New to airsoft - looking for advice/recommendations

[kirsty]

Hi all. Im looking for some advice on buying a BB gun for my son for xmas. Looking for something semi/automatic for him to mess about with. We have bought him 'cheap and cheerful' BB guns before but lucky if they last a few days before the plastics break. No looking to spend hundreds  (budget about £150) so looking for any advice/opinions or even recommendations on what to go for. 

Im wary of CYMA (had before), but see a lot of Bulldog and double eagle guns also?? Apologies in advance - I literally know nothing about airsoft, but dont want to chuck £150 way on something rubbish. I appreciate its still going to be at the lower end of quality, but hopeful we can still get something for him to have a bit of fun with. Many thanks in advance.

 

[L1ct0r]

Hi Kirsty 

I'm sure people here can help you out. If anything, you run the risk of getting too much information. If you can provide a bit more info about your requirements then anyone answering can better tailor their advice.

How old is your son? Is he hoping to play regular games at a proper skirmish site, or will this be a gun for back garden play? If he's going to use it in the back garden you might want to consider something in 2 tone colours to make sure the neighbours aren't going to phone the police at the sight of a young lad with a realistic looking black rifle.

when you say you had a bad experience with CYMA, can I ask if you can remember what gun it was? CYMA definitely have budget models that are of a lower quality than their more expensive stuff, but in the price range you mention, you should be able to get a reasonable starter gun that is sturdy/powerful enough to take onto a skirmish site if that's his plan. One thing to look out for is really cheap guns that have plastic gear boxes and gears. From any manufacturer, these guns won't stand up to any lasting use and the gear boxes are often not just plastic copies of the metal ones, so you can't upgrade them at a later point. when you are looking at possible purchases, most guns with metal internals will mention it on the web site or the box somewhere. 

Another thing to be aware of, if this is going to be more for back garden fun. An automatic electric gun (AEG) built for skirmishing on a purpose built site can seriously damage things like eyes or teeth, especially at back garden distances. I'd consider protective eye wear a must for him and anyone nearby if you end up with something of that level. I'm also fairly certain it would be an offence under UK firearms law if projectiles fired within your garden were to pass outside of your property.

If he's old enough,  and you have a nearby site, have you considered getting him a days skirmishing using hire equipment instead? £150 is a lot of gun for occasional backyard use, and if he goes to a proper site and enjoys it enough to want to go back then there will likely be plenty of people there who can advise on what to buy to get him started.

I hope you found this helpful and I didn't sound at all patronising. As you say you don't know anything about airsoft I didn't want to blind you with jargon or overly complex explanation.

if you have any further questions, ask away. I'm sure other people will also be happy to put their advice forward.

Regards,

lain

 

[kirsty]

Hi Iain

Thanks so much for replying. It literally is just for a bit of garden fun, so definitely dont want  anything too powerful. My son is 14. He has all the protective gear from before so that side of it is covered. We live in the middle of nowhere, so no neighbours or passers by to worry about ?, he's a sensible kid in that respect anyhow. ...its more target practice at targets (and probably his older brother!) that he'd be doing. Perhaps we are better looking at something cheaper as that might fall betting into the lower powered sections....the one we got him a few years ago was literally £40 and (CYMA) and literally fell to bits on boxing day, so was a big disappointment. From what I can see looking at slightly 'better' models for example G&G Airsoft M4 Fire Hawk Standard AEG and Nuprol Delta : Pioneer Breacher AEG Rifle - Two Tone Blue, they are just going to be too powerful and maybe too 'advanced' for what he is looking for. As I say, I have no clue about makes etc, I just really want to get hime something what is not a total waste of money thats going to break like last time. But if there is something very entry level, not too powerful but robust enough to last more that a week, he'll be happy! I really appreciate anyone taking the time to help me out here - I know you would all much rather be talking about/to serious players...just a lost mum trying to do the right thing!

 

[Colin Allen]

Hi Kirsty,

G&G Combat Machine M4 rifles are superb entry level guns for about your price range, as are the CYMA guns, especially their AK style ones;  the latter are massively better than the £40 low power gun that he had before.

