Trigger Happy M240 Review - Updated Oct. 21th 2010

Trigger Happy M240 Review - Updated Oct. 21th 2010

Postby Black Fox » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:32 am

THIS REVIEW WAS UPDATED ON May. 25th 2010
Updates are in Green Oct. 8th 2009, Blue Nov. 9th 2009, OD Jan. 1st 2010 & Orange May 25th 2010
Video instruction manual YouTube link has been added to bottom of this review

TRIGGER HAPPY M240 REVIEW
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P.1 M240 is accessorized with a Trigger Happy Elcan scope and 7.62 dummy rounds

I’ve owned my Trigger Happy M240 now for almost a year. I ran into a few problems and tried to search the Internet for more information. However, I discovered there is not a whole lot out there. So I decided to write this review to help provide more hands on experience with this gun.

I purchased my TH M240 from Impact Games in Hawaii where the gun came directly from one of their suppliers in Hong Kong. Even though I’m in California, I chose Impact Games because they are one of the oldest airsoft shops in the U.S. and have one of the most experience airsoftsmiths I know. And since I was going to buy one of the most expensive airsoft guns currently available, I wanted it to be a solid reliable performer above all else.
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P.2
I did some extensive research on the TH M240 before buying my gun. I’ve heard mixed reviews. The most common comments I heard was that on the out side, the gun was beautiful and well built but the internals and its shooting performance were somewhat below par (mainly the barrel) considering its price tag. I had also considered the Inokatsu M240 but after seeing a video review of it shooting with an accuracy of a shotgun at only 30 ft, not to mention its higher price, I dismissed it. I think we can all agree that if you spend more than a $1,000 on an airsoft gun, its performance should at least be better than your average AEG.

With that in mind I asked Impact Games to strip the internals and replace it with the best parts in the market.

The parts that were replaced are as follows.

PDI 05 (6.05mm inner barrel) 595mm barrel
Guarder Hop Bucking
Systema Ver.3 Taper Cylinder Head
PDI Palsonite Cylinder
Guarder SP120 Spring
Guarder Ver.2 Steel Spring Guide with Bearings
Systema Torque-Up Gears
Tokyo Marui EG1000 Motor

Note: I replaced the Guarder SP 120 spring with a Systema M120. My original request was to have the gun shoot 395~400 fps with Excel bio-bb but it was frequently shooting slightly over 400 fps which was disqualifying my gun sometimes. With the Systema M-120 it now shoots an average 395 fps which is perfect.
Note: This gun was chronoed using Excel 0.20g Bio-BBs. The Bio-BBs are slightly smaller than the average BB. Because of this they tend to shoot about 15 fps lower in long barrel guns.

Note: It is not necessary to replace all the internal as I did. The biggest complaint I heard about this gun was the poor quality of the inner barrel. At minimum I would replace the inner barrel with a PDI or Prometheus inner barrel and the hop-up bucking with a Guarder hop-up bucking.

Another thing that I asked them to upgrade was the ammo feeder pouch. The ammo feeder that sits in the ammo pouch is made out of cardboard. I understand they did this to be more realistic. A 100 rounds belt of 7.62mm bullets sometimes comes in a cardboard box. So they were trying to achieve this look.
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P.3 This M-60 repack Kit is available at http://www.cheaperthandirt.com

But in real life the box is used once then discarded. Cardboard wasn’t design for repeated use. So I had them replace the cardboard with plastic and duct tape to make it more durable. The results were quite nice, sturdy but flexible and with a pull up tab to boot.
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P.4 NOTE: On the very bottom of the feeder you will always see a white BB. This is an important anti-jamming feature and not a stuck BB. Don't try to remove it.

At the time I made this review I did not have pictures of my gear box. I hope to have them posted in the near future. However, after doing some research on the Internet, I found a YouTube link for upgrading a VFC (Vega Force Company) M-60 Mk-43 gun. The gear box in this video looks nearly identical to the one in the Trigger Happy M-240. The only difference was the color of the gear box (mine was silver) and the trigger switch, which sits below and behind the motor and not under the cylinder as shown in the video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6981761473105456457#

When I got the gun and opened it up. Visually I was not disappointed. It looked very realistic and the parts looked like they were made with high quality machined parts and a nice gun metal finish.

The gun comes in 10 parts: barrel, bipod, receiver, ammo tray, top cover tray, ammo tray pin, trigger, trigger pin, stock and the ammo feeder pouch. Which assemble very much like a real M240. When I put all the parts together, the precision machining showed. All of the parts fit smoothly and snug like a pair of racing gloves.

