Airsoft / Clearsoft - Long Term Reliability Study

[Syphen]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
TM MC51

2) Date Obtained
Sept 2003

3) Initial Cost
$450

4) New or Used
New

5) Mechanical Problems
None

6) Esthetic Problems
None

7) Rounds fired between failures
N/A However, this gun has been a loaner and has easily had near 100,000 bb's fired through it, if not more, without failure. Used at temps near -20 and alot in pouring rain. It is a solid gun.

8) Changes to Internals and Externals
None

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
$200 Nov 2006. My cousin owns it now, so I still use it every now and then.

[LeGROS]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
TM SR-16

2) Date Obtained
Juin 2007, buy 2

3) Initial Cost
$550

4) New or Used
New

5) Mechanical Problems
Nosel of the piston have move in the gearbox, have to open it and replace as it right place! The other SR-16 is still in great condition!

6) Esthetic Problems
None

7) Rounds fired between failures
More than 20 000, real nice gun!

8) Changes to Internals and Externals
None

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.

[bean]

1) Maruzen Interdynamic KG9 BV
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2) Last Year
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3) $400
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4) Used
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5) After its 15-20 years in service the hose attachment within the pistol grip was dinged up and failed to hold the quick detach connector. This was easily remedied with a 6mm hose and some wire making the joint like a barb fitting.
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6) No issues other then the user should be sure to put some threadlock in the cocking handle screw hole.
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7) Unable to give an accurate figure on this due to its switching hands many times over its time in this world. I have fired roughly 8000 rounds myself through it.
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8) The overflow valve needs to be disabled with a washer in order to use higher input pressures.
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9) n/a
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10) A great little gun hard to come by. Mags are very hard to come by I had to purchase 3 other guns to get the mags I have now. There are also some accessories for this gun that are semi rare like the silencer set and folding stock set. This gun does not have hopup stock but if you know someone who is familiar with classics they can make an scs style hopup.

[Helios_]

1) CA G36K
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2) July 2006
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3) ~$500
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4) New
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5) No Mechanical Problems
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6) Rear stock began to split in half. Installed the replacement stock I had bought.
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7) Fired 15-20k rounds, no failures. Clean and oil barrel every game or 2.
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8) Changed from skeleton stock to G&P G36 Folding Buttstock. Kit was really easy to install. Haven't opened the mechbox.
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9) Still Own
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10)Notes and Comments (Optional)
It's been a solid gun. Shoots 350 fps (.20g) out of the box.

Moving the battery form the front handguard to the buttstock balanced the gun much better.
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[shifty51]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
KJW M9
2) Date Obtained
summer 2007
3) Initial Cost
$450 shipped
4) New or Used
new
5) Mechanical Problems (Gearbox issues, hopup issues.. basically functional performance related)
trigger bar spring (kjw p/n 65) snapped after just 200rnds through
6) Esthetic Problems (Paint damage, cracks in body, loose parts.. physical construction related)
mag pins not seated right, and made small scratches to the mag housing, now mag 'wobbles' slighly
7) Rounds fired between failures (think how many bags of BB's used before it failed)
200rnds.
8) Changes to Internals (upgrades, dates)
replaced all springs in gun with KA springkit for kwc/tm/kjw m9 series
9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
not yet

[JacoNB]

1) Make and Model
-- M14 OD Version, UTG
2) Date Purchased
-- August 2007
3) Cost
-- $200
4) New/Used?
-- New
5) Mechanical Problems
-- Fire selector sometimes 'sticks' on full auto, seems to be a worn out cut-off lever.
6) Esthetic Problems
-- Orange Tip, fixed with black paint (Aug-07)
-- "Rubberized" coating starting to chip/wear off on edges (Oct-07)
-- A bit of "flex" in the upper handguard/stock, fixed after installing a G&G RAS
-- Scratches and scuffs from regular game play. (no bipod on the bottom rail yet)
7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- 2500 - 3000 before the fire selector issues
8) Changes to Internals & Externals -- Installed G&G RAS
--Replaced a screw that I lost (was loose after it was taken apart and inspected internally, and it fell out en route to a game)
--Removed a "screw guide" inside the battery compartment/stock to make more room for the battery. Also dremelled out a bit of plastic to make it easier to insert and remove the battery.
--Removed the gigantic fuse case and spliced the wire with heat wrap
9) Resale Date and Value-- N/A