 

[Skullchewer]

(and probably his older brother!)

Make sure big bro has eye pro too. ?

 

[Lozart]

Hi Iain

Thanks so much for replying. It literally is just for a bit of garden fun, so definitely dont want  anything too powerful. My son is 14. He has all the protective gear from before so that side of it is covered. We live in the middle of nowhere, so no neighbours or passers by to worry about ?, he's a sensible kid in that respect anyhow. ...its more target practice at targets (and probably his older brother!) that he'd be doing. Perhaps we are better looking at something cheaper as that might fall betting into the lower powered sections....the one we got him a few years ago was literally £40 and (CYMA) and literally fell to bits on boxing day, so was a big disappointment. From what I can see looking at slightly 'better' models for example G&G Airsoft M4 Fire Hawk Standard AEG and Nuprol Delta : Pioneer Breacher AEG Rifle - Two Tone Blue, they are just going to be too powerful and maybe too 'advanced' for what he is looking for. As I say, I have no clue about makes etc, I just really want to get hime something what is not a total waste of money thats going to break like last time. But if there is something very entry level, not too powerful but robust enough to last more that a week, he'll be happy! I really appreciate anyone taking the time to help me out here - I know you would all much rather be talking about/to serious players...just a lost mum trying to do the right thing!

With respect to the whole power aspect, legally airsoft guns have to be below around 350 feet per second (ish) if they can fire in auto. Any gun you buy online or in store will have to comply with this, BUT if you feel that this is too powerful for your 14 year old then you will need to ask to have it downgraded before you take delivery. Thing is that airsoft inherently comes with an amount of risk and indeed pain if you get shot. If you're looking for something more akin to the £40 Cyma he had before then you'll potentially be out of luck. That said, there's no recoil and he can always get protection/padding if it's a problem.

 

[Rogerborg]

Hi Kirsty, sorry to hear that you had a bad experience.  CYMA is actually a decent brand and their metal gearboxed guns are noted for being robust (although the outer plastic on their M4s feels pretty nasty): it's a shame that they also make those £40 market-stall specials with plastic internals that really are disposable toys.

I'll keep it simple, PatrolBase is a reputable retailer and anything they sell will work.  All the sites with "BB" in the name sell a bunch of tat (as well as some decent stuff, but you have to know what you're after).  Stock levels are quite low at the moment, so there's not a huge amount of choice.  One issue is that most electric rifles don't come with a battery or charger, and even the very cheapest charger plus a nimh battery will run you £25.  The cheap CYMAs do tend to come with a battery and a very basic charger with a 2 prong EU style pin, although it's never guaranteed: they're treated as a sort of bonus free gift by retailers.

Any of these will do:

https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/airsoft-two-tone-assault-rifles?*inst=y

Annoyingly, you can't filter by whether they have an included battery, you'll have to check the description under "Included Items", and even then you'll find contradictions.  The Lancer Tactical M933 says that it does, but I'm doubtful.

If you do need to add a battery and charger, then these will work for £25. 

https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/asg-intelligent-auto-stop-nicd-nimh-battery-charger

https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/vp-racing-9-6v-1600-crane-stock-battery (this will fit any of the M4s, but not the G36s or AKs)

I certainly wouldn't recommend them, but you'd be looking at £45+ for the very cheapest smart lipo charger and battery that we would recommend, which puts you over budget.

Whatever you get, the small pack of BBs typically included in the box should go straight in the bin.  Really, don't shoot them.

You'll want BBs from here: https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/airsoft-0-20g-6mm-bbs

e.g. https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/evolution-airsoft-0-20g-target-6mm-bb-1kg-bag

I know there's a huge range to choose from and this can get very confusing, very fast.  Please get back to us if you have more questions, but we won't be able to answer the battery and charger question with absolute certainly, that would be one for the retailer.

