Trying to get started in airsoft
 

I've been lurking the forums for a while now and some may know me already me because I've been buying gear here. I'm looking to start playing airsoft since I have nothing to do in between the time of my paintball games (it being expensive so I have a lot of time before the next game). Having been recently verified, I can now access better guns and need insight on some of the choices I'll be listing. Money isn't a factor but I'm trying to keep it at a budget that isn't too expensive while not being very cheap.

For gear, my paintball gear already has a Force Recon look with issued Marpat, CB MarCIRAS, Huang MICH2000 w/ Norotos, Belleville USMC boots, etc (yes I play PB with these since I play milsim PB, no speedball for me :)) and I have recently added more to my gear. So gear-wise, I'm fine at the moment.

Now for weapons, I still don't know whether I should go AEG or GBBR. I want to go GBBR because of the realistic action and because playing paintball, blow-backs are what I'm used to and I don't mind all the pieces (cleaning also helps identify pieces that may need replacement). For that, I've been looking at many reviews (here and in Arnie's forum) and I've heard a lot of good things about the KJW/TK M4 GBBR and price is great and the only negative I've heard is the lack of swappable parts. Any other recommendations for another at a slightly higher price if? And if I jump to an AEG, I've narrowed it down to a G&P or VFC (still trying to figure out the different stuff about them).

As for sidearm, is the Socom Gear 1911 MEU a good sidearm? I hear some good things about it (not many bad that ruins it), and I know alot will tell me to stay away from the KJW ones. Other than the TM, is the above mentioned recommended? I got a KJW M9 but I only bought it to get the feel of the blowback pistol (last time I shot an airsoft pistol was when I was young and visit relatives in the Philippines and back then was the spring powered pistol)

That's all at the moment, I'm new to the sport so I'm still trying to figure out terms and whatnot about airsoft. I love milsim paintball and playing airsoft should add to my enjoyment to all things milsim. I don't see why people cant enjoy both (so many PB vs. airsoft topics everywhere). So yeah, thanks for your time and looking forward to get started.

For starters, you probably want to figure out if you'll be taking part in games in cold weather. GBB guns in general don't perform well when its nippy outside.

Check out the local games going on in your area. See how far off you are from what you'll need to play at one of those.

Contact the host of the game and see if you can arrange a rental gun/gear/stuff.

Play a game or two and see what works for you...then dive in and spend all your money.

Tys

GBBR should not be your go-to weapon, at least in my opinion. Their too unrealiable (ie: malfunctions that can easily occur opposed to AEGs, as well as temperature). Get an AEG first as you will be able to use it in alot of situations where a GBBR will prove to be ineffective. They are alot more noobfriendly and better way to start off your airsoft venture.

G&P and VFC are both quality brands to choose from. The end decision would be good with either one. I have heard G&P need to be re-shimmed right out of the box, otherwise their amazing guns. VFC I haven't heard much needing to be done out of the box, their fine from the getgo. Price wise, depending on the model, should be in the same neighborhood. Im not too sure about cross compatibility with parts and mags for these though, someone else will have to supply that information.

Back up first. Are you sure you want a pistol right off the bat? It takes money away from other things (like your primary). You said price isn't an issue but you are poor because of paintball so if you really have unlimited budget then yeah get a pistol but if you have less than $1000 to spend then work on getting an AEG package first.

I've actually heard very good things about VFC and that's probably what I'm going to be getting unless I can find a Daytonagun Classic Airsoft Gun (I'm hooked on that after someone mentioned it to me and after I watched a video of it).

Also keep in mind that GBBR's are a relatively new development and they are rife with minor "bugs" and may be a bit rough at the edges, that will probably be cleaned/improved up in later versions. (ie. Windows OS gets shipped out for general public but maybe theres minor bugs and it's a bit rough around the edges, then SP1, SP2, etc. come out to make it cleaner and better). Just my opinion.

Drake should be organising a "meet and greet" soon in the area, so watch out for such a topic in the Quebec events forum.

That being said... GBBRs are great, but I'd (personally) get an AEG as a main rifle, and for games in colder temperature, then maybe a GBBR... but at 60-80 (minimum) bucks a piece for the 30rnds mags, GBBRs are expensive, fast so that's why everyone should start with AEG.

Oh, BTW Force Recon rocks... we're a couple in the Montreal area. Good choice :D

I can totally understand wanting to keep a budget, but I respect that you understand that cost can be reflected by quality as well.

