Internal Overview

From my small amount of experience so far, the internals are quite nice. The gun has a full metal gearbox, with metal bushings of an unknown size, I suspect 6mm. The shell of the gearbox is flat black, something different, as most gearboxes aren't painted, revealing their cast aluminum construction.

If you're looking to buy, you'll notice many manufacturers advertising the gun shooting anywhere from 360 to 375 fps. When my friend chronoed this gun, he received readings of about 368 fps with a .2g BB.

The purchase of a 9.6v battery is almost a must, as the 8.4v battery provided gives the gun a pathetic rate of fire.

Basic Disassembly

Precautionary steps - Always remember to disconnect the battery, and remove the magazine, before beginning disassembly of the gun.

The first step to take the gun apart is to open up the upper receiver. To do this, simply depress the button at the rear of the cover, and pull up.

This is what you will see. The small white, somewhat see-through tube, contains the fuse. If your gun ever stops working, simply check the fuse, if it's burnt out, replace it before firing. To install the battery, slide it into the front of the gun. To fit properly, the wire will have to be facing the bottom right corner of this slot. Also, if ever needed, the cocking mechanism and parts can be accessed here.

When the upper receiver is opened, this small bar holding the Upper handguard on, will be withdrawn into a small cavity of the receiver, allowing for removal of this hand guard. Simply pull the end closest to the trigger up, and then pull the rest off.

The remove the lower handguard, move this level toward the trigger. Note, This level will only function if it is in this small groove located in the barrel. To reinstall the lower handguard, push it down upon the receiver, towards the trigger, until the lever mechanism is in the groove, then move the lever forward - Towards the muzzle.

Range Report
I haven't actually shot the gun at an actual target. However, I have shot it at a license plate. This was just a simply test for range and power. I loaded up some Crosman .20g BBs, and backed up about 60 feet and fired. Probably 6 out of every 10 shots hit, but these were Crosman BBs mind you - Not the best in quality by any means. Power wise, the gun left about 3mm dents in the license plate from this range.

Next, I loaded up some Fidragon .20g BBs, quite a bit better in quality. Also, this time I fired from various distances, with a minimum of about 80, and a maximum of about 100. I'd estimate about 8 out of 10 shots hit the license plate. Dents were still left, but slightly small in size and in depth.

Just messing around, I loaded up some more Crosman .20g BBs. I turned the hop-up all the way, and aimed at a tree a good 180 or so feet away. With a little bit of arc, my shots made it to this distance almost every time, with a few off-shots.

Last, I performed the Coke can test. To be specific, I used a Barq's Root Beer can. For my first shot, I fired at the side. The gun pierced both sides easily, and the holes weren't just simply holes, they were blown out. This gives the gun an Fps of about 350. Next, I shot the gun at the bottom of the can. I didn't fully go through. The BB blow a hole in the bottom, but then got stuck.

Magazine Function
The two magazines I have used with this gun so far, are the included Hi-cap, and 2 King Arms Mid Caps.

The Hi-cap is an AK-74 bakelite style magazine, black in color. The plastic used feels pretty thick and durable, however, if you squeeze the middle, there is a slight flex. One thing I like about this magazine, is the lip and entire top of it is metal, prolonging it's life and preventing damage. During tests, I noticed that the magazine had to be wound quite a few more times than a TM or ICS hi-cap, to feed properly. Other than that, it's a great magazine. It kept up with the 9.6v on full auto, and only skipped when it needed winding.

The 2 King Arm Mid Caps I used, were the Ak-47 styled, 110 Round midcaps. They are advertised as 110 rounds, but in reality only hold about 80. The construction is great. It is made up of thick, hard plastic. There is no flex at all when squeezed in the middle. Unlike the included Hi-cap, there is no metal on lip of the mag, or anywhere at all on it, for that matter - They are composed entirely of plastic. There are no problems inserting it, but when in the gun, there is slight movement side to side. However, it is so minuscule, it should not cause any problems. One thing I noticed, is that sometimes when I take the magazine out, it seems to get hooked on the mag release, and requires quite a bit of force to remove. In firing, the Midcap kept up with the gun, when using the 8.4v only. When I used the 9.6v, and switched on full auto, the midcap could not keep up. If possible, I'd buy a different brand of Magazine. These are durable, but they are too much frustration. They'd be good for messing around, or semi-auto fire only, but that's about it. One good thing about them, is that they can be had for cheap, selling for around 6-7 dollars in some places.

