Impulse

Yep, that's why I haven't upgraded either. Old socket means I basically need to do a complete rebuild, but I've had other priorities and those priorities are still present (car, airsoft builds, saving for a mortgage). I'll probably look at doing an upgrade in '26, unless a new socket releases then I might push it back to get the new socket in without paying through the nose for it.

But you're so affable...

I'd love to be, but the TPM 2.0 and secure boot requirements are kicking my arse. My PC build is very old and very in need of upgrading, and my motherboard simply doesn't have those options in the BIOS.

I found the genuine CTR stock to be way better than the clone one I bought. Once you lock it in place, there's basically no wobble and I've used mine on two MWSs with the same result. The clone one on the other hand, once it's locked in place it's still wobbly, and the QD sling points aren't anywhere near as good. I ended up using it on my MTW because I needed a stock where I was comfortable completely taking off the rubber end plate to have easy access to the co2 stock, and I wasn't using the QD sling point on it as I didn't want to have the weight hanging on the regulator.

I personally wouldn't go for the sport version. They're great entry level rifles, but the Tac-41 doesn't need many internal upgrades anyway, and I'd much rather have that sturdier shell of the regular one. If you go for the sport version and either you or your son suddenly decides to start sniping as a main way to play, it's much better to have a higher quality shell to build upon with internal or external extras. There are more internals you can throw at it to make it better, but they shoot really well out of the box with a few minor upgrades (chub nub works well with the stock hop rubber, which is a decent rubber in itself).

I had built two VSRs (one spring and one HPA, using a co2 adapter in the stock because I hate lines and tanks) to a high level of detail before I made the jump to a pair of KJW m700, so if it didn't work out I knew I'd have two reliable and damn good shooting sniper rifles to fall back on. By that point I knew that sniping was for me, but wanted something a bit different, partially to stand out from the crowd. And my honesty is because while I love them and pretty much only use them (my spring SRS is used sometimes, but really it's just a backup gun I bring just in case my main gun has issues), I've been in this hobby for long enough to know what most people look for in their airsoft guns and gas sniper rifles don't tend to scratch those itches. They're niche for a reason, so I wanted to outline the areas where they fall short to make you aware so you can make the best purchase for you, because they definitely do fall short in areas. If I was looking for the "best" sniper rifle setup for both ease of use and performance, I'd probably make a tricked out Tac-41, SRS or VSR. Spring sniper rifles are the "best" when it comes to what most airsofters want, with gas rifles excelling in other ways; it all depends on what you want from your airsoft guns. I'll happily trade a bit of practicality and ease of use for more immersion and a nicer feel, but also because I took that leap and have been using gas guns for years, I have a deep understanding of how all my gas guns work, so the lower practicality, while a bit of a ball ache at the start of a game day, isn't really an issue. I can set up my rifle according to the weather pretty damn quick nowadays. They can be made consistent enough for sure, and mine shoot incredibly well with no noticeable difference between my gas m24 and my spring SRS when it comes to practical accuracy, but a highly tuned gas sniper rifle will be less consistent than a highly tuned spring or HPA setup and I feel that's just an objective fact due to the way gas works in airsoft, but we are talking some slim margins. For me, I'm happy if my gas bolt actions or DMRs have a 0.1J or less variance in their shots, which I know to some people is absolutely unacceptable for a sniper rifle or DMR. Some people will aim for a 0.02J variance in their shots, but to me I just don't see the point since I find the difference between a 0.1J and 0.02J variance makes no difference to the practical accuracy of it, despite 0.1J being literally 5x the variance, which seems to be a massive jump. Something to remember is that our guns are basically air or gas powered muskets firing spherical projectiles at <2.3J that weigh less than half a gram and have awful ballistics, using the Magnus effect to combat gravity. Regardless of the setup, an airsoft gun will never be a precision rifle; they're just not designed to be one, no matter how hard some people will assert that their airsoft gun is.

