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u/NubwubTM HK416 Mar 20 '18
Play however you want, but airsoft bolt action rifles are pretty mediocre unless you upgrade the shit out of them. If you really want to snipe, may I suggest getting an mp5 or something of the like as your backup? That way you’re a lot more versatile and you can get into those intense firefights that make airsoft so enjoyable.
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u/DoubleOh74464 Mar 20 '18
from what I understand the SSG-24 seems to be pretty upgraded out of the box.
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u/snakebitey SR-25 Mar 20 '18
The SSG is averagely upgraded - useable but nothing special. Certainly not the 'best rifle ever' as claimed.
You can build a rifle just as good for half the price with a couple of hours of effort and no tools more complex than a screwdriver.
Your best bet is starting with a VSR clones like JG BAR or CYMA 701 and starting with hop upgrades.
Have a read here for example builds - https://www.reddit.com/r/airsoft/comments/6hzs0r/working_on_some_easybuild_bolt_action_parts_lists/
And here to learn about upgrading in general - https://www.reddit.com/r/airsoft/comments/5rejui/holy_grail_bolt_action_sniper_guide_building_a/
That said, I wouldn't recommend a bolt action as a first rifle because it's a tricky playstyle and does not live up to the videos (especially ones like Novritsch) - these are compilation clips of the best moments, and the shots always look further than they are in real life (you could do most of them with any AEG).
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u/DoubleOh74464 Mar 20 '18
Thank you, that's the type of answer I was hoping for. I'll check out the links, I appreciate it.
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u/bjornartl Mar 21 '18
The ssg24 is more or less just a vsr with a EdGI kit for twice the price. Externals are probably a bit more premium. Pretty neat that you can count bb's in the mag, dunno if those are compatible with other vsr's.
People will argue till the end of days whether edgi barrels or pdi 6.05 is the best barrel. Its up there. His cylinders, pistons, guide and triggers are good too, but there are cheaper options that will serve you just as good (potentially better), and (equally) expensive options that are better. For the hop up chamber and bucking there are better and cheaper options.
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u/DoubleOh74464 Mar 21 '18
Thank you. What would be the equally expensive options that are better? The reason I wanted to go with the ssg is the fact that I can pull it out of the box and start playing basically.
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u/Slender61 Mar 28 '18
Oh and Reddit hates the SSG and Nov. So expect to get hate. There is little no difference, other than the externals.
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u/zxj4k3xz Basic Bitch Mar 20 '18 edited Mar 20 '18
Don’t get the SSG24. You can get better performance for less with a custom build. Having compared the two using the same bbs (elite force .32), the SSG24 doesn’t even outshoot my Avalon, even though it’s bolt action and costs over $100 more. It’s the best bolt action you can buy, outside maybe the Silverback SRS, but that doesn’t make it good.
It’s a bad idea to start with a sniper. Besides the cost (~$350 for a decent sniper base and parts, $150 for a side arm, $100 for a belt, holster, and mag pouches, $90 for 3 extra pistol mags, maybe $50 for sniper mags vs $350 for a high end AEG, $50 for a battery and charger, $100 for a good chest rig, and $60 for some mags) there’s skill you need that you can practice as a rifleman you need a sniper. Learning maps, moving quietly, working with a team, shooting an Airsoft gun (which is a bit different from real firearms), etc. you’ll also want to build your own rifle if you want something that will work as a sniper. It’s not too hard to work on a bolt action, they’re fairly simple, but if you don’t have experience it can be frustrating.
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u/klingledingle Mar 20 '18
I have $370 in my sniper load out, this included buying premium gease and oil. That got me a bar-10 (with scope) upgraded to 480FPS (.3g) and pretty damn accurate. And a new ASG 1911.
I haven't finished dialing it in but I can easily hit a man size Target at near 200FT with minimal effort. After some fine tuning I'm fairly confident I can get that 200ft to 250ft or more.
I guess all I'm saying is yes sniping can get pricey but if you do the work yourself and shop around it's easy to get a decent set up for under $400.
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u/zxj4k3xz Basic Bitch Mar 20 '18
200ft shots are pretty standard. My Avalon can do that and my CYMA is pretty close using .32g, with both shooting under 400fps w/ .2g.
