Best option for first gun

[Jh21]

Hi all, I played airsoft for a while and enjoyed it pretty much but I always played with rented replicas, Now I want to get my own replica and was waiting for black friday discounts on Taiwan gun. But still cannot make my final choice, I am in between 4 options, 1 to take CYMA O28 AK, 2 to take MP5 by JG works, 3 CYMA Thompson M1A1 (without drum magazine) and last is to get a decent Tri shot shotgun by CYMA and back it of with a good electric pistol as a secondary. What would you recommend? I play both CQB and in Woodland, my budget for replica is 125 euros max.  

[Pseudotectonic]

in my opinion only the AK and MP5 can do CQB and woodland well, and between the two it is personal preference

[Krisz]

Taiwangun doesn't ship to the UK (NI is fine though).

AEP is waste of money.

[The_Lord_Poncho]

Sack off the shotgun and AEP idea (Shotgun until you have been playing a fair bit and fancy switching things up, AEP for good). I'm biased, because my first gun was a Cyma 028 - and it was, and continues to be awesome.

[RostokMcSpoons]

I agree totally with the shotgun and AEP opinions.  

 

M4's might be considered a bit dull and common, but they're popular for a reason, the ergonomics are just so good. 

Easy to fit optics.  Magazines are abundant and cheap.  Webbing to carry those mags is easy (army surplus etc)

Typically easy to maintain.

 

So I wouldn't rule out an M4 of some description unless you're truly against the idea.   If you stay in Airsoft for any length of time you'll end up with one anyway.

 

Thompsons are fun but I'd rule it out for being a bit too niche... With poor ergonomics, and no option to fit an optic.  (Optics may not be strictly necessary - though I found mine very useful yesterday when playing in almost darkness - and they're fun to buy)

 

AK's and MP5's are both very cool, I'd go with either of those.  Just consider the logistics of your magazines when choosing... Are you going for high or mid cap?  Do you prefer to carry them on a belt or chest rig?  How 'authentic' do you want your loadout to be in the longer term? You don't want to end in a kit cul-de-sac that might limit you future RIF purchases 

[Rogerborg]

Ahoy and welcome.

 

The AK is slightly more suitable for woodland, the MP5 for CQB, but both will be usable for either purpose - just buy whatever you prefer.  You'll want to invest in a decent charger (SkyRC S65 or equivalent) and lipo or (life or li-lion) batteries. I'd suggest at least 2 x 7.4V lipos of 1300mAh or higher.

 

Magazines are another consideration. You'll need to buy more magazines for the MP5, although these hi-capacity mags work well (although are temporarily out of stock at TaiwanGun).

 

As above, I'd forget about shotguns and electric pistols, at least until you have something else reliable.

[Cannonfodder]

Echoing everyone else, forget about the shotgun for now and the AEP permanently. AEPs are underpowered and generally crap so I suggest saving up for a decent gas pistol.

 

As for AEGs, personally I'd go for the MP5 but that's because I'm very much a fanboy of German guns. However alone problem all the MP5s have is that the high cap magazines can have feeding problems  especially on high rof guns. You can get around this by either using the mags Rogerborg linked to or go with mid caps, but neither of these are perfect solutions.

 

Having posted that I wouldn't rule out the AK though as cyma gearboxes and hop units are excellent, especially for the price.

 

Which do you prefer the look of? I say go with that

[EDcase]

As all the above:

Forget shotguns and AEPs

Unlike real gunz, size is less important for range and accuracy so the MP5 may shoot just as far as the AK.   The MP5 is obviously better for CQB so that would be my choice in your situation.

The Thompson could work too so its really about which one excites you the most...

 

As Rogerborg said, keep some budget for a good charger and batteries. (Doesn't matter how good the shooter is if it don't shoot)

...and mags are a consideration as well.

 

And of course good eye protection is the most important if you haven't got already.

[OTH21]

I'd recommend Cyma AKs however I'd say if you can, go for a VFC clone as opposed to the TM ones, purely down to "newer tech" in the way the VFC ones are built. 

 

Note that Cyma AKs do tend to fire "hot" from new- I had one at 370fps on .2s. So you may need to change the spring to suit your sites limits. Or buy 2nd hand that is at the correct FPS.

 

If you got a 028 AK second hand you don't want to be paying more than £80/90 for the RIF and a mag or two. 

 

Cyma AKs are quite common in the classifieds and are usually sensibly priced - but the higher end Cyma's run into 2nd hand prices for E&L and LCT aks. Which have superior externals but sometimes lackluster internals.

 

Not used MP5s so can't comment. 

 

Tri Shotguns are supposedly underwhelming  with usually 1in3 barrels only hopping a BB correctly, the other 2 dribble out. I do have a spring AGM MP003 single barrel Shotgun which is OK as an emergency back up/garden plinker- it cost me £18 from Extreme Airsoft.

 

Finally, as above don't bother with an AEP pistol. They're similar money to a Gas non-blowback pistol like the clone MK23s (ASG/STTI) - which I'd say is a better option and they're upgradeable. 

 

All the best, enjoy the money pit that is Airsoft. 

[Rogerborg]

16 minutes ago, OTH21 said:

Note that Cyma AKs do tend to fire "hot" from new

 

OP is thinking in Euros, he should presumably be OK (or at least know his local laws).

[gavinkempsell]

I've got an E&L AKAKM ESSENTIAL firing at 1.13j 342.9fps on 0.2's straight out the box. good weight to it and looks good, can't speak about performance as it's never been used.

[Tackle]

As has already been said, take the shotgun & the aep pistol off the table (for now), yes both can be effective in  certain circumstances when coupled with certain playing styles, but as a "do everything", forget it, they'll let you down. 

