First DMR Build. Any Advice?

[HuttArmouries]

So I recently played my first game with the real sword svd and had a massive amount of fun playing a marksman role. Infact I enjoyed it so much I have decided to build myself another dmr. Something that I dont have to be so careful with running around the woods. Im looking at around a £250-300 total budget for the build so the avenger sr25, s&t 417 and some of the newer 7.62 cyma stuff seem to be the best options. Advice and tips are much appreciated. Ive worked on a lot of guns but they have nearly all been rifles or machineguns. 

 

[Mad-Al]

Ensure your gearbox is radiused and get yourself a well lock bracer.

Not the most glamorous mods but will increase the longevity of your dmr.

 

[Lozart]

Obligatory link to the Holy Grail guide https://www.reddit.com/r/airsoft/comments/5g58ia/holy_grail_dmr_guide_updated_for_20167/

Shot to shot consistency is the key with a DMR so concentrate on those aspects rather than chasing FPS as the absolute end game. Bear in mind that the guns you're talking about are pretty cheap so anything like plastic receivers etc will affect your consistency to a degree.

 

[Impulse]

Consistency, effective range and a snappy trigger is what you want to be chasing. A DMR is there to reach out a bit further than the standard AEGs on the field and make the shots that the AEGs are finding hard to make. Basically, you want to be designing it the same way you'd build a BASR, just instead of the higher power and slow ROF, you're taking the middle ground between the AEGs and the BASRs with semi-auto fire rate, but also trading in an MED.

From my experience, the Cyma m14 is a great platform to start from, but they're not an easy one to work on as the gearbox is horrendous to take apart, barrels have to be specifically designed for it because it's cut differently and AEG hop rubbers need cutting down because the hop up unit is unique and takes shorter rubbers (not VSR rubbers! They're AEG rubbers, but with about a centimetre or two cut from the end. However, they make for some pretty swanky looking DMR builds once completed because the rifle has that classic rifle style. I've built one of mine to look more sniper-y. It's a shame your budget is only around £250 - 300 though, as my advice would be HPA for a DMR, but it costs a pretty penny. It's where I'm going for my m14 after experiencing the silent consistency of my HPA BASR, and if you're not spamming the trigger (which you shouldn't be with a DMR anyway), you can get away with a small bottle in a stock pouch to avoid having lines everywhere.

However, I will also give my honest thoughts and perhaps play devil's advocate:

Seriously consider what you'll get from that extra 0.5J and consider what you're trading off. I personally don't see the point in DMR power these days. With how advanced hop ups have become and how much they affect our range and accuracy, the extra 0.5J isn't worth the MED for me. The extra 5m, maybe 10m if you're lucky, isn't worth a 30m MED, but if your local site has a 15 or 20m MED for DMRs I could see the viability more. I think designing a "DMR" style rifle around 1.1J is way better as you lose very little effective range, but you gain the flexibility of being able to shoot point blank if someone gets up close.

 

[Rogerborg]

This is relevant to my interests. I have a Specna Arms Edge SA-02 on the way to DMR.  I won't be putting any gubbins on it other than a scope, so the stock geezer handguard will be just fine, no need for 20" of quad-rail m-lock tacticoolness.

It's metal bodied, apparently the barrel is fairly securely attached and from what I can tell the piston, piston head and cylinder head are all decent (and double-o-ringed) and the nozzle is o-ringed.  Quick change spring, a basic mosfet and already wired to Deans, what's not to like?

I've cleared out AK2M4 and, aiming for 1.88J, will be adding:

XT Outer Barrel Extension (7 Inches) <= moar bigger
AOLS AEG Inner Barrel (455mm) <= No ZCIs available
ZCI Cylinder Stainless Steel (Closed) <= moar puff
Omega Nub Hard 85 <= They couldn't call it "omega" if it wasn't the last word
ZCI Hop-Up Bucking 70° Black <= to flatten off and use as an S-hop outer
Rocket Selector Plate (V2) <= spare to modify for semi-auto only
Gearparts AEG Spring M130 <= No M140s available in the UK, one's on the way from China.

It'll be getting a Big Dragon M140 motor to see if that can pull the spring OK.  Depending how it gets on I might consider changing the gearing, and/or going to a Big Dragon M160.

I'll be sugru s-hopping it. I know, just use a Maple Leaf, and I have a 70 blue macaron kicking around, but I fancy giving the s-hop a try.  Worse case I can bin that off and fit the Maple Leaf on the day.

The gearbox is already radiused and I'll maybe give it a little kiss with a file while I'm in there lubing and shimming.

The extra 5m, maybe 10m if you're lucky, isn't worth a 30m MED, but if your local site has a 15 or 20m MED for DMRs I could see the viability more.

Click to shrink...

Is a very good point. The local is 25m MED. It's not strictly enforced (a bit of a peeve of mine) but I'm happy sticking to it.  Given the nature of the site and the games, that little extra range is exactly what I'm looking for in offensive games where we control the distance, and I prefer semi anyway.  I'll be pairing it with a light MP5K which is actually usable as a primary, so won't be outgunned at any point.

Have I forgotten anything?  Short mags, if I can find any anywhere.  Maybe throw a clamp-on bipod on, to make my life a bit harder.

