Buying first gun : Metal vs Polymer
 

So I'm planning on buying my first, "expensive" gun if you will. Hence, I'm probably going to end up having this only this one for a while. Now I've been researching on which type of gun I should buy, etc, and I noticed that there's been some debate about Metal vs Polymer & how they're equally durable, weight, etc.

So, I'm coming to ask you guys, which material should I go for? I really want that realistic feel like as if it was a real gun, I'm probably going to end up playing Milsim games often. I'm also going to want to play outside, maybe not in Wet/Damp conditions (I'm gonna be using an AEG).

But from what I heard is that Metal & Polymer are equally durable. I also read that Polymer tends to weather a lot quicker than metal, so what do you guys recommend?

It boils down to the brand and quality of the receiver. For example, I'd rather have a G&G polymer receiver than a JG pot metal receiver, but I'd rather have a VFC aluminium receiver over a CYMA polymer one.

It also depends on your budget. Generally speaking, polymer receiver guns are cheaper than their metal receiver counterparts. If you wanted to save some money, a G&G combat machine or a King Arms Polymer series rifle will do fine. I would stay away from Chinese clone companies and CA Sportline poly/plastic receivers, though.

I would not say metal and polymer are equal.
Polymer lowers get brittle in the cold, No matter how much you baby it the plastic will develop cracks over time.
Aftermarket metal bodies can have fitment issues at install and cost almost as much as a full rifle.
Don't try to cheap out with plastic if you can afford to get a decent quality metal rifle

What's an expensive polymer AEG?

echo 1 xcr is polymer... made by vfc... it's not cheap.

a&k masada is polymer or pts one if you can still get it.

to a certain degree CA g36s because of the way they're priced here. They should be much lower.

if the op is asking about guns in the 200$ range...well.. they're all going to perform around the same and last around the same with very few exceptions.

Depending on the polymer, it can withstand cold temps and still be tough, whereas cheap metal "pot metal" will crack in cold weather as well.

The polymer on a Glock is just as tough at room temp and freezing temps.

$220 is pretty cheap.

Polymer is too broad of a term. Clear soft receivers are made of a polymer, so are real G36s. Silly putty, condoms and wool are also made of polymeric materials. It all depends on the type and grade you end up with.

I myself have both polymer and metal guns. But from my perspective, I would much rather play airsoft with a gun that weighs half the weight of a metal gun for a 6-8 hr day of airsoft. Id much rather have a polymer gun on a sling around my neck for the day vs. a metal one. Its really a weight ratio decision for me.

hurrr... maybe I've been looking at milsig again and getting things confused.

My latest project gun was originally a TM. I did a bunch of mods to it and was going to replace the body with a metal one. I decided to keep the TM body and go with the reduced weight. Polymer has its advantages, mostly in weight savings.

Their is a thread somewhere on ASC where people review metal bodies. I have a post on their about a G&P or a Magpul PTS body and have picture of it broken. That said i've seen plastic bodies crack and break as well.

If you want realistic weight, get a pot metal body and a pot metal barrel. A real weighing gun out of the box is a PTW. Stainless steel barrels on real firearms make them much more heavy than 'modern' (2012+) airsoft guns. Their was a trend back in 04-09ish where we players went out of our way to add weight to our guns so simulate real weapon weight.

A better question to ask is what is a more durable design for a body.

A pot metal AK receiver is stronger than a M4 receiver due to its shape (rectangle) and the design of the rifle, likewise a mp5 is a better 'shape' for a combination metal / plastic / polymer receiver. If you want a rugged airsoft gun AK's are typically better for that job than M4s. Low end metal AKs (CYMA) are far more rugged than a high end G&P m4 body or vfc for that matter.

Want it to feel like a real gun.

Plastic AEG.....

Um, what level of stupid is this?

Get a full metal Gas rifle. ESPECIALLY if you are going to be playing Milsims often. Its going to be outdoors, usually warm, with ammo caps so you cant benefit from your 12903810298302190 ammo mags.

But I digress if you want to be a little girly man with a plastic gun and plastic mags with wind up gears and merzip merzip sound effects. *Think that in an Schwarzenegger accent*

;3

With a plastic receiver you're potentially limited by the strength of the polymer in traditionally metal areas. I always wince when I see a free float rail on an AR-15 polymer upper- all it takes is one solid impact and the metal barrel nut is going to shear off all that threading.

