Best Budget AEG

[Cr0-Magnon]

*Not a sales post* I've just listed what I paid as part of the "review"

Also a bit of a longer read than I had intended, so no offense taken if I don't get any love for it, haha. 

 

You'll note I didn't put a question mark in the title, as I'm not a new player or even financially restricted. I'm fortunate enough to have been able to spend whatever I like on this hobby/sport/game/addiction, since I first discovered it five years ago. 

 

I've been through countless AEG's, including "high-end" purchases such as about £1600 in to a MARUI Recoil SCAR L, I also owned a TM AA-12, I'm on my fourth Scorpion Evo and I've even ventured in to the world of GBBR's, in the form of a GHK M4 and G5. Not to mentioned the hundreds of GBBP's which have passed through my hands.

 

However I've never felt comfortable having a huge collection of RIF's which never see the field or I don't particularly enjoy using. As such I'm left with just four AEG primaries. Three of which cost me less than £220 delivered and I believe are the most"bang for your buck" I've ever had. So hopefully someone finds this useful, even though it's just my opinion and I've not had a chance to test the longevity of these.

 

I won't go in to depth as there's a separate thread just for these bt to start with the cheapest:

 

Double Eagle M904N - £150 delivered. 

This really would be my number 1 recommendation for new players or those wanting a back up. This one is almost the same as the even cheaper M904G but comes with a metal handguard which makes the gun feel even better in the hand. Long-story short, it's compact but not too small, lightweight but solid, takes standard M4 mags and isn't fussy about which ones. Has an easily tuneable mosfet with some great features and even has a quick change spring.

 

CYMA Platinum CM.097D - £215 delivered from Poland (pre-BREXIT). 

This one comes in a variety of models and mine is featured in Negative Airsofts "Amazing Trigger Response" video, so I've obviously put a bit more into. However out of the box it's full-metal, has a basic but reliable mosfet, steel 13:1 gears and a high speed motor giving you 25rps, amongst a whole host of good internals. Plus of course the ever popular quick change spring.

 

Specna Arms SA-E01 Edge 2.0 - £217 delivered from a UK retailer. 

Again these come in a variety of different styles but I went for the classic M4 as I was getting bored of keymod or M-LOK handguards. There is slight movement in the handguard but nothing that's possibly to be expected from the style. However the rest of the gun is solid and leaves you feeling like a character in a 80's or 90's action movie (I'm loving having a carry handle!). Internally I'm sure the parts are decent but the standouts are the factory flat hop and Gate Aster mosfet, which I've mainly used to fine tune trigger pull but obviously has a whole host of other features.

Note: In order to adjust the trigger and more advanced features I purchased the USB link for £25, so I can plug the gun in to my phone or computer.

 

Does anyone else have any suggestions they'd put forward in this let's say under £250 category?

[BigStew]

I still say the best budget AEG is the CYMA M14 still can be got sub £150.00 posted some of the best out the box performance of any AEG i have owned. 

[Cr0-Magnon]

3 hours ago, BigStew said:

I still say the best budget AEG is the CYMA M14 still can be got sub £150.00 posted some of the best out the box performance of any AEG i have owned. 

 

Could be a bit too long for younger players.

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

I'd second the CYMA M14 but the Socom version is much handier.  Still perhaps a bit too much for kids or those with back trouble.  

 

Any of the shorter folding CYMA AKs also spring to mind.  

 

Really like the look of that Specna.  I can feel my mouse hand twitch at the prospect of clicking on 'Add to Cart' as I type.  I'll have to lay off the beer or the keyboard tonight now...    

[Misery]

cyma cm621 mosfet great gun 150 new have seen em put up for 120 new ocasionaly

 

 

[DRay]

Is there a *cheap tactical AK platform? I am trawling the classifieds at the moment for a spare/loaner M4 on the logic that I have the mags for it already. But I do love an AK....

