$700 to spend on airsoft

I just earned PLN 2,000 -- $701 on one of my blogs. So I decided to buy some airsoft stuff for that money.

So... what to buy for less than $700? The more I save, the better, so I decided to spend no more than $500.

Of course my first thought was to buy a new airsoft replica. But which replica to buy? I went through the local airsoft shops and gathered ideas. I ruled out most of the replicas for the following reasons:

• I owned the Classic Army's M15A2 for some time, so I don't want to buy anything from the M15/M16/M4 family,
  
• I owned the ICS' MP5SD3 and have at the moment the MP5K PDW from Tokyo Marui, so I won't buy any MP5 either,
• I have AK47S from Cyma (CM028), so I don't want another Kalashnikov,
• I don't want any M249 minimi, 'cause I already have a support weapon - the mG36,
  
• I also don't want another AUG nor G36.

This left me with not many options to choose from!

After some time I had the following ideas:

• the UZI AEG from Tokyo Marui,
• the P90TR AEG from Tokyo Marui,
• the SIG 552,
• some sniper rifle,
• the G&G GR300L.

The UZI was one of the first AEG replicas I saw in my life. And now noone owns such a replica. This also means that it is difficult to buy any parts or accessories for it in Poland. We also have a gas powered Crossman mini-UZI, so I stopped to think about buying this replica.

The best thing in P90 is the way it looks. It looks like no other airsoft replica. It is a bullpup submachine gun, so it has a long barrel, yet it is very portable. It has three rails to install dot sight, a laser pointer and a flashlight. But I read an article about how the P90 does not work well in woodland games. I have a replica to use indoors, the MP5K, so I decided not to buy the P90.

The SIG 552 is a nice AEG. It has folded stock, and some rails for some equipment. It is also not popular. At the moment I couldn't buy this AEG in any of the local airsoft shops. :(

The GR300L is the only rifle of the M4 family I like. I had much fun time with the electronic version of this rifle in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky. I also like the way it looks, but the replica is way too expensive for the money I wanted to spend.

This left me with only one option -- buying a sniper rifle.

The idea was the best of the all I had. I always wanted to have a rifle that has a very high muzzle velocity. I always wanted to shoot other players on the distance of over 200 feet. My first thought was to buy the Tanaka M700 or the cheap copy of this replica -- the KJW M700. Both are gas powered. Since they both have only 6 months warranty in the only polish shop I could buy them, I thought it was a bad idea. I wouldn't use the gas gun in winter, so the warranty was not enough... And then I read about Classic Army M24 and a cheap way to increase its muzzle velocity from 300 to 540 fps. And I decided to buy this rifle.

Later this afternoon I found a set of CA M24 with the 540 fps cylinder set installed, a bag, a sight but no magazine on the Allegro.pl (the polish alternative to eBay). The guy wanted to get at least $300 for this set, I would have to buy 3 magazines and a bag of heavy BBs (0.36 g) for extra $70. This would fit my budget well, so I made him an offer. The auction will last for 6 more days, I will write here if I managed to buy the rifle. :)

Spring airsoft rifle

When we started playing airsoft with cheap spring pistol replicas (for PLN 20-50 each, which is equivalent to $7.5-18.7), we dreamed of something much more powerful, with much better range. The pistols we had used 0.12 g BBs (the lightest there are) and had range of (I guess) 20 meters (60 feet).

When one of us bought his spring SMG replica (I guess it was Scorpion for PLN 150 -- $56), his team was always overbalanced. But we all dreamt of something much more powerful -- spring airsoft rifle!

From Airsoft from Poland photos

The photo above shows my airsoft team (Shamo Warsaw ASG Team), at some very early stage. At that moment we had only spring or gas guns. On the photo you can see a Super 9 spring sniper rifle and two M16s spring airsoft rifles. We had also two spring shotguns, one spring SMG (the Scorpion mentioned above) and 2 gas handguns.
In my team’s first advertisement you can also see a lot of spring airsoft rifles. But are they worth any money? Before we answer this question, another needs to be asked: why do you consider buying an airsoft spring rifle?

If you just want to buy anything with better range than your spring pistol, the airsoft spring rifle is a poor choice. You can buy a good spring airsoft rifle from Tokyo Marui for $85 (a M16 for example), but for the same amount of money you can get some cheap airsoft electric gun, like AK-47 from Cyma (CM028). It has similar range (if not better!), full-auto option, larger magazine capacity (hi-cap in box), battery and a charger. You may also buy a gas pistol, like (for example):

• KJW’s Beretta M9 full metal replica with adjustable hop-up,


• two very good KJW’s MK1 (ruger) pistols with great range and muzzle velocity of 380 fps!

Each of the examples above can serve you for couple of years, if you take good care of it. If you decide to buy something more sophisticated later, such replica may be used as sidearm or simply a backup gun.

If you want to buy spring airsoft rifle because you want a replica of bolt action rifle, a spring one (like Tokyo Marui’s VSR-10) is a good choice. It’s less expensive that such rifle but gas powered (like Tanaka’s M700 rifle). It works just like the original (you pull the lever, you fire, no full-auto needed). It can be tuned, if you decide later, that you need something more powerfull but don’t want to buy another replica.

You don't need to stand...

...to fire a replica. You can sit as well. :)

From Airsoft from ...

Photo taken today at Łomianki.