Your best/worst RiF?

[Dentonboy]

Just intrigued to find out what people's best/worst ever airsoft RiF are/were.

These could be for a variety of reasons: performance, cost, ease of use, etc.

My worst ever RiF was an ICS Galil ARM. Ever since 'Heat' it was on my dream AEG list and the amount of times I considered the Inokatsu kit as an expensive buy ran into the dozens. Then King Arms and ICS released their own versions and I sold up my beloved Classic Army Steyr AUG A1 to grab a second hand one from Airsoft World. And whilst it was truly gorgeous to look at, handle and point at things, it was shocking to use. Two separate techs tried to sort the HOP, but it just didn't shoot well. I spent a lot of money on it and for more spare magazines and was delighted to shift it on when I did. Am now looking for an AUG A1 to fully complete the circle!

In contention: KWA MP7 GBB - drove me mad with inconsistent feeding issues. Would be my worst had I not quickly shifted it once I realised it was bobbins.

My best is the TM M4A1 MWS GBBR I bought from Airsoft World with a shed load of spare magazines. I was at an airsoft crossroads and had lost a lot of joy from AEGs. This GBBR awakened a new found joy and changed how I play and it has been an incredibly consistent piece. Great range, hugely fun to shoot and influenced at least four other people who saw it and/or fired it to buy a GBBR straight after. It wasn't cheap, but it kept me in the hobby.

In contention: TM P226E2 GBB. I bought a very cheap RS Serpa P226 holster. But I didn't have a P226, so I found a barely used one on the forums and snapped it up. It is a ridiculously accurate, long ranged beauty. I have played with it on it's own against AEG-toting players and came out on top a couple of times. A phenomenal pistol.

 

[BigStew]

Worst Classic Army Sportline P90, felt cheap, sounded like a rubber band when it shot and had sod all range.

Best value CYM1 M14 sold build great range.

Best gun TM 416 Recoil, just feels quality and just performs.

Funnily enough had an ICS Galili had no power but great range. regret selling it considering how much they cost now.

 

[Dentonboy]

Worst Classic Army Sportline P90, felt cheap, sounded like a rubber band when it shot and had sod all range.

Best value CYM1 M14 sold build great range.

Best gun TM 416 Recoil, just feels quality and just performs.

Funnily enough had an ICS Galili had no power but great range. regret selling it considering how much they cost now.

Well, if you bought your Galil in a pub car park outside of Crawley...

 

[Adolf Hamster]

worst- agm mg42, in it's stock form the gearbox design meant it'd average about 1.074 shredded pistons per bb fired, the reciever was weak and incredibly easy to bend and the magazine mechanism was laughable literally relying on it's weak motor stalling out to prevent overfeeding. even after fixing all of these issues using in order; hpa, steel bars and an entirely different magazine all you ended up with was a pew that was far too unweildy to have any effectiveness firing from the shoulder and frankly i've never found airsoft to be very conducive to emplaced fire. it's one redeeming feature was scoring "cool points" in the safe zone.

in contention- cybergun (i wanna say kwc oem?) 1911, because even if you could get it to hold co2 long enough to actually fire you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from inside said barn. was pretty though

best was my jg aksu, because whilst i've had pews that were better in just about every way, that came as a result of significant expenditure of both money and effort, and when you've emptied your wallet labouring over getting a pew to shoot really well then it shooting nicely becomes a case of "well of course it does", whereas the jg always got given second place, it was assembled entirely out of secondhand parts that i either got cheap or were leftovers from other builds. it shouldn't have been good, and yet it would consistently and reliably punch well above it's weight, not sure i can ever recall fielding it and being dissappointed.

in contention, the "king arms" m4, not because the gun as i got it was actually any good, quite the opposite, and not because the hideous Frankenstein it became was even really a king arms, but because it represented a journey for me. it was the gun into which i ended up becoming obsessed, chasing the fever dream that is an accurate airsoft pew, trying to acheive peak bb lobbing performance, the full circle from making all the dumb mistakes we all make in the beginning right through to the epiphany that achieving perfection was pointless in a world where the target will just shrug and play on.

 

[Skara]

Current worst:

Cyma AKS-74u. It was a journey to make it feed on high caps, currently awaiting a nozzle swap (might do it tomorrow, once I've swapped mosfets on my M4s), hopefully I can play ONE game with it before retiring. On its defence there's fuck all left of the original gun, since I had already built a gearbox for the Dead&L krink.

