cavninja

If its working some of the time, then hopefully its not too much of a problem. I've just got myself exactly the same, a second hand TM P226. It fires OK, but is a little sluggish. Firstly the mag, I find the TM mags quite difficult to fill as the nozzle is recessed in a narrow opening, you have to ensure that the gas can is inverted and the nozzles connect in a straight line, if that makes sense? When you apply pressure, you will hear and feel gas being transferred from the canister to the mag, it should not be venting out of the sides of the nozzle. If it is, re-seat and try again. It only takes a few seconds to fill the mag. Once the pressure has equalised between the two, the mag will be as full as it can be. so, with a fuller gas canister, you will fill your mag quicker and have a higher pressure (more gas in there) than with an almost empty gas canister. If the mag is leaking gas, from either end, you may need to get someone to help you remedy this, it's not overly complicated, but I won't go in to it here. Now the pistol, if it is functioning correctly and has no broken components, (i.e. bits missing or that look broken) check that the barrel is not blocked with a BB. DO NOT DO THIS WITH A MAG FITTED TO THE WEAPON AND KEEP YOUR FINGER AWAY FROM THE TRIGGER! If you know how to remove the slide you will also see where the hop adjusting wheel is on the pistol. Fully off the BB will probably fall out of the barrel when you point it down, fully on will give your BB maximum spin. The weapon should be clean and free of dirt or fowling. All moving parts should be lubricated with either silicon oil or grease, do not lubricate the inside of the barrel. There is no need to over lubricate, just so that the weapon cycles smoothly when you cock it. Now with a loaded and gassed mag, hopefully your pistol will fire OK, if not, I'm afraid someone will have to have a look at it for you. hope this helps, Good luck!!

Second that!

If you're gonna judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes, That way, you're a mile away, and you've got their shoes!!

There's been a lot of good comment on here and a small bit of hysteria. Ian, Lozart and Chock make some excellent points, Chock, "our hobby requires a great deal of responsibility" is absolutely right! For my two pence worth, its all about context and there are many layers to the context. In the UK we police by consent, proximity policing, in the US it is non-proximity policing, law enforcement. I.E. if you do not comply i will force you! UK police officers would have reacted very differently, but if there was a credible threat, they would have reacted swiftly and effectively, the Lee Rigby murder is a case in point, swift use of potentially deadly force and then immediate follow up with life saving treatment. In the US it is very very different. The spate of shootings, many involving schools mean police no longer contain and assess, they have to go in hard to deal with the threat. we may not like that or approve, it is easy to sit in judgment, but that is the tactic they have evolved through hard bitter experience. Just watch the Columbine footage as police assess outside while students are murdered inside. Equally there are a large and worrying number of incidents in the US where police officers use deadly force, without apparent justification and then watch their victim bleed out. There are countless clips on YouTube of this, the most worrying is a deaf guy shot in the back for jay walking because he failed to stop when challenged. Even more worrying is the fact that there seems to be no legal redress against these "reckless" officers. I thank god I live in Great Britain! it may not be perfect, but it is better than a great many places the world over. It allows me the freedom to practise my hobby in safe and fun conditions. I in return act responsibly and educated my children to do the same. Two words Troops Responsibility Consequence

Following JC's advice and some research I've ordered some new "enhanced" springs for the Sig and the 416 and a couple of different types of grease from ehobbyasia , to see how I get on. I've also decided to persevere with my TM Sig and ordered a Guarder metal upgrade kit, frame, barrel and slide to see if I can get some of the famed TM performance and reliability out of it! Although, considering I could have bought a full metal WE 226 for less then the upgrade kit, I am wincing as I type! I hope my faith (stubbornness? stupidity?) will be rewarded? At least it will feel the part, it will have all the pukka trades and its a project i intend to do myself (Thank you YouTube!!) so it will be built (well assembled!) with love by my own fair hands! I hope it will allow me to hit that sweet spot of a satisfying "CLACK" as the slide racks and a hail of BBs impact on some poor unfortunate sod! (It's even more satisfying when they're luminescence has been lit up by the suppressor/tracer unit as I've just painted them with my laser and they shriek even before the impact!! Hehehehehe.... I digress!) Better get some work done!

Cheers JC, i'll do some digging round

Hmmmm... cheers JC, obviously lube is important, and I'd guess with GBBs its grease rather than oil, do you favour graphite grease over some silicon type grease? is there a difference? do you have any links to those you'd recommend? Based on my experience of real firearms, is why I was thinking that it may be the recoil/return spring that isn't "snappy" enough, I can see why in a second hand weapon, but in a new one? I don't think gas is a factor? or the temp? Am i wrong? I know of milspecsolutions.co.uk for GBB spares, but can you recommend anywhere else for new or upgraded springs?

So I'm getting to grips with the vagaries and variables of gas and Charles' Law, looking after my mags, keeping them at the optimum temp and managing how and when I fill them, so here's my next question? What else can be done to improve performance of your GBB? Silicon lube to the moving parts? Upgrade/improve/replace the return/recoil springs? springs? For example, on my WE 416 the action feels quite squashy and not very crisp, would any of the above help? On my TM G17 (with a Guarder metal slide) the action is very crisp and shoots beautifully! On my TM P226 it again feels a little lose and squashy. (I am considering upgrading the Sig, but with the price of metal frames, slides and outer barrels, I'm tempted to just go buy a WE P226!) I haven't had the opportunity to give my WE L85A2 a good run for her money yet, but the first couple of mags seem ok. The 416 and G17 were bought new, the other two second hand. I just wondered if any of you gas aficionados out there had any top tips, ideas or suggestions on what can be done? Maybe some place to source parts?

