Post by Teabag on May 31, 2013 12:41:45 GMT
Hi folks found this thought it may be a good reference point to those looking to get guns, unsure of who wrote it or when (don't think its that old)
Airsoft Buyers Guide:
JG is probably the cheapest brand that doesn’t totally suck; their guns have decent fps, are cheap, and have average accuracy. The only issue is they sometimes come with broken parts, so open it up as soon as you get it and check out the parts. Overall a great beginner’s gun.
My Second favorite brand, Echo 1, has reasonably priced M4’s, licensed by Stag Arms. It’s basically a JG, but quality checked (that’s a very good thing). Overall, solid for the price. Recommended. Ak47(full metal/wood)
G&G has been by far the best brand of gun (for M4’s at least) I’ve ever used. The gun looks VERY nice for a plastic body, and feels more solid than comparable brands. The price is a bit higher than most other companies for just the gun and a magazine, no accessories but the quality is also much higher.
I had been using my G&G Combat Machine “GR 16” (M4-a1) for about a year without any problems, until I lent my gun to my friend for the weekend. It was returned to me with a broken hop up, because apparently he used cheap bbs…or something like that. Anyway, long story short I went on airsoftgi.com looking for a new hop up, and found my gun, but with £250 worth of upgrades, and designed for cqb, for £180. Bought it.
I replaced the hop up on my old gun, added a precision barrel, and now I have two great guns for cqb and the field. In short, G&G has served me well, and I highly recommend them.
AEG Buyer's Guide:
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT AIRSOFT GUNS: You need to remember the golden rule about airsoft replicas: Stock electric airsoft replicas are almost exactly the same in performance except for: Inner barrel length: The longer the inner barrel, the more accurate a replica is.
For example: the M16A2's inner barrel is 509mm, while the MP5SD6 only has a 229mm barrel, since the M16's barrel is over twice as long as the MP5's, the M16 is more accurate. However, it is also much longer and impractical for CQB use.
Battery capacity: Replicas with full stocks can hold a larger battery then other replicas. Batteries come in three styles: Mini, Large and Stick. Mini batteries are usually 8.4v and 600mAh while Large batteries are usually 8.4v 3000mAh or ever larger. Stick batteries are usually 8.4v 600mAh.
When I started airsoft I learned that with a stock replica, a very rough guideline for how many shots you could take before your battery died is a 1:1 conversation. Meaning for every mAh you have, you can fire one BB. Example, you have a 3000mAh battery, so you are generally going to be able to fire 3000 BBs before it needs to be recharged.
As I stated, this a VERY rough guideline and is only really even that accurate on stock replicas, once things inside the mechbox start getting upgraded, the battery is forced to use more energy with each shot. For more information on batteries, please refer to the Battery FAQ (it's below this FAQ and the Mechbox FAQ).
Magazine capacity: Different replicas use different size magazines and therefore they hold more BBs per magazine. Standard magazines hold anywhere from 50 to 70 rounds, midcap magazines hold roughly 100 - 120, hicaps hold 200 to 600 and box magazines are known to hold up to 5000 BBs.
Except for those three major considerations, the last one is looks. Do you actually like how the replica looks? If not, then it probably
isn't for you. 9/10 of airsoft is looking cool, so why run with something that you aren't happy with the looks of?
MANUFACTURERS:
Tokyo Marui (TM): Tokyo Marui is the standard by which everything else in the airsoft community is judged. They were the first company to really make the AEG concept work, and many of the older players have owned quite a few of them. Tokyo Marui makes good quality replicas, with a decent price.
They are reliable and because of the length of time that TM has been in the business, there are a lot of upgrade choices as well as
types of replicas to choose from. Classic Army (CA): Classic Army is based out of Hong Kong, and they strive to make excellent quality
replicas. All CA AEGs come pre-upgraded (compared to TM standards, anyway) and shoot about 320 - 340fps out of the box.
They all come with metal bodies (If the weapon it's modelled after is made of metal), and the internals also come with metal bushings as compared to TM's stock bushings which are plastic, this adds durability and life to the replica. They are about a hundred dollars more expensive than TM, but some of the airsoft players in Oregon have told me flat-out that they won't buy anything else.
I Chih Shivan (ICS): Their M16-series have a unique mechbox design that allows for easy break down, and remains compatible with TM mechbox parts and therefore 99% of after market upgrades; their MP5's do not have this feature but do remain compatible with after market parts.
Like CA replicas, ICS AEGs come standard with metal bodies and slight upgrades, another unique feature is that the forward assist on their M16-series actually releases the spring, lessening the stress on the internals when the gun is not in use. As long as you get any of their replicas that are Version Two (this number has nothing to do with mechbox type) or later, they are very reliable.
