Looking for the next step up in AEGs. Beginner to Intermediate

[JVacation]

Hello,

 

Have been playing airsoft for a couple of months now. Currently using a DE M904e and it definitely does the job and offers good performance with the upgrades I have done. Originally I was thinking about getting a cheaper gun as a backup to my M904 however after thinking about it I am going to look into upgrading to a better gun in the next few months and then move the M904 over to my backup (especially with Christmas coming up!). 

 

I would like an AEG on the same platform and the budget will be around £200-£400

 

What is out there that you would recommend? Heard quite a bit about ICS and Krytacs etc

[Fatboy40]

I'm very intrigued (genuinely) as to what you believe you'll gain from an ICS or Krytac over the M904E?

[Rogerborg]

59 minutes ago, Fatboy40 said:

I'm very intrigued (genuinely) as to what you believe you'll gain from an ICS or Krytac over the M904E?

 

Yes, that, especially another M4.  Is that the DE with the fire control system?  Bursts, binary trigger for speedy-boi shenanigans?  That's about all you can really ask from an AEG other than pre-cock, and that's down to the mosfet, not the brand.

 

Time to drop this truth-frag again.

 

 

I'd be looking at getting something different, even if it's another AEG.  A recoil system, a different platform, even raw degeneracy like a P90.

 

[Tackle]

2 hours ago, JVacation said:

Hello,

 

Have been playing airsoft for a couple of months now. Currently using a DE M904e and it definitely does the job and offers good performance with the upgrades I have done. Originally I was thinking about getting a cheaper gun as a backup to my M904 however after thinking about it I am going to look into upgrading to a better gun in the next few months and then move the M904 over to my backup (especially with Christmas coming up!). 

 

I would like an AEG on the same platform and the budget will be around £200-£400

 

What is out there that you would recommend? Heard quite a bit about ICS and Krytacs etc

As the others members above have pointed out:

 

1. Your M904e is an excellent bit of kit that does all you ask of it.

 

2. Deep down, all airsoft guns are the same, they fling bb's, some marginally better than others but throwing cash at them doesn't always guarantee improvement.

 

I agree you should have a backup gun, & yes it makes sense that it should have magazine compatibility with your 904, especially if your loadout limits the size of mags you can carry.

the obvious plus to this is if one plays up mid game,  it's a two minute job to leg it to the safezone to grab the spare, no fuss or time lost 😊.

 

Your 904 is a stubby gun, why not consider one of the longer variants, 907h for example, set it up as a dmr, pretty it up with magnified sights etc, gives you another style of play on a platform that your familiar with, it's what I'd do, especially if my LCE restricted what mags I could carry.

 

alternatively, if that's not the case, get what you like the look of (subject to positive reviews), me, I'm a sucker for the longer battle rifles, m14/G3/SLR, whatever floats your boat 🤔 

 

PS @Rogerborg I'm nicking that picture, awesome, the truth will set them free lol 👍

[Adolf Hamster]

2 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

I'd be looking at getting something different, even if it's another AEG.  A recoil system, a different platform, even raw degeneracy like a P90.

 

indeed, with the right tweaks a budget gun can generally be gotten to the same standard of performance as premium guns, at least for the fundamental task of lobbing small balls.

 

what you'd want from a more premium gun is either aforementioned tweaks to already be there (for those who don't want to mod their own stuff), or for there to be an improvement in external quality.

 

2 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

I'd be looking at getting something different, even if it's another AEG.  A recoil system, a different platform, even raw degeneracy like a P90.

 

agreed

 

but then i've never understood the people who's collection consists entirely of m4's just with different accessories.

[EDcase]

Once you've got a good performer other other pewpews are just a different shape (which can be nice to vary)

As Tackle said, maybe consider a different style of play with a longer DMR.

