I'm after a specific rifle due to requirements

[freshage]

Morning all, I'm after a really specific set of requirements and I wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction.

 

First of, aesthetics are not essential as once I find a handful of rifles with the requirements below, I'll then pick based on looks.

 

Requirements:

 

• Full metal/alloy body

Absolutely no, or very little plastic/poly carbonate on the rifle it's self

• Metal gears

As it says on the tin, I don't want plastic gears/internals, as little plastic as possible the better

• Short to medium range

I'm not after a 'shorty' and I'm not after a sniper rifle, just a standard assault rifle capable at short range with a red dot and medium with an acog.

• 300-350fps

This isn't ESSENTIAL, but most sites I'll be attending will be outdoors and over large wooded areas. So I'd like something with a bit of oomph so I'm not entirely relying on hop up to reach desired ranges.

 

Budget: Not fussed, just nothing insane like a 4 figure rifle. A few hundred won't be busting the bank.

 

Finally, can someone explain to me what the best weight bb round is for outdoors medium range? What's the pros and cons? Etc. I haven't played airsoft for over 12 years and back them, I simply had a gas powered Uzi and played an infiltrator who used stealth to sneak into the enemy base and take out as many ankles as I could.

 

Thanks in advance guys

[Lozart]

Budget?

 

Also - most sites won't let you use a full auto capable AEG over 350FPS so you'll need to change your expectations there.

 

Most AEGs will have some plastic. Be it the pistol grip, the stock or the handguard it's very unlikely that you will find something that is ALL metal. Mostly due to the fact that most real assault rifles aren't ALL metal anyway. Apart from AKs of course.

[Lozart]

Actually - having said all that, sounds to me like you need an AK.

 

Maybe this one: http://www.taiwangun.com/en/cm-048m-cm?from=listing&campaign-id=19

[freshage]

Ah yes, the fps, ok, I guess 300-350 would be ideal then.

 

And I meant the body, understanding that there will be some plastic involved. The body being what the grips attach to, pistol and barrel grip.

 

Also, budget updated.

 

Thanks

[Lozart]

Ah yes, the fps, ok, I guess 300-350 would be ideal then.

 

And I meant the body, understanding that there will be some plastic involved. The body being what the grips attach to, pistol and barrel grip.

 

Also, budget updated.

 

Thanks

 

OK - by "a few hundred" you're covering a whole load of bases from mid range G&Gs right up to top of the line Tokyo Marui Recoils. There is a massive jump in price from that up to PTWs so are we talking "up to £500" or "up to £300"?

 

Sorry for being picky - just trying to get the details right so we don't start recommending completely the wrong thing!

[freshage]

 

OK - by "a few hundred" you're covering a whole load of bases from mid range G&Gs right up to top of the line Tokyo Marui Recoils. There is a massive jump in price from that up to PTWs so are we talking "up to £500" or "up to £300"?

 

Sorry for being picky - just trying to get the details right so we don't start recommending completely the wrong thing!

 

No worries dude! I'm glad your're being picky instead of going "Aug, now go away". The help is greatly appreciated. I'd say no more than £400 for the actual rifle, giving me a further £150 for extra goodies such as mags, sights and grips. Maybe £450 - £500 IF the gun comes with some decent goodies from the start removing the need to buy accessories on day one.

[Chock]

Sounds like an AK is the way to go, so, AKM, AK74, AK47 or Type 56, all of which can be found with either full wooden furniture and metal on all the other bits, or a metal folding stock. You should look for one with a standard AK side rail attachment on the left side of the lower receiver, so that it will be easy to mount a sight. There are quite a few decent AEG AKs with wooden furniture out there, and most of them are okay, but I'd probably say go for the higher end CYMA one unless you want to spend a lot more on it, then you can look at some of the other more flashy brands, although the price difference won't actually mean that one which is twice the price is twice as good.

 

 

Best outdoor weight BB for a bit of range and accuracy in an AEG would likely be 0.25g, which will still be pretty high fps if your AEG shoots 0.20g BBs at say, 330-340. The extra bit of mass in a 0.25g will make it fly a bit more true over the longer range, although the difference is fairly small, since we are only talking about .05g difference.

[freshage]

Is there anything similar to the AK? I'd like multiple design options.

[Lozart]

Ok, at that budget the world is pretty much your oyster. Anything in that price range will have a decent metal gearbox so that's not an issue (bearing in mind that it will have a plastic nozzle/piston/piston head but that is not necessarily a bad thing).

 

 

G&G - any of the top tech range which will have a metal receiver and barrel so it's purely down to looks and practicality (an M4 will be more maneuverable, an M14 EBR Long is about the same weight as Guildford etc)

G&P - again pretty much any of them will be pretty decent. A lot of their range comes will extras thrown in (for example they do an M16 with M203 launcher, a Masterkey M4 with an underbarrel shotgun etc)

Tokyo Marui - any of their standard range plus maybe the low end of the Recoil range. Don't be put off by their low FPS.

CYMA - any of the AKs with model numbers CM040 or above (below this they will be TM clones and have more plastic bits) or the M14 range but definitely not any of their M4s.

 

Have a gander at www.proairsoft.com as they have a pretty decent range of guns (although many of them ARE out of stock it will at least give you indication of price and looks/parts etc).

 

Just out of interest, what are the "specific set of requirements" you have that are driving you along this path? Many of the fibre re-inforced polymer receivers on the market are stronger and lighter than the metal ones they're competing with!

[Lozart]

Is there anything similar to the AK? I'd like multiple design options.

 

 

ICS Galil, LST VSS (might be out of your price range and rare as hens teeth).

