SO many guns....which one to make mine?

[Scrivah]

Originally Posted by redzaku

really now? not be mean here, but he did say that in original post that he was looking at a mp5 for his sniper's loadout and his friend a umarex g36, did you even read it..

Yeah I read it.....he said he was thinking a socom m14 or an mp5. Dont you think an m4 would be the best of both or would you recommend him going to spend $500 on his first gun....not to mention the $700 or so extra he will need to spend on kit and upgrades.

As a beginner I would recommend the m4. Just sayin

[danceswithpellets]

hey thanks.
Im thinking Ill drop $500 on the gun.
That leaves change for camos(as milsims require) as I need them, standard clothes can be bought cheaply at army surplus.

As for kit...$30 condor pouch, extra mag, eye pro and battery. shouldnt be too much more than 700 to get me started. The guns gonna run for a while as is.

Bit over budget but Im considering the VFC hk416- Im afraid if I go mp5 I will end up being outranged and that aint the game I wanna play. Moreso stalking with my pal with an acog/2-4x or something.(obviously my gun wont be shooting out that far stock)

But I wonder what else would be good for that style of play and still be good in a firefight? m14 seems too long range oriented and not handy enough, mp5 seems too much the opposite.

Thus I, sadly(like everyone else), come to the m4/hk416. How good are those G&P/VFC m4s with the full top rail and flip up sights?

[HackD]

Originally Posted by danceswithpellets

hey thanks.
Im thinking Ill drop $500 on the gun.
That leaves change for camos(as milsims require) as I need them, standard clothes can be bought cheaply at army surplus.

As for kit...$30 condor pouch, extra mag, eye pro and battery. shouldnt be too much more than 700 to get me started. The guns gonna run for a while as is.

Bit over budget but Im considering the VFC hk416- Im afraid if I go mp5 I will end up being outranged and that aint the game I wanna play. Moreso stalking with my pal with an acog/2-4x or something.(obviously my gun wont be shooting out that far stock)

But I wonder what else would be good for that style of play and still be good in a firefight? m14 seems too long range oriented and not handy enough, mp5 seems too much the opposite.

Thus I, sadly(like everyone else), come to the m4/hk416. How good are those G&P/VFC m4s with the full top rail and flip up sights?

There are two basic models of the M14 classic design - the M14 long, with a ~500mm/21" barrel, and the newer M14 Socom II short model with a 16" barrel. The first is ideally suited for DMR, the latter is just as gameable as a classic M4 with a 14.5" barrel. It's more down to your physical conditioning as to whether you can handle either an M4 or an M14 in that size.

G&P I would stay away from as a first owner rifle - externals are great on them, but the internal gearbox quality-wise seems to leave something to be desired and usually needs some work to sort out if/when it breaks. VFC generally has a good reputation. As others have already suggested, i do strongly suggest you get age-verified - you can get cheaper in the classifieds than $500.00. I'm not quite understanding your reluctance to get age-verified, unless you are indeed under-aged.

Kit wise, you are forgetting about good and comfortable foot protection with ankle support. BDU's, you are looking at $50-150.00 a set, depending on style, availability, popularity and completeness of the set that you choose. Surplus stores sometimes aren't the best source for these - Tactical stores are also a good source. If you don't have one already, also consider a gun-bag to store/transport the chosen gun - add another $50.00-$100.00 for that. In another post, i mentioned a load bearing vest, chest rig, or plate carrier. You want at least a basic model to start. Condor has basic budget setups at reasonable cost - and the classifieds have plenty of setups from various manufacturers available at reduced cost. (starting at about $30.00). Pockets will NOT suffice. Add $15.00-30.00 per pouch, new, on top of that. Choose versatility in the form of Molle capability from the start.

At some point you will find a sidearm (pistol) comes in handy - budget $200-300.00 for a reasonable quality GBB pistol that won't break right away. That can come later, though.

Throw on top of that an extra spare battery in addition to the one in the gun, and a quality charger.

I'd strongly suggest that you spend a fair amount of time reading ALL the sections of this forum open to you currently as a non-age verified member - gear discussion, events schedule, accessories etc.. EVERYTHING. Read for detail, to get a sense of what is entirely involved in airsoft. You might think that you can get everything for $700.00 to initially set up. I have to disagree, especially if you are unwilling to age verify. There are bargains to be had, to cut your costs down, but $700.00 to kit out with new basics, even if you have some hunting related stuff? .. sorry, i don't see it. Prices have come down, but not that much. We can spend time answering your questions, but you need to form the big-picture on your own, and that takes time doing reading and researching.

[Scrivah]

Originally Posted by HackD

There are two basic models of the M14 classic design - the M14 long, with a ~500mm/21" barrel, and the newer M14 Socom II short model with a 16" barrel. The first is ideally suited for DMR, the latter is just as gameable as a classic M4 with a 14.5" barrel. It's more down to your physical conditioning as to whether you can handle either an M4 or an M14 in that size.