Most realistic AEG in my opinion would be the KWA PTS ERG. Good recoil, just slightly less than GBB, stops firing when using the right pmag (mags are selectable between 30 and 60 rounds as well), good realistic weight, metal receiver.... I hear the bolt is also good but I don't think it has the lock feature when the mag is empty plus I think kwa is better quality.

Other than that, ya gbbr for realism.

Big downside with plastic is actually how they put the receivers together. They're not always single piece upper receivers like metal guns, sometimes they're 3 or 4 pieces glued together.

Casting have their faults, they can crack in cooling around 90 degree corners or where cooling isn't uniform. But the single piece construction and fact it's some kind of metal usually helps them stand the test of time in guns that are traditionally metal, like the M4 and AK.
Actual real polymer guns, like the F2000, P90, and Aug, are originally designed to BE plastic, and the engineering of their bodies represents that, so the airsoft versions are very tough despite being plastic.
A metal receiver is DESIGNED to be metal.
A plastic body is DESIGNED to be plastic.

So a plastic receiver designed to be metal will always be less reliable.
And theoretically a metal body for a plastic gun would be crazy heavy and unnecessary.

remove

you have no idea what you're talking about.

the rof and fps have little effect on the durability of a plastic outer shell of a gun. None of these components interact directly with the gearbox which is completely self contained.

unless your only experience is with walmart plastic guns, I'd advise you not to speak again on technical issues.

Plastic mechboxes exist, there's a reason nobody has one lol

The idea of a "noob gun" is misunderstood by most people.
A beginner gun isn't one that is simply cheap, and plastic.
It's something:
-affordable
-decent stock performance
-good record of fair reliability
-something that won't be in the shop after the first game *cough* G&P *cough*
-great upgrade potential
-Good RESALE value

The G&G's fall into all categories. They're good base guns, totally TM spec for upgrades, and pretty affordable when compared to what you'd think of as a more "veteran" airsoft gun like the VFC, G&P, RS and ptw, and yet boast very similar performance to the VFC/G&P/RS when upgraded.

If you buy a crap $120 gun, sure you got into the sport cheap, but 3 months later you love the sport and want a better gun? Well now your $120 gun is worth absolutely nothing. You're $120 in the hole and now have to scrape up $350 for a G&G anyway.

OR you spend the $350 on the G&G, yes it's a lot more money, but if you don't like the sport or now want a VFC you can turn around and sell it for $300, or upgrade it to shoot awesome.

It used to be the marui guns that were the perfect noob gun at $500, compared to a $200 CYMA/DBOYS/Both elephant for the same reasons lol

Metal in RS could be forged or cnc billet, but in airsoft metal is "pot metal" same stuff you find in toys.

Haha man, you must have such a love/hate for G&P guns. Since I joined ASC you've been posting about how awesome their bodies are, and how annoying their internals are :p

It's sort of a double edged sword depending how you look at it.
If you want a stock gun, to use as stock, and gradually upgrade, get a G&G or VFC
If you want a peak performance gun that doesn't need much and kicks ass, RS or PTW
If you want a base aeg with the intention of dropping a $500 full tune kit in, get a G&P

Mind you, they're from a time when FTK's were actually a thing, and fairly common. People don't upgrade very much these days.
It makes perfect sense if you're buying a dedicated upgrade platform, but not as a kind of budget gun.
It's rare for anyone to buy an FTK these days so I just don't recommend them anymore.
They still make the best 249 out there lol

Mostly agree with that lots of shittastic G36s brands out their. SCAR also has a nice poly lower, but the hinge (part 27?) seems to dislike Canadian temperature

I did forget that RUST is a problem known in metal guns. I've seen a lot of CYMA AKs with rust on them, and several G&P, VFC SR16s with rust on the rail systems, and threads of the upper receiver.

Rust can be a GOOD thing, on the G&Ps it means they actually used a ferrous alloy, maybe even STEEL!

On the G&G's, it might just be the older ones, but specifically the AK's, they used magnesium alloys to actually make it rust FASTER. For that authentic "shitty gun" look

I know of a few WE Ak's that have rust on them. Just makes them look more legit.

Just get a metal GBBR and make good decisions.

no plastic! the one and only plastic i bought HK MP5, and done. never again a plastic. never gives u a real feel.

Except of course for the grip and furniture, that's plastic on the real ones.