proffrink

What the christ is going on with the castle nut in that picture.

Pro Ball from Socom Tactical are good. Gunfire Rockets and BB King are also a couple I've tried and had no issues. Just avoid Nuprol. As for weight, that's a personal decision really. The lighter the BB the faster it gets to your target but the quicker it'll shed its energy and the less inertia it can hold from the hop - so basically heavier weights go further but get there slower. I'd say start at above .30g (maybe with .36g for instance) then work your way up as high as above .40g if you're not getting the distance you need. Most heavy weight BBs are now hygroscopic and will adsorb water over time, so keep that in mind. Once you open the bag you're advised to use them within 3 months and keep the bag (and its silica gel packet) sealed up whenever possible. ASG have also released their own heavy weight BBs that don't appear to be hydrophilic so I may pick some up. Not sure if anyone on here has had a chance to test them yet, but other ASG BBs are quite good.

Their SCAR-H sells pretty well, as does their 416D and others. Basically any of the version 2 recoil series tend to get a large following, but electric blowback isn't for everyone and you should get your hands on one first to see what it's like. Their hi-cycle series is good. The thing about TM is their hop units - they are always pretty good out of the box. With airsoft if you want the absolute best gun money can buy you do have to build it yourself generally regardless of what you're looking for, but brands like TM and Krytac come very close to being spot-on without any upgrades necessary; many would also argue that there are a lot of guns out there that don't need upgrading at all, and I can see why they'd say that especially with some of the more modern designs. The AUG and their P90 are interesting because of their rate of fire (around 30rps wiht a 7.4v LiPo, which is quite high), though they do - like all TM guns - shoot at a slightly lower muzzle energy than other brands (made up for by their hop though). Never fired the AUG but have the P90. They're different but the concept is the same. Trigger is a bit novel with the AUG though.

Well shimmed, good tolerances, decent hop; they shoot good. Tokyo Marui have a wider range of guns and they're (mostly) all good, but people are certainly leaning towards Krytac for M4s these days.

Krytac or Tokyo Marui.

It's a lazy way of doing the job that can have adverse effects on the consistency and lifetime of the spring, but some of the time (or in an absolute pinch) it's fine. If possible just get a properly rated spring - the issue you've had is another reason I'd not clip the spring. X-fire.org have the PDI springs that'll get you to where you need to be (also look in the UK too though as VAT and that handling charge can be a killer on cheaper items like this, and it may be cheaper just to get it here) - maybe buy a range that'll give you flexibility to go from 450 to 500. They're £8, but are a pretty vital component and will hold their value if you want to sell them on if they're the wrong strength. Didn't Darren from ASPUK leave or something? I thought he had most of the knowledge there and essentially ran it by himself. Now they sell very overpriced parts sourced from mainland Europe, like Airsoft Pro. Edit Clarifications

Passive aggressive post-its appearing on your kit whilst you're off taking a tinkle isn't considered talking.

Yup, as to Airsoft Pro - but Action Army, for example, do more VSR stuff. As do a few more smaller manufacturers. Overall making the VSR the slightly more innovated upon platform.

I think he's got the APS-2 type with the forward magazine, not the TM AWS with the horrible feed ramp but yeah.

I thought The Mall had toilet facilities?

No worries. I'm getting cheap pyro too now

Pyro is confirmed as all paid for as of this morning. Will PM those involved with any updates if needed.

Sorry man, but lots of what you've said is not true: The VSR is the most upgradable sniper rifle out there - many kits and many manufacturers. Prometheus/LayLax/First Factory/Nineball, PDI, ORGA, EdGI etc. - in fact, the VSR is such a famous platform for its hop that VSR buckings are what are used in many pistols as well because the cut of the barrel has been found to be ideal (almost all Tokyo Marui pistols use VSR hop up buckings). Along side AEG buckings, VSR buckings are the next most common in all of airsoft. Objectively the VSR has the most aftermarket parts available of any springer sniper rifle, but the Maruzen L96 APS-2 clones aren't far behind. What brand 'metal trigger' did you buy? You realise most of these 'metal' triggers literally just have a metal outer casing but no internal upgrades. One should really only bother with the Airsoft Pro, LayLax or PDI offerings when it comes to the L96 triggers. A second issue I take with the L96 is its magazine sits slightly further forward (only a few cm, but still) and that's the reason for its overall length being longer, but the inner barrel being shorter with the same overall length. The VSR is far more compact and practical in my opinion. Avoid buying scopes with sniper rifles as they're usually gash and you want a decent clear one later on. I'd also say to not buy biodegradable BBs unless you shoot a lot (i.e. get through all those BBs in less than 3 months) - they're hygroscopic and will swell very easily. If your site allows non-degradables then pick up BBs that will degrade less and give you a consistent shot and leave less residue in the barrel. What's the 'spring retainer'? The guide rod/spring guide? More powerful springs also need better sears too. Again, I think it boils down to functionality. I really liked my L96, but it was pretty big even with the shorter and lighter PDI outer-barrel. Overall the VSR just feels more skirmishable, but both can be made to perform equally well.