However, there are 2 areas that require a little effort attaching.

One is the top tray. The front section of the top tray pushes up against a large spring button which is rather stiff making insertion of the tray pin a little difficult.
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P.5
I found the best way to do this is to first drop in the silver ammo tray. Then insert the top tray at a 30' angle and firmly push the tray all the way forward, then close it. Once the top tray is closed, insert the pin that holds the ammo and top tray in.

The other is the stock. The wires in the back can sometimes stick out a little making it difficult to close at times. The best thing to do is make sure the wire and fuse box are tucked well into the body before sliding the stock close.
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P.6
There were two other areas that required some modification.

The first one was the stock. A large 9.6v battery fits snugly in the stock. However, with SAWs, I like to use a lower voltage battery such as an 8.4 v because I prefer to shoot with long but slow firing burst than a high speed short burst. (A SAW is all about suppression!) So, when I tried to put an 8.4v battery in, I discovered it wouldn’t drop in. Since the last battery cell on an 8.4v is perpendicular to the other cells it actually makes the battery a little wider on that end. Not a whole lot but enough that it wouldn’t drop in. If I pushed hard a little bit I could get it in but trying to get it out was twice as hard. I was concerned about ripping the wires out of the battery. I guess trigger Happy just automatically thought that everyone would use a large 9.6v and didn’t bother trying other batteries. So, I took a half rounded file and grinded the top and bottom of the inside of the stock neck. Fortunately I didn’t have to shave too much to get the 8.4 v to fit.

The other area that required minor modification and the only thing I considered to be a design flaw, was with the top tray cover. When I closed it, the top tray did not seem to be locking in. I could open it relatively easy by pulling on it without pushing in on the release buttons on the back of the tray . This was not right. Once the tray is locked in, it should sit securely on top of the receiver and not be easily pulled off. After a little examination, I discovered that the two little push buttons that you squeeze on the back of the top tray to open it are connected to 2 angle hooks underneath.
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P.7
Theses angle hook are supposed to slip into a cut groove on the inside of the receiver and lock the tray down. (The groove is just above the red wire on the right).
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P.8
The problem was the tray wasn’t sitting down low enough for the angle hooks to slip in to the locking grooves on the inside of the receiver. My first thought was to file the 2 nubs on top of the back section of the receiver where the tray sat on. But the tray was already sitting flush with the body. If I filed the 2 nubs, it would no longer sit flush with the body. Instead, I removed the rear locking angle irons (as shown in pic. 7) and filed the top portion down about 1 or 2mm. After I did this, it fixed the problem and now I can lift the gun up by the tray. However, I don’t recommend picking up your gun that way. Always use the handle.

As for performance, the THM240 shoots like a dream! Impact Game’s quality craftsmanship in upgrading this gun definitely shows. The range and accuracy is incredible. I basically can out gun just about anyone in the field. I have no trouble picking off targets at 50 yards. On top of that, the gearbox runs very smooth and quiet. That is a testament to an excellent shim job.

However the nicest aspect is the ammo box. It is one of the smoothest and quietest motorized ammo box/drum mags I have ever seen. In fact the first time I shot it. It was so quiet that I thought it wasn’t working. The other thing I like about it is that that there is only one small wire that you can barely see. This wire connects to another wire that shares the same connection as the trigger which connects to the battery in the stock. So there is no need to have a battery in the ammo box to power the feeder. And since they are connected together, the ammo box feeds BBs into the gun when ever you pull the trigger. Another excellent feature is the tube spring that feeds BBs from the ammo box to the gun is integrated into metal frame that clips on the side of the gun.
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P.9
So attaching it is simple, easy and snug.
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P.10
This is perhaps the most user friendly ammo box that I have ever seen. On top of all of this I never had a jam or feeding issue. And last, you can have someone pour BBs into you ammo box while you are shooting. Its only drawback is when you first put BBs into the ammo box. It takes about 5 to 7 seconds of shooting for the first BB to travel up the spring tube and into the chamber. If there was one change I could make, I would have the spring tube run up inside the ammo box and out just below the top and through the support frame for a cleaner look. That said, Trigger Happy deserves a round of applause for this ammo box design.

After doing some research, I discovered that VFC actually makes the ammo box for Trigger Happy but Trigger Happy makes the support frame that attaches the ammo box to the gun. (So it is identical to the M60 Mk-43 ammo box. However the ammo box for the Mk-43 does not have the support frame and the BB spring tube that connects to the gun is different.)