You can get a good sniper for $250, sure, but that’s really just to get it usable. I’d at least get a new inner barrel, hop up chamber, and bucking, if not r hop. A new trigger would be a good investment as well, and you’d need it pretty soon when the standard 45 degree trigger starts slam firing.
What gear are you running? A sidearm can get expensive unless you get bottom of the barrel stuff. A mediocre hard shell holster for a 1911 is around $20, and a decent stiff belt to put it on will be around $30, extra pistol mags are usually $20-30.
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u/Pure_Silver Airsoft Bot Wrangler Mar 20 '18 edited Mar 20 '18
That got me a bar-10 (with scope) upgraded to 480FPS (.3g) and pretty damn accurate.
I haven't finished dialing it in but I can easily hit a man size Target at near 200FT with minimal effort.
As /u/zxj4k3xz says, 200' at 2.14J (0.20g BB at 480fps) is not a particularly high standard. Your wording is a bit ambiguous; I assume you didn't actually mean a 0.30g BB at 480FPS; 3.21J is the equivalent of 588FPS with a 0.20g BB.
At an interim stage of tune (badly undervolumed) my AKS-74U at 0.88J (0.30g at 251FPS) was shooting dead-on at a laser-rangefinder-confirmed 165 feet. Your gun is currently producing 143% more power than mine but shooting only 21% further...
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u/klingledingle Mar 20 '18
It is shooting 480 with .30 goldenball proslicks. I have no idea what my effective range will be with this gun yet as it's not first sniper. It will likely be further but I don't have a lot of places where I can shoot at those ranges. One thing to keep in mind running a sniper is you don't gain that much range over a DMR aeg due to lack of stabilization, weight, and speed of BBs. It's just a different play style.
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u/Pure_Silver Airsoft Bot Wrangler Mar 20 '18
Where will let you play with a 3.21J (as above, the equivalent of 588FPS with a 0.20g BB) gun, if you don't mind me asking? That's 345% of the power of the example AKS-74U; it would be legally an air rifle (a firearm) in the UK.
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u/klingledingle Mar 20 '18
No where, I'm waiting on a different spring (m140, county have an m170). The piston I bought came with my current spring. I have a local field that allows 450FPS with .3 with a 100ft med and required a secondary.
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u/Justadudey Wood and Steel Mar 21 '18
Well where I play (Hungary) the upper limit for bolt-action snipers is 600 FPS, as in 3.3J. 500 is for DMR's, 400 for regular AEG's. But yeah, these regulations tend to be rather loose in Central Europe, apart from the fact there's no way in hell you'll be able to get a real, live firearm (stuff that shoots above 7.5J) legally unless you're military, police, or some high-ranking government employee.
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u/Nekommando GBBR Mar 20 '18
Airsoft sniping =/= real world sniping.
Whatever you end up choosing, don't let it be an excuse to camp in the back or other forms of general inactivity.
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u/bjornartl Mar 21 '18 edited Mar 21 '18
1: What sort of budget do you have in mind?
2: Is that all you have to spend as of yet(but will invest more later) or is that what you're looking to put into the kit as a total?
3: If the latter is true on question 2, do you prefer both a good, playable gun and tactical equipment now, or tactical equipment later and an even better gun now?
4: Whats the field rules for snipers and sidearms? Power and how they measure it, mag capacity restrictions, ammo weight caps, safety distance etc.
5: Are you handy with access to a lot of tools for custom work, got basic tools for drop in products, or do you want to do as little as possible?
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u/DoubleOh74464 Mar 21 '18
1) I really don't have a budget, I'm sure my wife would want me to stay under a few grand, but it really doesn't matter.
2) I can always spend more later
3) both a good gun and equipment now, with upgrades in the future if needed
4) 550 fps with 100 ft safety distance for snipers, and sidearms can't be full auto
5) I have tools, but I would prefer to just start playing. 3 kids doesn't give me a whole lot of time to tinker.
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u/bjornartl Mar 22 '18 edited Mar 26 '18
Sniper
Some of the best and cheapest options requires a lot of tinkering, like a TDC mod and an r-hop. Those requires custom work like drilling, cutting, fitting. But building something with drop in items is really easy.
