AEG thoughts

[Priest (Immortal)]

So, I'm on the hunt for a new AEG. I've been debating buying a KWA SR10 for some time now, but don't know anyone who has one to get an honset opinion of it. Now I see the new Krytacs and it's got me interested. I'd be swayed in the direction of a Wolverine SPM, but I'm not to happy about carrying 2 tanks on my back since I carry my RPG at larger games.

So my question is does anyone have any input concerning the KWA SR10 and Krytac...or a better suggestion? I appreciate any thoughts.

[Coldwave]

I use an SMP and it's awesome. You're a big guy so the tank shouldn't bother you too much. It doesn't use nearly as much air as your rocket launcher! As for AEG's KWA's are nice but the internals are somewhat proprietary, as is the hop up I believe. I would suggest a G&P (even though you hate them) in rank of suggestions,
1.) SMP
2.) G&P
3.) KWA

All are good choices.

[Ogre]

I didn't have the SR10 but I had the KM4 when the came out with the 2GX gearboxes, I was impressed. I never had an issue with the gun. Only reason I switched to a G&G was because I liked the weight of the gun more.

[Gimpalong]

I had an KWA SR10 back in 2009-2010.



The SR10 was pretty much my first "big" AEG purchase. The gun itself was well put together and felt sturdy. It was the first AEG that I owned that felt like a piece of sport's equipment rather than a toy. The crane stock was nice and fit the NiMH crane stock style batteries that I had at the time. The buttpad on the stock came off pretty easily and swapping batteries was a breeze. The gun had a little bit of rattle in the RIS unit because of the fake gas system shifting around.

My gun came with a loose motor wire, so I had to open the grip and crimp the wire back onto the little motor tab. Occasionally the gun just wouldn't fire and I'd had to go in and re-crimp the wire. The hop-up never seemed to work very well and adjusting it up or down seemed to do very little. That said, the gun had average range and accuracy. I wasn't overly-pleased nor disappointed. Externally, the gun had a nice, flat black finish. It doesn't look as nice as some other rifles I've since owned (G&Ps, for example), but it doesn't look bad either.

At the time that I bought it everyone was into the whole "Art of the Tactical Carbine" thing and many, many people were running 16" carbines. Today the rifle is probably a bit more unique, I guess, but I do remember banging that longer barrel on stuff.

I seem to recall that I ran a 9.6v battery and the trigger response was nice and crisp. It was the first gun I owned where it could shoot reliably in semi-auto and I didn't have to run around with the gun on full-auto all the time. I could actually snap shoot on semi at people and it didn't feel like the gun was dying.

Of all the guns I've owned over the years, the SR10 is one of only a hand full that I've regretted selling. It wasn't a phenomenal performer, but it looked pretty cool and was fun to run around with.

If you're not going to switch over to an HPA system, I don't think you can fault a KWA, Krytac or any other mainstream manufacturer. I've heard good things about Krytac guns and from what I understand a bunch of people who worked for KWA now work for Krytac. I tend to think of Krytac guns as fancier KWA guns, but I might be wrong given that I've not owned a KWA for years and haven't even held a Krytac gun.

This is kind of a nice summary of Krytac and KWA and a good place to start with your research.

[Gunny87]

Yeah if you get an SMP or any other HPA drop in kit for that matter, you should invest in a carbon fiber tank. I run a CF 90ci/4500psi tank which is one of the biggest that is offered and I barely notice it when I run with it. Back when I had a 62ci/3k PSI "aluminum" tank, it felt heavy and bulky and I would never go back to one. That's if you decide to go the HPA route....

You can also re-locate the tank since I hated having one on my back. I had Hunt create a custom horizontal HPA tank that I have mounted on my battle belt with a harness for extra support. The only con, is that it takes away room on my battlebelt so I had to remove a mag pouch.

Unfortunately I don't have any personal experience with a KWA (AEG) or the new Krytacs. The reviews on the Kytacs have been very positive based on what I've read about them. If I were looking for another AEG, I would probably try a Krytac if I was looking for an AR style AEG. I'd love to rock a Krytac LMG, but since it's not accepted with most MILSIM events as being a legitimate LMG, that's the only thing keeping me from getting it.

[Snarf]

I've done a lot of reading and review watching on the new Krytac guns. If I was getting a new AEG then it would be a Krytac; the internals seem significantly better than most stock guns. Since the KWA is more expensive I wouldn't go for it unless you find the externals more appealing. I personally dislike KWA because of the many proprietary internal parts. I've only worked on one KWA box though and it was a 2GX. I have no experience with HPA systems but they sound very nice and very expensive. Retailers started selling pre set up HPA guns pretty recently though so you could look into that option (though I doubt it would be any cheaper).