Personal Problems and Opinions
When it comes to ergonomics, this gun isn't the best. I've really been spoiled by the M16 series ergonomics. The, the strategically placed selector switch, the streamline stock, which is longer in length than almost any other rifle, the longer handguard, etc. Being about 6 foot 2, the M16 is just a much more comfortable gun to wield - And It would is for most tall people as well. My main problem with the gun, is the small stock, and it's position. I often find myself holding my head up to properly align the sites, and moving my head forward. The selector switch on the right side of the gun is a little hard to get used to, but it's actually really not that big of a problem. I really like the beefy pistol grip, It seems to be much larger than those of other AEGs. If you're extremely tall, I wouldn't really recommend this gun to you, before you try it out first - It might not be for you.

Conclusion
The AK CPM sells for 155 new, and the package includes a charger, the Hi-cap, the gun(of course), and an 8.4v 1100 mah sticky battery. I would definitly recommend this gun to anyone looking to get into the sport of airsoft, of anyone just simply buying a new gun. I've owned a TM M16A2, A TM M3, and TOP M60E3, and a CA M15A4, and this gun performs very much like they did. The only aspect to take into consideration, is long term durability, However, i have feeling this will not be a problem, as ECHO-1 AEGs normally last a long time.

Pros
-Metal assembly
-Great construction
-High Capacity magazine
-High stock velocity
-Good accuracy
-Included side rail
-Included Quality Battery and Charger
-Folding Stock

Cons
-Small size
-Ergonomics
-Having to use Stick batteries(Generally won't last as long)

*Two Problems*
The gun has two main problems, First:

The pin that holds in the magazine catch. It comes out pretty easy, this is what caused the magazine insertion problems as aforementioned. Every once in a while, it will randomly wiggle out. To fix it, just apply pressure and put it backs in it's spot.

Second, the pin that holds in the upper receiver. This will wiggle out of spot, probably every 15-20 times opening and closing the receiver cover. Like the mag catch, just wiggle back into place. When it's out, you'll notice the receiver cover will shut to either the right of left side. I recommend checking this every time you open the receiver cover.

**Range Report with Chrono**
Last weekend, I took the gun out for a run, in Operation Dark Reckoning. There were two main games, one starting at around 930 to 10, and going to 130, and a second going from 230 to 510. Before the game, we had to chrono our guns to make sure they were within league limits. Using .25g BBs, My gun chrono'd:
Shot 1:347 fps
Shot 2:344 fps
Shot 3:349 fps
Just barely under the limit of 350 fps w/ .25g BBs.
To sum things up, What I discovered during the op;
-The gun's accuracy lacks at longer rangers. While it can reach out to these ranges, it normally curves to the left or right slightly at longer distances. Nothing real big, as it's normally distances of 130+ feet, but still.
-It seems to "freeze up" every once in a while. A couple times, I'd have it on Semi, fire a few shots, and then the gun wouldn't fire. However, I found out this could be remedied by simply pulling the trigger several times quickly, or switching to Auto and firing a burst. No idea why this happens, or any further information at this time.
-The selector should definitely be tightened right away. I removed the cap from the selector screw, and it used a rather large torx screw. Like aforementioned, Simply firing the gun will move the selector down to semi.
-I actually didn't have one problem with the small stock.
-A 9.6v battery is definitely necessary. The 8.4v works fine if you fire semi-auto, but using it for full auto fire is quite pathetic.

Personal Recommendations
-Get a sling. I thought one wouldn't be necessary because of the gun's small size. I was wrong.
-Get 9.6v batteries. Read above.
-Buy MAG midcaps. Best magazines I used. Fed flawlessly, had great capacity, and are very sturdy.
-Avoid King Arms Midcaps. They don't hold the advertised capacity, The jam INSIDE the magazine(the BBs double up causing a jam), and feed too slowly.

Spot the not?

- BigPhish038 

Your Name:

Comment:

Enter the code you see in the image above (case sensitive). Click on the image to refresh it.