Getting back into the game

[am36]

Hello I used to play some years ago and am trying to get back into the game to fill my time with something more useful than going to the bar on weekends. Just wondering if there is still a decent following around southeastern Michigan  before I go out and invest in some gear. Also would like some guidance on what guns to go for, I used to have a ca m4 but not sure how good of a brand ca is anymore.

[luke213]

Can't speak to the areas and how active they are since I'm in the UP:)

That said on the brand I'd say everything aside from TM is more reliable than it used to be. So seldom do you see some of the old issues with guns completely falling on their face compared to back in the day. That's not to say it doesn't happen, but in my opinion guns are more reliable then the used to be at least China guns. TM is still as reliable on the whole as they ever were and still make good stuff though as always majority plastic bodies.

Myself being that I can fix most stuff I've found my niche is mostly mid tier guns like the old CA's, and some of the new inexpensive imports if the externals are good I'll just rebuild the box or toss in a shell and make what I want from it. Though for the most part I've found most of the basic guns are at least functional though most could really use some work on the hopup area if nothing else.


Luke

[am36]

Perfect thank you. Anybody else know if there’s still a following. Really just trying to see if it’s worth getting into around here. As much as I love collecting there would be no use if I can’t use them without traveling 3 hours+

[luke213]

Well I'd say @Canto probably knows or @Pagan one of the two should be pretty knowledgeable about who's hosting what where.

But another guess would be @T6e9a since he's pretty up to date also. This should send them all a notification to check this thread.

Take care!

Luke

And I'd guess that you should be alright seems like lower Mi has a pretty good amount of activity going on around the state though I do know there are some areas without much going on also.

[T6e9a]

As time goes on, I keep seeing more and more small fields popping up. I have been meaning to get their info, prices, times, etc and make up a binder or collection of info so that it can answer those questions of "what fields are near me". A binder as it would be nice for a physical copy in the store or at a local field. Could probably make copies and send them out to assorted airsoft locations so it can be accessible in person.

But aside from that, I must agree with Luke, things have improved in a big way over the course of time. Companies are innovating and including common upgrades into stock guns they sell. If one company comes out with pre-installed mosfets, a QD spring guide feature and other things, the rest shortly follow.

While Classic Army has been up there as well, innovating and improving, they honestly would be one of the last brands I would pick for most base platforms. (But base platforms should be up to preferred externals in my opinion. Pick a gun you like externally, and it can always be built internally if it lacks the performance you want).

Depending on your budget, I recommend VFC, ICS, G&G, Krytac, KWA, and even CYMA. Each brand has their strong suites in platform selections.

[Pagan]

My team and I host monthly games in Taylor. Our games last month had 143 attendees. We average around 80-90 players a game.

[luke213]

CYMA. Each brand has their strong suites in platform selections.

That is an excellent point. Something I forgot to note and I'm not sure when you used to play or how long ago it was. But CYMA was absolute steaming garbage back in the day, like I'm having a hard time coming up with a comparable company to explain to newer players. But CYMA wasn't worth buying at any price back in the day. They made stuff that flat didn't work or failed within the first magazine, that's the reputation they held.

Now I'm not saying they are great, but they are generally fairly well built and serviceable guns. Which I still don't know how I feel about;) But I've owned several and been happy with them bang for the buck. Expect on inexpensive guns to need to do some internal work IE shimming, replacing hopup bucking etc, most just don't ship with good parts there. But with some tuning they really can do allot for a bargain bin price tag. Which compared to back when I started, parts are cheaper, and the guns quality on the whole is far better. Back in the day you bought a $300-400 CA gun, then put a couple hundred in parts to make it work well. Now you can buy a $150 gun, put $50 into it and have something that honestly is far better than the CA I mentioned initially. So it's to a degree a golden era if you're willing to learn to tear apart and repair things;)

Luke

[T6e9a]

CYMA AKs are probably the most reliable out-of-the-box guns out there. I've worked on probably close to a couple hundred CYMA guns, of many platforms, and I have seen some things I would have never believed could be done, and the gun still function. Full metal, real wood AKs, starting at about $150 new.

Now like I was saying, each brand has their strong suites. Their compression systems between all the more recent platforms, are impeccable. Not long ago, I had to lower the FPS of one, that out of the box(which advertised shooting 361fps) shot almost 460. I had to cut 5 coils off the spring to have it barely legal for the 365 limit where they were playing.

I could go on and on about my positive opinion on CYMA, but like many other brands, they also made LPAEGs, M4 platforms, which while still decent, were slightly weird spec for certain part fitment, and weak-ish gearbox shells.

The trash brands I am familiar with were SRC, Javelin, Double Eagle, just to name a few. And even then, it is really the SRC sportline, that were so cheap and widely bought, which brought upon their unfavorable reputation. Their non M4 models and higher end stuff wasn't as bad, but still not as great as what is available today.

[am36]

Thanks for the responses guys. Yeah I played when CYMA first popped up on the market and was still pretty trash but it’s great to hear how all the companies stepped it up. I remember my ca just totally crapped out on me so I replaced all the internals with the systema internals that they used to sell. Still wish I can tack that gun down but I’m gonna check out what you guys listed in the mean time.
Thank you
Ali