Need advice on the King Arms R93

[chaz]

I know people are going to jump on and flame flame flame, well I am not looking for that. As well, I know I am not age verified yet. This topic serves as an information gathering process for my future purchase.

This gun is in my price range for something to start out with on a sniper platform.
What I want to know are the pros/cons and other comparable sniper rifles in the same $250 price range.

Things I am looking for:

Performance out of the box
Durability
Ease of upgrading/parts

I have searched around and haven't been coming up with much.

Thanks in advance.

[L473ncy]

If you want the best sniper rifle platform possible I would go either; TM VSR-10, Maruzen APS-2 or CA M24. Accept no substitutes.

I like the Blaser R93 because it's kind of cool and different but being unique means that you'll be hard pressed to find much aftermarket support. Although KA makes aftermarket parts for the TM VSR (which I assume the Blaser internal design is based off of) it would probably be best to go and buy one of the above listed rifles if you want the ultimate sniper rifle platform.

Other than that the Blaser is pretty sweet and should do it's job out of the box. But keep in mind that between that and an AEG you're outgunned by sheer volume of fire and the only thing you have going for you is the relative silence of the spring system and that hopefully it's based off the VSR design and has an awesome hop up action for accuracy (VSR hop up design is arguably one of the better designs out there IMO).

[slink182]

For a starter gun (and I'm assuming this will be your first gun), I would not recommend a dedicated sniper platform, with the exception of a DMR. Airsoft sniping is nothing like RS sniping (or CoD/MoH sniping). You won't reach out and touch someone at 300 m (unless you're Stalker - but I think he's the exception to the rule).

A DMR, otoh, will give you some mid-range support/suppression ability, with flexibility to go CQB if necessary (assuming it's 400 fps or less).

If you intend to go full sniper mode, then Latency has provided the short-list of only sniper rifles you should consider. On top of the cost of the rifle, expect to sink 1-2 times the base cost to make it truly accurate.

[chaz]

On the TM VSR-10 platform, what would be some of the first upgrades needed to make this a decent gun?

Little history on me so people can understand why I am going this route over an AEG for my first purchase (if I decide to get right into Airsoft).

I have been a paintball player for 15+ years. Tried it all from Tourney ball to now playing woodsball. Shot everything out there and have settled on pump and pistol style of play (Totally different I know). Pump is my preference as it lets me sneak around, get into position, fire for the elimination(that's always the goal, right?).

Right now I have only played Airsoft once with a borrowed AEG (ICS M4 I believe) and had a really fun time (With the exception of some people cheating). Will be playing a few more times with borrowed equipment to find the group that fits me best and to make sure I do enjoy it enough to sink some of my paintball funds into airsoft.

[Curo]

Well I for one am happy to see more Durham players switching over, maybe some of the paintball fields can get off their asses an allow airsoft soon!

[lurkingknight]

hopefully you won't try importing guns by yourself unless you know the rules inside and out, since I'm pretty sure I know where you saw that r93 for sale for that price, don't want you to lose your 250 bucks or more to a customs seizure, that would sour anyone from playing in the future.

VSR is probably not gameable out of the box, since TMs are made for the japanese market which have a law mandating these guns impact at no harder than 1 Joule, which is under 300 FPS with a .2g. Canadian field rules allow up to 400 and over depending on engagement rules, so with a VSR out of the box, you'll be slightly outranged, though that legendary hopup might make up for it. You'd have to upgrade it, and since I know nothing about a bolt platform, I can't help you there.

There's a possibility of finding one pre-upgraded but you'll have to be AVed to get access to vendors or private sales that could sell them. Also, the landscape of the sport seems to be changing a lot faster than some of the older players can adapt to in terms of availability, there's lots of sites there that will sell to people who are not AVed through the site, though if they are responsible they will still check your ID for 18+. But, with the availability of some of the nicer bolt action platforms as restricted as they are, It may be a good idea to get AVed to see if you can gain easier access to them, or at the very least, see if there is one available preconfigured.

Most people will be running harder shooting guns with heavier ammo so it will give them really good useable range and a projectile that will cut through foliage, whereas at 300fps on .2s you'll be affected by wind and your ability to cut through brush is diminished.

[Curo]

A spring change in BR... mate thats almost as easy as changing the spring on an ARES.

[slink182]

Probably the following upgrades: spring, tightbore barrel, hopup, piston, teflon tape mod (to eliminate seal leaks), trigger assembly (?; not completely certain).

Certainly run with the heavier ammo - 0.3g and up. Most snipers I've talked to run 0.4+g bbs - flies straight and punches through foliage with efficiency.

[L473ncy]

First upgrades;

BB's - use at minimum .30g BB's, My recommended brands for now; Madbull, BBBastard, Green Devil, Guarder, Excel (chances are you're not going to see the last 2 I mentioned much but eh, they're decent the first 3 are highly recommended)
Spring - bring it up to ~400 FPS on .20's that's the generally agreed upon "sweet spot" for energy output plus you can usually engage at like a 50-60 ft MED as opposed to a 100+ ft MED if shooting hot (over 450 FPS).
Hop up bucking - KA, KM, Firefly, etc. (probably not the Laylax/9Ball bucking as recent batches seem to have bad reviews)
Trigger - Laylax Zero Trigger or PDI equivalent

Note this is just info that I've gained over time, I'm not a sniper and don't really delve into these sniper rifle parts unless I need to for project idea purposes.

X-fire.org will be your goto site for most of these things since they're the official PDI distributor/storefront.

[chaz]

I am going to get age verified (Hopefully, the guy in my area hasn't logged on in over 2 months) and check out the sales threads to see what is out there.
I appreciate the feedback and help from those above.

[L473ncy]

You might have to go to Markham or Toronto...

Also yeah the AV list is severely outdated and some have moved on to new things or retired. At least you're in the east where there's a higher density of AV reps. Out in Vancouver here there's only 3 reps within the GVRD and one of them has disappeared.