Designated Marksman Rifle

[DMR13]

In your opinion ? What would be the best DMR gun? Money isn't a problem. Kind you please list the upgrades as well ?
The M14 and SR-25 is in my mind, any other suggestions? thanks !

[Wrath144]

Wow another DMR thread. At least this guy doesn't want to BE a DMR. Oh wait...

[DMR13]

Bump.

[BioRage]

VFC M16
Polar Star Fusion Engine V2
Orga 6.23 Inner
R-Hop + Mnub

PROFIT???

[Wilkie]

I suppose any long barreled AEG would work?


I have a pretty much an internaly stock g&g top tech m4 with a Madbull barrel that's quite the nail driver, so it doesn't have to be anything special.

[Hughes]

I understand buying a gun to fit the role, but it really isn't that important in airsoft. Locally we don't have separate fps limits between rifleman and sniper, but that's us. Hell, our guntech has a tweaked mp5 that everyone thinks is a polarstar. That kind of range and accuracy comes from time and effort though.

[Danke]

The DMR is the Sniper of 2014.

He sits back and is never shot in a skirmish while pulling off headshots at 400+ feet.

[Ricochet]

The best ergonomically, real-steel, available, etc?

For airsoft, here's the thing; it's very difficult to build a DMR that'll do the job of one. Your gun is limited to the same internal parts, the same rounds, the same FPS restrictions, and the same physics as a smaller gun. Longer barrels don't always, or even rarely, give any type of advantage. By that logic you're better of going with something compact, ergonomic, with lots of available accessories and upgrades, technical support, etc. Such as an M4 CQB. Shoots as far and as well as an airsoft M16, and it's lighter, slimmer, faster. Get my point?

There are a few, and I mean very few, long airsoft rifles that have great performance advantages, and could be adapted into a DMR platform, even a mildly effective one.

- WE M14 Open Bolt: Honestly, it's a great design but this gun is hard on itself. By the time your done upgrading it it'll be a fortune of time and money invested. Luckily RA-Tech makes their version fully upgraded. The RA-Tech M14 EBR Open Bolt with NPAS Level III is a great gun. Starting price is around $1,600 US before import, taxes, and Shipping. Magazines are around $70 a piece, and it still suffers from the gas blow back rifle issues of hot and cold weather.

- Tokyo Marui VSR G-Spec: An oldie but a goodie. It's short, light weight, and has a ridiculous number of upgrade parts for it available. With one of the most reliable designs it is still commonly used as a snipers weapon or related all over airsoft. Magazines and such are relatively cheap, but it's around $600 for the gun and you'll need another $600 at least in effective upgrades. Because this is a bolt action springer it'll need constant maintenance and care, and solid skill to shoot.

- Systema M16 PTW: Systema's Professional Training Weapons are the best all around platforms ever created minus the realism of you gun jigging around like a GBBR. These weren't initially designed with airsoft in mind, and are extremely well made, minus the motor. Stock gun comes in around $2,000 and up but will need a couple of mods. First is the motor mod. The motor, although engineered very well, are often assembled poorly during manufacturing and may fail within a few weeks to a year or two, but mostly in under six months. You'll need the motor mod to fix it at around $250 and then the hop-up mod is must to boost accuracy from outstanding to way better again. That's a few bucks. No upgrades are really necessary but magazines are around $50 a piece and cylinders $200 or so.

It's a good thing money is no object for you, because you can snag one of these and do DMR right. If not, your long, bulky, heavy gun will be outshot by some dude with a little MP5 on the field making you wonder why you carry it around. Hope this helps.

[Bellerophon]

This guide is a good place to start.
Stock guns are all largely the same accuracy-wise, though with some skill and patience you can take basically any AEG and turn it into a DMR. Choose whatever base gun feels right to you, get comfortable modifying it, and do your research.

[brock0]

Originally Posted by Ricochet

The best ergonomically, real-steel, available, etc?

For airsoft, here's the thing; it's very difficult to build a DMR that'll do the job of one. Your gun is limited to the same internal parts, the same rounds, the same FPS restrictions, and the same physics as a smaller gun. Longer barrels don't always, or even rarely, give any type of advantage. By that logic you're better of going with something compact, ergonomic, with lots of available accessories and upgrades, technical support, etc. Such as an M4 CQB. Shoots as far and as well as an airsoft M16, and it's lighter, slimmer, faster. Get my point?

