Newbie advice re woodland rifle

[oliver dowinton]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

My only advice is steer WELL clear of the Ares/STAR m4...

[harrym]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

My only advice is steer WELL clear of the Ares/STAR m4...

Really? Did you have a bad experience? The Ares M4A1 has reasonably good reviews.

[oliver dowinton]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

Really? Did you have a bad experience? The Ares M4A1 has reasonably good reviews.

Well basically the bottom line is that the externals are fantastic but the internals are pretty poor and get worse quickly.

[harrym]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

Are they upgradeable/fixable?

[oliver dowinton]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

Are they upgradeable/fixable?

They are very incompatible externally and internally.
Externally only milspec/RS stocks willfit, other makes of handguards/rails will be really loose.
Internally the hop unit is sort of intergrated into the gearbox and is therefore not only a pain to get to but also incompatible with other makes without a new gearbox.
Also because of the quick spring change the gearboxshell is impossible to replace with a standard one and putting in a whole new gearbox, the only option if you have a craked shell as a consequence, requires huge amounts of sanding on the lower reciever to fit it in.

[Kidjal]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

Bought my ares scar..out the box "OOO NICE"

PLayed a few months, brilliant gun. Looks great. feels great. Shoots great.

A year on, I have.


A broken stock hinge which I can't replace because Ares customer service said I could buy a replacement for $25 and $25 shipping, but never replied with how I go about doing this.

Mashed up wires because the set is too long for the inside of the receiver. The lower receiver has to push them against the back of the gun and they are all now becoming exposed/ broken. Connectors coming loose.

Deans connectors broken off the stock.

Fire selector loose on the inside. Again, no way of replacing the part.

Hop up rubber is a "figure of eight" design only replicated (i beleive) on thier tar 21 and NEW m4. Again, once it split, they dont sell these third party, unless you buy the whole hop up unit fo £25+ I modded the arm to take madbulls, but its never been the same.

Piston cracked after 7 months. Replaced it with a new one for an M4 (again, ares dont sell scar specific parts anywhere) and it was too big for the gearbox so Rob had to file it down to fit it (it kept sticking)

Mags require stupid "window" catch. Would take TM compatible m14 mags else. I buy these, cut a window. Not paying 30 quid a mag for star/ares.

only one of the body pins is a no-loss one. The others have finnicky spring catches adjusted with a tiny grub screw, which fell out and got lost almost immediatley. I now have a bolt holding on my upper receiver / barell.

Stock motor was shit, and soldered in. Had to replace with a TM one..because you need to cut this solder off to get at the gearbox.

To top all this, the tiny tiny pin holding the mag release catch assembley decided to pop out last month, and now the entire asemmbley shot out into a bush or something. Again, no one carries these parts except ares themselves, and their customer service is a bag of crap.


I love the gun, I really do, it plays so well, but i've had enough now. I bought the M1a1 for an excuse for a new loadout / primary so I can walk away from this problem child. The quick change spring IMO, is its only redeeming feature. Never, EVER, buying an Ares gun EVER AGAIN.

[CHIFF_MoA]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

I'd echo what others have said about Ares, they are best avoided as a beginner gun. When they learn to make internal pars that are fit for purpose then they will be a genuine contender, for now they are really only suitable for those that don't mind a bit of a project gun.

I'd also steer you away from the CA sportline range, whilst they are quite nicely made externally the internals are worse then useless. The nylon parts in particular were of very low quality. We bought a pair of them last year to keep as loaners for newbies and neither of them lasted more than a few thousand rounds before suffering catastrophic failures. On opening one up I found that the cylinder head had shattered (something I've never seen before) and on the other one the tappet plate broke. The overall quality inside the mechbox wasn't much to write home about, the internals being of lower quality than some of the Chinese clone brands. I'd just avoid them entirely.

If you decide to go with TM, you'd probably be best avoiding their M4/M16 range unless you are willing to pay for the Sopmod/Socom, as they are a bit prone to breaking the tabs that hold the upper and lower receiver together. Great guns otherwise, but they need to be treated gently really. Other than that you can't go wrong with TM.

The cheapest G&P guns will be at the top of your price range, but they are my current favoured brand. The externals are pretty much as good as you'll get and the mechboxes are very well spec'd. I have found the hop rubber to be a bit lacking on my G&P armalites, but this is a very basic part to replace. nice and easy. Get a TM hop rubber for about a fiver for it.

You may be able to pick up something by classic army in their pro-line range at the top of your budget. The externals aren't as nice as G&P, but the mechboxes are sound. CA hop rubbers are a bit iffy, though sometimes alright. The same applies.

I've no experience with G&G, though I hear mixed reviews. Some have noted the inneficiency of the pneumatic blowback system. They are well spec'd for the price; if you decide to go this route I suggest reading a lot of reviews.

[Cerbo Knight]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

I'll be the forth one to chime in about Ares.

Ignore them, they're not worth all the hassle for your money.
I've got a friends Tar 21 in bits because Ares are crap. His connectors fused themselves together, his microswitch has broken 3 times (each time replaced, only available from Ares) and now his gearbox just won't cycle. Though their SA80 seems ok.

AWA is my local so if you're down there next game I'm the one with a Zero In forum patch hanging around the shop

[laurence]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

how about SRC? You could go for one of their gen II models and they are pretty nice and meant to be good internally and externally. Also they do G36's. How about a KWA G36 or m4 cqb, although they might be at the top of your buget, they are very good.

[Cerbo Knight]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

I had an SRC M4, I fired about 30 mags through it and the hop was terrible, it kept resetting itself, I adjusted it too far and it stopped the gearbox from cycling and the pinion gear on the motor stripped.

Avoid at all costs, unless you want to replace all the internals, then replace the plastic externals later... Not worth it imo.

[directhit]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

Even the SRC G36c?

[Cerbo Knight]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

Personally I'd avoid SRC entirely, but it's up to you really

[caffin999]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

kwa. At the top of your budget but you get a lot for your money!

[Kidjal]

Re: Newbie advice re woodland rifle

glad Im not the only one suffering with Ares, was beggining to think it was just me!