General upgrade option help for my cm16 raider l

[Gus707]

Hi guys! My name is Gus and I am new to airsoft. I have purchased a cm16 raider l and have been using it quite contently, however I have began to want to upgrade and have some general knowledge on how to do so however any advice or tutorials would be greatly appreciated. I would like some suggestions for good upgrade choices and am hoping to improve range, accuracy and fps. I have a budget of about £200

thanks very much and if I broke any rules please do tell me as i didn't intend to do so.

 

[Sacarathe]

I have a budget of about £200

Click to shrink...

Save until you have ~£300 and buy a new gun.

EDIT:

CM16 is a good platform to upgrade, but if that's your budget, and you've not got a huge outlay on your existing gun (the combat machine), you may as well move on to greener pastures.

I'm fairly sure, as far as M4s go that 200 put towards another M4 (like krytac at £330) would be a better outcome, doubly so if you can then sell the combat machine - assuming you like M4s, added bonus you can keep your magazines and batteries.

 

[Gus707]

Sacarathe thank you so much for the advise, I do see that as a very good option but I am restricted to two tone which isn't very common on the more high end guns. I have also grown to quote like the cm16 raider l. If you really think that's the right option I will consider it, however I would ideally like to upgrade this gun as a result. Also I have not much experience with upgrades and see this as a good gun to practice and learn on as it wouldn't mean to much if I did mess up.

many thanks- Gus 

 

[Sacarathe]

Sacarathe thank you so much for the advise, I do see that as a very good option but I am restricted to two tone which isn't very common on the more high end guns. I have also grown to quote like the cm16 raider l. If you really think that's the right option I will consider it, however I would ideally like to upgrade this gun as a result. Also I have not much experience with upgrades and see this as a good gun to practice and learn on as it wouldn't mean to much if I did mess up.

many thanks- Gus 

Click to shrink...

Due to age?

 

[PT247]

Most retailers will two-tone a gun for you if you have to go that route.

 

[Gus707]

To answer sacarathe's question; yes partly (I'm 14). Thank you pt247 as well, I didn't realize as I haven't seen it too often. However I still, like I said, feel a need to learn to upgrade on this gun without having major consequences. I feel this would be helpful later on when I do get a higher end gun as sacarathe suggested.

Also, money isn't too much of an issue, I could currently buy a decent gun, however I for previously mentioned reasons want to keep the combat machine. Also when I do upgrade to a higher end gun I would hope to have my UKARA 

 

[PT247]

ok, with that cleared up. What fps is it currently on 0.2g BBs? What are your sites limits on fps and is it entirely standard at the moment?

 

[Gus707]

I'm afraid I haven't chrono'd it yet, but I would have to estimate about 320fps. The site has a restriction of 500fps ,(so I'm not really limited by that), and yes, the gun is currently entirely stock.

 

[PT247]

ummmm, 500fps on an AEG? Guessing not in the UK.

 

[PT247]

first thing to do is chrono it, no point trying to add fps if you are already at the limit (although 320 sounds about right) Are you sure on the AEG limit of 500fps?

 

[Sitting Duck]

wait until it needs it or it breaks is the real answer

"if it ain't broke - don't try to fix it"

Trust me - I f*cked more stuff up that I fixed at first - my first box never made it back together

the 2nd & 3rd were not great either - so don't think it is quite as easy as it looks

(and I'm still learning by my many mistakes)

Just opening & closing a box takes a little bit of practice - let alone upgrading bits

it isn't quite an easy peasy straight swap or take that out & chuck that in.....

Be a real shame to f*ck up a decent working starter gun is all I'm saying

Sound advise already given - most of the time it is the player not the gun's abilities that matter the most

A damn good player can hold their own with almost any half decent gun - I can only dream to be be that good

save or put your money to another gun - higher end or another similar one maybe s/hand to learn on first

do not make the common mistake of creating a "Madbull everything" shopping list etc.....

do not think speed or high rate of fire is the nutz plus a 500mm tight bore is the way to go

I'd say most upgrades you first "think" you need - 50% of them, maybe more you soon learn you don't

of the 50% you might perhaps wish to do - 25% is simply next to nothing in parts but more TLC servicing

BUT - for now leave it as is until the fps drops below say 300fps on 0.20's - then maybe look at it

speed wise - it is over-rated going really nutz - just means really fast stuff breaks a bit more quickly

and to give it a boost with a bit more juice & if you can solder deans connectors is the best value £ for £ you can do

accuracy - best thing is learn how to set hop correctly & clean the barrel (and keep it clean - no special stuff just dry tissue)

avoid the Madbull shopping list trap, maintain the gun & learn the basics first.

don't believe the "my gun shoots 100m and outranges everything" bull$hit either

Finally what ever you do to the gun - it will still be a G&G Raider no matter what

Good starter gun, learn to use it properly and then you should be able to get the max performance out of yourself

Soz for waffle - but please don't make the mistake of thinking you gotta upgrade everything & screw it all up like moi

 

[Gus707]

Thank you sitting duck, that's was brilliant advise and I will consider it. However, I'm afraid I still feel a need to try learn upgrade on this. Even if it's just a new barrel, hop, knubs and bucking I will still feel like I've learnt something.

i do agree that the gear box is unknown territory and I certainly won't be venturing there anytime soon. However I can still learn about how to do so from you, the knowledgeable people.

thats the real point of this post. I want to hear your opinions (the people who actually know what they're doing), on what brand of parts to buy and wether it will actually make a difference.

pt247 I will get it chrono'd today and I must have misspelt; the fps limit is 450 fps

many thanks- Gus 

 

[Sitting Duck]

buy a complete hop/barrel/bucking and assemble it yourself

more expensive I know but easy to tear the existing one etc...

