Suggested brands

[sean_d]

I'm not yet 18, but want to start researching some guns so that I can make the right choice when I am old enough. I'd just like some recommendations from experience with some M16's that are full metal. I don't want to have to upgrade it too much. Just please suggest a brand (I hear Classic Army is good, but I have no experience). This gun will obviously not be bought yet, but I'd just like to read some reviews on a few. Help is much appreciated!

[Amos]

Classic Army and G&P for Armalites.

[Kuro_Neko]

If you could state how much you're willing to spend we would be able to advise you better.

For full metal out of the box there's really only three choices: ICS, G&P or Classic Army. $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 higrade guns or if it should rank higher. Either way they make nice guns. If you can afford it, Classic Army is, in my opinon the way to go. They're going to run you $600-$700.

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.

[Amos]

I have no idea why G&P is debated weather or not they're the lowest or the highest grade... That seems like a bunch of people that don't know what they're talking about giving their opinion on something.

G&P Gearboxes need shimming straight from the factory...

But these days who keeps stock internals anyways? G&P's externals are the highest grade I've seen... That puts them @ #1 in my books

[yuhaoyang]

yeah, I was given the recommendation of G&P or systema for a drop in mechbox... My god...
IF you want out-of-the-box playability, look to the new CAs, ICS, or maybe even KWA.
And don't forget the new TMs, which have no more barrel wobble =D.

[theguy]

Originally Posted by yuhaoyang

yeah, I was given the recommendation of G&P or systema for a drop in mechbox... My god...
IF you want out-of-the-box playability, look to the new CAs, ICS, or maybe even KWA.
And don't forget the new TMs, which have no more barrel wobble =D.

But plastic bodies for the same price as a CA :\

[Kuro_Neko]

Originally Posted by theguy

But plastic bodies for the same price as a CA :\

True. Which is why I don't often go for TM, mostly just sub-guns for CQB. But if you plan on leaving it stock then there's nothing more reliable then TM. A stock TM's internals will last literally decades.