Outfitting first AEG - VFC SCAR-L CQC

[slink182]

G'day, all, and thanks for taking the time to read this. This post relates to putting a kit together for my gun.

I'm getting back into milsim after a long hiatus. After doing my research, I picked up a VFC SCAR-L CQC. However, I'm a little puzzled by my next steps, so input/comments/recommendations would be greatly appreciated. And apologies if this already appears elsewhere in the forums, but my searches didn't turn up anything directly relevant to my questions.

Also, I'm more interested in quality/durability/reliability/performance - cost is a secondary concern - aesthetics is tertiary.

If you feel like responding, please reference the question number so I know what you're responding to (that's the engineer in me being anal). On to the questions.

(1) Battery - 9.6 V, 1600 mAh, either mini or nunchuck. However, who makes a reliable battery pack? (I'm not considering LiPo at this time, at least until I understand the gearbox.)

(2) Charger - I saw two performance chargers - one at Toronto Airsoft by Intelligent, the other at 007Airsoft (the one with the fuzzy logic & European wall plug). How do they rate, and which would be recommended?

(3) Optical - I'm looking for a reflex and/or red-dot scope. The CQC is pretty much designed with that in mind. However, I like flexibility - so a scope with a dot AND some magnification would be ideal. I don't know if they come in a single package, or if it would be a two-piece setup. At this point, I'm looking at a King Arms ACOG w/ RD, or a red/green reflex, but not married to either. Comments, ideas, recommendations?

(4) Front Grip - A vertical post would be nice, but unsure who makes a good quality grip. Also, any thoughts on magazine grips (the "finger wraps" that fit around the mag-well) or the Magpul angled forestocks?

(5) Magazines - Magazines are hit/miss in M4/M16 styles that would feed reliability. I saw a recommendation for Magpul PTS EMags, which I'll look at. Are there any other make/models that would work reliably?

(6) SCAR Magazine question (not kit related) - The mag provided with the rifle did not include a top feed door for loading, or a tension wheel on the bottom. The feed hole to the gun's action, however, appears to be backed by a spring. Is this a new style of magazine being produced? And is it unique to VFC? (Note: the manual that came with the gun still mentioned the feed door and tension spring - I thought I was going nuts since the mag didn't have either of those items.)

(7) Loaders - Based on what I've seen so far, they appear to be single round plunger types, although electrics exist. I don't know how that style would work with magazines that use a top feed door. Also, I'm not sure if a loader would work with the stock magazine provided. Anyone have any experience to enlighten me?

Apologies for the number of questions, but AEGs is a new area for me, and the last time I played milsim, the best tech was CO2 gas & spring.

Thanks in advance!

[hollywood...]

Question 3 - try your iron sights first

[5kull]

Originally Posted by slink182

(1) Battery - 9.6 V, 1600 mAh, either mini or nunchuck. However, who makes a reliable battery pack?
(2) Charger - I saw two performance chargers - one at Toronto Airsoft by Intelligent, the other at 007Airsoft (the one with the fuzzy logic & European wall plug). How do they rate, and which would be recommended?
(3) Optical - I'm looking for a reflex and/or red-dot scope. The CQC is pretty much designed with that in mind. However, I like flexibility - so a scope with a dot AND some magnification would be ideal. I don't know if they come in a single package, or if it would be a two-piece setup. At this point, I'm looking at a King Arms ACOG w/ RD, or a red/green reflex, but not married to either. Comments, ideas, recommendations?
(4) Front Grip - A vertical post would be nice, but unsure who makes a good quality grip. Also, any thoughts on magazine grips (the "finger wraps" that fit around the mag-well) or the Magpul angled forestocks?
(5) Magazines - Magazines are hit/miss in M4/M16 styles that would feed reliability. I saw a recommendation for Magpul PTS EMags, which I'll look at. Are there any other make/models that would work reliably?
(6) SCAR Magazine question (not kit related) - The mag provided with the rifle did not include a top feed door for loading, or a tension wheel on the bottom. The feed hole to the gun's action, however, appears to be backed by a spring. Is this a new style of magazine being produced? And is it unique to VFC? (Note: the manual that came with the gun still mentioned the feed door and tension spring - I thought I was going nuts since the mag didn't have either of those items.)
(7) Loaders - Based on what I've seen so far, they appear to be single round plunger types, although electrics exist. I don't know how that style would work with magazines that use a top feed door. Also, I'm not sure if a loader would work with the stock magazine provided. Anyone have any experience to enlighten me?
Thanks in advance!

Hi,
I used to own this particular airsoft and sold it to my nephew because he liked it so much. Good Aeg all around.Only issue is that he broke the hinge plate but found a new one at Uncompany and it doesn't work well with some brands of BB's.
1. this is the battery I have been using for 2 years, never ran out of power during a game:
http://tactical-center.com/items.php?c=3&sc=5&f=54&i=72

2. Got this charger used from a friend, works well, 10-15 minutes to charge battery.
http://www.uncompany.com/pageproduct...p?prodid=23447

3. I have the KA Acog, works well, you can use a Flip To Side magnifier like this one. You have the option of using it now or not:
http://tactical-center.com/items.php...=10&f=36&i=123

4. Here's the one I use, very happy with it:
http://tactical-center.com/items.php...c=7&f=51&i=143

5. Mags are a problem with VFC's, some players use VFC mags with mix reviews. I used my Magpul with a strip of velcro inside the magwell and they work perfectly.