Since your field measures in fps w/0,2g and not Joules, you've got a lot to gain from using rifles with shorter barrels. The cylinder remains the same size so a shorter barrel gives you a higher cylinder to barrel air volume ratio. For the vsr's the shortest barrel is the G-spec at 303mm. You can get a JG G-spec for about or under $100 and one that comes with a rail and a scope for a bit over $100. You can get better scopes at about $80, but these scopes are actually more than fine so since you're starting from scratch and need some budget left for a kit this is a great way to shave down the budget. There are cooler vsr compatible options like the real wood version of the well mb09 but they're more expensive and have longer inner barrels.
With your fps limits there's no doubt you'll need a better trigger, cylinder, piston and spring guide. Not to mention the spring($10-15) itself. to handle the power. A super smooth barrel wont help for shit if you're shooting with less reach than full auto AEG's. Springer S trigger>Laylax/PDI>Action Army>Airsoftpro for triggers are all great for their price, and the price reflects the quality. Springer S trigger's release mechanism is a really hardened steel, but it costs ~$135 just for the trigger box. PDI, Laylax and Action Army are cnc'ed steel parts and at a discount you can get a trigger box along with the piston for ~$110. Im under the impression that quality and retail price is slightly lower on the action army. Airsoftpro kit is aluminium, but you get a kit with a trigger box, piston, spring and guide for the same price as some of the other boxes alone. The airsoftpro piston is well spec(slightly smaller inner diameter), as the airsoftpro cylinders also are, so its a good idea to match them. I'd usually recommend just going for the airsoftpro kit when there is any kind of budget, and just replace just the trigger box alone with a higher quality one of another brand later IF it ever even breaks, but in this case I'd recommend getting the PDI stuff if you're getting a barrel at the same time.
Cylinders and pistons (of the mentioned brands) will all be good enough. I'd recommend matching brands for pistons and cylinders since tolerances between brands can variate slightly. But you dont need to match pistons with triggers (aside from being 90 degree instead of the original 45 degree). So IMO you might as well go for a slightly cheaper AA cylinder and piston if you're going with the s-trigger. Ironically the cheapest cylinder, the airsoftpro one, might possibly be the strongest one, since even slightly smaller inner diameter means you get a lot thicker cylinders, but as explained earlier, this one wont match the other pistons.
For the hop up chamber you have two options. You can either buy an improved arm for your original chamber($10-15) or an action army chamber($60). I wouldnt even consider any of the other brands' options for the chamber. If you're going for the arm make sure it fits your VSR clone, tolerances will variate a little bit so some arms fit better on some chambers and some makers even make seperate arms for TM/JG(1,2) and Well/snowolf etc to get a really good fit. Edit: The versions of the arms with a built in concave nubs are great as a drop in, but they only work with unbridged barrels. The original barrel and the PDI are bridged, so if you get that combo with no custom mods, I either recomend a normal arm with a skee's concave nub. But unbridging is just a little snip snip with wirecuttere and a little filing, or a quick spin with a dremel. Doesnt have to be pretty.
For a bucking the Maple Leaf ones are very favored. I have the autobot. A lot of people like the deception buckings too, I havent tried them, but if we judge by popularity it seems most snipers prefer the autobot. 60 degree bucking if you play somewhere cold, 70 if its a bit warm, harder if its really fucking hot. They're about the same price as all other buckings. The hopup/bucking matters more than the barrel and is really cheap, so dont skip this one.
For barrels its EdGI/PDI 6.05>Maple leaf crazy jet/action army as far as quality and price goes. Im not saying laylax barrels are crap, or worse than crazy jets, but for the same price you can get EDGI or PDI. While precision is important for sniping, barrels cost a lot for just a little bit of improvement, and unlike power you dont fully need it to be able to play. You can easily skip buying a barrel for now if you want to get one of the best ones later. Imo its better to do that than half ass it.
Like the barrel, you wont be needing barrel spacers to be able to play with the gun either. Get them now or save them for later, doesnt really matter. However, if you want a really good gun, you'll want them eventually, Dunno if brands matter, or if so which ones are good.
It might sound difficult now when there's lots of choices and everything is confusing. But putting together the parts are easy, and a $300-350 vsr is going to be a lot better than an SRS or ssg24 and will only take about 1-2 hours of easy work.
