- Oct 20, 2012
- 5,100
- 1,664
Update 02/08/16: Kits now need to be bought from https://blackblitzairsoft.myshopify.com/collections/daytona/Daytona-Kit
So er, I know of all of two of us on these forums that run a DG but what with the re-release of their update L85/L86/SA80 family kit on the horizon, I thought it worth going in to what Daytona Gun is, how much is costs, how they perform and why I think they're the most fun guns available for airsoft right now. I've seen more of these popping up in the UK recently, and what with our cold weather and the increasing availability and affordability of HPA, I can see these only getting more popular. They don't get much publicity (this is mostly intentional actually) so here goes.
Wot is it?
So Daytona Gun is a drop-in kit (similar in the way that a Polarstar, Wolverine, PDiKs is) for a range of guns from LMGs to PDWs. It's a fully pneumatic (i.e. no electricity anywhere) CNC'd block of steel, brass and aluminium that aims to be both a consistent shooter and also have blow back - thing is, it's also meant to be seriously durable (more on that in a second). It was born out of some of the old Escort and Sun Project kits from the 90s, and is basically a refinement of the high pressure air (HPA) engines of old.
What does it do?
As I say, it's a big-ass lump of metal that reciprocates like a GBBR does to produce recoil. The closest thing to it is an Escort pneumatic blow back rifle, but the closest thing you could probably compare it to that everyone has seen is the Tippmann - an HPA GBBR. Thing is, it has a marginally higher rate of fire than the Tippmann and produces more recoil. That's kind of its USP right now (apart from being superior to almost anything on the market when it comes to durability given how simple its operation is).
In essence, it's a steel air shaft with a big old recoil spring and a bolt that travels down the length of the body after you fire a shot (similar to a lot of current GBBR designs in concept, but radically different when it comes to manufacturing).
Daytona Gun M249 kit
Courtesy of this video.
Installed M249 kit
Why is it good?
I see DG being basically the perfect gun due to its recoil. I've never much liked AEGs, but can't deal with the inconsistency of GBBRs and don't like the lack of recoil that you get from electric solenoid engines like the Polarstar and Wolverine kits; to me they're just not as fun as these things are. The recoil is snappy and they're very loud too, so that's a bonus.
The second point is durability. These things just keep going and don't permanently break. Sure you get a loose screw here and there, or some dirt clogging up your air shaft but ultimately they just run and run because there's very little to go wrong.
Thirdly: They still perform well. Not much to say on this - they just shoot pretty straight and consistently.
The bad
Two main things here. The smaller issue is the break in period of up to 10,000 BBs - during this time your ft/s fluctuates a lot and you get BBs being chopped or just flying off. All the pieces in each kit need fitting together over time as obviously after manufacturing they're fractions of a millimetre out until they wear on one another a little over that initial break in. You also need to lubricate it a lot during this time.
The bigger issue is cost: Most kits clock in at $475 and some come in at around $550 - once you factor in a regulator, decent tank and the donor body, you can be looking at about £800 - £1000 to get one working in the UK.
A further issue is air consumption: M249 kits - as an example of one of the most air-hungry kits - get through an 88/4500 tank (basically one of the largest you can buy) in about 3000 rounds. Obviously that's not a massive amount if you're running support.
Some shooting videos
Bit of shooting at 4:18 (a lot at other places too if you watch the whole thing)
(Note: this guy is breaking in his DG so you can hear a slightly fluctuating RoF)
https://www.facebook.com/1056528797744842/videos/1116193228445065/
Link to their website
http://airsoft.tnkguns.com
So er, I know of all of two of us on these forums that run a DG but what with the re-release of their update L85/L86/SA80 family kit on the horizon, I thought it worth going in to what Daytona Gun is, how much is costs, how they perform and why I think they're the most fun guns available for airsoft right now. I've seen more of these popping up in the UK recently, and what with our cold weather and the increasing availability and affordability of HPA, I can see these only getting more popular. They don't get much publicity (this is mostly intentional actually) so here goes.
Wot is it?
So Daytona Gun is a drop-in kit (similar in the way that a Polarstar, Wolverine, PDiKs is) for a range of guns from LMGs to PDWs. It's a fully pneumatic (i.e. no electricity anywhere) CNC'd block of steel, brass and aluminium that aims to be both a consistent shooter and also have blow back - thing is, it's also meant to be seriously durable (more on that in a second). It was born out of some of the old Escort and Sun Project kits from the 90s, and is basically a refinement of the high pressure air (HPA) engines of old.
What does it do?
As I say, it's a big-ass lump of metal that reciprocates like a GBBR does to produce recoil. The closest thing to it is an Escort pneumatic blow back rifle, but the closest thing you could probably compare it to that everyone has seen is the Tippmann - an HPA GBBR. Thing is, it has a marginally higher rate of fire than the Tippmann and produces more recoil. That's kind of its USP right now (apart from being superior to almost anything on the market when it comes to durability given how simple its operation is).
In essence, it's a steel air shaft with a big old recoil spring and a bolt that travels down the length of the body after you fire a shot (similar to a lot of current GBBR designs in concept, but radically different when it comes to manufacturing).
Daytona Gun M249 kit
Courtesy of this video.
Installed M249 kit
Why is it good?
I see DG being basically the perfect gun due to its recoil. I've never much liked AEGs, but can't deal with the inconsistency of GBBRs and don't like the lack of recoil that you get from electric solenoid engines like the Polarstar and Wolverine kits; to me they're just not as fun as these things are. The recoil is snappy and they're very loud too, so that's a bonus.
The second point is durability. These things just keep going and don't permanently break. Sure you get a loose screw here and there, or some dirt clogging up your air shaft but ultimately they just run and run because there's very little to go wrong.
Thirdly: They still perform well. Not much to say on this - they just shoot pretty straight and consistently.
The bad
Two main things here. The smaller issue is the break in period of up to 10,000 BBs - during this time your ft/s fluctuates a lot and you get BBs being chopped or just flying off. All the pieces in each kit need fitting together over time as obviously after manufacturing they're fractions of a millimetre out until they wear on one another a little over that initial break in. You also need to lubricate it a lot during this time.
The bigger issue is cost: Most kits clock in at $475 and some come in at around $550 - once you factor in a regulator, decent tank and the donor body, you can be looking at about £800 - £1000 to get one working in the UK.
A further issue is air consumption: M249 kits - as an example of one of the most air-hungry kits - get through an 88/4500 tank (basically one of the largest you can buy) in about 3000 rounds. Obviously that's not a massive amount if you're running support.
Some shooting videos
Bit of shooting at 4:18 (a lot at other places too if you watch the whole thing)
(Note: this guy is breaking in his DG so you can hear a slightly fluctuating RoF)
https://www.facebook.com/1056528797744842/videos/1116193228445065/
Link to their website
http://airsoft.tnkguns.com
Last edited by a moderator:
The good thing is that, like I say, these things are basically impossible to actually break. Jam? Sure, if you use cheap ammo, but irreversible breakage? Not seen it happen yet really.