G&P I would stay away from as a first owner rifle - externals are great on them, but the internal gearbox quality-wise seems to leave something to be desired and usually needs some work to sort out if/when it breaks. VFC generally has a good reputation. As others have already suggested, i do strongly suggest you get age-verified - you can get cheaper in the classifieds than $500.00. I'm not quite understanding your reluctance to get age-verified, unless you are indeed under-aged.

Kit wise, you are forgetting about good and comfortable foot protection with ankle support. BDU's, you are looking at $50-150.00 a set, depending on style, availability, popularity and completeness of the set that you choose. Surplus stores sometimes aren't the best source for these - Tactical stores are also a good source. If you don't have one already, also consider a gun-bag to store/transport the chosen gun - add another $50.00-$100.00 for that. In another post, i mentioned a load bearing vest, chest rig, or plate carrier. You want at least a basic model to start. Condor has basic budget setups at reasonable cost - and the classifieds have plenty of setups from various manufacturers available at reduced cost. (starting at about $30.00). Pockets will NOT suffice. Add $15.00-30.00 per pouch, new, on top of that. Choose versatility in the form of Molle capability from the start.

At some point you will find a sidearm (pistol) comes in handy - budget $200-300.00 for a reasonable quality GBB pistol that won't break right away. That can come later, though.

Throw on top of that an extra spare battery in addition to the one in the gun, and a quality charger.

I'd strongly suggest that you spend a fair amount of time reading ALL the sections of this forum open to you currently as a non-age verified member - gear discussion, events schedule, accessories etc.. EVERYTHING. Read for detail, to get a sense of what is entirely involved in airsoft. You might think that you can get everything for $700.00 to initially set up. I have to disagree, especially if you are unwilling to age verify. There are bargains to be had, to cut your costs down, but $700.00 to kit out with new basics, even if you have some hunting related stuff? .. sorry, i don't see it. Prices have come down, but not that much. We can spend time answering your questions, but you need to form the big-picture on your own, and that takes time doing reading and researching.

This is bang on! Like i said before I bought a KA m4 and its really not the gun that takes all your money its the extras (bdu, vest/rig, i spent $30 per mag for magpul mid caps cause no one wants to hear your rattle, good footwear as mentioned, 1 point sling, sidearm and extra mags, ballistic goggles, the list really does go on and on).

Its great that you want to buy an expensive gun and if you have all the money to get all the extras too thats fortunate! But would anyone else agree that you dont need to put that much dough into your very first gun until you are more established?

All I am really saying is that in the grand scheme of things the gun is probably the least of the money you will be spending so try not to go overboard on the first one when there are guns that are half the price which shoot just as well.

[HackD]

Originally Posted by Scrivah

Its great that you want to buy an expensive gun and if you have all the money to get all the extras too thats fortunate! But would anyone else agree that you dont need to put that much dough into your very first gun until you are more established?

All I am really saying is that in the grand scheme of things the gun is probably the least of the money you will be spending so try not to go overboard on the first one when there are guns that are half the price which shoot just as well.

I would agree with that. When i started in the summer of 2011 - I bought a good 'quality', and for the time, a relatively expensive gun, thinking it was all i needed to play, in terms of the gun itself. It wasn't too long before i was modifying it to fit 'me'. Over a year later, i've spent well over the same value of that gun in add-ons, mods and accessories to get what i really wanted ergonomically - in the end, little remains of that original gun except the upper and lower receiver, and the upper gearbox.. if i'd started out cheaper, i'd likely have done the same mods, but i would be ahead a few hundred dollars. I still use that gun as my primary - simply because it's so personalized to the way i play. I would have likely have done the same mods, and likely be doing the same now, if it was a cheaper one from the start.

That's the beauty of the M4 series. It's one of the more adaptable and modifiable guns to buy, even/especially for the noob. As long as you keep it TM compatible, or of another mainstream design type where parts are commonly available and compatible, you generally can't go wrong.

You don't need the most expensive gun out of the box - save that for your second gun, and when you know what the @#@! you are doing. A $250.00 CYMA AK, M4 or M14 will do fine for the first time around. So will a King Arms full metal. Specialize if/when you decide to stay in the sport, and you can then relegate that cheaper first primary to back-up/loaner gun status.

This leaves you more cash available to spend on the other essentials.

[Scrivah]

As a side note you can easily make an m4 into a "sniper" rifle. I know its not really a sniper rifle but if you put a long tight bore barrel by taking off the old flash suppressor and putting on the extended silencer to fit the extra length of the tight bore, and add that acog you were speaking of you can have that sniper feel you are going for but also have the ability to put it back to a close quarters and all around gun.

[BennyBoy]

hell you can make a mp5 sniper rifle too