RostokMcSpoons

I bought a v2 recently. It's great fun to shoot, but not shooting as well as I'd like. So do test fire it before buying, and really you want to shoot it somewhere where you can ensure it's accurate at 40+ metres, not just at short range. This means the gun's power, innate accuracy (or lack) and the effectiveness of the hop can be gauged. Ideally take some heavier BBs with you for testing the hop. (If you can only test at short range, make sure it feeds properly in semi and full auto as the minimum. Try to take a chrono to test the velocity variance isn't too much) I started a Tippmann owner's thread, so feel free to bung specific questions in there. In terms of maintenance, the stuff I've meddled with so far has been quite 'mechanical' and simple - easier so far than fiddling with an AEG gearbox. But then again it's not working quite right yet... I'm a million miles from being the right person to ask

I want you all to buy one. And then tell me whether they're any good. And then sell me one at an insanely knocked-down price. Ok?

Well that's half the battle right there, isn't it I think the AM014 was the first of the 'new and improved' airsoft guns I'd seen, after my initial shopping for TM / Classic Army guns, and I was mightily impressed with the polymer body's build quality (compared to the somewhat flimsier feeling construction of the TM AK). It was a cool gun. Glad it's been reliable for you

When I hear "honey Badger", I think of the original Ares with the top and bottom handstops. Is that the specific look you want? Given the low regard for Ares reliability, but if it's really just the long hand guard you're after, then I humbly suggest https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/double-eagle-m904a-honey-badger-rifle-w-falcon-fire-control-system

It's ironic how, given the Orion sales spiel, what an absolutely shite reputation it has for being poorly manufactured and prone to failure (This quote isn't directly from Specna, but no doubt gifted to a review site by their marketing team) "ORION gearbox is based on a reinforced frame and equipped with the function of the main spring release. The gearbox has arrays of high-grade parts right out of the box, which makes it characteristic for its reliability and preparedness for further tuning. ORION gearbox is ready for cooperation with M140 springs"

I was going to jump in with the 'brim, and brim again' advice, but I've been beaten to it. So that's good. I was definitely keen on the idea of mid-caps for a while, but then I had a few rounds where I didn't spend most of my time dead, and actually burned through a metric shit-ton of ammo. While I really like doing sort-of speedy reloads and looking tacti-cool, I don't have enough mag pouches for it. And so I decided I quite like high caps after all... and ordered a bunch of Lonex flash mags to kill off the other annoyance (winding). And yes, if you either move through the woods like a preying mantis (which is my current "energy-saving" / "can't be arsed to run much" / I AM STEVEN SEAGAL approach), or just really 'baby' the gun as you move, then the rattle isn't a problem - even with a nearly empty mag in there. The short little all-out sprints for change of cover or to close right up with the enemy are so obvious that a bit of rattle makes sod all difference. Movement + not using cover is more of a giveaway than sound, in my (limited) experience.

If you're up against the puffa jacketed teen terrors then 3 high caps will get you about 6 acknowledged kills...

It's not the nozzle the air is escaping from, I did check that. Here's the kit I bought: https://www.ak2m4.co.uk/xt-v2-v3-cylinder-piston-head-aluminium-silent?search=xt67 Obviously it's all tucked away inside the gun so I can't inspect it right now. Should I try swapping the o-rings over? I presume the cylinders all have the same internal dimensions? Certainly the old piston + head made a good seal with the new cylinder + head. (But then the piston got eaten) Here it is for reference anyway... https://www.ak2m4.co.uk/index.php?route=product/search&search=xt77

In the absence of actually being able to go skirmish, I've been making holes in my waste paper basket and throwing BB's around my garden. The good news is that the F2K is now running apparently quite well with the Nuprol 14 tooth piston I sourced from Action Hobbies on a whim, along with the mushroom piston and cylinder head combo I bought from @ak2m4 a while back. I've also re-shimmed and so was rather surprised to see the rate of fire at a positively wanker-ish 26rps, but I think that's being 'improved' by the fact the air seal with this piston head and cylinder head combo is pretty poor. When I put my thumb over the nozzle there's resistance but its quite easy to push the piston all the way in. So it'll make the piston be able to cycle back and forth very nicely, but the muzzle velocity is all over the place, varying from 200-255fps (0.28g BBs, hop applied, spring guide not fully extended) So I need a new piston head / cylinder head combo? Or is there some bedroom-tech shenanigans I can get up to?

Half the ammo twice the fun? This is my idea of fun...

... The bullpup version? I'm thinking not. Enjoy your gnu, its gonna be a beaut ?

