Tokyo Marui M16a1 VN (Vietnam Version)
By snakeyes
Published: December 7, 2003
Updated: October 10, 2008
Gun Type: AEG
Battery Size: Large
Motor: Tokyo Marui EG700
Fire Modes: Semi and Full Automatic
Length: 984 mm
Weight: 2.9 kg
Barrel Length: 509 mm
Capacity: 190 rounds
Hi-Capacity: 300 rounds
AVG. F.P.S: 275-285 FPS
AVG. R.P.M: 700-800 RPM
Accurate Range: 70 feet
Metal Parts: Barrel assembly w/ front sight, rear sight, magazine release lever, trigger, bolt flap, T charging handle and fire selector.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS/LOOKS
When I first received the gun from Generation Airsoft in the mail the first thing I noticed was that all of the places that would have the word Colt on the box were cut out. I guess that they had to remove the word Colt for shipping/trademark reasons. When I first opened up the box the color of the gun caught me off guard. I had been expecting a solid gray gun but when I opened up the box most of the gun was black. The stock, handle and barrel were all jet black. After I looked at the gun for about fifteen minutes I ever so carefully picked up the gun out of the box. The M16-VN is a very long gun and I noticed that the gun was much heavier up towards the barrel but that is because the barrel makes up 2/3 of the length of the gun. The gun itself looks very realistic since it has full trademarks (pending on the retailer). I try to make it a point to hide the gun from my uncle because he served in the Vietnam War and I would hate for him have a flash back from looking at it because it looks so real.
PERFORMANCE
After I was done drooling over my gun I put my battery in and took it outside for it's first non-combat trial. I first shot it in the semi-auto mode. After the first shot I was very impressed with the gun. My first shot went almost exactly were I was aiming with .20 gram bb's so the gun was almost already dead center accurate, I just adjusted it a little and it was dead center. Once I tweaked with the semi-auto stuff and had adjusted my hop-up I got ready for the moment that I had bought an AEG, I flipped the switch to the full-auto setting. As soon as I pulled the trigger I was like a kid in a candy store. As I watched myself spray bb's in every which direction I truly realized the accuracy of the gun. I watched as the bb's buzzed out in a straight line for about the first 80 feet. Although I was very excited about the accuracy I was almost equally excited about the ROF that the M16-VN put out. The ROF wasn't the best I had ever seen but I knew that ROF was easily adjustable by just upgrading the gun. The accuracy of the M16-VN to my amazement wasn't affected by putting the gun in the full-auto mode. Also, the rumor about the M16-VN having a barrel that wobbles a bunch wasn't evident in my gun.
COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS
I have already used my gun in four battles and I was very pleased with the results winning two should have been three of the battles I was in. All of the battles were outdoor battles so it has been exposed to the elements and is still running fine. The first match I played in it was sleeting and my gun worked perfectly in it so I was very happy with that. The long barrel of the M-16VN makes it a very versatile weapon. If you feel like being a sniper the range of the gun makes it so you can just sit down and snipe away. On the other hand if you feel a little frisky and you decide you want to go all out charging in guns blazing you just flip it to fully auto and give somebody heck. In most cases the mag that comes with the M-16VN (190 rounds) will do the job, but I prefer going into battle with the hi-cap mag (300 rounds) just for the extra security.
OVERALL
The M16-VN is one of the sweetest guns I have ever played with. The versatility that the gun has to offer makes it in my book one of the best AEG's you can buy.
- Snakeyes