I see KA M4 for $250 now and as low as $220, would be a pretty dang good starter that can evolve along with you as you grow in this sport.

The advantage of platform like AK and M4 is the fact that everyone has one. So if it break its easy to find someone who already worked on one and parts are easy to find. But buy a gun that you like, cause if you are to invest 300-400 $ on something , you are better to love it.

Right, one last question. The gun I'm going to order has an average of 380 FPS with .20 BB's, though I would like to use .25s for a little added accuracy. I understand that this will ultimately bring the FPS down, but will it still be able to keep up with the higher FPS AEG's during outdoor games?

Rate of Fire (ROF), and Feet Per Second (FPS) are two separate, individual variables. In this case, one doesn't affect another taking into consideration the .20/.25 weight change variable.

I guess I shouldn't post when I'm tired. Basically, I'm asking if a gun that fires roughly 360-380 FPS will be able to keep up with other AEG's that fire around the 400 FPS mark.

The Rate of Fire isn't a concern. Yet.

The common thing people are concerned about when getting into airsoft is their FPS. A high FPS does you no good if your hop-up is shit. Best thing to do is get a gun that will run a good RoF (if you aren't interested in semi fire or lower capacity mags), and make sure you get a rifle with solid hop-up, because a gun a with a shit hop-up will shoot close to 400fps out of the barrel, but will slow down and drift dramatically after about 50 feet. A gun shooting at 350fps with a great hop-up will be more accurate and will maintain that velocity a much longer distance. A 380fps w/.20gs gun will do you fine. Every .5 grams in weight you increase will bring you down about 15-20fps, but those rounds travel further and maintain a good velocity. I use .28s for outdoor games, and my 385fps rifle w/.20gs still fires over 350fps with the .28s.

Excellent, that's exactly what I needed to find out. Apparently the hop-up system on the CYMA/Cybergun Galil is pretty good, so it looks like I'll be okay on that front.


Thanks for bearing with me everyone. This should be the last of my questions for a long while (or until I get AV'd in Edmonton).

it's always a compromise between fps and BB weight... yes heavier BBs do fly slower, but... it doesn't matter how fast your BBs get to target if you can't hit anything at that range.

I started out using .25s with a 380-400fps... I'm up at .28s right now... they don't get deflected by leaves or grass as much. Soon I'll be trying .3s which will probably put me down to about 310 fps from 400~ But they'll fly so straight :P

You may want to upgrade your hop-up if you're using .30s. And I'm not just talking a new hop-up bucking, I mean a brand new high spin hop-up or else you'll have to keep your current hop-up dialed all the way up to get the range you want. Well worth it though, as they will travel much further and very straight. They cut through all the brush very nicely too.

Gear wise,
1. Eye protection (full face if you like playing CQB)
2. boots(something that will protect your ankle)
3. gun + battery/charger
4. vest (make sure it can hold the magazine of whatever platform you chose for your rifle)
5. BBs (get well known BBs, a lot of AEG malfunctions are due to bad BBs)

Good to go first game :)

Only thing to be concern about is whether or not you're gonna go outdoor or indoor. Shooting at 350+ will keep you out of most indoor arenas. The Ares brand has quick change spring which can be a huge benefit. You can have one rifle that's good for both arenas without spending too much time changing springs.

And a just in case....fields will chrono with .20g bbs so whatever your fps in w/e wait won't matter but that one.

Stock bucking is good but if you want better either get SystemA, Guarder Black, or Prometheus Purple. I'm sure companies like Modify and Madbull make good stuff too but those are the ones I've used.

As far as being disadvantaged; I use .28g BB's in my rifle and I shoot ~395 FPS on .20's so a little under 335 FPS using the .28's. I don't feel I'm at a terrible disadvantage but I do like the increased accuracy of the heavier BB. For the longest time I was using .25g BB's and thought those were great as well and a ~40 FPS drop isn't terrible and you have to keep in mind that paintballers outdoor only play at 330 FPS (because of larger mass of the paintball and safety and such). Either way though .25 or .28, you're not at a disadvantage and most players who know what they're doing will use at least .25 anyways.

I have confidence my hopup is up to the task :)

You could indeed be very right, some stock hop-ups are built for them. The stock one on my WE M4 AEG sends them sky high if cranked all the way whereas I see KingArms M4's used by friends that drop substantially after 100 feet with .25s and their hop-up is dialed up, not maxed, but fairly high. Depends on the gun and parts. Always best to test it out first.