Of all the guides that help newbies the spring rifle section is neglected. There are many AEG guides however the springer community is ignored. I hope to help all the newbies on this forum by writing a good, correct, and helpful guide regarding spring rifles.

This guide is organized by style of gun. Starting with the Armalite Rifles.





--ARMALITE STYLE SPRING RIFLES--




Cybergun AR-15 and M16-A1 Rifles


These are some of the most common springer AR-15's and M16's on the market as they can be found from sporting goods stores to almost all airsoft shops that offer beginner level spring rifles. They are trademarked by DPMS Panther Arms which is a nice touch. There are two versions currently available. The Evolution edition which includes a AR-15 and the Kitty Kat Spring rifle, that shoot at about 230-245 fps with a .2g bb. They have decent range are quite nice in a Springer Battle. They are entirely made out of ABS plastic that is pretty poor quality, they also have bad quality barrels that should be cleaned upon purchase. The Evolution series are decent springers and have High Capacity magazines made of plastic. They are effective up to about 80 feet. They have a plastic charging handle and feature Adjustable Hop-Up.
They also make the Ultra Grade/Deluxe Model that has a 50 round magazine, fixed hop up and shoots at around 260-275 fps. These are more accurate and have better hop up. You can get one in Either an AR-15 or an M16-A1. They work best with .2g bb's and are accurate up to about 100 feet, and within that range are actually very accurate. These also feature somewhat flimsy plastic and are suggested to be used only in springer battles. Neither of guns are upgradeable or have Marui Compatible magazines. They are somewhat overpriced and are only suggested as a First gun. They cost from 50 to 100 dollars depending on where they are bought.


Well/Cyma Armailtes




These are cheaper Armalite Models that are poorly constructed and don't preform that well. Some don't feature hop up and are very inaccurate. These fire around 220-230 fps and offer a suggested to people who only want to plink around. They are terrible shiny plastic. These are a reminder of CYMA's old days as a terrible manufacturer. They do poorly on the field, even in only springer battles. They have 20 round magazines that you can not replace. They are accurate to about 50-60 feet. They can not be upgraded as no one makes extra parts for them.
They cost anywhere from 20-60 dollars depending where they are purchased from. I recommend them for someone on a budget or looking for a slightly decent wall hanger.



HFC XM177/ M16 Series Armalite Variants



These are probably the worst choice for an Armalite series spring rifle performance to cost wise; as the can be found for as high as $120! They are similar in quality to there spring pistols. They Look Good, they Feel pretty good, and perform with mediocre quality. They feature 20 round magazines and shoot at about 230 fps, with .2g bb's They are accurate for about 70-80 feet. They are made of pretty good looking ABS plastic and look OK. I would not recommend these to someone looking for a powerhouse rifle because if you want something like it, then get the a Marui, CA, or Toystar. Unless You are looking for a good wall hanger. Or you want a plinker. Avoid it.



Toystar Armalite Variants



These are GREAT Armalite springers, and probably the best Spring Rifles made. Toystar rifles are made in Korea. They feature full Colt trademarks, metal magazines, metal charging handles, and shoot up to 320 fps with .2g bb's. They are extremely well made with good ABS that is matte black and accurate up to 130 feet. They have adjustable Hop-Up. If you are looking to get a spring rifle and want the best then these are your best bet. They are available in M4A1 Carbine, M16A4, M4A1CQB version, and SR16 versions. All of these are great performers and can even be used with some MPEG's as Long Rifles. You can get 20 round style 200 round Hi-Caps and 30 round low caps for magazines they are not Marui Compatible. They are slightly upgradeable, as you can add a better spring. I Recommend these to anyone who wants the best spring rifles you can get. They Cost about 100-150 shipped from South Korea. Again, they are the best spring rifles made.


