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1) Concept of the AEG
AEG's, or Automatic Electric Guns, are likely the number one primary
airsoft "weapons" out there.
The basic idea is the use of a battery powered motor to operate a spring and
piston set-up in a gear box, better known as a mechbox.
2) Selecting an AEG
The leading manufacturer of AEG's is undoubtedly Tokyo Marui, aka TM.
They definitely set the standard by which others are judged.
Other manufactures of AEG's include Classic Army(CA) and Airsoft
Elite(AE)/ICS (differences between AE and ICS are reported in many places,
and AE is generally regarded as the better of the two. If you wish too look
into them, I suggest searching both the web and various forums...not posting
in them on this subject because it has been beaten into the ground many
times). Check out this comparison of CA and AE:
Airsoft Players Comparison [note: I read in a thread on the airsoft
players forums that CA's now have a more realistic finish and the S-E-F
painted in, but look into that before trusting me.]
Generally, the bigger manufacturer (in this case TM) is going to have the
best prices and selection.
When looking into a gun there are a few points you need to pay attention:
1) What type of field are you going to be using it on.
2) What playing style/team roll you intend to fill.
3) Battery capacity of the gun.
4) What flukes the different series of replicas have.
5) What type of accessories you may want.
6) What type of upgrades you may what (see my thoughts
on upgrading).
7) The type of work you'll have to do on the gun (ease
of maintenance factor).
8) Most importantly, your preference/brand loyalty
(example, I like H&K weapons, so for a first gun I chose the G3SG/1).
2.1) Selecting an AEG: Type of
Field
For CQB (close quarter battle), a gun that allows for faster target
acquisition is optimal. This means that shorter guns that can be moved
easily are better in this situation. Along with a shorter gun comes a
shorter barrel. A longer barrel is more accurate, so if you have a short
barreled gun in a non-CQB environment, you'd have to get closer to your
target than a person with a long barreled gun would to get accurate shots.
This doesn't mean that a rifle, cannot be used in a CQB environment. It is
possible to have full-stock G3 in a CQB game, but your ability would be
limited by it's length. Not only is it bulky for going around corners and
through doorways, but it has more rotational inertia, slowing down target
acquisition.
For outdoor environments, longer barreled guns are nice for the accuracy,
but a bigger gun can still limit movement. Which gun do you think would be
easier to crawl with: an MP5 or a G3? However, this is more related to
playing styles.
What about a gun for both you may ask. You can look into gun length to
barrel length ratios to start. Guns like the Fa-Mas own in this aspect due
to the bull-pup design, but the Fa-Mas is a little limited by its mechbox.
Other options are get a long one and live with it or get a short one and
live with it:). I'd go for the shorter gun option, such as an MP5, because I
find that they can still be used effectively in an outdoor environment.
2.2) Selecting an AEG: Playing
Style
There are a few factors for playing style. The first one I'll get out of
the way is ammo consumption. I'm talking about how much ammo you plan to
use.
If you make full use of the "A" part in AEG and blow a 5 second full-auto
burst of ammo at everything that looks suspicious..."oh, look a stump in the
shade that might possibly be a person because I can't see it very well.
*blap-blap-blap-blap-blap-blap-blap*"...then you might look for guns with
high ammo capacity or you might look at gear that can carry a lot of the
type of mags you plan to use. [note: I find that standard capacity mags
are nicer to use in that they tend to feed more reliably. There is a lot of
debate out there about preference of mag type, but that seems to be
arbitrary or group based.]
On another note, there is the more "sharp-shooter" approach to things. This
style results in much less ammo use and less money spent on mags and ammo.
Here, mag capacity and number is much less of a factor to think about. [note:
I get by on 2 partially filled standards. I partially fill them
so that if I forget to unload them, or I don't go to my second one for a
long time, the springs remain strong. When/If our group starts having
more than15 people play at any one time, I'll buy another pair of standards.]
If you're the stealthy/stalking type, barrel length becomes less of an issue
to a certain extent. An MP5 size replica can be used just as effectively, if
not more effectively, in this situation than a rifle (as I said earlier:
"Which gun do you think would be easier to crawl with: an MP5 or a G3?")
