l85

[jfox61]

Re: l85

So R85 are poor Hmm? Wifes R85, purchased 2006. Blowback worked till 8 weeks ago when yours truly stuck in an 11.1V Li Po and broke it, so thats not a gun issue thats a stupid user (me). Until then not a single problem. Never needed a service. Never needed a replacement part, piston never stuck has been dropped in mud rain snow fell on and still working now. Sons Army R85 , bought same time. Disabled blowback himself, no service needed, no replacement parts needed, no breakages and has had more use than the wifes. Mate bought his army same time, see above as for for Sons, but less use.

Now, I have two more mates who bought one Star and one G&G, Both have had numerous problems from new and both have sold on their guns within six months of buying because various issues. The star/ares had various hop, piston head and gearbox problems, and the G&G had all the problems supposedly associated with the Army version, and it cost 2 times the price.

For me the only downside I think is a cosmetic one, but I think spoils for me what is anexcellent budget gun. That is that the foregrip is really poorly secured. a couple of really cheap and nasty grub screws are all that keep the foregrip from moving around, and moving around quite drastically. I fixed it by replacing the grub screws with higher quality ones and threadlock, but even so it still eventually works loose and you have to retighten and threadlock repeatedly. But if thats the only problem the gun has then I think it is money well spent. Also it is still upgradeable with branded parts

[Swiftes]

Re: l85

So R85 are poor Hmm? Wifes R85, purchased 2006. Blowback worked till 8 weeks ago when yours truly stuck in an 11.1V Li Po and broke it, so thats not a gun issue thats a stupid user (me). Until then not a single problem. Never needed a service. Never needed a replacement part, piston never stuck has been dropped in mud rain snow fell on and still working now. Sons Army R85 , bought same time. Disabled blowback himself, no service needed, no replacement parts needed, no breakages and has had more use than the wifes. Mate bought his army same time, see above as for for Sons, but less use.

Now, I have two more mates who bought one Star and one G&G, Both have had numerous problems from new and both have sold on their guns within six months of buying because various issues. The star/ares had various hop, piston head and gearbox problems, and the G&G had all the problems supposedly associated with the Army version, and it cost 2 times the price.

For me the only downside I think is a cosmetic one, but I think spoils for me what is anexcellent budget gun. That is that the foregrip is really poorly secured. a couple of really cheap and nasty grub screws are all that keep the foregrip from moving around, and moving around quite drastically. I fixed it by replacing the grub screws with higher quality ones and threadlock, but even so it still eventually works loose and you have to retighten and threadlock repeatedly. But if thats the only problem the gun has then I think it is money well spent. Also it is still upgradeable with branded parts

True, it makes a for a great first gun, but it still doesnt change the fact that it is a clone!

And the foregrip issue appears to be common, two of my friends have this gun (1 Swears it is the best gun in the world!) and one remedied the issue by installing a genuine SA80 handguard, with a RIS installed on the bottom.

[jfox61]

Re: l85

Yes it is a clone. But that doesn't stop it being better value for money than the gun it was cloned from, as it is known to be as reliable than either of the Ares and G&G in general and at a fraction of the price.

The OP though has gave a budget of £150 for a SA80. So since the Clone is the ONLY gun in that price bracket the question is, if that is all he has to spend, then is spending it on a clone worth risking the money? In this case it has to be a categoric yes.