[Leo Greer]

I’ve decided that I do enough interesting stuff at this point to have one of these.

Here’s my brief bio. I’ve been playing for a few years now, but I kinda jumped all the way in… I’ve gone from unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to open up my Lancer Craptical to building completely ground up replicas within the last two years. At this point, I am mostly a rifleman, but I definitely dip into true long range when I feel the need. I have never owned a BASR. My specialty is the V2 system, and I’ve done SSG builds, DSG builds, DMR builds, and kaboom builds. 😁 (by which I mean they destroy themselves)

I’ve also made just about every mistake in the “upgrade” book. I’ve bought marked up rebrand parts, used Li-ion batteries, ruined batteries that were too weak, shimmed everything horribly, put $300 of “upgrades” in a trash gun, put my bushings in unevenly, tripped and thrown my replica in the mud (twice), replaced parts that didn’t need replacing, gotten horrible PME, used trash barrels, fallen victim to off-spec parts, and many, many more…

All that being said, I hope to share some of those mistakes, failures, and eventual victories with y’all. I also hope to learn from everyone here as well—I’m definitely not afraid to try something new or learn more about airsoft, so if y’all see me post something that you think is incorrect, could be better, or you think I could know more about, tell me! Help us all learn more!

Since this is Airsoft Sniper forum, I’ll keep it to mostly parts testing, system building, and my ongoing journey to improve accuracy. I’m a little behind some of y’all, but I’ll get there!

 

[Leo Greer]

Okay y’all… I’ve gotten a wee bit ambitious.

I had a very experienced member over on Airsoft Society challenge me to a build-off, and I’m attempting to go farther than I ever have before:

I want to take it past 100 meters of effective range.

My build goal was 90 meters, which is relatively achievable, but for this contest, friendly as it is, I want to put on a good show and exceed expectations. 😁

Here’s what I’ve got to work with:

Tokyo Marui M4A1. The original AEG version! I picked one of these up for pretty cheap and I think it’ll make a great base. Even though the internals are outdated, everything should be on spec and fit well, which is really all I need from it.

GATE Pulsar. Yep. I went HPA. This is my main advantage: consistent air supply, consistent nozzle movement: I just really hope that the Pulsar doesn’t completely suck. That’s both the downside and the greatness of an untested system—I get an HPA engine that works off a Titan V2 with Bluetooth already installed for under $350… but it also might not be so good.

Barrel options. I have some choices available here. Here’s what I consider viable;

Lambda SMART 6.08mm and 6.03mm x 509mm.

Lambda “Five” 6.05mm x 430mm (this is my top contender).

T.N.T. S+ 6.02mm x 387.5mm (has an expansion chamber like the ML CJ).

ZCI 6.02mm x 387.5mm (I’d be lapping it if I used this—it’s not good enough otherwise).

TM stock 6.08mm x 363mm. I’ll do a high polish and we’ll see how it performs…

I have some other brass ones around: G&P 363mm, Krytac 387mm, etc, etc.

Hop packing options.

Maple Leaf 2021 85* MR.Hop (silicone version). This is a really good one… but is it good enough?

I have some Lambda RHop patches sitting around. This may be the time to finally use them. (Probably paired with some rando packing I have around)

Flathop. I like flathops a lot. Mostly because I can do it cheap and easy and get great with results with a wide variety of packings.

We’ll see what else I have sitting around…

BBs. I have high quality BBs of up to .32g sitting around (G&G, Bushido, BLS, etc) but .32g may not be enough for this project. I’m strongly considering ordering some BLS .40g just for this project.

Hop chamber. I have a variety to test and try, but I’m thinking G&G rotary, since they fit ML packings well. Aside from that, the options are:

Stock. (I don’t like working on legacy units, but it’s not a bad unit)

Arcturus Rotary.

Prowin or Prowin clone.

Some others I have sitting around.


And that should be it for info. Be sure to comments any questions, suggestions, or advice down below!

 

[Pretzel]

Try BLS 0.36 if you need bio - from magicmarkers testing those were some of the top for consistency bb to bb, and a consistent 0.36 will probably outperform a worse 0.4.

I'd skip the ZCI barrel. They accumulate BB residue weirdly fast and even lapped are still... A cheap barrel. For most guns hitting 150 accurate is a dream, and ZCI does fine in that range, but there's deff better to use for this.

 

[Leo Greer]

ZCI was mostly a courtesy add—chances are I’ll be working with the Lambdas, the T.N.T. and the stock brass, in that order.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Try BLS 0.36 if you need bio - from magicmarkers testing those were some of the top for consistency bb to bb, and a consistent 0.36 will probably outperform a worse 0.4.

