MrTea

Also had a message from that person - got my hopes up about an AR57

First airsoft day of 2025 and another game at Armageddon Airsoft to blow off the cobwebs. Very good turn out today likely helped by the decent weather we've been having this past week. Due to other commitments, I didn't have much time to get things ready and brought along my usual Mk18 but this time I also carried in a JG Bar10 that i've been itching to use. In the Mk18 I had swapped to a "4uantum" AEG hop rubber and nub as i've heard good things about these online but to be honest, it performs like most other hop rubbers and it definitely didn't seem like it worked better than what I had in previously. I'll likely be swapping back to the Begadi 'Fly' hop rubber and Maple Leaf Omega nub. After playing the first two games with the Mk18 and eating through both batteries I swapped to the JG Bar10 before lunch. I chrono'd the rifle on site after adjusting the hop to find it was ever so slightly over the limit. Thankfully the site owner said it's fine as it's only just over but give an extra 5m-10m distance on the MED to account for it. I've never used a sniper before and the change in playstyle was a bit awkward at first but I soon settled into it. It did help that the first game I used it on was a defensive time-based objective with limited lives for us, the defending team. I did struggle with losing sight of my BBs at range, even using the maximum magnification of 6x on my LPVO. This made it hard to tell where they were actually going but i'm not sure how to resolve this issue if at all possible. Another guy running a sniper suggested black BBs but from what I read online they are even harder to see than white ones. All in all, I did enjoy the change of playsyle and the satisfaction of using a single BB to get a 'kill' - I just need to install the weaker spring so I don't have any chrono issues again. Equipment wise, the new chest rig worked well. It took a bit of getting used to having the two utility pouches on the side and getting into them was a bit fiddly but manageable. I'm used to running a chest rig with open top pouches with magazines inserts so I can reindex magazines with one hand. This rig has flaps over double-stack pouches so it's a two handed job most of the time due to the elastic. May have to invest in a dump pouch going forward. Hoping to go further afield this year and try out some new places.

Has anyone replaced a cocking handle on a G&G MP5? Is it possible to buy a cocking handle from another brand and reduce to size as required and reinstall the factory roll-pin that secures it? Not sure if the cocking handle lengths are any different between manufacturers or the holes that the roll-pin goes through are different sizes.

Can second all the FMA recommendations. I have the 'FMA FAST SF Tactical Helmet' and it was <£50. I'm a clumsy ass and tend to knock my head on more than my fair share of stuff, indoors or outdoors. Don't make the mistake I originally did and order a helmet that only comes in one size. They suck. As for camos, you'll likely need to buy a helmet cover in your desired pattern or paint it. I prefer the helmet cover as it's a quick and relatively cheap change if you swap camo patterns down the line.

Will happily guinea pig my AEG if it means free BBs pointless them going to waste.

Just my experience: I've been using Rebel branded BBs from BZ for well over a year with no issues - both tracers and regular, usually 0.25g and 0.28g respectively. Never had any issues with them to the point where i'd happily recommend them to people - is there any chance you've hit a bad batch if the BBs are to blame?

I get it on main page and classifieds. Strange.

I didn't realise they made a version with adjustable hop. Hows the performance vs other 'regular' pistols? Being NBB and CO2 I guess it's pretty gas efficient.

Going to throw in my personal experience: i've never had an issue ordering from them (them being BespokeAirsoft or iWholeSales). I've bought a Secutor 1911 and WELL WE10-1 MCX Rattler AEG from them. I've never had to get in contact with their customer service so I can't comment on it. The packages I received always came well packed with no signs of damage. Packages were sent with Parcelforce and I had no issues with tracking.

I happen to have a spare kidney going for that GBB L86... Nice work. Would love to see a mag dump from it.

I used to run Maple Leaf Macaron (yellow) almost exclusively in all my AEGs until it one of them caused a lot of feed issues in my mk18. I swapped to a Begadi (IIRC) Fly5 hop rubber and have stuck with that since with no issue. I feel like the performance of the Begadi rubber is better (aside from curing the feeding issues). Shots appear more consistent with a flatter trajectory for longer. I've heard good things about the 4uantum Friction Pro and have an AEG and GBB one to try.

If I remember rightly, the cheaper ones (CYMA/Cybergun/Double Bell/JG) have bodies made of ABS plastic which isn't as strong or nice feeling as the nicer polymer ones such as Tokyo Marui, King Arms, (I think) Novritsch and Krytac. The cheaper ones tend to be new for about £100-£150 depending on brand. King Arms (if you can find them) and TM are in a middle ground of pricing about £200-£250. Novritsch also makes a P90 called the SSR90 which is about £300. Krytacs tend to be on the more expensive end I think. As for mags i've always stuck with King Arms 100 round ones as I bought a box set of them when I got my P90, never had an issue with them feeding in CYMA, Cybergun or a King Arms P90. CYMA make 70 rounders, JG also make 100 round mags. There are higher capacity "MAG" branded ones that are 150 rounders but they tend to be hard to find and expensive when you do. Finally, Novritsch also has 100 round P90 mags. As @Tackle mentions, you can get a M4 magazine adapter so you can bypass this issue completely. It costs anywhere from £30-£50 depending on the retailer.

HPA ready OOTB sniper with a TDC sounds incredibly interesting not gonna lie.