Rogerborg

Pre-cocking fnar I'm so sorry is what can improve first-shot semi-response. Active braking can cure overspin. But then so can pre-cocking: there's a fair amount of overlap. Ah, about that. Was the "M90" spring in a wrapper marked M90? If so, was it pre-opened? I ask because Specnas tend to come with an M90 and an M120. Mine came with the M90 fitted, and the M120 spring in an open M90 wrapper. Depending on who you bought from, you may just have put the M120 in. If you're going to get into tinkering and teching, a basic chronograph is a game-saver. Get ready for some "u wot m8?". Airsoft is very conservative and tends to be years behind RC. Brushed motors are still very much the default, and airsofters still tend to recommend ancient chargers like the B6 rather than the S65. Take anything you hear from us with a huge pinch of salt and if you think you know better about anything electrical, you probably do. Airsoft M4 AEGs (with the exception of stuff like PTWs) are pretty generic. This covers getting the gearbox out: This covers the gearbox internals. You have a "V2" gearbox, common to M4s. There are loads of alternative videos. One thing I'd stress is to take the spring out before opening the gearbox, to avoid the risk of it kersproinging the internals into hyperspace. Magnets (how do they work?) are a great shout for keeping parts together, or holding the anti-reversal latch and gears in place while you re-assemble. All that said, I'd suggest finding an excuse to buy a second primary before you open up your first one. Having a completely un-"improved" gun in the bag can be a day-saver.

$CURRENT_YEAR, if we're being formal.

You have chosen... wisely. ? M-Lok almost feel like it's designed to make you spend more to actually use it. Meanwhile, cable ties remain available. A lot of airsoft kit is engineered to just barely work. You've got a basic no-frills mosfet in there, so the next obvious steps are the highest amperage 7.4V lipo or li-ion that you can fit in the stock, and then the motor. SHS are fairly popular, although I chisel a few £££ and buy Big Dragon M140s from AliExpress. You'll want "long shaft" fnar for your M4. I'd caution against going straight to 11.1V as you're likely to encounter overspin and double-shots on semi. Not all guns, not all the time, but I've always had it with mine. Granted, if you're playing woodland, you can probably get away with it after chronoing with a 7.4V, with a few judicious shouts of "Sorry!" if you double tap anyone point blank. Gate and Perun mosfets can add a lot of features. Some folk love optical mosfets, I'm still a bit sus so stick to Perun AB++ which offers any feature that you're likely to want, including burst fire, and active braking or pre-cock that will allow use of 11.1V without overspin. Oh, and shim and re-lube the gearbox, the first time you're in there, that's pretty much airsoft teching 101 - there are plenty of videos on YouTube about it.

On doing some forensic analysis, I've had to file mine a bit both on the outside at the top, to get it into the G36 magwell, and also inside to get STANAG mags to go in without using Thor's hammer. I may also have run a rat-tail file up the BB tube as it's a little kinky as stock.

Just asking out of interest. I ended up with a flat hop bucking and nub in my Bits Box that I think came out of my Edge, but I've never seen it marketed as a feature. And it's a curious one to have in CURRENT_YEAR since Maple Leaf buckings do the same job without having to press the bucking right through the hop window. Flat / R / S hops are really more of a Reddit thing now.

Upside down is always a nice touch. At the point where you're just saying "M44sale lol" why not pitch it as a mystery box? Folk seem to love those.

I'd echo the suggestion that I think I saw above about going for a mesh + fabric lower face protection rather than full mesh, as it lets you get a better cheek-weld, as the speedy-bois say. You're home. Yes, it's very rare that I close out a day with the same gear or gun that I started it with. A bit of variety helps to keep it fresh.

Yes, that'll work just fine. I'd suggest 60 degree rather than 70 (maybe even 50). When you replace them, could you please have a look at your stock bucking and see if it's flat hopped (no internal mound)? I reckon mine was but I binned it off into the Pile-O-Parts in favour of a Maple Leaf without even checking so I can't be 100% sure. The stock Specna rotary hops are decent enough, being effectively the same as the ZCI plastic units. I honestly can't see the benefit to going to a Maxx hop unless it's a tracer unit.

I reckon so, I've never been post-capped, although I regularly run out of love juice to spooge around on ratings.

Ahoy and welcome. Yes, many of us tell ourselves that we're not going to go crazy with spending, but there's always something else that you just must have. Physics works much the same in the UK and Spain (I'm uncertain about Catalonia) so most of our bad advice should transfer OK.

[Sad womp-womp noises] Well, I asked because it's caught out a lot of us. You can add a rail-riser under the optic if you want to stick with the MI-7 - and I'd consider it, I've not come close to fogging mine, which is a first. We've just had a post in the "wut made" thread here of a huuuuge riser. Whatever works works. The other option is, quite seriously, to lop off the parts of the mask that are getting in the way. Actual customisation. Or leave it as-is and use it situationally. I use my MI-7 with pistol or MP5K at CQB sites or even on a game-by-game basis. That's the grip safety, hateful things. I just taped it down on my AEP 1911. I was actually thinking of this... bit. Sorry, I don't speak hi-capa, I've just seen a couple of owners swearing at theirs. Nothing to worry about, pretty much all airsoft toys have a quirk or foible. Specna Arms like to blow the front off of their gearboxen, for example, although your CORE might not have the suspect Orion box, and mine's been fine. It sounds like you have realistic expectation of the costs and foibles though, so just laugh it off, patch it up, concentrate on the next day, and it's all good.

