Looking to buy my first airsoft gun! CYMA Colt M4 CQB Full metal? Any comments/ suggestions for a noob like me?

[Tyranidalex]

Hi everyone! i'm just getting into airsoft and i'm planning to purchase my first airsoft gun in about 2-3 weeks. I'm gonna be in halifax during that time and i wanna buy a Colt licenced m4 CQB made by CYMA from their Army-Navy surplus store.
its $260, full metal (crane stock and pistol grip are "polymer"), comes with 2 magazines (metal), a battery and a basic wall charger.

To me, a bundle like that for only $260 sounds like a bangin' deal. But what are people's experiences with CYMA and their metal M4 style guns?

From the (very few and limited) reviews that i could find on this gun, almost everyone loves it and finds that is works and endures rough handling beautifully save for a few (like <10% of reviews) that claimed it arrived with manufacturing defects or were DOA.
*it should be noted that i'm purchasing it in person and might be allowed to see and hold it before handing my cash over*

also, does anyone know if CYMA uses pot metal, aluminum, zinc, magnesium or some other relatively cheap metal in their guns? and if so, is it still reliable enough to endure things like drops on rocks or knocks against walls and trees and stuff?

heres the store's link if you're interested:
http://www.thehalifaxarmynavystore.n.../label/AIRSOFT

(its ~2/3 the way down and currently listed out of stock)

Any and all assistance is welcome!
Thank You!

[DustMagnet]

No opinion on CYMA M4s, but I think if you are handing over cash in a retail storefront you might indeed be allowed to handle it.

In the sense that if they don't let you handle it, you don't give them the cash. This is commodity retail, not a drug deal.

[lurkingknight]

of COURSE cyma uses potmetal.

potmetal can contain zinc or aluminum... look up potmetal on wikipedia and you'll get your answer.

Even the nice brands aren't immune to shit metal, but at least their alloy of shit metal is better than the rest. Your brew for what goes in the pot matters for strength.

99% of cnc advertised in airsoft is pretty much cnc finishing... which likely means the pin holes, the rail slots and the screw holes are machined with the cnc mill. The recievers are likely cast from low grade metals such as pot metal alloys or aluminum alloy. If a receiver set were truly machined from aluminum billet, you'd be looking at more than a grand.

[Tyranidalex]

Right. Cool. so i guess CYMA being a made-in-china brand is likely at the bottom of the barrel in terms of durability?
Basically, i don't want my gun to explode the moment i drop it or knock it against some thing as i dive for cover (or on a grenade) or climb over or into an obstacle...
Having never owned a airsoft gun before, i'm not really sure what to expect in terms of durability from ANY material or manufacturer.

but i really like the sound this gun because it is apparently fairly heavy, and if airsoft's a sport, i intend to sweat and make it burn like one.

[lurkingknight]

like you've found out from research, little is known about their m4s.... a lot is known about their AKs, and they are some of the best budget guns on the market if you're looking for an AK.

Airsoft being airsoft, guns break, whether it be after the first trigger pull or after 30k. You will never know if the next pull is going to lead to a break or not. Budget accordingly for fixes is all I can say... that's just part of the game in airsoft, you pay to play. There's no such thing as good money when spending in airsoft, only the enjoyment you get out of your money spent.

[Tyranidalex]

alright, i guess i'm jsut gonna have to roll the dice on this one...

and about the durability issues... that's too bad :/
no one should have to dish out $500 and worry abiut their gun on a daily basis...

i personally intend to field strip the gun when/if i buy it and try to identify the potential weak points and reinforce them with a material like epoxy (for metals) or plumber's putty... i'm not a stickler for accuracy and realism, but i wanna make sure it lasts.

thanks for the heads-up though

[cetane]

I had a cyma pot m4 metal body that was heavy... Too heavy. Magnets stuck to it lol. "Real steel"

[Tyranidalex]

Originally Posted by cetane

I had a cyma pot m4 metal body that was heavy... Too heavy. Magnets stuck to it lol. "Real steel"

