Pros/Cons of the LM4

[Zdybel]

I just about had it with my AEGs not being reliable in the field and I'm thinking of converting to Gas guns. I know nothing about gas rifles so feel free to educate me on them.

[Zinger]

The biggest things:

Good:
-Easy to takedown and work on. The LM4 is literally just pull a pin and pop open the reciever and you can pull the bolt out and that's really the only part you need to ever do anything to, other than cleaning.
-Fun. Plain and simple the best part is the recoil.
-Accepts real steel parts. No need for a buffer tube battery or peq box.
-Realism

Bad:
-Expensive magazines/low magazine capacity
-Fps is inconsistent, which can be annoying. The LM4 is much better than most, but it coul be tough to get used to.

I'm sure there is a lot I'm forgetting, but I need to get back to work, so I you have any further questions send me a pm. Hope this helps.

[Squirrel]

The biggest issue is the temperature changes throughout a day. If you aren't planning to use them outside the summer, you'll be fine though. We've had people chrono early morning at No Limits and barely hit 200fps.

Other than temperature issues, they are very appealing to me.

Not sure if you want to go HPA or not, but I just put a Wolverine SMP into my MP5, and it is very awesome. You get pretty much all of the benefits of a fusion engine minus a bit of the adjustability. Basically it doesn't adjust up past 40rps or 450ish FPS due to the single valve design and lack of bored out air nozzles.

[Gimpalong]

Might be worth it to wait for the Tippmann AR to come out in the next month or so. It's going to be capable of using HPA with AEG magazines or proprietary CO2 magazines each holding 80 rounds. It has recoil albeit probably less than a standard GBBR.

[Zdybel]

I'll give my AEG one more chance, once it fails I'm getting something new.

[ctres]

What exactly have your problems been? When I think of reliability gbbrs don't exactly come to mind.

[Stinger]

Aug 20, 2014 7:37:34 GMT -5 ctres said:

What exactly have your problems been? When I think of reliability gbbrs don't exactly come to mind.

I tend to agree. I've had far more problems with my gas guns than my AEGs, mostly because I build my AEGs really well. If you have a well-built AEG, it will be very reliable. That's not to say it can't have weird issues pop up every now and then but if you know exactly how it works, those issues can be quickly identified and rectified.

If you're having a ridiculous number of AEG issues, it means you're probably going about something wrong.
Of course some people just don't want to put the work in on it. It can be a lot of work.
If so, I suppose that some GBBs could be less involved in tech. Either way, you need to know how your gun works and how to maintain and/or even repair it if you want to be as effective as possible.

[Chapy (Tupac)]

im very suprised no one mentioned the kwa lm4 is proprietary, and its parts are very fragile it seems like the make it to break. for example the rail on the upper reciver isnt connected its held on by a pin. i broke it and it cost me 23 bucks for it. also buckings are a problem, if your gun jams and eventually it will depending on how bad the jam it could rip the bucking not a huge deal just puts you out for the day unless you have an extra. another ting is just to replace a bucking or anything you have to disassemble the wholde upper reciver, take off the rail ect ect the list gose on for problems but theres lots of pros its up to you though. i sold mine for the fact that in michigan ill get a few months out of it before it gose into the closet for winter

[MayhemXXXFrosty (AndrewMp5k)]

PolarStar. PolarStar. PolarStar. When you think of the cost of a basic GBBR field setup (gun, good amount of mags, possible reliability upgrades), you're already past the initial price of the Fusion Engine. Once you dive into externals for it, you're already at the price of the entire thing (HPA Rig/Tank). Plus side is that you can drop it into your current setup 9 times out of 10 and just pick up a spare upper for different situations instead of an entirely new gun. I've tuned my M4 setup to be field legal per upper I use.

The HPA Rig doesn't take long to get used to, but it's not awesome for ambidextrous situations. The nice thing is that you don't have to drop as much money in externals as you usually do for GBBRs, since more are MilSpec.

[Mosin]

I rocked my LM4 for almost the entire 24 hours of Grayling. Other than having a low amount of mags (personal fault, not the gat) I really had no issues.

Out of the gate you'll need the diamond maple leaf hop up set, since the stock tensioner isn't steel and can barely keep enough force down for hop up to even take place. I've heard the tightbore barrel is a huge help as well, but they don't make them in CQB length so I'll hold off there.