 

Or you could get into recoils with the NGRS, BOLT or Lonex BAW (if you can find one)

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by EDcase

[Druid799]

Having been playing for over 20+yrs and owning an awful lot of different guns and platforms in that time , I will more than happily say bar a TM recoil the new DE mosfet guns(if all the same)are among the best performing guns I’ve ever owned , I picked up a 2nd hand 904G as a “it’s the end of the day and I’m bolloxed ! I need a lightweight gun !” Gun and first time I used it I ended up using it the entire day I think it’s THAT good ! 😱

so yea I’d say go for a totally different platform , and if not yet also change to mid caps from hi-caps so you need to do reloads in game to step up your game . 👍

[JamesAirsofterAgent]

1 hour ago, Druid799 said:

if not yet also change to mid caps from hi-caps so you need to do reloads in game to step up your game . 👍

This definitely, theres often bulk deals around of 10/20 low cap mags that you can split with friends and it makes it a lot more interesting

[Druid799]

1 hour ago, JamesAirsofterAgent said:

This definitely, theres often bulk deals around of 10/20 low cap mags that you can split with friends and it makes it a lot more interesting

Played a game many moons ago where we only had X number of ’real’ and low cap mags between each team(there was only 18 of us there) you could reload them BUT you had to take and hold one of three ammo dumps around the site to do so then once the mags where reloaded you had to Frank boff out of it . The game started out with the ammo dumps closed and you had to complete tasks to activate them , has to be said was bloody good fun ! 

[JamesAirsofterAgent]

On 13/09/2021 at 20:03, Druid799 said:

Played a game many moons ago where we only had X number of ’real’ and low cap mags between each team(there was only 18 of us there) you could reload them BUT you had to take and hold one of three ammo dumps around the site to do so then once the mags where reloaded you had to Frank boff out of it . The game started out with the ammo dumps closed and you had to complete tasks to activate them , has to be said was bloody good fun ! 

That sounds absolutely amazing so props to whoever came up with it, definitely adds a unique dynamic to a game. 

[Rogerborg]

I really enjoyed a filmsim with limited ammo, although as with everything in airsoft, you got the impression that some players treated it as more of a guideline than a rule.

[Adolf Hamster]

6 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

I really enjoyed a filmsim with limited ammo, although as with everything in airsoft, you got the impression that some players treated it as more of a guideline than a rule.

 

i must admit it's the one thing i'd have loved to try, assuming limited ammo actually means limited ammo and none of this "an m4 pcc with a box mag is a support gun" shenanigans.

 

taking something like the dragonuv on the field with nominally* 160 rounds and no decent topping off method is great except the bit where everyone else is hosing left right and centre.

 

problem is every event i've seen that tried to impose ammo limits either did it in a really dumb way (eg you could carry 2 hi caps or 5 low caps, evidently nobody did the math on that), or allowed the aforementioned workaround of accepting anyone with an arp and a drum mag as a support gunner, which kind of defeats the point of giving people who have to lug support guns with actual heft to them around the capacity advantage. plus ofc letting people carry a bag to spawn to reload with also defeats the purpose of encouraging ammo conservation.

 

*mags holding 20 rounds on paper, more like 15

[Druid799]

1 hour ago, JamesAirsofterAgent said:

That sounds absolutely amazing so props to whoever came up with it, definitely adds a unique dynamic to a game. 

Was actually me that came up with that one , as there wern’t many players that day head marshal said “give me your ideas and we can see what’ll work”  

[Stratton Oakmont]

Beginner - TM recoil M4/hk 416 variant ( not the 416c)

intermediate - TM recoil as above plus scar variant

advanced - TM recoil as above plus ak 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Stratton Oakmont

[shadowfacex]

On 13/09/2021 at 09:21, JVacation said:

I would like an AEG on the same platform and the budget will be around £200-£400

 

What is out there that you would recommend? Heard quite a bit about ICS and Krytacs etc

 

Krytacs are good but overrated. Their licensed Vector is a prime example: decent build quality on the outside only to be let down but bog-standard gearbox and so-so internals that need another £150 to make sense. My mate has one (stock) and he’s still wondering “why does anyone else’s Vector sounds different. 😂

 

If you’re looking to splash, try something from PTS, although if it’s made by KWA you are warned that parts most likely need to be shipped from the US and some are proprietary, but other than this KWA makes awesome builds that are solid out-of-the-box and use interchangeable parts, as long as you buy something based on VM4/RM4 platform. If you get one of their ERG variants, be warned that upgrading V3 ERG gearbox with a MOSFET is a mothe!#@$%er.