Cheers SD! She is my baby!

Thanks Happy, yes I did, tan, olive, foliage and dark brown krylon in the back garden with some leaves to use for masking, wanted to go for a rough and ready "just camo-ed on operations" look!

Me at The Mall on Sunday

I got it from Surplus and Outdoors, its a copy, not a real steal version, it doesn't fit my WE stock flash hider, but I've got a vortex type on order and hopefully it'll fit that, for display purposes only of course!

OK, so it's taken me a couple of days to post this, but I did say I'd been on a bit of a shopping spree while i'd been away! So here it is!!! Do you think I've got a bit of an airsoft problem??......

Here's my updated collection...

Here's my new baby, gonna take a little work to get her game fit and I don't have the time right now, but soon my precious, soon!!!....

I think I may have found a solution to the out of stock vortex flash hiders for WE L85?! For whatever reason the varying manufacturers of L85s all have slight variations in the barrel thread dimensions, even if it states 14mm CCW, e.g. http://www.rsov.com/product.php?langId=1&currencyId=1&manufacturerId=10&prodId=14487&cateId=0 This page (for WE/ICS) states a 13.8mm outer measurement of the barrel thread, with the inner of the flash hider being 14mm. However, this page: http://www.rsov.com/product.php?langId=1&currencyId=1&manufacturerId=10&prodId=14486&cateId=0 For Star and Ares CCW, states a 13.84mm outer measurement of the barrel thread, with the inner again being 14mm. So, my thinking goes, it should fit a WE? right? Even looking at the design of both outer barrel threads, (there are pics on the links) they look very similar. For $21 is it worth a punt?! I'll let you know!!

Welcome back to the fold brother, I'm pretty new myself, rockin' with the oldies at 45 years old! This is a great forum, loads of advice and info! Enjoy!

Ed, do you think this would fit? It looks the same to me and I can see the detentes where the bayonet catch would engage; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-Arms-Tactical-Flash-Hider-14mm-CCW-Type-3-KA-FH-46-/300967588281

Thanks, I'll try it out, I do have a real steel bayonet, can you recommend a good source for a new style muzzle flash for a WE SA80? I do have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the tan weapons, even the real ones I have seen used in Afghan, but it may grow on me? My initial reaction on an angled fore grip and other bits was "Ewwwwww!!" but having looked at it and various others I've come to the conclusion that it's ok, just as there are so many M4 manufacturers and they can be pimped in every which way, some not necessarily accurate representations, then why not the SA80? I think it just proves its adaptability and versatility?! But to put my comments in to context, I will NOT be doing it to mine!!

Lookin' good Ed! Sorry for a bone question, but does the rifle still accept a bayonet with the new muzzle flash?

I'm really fascinated by how popular SA80s (no one in the military calls them L85s) are in the airsoft world. My friend has a WE SA80A2 and he's fitted it out with the DD RIS, an eotech, fore grip and torch. I tried it a couple of times and on CQB is pretty badass! Especially as the GBB mechanism is right next to your head! I should be getting my hands on my WE SA80A2 when I get back next week, I bought it on here and it has come with the DD RIS, ACOG, riser, Dr sight, gripod and LLM, pretty much up to Afghan spec. I'll post some pics when I get it. The SA80 was actually quite popular when first introduced due to its small, compact size. Its unreliability killed its reputation within the military, but the A2 version really is the business, with over 10 years of combat proven reliability in Iraq and Afghanistan behind it, the "external upgrades", the RIS, LLM (used with HMNVS) gripod, the ACOG and now the ELCAN Spectre and of course the UGL have made it cool and desirable, coupled with its reliabilty and accuracy due to the barrel length, it really is a world class rifle. The LSW remains extremely under-rated, hampered by being magazine fed and has pretty much been replaced the the LMG (M249). It's nickname of "Crow-Cannon" shows really what the military thinks of it. The Carbine, the L22, is gaining popularity as is seen by its expanded use from AFV crews and air crew to the likes of the RM Fleet Protection Group, hope someone is going to make a GBB one, because that's definitely on my shopping list!! Even the Cadets have been able to feel the love and have seen the much maligned L98A1 Cadet GP Rifle with the horrible straight pull cocking handle has gone and we now have new TMHs (Trigger Mechanism Housings) and proper A2 working parts and gas parts to give us the L98A2 Cadet Rifle, fixed to single shot. It's gonna be around for a few years yet and there's no real contender out there that stands out as an obvious replacement. The AR/M16/M4 platform is now old and does not out perform the SA80 family of weapons. Attempts to find a successor to it have resulted in the FN SCAR and the H&K 416, neither being a real leap forward. The 416 does owe some of its reliability to what H&K developed working on the SA80, just look at the short stroke gas piston. I know Ed's got some great pics and great guns, I'd love to see more pics of SA80s and Brit style load outs on here, don't be shy!! You know we all love to show off!!!

welcome aboard Bro!