[Brandon Bennett]

Ok, I know this is my second post about this subject in the past few days but I think I have an idea of what I wanna do with my build. I am thinking about doing an HPA build and I will type a list of the parts I have picked out so far. My goal is to use this for target shooting, impractical indoor play and take it outdoors on occasions and potentially to a few milsim events.

Parts List:

1. Action Army hopup chamber
2. Maple Leaf Decepticon 60 degree bucking
3. EDGI 5.98 custom inner barrel
4. Wolverine Bolt system
5. Ninja 13ci/3000 SLP tank

This is what I have for the rifle to function and such right now, I do need some help finding some other parts. Mainly I need to know a good regulator to use, the best nub to use with the Maple Leaf decepticon 60 degree bucking and what I should have done to the barrel. I know that it needs to be VSR cut and that it needs to be a bridgeless barrel; what I dont know is whether or not I should get it ported or not. I know that the Maple Leaf crazy jet barrel has ports that pretty much make sure that the bb get recentered I guess you could say by putting a bit of a bubble of air around it but I dont know how the porting is on the EDGI barrels.

With my last post, I got some really good ideas on what to do and I know that I said I wasnt going to do an hpa build but when I factor in the cost of doing the hpa to the benefit of doing hpa vs a full nemo kit, I have decided that I want to go hpa. My last thing that I am asking some help with is, how should I carry the tank itself? I want to be able to move quickly in cqb but also want to be able to have good mobility out on the field and with a 13ci/3000 tank and should I get two for when I go to do a milsim? This is a long post but it's hopefully much more organized than my last one.

 

[SiliconeSword]

I'd go for a 70*-85* 2021 series bucking from Maple Leaf, I'm having bettter results than the older style material.

Barrel porting sadly doesn't change anything except that you waste more air, hence why it's only used for recoil mitigation on real guns, if ever.
If the laws of physics hold true in airsoft, the BB stays centered in the barrel unless there's a way the BB gets bumped severely.

As for regulators, I used to have a Redline SFR(which I absolutely hated) and currently have a Polarstar MRS which I've had for going on 3 years with no issues.
The MRS is consistent enough that I have gotten sextuplicate FPS readings one time, so refresh and consistency are of no worry.

For nubs, check out the tutorial in my signature, as the people that have tried it and aren't just speculating like beta losers seem to like it quite a lot due to low cost and legit performance.

For your air tank, I recommend a carbon fiber tank for Ninja or First Strike (the 4500 PSI ones) as they are very light weight, a 90/4500 weighing less than a 48/3000, while being triple the air capacity due to actual volume and pressure.
The cost diffence is like $60 compared to $120, but the huge difference in weight and the usually nicer regulators easily make up for the cost.
You don't have to run it at 4500 if you pump by hand, but if you can get it filled then you will get more capacity.
Also, 90ci tanks are pretty big and sort of expensive unless you're a machine gunner, so I'd go for a 48/4500 or 68/4500, probably from ANS gear as they have good prices and great shipping.

And finally engines, with your two optinons being the Macraft SDiK and the Wolverine BOLT M.
The better one is the Mancraft as the materials used in high wear parts are made of stronger and more wear resistant material, it is less prone to leaking, and it is nicer in about every other way.

For people reading this, this only applies to the SRS and Stroker platform, for the VSR-10/SSG10 the Wolverine BOLT old style(electronic) is by far the best engine in terms of performance, druability, sound, ease of use, and quality of use, with the SDiK being alright if you don't live in a country where the BOLT is available, and the BOLT M sucking insane amounts of balls in about every way imaginable.

 

[FMP Airsoft]

Best steps to a good AS02 build:

1. Sell Gun
2. Buy VSR

 

[SiliconeSword]

You could also do that with a higher success rate

 

[Brandon Bennett]

I'd go for a 70*-85* 2021 series bucking from Maple Leaf, I'm having bettter results than the older style material.

