Durable Spring Rifle

[4boys]

Hello. 1st post, any help appreciated. Looking for the subject gun for sons birthday...next weekend.

Have bought 4-5 over the years and all broke quickly. Ok spending up to $150 or so for one that will last.
Been searching for weeks....so many (bad) choices once researched possible winners. Thought I found it with Tokyo-marui but no one in usa that has any....or can ship quick.

All else equal would like military look with decent accuracy out to 75'$150 or so. Snipers seem too big....kids like to run around the woods with them.

Any local retailers that have a reputation for good advice and reasonable pricing also appreciated. I am outside Ann Arbor.

Thanks in advance!

[Tollis]

Well, for 150 you could get an Echo1 or JG M4 for your son, they are pretty decent for the price range, and most spring rifles are going to be sniper rifles. The M4 should be good out to about that range.

[Knief]

You can get a G&G Combat Machine for about that price as well. Check out www.airsoftsmith.com and www.airsoftarms.com. Both are in Ohio and ship very quickly. www.airarmory.com is also great, but have limited stock.

[Tollis]

Whoops completely forgot about G&G combat machines, go with one of those instead of what I suggested, they are much much better.

[M.S.-ARC]

Go for the G&G or take a look in the commerce section here.

I also want to add that as a parent you need to make sure that your kid has full permission to play airsoft wherever he goes and that they are also well away from public sight.

As an example, there was a member here on MIA who got caught playing on public property and here is what happened: miairsoft.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=39657

[4boys]

Thanks for the replies! Must say was looking spring as aeg options were staggering....figured a basic spring rifle from top manufacturer (TM) would be safe. Too many cheap store guns thrown away among my 4 sons. Dug in on your recommendation and spent a few more hours researching and now feel comfortable making the aeg buy.

Airsoftsmith has a combo with battey and smart charger for $170, free ship. They do not have just the gun....will see what the battery is and may check back. Found some solid recommendations on the site here and hate to get a cheap throw in, if that is in fact the case.

Note: they have both black and tan (preferred), I assume they are the same sans color. The black does state metal gearbox whereas the tan does not....


Thanks again, awesome site!!!

[Knief]

Don't bother with their batteries, they're shit. Buy the G&G from www.airsoftgi.com and get a battery from eliteairsoftbatteries.com. Elite cells are top notch and their prices are fantastic. Airsoft retailers mark batteries up as much as 50-75% because most buyers won't take the time to research other options. You can do much better for the money elsewhere. Post up the model you decide on and I can link you to the right battery for it. You're looking for a 9.6V NiMH of a cell size and configuration that will fit your gun best.

Same goes for the charger. Check your local hobby shop (I like Ryders in Ypsi, if you're in the area) for a good smart charger at a good price. Failing that, an R/C car or helicopter website will have better prices and better merchandise than most airsoft retailers.

[4boys]

Thanks, Knife, and sorry, neglected to list the gun. Going with the G&G Combat Machine M4-A1 as suggested.t
On batteries, read yo go with the 8.4v versus the 9.6v for reduced stress on the mechanicals and, hence, longer life. Agree?

All your help greatly appreciated!

[Knief]

Disagree and for two reasons. A 9.6v doesn't cycle your gearbox fast enough to create a significant amount of wear over an 8.4v. It's when you start pushing up to 10.8v that you start causing short strokes on your piston and the like. Secondly, that school of thought mostly applied when TM was the dominant brand (it was still wrong for the aforementioned reason), and their guns come stock with a weak spring. Most guns that aren't Japanese built come stock pushing 350 FPS at least. The old thinking was that when you got up to 350ish FPS, you should be using a 9.6v battery anyway, to maintain your ROF. So even if you're in the "8.4v for a stock gun" camp, a 350 FPS gun doesn't really count as a stock gun.

There are a lot of G&G M4 models out there with all kinds of different battery storage solutions. A link to your specific one would be helpful.

[4boys]

Thanks again, Knife. The one I am planning on is:

www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=139_24_237&products_id=7285

If a better option in their offerings in this series let me know.

Appreciate a recommendation on the nest battery for it.

Thanks again for all your help here; will have 1a happy kid on his birthday!

[Knief]

That's a solid gun for sure. The only thing I would do differently is get the black model. The tan bodies only look so-so, but the black receivers look far better. If you want a tan look after that, a tan paint job is easy to do and looks great. See below.

As far as the battery goes, the crane stock can hold 2/3A cells, which are just fine for your purposes. This is the best battery you can get for that stock, and it's what I use in my full metal G&G. Elite cells have great life, a good discharge rate and a good discharge curve. I get through a day's play with it and then some pretty easily, but if you think your son might be heavy on the trigger, a second battery is never a bad idea.

________________
Guns painted tan looking better than tan polymer receivers:

[4boys]

Awesome, thanks once again!

1 last question: asks to specify the connector type.....I could not find any info on which to choose: small tamiya, large tamiya or female dean?

Very cool guns you have! Must say worried once I get this here I will want one too:) Never seen an aeg fire, watched a video and looks simply amazing. Can't believe you guys shoot these at each other!
.

[Knief]

It should be a small tamiya connector. That's the standard for most airsoft guns and it's what my G&G came with. If you get the gun and it had a different connector, switching connectors on either the gun or a battery is a 5 minute fix if you have a soldering iron.

None of those are mine, but they are all very nice. AEGs are a blast. You should pick one up for yourself and join your son in some games. Check out the Event section here to find some games in your area.

[4boys]

Awesome, thanks once again!

1 last question: asks to specify the connector type.....I could not find any info on which to choose: small tamiya, large tamiya or female dean?

Very cool guns you have! Must say worried once I get this here I will want one too:) Never seen an aeg fire, watched a video and looks simply amazing. Can't believe you guys shoot these at each other!
.

[Knief]

Did you just repost your last post? Copy-paste error?