Floperator

Get some wd40 around it and let it seep into the threads for a little while. Then sometimes a few sharp taps with a screwdriver handle or small hammer can free up the part, and when you go to undo it, a slight move to tighten first before changing direction to unscrew it.

Really hard to get a consensus on this kind of question, airsoft seems to be a very chaotic industry. Quality Control ebbs and flows, and half of it is rebadged, copied or stolen. Fwiw I got a Lancer gen2 M4 as my entry level gun based purely on looks, price and the spiel on Patrol Base, and while it isn't *amazing* by any stretch of the imagination, it hasn't let me down so far. I think a good rule of thumb is to look at what the sites are handing out as rental guns - chances are they're reliable enough, which is the best you can hope for really.

We've been throwing money at it for years, but it is scheduled to be replaced in 2025. The L85 is the very definition of Sunk Cost Fallacy. We should have binned the cursed little object off years ago. Yes it does *work* now, after we paid H+K to fettle every individual gun, but it's a fundamentally flawed platform.

I can't see widespread take-up inside the next 10 years, everyone else is pretty heavily invested in existing systems. If its a wild success for the US, maybe after that. That said the L85 is due for replacement very soon, and this is exactly the kind of stupid fly by night thing the MOD would lean into and then get lumbered with once the yanks get bored of it, rather than just doing the sensible thing and buying 150,000 M4s.

Picked up the 'full set' of these the other day and am quite impressed with them. Been using their primers for years for models etc and they've never let me down.

What I'm hearing from serving and ex-service members is that the limiting factor is not the ballistics and 'stopping power' of 5.56, which barring the body armour issue is perfectly adequate out to and beyond the distances at which you could actually reliably make a hit in combat conditions, but the quality of infantryman marksmanship. Basically soldiers are already failing to utilise the potential of the current calibre, and giving them a snazzy new rifle and sci-fi optic isn't going to compensate for fundamental deficiencies in marksmanship. In airsoft terms, there's a lot of talk about guys complaining that targets aren't 'taking their hits' when they are being engaged badly and/or at silly ranges, and it's more likely that they are missing altogether rather than Terry Taliban has suddenly developed an immunity to 5.56. I suspect a lot of grunts are going to regret complaining about their M4s not hitting the enemies they are plinking at at 700m, once they've dragged this new thing around for a few dozen miles.

Bit of a white elephant this. Troops already rarely engaging or rarely successful at max range for 5.56 - due to deficiency in marksmanship rather than the calibre - so just because this caliber/rifle combo can shoot 'twice as far' doesn't mean dick; average engagement will still be 100-150m. And the requirement for armour piercing due to the proliferation of cheap chinese body armour, the real impetus behind this program, could be achieved within existing weapon systems with modifications to existing calibres. 7.62 is still a NATO calibre though, IIRC Turkey uses it as standard in their service rifles. So just because a new calibre is added to the NATO roster doesn't mean the previous ones get mothballed.

Pistols are fine by RM, I've posted loads. Only issues may arise if you include gas cans or CO2 caplets - then the whole package is liable to be destroyed - or if the parcel travels by air, in which case there may be delays but it *shouldn't* be destroyed if labelled properly. For long guns and if you want substantial compensation cover you need to use PF, unless you want to break it down into smaller components and take your chances with RM. Will reiterate that you MUST NOT post pressurised gas containers. Empty the mags if you are sending a GBB.

Didn't imagine that the OP would have cut the spring down to negative preload, would expect a massive loss of FPS if this was the case. If so then a tophat and/or spacing washers would fix it. Or new spring lol

If you're chronoing it at a site before a game take the old spring with you, just in case the new one is a bit too hot!

Worth checking this out before laying out loads of money on upgrade parts, the transfer port might have been choked from the factory: https://www.justbbguns.co.uk/fps-limiter-removal-for-airsoft-sniper-rifles/ As a rule of thumb with any spring piston system you want to address inefficiencies in the system before trying to increase power by fitting heavier springs etc. Things sapping power from the system could be: poor fitting or leaking piston seal, too much or too little lubrication, transfer port choking (as in the link) and poor breech seal (bucking)

Yeah yeah, I get it. Just wanted to avoid getting yet another bundle of mags for yet another gun if I could help it. I have about 30-40 airguns and maybe a dozen airsoft guns. The cost of accessorising them all can march on a bit, especially with airsoft where you need all the ancillary stuff- Sights, silencers, holsters, slings, mags and mag pouches, it all adds up.

