tshrake521 Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 In a world ruled by Cheap Chinese Clones does this 2005 model 249 have a chance? First of all, let me say that I am in absolute love with this gun, I recieved it about a month ago and have skirmished with it 4 times already. First of all, a little bit of real steel history on the M249 SAW (from wikipedia) " The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (M249 SAW) is the US Military designation for a sub-family of the FN MINIMI Squad Automatic Weapon . Both are 5.56 NATO light machine guns manufactured by FN and its subsidiaries. The MINIMI is manufactured by Fabrique Nationale in belgium, while the M249 is made by FNH USA, the American subsidiary of FN. The M249 was the winner of a competition carried out by the U.S. military in the late 1970s–early 1980s for a new squad automatic weapon. The MINIMI has been adopted by many other countries since that time, especially among NATO members." What do you get? In the standard Classic Army box you recieve the gun, a cleaning rod, a manual, and the standard bag of BBs. The Gun Overview The second you pick up the gun you'll notice the quality of the exterior. It's metal, but chinese pot metal. This doesnt mean you can slam it into a car and it'll be fine. It feels the same dimensions as the real steel one, as well as the weight when you decide to pick it up. You will be atonished when you pick up the gun, it weighs a whopping 6600.0g without the box mag. A charging handle is on the right side of the gun, it serves no purpose in the long run, but it's nice for that "lock and load" feeling. The feed tray is opened by 2 pieces coming out right before the stock. The hop up nob is in there next to where the dummy bullets normally are. Be sure to adjust it very lightly as too much will cause gearbox problems including jamming. I find about half way works fine for me. The heat shield looks and feels very sturdy. The Front sight is made of steel and looks rather hard to break. Not that I have. The barrel beyond that is a good 4-5 inches. The flash hider looks decent with orange, better than some guns. Performance Here's some information taken from classicarmy itself Weight - 6600.0g Barrel Length - 510 mm Intial Caliber - 6.08mm Capacity - 2500 Plastic Box Mag / 1200 Cloth Box Mag / M16 Magazines Bullet - 6mm BB Stock Speed - 85-95 m/s Battery Type - Large Type Battery /w Large Type Connecter After skirmishing with it I'm glad to say that it outranges, and far outdoes most of any guns I've fielded. It spits out 20 bbs per second with a 8.4v battery at around 330 fps I would guess I could hit a man sized target at around 250-300 feet with ease, depending on the wind. It's very heavy and hard to run with on the field though, I highly suggest a sling unless you are a NFL player or someone else very fit. I used .23s so far and people know they've been hit, not only due to the rate of fire. But the fear that they're on the end of a SAW sight. Other Notes Please remember that Classic Army is still made out of chinese pot metal for some parts. At my last skirmish I chipped part of my bipod due to not being careful and slamming the bipod on the ground. It's weldable but easier to not have to deal with it all together. I also highly suggest not upgrading the FPS on this. The FPS is high enough for the rate of fire, and the money could be spent in much better places on this beauty. When picking a tightbore also be concious of the amount of BBs you are spitting out. 20 BBs a second has a lot higher chance of jamming then a bolt action sniper rifle. If you are tired of the box magazine set up. Rewire the trigger to the box magazine. This makes it so anytime you pull the trigger it winds the box magazine. It saves a lot of money on 9v batteries and is generally just more better all around. Some things I would upgrade RIS and RAS - Having a grip, and a scope makes this a lot more movement friendly. Steel Bipod - The bipod will be slammed on again and again if you like to play rough with it. I suggest a steel one for no worries. Cloth Box Magazine - The standard one is nice and all, but it is very loud and unwieldy in certian cases, the cloth box magazine is much smaller and easier to use. Piston - I've heard some horror stories about the CA249 piston, Mine hasn't had any problems as of date. But it is still possible it hasn't been fixed in production remakes. Better safe than sorry. Conclusion I much prefer the CA249 over the recent A&K/Echo 1 clones of it. It shoots smoother, straighter, and faster than its counterpart. It also has a larger port for the battery, one of my many problems with the chinese clone. It shoots strong, fast, and reliable. I feel confident in all the stock internals for a good year or two. Be feel to ask me my opinion on it or any other questions. P.S. Sorry about the lack of pictures, I will take more after it gets back from the shop, fixing that bipod. P.S.S. First review, be gentle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Magsz Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Agreed with everything that you've said. Despite the fact that the CA gun is still made out of pot metal, its made out of a higher grade and its better put together than the A&K and Echo 1 clones. Also, after fixing the hopup issues with the A&K and replacing the motor you're just a couple bucks under the price of a new CA that needs NO fixes out of the box. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
k30dxedle Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) Er, can you point me to this extremely cheap CA? $250 A&K + $30 hop unit + max $20 hop bucking + $25 G&P M120 motor + a generous $100 shipping charge (Edit: off UNCo) is still only $425, or in other words $150 less than the cheapest CA's I've seen. Edited February 20, 2008 by k30dxedle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Revenge Seeker Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Er, can you point me to this extremely cheap CA? $250 A&K + $30 hop unit + max $20 hop bucking + $25 G&P M120 motor + a generous $100 shipping charge (Edit: off UNCo) is still only $425, or in other words $150 less than the cheapest CA's I've seen. And, apparently, you can get it for $250 without the case at Shorty so less shipping! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trasher Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 The second you pick up the gun you'll notice the quality of the exterior. It's metal, but chinese pot metal. The CA 249 has a stamped steel receiver (with at least a dozen other steel parts) when I last checked... There is a hundred or so page long thread about the gun. The bipod is steel for example (the bipod hinge is alu). Pot metal (zinc alloy) is not weldable. I put 100K+ rounds throught my CA249 and recently got an AK M249 for a project. The CA is better quality, no doubt about that. Price is a different thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ECRRRainman Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Havn't A&K owners complained of a faulty boxmag issues too? or has that been resolved? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Magsz Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 There are plenty of retailer selling 249's for below the MAP price. Remember, there's more than just online retailers these days. Id suggest you find one if you're looking for something that can take a bit more abuse than the A&K. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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