Buying myself an AEG but what to buy?

[Aaron-Sniper]

Well it is Christmas after all so I'm going to be buying myself a new aeg but finding it hard to make the pick.

 

Looking for m4 style as that's what all my current gear is but need the best range possible due to the sites I play being a large site and my current g&g magpul m4 in st quite cutting it

 

What can you fine gents recommend?

 

Budget is up to around £400 or maybe more if I can px my current aeg

 

Also want full metal, no plastic !

[Monty]

What's your budget?

[darkdv8av8]

Hey aron/monty I gotta say src sr4-f dragon are really nice for cqb. Got a nice nylon barrel and strong abs shell but all the internals.are fully mettle so at least you know insides are good to proforma with v2 gear box. And you can pick up the src for around £99 so it not badly priced either

[Aaron-Sniper]

What's your budget?

 

400 ish

[Sitting Duck]

well you got L96 sniper so reckon your old G&G just needs a bit of TLC this chrimbo

mainly clean & new bucking first - then see how that goes

 

then if still no joy consider spring, hop-up, barrel as per usual replace/upgrades

 

£400 - wow me personally grab another G&G M4 to use whilst you tweak the old one

£150 - £200 on new gun - £50 on some bits & maybe another £50 on battery/mags etc....

leaves ya £100 for new loadout or get wasted over chrimbo (indoors coz £100 won't go far in town)

 

Or £100 to spend on ya loved ones - nah get drunk cheaply instead

 

if ya still out of range with new G&G & refurbed old one - how friggin far away are they

then use L96 or buy or build a DMR setup

[M_P]

You can just about get a tm recoil for £400, that's what I'd go for.

[Aaron-Sniper]

You can just about get a tm recoil for £400, that's what I'd go for.

This is one I've been considering a lot!

[Guest PT247]

PTS RM4 ERG. [/end post]

[Chock]

I've no complaints with my D-Boys M4 SIR, which should have been 300 quid, but was discounted to only 180 quid when I bought it (you can get a sportline plastic receiver version for less - I think about 100ish - but mine's the metal version and it's fairly easy to find it discounted to nearer 200 quid in price). Like all airsoft M4s, technically it is not full metal, because there are non-metal bits such as the fore grip, pistol grip and bits of the collapsible stock, but that's true of the real M4 too.

 

Apart from adding a tac light with a pressure switch on the front tactical grip, I've left it completely stock. It's very accurate and has good range. I don't even use optics with it, I just flip the rear sight up and leave the front sight down and line up the front sight gap with the rear sight pipper, which is quick and easy to do with it on a three point sling carrying it in either high or low ready. Three taps on semi auto using that sighting method generally does the job both close in at CQB ranges and in woodlands at longer ranges. Comes with a very reliable 300 round high cap mag as standard, so that's nearly good for all day providing you aren't the spray and pray type, although I do have several 160 round mags for it too.

 

D-Boys weapons appear to be more common in the States on skirmish sites than in the UK from what I can gather - I don't see many people with them - but I think that's more a case or people going with the crowd and choosing more common choices such as CYMA and G&G rather than because of any reliability issues - and since it is a fairly bog standard M4 under those SIR rails, there's no issue with parts compatibility, i.e., it will take standard M4 mags and other standard M4 parts. Since your budget is 400 quid, if you got one like mine, that'd give you 200 quid to go mental on upgrades if you wanted a fancier barrel or some freaky sight or grips or whatever, since the SIR has a large amount of rail space.

 

In terms of reliability, it has been pretty much flawless. I do take spare guns with me to skirmishes, but I've never had reason to switch from using my D-Boys M4. It's tough too; I'm one of those woodland types who is not afraid to crawl through shite and dive in the dirt, or hug walls in CQB where it is easy to ding your flash suppressor into a wall, and the D-Boys is fine with that kind of handling, a quick wipe with a cloth at the end of the day and it looks good as new.

[M_P]

Dboys used to sell over here but went away a bit with the clamp down of Chinese clones. It's very much a lower end gun though, below a jing gong which was comparible at the time, they sold for much less than £300 though, more closer to £100-150

Their AKs were pretty good but with a budget of £400 a dboys isnt something that I could recommend which the likes of g&g, G&p, kwa, tm etc

[DX115FALCON]

For that price, you can buy whatever you want!
Brands which are worth looking at are G&G, ICS, WE Airsoft, Tokyo Marui, GHK (if you want a GBBR), ASG (if you want the Scorpion EVO), Real Sword (if you want a REALLY good looking gun), Vega Force Company (VFC)- expensive guns, but especially good if you want a licensed H&K gun.

[Ian_Gere]

For tip top range you will have to go the upgrade route no matter what gun it is. Lonex are reputedly very good for M4 hop units, but I personally don't rate their hop rubbers. With that kind of money you may as well go the whole hog and buy Prometheus Purple (Soft) - add a RATech hop cushion for accuracy. A very smooth inner barrel will mean that what you gain from good hop, you don't loose due to instability in flight, so go Raven or PDI.