Tokyo Marui XM177/M16-A2 Spring Rifles



These are old Spring Rifles made by Tokyo Marui. They are very high quality that shoot about 225 fps with .25 bb's Their performance is slightly less then the Toystar Variants. They have Superb Hop Up and Range. They are Accurate for about 120 feet and beyond. They usually cost about $120 shipped from Asia. They are made with Tokyo Marui Quality and are suggested to the person willing to spend more money for a good quality springer. As far as I know they have 30 round magazines and are not upgradeable.
They are great Rifles and are recommended for anyone who would spend the money.


Classic Army M15A4 Spring Edition



This is and old gun made by Classic Army. It is the only spring rifle that they make besides their M24 series. Made of good looking sturdy plastic this is a pretty decent gun. Shooting at a power of 240-250 fps and a pretty decent hop up, this gun has good accuracy. It also features a flip down pump handle the comes down from the for-grip, giving it a good rate of fire. However you can also charge via the charging handle. It has full Armalite trademarks that make this look very nice. It has a 33 round magazine that has a notoriously bad design of having two release switches. This can be a very annoying problem however is the only real con with this gun. It has a range of about 80-100 feet giving it a good reach on the battlefield. This gun may not be as good as a Toystar or Marui but only cost around 50 dollars, so they are very economic, however don't let the price fool you. I recommend this gun to the person that demands quality on a lower budget. Looking great and performing with quality, overall a great choice for a rifle.

--KALASHNIKOV STYLE RIFLES--

Cybergun AKM and other AK variants.



These AK's made by Cybergun are not very well made. They are Trademarked by Mr. Kalashnikov himself. They are poorly made and shoot like crap as well. They are somewhat accurate and have magazines that hold around 500 rounds and are not Marui compatible. They are available in AKM, AK-47S, and AK-47 Black. They shoot 230-240 fps with .2g bb's and are accurate for about 70 feet and are not recommended for anything but Spring Battles, they have pretty bad hop up. They can be found for 50-100 dollars. They are overpriced and I do not recommend them for many things. Maybe a wall hanger, however they are made from cheap shiny plastic and do not look that good at all.



UTG Spring AK 47 Variants



These are very nice spring rifles made by UTG. They are available in either a traditional AK, or the Beta Spetznaz AK. They have Metal Charging Handles which is a good asset and have high capacity magazines that are Marui compatible which is good because the stock mags are pretty low quality magazines. They shoot about 300 fps with .2g bb's however they Over Hop (put to much hop up) on.2g bb's. Therefore it is recommended that you use .25gbb's They are accurate for about 140 feet with their adjustable hop up. They are recommended To anyone who wants a good spring AK. Or a good workhorse rifle in general. They come with ugly scope mounts which work well, they allow the use a either a Red Dot Scope, or a Decent Airsoft Scope. I would get one for springer battles. They are really pretty good. They cost about $60.


Various China AK47 Variants.



These are available at cheap airsoft sites, and online hobby shops. They are made very cheaply and look horrible. They have cheap looking wood, shiny plastic and insult the design of the AK. They are entirely plastic and have terrible performance. They shoot anywhere from 200 fps with .12g bb's to 200 fps with .2g bb's depending on which one you get. They have a magazine capacity of 20-30 rounds. Many don't even have hop up They would not even work as a wall hanger as they look just SO bad. I really don't recommend these for anyone unless you want an AK of any kind and have a 20 dollar budget. My advise is just to avoid them.

The CYMA P1093




Now, this may be a CYMA Spring rifle. However this a recently made one. CYMA is known for their great quality of their newer models. This is one of them, I have been hearing great things about it. Not to much information is available on it other than that it shoots somewhere in the mid 200's with .2g bb's, is accurate to about 70 feet, and looks pretty good. This recently made springer is a gun that I would recommend despite the fact that not much is known. It costs about 30 dollars which is cheap, so as a Wall Hanger this would be a great choice.

This post has been edited by Paisley Pirate: Nov 17 2007, 12:09 AM