what's next.
 

well its official I've made my very first purchase.
I've aquired a g&g cm16 raider-l as well as a g&g xtreme 45. I got both with the intentions of upgrading from the ground up (probably not the sidearm). my question is what's next. I've been looking to be field ready by the end of the month. my list so far of what I need still is.

-tac vest
-1-2 extra mid caps
-eye protection
-gloves
-footwear
-headgear?

is there anything else I'm missing in terms of gear to be field ready?

second part of my question is. I also want my raider's internals to be upgraded by the end of the month. I've looked into MOSFET's and how to shim. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions if I should buy local or import parts? as well which parts to look for to get the guy to at least 400 fps

Just do the barrel group first, that's where your range and accuracy comes from.
Then make sure you have good compression from the mechbox, the rest is all just reliability and trigger response.

As for field gear, make sure you have something to carry water as well. And face protection is always a good idea.

Good lightweight boots with ankle support. Comms are a huge part of effective airsoft. Not being able to communicate with your team is a massive disadvantage. Grab a reliable headset as well and not just a radio. Radios can give away your position and that of your teammates easily if they are just on.

Hop-up, barrel, nozzle, seal as Thunder said. That'll get up your efficiency and consistency. Also invest in high quality BBs, such as Bastards, and run the highest weight your gun is comfortable with. If you need more jam you can up your spring power afterwards which'll unlock the ability to effectively run much heavier ammo, but then you may need to upgrade everything else to handle the harder cycle pressure. Things like reinforced gears, a stronger motor and then of course higher voltage batteries to handle it all. Things like mosfets are more about responsiveness and rate of fire, not really a must for upgrading, but more a fine tuning part.

Grab an optic that's effective for your playing style, skill as well environmental limitations. Also grab good quality and effectively disruptive camouflage. Get what works over what looks cool. I usually recommend a transitional pattern to start for versatility. Then you don't need to buy several pairs right away.

If you get an accurate 80-ish feet out of your pistol, well then you don't need to upgrade it right away, it's doing its job. So, not really a priority. Buy high quality, ballistic eyewear. Probably best to have at least two pairs just in case.

Make sure you have good eyewee! I cannot stress enough how important that is. If your goggles fog, that's it. You are completely ineffective on the field. Make sure your goggles have some sort of antifog prevention system, such as double lenses.

Do you just use your own, or?..... Do you like carry it in your water-bladder?..... Is it some kind of weird anti-fog method?.....

Eyewear.. God damn it ! xD

Why don't you actually use the gun first? CM16's are great right out of the box.

-tac vest - Condor makes good quality stuff, I run a cheap MCR6 and it does me well for CQB.

-1-2 extra mid caps - Get some cheap ones, like MAG brand mags, you can find them locally aswell. You'll want to have about 5 mid caps on you or so.

-eye protection - Key here. Else just get a JT paintball mask, great and affordable, covers both lower and your eye, and doesn't fog. (Based on what I read)

-gloves - Mechanix gloves sometimes go on sale from Canadian Tire, keep an eye out, it's what I run, and people I know run aswell. Unless you got the $ to buy some nice pairs :)

-footwear - Don't cheap out on footwear, get something durable and comfortable.

-headgear - Cheap $50-60 helmet is a must, you can find it on google locally aswell.

upgrading a CM16...I don't know..seems like a cheap gun that it's just a starter..
maybe a spring..and barrel..

vest, easy. Don't get black if you are planning on wear anything camo in the future. I made that mistake...and usually people like plate carriers.

Mid caps, yep, you need around 3-6 for a drop in game. Just something cheap and feeds is good.

eye protection, get something that WILL let you ads easier. mesh mask did not work for me to ads...some soft cheek full face masked seems to work good like the flex 8. But this depends on if you are playing CQB, if you are, it doesn't matter. just anything rated and anti fog

gloves, anything that fits good and grips good. it really just serves as a hand protection..

Boots, get one with ankle support that's really about it.

headgear is a maybe...i just wear a hat..but again, I don't wear a camo uniform anyway since I only have time to go for drop in games for a couple of hours..

knee pad..damn it hurt without one.

thanks guys. everyone's input is great info. another question is is it better to import accessories / upgrades?

I understand that the cm16 runs OK out the box but I wanted it as my starter so that I could learn to upgrade internals and if I mess up I won't feel so bad for destroying a $400 gun.

I'd support local airsoft stores first before importing accessories, if I can't find it at a reasonable price in stock locally then I'd go online. You usually save locally since you don't need to pay shipping and duty and if something isn't right a trip back to the store is a lot easier than sending something back overseas waiting for a replacement or refund.

As for upgrading internals I would recommend you to play a few games and get a feel for the gun, that way you would have a better idea of what you may want to change. Typically you get the most performance out of barrel/hop-up upgrades, those will get you better accuracy and range. Other things depend on what you want, which again you can only find out through playing.

There's no definitive answer for this, it depends too much on your situation.

Why are you upgrading/what have you found unsatisfactory about your gun?
What characteristics do you want to improve in your gun/what parts are you going to need?
What is the cost of the parts you want at a walk-in store vs ordering (incl. shipping)?
When do you need the parts?

Generally, ordering parts from out of country is cheaper on face, but when you factor in shipping and the time that takes, you may be better off getting them from a walk-in store.

PLAYING is what's next. You keep addding to kit without knowing what you need you're liable to carry 60 pounds of shit you don't need out onto the field.


PLAY.

Then evaluate what your needs are. Fill those needs.

PLAY.

evaluate again.

rinse repeat.



All you need to play is a gun, mags, batteries, eyewear and footwear. Everything else you can decide on later to see what suits you.

You have to play to know what to upgrade. I bought a 200 dollar AK before, it runs so well stock that I didn't not need any upgrades at all. Only thing made me get rid of it is because of the weight. Again, because I played around 5 rounds, I knew the gun wasn't for me, it's slowing me down a lot.

I'd say go to your local airsoft/surplus/hunting store first. Although I can see upgrade parts being some what unreasonable priced in Canada, but for accessories we are pretty on par with other countries (especially with USA). Because once you convert the currency to CAD plus shipping you would go like..wow, it's pretty much the same price! might as well support local shops. When the item arrives, you find out, OH WTF, brokerage fees!! (This only happened to me all the time if the carrier is UPS, maybe they are up to something. I had 2 packages from the same company through different orders and different carrier, only UPS charged me brokerage fee)

as for learning to upgrade/ fix AEGs..Personally I think it's better to just buy a broken cheap boneyard AEG and make a project from there..I would not try to fix something that is not broken..

conclusion, go out and play. I was doing the same thing as you before. I bought so much shit and realized I don't need a lot of it, or they are just the wrong items that I can't use. Even currently I'm trying to sell off the stuff I don't need and replacing with things I know it will work because I played some matches. $$$$

this^ is gold right here. my cqb loadout is my p90, battle belt with dump pouch and mag pouches. dont need anything else, dont carry anything else. i leave my items like tools and spare batteries and everything else in my gun bag in the prep room at the local indoor field. at the outdoor, very similar. only carry what you need. you will be able to move faster, be able to adapt to the field faster if you leave extra items like more spare mags and things like that in your gun bag. that will allow you to add/remove anything you may or may not need between rounds.