2.3) Selecting an AEG: Battery
Capacity
Battery capacity is very important. Different guns can take different
styles and sizes of batteries. Depending on ammo consumption and battery
size, a battery can last a few days worth of games, or need to be swapped
out 2 or 3 times a day (buying that many batteries is a big dent in the
wallet).
To my knowledge, all full stocked non bull-pup guns can take a large, or
full sized, battery. The large batteries are made of C sized cells in a
battery pack that consists of 7 cells. Some guns can take ones made with 8
cells, and other specialty packs can be made with slightly smaller cells
(see Batteries and Chargers for more on this).
Other guns without full-stocks either have the battery in the forgrip (most
common) or in other places, often above the mechbox, such as the Uzi, P90,
AK-47S, MP5K and the MP5K PDW (I might have missed some). This category of
guns is the most affected by the combined factors of upgrading and battery
capacity. In many cases, special type batteries can be bought to partially
or fully solve small battery issues. Often modification to the gun is
required to fit special type batteries.
2.4) Selecting an AEG: Gun
Flukes
Some series of guns have flukes that can range from an annoyance to
something that will put a hefty dent in your wallet. Here are just 2 of the somewhat bad
things that I know of, I'm sure there are many more (e-mail me if there's
something else I should put here).
The TM version of the Armalite series(M16 etc.) has a "barrel wobble"
problem. This has been reported to be slightly solved by tightening certain
screws, but I do not know any part number. The more permanent solution is a
reinforced barrel set-up. Check out this
Airsoft-Guide review
for those options.
The G3 series has a body flex issue (maybe exclude the MC-51 because it is
shorter?). This can be remedied with a metal body or by
just ignoring it. [note: I did not find it to be much of a problem when I
had my SG/1.]
2.5) Selecting an AEG: Desired
Accessories
If you want to deck out a gun, you need to look into accessories. Some
guns offer less in this area than others do. The AK, for instance, has very
little in the accessories department compared to something in the Armalite
variants.
2.6) Selecting an AEG: Desired
Upgrades
Upgrades lead into the battery capacity issue and the mechbox issue. The
less upgradeable guns are those that are restricted to small batteries and
those that have less common mechboxes, such as the Fa-Mas and the Uzi. [note:
The Fa-Mas and the Uzi both have incredible fire rates for AEG's, so this is
often the emphasized characteristic rather than an upgrade for power.]
Some mechboxes are a bit beefier than others. For instance,
according to reliable veterans on the airsoft players forums, the version 2
tops out at a Systema M120 or the PDI equivalent 170 rated spring before
mechbox casing durability becomes an issues, but the version 3 tops out
around a Systema M160. If anybody has a good idea on the max for the latest
version 6 mechboxes, please drop me an e-mail [note: I believe that
nobody should ever go over an M130 spring in AEG, and that is in
rare cases. I generally stick to the M120/PDI170 max.]
2.7) Selecting an AEG: Your
Work Load
For basic maintenance, all guns are created equal.
If you plan on working with the internals of your gun, some guns are more
complicated than others. Guns like the P90 and the G3 series are incredibly
easy to "tear-down" while guns like the AK require much more time and
energy.
Some mechbox designs are easier to work on too. The Fa-Mas and particularly
the Uzi mechboxes (version 1 and version 5 respectively) are much harder to
work on than the version 2, 3, or 6(i have no experience with the PSG/1
mechbox, version 4, and I don't plan to any time soon).
2.8) Selecting an AEG: Your
Preference
In the end, it all comes down to which gun you like. You may
like/want a particular gun because of something you saw on the history
channel, the movies, or in your favorite red-neck catalog. Maybe you just
want something nobody else has. It's entirely up to you...or your friends if
you're easily persuaded.
3) Using an AEG
Once you have an AEG, you'll want to fire it (duh). To do so, you'll need
these things:
-the gun and mag
-proper battery
-proper charger
-and duh, ammo
Charge the battery properly (impatience can do nothing more than damage the
battery!), place it in the gun, and connect it (I've read in three different
retailers' stories that non-working guns were returned/questioned about and
it was either a non-charged battery or the wires weren't connected).
Then, load the mag, put it in, and let 'er rip! Don't forget to do some
single fire shots before stopping. Otherwise if you fire on full-auto last
before you put your gun away, it could leave the main spring partially or
fully compressed, causing it loose power over time.
That's about it for the basics. If anyone else wants to add something, drop
me an e-mail.
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