help with choosing a gun

[shaddy grady]

well i think im going to go with the G&G M4 CQB-R Rec i have the pretty much the same gun just in pantball and its very well rounded easy to work with and perfect size, is there alot of aftermarket mods for G&G??

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by shaddy grady

well i think im going to go with the G&G M4 CQB-R Rec i have the pretty much the same gun just in pantball and its very well rounded easy to work with and perfect size, is there alot of aftermarket mods for G&G??

There's a lot of aftermarket mods for an M4. Most will fit a G&G.

[shaddy grady]

ok thanks guys i look forward to seeing you on the field's soon

[Kuro_Neko]

Manufacturer is generally more important then the style. Generally all airsoft aeg's work the same so how it looks like outside is up to you. Though the advice in the Airsoft Newbie Buying Guide about styles is good. Generally ak47, m16/m4 or mp5 are good starter gun styles due to the availability of accessories and upgrades.

For $200, the best you could manage is Aftermath stuff. Both the Broxa (full stock MP5) and the Kraken (AK47) are decent bargain basement guns, about $160 or so each. Stay away from Aftermath's Kirenex or Knight (both M4 variants) and the Lycaon (collapsible stock MP5) though, not a good rep.

If you're willing to go up to $300 you could get a JG. Yeah JG's are China clones but they're getting quite respectable nowadays. JG's M4 runs about $290. You could get one of the G&G cansoft (clear receiver) M4's for about $340. G&G is the cheapest of the midgrade guns. $400-$450 would get you an ICS which is a higher end midgrade gun. $500-$600 would get you a G&P, there's some debate on whether this is the lowest of the higrade guns or if it should rank higher. Either way they make nice guns.

If you can afford it, highgrade guns such as Tokyo Marui or Classic Army are the way to go. They're going to run you $600-$700. Though if the M4/M16 style is what you want then I'd recommend staying away from stock TM's, the barrel wobble and creaking are pretty bad on the stock TM M4/M16's (yes the new TM M4/M16's have fixed this problem, but the bulk of the ones in country are the old ones so best to just avoid them for now).

I did extensive research and settled on the Tactical Carbine version of the Classic Army M15A4 (basically a full stock m4) as my first gun. If an Armalite is what you're looking for then I think it's the best of all possible versions. You have the shortened M4 carbine barrel, which makes you less likely to smack your barrel off something when turning quickly, combined with the full stock which houses a large battery. Small batteries don't have near the run time of a large battery, not to mention that the reinforced slip ring (the ring that keeps the fore-grip on) is really stong. While this is mostly a good thing and a big step up over CA's previous M15 versions, it makes changing small batteries in the field very difficult if not impossible.

CA's M15A4 series in general is a big step up over their previous versions and as far as stock armalites go they're probably the best. All metal where the real steel version is, the plastic parts where the real steal version is plastic are made of high quality enhanced nylon fiber rather then abs for great texture and feel. Classic Army has a deal with Armalite so you get all the proper markings. Plus that deal also goes to show the quality of the manufacture, Armalite wouldn't put their name on a shoddy product.

Internally the gearbox is reinforced metal and all the gears are metal as well. It fires hotter stock then Tokyo Marui's as well, firing at 300-320 fps where your average TM only fires 280-300 fps.

All in all this is a great starter gun if you can afford it. Because it's all metal you don't have to worry nearly as much about breaking it and you won't get any of the wobble or creaking that is infamous in stock TM M4/M16's. Unfortunately affording it is the biggest problem, they're not cheap. For reference I got my CA M15A4 from the classifieds, upgraded with a bunch of Systema internals to fire 390fps, for $600 shipped which was a great price.

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of Classic Army. One thing to keep in mind about Classic Army is they now have two lines, a proline and a sportline. Originally they were easy to tell apart because the proline had the metal body and the sportline had a plastic body but recently CA has been releasing their sportlines with metal bodies. The price tag should still allow you to easily tell the difference, the sportline being $300-400ish and the proline never being cheaper then $500, usually more like $600 or more but it's still something to keep in mind. All the pros that I went over above were regarding the proline model. The sportline model has cheaper everything internally and externally.

There's alot of people that will expound the virtues of G&P as well. And I'll admit the externals of G&P are very nice, easily on par with CA, in some cases better. The reason why I don't say G&P over CA though is much the same reason why people weren't big fans of CA up until a few years ago: their quality control for the internals is not the greatest. That means a fair number of lemons. CA got a handle on this a few years ago and they've been making great strides in terms of their rep ever since, but G&P isn't quite there yet. This is simply my personal opinion and there are many people that would likely disagree with me, but it's something to keep in mind. ICS is about a cheap a gun as you can go and still get full metal out of the box, I haven't read alot about this manufacturer but needless to say it's not in the same league as CA or G&P. It's what someone on a budget but determined to get full metal would aim for. TM, due to Japanese law, are almost all abs plastic and fire alittle cooler then many guns but their internal reliablity is incredible. They will literally last for decades if left stock.

