Magpul Masada questions (not A&K)

[daishi]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to know....whats the difference between the AKM and ACR versions of this gun. Not just the aesthetics (I like the acr more then the akm for looks tbh) but what makes it different? Do they both have the quick change springs and all the additional addons from magpul (barrels, receivers ect) and will they both be compatible with the gas blow back drop in kit?

Im upgrading from my VFC, and have always wanted to get one... just wanted to know what you guys thought of them.

[Eeyore]

I 100% suggest getting the A&K Masada over the PTS version. The A&K is just an all around better machine.

[Curo]

I suggest differently. As if ARES internals work (though they may break) it is an excellent gun. I must say many people who are against ARES have had a bad experience. I for one has had an excellent experience but please be aware if something does break, replacement parts are an ass to find.Why do a recommend the PTS over the A&K? Teammates have had the A&K with nothing but problems and have also ran the PTS without any. Plus the externals on the PTS make the A&K's look like crap. The PTS externals are amazing.

Now the AKM and ACR varients are the exact same (except barrel/reciver/mag).

[Gulag]

Isn't he asking about 5.56 vs. 7.62 version?

[Curo]

I answered that in my post

They are the same except for the barrel, lower receiver and mag. The stock they come with is different aswell but you can buy that stock separate easily.

[daishi]

Whats the difference between the 5 and the 7? Just different mags?

*edt*

Also, has any new info poped up about the Drop in gbb kit? Airsoft Gi did a video and said 4-6 weeks...and that was in January. >.<

[Curo]

Iron Airsoft said they'd release they're own GBB kit last year. Airsoft has lots of delays on product releases when they say 4-6months they really mean, we hope to have it out then so we're going to get your hopes up, but chances it'll be out? Slim to none.

[SuperCriollo]

Originally Posted by Gulag

Isn't he asking about 5.56 vs. 7.62 version?

The funny thing is that the AKM version actually only takes 5.56 bulgarian magazines lol

[Dynamo]

after doing work on my team mate's ACR for over a year now, i would personally recommend the A&K version. my buddies PTS ACR has had nothing but problem from the get go. out of the box it had major problems with internals, and both magpul PTS and Ares were of no help in getting things fixed.
the gearbox would cease up completely every time, and once i had opened it up to figure out why, it became obvious that this was just another typical Ares issue.
inside i found metal shavings covering everything, grease, gears, switch assembly and piston/cylinder. after removing all the parts and cleaning the original grease off of everything, i found where the metal filings were coming from. turned out that the metal last tooth of the piston was off spec, it was longer than the rest of the piston teeth, and enough so that it was scraping the inside on the cylinder. the metal tooth left two deep gouges running down the complete length of the cylinder. this of course chewed up the piston head o-ring. still this did not seem to be the cause of the ceasing, and i soon found the true cause. what was causing the ceasing was the sector gear wedging the piston against the top of the gear box. thats right, the sector gear was also out of spec. it was lager in diameter than standard sector gears from other manufactures, so the piston didn't have enough clearance to ride over it, it would just completely wedge it self.
after replacing the damaged cylinder and shit piston, i tried to use the new set with the original gears. of course the wedging continued, so i tried running the gears on their own without a piston to see if there were any other problems i might have missed. surprise surprise, the gears them selfs where binding on each other... through a complete cycle of the gears, it would bind through about 30% of the cycle. i took the gears out to inspect them and found some interesting, and quite frustrating defects. the spur gear was warped like an old vinyl record, the bevel gear wobbled as if the axle was off center and canted to one side, and of course the sector gear that was lager in diameter than it should have been.
my buddy got in contact with both magpul PTS and Ares with a nice lengthy email, explaining the issues that were found along with detailed pictures of the parts and the damage to them. Magpul PTS told him to take it up with Ares, and Ares told him to take it up with magpul.. basically none wanted to take responsibility and get these issues looked at and fixed (really disappointing on magpul PTS's part).

after replacing all the the internals with the exception of the bushings/bearings with systema parts, the gun was finally working as it should. and yes, i did have to replace the switch assembly. the original switch used by Ares does not work well at all with a mosfet setup, so it had to go. i had to make modifications on my Mill to the inside of the gearbox to get a standard V2 switch to fit. after that the gun was ready to rock and was running smooth quiet and had awesome snappy trigger response. unfortunately, this gun has yet to see an airsoft game, as the front of the gearbox shell where it holds the cylinder heard cracked on both sides, and is now just a useless POS paper weight... at least until i finish JB welding it back together.. i just hope this JB weld stuff can hold it together.

so to recap, Ares internals are shit. they are out of spec, made of shit materials and their gearbox shell is not reinforced at all. at least with an A&K ACR/Masada, you have the option of swapping out everything including the gearbox as they are all standard parts. that alone makes the A&K version leaps and bounds better than the PTS version. i'm not even getting into the issues i found with the externals on the PTS. i just hope that things are better with the up coming PTS PDR.. really looking forward to getting my hands on one.

[Eeyore]

Internally the ACR and AKM are identical. The differences are just aesthetic.

[L473ncy]

The first gen A&K's were absolute shit so I'm told. However the newer ones don't seem as bad and the option of upgrading with standard parts is definitely a bonus compared to the ARES/PTS version, but that said I'm also told that since things are slightly off spec in the A&K it can be a bitch to fit in a whole new drop in Gearbox without minor-major modifications for proper fitment.

However that said it seems like the PTS is one of those hit or miss type guns. I saw a few that were problems from day one and others that have run seemingly flawlessly. Also, the air nozzle on the PTS version is slightly too short and can lead to leaks and bad consistency.

[Dynamo]

Originally Posted by L473ncy

The first gen A&K's were absolute shit so I'm told. However the newer ones don't seem as bad and the option of upgrading with standard parts is definitely a bonus compared to the ARES/PTS version, but that said I'm also told that since things are slightly off spec in the A&K it can be a bitch to fit in a whole new drop in Gearbox without minor-major modifications for proper fitment.

However that said it seems like the PTS is one of those hit or miss type guns. I saw a few that were problems from day one and others that have run seemingly flawlessly. Also, the air nozzle on the PTS version is slightly too short and can lead to leaks and bad consistency.

+1 the nozzle on this PTS ACR is cast in two halves that don't match out properly. ugly seam running the full length of the nozzle. the inside isn't even round, more of an oval.. so the airseal is quite shit. i custom made one out of aluminum for my friend. increased the FPS by 40-50 FPS.. not that it matters now that the front of the gearbox is broken...

[daishi]

Well Dynamo, I guess when I make my mind up wether to get an A&K or a ACR/AKM Magpul ill have to get you to take a look at it. I don't do tricks tho, just cash. :3