Rogerborg

Yes, that, I use cut-up pieces of heat-shrink. I find it a bit confusing to see even "God tier" techs like Luke at Negative say that a given gun just won't lift 0.3 or 0.32g. I'm pretty sure it will with a little shimming. Sure, it's a bodge, but it's a very simple one, and it's not like physics works differently inside a hop unit than in the real world.

Heavier is denser is harder is less elastic is more impulse is hurtier feels. 1J of dry sponge, or 1J of tungsten? Same energy. There's also the issue of chronoing, and abuse or even the genuine miscomprehension we've seen here occasionally about what "350fps" means. I got a cracker of a bruised fingertip at about 30 feet from an HPA pistol months ago that's still not fully cleared up. I ran and told a grown up, the guy got chronoed, and came in under 350. They use site 0.2g at the morning chrono-theatre, but I suspect just trusted him on the weight when chronoed in-game.

Any idea why they even allow that weight of BB there? There's no reason to use anything heavier than 0.25g in indoor CQB sites, and even that's flexing. Maybe be the change you want to see? I call hits in very-CQB when people even point at gun at me, even if they're shooting dry. They're never going to believe they missed, because their gnu is a laser and they're a Delta Beret Ninja. Arguing the toss just leaves two people grumpy and aggrieved, and they'll be convinced that you didn't call their hit, so they'll be less likely to call yours, right?

Any sound or sign of it pre-engaging and chewing the rack or sector gear? Have you fitted a delayer chip? I know that's for feeding issues, I'm just trying to visualise how more spin can equal less spring.

You'll get the same or better at most sites. Really, folk will be delighted to chat or help you out. Just ask someone about their toy gun and you'll have trouble getting us to shut up.

What, like a marshal?

I'd encourage you to just go yourself. It's super easy to get talking to people, we all have a shared interest.

I can see why they'd think that, given that there's clearly no interest from the State in clamping down on the rogues. The problem with that is that eventually some muckraker with an audience will do a "think of the children!" hit piece on our assault-toys.

Your stereo's only as good as your stylus.

Not really, he's got very good at it. Sorry to hear that he's still at it. How much did he take you for?

Not high profile, no, it's buried in the firearms figures. There have been a few cases of rascals with RIFs either deliberately trying to get themselves shot, or begging for it, but in most cases our Dakka Dibble show admirable restraint and just beanbag them in the balls. It is fairly irksome that the only sellers who really seem to give a stuff about the VCRA are airsoft retailers. I mean, if you wanted a realistic imitation of a real firearm with no wait, you could buy an air gun over the counter, or just pop down to your local market stalls.

It's amazing how many guides and techs don't mention this. The c-clip on the hop unit only holds the barrel in approximately the correct orientation and I've become mildly obsessed with making tiny rotations to get the mound centred. Hop off, rotate the barrel a smidge, hop to full, eyeball, and repeat until your OCD is satiated.

They're too new to be a known quantity. The spec sheet looks great for the price, but God knows what OEM they're using. I think we were speculating that they might be rebrand-buddies with the Lancer Tacticals which have similar specs and prices. I don't think you can beat either of those for features-for-money, and unless they crack their gearboxes or habitually shred components, they're probably as good a gamble as any other airsoft gun. Most parts are consumables eventually, and not that expensive to replace.

What @Speedbird_666said. G&G Combat Machines have been around since forever ago, and while they offer very few features, all the parts work well together. Plastic, yes, but a really nice, light but strong plastic that feels decent in the hand. However, with the new prices on the G&Gs it's becoming harder to recommend them. Specnas, Double Eagles M9xx, and Lancer Tacticals offer way more features. The Edge 2.0 in particular offers good value for money over fitting an aftermarket Aster to just about any base gun. But then the Double Eagle Fire Control System has some (not all) of the same features for a fair bit less money. You'll be unlikely to regret a G&G CM16 purchase, but the answer is that there's no right answer, and whatever puts a smile on your face is the right gun for you.

It doesn't matter either way. There is no chance, absolutely none, that I'd pay more than sweetie money by F&F to some rando, despite him being ostensibly honest in the listing. Even if he does send out exactly what's promised, things can go wrong after that. And I don't get his objection. If you pay G&S, it'll either get to him, or it won't. If it does, what's the problem? If it doesn't, then he doesn't send the item. And I'm fine with paying the G&S fee - it protects me. Nope, avoid, it's just not worth the risk, or even a discussion.