Barrel porting sadly doesn't change anything except that you waste more air, hence why it's only used for recoil mitigation on real guns, if ever.
If the laws of physics hold true in airsoft, the BB stays centered in the barrel unless there's a way the BB gets bumped severely.

As for regulators, I used to have a Redline SFR(which I absolutely hated) and currently have a Polarstar MRS which I've had for going on 3 years with no issues.
The MRS is consistent enough that I have gotten sextuplicate FPS readings one time, so refresh and consistency are of no worry.

For nubs, check out the tutorial in my signature, as the people that have tried it and aren't just speculating like beta losers seem to like it quite a lot due to low cost and legit performance.

For your air tank, I recommend a carbon fiber tank for Ninja or First Strike (the 4500 PSI ones) as they are very light weight, a 90/4500 weighing less than a 48/3000, while being triple the air capacity due to actual volume and pressure.
The cost diffence is like $60 compared to $120, but the huge difference in weight and the usually nicer regulators easily make up for the cost.
You don't have to run it at 4500 if you pump by hand, but if you can get it filled then you will get more capacity.
Also, 90ci tanks are pretty big and sort of expensive unless you're a machine gunner, so I'd go for a 48/4500 or 68/4500, probably from ANS gear as they have good prices and great shipping.

And finally engines, with your two optinons being the Macraft SDiK and the Wolverine BOLT M.
The better one is the Mancraft as the materials used in high wear parts are made of stronger and more wear resistant material, it is less prone to leaking, and it is nicer in about every other way.

For people reading this, this only applies to the SRS and Stroker platform, for the VSR-10/SSG10 the Wolverine BOLT old style(electronic) is by far the best engine in terms of performance, druability, sound, ease of use, and quality of use, with the SDiK being alright if you don't live in a country where the BOLT is available, and the BOLT M sucking insane amounts of balls in about every way imaginable.

I was thinking the 60 degree because if I were to run 500fps with .2g bbs, I would be in the right fps with .43g bbs to also use .25g bbs in cqb atleast going by the fps rating on any information that you can find about it. I was going to go with the 13ci/3000 slp tank because of the size as I do intend to fill by a hand pump, it would just make it much easier than doing a much larger tank. It would also allow me to have much higher mobility on the field and would give me the ability to crawl and fit into smaller locations that I would be able to fit in with a larger tank. The only thing is, I dont know how to carry it to give me the higher mobility and give me the advantages that a smaller tank would give me over a larger tank. It'll be a while before I would do a milsim event so I could just get a different tank when I have more experience when I get to that point. For the accuracy and consistency, do you think that the 5.98 will be the best thing for me so that I would get to save the most amount of air that I possibly can? And for the nubs, I'm not sure where to find your tutorial so could you possibly post the link in your next reply please?

 

[Brandon Bennett]

Best steps to a good AS02 build:

1. Sell Gun
2. Buy VSR

You cant get me to change my thoughts on this, I am getting a striker and that's that. Can't change my mind.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Hardness is sort of meaningless when silicone is involved, a 70° will perform like an 85°, just not wear out as fast.
Silicone also gives more consistent hop amounts on the first and after shots compared to whatever rubber other companies use, which is partially why the IR-hop was as good as it was.

13/3000 is certainly doable, but a 26/3000 or ??/4500 would be better suited to your needs most likely.
As for carrying, I bought a hydration pack from Sierra trading post for like $30 with a sick body and decent bladder and line, which fits my 90/4500 and half of the bladder of water very well.
Any sort of backpack is best, looking at divers, firemen, and speedsofters, so no use reinventing the wheel.

And for that barrel, it will definitely bump air efficiency a good bit, but a daVinci 6.01 stainless barrel will be nearly as good for less money, but may as well go EdGi.

The nub is in the little bio thing below this text, that's called a signature around here, it's labeled under SS-nub.

 

[Brandon Bennett]

Hardness is sort of meaningless when silicone is involved, a 70° will perform like an 85°, just not wear out as fast.
Silicone also gives more consistent hop amounts on the first and after shots compared to whatever rubber other companies use, which is partially why the IR-hop was as good as it was.