 

[Impulse]

This is relevant to my interests. I have a Specna Arms Edge SA-02 on the way to DMR.  I won't be putting any gubbins on it other than a scope, so the stock geezer handguard will be just fine, no need for 20" of quad-rail m-lock tacticoolness.

It's metal bodied, apparently the barrel is fairly securely attached and from what I can tell the piston, piston head and cylinder head are all decent (and double-o-ringed) and the nozzle is o-ringed.  Quick change spring, a basic mosfet and already wired to Deans, what's not to like?

I've cleared out AK2M4 and, aiming for 1.88J, will be adding:

XT Outer Barrel Extension (7 Inches) <= moar bigger
AOLS AEG Inner Barrel (455mm) <= No ZCIs available
ZCI Cylinder Stainless Steel (Closed) <= moar puff
Omega Nub Hard 85 <= They couldn't call it "omega" if it wasn't the last word
ZCI Hop-Up Bucking 70° Black <= to use as an S-hop outer
Rocket Selector Plate (V2) <= spare to modify for semi-auto only
Gearparts AEG Spring M130 <= No M140s available in the UK, one's on the way from China.

It'll be getting a Big Dragon M140 motor to see if that can pull the spring OK.  Depending how it gets on I might consider changing the gearing, and/or going to a Big Dragon M160.

I'll be sugru s-hopping it. I know, just use a Maple Leaf, and I have a 70 blue macaron kicking around, but I fancy giving the s-hop a try.  Worse case I can bin that off and fit the Maple Leaf on the day.

The gearbox is already radiused and I'll maybe give it a little kiss with a file.

Is a very good point. The local is 25m MED. It's not strictly enforced (a bit of a peeve of mine) but I'm happy sticking to it.  Given the nature of the site and the games, that little extra range is exactly what I'm looking for in offensive games where we control the distance, and I prefer semi anyway.  I'll be pairing it with a light MP5K which is actually usable as a primary, so won't be outgunned at any point.

Have I forgotten anything?  Short mags, if I can find any anywhere.  Maybe throw a clamp-on bipod on, to make my life a bit harder.

Click to shrink...

I've been tempted myself to toy around with some of the Specna Arms stuff as it looks really solid as an upgrade platform. Your list of parts seems good to me. I like as high torque as possible when it comes to motors, because I want it to pull that spring back no issues and I wouldn't be firing on full auto anyway.

I'd consider DMR power more with 1.88J and 25m MED, though I'd still want to trial it and compare. My local is 1.64J and 30m MED which is what makes it useless to me as I've tested extensively between 1.6J and 1.1J without seeing much benefits, but since I plan on HPAing the m14 anyway, if I move to a site with more lenient DMR rules I can just up the psi on the regulator and dial in the hop for some heavier BBs.

I also swear by my bipod, so I'll always advocate for one on any more "sniper-y" type rifle, as supporting even a lightweight rifle for prolonged periods of time without moving a muscle gets really, really tiring! I think bipods basically come down to how you plan on using the rifle; if you're going to use it as more of a sniper, dressing like a bush and being all sneaky, I think bipods are fantastic as it lets you get into a hide, deploy and then be totally immobile for long periods of time without having Schwarzenegger arms. However, if you're going to run around supporting your team in that more marksman type role, I think bipods are a waste of time as you need to be mobile to keep up with your team mates and probably won't need to support the rifle for such long periods of time.

And I've also started carting around an mp5k alongside my VSR and mk23 to give me a bit more mobile firepower for when I need to push (because most airsofters are terrible at pushing. and sometimes it's up to the bush to show them how to do it...). Fantastic choice to carry alongside a rifle with an MED.

 

[Rogerborg]

I like as high torque as possible when it comes to motors, because I want it to pull that spring back no issues and I wouldn't be firing on full auto anyway.

Click to shrink...

The Big Dragon M140s seem like a decent blend of torque and speed: I've got two of them now and am pretty impressed for the price. If it's struggling then I'll go for the M160, it's apparently decent as well (but the M120 is not).

However, if you're going to run around supporting your team in that more marksman type role, I think bipods are a waste of time as you need to be mobile to keep up with your team mates and probably won't need to support the rifle for such long periods of time.

Click to shrink...

That's what I'm planning. It's a smallish site with shortish games and there aren't that many opportunities for lurking and hiding.  It's typically more about push-the-objective, and quite a few times I've been standing in the open with my BASR watching BBs land a few yards in front of me (doubtless to rants about "OMFG CHEETAR!" from the shooter).  Having just a little bit of extra range to reply with, without having to haul the bolt every time would be ace.

Worst case if it doesn't work out I can dial it down a bit and put it back to an AEG again.

And I've also started carting around an mp5k alongside my VSR and mk23 to give me a bit more mobile firepower for when I need to push (because most airsofters are terrible at pushing. and sometimes it's up to the bush to show them how to do it...). Fantastic choice to carry alongside a rifle with an MED.

Click to shrink...

That, exactly.  I'm playing boltie, but half the time I'm ditching it and going full ham with the MP5K.  So I'm not really looking for a lurker role, just some variety and hopefully those critical few extra metres against a pinned down AEG target.