Out of the other three, they're all viable, you need something that chucks bb's downrange at a reasonable fps & accuracy, they'll all do that, so it's as much about cosmetics & ergonomics really, whatever you like the look of & you feel comfortable carrying all day. 

Do you have load carry kit yet, webbing, chest rig etc, if you have then what is it set up to take mag wise ?, your gun budget isn't that big, so I'm guessing your not ready to spend loads yet on your rigs to accommodate your future mag choice. 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

I have a couple of CYMA shotties.  They are great fun for CQB, but the only rif I ever get hacked off using in game.  I have an aep that I have fitted with a Li-po.  Again great fun CQB, but as said above, a MK23 clone is superior.

 

My first CYMA 028 AK is still going strong despite many drops, lends and soakings.  

 

You have some really solid advice!

[Impulse]

As much as I love shotguns, and I feel everyone should own at least one, don't go with it for a first gun. It's a better idea than going with a bolt action sniper rifle as a first gun, but that isn't hard to do

 

Both Cyma AKs and mp5s are fantastic guns and will be great. Don't let the short barrel of the mp5 fool you either, as AEGs don't work like real-steel firearms; an mp5 will be just as viable in woodland as an AK. My Cyma mp5k with a simple hop rubber and nub upgrade shoots further than my TM HK416D NGRS with the same hop and nub (because 1J vs 0.7J on .32s) and cost about 25% of the price.

 

And as far as AEPs go, I wouldn't bother. AEPs shoot about as hard as a gentle breeze and it's entirely possible people just won't feel it if you shoot them on semi-auto unless you're up close and they aren't running or doing too much to take away their attention. I like my TM mp7 AEP for when it's really, really cold and gas pistols don't work well, but I usually end up just using my mk23 in that situation anyway as it shoots better and is quieter and still works in the cold thanks to it being NBB.

[MrTea]

1 hour ago, Impulse said:

As much as I love shotguns, and I feel everyone should own at least one

 

I think shotguns would be a fun alternative to an AEG in CQB (not as a first RIF obviously) but the performance is what puts me off despite them being <£100. Can you do much (or anything) to spring shotguns to make them reach the higher end of UK limits? My understanding is their FPS is usually around 250fps and (on spring pump actions) and if you install stronger springs it makes the pump action really difficult from i've read. Most tri-shot shotguns are all fixed hop too right so are picky with what BB weight they'll use though I suspect some DIY could resolve this.

 

At some point I'd love one of the APS shell ejecting shotguns but they're expensive

Edited November 23, 2023 by MrTea

[Impulse]

1 hour ago, MrTea said:

I think shotguns would be a fun alternative to an AEG in CQB (not as a first RIF obviously) but the performance is what puts me off despite them being <£100. Can you do much (or anything) to spring shotguns to make them reach the higher end of UK limits? My understanding is their FPS is usually around 250fps and (on spring pump actions) and if you install stronger springs it makes the pump action really difficult from i've read. Most tri-shot shotguns are all fixed hop too right so are picky with what BB weight they'll use though I suspect some DIY could resolve this.

 

 

I got lucky with my Cyma. It hops .28s out to a decent distance and is more than enough for CQB (45m is fairly easy to hit with it) and cost me a grand total of £50 from Taiwangun pre-Brexit. I'd never even think about upgrading it as I'm more than happy with that, even though I think it is around 0.6-0.7J.

 

If you want a high performance shotgun, you really have to go gas. Golden Eagle ones are apparently really good, but all gas shotguns seem to have leaking issues so they're not perfect. Can also HPA tap a gas shotgun if you want to really control the power.

[Rogerborg]

4 hours ago, Impulse said:

an mp5 will be just as viable in woodland as an AK

 

I should clarify that my suggestion to the contrary is more about typical magazine capacities, and the amount of BBs you can put downrange or carry on the same budget.

 

That said, I have a blast running an MP5K with a 600 round hi-cap as a "second-primary" when sniping.

[Cannonfodder]

3 hours ago, MrTea said:

 

I think shotguns would be a fun alternative to an AEG in CQB (not as a first RIF obviously) but the performance is what puts me off despite them being <£100. Can you do much (or anything) to spring shotguns to make them reach the higher end of UK limits? My understanding is their FPS is usually around 250fps and (on spring pump actions) and if you install stronger springs it makes the pump action really difficult from i've read. Most tri-shot shotguns are all fixed hop too right so are picky with what BB weight they'll use though I suspect some DIY could resolve this.

 

At some point I'd love one of the APS shell ejecting shotguns but they're expensive

They're definitely fun in CQB I know what you mean about them either being underpowered or you need arms like Arnie. If you want to run a shotgun as a primary then definitely go with gas. Yes they're a bit more expensive but they're so much more fun

[MrTea]

1 hour ago, Cannonfodder said:

They're definitely fun in CQB I know what you mean about them either being underpowered or you need arms like Arnie. If you want to run a shotgun as a primary then definitely go with gas. Yes they're a bit more expensive but they're so much more fun

 

For the sake of ~£50/£60 I might experiment with this just to see if it's viable to get a 'good' spring shotgun on a budget.

Edited November 23, 2023 by MrTea

[Rogerborg]

12 hours ago, MrTea said:

For the sake of ~£50/£60 I might experiment with this just to see if it's viable to get a 'good' spring shotgun on a budget.

 

Eh. I think it's a matter of luck, even within a brand or model, and even by airsoft standards. Some people swear by CYMA tri-shots, but I got an absolute lemon with random hops and feeding issues. There's a lot of fragile little plastic pieces inside, always trembling just on the brink of breaking, regardless of whether it's in a plastic or metal shell.  My ASG Franchi is much more consistent and smootherer, but completely unhopped.

 

Great fun when you do get a hit though, and, aside, it's significantly easier to push forward with your trigger-hand rather than hauling back on the pump action.