Current best:

King Arms PDW. My least expensive build (sub €500 excluding the base gun), yet the most consistent and fun. Compact, relatively lightweight and good performance on a "budget". 9mm mags on an AR platform look mega cool and being MP5 mags they're easy to source.

Best value (ever):

TM Mk23, 'nuff said.

 

[Lozart]

Worst is pretty easy - Socom Gear M9A1. Rattled like a bag of spanners, mostly vented gas at random points through any given mag. No discernable accuracy. Looked nice though.

Best for out of the box range and accuracy has been my Cyma M14 SOCOM. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen, repairs are underway after my tactical tumble.

Overall best though is probably my Specna SA-A03. Bought it bloody ages ago when SA were a new thing and still OEM'd by E&C. It has one of the old red Maxx hop units with the tracer bits, ML rubber and a ZCi barrel, and a Gate Titan with an Ultimate Infinity 30k motor. Anything else is cosmetic but it's been ridiculously reliable, decent range and good accuracy. 

 

[BreadyC]

My worst gun has to be my Tokyo Marui XDM.45, the feed nozzle gets stuck in the feed lips, the return velocity of the recoil spring is variable depending on the weather and sometimes needs a solid palm to the rear to seat it into battery.

When it does fire though, it's snappy as all fuck, basically a laser beam. Most of the time though you're locking the slide back, dropping the mag out and wondering why the fuck this thing still doesn't work before brutally slamming the slide forward to get it working again.

Best gun has to be my Krytac Trident MK2, it may sound like a box of spanners smashing into each other, but it does just work. It's never skipped a beat, locked up once in it's whole life, has no modifications besides Maple Leaf bucking and ZCI hop unit. It's my backup gun that I know will just work no matter what, I have 10.3" and 5" upper receivers for it so no matter where I am playing it's always a usable backup gun whether it's CQB or outdoors.

Only issue with it is it feels like a literal toy compared to my Cyma AKS74U and TM 416D Recoil. It's super light and has humorous proportions in places like the silly small charging handle.

I took for granted that when I first started airsoft and bought a Krytac that despite not being the best, it was reliable, how I would love to go back to my guns just working...

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Worst - my Cybergun F2000.   Got it because the F2K is my favourite gun in the Battlefield 4 game, and I wanted to make a build that looked vaguely similar.  I've done that, and really enjoyed that journey, but the problem was my first test-fire I thought "hah, that's a slow and noisy, must be able to make that better", so I immediately embarked on a journey of upgrading the internals.
It's had one outing to a skirmish and it locked up after a handful of shots.
One day it'll be great.   But it'll need a proper tech to fix it, because as it stands I've rather ruined it (and feel the disappointment in myself every time I look at it).

Best value - Double Eagle M906C.   Keeps on truckin', it's reliable, accurate, decent range, nicely built, has all the fancy features I could want (but don't need).  Of all the guns I take to skirmishes, this has been the one I end up using.  Superb for the £160 I paid. 

Best - Really it's still the 906C at this point, but the Umarex / VFC HK416 GBBR is just wonderful in terms of wanting to pick it up, rack back the bolt (full real-steel travel!) to hear it slam back, great build quality with all the trades.   And firing it is so satisfying.    I don't know how accurate it is at range yet, though, hence the 906 might still 'win'.  But this gun is just great from a 'gun nut' standpoint.


Mentions of the Cyma M14 mean I'll look forward to taking mine for its first skirmish (next weekend).   I don't think it'll ever become my favourite, the plastic stock is just too creaky.  Perhaps I should've bought the SOCOM version, but this one was a very good price from the classifieds.

 

[Impulse]

Worst - Tough one as I've done work to almost all of my guns and they all shoot pretty decently, but if I were to name one it would be... Evolution m40a3. It's not terrible as it takes VSR rubbers out of the box and shoots at a decent 1.02J(ish), but it's not-quite-VSR-compatible on every part, despite being marketed as VSR compatible, and I have no idea about the innards of the cylinder itself. Haven't done any work to it, so it's my worst rifle; also I don't like spring bolt actions, so there's that too.

Runner up - Time to make some people mad... but my TM 416D NGRS. It's not a bad gun; it's reliable, it shoots like a laser and it's generally nice. However, the lower receiver on mine has cracked near the stock tube (I've used it... 3 times and I noticed this after the 2nd, despite not being at all rough with it) and it isn't my MWS, which just trumps it for me. It's relegated to "hang on the wall to look nice" status at this point, since if I'm not sniping, I'm using one of my GBBRs (AKM or MWS), not this. If it's too cold for the GBBRs, it's the SR-25 or m14.