I dont know a whole heck of a lot about GBBR's minus a few bits here and there, nothing specifically useful. Mags can be expensive but that is one of the costs that one would have to soak up if they want that little extra bit of realism. GBBR's also suffer some performance loss during colder temperatures.

The two choices you have made for AEGs are excellent company picks. Both companies make excellent airsoft guns. Im sure you will be pleased with either company regardless your choice. AEG's make great guns as well, multiple companies make upgradeable parts and you can source magazines of all round capacity's with out much issue most of the time.

At this time was their a type of gun you wanted? Armalite? Scar?

As for the pistol from what I have heard its a decent quality full metal item, beautiful trades and uses 15rnd single stag mag. I wont bother reiterating everything because everything I have heard or read about it is on the internet. There are actually a couple of really in depth youtube reviews on it.

i had the WE MEU ( socom gear without trades pretty much) and it was a great pistol, im actually getting another one since my friend now has it.
only thing that went wrong is some idiot was playing with it and while my friend looked away wrenched part of it so it sticks a bit now ( pin that holds the slide ). and by wrenched i mean really really tried to bend it to see if they could.

So many comments in such little time! Thanks for your comments guys! So it looks like AEG's really is the way to go huh? I guess I can wait for the GBBR's to improve their reliability and keep blowbacks to the paintball side at the moment. I'm very patient so waiting for something to improve is no problem (hell, I'm 20 so what's a few years going to hurt? :)).

@ Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw:
Yeah, everyone I talk to say its just brought in (GBBR's) and not really settled to be reliable. I went the G&P way because I keep hearing excellent stuff about the internals and VFC for its realistic components (almost everything functions in its guns).

@ L473ncy:
Its not that I want to get a sidearm ASAP (the M9 GBB was just for fun and to try it since I last touched a spring powered pistol and that was years back). I just want to get as much info about the MEU since I really am interested in that specific gun and I would be able to tell differences between it should a new MEU by a different manufacturer pop up. Its just to make comparisons easier for me when I want to finally choose a model (if I'll still go for the Socom Gear or go with a newer one).

@ Conker:
Thanks for the heads up, I'll check the montreal side about games. Maybe a welcome to airsoft type of event? I wanted to have a USMC loadout for paintball but after seeing MFR loadouts, I guess I just clicked to go Force Recon.

@ TokyoSeven
Thanks man! I'm fully aware of the price range when it comes to quality stuff. My thoughts are quality stuff = reliability. It applies in all stuff I buy (airsoft, paintball, etc.). As for platform, I'm going with armalite since I am going the MFR way (well, considering my gear already, its what I can go at the moment).

@ skalnok
Aww, man...I wouldn't let anyone touch my stuff unless I'm there to supervise. Not even my paintball marker is to be touched because if it drops, I don't want anything I had on it to break (ACOG, PEQ, barrel, flashlight, etc.).

Well, looks like I'll have to do more research to try and split the VFC and G&P choices I have. Are their any other brands worth mentioning at the same price range? I'd go TM is I were rich so nothing too expensive. Thanks again!

G&P and VFC will be more expensive than TM off the bat, but with G&P or VFC you will get a metal body out of the box and not worry about upgrading the TM body later.

Best way to narrow down between those two is which model exactly do you want? G&P tend to specialize and focus more on the AR models (M4 and most of its variants, M16, etc...) whereas VFC shining gems are the SCAR line of guns. Once you narrow it down you it should help. If your still stuck just get both then :P

Yes, as I said there's a meet 'n' greet which is more social, to meet other players, speak with veterans, etc. There will most likely be an introduction day too, at least some people were talking about this... but AFAIK there's none yet.

KWA has a great line of AEGs and Classic Army is pretty good when kept stock.


and i forgot to mention we keep trying to bend the piece back on the meu and cant figure out how the guy bent it because we cant lmfaoo.

Really? I thought TM was the most expensive airsoft brand, despite the plastic bodies and some plastic internals.

Hmm, I did mention I'm doing a MFR loadout so an M4 is what I'm looking for. VFC has nice SCAR's but how are the VFC M4's compared to G&P's? Anything that really separates them both?

TM is like the grandfather of airsoft guns, so people like to assume they're always the best. However, TM m4's pretty much suck.

(correct me if I'm wrong) I think VFC m4's come stock with an fps that's a bit ridiculous, like 410 or something like that. Too much IMO. I would opt for the G&P.

I can't say for the VFC M4 but all the other VFC stuff I've had has come in the door around 330 fps. Laser accurate at the "low" fps.

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?