[Crusade]

Yeah I would go with a G&P, their stock M4 internals are great and easy to upgrade, I have mine flathopped, shimmed, radiused, 6.02 tightore and a CNC hopup unit and I am shooting 190ft. G&P rifles are great overall.

[Gimpalong]

Over the years I've owned five G&P rifles.

Two were direct purchases by me from Asia, one was an Evike purchase and two were purchased secondhand. The guns from Asia and one of the second hand guns had real trades and dark gray bodies. The Evike gun and the other secondhand gun had flat black bodies and G&P trades. I know Evike was at one time selling G&P rifles, some with trades and some without. Over the summer I saw a teammate's G&P M733 that had some weird laser etching on the side of the upper receiver. I forget exactly what was etched, but it wasn't trademarks or anything that should have been there. Weird.

Of the five G&Ps I've owned, four had hop-up units that produced sub-standard range. Adjusting the hop-up didn't seem to do anything. In all of these rifles I either swapped the buckings and nubs for aftermarket parts or replaced the hop-up unit, barrel, bucking and nub completely.

All of them exhibited some variety of semi-auto lock-up. The gun would seemingly cycle fine in semi-automatic, but occasionally, especially with rapid firing, would simply lock-up and I'd have to switch to full automatic and fire a burst before semi-auto could be used again. I know others have complained about this issue. It could be something to do with the guns themselves or it might battery related where the battery isn't supplying enough power.

I forget what each gun chronoed out of the box, but I seem to recall that some were near the 380s and others around 330.

I really like G&P rifles, especially as bases for upgrading or for swapping in HPA systems (P*, SMP, etc), but G&P guns can also be weirdly inconsistent in different ways.

In my experience, the external coloration of G&P guns can vary considerably. The guns I've purchased from Asia looked great and had a nice finish. Things like the fake bolt, the buffer tube nut and the rear site assembly on the carry handle all had a dark grey finish to them. The gun from Evike along with one of the secondhand guns had straight flat black receivers and components.

For example, the M16A1 with M203 in the pictures below has an G&P A1 upper receiver that I ordered from Asia, but the lower receiver (and rest of the gun) was ordered from Evike. You can see how the coloration between the two is pretty different. Personally, I prefer the grey coloration over the black.





Basically, what I'm getting at is that G&P seems to have different versions of guns, or has produced guns in different ways over time. As a result, it can be hard to know what you're going to get when placing an order. Are you getting something that's going to chrono below 350? Are you getting something with deans or tamiyas? Will there be real trades or G&P trades? What color will be the body be?

To be clear, I'm not bashing G&P. I think they make good guns. Hell, I've owned five and have kept buying them over time. My primary rifle is a G&P. I just think people need to be aware that G&P rifles can vary in unexpected ways.

[Priest (Immortal)]

I appreciate all the input guys.

To be more clear about the SMP 2 tank issue I have. It has nothing to do with weight of carrying 2 tanks, but rather the placement of them as well as the size it adds to me. For those of you who've met me, you know I'm a big guy. So with the transitioning from indoor to outdoor in games as well as moving through small openings presents a concern. Then there's tring to keep 2 lines from overlapping or catchng on random things doesn't sound like too much fun. Also, if I choose to mount the tanks near each other I worry about them clinking together.

I'm going to look into whether the stock they sell for the polar star that houses the small HPA tank to see if it works with the SMP. But even if it does, that's another $250 on top of the $389 for the SMP plus the 13cu tanks. Sticker shock!!



Stock

[Gimpalong]

Could you run the tank to a splitter and then to the SMP and the RPG?

[Priest (Immortal)]

Well after reading a lot of reviews, I made a choice. I decided that an SMP just wasn't what I wanted to invest in. So I went with the Krytac Trident CRB. Now I'm debating getting Lipo. I've always just used a 9.6 due to all the exploding battery horror stories I've heard. But along with the Krytac research I've realized it's not so bad if you're careful and responsible. Now I need to find out what charger works well and if one battery brand works better than another.

[Snarf]

Awesome! I know it has a built in 3034 mosfet so you should be good to go (and the internals sound like they're ready for an 11.1v). Let us know how it is. Krytac is a new brand but it sounds very promising and I'm exited to see how it holds up.