I would choose the CMs. Cheap but work well to get into airsoft and you would have some money left over for other stuff like mags.

I have the CM-16 in black and it's been gamed about 10-15 times. Currently have about 30k bb's through it between plinking and gaming.
I have no complaints about the gun other than you may notice a bit of mag well slop and possible feed issues with some generic plastic mags. I cured this with a 1/2 long piece of sticky backed fuzzy velcro on the inside of the the rear mag well.
Also I'd get a spare battery. Below is a video using mine.

*WARNING* Some parts may contain colourful language.
If found to be offensive mods please delete or let me know and I will remove link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_gt0t5Zkrg

Listen to those recommending the King Arms.

You're paying ~$50 more for a metal body that alone will cost you $100 if you choose to swap the body out if you buy the CM.

Rear Wired, quality metal body for 210? It's a steal, buy it and don't look back.

If you want a gun that can more easily grow with you, KA. If you only plan to use it a handful of times the G&G may be the better option for you. That being said the KA will have a greater resale value when/if you decide you're done with it.

The G&G probably performs slightly better out of the box due to better internals, but it has a polymer body. The KA metal body is a greater value than an airsoft rail. If you need to/chose to replace the body later on it will cost you more than a rail will. Generally speaking it's cheaper to do internal upgrades than external ones. The KA is an excellent value at that price; to me it's a no brainer.

Aesthetically speaking; the metal body will look and feel a whole lot better when you're using it. The KA also has realistic trades.


It looks like the only difference is the blowback. The internals would be the same and it says it has a polymer receiver.

IMO the G&G blowback system, like most AEG blowbacks is rather unsatisfying and not really worth having.

resale means very little these days, especially in the 200-300$ range. It's so little money between what you'd want for it vs what someone is going to be willing to pay for a used gun... for a few sheets more you could be walking into a new gun.

The only thing that might help you is if the gun is full metal with a relatively strong gearbox shell. the CMs have a shit gearbox shell. It's unreinforced and it's thin. It's a very old clone. The KA has a reinforced shell based off of newer designs.

As the CM gets used and gets older that shell has a greater chance of cracking at the front without additional upgrades from a good gun tech. The KA will be a lot more resistant to that as long as you're not playing in the dead of winter whereas G&G gearboxes will crack with a 110 spring in early spring or late fall temps.

If that's really the full metal KA m4, buy it with confidence, it's a far better choice over the CM. Even if it ISN'T the full metal one, G&G is just abs plastic body while the KA is nylon fiber. It's still a better choice and still should have the better gearbox shell.

With $300 you can pick something decent in the classifieds here, just get AV'ED.

Get the cm16. Great out of the box. When you want better get a better gun and keep the cm for backup gun. Everyone playing should have at least 2 primary guns.

For anyone reading this thread in the future: I ended up going with the King Arms M4A1 which I picked up on sale for $210. It's the Canadian version which is reared wired, although it does not contain any engravings on the receiver which I was somewhat disappointed about, but that's something you could always have custom done later by an engraver.

Anything wrong with an Echo1 ST6? It's my first M4 (aside from the E&C 301 I've barely touched)

I don't know much about internals or gearboxes etc so any general input would be nice!

Nothing wrong with it. I believe it's a CYMA or JG underneath. It's decent and will do fine, and it comes with rails and all that. It's basically a Mk18 CQBR, take it out of the box and play with it until something breaks, you should be happy with it for a while.