A lot us do, until we use one. Torches complicate things further. These universal drop-leg holsters can be be adjusted to take most combinations, and if you don't get on with the drop-leg aspect, they can be fettled to attach directly to a belt or molle easily enough. That's a perfectly reasonable bundle. Hat tip for the S65 charger. The AA hi-capa's fire selector is a little sus, but then what isn't in airsoft? Can you use the carbine optic OK with that mask? I can't quite make out the mask, but it looks like it might be Valken MI-7 dual panes? If not dual paned and you get fogging, dual panes work well, either the MI-7, or DYE equivalents. Or if you want to go lower profile, Pyramex i-Force dual pane goggles work. Much of airsoft is finding out what works for you, so I'd just play and see how you get on. Don't hesitate to bin off anything that you don't like, even if all the cool kids are sticking with them - I'm looking at that bungie sling here.

It seems to come and go, but another chap here was just after saying that he's blown the front off of his Orion. There was a batch that were dog rough and obviously poorly finished. Mine looks nicer - the pot metal might have been given a stir. It's got decent radiusing already done to it and hasn't cracked after several thousand shots at 1.8J as a DMR (I know, poor choice, but I can't not accept a challenge). Still, why gamble when CYMA, JG and Double Eagle don't seem to have any concerns in that price range. I'd normally include G&G in there, but honestly I think they're barring themselves from the basic AEG market now with their stubborn refusal to add any features to the Combat Machines while creeping the prices up.

... 2.28J Agreed, 100N seems to be about bang on for typical UK limit. I cut my 100N down a bit as I was garage testing with the hop at 5, but with it set to 8 for 0.43g, I had to add a little back again with Rapax adjusters (i.e. really expensive bits of tube). I honestly think the TAC-41 doesn't need anything done to it beyond a super-simple spring change. And, yes, the "Oi! Sniper! Gettim!" is pretty normal.

I'm happy enough with my Edge, but Specna Arms quality control is all over the place. I can never remember if the CORE has the same fragile Orion gearbox as the Edge, but either way, it's a gamble given that they might have changed it again while I was writing this. We're currently really liking the Double Eagle M90X range. https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/airsoft-m4-ar15-m16-variant-assault-rifles?*brand=61&*inst=y

With the caveat that you're limited by what's in stock, we've just been discussing that here: A further caveat, the plastic on <£100 CYMA M4s is quite toyish. Strong enough, mind, and the internals are sturdy, but it doesn't feel great. That may or may not matter to you, but if you go up to the £120+ mark, you'll get something that feels nicer (but will perform much the same).

That what I use on my JG G36. Like a fair bit of airsoft precision engineering, it needed a file waved at it to get it to fit, and to take mags, but once everything was neatened up, it works fine. I've not had any feeding issues from any M4 mid or hi-caps, and it actually feeds better than the G36 mid caps that I was using.

To be fair, he does seem like more of a collector / displayer than a player. Maybe we could apply some of that Twatter/Google language policing to flag up the word "new" in any advert.

With the caveat that I'm forever blasting the barricade because of sight-over-bore issues, for dynamic close range shooting, it does make a lot of sense. Keep the toy level at chest height and you'll hit a chest height - the sights are more for righty-lefty.

Indeed, which is why I try to caveat my experiences with estimates of days played, BBs shot, or "for now." "Buy cheap, buy twice" gets a Chad Yes from me, given that the alternative might be "Buy expensive, get worse internals, and have nothing left in your budget to fix it."

Oh, that's handy. 19.18mm + 2 x 2.46mm = 24.1mm. ? I've been getting on OK with generic 19mm / 2.5mm = 24.0mm o-rings, stretched out by popping them over the cylinder and then heating them a bit - you know, a fire-based ritual ceremony.

Knowing what we know about Specna Arms QC, why not look elsewhere rather than rewarding them and taking a gamble? That budget gets you into tin-can bodied CYMAs. No Gate ASTER, but no Orion gearbox either.

Ahoy and welcome. Have you airsofted before? Do you have any particular requirements or desires about a platform? Since you didn't say, I'd assume the default M4 and that you're OK with plastic polymer bodies. In that budget, I'd say: CYMA for internal robustness but meh externals. Whatever you like the look of, they're all much the same internally. G&G CM-16 for much the same reasons. Double Eagle M90X range (and nothing else Double Eagle) for a surprising amount of features at the same price. The sad fact is that there's no 100% guarantee on airsoft guns. They're really expensive toys, and the moment you open the box, they're considered used-and-abused by 2nd owners and the retailer alike. Even the biggest UK retailers will cheerfully flog on returns as "new" guns. However, if you're OK with having pieces of hard plastic shot at your face while wearing a few £££ of eye protection, I hope you're not completely risk averse.