Advice for improving accuracy & range

[Alien_Hunter]

Hello. I am looking for some suggestions for improving my AK74 by Dboy. Right now I have these parts in it:

Matrix 500mm 6.03, stainless

An "H-hop" nub by angel custom

And this G&P bucking:

http://www.evike.com/products/25958/

I am not sure exactly how many FPS my gun is shooting. My aim is not to significantly increase the FPS by adding a heavier spring. I know that I want a high-speed motor, possibly an improved nozzle. I would be willing to install a new piston and cylinder and spring guide, but I will not if it is going to require me to get new gears, replace other parts etc.

Basically my gun works pretty well, but I know that I can squeeze a little more performance out of it without too much hassle. I am wondering: What is a better bucking, should I ditch the H-nub, and will a new piston/cylinder require extensive modification to other parts? PS this is about as far as I will go when working on my gun. This is my comfort zone, I refuse to screw up a perfectly average AEG.

On a final note, I am wondering this: Are pistons and cylinder REALLY calibrated to the volume of air in the inner barrel, and have I possibly reduced my gun's performance by adding 2 inches to the barrel? (IE would a 455 mm, 6.03 have been better?
I was told by a friend about this relation between barrels to cylinder size, would this only have meaning if I for example went from 300 to 500mm, if this is true at all?

Edit: let's put my budget at $100 for everything.

[Goliath17]

I'm a big fan of the R-Hop by Hunterseeker, instead of the normal bucking where there is only one point of contact that is rather small and brief, the R-Hop fills the entire hop up window of the barrel, so each BB gets a more consistent and smooth back spin; if done correctly, it could add approximately 75ft of range. But be warned, if you install an R-Hop, ONLY use high quality BBs (don't use any weight lower than .25g) and keep your barrel clean. Also, have a professional install it, it's almost guaranteed you won't install it correctly your first (or second) time.

[Airsoftee]

R-hops take a lot of install work and fine tuning, that"s their major flaw, they aren't drop in.

[Alien_Hunter]

I'm not looking to have an R-hop installed. I know my gun would probably shoot at least 200 feet with one, but having them installed is expensive, and there's no one local that could do it.

[Goliath17]

Airsoft outlet does them

[Nodachi]

Flat hop, especially with something like the Prometheus Bridge nub is most of the benefit of an R-hop with a fraction of the work. http://www.airsoftextreme.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6943

As for everything else, I would say go after compression and get it consistent as possible, which you can mostly do through tuning. Your cylinder and barrel are okay as far as balance goes, as long as your cylinder was balanced for a 455mm barrel. (Do note that go about 5 mm either way, 450 or 505mm and you should probably rebalance it with a different cylinder.)

Teflon or aluminum tape the cylinder head to the cylinder head, make sure your piston head isn't leaking at all (I personally consider double o-ring piston heads to be overkill, but many swear by it...) You could correct your AOE and improve your GB durability with a sorbo pad, and tape or RTV your hop up unit as well.

In addition, the matrix 6.03s are fairly meh in as far as barrel upgrades go. Quality matters a lot more than bore size, and I don't care if the matrix barrels are 'Prometheus style', they're not Prometheus, period. I would probably stick a madbull in before a matrix barrel, and I don't really care for madbull either.

It might also help to replace the spring you have with something like an aftermarket nonlinear spring as well, as stock china springs aren't really consistent at all. You don't even have to increase the power if you're not having issues.

Anywya, TL;DR, you can do a lot with just teflon tape and basic tuning if you're not into spending a bunch of time and money to buy a bunch of parts.

[Alien_Hunter]

Flat hop, especially with something like the Prometheus Bridge nub is most of the benefit of an R-hop with a fraction of the work. http://www.airsoftextreme.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6943

As for everything else, I would say go after compression and get it consistent as possible, which you can mostly do through tuning. Your cylinder and barrel are okay as far as balance goes, as long as your cylinder was balanced for a 455mm barrel. (Do note that go about 5 mm either way, 450 or 505mm and you should probably rebalance it with a different cylinder.)

Teflon or aluminum tape the cylinder head to the cylinder head, make sure your piston head isn't leaking at all (I personally consider double o-ring piston heads to be overkill, but many swear by it...) You could correct your AOE and improve your GB durability with a sorbo pad, and tape or RTV your hop up unit as well.

In addition, the matrix 6.03s are fairly meh in as far as barrel upgrades go. Quality matters a lot more than bore size, and I don't care if the matrix barrels are 'Prometheus style', they're not Prometheus, period. I would probably stick a madbull in before a matrix barrel, and I don't really care for madbull either.

It might also help to replace the spring you have with something like an aftermarket nonlinear spring as well, as stock china springs aren't really consistent at all. You don't even have to increase the power if you're not having issues.

Anywya, TL;DR, you can do a lot with just teflon tape and basic tuning if you're not into spending a bunch of time and money to buy a bunch of parts.

Thank you ^_^ I'm having a new nozzle installed. I'll see what my tech can do as far as compression. "taper" and non-linear springs are a good idea too. I like not having to b*tch about how my expensive stuff doesn't work, so I don't ever invest in high end stuff.

Now on a different note my barrel's "window" is kind of small. So if I was going to buy a barrel with a large "window" what would you suggest for the flat hop mod?

[Airsoftee]

Maple leaf just released a semi flat nub that has been a long time in coming, I would recommend that and a quality bucking like the Modify baton (or whatever it's called) non rib bucking.

[Alien_Hunter]

The something outletNW sponsor has a flat hop. I'm just wondering if there is a barrel with a large "window".

[PanzerFaust]

Airsoft outlet does them

Nope. No R hops here. We like the Madbull Blue buckings. I'd pair up a Prometheus steel 6.03 with a MB blue all day long.

[Alien_Hunter]

Which barrels have a large "window" good for the flat hop?