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Madbull Ultimate Hopup Assembly


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I've never actually done a review for Arnie's in my years as a member (usually I do them for Airsoft Retreat), but since the hype of this product has been so high lately, I figured I'd give a good review here. :D

 

Madbull Ultimate Hopup Assembly Review

 

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Madbull has been selling these for a while now; it's been advertised as the most advanced and adjustable hopup for the M4 series of airsoft weapons.

 

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There are a few selling points that make this chamber unique compared to others:

 

1. Chamber Lock - ensures the last few BB's that are loaded stay in the hopup, unlike being dropped out of the gun, a trait common a majority of airsoft AEG's.

2. G3-style Hopup Wheel - a wheel that encompasses the entire barrel diameter of the hopup unit. Supposedly more adjustable/accurate than the normal M4 hopup wheel.

3. Easy-attach Tracer Unit - The side of the hopup has a slot allowing for Madbull's future LED Tracer unit to be attached easily. Unique as it doesn't require tracer silencers.

 

Let's do some reviewing :D

 

First I ordered this from Players First Airsoft (PFA, located in Florida) for around $35 shipped USPS Priority. I ordered them around 2 weeks ago, but they didn't have it in stock. Ian, the owner, gladly kept in communication with me until it was shipped on Wednesday, 12/9. I checked my PO Box today, 12/12, and it was there waiting for me.

 

The stock package.

 

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What's included:

 

Hopup

Hopup Parts

Madbull Blue Bucking

Installation Manual

 

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Let's see the actual unit today.

 

First it looks a lot shinier than your average M4 hopup unit (ADHD FTL XD). I'm not sure if this is still made of pot metal, but it's pretty heavy, but very sturdy and tough.

 

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The other side. Note that the word and direction of "Hop" is engraved on the hopup unit, not like on some where it's on the wheel. A nice touch.

 

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All the parts related to installation.

 

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I will be installing:

 

Prometheus 6.03mm-D 300mm TBB

Prometheus Purple Soft Bucking

Prometheus Purple Soft Nub

 

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Since the instructions are posted both on their manual and their website (http://www.madbullairsoft.com/English/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=21_23&products_id=239), I will not go into the installation process, but rather take pics in some parts of the process.

 

First, the chamber lock mech. As you can see MB has cut a slot in the feeding part of the hopup to allow a rubber O-ring to hold BB's in the chamber when the mag is removed (run-on FTL). Pretty smart if you ask me. MB's manual states you can sand off the part for even a more restricted BB holding, or skip the chamber lock completely by not installing the O-ring.

 

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So far, so good. Promy bucking/barrel fit inside without any tough effort (unlike some Guarder buckings I've had in the past).

 

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Barrel lock and spacer installed.

 

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A little plastic piece on the nub adjuster, probably since the thing was molded on one of those model-like plastic frames. Shaved it off with an Exaco knife.

 

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All done!

 

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I did note that it's a lot easier to install than the average M4 hopup, i.e. not as many moving gears/wheels and the such.

 

As for adjustment:

 

Fully off.

 

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Fully on.

 

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Since there's an O-ring holding the adjustment wheel in, the adjustment is extremely smooth, but stable enough so where shots won't affect the hopup setting. This adjustment method allows for a lot of fine tuning - something needed for an AEG to shoot accurately and far.

 

My M4 has a Star Colt MBK and a Big Dragon LaRue 12.0" outer barrel, but it fit perfectly fine. Hopup is bouncy like it should, and should put sufficient resistance against the GB shell to ensure the best air seal (another O-ring ensures that even more).

 

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Installed in the gun. It looks different than your average hopup, but after time you'll get used to it.

 

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I don't have any .25 ammo left, but I'll continue this review when I do/get accuracy groupings.

 

Comments/discussions welcome :D

Edited by aznriptide859
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Not the fault of the Madbull HopUp but as you can see when using the Prometheus Purple Soft Nub, the amount of contact you have with the BB isn't great. Try a BigOut H-nub or an Element clone of the H-Nub. You will see dramatic increase in accuracy. Good review though!

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I might switch to that in the future, but I don't have any on me right now lol.