 

Then you need to get your FPS both consistent and close to your site's limit. Choose an air seal nozzle with an O-ring and grease the base of the cylinder head spout so it seals well against the nozzle O-ring. Best to get a double O-ring piston head, but whatever you use, grease the piston head well. I use CT-2 Teflon grease and haven't found anything better. Choose your spring to suit your barrel diameter and compression - for eg a double O-ring piston head can add up to 30FPS, depending on how bad the seal was before.

 

If your site limit is 350, you want to be shooting consistently @345 +/-2, so that variations in chrono, temperature, and humidity are covered. People love to claim that it's not all about FPS. Obviously it isn't, but if you have a good hop setup and put more power through it, you will get more range than just a good hop.

[Lozart]

I've no complaints with my D-Boys M4 SIR, which should have been 300 quid, but was discounted to only 180 quid when I bought it (you can get a sportline plastic receiver version for less - I think about 100ish - but mine's the metal version and it's fairly easy to find it discounted to nearer 200 quid in price). Like all airsoft M4s, technically it is not full metal, because there are non-metal bits such as the fore grip, pistol grip and bits of the collapsible stock, but that's true of the real M4 too.

 

Apart from adding a tac light with a pressure switch on the front tactical grip, I've left it completely stock. It's very accurate and has good range. I don't even use optics with it, I just flip the rear sight up and leave the front sight down and line up the front sight gap with the rear sight pipper, which is quick and easy to do with it on a three point sling carrying it in either high or low ready. Three taps on semi auto using that sighting method generally does the job both close in at CQB ranges and in woodlands at longer ranges. Comes with a very reliable 300 round high cap mag as standard, so that's nearly good for all day providing you aren't the spray and pray type, although I do have several 160 round mags for it too.

 

D-Boys weapons appear to be more common in the States on skirmish sites than in the UK from what I can gather - I don't see many people with them - but I think that's more a case or people going with the crowd and choosing more common choices such as CYMA and G&G rather than because of any reliability issues - and since it is a fairly bog standard M4 under those SIR rails, there's no issue with parts compatibility, i.e., it will take standard M4 mags and other standard M4 parts. Since your budget is 400 quid, if you got one like mine, that'd give you 200 quid to go mental on upgrades if you wanted a fancier barrel or some freaky sight or grips or whatever, since the SIR has a large amount of rail space.

 

In terms of reliability, it has been pretty much flawless. I do take spare guns with me to skirmishes, but I've never had reason to switch from using my D-Boys M4. It's tough too; I'm one of those woodland types who is not afraid to crawl through shite and dive in the dirt, or hug walls in CQB where it is easy to ding your flash suppressor into a wall, and the D-Boys is fine with that kind of handling, a quick wipe with a cloth at the end of the day and it looks good as new.

Good points all but if someone wants to spend £400, chances are a d-boys m4 isn't going to do it.

[Chock]

Good points all but if someone wants to spend £400, chances are a d-boys m4 isn't going to do it.

 

This is true, but when someone asks for recommendations, we should go off what we know and what we personally would recommend, if it is to be an informed recommendation. There is no doubt that there are more expensive and shinier toys out there than the D-Boys M4, and I'm in no way saying it is the best one can buy, but I'm certainly being honest in saying that I have found it to be a good choice for a metal M4 airsoft rifle which stands up to the rigors of skirmishing and shoots well.

 

For many players, it's a one shot deal when it comes to buying a main skirmishing weapon, for me, I am fortunate enough to have the money to indulge myself with many airsoft weapons; sometimes I like cheap ones (and in fact I have a bit of a soft spot for them), sometimes more expensive ones, and sometimes I tinker with the things and turn a POS into something nice, but one thing I certainly have found, is that money does not always equal quality, even though on many occasions, it absolutely does. But, for example, I have a couple of shotguns which are more than adequate for CQB skirmishing, and of the two, neither of them cost me more than 25 quid, and in fact, one of them was so cheap that I simply tagged it onto an order for some bits and bobs to take the postage over the amount necessary to get free P&P (it is a sawn-off pump action Mossberg 500), and right out of the box it was doing 350 fps and is actually very accurate too.

 

Ultimately, from all the recommendations on this thread, being honest with what you like and are happy with will allow the OP to make an informed choice. After all, it is their money, but there is no harm in recommending things which come in under the target figure if you have found what you are recommending from personal experience to be a good choice, because with the internet, there are certainly plenty of people willing to perpetuate myths, or simply parrot recommendations or 'avoids' which they have heard or read of, without actually having owned and used the things themselves. This is why I'm happy to take things to bits, put up videos and photos etc. It's all about informed choices.

