Alright, thanks again guys! For the moment, I still need to learn a lot more and save a lot so in that time, I should be able to determine which brand I'll grab. Seeing a new light for airsoft in Canada, choosing the now legal full metal VFC's from one of the dealers may help too (if only G&P joins as well). Maybe I can even slap the best of both world's together :) (G&P internals with VFC body).

Alright, sorry for necroing my thread but rather than making a new one, it still concerns the above title.

Going back to school delayed my intro to airsoft so with it mainly done and working full time again, I can finally say I'm ready to purchase my rifle. After lots of hair pulling and pages of threads, I'll be grabbing the VFC M4 Sopmod (non E-series).

I'm fully aware its not gameable from the get go, so what in general do you swap or upgrade? I kinda got the gist of shimming gear and AoE (still need to read on that a bit more). I'm actually kinda scared of even opening the gearbox to tinker with it since I'm not too great with electronics. But what else? Spring (since it does fire hot from what the descriptions all show; 400+ FPS).

Its also been almost 2 years since the last post, in that time there should have been improvements, are there any other alternatives to the VFC some can recommend? Let's not get carried away by going to a Systema or close, I'm still in a kind of a budget...

Try a kingarms M4

^What he said. Its the most recommended M4 around here, and it probably costs less than the VFC.

Ummm.... VFC's are totally gameable out of the box. Just plug and play. The only real semi consistent problem I've seen with them is pistons sometimes shredding (probably just a lemon batch?). Otherwise they're solid.

Otherwise like Colbalt Caliber said King Arms M4. The standard M4 version can be had for the low low price of $265 + shipping after that you can slowly put the external furniture that you want onto it such as drop in rail system (ie. KAC drop in SOPMOD rail, KAC BUIS, Tango Down Vert Grip, etc.).

The only consistent problem I've seen with King Arms is the Piston O-Ring being ever so slightly undersized sometimes resulting in air seal loss and low FPS (replace piston or if you have a plumbers o ring set lying around your house fit in a larger one). Also the shoddy cut off levers that can sometimes break resulting in a double or triple shot (or even full auto) when you're in semi mode.

Seems KA is the answer I'm getting the most (even a few PMs). So its just as good as VFC both internally and externally? Any troubleshoots I should address before gaming it (same with the VFC)?

I wouldn't say just as good but for $265 you can't beat it for price/performance, and like I said replace piston o ring if needed and cut off lever (Guarder V2 cut off lever is more or less a drop in fit) and you're good to go.

My only gripe with KA's M4 is the colour of their lower bodies. It's a weird slightly off bronze-ish tone for some reason and doesn't really fit with other "black" furniture. Although it can kind of look cool I guess.

^This
Note that the color thing concerns only the Colt's M4.
I have a Larue Tactical and it's totally black, but is a bit harder to find and a bit more expensive

Also, there's a slight chance you can get a "lemon", like me. Had to invest a few upgrades on the get go to make it work properly (I could do a game or two at first, then started having some issues)

But this could happen with any brands really. I guess I'm a bit biased due to my experience with mine. Still a good gun that I'd recommend. The fake bolt is really crappy though :P

On a side note:
Did you sell your paintball gear? If not, do it :D You won't go back to paintball after trying Airsoft :P (Yeah that's a bold statement but.... :P)

Hmm its getting tough to choose...Price wise, KA beats VFC. But overall, I think VFC still takes the cake on the long run. L473ncy mentions some troubleshoot on both and VFC seems to only have problems with the piston. And VFC also already comes with RAS and rear batteries (in the crane stock). As for the bolt, yeah I realized it has a weird chrome look :-D. I'll take a look at some reviews on KA...

Lol, I do not plan to sell my gear, in fact the only thing I can sell is the marker itself only. My tac gear are coming with me to airsoft and will switch my accessories to my new rifle.

As much as I want to stay on one sport, I'll stick to both. Lots of my friends play PB and I'm part of a team (not a speedball one;)) so I'm not bailing on them. But I also have a group that plays airsoft so I'll play with them when I get time off of paintball (and there is lots of time in between dates of games :)).

Want the best....I recommend....

TM for a pistol
PTW for a AEG
INOKATSU for your GBB

If you want a RIS or RAS, just get the KA LArue, it has full trades, receiver is black, pretty solid

Hmm, I've asked elsewhere to help me gather opinions from other people and most took VFC over KA on the long run. They even threw in G&P as a medium. I see a lot of praise with G&P (it was one of my initial choices as well) if you've read the previous posts and I've seen some great prices but seems the internals are a bit of a hassle? Was there any improvements to it?