Darthwhite8

Perhaps controversial, but I don't think these are the best choice for a DMR Fundamentally the further and more accurately you want to shoot the less variation you want in power levels, both shot for shot and week to week. Spring (sniper) and HPA / AEG (DMR) lend themselves too this but gas does not. With gas every time you pull the trigger the gas as expands from the mag and down the barrel / into the blowback unit, that expansion has the effect of cooling the mag, which reduces the pressure available for the next shot a little bit until the mag heats back up again, and the expansion / cooling effect is cumulative. The more you shoot the colder the mag gets, and the longer it takes to get back to the starting pressure. It's well known physics The bigger the mag the more mass there is to hold onto the heat, so the slower the effect comes on (but the longer it takes to warm back up after shooting) I have the long mags for mine and see a 10-20fps variation in rapid semi auto from the first shot to the last over 10-15 rounds at about 2 rounds a second. Extrapolating that too a DMR that's shooting half as quickly and you're still seeing a larger variation than any AEG, let alone a well tuned one like a DMR Gas guns also behave differently throughout the year, needing different mixtures of gases in summer vs winter to even work, and will perform differently from morning to afternoon on a gameday as the ambient temperature changes. Today started around 8' and ended around 18', in the morning my GBBR was a bit anemic (290-300fps at the morning chrono) by the afternoon on the same gas it was a nail driver. Gases aside the hop unit on these also has a bit of slop in it as it's a fairly cheap component so isn't as consistent as it could be. None of this is as dramatic as I've probably made it sound, but a good DMR all about consistency & I'm trying to explain that this doesn't have it to the same level as a HPA / AEG based DMR. Fixable perhaps, especially if you go HPA instead of gas, but this adds significantly too the overall platform cost (easily x2 overall if you don't have any HPA stuff, or + £100ish if you already have the tank, reg and hose), and I suspect a lot more trial and error & tuning than an AEG based DMR would need to achieve the same performance As an indoor CQB gun VMP2's and gas guns in general are great (it's what I have mine for) as a mid field rifle outside they can hold their own in the right hands (obvs AEG's and HPA rifles have a lot more ammo on tap! - I was using mine for this today)... but as a DMR... you'll spending the same or more £££ and time to get something that just doesn't perform as well as an AEG based DMR. Again, my 2p and my experience of owning both; My DMR's AEG based & fag packet maths cost me about £500ish to build with a couple of mags. Achieves 440fps +/- 3fps and will consistently hit a man size target at about 65m, probably further. It has a precocking gearbox (perun mosfet) and a highspeed brushless motor so has the same trigger response and followup shot speed as my VMP2. Lighter too... My CQB VMP2 + 5 Mags & all the mods cost about the same but has at best 2/3rds the predictable effective range when tuned too the same power level. I largely put this down to the power being less consistent and the hop being a bit sloppy. With a longer barrel it might be a bit more accurate a bit further out, but it's never going to be able to match the AEG.

I have the 2M, if you want me 2p on it... Budget for an upgraded barrel at time of purchase as the stock is a strange 2 piece affair that's horribly inaccurate Because there isn't a sensibly priced aftermarket barrel the correct length, the most cost effective way is to get a more common "long pistol" barrel, which is about 145mm long As this is shorter than the stock barrel the power will drop, so you need to buy the excellent Sabre airsoft npas kit or to widen the brass part of the stock nozzle to bring the power back up Stock hop bucking isn't great, best to swap it while doing the barrel. Also while ordering the NPAS from Sabre order their flat hop adaptor thing The hop unit & barrel aren't necessarily aligned too the nozzle from the factory, and the inner barrel may be a little loose in the outer barrel, so some electrical tape shimming & some time tuning may be needed Mags (I have five) have all been great thus far As a £250 gun - with £50 of upgrades - and some time tuning in the garage it's a cracking bit of kit!

Ditto, it was a new one for me and I didn't think I'd like it but it actually works well from a gameplay POV. Makes camping far less effective and tends to help things flow. Not a rule for all games but made a nice change

Sunday was spent at Finmere, which happened to the the first site I ever played at, at the site's first ever airsoft games, donkeys years ago when I was a spotty teenager. Games only run monthly so I've been waiting for the a pass from the wife on a game weekend to go. Turns out one of the other OG's is now running the place - we recognised each other - he's clearly super passionate about it ... and it certainly shows! Safe to say the place is expertly run with plenty of marshals who are in constant communication, and is attended by a decent bunch of very honest players. There were 1-2 bulletproof betties as there always are but they're very much the exception not the rule. It's a pretty big site but the game design on the day - basically a big control point affair - was such that you could get into a scrap without too much walking about. They used a 2 armband medic rule where players waiting to be medic'd can talk and call out intel to teammates which actually works surprisingly well and means your epic last stand against overwhelming odds gets an audience. I had a fantastic firefight holding off a village area with a couple of teammates against what felt like half the enemy team, it was a great 360 affair with them flanking us on all sides, a well timed pyro had a bunch of them waiting to be medic'd and calling out our positions so we had to keep shifting about, and eventually we got picked off and ran out of medic armbands. Lots of "good shot mate" and "ohh lucky there' from the half dead spectators on both sides. It was proper fun. Downsides... the terrain is a bit basic & everyone is limited semi auto only (pathetic!) but safe to say I'll be joining what looks like a large band of regulars down there whenever I get a free pass for a sunday & recommend anyone who can make it go check it out

I have a bunch of two cell (7.2v) crane stock lipos in mine, work great but I have pimped out all the internals to match ...

Had a work trip to california so hit up Evike's warehouse, a 511 store and bass pro shops, taking advantage of the weak $ vs £ at the moment... - Crye Airlite SPC plate carrier - Beez cummerbund for above - Crye back panel for plate carrier - MP5 metal body - MP5 flashlight forgrip - Vortex crossfire RDS - Cabelas 1-6x LPVO & Mount - Magpul MBUS front and rear sights - Magpul sling - P90 bespoke sling - Prometheus tightbore for the MP5 - Prometheus barrel r-hop patches - 2x 4uad buckings to try out - 5.11 Taclite trousers - 5.11 belt - 5.11 double mag pouch - 5.11 rolling duffle - 5.11 shorts - 3-4x 5.11 shirts and t-shirts - Bunch of cowboy shirts - Bunch of patches I shall be in trouble when the wife see's the credit card bill!

I'd agree, stick to the M4 platform. Not exciting but you can adapt it into literally any role from a big pistol type abomination to a DMR, at the extremes. Plus parts are cheap, mags and pouches are cheap & plentiful, and it's one of the most popular platforms worldwide for a reason In that platform for a tinkerer I'd suggest ICS. Metal bodied, a split gearbox that's super easy to work on, and the hop unit is a high quality rotary design. £240ish for the base gun