 

The good thing about stuff from PTS, is that there’s a metric ton of parts and their QA is solid. I’ve got their Magpul PDR-C and Centurion Arms C4-10 (modded to a 15” M-LOK hand guard/barrel because I like it big) and both even share PMAGs, so I got a choice of 10 boxes, in case I wanna go ballistic.

 

Not sure another AR-15 variant is what you want, but I’d say an alternative might be something a bit more exotic, like SG553 and a generally more expensive SCAR-L/H.

[Sacarathe]

On 15/09/2021 at 12:39, Adolf Hamster said:

 

i must admit it's the one thing i'd have loved to try, assuming limited ammo actually means limited ammo and none of this "an m4 pcc with a box mag is a support gun" shenanigans.

 

taking something like the dragonuv on the field with nominally* 160 rounds and no decent topping off method is great except the bit where everyone else is hosing left right and centre.

 

problem is every event i've seen that tried to impose ammo limits either did it in a really dumb way (eg you could carry 2 hi caps or 5 low caps, evidently nobody did the math on that), or allowed the aforementioned workaround of accepting anyone with an arp and a drum mag as a support gunner, which kind of defeats the point of giving people who have to lug support guns with actual heft to them around the capacity advantage. plus ofc letting people carry a bag to spawn to reload with also defeats the purpose of encouraging ammo conservation.

 

*mags holding 20 rounds on paper, more like 15

 

Sounds like they might have been better going with one hi-cap for all and no reloading. You'd think people wanting to attend something like that could at least manage to just buy 40rnd mags.

[Adolf Hamster]

21 minutes ago, Sacarathe said:

 

Sounds like they might have been better going with one hi-cap for all and no reloading. You'd think people wanting to attend something like that could at least manage to just buy 40rnd mags.

 

tbh i'd have rather they just had an ammo limit, eg you get 500 rounds for the day but how you use them is up to you.

 

can put them all in one hicap or spread it out over a bunch of low-caps and refill mid-game but you still only get 500 rounds. means you're not forcing folk to buy mags of any given config.

 

then just raise the ammo limit for boxfed guns based on weight- heavier your gun is the more ammo you're allowed so if you've got a drumfed arp you only get 500 rounds like everyone else but if you're lugging a pkp then you can carry ten times that.

 

but ofc that's not that easily enforceable (folk will just hide bags of extra bb's) and it'll all fall apart after the first few hours when folk have emptied their allowance and are complaining that they can't shoot any more.

[SSPKali]

22 hours ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

tbh i'd have rather they just had an ammo limit, eg you get 500 rounds for the day but how you use them is up to you.

As a GBBR user that sounds fine to me 😀 Carrying 7x 35rd mags is a killer workout!

 

One gun that is always fun is a little AK, the Cyma CM045 (AKS-74U) is a cracking gun for the money and mags and chicom chest rig are cheap and very different to an M4. Sometimes fun to play “the bad guy” Also the v3 gear boxes are easier to work on if you want to start tinkering…

[Adolf Hamster]

55 minutes ago, SSPKali said:

As a GBBR user that sounds fine to me 😀 Carrying 7x 35rd mags is a killer workout!

 

you could carry 4 and a speedloader if so desired, or 7 mags, whatever works but you only get 500 rounds

 

55 minutes ago, SSPKali said:

One gun that is always fun is a little AK, the Cyma CM045 (AKS-74U) is a cracking gun for the money and mags and chicom chest rig are cheap and very different to an M4. Sometimes fun to play “the bad guy” Also the v3 gear boxes are easier to work on if you want to start tinkering…

 

yes, even if i'm a little peeved at the idea having an ak de-facto means bad guy.....

[SSPKali]

9 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

yes, even if i'm a little peeved at the idea having an ak de-facto means bad guy.....

If only because all airsofters want to Seal-Delta-commando-tier1 heroes (because they can never be the “bad guys”!)