FIELD PERFORMANCE
Now for the field performance review. I’ve used this TH M240 in various terrain and weather from heavy winter snow fall in the Sierra Mountains to the heat of the of the Nevada desert. I've also humped it miles by hand and mounted on vehicles. The TH M240 performed admirably in all conditions.
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P.11Reno Desert
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P.12 Ambush In The Snow

At 16 pounds this gun is about 10lb lighter than the real one but still about twice as heavy compared to your average airsoft gun. Combine with its size of 49 inches which is just over 4 feet. This is a beast of a gun to be lugging around. When firing, the best position to be in is on the ground using your bipod. Shoulder firing is difficult for any long period of time and the ammo pouch hanging off to the left makes the gun unbalanced. On occasions I found myself borrowing a friend’s shoulder while he holds on to the bipod. This works pretty well. In most cases though, I found myself shooting from the hip. So getting a SAW sling is highly recommended.

When you do uses a sling, one thing I recommend is that you don’t attach it to your barrel. This can potentially put stress on the barrel and cause damage over a period of time. The best place to attach it is at the front end of the gas tube. The gas tube is the cylinder underneath the barrel and is attached to the receiver. At the end of the gas tube and just behind where the bipod attaches, you will see a “Uâ€
Last edited by Black Fox on Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:34 am, edited 21 times in total.
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Postby DRK » Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:15 am

TH was never a friendly company. they teamed up with shoei to make the new shoei electric mp44 and even after all the precautions the heir to shoei owner took. it still got cloned... hmmm.

this does look great. did want a big effing gatt like this gpmg. but about the carry handle. of all the corners cut. the carry handle isn't strong enough to support it's own weight. that was a huge turn off to me to acquire this gun. moreover if i am to get a gun that expensive i'm just programmed to make it gas blowback. i couldnt live with myself buying such an expensive electric and it's still electric. if you ever used a heavy blowback gun such as a escort ak or escort stg-44. you may consider having this turned into external air. with the new TOP heavy m249 blowback unit you surely will have a piece that no one else in the world does.
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Postby Black Fox » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:20 am

Hi DRK

I have also heard issue about the carry handle but I have not had any problems with mine and it has gotten a fair amount of field use.

As for blowback and external air guns, I played with them a lot in the 80's and early 90's. For me the blowback features were okay and I enjoyed the performance and reliability of the old airguns such as JAC but constantly having to recharge your air tanks and carry them around got old. On top of that, the tube from the tank to the gun frequently got caught in the bushes.

Now airguns were fine for fine for assault guns but not so much for SAWs. The main reason is that most drum mags just had a long coiled tube inside which usually held 350 to 400 rounds. At first they shot fine but as it got closer to being empty, they made a distinctive sputtering sound. People knew and waited for this to attack you. Also, since you were shooting a lot of ammo. You essentially needed small industrial air or O2 to power it. This greatly limited such guns mobility. You literally needed a two man crew to move it around. Most people though usually left it in one spot once they got it all set up.

Anyway, I can go on about the pros and cons of airguns. Both air and electric have their advantages. I think it is a matter of preference. Having played with both types for many years. I'm perfectly fine with this gun being electric.
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Postby Black Fox » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:27 am

Hey DRK

Out of curiosity, do you know Trigger Happy's direct contact info.
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Postby LiquidSnak » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:40 pm

All I have to say:

I envy the F**k out of you.
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Postby DRK » Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:29 pm

sadly i do not have th's info. i doubt they would do custom work like that.

no offense but that was 80's air tech. have you used neo classic's like the escort engine? or upgraded escort engine by daytona gun? their recoil is actually heavy. not 7.62 but a escort mp5 maxed out with upgrades can recoil like the real deal.

the escort engine can use any AEG magazine. my escort RPK for example. i use GWS rpk length hicaps or STAR auto feeding drum mag's. but what your referring to was like the asahi drum mags that held 300-500 or the JAC B.A.R. magazine. or the asahi m249 box mag. those magazines were meant for that area. every 1 was a gasser or a springer in the 80's proto electrics for early 90's by toytec and JAC till TM dropped.

combat has changed now. aeg spray and pray and magazines are cheap. so to keep up with a gasser you have to be smarter and upgrade yourself to a neo classic engine. the escort has done really well for self. the kick is outstanding and depending on the model you cant aim correctly while firing full auto.

