[IceLion]

Hey all! I am a 52yo Canadian dad here (of 16yo son who also plays). Been dabbling in airsoft for a few years, and recently have been starting to get into some more serious games and find myself in the market for a new gun (The G&G MP5 I have just isn't up to the task for larger fields games). I have also been thinking increasingly that sniper fits my style of game play .

I found this site after pouring through endless reviews/listings of airsoft sniper rifles in hopes of getting some good tips and recommendations for not only a new gun but also how to play in this role.

Cheers!

 

[SiliconeSword]

For a gun, I suggest the Novritsch SSG10 or his SSX303, and the heaviest BBs you can get (.36-.49) and go from there.
Besides that, get appropriate clothing that blends in with your environment, and have a sidearm.

I don't really know what else to recommend, as most of the skills and upgrades you end up developing from experience.

Also, welcome!!!!!

 

[IceLion]

For a gun, I suggest the Novritsch SSG10 or his SSX303, and the heaviest BBs you can get (.36-.49) and go from there.
Besides that, get appropriate clothing that blends in with your environment, and have a sidearm.

I don't really know what else to recommend, as most of the skills and upgrades you end up developing from experience.

Also, welcome!!!!!

Thank you. Nice rifle but that is WAY out of my budget for my first rifle. LOL

Definitely on a smaller budget

 

[SiliconeSword]

Well, buy once cry once as they say lol.
The thing is, you are actually saving money with the SSG10 as it is better than many upgraded VSR-10s, and can be made better for free.
$300 is probably less than any base gun plus a new barrel and hop setup, so you really have no advantage by upgrading yourself, at least, buying a base gun and upgrading it.
The Amoeba Striker platform is okay from what I hear, and same with the Classic Army M24 LTR, but they are both around the $140-$230 mark, and absolutely need a new bucking and probably a barrel.
I suggest that you try and get by with what you have, and save up in the meantime, as that is what I have done and it has worked for me as well as many other people.
So yeah, the SSG10 is about as cost effective as it gets, and a bit better than lots of people's upgraded snipers.

Hopefully I don't sound like too much of a dick, but that's just the nature of this hobby, the nature of just about everything lol

Edit: the HopUp app is also a good option, as sometimes you can score killer deals on used stuff and very close to new stuff.
That's how I got my 2 VSR-10s and a bunch of other parts and such.

 

[BlackDogAirsoft]

The ssg10 or the ssx303 is going to be the cheapest you can buy basically. The only cheaper (maybe) sniper build you can get that works well is a Action Army T11 upgraded with barrel spacers, teflon sealed parts, maple leaf autobot, maple leaf hopup arm, lapped stock barrel, maple leaf piston, pps spring guide and rapax spring.

 

[IceLion]

Well, buy once cry once as they say lol.
The thing is, you are actually saving money with the SSG10 as it is better than many upgraded VSR-10s, and can be made better for free.
$300 is probably less than any base gun plus a new barrel and hop setup, so you really have no advantage by upgrading yourself, at least, buying a base gun and upgrading it.
The Amoeba Striker platform is okay from what I hear, and same with the Classic Army M24 LTR, but they are both around the $140-$230 mark, and absolutely need a new bucking and probably a barrel.
I suggest that you try and get by with what you have, and save up in the meantime, as that is what I have done and it has worked for me as well as many other people.
So yeah, the SSG10 is about as cost effective as it gets, and a bit better than lots of people's upgraded snipers.

Hopefully I don't sound like too much of a dick, but that's just the nature of this hobby, the nature of just about everything lol

I looked. Looks like a beautiful gun and there is a Canadian retailer carries them but I am looking at probably close to $800 CAD to get an SSG10 A1 to my house and well north of a grand for an A2.

I'm 52 years old: I have been around long enough to get the whole "you get what you pay for" argument. But this is just one of my hobbies and I have limited means... I am just an entry level player looking for an entry level gun. I just don't play often enough to justify that kind of cost. Not to mention I literally don't have that kind of money laying around for something like this.

