AirsoftReports.com Putting Airsoft Buyers Right on Target!

FAQ

We get a lot of questions here at Airsoft Reports and we try our best to answer each and everyone. We've noticed that we get a lot of the same types of questions so we decided to start posting our answers to some of these commonly asked questions for all to see:

Q. What is the best airsoft gun?

A. We can't answer this question because it is impossible to answer accurately with so little info to go on. The answer is different for each person; some like the most expensive, some like the most qualitative, the most reliable, the most bang for the buck, assault rifles, sub machine guns, sniper rifles and so on. Further, it can all depend on where you play, i.e. in a field with no cover, in a building with little space etc...

So here is what we tell everyone else:

First, figure out which gun you think looks the best (i.e. an M16, or an AK47 perhaps), then figure out how much money MAX you can spend. Once you've done these two things, you'll be ready to start choosing the brand you want. There are many out there and many that are all about equal in quality. We've had good experiences with Classic Army, Echo 1, JG and TSD, just to name a few. Since the wave of Chinese "clones" (aka copies of the Japanese guns), the average quality of the lower priced stuff has improved. About 5 years ago, if the gun wasn't a Tokyo Marui or comparable, it really wasn't worth bringing to a skirmish. These guns cost around $300.00 before battery cost or other accessories were added in. Now, there is a glut of Chinese guns costing right around $100.00 +/- and they all generally have comparable quality. (There are some that are better than others, but generally, for the average weekend player, any of the brands listed above will do fine).

Once you've chosen the gun type, the brand and the price all you have to do is type in the gun make and model into a search engine and pick the best price and/or the best deal. Remember that the best price is not always the best deal, because sometimes buying from a local shop can get you the product and the service which could really come in handy if you're new to the sport. Then again, if your budget is really tight, the price leader might be your best option.

As you can see, this method of selection will yield varying results depending on the person and hence, there is no one "best gun".

Q: "Whats hop up?"

A: Hop up is a device which puts backspin on a bb. Think of  the hop up effect sort of like what happens when a player slices a tennis ball with a racket or when a pitcher throws a curve ball. In both cases, spin is added to the spherical object and this spin causes the path of the ball to be altered; usually the spin in these sports revolves around a horizontal axis and this results in a curved trajectory. (Imagine a rod pointing straight up and down, then imaging putting that vertical rod right through the middle of the tennis or baseball. The ball would spin around the vertical rod causing the path of the ball to deviate to the left or right.)

In airsoft, the backspin is placed on the horizontal axis (Picture a bicycle wheel, as it spins around a horizontal rod). Hence, just like in baseball or tennis, the bb's path will deviate due to the backspin. In this case,  the bb will flare up towards the end of its trajectory and will add distance (range) to the airsoft gun's capability.

A hop up "unit" simply describes the entire assembly that is used to house the hop up components. The hop up bucking is usually the term used to describe that actual piece of rubber or silicone that contacts the bb at the top of the barrel. The hop up is usually located just forward (Towards the end of the barrel) of the bb feed port (The part where the magazine feeds the bbs up into the gun).

Hop up units can come in all different shapes and sizes and can vary somewhat in their designs. In the end, the effect is the same, but it would be wise to research the design of the hop up in your gun before you attempt to work on it. Remember, as with many parts of an airsoft gun, there are a lot of small parts and losing one can ruin the entire unit so take precautions when disassembling.

You might hear people suggest that you get an upgraded hop up and this usually refers to a more finely machined, assembled of constructed unit. Generally, an aftermarket hop up will have a hop up bucking that is of a better quality material and is usually more easily fine tuned.
Some hop up buckings are made of harder or softer material depending on the type of service the airsoft gun will be put into. Generally, the softer the material the better control the hop will impart to the bb's flight path. However, softer buckings can be damaged when put into an airsoft gun that is shooting bbs at high velocities. Though not a precise science, it seems that a harder bucking is preferred by players who have guns that shoot at 350+ fps.

There are a lot manufacturers out there so search around. To get you started here are some popular brand names:

Firefly,King Arms, Laylax, Madbull, Nineball

There is a lot of good info on the web about hop ups and which ones work in certain applications so use the search engines, its what we do when we are looking for info. With this brief introduction to hop up, you should be able to have a basic understanding of the hop up principle and what it does.

Q: " I want an airsoft gun with good range, what should I get?"

A: I get this question all the time and its a very reasonable question. The problem is there is a bit of confusion as to what kind of ranges an airsofter can reasonable expect. My guess is that the confusion occurs because airsoft guns are usually replicas of real guns and people frequently assume that the airsoft guns replicate the performance of their namesakes. Here is what I mean; lots of times I get messages from fans, telling me that they got a bolt action "sniper rifle" because they wanted to be a "sniper". These fans usually go on to tell me how they can easily hit targets at ranges in excess of 200'. While I don't believe these fans are lying, I have never been able to replicate these types of numbers in all of the airsoft guns that I have tested. What I have done however, is misjudge the range and I suspect that the inflated claims of range and accuracy may stem in part from miscalculation of the distance. Its easy to do believe me!

"OK, so what?" you might be thinking, well it matters because as with everything else in life, physics plays a role in airsoft. I'm not an engineer or a mathmatician, but that doesn't mean that I haven't seen enough airsoft guns and battles to know that a .20 gram bb (Thats less than half a gram!!!) traveling at around 350 fps out of an unrifled barrel is only going to be able to go so far. In my experience, 200' is the aboslute maximum effective range of an airsoft gun. When firing at targets at this range, the operator will be elevating his barrel at a 10-20 degrees and arching his shots. The bbs carry very little energy at this range and even a breath of air will throw this little projectile wildly off course.
This is true of airsoft guns big and small, SMG and Sniper Rifle alike. In fact in the video "Dogs of War Pt. 2" that I filmed, you can see the players trying to hit eachother with no success at ranges of just a few hundred feet (Probably about 200' -400'). Not even the guys with the sniper rifles were able to hit their targets!

