Is the we cqb m4 gbbr a good starting gun?

[Shoota60]

I'm looking to get into gbbr but I know nothing about them first hand, only what I read online. I heard WE makes a good gas open bolt rifle and wanted some opinions. I used the search function but only found general info not too much detail.

Any advice would be great! Cheers

[BloodSport]

gbbr's require more maintenance and tweeking then an AEG typically.
unless you are ready to learn a lot more as a beginner, and spend more time cleaning and maintaining your gun it might be more then you are ready to chew off as a beginner.

[Shoota60]

Originally Posted by BloodSport

gbbr's require more maintenance and tweeking then an AEG typically.
unless you are ready to learn a lot more as a beginner, and spend more time cleaning and maintaining your gun it might be more then you are ready to chew off as a beginner.

Ya I would really like to learn to do all the maintenance and everything myself. I just heard some people having issues with this particular gbbr bolt so I was hoping someone might shed some light!

[Katipunero]

Every gbbr brand has some sort of issue with it intrinsically; it all depends on how much you're willing to tolerate or fix it that depends on whether it is a good GBBR to you.

The WE M4, before I worked out all the quirks with my GHK M4, was my favourite GBBR. It shoots laser accurate, the mags are durable, and the aftermarket parts are plentiful to your heart's content.

pros:
-very accurate with or without upgrading inner barrel and hop up
-most parts are 1 to 1 milspec so you can actually purchase real steel items without issue (if you feel inclined to more realism and authenticity to your rifle)
-economically the best in comparing price/performance/quality (goes out the door once you get hooked and buy every upgrade for it )

cons:
-pot metal internals will degrade over time, warranting replacement or upgrading to steel parts. (main culprits: bolt catch, bolt carrier, firing pin, auto sear)
-if you didn't know these main issues, then you could get easily frustrated on issues like no lock-back on last round, or firing-pin-dead-click

Once you know how to mitigate these main problem areas, then the rifle is very reliable. I think the important part here is how passionate will you be fixing it when something goes wrong with it.

Bottom line, if you like the idea of the mechanics of a GBBR akin to real steel guns, then you should have no problem and enjoy your time. But if you're not the troubleshooting type or like to get their hands dirty, then it might not be for you.

Mind you, that is not exclusive to the WE M4 and will be the same for any GBBR brand.

tl;dr
I say your first venture into GBBR will be a good choice with the WE M4.

[MartinAirsoft]

What were the quirks with the GHK M4?

[Katipunero]

Originally Posted by MartinAirsoft

What were the quirks with the GHK M4?

Mag feed lips: need to be filed open since the exit to the chamber is too small and will split after only a few rounds (from what I've experienced); resulting in double feeds, bb's in your FCG and no bb retention since the lips have 'spread' open wider than the bb size, especially under tension of a full load.

Mag follower: will get jammed brand new at times, resulting in no feed, dry firing and often crushed bb's in hop unit chamber.

Stock hop unit: somehow would fly bb's off to the left no matter how carefully aligned I tried to configure it. Bought a GBL Captain America unit, and although nicely constructed, the tedious install of the hop up rubber would often cause crushed bb's if the rubber was not pushed far enough into the unit since the rubber could obstruct the path of the ramp of the bb into the barrel. Ended going back to stock unit with Maple Leaf rubber.

Stock bolt carrier: will round off just like a WE where it engages the catch resulting in no lock back. More easily resolved in a GHK since there is more material to file on the carrier and bolt catch itself; design is also better. Resolved with aftermarket bolt carrier and heat treated bolt catch. Did this mod to my WE as well and much, much more durable than stock.

Adjusting hop up: inaccessible unless you remove rail or drill a hole in barrel nut/rail.

Other than that, the GHK is now my favourite M4. It's way lighter than my WE, the recoil is probably 3 times more than my WE. Mind you, I have customized everything on it to become that, but it wasn't inherently that until I made it for a specific need (outdoor games) . My WE is built for CQB, so now they are apple and orange when people ask me to compare them.

The GHK wasn't what it ended up to be when I first bought it with everyone lauding it's superiority over other brands. It is a quality product, but it has it's own issues just the same as WE.

[macdrian]

Great contributions in this thread. Thanks for the replies

[BobbyDangerous]

My advise is just put an npas in and don’t mess with it

[Slodin]

WE M4
pro:
1. Best bang for the buck
2. plenty of aftermarket parts
3. Realism
4. Cheap OEM replacement parts

cons:
1. Paint scratches easy on both the gun and mags
2. M4, 888 (HK416) I had full auto broke really fast, but I only play in semi so it didn't matter, didn't bother to even fix it. Same with my PDW
3. Bolt catch is somewhat crap and does break
4. Mags might leak (but hey, all other gas guns does too)
5. OEM parts does break, but it takes awhile. Always can buy a few spares for a few bucks.
6. Doesn't work in the cold with GG mags, and I'm not sure if the stock internals can take CO2 without breaking too fast.
7. Pain in the ass to adjust the hopup, the pdw is nice...a wheel comparing to the M4 which is a little tiny hole accessed after pulling & locking the bolt.

Tbh, I'm just nit picking for the sake of this thread. To me it was far more reliable than my AEGs, although I do clean it after every game day. I never even had a BB jam or misfeed yet in my WE GBBRs, well not counting when I run out of gas. Even tho I only wrote 4 pros, it weighs far more than the cons.

The main problem for me is that it only works in the summer and warmer days, have to use something else in the winter.