Star/Ares AW338/DSR-1/CheyTac

[RifleRat]

Wow, I just noticed Fire Support got the motherlode of stock of the AW-338. Aparrently one of them has the words "Handsome" and "Pete" faintly etched into the barrel. How puzzling.

[Handsome Pete]

ha would be nice wouldn't?! Ive got to sell of my tanaka nd other gds before that. Be ordering abroad too if its cost affective. cheers.

[aswaffield]

i took my gun to a skrimish and they decided on the day 1j was the limit for all guns so i wasnt happy at all when it came to chronoin as i was runnin propane gas in my gun when they tested it ,it was reading 322 fps with a .20 bb so i was even more disapointed as i was expecting a ban and got to play with my gun and range was ###### !!!!!!!!

[angelmaker]

I take it ###### is bad...

[RifleRat]

i took my gun to a skrimish and they decided on the day 1j was the limit for all guns so i wasnt happy at all when it came to chronoin as i was runnin propane gas in my gun when they tested it ,it was reading 322 fps with a .20 bb so i was even more disapointed as i was expecting a ban and got to play with my gun and range was ###### !!!!!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Interesting. How cold was it? a) the weather and the mag? I would only expect that sort of velocity from 134a normally. I found that when the velocity drops down to those levels then the hop needs slacking way off and hence the range ends up being pretty poor. If the hop is set for "good gas" then the hop is way to high for "weak gas" and the BB loops skywards.

 

EDIT: BTW, took mine to bits at the weekend. Did a few tweaks including packing the two barrels together near the muzzle and lapping the loading/gas nozzle to stop it from filing the BBs in the mag. I'd noticed white lines on the nozzle and black lines on the fired BBs. Grouping does seem to have improved.

[DarkLite]

You see, this is why serious snipers use Spring-rifles. No faffing about with temperature based variance.

[tome]

You see, this is why serious snipers use Spring-rifles. No faffing about with temperature based variance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i think "serious" should be in quotes mate. A "serious" sniper will use whatever is suitable for the job. If the game style favours quick follow up shot at the expense of absolute consistency a "serious" sniper would probably go for gas.

[RifleRat]

LOL, surely a "serious" sniper wouldn't be playing airsoft.

 

Sure, on very cold days if you wanted to snipe then you'd want a springer, but you know what, on very cold days I'd want to be running about with an AEG, not lying motionless freezing my nads off. The AW is a really nicely built rifle that is fun and efficient to shoot, delivering great consistancy for a gas gun. I tried spring rifles with similar muzzle velocity and found them to be hard enough to cock that I needed to take my eye off the target, which makes follow up shots less likely - like what tome said. It's all about trade offs.

[DarkLite]

i think "serious" should be in quotes mate. A "serious" sniper will use whatever is suitable for the job. If the game style favours quick follow up shot at the expense of absolute consistency a "serious" sniper would probably go for gas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Depends how "serious" you mean.

 

A "serious" sniper wouldn't need a follow up shot.

 

A "serious" sniper would have trained enough to be able to work the action quickly.

 

A "serious" sniper would be able to hit the target the first time using a spring-rifle as the power of the shot wouldn't be affected by the atmosphere.

[tome]

Depends how "serious" you mean.

 

A "serious" sniper wouldn't need a follow up shot.

 

A "serious" sniper would have trained enough to be able to work the action quickly.

 

A "serious" sniper would be able to hit the target the first time using a spring-rifle as the power of the shot wouldn't be affected by the atmosphere.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Apologies to the OP for going off topic.

 

DL..... are you taking the Micheal?

 

We're using little round plastic balls here. All it takes is a freak gust and you'll need that follow up shot.

 

Sure you can train to work the action quickly.....but as quick and smooth as a gas bolt? I doubt many could.

 

Basically its all about what tools fit the style of sniping that the player wants to do. The gas sniper has certain obvious advantages in closeup situations such as quicker chambering of next round to engage next target/follow up, quieter for same fps if you put a silencer on it. For longer ranges the advantage of gas are mostly negated by the consistency of spring. Either way i think it's unfair to say "serious" snipers use spring, and thus implying that gas users are not "serious" and of an inferior sort.

