Kings Arm M4A1 full metall - Recommend?
 

I would want to save myself the trouble of switching springs all the time and have a cheaper gun modified for just CQB <=350FPS.

I was looking at Kings Arm M4A1 for like $199 (comes with a smart charger), what are your thoughts on this?

My alternative was G&G CM16 Carbine (obviously nylon body, but i heard pretty good internals for that price).

I'm new to airsoft, so if there is a lack of some obviously knowledge here please understand.

KA guns imo are the best bang for your buck, especially as an upgrade platform.

Airsoft guns are basically fancy external wrappers around toy internals....always buy the best externals you can, since replacement internals are comparatively cheaper and easier to get down the road.

Metal bodies are much nicer than plastic bodies...and many of the plastic bodies suffer from stress cracks after "normal I'm running around playing war" usage.

nylon fiber does hold up better than standard ABS, sometimes better than the potmetal some metal guns are using. It sort of depends where the materials are used and how they were used.

That being said, if you can afford the metal ones, it's generally better than going with polymer.

thanks for the input so far. What about the stock internals of this KA model vs the GG CM16?
Also a noob questions, I'm assuming I can use G&G and other standard M4 magazines for the KA M4A1?

stock internals are stock internals. The factory shim jobs are hit and miss.. it's likely to have a standard polymer piston with no metal rack. Either a bearing on the piston or the spring guide.. or neither. The full metal KA has an o-ring nozzle I think.


any stanag airsoft mag will generally work.

the g&g is entry level, it's likely not to have bearings on the spring guide or piston, no o-ring nozzle.

when you get the spring downgraded have the shim job checked or redone, check the airseal components to see if they are sealing properly and replace if necessary since you're in the gearbox anyways... and if it's the king arms, replace the cutoff lever with a steel one right away so you don't have to do it halfway through the season as the KA cutoff lever is made of butter.

thanks for the insight, still a lot to learn about all the internal components and what needs upgrading and how to do them. I guess i'll get KA and slowly upgrade over time as I get more familiar with things. I was thinking of getting a TM SCAR or 416 for outdoors, so far i've only found 2 retailers in canada that sell them: milsig and apsram

If your buying the KA's buy it when you can game it right away. IF it doesn't blow up right away (warrantee)- then it will last a long time. The G&G internals are surprisingly good.

I won mine, so I spent $10 on raffle tickets for it. Best value gun ever! Seriously though, its a very decent gun.

I've had mine for a few months, and as an upgrade platform, it is perhaps one of the better deals you can ever get. Damn decent gearbox, great externals (for value, and it has Colt trades!) solid as a rock, and doesn't break easily since the externals aren't made of pot metal.

Metal Hop-Up unit with damn good barrels out of the box I've found. Can hop 25's fairly well for the price you pay, and on an 11.1, can be run fairly hard without breaking down. Piston is decent, and so are the gears that comes with it. Shim job ain't bad, though with a little TLC, it'll be phenomenal, and metal bushings!

In the event it does breakdown internally, then you can pick and choose your parts at will since many after market parts will just slot right into the gun without any modifications. Like a true M4, you can customize anything on it and it will just fit right in (save for maybe a few aftermarket parts, though I've probably never seen them before). Note though, it is front wired, so you may have to do a rewiring job if you want to run the battery to the back.

The only problems I've ever seen on the King Arms M4 (metal bodied versions, which are by far the best) is that the delta ring is a real hassle to take off. A good buddy of mine had to sit in the shop with a heat gun for two days (6 hours in total I think?) and melt the bastard off. So aftermarket rail systems (monolithic ones) can fit, but it'll take a while. Maybe they fixed that problem with later versions, but I haven't checked recently.

All in all, for 200-250? Get it. You won't be disappointed.

I felt I should clear some things up

1) The receivers ARE made of pot metal, they do break.
2) Mechboxes have 7mm closed bearings - which do fail occasionally
3) The lower receiver does not accept industry-standard mechboxes (too narrow)
4) The delta ring comes off relatively easily with the proper tools (proper Picatinny vise and AR15 armorer's wrench)
5) It does not have an o-ring nozzle
6) The tappet plate should be bent to rectify the angle
7) Factory shim job is 9/10

as an alternative i just found out that shootairsoft.ca is closing down and selling GG SR16 Carbine Advanced for $254 would this be a much better deal?

Well seeing at the ka is a metal body and from the pics, that gun looks to have a tinted plastic lower, I'd still go with the ka.

Hey how does the APS M4A1 full metal compare to the KA M4A1? If possible let's through in Javelin M4A1 into the discussion too.

stay away from Javelin/APS, their mechbox/hop-up are proprietary. But aftermarket mechbox/hop-up fit it them. Their externals are ok.