first purchase woes
 

my friends who have alot more airsoft knowledge than me have got me at a stand still, im looking for a gbb and from what im hearing the ksc gun i would like mk23 socom and just there guns in general break down easy. im told i should get the full tm socom kid instead. is this my friends being tm whores or do they have a valid point??? cheers
quiggers

TM has the best reputation , KSC isn't bad at all , though. If you run GBBs on propane without a metal slide , it tends to break more easily , TM or not.

You also have to take in to affect that the MK23 SOCOM FULL KIT my TM is not a GBB, its a GNBB (gas non blowback) and in my experience it is perfectly safe to run on propane.

oh yeah , forgot about that. Since there's no blow back of the slide , you can run propane easily , it probably won't break.

TM Socom is a NBB (Non Blow Back), so running it on propane isn't a problem as the slide doesn't move when you fire it. It's insanely quiet, especially with the silencer on it. Also very accurate and shoots hard on propane, mine chrono's at 340fps, stock.

Hyperion is quite correct about the GBB's though. Sooner or later, you'll break a plastic slide if you run it on propane.

Since when do silencers really work ?

In GBBS they do. Depends on the GBB of course, but for a NBB they work REALLY well, for a GBB they don't work as well but still have an effect. The M11A1 is a good example, most of the noise comes out the muzzle (fires from an open bolt, when gas is released the bolt is full forward). I made a custom supressor for my M11A1 that has perforated inner barrel and foam baffles inside the housing, all you hear when it fires is really the clacking of the botl back & forth. Also adds another 30-60fps on top of it (wasn't intentional, but cool none-the-less).

thanks for the non-baised insight, i guess there is alot to study up on before you buy your first gun.....well first gun other than a springer, thanks for the help cheers
quiggers

Just know that a LOT of people will buy a gun, play with it a bit, then sell it to buy another, use it a bit, sell it to buy another............. don't think that choosing a gun is like choosing a wife and then getting married, there isn't any waste of money if you find you want to try something new.

Just go Western Arms and get a flow restrictor, not only is it a top of the line gun but it can also take propane with a plastic slide (assuming you have the AI flow restrictor properly installed.)

Them glocks they always be a'jammin! (had a KSC G19 double feed and jam and got me killed last game, isolated incident, any GBB can double feed and jam, just thought it was funny because I have a friend thats always saying that phrase when he sees me.)

thanks stalker ill keep that in mind

Silencers work on most gas guns and it does a very good job on P90 AEG.
You have to know the difference between the musle report and the noise from the gun working...
Silencer play on the musle report.

correct me if I'm wrong but even NBBs require a lot of maintenance. pistols in airsoft are beautiful but you have to take care of them like if it was a baby

Have you signed up on the Manitoba Airsoft Association forums? (www.mb-airsoft.com) Or been down to Xtreme Tactics? (www.xtreme-tactics.com) they have a socom I'm sure they'd let you fondle and take on the range, considering you're of age of course :D

Other than putting silicone in the propane/duster (if you're not using green gas and, uh, airsoft duster) I have given my pistols very little maintenance. One or twice a year, I strip the slide & barrel off, clean them with a soft cloth, relube the rails with superlube, brush off the internals of any grit with a soft brush, put a drop or two of silicone oil on the internal parts and reassemble. Takes all of 5 minutes. And thats for my TM Glock 26 Advance and my KSC USP Compact, and they both work just fine. Hell, I can damn near snipe with my Glock. It consistantly out ranges (and is more accurate than) most stock TM AEG's. My TM Socom NBB, has been apart twice, once to check the hopup assembly, then again to install a tight bore and also works like a charm.

Of course, if you play in a dusty environment or just drop the guns more, you have to clean them more often. If you use them a lot, you'll have to check them more often. Over lubing will attract dust & grit and cause as many problems as under lubing. Yes then need to be maintained, so do AEG's. Yes, if you mistreat them, they'll break, just like AEG's. Learn the limitations of the guns and work within them. Research the gun you like, if it seems to break more than others, perhaps look at another gun, maybe it's just that particular brand that has a problem and another brand is fairly trouble free.

I have seen some pistols that seem to need more maintenance than others. On the other hand, I've seen pistols that certainly look like they've never seen maintance and they work fine. If you have a pistol that spends most of it's time in the shop or, even worse, is a closet queen (because of maintenance) then you either have bad luck or made a bad choice. IMO.