 

I would consider forum member Harry as a serious sniper. IIRC he uses gas

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...dpost&p=1491928

 

and by the looks of things so do others at the Sniper Cup he attended.

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...dpost&p=1487787

[Sale]

i was runnin propane gas in my gun when they tested it ,it was reading 322 fps with a .20 bb

Any background on this case? What BBs were you using and what was the temperature?

 

-Sale

[Vassago]

Got one of these rifles back on the beginning of August from www.softshooters.com but only now i found this thread as i'm not a regular on these foruns, sorry.

Nonetheless I decided to give the few feedback i have from testing this rifle that some of you might find useful.

 

First thing, i would like to note that i haven't fully skirmished the rifle yet.

 

1st impressions i can confirm what has already been said about the rifle. The quality of the fiber and metal finish is excellent. I was a previous owner of a Maruzen L96 and have already shot some Tanakas AICS. The AW-338 far exceeds any of these in details and quality of fibers and metal.

 

Now 2 bits of info some might be interested in knowing:

- both the hopup rubber and the inner barrel are 100% compatible with TM PSG-1. Not sure about the inner diameter of the barrel as my measuring tool is not accurate enough for such precise readings, but i would throw a guess that it might be a standard Star AEG precision barrel. A friend had a spare Madbull 650mm tigh-bore barrel so i fitted it temporarily until i can find out exactly whats the diameter of the rifle's stock inner barrel or until i get my hands on a quality PSG-1 6.01 inner barrel The hopup rubber seamed decent enough, but i still decided to swap for a Guarder rubber i had lying in my parts box.

- The hopup unit is a 1 piece kind, made of metal and with very good quality and awesome air seal (it even has an internal o-ring on the side the nozzle connects). It's not V kind like the G-spec chamber but still very precise and easy to adjust. Far better than the crappy Maruzen L96 chamber and i would say as precise as the G-spec chamber. Unfortunately the adjustment is done from the upper body of the rifle, thus you have to take off the scope&mount to adjust the hopup

 

Also found a flaw on this rifle that i've documented with photos and will try to post here when i have the time to write a proper review. This is related to the way the outer barrel attaches to the rifle's body and is very hard to notice and even easier to solve. Actually, i believe the solution to this flaw was in the conceptual model of the AW-338 but not implemented for some reason, as all it takes to solve it is to add a pin, and the pin holes are already available on the rifle.

 

About performance, my best shooting test was while zeroing the scope in the backyard. I used a nut on a tree branch that was more or less 30-35m away. After zeroing the scope i shot that nut in the tree branch about 5 times a row.

 

Conditions were the following:

Distance: +/-30-35m

Wind: hardly any wind

Position: Fixed. Laying down and using bipod and rear stock extender

Temperature: about 28ºC

Gas used: Crappy UFC Green gas - Silicon Mixed (was on the summer house and was the only gas i had there in the time)

BBs: White 0,36g Straight

Target: A nut in a tree branch with no more than 6cm diameter.

 

Results:

3 of 5 shots hit the tree nut

1 shot hit the tree branch very close to the targeted nut.

1 shot barely missed.

 

Did some long range shots too just to try to estimate max range. I had no specific target on those shots, so nothing can be said about accuracy.

Those long range shots seamed longer than my ex-Maruzen L96 fully tuned with all available PSS96 parts @510fps but the max range was certainly shorter than my previous TM G-spec fully tunned with PSS10/firefly parts @490fps.

 

At 30-35m this is by far the best accuracy i ever got from an airsoft rifle, and I had many... About max range, seams to be more than acceptable although inferior to most Tanakas gas rifles using same gas and BBs.

 

Only downside i can point to the rifle is the weight might be to much for a full day skirmish. The price tag is more than acceptable specially since this rifle comes with an outstanding scope and bipod. Only those 2 accessories are worth much more than the difference between the price tag of a Tanaka AICS and the AW-338

 

PS: I still consider airsoft gas rifles worse than spring powered ones, but this AW-338 managed to make me sell my fully tunned G-spec and is replacing it on skirmishes, this alone is a very good sign

[aswaffield]

I take it ###### is bad...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

no as i refilled the mag with gas just before chronoin so it was cold . it was a nice warm day it was amazing when the gas settles after warm weather lol

[TDS]

We're using little round plastic balls here. All it takes is a freak gust and you'll need that follow up shot.

