L85 A2 - GBB or Electric?

[LeatherNeck]

Hello all, 

I am racking my brains as to what is the best option for me, GBB or Electric.

The rifle I like is the L85 A2 as it brings back memories, however, I don't know a great deal about the quality of the products available in this model and whether I should go for Gas Blow Back or an Electric powered rifle.

Can you please help me out?

I am steering towards Gas Blow Back and here is why;
-More realistic recoil and firing experience, mags have a smaller capacity and reloading/mag changes will be more often.





GAS
Are there viable GBB options out there for the L85 A2?
Can it be used year-round? (what gas is best?)

Sourcing parts for rails/repair/upgrade - Easy or difficult?
Which GBB L85 A2 is best?
I have found one on EVIKE.
Durability?

ELECTRIC
Can an electric Rifle really deliver similar performance with recoil, sound and performance?

What manufacturer would be best to buy from when looking for an L85 A2?
Sourcing parts for rails/repair/upgrade - Easy or difficult?
How durable are the electric rifle versions?

 

Should you buy gas blowback or electric L85 A2 and why? ah!

Key things I’d want:

-Buy the most realistic rifle possible, with upgrade options

-Best performance, power and build quality. 
-Reliability.

Any help will be welcome and I hope I have posted in the correct forum!

 

 

[EDcase]

Mainly its a question of cost.

BB flinging performance would be about the same.

AEG:

+Reliable all year round

+Lots of ammo in mags

+Much cheaper

- Not so realistic action

Gas:

+Proper kick

+Realistic disassembly and easy maintenance

-Less reliable in cold weather

-Limited ammo

-Much more expensive

-Parts wear out more quickly

 

[BigStew]

GBBR is WE and that's it. pros battery of arms is the same as real steel, recoil is fun but not any where close to firing 5.56, strips like the real thing, realistic mag capacity. cons unless you play CQB temperature is going to be a serious factor to whether the gun will function at all, cost gun will run at least £400 add on £50 quid a mag, you will be out gunned in a game by anyone running mid caps, you will need to strip the gun after every game and there is also a lot more to go wrong on a GBBR.

Electric: pros cheapest l85 can be had for under £200, you are not going to get hit in the face if you shoulder it left handed,  mags are cheap, a lipo can run all game day, weather will have little effect on performance.

cons: non of the feel of a GBBR with only safety, selector and mag release having any function.

if you can afforded to drop £600/700 on a gun and mags go ahead GBBRs are great fun but get a cheap AEG back up.

 

[LeatherNeck]

Thanks EDcase.

I have seen GBB from Evike for apprpx £300 + taxes? circa £360?

GBB set up around £450?

Could you advise how many mags you could fill from a £8/10 GAS bottle? Or rounds fired?

 

[EDcase]

You can get a basic GBBR setup for $450 but you'd have to buy a cheap gun (like the Army R36) which won't have great performance out of the box.

Don't forget mags are much more expensive with gas guns and most only hold 30 BBs

You can get an 80round gas mag for Stanag style weapons.

https://www.surplusstore.co.uk/we-m4-double-gas-magazine-80rd.html

In comparison an AEG mag can hold 300BB's for a lot less money

 

[BigStew]

Thanks EDcase.

I have seen GBB from Evike for apprpx £300 + taxes? circa £360?

GBB set up around £450?

Could you advise how many mags you could fill from a £8/10 GAS bottle? Or rounds fired?

Click to shrink...

add another £100 for shipping also just looked at evike only WE L85 i can see is $365.00

 

[EDcase]

Yeah, Evike is not the best place to buy.

Always check post costs...

 

[BigStew]

Yeah, Evike is not the best place to buy.

Always check post costs...

Click to shrink...

yeah that. assuming you are UK based buy local you'll have a warranty at least

 

[Iceni]

Electric. And there's a good reason.

The most realistic GBB L85 is based on the electric body.

You can buy say a G&G electric gun, use it till it breaks. Then make a decision.

Repair the electric gearbox and keep using it as an electric.

Replace the fireing mechanism with a HPA engine like a polarstar.

Or replace the gearbox and all the internals with a HPA Daytona airsoft kit.

If you buy a GBB gun the only options you have are repairing it.


To put this into context this is a daytona L85.

 

 

[EDcase]

yeah that. assuming you are UK based buy local you'll have a warranty at least

Click to shrink...

Or buy from europe such as TaiwanGun or Anareus.

