Magpul PTS Masada ACR review

[killrcanuk]

Originally Posted by Dynamo

would be nice to know when Canadian retailers will have these in.

Tada....Canadian Retailers (or at least one) has them. I just bought one from Imperial Airsoft in Calgary and although I have only had it two days, here is what I can tell you...

Rifle is EXTREMELY well built, no wobble, rattles or other annoying noises.
It is wicked light.
It's got some serious accuracy.
Hop up adjustment is a breeze.
Chrono'd at the shop when I bought it and it shot a surprising 420 fps.
Trigger response is like buttah...so smooth
Magpul spared no expense on this bad boy.

I haven't gamed it yet but I must say...I am in love with this weapon. It's build quality, materials, performance are what every AEG should be like. Only complaint from me is the price. You will have to part with some substantial cash to own this rifle....but it is WORTH EVERY PENNY.

[SwampSlayer]

Was this the Magpul PTS version or the A&K version?

[Curo]

Swampslayer i think its the pts version as the reviews states that it is stamped with logos

[kiru]

Have they mentioned anything about releasing spare parts for what is proprietary to the gun itself? It'd suck if anything proprietary broke and won't be able to get a hold of it to fix it

[Gulag]

Originally Posted by SwampSlayer

Was this the Magpul PTS version or the A&K version?

PTS. You can tell by MBUS sights, flash hider and the gas...tube, regulator? You know, that part above the barrel

[Dynamo]

i had to modify my team mates PTS ACR and remove that shitastic switch assembly. it now has a normal (modified) V2 switch and trigger. im sure that horrible switch works fine on a stock setup with just a plain battery, but MOSFETs HATE! that switch.

i just could not get the damn thing to fire in full auto yet alone semi without it hiccuping. that switch does not take shock loads along its operational axis well at all. which is why it doesn't work well with a MOSFET.

with a normal setup, the switch arcs and sticks in the closed position when you pull the trigger. due to the low voltage of the trigger wires on MOSFETs, there is no arcing, so the switch gets bumped open when the piston slams forward cutting power to the motor, causing the hiccuping.

my team mate even bought new switches with stiffer internal springs to see if the stock switch just had a weak ass spring, turns out that even the strongest switch still could not keep the circuit closed during full auto. after replacing the switch with a normal V2 switch assembly, all issue concerning cycling went away. his ACR now runs on a MOSFET with 11.1v Lipos without any problems.

this was just one of many issues i had to fix on his ACR. there was a major issue with the gear box it self and its internals. the metal piston tooth on his stock piston was too long and scraped two nice deep groves along the full length of the cylinder. this not only completely screwed the airseal, but also FUBARed the piston head o-ring. the only reason why i even bothered to check the piston was due to the crap load of metal filings covering the gears.

that brings me to another problem. the stock gears were all oversize when compared to other brand name gears. so much so that the sector gear would wedge the piston against the top inside surface of the gearbox.. that was a fun day trying to unjam that..urg.. also the spur gear was warped..looked like an old vinyl record that was left inside a car parked all day under the sun on a 42*c summer day.

anything i could replace from that nightmare of a gearbox i did, some stuff had to be modified and or fabricated and now his ACR runs perfectly.

if i ever decide to get one for myself, i think it would be to make a GBBR.. as the first thing i would do is toss out that POS gearbox.

[Firewalker]

Originally Posted by kiru

Have they mentioned anything about releasing spare parts for what is proprietary to the gun itself? It'd suck if anything proprietary broke and won't be able to get a hold of it to fix it

Stuff is slowly trickling in. You can see most of the bits and pieces if you search magpul on redwolf. So I'm sure by fall they'll have all the bits and pieces. Apparently the internals aren't too different, so you can just rely on what's out there.

The barrels were the big thing a lot of people were waiting for, and they've released the cqb and rifleman versions of those. Stocks are also easy to come by.