This means that the savvy airsoft buyer need not concern himself nearly as much with the various models ballistics performance because unlike in the real world, an MP5 will perform similarly to an M4.

Now before the inevitable torrent of emails starts rolling in about how an "assault rifle has a longer barrel and so forth" let me say this. Barrel length does help with range SOMEWHAT... but we're not talking more than a few yards. Again, confusion over the real steel and the airsoft version is to blame. In the real steel, an MP5 will be shooting a 9mm (usually) pistol round. This means the bullet has relatively little powder to propel it through the air. Hence, the accuracy, range and bullet energy of the MP5 will be inferior at distance to an M16 which is firing a small rifle cartridge at a greater speed. Additionally, the M4 will probably have a longer barrel which matters because unlike the musket like airsoft bb, the M4's barrel will be rifled and will be imparting more gyroscopic force to the bullet while allowing the round to accelerate to a faster speed within the barrel before exiting.

By contrast, the most that the airsoft M4 can hope to achieve over the MP5 is a few inches of barrel length. The projectile and velocity remain virtually the same. In airsoft, because there is no rifling, barrel to bb fit is the more important element. A shorter but better polished and fitted barrel will likely yield superior accuracy and range to a longer and looser barrel. (This is a formula that has close parallels in paintball).

So if you've soldiered through this incredibly long winded answer to a simple question, you should by now realize that with a few exceptions, just get the gun you want. The odds are good that with a few inexpensive and simple upgrades your "CQB" airsoft gun will be capable of ranging anything else on the field.

Q: "What sniper rifle should I get?"

A: This answer ties in with my above response. Get the gun that looks the best to you because in the end, they are all pretty much the same. We've personally tested the Well L96 and it has performed quite well. It has good FPS and decent accuracy. We've also got the JG BAR 10 in the shop and while its FPS is slightly lower than the L96, its stock accuracy is better. In the end, you'll still be plugging targets at really no more than 200'. Also, because of how simple the bolt action, spring powered mechanisms are, the reliability of these guns is usually fairly similar from what I've found.

Q: "I want to upgrade my airsoft gun, what should I start with?"

A: Here is what I'd recommend buying, in order of my perception of importance:

First off, I'm going to assume that you've chosen a decent gun that's skirmish capable. Assuming that I would recommend these accessories first:

1. Accessory upgrades:

• Quick charger - You know how you have to wait half the day for your battery to charge? Yeah, the quick charger will do the job in less than an hour... its worth the $40.ooish if you enjoy playing for more than a few hours.
• Extra battery- This allows you to basically stay in the game perpetually with one bat. charging and another one rocking your mechbox.
• Extra magazine(s) - You need more than one if you want to skirmish and you might want to think about going hi-cap if you've got a limited budget. On an M4 you can get a hi-cap mag that will hold 300 +/- shots, you can get nearly 600 out of most hi-cap AK mags! If you've got a little more money to spend on mags, consider mid caps. Sure you'll need more of them, but they are usually more reliable feeders than the hi-caps and of course they can hold more than low caps. There are now some mid caps that can hold 130 or so bbs. If you really want to have some fun, consider an independently powered box or drum mag. These things can literally hold thousands of bbs and could theoretically dump them all with one trigger pull. (I really don't recommend trying to burn through 2,500 + bbs in on trigger pull). The tactical advantage is tremendous as is the intimidation factor!
• Vest - believe me, having a tactical vest or plate carrier with mag pouches and so forth is a life saver in the field! It not only distributes all of the weight of your gear more evenly, but it is also a great way to help prevent loss of equipment. It will only take one magazine popping out of your cargo pants pocket to understand how great it is to have a mag. securely stowed in a pouch. Plus you can attach all your other gear like your radio, flashlight, hydration pack, rations etc...
• Hydration pack- Remember, airsoft aint no fun when your dead under the sun! Water is your BEST friend when your body is working hard and expending lots of energy and water. You NEED to replenish or you could really get yourself into trouble. You can buy em cheap now so there is almost no excuse for having something to carry liquid with you onto the field.
• Red Dot Sight - Most airsoft guns have lots of places to mount an optic. I personally find that because of the effective range of the airsoft guns that the red dot sight works well. Generally, these sights do not provide magnification, but they can greatly improve the sight picture and allow for quicker target acquisition.
• Misc. - There is a lot of other cool stuff you can buy, but I've given you what I feel should be your first choices.

Gun Hardware Upgrades:As with just about anything mechanical, you can practically build something space age if you've got the money and know how. If you're not ready to make a phaser, then here are a few quick and easy suggestions that are the biggest, low tech "bang for your buck".

• Tightbore barrel - Remember, in airsoft accuracy comes from a good bb to barrel fit. Too tight is a problem as you're bbs will get stuck, but most stock barrels leave a couple hundredths of a millimeter slop in the barrel diameter. Sometimes the barrels can be as large as 6.07mm and decent tightbore barrel should be around 6.03mm. You can find narrower, but you run a higher risk of bbs getting plugged in the barrel. (Factor in the humidity and air pressure). Decent barrels can be found for under $40.00, just make sure to verify what length of barrel you need for your gun.
• Upgraded hop up - This is the part that's puts the backspin on the bbs. Some times in the less expensive guns, the hop up bucking is made out of a tough or sometimes misshapen rubber or silicone. Replacing this part can really help with the consistency of your shots and it usually doesn't cost that much. If you really want to save money you can even leave the stock hop up assembly in and only replace the bucking itself. You may not have the level of adjustment control as with the upgraded stuff, but you'll be in a better place than stock.