Last resort would be direct from HongKong or Taiwan but be prepared to pay import tax on top and returns for damaged or faulty items would be expensive

 

[Yukarin]

As someone who has owned the WE L85, letme say this, its an incredibly fun gun to shoot, but its a WE. Dogshit perf in the winter even with black gas, shitty trigger box and a bolt carrier that likes to kill itself against the return springs (can be modded to stop this). Nozzle guides also have to be loose not to inhibit movement of the nozzle but also because of this they have a chance of falling out.

Upgrade options are there but ultimately the platform is still wank, stay away unless you want a lot of work on your hands. (It's an ok summer gun when it works and you've upgraded the hop)

 

[EDcase]

As I said earlier, its mainly a question of cost

Gas is more realistic (including lack of ammo) but much more expensive.

I've asked on the forum and the general opinion is that 7 gas mags are needed for an average 40 minute game.

But don't forget you'll be playing against people with up to 300 rounds per mag.

Another important consideration is that BB's don't fly completely straight so it usually takes several shots to actually hit someone even if they're in your sights.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

If your using it for skirmishing electric, it'll work year round be very cheap to run, takes next to bugger all maintenance if you dont mess with it and it leaves options open such as the daytona iceni mentioned for when you can get a second mortgage on your soul.

If its for plinking then gbb, might as well have the fun gun for that.

 

[Rogerborg]

Usual question: have you actually played yet?

Usual default reply: buy any basic, reliable AEG (and I'd be thinking M4 / AK / MP5 / G36 rather than L85), check that it works, give it a clean, dial the hop in, maybe rewire it to Deans, then don't meddle with it. 

Play with it for a while.

Then consider whether you want to relegate it to a backup to a mid-to-high end AEG or GBB.

 

[MadMole]

Under £100 Army Armanent R85 from the breakers yard. 10 mins and a couple of grub screws to repair, gets you one of the most accurate EBB rifles today. disconnect the BB mech,  Warfet, tight barrel, hop up, rewire for electric braking rather than physical back emf brake, and you get an excellent, bullpup thats great for long distance accuracy and CQB spraying and cheaper than most starter M4's

 

[Uncle Pauly]

...there is also a lot more to go wrong on a GBBR.

Click to shrink...

Off topic: I'm with you on everything apart from this point ^

GBBRs may indeed "go wrong" more often than AEGs under certain circumstances, especially if you're running them on higher performance gases, or during very cold weather. But I don't think there's more to go wrong in a GBBR. In fact I think there's a lot less: generally fewer parts; easier to identify problems; easier to fix them.

 

[BigStew]

Off topic: I'm with you on everything apart from this point ^

GBBRs may indeed "go wrong" more often than AEGs under certain circumstances, especially if you're running them on higher performance gases, or during very cold weather. But I don't think there's more to go wrong in a GBBR. In fact I think there's a lot less: generally fewer parts; easier to identify problems; easier to fix them.

Click to shrink...

Going to have to disagree with you there AEGs have far fewer parts than even a GBB pistol. I will agree an AEG is more likely to fail catastrophically but a stock good quality AEG will fire 1000s of rounds with out issue the best GBBR aren't guaranteed to empty a mag if you fire too quickly.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Going to have to disagree with you there AEGs have far fewer parts than even a GBB pistol. I will agree an AEG is more likely to fail catastrophically but a stock good quality AEG will fire 1000s of rounds with out issue the best GBBR aren't guaranteed to empty a mag if you fire too quickly.

Click to shrink...

this is why hpa is the master race

 

[BigStew]

this is why hpa is the master race

Click to shrink...

i'd just get tangled up. 

 

[Uncle Pauly]

Going to have to disagree with you there AEGs have far fewer parts than even a GBB pistol. I will agree an AEG is more likely to fail catastrophically but a stock good quality AEG will fire 1000s of rounds with out issue the best GBBR aren't guaranteed to empty a mag if you fire too quickly.

Click to shrink...

I own a Marui MWS (GBB) and a Recoil Shock (AEG). Both great RIFs in their own way; both super-reliable (so far... touch wood!). To my eyes, the MWS has much simpler internals, comes apart like a charm and is very easy to maintain. And I say that as someone with no mechanical experience whatsoever - I am a clumsy, ham-fisted oaf. In contrast, the Recoil Shock is much more difficult to disassemble and once done, looks like a box of dark magic. When it eventually breaks, it'll be sent off to a tech for some TLC because I won't have a a hope in hell of knowing where to begin with it. At least with the MWS I have a fighting chance at some DIY repair ?