matching my firearms

[wingsuit]

looking into an airsoft rifle to be able to use for training (useing it as a platform for handleing, mag changes and sight picture for some 3 gun matches I'll be doing) and so I'm looking at replicating my current real ar15 builds. I was hoping the experienced on here could answer a few q's and point me in the right direction as I dont know as much about the airsoft side.

here are my current req's

flat top ar
ctr stock
magpul mags
I'd like ambi safety selector as thats what I currently run.

not sure if I want to recreate my 14.5 middy build or my mk18 build, so thoughts on either would be great.

questions are.

barrel/rails -- is it easy to just swap out barrels and rails on these things? wondering if I cant find exactly what I'm looking for how easy it is to change out parts? that way I could just buy an extra barrel/rail and swap between my 2 rail lengths.

are parts like ambi safety or other accesories brand specific? are accesories like that avail? I've seen some sites sell a dd ris clone (just need to figure out what they fit onto)

quality/brands? I'd like a metal body just to replicate weight of my real one. What brands (in canada)should I look at for quality parts. things like how fast it shoots are less important to me but I still want a good quality product so I'm not dicking with it or having it break down.


here are the builds

14.5" mid carbine


and mk18 dd (dont have a pic online of this one, but exactly like this)



so for the stock looking one that came close was the g&p autobot. I can just loose the grenade launcher and have something similar to my mk18 build. Is g&p a quality airsoft company?

any tips or pointers on whats required to take a base airsoft and match it to my builds would be great.


cheers

[AngelusNex]

For those 2, I'd suggest getting a GBBR (I'd suggest WE) Mk18 and then building a second 14.5" upper to match your other rifle.

I'll let somebody with more experience with a wider variety of GBBRs suggest a specific brand.

[kullwarrior]

The KWA LM4 is the other choice, it has PMAG readily available whereas we doesnt. Aside from that go with WE.

[phloudernow]

when it comes to an AR many real steel AR stocks and Rails are cross compatible. My brother likes running VFC guns since many of the real steel rails and accessories he buys fits with little or no modification. same goes with many of the GBBRs.

any who did you want a GBBR or an AEG? there is a significant different to the two with realism and consistency. an AEG will be more consistent when it comes to its power. really depends on what you like.

there are no canadian manufacturers of airsoft parts. all the brands you find will be from asia or the states. As much as i love to buy stuff in country, if i bulk buy many different accessories and items at the same time, id buy from Hong Kong (No offence to the retailers in canada) I find shipping costs from asia worth it if I'm buying tons of shit. If its an easily obtainable item then I'd probably get it here, but harder to find rail systems and accessories is usually a good idea to order from overseas.

[wingsuit]

I'm more looking for weight and feel, and ability to put my same optics on it. for me I just want to fire when I pull the trigger and have a safety selector (care less about a functioning bolt) its more about being able to set up some targets in the basement and pratice handleing firing, safety on, and transioning to pistol with something that feels the same as my real on days I cant make it to the range. its not a substitute for the real thing, just a supliment.

the desire for pmags was just because its what I currently run on my ar's

and as far as the canadian comment, that was just based on what is avail in canada, I didnt think you could get rifles through customs so I thought I'd see whats avail up here

[phloudernow]

plenty of airsoft guns you can buy here. they are imported by retailers obviously should ask where to buy in the Age verified section. other than that parts and accessories can be bought overseas without issues. of course there are certain parts and accessories that are prohibited. check the FAQ section for more information

[Cobra Gr1]

I'm running a VFC Knights Armament SR-16.
Full metal with trades, ambi. controls, comes in at just over 7 1/2 lbs.
Notice the similarities of your middy?

Note: Does not come with Magpul furniture . (You can add them later)

[wurger]

Originally Posted by wingsuit

I'm more looking for weight and feel, and ability to put my same optics on it. for me I just want to fire when I pull the trigger and have a safety selector (care less about a functioning bolt) its more about being able to set up some targets in the basement and pratice handleing firing, safety on, and transioning to pistol with something that feels the same as my real on days I cant make it to the range. its not a substitute for the real thing, just a supliment.

the desire for pmags was just because its what I currently run on my ar's

I don't know how much AR's cost in Canada, but here in the US the cost of putting together two custom AEG's to match your rifles would probably run greater than buying a third rifle.

A couple of comments regarding your needs listed above:

Fire selector manipulation feel on an AEG will never match that of a real steal (RS) AR. The RS will have significantly more friction in the selector lever than an AEG. The selector friction of my KWA LM4 comes closer to that of my RS AR's, but my AEG's aren't even close.

Getting a comparable weight will be possible, but chances are that the weight will be distributed differently than on your RS rifles. Might be an issue, might not.

Forget dropping an airsoft mag. I can drop my RS PMag's all day without issue, but dropping an airsoft mag is asking for trouble (and don't even think about dropping any GBBR mag on a concrete floor...).

Based on your comments above, you'll probably be better off practicing in the basement with your real firearms (without shooting, obviously). That way your muscle memory will be patterned on the actual weapons, not mostly similar replicas. What you want to do will work, but I'm not sure you would get your $$ worth from the investment. If you're looking to run room clearing drills against armed opponents, then build a GBBR to match.

Unless you partly want an excuse to build a couple of nice AEG's. Then go for it...

[Curo]

Another option is a Systema PTW (or other if the quality is there, but SYSTEMA really is the best in terms of quality for realism right now) I'm not sure you could find ambi controls but they are designed for the purpose you ask.

[c3sk]

Having dropped quite a bit of real steel stuff onto both Systema and Wetti(GBBR) Rifles. I can tell you as far as weight, balance and overall realism, the GBBR is as close as you are going to get to a real AR. Systema rifles have a considerable amount of weight in the pistol grip due to the motor, which is not present on real AR's. (The pistol grips on real firearms are typically hollow)

Just be sure to swap out to a real buffer tube, pistol grip, and you should be right where you want to be.

Another huge benefit of a GBBR vs AEG would be the presence of recoil. Although nothing compared to a real rifle's recoil, it is still feedback from the firearm. On a real firearm you will anticipate the recoil so that you can have better control over the rifle, same rule applies to a GBBR. Here is an old video from 2009 when WE Airsoft's CEO went to the US 5th Ranger Training Base in GA, where they had SWAT/MILITARY members shoot the firearms side by side and provide some honest feedback.

WE CO2 AWSS M4 vs real steel AR-15 - professional opinion - YouTube

Hope that helps!

[Blackthorne]

As c3ks said, GBBR all the way for realism.

They can be temperamental (very much so when compared to the real platform) but for TRAINING, you won't get anything closer that will allow for 1-1 one muscle memory re-enforcement.

Be advised that a working training gun is NOT what will come out of the box.