Best - KJW m700. Is it my best performing gun? Nah, but it's by far my favourite. Effortlessly smooth bolt pull, absolutely silent and no bloody HPA tank and line in sight. It requires a bit of set up at the start of each game day to make sure it's shooting at the power I want (a combination of type of gas, width of gas router used in the bolt and fine tuning by adjusting the hammer spring in the bolt), but once it's set up it's more consistent than you'd think a gas bolt action would be and it shoots wonderfully!

Runner up - TM HK45 Tactical. My go to pistol. It's amazing. With the Hadron TDC it eliminates my one gripe about it (the hop unit is a bit crap in mine and doesn't like to engage properly) as it replaces the hop arm entirely. If I'm using a GBB pistol (and it's not a Vietnam game), I'm probably using this as my sidearm, and as a sniper I use my pistols a LOT.

Was a challenge to really pick for these. I've always been one for quality over quantity, so whenever I have a gun that doesn't shoot that well I tend to work on it to make it shoot well.

 

[MrTea]

Worst: G&G MP5A4 simply because I haven't skirmished it since upgrades. Originally, it felt like the gun had lethargy and would barely cycle on semi. Full auto was hilarious. It was like I could hear the spring compress and struggle to get that last bit of compression before the gears would cylce enough and let the gun fire. Post upgrade testing; this thing is nuts. Turned it into a high speed build and holy shit, on a 11.1v LiPo it's fast af. Just wish they made aftermarket MP5 triggers.

This worst gun could very quickly change as I think i'm close to securing a deal on (what I think is) a G&G CM18 Mod 1. The idea is to fix up some small issues with it, give it a bit of TLC and see if my brother wants to airsoft. If not, turn it into a little project gun, see what I can do myself.

Best: Krytac LVOA-C. Aesthetically it's fantastic. Changed the stock to a Magpul CTR one, changed to a Prometheus 6.03 barrel. Only real negative about this gun is the hop unit, specifically the hop arm. Attempting to use anything other than the original Krytac nub/tensioner was pointless. I eventually gave in and bought a Laylax/Prometheus metal hop unit which has a much better hop arm that can accept aftermarket nubs without issue. Gearbox might be noisy but it's always performed well and, so far, just keeps on working.

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

Favourite: 

For value for money was my JG G3, it just worked

Changed the hop rubber and wired it to Deans. 

Nice and lightweight
Served me well

Best:

My first RIF, Krytac crb mkII

got it used, it had a prommy barrel and rubber, literally fired laser beams 

Not yet had anything that compared to it 

Worst:

AEG (Asia Electric Gun) basically a sister brand of WE, P320-M17

Was reasonably well made, but the hop was so badly designed it couldn’t apply hop from tdc

EVERY shot swerved left after 15m

Sold it unfielded, as I just couldn’t stand the effing thing!

(Special mentions)

GHK M4, just cos gbbr innit

APS CAM870, Shell ejecting is fucking PIMP ?

Still got these two

Just got a TM 416D

Which I can tell is going to be “speshul” after a few mags through it

First game day with it this Sunday ?

 

[Asomodai]

Favourite: 

LCT AMD-65. It's had issues with it's inner barrel since I got it (Accuracy is balls), but I love the ergonomics. 

Best: Difficult to say, probably my E&L AKM as it's been utterly reliable. 

Special Mention: JLS RX4, its been upgraded and fires lazers with a really straight trajectory. Sadly it's not feeding correctly at the mo. But will be my best performing rifle.

Worst: KWA/Umarex Gas Tavor. Utter crap and lost a tonne of money on it. 

 

[Colin Allen]

Favourite: Ares L1A1, because it is an L1A1.
 

Best: Real Sword QBZ97; it just does everything right.

Worst: SRC MP5, although it became excellent once I got rid of all the SRC internals.

 

[Wavey_Gravey]

Favourite: MWS, all of them I’ve had worked flawlessly, will be picking up another soon so that will make my 6th.

Best: As above, boring I know. Though the new MP5 is banging…its electric ?

Worst: MP9, the UK lower power version, great ROF but thing just shit itself beyond repair too many times.

 

[DoJaL]

Best:

TM HK416 ngrs. The looks are amazing (everybody want to see it upclose), it shoots lasers and I love the overall feel of it. Pure quality!