[Foreboding music plays]

To expand on all the correctness above, there's no "licence" for purchase or ownership. The offence is committed by the seller, at the point of sale, and they need a case-by-case defence for each sale. The most common defence is airsoft site membership, which is recorded in the UKARA database (UKARA is really just a central list of site membership, the UKARA numbers are issued by sites). That would require your dad to play himself though, at least 3 times over a period of at least 8 weeks. Other schemes exist, and some retailers will accept other defences, both real and imaginary - it's entirely up to each seller what they'll accept, and private sellers might be less fussed. The good news is that if your responsible adult can get his hands on a RIF, then he's absolutely fine to do so - he's committing no offence by purchasing it, or by gifting it to you. But I would stress the important of being very careful what you do with it, both in public, and even in private: folk have had their doors put in by armed response when IFs (let alone RIFs) have been spotted through a window. Public possession of a RIF or an IF is an offence, and requires a case-by-case "reasonable excuse", i.e. being at or on the way to or from an airsoft event. Good on you for asking, that's an encouraging sign that you're likely to be responsible.

The stock piston is indeed plastic, but I'd already replaced the piston, spring guide with metal versions along with the spring as a "power up" kit. Ostensibly good for "500fps" (2.32J), I actually saw 3.3J out of it. Oops, that spring got cut down sharpish. What eventually went wasn't the stock 45-degree trigger sear as expected, but the spring guide stopper. It wallered out its hole and went wobbly. Now the spring guide kicks to one side when pulling the bolt, and the bolt locks back without going forward again. I've tried shimming out the stopper and might revisit it just as a project, but the core problem is the quality of monkey-metal on any cheap (and some expensive) airsoft toys. This is why you'd want to budget £100 (!) for a 90-degree trigger box on any VSR, plus the extra cost for a 90 degree piston. I mean, you can run it until it breaks, but I reckon they will all break one way or another. The Action Army AAC T11 is the cheapest sniper that I'm aware of that has a 90-degree trigger as standard that might hold up OK.

Wow, that's almost German levels of "because we can."

Wow, that's harsh, and sad that they were more concerned about appearances and attitudes rather than reality. See previous kvetching about folk point-blanking with DMR-energy pistols without an eyebrow being raised. Were they equally as bovvered about DMR players spamming at 1.5-1.8J as fast as they could finger-blast the trigger, I wonder? I actually completely agree with this, and would always suggest getting one usable AEG first, playing with that, then taking it from there. And there's no reason - other than marshals' opinions about appearances - that you couldn't run (e.g.) a light plastic CYMA and a bolt action rifle. Treat the AEG as the primary, and the bolt action as a bit of situational fun.

And yet people will keep buying them. It's the triumph of optimism over experience.

Oh, that's disappointing (except to TM owners). UK sellers to seem to reckon about that muzzle energy, while others sellers say 117m/s / 384fps on 0.2g. Neither is really ideal for the UK. Given how much that lovely walnut version already costs, it does make a reasonable argument for dropping more into it to make it all that it can be. Officially jealous.

Oh, sure, that's why I run an MP5K with ~700 rounds rather than a pistol, and use that as much as the sniper. But I've seen other snipers and DMR players on site without a functional secondary, and without the marshals being that fussed. I'm just bearing in mind that OP is on a budget, and I wouldn't want to put him off by raising the minimum cost of playing. Would that be a Mk23 with a barrel extension shooting at 1.4J or more? Got to be a strong contender for the most abused "lol it's just a pistol mate, it doesn't need a MED" gun out there. Maybe. But having a secondary on my hip isn't actually what stops me from shooting the Tac-41 inside its MED. I'd certainly encourage snipers to carry a decent secondary, but would stress that the important thing is to respect your MED and be prepared to fall back or just surrender if cornered. The other option is as suggested in the referenced "wut sniper?" thread above: power a cheap bolt action down to < 1.14J and use it without a MED. Easier to pull, less stress on the components, and it'll still give you a feel for the play style. I'm pondering that for my currently non-functional MB-03 and even using it in very-CQB for a Hard Mode giggle.

True in principle. In practice, is there a minimum required standard of functionality? For most players, most of the time, a pistol is largely a prop and you'd be as well hanging a springer off your hip in woodland. Or... OP has a broken plastic "AEP", and if he dropped that in a holster, are they going to know? And is it really an issue, as long as you respect your MED, fall back, or in extremis just call yourself out? Prompted by using my MP5K on Sunday, taking a hit on that, shouting "gun hit", then switching to my Tac-41. At that point, I didn't have a (usable) secondary. Problem? 🤔

That's rather concerning. Do you have a multimeter that you can use to test the battery voltages, across each cell (using the balance connector) and across the whole battery (at the Deans / Tamiya connector)? As to using 11.1V, go for it. Everything in airsoft guns is consumable. If you're not getting overspin and double-taps on semi, enjoy the win. You'll be getting more arcing across the trigger contacts, but that's a £5 part. Adding a cheap diode to the motor can (it seems) help it survive. I've put them on mine for ritual purposes.