[Airsoft_Mr B]

+1 for a KWA RM4 or TM Recoil.

[EvilMonkee]

+1 RM4 or GHK GBBR AK, I love mine best thing I have ever bought

[dex]

TM recoil if you can get one. Otherwise Lonex M4.

[Sappysid101]

I bought a TM Recoil Scar L a couple of weeks back, don't get me wrong it performs well but my Combat Machine performs better. Both are stock but one costs £200...

 

What sort of range are you after here?

 

- Ant

[Sitting Duck]

agree with Chock & Sappy but then I only buy the cheaper end stuff too

(mostly coz I'm still breaking/learning and have a long way to go)

 

I say cheaper end stuff but have learnt a little as to what is decent and what is total $hit

G&G CM's - being plastic don't bother me one bit as they are so well constructed

and I'm hardly an experienced professional player - I'm crap but I play for fun

 

I mean to be honest if you want range then out of that £400 then consider a crappy:

 

CYMA AK 28 - wooaaahh before Ian rips me a new one

 

Seriously - shoot an AK even a budget one - I love M4's they are so ergonomic rails etc....

But that slapped together pile of bits ugly looking cack-handed designed terrorist weapon AK deserves some respect

 

on airsoft terms that ugly mofo can wipe the smug grin off the CM owners faces:

600 or mental 1k mags for it plus in case you think its all about spray n prey

Longer barrel - 455mm which may give you the edge for longer range accuracy

 

BEFORE ANYONE STARTS QUOTING THIS DOES NOT GUARANTEE ........

 

yup I know but it can certainly help and is not not uncommon for CM Raiders - even Long version

being taken out by that ugly mofo thingy up there

(I'm talking about out of box btw)

 

Besides it is not all about the gun, though it can help - but also the player themselves

Some of the few skilled players I've seen could kick my a$$ with a JBBG in their hand

 

That is another reason I'll stick with lower end guns - if I get owned by a 2-toner I can still

blame my budget gun dry firing rather than me being crap at skirmishing

(not really I am crap at this shooting malarky but I do have a laugh than take it too serious)

 

I am, waffling yet again - OP can buy what they like and yup it would be nice to have a pukka quality gun

but I have a long long way to go before I feel I really need a higher end gun to have "fun" with

[Ian_Gere]

No complaints from me about the CM.028 range. I still have my .028U and although she is no longer stock, it's only recently that her performance has actually beaten what it was out of the box - she was my first and i busted her learning how gearboxes work But the CM.048 range is better looking and feeling, strips easier, and maintains the performance of the legendary hop with a beast of a gearbox - needs no upgrade to handle 11.1V, even with fat wire and a MOSFET.

[SuicidalBarrelRoll]

No complaints from me about the CM.028 range. I still have my .028U and although she is no longer stock, it's only recently that her performance has actually beaten what it was out of the box - she was my first and i busted her learning how gearboxes work But the CM.048 range is better looking and feeling, strips easier, and maintains the performance of the legendary hop with a beast of a gearbox - needs no upgrade to handle 11.1V, even with fat wire and a MOSFET.

Seriously? No MOSFET required?

[Ian_Gere]

Seriously? No MOSFET required?

No no, i said the stock gearbox can handle 11.1V even when using fat wire and a MOSFET - should have said it is an active breaking MOSFET - the airfet type from ebay. My point being that it get's the full whack from a Turnigy Nano Tech 25-50C battery and copes just fine. The CM02 gearbox is a beast.

 

here it is

Edited December 9, 2014 by Ian_Gere
vid

[Ian_Gere]

As you can see in the vid above, the ROF is a bit silly, so I added some extra Deans and cable so I can remove the MOSFET easily, which adds a little extra resistance and brings the ROF down to around 18.5r/s.

[Sitting Duck]

Mosfet are not a MUST but are very highly recommended to save switch, response etc.....

(ooh look at me - no expert as just seen first time ever the improvements myself)

 

Dedsec hasn't fitted one just yet

http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/24384-upgrades-for-my-barrel-hop-up-unit-and-spring-on-my-vfc-hk416/#entry178411

 

and I admit if my gun hadn't broke last weekend I probably still be running her without one

 

(Ahem - changes voice to impersonate an old american gospel preacher man spreading the news.....)

 

But now I have seen the light and can see for myself the true meaning of real true snappiness in our airsoft world my brothers & sisters

 

Can't I get an Amen from ya all my dearly beloved

 

AAAAAAMMMMMEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah now join with me... - OK I SHUT UP NOW (you get the idea - think its time for my medication pills)

[ikarma70]

I was in a similar position and I went for a gun which really didn't need upgrading so I went for a real sword and it's a decision I have not regretted for a second.

 

It's built like a tank, the best 1:1 replica there is and although it's not really tm compatible you can make adjustments to airsoft parts to fit.