For a UTG, I was pretty impressed with this right out of the box. Not a fan of the noisy hicaps, but it's an impressively accurate gun for the money I paid for it. Chrony'd at around 330fps on .20s. No internal upgrades yet, except for the battery compartment. Tried to fire a few rounds through a TM locap, and it didn't like full auto, but semi auto fed the bbs fine. Heavy as hell, feels solid now, with the RAS installed. And it's purty. I'm planning on putting a silencer on... with the long barrel. Although I'm only 5'8" myself... might not leave it on long without getting the shorty barrel.

[Crunchmeister]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
- Double Eagle M86 (AK47 ) AEG

2) Date Obtained
- Sept 2007

3) Initial Cost
- $250 Cdn

4) New or Used
- New

5) Mechanical Problems
- None to date, although couple of the plastic 'teeth' connecting the plastic lower body to the upper receiver broke. Has no effect on the performance of the gun though.

6) Esthetic Problems
- The fit of the 2 halves of the stock isn't the tightest, but it lines up well enough. The simulated wood grain is quite realistic though. Otherwise, everything else looks great.

7) Rounds fired between failures
- I've put over 17 000 rounds through it so far. I have't been able to find any .20g BBs around here, so I've been using those 5 000 packs of .12g Crosman BBs. I've been through 2 full ones to date plus the 200 that came with the gun. Just fired off 5 000 .20s today though. What a difference!

Changes to Internals and Externals
- No internal changes. I've only painted the lower body since it was originally clear.

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
- I couldn't see myself selling this gun. I'm getting more guns, but I'm never replacing this one unless it breaks

10)Notes and Comments

I think this is a great first gun. It's reasonably solid (nothing moves, wiggles, bends,etc). Seems quite powerful too. The box advertises 105 m/s (344 fps). I don't know if this is accurate or not, but it did seem quite fast.

And the accuracy is KILLER too. At 25 feet indoors (in my basement), I can easily cut the centre out of an "official" NRA qualification targetwith very few stray rounds. I brought it out to a friend's place out of the city today for a while and we shot off a 5 000 pack of .20g BBS, and I was accurately tagging targets up to 150 feet away. I could still hit the target at about 180 feet, but there were a lot of stray shots. Still, I'm impressed with this gun. I wasn't expecting much for the price.

I'm new to Airsoft and have a lot to learn, so I'm sure my opinion here can be taken as the words of someone without much experience with Airsoft guns (I did collect BB and pellet guns for years). But in terms of reliability and accuracy for recreational shooting, I can give this gun top marks. I'm not sure how it would hold out in the field in an actual game, but to me, it appears pretty solid.

UPDATE: Dec 1, 2007 - I dropped the rifle and the stock broke off. the part that connected the stock to the stock body essentially snapped off the body. Got some duct tape on it, and it still shoots fine, only not very solid and now ugly as sin. It seems the plastic is quite brittle. Still think it's a great gun for just fun shooting, but now I'm convinced it wouldn't hold up to abuse in the field.

[Crunchmeister]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
- KWC Beretta M92FS (Spring)

2) Date Obtained
- 1998

3) Initial Cost
- $90 Cdn

4) New or Used
- New

5) Mechanical Problems
- None

6) Esthetic Problems
- None. The joints between the plastic parts are pretty much seamless. They're very hard to see. Excellent quality build. This is the closest reproduction of the 92FS I've ever seen. Includes all trademarks.

7) Rounds fired between failures
- I've fired at least 2 000 rounds out of this thing over the past 10 years. It's always shot straight and true every time

8) Changes to Internals and Externals
- No changes.

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
- Wouldn't sell it

10)Notes and Comments

I never originally bought this gun with the intention of shooting it. I figured it would be crap, but I loved how realistic it looked. I just bought it as a showpiece and would pull it out once in a while and fire off a few mags' worth of BBs. Turns out if was alot of fun. I wouldn't take the gun to seiously in terms of performance, but it's a looker, that's for sure.

