Best beginner AEG for under £150?

[lazerkid]

Hi guys, im new to airsoft and am looking to join skirmishing as soon as possible!

 

Ive been looking at G&G Combat Machine guns from zeroone and at the £117 version, what else would you recommend?

 

Thanks, Lazerkid

[GingerBreadMan]

Yeah combat machine is the go to budget gun. Other budget recommended guns are cyma aks and jg g36s but to get them from Taiwan gun you need ukara. Have a look through the forum for Ian's guide to noobism there's loads of great information there. Bear in mind also you will need money for a battery or two, charger, eye pro, bbs, boots maybe spare mags and something to carry them in. Also you want to stay away from sites with bb gun in their name. You already mentioned a good place - zero one. They also do free two tone.

[Sitting Duck]

For a few quid more get the raider perhaps the short version

long version is fine - makes little difference

but short is a little more easy to use in tight spaces if doing cqb

 

Reason I say £6 more for Raider is coz it has rails/RIS to attach stuff to like grip etc.....

 

Many get the carbine - great gun btw & Zero One do the slightly shorter "lite" version

but then they find out they wanna add bits but no rails on carbine....

 

Hence the Raider is the most popular G&G starter gun and worth the extra £6 imho

Yes everybody has them - but so what if they are common as muck or very popular

They are good value starter guns at the end of the day

[lazerkid]

Thank you for the very helpful information! Would you recommend the g&g firehawk over the raider then or is the raider better performance wise?

[Sitting Duck]

NO it looks cool and sexy but unless you do cqb I would advise Raider Short

 

I'll explain why as I got or had most budget G&G's......

 

FireHawk has a battery in its stock tube - $hit battery options and still fiddly to install a 7.4 thin lipo

you will be changing battery a bit more and stock has to be removed completely each time....

very short barrel - 110mm ok for short medium fights but really not great for medium & longer fights

fps seems to be lower on very shorter barrels so I presume they stuck in a slightly slightly higher spring

all the same they then changed the normal FireHawk Gears from regular 18:1 to around 22~23:1

 

This means the std FireHawk fires slower rate of fire than the other Combat Machines out of box

yes you can use higher voltage battery but again where battery is located in stock tube you are screwed a bit

 

FireHawk is loud - sounds good but gets on your nerves all day especially in echoey buildings/tunnels

(also gets on ya team nerves but also good when you signal the start of advance - its distinctive n loud)

 

it is more expensive @ £140 and ffs don't get the crappy HC05 DSG version coz that ain't got semi only full auto @ £155

 

my personal favourites would be either CM18 but has crappy midcap supplied - pure junk over the G&G high caps on other guns

or

Full Metal GC16 30th edition at Airsoftworld for £150 - not free 2-tone but very sexy snakeskin 2-tone service

 

The CM18 is nice in tan/black but if getting it 2-toned you would ruin it so if not ukara'd perhaps forget CM18

 

That is just my take on it all - Raider is best cheap budget starter option @ £123 free 2-tone from Zero One

 

GC16 30th - imho better than the G26 30th @ £150 plus 2-tone fee if req

 

CM18 looks nice but only if ukara'd tbh

 

FireHawk's are nice but perhaps not best suited for longer woodland fights imho - more tight cqb/urban skirmish

 

Up to you - nigh on all the same sturdy stuff inside - stay away from sites with BB in their names

[Baz JJ]

The Firehawk is very short indeed.

 

Its personal taste and while CQB necessitates a compact rifle, its nice to have a rifle that feels substantial.

 

Also look at the G&G GC4 G26 30th Anniversary Limited Edition and their Mk18.

 

You can get either for £149 if you hunt around.

 

ETA the G26 has a handguard that makes it more comfortable to C clamp the rifle and hold it without using a foregrip but the absence of rail make it harder to add a foregrip or torch and laser for CQB.

[lazerkid]

NO it looks cool and sexy but unless you do cqb I would advise Raider Short

 

I'll explain why as I got or had most budget G&G's......

