about an m4

[oldairsofter1962]

my name is Guy, ive been on airsoft canada for 5 month now and got age verified maybe like 3 weeks ago so i got a little time to check out the classifieds.

ive been intrestead in a couple of guns im looking foward to getting an m4.
because im new here im gonna need a little help soo so far ive been looking at an m4 called src m933 that cost 350$,i have 500$ to spend but im planning on buying gear such as the matrix ''metal gear solid'' CIRAS vest and box of 8 mags,bb's,face mask,speed loader and other equippement to get started.

So i just whanted you guys to help me a little on decisions on what gun to buy and maybe tell me a little about the classifieds & tips on how to buy guns.

[andrew5826]

do you by any chance live in vancouver?

[oldairsofter1962]

no i live in ottawa

[Shooting Addict]

If that SRC is GEN2 don't buy it their garbage. Just buy a used gun from the classifieds that will come with extras and upgrades, it will also be good idea to go out to some of your local games and try out some different guns and gear since you may have a idea of what you like but you may prefer something else such as a AK over your current choice of an M4. One rule when buying equipment is DON't cheap out, if you don't have the money now save up to buy better gear later.

[R.I.T.Z]

the M933 sucks its a low quality SRC.
despite what many will say "full black" isnt that big of a deal. I know plenty of guys who run G&G clearsoft, look at a few of the retailers and you can find a gun of equal quality less cost.
now that being said take a look at the classifieds you can usually find packaged deals.

[oldairsofter1962]

thanks alot il be saving my money then.

[L473ncy]

Depending on what you have and what you can borrow you should be in a decent position, not the best but it's possible.

It's like playing hockey or something, you could get new bottom of the barrel stuff but that's not the best available. You go to a "consignment store" (in this case the classifieds as I see you have your AV tag) and you pick up something that is decent but used condition.

There are plenty of M4's available (as you can see for yourself) it's probably best to buy local as you have a name and better support if things go sour on a first purchase.

Budget maybe $450 for an M4, everything included (a few mags, optics, battery, etc.) that should put you in good standing in regards to a gun. Next go to your local surplus store and pickup a set of OD combats which can be had for $40 or sometimes less (haven't been to one recently but my OD combats came out to a little under $35 for both tunic and pants). It's possible to borrow these (just ask around before the game and pray to god there's someone that's the same build/size as you). Finally mag carrier, as much as I hate promoting them running a hi-cap until you can fork the money for a vest is probably the best way to go about this (that or begging for someone who has an extra vest or selling one to lend it to you on a "monthly instalment deal" or something). There are some clone vests in the classifieds that can be had for around $100 so that's probably the best route in regards to that.

PS: Boots with superfeet ROCK! You don't need military boots, hikers that have good roll protection are fine that is unless you want to do the "military dress up" thing with all the "real gear" and w/e. Hell I still use hiking boots but I'm planning on purchasing some new boots once these wear out.

[Kuro_Neko]

Manufacturer is generally more important then the style. Generally all airsoft aeg's work the same so how it looks like outside is up to you. Though the advice in the Airsoft Newbie Buying Guide about styles is good. Generally ak47, m16/m4 or mp5 are good starter gun styles due to the availability of accessories and upgrades.

$500 is an ok budget, but really you need more like $1000 (minimum) to get everything in good quality all at once. As several others have stated, it's better off to get the good stuff, if necessary in bits and pieces, rather then get a whole load of cheapo stuff. Obviously the gun is the most important part so I would really suggest not cheaping out on that. If necessary you can show up to a game in street clothes and rock a hicap for a while till you can save up for more gear. But if you cheap out on the gun you'll just cause yourself more headaches in the long run. That said, it's your decision.

For $200, the best you could manage is Aftermath stuff. Both the Broxa (full stock MP5) and the Kraken (AK47) are decent bargain basement guns, about $160 or so each. Stay away from Aftermath's Kirenex or Knight (both M4 variants) and the Lycaon (collapsible stock MP5) though, not a good rep.

If you're willing to go up to $300 you could get a JG. Yeah JG's are China clones but they're getting quite respectable nowadays. JG's M4 runs about $290. You could get one of the G&G cansoft (clear receiver) M4's for about $340. G&G is the cheapest of the midgrade guns. $400-$450 would get you an ICS which is a higher end midgrade gun. $500-$600 would get you a G&P, there's some debate on whether this is the lowest of the highgrade guns or if it should rank higher. Either way they make nice guns.

If you can afford it, highgrade guns such as Tokyo Marui or Classic Army are the way to go. They're going to run you $600-$700. Though if the M4/M16 style is what you want then I'd recommend staying away from stock TM's, the barrel wobble and creaking are pretty bad on the stock TM M4/M16's (yes the new TM M4/M16's have fixed this problem, but the bulk of the ones in country are the old ones so best to just avoid them for now).

I did extensive research and settled on the Tactical Carbine version of the Classic Army M15A4 (basically a full stock m4) as my first gun. If an Armalite is what you're looking for then I think it's the best of all possible versions. You have the shortened M4 carbine barrel, which makes you less likely to smack your barrel off something when turning quickly, combined with the full stock which houses a large battery. Small batteries don't have near the run time of a large battery, not to mention that the reinforced slip ring (the ring that keeps the fore-grip on) is really stong. While this is mostly a good thing and a big step up over CA's previous M15 versions, it makes changing small batteries in the field very difficult if not impossible.

