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Thanks lads.

The Marshall messed with the hop up to try and get it working a bit better, it seemed to have some effect though not much, so maybe it was just on it's way out. For the record, I seem to recall l them zipping off the right a bit. I'm quite impressed that I was able to hit anyone given that I had to cater for a change of direction!

So what's a BFG do, Gonzo? Are these the things that bolt on like an underslung grenade launcher and shoot about a dozen or so bb's at the same time? Or is that something else?

Thanks for your replies


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Ah - never mind, I found the BFG's, I saw some of the organisers playing with these (along with a mortar, and a paintball gun that they were firing pyro out of, the crazy bastards lol).

I didn't think the BFG made much noise mind you. Are they actually effective in game?

You obviously didn't hear the BFG with a .12g in it. Those things are LOUD!

Depends on the blank used really, 9mm seems to be the most common that I've encountered and they're roughly equivalent to a Mk5.

As to effectiveness, it really depends on the site's rules. The site I play at is all indoors, and doesn't allow chemical burning pyro like smokes and Mk5s so it's all BFGs. They can work really well, usually a good way to open up a doorway and clear stubborn enemies out of cover.

The point of a BFG (here in the states we have to use compressed C02 or other non-pyro sources but same concept) is a distraction. You throw it in, people panic, they get startled, you shoot the people and make use of the chaos. There are also things called Tornado grenades that fire BBs in all directions and that takes care of the people inside the room. I have found the BEST way to use a delayed sound grenade is to throw it in and not wait for it to go off. Just follow it in and shoot the folks trying to take care of it. It goes off but I'm half deaf anyway so they never bother me a bit. Of course, this is with rules that are 'a sound grenade is a sound grenade, not a lethal grenade'. Some fields have a 'radius' that means X feet from the grenade is a kill. Depends on the field.

Depending on the gun, and I'm late to the party so forgive me for not reading back on everything and knowing what your gum might be, your BBs are likely too light. You should be using .25s if the gun is worth anything in an actual game of airsoft. That should fix a good deal of the drifting. After upgrading, which isn't a thing you should really worry about for a while, you can bump up to .28s or .30 gram. My own AEG is ready for .36s thanks to the internal upgrades to maximize range and accuracy.

Did see a thing asking about WE pistols. Don't buy them. There are many people that will say they are solid and it's true, they CAN make a good pistol. I have one myself that I adore. But WE is a very bad company with very little quality control. There is a very good chance that the pistol you get is a lemon. Defective and worthless. Look at KWA or KJW first and if you have a good chunk of money burning a hole in your pocket, TM is some of the best you can get. But I would suggest KJW for a beginner pistol. Simple, mags are cheap, can last a while. I prefer KWA though because it feels more like a pistol and less like a toy. The quality is still there, but the company itself isn't the most fun to have to deal with if something goes wrong.

For guns, I'm going to give a quick rundown of things to look at. Cyma CM031 product number and higher for AK-47 styles. You can't go wrong with these. JG M4 Enhanced edition is built to last and most JG guns have bad externals but VERY durable internals. Echo 1 guns won't disappoint and have minor upgrades internally than most stock guns. Elite Force M4s are okay, but not GREAT. Lonex M4s are great and will last ages as you upgrade it. ICS sportlines aren't great and better guns are available. ICS proline is very very good. Classic Army sportline is absolute junk. Proline is very 'standard' but not many complaints out there. G&G Combat Machines have nice externals but AWFUL internals long term. VFC is amazing externally and pretty friggin good internally but the pistons are often a problem.




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Since you did ask about upgrades, the best order for accuracy is: Bucking, Barrel, Hop-up unit. The bucking is like a rubber sleeve on the end of the barrel that makes backspin on the BB. A better bucking, stiffer or even the shape of it can cause different results. An R-Hop is incredible but custom, a flathop is great but also a bit custom, but easier to do, then 'drop in' buckings are bought from the store and installed flat out. Very cheap and can turn a 35m gun into a 50+m gun. Amazing results from a simple thing. R-hops are where you get 100m though. Barrels come in many forms, steel, Aluminum, 6.01, 6.03, Miracle Barrel, blah blah blah. 6.01 is for snipers and semi-auto guns only because they are more likely to jam and a jam can damage your gun in full auto. 6.03 is common for the AEG upgrades. Miracle Barrel and a few others use some sort of way to stabilize the shot each time internally. The point is to make each shot the same as the last so the BBs aren't flying all over the place at range. The hop-up unit is less important but might provide a better airseal on lower quality guns. More air behind the BB, more power so you might need to get a spring downgrade with this one, but it also means more consistency since each shot has the same amount of air behind it.

None of this you have to worry about until you get atleast five games under your belt with your own gun. Till you get the basics and start seeing your gun under-performing.

 kitch102 wrote:
Thanks lads.

The Marshall messed with the hop up to try and get it working a bit better, it seemed to have some effect though not much, so maybe it was just on it's way out. For the record, I seem to recall l them zipping off the right a bit. I'm quite impressed that I was able to hit anyone given that I had to cater for a change of direction!

Sounds like it's a bad bucking for the hop-up.

@ Shark - holy high hell dude, thanks for the detailed reply, very informative and helpful! I'm a little low on time to go in to everything you've said, though can say that having spoken to WE, I've been told that their warranty is one of the best in the industry, as they have complete ownership of the process right back to the factory so getting repairs / parts is a real quick and easy process for them. Just in case this is something new that you weren't aware of

@bassist - yeah that tallies up with what the marshall tried fixing on the day. It was a G&G Combat Machine (carbine) that I was using. I've taken these out for a couple of trial runs now at a firing range & on Sunday. My friend and I both experienced miss fired and I had my hop up problem. Would you still recommend these as a starter rifle and upgrade them as required, or should I just spend more initially on a higher end rifle?

Cheers both!

The WE warranty is something like 30 days I believe. 30 days often isn't long enough to take the gun to the field a half dozen times or enough time for the magazines to leak and fail. Like I said, I own a WE and adore the thing, but I spent a few days correcting machining errors, fixing loose parts, stabilizing the barrel and such. I bought it for its looks and decided to make it work, but it will never be as nice as my KWA and I keep the KWA nearby because I just know the WE is going to crap out sometime soon.

You should not buy a Combat Machine. G&G makes good higher end guns but the internals of a Combat Machine are bad if you try to upgrade it. It's fine as a cheap rental, durable enough, but things don't mesh well while upgrading and lead to more failures faster than should happen. A bit of extra money at the start prevents headaches later.

For M4s you shouldn't spend less than $200 (not sure of your local prices) and really look at the Lonex brand. Airsoft GI, an American airsoft retail company, makes a very good line of 'custom' (just simply upgraded) M4s that start with the Lonex gun. It's pretty much the gold standard for performance, low price and durability. Off the top of my head, and I'm an AK guy so I might fudge it up a little, the Echo 1 Platinum, VFC series, ICS, G&P, and JG Enhanced are good long term choices. The JG though has a plastic body, but the internals really are impressive.

I do have to say though, have you considered guns other than M4s? Because of the popularity of the M4, a lot of companies will charge more for less gun just because it looks like an M4. The ICS G33 for instance is an amazing gun that even uses M4 mags, but is on the lower cost side of things and has more practical features, folding AND extending stock, plenty of rail space, ambidextrous firing selector and magazine release.