[Kampfer]

Out of the 5 masada I've modified their metal piston tooth were the correct length... The only one that damaged the cylinder as you have described was due to a loose piston head (they didn't loctite these things)

I'd also encountered the piston wedging effect. (reinforced pistons are no no)
A switch debouncer circuit was used to solve the MOSFET Hiccup.
Started machining new nozzles out of Delrin to get a closer seal.
1 of the CQB barrel had a thicker paint job that interfered with the barrel clamping mechanism which caused lose seating and an FPS loss of 80.

Mind sharing what else works and what doesn't work with the PTS ACR mechbox?

PS
Switch info if anyone cares search up google: VMS15-01N pdf

[KrashRider]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

Started machining new nozzles out of Delrin to get a closer seal.

Maybe you could make some nozzles up and sell them on the forum here so we can get replacments.

Cheers

[Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

Out of the 5 masada I've modified their metal piston tooth were the correct length... The only one that damaged the cylinder as you have described was due to a loose piston head (they didn't loctite these things)

I'd also encountered the piston wedging effect. (reinforced pistons are no no)
A switch debouncer circuit was used to solve the MOSFET Hiccup.
Started machining new nozzles out of Delrin to get a closer seal.
1 of the CQB barrel had a thicker paint job that interfered with the barrel clamping mechanism which caused lose seating and an FPS loss of 80.

Mind sharing what else works and what doesn't work with the PTS ACR mechbox?

PS
Switch info if anyone cares search up google: VMS15-01N pdf

the piston head on this ACR was on nice and tight. when i swapped out the metal tooth with another one from another manufacturer, it no longer scrapped the cylinder. after putting in new gears, the piston wedging issue was mostly solved. Magpul should have never contracted Ares to make the gearbox. what Ares did with this gearbox is retarded, they should have designed it to be compatible with after market parts. a proprietary gearbox shell is fine as long as it lasts, but having all these internal parts that cant be replaced with off the shelf replacements, it's just stupid.

[Kampfer]

Still better than the A&K blunder that I had the unfortunate request to work on.

I got both my PTS Black and A-Tac masadas tuned perfectly on the dot now with:
Systema Energy - piston,head,cylinder, AK type magnum motor, hopup bucking trimmed and 120spring.
Other - APS selector chip, custom made o-ringed nozzle, Madbull 6.03 AK length.
438+-2fps between shots, less than 5 inch grouping at 100ft
PTS' stock gears are holding just fine.

Originally Posted by KrashRider

Maybe you could make some nozzles up and sell them on the forum here so we can get replacments.

Cheers

I could if there is enough request n time on my hand.

mean while, here is a bit of file info for machinist out there. (Solidworks2011)
http://www.3quip.com/Mods/PTS%20Masada/

[spartan117]

Originally Posted by Dynamo

the piston head on this ACR was on nice and tight. when i swapped out the metal tooth with another one from another manufacturer, it no longer scrapped the cylinder. after putting in new gears, the piston wedging issue was mostly solved. Magpul should have never contracted Ares to make the gearbox. what Ares did with this gearbox is retarded, they should have designed it to be compatible with after market parts. a proprietary gearbox shell is fine as long as it lasts, but having all these internal parts that cant be replaced with off the shelf replacements, it's just stupid.

Hey Dynamo, can you post some pics of the modified v2 trigger switch?

[KrashRider]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

mean while, here is a bit of file info for machinist out there. (Solidworks2011)
http://www.3quip.com/Mods/PTS%20Masada/

Thanks for the info appreciate it.

No problems with my ACR so far. Shooting 445fps +/- 5 out of the box. Changed it to an S100 spring because 450 is to hot for my field, now getting 363fps +/- 5.

[Watdapakman]

Originally Posted by kiru

Have they mentioned anything about releasing spare parts for what is proprietary to the gun itself? It'd suck if anything proprietary broke and won't be able to get a hold of it to fix it

You can buy some of the propriety parts. I just got the hop up adjustor (B25) and nub today, after weeks of haggling with Magpul PTS they pointed me to the right direction

[Matula]

It's true they stop the masada PTS at Hk ? i have 2 friends who told me that... ;(