Easiest AEGs and GBB rifles to work on?
 

I don't have as much time for airsoft anymore, and I'd like to switch to a gun that is very easy and quick to disassemble. Reliability is another huge factor. I'm looking at the Magpul Masada, but I wonder if there are any others out there that meet my requirements.

Any recommendations? I'm also open to the idea of a GBB rifle. Thanks!

i used aegs from 2004 - 2007 and every one i had gave me a hard time more often than not, i grabbed my first gbbr we pdw, m4 awss and fn scar, and havent had any problems with any. other than the occasional leaky mag.

but i dont game as often as others here, so my opinion can probably be ignored.

oh and disassembling is a breeze

Can't go wrong with anything in the AK series of rifles, I actually tore my new AK74un down to bits while having a discussion with the wife, over dinner...Now that's multi tasking :D .

Hmm... I'd say ICS maybe? Only problem being the proprietary parts but once you get past that it seems pretty easy to disassemble and change springs and whatnot.

Other than that I would say just go with a TM and toss in an M110 spring or something (if you decide that the stock 1Joule isn't enough), it doesn't need to fire at 400 FPS after all but 360-380 is probably where you want to be hitting so that less stress is placed on the internals and it's reliable/durable.

any high quality aeg doesn't NEED to be opened ever. Ever since I put all modify parts in my JG 416 about 50 000 rounds ago I haven't opened it once and it's running at 100%. I'd be shocked if it ever needs to be opened again.

Now GBBRs on the other hand require lubing and cleaning before/after each use to ensure proper function. I love mine and the maintenance is part of the fun for me but it can be a problem if you don't have the time to devote to the gun.

I have a CA with a cylinder and spring upgrade (shooting about 390fps) and I have put about 20000 rounds through it easy.....havent opened it

I used to have a G&G AK-104.

It was an absolute breeze to take a part and it actually had a semi-realistic takedown allowing you to remove the recoil spring, top cover, gas piston and handguards.

It also sported one of those nice metal gearboxes that is well built and well oiled and was really easy to reach.

It shot damn strong too.

One other sidebar that gets left of of this is battery care and service.

Depending on how and what you may need one or two batteries to make it through a game and something to maintain them in the off season.

Out here I've seen a bunch of the young guys with one AEG and a mini battery. Before the day is half over their gun is down and they're out. A couple months of that and they drop off the map.

I'll swear by JG, have had 2 complete rifles that lasted through years without maintenance and just bought a V2 GB for my L119A1 build and expect it to be just as reliable.

I think everyone has missed his main question:

[QUOTE=grimreefer;1431628] I'd like to switch to a gun that is very easy and quick to disassemble. QUOTE]

I'm sure he's asking what MODEL of gun is the easiest to open up and work on, not so much what brand of gun is the most reliable. It's a tough call as it depends what you like. I know for a fact that a TM/CA/JG AUG is the quickest gun to get the mechbox out. Take off the butt pad, remove 2 screws and the support plate, bang the butt of the gun down on your leg or work bench (I have a peice of carpet on my bench to protect the rear of the gun) and the V3 mech box falls right out the back. But if you don't like bullpups the rest are all a bit of work to get the guts out. All V2 guns (mp5s' ARs' SCARs' can be time consuming, but still not really hard, but they must be 1/2 assembled before you can test the box. The V3 (AUGs'/ AKs'/G36s') mechbox can be tested without being installed in the gun. This is really handy when troubleshooting mechbox issues. As far as reliability goes, there are many different opinions on what brand is the best. from my personal experience, all the mid-high end guns will last a while if left stock. As for the Masada, it's still new so time will tell.

Easiest to work on?

P90's or AUGs.

Getting the gearbox out is extremely easy.

I.C.S. split mechbox is the easiest to work on that I've found because you don't have to take the whole box apart just to change a part in either the upper or lower. Aside from the obvious advantage of being able to have an upper for indoor/cqb and another for outdoor with a higher fps spring, you can change it out in under a minute. Even with the pains of all the proprietary parts with an I.C.S, I don't think I'll buy a different brand of M4 because they're a dream to work on!

Yup, thanks! I don't mind taking the gearbox apart, but I don't want to spend 10 minutes getting to it. Being able to swap springs quickly would be very nice but not necessary.

