New to airsoft, got some gear...

[Cleggy]

Hi all,

So I've recently been watching a lot of YouTube videos on airsoft and decided to make the transition from paintball to airsoft. I love CQB paintball and skirmishing so I know I will enjoy airsoft. I am tight on cash at the minute so I bought;

CYMA CM.501 M4 CQB RIS Two Tone Blue

ASG STRIKE 1x20x30 Red Dot Sight

Battleaxe Hi-Cap Polymer Magazine for AR-15/M4 400rd

VP Racing Battery 9.6V 1600mAh Ni-MH Crane Stock Battery

NUPROL RZR 0.20g Precision BB x3300

Is this an ideal setup for a starter? I know I've missed goggles and possible face protection but I'll pick that up at a later date and use rental for now.

I plan on going to my local site in south Leeds to get a feel for the game and speak to some people there about whats what. 

 

[Rogerborg]

Ahoy and welcome.

The CYMA CM.5** series are functional enough guns.  The polymer isn't brilliant, but they shoot BBs in the direction that you're pointing.  Naysayers will say nay, but if you have a CYMA sized budget, they're viable for getting you into airsoft.  Don't fiddle with it until you have a 2nd gun!

I can't speak to that sight, but I'm a big fan of holo sights and if you can get it dialled in and keep it there, it should work better than iron sights.  Depending on what face protection you go for, you may find it tricky to get your face low enough to look through it.  If so, you can add a rail riser between the gun and the sight.

Hi cap vs mid cap mags are a personal preference.  I can't be doing with winding, so I go mid-cap.  That high cap plus the one with the gun will do you fine.  800 BBs in total will be enough for most games between reloads unless you go hog wild with the spray and pray. You can easily enough switch to mid caps later as budget allows.

Batteries, well, that one will work, but I'd suggest not investing in nimh any further.  It's old technology.  A 7.4 lipo will cost the same or less from https://hobbyking.com , and despite the lower voltage it will supply more power and a snappy trigger response.  I'd stick with 7.4V, I got over-spin running 11.1V lipo in my CYMA.

You'd be far better off buying your own eye and face protection rather than using whatever crappy dented China-mesh  face pro a site will rent you.

There's a huge variety of opinions about that, but I personally prefer goggles to glasses, and I have to use either fan goggles or dual pane to stop them fogging up.  Bolle is generally a trusted brand. If you do go for glasses or goggles, I'd also pick up a cheap pair of mesh glasses as well just in case you find yourself fogging to the point where you can't play.

For lower face protection, most of us will agree that One-Tigris style mesh-and-fabric mix masks are the way to go.

Or you can go for a Dye i4 full mask, beloved of paintballers, which will do all of the above, and save you messing around with trying to find combinations of glasses and face pro that work.

Talking to folk on site is a good shout.  Airsofters tend to be a friendly bunch.  Just be aware that once you start handling and trying other guns, you'll soon get bitten with the urge to expand your collection.

 

[Asomodai]

You would have been far better off not getting a holo sight and using that money for decent eye and face protection. Don't use whatever the site has. 

Good quality eye and face protection is the MOST important thing before anything else. 

 

[Cleggy]

I got the cheapest red dot available as I hate iron sights. Is there any websites that sell sprays etc to customise gun looks? (Ofc after I have a defence).

Those Dye i4 masks are awesome so that might be a purchase. 

 

[Rogerborg]

Krylon is generally recommended for spraying.

You may also find that paint job comes off without too much effort.  I used isopropanol and a still bristled brush to remove mine at the appropriate time.

 

[jcheeseright]

Biggest upgrade you can get to that lot is a bottle of 0.25g BBs instead of 0.20g.  heavier ammo = better. 

 

[Cleggy]

Biggest upgrade you can get to that lot is a bottle of 0.25g BBs instead of 0.20g.  heavier ammo = better. 

I just ordered the 0.2g BBs as the retailer suggested it in the specifications.

 

[jcheeseright]

Ditch them, get .25 instead.  Seriously, the difference is night and day. 

 

[Cleggy]

Gotcha, I'll make sure I get them.

 

[Rogerborg]

That is a fair point.  0.2g is fine for short ranges though, e.g. indoor CQB, or for a pistol that you'll only ever use for breaching structures.

Over very short ranges, it's (IMO) slightly better as flies faster out of the barrel and has less time to target.

Beyond 15m or so though, heavier = better.  0.25g is the bare minimum that I'd use outdoors.

Don't sweat it, you'll get through those BBs one way or another.

 

[jcheeseright]

When you say 'slightly better' we're thousandths of a second difference over that distance.  .25 hurt more too, which improves hit taking marginally. 

 

[Rogerborg]

When you say 'slightly better' we're thousandths of a second difference over that distance

100m/s for 0.2f vs 90m/s for 0.25g.  I make it about a hundredth of a second out to 10m.  That's the zone where us hard core operators live.

 

[AshOnSnow]

That high cap plus the one with the gun will do you fine.

LOL

 

[Rogerborg]

I mean, I guess if you can't hit anything or judge distances or have a bizarre belief that "suppressive fire" is actually a thing in airsoft, you might want to waste more BBs than you can carry in two high-caps.  But most reasonable players at sites with sensible game lengths tailored to rentals running one high-cap will be fine.

 

[EmeraldPlatypus]

I got the cheapest red dot available as I hate iron sights. Is there any websites that sell sprays etc to customise gun looks? (Ofc after I have a defence).

Those Dye i4 masks are awesome so that might be a purchase. 

If you look on ebay or amazon at “Pinty” sights, they arent that bad, I have one and it does me fine.