13/3000 is certainly doable, but a 26/3000 or ??/4500 would be better suited to your needs most likely.
As for carrying, I bought a hydration pack from Sierra trading post for like $30 with a sick body and decent bladder and line, which fits my 90/4500 and half of the bladder of water very well.
Any sort of backpack is best, looking at divers, firemen, and speedsofters, so no use reinventing the wheel.

And for that barrel, it will definitely bump air efficiency a good bit, but a daVinci 6.01 stainless barrel will be nearly as good for less money, but may as well go EdGi.

The nub is in the little bio thing below this text, that's called a signature around here, it's labeled under SS-nub.

About what is the difference between a 13ci/3000 and a 26ci/3000 as far as size goes? Size is my number one concern with this because of the fact that I want the higher mobility. Does the Mancraft offer more consistent fps or something over the Wolverine? What makes it better than the Wolverine instead of the better build material because in every picture of the Wolverine I've seen, it's just plastic compared to the Mancraft which is metal. Asking because I have only heard good things about the Wolverine and never bad things about it.

 

[Brandon Bennett]

Hardness is sort of meaningless when silicone is involved, a 70° will perform like an 85°, just not wear out as fast.
Silicone also gives more consistent hop amounts on the first and after shots compared to whatever rubber other companies use, which is partially why the IR-hop was as good as it was.

13/3000 is certainly doable, but a 26/3000 or ??/4500 would be better suited to your needs most likely.
As for carrying, I bought a hydration pack from Sierra trading post for like $30 with a sick body and decent bladder and line, which fits my 90/4500 and half of the bladder of water very well.
Any sort of backpack is best, looking at divers, firemen, and speedsofters, so no use reinventing the wheel.

And for that barrel, it will definitely bump air efficiency a good bit, but a daVinci 6.01 stainless barrel will be nearly as good for less money, but may as well go EdGi.

The nub is in the little bio thing below this text, that's called a signature around here, it's labeled under SS-nub.

Going back to the barrel and bucking for a second. What would give me the better accuracy, Autobot or Decepticon? Also, what would be a better barrel, the 5.98mm EDGI or a Maple Leaf Crazy Jet? There was one video I saw where a guy was able to hit a torso at 70-80 meters(76.5-87.5 yards) with a 60 degree Autobot and a Crazy Jet barrel. In all of the diagrams I see for the Autobot vs Decepticon, it says that the Autobot is best for range and that the Decepticon is the best for accuracy; is this true? While yes, I do want good range but I also want it as accurate as I can possibly get it while keeping good range(60-70+ yards). Clear advantage to the 5.98 is that it will help with efficiency but the disadvantage is that I cant find a video showing the accuracy whereas I can find videos pretty easily with the Crazy Jet barrel and the Autobot but I believe that there is still room for improvement. I'm doing this build so I am doing it as best as I can the first time so I dont need to revisit this what seems to be nightmare. Plus, the more I screw up in the beginning is just more money that I would be spending that I dont need to spend. With the Crazy Jet barrel though, it only comes in 300mm and 430mm for the closest sizes to the AS02 310mm. With that being said, if I am better off with the Crazy Jet, should I get the 430mm and get a suppressor or should I just go for the 310mm EDGI custom barrel at 5.98 for the added efficiency and still (most likely) good accuracy?

 

[RonSwanson]

I think your over thinking the barrel as your Hpa you don't need the air efficiency of a super tight bore, a good quality 6.01 or even 6.03 would do such as an action army barrel.

The bore quality is more important than diameter. And the edge, maple leaf and action army all have good quality.

I also wouldn't rush to change the stock hop up chamber as sometimes it seals perfectly fine (and is already tdc)) and I've seen a lot of people report the action army chamber doesn't seal correct on their rifle. (Not an issue with the action army chamber more the build quality/variation of the Ares strikers)

 

[Blind Sniper]

I like it. I definitely agree with a bigger tank. I run a ninja 68 carbon fiber. It’s a great size for sniping. Not too big and will last a long time with a bolty. An EdGi barrel will not disappoint, the stainless are very nice. I say get an EdGi stainless 6.01 and call it a day.