I'm going to preface this by saying that gas bolt actions are objectively less consistent than springers or HPA sniper rifles, suffer from insane joule creep, the mags are expensive, have low ammo capacity, and weigh a lot. And you need to tweak them at the start of every game day because the weather will affect the power. They're objectively a pain in the arse, but when tuned right they shoot really well, have an effortless bolt pull (there's no tension, all you're doing is priming the firing pin and loading the next BB), are incredibly quiet with a suppressor as it's basically a rifle-shaped mk23, and are incredibly immersive airsoft guns to use since they work just like the real thing. They're also a pain in the arse to find because they're niche. People don't like them because most people aim for power consistency with their sniper rifles and gas just doesn't get the same consistency as spring or HPA when each system is properly tuned (though I'm of the opinion that if you can't hit targets with the level of consistency a well-tuned gas bolt action gives, it's a skill issue) But if I had a budget of £400 and to get whatever I wanted... it's a tough one because the mags are so bloody expensive. It's easy for me because I already have all the mags, but the pre-ban Tanaka m700 (and variants like the m24, m700 AICS, or m40a1) is basically the gold standard and holy grail of gas bolt action rifles. You can find them from time to time, but they tend to be difficult to find as the pre-ban models went out of production well over a decade ago. PPS Kar98k and KJW m700s (police version, NOT the take-down version!) are also good, and tend to be a bit more available and a little cheaper, but it's still hard to get a good setup for under £400 because the damn mags... Basically, gas bolt actions are an investment and don't perform as well, but I just way prefer them because of the look, feel and just how they work (and when tuned well, they perform just fine, with more than acceptable power consistency).

For bolt actions with that budget, and sticking with springers (because I'd 100% buy a gas bolt action if it was me, but I'm weird), I'd go with a Tac-41 Lite with the recon stock. The lite stock is cheaper, but... it doesn't inspire me. The recon stock looks more sturdy and more useful. Still, Tac-41 Lite with recon stock is around £350, so that leaves £50 for a chub nub, a slightly uprated spring (I believe they come out of the box at around 1.9J or so, but I could be wrong), maybe a suppressor and some spare mags. Then if you really like it, there are plenty of other parts you can get, internal and external. Other people can probably talk more about what you can do with the Tac-41 as I don't have one myself, but I do think they're the best bolt action on the market for performance. I just don't like them myself.

I think it's technically legal, though you could still get the police called on you by another walker who just sees someone walking around in military kit which looks filled with gear; they may not know exactly what it is, but I could see someone getting concerned and making the call. I'm no legal expert, but I wouldn't be surprised if you would get in trouble with the police in that instance for some sort of public order offense. For seeing how my kit holds the weight, I do that around the house. Load it up with all my mags and other gear and just walk around the house. If it feels good, then I take it to a game day and use it, see what works and what doesn't, and then tweak it as needed.

Yeah, I had the same 2kg of .32s for aaaaaaaages because I only run them in pistols and 1.1J guns... and I'm a bolt action / DMR enjoyer, so basically only pistols. That bag lasted me over a year and I had no issues with them from start to finish. Don't store them in damp areas, and don't put wet BBs back in the bag and you'll be fine.

I have a TM AKM and it's great. Shoots like a dream and is very efficient. I'll get a wood kit for it eventually, but my MWSs took priority.

Did you need to do much internally for this to work well? I'm... potentially picking up two WE rifles in the near future (an m14 and an SVD); the m14 will basically not be WE any more with the parts that will be in it, but the SVD will be much more vanilla, so I want to know if I'm setting myself up for pain 😂

If you're only budgeting £400, you're not getting a good m4 or AK, partially because magazines tend to be £50 per mag and they're only 35rds each, so you will need at least a few. Not an m4 or AK, but the KWA mp9 has always been pretty decent and would come within your budget, including mags. They apparently do eventually need parts replacing later down the line for steel parts as some of the stock parts will eventually give up, though mine haven't gone yet. That said, I don't use mine much.

Cyma mp5 always a solid bet

Yeah, one of the great parts of Worthing is they have a range that goes out to 85m, so I'm always using it to zero my sights and set my guns up, though since I have to move scopes between guns I usually have to do this at the start of every game day. It's also where I did all my testing around various power limits with my various guns; tested between 1.1J and 2.3J with my m700s and tested between 1.1J, 1.48J, 1.64J, 1.88J and 2.32J with my HPA m14 and my MTW, as well as one of my MWSs Well, it goes out to 100m, but it's hard to get an angle on the 100m target and I think it might've fallen off the tree it was attached to...