& you can find your new barrel/hop combo may not quite works 101% as expected

If so - you can go back to your old std barrel/hop unit until you get everything sorted on new upgrade

ProWin hop units can be hit n miss, badly fitted nub or the bucking lips can cause feed/jam issues

build up another barrel/hop separate might save you a possible headache troubleshooting before a game

 

[Gus707]

Alright, thanks sitting duck. Would I need to assemble the hop up with parts from my old hop up? And what type of barrel or bucking do you suggest?

 

[Sitting Duck]

Leave old hop/bucking/barrel completely as is

for starters - clean the barrel with the jam/cleaning rod with a dry piece of soft tissue

about 75% to 80% of barrel length check manual & guides/tips

adjust hop unit to suit the bb's, a modest about of back-spin or hop will maintain distance

check the hop is working by tilting gun on its side at 90 degrees - the bb should curve left/right

but is use we keep gun upright so the curve/spin/hop helps to maintain flight longer

keep barrel clean & see how she shoots first - if she shoots left/right very badly then report back

(the nub might be sitting incorrectly but do not mess with stuff more than you need to)

This is what I mean by learning the basics first....

Some guns do shoot quite well out of the box so need very little

Others are bit so-so and might need a little more TLC or tweaking

if it is THAT bad then take it back or seek advise at your local site/shop

DO NOT start messing with stuff to much if you are not sure what you are doing

It is when people start messing with stuff they are not sure about they can often make it worse

(and this includes myself if I'm really honest - don't be like Duck)

Turn dial on hop clockwise to increase hop & counter-clockwise to decrease hop

heavier weight bb's need a bit more hop to lift them but can also vary if you stay on same weight:

different brands of bb's and higher/lower quality will need a possible whisker more/less

throughout the year especially outside the temp can make a difference as the bucking will be softer/harder

heck even the air itself can make slight differences & often the hop will need a minor minor tweak

Bits of dirt/specs of bb will build up over time in barrel - so give it careful wipe/clean with dry tissue

set and/or adjust hop as required

This is the basic stuff you need to learn & understand, chrono gun with hop set as best as possible

see how she shoots & try to hit targets/opponents if you can - apart from that it is just a big kid's toy gun

not rocket science - just mainly common sense in the end

suss the basics and learn to crawl, then walk before you try to run as they say

we can advise you on other stuff later but get your head around it all first

 

[PT247]

If you are UK based and the site you play at has a limit of 450fps for fully automatic guns then it is about to be allowing guns classed as lethal firearms on the skirmish field. I suggest you confirm with where you play on their limits. 

You will be breaking the law if you adjust the power of your aeg to shoot over 370fps on 0.2g BBs. Do not do any "upgrades" that effect the power without buying a chrono first, this includes barrels too.

 

[Samurai]

Clean the barrel properly, use good quality 0.28g BBs, set the hop and the sights properly and learn to shoot.

Any upgrades above these will give you marginally better performance.

 

[Gus707]

Thanks everyone for comments. The gun is shooting at 310 fps and the site says 450fps is for snipers (my bad) for aeg's they say it is 360 for fully automatic. I have adjusted hop up according to duck's advice and it seems to be shooting a tad left (nothing significant though). I also cleaned the barrel and its shooting a bit further however is still struggling to reach 20m, is that normal?I'm sorry for my ignorance however this is the purpose of the post; to help me learn. 

Thanks everyone one so much for all the advice

 

[Sitting Duck]

20m is a bit crap at 65ft - no it really is

30m to 40m would be nice if set up nicely for stock guns @ UK spec or 320/330 fps

(though we have a saying about airsoft meters & real life meters are completely different like fisherman tales etc...)

100ft at least I would of thought should be hitting though how accurate is another matter

dial in the hop a bit more or you will only be playing CQB

presume you are using maybe .20gms hopefully half decent ones

when you have sussed out the hop a bit more try 0.25's - they should go a little further

if you have bought 0.12gms then consider a real life golf ball vs a hollow practice golf ball (or ping-pong ball)

(which do you think can be struck further)

0.25's are a better bet maybe up to .30's if you was hitting 349.99fps

btw your site limit is most likely 350fps for normal guns AEG's that can fire auto

& 425fps for single shot aeg's or DMR's

maybe up to a max of 450-500 for single shot bolt action snipers

the last two types will use 0.30 to 0.43's ammo

keep tweaking the hop - gotta get past 100ft surely

 

[Gus707]

Just giving it a go now, it can reach 100ft however the Bb needs to fly up like a rocket ship with a large amount of hop to do so. I was also a bit disappointed with the 310fps, but hay ho. I've cleaned the barrel again to be sure and it still needs a lot of hop to reach the distance. Any ideas why it's not reaching the range?