Guay Guay Armament (G&G): The first company to come out with the M14, and they have a reputation for making high quality, durable
replicas. Down side? They are fairly expensive, compared to Echo 1 and UTG, though they are still less than CA and TM and have similar quality.
G&P Laser Products (G&P): One of two companies to make a UMP, they are new to the market and not much is known about the quality of their stuff yet, though the first looks have been positive.
UTG: A Chinese company that is also just breaking into the US market; they make budget-level beginner AEGs that are compatible with TM mechboxes and after-market parts. A good buy if you're looking for a decent gun for a low price. Generally, it will accept all TM compatible upgrades.
Echo 1 (E1): Echo 1, like UTG is a re-brander of the cheaper Chinese clones. They've seen moderate success by releasing the same replicas as the CA and TM, at a fraction of the cost and (usually) similar performance. They don't simply rebrand, though, they give the replica a pretty good once-over and quality check to make sure all the parts in the gearbox are up to speed. Faulty or weak components are replaced with higher quality pieces.
You may will want to give the gearbox a check yourself (or have someone else do it for you) to see to make sure the shimming is done properly and that they haven't under/over greased everything. The quality of AEG you will get from Echo 1 will vary by quite a bit (which is not so good), depending on who the original manufacturer was.
TOP: For a long, long time Top was the only airsoft manufacturer to create LMG (light machine-guns) replicas. Their reputation is a bad one, and to make any of their replicas into viable skirmish replicas, you will need to spend lots of time and money on it as well as make sure it receives all the tender loving care you can provide. If you're looking for an M249, check out the Classic Army variant.
Systema PTW: Considered by some to be the airsoft gun line. Systema has made each of their replicas to exacting standards: they are true one-to-one scale in every way, they have a unique and very reliable mechbox design, along with a host of other features. There are not many Systema replicas in general use right now because of their restrictive price; it'll cost you anywhere from £1000 to £3000 for a complete setup and an upgraded cylinder set.
What ever you buy do your research on the kit folks, YouTube has loads of reviews and there are always people on here or other places (google) that can help you decide on quality.
Rule of thumb i go by is 'you pay for what you get' but if it seems too good to be true it most
likely is'.. if any one has anything to add to this or correct me on that would be good to hear from you
Airsoft Buyers Guide:
JG is probably the cheapest brand that doesn’t totally suck; their guns have decent fps, are cheap, and have average accuracy. The only issue is they sometimes come with broken parts, so open it up as soon as you get it and check out the parts. Overall a great beginner’s gun.
My Second favorite brand, Echo 1, has reasonably priced M4’s, licensed by Stag Arms. It’s basically a JG, but quality checked (that’s a very good thing). Overall, solid for the price. Recommended. Ak47(full metal/wood)
G&G has been by far the best brand of gun (for M4’s at least) I’ve ever used. The gun looks VERY nice for a plastic body, and feels more solid than comparable brands. The price is a bit higher than most other companies for just the gun and a magazine, no accessories but the quality is also much higher.
I had been using my G&G Combat Machine “GR 16” (M4-a1) for about a year without any problems, until I lent my gun to my friend for the weekend. It was returned to me with a broken hop up, because apparently he used cheap bbs…or something like that. Anyway, long story short I went on airsoftgi.com looking for a new hop up, and found my gun, but with £250 worth of upgrades, and designed for cqb, for £180. Bought it.
I replaced the hop up on my old gun, added a precision barrel, and now I have two great guns for cqb and the field. In short, G&G has served me well, and I highly recommend them.
AEG Buyer's Guide:
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT AIRSOFT GUNS: You need to remember the golden rule about airsoft replicas: Stock electric airsoft replicas are almost exactly the same in performance except for: Inner barrel length: The longer the inner barrel, the more accurate a replica is.
For example: the M16A2's inner barrel is 509mm, while the MP5SD6 only has a 229mm barrel, since the M16's barrel is over twice as long as the MP5's, the M16 is more accurate. However, it is also much longer and impractical for CQB use.
Battery capacity: Replicas with full stocks can hold a larger battery then other replicas. Batteries come in three styles: Mini, Large and Stick. Mini batteries are usually 8.4v and 600mAh while Large batteries are usually 8.4v 3000mAh or ever larger. Stick batteries are usually 8.4v 600mAh.