[freshage]

Thank you so much for that info! Amazing detail and information. Awesome

 

As for the reason, I like weight and engineering if that makes sense. I want something that will give a good feel. I'm used to the weight of the SA80/85 A2 ()... So picking up a poly body will feel weird and too light for me.

 

I'll spend some time today looking at the brands you mentioned. Thanks

[Lozart]

So why not get an L85?

 

Airsoft Ed is the man who knows all but I believe the ICS one is supposed to be pretty good. http://www.proairsoftsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/ics.html

[freshage]

Further development, talking to my mate who will be joining. What options do I have if I wanted to go semi auto?

[Lozart]

Further development, talking to my mate who will be joining. What options do I have if I wanted to go semi auto?

 

Semi Auto ONLY or semi AND full auto?

 

Any modern assault rifle style weapon will do both, if you really only want semi auto then you could lock the gearbox and enter the realms of DMR territory which puts you back to things like the VFC MK20 SSR, the M14 and EBR variants etc etc.

[Chock]

Pretty much every AEG will do semi-auto, and even the ones that don't can be altered so that they will, by fitting after market bits. The only really widely used one I know which does not do semi out of the box, is the ASG Sten gun. There are some fancier rifles which will do three round bursts and such, but any modern rifle will at least do semi and full auto.

[Guest PT247]

A well set up DMR can be a real blessing to have on your team, a mate normally uses a DMR and gets to the parts some other AEGs can't reach very effectively. I tried running a few guns as a DMR but due to the MED all sites in the UK will run the advantage in range is removed because you are not allowed to shoot people within that MED (yes you can run a pistol for those situations but I found more often than not I was unable to fire my rifle as the other team would be too close).

350fps with a good quality barrel and hop set up will give you more than enough range for airsoft and you'll not have to switch to a sidearm should anyone get close to you.

 

I get what you say about metal guns, I like them for that reason too, but don't dismiss the polymer guns as some are made out of the same material as the real deal and are lovely to shoot eg: APS Scorpion EVO3 A1.

If you want it to feel like a proper gun, check out the PTS RM4 ERG Scout, awesome gun and has recoil! It will probs out the box be around DMR power too but the springs can be changed very easily to bring it under 350 fps if you found the DMR role too restrictive.

 

Also don't be fooled into thinking a long barrel means long range/accuracy, I have a gun with a 200mm ish barrel that far out ranges some guns with double that length and is more accurate too!

[freshage]

Some lovely gun suggestions. I like the sound of DMR a lot. As in total, it should be 4 or 5 of us going together, 4 of us did it together 12 years ago! The fifth is my partner, she's keen on joining in from time to time.

 

So, the 4 of us, we compliment each other fairly well, 2 AEG's me as DMR and possible one with sniper or AEG depending on the feel of the day.

 

I think I will likely invest in something like a SMG for up close.

[Sitting Duck]

Not all "plastic" guns are the same and some "real" modern guns are plastic anyway

(abs polymer or whatver else they may call it)

 

Everybody thinks it "has" to be metal - G36c ain't for starters

 

Also some are quite a bit heavier if you carry it all day with loads of gizmos up on top too

Metal gearbox yes deffo - metal receivers - hmm not an absolute must for me

it is more important to hold it if possible, get a nice feel and comfort with it, happy with it all day long

how good and reliable it is made - the external materials are not that important as I first thought

Though in general it is perceived that all metal guns are the higher end quality ones

(there are some good abs ones out there too is all I'm saying)

 

decide on the look and what you "think" you like then others here might be able to advise on the various make/models

[Lozart]

Some lovely gun suggestions. I like the sound of DMR a lot. As in total, it should be 4 or 5 of us going together, 4 of us did it together 12 years ago! The fifth is my partner, she's keen on joining in from time to time.

 

So, the 4 of us, we compliment each other fairly well, 2 AEG's me as DMR and possible one with sniper or AEG depending on the feel of the day.

 

I think I will likely invest in something like a SMG for up close.

 

 

Depending on the site and whether or not one of you wants to lug it about all day you could also consider a support weapon!

[freshage]

 

 

Depending on the site and whether or not one of you wants to lug it about all day you could also consider a support weapon!

 

I did quickly look into it... I'm not sure how it will be seen, but it would be fun! Just laying down cover/surpressive fire from a distance.

[Lozart]

 

I did quickly look into it... I'm not sure how it will be seen, but it would be fun! Just laying down cover/surpressive fire from a distance.

 

I have an A&K M249 para, it certainly attracts some sideways glances and many will tell you that an M4 with a high cap is just as good at suppression BUT the 2500 round magazine and just the pure intimidation factor of a support gun is worth the effort! Most people are fine with it as long as you're not holding the loud button down for ages.

[freshage]

What about the mammoth 450fps? And I see regarding the M4 being as effective. But if I remember correctly, half the enjoyment of this stuff is how you feel and play out the games. And I'm sure, lugging up a hill to deploy a huge M60 and just rain down hail would be a wonderful feeling.

[Lozart]

What about the mammoth 450fps? And I see regarding the M4 being as effective. But if I remember correctly, half the enjoyment of this stuff is how you feel and play out the games. And I'm sure, lugging up a hill to deploy a huge M60 and just rain down hail would be a wonderful feeling.

 

450FPS is bolt action sniper rifle territory. I did see someone mention somewhere that there are some sites that allow support guns to run higher FPS than a standard AEG but I don't know of any myself.

[freshage]

Some videos on youtube are claiming 350... Annoying.

[Lozart]

Some videos on youtube are claiming 350... Annoying.

 

Be careful not to get misled by american videos. They run higher FPS over there!