proffrink

Usually poop quality and can shatter or just clog your barrel up. There's also the issue of your last 10 rounds overhopping so hard that they'll go to the moon.

What Scarathe means is: VCRA only applies to the sale of airsoft guns. Ownership isn't governed, but don't be an idiot (and always keep it bagged when in a public place or if transporting it). You don't need anything to buy replica parts, optics, ammo etc or to play.

I can see this happening, especially on such a well known brand as Magpul. Again, there are certain restrictions on exporting lots of gun paraphernalia - thankfully no countries in the EU are a part of those restrictions but they would likely have to have declared the contents to UPS and they in turn may well have gone ahead and turned it into an RIF thinking that they were helping you by declaring it properly. Lanner Tactical stock a lot of Magpul stuff, including the handguard that you were after. I say this a lot on here, but there's almost no reason to ever buy from the US - all the well known brands export to Europe anyway (albeit a few months after things are released) as shooting is actually pretty damn big in some parts of the EU. If you have to then checking out northern European sites I've found can find you some pretty good stuff, but the cost of air freight across the Atlantic is way too high. Failing that, Brownells do drop-shipping from the US at fairly competitive prices so they're worth a go too. Remember, you're never confined to just the UK - getting something shipped from within the EU to the UK is very quick and generally quite cheap. Just make sure you have the translator on in Chrome.

Again, what did you buy? There are certain ways they need to comply with the export of real-steal compatible parts (right down to externals like handguards) and which countries they get sent to because the US is very careful about gear not ending up in the wrong hands. Usually this isn't a problem at all, but I've known cases where UPS, USPS and FedEx have incorrectly interpreted these forms as needing an RIF disclosure on this end.

They are excellent barrels though. I grabbed one of their 6.13s for my sniper rifle too and that seems to work pretty well.

What is it that you bought?

I'm actually having to sell my 500mm 6.23 because even my Daytona Gun can't pressurise it enough.

Oh yeh, Zero In has the most classifieds of any UK forum. Far more than on here, but like you say it's just too poorly moderated for discussion.

Don't use 'scam checker' sites to check the legitimacy of websites as they're easy to fool and throw up a lot of false positives. Not having an SSL isn't a problem for a small retailer if they use PayPal - the website not having many visitors or trust records is down to how new it is. Masking the real location of a domain is also something that's frequently done otherwise it shows all of your personal information to anyone that does a who.is check. The only way to test it is to give it a go. Use PayPal and you're protected. Don't enter credit card info over a page that doesn't have an SSL certificate (in fact, don't use credit/debit card at all with a company you're not sure about). But something not an RIF (so that PayPal's TOS covers the purchase if it goes wrong) and that isn't too big.

People who've just bought one, generally. Only 3 months down the line do they realise what a horrible mistake they've made.

Agreed, your CM16 will be fine. Just get a decent hop rubber and maybe a new barrel if you're bothered. Like I say, Ares and G&P can make perfect upgrade guns because of the way they look. G&P in particular still - in my opinion - make the nicest looking M4 receivers out there.

Ares and G&P have a reputation for being somewhat exclusive externally in some of their designs, but internally completely naff. If you're upgrading it then fine, but don't expect it to last too long just out of the box.

Well slightly, but it's negligible.

I don't think that's the case, Scarathe - he's just making the point that obviously real stuff is (and always will be) more expensive than the repros so what's the point in saying it? Seems a bit of a moot point.

It is, yeh. Look into air seal, homemade barrel spacers and buckings (then heavier weight BBs - 0.36g and above - for that extra reach). This forum is better for that sort of stuff: http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/41-vsr-rifles Perhaps also consider polishing the barrel with some pipe cleaners, a rotary tool/drill/something that spins and some brasso if you're not up for getting a new barrel.

Sure I have, but clarified by saying my opinion is just an opinion. I think gear is stupid a lot of the time - I'd rather play. The two aren't mutually exclusive though.

I think when you factor in the cost of my prescription lenses with my goggles then I'm in the same boat gear-wise!