Just cannot get along even with the shorter nam mag, so 170 rd mid caps it is.

Didn't see any slacking from the marshals but would pretty much agree with all of the above. I got spot-chronoed at AP a few weeks ago, so they do do it.

Very unlikely that the spring is ringing out, it's under compression and in contact with the piston and compression chamber. Though spring guides and top hats are always a good idea. I'd be looking at the flash hider or outer barrel.

Well, it seems to have done the trick. The noticeable piston slam seems to have gone, and if anything it's easier to cock in that it's not getting hung up on the forward stroke of the bolt like it sometimes was before. Filled the holes in the end of the piston with hot glue, and put a smaller o-ring under the original o-ring to give it some support. In the absence of any compatible aftermarket hop rubbers that I can find, I did manage to twist the barrel in the hop housing so it sits straighter, which has stopped the shots veering off to the side. Going to wait until I get some .4s to chrono it, heaviest weight I have atm is .3s, but power looks like its slightly up. And accuracy has definitely improved. Also gave it a very basic little camo job

I'm used to tuning spring piston airguns and in comparison to even a cheap and nasty break barrel, this system, if you could call it that, is so LUDICROUSLY inefficient that I'm amazed it manages to queef a bb out the end at all. I won't be making the o-ring super tight obviously and it's going to be properly lubed, the extra friction of an o-ring that actually *fits* won't be noticeable when cocking in comparison to the spring resistance, and should be easily overcome by the spring on firing. Any input on the hop rubber?

Yeah I've just had a look and you're right, the holes in the face of the piston vent underneath the o-ring. This is...sub-optimal. For a tiny little system that's already operating with a mouses fart of swept volume, I don't think it needs this kind of lost volume and inefficiency. I think I'm going to proceed with sealing the end of the piston and putting a proper well sealing o-ring on.

A bit bored yesterday so I decided to pull apart my Specna and see why exactly it's so inaccurate (notably less accurate than my Lancer m4). Yes this is pissing in the wind somewhat trying to mod a crap rifle, but I might as well kill some time until TAC-41s are back in stock, and I might get a half decent shooter out of it, at least something I can lend a friend if they come skirmishing with me. Think I've figured out what the issues are though. Firstly a crap loose o-ring for a piston seal. Easy fixed. Then it looks like the 'buffer' at the end of the piston has loads of lost volume, and through the holes in the buffer I can see what look like holes in the piston itself. Again should be a straightforward fix. Loctite and glue gun should do for that. The third thing is a bit out of my wheelhouse and what I could do with some help with. Looking down the barrel, the hop rubber looks distorted and asymmetric on full or 3/4 hop, and I suspect it's that that's causing the windage innaccuracy. Is there an aftermarket replacement for this? If there are a few types available, what are the relative benefits of different brands/hardnesses? Is this rifle a copy of another gun? Other than these issues everything else seems to be in reasonable order. Trigger is OK, barrel is clean. Bolt pull is already a little stiff so I'll stock with the stock spring. I'm not going to throw good money after bad but I think I can stretch to a new hop rubber. Any advice appreciated.

I've got one of those Jism sights on top of my Facog, the setup works quite well and it's easy to transition from one to the other.

My first skirmish I went out with a TM desert eagle in a drop leg holster (at the insistence of my airsoft veteran friend that this was the 'best' way) , persevered until lunchtime but the damn thing was incredibly uncomfortable to move around in and ended up leaving a very sore patch on my thigh by the end of the day. All about wearing them on the hip if you can, and if you can't because you're wearing a PC, mount it on that.

Yeah I'm thinking a big ol' dump pouch would be the way to go. Could easily run a hi-capa only rig too, but then there's the comedy value of tagging someone with a derringer or colt .25 springer ?

No, I don't mean dressing up like a pirate (that's for another thread), but just the idea going out to a game loaded out with, or rather *festooned* with, half a dozen or more different pistols. Smoke grenade in the brim of your hat/beard optional. I've got at least 8 or 9 airsoft pistols from derringer to Desert Eagle and probably enough holsters to pull this off, and I'm sitting here having idle, dangerous thoughts.... Anyone ever run a game like that? Just a recipe for chaos or losing stuff? Or does it sound like a laugh?