advice?

[sophrocide]

hey guys, so I'm hoping to get more into airsoft this summer and I was hoping you could help me out with some advice on buying a new rifle. Reading the regulations on engagement limits I see the max fps is pretty different for indoor and outdoor. that being said, I was hoping for a rifle I could use in most matches. I was thinking something in the 380-400fps range. but I don't want that to disclude me from indoor matches as well. Do most indoor matches abide by the 340 fps rule or will I probably be good with something 380-400 fps? or would I be best looking into two separate guns for the different game types?

[Praetor]

I would suggest starting off with one gun in the 350 fps range. That way you can use it in both outdoor and indoor. Fps is not equal to range so just because you have a low fps gun doesn't exclude you from field play. Also with a low fps gun you can come closer to people without having to draw your side arm which in my opinion is a major advantage.

[Stinger]

Definitely stay in the lower FPS ranges. The ability to go close range far exceeds the slight range boost that higher velocities give you.

[Gimpalong]

The difference between 330-350 and 380-400 is pretty insignificant on the field.

There are a few gun models available that have "quick change" systems to allow you to change the spring and lower or increase power as desired.

[luke213]

I'm going to say everyone above is spot on. The difference in range between two equal guns one at 350fps and one at 400fps is not a whole heck of allot. If I had to pick a single gun it would be 350fps since it gives that flexibility. Indoors it's really difficult to run a 400fps gun with MED's enough so that it's not recommended in the rules for that reason. If your playing outdoors it's much easier and the engagements tend to be much further out. But we're talking about around 60 yards of effective range at 350fps, and somewhere around 70 yards with 400fps all things being equal. Now my numbers might be a little off, some guns just shoot a little further than others but in my collection of guns I've got everything from stock TM's to upgraded guns shooting 550fps, and really until you reach the long side of the FPS range I don't see much difference, and even then it's not massive but you get the ability to run heavier ammo and stretch that range further.

So if you've got one gun go with 350fps, if you want more, go out and pick up another gun to upgrade;) That's always good advice since upgraded guns past 350fps tend to lower reliability as such you'll always likely have a functional gun even if your upgraded gun fails.

Luke

[sophrocide]

awesome. Thank you guys for the info and fast replies. Ill probably be looking for something in the 350 fps range as long as it will still give me good range and accuracy on the field. that was my biggest worry with a lower fps gun. losing too much range and accuracy for outdoor play. hopefully Ill be getting a team together for this coming summer. If so we will try to be more involved in this community for sure!

[Ajax]

I'm no expert with tech work, but one of the best ways to improve range and accuracy is by upgrading your hop-up and barrel. Generally you want to put a tightbore barrel in,  change the bucking, and (if you feel like doing a bit more complicated work) something like a flat hop works well; those are just a few simple but effective ways to upgrade your replica.

[kjones734]

I agree, as far as accuracy and consistency goes a barrel and a good hopup are the best improvements you can make to a replica. Most fields do not have very many long open shots that you would need a lot of range for anyways. I would say that 80% of all the kills I have made are under 100 feet. Although I am a run and gun type of player so I get right in your face and keep constant pressure on the enemy. Fps does not equally EFFECTIVE range. just because you can get your bb to go 300 feet dont mean you can hit shit with it. Even the heaviest bbs are effected by the wind pretty bad after about 150ish feet and if your hopup/barrel are poor on top of that you stand a very low chance of making contact with the enemy. My ideal range is 330-400 FPS, after 400 fps your MED is too long to really be effective unless you are playing a sniper role.

Just a tip for a new guy, dont play in full auto too much, play in semi auto and really practice aiming your shots. Learn where your bbs are going to go and dont rely on 100 bbs to hit one guy.