AEGs Pros and Cons

[ackme]

I keep getting asked what is the 'best' kind of airsoft gun to buy. Honestly, the different types of guns are pretty much the same aside from sniper rifles and support weapons. The brand matters more than the type in my opinion.

Here's my list of pros and cons of the guns that I have used, from worst to best:


9 M14
Pros: Good exercise
Cons: Doesn't have any advantage over smaller, lighter guns. Not many parts for it. VERY front heavy, good luck holding it up while running. Expensive. Small forward rail.

8 MP5
Pros: Very small. Lots of parts for it. Handles well in CQB
Cons: Tiny high cap mag (200rnds). Very small

7 SNIPER (Owned JG BAR 10)
Pros: Sniper kills are very satisfying. You can hit targets further and more accurately with a scope. Target often can't hear your shot to duck (big +)
Cons: Airsoft guns aren't very accurate at the best of times, so if you are expecting 100M head shots good luck. People often don't know they got hit. Don't have much of a range advantage. If someone sees you, you're toast.

6 M249 or other support weapon
Pros: Large ammo capacity (2500~5000). Usually fits a large type battery, easy to top ammo up on the fly (just pour and go). Usually has a bipod making it easy to shoot laying down.
Cons: Very heavy to carry, it will wear you down very fast. Hard to shoot accurately if not laying down or very strong.

5 M4 (Owned Marui M4)
Pros: Tons of parts and accessories for it. Lots of configurations: sniper, cqb etc. Easy to use.
Cons: Everyone has one which makes it very boring imho.

4 G36 (Owned JG G36c)
Pros: Very easy gun to use. Lots of rails in the right places. Standard Highcap is 470rnd. Good feel. C variant is very small with stock folded in, good for CQB.
Cons: Not many parts for it.

3 AUG (Owned JG AUG Civ)
Pros: Bullpup design has very long barrel in a short gun. Easy to wind mag while shooting. Can change mag while never looking away from your sights. Great balance, it balances in the middle of the grip so you can shoot one handed easily. 2 stage trigger is very good for switching to auto on the fly.
Cons: Hard to get parts. Can't get mag capacity over 330. All the weight is on one hand so you will look like a fiddler crab using this all the time.

2 AK (Owned JG AK47 Tactical)
Pros: Very comfortable design. Usually fits large battery internally. 600 Round basic high cap is largest available.
Cons: Small forward rail or none at all on most models. It's a little hard to get to the iron sights with a mask on. Pretty big overall.

1 P90 (Owned Marui with hopper)
Pros: Smallest footprint of any AEG, not much more than a pistol. Sights are easy to use with a mask on. Bullpup design means fairly accurate in a small size. 2 stage trigger is very good for switching to auto on the fly. With hopper: It has a 1500rnd capacity. You can wind the hopper easily while shooting. Can top of the hopper on the fly. Hopper allows you to use a large 9.6 battery which lasts forever and gives high rof.
Cons: With no hopper the standard mags are a nightmare, they don't fit in any basic pouch and they are hard to change. The M4 mag on the side also makes it hard to use left hand. It's also very small and tight to hold (I got a butt extension). Strange design to get used to, but very natural when you do.

What do you think? What would you put first?

[krobinson103]

I'll list the guns I like in order from best to worst. I state from the beginning that I like G36's. Any kind of G36 so they come first on my list :P

G36K: First its easy to carry and use. The stock folds for cqb (I like the stock extended for better aiming). The gun is mostly plastic which is okay as the real gun is also mostly plastic. It can support a long top rail and 3 smaller rails forward. If it has all three rails on the foregrip it gets a little unbalanced. It has a good ROF as standard and can use a 9.6v battery as standard. It is easy to work on and repair and takedown is as simple as a few pins.

G36c: Same as the K except shorter

M4: Every man and his dog has them. Great for upgrade or tuning as there are as many parts out there as you could ever want. Personally I think they are too small and don't like using them.

AUG: Takes some getting used to, but it is very convient to be able to use it one handed. The 2 stage trigger is also a bit different to most of the guns out there

MP5: Used one a few times. Feels tiny, looks tiny. Doesn't matter much in airsoft as all the guns shoot about the same anyway. I don't like the small 'hicaps' that need constant winding

AEP: These Rock! It get listed low as the range, power and accuracy can never compete with a good AEG. Still one handed auto from a pistol is fun. With the extended 100 round 'hicap' mags they are great for CQB

M14: Used one once and found it heavy, overly long, and it had a slow ROF. I wouldn't choose this gun unless I got it very cheaply. It does have some advantages in that it could be used for period roleplaying scenarios.

Support weapons / machine guns: For me given the fps restrictions in Korea it is easier to just get a box mag for your AEG and get the functionality for half the weight (and price). If you want the 'look' these are great. People also fear them.

[Righteous]

All three of the AEGs JinJoo and I currently use are made by or have internals from VFC. My complaint with VFC is the motors are not as good as they should be. I have replaced two stock VFC motors with TM EG1000s and gotten much better results in the areas of heat buildup and battery drain. The internals, however, are excellent. My M240 has over 20000 rounds through it and it still works great. I do have the hopup off and that probably helps with the life of the bucking. The problem is cost. The M240 with some upgrades including a MOSFET and two LiPo batteries was KRW1,700,000. The SCAR with some upgrades, three magazines and a battery was KRW1,000,00. The PDW with a battery and five magazines was KRW800,000 and I got a discount on that. I love VFC replicas and think anyone with the money should go get one, but you'll have to do some work since it will shoot over 300fps out of the box. Also, the PDW is smaller than an MP5 and can use M4 magazines so the PDW is another (better in my opinion) option if you want more ammo than the MP5 series holds.

[krobinson103]

After actually using a P90 and checking its function I find that the Marui P90 with the 1500 rounds hopper is actually a very good game weapon. If realism and milsim aren't considered it has to be just about the all round best aeg for Korean style games.