 

[The Shaggy Sniper]

Since it seems everyone covered most of the basics..

Apparently one of the most recommended things to do is actually use the stock hop chamber - many people on the Striker platform recommend not using the Action Army unit. If you do get the AA unit, make sure you keep the stock one handy - I've unfortunately lost the hop-arm, spring, and the pin to keep the hop arm in the unit, so I'm stuck with my Action Army unit.

Additionally with the Action Army unit, you can't get stylistic with the barrels - I can't confirm all the barrels, but I can tell you for a fact that the AA unit doesn't fit in the spiral fluted barrel. I don't know if it works for the "mock internal supressor" or the carbon fiber ones, but I can tell you it doesn't fit in the spiral fluted barrel.

Being I've got an HPA on my Striker as well, here's what I'm running:

Mancraft SDiK
Redline Mini-SFR on a Ninja 13ci/3000psi tank
AA Unit with Maple Leaf 85° MR Hop
Maple Leaf 428mm 6.02mm
I'm shooting at around 90psi and getting 375FPS/0.43g which gives me 2.8J

With the 13ci tank, I can probably get about 300-400 shots before it gets to 1000psi. I've got a bigger standard tank, however it's $5 for me to get it filled for a whole day, so I've never had too much of an issue.

Overall I'm able to reach out to about 70m. However the rifle is.. sensitive. Be careful about stabilizing the rifle, don't lean the barrel against anything because it does pivot at the receiver because of the two-piece stock setup. The new EMG Helios would be a better fit, but I'm not entirely sure about the compatibility between the setups.

 

[Brandon Bennett]

I like it. I definitely agree with a bigger tank. I run a ninja 68 carbon fiber. It’s a great size for sniping. Not too big and will last a long time with a bolty. An EdGi barrel will not disappoint, the stainless are very nice. I say get an EdGi stainless 6.01 and call it a day.

Does the size of the cylinder affect your efficiency when you go hpa? I'm new to the idea of going hpa but it's definitely something I want to do because in the end, it'll be far easier than going with a nemo for the cost and the convenience. I want to take it indoor as well so that's why I've decided to go hpa. I was against it but I've been convinced to go hpa thanks to SiliconeSword. He told me the benefits and convenience about going hpa so I've decided that it's the best route I've chosen to go.

 

[SiliconeSword]

No, it doesn't improve efficiency, it just means you refill less because there's more air, actually making air efficiency mean less since you're not worried about running out of air mid game.

 

[Blind Sniper]

Once hpa, all of that volume crap goes out the window. There are still volumes but you can literally just adjust the reg to what you need an ship it. General rule of thumb: shorter barrel uses more air. So you’ll need to run higher psi to get the desired output, compared to if you ran a longer inner barrel. So with a shorter barrel you’ll need to fill your tank more often. Which is why I say, if you go hpa, get AT LEAST a 48ci tank. I recommend 68.

 

[Brandon Bennett]

Since it seems everyone covered most of the basics..

Apparently one of the most recommended things to do is actually use the stock hop chamber - many people on the Striker platform recommend not using the Action Army unit. If you do get the AA unit, make sure you keep the stock one handy - I've unfortunately lost the hop-arm, spring, and the pin to keep the hop arm in the unit, so I'm stuck with my Action Army unit.

Additionally with the Action Army unit, you can't get stylistic with the barrels - I can't confirm all the barrels, but I can tell you for a fact that the AA unit doesn't fit in the spiral fluted barrel. I don't know if it works for the "mock internal supressor" or the carbon fiber ones, but I can tell you it doesn't fit in the spiral fluted barrel.

