3rd gear is pulling back an air nozzle which loads the BB in, and creates the air seal on the hop up unit rubber.

Tightbore is a type of barrel which usually has a diameter of 6.03/6.01 for a tighter seal, giving you better accuracy, the debate between which is better between 6.03/01 rages on still.

Any other terms you'd like to know?

 

[Grounded_Pilot]

That's a nice sum up Saltyyy.

Let me give you a run down on the majority of parts in an airsoft gun.

1) Barrel. You should know what these are, they typically range from 6.08mm wide to 6.01mm wide. Their length varies depending on the rifle. (I.e. a pistol's can be a few inches, when a sniper can be tens of inches).

2) Hop Up Unit. This unit is made up of a rubber "hop rubber/bucking", the plastic/metal "unit" that encases the bucking and an adjustment feature to increase/decrease the hop.

The hop unit causes the BB to backspin... this makes the BB "defy" gravity.

3) Gearbox. AEGs (Automatic Electric Guns) are run on a battery. The battery runs a motor, which turns a set of gears. These gears are encased inside a gearbox.

Also inside a gearbox is a piston, spring and cylinder. These parts create an airpocket which fires the BB. The gears pull the piston back against the spring and then let it go to fire.

4) Magazine. All airsoft guns are fed using magazines. These (as above) can vary between Hi-caps, Mid-caps and Low-caps. Hi caps are usually around 300-500rnds, but in Light Machine Guns (LMGs) they are often over 1000, upto 5000. Hi caps have to be wound as they operate on a clockwork system. Mids and lows are spring fed.

5) LiPos. You may hear about these. They are a type of battery that is VERY volatile if you have no idea what you are doing.

I suggest you stick to NiMH batteries. They are the best for a starter.

6) BBs. I am sure you know what they are, but you must make sure you have a good quality of BBs or they may damage your gun! the standard airsoft BB round (6mm) is 0.2 of a gram in weight. They can go up to half a gram for sniper rifles. Generally 0.25g BBs are considered to be the best of accuracy and range in a 300-350 fps gun.

Here's a little .gif image of a working AEG V2 gearbox. many M4/MP5 guns use this version gearbox:

 

[HitEmUp]

thanks for the replies guys , you reall cleared everything up for me and i dont feel like a complete thicko now lol ...

dont think there anything else i need to ask as you hit it on the head

next time i post hopefully i should be asking advice on wat gun to get

 

[Grounded_Pilot]

thanks for the replies guys , you reall cleared everything up for me and i dont feel like a complete thicko now lol ...

dont think there anything else i need to ask as you hit it on the head

next time i post hopefully i should be asking advice on wat gun to get

Either rent a gun 3 times over a period of 2+ months from a local site and get a UKARA ID number/valid skirmisher's defense then you can buy a real-looking gun (not two tone). Ask some guys around your site about a good starter gun... some might be able to sell you one 2nd hand!

Expect to spend £200 on a good gun, battery, mags, bbs and clothing. (£120-£150 on a gun).

If you are impatient and over 18 but without a UKARA number/defense you can try this:

Google the "G&G CM16 AEG Combat Machine".

or if you prefer Sub-machine guns, try the "G&G Combat Machine MP5 A4"

Buy. Get it two toned. Done! Go skirmish!

 

[HitEmUp]

Either rent a gun 3 times over a period of 2+ months from a local site and get a UKARA ID number/valid skirmisher's defense then you can buy a real-looking gun (not two tone). Ask some guys around your site about a good starter gun... some might be able to sell you one 2nd hand!Expect to spend £200 on a good gun, battery, mags, bbs and clothing. (£120-£150 on a gun).

If you are impatient and over 18 but without a UKARA number/defense you can try this:

Google the "G&G CM16 AEG Combat Machine".

or if you prefer Sub-machine guns, try the "G&G Combat Machine MP5 A4"

Buy. Get it two toned. Done! Go skirmish!

think im just gona be patiant so i can get a full metal joby , will be looking to spend around 300 , will i get something good with this or am i better looking at 2nd hand and get more for my money ??

i noticed the m4 is popular , whats so good ??

anyone got an m16 as i like the look of them ?

