With "clone" Chinese made AEGs and springers becoming more available and having a higher quality control then they have had in the past are the days of TM, ICS, Classic Army, and the other "big dogs" over or will they be able to compete with the lower priced high powered Chinese competitors. (sorry for the long run on sentence)
This is a very good question. and the answer can only be if quality is an issue. I recently posted on something simalar to this. If i had got ripped off by purchaseing a Well Arms Chinese manufacturered springer set. I havent recieved the weapons yet but ill let you all know via Ebay Forum and Youtube Video reviewblog.
But if anyone is knowledgable on the issue I garuantee that other people including myself would love to hear your thoughts. SO PLEASE RESPOND!!
We have a team of around 25 guys in the Northeast, and we field around 12-15 on any given Sunday. Our primary weapons are Systema PTWs (M4s and M733s) and a few CA M249s.
For the last few months, I've put my Systema PTW on hiatus, and I've been skirmishing with various A&K, Echo-1 and JG models. I've found them, for the most part to be reliable and definitely competitive. I'm getting 380-400 FPS out of the box on some models, over 300 on all of the models that I've tested, with decent range and accuracy.
The only downsides are that the guns usually need to be re-shimmed and need bushings. We've seen some issues with the Echo-1 M249s, but as the players using them are pretty young, we're not sure how much is user-error vs some weakness in the design (we had one M249 rattle its pistol grip loose after 1 skirmish, and one battery short).
Aside from the ABS bodies, you get a lot more for your money when purchasing a clone rather than a TM for twice the price. When I started playing, it cost around $400.00 to get outfitted properly (TM 733, 2 additional hicaps, BBs Battery and Charger). Nowadays, you can do it for around 300.00, which leaves you some money to make the clone really sting.
Sorry, have to disagree. Our field has 70-80 players on a normal day, with a mix of replicas ranging from JG/Echos up through Systema PTWs. I run the range safety and training classes for our field, and I see new players literally every week. So far, we've had some Echo-1s that have lasted over a year without a hiccup, playing hard every week. If a player is careful, the replica will last.
The only place where "Quality" is really the key is in the players. A good player can be competitive using anything. Last weekend, I was making some absolutely great shots with an upgraded Echo, and taking out opponents armed with some serious hardware.
Are the higher end replicas "better"? Perhaps. However, if the lower end replicas get more players into the game, how can that be bad, either for the sport or for sales?
All in all, I'd rather play with a "noob" with a great attitude and an Echo-1, instead of a veteran "Gear Freak" with a red cylinder PTW and a bad attitude.
I've had a couple experiences with clone weapons from china. One would be the Ak that i bought off of ebay for $70 and It's fps was around 250 with .12g bbs and a low rpm so i kind of got jipped in that transaction. I went to a war with that gun and got SMASHED. I didn't shoot a single person, I was outranged by hundreds of yards. I bought a new MP5-PDW recently off of ebay from china and it shoots around 330 with .2g bbs has a very high rpm and has many metal parts including the gearbox for $105. It also came with 3 mags, a speed loader, a sling, and 4000 bbs.
So depending on what company the clone is made by helps the gun.
A few hints...any item that is using .12 gram bbs is not a seriously usable replica for a field game.
Secondly, for clones, you probably want to stick with manufacturers like JG, Echo1 (which is pretty much the same thing), SRC/TSD, A&K, etc. With the other clone manufacturers, you're kind of rolling the dice.
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