I am looking at something around the 200-250 CAD range. Some examples:

JG Bar10
ASG AW308
Lancer Tactical LT-20 M82
Mtrix/Well/CYMA L96
Cybergun SR L96 Mauser

I know you would probably look down on these but it's what I can afford/am willing to spend in one go. Maybe upgrades can come later.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Ok then, I would suggest the BAR-10, a Maple Leaf red arm, a Maple Leaf Autobot or MR-hop in 70°, and as many DIY upgrades you can do, such as barrel spacers and a TDC.
That should keep you below $180 USD, so probably like $250 CAD or less.
I wouldn't expect a ton from it, but I suppose if you can upgrade it over a long period of time then it is the best option.

Also, the SSG10 A1 is seriously $800 CAD???
It's $299 USD for me, so either y'all have insanely expensive shipping or the CAD has dropped a ton lol

 

[Jbrinker1]

$800?? WOW lol! another option for an entry level sniper that I like is the well sr-2. I might have a lot of people disagree but they are pretty good stock with some DIY mods and heavy bbs plus they go on sale pretty cheap sometimes (I got one brand new for $67 shipped). A couple things, you can get a stock spring to shoot 460-480 fps. Due to the cheaper 90deg trigger, I wouldn't push a heavier spring. I actually cut a coil or so off to get one to shoot 450 and it has been shooting good for 4years now (the spring settled in to 440 fps). Now there are not as many aftermarket parts but there are cheap replacement parts from echo1. Also airsoftpro has good aftermarket parts if you plan on going north of 450-500 fps in the future. My personal experience, these have been the best budget snipers if kept 450fps or under (might hold up to 500+ fps but I doubt it). At 450fps, some DIY mods, and with decent .40g-43g bbs, you get plenty of accurate range that rivals a lot of stock/modded BASRs that cost double or more.

Edit:
I will have to add, out of the 6-8 SR-2 that I have owned (still have 5 for loaners and project guns) one had a bad barrel (I did not take the time to investigate the cause of the bad precision. I did clean it, realign bucking, swap bucking, with no luck. Then I just dropped in a $20 ZCI and it groups great), the rest perform pretty well. Not a huge difference if any between the one with the ZCI and the stock barrels.

 

[IceLion]

Sorry guys - life got busy there...

Thanks for your responses!

Also, the SSG10 A1 is seriously $800 CAD???
It's $299 USD for me, so either y'all have insanely expensive shipping or the CAD has dropped a ton lol

I may have overestimated the cost but ya the Canadian dollar has been weak.

Canadian Cartel carries them:
https://www.canadiancartel.ca/products/ssg10-airsoft-sniper-rifle?variant=31842070659158

$585 CAD
My province has 15% blended sales tax which brings it to $672.75 plus shipping So probably around $700 to get one here I suspect.

 

[IceLion]

Ok then, I would suggest the BAR-10, a Maple Leaf red arm, a Maple Leaf Autobot or MR-hop in 70°, and as many DIY upgrades you can do, such as barrel spacers and a TDC.
That should keep you below $180 USD, so probably like $250 CAD or less.
I wouldn't expect a ton from it, but I suppose if you can upgrade it over a long period of time then it is the best option.

Also, the SSG10 A1 is seriously $800 CAD???
It's $299 USD for me, so either y'all have insanely expensive shipping or the CAD has dropped a ton lol

So utter noob here. What are all these things? Or is there a page/site that you can aim me at that explains them?

 

[IceLion]

another option for an entry level sniper that I like is the well sr-2.

