[Reliku]

That's gonna be quite a challenge, $170 for a whole loadout including gun? I mean, I've done cheap setups but that's pushing it if you want an upgraded sniper rifle along with it.

You can go with the stock cylinder & trigger group, it'll last a while. I would upgrade the barrel group though. There is an almost free option (polishing the barrel, DIY R- or flat hop, shimming the chamber) but it does require some skill to do that. Might be your best bet though.

Did you already buy the gun? The MB05 is a pretty good budget choice because it's a type 96 but an MB06 will be even cheaper simply because the base gun is cheaper and it runs on pretty much the same internals.

 

[Reliku]

Ohhhhh.... $170 in upgrade parts. That's easily doable. That's like double of what I put into my first airsoft sniper rifle :hehe:

In that case... My recommendation would be as follows. You can go two routes. Option 1:

-AA type 96 chamber
-Maple leaf 60 degree AEG bucking
-Maple leaf concave nub
-Madbull steel bull barrel (6.03x407mm or 6.03x455 depending on bb's used)
-A generic UTG "upgrade kit"

Option 2:

-JJ type 96 hopup chamber
-Any 70 degree AEG bucking
-A chunk of pencil eraser
-Madbull steel bull barrel
-UTG upgrade kit

The first option is a straightforward tried & proven installation that you can just drop in. Can't really go wrong there. An AA chamber and maple leaf are pretty expensive though. Option two involves creating your own TDC mod with the JJ chamber (which is a really good PDI clone) and flat hopping the bucking, then using a bit of pencil eraser as a DIY flat nub. A setup I'm personally rather fond of in type 96's, works really well actually.

In both cases I would recommend an UTG upgrade kit. Leave the cylinder & trigger stock. The upgrade kit comes with a piston, spring guide & spring, but you only want to use the piston and spring guide, the spring yields like 650 fps or something. If used with the stock spring this should get you around 500 fps.

I would also recommend a madbull steel bull barrel. They're pretty good quality, made out of stainless steel and they're not very expensive. Length depends on the cylinder and bb's, read this for the full explanation behind that:

http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/32-general-sniper-talk/14303-cylinder-barrel-ratios-explained.html

Both options will yield a rifle that will perform well enough to be used on the field and with .4's you can expect a maximum effective range of about 90 yards (80 meters). One of the best budget builds if you ask me :yup: