Stuck between a rock and a L85A1/2

[HumblePogo]

So I’ve taken a liking to the L85 and plan to purchase one, but after finding one I keep finding another and another. So far I’ve seen the gun from G&G, WE, ICS, Ares, and Army Armament.

With so many options to choose from, I really am having trouble deciding.

So I have a few questions in general to ask.

Which gun would be best out of the box?

Which gun would be best upgraded?

Which gun would you prefer for CQB, normal skirms, and Milsim?

As of now I’m looking at the ICS AEG and the WE GBB. My understanding from what I’ve read on various forums is that the G&G has the potential to reach or exceed the level of the ICS internally, and it is better than it externally. The WE is best for a milsim since the G&G has a bad blowback on it. The ICS has good internals, and is overall nice. Then, Ares is decent and good to some but bad to others.

Other than these opinions, or facts potentially, I’m really wondering which is good to you, and would love some answers to those questions I had above.

Thanks!
HP

[gman1211]

I own an ICS L85 and have used several G&G l85s. Performance wise, there both good guns but both have issues. Notably the ICS has a weird trigger and the G&Gs both had issues with semi (one worked half the TIME, the other did not work at all).

Externals are preference, I personally detest the color of the G&G l85, but you may like it. ICS has a few screws in odd places, but nothing that seriously distracts from the look.

The ICS internals are built tough. The gearbox shell is the equivalent to an m249 - it's a brick. It has an adjustable spring guide which is a nice feature. ICS parts are generally a good quality - no different here. Internals do have some proprietary parts - but nothing that's going to be a problem just make sure you do your digging before replacing something.

I can't comment on the G&G internals as I have not opened one. The one feature ive heard about is the elongated cylinder which can be nice for DMR setups.

In all honesty both choices will work out fine for you. There really isn't a bad decision here.

[Full-Auto-Seer]

Now, I haven't actually used or even seen one in person, so take this with a grain of salt, but I have heard that the WE L85 GBB is a problem child. It breaks often. (Apparently!) Additionally, If you're left-handed, or you swap hands to peek corners, you can't fire the L85 from the left shoulder. The charging handle will punch your teeth out. This isn't a problem on an AEG however.

[HumblePogo]

I did read somewhere that both the G&G(maybe) and the WE(def) had the capability to knock your teeth out. I believe the ICS is looking like the champ here though.

[Cloven]

If you can wait a bit at shot shot 2018 G&G showed their L85A2 ETU that will have an electronic trigger and mosfet.

[Ratters]

The Ares is supposed to be a 1/1 scale. An Afghan surplus "Riflecraft Limited England" ris will fit the gun with some filing. Monkey metal is always a concern so locking the front ris down to the stamped body increased the rigidity and durability of the gun. This was done using a LaRue low rise on the Weaver with a section of zip strap as a spacer, a m4 riser mounted forward that clamps to the rear of the ris. it locks everything in place and prevents any rotation then you can mount optics. this was my solution but someone elses will be their own. Ares hop buckings wear out like a soft chewed gummy bears so swap it out. Hitting targets out at 180 ft isn't a problem with .23's. Only other issue has been the selector not always staying engaged in full auto. I will be looking at it to find a fix. Otherwise in my opinion, all in all, after working out ares shortfalls with a good gundoc friend its been a good and hefty go to gun. Its not fussy with mags either, most fit and feed well. Safety switch is brittle and so is the trigger guard housing. the spring tension release is a nice feature.