So far I only have a M100 Eagle 6 spring in it. In about a week I will put a PDI tb barrel with a r-hop in it. Looking forward to see it and how much it improves.

Worst:

Secondhand VFC SCAR-H with a widebore barrel. I only had problems with it. Locking gearbox and a horrible fire selector. I never finished a  single game with it. Had it rebuilt twice but it never worked well.

Upcoming:

Next week my tm mp5 sd6 should arrive. Really looking forward to it! I’m also saving for a tm MWS. 

 

[HuttArmouries]

worst
I would say my browning hi power by we because it didnt function in the slightest but since I got rid of it Ill go with my Bo chiappa rhino. When I first got that revolver, cocked it and tried to pull the trigger It was so stiff I genuinely thought it was broken. It has worn in a little but it still has the worst trigger ive ever felt on anything barring a staple gun. However I didnt get the gun for practicality, I got it because it looks cool so im not as disappointed with it as I could be. However side by side with my tanaka revolvers its just disappointingly bad considering it wasnt cheap. 

worst honourable mention

My lct rpk simply failed to function out of the box, it took work to get it going and even then the hop unit had to be entirely replaced. It shoots great now but I should not have had to do all that to make a £400 gun work in the first place. 

Best 
My a&k Pkm. Now I realise a lot of people have issues with these stripping pistons and such but I appear to have won the quality control lottery. Ive had this for 5 years and fired hundreds of thousands of rounds through it and the only things that broke were the box mag stripping a gear and the hop rubber wearing out. It shoots as far as it needs to with a reasonable rate of fire. 

Best value 
my Tokyo mauri m&p9l has been my go to sidearm for quite a while. Its snappy, the tm red dot works well and its very accurate.

 

[THE FNG]

2 for worst:

1. Hfc Sig 226. Absolutely shocking. Plinked in the garden a few times and was OK (no more than 50 - 60 rounds). Took it to first event as my sidearm and it got through around 6 rounds mid game before it vented all gas. Took apart when home and the hammer mech had snapped (hammer still attached but the release had snapped).

2. Well MP7

Aep, so low power and low range. 

There some upgrades but in my opinion not worth doing as the end result is still low power and low range. That said, managed to get a few kills with it at Anzio on my first day there when my primary fired over on the chrono (was new to the hobby and put a 363mm inner barrel in the 200mm classic army ump; chrono went from 320 to 365!!)

Best:

Cop out answer but TM NGRS series. Scar L was the gateway into the series and I haven't looked back since. 

Honourable mention:

Tm FN57 - ran for years without cracking, even on green gas. Awesome out of the box, made better with aftermarket body kits.

 

[BigStew]

Well, if you bought your Galil in a pub car park outside of Crawley...

bought of guy third hand who turn out to have bought from a mate of mine.

 

[SSPKali]

Worst - Tie between G&P MOTS M4 with recoil (was a PITA to work on, really picky on mags and ammo, always "meh") or the TM MP7 as while when it works it is great there are so many design flaws and pretty much zero after market support. And it is scaled down. It could be so good but....TM being TM.

Best - TM MWS, bought mine second hand and very well used (from Beefy Milsim) and it has been super reliable and accurate. Actually fun to work on and much less on-going maintenance than an AEG.

Contender - WE G19 with MapleLeaf hop unit and CJ barrel. Just runs and runs, accurate enough to 20m+, using G17 mags with spacer to get a better grip on it with my big hands.  Set up with fibre sights, Olight Valkyrie and Backcountry Customs holster.

 

[lokkers]

Worst: GHK MK18. Externally it's absolutely gorgeous, but Jesus wept the magazines are a nightmare. Initially they were so tight in the mag well I had to strip the gun and hammer down through the mag well to get them out. After significant sanding they're a better fit, but loading them with more than 15-20 BBs seems impossible. Hoping the aluminium feedlips will finally sort the gun out. Also had to replace the hop unit almost immediately as it would unwind after 10-15 shots. This is not what you expect after dropping the better part of a grand on a gun and mags.

Favourite: The night and day difference from the GHK is the TM MWS. This is the gun I should have bought initially instead. Fun and accurate. It's now a 14" URGI based on Flannel Daddy's URGI recce build. Planning to get another upper if I can find one so I can do a CQB build too.

Best: The gun that's always in the gun bag is a TM 416 Delta Custom. Solid and reliable. If I lost all my guns in a freak meteor strike, the Delta would be my first repurchase.