gunny put out a thread along time ago that really sums up how alot of people feel about low end platforms.
Gunny wrote:If you decide that you are somehow different or smarter than the 95% margin of the community who agrees with me on this...
now i do not consider myself stupid, but i did take offence to this statment, and made it my personal journey to make Gunny eat these words. not out of malice, spite or hate, but to work my way into the elite community of airsoft snipers. i am part of the 5% that says...
yes, if you build it, they will call thier hits.
now i am not going to say that every low end platform out there is the bomb diggity, but what i will say is there are a few options out there for the budget minded that with a little love and tools can be made into a tackdriver.
example
NOOB RIFLE 1.0
base was a TSD SD700 for $70( they have gone up in price since the posting of my initial review on another site, and they became extreamly popular). i bought a ebaybanned M3 replica that costs as much as the gun did. so total i invested 140 bucks. i shot the rifle stock for atleast 9 months before the first upgrade.
the item i upgraded first is the most important upgrade that any rifle can get. a tightbore barrel. i had one custom made for me by Bill Youngblood himself. next i bought a Laylax neo piston and a element oil tempered spring. once all of the upgrades were installed it was shooting a solid 500 fps.
all together after all upgrades were purchased and intalled i was right at about $270 dollars. now if i am correct, that is still cheaper then many of the base platforms in Gunny's suggested list. many of those models are sub par shooters in stock form and require more parts and labour, with pushes them way out of the price mark.
now when we talk about quality, could i take my TSD and baseball bat a tree with it without it breaking, probably not, but you wont get much more sturdieness from a CA or a Tanaka....what one or two more swings at the tree before it breaks?
the only issue that was left untouched on my rifle was the trigger mech and sears. even with the stock sear set my gun lasted well over two years. my theory is to shoot the shit out of the platform and work it till something breaks, then upgrade the part.
there are only two or three companies i would trust.
JG
TSD
Echo 1
i am also going to add...
Well/Galaxy/matrix
i have also purchased a well MB02 G-spec clone. i used this as the base for my "scout rifle" as seen here in this thread.
http://www.airsoftpacific.com/viewtopic.php?t=32664
Well's internals are on par with JG- BAR ten with something a lil more too.
the Well piston is a Cup tipped piston, so it does not rely on a O-ring for compression. this means a lighter more manageable bolt pull, and much better compression and FPS consistancy. id like to see other companyies make higher end versions of this type of piston.
also
A&K's SVD dragonov spring rifle is very unique. it uses a AEG sized piston and spring. it looks to be a hitter for those looking for the OPFOR sniper platform. i am thinking of getting one and adding more thoughts about it here, stay tuned.
and a low maybe on some of the UTG products ( utg is notorius for having crappy a$$ cylinders that are un-upgradeabe, and stamp sealed shut, atleast that is what the gen2-3 were, they are on gen 5 now, so maybe they pulled thier heads out of thier asses.)
JG has the BAR ten series.
TSD has the SD line
Echo 1 has a few offerings in
the socom series and their new AR type platform.
some of these platforms are based on maruzen or VSR technology. you will have to do your homework to make sure you are purchaseing the correct upgrades. some spring guides and magazines are not interchangeable.
i hope this helps some of the newer players understand that it is not all about money, it is about time and effort. research, trial and error.
i hope i am able to shed some light on this topic, help the newer players out a little bit, piss Gunny off a little bit, and help you along so you are able to get the best out of your dollar.
also maybe my inbox wont have so many ..." where is that thread you wrote...." messages in my inbox.
BB Wieghts
if you are shooting sub 500 FPS use .25/.28's
if you are shooting 500-550 FPS use .30 ( my preference) or .40/.43's
KA-BAR out.