Airsoft guns: The L85A1 or The Famas... Or something else?

I have seen these… guns? but I really don’t know what they are for. They look like replica firearms but they shoot something? Are they a cross between BB guns and paint ball guns? I got a tactical rifle case from Airsoft Atlanta and it is for real weapons, so that further confused me about what airsoft guns are for. You don’t shoot at people do you as in paintballs?

You don’t know what airsoft is? I thought it was the most common shooting sport other than paintball…

Anyways, airsoft is a game, nearly exactly like paintball, except they use BB’s. It is much more serious than BB guns though. But essentially they are BB guns. I use them to play down on the beach in all the rocks on the cliffs. Basically sniping each other. Look it up, you don’t need someone telling you this.

@shniernan Sure I could look it up. But then again pretty much all of us can get answers to most of our queries if we just do a search someplace else on line and skip Fluther all together, but we don’t because we appreciate the interaction of our fellow jellies. So airsoft are essentially toys then.

Yes, but are also part of a sport. It is a sport. But most people buy a cool looking gun and just play in their backyard or whatever. Sorry if I seemed rude.

I would buy on FPS first and foremost coupled with barrel length for accuracy. From there it becomes cost and cool factor.

Get a Tokyo Marui AUG or a Tokyo Marui P-90 TR.

I have experience with both, and they both meet your needs and both are technically bullpup.

I love my P-90.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard is 100% right. Tokyo Marui is the best brand to get when you want to maintain a good price:quality ratio. And the P90 is probably one of the best SMGs made in both AirSoft and real-world. You can’t go wrong with their AUG, but if you want an SA80\L85A1 keep in mind most that are made (unless it’s a Western Arms) are generally poor quality kind of like the real one :P. Tokyo Marui’s FAMAS G2 is also an excellent choice, good range and strong mechanical parts are it’s hallmark mostly because it uses the same internals as the Marui M16/M4 line.
Mind you it has been a long time since I looked into it since up here in Canada the sport is almost illegal thanks to our RCMP believing that people can “modify these replica firearms to shoot real bullets.”
Yeah, I know, wtf.

@ApolloX64, you are absolutely correct in your assessments.

I am so sorry i never put the price on here guys, i feel really bad for rejecting you all like this, but my limit is 100$.... So sorry…. Great guns though.

And is the sa80/l85a1 really that bad? What about the storm s-m6?? That’s my new number one pick… http://www.airsoftpost.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_43&products_id=27132

Also, I’m having a bit of trouble imagining what itll be like owning a one shot gun. Is having the cocking bar on the left side good or bad?

Thanks for any and all help sorry for your time….

Ehhhh… “Springers” are a curse and a blessing. You get one high powered, long range shot that is usually highly accurate per roughly second compared to an opponent equipped with an AEG who can fire off a 50 round clip or 500 round box like my buddy with his modified H&K G3 in less than 30 seconds. Good, quality springers have accuracy and stopping power; like the Marushin Kar 98K which was awesome. Honestly if you’re limited to $100 any spring-loaded rifle or pistol you get will be decent, it’s really the $50—$100 electrics and especially gas powered weapons you need to avoid.
Just don’t expect to head shot someone over 100ft away. Unless you’re using the Marushin K98. Damn I loved that thing.

@ApolloX64 – Thank you for the advice…. But I firstly am not looking for headshots, and secondly am doing this as a hobby, not a sport.

Ill be playing in my backyard…. O.o Am i doing this wrong? Hahahah, i dont wanna join a league but still…. i just want the best gun i can get here, the best hybrid actually.

The storm really looks like a hybrid between semi and sniper. I just needed to get some reviews on it…. The storm m-6. It’s obviously not well known and that bothers me.

My biggest question I think though, has got to be the difference of use between the cocking bar being on the left or right… I just cant seem to find out what its used for….

once again thanks for anything.