Is there a good site you can recommend that carries these (that ships to Canada at a reasonable cost)? In my travels it's not as common a gun as some of the others

 

[IceLion]

Is there a good site you can recommend that carries these (that ships to Canada at a reasonable cost)? In my travels it's not as common a gun as some of the others

OK so I find sometimes the naming and stuff is a bit confusing.
Is this an example of the gun you are referring to?

https://www.evike.com/products/39688/

 

[SiliconeSword]

I suggest that you go here to get upgrade parts if you're in Canada. https://1shotairsoft.ca/

Those other parts I mentioned are the following
https://www.airsoftatlanta.com/products/maple-leaf-vsr-10-hop-up-arms?_pos=2&_sid=6d10cda3b&_ss=r

https://www.airsoftatlanta.com/products/maple-leaf-mr-hop-up-bucking-vsr-gbb

https://www.airsoftatlanta.com/prod...t-hop-up-bucking-vsr-gbb-2021-silicone-winter

DIY mods can do quite a lot though, so I guess start with disassembling and cleaning your rifle to begin with.

 

[Jbrinker1]

OK so I find sometimes the naming and stuff is a bit confusing.
Is this an example of the gun you are referring to?

https://www.evike.com/products/39688/

Yes, that is the one. I don't know who all ships to Canada but evike, airsoft atlanta, airsoftmegastore, and airsoftGI are the places I normally buy from.
Some other names are
Echo1 ASR
Well SR-2
Well MB06

Sometimes there is a used one on amazon or ebay for decent price but pretty rare.

If you go the vsr/bar-10 route, there is some really good threads on this forum on how to upgrade them. Just look in the stickys on the vsr page.

Like silicon said even just disassembling and properly clean+lube your gun and shoot good quality heavy ammo and you will probably be performing good and probably better than most other BASRs.

What is your field fps/joule limit?

 

[IceLion]

I suggest that you go here to get upgrade parts if you're in Canada. https://1shotairsoft.ca/

Those other parts I mentioned are the following
https://www.airsoftatlanta.com/products/maple-leaf-vsr-10-hop-up-arms?_pos=2&_sid=6d10cda3b&_ss=r

https://www.airsoftatlanta.com/products/maple-leaf-mr-hop-up-bucking-vsr-gbb

https://www.airsoftatlanta.com/prod...t-hop-up-bucking-vsr-gbb-2021-silicone-winter

DIY mods can do quite a lot though, so I guess start with disassembling and cleaning your rifle to begin with.

Thank you!

If you go the vsr/bar-10 route, there is some really good threads on this forum on how to upgrade them. Just look in the stickys on the vsr page.

Yes I have been perusing those

Q: I think I am looking at the JG Bar 10. I see it has two flavors, the normal and the "GSPEC" which seems to have a shorter barrel. Which is the preferred model to get? From what I am reading it's pretty much a wash performance wise but the bolt on the GSPEC is preferable?

What is your field fps/joule limit?

2.3 joules

 

[SiliconeSword]

[
I believe its 500 fps/1.5 joules

That's weird, 500 FPS with a .20g BB is actually 2.32J exactly.

As for the G-spec VS standard, totally get the G-spec as it's quieter and exactly the same besides that.

 

[IceLion]

That's weird, 500 FPS with a .20g BB is actually 2.32J exactly.

As for the G-spec VS standard, totally get the G-spec as it's quieter and exactly the same besides that.

Disregard - I was looking at the AEG numbers. I corrected my post - it is in fact 2.3J

 

[Jbrinker1]

Q: I think I am looking at the JG Bar 10. I see it has two flavors, the normal and the "GSPEC" which seems to have a shorter barrel. Which is the preferred model to get? From what I am reading it's pretty much a wash performance wise but the bolt on the GSPEC is preferable?

Correct. The bolt handle is much more comfortable when using a scope with normal height scope rings.

2.3J will be too much for stock 45deg sears and piston of the VSR system. It may run for a bit but one of those two will fail pretty quickly. I have found I can get around 1-2k round running the stock 45 sears and pistons at 1.3-1.5 J. Miliage does vary a lot though. Long and short, you will need 90deg trigger setup for the vsr if you plan on running over 1.5J for very long.