CA's M15A4 series in general is a big step up over their previous versions and as far as stock armalites go they're probably the best. All metal where the real steel version is, the plastic parts where the real steal version is plastic are made of high quality enhanced nylon fiber rather then abs for great texture and feel. Classic Army has a deal with Armalite so you get all the proper markings. Plus that deal also goes to show the quality of the manufacture, Armalite wouldn't put their name on a shoddy product.

Internally the gearbox is reinforced metal and all the gears are metal as well. It fires hotter stock then Tokyo Marui's as well, firing at 300-320 fps where your average TM only fires 280-300 fps.

All in all this is a great starter gun if you can afford it. Because it's all metal you don't have to worry nearly as much about breaking it and you won't get any of the wobble or creaking that is infamous in stock TM M4/M16's. Unfortunately affording it is the biggest problem, they're not cheap. For reference I got my CA M15A4 from the classifieds, upgraded with a bunch of Systema internals to fire 390fps, for $600 shipped which was a great price.

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of Classic Army. One thing to keep in mind about Classic Army is they now have two lines, a proline and a sportline. Originally they were easy to tell apart because the proline had the metal body and the sportline had a plastic body but recently CA has been releasing their sportlines with metal bodies. The price tag should still allow you to easily tell the difference, the sportline being $300-400ish and the proline never being cheaper then $500, usually more like $600 or more but it's still something to keep in mind. All the pros that I went over above were regarding the proline model. The sportline model has cheaper everything internally and externally.

There's alot of people that will expound the virtues of G&P as well. And I'll admit the externals of G&P are very nice, easily on par with CA, in some cases better. The reason why I don't say G&P over CA though is much the same reason why people weren't big fans of CA up until a few years ago: their quality control for the internals is not the greatest. That means a fair number of lemons. CA got a handle on this a few years ago and they've been making great strides in terms of their rep ever since, but G&P isn't quite there yet. This is simply my personal opinion and there are many people that would likely disagree with me, but it's something to keep in mind. ICS is about a cheap a gun as you can go and still get full metal out of the box, I haven't read alot about this manufacturer but needless to say it's not in the same league as CA or G&P. It's what someone on a budget but determined to get full metal would aim for. I should probably give TM some love here as well: Due to Japanese laws TM guns fire alittle cooler then most others and their externals are going to be almost entirely abs plastic. But *nothing* beats TM for internal reliability. You leave a TM stock internally and it will last for literally decades.

One of the perks of going with an M16/M4 variant is that mags are dead easy to come by and dirt cheap. You can get Star brand mags for like $5 a mag or less, plastic yeah but sturdy none the less (Star is also the only brand that makes realcaps too). Metal mags will run you a fair bit more, $15 to $30 a mag. There's no real reason to go with metal over plastic for mags except looks/realism. Though of course if you're going to go hicap then you might as well get metal ones. As to Brands, TM and CA make good mags. I've heard pretty good stuff about MAG brand mags as well. King Arms not so much, especially for M4/M16 mags. Star is always a good affordable fallback too.

Some people say you need to shell out for batteries, mags, camo, chargers and ammo in the begining. Most of that isn't necessary right off the hop. The stock battery will do you for awhile. Most of the guns come with a hicap (high capacity (300-600 rounds)) mag that will also do for awhile. I do agree that a good charger would be a sound initial investment, but not a total requirement, especially if you plan to get a good battery down the road and don't care if the cheap wall charger fries your stock battery. Camo isn't really required in the beginning either, just some dark clothes. Ammo, yeah obviously a requirement but even good ammo (BB Bastard) only costs $10 for two thousand rounds.

So truely, all you really need to start is the gun, a bag or two of ammo and good eye protection (which will run you between $30 and $50). That said, if you can afford it then it all helps. Camo would cost about $100, a chest rig or vest would cost another $100. A good loadout of mags, even the cheap Star mags, are going to cost at least $50. A good charger is at least another $50, with another $50 for a good battery. A sidearm is another thing that people like to have but isn't really necessary. A decent sidearm would cost you between $250 and $350.

Sidearms aren't really required right away so if you're on a limited budget then hold off on the sidearm for now. If you have the budget for it then what you want in a sidearm depends on two factors (besides cost of course) whether or not full metal is a must and exactly what model you're partial to. Certain manufacturers tend to make certain models better then others. If full metal is a must then the best choice that isn't going to cost you an arm and a leg is probably KJW, especially for the M9 which they do very well. You'll see alot of WE's around, they're cheap and full metal but tend to have problems, especially their 1911 models. KJW has a rep of having mag problems, but I have had two KJW pistols and I haven't had any trouble with my mags. If full metal isn't a must then WA or TM would be very good choices.

Kuro_Neko

[m102404]

There's a great group of guys at the LZ in the Ottawa region. Check out their game schedule (I think it's posted for the whole year in advance)...sign up to their forum and start the ball rolling with them.

Sort out your gear essentials (boots, googles, etc...) and ask nicely for rental setup.

That way you'll get the chance to try out a couple of different makes/models, see why small batteries suck ass and why non-hicap mags makes things so much more fun. Plus one-on-one chit chat with guys in person will net you 1000x more info on what's what than cruzing through this forum for months.

Tys

[dutchydoc]

The LZ Boys are hosting a new player familiarization day... The day will be full of info and allow you to get your hands on some different weapons. You can have a look at the info and Sign up over at http://www.lzottawa.ca
Hope to see you there.

[oldairsofter1962]

thanks alot! il be looking foward to going

[oldairsofter1962]

thanks for all the quick replys it really helped me.