Gun choice for a new player.

[The Grizzly]

I've been slaving over my computer for half a day now, and look forward to getting into the sport. But, without gear or guns, I don't think I'll be playing. Anyway, if any of the veterans here have any ideas on gear and guns that would be good starting equipment, I'd like to hear. My preference was the G&G TR16 R4 Commando, for mid to close range engagements. All help is appreciated!

[ccyg8774]

I would say getting age verified before buying is a good idea.

[targetGspot]

I like the G&G lineup, pretty good bang for ur buck.(I've had an m16 and currently have an m14 ebr and neither needed any fixes or tweaking out of the box). Any m4/16 variant is going to be an easy gun to handle, and many upgrade options inside and out. Check with ur local site for fps limits and try to get a gun already within those limits for ur first gun, that way u won't be taking apart a brand new gun for no reason other than to downgrade it. (Unless of course u want to shim it up and upgrade parts right away). I personally like a light leg rig rather than a vest, just enough for a couple mags. I play outdoors and prob don't crouch down as much as an indoor player though.

[lurkingknight]

forget about engagement distances. all airsoft aegs can be made to shoot very well in reasonable distances short, mid, long. It's irrelevant unless you're talking about an lmg for support gunning or a spring rifle. Forget about barrel length, it's less important than you think.

It comes down to platform.

something that uses m4 mags
something that uses ak mags
something that uses other mags.

why this is important is because m4 and ak mags are cheap and easy to get, and the pouches to carry them are cheap and easy to get.

The guns aren't overly heavy, and they have wide range of customization available.


When you start getting into guns that use OTHER mags, you look at cost of the gun, cost of the mags, cost of the pouches that may need to be bought to hold those specially shaped/sized mags. This can end up costing a lot, so if you aren't exactly sure what gun to get or you aren't horny for a specific look of a gun... get an m4 or an ak. Its that simple.

What do you want to lug around for 8 hours? 10-12? 18-24? 2 pounds different from a m4 vs an m14 make a huge difference in the course of a long game.

After picking a platform, then you look at manufacturer and price of the rifle to start. This is where AV can help if you suck at google. g&g is ok.. but not well priced in canada for what you get.

[The Grizzly]

Originally Posted by ccyg8774

I would say getting age verified before buying is a good idea.

In due time, once I get some gear and I'm ready to start, then I'll flag down someone to verify me. As for now, I think for at least buying, 20 years old with my drivers license should be sufficient in letting me buy.

M4 is my top choice for any airsoft gun I'm planning to buy. With that out of the way, does anyone have a preferred manufacturer they'd highly recommend and site that'll give reasonable pricing.

My price range for the gun caps out at low 400s.

Also, is a sidearm necessary, or is it something I can skimp out of purchasing.

Thanks for the insight, LurkingKnight and TargetGSpot.

[Reaver_RRTS]

ASC rules are against posting any websites in the non age verified areas for guns, unfortunately. However, G&G is a fairly good brand. KWA might have some good guns too around that range, and I believe they are metal bodies. Personally I don't like M4/M16 series rifles (too common :P nothing against the actual rifle itself) but I owned one briefly before selling it for my F2000. It was a G&G CM16 Raider, polymer body, but light and strong, great accuracy and range for its price. Do some Google searches and you'll find PLENTY of M4 rifles floating around.

At that point, it simply boils down to what you like. And price. But do TONS of research on the gun you are thinking of buying. Don't buy just for the sake of buying, make sure it's good quality or you might end up spending more in the long run because you cheaped out.

As for a sidearm, they aren't really necessary for starting out. Get your primary, several magazines, good goggles, and whatever else you think you need, BDU, vest, mag pouches, etc. After that, THEN you can shop around for a sidearm. Same goes for grenade launchers and all that. It's nice to have, but not really necessary for your initial games lol. Good luck!

[ccyg8774]

Originally Posted by The Grizzly

In due time, once I get some gear and I'm ready to start, then I'll flag down someone to verify me. As for now, I think for at least buying, 20 years old with my drivers license should be sufficient in letting me buy.

M4 is my top choice for any airsoft gun I'm planning to buy. With that out of the way, does anyone have a preferred manufacturer they'd highly recommend and site that'll give reasonable pricing.

My price range for the gun caps out at low 400s.

Also, is a sidearm necessary, or is it something I can skimp out of purchasing.

Thanks for the insight, LurkingKnight and TargetGSpot.

King Arms M4 is pretty good, plus the price have dropped recently.
Starting from an M4 is a good idea:
Lots of choices on gun, lots of available parts, magazine is easiest to find and cheap, and you can buy military surplus magazine pouches. Surplus gears have better quality than the copies and sometimes insanly cheap.
Don't worry about the sidearm for now. Depends on your playing style you may find it useful (or not), but when you are just starting they are not really necessary.

[lurkingknight]

without AV the site's policy forbids people telling you where to specifically get guns.

That being said, it doesn't bar us from recommending brands.

In that price range the lowest I would go is a king arms. their basic m4a1 is very well priced for what you get.

At the high end, look at buying a VFC or a G&P. I would take the VFC over the other though unless g&p offers you the exact rail configuration you want. VFCs skews are not as plentiful as g&p.

If none of the pre configured guns appeal to you, start with a basic m4 and get the rail you want, but this means trouble since you could damage your externals by disassembling them. The KAs can be tricky to take the barrel and hardware off the upper and the G&Ps have a different threading on the nut that holds the barrel on. Research those further if only you can't find a gun with the rail system you want.

[targetGspot]

If you shop around you can get G&G for decent price in canada. I don't think they like us posting links to sites but you can message me or someone else for them. Lurkingknight has a good point about how long u'll be lugging you stuff around, if you play outdoors it can be all day, indoors usually much shorter games. If you are playing indoors, length of the gun itself only matters for manouverabilty, not for engagement distance. outdoors a longer tightbore barrel can be very useful. Some ppl swear u need to have a sidearm as backup, or for certain tactical situations while others don't bother with it. I have a couple and carry them probably half the time. It is pretty seldom that I use one in a game unless we are playing a "sidearm only" round, But i play outdoors only. In Indoor games I can see how it could be more useful.

[The Grizzly]

Thanks for the reccomendations everyone. It's been quite useful so far, and I am going to take it all into consideration while researching more. One last question, Gas Blowback, or AEG? I'm having an ongoing debate with a friend, as he wants to get into the sport too. But, he claims that GBB would be the only good choice, although through my research so far, I'd beg to differ.

[Brit ter]

Electric for your first gun

[Reaver_RRTS]

for starting out, definitely AEG. GBB take quite some work to maintain, and are WAY more expensive, especially the magazines. You're looking at 5 to 10 bucks per AEG mag versus somewhere around 40 or more for gas mags for GBB. (don't quote me on exact price, I don't use GBBRs aside from my MP9 and sidearms lol) but you get the idea.

[lurkingknight]

AEG is a 3.5 season gun... gas is going to be 2.5 season unless you play indoors. Also aeg mags are cheaper and don't require occasional resealing. AEGs don't suffer from temperature swings unless you are running polar star or other HPA system like daytona gun.

More parts to maintain internally in the gun itself with AEG, but a well setup gun can last a couple seasons without much worry.

[Brit ter]

I have some aegs that are 7 years old and still going with no upgrades

[The Grizzly]

Thanks guys for the awesome info, I'll be sure to look into all of the recommendations. If I do make a purchase, I'll be sure to come back and have it examined by your professional eyes. That or, if I get verified, I'll come back and bug you guys for websites.