@shniernan lol in that case, a springer rifle is your best bet. And no you’re not doing it wrong, it’s lots of fun to target shoot with an airsoft rifle. As far as reviews for various weapons there generally aren’t many. I looked at the one in question and it doesn’t look too bad for a beginner rifle. As far as the cocking handle being on the left or the right it is based on whether or not you are right or left handed. If your trigger finger is on your right hand, get a rifle with a left hand cocking lever and vice versa if your trigger finger is on your left hand.

@ApolloX64 – Thank you for all of your help, ESPECIALLY with the cocking bar… You seem to know a lot about this…. so before i make it final and buy that gun, do you recommend any other “beginner” (as u described it) guns? Or just any other guns you have in mind for me? Thanks so much – Shniernan

Personally, I find machine pistols like the 93R to be better unless you are going for a sniper role. I had a nice Tokyo Marui “green gas” non-blowback 92F since I had a budget like your’s and could not afford the 93R. It was accurate out to any range my nearsighted eyes would let me see, which is something I could not find in a “springer” or electric model. It held 23 shots, could empty three clips between gas refills (the gas reservoir was in the clip) as fast as I could pull the trigger and was overall a great, fun gun.

Now, a pistol may not have the range you desire, but I strongly disagree with @ApolloX64‘s assessment of gassers, though I agree with the Tokyo Marui recommendation. As long as you stick with TM, you’ll get a good airsoft gun regardless.

I didn’t say gassers were bad, I said cheap gassers are bad. Tokyo Marui, Western Arms and Classic Army make some of the most reliable gas weapons, it’s the no-names and cheap brands like G&B and their ilk where you should avoid the gas powered variants.
Also gassers can be more expensive to keep going, whereas like the man said he’s just starting out for target shooting and a springer will work just fine in that role.
On that note the M6 you’re looking at is pretty good for beginners so I’d say work with that and maybe upgrade to a TM AEG M16 or AK47 or even their FAMAS G2 if you feel like participating in any serious or semi-serious games. Also invest in some good tough goggles; preferably paintball style, and some good padded shooters gloves. You’ll need those if you want to have fun using moving targets ;).

@ApolloX64 Mea culpa. At least we seem to agree that cheap guns suck. My pistol cost slightly more than the OP’s budget of $100, but I considered the semi-auto firing to be worth the cost.

@jerv You got a great deal for a TM gas action around $100, wish I could find stuff like that. However my issue is more that I’m up in Canada and you can’t buy a real AirSoft gun anymore, as you have to have a firearms importing license. How does that make sense? lol.
There used to be an Alberta based group of guys who imported stock and sold them, but the RCMP “busted” them for “importing potentially dangerous firearm replicas” that people “could potentially modify to inflict harm.”
Talk about irrational.

KWC makes good gas guns too. I have a KWC Glock 26c and it’s a blast. You can fire it in both semi and full auto modes and you can empty a 33 round magazine on full auto in less than a second. Velocity is about 350 fps.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Nice! I haven’t seen KWC guns, so they must have come into it after I got out of the scene lol. Most of the players around here use TM, Marushin, Western Arms, Classic Army and G&G weapons.

@ApolloX64, KWC actually may have gone out of style, despite the quality. When I played airsoft regularly, everyone used TM and Marushin. Classic Army and the other companies hadn’t really come into their own yet.

Damn, I feel old now :-P

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard lol! I hear ya. I’ll take a look into KWC; AirSoft is something I’ve been trying to get back into, but like I said it’s damn difficult up here. :(

Those paintballing kids have all the luck. :P

Got the sm-6… I gotta say I’m impressed. I love it. All except for the fact that my left hand is swelling to like double its size. THAT THING IS HARD TO COCK. Maybe my left arm is just weak. O.o Oh well, thats not the point, the point is, i really like it, and thanks for everyones help. :D

lol good to hear and just keep working on it, you’ll build those muscles up.

@ApolloX64 – Im sure i will, but in the meantime, the bar that you cock has these little grooves that really hurt and i have some pretty big blisters… Any suggestions on gloves? Anyone?

@shniernan, wrap it with electrical tape.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – my life…. is solved…. :D now any super awesome electrical tape?

No im joking. Thanks for all the help guys. Case closed.