I will say that more things go wrong than just needing a bolt re lubed. There are a few smaller parts that come to mind, all in all cost me about $50 out the door to replace and now have replacements on all that. The hop up adjustment tool and KWA Mag Valve Key are both worth their weight in gold, so grab those if you can.

I spent about 2 hours all in all watching mod videos on YouTube from BoobieGbb, now I've got a solid understanding of the system. The biggest Pro to me is that all I need is a propane tank, a bag of bbs, and a speedloader for the LM4 series and I can literally play all day. With AEGs batteries die, and yes you can swap them, but more often than not with me I'd strip a gear, motor height adjustment would fall loose, some weird wiring situation would happen, or maybe there was a short and I lose two batteries in the process of figuring out what the issue is.

I shoot the occasional weird shot every 6-10 rounds, but generally speaking my groupings are 6-8" at 40 meters, which I'm ok with. I'd recommend saving your pennies and joining the KWA LM4 owner's group on FaceBook. I literally seen a dude selling his gat + 9 mags for $350 -- which if you're unaware the mags themselves are worth $45 a pop, and don't lose value. Ever.

[Stinger]

I'd like to bounce off of what Mosin said a bit:

Whatever you choose, whether it's AEG, GBB, spring, or HPA, know it. Know how it works, how to maintain it, and how to fix it.
Mosin knows his LM4, and he knows he is very effective with it all day.

I have a very good understanding of AEGs. I carry plenty of batteries (three LiPo) out, enough to do 24 hours of moderate shooting. I know I've built my gun well enough that it shouldn't strip a gear (it can still happen), and if it does I know how to handle that.

Having an understanding of the equipment you're using is a better advantage than just simply having better equipment.

All of that is a bit off topic, but I think Mosin has shown that the LM4 can be an excellent option.

[Mosin]

The biggest reason I switched to the LM4 game, and not to sound like a cocky asshole, was just that AEG airsoft got too easy for me. When you limit yourself to only 200 rounds on a full fighting load, rather than 800-1000 rounds carrying the same amount of midcaps, it really makes you choose your battles. In addition to the increased amount of time you'll have to reload, and the realism of a moderate recoil, really makes an easy decision in my book.

I just know that if my AEG goes down on field because of something internally wrong with it, I'm down for at least 45 minutes to an hour. With the LM4, there is literally nothing that can go wrong with it that would put you out of the game for more than 10 minutes, tops.

Batteries die, and propane tanks run out, but the fewer moving parts and pieces you have to worry yourself with the less you need to worry about the off chance that something goes wrong and messes up.

Obviously, any gun can have a freak incident. Hell I just had my Maruzen APS2 go down at Grayling due to a cracked cylinder head since I shot something to the tune of 500 rounds within a few hour span (For a bolt action rifle that's pretty high).

Don't wanna rant on anymore. If you ever want to finger bang mine at a game coming up just let me know. Usually once someone cracks the first round through it they're sold, at least that was the case for me.

[Gunslinger]

I picked up a LM4 as soon as I found out about them.

Pros;

As stated they have the best in reliability. (I'm sure Kjw owners will jump in here but come on a special tool to load a mag...)
They are as realistic as I have seen in airsoft thus far. 30 round magazines that weigh what (just about) a real steel mag weighs loaded with thirty rounds.
The cycle process.
The recoil is amazing and the sound can't be compared to.
The availability to use real steel parts.
I have been running the stock hop up witha guarder bucking and all is still well.

Cons;

The upper reciver is garbage! You have to be very careful other wise the stupid thing will peal the top rail right off. It doesn't take much to break it.
The mags weigh as much as a real loaded magazine! Heavy on your gear carrying 6 mags will weigh about 7lbs. Heavy when running through the damn woods all day.
Affected by weather a bit, I have ran it at games in the winter and been able to empty every round in every mag but it was still a bit sluggish.
The cost of the mags.
Dealing with kwa's website/customer service to get replacement parts.
Every time you drop your mag it seams it will land on the feed lips that shatter like fucking glass!


All in all I would say like every one says, if you exspect to be effective while playing airsoft (or any thing in life for that matter) know your equipment, know it week enough to do quick diagnostics in the field and have the parts on hand to repair/replace parts. And you will be fine with what ever you chose.

[Zdybel]

I might just have to test one out and see for myself. Thanks for your feedback guys!