Back to it After 20 Years....

[JS101]

Hello everyone,

 

My old school friends and I back in the late 90s all had spring/gas guns and we all used to have informal games at my mates house which had its own lake and woodland.  That was all great until someone got a paper round and turned up one day with an AEG and ruined it for the rest of us!   Alongside that I was in the army cadets at school and also did a fair bit of paintball.  Long story short, running around playing soldier was a big part of my late teens.

 

20 years and 4 children later - I worked out I really needed a new outlet - something to get me out of the house for a good few hours every now and then.   I thought about it and thought, you know what, I'd love to give airsoft a try again.  As there are a few game areas near by - I thought I'd give it a try and I've booked my first session on 29 August.

 

On the assumption that it all goes well - clearly I'll be wanting to get my own weapons etc (i've already bought some clothing because... I can't wait 2 months and not buy anything!).  I've done a fair bit of browsing and just wanted to see if some of the tentative conclusions I have made are true as - remembering how I used to play both with my mates and in Paintball (tending to hang back and "snipe") I want to make sure I approach this the right way to make sure I get the most out of it - and also don't act like and eejit first game back.

 

My current thoughts are:

 

1. AEG's seem to be much of a muchness out of the box and, whilst there is endless tinkering that can be done - provided you buy a recognised brand with good components - these things are likely all going to perform around the same level.

 

Is that fair?

 

2. As much as your Silo's and Novritch's make good money off their channels, it seems to me (remembering my live firing days from cadets) that in reality these guys are probably not *really* shooting that much further with their souped up bolt guns as guys with good AEG's are - and once you take account of minimum engagement distances, unless you like lying on the floor a lot - it seems like you would probably have more fun with an AEG and no restrictions, than you would in the "sniper" role with a bolt gun. 

 

Not sure if thats a bit controversial - but given what appear to be the standard field layouts for most walk up open play sites, it seems to me like the whole sniper thing is more for the cameras than it is for the average gameplay?

 

 

3. It seems like for an AEG quality of Hop Up has a lot more to do with accuracy than barrel length and an SMG sized gun (MP5, EVO) will not be any less accurate or have any less range than a full length M4 if all internal parts were the same.  So, if you are just looking to get a good performing AEG - provided the internals are adequate - the rest is cosmetics.

 

Is that fair?

 

4.  It looks like from what I have seen that, provided I'm ok personally with turning up on my own and am prepared to be friendly and say "hi" I wont have any trouble enjoying my first game back.

 

Any hints/tips for etiquette on one's first day?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

[AlphaBear]

Hi fella, well you hit all the nails on the head there with a large mallet that's for sure... all your points are fair and spot on... As you already know what to expect my advice would be to go for a solid AEG that you like... no need to go for a starter one.. I'm a Tokyo Marui fan boy (as everyone on here knows lol) and I just like the recoil aspect of them. Yes you're paying like £500 for an AEG and something cheaper can do the same thing but will it make you smile each time you press that trigger? Food for thought... For me I always smile at the recoil and it's not the amount of kills I get but the fun factor too for just playing. Of course for others their fun factor is the kill tally... but each to their own..

 

Having the right hop and barrel is paramount (I'm sure people will chime in on that), but it's not just the barrel and hop it's about having a good gearbox which is well tuned and has the correct volume per cylinder for the barrel length... (again some one will chime in)..

 

The EVO3 Scorpion is a great all rounder I've heard and to be honest even I may be persuaded to try one out... But don't quote me there...! I'm keeping that hush hush! 

 

And yes, turning up to a site on your own ain't no big deal. That's what I did after I started playing after 8 years... And guess what people are friendly.. just don't think you're 22yrs old again and can run around the woodland at 100mph... that would be a bad mistake..

 

Kit wise, good eye protection is paramount and also good boots! Protect those ankles....

 

that's my 2 cents worth....

 

And Welcome to this crazy forum....

 

 

 

 

[EDcase]

Welcome JD,

Yeah, 4 out of 4 there.  You've done some good research

 

Some caveats,

1. Some of the more budget makes like CYMA, JG and Specna offer very good performance for their price and you have to spend quite a bit more to get a noticeable improvement.

2. As above, you have to spend quite a lot or tinker a lot to get a good sniper system.  Sniping, running and gunning or sneaky infiltration depends on you're preferred play style.

3. While basically true, the cylinder volume is higher in larger guns so if everything else is equal then they'll still shoot further.