If you're upgrading then cheapest you can find (JG BAR for VSR or Well L96 for the L96). If not then a TM VSR. I don't know of an L96 that shoots good out of the box.

Bought both, upgraded both and would go VSR unless you really have a liking of the L96. Easier to get bits for (especially second hand), more knowledge out there on how to get the most out of its hop and overall easier to get it shooting well. That said, the above two comments are basically right: You can get both shooting very well indeed.

Dual pyro launcher/modular sling system.

Marui do a good plastic magwell and 5KU do nice aluminium ones. For the 6.01 I'd go with PDI every time simply because they're well made and last a very long time (unlike some of the cheaper aluminium ones), but LayLax/NineBall ones are good too. Though I prefer a wider bore in longer barrels (6.05 being what I usually go with), I'd probably say 6.01 would be a better bet with the Glock series as it will give you a small fps boost. The Marui bucking is good too if you can't find a Nineball VSR one (they go out of stock quickly).

A lot of people either half-arse it or upgrade too pieacemeal or don't look at compatibility - so jcheese is right in a way because it can be easy to screw up. A good example with the G18C is getting a metal slide, not polishing it and not buying a reinforced frame and not filling in the front screw post void or not buying a 150% recoil spring - not polishing it means the first 1000 rounds will be sluggish until it breaks in a little, not getting a reinforced frame or filling in that front screw post void can result in much quicker catastrophic failure (think front of the slide just continuing forward one day and flying 5m away from you) and not buying a 150% recoil spring and guide means your RoF will decrease quite a bit. But do all 4 and you've got yourself a nice quality slide, look and the same insane RoF that it comes out of the box with. Another example is the barrel and hop unit: People just buy a nice barrel without a proper hop rubber or without dialling it in and wonder why their accuracy is all over the place. TM hops are pretty magical, but the Nineball does get a slightly better seal and can hop slightly heavier weights. Marui Glocks are excellent out of the box and upgrading them only sees slightly performance and longevity increases. Most people do it for the looks or to squeeze a little extra fps out of it.

I 'unno about that, but you do have to be careful.

PM'd you regarding upgrades a few days ago but you've not opened it. On a PC go to the top right and click the envelope. On a phone go to the top right and click the four little squares then the envelope.

Not bad at all. Some buckings are fine with it but If you get a problem then look there first.

Hey Mokey. Welcome to the forums.

That's a little powerful to run in a stock G18C - comparible to Nuprol 3.0/4.0 and Guarder Powerful. Maybe switch to a less compressed gas after you're done with that can. It doesn't take much to make that plastic slide really snappy Don't run .12g as they have no range because they shed their energy early during flight and don't hold the inertia of the hop as long. In fact, you should invest in some quality .25g, not .20g - part of the great thing about Maruis is they shoot slower due to Japanese laws but go super far because they have a decent hop out of the box. Dialling in some .25s is a good idea as you'll get 35+ metres out of it that way. Remember, remove the slide and use the hop wheel. Turn it to a very low setting, shoot it, then if the BBs dip too much (which they should on the first try) take the slide off and turn the wheel a little before shooting again. Rinse and repeat until you get a flat trajectory. If your BBs curve into the sky then you've put the hop on too much.

Yeh, that's the real issue with R-hopping apart from the install: If it's not working then you've probably got to remove and replace it (which is a huge ballache).

Yeh, that's what I mean and I certainly jumped to conclusions in my first post because I never even noticed the recess on my own ORGA until you said about it - I've seen a lot of people not bothering to remove it (on a standard barrel) and then just getting it crimped inside their hop unit. There are some posts on the Sniper Forums about it in VSR chambers :S Also seen talk of just using a straight forward Maple Leaf but right now I still swear by R-hopping for the airseal that it gets alone (plus the fact that you completely bypass shoddy mouling jobs some buckings have). If anything is wrong then I only have myself to blame and that's great because I can usually do something about it, heh.