[Bill_the_Bear]

Hi everyone!

I have a habit of writing essays, so…. tl;dr version:

• I'm looking for advice on choosing a DMR in general, and on the ARES SR25 M110k specifically (if anyone has first hand knowledge).
• I'm keen to find a weapon that is 'reasonable' out of the box, as I need something I know hits a certain standard for a reference point. I want to have longer range than an M4 etc.
• I really like the SR25 appearance (that ARES caught my eye), but I expect I can customise something to get what I want visually if its closeish to begin with.
• I'd like something that over time I can upgrade - and I'm willing to consider two weapons, one to play with (reasonable OTB) and one to pull apart and learn how to mod.
• Which weapons should I be considering?

Now the long version!

Background on me

I'm a brand new player in the UK. Been to two skirmishes, third one is this weekend, and after that I will have UKARA. Can't wait and am spending hours each day thinking about what to buy when I can.

Really enjoyed the days I've played already, but with one drawback. As I can only use hire kit up to now I've been stuck with a basic M4. This doesn't really suit my style. Mostly because I want to play slow and patiently, one shot one kill etc. I want to play mid to long game. I don't really feel drawn to the bolt action weapons, and it seems like everyone has them. I'm really feeling a good semi-auto DMR.

I know what I need now is something that I can be sure gives a 'reasonable' level of performance. As I'm new what I do not want to happen is that I get a weapon that is notorious for being variable, or needs a lot of tuning out of the box etc… because I won't have any reference point to work to at this stage. I say reasonable, it doesn't have to be fantastic OTB because I intend to learn and put in the effort to tweak and mod. If I get something that has poor range without a lot of experience to set it up, and or tends to break or be inconsistent, that will be harder for me. OTB just having consistently better range than an M4 would be fine and I can work from there.

Struggling to get good quality info

I really like the look of the SR25. I started spending a lot of time googling about them and trying to get info from people who have used them, looking for a consensus on one that would suit me. Information seems to be rather thin. I found plenty of "reviews" such as the ones from RedWolf Airsoft, but frankly these don't help very much. They don't include anything on long term user experience at all, and generally everything gets a "its good but has this one little niggle" conclusion.

Almost everything I've found on forum posts seems very dated information, same on youtube. Typically discussions/videos appear to be from 2012-2017 period. If I then look up the weapons mentioned 9/10 online stores in UK say "out of stock"…

I've made the general assumption that newer weapons will be better than older ones, because over time technology and manufacturer experience improves. I understand that when a product is outstanding it tends to outshine newer models for many years to come, and also that newer products can be awful, which is why I say in general.

Is the current latest ARES SR25 good... or not?

So because of the above, needing something actually in stock, modern, etc… I ended up spying the ARES EFCS M110k Carbine.

I really like the appearance, I suspect with a few tweaks I could make it look great. Its new (ish), its in stock, its not super cheap (again, assumption that in *general* cheaper products use cheaper parts/production quality). But no one seems to have any detail on actually using it.

I've seen a few posts that are cryptic about ARES.

• "Urgh ARES" in reply to a question like mine from someone asking if the weapon was good.
• Similarly "There is nothing wrong with ARES either… *wink*" which I have no clue if that is literal or sarcasm. From the context it seemed sarcastic, but who knows?
• "The Ares has its issues, but it's easy to do a pre cocking mod with the EFCS." Ok, what are the issues?
• Then there is "I also read about the M110 that the EFCS is just really really bad."
• Meanwhile a friend of mine says he loves ARES and most of his weapons are based on, but upgraded, ARES. Unfortunately he lives too far away for me to go see him and try his weapons out. And he doesn't have the SR25 anyway.

Ideally I'm hoping someone can give me details about if I really should be avoiding the EFCS M110k, or if they've used it and what they think.

Requirements

Requirements I think I have:

• Looks good (subjective, so I'll put a pic of what I consider good looking below!). I am assuming I will be able to customise anything anyway...
• Not huge (hence considering the Carbine). Obviously DMRs are larger than say an M4.
• Good range and consistency/reliability, good is ok I'm willing to work to get it great over time, but I can't start with rubbish.
• Cost is not an issue.
• Ideally something I can upgrade, i.e. is known to be possible without any major issues.
• AEG. Only because I'm assuming its good to start here, and I feel I'd be happier with AEGs.
• Because of the above points I would absolutely consider getting two weapons, one to play with, and one to get the internals out and start tinkering with.