I'd skip the ZCI barrel. They accumulate BB residue weirdly fast and even lapped are still... A cheap barrel. For most guns hitting 150 accurate is a dream, and ZCI does fine in that range, but there's deff better to use for this.

Funny you say that, my best ever shooting experience was with those, shooting at a tire rim at like 85m. I'll be back at the place today to hit with my rangefinder again, but it was damn far when I measured last.

 

[zynomicon]

Past 100 meters effective range? You absolutely need to use the heaviest BB that you can. Even then it's at the physical limitations of what the medium is capable of in a perfect environment.

 

[Whamhammer]

What is the reasoning behind a 500mm inner barrel?

 

[Whamhammer]

Try BLS 0.36 if you need bio - from magicmarkers testing those were some of the top for consistency bb to bb, and a consistent 0.36 will probably outperform a worse 0.4.

I'd skip the ZCI barrel. They accumulate BB residue weirdly fast and even lapped are still... A cheap barrel. For most guns hitting 150 accurate is a dream, and ZCI does fine in that range, but there's deff better to use for this.

I find it odd that a stainless steel lapped barrel would accumulate more BB residue, than the typical barrel would, unless the barrel has more magnetic properties and the bb residue is ferrous, I can’t see it being related to static. Was there silicon oil or some other oily residue that wss left behind that captured the bb dust (possibly a recent rebuild or hop bucking replacement)?

 

[Whamhammer]

Okay y’all… I’ve gotten a wee bit ambitious.

I had a very experienced member over on Airsoft Society challenge me to a build-off, and I’m attempting to go farther than I ever have before:

I want to take it past 100 meters of effective range.

My build goal was 90 meters, which is relatively achievable, but for this contest, friendly as it is, I want to put on a good show and exceed expectations. 😁

Here’s what I’ve got to work with:

Tokyo Marui M4A1. The original AEG version! I picked one of these up for pretty cheap and I think it’ll make a great base. Even though the internals are outdated, everything should be on spec and fit well, which is really all I need from it.

GATE Pulsar. Yep. I went HPA. This is my main advantage: consistent air supply, consistent nozzle movement: I just really hope that the Pulsar doesn’t completely suck. That’s both the downside and the greatness of an untested system—I get an HPA engine that works off a Titan V2 with Bluetooth already installed for under $350… but it also might not be so good.

Barrel options. I have some choices available here. Here’s what I consider viable;

Lambda SMART 6.08mm and 6.03mm x 509mm.

Lambda “Five” 6.05mm x 430mm (this is my top contender).

T.N.T. S+ 6.02mm x 387.5mm (has an expansion chamber like the ML CJ).

ZCI 6.02mm x 387.5mm (I’d be lapping it if I used this—it’s not good enough otherwise).

TM stock 6.08mm x 363mm. I’ll do a high polish and we’ll see how it performs…

I have some other brass ones around: G&P 363mm, Krytac 387mm, etc, etc.

Hop packing options.

Maple Leaf 2021 85* MR.Hop (silicone version). This is a really good one… but is it good enough?

I have some Lambda RHop patches sitting around. This may be the time to finally use them. (Probably paired with some rando packing I have around)

Flathop. I like flathops a lot. Mostly because I can do it cheap and easy and get great with results with a wide variety of packings.

We’ll see what else I have sitting around…

BBs. I have high quality BBs of up to .32g sitting around (G&G, Bushido, BLS, etc) but .32g may not be enough for this project. I’m strongly considering ordering some BLS .40g just for this project.

Hop chamber. I have a variety to test and try, but I’m thinking G&G rotary, since they fit ML packings well. Aside from that, the options are:

Stock. (I don’t like working on legacy units, but it’s not a bad unit)

Arcturus Rotary.

Prowin or Prowin clone.

Some others I have sitting around.


And that should be it for info. Be sure to comments any questions, suggestions, or advice down below!

What are the Joule constraints? If it was 2.3J or above, I would be yeeting .48g BB’s for sure.

 

[Leo Greer]

The max constraints are 500 FPS w/ .20g, since my field regrettably does not chrono in joules. I’m actually going to be trying to get them to switch to joules, but until then I’m limiting myself to 2.5J, which is the equivalent, since I’m really not trying to cheat (I doubt anyone at my field knows what JC even is…)

 

[Whamhammer]

The max constraints are 500 FPS w/ .20g, since my field regrettably does not chrono in joules. I’m actually going to be trying to get them to switch to joules, but until then I’m limiting myself to 2.5J, which is the equivalent, since I’m really not trying to cheat (I doubt anyone at my field knows what JC even is…)

Thats fair; you should be able to yeet .48’s fairly well at that power level.