G&G Combat Machine M4 rifles are superb entry level guns for about your price range

They used to be, the prices have gone shooting up recently.  You may still get lucky finding one in-budget, but again, you'll need to add a battery and charger for a minimum of £25.

To keep under a £150 budget, you're really only looking at CYMA, Lancer Tactical, Specna Arms or Jing Gong at the moment.

 

[L1ct0r]

Not a problem Kirsty. I don't know how you feel about such things, but if he's a sensible 14 year old and wants to shoot at targets then have you considered getting him an proper airgun and a half-way decent pellet catching target? Obviously, that would completely rule out shooting at 'live targets' (even brothers) but a decent starter airgun would be far more accurate for target shooting than any airsoft. If you are in the middle of nowhere and you've got somewhere on your property with a safe backstop to prevent any stray shots leaving your garden then that might be a far more rewarding option than a cheap airsoft. Target shooting  is another of my hobbies. Shooting a perfect bullseye is always a rewarding feeling, and it's great for encouraging focus, responsability, concentration, and hand-eye coordination.

https://www.pellpax.co.uk/airguns/air-rifles/spring-powered-air-rifles/proshot-fox-cub-combo-177/54

Something like the above link, plus a pellet catcher, a pack of targets and a tin of 500 pellets should be around your £150 budget

One thing I think most people on this forum would back me up on, Airsoft guns are like British sports cars. They look nice, and can be a lot of fun, but they spend as much time in bits on the kitchen table as they do 'on the road', and thats the good ones. Cheap nasty ones aren't fit for purpose and will likely fall apart as soon as you take them out of the garage. A good little starter air rifle thats looked after and properly cleaned will keep doing its thing for years.

That said, if shooting at brothers is a must then a pair of CYMA electric pistols and a couple of sets of eye pro is probably your best options for airsoft based garden fun. Personally, I'd recommend the CM.127 as a solid little pistol that should just run for years and is repairable if anything does happen to it. a couple of extra batteries and a bottle of 3000 BB's should keep them going for a while.

 

[EDcase]

One thing I think most people on this forum would back me up on, Airsoft guns are like British sports cars. They look nice, and can be a lot of fun, but they spend as much time in bits on the kitchen table as they do 'on the road', and thats the good ones.

Sorry but I'd have to disagree with that.  A decent AEG (CYMA or JG around £150) should last a few years of garden plinking.  High accuracy is a different matter but for plinking at cans or other targets around 10m to 20m should be fine.

@kirsty Do you know what type he likes?  American M4 or old Soviet AK47 style etc...

 

[L1ct0r]

EDcase makes a fair point. My last comment is probably coloured by the fact that myself, and most of my friends that airsoft, can't resist taking things apart. Knocking cans off the wall at 10 - 20 meters should be comfortably within the capabilities of a £150  gun from the manufactures already mentioned, and a stray BB will be less risk to others than a stray pellet from an air gun. On the other hand, as others have mentioned, a battery and charger are necessary for an AEG and may be hard to include with a decent gun for your £150 budget.

While more powerful, a .177 air rifle would be more accurate for pure target shooting. Providing you have the outdoor space, used responsibly, it should not be substantially more risky than an airsoft gun. You should also find it easier to get everything you need, at reasonable quality, for your budget. The downside of this option would be that it will be single shot rather than semi or fully automatic, and you definatley couldn't shoot it at people.

 

[EDcase]

Yes, an air rifle is best if accuracy is the main objective (and cheaper) but the danger factor goes up by 100x

A few rifle examples: (AEG)

Gun-1  (Choose a colour option)

Gun-2  (Choose a colour option)

Battery  (Should fit with most guns and last quite well)

Charger (Note: This is the first suitable that I could find in stock. I do not know this retailer)

Another alternative is a gas pistol (GBB)  Realistic action and fun to shoot.

Pistol-1  (This is a good one even in plastic)

Pistol-2  (A big one)

They use THIS gas which will be an ongoing cost.

 

[Rogerborg]

They use THIS gas which will be an ongoing cost.

Careful now: Christmas present = Christmas temperatures.