Looks do matter, and I would prefer a Masada, Tavor, or M4. I'm not really a fan of the AUG or AKs.

Thanks for the help!

I just finished working on an ICS
If ICS wanted to sponsor me, and offered me a free ICS M4 and $1000 to do whatever I wanted internally, I still wouldnt use it.

You don't need an AEG that's easy to work on, you just need one that doesn't break.
marui M4's left stock don't break, but your stuck under 350fps unless you want to spent a LOT of money upgrading everything.

CA is a decent staple

G&P is really the best way to go, put a prometheus piston, piston head, and gears in it and it'll last forever.

Get something with a V2 mechbox anyway


As for GBBR's. the WE PDW open bolt is the easiest to work on

Phht. Replace that Prom piston head with an ARS one and add an ARS cylinder head in there and you've got yourself the right combo :P

Seriously, since I've had a V6 gearbox, I don't even want to touch my M4 anymore.

No more popping 20 screws to split the gearbox opened with the ARL and trigger jumping everytime you open it up.

I have an A&K Masada and I love it, the build quality on a Magpul will be better. As well as the option of quick spring change is very appealing to me as well. Most Ares guns offer quick spring change. Every person I know who has a Masada loves it. You only risk being labeled a COD fan boy, but really who cares what others think of your gear, it their to suit your needs not the other way around.

Cheers

How quickly can you remove the gearbox?

The MAGPUL PTS ACR is indeed easy to work on. Push out one pin, swing open the receiver, and take out four screws (two in grip, two in magwell) to remove the gearbox. As was said before the spring can be changed in less than a minute.

Agreed, Masada is all about push pins. Let me see if I can find the review about its break down. Had a good vid.

Edit: YouTube - masada take down.avi

Once the above steps are done all you have to do is remove a few screws.

I'll vouch for that! Taking the WE PDW apart forever ruined my love for AEGs... If you're already used to pistol internals it's even more ridiculous.

If you're going aeg, I'd say get a good brand gun and do NOT open the mechbox unless goes wrong.

Speed is all about practice. I got pretty fast at getting out the mechbox on my mp5k (ten minutes tops) but I had to do it like 10-15 times because my gun was having issues. These issues came when I started upgrading internals and fiddly with the mechbox.

In short, dont open the gearbox ever, if you know you wont be able to devote time to carefully working on it.

I've never had an ICS myself, but in what I've seen on the field, these are never down for more than 5 minutes... (For jams and such)

Although I've read and seen really bad experiences with the Cansoft/Sportline version, the full metal seems to be really appreciated on every airsoft board except here.

IMO, Granted some parts needs to be swapped, for its ease of maintenance, it should be considered.

The problem is that they DO go down lol
Sure they're fast to fix, but they break!
I've built several full upgrade G&P's, the only one so far that's broken is Steve's angry sewing machine because it's a 1500rpm gun. Stripped piston, easy fix, lasted a year and a half. The others have been going for 3yrs, no maintenance (unfortunately), but no breakdowns.
My own G&P 249 (common v2 mechbox) ran 900rpm for the first 2yrs, and 1500rpm this past year, the piston was good until I stripped it due to programming error on the triggermaster.

Anyway, for a less expensive gun, I'd say G&G, but there's more to upgrade. G&P if you want a tank of a gun for exteriors, and like I said you only have to upgrade piston, piston head and gears. CA is a good staple, but internals are generally only adequate.
And ICS doesn't use any good parts, they've got out-dated crap; unvented piston heads, air nozzles with no o-ring, plastic cylinder head. Gotta upgrade alot to make it really reliable.

No matter what you choose, I'd be happy to give you a list of minimum upgrade parts to make it super reliable, but you shouldn't upgrade anything except the hopup rubber until something breaks!

Yeah I totally agree with you. I don't consider it an high-end AEG at all. But compared to JG, I'd probably choose the ICS.

Maybe the price tag is abit too high.

But I would take a G&P over an ICS anyday.

Okay, so I'd still take an ICS over something Chinese anyday. Atleast ICS has some sort of regular quality control....
If anyone here is a machinist, I'd say ICS is your HAAS machine, and JG is like Viper or Fryer lol