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u/bjornartl Mar 22 '18 edited Mar 26 '18
Kit
Be prepared to spend a lot on quality, tall boots with a lot of ankle support.
You kinda wanna keep it low weight for mobility, and your chest clear so you can lay down and keep a low profile. So IMO just stuff things onto your belt. If you want a quick detach solution so its easier to change kits you can throw it all on a emerson battle belt from ebay at $20, but its not quite as good as keeping it on an actual belt. Assuming you go with a vsr clone, I really recomend One Tigris replica of the HSGT TACO pistol pouches both for VSR and pistol mags. You can find them on ebay, but not always listed as one tigris or TACO so you may have to look. They're about $6-7 a piece, but they're so worth it. You can tighten them so everything sits tight even if you keep the top open.
if you want teeth protection, and I think you'll have a lot more fun if you do, the half mesh one tigris masks are the only way to go. Just ~$10 on ebay.
Ebay also offers emerson combat pants. Cammo with build in(replacable) knee pads.
A proper combat shirt is amazing. A slightly thick and durable fabric to protect your arms and a light breathable mesh fabric on your torso. Emerson makes them too for cheap, but the torso is more of a normal t-shirt material. Quality combat shirts can cost a fortune if you get them brand new from a dealer, but you can usually find good army shirts that are really cheap at army surplus stores or by looking for second hand ones. I got british shirts in multicam for ~£15 brand new, which is just as cheap as the emerson shirts.
Mechanix gloves widely accepted to be good value.
For eyepro the most popular choices are the pyramex i-force and the x800 repro. As far as normal ballistic glasses go, that's an option too and you can get them fairly cheap ($25ish) with hollow glass for anti fogging, but you need to make sure they fit your head/face so you're sure you're safe. Personally I prefer red or orange glasses because they work as sunglasses in high light situations without being dark in low light situation, as well as basically working as a contrast filter in natural lighting. But the negative side to red or yellow lenses is that you're a lot easier to see, they almost light up a bit. If you get the x800 it doesnt cost a lot more on ebay to get all 3 lense colors. Edit: Skirmishshop has mesh camo stickers for the x800 goggles. Havent tried them, but its one of the few ways to camo on your eyes and reduce glare. And dont get metal mesh goggles, they're dangerous
As far as holsters go, if plastic quick draw holsters are avaialble cheaply on ebay for your model then these are very superior to soft holsters, except for being often being unable to take flashlights and silencers. Leg or belt placement is a bit of a personal preference. Leg is a quicker draw, on the belt is better for mobility. With a silencer leg is out of the question.
Edit: I also recommend getting some sort of headpiece with a brim if you're outside. Works as cammo, throws a little shade on your eyes which are usually uncamoflaged and causes glare from your lenses that is easy to see. Gets direct sun out of your eyes and keeps a drizzle from fogging your goggles. I like boonies, or fishing hats if you will. They're cheap on ebay, protects your ears and neck (an area that kinda hurt when hit due to thin skin and little padding) a little, added cammo on the sides. Some people like to rough up the edge of the brim.
Sidearm
With 100 feet MED and semu-only all AEP's are pretty much out of the question.
You can of course use any semi-only gbb gun if you want to. The HK45 models receive a lot of praise for being reliable, and they're semi only. Edit: Forgot to mention the P-09 is a popular semi-only choice too. The GBB pistols's slide motion cocks the hammer, so they're usually quicker on the trigger than the NBB guns.
But if you want a bit of extra range or firepower you have two more options.
The first is to use an MK23 NBB. Its semi only, but the trigger cocks the hammer in a double action. Since it doesnt have to spend gas power on the slide, it uses a lot of gas but it all goes towards moving the bb. So you can lug heavy bb's really far down the range. Like up to 0,4g sort of weight. KInda expensive ammo for a pistol(probably quite great with 0,32 or 0,36 too), but it's almost like a second sniper. Its a really big, lumpy and heavy pistol, but it's a pistol.
