First Thoughts:


This rifle would be my first Classic Army, but third Armalite. I

received this rifle for my 18th birthday and was very excited about it.

I kept checking the front porch all day to see if it had come. Around

six o’clock my brother and I were playing a game in Madden 2005, when I

heard the UPS truck come… I ran downstairs during the middle of a play

and checked the front porch……… What I found was a HUGE box with brown

covering over it. After taking off the brown covering I found a white

box with a picture of my particular rifle on it.

The box

So I opened the box to find the usual things manuals, unjamming rod,

the magazine, and the rifle of course. After examining the rifle I

thought to myself I don’t really like it. Then I realized it didn’t yet

have the black flash suppressor, rail covers, or the battery box. So I

quickly took care of these things. I had a noobish moment and forgot to

order the right battery, so till this weekend all I would be able to do

is just hold it and get a good fell for it. The first thing I did was

pull back the charging handle. It didn’t do anything, but it made a

nice metal on metal sound. The hop-up is accessed by just flipping the

spot where on a real-steel M4 the shell casings would eject. It’s held

shut by a magnet.

Handle Pulled back

As you know CA guns do not have authentic trademarks. I really actually

prefer the trades on this rifle to the real-steel ones. Sorry for the

blurry ness in the upcoming pictures.

Trades

Shooting:


That weekend I exchanged the wrong battery with a right one from the

guy I bought it from (Ramrodairsoft.com) took it out the shooting range

and started firing. The fps seemed pretty high around 280, but the bb’s

seemed to be falling straight down. I called over the guy I bought it

from and he immediately knew what was wrong, apparently the hop-up

bucking is made to loose and it bounces when the gun is fired. We found

something hard to stuff in there to hold it in place. Later I got a

waded up piece of paper and stuffed it in there.

After handling this, the gun shot great with no problems. The rifle

shot pretty accurately having an effective range of around 90 to 100

feet. It was my favorite gun I have used thus far in my airsoft career.

It’s a carbine so it is more suitable for woodland battles (IMO), but

wouldn’t be impossible to use in CQC.

Several months later:


After a long drought of no airsoft I decided to play and went out to a

Saturday game. Everything was all and well until the last game of the

day. All of the sudden the rifle stopped shooting and a humming sound

was coming from the motor. I showed it to the guy I bought it from (He

is good with gun maintenance) and he wasn’t sure what was wrong. It was

no big deal though, because I was letting him take it with him to

install the M203 and M120 Spring.

Next game:


I found out that the problem was my motor was dead. I replaced the

motor with a Systema high torque motor, and haven’t had any problems

since and that was about four months ago. This is a little puzzling

because I hadn’t used it very much. The only thing I can think of is

that I was using a 9.6 volt battery before I got it upgraded and it was

too much. When I got the rifle back with the M203, I was amazed! The

“cool factor” of the rifle was doubled. The M203 made it look great!

The CA m15

When I took the rifle out to the shooting range to check out the

upgrade and chrono it, I noticed the FPS hadn’t increased THAT much. It

probably went from around 280 to 300-350, most shots being in the 320

range. That’s okay though because I am still not finished upgrading

this bad boy. Now the M203, when I finally found a situation necessary

I fired it…. I didn’t get anyone, but it was defiantly cool shooting

it. I was using a 165 shower shell grenade with .23 bb’s (More on this

in a second). A puff of smoke comes out of the barrel and it even has a

little bit of a recoil. Since I was using .23 bb’s they shot out in a

tight circle the fps of them seemed to be somewhere around 250 feet per

second. I recommend using .20’s that way there is more spread. The

trades on the M203 as the trades on the M15 aren’t authentic.

M203 Trades

Shower Shell Problems:


A few months later I wanted to fire the shower shell so I went out into

my backyard and tried to shoot it but it wouldn’t work. I unscrewed the

bottom and placed all the bearings back into place and it worked after

this. So I think fixed it.

M203 Barrel:


I don’t think I mentioned earlier but I had a plastic long barrel on

the M203. I wanted one of those short barrels, so before dishing out 65

bucks on a metal short barrel I thought I would try to modify mine into

making it a short barrel. So I went and got a hand saw…… What a

disaster, I cut it uneven and cracked it. So now I had no choice, I had

to get the metal barrel. When I got the metal barrel and put in on I

noticed it creaked a little bit on the M203, or at least more then the

plastic barrel. Its not really a big deal, just usually getting metal

stuff makes your AEG more sturdy and solid.

G&P ACOG:

I got this for a steal off of ebay; I think I paid 100 bucks. I had

been wanting one for a while but just couldn’t see the point in

spending over 120 for a scope. Especially since on an airsoft gun a

cheap scope will more then suit your needs. The scope can either be

mounted onto the rail under the carry handle or onto the carry handle

itself. The only problem with the scope is the inner part of the

reticle can be hard to see at some times. If you are out doors its okay

but in a low light situation it can be very hard to see. TM and CA comparison:


Okay now which brand should you go with? Well that depends on your situation.

You are an airsofter who wants a good AEG for target shooting, and maybe a few small skirmishes:


Go with the TM. No contest there.


You are a serious airsofter who wants to play in skirmishes with other serious players, but have a budget:


Go with the CA, they are cheap to upgrade and come with a metal receiver.


You are a serious airsofter who wants to play in skirmishes with other serious players, and have a big budget:


Either one, pick the brand with the look you like better. Because

chances are you are going to be replacing all the internals anyway.

Closing Comments:

This is my favorite gun I have gotten thus far. I love it I have had

minimal problems with it and highly recommend it. CA might be giving TM

a run for their money in the upcoming years. So whether you are an

experience airsofter or inexperienced I recommend this gun.