M4A1 desired upgrade, how to?

[Pegasai]

Hello!

I picked up a King Arms M4A1 from Toronto Airsoft a little while ago, and it has gotten to the point where I would like to upgrade it, but I'm just not too sure how to fully get my desired look.

The main look I'm going for is roughly:



Of course, most parts used for the image were very limited, so the actual brands/style of certain things are likely to change.

Essentially the main question is: with the Daniel Defense omega rail (9"), how would I get it to end, and immediately have a mock silencer start?

Any other information on how to get this rig working would be much appreciated!

[Kos-Mos]

9.5 or 10" barrel, a flash hider and QD silencer (to match your picture) or a screw-on silencer.

[Pegasai]

Originally Posted by Kos-Mos

9.5 or 10" barrel, a flash hider and QD silencer (to match your picture) or a screw-on silencer.

Just to confirm: with mock silencers I would run the length of the inner barrel through it, correct?

[K3vX]

Originally Posted by Pegasai

Just to confirm: with mock silencers I would run the length of the inner barrel through it, correct?

Not mandatory. You can do it, but I personally wouldn't, unless you really want it and know what it implies, which I believe you do not.

Longer and/or tighter barrels are used to get tighter grouping and a better shot-to-shot consistency. However, you should change and optimize your hop-up before considering swapping the barrel.

[coach]

Originally Posted by Pegasai

Just to confirm: with mock silencers I would run the length of the inner barrel through it, correct?

You can. It's up to you though. Some prefer to be able to take the suppressor off and run a flash hider as it makes the rifle more compact. With the inner barrel at this length, there "can" be a different report heard down range. I also do this so I can run a tracer unit.

With the inner barrel the full length of the suppressor, the suppressor is just for looks. Changes nothing and hides a really long inner barrel.

[Pegasai]

Originally Posted by K3vX

Not mandatory. You can do it, but I personally wouldn't, unless you really want it and know what it implies, which I believe you do not.

Longer and/or tighter barrels are used to get tighter grouping and a better shot-to-shot consistency. However, you should change and optimize your hop-up before considering swapping the barrel.

Well, at the moment the barrel length is sitting at the normal 14.5, so would I not have to change the hop-up if I were to reduce the barrel down to 9.5?

However, if I were to run the inner barrel through the mock silencer it would only increase the barrel about an inch or two, would I need to change for this as well?

[Pegasai]

Originally Posted by coach

You can. It's up to you though. Some prefer to be able to take the suppressor off and run a flash hider as it makes the rifle more compact. With the inner barrel at this length, there "can" be a different report heard down range. I also do this so I can run a tracer unit.

With the inner barrel the full length of the suppressor, the suppressor is just for looks. Changes nothing and hides a really long inner barrel.

I didn't consider the fact that I could remove the silencer and just have a shorter gun... this would especially be useful since *most* of the time I seem to only be able to attend indoor cqb matches.

My only 'concern' with this would be for outdoor matches, wouldn't having a 9.5'' barrel not cause an issue?

[SuperHog]

Magpul grips, Magpul sights

[L473ncy]

Originally Posted by Pegasai

Well, at the moment the barrel length is sitting at the normal 14.5, so would I not have to change the hop-up if I were to reduce the barrel down to 9.5?

However, if I were to run the inner barrel through the mock silencer it would only increase the barrel about an inch or two, would I need to change for this as well?

No. Hop up is a separate unit from the inner barrel, you will need to change your inner barrel however. You're probably rocking a 363mm right now, you'll need to go down to 300 mm (~12") at minimum and have a slight amount of inner barrel run past your flash hider if not 229 mm (~9").

As for inner barrel length, it doesn't really matter. A well tuned and consistent gun with a 229mm IB can outshoot a random non tuned gun with a 407mm IB any day. Also after a certain point length doesn't actually matter anymore, I think it's around 455 or 469mm where any extra barrel length doesn't make a difference.

[Kos-Mos]

Originally Posted by Pegasai

I didn't consider the fact that I could remove the silencer and just have a shorter gun... this would especially be useful since *most* of the time I seem to only be able to attend indoor cqb matches.

My only 'concern' with this would be for outdoor matches, wouldn't having a 9.5'' barrel not cause an issue?

No.

Contrairy to popular belief, a longer barrer does not mean a more accurate gun. It only will let your fire a higher FPS without much changes.

What counts is the quality of the barrel above all, then the hop-up unit/rubber/hop system. The stock setup is probably ok, but there are many ways to improve it.

The easiest is replacing the rubber and nub with a better quality one.

You can also replace the whole hop-up unit for a more stable/consistent one, but it is really rare that the hop-up is so bad that this is really needed.

And you can also install a RHOP/REAP etc. Some argue that this makes the biggest difference, but I have yet to see good results (probably due to faulty installation, I did not try it myself). For the amount of work/time involved, a good rubber setup is easier to achieve and less expensive and time consuming.

[coach]

Originally Posted by Pegasai

My only 'concern' with this would be for outdoor matches, wouldn't having a 9.5'' barrel not cause an issue?

Shouldn't be a concern at all.

Although I'm working a 590mm/650mm polarstar build, my AEG M4 that shoots roughly 315 fps easily reaches out well past 200 feet with a 152mm inner barrel.