Exactly. Adding the caveat 'it's not having a negative impact on anyone else's experience' and that's what it's about. If you're having fun and it's not at the cost of anyone else's fun then you should be welcome to do it until the cows come home. That said though, I'm not sure if that's the point of this thread. I think it's more about how people genuinely feel. I know I have never felt compelled to spend much on clothing in airsoft and find it amusing when people do (just as I'm sure some people do about those who spend more on their toy guns). I do kinda think it's dumb that a lot of people put so much effort into their clothes when they're running a CM-16, but again I'm never going to do anything about that because it's their choice.

I 'unno. I get the feeling that for certain people their way of showing off is the kit they have (the skill being in getting together stuff that looks good and compliments whatever else you're wearing) whereas some people like to show off from having a cooler gun than everyone else (either by upgrading it as such or just buying something rare or expensive). Either way, we all know there's a small part of us that likes to look the part in some way and not look completely new to airsoft. For last year playing has been secondary to me because I've just not been able to get to more than 3 games so it basically boiled down to me getting my airsoft fill from fiddling with stuff - that to me is part of the hobby, just in the same way that I'm sure others scour the internet and shops for something that might look good when they wear it.

I find it amusing when people have clothing genuinely worth more than the gun they're holding, but ultimately I can see that a lot of people do like the idea of dressing up as much as shooting people and that's completely fine because it doesn't make the game any worse for me. I'm with you though, Trigger - sort of - in that I just appreciate some of the mechanics of certain guns and buy ones that interest me. It's a great hobby because not only do I get to tinker as much as I want with various gats, but I get to field what I own in a competitive environment where, by and large, the people are pretty relaxed and just like f*cking around with toy guns in a forest somewhere. It's a lot more apparent when there's someone who's spent a lot of money on their plate carrier, trousers etc. if they start to take things too seriously, but I'm sure there are others who don't put nearly as much time into their clothing who are also arseholes. So yeh, I basically detest camouflage or spending any sizeable amount on anything but guns but equally I completely except that it enhances the experience for a lot of people.

I have the GHK stuff too and it's identical. Very slightly more viscous but that's all.

PT247 has done it I think. Maybe he'll post here too with results, but I think he got decent ones. Like I say: Lots of ways of doing it. A lot say the hop for the VSR is inherently flawed as it's an arm design with a fulcrum rather than applying pressure completely perpendicular to the bore of the barrel, whilst plenty of others have got good results from either cheap (e.g. Biro mod) or expensive (e.g. Dangerwerx type A and B hop arms) tinkering. Just have a flick through the Sniper Forums and see what the consensus is this week.

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I thought the cooldown problem was the only problem you could see? Are you seeing double? Lay off the drink. Rest assured, bulbs are easy and cheap to get. I updated my post with the link and stuff. When/if you order the kit, just be careful to get the right spares. Some spares are only listed under particular items, whilst others are in their own specific sections. Get spares for the SDiK and regulator. Also consider a tournament lock to put the marshals at ease if they're a bit weird at your site (they're dirt cheap anyway). As for the barrel: Am I right in thinking that you're worried about mixing and matching brands? Don't worry - all VSR barrel cuts are the same. You could consider an AEG barrel and hop unit to open up the option of R-Hopping but that's beyond the scope of this thread and the difference in performance is negligible. The Biro mod is enough to sort out your hop arm, or the TDC mod or even just using a Prometheus flat nub and making sure it's sitting at the right angle (lots of different schools of thought on getting the hop to work). These are things you can dabble with in the future. There's far more knowledge when it comes to VSRs on the Airsoft Sniper Forums than there is here.

Well you say that but they label it as 'Abbey Silicone gun oil' - it's 100% silicone though, so it's cool. Just slightly misleading name I guess. To OP: Just to put your mind at ease, whilst Abbey is kind of tailored towards airsoft players and pellet gun enthusiasts, it is good stuff. The problem with grabbing some from a hardware shop is most have additives that eat away at the seals in your gun. The Abbey stuff is about £6 a bottle, but that bottle will last you a couple of years so it's not a problem. You can also get spray cans of the low-viscosity silicone oil, but really you don't need to worry about complicating matters with that. Some high-viscosity silicone oil will do the trick in 99% of cases.