One of the perks of going with an M16/M4 variant is that mags are dead easy to come by and dirt cheap. You can get Star brand mags for like $5 a mag or less, plastic yeah but sturdy none the less (Star is also the only brand that makes realcaps too). Metal mags will run you a fair bit more, $15 to $30 a mag. There's no real reason to go with metal over plastic for mags except looks/realism. Though of course if you're going to go hicap then you might as well get metal ones. As to Brands, TM and CA make good mags. I've heard pretty good stuff about MAG brand mags as well. King Arms not so much, especially for M4/M16 mags. Star is always a good affordable fallback too.

Some people say you need to shell out for batteries, mags, camo, chargers and ammo in the begining. Most of that isn't necessary right off the hop. The stock battery will do you for awhile. Most of the guns come with a hicap (high capacity (300-600 rounds)) mag that will also do for awhile. I do agree that a good charger would be a sound initial investment, but not a total requirement, especially if you plan to get a good battery down the road and don't care if the cheap wall charger fries your stock battery. Camo isn't really required in the beginning either, just some dark clothes. Ammo, yeah obviously a requirement but even good ammo (BB Bastard) only costs $10 for two thousand rounds.

So truely, all you really need to start is the gun, a bag or two of ammo and good eye protection (which will run you between $30 and $50). That said, if you can afford it then it all helps. Camo would cost about $100, a chest rig or vest would cost another $100. A good loadout of mags, even the cheap Star mags, are going to cost at least $50. A good charger is at least another $50, with another $50 for a good battery. A sidearm is another thing that people like to have but isn't really necessary. A decent sidearm would cost you between $250 and $350.

Sidearms aren't really required right away so if you're on a limited budget then hold off on the sidearm for now. If you have the budget for it then what you want in a sidearm depends on two factors (besides cost of course) whether or not full metal is a must and exactly what model you're partial to. Certain manufacturers tend to make certain models better then others. If full metal is a must then the best choice that isn't going to cost you an arm and a leg is probably KJW, especially for the M9 which they do very well. You'll see alot of WE's around, they're cheap and full metal but tend to have problems, especially their 1911 models. KJW has a rep of having mag problems, but I have two KJW pistols and I haven't had any trouble with my mags. If full metal isn't a must then WA or TM would be very good choices.

[shaddy grady]

wow thanks kuro thats what i was really looking for opened my eyes and gave me alot of good info now ill start looking into some of the other companies and see whats out there the only thing with classic army is i havent found a canadian dealer and i know theres problems with getting them over the border as we ran into problems with our paintball guns at the border so im sure it will be much worse with these. heres some of the ones iv found that im thinkin about:

http://www.mach1airsoft.com/web/cata...m&id=185&cat=1

http://www.mach1airsoft.com/web/cata...m&id=189&cat=1

http://www.mach1airsoft.com/web/cata...m&id=195&cat=1

i couldnt find anything else that was really good looking other than stuff in the states ie tm and ca know of any dealers here in canada?

as for camo and packs etc im set been a scenario paintballer for around 5 years now i have enough gear and guns to supply 4 people with complete kits lol so basically i just need the gun and a some new pouches for my pack and im good to go.

[Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw]

You haven't found them because your not Age Verified yet. Get on that, then you will have a veritable spank bank at your disposal.

[Kuro_Neko]

Originally Posted by Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw

You haven't found them because your not Age Verified yet. Get on that, then you will have a veritable spank bank at your disposal.

+1. The only way you're going to be able to get the highend guns is to get Age Verified and get tthem from the Classifieds here on ASC.

[shaddy grady]

ya i emailed my local rep just gotta wait to hear back from him i think im going to go with either the ICS-160 CXP CONCEPT RIFLE or the ICS-48 S.I.R. i like the look of them and there in my price range so i think they should be ok for my first gun thanks again guys

[venture]

Originally Posted by shaddy grady

ya i emailed my local rep just gotta wait to hear back from him i think im going to go with either the ICS-160 CXP CONCEPT RIFLE or the ICS-48 S.I.R. i like the look of them and there in my price range so i think they should be ok for my first gun thanks again guys

Don't want to be discouraging...but in my opinion you should reconsider. Just trying to help. If you are new to the sport and don't feel like taking these guns apart all the time then go with Tokyo Marui. I haven't heard many stories of other brands lasting 100,000+ rounds with the stock gun. If you like to tinker then just get something that you can get parts readily for, i.e. TM, China Clone TM compatible, ICS or CA. Maybe someone can bring some insight with other brands, but for my money - If you want to play, bring a Marui.

You wont see many TM guns in Canada until you get Age Verified.

[pusangani]

lol after AV there aren't that many TM AEG's either

[TokyoSeven]

Originally Posted by pusangani

lol after AV there aren't that many TM AEG's either

I can see atleast five on the first page on the AEG classifieds, thats only the first page.