I have not tried running the sr-2 at those levels (I need to try it sometime) but I would think it would last longer than a stock vsr.

Edit:
Another great budget option especially running at higher powers like 2.3+J is the A&K M24. I do not have any experience with them other than my research. They have stock steel 90 trigger and piston. Seems like you could get one of these to perform really well reliably and cheaply all stock parts. I do not know how importing would go (probably your main issues with most of these options) as I know Canada has some weird gun laws.

Edit2:
After really thinking about it a lot, I would say the A&K m24 is the best budget option for builds over 2J
https://www.evike.com/products/62969/

 

[IceLion]

Correct. The bolt handle is much more comfortable when using a scope with normal height scope rings.

2.3J will be too much for stock 45deg sears and piston of the VSR system. It may run for a bit but one of those two will fail pretty quickly. I have found I can get around 1-2k round running the stock 45 sears and pistons at 1.3-1.5 J. Miliage does vary a lot though. Long and short, you will need 90deg trigger setup for the vsr if you plan on running over 1.5J for very long.

I have not tried running the sr-2 at those levels (I need to try it sometime) but I would think it would last longer than a stock vsr.

Edit:
Another great budget option especially running at higher powers like 2.3+J is the A&K M24. I do not have any experience with them other than my research. They have stock steel 90 trigger and piston. Seems like you could get one of these to perform really well reliably and cheaply all stock parts. I do not know how importing would go (probably your main issues with most of these options) as I know Canada has some weird gun laws.

Edit2:
After really thinking about it a lot, I would say the A&K m24 is the best budget option for builds over 2J
https://www.evike.com/products/62969/

Apologies in advance - this is all new to me - I know very little about internals stuff.

Dumb Q1: The "degree" stuff refers to the hardness of the part yes? I stumbled across this when I was looking into buckings. Is this the same idea?

Dumb Q2: Do I need to push the max joules my field allows? What would be the con of running the lower joules.

That gun shows as exportable to Canada, but for various reasons I think I am going to stick to Canadian vendors.

 

[Jbrinker1]

Dumb Q1: The "degree" stuff refers to the hardness of the part yes? I stumbled across this when I was looking into buckings. Is this the same idea?

The simple answer: yes basically. 40d softer than 80d. Most on here go for around 60d as the softness provides enough "tack" but still pretty durable.

Dumb Q2: Do I need to push the max joules my field allows? What would be the con of running the lower joules.

You by no means need to push the limits to have a playable weapon. Cons are you may loose a little range. It will not be any more "acurate/precise". It really depends on how you play and the field you play in. If you can only take 60yd shots (due to field size or max line-of-sight), not much difference between a 1.5J build and 2.3J build except time-to-target and the "ouchie effect". In my experience (which there are many on here who have a lot more) there is not a "huge" range difference within .4 joule (say 450 to 500) and even less if you do not have the access to heavy ammo to support the power (say shooting .25g at 2.3J does not increase range much from 1.8J and is not even noticeable). Now if you have the heavy ammo to support the high power, you will see a small difference. If you are within .2J, you will probably not even notice. As a sniper with a bolt action, every little last bit helps to keep up with the AEGs especially if the aeg limit is close. So some questions for you, what is the AEG limits and is there a lot of shot opportunities over 60yds?

Also it really doesn't have to "make sense". It is airsoft, a game. I like playing with my bolt action just because I like playing with my bolt action even though it is not the most effective weapon choice in parts of the field I play in. I will even run a 1.1J bolt action sometimes because it is really accurate, quiet, and really close MED even though the AEG limit is 1.5J. Doesn't make sense but it sure is a ton of fun when you pop someone in the back pocket close range and they don't know where it came from.
Now if you are playing a role on serious team, then the story changes a little.

By all means, buying as local as you can is awesome. You may contact them directly and see what they can order in for you.