[purplestairs]

1)KJW USP COMPACT

2)Fall 07

3)$250

4)Brand New

5)The magazine has a leak, and will not fire.

6)ABS has bulges in the side, and minor paint scratches

7)300

8)Nope.

9) 200 now.

[Crunchmeister]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
- Palco Firepower M4

2) Date Obtained
- Nov 2007

3) Initial Cost
- $279 Cdn

4) New or Used
- New

5) Mechanical Problems
- mechbox locked with a horrid grinding sound after about 10 rounds

6) Esthetic Problems
- Not real problems there. The gun looked good, but looked plastic.

7) Rounds fired between failures
- Died after about 10 rounds. Fired 4-5 in semi-auto to check sights. Switched to full auto. Got a burst of about 5-6 rounds before the mechbox produced a loud grind then snapping sound. That was the end of it.

8) Changes to Internals and Externals
- none

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
- I wouldn't be able to give this away. Luckily the seller will take it back for a full refund

10)Notes and Comments
Avoid this piece of junk like the plague.

[ace team rifleman]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
-G&G gr16 r4, sr-16

2) Date Obtained
-March 2006

3) Initial Cost
-700$

4) New or Used
-New

5) Mechanical Problems
Gearbox version 2, gen 2
piston use to lock, trigger lock too.

6) Esthetic Problems
-The rails have a unusual size.
Some accesories could be loose when instal on the rail.
-A lot of parts are not compatible with others brands.
-Receiver's paint chip easily.

7) Rounds fired between failures
- I think I had a problem at every 500 bb's shot.

8) Changes to Internals and Externals
- I use this aeg parts on my others aeg.

9) - Not selling it.

10) In some, this model have a nice esthetic, it is very good looking. But it provide a lot of mechanical problems.

[Jayhad]

) Make and Model
-- M249 TOP
2) Date Purchased
-- Summer 2007
3) Cost
-- $1850
4) New/Used?
-- Used
5) Mechanical Problems
-- Busted bellows
-- Stripped piston
6) Esthetic Problems

7) Rounds Fired Between Failures
-- 8000 (Failed with bellows system 2007)
-- 200 (Failed piston on ANGS uppgrade)
8) Changes to Internals
-- ANGS cylinder conversion after bellows failure
-- M120 in ANGS conversion
-- External changes include new MK46 RAS, shorter barrel, railed top, para stock
9) Resale Date and Value
-- N/A

[LucidFox]

Crossman Stinger R34:________________________________________

1) Manufacturer, Model Name: Crossman Stinger R34
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2) Date Obtained: December,25,06
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3) Initial Cost: Do Recall about 115$
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4) New or Used: New
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5) Mechanical Problems: Cocking Lever prone to breaking, stock reflex site batteries died quickly, was very dim. trigger and trigger spring assembly do not fit back together upon disasembly(after the cocking lever blew up).
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6) Esthetic Problems: Did not notice any.
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7) Rounds fired between failures: can't recall to a year ago but i went though 1000 bb's with about 10 failures.
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8) Changes to Internals and Externals: Disassembly WILL guarantee non-functional weapon
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9) Resale Date and Value if applicable: n/a
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10)Notes and Comments: It worked fine until the cocking lever blew up the internals. I was out plinking around with archery targets in my back yard (woods), and after shooting i went to pull it back and with a violent shake the lever wouldn't work anymore. My dad used some retardedly strong glue to attach it all back together again but it broke on the first pull. It broke 2 weeks later or so.


Crossman Pulse M70:________________________________________

1) Manufacturer, Model Name: Crossman Pulse M70
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2) Date Obtained: December, 25, 06
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3) Initial Cost: 80$ I do believe
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4) New or Used: New
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5) Mechanical Problems: Constant changing of batteries to maintain decent RoF.
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6) Esthetic Problems: front sight constantly pulls it's self in half, Battery compartment latch broke, batteries fall out if not held shut, sights don't work at all (shoots over them in a sprayed manor).
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7) Rounds fired between failures: 600 or so bb's with about 10 failures.
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8) Changes to Internals and Externals: Didn't open it up.
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9) Resale Date and Value if applicable: n/a
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10)Notes and Comments: BB's carries away VERY easily by the wind, expensive to keep at a decent RoF as mentioned, the gravity feed sometimes failed me and over all my parents wasted alot of money on these :/. I told them i would like to start airsoft and they bought soft air.

