Mach 1 Airsoft - G&G GR16 Carbine Clearsoft Review

[Tingc222]

Hey guys, I just purchased a G&G GR16 Carbine Clearsoft version from Mach1Airsoft. Here's what I think:

First of all, I'd like to thank Mach1Airsoft for being very informative during my order of the gun. I asked millions of questions and they have all been answered quickly and thoroughly. It was a pleasure doing business with them. Highly recommended retailer.

Now, the gun.

Being a noob, I can't draw comparisons, nor can I measure the FPS. Sorry for that. Although a quick coke can test shows that the BBs just barely do not penetrate the bottom, leaving a gaping hole but then bouncing back. Shooting a BB through the side walls cause them to penetrate both the front and the back, and the BB goes on to bounce up and down the room. This should put the gun at the high end of 350-370fps, perhaps more. Furthermore, sorry for no pics, as I am an university student and I don't have a proper camera. But from what I can tell, the gun is awesome.

I emailed G&G and inquired about the internals of the GR16 Carbine and associates. They said that the non-"light" versions are exactly the same as the all-metal GR16 counterparts aside from the clear lower receiver. Also, the Light Carbine (you can see it on the Mach1Airsoft page) is exactly the same as the plastica series, aside from the clear lower receiver.

I have the GR16 Carbine, the non-light version. The upper receiver is metal, as is everything externally excluding the clear lower receiver, handguard (quite sturdy, very slight wobble), grip, and stock. There are toned colors for the metal parts; the knobs for the carrying handle are colored grayish, the rear sights and adjustments, the ejection port cover, the forward assist button, and the charging handle trigger. All other metal parts are painted flat black, which is nice. The receiver is painted black, which helps to make the clear plastic lower receiver less noticable. The metal hicap is painted flat grey. The metal hicap is quite sturdy, but it did wobble a very tiny bit, which I consider to be negligible. the magazine is also the first problem I had with the gun. At first, the magazine lock on the gun simply did not hold the magazine in place. I found out that the notch on the magazine was too shallow, and with a pair of point-nosed pliers, I forced the metal skin on top of the notch outwards so that the magazine catch would actually "catch". Not a big problem but I'm not sure what would happen if I got myself plastic magazines which cannot be modified in this way.

The charging handle does not open the ejection port, just like the normal metal GR16. The charging handle does pull back, but feels loose and fragile (not the handle itself, but the spring inside). I wouldn't pull on it too much.

Firing the weapon is a sensation. I use a 2000mah 9.6v intellect nunchuck, and the cycling rate is great. The motor is audible , but the satisfaction from the thump of the piston well compensates for that. Rapid semi-auto is no problem.

As a few side notes, the G&G flash hider is indeed NATO size, meaning that it is compatible with the Gemtech HALO silencer. The trades are painted on and says:

MARINE ENV. M-16
(logo here)
5.56MM NATO

above and to the left of the safety, it says:

COMPLETE A.E.G. SERIES
MFG. BY COMBAT MACHINE
MADE IN TAIWAN

the W on "taiwan" is slightly rubbed off, which does say something about the paint. However, the SAFE, SEMI, and AUTO are etched into the clear lower.

One more thing that I noticed is that the plastic around the connection points of the trigger guard is cracked slightly, which may or may not be a problem. The plastic, from experience, can be brittle. It probably won't last as long as the rest of the gun. As a result, I'm going to hold off with removing the pins and looking at the insides, not only because the plastic seems brittle and may break (I have broken too many things to attempt this), but also because G&G claims the internals to be the same as the all metal G&G GR16 (tightbore, reinforced gearbox etc.

Here are my conclusions:

Pros:
-Just like the metal G&G GR16, minus the lower receiver
-everything runs smoothly
-great cycling rate with 9.6V
-good heft to it.

Cons:
-magazine modifications required, perhaps not compatible with some mags, esp. plastic ones (explained above)
-OK plastic quality for lower receiver
-OK paint job, but I think the trades are more realistic than non-clear G&Gs (but it's clear plastic which really negates that fact)


Overall, a great gun and a great retailer!

[shinobii]

Thanks for the positive feedback. If there are any issues with quality, be sure to let me know at all times, as we are able to communicate these problems directly to G&G, and should have good success in correcting them, specifically in relation to the clear receiver components.

Thanks again.

[Shirley]

That's the problem with all CLEAR guns. You can't shove any other magazines in except for the plastic shit ones they give you.

[The Saint]

Hitman, are you equating G&Gs with clear receivers to Canadian Tire guns?

[cbcsteve]

All clear guns do not have that problem

Its just the manufacturer that chooses whether to engineer it to fit every mag or not

[DustMagnet]

Originally Posted by Mr.Hitman

That's the problem with all CLEAR guns. You can't shove any other magazines in except for the plastic shit ones they give you.

Originally Posted by Tingc222

The metal hicap is painted flat grey. The metal hicap is quite sturdy, but it did wobble a very tiny bit, which I consider to be negligible. the magazine is also the first problem I had with the gun. At first, the magazine lock on the gun simply did not hold the magazine in place. I found out that the notch on the magazine was too shallow, and with a pair of point-nosed pliers, I forced the metal skin on top of the notch outwards so that the magazine catch would actually "catch". Not a big problem but I'm not sure what would happen if I got myself plastic magazines which cannot be modified in this way.

Not to mention that a CLEAR bodied Kraken can take a Classic Army metal midcap.

I'm not advocating clear or plastic, but at least disrespect them for valid reasons.

[Tingc222]

Originally Posted by Mr.Hitman

That's the problem with all CLEAR guns. You can't shove any other magazines in except for the plastic shit ones they give you.

The gun comes with a metal magazine. I said that it may not be compatible with plastic magazines as they cannot be modified like the metal ones.

I'd prefer my clear M4 over full metal ones any day as I can be sure that it stays lawful. Very good quality gun.

I was able to open up the gun (not the gear box, unfortunately), and found a full metal gearbox painted black, with brass colored cylinder and what looks like a polycarbonate piston through the air intake hole. the hop up is light grey plastic and has green gears, which is apparently very similar to the full metal GR16's plastic hop up (which has had good reception from the owners). The motor feels smooth and very responsive. There is also a heatsink for the motor at the bottom of the handgrip.

The brass inner barrel has no markings, but I'm assuming that it is the tightbore that came with the metal GR16.

[ShadowNet]

Hey, can you post pics of the gun please? I want to see the trades on the clear receiver too. Thanks!

[Veteran104]

is the hop up one piece or a two piece?

[jaymz1911]

Mach 1 Airsoft did me fine... I just reseved my ICS M4.... Nice!!! Thanks Shinobii!

[SultanOfShwing]

Great review. I think I'm going to order the G&G M4 CQB-S from Mach1. I'm glad to hear of the liberal use of metal.

[f3600]

I bought a GR16 A2 from MAch1 .. Great gun ! and a great retailer too ! legit business !