 

and a good sniper knows to keep an eye upwind for freak gusts of wind....

[greg]

Combat South are advertising these at £375!! Most be a mistake.

 

 

Greg.

[RifleRat]

Unfortunately the adjustment is done from the upper body of the rifle, thus you have to take off the scope&mount to adjust the hopup

Good write up Vassago, but you don't need to dismount the scope if you a ) attach the scope mount so that the hop screw hole is available and b ) you have a small, standard type allen key. I keep one gaffa (duct) taped under the cheek rest. Does the job perfectly well in the field.

[TDS]

question

 

how do the little bb clippy dodads come in/out of the mags? can you do it without ejecting the mag stripper clip style?

[RifleRat]

No, the dovetail, mount and scope are in the way. You could load single rounds one by one if you were a. bored and b. liked greasy BBs

 

You eject the mag, press in the detent pin on the front and slide the strip out. It's not easy (as standard) to press the pin in with your finger nail, but you can use a discarded BB, the edge of your speed loader plunger or even the nub that the folding stock latches onto when folded. It may seem like a pfaff, but you get used to it very quickly.

 

That said I'm all about getting some spare full mags. Waiting impatiently for Star to sort this out.

[greg]

& they're 'doodas' not dodads!

 

 

Greg.

[D.js]

just got mine. btw, is there any effective ways to zero your scope?

[Levett]

I've owned one of the STAR M3 Scopes.... suffice to say, i replaced it last week with a Guarder scope.

 

The STAR one SUCKED. Just a word of advice.

 

One of the turrets grinded down the teeth after about.... 30 clicks. The magnification came loose after 3 skirmishes and i had to dismantle the scope to fix it. No way to lock the turrets once you've zero'd it, and they get nudged easily.

[RifleRat]

just got mine. btw, is there any effective ways to zero your scope?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, one way with a bolt action is to remove the bolt, set the rifle up so that it's solid and pointed at a recognisable target at the distance you want to zero for, e.g 30m. You can see the target through the barrel, so you know it's lined up well. Now switch to the scope and dial it into so the crosshairs are on the target too.

 

This "bore sighting" gives you a first approximation of zero.

 

Then I'd move onto setting the hop for your BBs, so that they keep as flat a trajectory as you can get.

 

Obviously you'll be wanting to fine tune it by shooting groups into a target and compensating for error.

 

P.S. The Star M3 is not for everyone. The knobs don't have locks but on mine the windage and elevation are pretty stiff so stay put in the field. If you end up with a loose one yeah, it'd suck. Maybe a bit of camo tape round each knob.

The only trouble I had was having crimped the mount up too tight, the range/parallax knob wouldn't work properly. Once I remounted the scope with the right tightness it was spot on. I haven't had any trouble with the zoom collar. It's stiff, but smooth.

[TooTall]

Mine! Loving it so far

 

[greg]

Price at CS now up to 475. Obviously a type-o. Shame.

 

 

Greg.

[Levett]

Well, one way with a bolt action is to remove the bolt, set the rifle up so that it's solid and pointed at a recognisable target at the distance you want to zero for, e.g 30m. You can see the target through the barrel, so you know it's lined up well. Now switch to the scope and dial it into so the crosshairs are on the target too.

 

This "bore sighting" gives you a first approximation of zero.

 

Then I'd move onto setting the hop for your BBs, so that they keep as flat a trajectory as you can get.

 

Obviously you'll be wanting to fine tune it by shooting groups into a target and compensating for error.

 

P.S. The Star M3 is not for everyone. The knobs don't have locks but on mine the windage and elevation are pretty stiff so stay put in the field. If you end up with a loose one yeah, it'd suck. Maybe a bit of camo tape round each knob.

The only trouble I had was having crimped the mount up too tight, the range/parallax knob wouldn't work properly. Once I remounted the scope with the right tightness it was spot on. I haven't had any trouble with the zoom collar. It's stiff, but smooth.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I honestly hope it stays like that. Appearance wise, its gorgeous.

 

It just doesnt seem to have the ability to stay reliable after a few skirmishes. Which really is a big shame.