In an effort to reduce the 'clutter' in life it was my decision this year to pare down all of the many different websites that I have been running. If you originally typed in 'www.southeastairsoft.com', 'www.seasg.com', 'www.usapsa.com', 'www.pcairsoft.com', 'www.opironjustice.com', or 'www.tangospotted.com' and ended up at www.teamduck.com then you got here on purpose. For too many years I have been sitting on my butt and using websites as my hobby to try to do specific things (airsoft, motorcycles, events, etc). Now that I have started working on a new business as my primary time consumption I found that the time to maintain the side sites is falling. As a result the content on those sites was not getting updated and the site hits were falling off....

We have all read the posts online 'what is the best gun', 'what gear should I get', and of course the famous 'I am starting a team and looking for members'. DUCK decided to put our collective heads together and answer some of the basic questions about airsoft and to impart a few tips for players that are getting started into the sport. This is not an end-all be-all guide to the sport, just a few pointers so by all means go out and research to your heart's content about the sport and get a second opinion.

This is also not just a guide for the questions being asked but as a general rule for players that are about to sink a good portion of funds into a kit. As a general rule do as much research as you can into a subject before investing so much as $1 into it. You will find that $200 spent on something of good quality will be better than $80 spent 3-4 times due to poor design, functionality, or usability every time.

1. What gun should I get? This is one of the most common questions posed on an airsoft forum and to other players at a field. We will break it down into its major parts to give you an idea what is the best course of action....

Now I have been running gas replicas for the better part of the 10+ years that I have been playing airsoft and I love them… I really do. But there is just something about the reliability of those electrics that always has me keeping one or two in my collection for those cold winter days or close quarter games where I need super reliability for every shot. Having only recently gotten into the CQB fad of replicas I found that my super short M4 was severely lacking comparative to the standard 'BB hoses' that are now the norm. Raptors Airsoft was there to remedy that problem though. They were nice enough to let me review the Element High Speed motor for the M4 (Long type V2) and to get my shorty ready for the upcoming OP: FEAR.



First Impressions

 

This is a very solid motor. For the first few rotations by hand I was almost sure that there was something wrong with the magnets on the inside as it was very hard to turn over. Once I applied power to it I was shocked that it spun quite as fast as it did. Turns out that the reason it is hard to turn is that the magnets are more powerful and different spacing than a regular or high torque setup that I am used to. The build quality is excellent all over. With a plastic bell housing holding a bearing for the axle it is at least as good as a Systema motor in that respect. The plastic is very heat tolerant. Application of a red hot metal pin does not cause a lot of damage, in fact it practically absorbs all of the heat immediately and retains excellent shape. This is a requirement for heat dissipation from the bearing....

Overview of how the NPAS works

The NPAS system of nozzles for GBB rifles is an interesting design. Normally the nozzles that come stock in GBBRs are of a positive system meaning that the valve inside the nozzle is kept in an open state during the initial firing of the BB until the pressure in the barrel drops enough that the gas pressure overcomes the gas/spring pressure that is keeping it open. Once the valve moves forward and closes the system will begin to push the bolt carrier to the rear and begin the cycle. What the NPAS does is allow the distance and spring pressure that the valve has to move to be adjusted. When adjusted fully open the valve is further from the closed position and will allow more pressure to flow into the barrel and thus give a higher BB speed before the valve closes off. The reverse is true when the NPAS has been adjusted to an almost fully closed state. Less gas is directed into the barrel and before it begins the carrier cycle.

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First Impressions

 

After reading much about this capable replica, I was overjoyed to find one in my area for a decent price. Though it is used, it was in good shape and was almost completely original. KWC is not producing this model anymore and it is becoming rarer to come across. Upon first view, it appears to be a little ungainly looking. It seems that the hand guard is entirely too short to be used with the full stock that is common on these models. It would appear a little more at home with a collapsible stock similar to the M4 editions. Other than the first appearance, it has a good presence as an Armalite. Most details are correct for the rifle and many of the parts are metal straight from the factory. Having been an AEG user for most of my airsoft time, I was unaccustomed to seeing a gas inlet coming out of the stock and it was a little hard...

 

This replica was ordered from a crappy overseas vendor to the tune of $35. The shipping from the company was marginal at best; however, the replica arrived in good shape. The packaging for this particular piece was quite good. It came four pieces inside the box. Each piece was well packed and seemed as if the box could withstand quite a bit of use. The first item I noticed was that each piece was well fit. When I picked up each item, I noticed that no loose parts rattled around inside. The instructions were concise and detailed as to the operation and basic maintenance of the replica. After a quick shoot through the instructions and warranty info I as ready to begin the assembly.

 

Assembly

The very basic nature of this replica led me to think that its performance would mimic that of the other cheap pieces I have run across. This replica did, however, surprise me in that though it was...

 

First Impressions

Well to start, I ordered the gun from Airsoft Atlanta for $89.99 and received it within one day with basic shipping. I must say that Airsoft Atlanta shipped my package in a very timely manner. The rifle arrived inside its packing box and that was inside a shipping box. I found the packing to be sufficient for its shipping and then some. The packing of the gun within the Styrofoam packing was tight and quite secure. Along with the packed parts came instructions, a warranty card, two paper targets, and a warning pamphlet. The instructions were easy to read, quite direct, and covered most all aspects of the assembly and operation. So in short, the initial impression was good to this point. Most all parts of the rifle had clean edges and smooth seams. I was particularly impressed that the mold seams had been sanded smooth on the stock. It was not a perfect job, but it was quite good enough...

First Impressions



After receiving this replica from Airsoft Atlanta ($9.99) we immediately noticed that is was almost identical to the gas blow back edition. The frame and slide are both made of plastic and seem fairly tough. Unlike some of the other HFC pistols, this replica has many of the parts made out light duty plastic. To belay the claim that this replica is one of their heavyweight editions, it felt more like a replica you might find in the toy isle at you local department store. It gave us the impression of being shoddily built right from the start. When we first cocked it to fire a dry shot, it felt weak and sounded almost sickly when the trigger was pulled. Some of the parts on the exterior of the replica were metal, like the barrel shroud, guide rod, trigger, hammer, and magazine release button. Though the amount of metal still didn't help the overall replica's feel, it did help a bit with the weight. Right at the start we were not very impressed with this piece at all....