[Wo1f]

Absolute best bang for buck.. JG g36c. Bought one from TaiwanGun for £90 and put a maple leaf rubber in it. Shoots as far as 90% of airsoft guns in its fps range. Plastic is cheap looking but it’s more than durable enough. Decently light and compact. For £100 or less you’re not getting better. 
 

best gun for £150.. ICS sports line m4 models. Internals are mostly the same as the metal bodied prolines. They’re very nicely made and the split gearbox is a fantastic idea; especially for a new player. If a piston does eventually strip its a much less daunting process of replacing it or changing a spring for a new player who doesn’t want to completely open a gearbox.  Again, throw a decent hop rubber inside it and it’s shooting better than most things you’ll come across. 
 

if an m4 isn’t your thing, a CYMA AK is a good alternative for the money. £150-200
 

£200 plus then I’d be looking at the fancier, metal bodied ICS guns that go from £175-£450 depending on features. 
 

or if an m4 isn’t your thing an LCT AK 
 

 

wouldn’t touch a G&G or an Ares if you paid me. I’ve previously had 2 g&g and both didn’t feed properly. Not not cheap combat machines either. Their UMP and something else I can’t remember. Ares are made out of kinder egg..

[Impulse]

My Cyma M14 cost me about £100 from Taiwangun and it shot further than most AEGs on the field. I threw £100ish worth of new barrel and r-hop patch from Umbrella Armory and now it's outranging most bolties, but is still firing at 1J. So for £200 I have an AEG firing with no MED and is shooting further than most of the bolt actions who have a 30m MED to contend with.

 

The downside is that ammo is expensive. WIth this setup I'm finding the lightest BBs I can use are .4s (even .32s go into the stratosphere with hop completely off!), so it's lucky that I typically prefer the sniper / recon style role and don't pull the trigger too often!

 

Therefore, this budget AEG is a good budget AEG for people who may be interested in getting into a sniper role, rather than someone looking for an AEG to run and gun.

[Shamal]

1 hour ago, Wo1f said:

 

 

 

wouldn’t touch a G&G or an Ares if you paid me. I’ve previously had 2 g&g and both didn’t feed properly. Not not cheap combat machines either. Their UMP and something else I can’t remember. Ares are made out of kinder egg..

I must be the luckiest man in airsoft.

My ares amoeba 013 is not made of cheese,kinder eggs or scotch mist lol.

I've had it,from used,for 5 years now. Played it to hell and back and all I have done,  apart from accessories, is put a new motor in it and that was only because I was gifted one for Xmas.

A lot of people on here knock ares but mine has never let me down.

Also have G&G which has been a reliable gun. But I quess its a bit like cars you can have a banger or a Bentley they both break down.luck of the draw at end of day.👍🙂

Regards 

 

 

[Adolf Hamster]

19 hours ago, DRay said:

Is there a *cheap tactical AK platform? I am trawling the classifieds at the moment for a spare/loaner M4 on the logic that I have the mags for it already. But I do love an AK....

 

well there's the cm045 which whilst not "tactical" is the kind of thing i'd suggest.

 

edit: there's the 45a which is classic, the 045c is railed up and equivalents including the heretic edition for full length.

 

tbh any of the metal bodied cyma ak range should be decent enough.

[Speedbird_666]

3 hours ago, Wo1f said:

best gun for £150.. ICS sports line m4 models. Internals are mostly the same as the metal bodied prolines.

 

Not quite.

 

I have an ICS Peleador - one of the newer 'sportline' models. To bring it roughly up to 'proline' standard internally, I replaced the Spring Guide (plastic), Piston Head (un-ported), Nozzle (plastic with no O-ring) - all with ICS' own 'upgrade' parts found on their higher-end guns.

 

The piston isn't the newer orange POM version and the Hop Unit is plastic rather than metal - I'll be replacing these eventually. I'm pretty sure the motor is slightly downgraded compared to my CXP-15 too. I've switched to an SHS Hi-Torque which really makes the gun come alive.

 

But I really quite like ICS M4s, despite their oddities. And to be fair the Peleador shot just fine without updating the parts.

[Wo1f]

9 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

Not quite.

 

I have an ICS Peleador - one of the newer 'sportline' models. To bring it roughly up to 'proline' standard internally, I replaced the Spring Guide (plastic), Piston Head (un-ported), Nozzle (plastic with no O-ring) - all with ICS' own 'upgrade' parts found on their higher-end guns.

 

The piston isn't the newer orange POM version and the Hop Unit is plastic rather than metal - I'll be replacing these eventually. I'm pretty sure the motor is slightly downgraded compared to my CXP-15 too. I've switched to an SHS Hi-Torque which really makes the gun come alive.

 

But I really quite like ICS M4s, despite their oddities. And to be fair the Peleador shot just fine without updating the parts.

No idea on these peleador or Mars stuff. But the older ones the only difference was the metal body. 
 

You could all just get rid of your electric sewing machines and buy gbbr’s like us cool kids 😎