Actually, that's excellent news!
If magnets stuck to it, that means it contained sufficient ferrous elements to be magnetic. Consequently, it would have had a higher melting point than the average zinc, copper, aluminum & lead pot metal formula and would have also taken longer to cool in the mould than the aforementioned junkier formula... (i read that wikipedia article)
Therefor there probably would have been less air pockets and air bubbles trapped in the finished cast component, ie: less places for the material to fail... which ultimately makes for a significantly stronger pot metal than the traditional zinc, copper and lead centric ones.... it's still junky metal, but its BETTER junky metal

out of curiosity, when you say you "had", what happened to it? did you sell it? did it break? did you loose it?
lol your comment was short but incredibly helpful

[lurkingknight]

usually it's not really the recievers that fail... even in the plastic bodied m4s... it's gearbox components. If your budget is 200~ the better choices are G&G combat machine for a light weight plastic bodied dun... there's nothing wrong with running those, and their gearboxes are very aftermarket part friendly for upgrades.

The other choice is a king arms m4 for a little more money closer to 300. If it's one or the other I'd pick those over the cyma just because they're a known factor.

Potential failure of internals aside.

[Tyranidalex]

Originally Posted by lurkingknight

usually it's not really the recievers that fail... even in the plastic bodied m4s... it's gearbox components. If your budget is 200~ the better choices are G&G combat machine for a light weight plastic bodied dun... there's nothing wrong with running those, and their gearboxes are very aftermarket part friendly for upgrades.

The other choice is a king arms m4 for a little more money closer to 300. If it's one or the other I'd pick those over the cyma just because they're a known factor.

Potential failure of internals aside.

I see. I'll take that into consideration. I wanted the cyma mainly for the weight and the concept that at ~200$, metal would outlast plastic or "polymer" (if you wanna sound fancy). But apparently g&g makes them out of nylon? Nylon is used in heavy industry and engineering due to its light weight and high tortional strength with a cheap price tag... So that sounds great, but I really would like the weight...
The CYMA is supposed to have a v2 full metal gearbox with a 1- peice metal hop-up and brass barrel. I think I'm gonna have to downgrade the spring anyway for my local fields, so I might just change a few other things while i'm at it anyway

[lurkingknight]

lol... lighter guns let you play longer... the more you play the more you'll want a lighter gun and drop weight where you can... and besides nobody will know except you.

full metal gearbox is not a selling point. There are NO plastic gearboxes in the real airsoft market. The only place you'll see garbage plastic gearboxes is clear walmart guns. So a "metal gearbox" should not be a selling feature, since they technically ALL have metal gearboxes if you're not shopping at walmart or canadian tire.

[scottyfox]

I just bought an Ares AM-014 with a polymer body after running full metal guns for a decade and a half. Best decision I've made in airsoft.

[Tyranidalex]

Originally Posted by lurkingknight

lol... lighter guns let you play longer... the more you play the more you'll want a lighter gun and drop weight where you can... and besides nobody will know except you.

full metal gearbox is not a selling point. There are NO plastic gearboxes in the real airsoft market. The only place you'll see garbage plastic gearboxes is clear walmart guns. So a "metal gearbox" should not be a selling feature, since they technically ALL have metal gearboxes if you're not shopping at walmart or canadian tire.

lol yea, the weight IS just for me. I know i can handle it. in fact the weight IS a selling point for me. i want that extra physical work of lugging it around all day.
about the gearboxes though, i had no idea that they all come that way. I'll definitely look into the G&G and King Arms lines though now. if the externals are as tough as they sound, i might just go for that.... and throw a bag of dirt in my back pack

on the topic of internals though, you mean that despite all these m4/m16 syle guns out there, their internals aren't cross compatible? i guess the receivers and gearboxes aren't all moulded the same on the inside? or the bodies and gearboxes are all slightly different dimensions?

[Tyranidalex]

Originally Posted by scottyfox

I just bought an Ares AM-014 with a polymer body after running full metal guns for a decade and a half. Best decision I've made in airsoft.

because of the weight or durability or both?

[scottyfox]

I was referring to the weight vs my other guns, but I'm likely just biased because it's awesome.