4. Yep, definitely a good attitude.  Don't take it too seriously, call your hits and you'll have fun. 

 

[Rogerborg]

Balls to that, where's the fun for us if we can't give a sneery lecture on why you should buy an AEG and just go and play?

 

But yes to all of the above, you're bang on.  Barrel length just isn't important for an AEG, anything over 8" is just bragging. You can pay more for a better feeling gun (budget G&G plastic is a lot nicer than budget CYMA plastic), snappier trigger response, burst fire, pre-cock, higher rate of fire, the ability to hop heavier BBs, and that all important consistency.  But essentially they all do: puff, spin, point, and the BB doesn't care what it came out of.

 

Bolt rifles do have a bit of a longer range, particularly if you use heavier ammo (0.4g and up), but not generally in stock form.  You need to put in a fair bit of money and/or time to get them tuned to bang on the site limit, and consistency is key as every shot has to count, and it has to count right out in that little bit of extra range that you have over an AEG.  A tiny bit of swerve can ruin your day. However, if you're willing to spend up front, people say good things about the Silverback SRS and even the Novritsch SSG-10.  Whether it's effective and fun to run one will be very much dependent on the site and the sort of games that they run, so I'd definitely try it out first before deciding.

 

I would suggest buying an AEG first, but consider getting something compact that you can throw on your back if you later decide to go with a bolt rifle.  MP5 is a decent shout but other, lesser choices are available.

 

Boots and eye-pro and the heaviest BBs you can bear to shoot, and you're good to go.

 

 

[JS101]

Thanks so much chaps.  Good to know I am on the right track!

 

Can I ask one question please about the EVO?  It seems to get more or less universal love but when I spoke to a couple of shops last week, I got some pretty negative feedback - one store indeed (can't remember which one) actually said they are not going to stock them anymore as they've been badly burned funding the warranty as they have had so many returns.

 

I can't quite square the love it seems to get with what appears to be the retailer experience.

 

If I did decide to go down that route, I assume based on the above that I would not see any real difference in performance between the carbine or the regular sized?  I think the internals are all the same?

 

Thanks!

 

Jeremy

[Jedi_Master]

Welcome .

[Roba93]

On 13/08/2020 at 21:59, JS101 said:

Thanks so much chaps.  Good to know I am on the right track!

 

Can I ask one question please about the EVO?  It seems to get more or less universal love but when I spoke to a couple of shops last week, I got some pretty negative feedback - one store indeed (can't remember which one) actually said they are not going to stock them anymore as they've been badly burned funding the warranty as they have had so many returns.

 

I can't quite square the love it seems to get with what appears to be the retailer experience.

 

If I did decide to go down that route, I assume based on the above that I would not see any real difference in performance between the carbine or the regular sized?  I think the internals are all the same?

 

Thanks!

 

Jeremy

 

Welcome to the money pit!

 

I have just purchased an evo and I'm worried about the warranty returns too. If you have any questions I'd recommend joining the owners group on Facebook as most questions have already been asked there!

 

Basically from what I can gather, most of the issues on the scorpion come from them being used with an 11.1v battery on a stock uk spring. This causes pre engagement issues on full auto. They also use really cheap gears and these combined causes most of the failures. 

 

To run the evo on an 11.1 under warranty (which is preferable as it is much snappier) you need to get an asg m95 milspec spring and the asg upgraded bearing spring guide. Its really easy to swap due to the quick change spring and will bring it over 1 joule, which should stop pre engagement.

 

I'm going to run my evo for the first time this weekend and can't wait! So ill let you know if it breaks straight away! 

 

Best battery for this is the 11.1v 1300mah nuprol slim stick battery as it will fit in the gun. 

 

You can also run without the spring and spring guide on a 9.9v life battery, but these are a pain to install in the gun so I opted for upgrading for 11.1s

 

Let me know of you have any other questions.

 

[Rogerborg]

 

 

Owners do seem to love them before they explode, and forgive them after they've been through tech therapy though.  Like all crazy hot girlfriends, they get a pass.  Me, if I'd paid that much, I wouldn't want to then budget for "upgrading" stripped gears and swapping springs, but... it's airsoft.

 

Apocryphally, I stress, and I have the usual peasant jealousy for, and reverse snobbery towards, nice toy gnus.

 

[EvilMonkee]

Welcome.

 

I would (controversially) add another - GBBR when setup properly outrange AEGs.  Something to  do with the physics I can't be arsed to look up atm.  I just know my GBBR GHK AKM at 350 FPS outranges my LCT AKM even though they run the same hop rubbers at the same FPS.