Where to Start?
 

Hello everyone

Two weeks ago I played my first Airsoft game (indoor venue here in TO) and I loved it. I had a complete blast and I am now all in. For the last little bit I have been researching Airsoft in Canada, but my research has been mostly focused on safely, legal and the footprint in my local community. (I was not going to end up on a No Fly list because of a hobby) After playing a couple times, I am now beginning to research my first gun purchase. This is where i need your help.

I am completely overwhelmed by the models and makes that are available and I do not know where to begin. I have read the relevant stickies about selecting your first gun. However, a lot of the reviews of guns that I am finding are a number of years old. When I go to a local retailer's website they have numerous companies listed... many of which I cannot find a review for on this forum.

1) I am a complete moron when it comes to tinkering with stuff (switching a light bulb in my house gets high-fives kind of thing) so I would like my first gun to be very reliable out of the box.

2) I am willing to pay for quality. I understand I am looking at a nice little "investment". I enjoyed reading Kanuk's post but his budget seemed to be restrictive.

3) I think doing outdoor all day sims sounds amazing but so far i have only rocked the indoor close quarters arenas. Sleeping outdoors is my version of hell so sounds like MiliSims aren't going to be my thing. Is it possible to have a gun that is versatile enough to play at both types of events? So far my research has been a resounding no.

4) I have purchased good eye protection and excellent boots ;)

5)So far my research has identified VFC, Krytac and G&P as companies to start with for an AEG. Any others?

I look forward to hearing your opinions on where to start. If you could identify specific threads for me to review that will be very helpful as well. Hopefully this post is appropriate and doesn't commit any faux pas.

Thank you!

looking forward to see this thread!

If you are looking for the best stock gearboxes, Krytac and VFC's 2015 H&K lineup are what you should be looking at. G&P's internals aren't that great. Tolerances are extremely poor. Krytac is a solid choice. They have good (for a stock gun) wiring and motor, and well above average internals. It also comes with a MOSFET so you don't have to worry about your trigger contacts burning out. Air seal components are mediocre. VFC 2015 H&K guns are also well above average in stock form. Their wiring is average, but they also have a MOSFET installed. Their motor is average, but their new gearbox internals are very good. I have yet to see any of the new components fail. Air seal is also as good as it will get.

VFC and Krytac both do the job well. I personally prefer VFC, but pick the one you think looks better.

VFC, great externals......lemon insides. Atleast thats been my experience, as well as my friends, and many people on the forums. Apparently their latest versions have good internals.

G&P are good work horses from what I hear... not great, but decent. generally cheap as well. I can never go back to using AEG's as I was exposed to GBB's early on.

And yes, you can have a gun that works indoors and out, just a simple matter of swapping the springs.

Or in the case of a GBBR an NPAS kit installed!

Find a gun you like and see if you can find one second hand that's been taken care of and have some upgrades already in it for a fraction of the cost.

Thanks Pestobanana. Your experience is welcomed. Before your edit i saw that you worked less with Krytac's than with VFC. Is that because Krytac are new to the scene or because they are built a little bit more robust?

Thank you for your input daishi. If I may ask, what VFC model did you and your friends have that sucked it up? Also, what is your go-to gun right now? Not getting a lemon as a first gun (while always a possibility) is something that I am trying to ensure happens through this post!

Could you describe your experience with GBB compared to AEG a little bit more for me? Is your experience with GBB more a personal preference or are AEG's generally regarded as inferior?

Yes I see this as a heavily recommended path to enter into the hobby. I am in the process of getting Age Verified however I do not believe that I am knowledgable enough (right now) to know if a gun is in good condition or if the mods that were made were done properly etc. Makes me nervous tbh


Thank you for all your input! Any guidance is welcomed.

Have you decided on the model of gun you want i.e. AK, M4, P90, G36 etc. That's where I would start if I were you. You're fortunate to live in a city that has several stores with showrooms where you can fondle different types of guns to see which is most comfortable for you to operate. Consider battery compartments, mag release, fire selector, mag shape/availability and what pouches are available for those mags.

Sounds like you're leaning towards an M4. If I were starting fresh with the intent of playing mostly indoor CQB I would get a Krytac CRB. VFC would be my second choice, something with a 10.5" barrel would be best for CQB, while still being good for outdoor. I don't personally recommend G&P, they suffer from embarrassing issues like off spec rails, non functional dust covers, charging handles, and gear sets that are prone to breaking. They do look very good though.

GBBR's are generally not recommended to the beginner especially if you aren't good at tinkering with things. The benefit of a GBBR is the realism (recoil, operational bolt stops, real ammo caps), but that's where it ends. GBBR's require more maintenance and care, they have very expensive and heavy mags with low ammo capacities, are more expensive to operate and generally don't shoot as well as AEG's (queue but hurt GBBR owners).

I'm also pretty new to airsoft as well. My brother swears by ICS M4s though and I've purchased a G33 ICS gun myself. It works great out of the box and feels nice in my hands and they make great AEG guns apparently. Don't take my word for it though, I'm still pretty new to this as well. Only downside to ICS guns that he told me was that, their parts are proprietary meaning if you want to change parts, they have to be ICS specific parts.

I've worked on far less Krytac AEGs than VFC because they are very new to the Canadian market. Krytac actually has a higher lemon/failure rate than VFC 2015. That's not to say Krytac is bad by any means, they are some of the best stock guns on the market. I've only seen one broken Krytac and one defective one. I've seen broken tappet plates, stripped pistons and occasional burned out contacts in VFCs prior to their 2015 lineup. Their 2015 lineup has a better tappet and piston, I have yet to see one fail. I have seen one or two of their 2015 lineup with burned out contacts, but their 2015 H&K 416 and M27 gearboxes come with a MOSFET wired in as well. I have yet to see one of those gearboxes fail.

Excellent. Thank you... you have been very helpful.

Thank you for your input! It is very helpful to get as many opinions as I can get.