6. Standard technology now except for hi-cap mags wich are not allowed at most games. You need a BB loader, buy a good one, the cheap ones dont last. Here's the one I use:
http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/in...oducts_id=1404

7. Manual BB loader with a plunger + midcap magazine (75-120 bb's) are the standard.

Hope this helps, welcome back into the sport!

[L473ncy]

1) That should be fine. http://www.eliteairsoftbatteries.com/ is a pretty good site, they're a spinoff of Cheapbatterypacks which is highly regarded. Anything from there should fit the bill.

2) That charger from TorontoAirsoft should be alright as well as the one from 007 (can't see the one you're talking about but I'm sure Kens stuff is good). I would really go to a local RC hobby shop however. They tend to have a greater variety of chargers as well as cheaper prices. I would highly recommend something like the DuraTrax ICE charger but they're pricey (retail of around $120 even at the RC shops), you get a lot of cool features but TBH you're probably not going to use half of them if you just want something you can "set and forget".

3) Try the iron sights first but if you want a red dot, you could get something from Canadian Tire. Probably as cheap as $20-25. You don't want magnification. Trust me on this. At most 1.5 or 2x magnification is all you'll need. No need to go higher.

4) Anything you find is good. The magpul AFG is something a lot of people are jumping onto. It's cool and all but personally I don't really like it (I haven't used it but I do use my vertical post front grip in the same way that Chris Costa uses it, basically just as a "guide" for holding it the way the AFG was designed for, but I also do the "beer can" hold as well sometimes).

5) No clue but Magpul Green label ones are cheap as hell. They're STAR rebrands and super cheap. I use STAR mags in my M4 myself, they're pretty good and I can lose them or break them without thinking twice about it.

6) You have a Low or Midcap mag. The top feed door and wheel is for hi-cap mags. Really, that's an awesome mag to have. I personally hate hi-caps (or "tactical maracas" as they're sometimes called). To load, you need either a speedloader (the "pistol mag" ones are really popular) or a "tube and plunger". (This is the pistol mag loader) and the tube and plunger is basically what it is, a tube (usually plastic) and a plunger (also plastic) that you push BB's into the mag using. You can also use an airsoft inner barrel and metal rod or something in a pinch.

7) You NEVER use a BB loader on a hi-cap. You fill the BB resevoir first and wind up the BB's up the feeding tube. I'm not sure but it would seem like you could damage your hi-cap if you load it with a BB loader or tube/plunger.[/QUOTE]

[ap27]

3. There are replica ACOG sights that have a little Docter Red Dot sight on top. That would fit your need of having an RDS as well as some magnification. Even the 4X magnification on the ACOG is overkill though. Our guns seldom shoot that far accurately. Its more likely that the BB will lose velocity or be blown off course. You'll be able to see stuff but not hit it

4. I use a 'gripod' as they say. Its basically a vertical grip with a spring loaded bipod built in. Works well so far.
http://airsoft-club.com/shop/externa...od-sand-gp937s
Not the one i have...but basically like that

6. The magazines with the feed door and winding wheel are high-capacity (hicap) magazines. They usually hold 200-500 BBs and you can have a constant stream of BBs flying out by periodically winding the wheel to keep tension on the spring. Those ones you add BBs by pouring them in through the feed door.

The one you have is more likely a midcap (mid/medium capacity?) or locap (low capacity). Midcaps hold 60-120 BBs and locaps usually have 20-50 (you will also see 'realcaps' mentioned which are basically real capacity ie. 30 round magazines)

You need a loader to load lo/midcaps since you push in BBs and compress the spring, and a little latch at the top keeps the BBs inside. Plunger loaders are slow, there are the pistol mag loaders which are like a BB-injection, just insert the tip on a lo/midcap feedhole and keep pushing the injector with your thumb.
As said, dont use loaders on hicaps.

[slink182]

Thanks all, this has been helpful.

It sounds like most battery makers will work. The charger should be a simple choice (Thanks, Latency - I'll look into the local R/C shops to see what they carry first). Once the gun is operational, I'll give the irons a shot (no pun intended). Depending on accuracy/acquisition time, I'll decide then if an optical would be required.

Also, thanks for explaining the mid/low cap mags. I thought all mags were setup like hi-cap mags, hence my confusion. My personal preference (back in the day, anyhow) is towards lo-cap for hard simulations, and mid-cap for everything else.

Sling question - The mounts on the SCAR appear to be based on the 3rd gen model, which are too narrow for most standard sling hooks. I prefer 1-pt slings, but I think I may need to use a MASH hook to secure it. A second option would be a 2-pt sling with a rail mount loop attached somewhere up front, and a buttstock adapter. (Although some folks have mentioned the use of paracord loops, I am not considering it.)

Thanks!