When I started airsoft I learned that with a stock replica, a very rough guideline for how many shots you could take before your battery died is a 1:1 conversation. Meaning for every mAh you have, you can fire one BB. Example, you have a 3000mAh battery, so you are generally going to be able to fire 3000 BBs before it needs to be recharged.
As I stated, this a VERY rough guideline and is only really even that accurate on stock replicas, once things inside the mechbox start getting upgraded, the battery is forced to use more energy with each shot. For more information on batteries, please refer to the Battery FAQ (it's below this FAQ and the Mechbox FAQ).
Magazine capacity: Different replicas use different size magazines and therefore they hold more BBs per magazine. Standard magazines hold anywhere from 50 to 70 rounds, midcap magazines hold roughly 100 - 120, hicaps hold 200 to 600 and box magazines are known to hold up to 5000 BBs.
Except for those three major considerations, the last one is looks. Do you actually like how the replica looks? If not, then it probably
isn't for you. 9/10 of airsoft is looking cool, so why run with something that you aren't happy with the looks of?
MANUFACTURERS:
Tokyo Marui (TM): Tokyo Marui is the standard by which everything else in the airsoft community is judged. They were the first company to really make the AEG concept work, and many of the older players have owned quite a few of them. Tokyo Marui makes good quality replicas, with a decent price.
They are reliable and because of the length of time that TM has been in the business, there are a lot of upgrade choices as well as
types of replicas to choose from. Classic Army (CA): Classic Army is based out of Hong Kong, and they strive to make excellent quality
replicas. All CA AEGs come pre-upgraded (compared to TM standards, anyway) and shoot about 320 - 340fps out of the box.
They all come with metal bodies (If the weapon it's modelled after is made of metal), and the internals also come with metal bushings as compared to TM's stock bushings which are plastic, this adds durability and life to the replica. They are about a hundred dollars more expensive than TM, but some of the airsoft players in Oregon have told me flat-out that they won't buy anything else.
I Chih Shivan (ICS): Their M16-series have a unique mechbox design that allows for easy break down, and remains compatible with TM mechbox parts and therefore 99% of after market upgrades; their MP5's do not have this feature but do remain compatible with after market parts.
Like CA replicas, ICS AEGs come standard with metal bodies and slight upgrades, another unique feature is that the forward assist on their M16-series actually releases the spring, lessening the stress on the internals when the gun is not in use. As long as you get any of their replicas that are Version Two (this number has nothing to do with mechbox type) or later, they are very reliable.
Guay Guay Armament (G&G): The first company to come out with the M14, and they have a reputation for making high quality, durable
replicas. Down side? They are fairly expensive, compared to Echo 1 and UTG, though they are still less than CA and TM and have similar quality.
G&P Laser Products (G&P): One of two companies to make a UMP, they are new to the market and not much is known about the quality of their stuff yet, though the first looks have been positive.
UTG: A Chinese company that is also just breaking into the US market; they make budget-level beginner AEGs that are compatible with TM mechboxes and after-market parts. A good buy if you're looking for a decent gun for a low price. Generally, it will accept all TM compatible upgrades.
Echo 1 (E1): Echo 1, like UTG is a re-brander of the cheaper Chinese clones. They've seen moderate success by releasing the same replicas as the CA and TM, at a fraction of the cost and (usually) similar performance. They don't simply rebrand, though, they give the replica a pretty good once-over and quality check to make sure all the parts in the gearbox are up to speed. Faulty or weak components are replaced with higher quality pieces.
You may will want to give the gearbox a check yourself (or have someone else do it for you) to see to make sure the shimming is done properly and that they haven't under/over greased everything. The quality of AEG you will get from Echo 1 will vary by quite a bit (which is not so good), depending on who the original manufacturer was.
TOP: For a long, long time Top was the only airsoft manufacturer to create LMG (light machine-guns) replicas. Their reputation is a bad one, and to make any of their replicas into viable skirmish replicas, you will need to spend lots of time and money on it as well as make sure it receives all the tender loving care you can provide. If you're looking for an M249, check out the Classic Army variant.
Systema PTW: Considered by some to be the airsoft gun line. Systema has made each of their replicas to exacting standards: they are true one-to-one scale in every way, they have a unique and very reliable mechbox design, along with a host of other features. There are not many Systema replicas in general use right now because of their restrictive price; it'll cost you anywhere from £1000 to £3000 for a complete setup and an upgraded cylinder set.
What ever you buy do your research on the kit folks, YouTube has loads of reviews and there are always people on here or other places (google) that can help you decide on quality.
Rule of thumb i go by is 'you pay for what you get' but if it seems too good to be true it most
likely is'.. if any one has anything to add to this or correct me on that would be good to hear from you