 

Also, did you have a reading on FPS on your replica before and after installation of the unit? I'm interested to see if it affects airseal in a positive or negative way. ^_^

 

Not an official one, but with a PDI 150% I was able to get around 390fps or so w/ a .2 BB.

Edited by aznriptide859
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Alright a little update.

 

Got around to doing some hopup tuning tests, no accuracy tests yet.

 

The BB Chamber Lock function works - partially. Every time I unlock a full magazine, one BB falls out instead of 3 or 4. Guess it's not perfect. However the chamber lock brings up an issue I didn't see before. Usually when one fires a mag empty, the remaining BB's will fall out, besides any that are still chambered in the hopup. Now, however, to empty your gun fully, you must actually turn your gun upside down, fire the remaining BB's out, then fire a few more times to check that the chamber is truly empty. Seems like this would cause more a hassle than a convenience.

 

Hopup adjustment is very easy to do, and allows for extreme fine tuning. I might pick up an H-nub instead, as some of my shots do curve to the right a bit.

 

Have not tested FPS - will do a general check if I ever get my hands on a Coke :D

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However the chamber lock brings up an issue I didn't see before. Usually when one fires a mag empty, the remaining BB's will fall out, besides any that are still chambered in the hopup. Now, however, to empty your gun fully, you must actually turn your gun upside down, fire the remaining BB's out, then fire a few more times to check that the chamber is truly empty. Seems like this would cause more a hassle than a convenience.

Personally, I never assume a gun is empty until I turn it upside down and fire it until it's clear. Even then I follow the four basic firearm rules. I am surprised that the HopUp still allows a BB to drop. I'm very curious how this HopUp feeds in my VFCs and G&Ps. Thanks for the update!

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Personally, I never assume a gun is empty until I turn it upside down and fire it until it's clear. Even then I follow the four basic firearm rules. I am surprised that the HopUp still allows a BB to drop. I'm very curious how this HopUp feeds in my VFCs and G&Ps. Thanks for the update!

 

I dont quite understand, do you mean you point the muzzle at the ground and fire those bbs out before you store your gun away or do you have to do that for (before) each mag reload? If the first case, than its no problem, I always do that before storing my gun away, but if its for each mag reload, then it simply sucks.

 

Sorry, question is for aznriptide859

Edited by ninjaklan
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I dont quite understand, do you mean you point the muzzle at the ground and fire those bbs out before you store your gun away or do you have to do that for (before) each mag reload? If the first case, than its no problem, I always do that before storing my gun away, but if its for each mag reload, then it simply sucks.

No. I do that when I store the gun or when I'm heading off to the safe zone at ENDEX. I want to make sure the gun is clear, so not only will I take the mag out, I'll clear the gun too by turning it upside down and shooting a few times and leave it switched to SAFE.

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As said at the end of my post, that question was for teh topic creator and about the madbull hop up chamber. I do the same and understand your post, however I would like to know if madbull chamber requires to shoot out those bbs stuck in the chamber (if I understood TC correctly) while pointing the muzzle down, before each NEW MAG CHANGE. If so its useless on teh field, if I need 1 minute just to swap the mag while 3 guys are advancing on me.

 

Im sorry for the confussion, maybe I didnt understand what TC wrote correctly, just wanna do a double check. :blush:

 

@uscmcoprs Also, whats an ENDEX?

Edited by ninjaklan
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Id say you wont have to clear before re magging, you tend to do tactical reloads just before a firefight anyway so there is always a round maybe 2 left in a normal hopup.

You will just feed those through first before you start feeding from the magazine.

ENDEX in the UK forces stands for end of excercise, Im sure it will be similar for our US cousins too.

We need the accuracy results for this soon, as my SPR is crying for a new hop unit to get some range and accuracy going.

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Maybe the oring in the bottom is too strict, so the magspring doesn't have enough tention to push the BBs into the hopup chamber?

 

Maybe - not sure. Then that would defeat half the purpose of the hopup haha.

 

 

does that hop up work with every mag or do you need mags with strong spring to make it work reliable (ie does that o-ring give a lot of resistance )

i wonder if you can mod a regular hop up to have that oring

 

So far every midcap that's worked on other M4's works with this one. I initially had an issue with ACM PMAG hicaps, but eventually after some tweaking they worked fine.

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