There are a few, and I mean very few, long airsoft rifles that have great performance advantages, and could be adapted into a DMR platform, even a mildly effective one.

- WE M14 Open Bolt: Honestly, it's a great design but this gun is hard on itself. By the time your done upgrading it it'll be a fortune of time and money invested. Luckily RA-Tech makes their version fully upgraded. The RA-Tech M14 EBR Open Bolt with NPAS Level III is a great gun. Starting price is around $1,600 US before import, taxes, and Shipping. Magazines are around $70 a piece, and it still suffers from the gas blow back rifle issues of hot and cold weather.

- Tokyo Marui VSR G-Spec: An oldie but a goodie. It's short, light weight, and has a ridiculous number of upgrade parts for it available. With one of the most reliable designs it is still commonly used as a snipers weapon or related all over airsoft. Magazines and such are relatively cheap, but it's around $600 for the gun and you'll need another $600 at least in effective upgrades. Because this is a bolt action springer it'll need constant maintenance and care, and solid skill to shoot.

- Systema M16 PTW: Systema's Professional Training Weapons are the best all around platforms ever created minus the realism of you gun jigging around like a GBBR. These weren't initially designed with airsoft in mind, and are extremely well made, minus the motor. Stock gun comes in around $2,000 and up but will need a couple of mods. First is the motor mod. The motor, although engineered very well, are often assembled poorly during manufacturing and may fail within a few weeks to a year or two, but mostly in under six months. You'll need the motor mod to fix it at around $250 and then the hop-up mod is must to boost accuracy from outstanding to way better again. That's a few bucks. No upgrades are really necessary but magazines are around $50 a piece and cylinders $200 or so.

It's a good thing money is no object for you, because you can snag one of these and do DMR right. If not, your long, bulky, heavy gun will be outshot by some dude with a little MP5 on the field making you wonder why you carry it around. Hope this helps.

This.

Getting into airsoft I had all sorts of ideas about sniping and DMRs and whatever. Then you realize there's absolutely no point because in airsoft, you just can't replicate the advantage a real sniper rifle or DMR would have over other guns.

If you want to role play, that's one thing, but a "DMR" will (other than the noted examples) run just like any other AEG.

[ThunderCactus]

The only thing that makes a DMR better than any other airsoft gun, really comes down to just the BBs you put into it.

And enough with the long barrel BS, I can only beat science into your head so long before I start insulting your manhood.

Just buy an M14, it has one of the best hop chamber designs. If you don't know why that's a good thing, you shouldn't be trying to build a DMR.
Otherwise, read the "how airsoft guns work" thread in the noob section to understand why "DMR"s don't really exist in airsoft.

[L473ncy]

TC, I thought you said shorter barrels in the 10.5-14.5" range were seemingly better based on your experience rather than "longest gun humanly possible".

[Ricochet]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

The only thing that makes a DMR better than any other airsoft gun, really comes down to just the BBs you put into it.

And enough with the long barrel BS, I can only beat science into your head so long before I start insulting your manhood.

Just buy an M14, it has one of the best hop chamber designs. If you don't know why that's a good thing, you shouldn't be trying to build a DMR.
Otherwise, read the "how airsoft guns work" thread in the noob section to understand why "DMR"s don't really exist in airsoft.

So what you're saying is that if I welded a bunch of barrels together end to end, it wouldn't improve my accuracy and range? How dare you suggest such things!

[ThunderCactus]

Originally Posted by L473ncy

TC, I thought you said shorter barrels in the 10.5-14.5" range were seemingly better based on your experience rather than "longest gun humanly possible".

9-12 is reported as getting the same, if not better groupings than 14.5 and 20" barrels in ptws.
ptw's are just better constructed aegs.

It gets shorter with P* and GBBR due to initial pressure being higher


In the end, your muzzle energy is the same on a 12" barrel as it is on a 650mm barrel. Which means there's less pressure applied over a longer distance in the longer barrel. Which means at some point the pressure applied is so low, it simply cannot ever stabilize that BB without going over the muzzle energy limit.

[Wrath144]

I could do my Masters on determining the ideal barrel length and BB weight for a given velocity...