 

FireHawk has a battery in its stock tube - $hit battery options and still fiddly to install a 7.4 thin lipo

you will be changing battery a bit more and stock has to be removed completely each time....

very short barrel - 110mm ok for short medium fights but really not great for medium & longer fights

fps seems to be lower on very shorter barrels so I presume they stuck in a slightly slightly higher spring

all the same they then changed the normal FireHawk Gears from regular 18:1 to around 22~23:1

 

This means the std FireHawk fires slower rate of fire than the other Combat Machines out of box

yes you can use higher voltage battery but again where battery is located in stock tube you are screwed a bit

 

FireHawk is loud - sounds good but gets on your nerves all day especially in echoey buildings/tunnels

(also gets on ya team nerves but also good when you signal the start of advance - its distinctive n loud)

 

it is more expensive @ £140 and ffs don't get the crappy HC05 DSG version coz that ain't got semi only full auto @ £155

 

my personal favourites would be either CM18 but has crappy midcap supplied - pure junk over the G&G high caps on other guns

or

Full Metal GC16 30th edition at Airsoftworld for £150 - not free 2-tone but very sexy snakeskin 2-tone service

 

The CM18 is nice in tan/black but if getting it 2-toned you would ruin it so if not ukara'd perhaps forget CM18

 

That is just my take on it all - Raider is best cheap budget starter option @ £123 free 2-tone from Zero One

 

GC16 30th - imho better than the G26 30th @ £150 plus 2-tone fee if req

 

CM18 looks nice but only if ukara'd tbh

 

FireHawk's are nice but perhaps not best suited for longer woodland fights imho - more tight cqb/urban skirmish

 

Up to you - nigh on all the same sturdy stuff inside - stay away from sites with BB in their names

Going to go ahead and buy the GC16 then but it's coming to £168 with two tone and delivery, is this good price or can I find elsewhere?

[Sitting Duck]

nope you won't find it better anywhere lese and if from airsoftworld...

nobody does that unique snakeskin look either

 

if/when you get ukara you can buy stuff cheaper abroad but those places don't do G&G cheap

 

Even in US where everything is bigger better cheaper they don't have screaming deals on G&G

 

Think it is like Apple Ipod/phone etc.... - you can't get these really dirt cheap coz they just don't do mega bulk discounts

 

Cyma's JG and others - yeah mega cheap offers but not seen any cheap better G&G deals than what we get in UK

 

Also most other places have sold out of the 30th's GC16 & G26's a while back so I really really doubt if you can get these in many places

Though Z1 2-tone for free, there shipping is bit more expensive than others like AirsoftWorld & Land Warrior Airsoft

so it ain't that steep

 

it is a nice metal mofo m4 that will do you proud out there in my book without vivid white CM on the side telling eveybody you have a Combat Machine

(so f*cking what I say - my first car was Ford - big deal)

 

soz - good gun to get started with - well them G&G's are all good decent guns imho whatever you run with

[lazerkid]

Thank you, so you would definitely recommend this for best bang for buck? Excited to start soon as possible and my ukara haha!

[Sitting Duck]

hmmmmmm - it is a close match between a raider from Z1 painted free and £10 delivery = £133

 

or GC16 30th painted + delivery for £168 - it is still £35 more than the Raider.....

 

But if you can afford it think most on here would say go for GC16

then source batteries as cheap as possible coz "airsoft" batteries cost a bit

 

In fact the GC16 is front wired and has 3 mini rails to mount on it so it ain't rail-less like carbine

and I'm sure you can get slightly cheaper block batteries up the front

 

where as on Raider you need twin stick or single stick nunchuk batteries in the crane stock

these can be slightly more than the block/brick type batteries used on others

(yes the GC16 can use crane/nunchuck/twin stick batteries but some moderate block types should fit in there too)

 

so maybe yeah sod it - GC16 if you can afford it but don't get swept along too much buying loads of stuff if money is tight

 

YOU WON'T GET BATTERY/CHARGER WITH ANY G&G - so be careful before jumping in and buying loads of stuff

if anything maybe a pack of BAW blue 0.20gms bb's but there is still lots of stuff - well a few bits you will need if getting into it

 

like eye protection - no crap - if you go skirmishing naked - very brave/stupid - at least have some decent eye pro

 

read ian's guide first just before you take the plunge - I'll happily answer all your questions

but you gotta realise just buying a gun is only half the initial investment when adding clobber/eye pro/mags/battery(s) charger/boots etc...

