Buying first gun : Metal vs Polymer

[Jordan Mammoliti]

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?

[Spike]

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.

[Jaco14]

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

[Danke]

What's an expensive polymer AEG?

[lurkingknight]

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.

[SuperHog]

Originally Posted by Jaco14

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

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.

[Danke]

Originally Posted by lurkingknight

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

$220 is pretty cheap.

[pestobanana]

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.

[Caelan]

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.

[lurkingknight]

Originally Posted by Danke

$220 is pretty cheap.

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

[venture]

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.

[Azathoth]

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.

[daishi]

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

[MaybeStopCalling]

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.

[waylander]

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.