 

[craig]

picture all M4a1 airsoft rifles as your average aeg compact, light weight and easy to mod basically it your all round gun the m16 in airsoft it mostly used as a DMR or people with a vietnam loadout its the same layout as a m4 just with a bigger barrel so you get more range

hope this helps

 

[HitEmUp]

picture all M4a1 airsoft rifles as your average aeg compact, light weight and easy to mod basically it your all round gun the m16 in airsoft it mostly used as a DMR or people with a vietnam loadout its the same layout as a m4 just with a bigger barrel so you get more range hope this helps

you lost me the bud at dmr ?? lol and what would a vietnam loadout consist of ? i take it a load out is all the equip u take with u ?

 

[craig]

a dmr is a designated marksman rifle like a m14 or a g3a4 as for a vietnam loadout a set of od trousers and shirt alice belt y harness some 65 era mag pouches canteen pouches and a tin helmet

 

[Grounded_Pilot]

you lost me the bud at dmr ?? lol and what would a vietnam loadout consist of ? i take it a load out is all the equip u take with u ?

Hehe, a DMR is a "Designated Marksman's Rifle". I.e. a sniper rifle of some description, usually this term is applied to semi-automatic rifles (such as SR25's and Dragunov SVD's) rather than bolt action rifles (like L96's and R700's)

A "Load out" is what we airsofter's use for the word "look". Instead of saying "I have a S.W.A.T. look" you say "I have a S.W.A.T. loadout" This means you have a gun, gear and the general look of something in real life. So a "Vietnam loadout" would be any gun from the Vietnam era, with simple tin helmets, simple rigging system and clothing (a "rig" is what you use to carry mags, water, ammo...etc).

Ah! Ninja'd!

 

[TPI]

think im just gona be patiant so i can get a full metal joby , will be looking to spend around 300 , will i get something good with this or am i better looking at 2nd hand and get more for my money ??
i noticed the m4 is popular , whats so good ??

anyone got an m16 as i like the look of them ?

yeah for a first rifle i would say a shop bought rifle unless it's something like a Eclipse Geo 3 although Airsoft's equivalent range is £500 instead of £1000+ although if you buy something uber rare or a syastema you'll never spend as much

i have and M16 for sale if you let me know i can two tone it or leave a £20 deposit and i'll keep it for you until you have your Defence sorted although i am going to send it away to get repaired next week.

also have a ton of gear i'll chuck in for free!

 

[Ian_Gere]

The only thing that seems to have been missed out is "anti-reversal latch" which is a little lever on an axle which is held by a spring tight against the 1st gear connected to the motor - it stops the gears from running backwards (which would happen when there is no power to the motor if the main spring which powers the piston was left under tension after the last shot).

Oops, hang on, there's also O-rings, rings of rubber which make good air seals - 3 types in an aeg - the piston head has one to form a seal against the inside of the cylinder, the cylinder head has one or two that also seal against the inside of the cylinder, and some air nozzles have tiny ones also.

Re: what gun - I'd suggest you try a few out before you buy. You may think that an M16 looks cool, but you may find that in practice it is too long for you to use comfortably or, like with many older style guns, because the front handguard, where you hold it with the hand not holding the pistol grip, is just a horizontal grip of some sort, your wrist may hurt after using it for a while (mine does). A more modern gun, with 20mm rails up front, can have a vertical grip attached which I find much more comfortable to use. There are also angled front grips and ergonomic ones with built in torch holders.

Something else to consider is how big are your hands? You might find that the fire selector (to switch from full to semi auto and safe) on some guns is easier for you to use than others and the same goes for the magazine release. Access to these controls is also complicated by certain types of rifle sling. See? There are all sorts of things that you won't know about until you try a gun out for yourself.

Try renting a different one each time while you play your 3 games to get your UKARA defence and ask the people you meet for a hold/go of their guns - most of us are only too happy to waffle on about them and show them off so you shouldn't feel shy about asking lol!

I'd suggest that you aim to try an M4, G36c, AK47 and some type of bullpup - SA80 L85 or L86 say, or Steyr AUG - that'll give you a fair clue as to what suits you best. But hey, have a go with anything anyone will let you!