On the upside you can now answer the world's most unlikely pub quiz question "Name a gun with two (count 'em) trigger guards"

Right, so I wanted a picture of the FAL bull pup mentioned in that last section, and I found it. I rather wish I hadn't, it's melted my eyeballs and dissolved my brain

An update and a request... The request is that I'm sure someone here posted an advert offering a nozzle block (without the dwell mod) for sale here earlier in the year. I sent an offer via the message button but never got a reply. And now I can't find the ad. (Perhaps it was on another site, my memory is shite) If that person happens to read this - please contact me! After a second message sent off to Tippmann via their website, I got a reply back from Dave at KoreOutdoor.com. I've not had time to try his suggestions, indeed I've asked for some advice regarding the lube as I don't want to have anything combusting in the gun :] Here are his notes, maybe someone else will find this useful (I would take issue with his comment about +- 15fps being acceptable, I've just been firing a few shots through the DE, and that's +-2fps!)

An up vote from me too for the Double Eagles Mine has kept on going when all my other guns have been falling (mostly due to me trying to improve them, admittedly) Down vote for the errant apostrophe in "piece's" though ?

My airsoft day has gone very badly. I got all my kit together over the last few days, including rebuilding my F2000 with a new 14 tooth piston, and it seemed to be shooting pretty well, so I had 5 guns to take for the day. New set of Lonex flash mags in my mag pouches. And I woke up this morning to sunshine. Marvelous! Drove to the site to be greated with an empty car park and not a sign of life. Did I turn up a day early? Nope, it's been cancelled and I'd missed the email ??? The local council has blocked use of the woods for airsoft. Bastards! I need to pew pew!

I'm having problems with mine with inconsistent muzzle velocity - if you can share any hints or tips - I'm all ears!

Some sex wee has definitely escaped

I would have said the same except the idea of 20 round mags make this 'tricky' as a skirmish weapon. Realistic and all, but enough to give me pause (and perhaps save the wallet from being emptied until bigger capacity mags are available) I do like the look of that Uzi an awful lot too.

I read an interesting treatise on infantry combat recently, which concentrated on lessons learned from Afghanistan and Iraq. It may have formed (or coincided with) the the thinking that drove the move to the new calibre. Basically (and I'm paraphrasing my crappy memory), engagement distances were found to be noticeably longer than expected for much of the time, and an increase in both long-range stopping power and accuracy were required. Special mention was made of how 5.56mm squad weapons delivering high-volume but low accuracy fire at range were ineffective at providing suppression at the longer ranges the combat typically occurred at. A DMR rifle firing at a steady rhythm was much more effective at that than a SAW. No doubt they could have reverted back to the 7.62mm, but the weight of ammo and heavy recoil still count against that calibre. So the consequence is an intermediate calibre plus improved optics to improve the number of lethal rounds on target.

I think he means these...

That's useful info, as I'm just up the road in MK, and will eventually fancy a change of scenery from Spec Ops My arthritic knees, chocolate ankles and tiny lungs might not appreciate the steep gradients though!

Ah that's a shame. That makes the value proposition of the 908 that bit less attractive. I think I paid about the same for my 906, £170 or £180 at the start of November So that really leaves the 904g at £145 as the best deal. Its so cheap I'm almost tempted to buy one for myself as my backup backup ?

If you like the feel of metal in your hands, then go for the more expensive one, I don't think the weight difference is very much. Personally, I've got mine covered in a Novritsch camo cover at the moment, and have a stubby grip mounted, so I'm rarely touching the metal, but I do like it very much - the m-lok handguard is very nice, and the metal looks good to my eyes, and it does feel very solid. My local site has a few 904's and I've been impressed with them too... but I'd probably still spring the extra cash for metal, if I had to buy another as my primary or main backup. It depends how much. Before Xmas, the metal vs polymer had a £20 difference in price, now it seems that has grown a lot... PatrolBase now has stock of 904's. The cheapest, the 904G is £145. That is such a bargain. https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/double-eagle-m904g-honey-badger-w-fire-control-system-edition?pv=13406 BBGuns4Less has the 906C (my metal version) at £190. Ouch-y... £45 extra for metal. I suggest that if you do want full metal, go the whole hog and get the 908. It has the metal parts, long barrel, and most importantly a PTS EPS style stock that will take nunchuck batteries. I don't know if it's as good as the EPS, but that's a £50 item. https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/double-eagle-m908a-ar15-rifle-with-falcon-system-in-black.html

Won't that make it harder to move the piston when your cocking the gun? That's the whole point of the o ring system as it is now. And you think the bolt pull is stiff already... ?