There maybe other requirements that I'm unaware of, but you experienced people could enlighten me to!

Virtually every SR25 I've seen mentioned and looked up has someone saying its ok but needs work, and someone else saying its rubbish. I'm not looking for the greatest perfect OTB weapon, but I really do not want to get something that is rubbish which makes it harder for me to get a reference on good performance as I try to upgrade, or worse, that I can't even play with before I've learnt how to upgrade. Average is ok!

I'm up for learning to tech the weapons!

In my day job I'm Engineer so while I know little about airsoft, I understand the complexity of learning and then optimising a system, and that two identical systems can be anything but, especially with poor production control. Initially I was put off by all the acronyms and technical terms, but I ended up watching a few videos of people stripping V2 gearboxes and talking about adjustments, and I feel like I've got the teching bug already! I'm sure I can pick up modding these things relatively fast, especially if I have a good-ish reference weapon OTB, and I already feel like I might end up spending many more hours wanting to tinker than actually wanting to play. I'm just saying I'm under no illusions that what I'm getting into will require time and effort, not a few hours fiddling. But I have the technical ability, though no experience in airsoft, and the desire, to put in the time and learn.

Ok, to wrap this up…

I'm feel like I want to grab a new ARES EFCS M110k, add a scope and foregrip, and start playing with it. I'm nervous because I can't find any posts talking about experience with this weapon. Searching ARES SR25 etc seems to return posts from 2015 or earlier and like I said they are kinda cryptic. Haven't come across any "My review of this weapon after using for 6 months" type posts.

I also feel like I want to grab a used or new A&K DMR AR25. Again there seems to be many similarly named but older weapons. This looks externally great to me, appears to be relatively cheap, and often people post saying the internals need work. (I do note that only a very few places say they have the A&K in stock, maybe 2 out of 10 online UK retailers, and I'm not even sure its the model I think it is.)

Sounds like I could play with the ARES, it becoming my reference point, and take apart the A&K to learn and tinker with over time. I know that's gonna cost some cash, but am very happy to do that.

What I consider good visuals (no point just saying 'good' when that means something different to everyone!):

https://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/29-gallery/42761-sr-25-ecc-aeg-ares-base.html
And this next one looks perfect!
https://airsoft-forums.uk/topic/36873-limited-choice-on-dmr/?do=findComment&comment=279773

Does anyone have experience with either of these two guns, or would recommend staying away from them, or recommend better options?

Advice appreciated, especially on specific SR25s to go for or avoid, and especially on the ARES!

Thanks, I know it is annoying explaining things to noobs! Sorry for the essay!

Almost forgot, the rules at the sites I joined are:

"DMR - Semi Auto Only: Maximum 500fps 30 Meter Minimum Engagement Distance."​

And from what little I understand so far getting 500fps would require a significant level of tweaking and the experience to do it so not likely for me right now, and no "must keep under 350fps" or anything like that to worry about.

 

[Plazmaburn]

Bump for getting drilled by the auto-mod system.

 

[Bloodrite]

Only thing I can say to this question not having any experience with Ares is.
Be aware that the A&K SR25 is a v2.5 gearbox meaning the piston, cylinder and gears have to be longer/more teeth. Depending on where you live those parts can be a pain to get a hold of.

 

[whalesmash]

Having owned a few of their amoeba line of M4s, I will say that I do like their EFCS system, but it does have a "low" upgrade capacity. I say "low" because it cannot take too beefy of a spring, and the EFCS unit itself cannot handle too much amperage. If you're within those limits, their rifles are fine. But the best part of the EFCS stuff in my opinion is the ability to change the sector gear and re-arrange the magnet on that gear to do some pretty nifty precocking things. That being said, since budget is not an issue for you, I would suggest that you look into something that has more upgrade headroom. The EFCS gearbox cannot take any aftermarket mosfets like the Titan or Perun fets. I'm also not sure if the entire box can be swapped out. To answer your question about whether or not its a decent gun though, yeah, it's a decent gun, but at the same time I'm not sure if I would say it's worth the massive price tag that ares slapped on it...

 

[Masada]

I have an ARES SR25, though not the newer M110K. It still came with the EFCS system. It was fine out of the box honestly, but pretty quickly I tore everything out and built a Retro Arms based gearbox for it. Some slight mods to the gearbox shell were required to fit, bit it wasn't too bad.

