Echo1 G36C detailed review

[CSC Maverick]

Asformentioned I wrote this a while back on my areas local forum, so i reposted it to help people out here. Hope it helps!

 

The ECHO 1 series of guns have been getting a lot of attention in these forums and the airsoft community. I have an ECHO 1 G36C, and here is the complete smackdown of the gun.

 

LOOKS: The Gun is a very good looking replica of the G36C. And it has a comfortable weight. The Gun is mostly hard plastic(This is not no crappy stuff), and there are some metal parts. They are: The RIS Rails on top and bottom, The sights, the trigger, button for collapsing the stock, the cover that pulls back in front of the hop up, and all the screws. Also there is metal inside the fire selctor switch I believe. The Stock folds to the right side of the gun as so:

When extended, the stock is VERY sturdy, and doesnt budge. The Sights are sturdy. The rear sight, like the M16 and M4, has 2 opening sizes, depending on range. If you want to move the whole rear sight assembly back or forth, however, you will need an allen wrench. I have not needed to yet, but this could be a pain for someone adjusting in the field. There is a large RIS on top, and it can take Red-Dots and Scopes. There is also one on the botttom, and there are holes so you can mount 2 more RIS rails on either side of the front also.(The strap I bought separately BTW).

 

BATTERY AND HOPUP: It comes with a 8.4V, 1200MaH mini Type Battery. The Battery compartment is in front of the gun(Like most others), and can be accessed by removing the Bolt right below the Top RIS sight/rail system:

Getting the battery back in is troublesome at first, as everything has to be nearly flat and folded neatly for the front to fit back over, but it becomes second nature after you do it a few times.

The Hop up is accessed by pulling back the cocking lever and it will appear on the right side of the gun:

(The cocker can be pulled on both sides, left or right).

 

MAGAZINE: It comes with 1 470 Hi-cap mag. This is probably the weakest part of the gun. Ive heard that peoples bb releases have opened on them after springing the mag, sending bbs everywhere. This has not happened to me yet, so It all depends. It is all plastic. NOTICE: Spray some silicon lube on some bbs and run them through the mag several times. If you don't, you mag will not feed right, and you will wind up blankfiring a lot, since the mag wont keep up with the gun. There are clips on the side of the mag so you can connect them together. It is great for storage, but I recommend AGAINST doing it in game , because the clips are not 100% sturdy,(A mag fell off me once in game), and you can't fold the stock with both mags connected and attached to the gun, the xtra mag blocks it from closing),

 

FIRING: AIRSOFT GI chronod my gun at 350FPS, and at TRP they Chronod me in the 340s, so expect 340s-350s for the fps with .20g bbs.

I live in the city, so my space is a little limited. I set up 2 targets(each was a sheet of standard typing paper)one about 15ft away and the other about 40ft. Here are pictures. These pic were taken from where i shot at the target:

 

Target 1(about 20ft)

 

Target 2.

 

I shot about 20-30 at each target, on full auto, but I shot in 3-6 shot bursts. I shot with the stock extended.

Target 1: Very accurate, all shots on target, very tight.

 

Target 2: More spread out, but still in the target zone, and this piece of paper would represent a small portion of a torso. I didnt do single shot tests, but they would be more accurate naturally.

 

RANGE: I shot over this hill: The bbs went about 300ft in my opinion, but factoring in I was shooting over a large hill AND it was humid, so the bbs had more hangtime, the REAL range would be more around 150ft, a decent range.

 

SUMMARY: Overall Pros and Cons:

 

Pros: Price $135

Well built for a plastic gun

Sturdy Stock

Accurate and fast shooting

Compact

Several RIS rails, and room for upgrades

Did I mention price?

Easy to use and maintain.

Good weight.

 

Cons: Mag seems to be cheaper quality and needs to be lubed

The Mag clips on the sides of the mag are not sturdy enough for in-game action.

Rear sight needs an allen wrench to adjust

Getting the battery in can be troublesome at first

Its mosty plastic.Not a problem for most, but I know many prefer metal

GoodFPS for most, but a lot of guns still shoot faster.

Life of the gun?

Not a good idea to install internal upgrades, due to non all metal

internals.

 

Some of the pros and cons are minor, but I named everything i could find good or bad.

 

Overall, this guns is AMAZING for the price, and Im so glad I bought it. The overall life of these guns is still in question, but parts can keep you going, and mine shows no signs of slowing down. 5 stars!

Edited April 11, 2008 by CSC Maverick