[tracerbullet]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name: KSC HK33K

2) Date Obtained: November 23 2007

3) Initial Cost: $311 USD (Redwolf)

4) New or Used: USED

5) Mechanical Problems: Some feed issues with brand new KSC magazines, sometimes does not feed a BB, usually fed upon second shot.
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6) Esthetic Problems: Cocking handle is a little tough to pull, understandable since it cocks the spring back.

7) Rounds fired between failures: Unknown number of bb's at this point, no failures coming into my hands. *UPDATE* Minor failure, screw holding the cocking handle to the pin for manually cocking the spring somehow came loose causing the gun to cease firing, quick fix and back up and running in 5 minutes.

8) Changes to Internals and Externals: No upgrades at this point, original owner used as show piece, previous owner made no changes.

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable: N/A at this point

10)Notes and Comments: One of the most robust AEG's I've used to date. Feels solid, no rattle, very reliable (outside of the odd feed issue). Very nice feature that the battery can be turned on and off simply from a switch in front of the trigger. Also to date this is the only AEG I've heard of that will pre-cock the spring prior to firing, also the only AEG I know of that you can manually cock the spring using the charging handle. My only real beef with this gun is the fact that you can only use KSC HK33 magazines, since they are slightly larger than the CA magazines and the feed is in a different position. Battery choice is also slightly limited due to the small compartment in which the battery is placed in the upper receiver. Upper receiver/battery compartment are easily accessed with a body pin that can be removed by hand which is extremely well designed by KSC in my opinion. Final thoughts on this AEG is that it's an excellent weapon, however parts and magazines are few and far between.

[Crunchmeister]

1) Manufacturer, Model Name
- KJW M9 (Full metal)

2) Date Obtained
- Nov 2007

3) Initial Cost
- $280 Cdn

4) New or Used
- New

5) Mechanical Problems
- None with the gun. But the mag that shipped with the gun leaked and had a broken feed lip and was unuseable. A&A replaced it with a new mag. New also started leaking within a couple of weeks, as did the second mag I bought. The mags tend to leak from the base of the mag, and not from the valves. I purchased 3 more mags and fill them with less propane now. I haven't had a problem with those yet.

6) Esthetic Problems
- None out of the box. It's showing a bit of paint wear on the edges of the slide and on the safety levers, but that's to be expected from extreme use.

7) Rounds fired between failures
- No failiures on the gun so far. It's never been fielded, but I put about 1500 rounds through it so far just plinking in my basement with friends and at a friend's house in the country. It's had a pretty heavy duty workout and it's holding up beautifully.

8 )Changes to Internals and Externals
- Hogue grips
- New King Arms trigger bar spring. Wasn't a problem or an upgrade. I just lost the original trigger bar spring while installing the new grips. The new spring has no effect on the performance of the gun)
- New 150% recoil spring. Didn't find it made a whole lot of difference except the slide snaps back a bit faster now. Have a 190% hammer spring for it, but too chicken to crack the gun open to install it.

9) Resale Date and Value if applicable.
- Not a chance in Hell that I'd sell this baby. It's accurate, reliable, and hits hard. You can't ask for more than that out of a sidearm.

10)Notes and Comments

This is an awesome gun for the money. It' s accurate, has nice power, and feels great. The all metal contruction really adds some beef to the weight. The recoil isn't very powerful, but gives enough kick to lift the muzzle a bit with each shot.

I hear these guns are prone to trigger spring breakage after minimal use (less than 200 rounds). I haven't had that problem yet, although I have a spare trigger spring that came with the respring kit I bought should this happen.

The only potential downside I could see for this gun is the lack of rails for accessories, and its limited upgradeability (from the info I could find). And I honestly don't think it really needs any upgrades except the aforementioned springs.

In terms of accuracy, I can get roughly 1.5" groupings at 20-25 feet. Not bad at all, I'd say.