A few Questions about the M4 GBBR's

kev-Oakridge

hey everyone,

I'm really tempted to buy a GBBR and would like to get an M4 one, just looking on feedback on them, like what are the best models, mags to get or avoid as alot seem to leak, also what gas can they run on

I know they need alot of maintenance but that won't be a problem, at the minute I just want to try and see whats the best and what sort of money I would be talking about, also any feedback on the different models

one thing i'm wondering is are these guns useless in cold weather like the GBB pistols unless using CO2?

Masada

AGM is the best one to get in terms of value for money really. they all need some slight tuning anyway so it makes sense to buy the cheapest one. Mine is an AGM and its running brilliantly with most of its original parts. theres some mods and tunups you can do to improve its performance a lot without spending loads of money on it. theres also a hell of a lot more parts available for this platform over the others like KJW, WE etc etc.,

Lemming

hey Kev, I have an AGM m4 and am tinkering around with it and checking out upgrade parts to get it working as best I can.

The AGM is deceptively cheap and you will have to either swap out parts to get it performing anywhere on par with an AEG and/or from what I've read over the net wear & tear will take its toll very quickly on the internals since some of them are made from weak metal.

The bottom line is that if you want a skirmishable GBBR, you will drop over €400 (at a conservative estimate) between the rifle and upgrade parts. That's not including mags, which are expensive both per unit and in terms of shipping since they are heavy enough.

AGM had really cheap mags (albeit with high likelihood of having to replace the 'o' rings and/or valves due to being weak and unable to take anything other than 134a gas). Replacement 'O' rings are cheap enough and good replacement valves aren't much dearer ($10-ish), but the mags themselves are next to impossible to find anymore since AGM got shut down by the Chinese authorities. There are replacements available which would appear to be of far sturdier/durable build, but they're more expensive than the AGM mags, e.g. ProWin or G&P mags retailing around the $50/60 each. You can upgrade existing AGM mags if you can get them, but by the time you've bought the mags (roughly $35 each) and added in new O rings and a valve that can take stronger gas than 134a, you're up to the $50 mark anyway.

All of the above skimps around the issue of GBB performance in general and especially in colder weather. Be prepared to not use the GBBR in cold weather. They just can't go toe-to-toe with an AEG in that respect.

The other thing to be mindful of is that there are two schools of GBBR compatibility. WE, and WA/AGM. You will need to pay attention to which you have and what parts you are ordering. The mags most definitely are not cross compatible, which is a shame since WE have CO2 ones available.

For all of the above, it may read like a case of "why bother", but GBBRs are immense fun to use and well worth it for those who want to get a little closer to milsim as they can.

Inari

(I don't own one, and just tossing out what I've read performance wise)

I heard the KJW one was supposed to be pretty damn good with regard to out of box performance, and they're good as a compnay with regard to sourcing replacement (but stock) parts. I'd be interested to read if anyone has one, and experienced any problems etc

Lemming

Inari wrote: »

(I don't own one, and just tossing out what I've read performance wise)

I heard the KJW one was supposed to be pretty damn good with regard to out of box performance, and they're good as a compnay with regard to sourcing replacement (but stock) parts. I'd be interested to read if anyone has one, and experienced any problems etc

Hadn't heard about the KJW one specifically, but the general theme I come across is that anything around the €500+ (G&P WOC series, Inokatsu, etc,) mark is fairly skirmishable out of the box with few modifications required.

Whilst the AGM m4 is nice and cheap and you can have it in your hands for a lot less, skirmishing with it is another matter unfortunately and that's without taking extra mags into account.

Masada

Every one of them ive seen needs to be tweaked out of the box, high ends included so that kinda defeats the purpose of spending so much.
I have seen the KJW one aswell, (have one right now actually) and its really nicely made. defo made better than the AGM but the price reflects this. it also doesnt have as much of a kick to it so it doesnt feel as realistic.

Theres a list of maybe 10 new parts you can put into them( all brands) to improve them and they cost very little (see pxairsoft for a whole section on GBB rifles). they arent all essential either though, with some small work in filing the face of the bolt carrier and bolt catch you'll save yourself the need to replace them before they get damaged. the aftermarket parts are made from steel and are stupidly cheap so you can replace your old ones with them just for the peace of mind. so far mine is a great performer and ive spent very little on it,.,

90% of the mag issues are caused by people loading the mag into the rifle without having the rifle cocked. this means the firing pin impacts on the magazines valve and bends it, causing it to stick and leak. its an easy enough fix as you only need to straighten the valve step out but it takes some disassembling to do this.

Sooo, go AGM or another cheap brand, dont be fooled into spending a fortune for something that wont satisfy your needs and still need work. PM me if ya need any info on upgrades and mods, ive loads of pics of the upgrades done so far.

Chuck the Buck

I've never owned one nor have I skirmished with one but I have test fired the AGM M4 running on green gas (on a hot day in the summer) and the WE M4 running on CO2 (last weekend). The WE with CO2 mags was waaaaaaaaaaaaay more impressive recoil wise (it actually gave a kick) but as Masada said they all need work and maintenance so they say in tip top condition.


As lemming said maybe not the best skirmish gun but they are great fun as a toy/bit of fun/short games or Milsim if you want to splash the cash on the mags.

MerryDespot

Hi Kev - I'm with Masada on the AGM M4 - but it'll need work alright. I recently got my hands on one (thanks to Hardtop for taking the time to break it down and explain the parts/workings too), which had thankfully had the upgrades that Richie is talking about done to it - the weight difference between the bolt supplied and the bolt used to replace it (i.e. replacement much lighter as it wasn't pot metal) was marked - this weight will impact on the gun mechanism/operation too. And that's just the bolt.
As for the mags ... well ... they're a bit of work to maintain too.

But - the upside is the realism. I recently let a friend of mine fire off a mag with the AGM (one who'd yet to fire a GBBR) - the grin on his face after the first shot was priceless. Let's be honest - these things are massive fun to fire!

That said I've yet to skirmish with this - and I think with the temperature at the moment it'll be a while yet before I get to see how this holds up outdoors. As the posters mention here it's never going to be as consistent as an aeg - but it's worth the effort in my opinion.