WWII AIRSOFT GUNS
An AEG M1 Garand is now a required piece of your impression. It does not matter if it is ICS, G&G, A&K, or custom, but every man needs a reliable weapon that allows them to accurately portray an average enlisted man in an airborne division. We strongly recommend that this be your first weapon. Later, if you have the funds and desire, you may purchase other weapons on this list.
AEGS
The ICS M1 Garand is a full metal AEG with a real wood stock and handguards. It feeds from a bottom-loading 40 round magazine. The gun comes with two magazines, however I would suggest you get more. The ICS M1 fires at approximately 395 fps with a 0.20 gram BB. DO NOT USE CROSMAN OR .12 GRAM BBS IN ANY AIRSOFT GUN! DOING SO WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY! I would highly recommmend the ICS M1 Garand. They cost $360 on airsoftgi.com.
If you cannot afford an ICS M1 Garand, you can still have a Garand. A custom AEG M1 from an M14 can be made for anyone interested by one of our members. A definite price cannot be concluded at this time but should be around $250-$300. They will be made from a CYMA M14, so they will shoot 330-360 fps.
This is a Cheapo AEP M1 Carbine on Ebay. It shoots about 230 fps. Aesthetically, it is horrible. However, it is cheap, at $50. The magazine is a high-cap which hold 115 rounds. I can fix up the appearance (cut off the bayonet lug and fill the screw holes) for you for a small price.
The Ares M3 is a fully automatic AEG. It fires around 300 fps, authentic for an SMG. The weird thing about the Ares M3 is that the battery goes in the magazine. This means when you change mags, you change batteries too. The magazine holds 65 rounds. I would recommend this, but I don't want too many of these on the field. Ask your friends what gun they are getting before buying this gun.
The G&G M1 Garand is a full metal AEG with a real wood stock and hand guards. Aesthetically, it is better than the ICS offering. It shoots at just under 400 fps with a 0.2g BB, and its magazine holds 20 rounds and feeds 17. The G&G M1 can be bought at combatsportsupply.com and other retailers for $450. I'd highly recommend it.
|
GAS
The Marushin M1 Garand is a superauthentic gas blowback replica of the M1 Garand. It is full metal and has real wood furniture.It comes in 6mm and 8mm. I do not know much about the 6mm. However, I own an 8mm, and I have to say, it's an awesome gun. First of all, Marushin went totally overkill on the realism of this gun. It even accepts 8 round clips that eject when the last round is fired! Also, because of the blowback action, it has a nice amount of recoil, way more than a .22 rifle, more like an AR-15.It also disassembles like the real Garand. Second, 8mm is a freakishly large BB. So you not only have a chance to shoot somebody, but you also get a chance to make a Kraut crap his pants. And third, this gun is ridiculously powerful. They shoot between 360 and 420 fps with an 8mm .34 gram BB, which is over 500 fps for a 6mm BB. Now for the cons. It is stupidly gas inefficient. I have to refill mine with gas every 3 to 4 clips. It needs a ridiculous amount of maintenance to keep it working. The blowback is so strong that it knocks every single screw loose, so you need to disassemble it and loktite all the screws. Third, and most important, this gun's bolt has a habit of breaking. If you buy this gun, immediately have a machinist make a bolt out of steel. You can buy these guns for $509 off of keystonearsenal.com.
The Marushin M1 Carbine CDX is a full metal and real wood gas blowback rifle. It runs off of CO2 cartridges. The magazines hold 15 rounds each. It fires at 440 fps. There is also a version with a plastic stock for half the price. The real wood version sells for $378 on airsoftgi.com, and the plastic version sells for $198 on redwolfairsoft.com.
King Arms has recently released its M1A1 Carbine. It appears to be a clone of the Marushin mechanism. These are solid guns and are made of better materials than the Marushin version. Evike sells them for $350. They also make a regular full-stocked version for $330. THESE ARE SOLID GUNS, BUT THEY DO REQUIRE REGULAR MAINTENANCE. SCREWS WILL NEED TIGHTENING AND THE MOVING PARTS SHOULD BE GREASED AFTER EVERY SKIRMISH DAY.
|
Spring
The CYMA M1 Carbine is a spring powered weapon. It is mostly plastic with some metal parts. The stock is plastic. It feeds from a 40 round magazine. I can shorten the magazine for you for $20 each. It shoots around 330 fps, which makes it somewhat weak, but skirmishable. This is a decent weapon if you can't afford anything else. These are about $45 on various sites.
Can't afford an AEG or gas Garand but still want one? I can make you a cheapass spring Garand from a TSD M14. It will only resemble an M1. It should cost $75 or so.
With the advent of the new S&T M1903A3 Springfield, a custom piece no longer makes sense. Externally, the S&T offering is solid and is somewhat internally compatible with VSR upgrades. It shoots 390 fps. At long last, we have an affordable no-shells spring bolt action battle rifle. They are available for $200 on evike.com. These seem to have some feeding troubles and other problems, but with some TLC they can become very nice rifles.
UPCOMING
These guns have not yet been released.
King Arms recently announced a GBB M1928 Thompson project. Not much is known about it. Full metal and real wood. It has a proprietary gas system.
Prototype test:
http://vimeo.com/75382209
Update: these are getting close to release.
http://www.airsoft2day.com/news/1291-ka-thompson-m1928-gbb-nearing-release.html
Prototype test:
http://vimeo.com/75382209
Update: these are getting close to release.
http://www.airsoft2day.com/news/1291-ka-thompson-m1928-gbb-nearing-release.html