 

http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/17294-ians-guide-to-noobism-on-a-tight-budget/

[lazerkid]

Thank you I've just read it and have made a small list of what I'll need which will cost about £350 altogether if going for the GC16!

Did you also say I need to buy a battery and charger with the gun as well? If so would the one they recommend to add to it be sufficient enough or are there certain brands I should go for?

[Sitting Duck]

buy lipo's if possible - you could get cheap block type 7.4v's and a cheap charger

they are better than old skool batteries - most have switched over to lipo's on here

 

they ain't much different to old skool in normal guns but are more efficient and eventually old skool nimahs will hold you back

 

you can buy old skool nimahs if you like or find a good deal but personally don't bother unless they are dirt cheap price

 

Lipo 7.4v all the way - is like old box type TV's vs LCD HD TV's

[lazerkid]

Appreciating the help Sitting Duck! So you're saying there is a big improvement compared to the Raider and GC16 or minimal? Also how much would you spend on the average charger and battery and if there are any discount codes you know for the supplier?

[lazerkid]

Also including the charger and battery I'm looking at about £200?

[Sitting Duck]

Either will do, I think most on here may opt for GC16 as the 30th edition is metal for one reason

(not the normal GC16 - the 30th special editions were made with the metal receivers normally found on £200 G&G's)

 

Raider is still excellent gun to get going with

 

ok - where the f*ck has my Sunday gone ???

 

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=44687

 

right that battery above will NOT fit in Raider as it is too long at 166mm

but it does fit in the front handguard of the GC16 fine - which I was surprised as is my usual AK47 battery

Raider battery like most crane stocks will take up to say 127mm or 5 inch stick lengths

and deffo won't take block/brick batteries coz the 2 x tubes have a max diameter of APROX 22mm

so you need a square stick probably about 18mm x 18mm square peg in a round hole so to speak

 

I don't know what other ones will fit atm but understand I ain't gonna go through loads n loads

but I will try to assist a bit depending on what you decide to buy

 

a cheap B3 lipo charger can be bought on ebay for about a tenner but buy from a reputable UK only seller

dodgy clone chargers etc..... - you can pay £30+ for stfu chargers but SAFE £10 ones will suffice to get you going

[lazerkid]

I'll just order the GC16 and then that battery off the link you suggested and charger off of ebay like you said! Guess that's all for now right?

[Sitting Duck]

what I was saying you may be able to get block batteries in the GC16

 

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8933

 

these are out of stock atm but you get the idea - a couple of those batteries should fit also

 

reckon battery dimensions could be 33 x 18 x 160mm

 

but for sake of easy fitting drop a few mm to say 30 x 15 x 155mm block type battery

 

dunno what connectors are on them in the above link I normally fit deans on there

but just pointing out you won't get that cheapy battery in a crane stock

 

I normally run with rear wired fixed stocks and shove ANY battery up to nearly 5000mah in there - get my lunch in them big stocks

though I usually stick with a short stubby fixed stock on most guns - just easy cheap batteries

 

up to you - have a think but don't rush out just yet until you have thought it through

 

like most hobbies it can get expensive especially at start - but once done it costs little just a few thousand bb's - under a fiver and charge ya battery

 

you should consider renting and trying it out first though before you jump in

it is fun but you should look into it a bit before just buying and commiting to it all straight away

[sundown]

GC16 all the way - my first AEG and has been perfect, no faults or issues