 

[Leo Greer]

What is the reasoning behind a 500mm inner barrel?

Honestly, because I have two high quality barrels in 509mm laying around. 😂 One of the goals here is to achieve maximum silence, and depending on adjustability the 509mm may actually help me get there, but accuracy is preferred over silence, so testing will be done…

I don’t think I mentioned it, but I have a 430mm Lambda 6.05mm coming in specifically for the build that will be my primary barrel to work on.

 

[Pretzel]

I find it odd that a stainless steel lapped barrel would accumulate more BB residue, than the typical barrel would, unless the barrel has more magnetic properties and the bb residue is ferrous, I can’t see it being related to static. Was there silicon oil or some other oily residue that wss left behind that captured the bb dust (possibly a recent rebuild or hop bucking replacement)?

Bone stock and clean, it just really really liked the wax on the BBs, but different stainless barrels with the same BBs didn't accumulate nearly as much. PDI had almost none, but the ZCI was full of really hard to remove gunk (occurred both pre and post lapping). All I can guess is whatever SS alloy ZCI is/was using is just slightly softer or gummier or something sufficient for the BB to gunk it up. Unfortunately, while I'm pretty sure I took pictures of it with my endoscope... I have no idea where they are (or I might have jut viewed it instead of saving).

 

[Whamhammer]

Honestly, because I have two high quality barrels in 509mm laying around. 😂 One of the goals here is to achieve maximum silence, and depending on adjustability the 509mm may actually help me get there, but accuracy is preferred over silence, so testing will be done…

I don’t think I mentioned it, but I have a 430mm Lambda 6.05mm coming in specifically for the build that will be my primary barrel to work on.

I hear you, free is a power source of equipment, and can overcome performance sometimes.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Sounds like ZCI is a lot rougher, as they are some of the rougher stainless barrels available. Lots of good little pockets for BB residue to collect in. If you were to lap one to the point that it would no longer have lots of little pockets it would be a good deal larger in diameter, probably 6.04 or a little more in the end. If you add up the hours it's probably cheaper to just buy a nicer barrel, even if you do plan on lapping it.

 

[Leo Greer]

I may be crazy here, but I feel like coated barrels actually appear much smoother to my eyes. I have a TNT S+ and a ML CJ, and both appear smoother than even a Lambda “Five”.

I haven’t done any accuracy tests using the same diameter/length and uncoated vs. coated… but I’ll keep y’all posted if I notice anything new.

Also, upcoming post: Arcturus stock steel barrels are really nice…

 

[Pretzel]

I'm still waiting for a honed, chromed, then lapped flat barrel to exist, would be hard as hell and beyond slick.

 

[SiliconeSword]

I think that chrome can be done in the comfort of one's home, but you would likely need a small pump to shoot the electrolytic liquid through the barrel to get an even coating. I've seen Indian restorer guys on YT do it, so idk why I wouldn't be able to. Only problem is that I think you don't wanna touch or chug the chrome juice, or else you might die. Looks green and delicious though, maybe it's good.....

If you were able to get some 5.98 steel or brass for cheap and then get it smooth and chromed at a finished size of 5.97-5.98 that'd be dope as hell, which is pretty much what I've been after for years. I'll see if ESCW ever follows through with his 5.98 stainless barrels, but I might just need to build a 6.01 way tf up with chrome soon since I'm getting impatient.

 

[Pretzel]

Looks green and delicious though, maybe it's good.....

Shiny sour apple death juice!

Would be interested to see how a chromed barrel would go, be sure to post about it if you do such.

 

[Whamhammer]

I think that chrome can be done in the comfort of one's home, but you would likely need a small pump to shoot the electrolytic liquid through the barrel to get an even coating. I've seen Indian restorer guys on YT do it, so idk why I wouldn't be able to. Only problem is that I think you don't wanna touch or chug the chrome juice, or else you might die. Looks green and delicious though, maybe it's good.....

If you were able to get some 5.98 steel or brass for cheap and then get it smooth and chromed at a finished size of 5.97-5.98 that'd be dope as hell, which is pretty much what I've been after for years. I'll see if ESCW ever follows through with his 5.98 stainless barrels, but I might just need to build a 6.01 way tf up with chrome soon since I'm getting impatient.

I dunno; I think 6.01mm and 6.00mm are doable, but 5.98mm is pushing it; forget to clean that thing once or twice, and/or get into a dusty environment…..

You are a brave man,Charlie Brown!