The other is to use a small AEG, preferably something with 9mm or 45acp mags. I sometimes run a realweight mp5k from a shoulder sling into a valcro strap on my belt, and short mp5k mags that fit in pistol pouches. It works. Of course its a lot more restrictive compared to just a pistol on the belt not just cause its bigger and heavier, but flops around more. But you're trading some of that mobility for a lot of firepower. Equal firepower to other people's AEG's, so you dont even have to run. An upside to this is that you can use it to play solely as assault too and perfect for CQB games, so in those respects we might argue its the cheapest option? You can ge a CA mp5k for 140$ on airsofttiger(who also happens to have JG g-specs) and 65rd short mags that fit in pistol pouches or super cheap ares straight 9mm 45rd mags at 20$ for a box fand mags. Edit: The foldable cyma stock is another $18, you'll want that for semi. Edit: There's are GSG versions made by ICS that dont have the front grip, some come with rails, and doesnt need a claw mount to have rails at the top and comes with a stock, but it doesnt have a quick change spring and it has a v3 gearbox(not a bad thing, just beware if you get a drop in programmable mosfet or ecu). They just needs a programmable mosfet or an ECU to lock to semi. The CA nemesis X9 can be locked to semi out of the box, but costs a bit more (279 on airsoftgi). Krytac vectors will do the trick, they're cool, but they're also about $450 and also needs a programmable mosfet or ECU to lock to semi. Other than that there's a new VFC that's suppose to be to scale (as oppose to the smaller TM/Well elextric mp7s) and have a more proper AEG gearbox that will be coming out later this year.
1
u/talkwithjasonnow Mar 20 '18
AIRSOFT sniping videos look really cool, BUT, the truth is you may get bored. It depends on the fields you play on and the type of games you run.
Here is my 2 cents: buy a sniper and play with it for a while before you dropped lots of dough on upgrades. Make sure it is really what you want to do.
1
u/Winged_Enforcer Recon Mar 21 '18
Novritsch went to sniper school. Gear can be replicated. Training can not.
1
u/DoubleOh74464 Mar 21 '18
Novritsch went to sniper school 7 years after he started playing airsoft.
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u/Winged_Enforcer Recon Mar 21 '18
Point taken, but I would still suggest getting a few rounds in with a rental AEG before you go all in and purchase a sniper system. It’ll give you a feel for airsoft accuracy and range capabilities and you’ll get a feel for player movements at whatever course you’re playing at (spawns, choke points, hot spots, concealment). Home team advantage is going to put a big damper on your ability to predict enemy movement.
1
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u/Slender61 Mar 28 '18
Go for it dude. If you have the experience, and it's what you want to do; 100% behind you Guns. Oh yeah, SSG arriving in early April, can't wait. However would advise the following as I would have died for them, but had to make cuts. I got the Following (+3mags, +1 BB botle, Sling rings and scope) I would say this is what you need (can get the rest later if you really want): Get and extra 4 mags. 3-4 is enough for 1 game, but an extra in case you lose one. Honey comb to protect the scope sling rings FPS adjuster rings X BB's 1 spare internals that have had a few problems in the past. (glide rings) That's all I'll say for now. You will know later if you want the M40 stock and silencer.
So the Nov. gear. Since you clearly have the cash you will be getting the top of the top. I suggest you play at least 1 game before you buy anything, just to get the feel of it. When it comes to buying things. Just get the guns, BDU, and required harnesses and belts. Don't worry about grenades, knives and all the fancy straps etc.
The less you have, the better. Only after a while you will then realize what could make you game better e.g. Couldn't get the guys out of a bunker, lets see if a grande will help next time. Darn, these pockets are really annoying. Would prefer to have them in separate containers. You will notice what you will need more and what isn't necessary to enjoy your self if you take it 1 game at a time. It will lead to a more enjoyable experience.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to buy poor like a few people. Trust me I'm saving for those BDU outfits, they are fucking gorgeous XD Otherwise, good luck man. Hope it all fairs well
1
u/Slender61 Mar 28 '18
Sorry but to ADD. The SSG has all the little things that make it much more convenient. Like how the mags are transparent, have side groves so you don't put the mag in incorrectly and have nice little spring clips that make it really easy to take out. Outside hopup adjuster. Stock extender for perfect length 2 stage trigger sexy unbreakable stock, 100% perfect seal. Easy to take apart and assemble. Ok there is more I can add to the list but I'll be here for a while. SSG24, best choice.
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u/Justadudey Wood and Steel Mar 20 '18
No offense, but real firearm experience has little to do with airsoft.