M249 feedback

[Amos]

Sell it, get a G&P!

[Metro]

Since you guys know your 249
What company has the best body? I am looking to do a drop in kit from DaytonaGun

Classic army?
A&K
G&P
Echo
Missing any other types ?

I am looking for realisim and durability. So far from what i have been reading the MK46 from G&P is in the lead.

Thanks for the help!

[ThunderCactus]

G&P by far
the others brands don't even compare, not even close.
The G&P is real steel weight, built from superior materials, balanced properly, even the box mag shell is tough as nails.

[Rob101]

I'm contemplating on picking up an M249 I cant really aford the top notch gear but i was thinking the A&K short compact version from revolution airsoft. Any suggestions I rock gbb never gone AEG

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by Rob101

I'm contemplating on picking up an M249 I cant really aford the top notch gear but i was thinking the A&K short compact version from revolution airsoft. Any suggestions I rock gbb never gone AEG

The A&K M249 Para? Internals are garbage, pick it up if you're on a budget and know how to do your own mechbox work.

[Rob101]

I can save up any gun/manufacture or retailer suggestion . I have never owned a high end aeg except walmart when i was like 17

[ThunderCactus]

G&P's aren't $1800 anymore, they're so comparable in cost to CA that there's really no reason NOT to buy one

[89db]

I have an A&K M249 Para, its pretty decent for the price. I am only 4000 rounds in but I am with Stealth on this, I am pretty sure at one point it will crap on me and its in my plan to build a rock solid gearbox then.

[Stealth]

Actually let me post my "review" of the A&K M249.

Likes:
* Full Metal
* Low price (lowest price for an M249 of any make/model)
* Quick-change spring (we literally bought this gun JUST to test out springs with)
* Bearing spring guide! (I shouldn't even be putting this here - what kind of gun doesn't come with a bearing spring guide nowadays?)
* Passes the 10ft test - intimidates the n00bs? (means it looks real nice from 10 feet away, then when you step in closer, you notice the poor-looking fit/finish of the gun. Maybe I'm picky)

Dislikes:
* Pistol grip has really bad plastic moulding and will literally cut your hand open if you don't sand the flash smooth.
* Pistol grip plate is pathetic - the spring is weak and the door keeps flapping open
* The switch is garbage. Right after I sold the thing to someone, the new owner complained that the switch was burned out. It basically burned out after about 1000 rounds. Yes I was using an 11.1V lipo. Stock V2/V3 trigger contacts last longer than that. Thankfully replacement switches are something like $5 from amazon or some electronics store. If you're paying more than $10 for one you're getting ripped off. Don't spend $25 on the CA one.
* The top cover above the outer barrel is made out of some cheap happy meal plastic while the lower handguards are made out of a more sturdy fiber/nylon. The top cover will just randomly shift out of place for no reason
* The lower receiver that contains the pistol grip and trigger assembly literally flexes with the weight of the gun
* Rock-solid gearbox shell that looks like it can take a 600fps spring, shitty bearings means that you're pretty much limited to under 400fps. Otherwise your bearings will grenade itself over time. Proprietary bearings also mean you can't just swap them out easily. The only replacements are the Kanzen Ceramic bearings ($$$)
* The nozzle length is proprietary (actually I didn't really spend a lot of time here, but it has no o-ring on it = air seal problem). I'm sure there's a length match somewhere.
* The hop-up unit/bucking combo is pathetic and needs to be replaced before you can game it. (lots of threads on the web on this)
* The pinion gear on the motor that it comes with has a weird angle on the teeth which means it doesn't mesh with the gears properly = whiney gearbox no matter how much time you spend shimming it.
* The stock gearset grenaded itself after about 100 rounds. Half dozen teeth peaced out from the spur gear.
* Holding the gun with the box mag gave me an idea of what it's like to hold the moon. Seriously the box mag is oversized. Yes it's "realistic" but the MAG 100rd box mag is much more manageable.
* The ergonomics of the gun with the box mag is all weird. Maybe it's my long arms, but I couldn't hold the gun by the handguards comfortably without my forearm interfering with the box mag in some way.

Almost all the "dislikes" above can be remedied fairly easily if you know how to do some of your own work. I wanted to say that it's disappointing that the internals don't really match the external build quality but the externals aren't phenomenal either so I'm not really too sure what to say.

This is my experience with ONE A&K M249 Para. Your mileage may vary!

[Danke]

I've run a big round count through my A&K M249 with not much trouble.

It the current climate the price of the Classic Army one sure looks good though.

I am sure the G&P lives up to the hype but the only one I've ever seen up for sale was broken (that's weird) so I have yet to have a chance to try one.

Here's a detailed reveiw of the A&K http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/revie...49-para/cat/16

It really sounds like the one you got was the runt of the litter Stealth.

[Drake]

My experience with the A&K M249 has been much more positive than Stealth's.

It should be noted its a direct clone of the CA M249, which itself was a copy of the TOP M249 with the PGC aftermarket mechbox (rather than the stock TOP bellows system).

• Looks-wise, it was very similar to the CA.
• I had no problem with the pistol grip (although the storage compartment door is flappy.
• Trigger switch was fine when running a normal battery like it was designed for.
• The box mag is the size of a normal 200 round box. CA 100 round nutsacks fit fine. One nice feature of the A&K boxmag is the sound activated winding (so you pretty much never have to hit the wind button).
• The gun dimensions and layout are accurate to the real gun, so any ergonomic issues will be encountered on ANY brand; faulting the A&K for this is ridiculous.

other Cons I found:

• The bipod is junk. Doesn't stow properly, easily damaged.
• Like the CA, the mechbox needs a bit tuning if you want good performance from it.

other Pros:

• Quick change spring is awesome.
• Compatibility with CA and many G&P parts (external).
• I found it to be extremely reliable.

[QKLee11]

My Classic Army MK 46 from 007 Airsoft is still rocking, bought it about 3 months ago and it is still firing like dream....but mind you there has only been 5000 bb's through it...but the outside rail features and recievers (frame) were a great attraction when I decided to buy that brand.

[BogardusFoul]

I own 2 ca m249 para. Haven't had any issues with their performance or durability. I have never done any range or accuracy tests on them. I will bring one into work tomorrow and do some testing.

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by Danke

It really sounds like the one you got was the runt of the litter Stealth.

After reading yours and Drake's post I was really bummed. I actually really wanted to like this gun and even wanted to field it. But having to do all that work just to get it to work/be reliable turned me off to the whole thing.

And Drake is totally right, faulting the ergonomics of the gun on just the A&K model is ridiculous. I should have referred to the ergonomics of the 249 in general.

[Danke]

Well that's what we warn everybody about on the clones. If it's a bad one it can be as bad as it gets.

The biggest problem I found with mine was that other folks on the team would expect me to suppress a target for half an hour while they wandered around the field as their leisure.