so when i see your TH all that ran through my mind was the new TOP heavy m249 blowback unit. which actually was made in conjuction with daytona gun. he devised a heavy as possible blowback unit and TOP is mass producing them. it is essentially the worlds first mass produced escort engine. the escort engines from a few years ago never went past 300 in some models(m16 and mp5 and mp44). the other models were just hand fulls (AK-SVD).

as far as the hose thing. it depends on where you play. i play in heavy woods. and if your sling gets int he way your hose gets in the way. i dont use coiled hose. i use straight hose and short. aand i run it to tight tolerences around my under arm to the back pouch where it's stored.
i have mostly rifle men classic guns but i prefer the saw classic user. i dunno it depends on the player i carry 2 tanks on me at all times and i just bought 3 new ones today for a up coming game where i will have to travel with 5 tanks on me, sounds crazy i know. but im in a MOUT site for 15 hrs straight. got no dump site to leave them in.
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Postby Black Fox » Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:42 pm

Hey DRK

I'm not familiar with the Daytona Escort Engines. Do you have a link to their site?
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Postby DRK » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:42 pm

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Postby Jeep » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:03 pm

nicely done, Blackfox!
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Postby Black Fox » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:12 pm

Thanks DRK

Thanks Jeep.

If anyone has any other questions, just let me know.
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Postby Wyxz » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:06 pm

Hi, I am planning to buy TH m240. I tried to find what type of gearbox is in it. Only thing that I found that is VFC clone (but I have doubts about that). Maybe you know what type of gearbox it has. I just want to be sure that if something will break I easily will find spare parts for gearbox and it will not cost me fortune.
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Postby Black Fox » Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:17 am

Since I've never seen a VFC gear box, I can't really say. I'll ask the guys at Impact Games and see if I can get any answers for you. I'll also try to get some pictures of the gear box for you too. Although I would say it looks some what like a heavy duty metal version of the Star M-249 or the A&K Mk-43 M60 gear box system. It seems pretty solid. So I wouldn't be too concern about the gear box itself breaking.

As for internals, it uses the standard Tokyo Marui gear box system. So parts are easy to find for it.
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Postby Darius137 » Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:39 am

Awesome review. I bet you could find real steel mounts that have been broken then put back together for fairly cheap through the military and auctions.

One good option would be a Tripod for setting up ambushes or fortified positions.
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Postby Black Fox » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:23 pm

Wkyz

I did some searching on the Internet. It looks nearly identical to the VFC M-60 Mk-23 gear box. Here is a link to a YouTube video of a guy taking one apart and upgrading it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6981761473105456457#

I also found VFCs web site. There is a close-up picture of the gear box here http://www.gb-tech.com.tw/vfc_new_web/eng/01_news/frame.htm

It also appears that the magazine ammo box for the VFC M-60 Mk-43 is very similar to Trigger Happy with the exception of the BB feeding spring tube attachment to the gun. Also, the TH has no battery in the ammo pouch.
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Postby Black Fox » Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:10 pm

I bet you could find real steel mounts that have been broken then put back together for fairly cheap through the military and auctions.


Darius137, a friend of mine already does and I've already tried several mounts. Unfortunately, this is not a straight forward solution. The biggest problem are the ammo trays. Many of the ones that I have seen or tried have the ammo trays mounted is such a way that the magazine ammo box won't fit into the gun. The tray is either too far away, at an angle or gets in the way of the spring tube that feeds BB into the gun. That's why I had a custom one made.

The only way to get a round this would be to take the magazine ammo box apart. But since you can buy spare ammo boxes at the moment, this is not really an option.

There is one guy in Arizona who did do this. He took one of his ammo box and dropped it into an ammo can. It hold like 12,000 round! He also made a custom mount for it too. See pictures below. The way he got 2 ammo box was that he bought 2 guns. It's an expensive way to get a second ammo box.

Now there are mounts that have no trays and they will work fine on tripods. However, some of them sit a little low so that if you swing the gun too far to the left or right, the bottom of the ammo pouch bangs into the rear tripod legs. For me this is not an acceptable solution.

There is also another problem when you mount it on a vehicle. If you don't have a tray, the ammo box bounces around a lot and you will eventually brake it. So you really need to have a mount with a tray that will support the ammo box.

Ideally, it would be nice to find a mount with a tray that fit the THm240 without haveing to make any modofications to the gun or ammo box and sit high enough that when you put it on a tripod it won't bang into the legs. I'm sure there is a real steel one that will meet my requirement but I just haven't found it yet. So, until then, I will stick with my custom mount.

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