Shotguns

[OMinCheshire]

Hi guys seriously addictive this air soft isn't it. Another rabbit hole im sinking into lol. 

 

Got my first pistol and Aeg and despite being technically all id need I do fancy a shotgun. 

 

The below has caught my eye as its nice and short and seems reasonably priced.

 

Anyone got experience of them at all ?

 

https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/golden-eagle-m870-breacher-tri-shot-gas-pump-action-shotgun

[MrTea]

The guns themselves are pretty good to be honest but the only viable scenario i've used them in is CQB sites.

I used to use one at my CQB site and on 3 shot mode, it never had an issue sailing the BBs across the 35m-ish length of the site. Personally, I had the GE 8878 and the adjustable stock made it very comfortable to use. The shells are fine to use but a lot of people opt for the adapter that allows use of a M4 magazine instead but, IIRC, you had to remove the loading door to make it fit.

If you're going to use one at a CQB site, getting a tracer is a great idea. 5KU makes a tracer that fits over the end of the barrel and is secured by three grub screws. 

[Cannonfodder]

I've got one of the sawn off ones with the goose neck grip and they're great fun to use. In fact for a while it was my first choice for cqb games.

 

For maximum fun you do need to change your playing style though as the lower rate of fire means you need to pick your shots and avoid getting into drawn out firefights.

 

The only downside I found was that the gas reservoir for mine is quite small so I had to carry a can of green gas to refill it

[The_Lord_Poncho]

I have one of the GE shotguns (albeit a model with the stock). With mine, I had to Hpa it to get any usable range (i.e more than 20m), and at that 20m range, the spread of shot from the three barrels is significantly bigger than a human body. Given the generally positive reviews of them, I can't help but feel I ended up  with a bit of a lemon though. 

[Lyndication]

They're a real pain to disassemble and work on. Lots of tiny screws holding fragile plastic parts. 

 

Fun for indoor play, not good for outdoor.

[jzmalexander]

19 hours ago, OMinCheshire said:

Hi guys seriously addictive this air soft isn't it. Another rabbit hole im sinking into lol. 

 

Got my first pistol and Aeg and despite being technically all id need I do fancy a shotgun. 

 

The below has caught my eye as its nice and short and seems reasonably priced.

 

Anyone got experience of them at all ?

 

https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/golden-eagle-m870-breacher-tri-shot-gas-pump-action-shotgun

I don't have any gas shotguns but what I have seen from performance is that they have worse range and accuracy than a good spring shotgun, and their main advantage is the 6 shot mode, however that reduces range significantly.

From experience I'd recommend any metal Cyma spring shotgun, they have proper range and good grouping (unless you get a faulty model, in which case you should return it). I play at a woodland site and use these shotguns often, they are tri-shot with fixed hop up but with 0.28s can easily reach 40-50m range, though past that the grouping of the 3 BBs will worsen. Don't believe the websites, as the power on these says 280FPS on most sites, but I have bought 3 and they all do 340-370 FPS.

If its any testament to their performance, I started with one of these as my first gun (CM355LM) and play at a woodland site, they are my go-to gun and they work fine at the longer ranges. Generally it surprises the other players that the range and grouping is so good on a spring gun.

Also these are essentially no-maintenance guns as they are spring.

https://www.18airsoft.com/products/cyma-m870-tactical-sawed-off-spring-shotgun-cm357m?_pos=2&_psq=cm357&_ss=e&_v=1.0
https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/cyma-cm-356m-tactical-full-metal-shotgun

[Cooperman26]

I have a few shotguns in my collection, 15 in all 😁, all spring powered. Not had any issues with them.
 

Each type has their own strengths and weaknesses. Gas, less strength needed to pump, sound great when you rack, a little more power, but gas usage means you do have to be wary of your shots and do require (as any gas RiF) up keep to keep them in good working order.
 

Springers, a good arm work out and you’ll feel it the next day but no worries about worrying how much you have left in the tank and will just keep going. 

 

As the previous commenter, I would also personally recommend the Cyma range of shotguns as build quality is good and always good fun. I have a number of their full metal ones and a couple of polymer builds for variety and love them. Obviously the polymer builds are also cheaper than the full metal one to. I also have a couple from the Double Eagle brand with there textured rubber grips and they have also never let me down and are good fun. The majority all have the tri shot barrels to as a shotgun should spread!

I’ve also got some S&T shotguns which are full metal with real wood which are beautiful to look at and hold but they are only single shot and can have a little more range if that’s what you are wanting. 
 

My opinion with shotguns is that they are best for close quarters, room clearing etc and are not designed for reaching distance. So you have to adapt your gameplay for them which can be fun!

 

Buy I would definitely start with a springer, get the feel for it and if you enjoy it then look to upgrade down the line!
 

 

[neh0]

Bought an ASG SPAS springer trishot that uses 30 round shells. Fun for CQB and room clearance. Not very effective outdoors.

 

Invested £30 in the cheapest single shot 15 round magazine springer from Super5s after an interesting discussion with one of the guys there about converting it with a stronger spring to a DMR ! Maybe one for the long winter nights. If it fails after a game it’ll be fun and not too much money wasted.

[Lyndication]

I had a Cyma springer for a while, and it was fine enough for cheap, but also partially glued shut and built in the most insane way possible. 

 

After a year it started just falling apart.

[LMKipper]

I've got a VFC gas shotgun with the 30rd shells - same system as Marui, Cyma et al. On 3rd spread, it's a decent distance - I've never measured it but it's not that much worse than a typical AEG. On 6rd it probably loses 5-10m of range but obviously a bigger spread. I've played outdoors with it a couple of times and not felt completely outgunned. 

 

I think it also depends a little on the site you're playing at. If it's got wide open spaces, hundreds of people and everyone has a hicap then it would probably be a bit pants. Most sites I play at these days are built up/dense woodland and the games are semi-only with most people running midcaps. In those, if you pick your shots it's no disadvantage at all and makes for a very rewarding game. You do have to be on it with gassing up the little tank though. 

[OMinCheshire]

Thanks all some good info there

[Cocha]

Hey, I got a Cyma CM355 abs version this morning.

It is a cheap spring shotgun but it is a nice (not so) little thing! Doesn't have the hassle of gas and shoots FAR. Mind you I live in Italy where the limit for any airsoft replica is 0.99j, but this thing shoots as far as an AEG