[HopelessAmateur]

I recently had a little windfall and decided to treat myself to a new gun. The reason; I love the feel of sniping, taking the time, getting your target in sight, and that half-second wait as you see the BB fly and connect in your scope. And the SRS is a great gun to play with.

Trouble was. The fields I usually frequent, are usually so overgrown that you’re unable to get a good shot outside of your MED, so I found myself reaching for my sidearm most of the time, which ultimately led to ditching the SRS in the prep area and just go with pistols - and GBBs are undeniably fun as well, even if the one-shot-one-kill feel isn’t there. But going up against 100+ BB capacity M4s with a pistol is a daunting task.

So I got myself a new gun :

A G&G SBR MK2 - It’s a great gun, it runs just short of 1.69 Joules, which is the no-MED limit at my fields. It works great out of the box. It’s got great looks to turn heads and feels great in your hands - even if the handle feels somewhat tiny compared to my other guns 😜

Now my question to you is how to improve on it?

The objective is to maximize range and precision, while keeping it ‘low’ in power.

I want to shoot .30 BBs (That’s max for non-DMR/Snipers), although since it’s .308 I can get it approved as a DMR and go for .36, but no less than .30s ‘cause my pistol won’t shoot any less, and I want to keep BB shopping simple.

I’d prefer to keep the barrel length around 245-250, allowing me to play with the looks, exchanging the suppressor for a tracer, or a muzzle flash, etc. Then again, I like it with the dummy suppressor, and I could just get a separate second Hop-up/barrel setup.

And keeping it simple - I’m fairly new to airsoft and have little technical proficiency and tools, and I’d prefer not to pay for help (at least for the moment).

What I was thinking, as I’ve done my internetting and gotten a lot of info from less-than-credible sources :

A ML MR Hop 60‘ sounds like a simple solution - although I guess it won’t fit that well in the Stock barrel opening. So pairing it up with either a ML 6.02 inner barrel, or a PDI 6.08. Or is it easy to fit the MR Hop to the Stock barrel?

Exchanging the hop-up arm for Airtech Studious R-hop arm ( paired with the above ).

Or go for an R-hop, as I’ve got a Faceless Bucking lying around from my SRS and pair with the Airtech arm above?

-

ADD only thing ‘bothering’ me about the Stock gun is a springy ‘twang’ it makes. Any ideas on dealing with that would be great.

 

[BlackDogAirsoft]

Let's break this down into two parts- Barrel/Hopup and Gearbox.

1) Barrel and Hopup

Check your barrel. Is it dirty? Is there corrosion on the inside? If not then don't bother swapping it out other than giving it a good clean and polish with some rubbing/isopropyl alcohol (ethanol).
Why not swap it out? Well, basically because it doesn't really matter.
If you want to go one step further, lap your barrel. Since G&G uses brass barrels, there is no point using a dedicated lapping paste. The best thing to use is a car cutting compound. Try out sI

Onto the hopup unit. G&G stock hopup units are pretty decent. Polymer rotary ones. Not bad, just not excellent. What does this mean?N
Basically it means that you shouldn't bother upgrading it with anything other than a Maxx model hopup unit. This comes with a premade rhop arm.

In terms of the hopup bucking, there are two options- maple leaf and rhop.
The maple leaf mr aeg bucking will work with the stock barrel. Just make sure you get the aeg version and not the vsr cut bucking. This will work great with the RHOP arm on the maxx hopup. If you don't get the maxx, try out making something like @SiliconeSword's SS arm. SS arm.

You can also try to Rhop your gun. Cut an rhop patch or make a silicone patch.

Remember that if you do do this, on top of the rhop patch must be fitted a flathop patch. Modify makes a decent one.

2) Gearbox.

One of the best upgrades for a G&G is this: https://perunairsoft.pl/products/gg-etu-upgrade-kit/
This replaces your stock G&G etu with a much better one. Precocking, Active Break, Burst etc.

Onto shimming. This is the most likely fix for the spring twang.
Guide:

More info:

Check your AOE too:
This video contains old info but is still valuable: Inside the Gearbox: How to Correct AOE.
Here's some updates to it: Inside the Gearbox: AOE Misconceptions

Finally, you should radius your gearbox.
Inside the Gearbox: How to Radius a Gearbox Shell.
Decent video but use a round file instead of a square one. Note also that your gearbox may be pre-radiused and you might not need to do this.

Now that should probably do fine, however, we are talking about maxing out a gun, I have a couple more suggestions.
First, upgrade your piston. SHS makes a good one- get the regular one though, none of that metal crap.
Next, the gears. G&G normal ones are fine, however, you can get better.
I would either get a pair of Siegteks which are very expensive.
The second option is slightly convoluted, but a ZCI enhanced gear set in 13:1 with the bevel and pinion gears replaced by Lonex spiral gears works very well.
As for the motor, an SHS high torque is a good option. High torque is a bit of a misnomer here, because it really is more of a balance motor.
Alternatively if you want a pricier, better motor, go for a Warhead Industries Brushless.

Depending on the quality of the piston head you may need to upgrade it but it is unlikely. You might also want to upgrade your cylinder head and nozzle. For the nozzle, I would either get the Perun-X adjustable nozzle or the Maxx adjustable nozzle.

I would also get an M Block clamp for your gearbox: Matrix M-Block Clamp for Ver. 2 M4 AEG Gearboxes

Finally, a quick word about short stroking. This is very much a viable option. However, the above upgrades should give you pretty decent trigger response, especially with the precock on, so I would only short stroke to stop preengagement or if you wanted your trigger response to be even better.
I would take off 2 or 3 teeth and then up the spring rating.

 

[SiliconeSword]

Quick note on the barrel lapping mentioned:

I recommend a wooden rod that's a medium tight fit in the barrel, about a foot longer than the barrel so you have a good handle.
And simply just cover the whole thing in 40 micron diamond paste, push in and out a lot until the inside looks good, and move up to the finish grit.
You'll want a new wooden rod, on which I recommend 14, 10, or 7 micron diamond paste, and just push in and out a bunch until the inside looks nicer.

Car cutting compound will work well too I'd imagine, but you can get diamond paste for less than $15 and it'll cut faster and work on stainless very nicely as well.

Edit: also put on oil of some sort every 100 strokes, a stroke being 1 push and one pull.
My preferred oil is light weight tractor hydraulic fluid, but 3in1, silicone oil, or any medium to light oil would work fine.

 

[HopelessAmateur]

Thanks @BlackDogAirsoft and @SiliconeSword

I’ll look into your advice.

What I ended up doing was :

Playing around with the hop-up. An r-hop proved to be too much for the .30s I’m allowed to use. Instead I got a MR HOP and it proved more than adequate - and much less work. I did install an Airtech r-hop arm though and kept it, but otherwise the hop is Stock.

Cleaning the barrel did nicely, but for the fun of it, I got a maple leaf 6.02 420mm, and that closed the groupings a lot. I also got a 250mm for when I want to run a tracer rather than a mock silencer.

I’m not that comfortable tech’ing that I want to mess around with the gear box and break the warranty - maybe when it dies some day, or when I feel a need for something new.

The result is I’m accurate within 10cm at 50meters now - from a standing and unsupported position. And 50 meters is about as far, as you’re able to shoot at my local field due to terrain

Going forward, I’m pondering the Perun, and shortening the trigger pull. Then sGimming the gears and working on the spring ‘twang’, but still… I’m quite pleased now. And I think the biggest improvement will come from practice rather than opening my wallet 😊