The stock ARES gearbox shell has a habit of cracking near the cylinder head if you start using heavier springs.

I changed the rail on mine to a Rare Arms URX 3.1 (same style as on the M110K). Modification to the receiver was required because there is a nub on the front of the upper receiver that the rail slots into. Basically, no other standard rails will fit without modification.

There's pics of it in the Gallery section on here.

 

[Bill_the_Bear]

Guys, thanks for the replies and valuable information.

It seems that the A&K AR25 is sold out in all UK retailers, so unless I can find a used one this option is out.

From these replies it seems like you need to run the ARES stock or its a more major gearbox rebuild, so maybe not suitable for my idea of having something I can learn and tinker with. I could still play with it in stock form while looking for another weapon to tinker with though.

Any recommendations for something that is good to use as a base to upgrade in place of the AR25?

 

[Bloodrite]

not sure how hard it is to import airsoftguns to the UK, but if you want the A&K SR25 it is instock at begadi in Germany

or you could look for the newish G&G lineup

https://www.powair6.com/en/airsoft-guns-other/7819-gg-tr16-mbr-308sr.html

https://www.powair6.com/en/airsoft-guns-other/7820-gg-tr16-mbr-308sw.html

I have no personal experience with them, but I've heard that they have a really strong gearbox and are standard v2. Not really seen any thing negative about them.

only thing you be aware of with these is you need mags with the feed point moved back from the front lip like these.
https://www.powair6.com/en/aeg-sr25-magazine/8758-gg-110rds-magazine-for-tr16-mbr-308.html

 

[Bill_the_Bear]

Ok, so I decided to grab the ARES after all! SR-011-E model (Carbine, Tan). Very excited >

tl;dr - About to go look at a used GR-25, what should I be looking out for?

Yesterday was a little frustrating. Finished my skirmish on Sunday, and handed in my UKARA form, so was pleasantly surprised yesterday morning to receive the confirmation email. I had expected it to take all week or longer. So after work I went to the top AEGs I'd already picked out at options and.... one by one, through all four of my top choices, in 24 hours they had gone out of stock!:nuts:

The first option was the ARES SR25 at Patrol Base. Gone. Second choice was one of the only A&Ks still in stock. Gone too. lol. :doh: When I had got down to my fourth choice and that too was gone I was beginning to question my sanity haha.

Fortunately after hours of searching, I found a Tan ARES on weekend warrior, and it was cheaper than the Patrol Base one too. :tup: Grabbed a scope, suppressor, and UKSR stock, all black. Titan Battery and charger too. Think I got the last 7.4v stick Titan in the country until more arrive in "maybe a couple of months" according to the supplier.

Mags. Mags are a problem. No one seems to have anything for the ARES but hi-caps. :shrug:

"What mags work in ARES SR25?" didn't get me anywhere, but a helpful review of a RAPAX said that its mags are interchangeable with the ARES (as they share internals). The RAPAX ones are 50 rounds too, so nice short ones. One store had them and I ordered 3.... only to get an email saying they were not actually in stock like the site said and it would be 2-4 weeks until they arrived from their supplier! :doh: Well nevermind, will have to make do with the single 160rnd mid-cap that comes with the rifle in the meantime! I wonder if those mags you linked to would work Bloodrite? Well, I can just wait a month for the rapax ones.

So when all that arrives I should be sorted for skirmishes at least! I'll post a pic after I've managed to swap out the stock and fit the scope and suppressor. Which leaves me with the second objective, something to tinker with and learn how to tech.

So a chap messaged me a few hours ago saying he has an unused G&G GR25 that he was modding but wants to sell. No idea about the condition of it but hopefully I can go see it after work and test it out. Being unused, and that he has already done some work on it, I don't think it will be quite as cheap as I would like. But I'm thinking, if I want something to learn on and mod then its either a working gun I can play with and test, or grab a dirt cheap old M4 that all I can do is dismantle to learn, but without any real hope of resurrecting it to be playable with. So if we can come to a deal might be a good outcome!

Any tips for what to look out for when seeing a used (claimed unused) airsoft rifle? I'm told I can shoot it but anything else I should be on the look out for?

Once again sorry for the essay!

 

[Bill_the_Bear]

Guess what has arrived boys!!

I'll post more in the gallery.
EDIT: Done -> https://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/29-gallery/61273-ares-sr-25-m110k.html#post409773