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There are so many threads just like this one already. Try using the search function at the top of the page as well as reading the faqs, it will save you alot of abuse.
I was a noob a couple of months ago and had many of the same questions.
First of all, going sniper as your first rig is not a good idea. You need experience playing the other side first. Not to mention that making even a decent sniper rig is going to run you a minimum of about thousand dollars and that's just for the gun.
I did extensive research and settled on the Tactical Carbine version of the Classic Army M15A4 as my first gun. In my opinion it's the best of all the possible Armalite versions. You have the shortened M4 carbine barrel, which makes you less likely to smack your barrel off something when turning quickly, combined with the full stock which houses a large battery. Small batteries don't have near the run time of a large battery, not to mention that the reinforced slip ring (the ring that keeps the fore-grip on) is really stong. While this is mostly a good thing and a big step up over CA's previous M15 versions, it makes changing small batteries in the field very difficult if not impossible.
Classic Army's M15A4 series in general is a big step up over their previous versions and as far as stock armalites go they're probably the best. All metal where the real steel version is, the plastic parts where the real steal version is plastic are made of good quality. CA has a deal with Armalite so you get all the proper markings. Plus that deal also goes to show the quality of the manufacture, Armalite wouldn't put their name on a shoddy product.
Internally the gearbox is reinforced metal and all the gears are metal as well. It fires hotter stock then TM's as well, firing at 300-320 fps where your average TM only fires 280-300 fps.
All in all this is a great starter gun if you can afford it. Because it's all metal you don't have to worry nearly as much about breaking it and you won't get any of the wobble that is infamous in stock TM M4/M16's. Unfortunately affording it is the biggest problem, they're not cheap.
To give you an idea of cost (once you get age verified) I got my CA M15A4 from the classifieds, upgraded with a bunch of Systema internals to fire 390fps, for $600 shipped.
One of the perks of going with an M16/M4 variant is that mags are dead easy to come by and dirt cheap. You can get Star 30 round realcaps for like $5 a mag or less, or 300 round TM or CA highcaps for like $15 a mag.
CA's or TM's are one end of the price range, if you're on a much stricter budget then maybe an Aftermath Kraken AK47 might be more your speed.
I have a Kraken as a loaner/backup (my primary being the aforementioned CA M15A4) and I've fielded it a couple of times just to get a feel for it. It's a decent gun, certainly for its price. It shoots harder out of the box then even the big names like TM or CA, around 370fps. It's reasonably accurate as well, I was only using the iron sights and I was hitting what I was aiming at as often as could be expected. Not particularly creaky even with all the plastic, and metal barrel is a nice addition. It's surpisingly heavy for a mostly plastic gun and fairly well balanced. It's TM compatible even though I haven't done anything to mine, so you could swap the clear plastic body and shiny plastic stock for a full metal body and wood stock and even swap out the gears and/or mechbox for TM stuff down the road if you wanted to. I'm a realcap man so I bought a pile of Star realcap mags and they fit in the gun just fine, I've tried a TM highcap and that fits just fine as well.
All in all, it's a solid gun for it's price and a good investment. If I had the choice of a Kraken plus a metal body and woodkit or a JG, I'd probably go with the Kraken, though obviously manufacturers like TM or CA or even G&P are still better. I'd recomend the Kraken to anyone on a budget or just starting out.
To give an idea of cost, you can easily get a Kraken from the classifieds (once you're age verified) for $180 or so shipped.
Hope this helps you. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to pass on my limited experence. Feel free to PM me.
Kuro_Neko
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