Being I've got an HPA on my Striker as well, here's what I'm running:

Mancraft SDiK
Redline Mini-SFR on a Ninja 13ci/3000psi tank
AA Unit with Maple Leaf 85° MR Hop
Maple Leaf 428mm 6.02mm
I'm shooting at around 90psi and getting 375FPS/0.43g which gives me 2.8J

With the 13ci tank, I can probably get about 300-400 shots before it gets to 1000psi. I've got a bigger standard tank, however it's $5 for me to get it filled for a whole day, so I've never had too much of an issue.

Overall I'm able to reach out to about 70m. However the rifle is.. sensitive. Be careful about stabilizing the rifle, don't lean the barrel against anything because it does pivot at the receiver because of the two-piece stock setup. The new EMG Helios would be a better fit, but I'm not entirely sure about the compatibility between the setups.

What Maple Leaf 85 degree bucking are you using, Autobot or Decepticon? I was thinking about just buying both, breaking them in and doing a test to see which was better in terms of accuracy. I dont know what barrel to go with since I would like to keep the stock length of the AS02. How do you have your tank attached to you in terms of position; is it on your back, side, etc.? How would going with a 26ci tank work for a fair an average day of play because I would need to take the hand pump with me to fill it up if needed since the local arena near me doesnt fill tanks? I dont think that I would be shooting over maybe 300-350 shots a day if I had to guess due to being completely new to even playing airsoft in general. With that said, I know that it's not recommended to get a bolt action as your first gun but I've had my mind made up that it's what I want to go with.

 

[The Shaggy Sniper]

What Maple Leaf 85 degree bucking are you using, Autobot or Decepticon?

I'm using the MR Hop - it was a new line they came out with, I can't really comment on the accuracy, I think my inaccuracy has something to do with the AA chamber or the fact that my rifle has been through absolute hell.

How do you have your tank attached to you in terms of position; is it on your back, side, etc.? How would going with a 26ci tank work for a fair an average day of play because I would need to take the hand pump with me to fill it up if needed since the local arena near me doesnt fill tanks?

For me, I've got the 13ci tank in my bag in what was originally a hydration pack - the tank is the only thing in there besides a battery pack for one of my cameras, but it doesn't bother me whatsoever. The line comes out on the right side, and I drilled out a QD connection in the grip so that I can change out the line. My only regret is that when it's slung, the grip line gets bent a bit.

A 26ci tank should do you just fine for a full day, especially if you're not taking as many shots as I am. Just know that turning any bolt action into HPA makes it really easy to rack the bolt, so follow up shots are much easier. I think in a 20-30 minute game on a somewhat small field, I can go through about 50-80 rounds - and if there's 5+ games, that's where I got that number from.

 

[Blind Sniper]

Tank on my back. In my opinion, if you get a tank, get a decent size and put it on your back. Small tanks are cool when you do air stocks and such, but they need filled more often. On the gun, go with 12g co2. Hpa, tank on your back. That’s my rule.

 

[The Shaggy Sniper]

Tank on my back. In my opinion, if you get a tank, get a decent size and put it on your back. Small tanks are cool when you do air stocks and such, but they need filled more often. On the gun, go with 12g co2. Hpa, tank on your back. That’s my rule.

I'd rather steer clear of the CO2 cartridges.. Those are fine for backyard plinking, but only last for 40-50 shots - in my own experience. I didn't think I'd want a tank because it meant being tethered to the rifle, so I went with the Mancraft HRR regulator - nothing against it, but I'd highly recommend not going down that route.

I'm trying to find a picture of someone who did it - but what you can do is actually mill out a spot for a 13ci tank in the stock of the rifle.. It's been done, I wouldn't personally go down that route, but it's doable. Placeholder here while I search for the image.

Edit: Absolutely can not find the image. Here's a photoshop of basically what they'd done.

 

[Blind Sniper]

Co2 is indeed super finicky. I like the idea of a long barrel rifle for better efficiency, but you need to be okay with changing the cartridges in game, if you end up shooting a lot. Then it becomes really fun when you change the cartridge, then shortly after…your mag. Not the end of the world but for people who despise having a tank and line, it’s not terrible for sniping. For a semi/full auto, FORGET IT.