Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

[moving shadow]

Can't seem to find any reviews or owners of the area or star version of the British L1A1 SLR. Not the FN FAL, I looking at a British loadout and used to own a deac SLR..I've seen airsoft models for sale new and they are hard to get hold of as they are usually out of stock everywhere.

I'm thinking of either the L1A1 SLR or an L86 LSW as I'm after a long barrel for range and accuracy, I've got mp5 for cqb games but need something with "reach" can I have Comparisons on different makes and models please, reliability issues, can you get spare parts which one is best and why.

Looking at buying new gun in April and thought you guys could give me a heads up before I buy the wrong gun.

[Skolob]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

A long barrel for range and accuracy isn't the be all and end all. Certainly in my experience anyway . A long barrel can be detremental in some cases as once the bb has stabilised then all the barrel is dong is either providing more direction of air pressure ( higher fps) or something for the bb to clatter off and spin off axis. The optimal length is supposed to be around 400mm. ( from an airsoft technical forum).
Have a google search for " Does longer barrel equal better range and accuracy" and you will get a posting on a forum where someone did a computational flow dymaics simulation, the result of a limited experiment is that accuracy gains deminishe exponentially as the barrel length increases and what has an effect is vibration from the gearbox, barrel quality ( more barrel means more chance of rough surface) and just the shooter, this implies that after stabilisation you want the bb put the barrel as fast as possible.

Get a TM hop bucking, tannio koba ( or pdi .03) barrel, element h hop and you will be rocking with the mp5.

As for the lsws, ares make the more dimensionally correct one, but the ics one has better spares backup. Both suffer from slight barrel drop which s more noticeable when deploying the bipod.

If you want a long range get a TM m14 and do some minor upgrades.

[moving shadow]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

What ever I buy has to be British use weapon. Personally Not a huge fan of m4 or m14 or the massive choice US kit it's been done to death by everyone out there. I'm proud to be British and wish to keep to a UK loadout. Each to their own but I don't want to go down the American route, I know this limits me to a choice of only a few guns but thanks for the technical help it's an eye opener..

Thanks once again.

Anyone else who can help me decide which is best between the ares or the star L1A1 SLR or whether the LSW is better.. Would be a huge help.

[Skolob]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

In that case L1a1 all the way. If i recall, Kings arms make a very good SLR. I Know someone who had at least 2, one with wooden furniture. Shoot just under 400 fps on semi only and give excellent range.
You could go retro and get a Bren (a certain website does custom ones), There is the sten too.
If you want to go bullup, Id go for an ics l85, you get a decnt barrel length.

[SicklyPilot]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

My Ares L1A1 hasn't skipped a beat in the time that I've had it. I've upgraded the hop unit with an SHS white rubber and nub and the range is now very formidable although the standard hop set up was excellent. I've also installed deans connectors and use a LiPo, if you don't already do this to your rifles then I highly recommend it as it massively increases trigger response. Parts are slightly difficult to get hold of in my experience although if you go straight to the manufacturer then you can usually get what you need. With regards to King Arms SLR's I've not had any experience with them although KA are generally quite highly regarded.

My friend has an ICS L86 that I was using today at my local site incidentally. He has the same upgrades (SHS hop, deans, LiPo) and again I was well impressed with it. I find that the gearbox is a lot more forgiving than my G&G L85 plus the build quality and general finish is tremendous. My G&G is great but I've had to spend lots upgrading it to that stage so given the choice now, I would probably go for an ICS over a G&G.

I may have rambled a bit there lol but in answer to your original question, both rifles you're looking at are solid, reliable and excellent out of the box in my experience. So it's really up to which one of the two you actually want. Both are winners in my opinion.

[BAMF]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

I have an Ares L1A1 SLR myself and I've only used it twice.

It's more of a showpiece for me than a skirmishable weapon, but I cried tears of joy on the two ocassions I used it.

Get one...if you can find one!

[Panoptes]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

I bought the King Arms L1A1. Hated it. It just felt flimsy.

[tisane]

Just out of interest, why L86 over L85?

[Bad Reputation]

Re: Ares/star L1A1 SLR Versus any L86 LSW reviews please.

I own a Star L1A1, ive used it quite a few times now and the range is great, its a heavy bit of kit though and in standard form its semi auto only, although if you want a bit more firepower you can swap out the selector for an auto one. the mags are expensive and can be hard to source as well, but out of all the FAL guns out there this is the best build quality.
The LSW is a support weapon so its designed to rattle lots of rounds through, it uses M4 type mags which are cheap, i own a Star L85 which ive used for years and its the best rifle i own for accuracy.
Star/Ares stuff can be a bit fussy internally, and they arent the easiest to put aftermarket parts in, but they are the most accurate copies and feel the same to use as the real ones.
Personally i would go for the SLR and put a FAL fire selector switch on, ive used a real LSW and they are probubly the worst balanced rifle ever made, and the bipod is just poorly designed.
Hope that helps.
Steve