A&K M60VN

[oliverlove]

Noobgunner - what do you mean your having body sag issues??

[Forze]

By the way: excellent job guiness

 

on the body prob: i just remembered my mk43 did have a tiny bit of flex between the 2 parts, fixed it with tape & it's perfect now.

 

I also found a custom way to fix the bipod legs to the swivel:

 

i was able to put a pc-case screw next to the leg screw (CCW against the CW leg screw) & it holds perfectly (for now )

 

i tested it dropping it to the floor 5 times at about 10 inches distance, still held w/o any problems. The folding of the bipod is very tight now, but i consider this a benefit instead of a problem.

 

I'll check it next skirm i use it (this weekend the MK43 will be used again for a change, rough terrain ftw )

Edited February 20, 2010 by Forze

[Rafter_Man]

My "Piggi" is not finished yet, but even thou it looks miles better than fresh out of the box.

 

 

 

 

I am thinking of repainting/reworking the metal heat shield as well as the barrel with stealwool but i am unsure of the color and the extend i want to achieve.

[mr.systema]

great review.......... and when my frd use it and back up me i love it so much

 

 

[Forze]

been through it's second skirm now & i can say:

BEST SUPPORT GUN EVAR (in my airsoft career which means a VFC MK43, CA M249, 2 different A&K M249 & an A&K MK43)

 

got a range of about 50-55meters with a very nice spread (circular pattern), making sure everyone ducked down at this range (& beyond apparantly ).

Shot about 4000-4500bb's (Bioval .20) without a single hickup or problem (only used up 1 and a half small type battery also). The only "negative" points were: the shoulder rest got a bit loose (fixed it with a screwdriver) & one of the bipod legs' screw got a bit loose for my liking after a run-in with a 100kg player who apparantly thought i was blank space (which i wasn't! i think ... ), but that was also fixed by screwing it back in).

[Guinness]

Yikes, sorry gentlemen, I hadn't noticed the question in this thread....

 

Quickly, mostly repaint, all Krylon- I put a list of colors in some picture thread I spammed with these pics when I finished it up, I think in the support weapons thread.

 

The barrel assy. is Krylon 'gray primer', with a light over spray of Krylon 'Hammered gray'. The top cover was buffed shiny with a dremel and buffing pad, then one top coat of Krylon 'gloss black', the front plastic handguard, pistol grip and rear stock have about 3 coats of the gloss black. The receiver is a base coat of hammered bronze, and a coat of hammered gray, then a final top coat of Krylon clear flat. The front metal handguard and the bipod are the reverse of the receiver, a base coat of the hammered gray and second coat of hammered bronze with a clear flat top coat.

 

The gun has been painted as new issue, I left the aging and weathering to the owner

[jamesdack]

Is this for sale in the UK yet?

[dog green 1]

I've heard a few people have picked these up from the UK but can't find anywhere selling them.

[dog green 1]

Forgot to say. Great work as always guinness

[JeepCJ8]

Micro update from my end, The good news is A&K has restarted production in China, these will be once again available in the near future. The bad news, after three weeks of trying I still get no response from A&K support for replacement parts for the charging handle mechanism that fell off.

 

3/20/2010

Skirmished it HARD today, I ran 10000 BBs through it, One bag 4000 cnt. .20 and nearly 8000 cnt .25s (two bags) This thing is a beast! I am really pleased with the box mag in particular, It is everything the ARES and the STAR magazines are not. It feeds consistently and it feeds EVERY BB in the hopper. Chronos a very consistent 364fps with .20s. With .25s it has the ability to chew a "tunnel" through the thickest brush along the tire field at LP. I could see first the bark then the branches disappear in my cone of fire. I was on the trigger for very long periods of fire and it never paused. My only complain is it is a *bramston pickle* to lug around the field. It is not a little awkward to bring around to bear in a different direction. I recommend a padded sling (got a M60 sling at the surplus store for $10) and carry a good pistol AEP, you will need it.

 

4/17/2010

Ran it through another hard day at LP, the first couple of issues are appearing now.

This replica has a good 25000 BBs through it now. First was before I even made it to the chrono station. The cocking lever assemble literally fell off as a walked over to chrono, I picked up these pieces but for the life of me I can not find them now. As far as I can tell this was due to a disturbing trend with this replica, ALL of the screws holding it together are coming loose. This includes the 6 (three on each side) located on the lower receiver and the feed ramp/magazine hanger all started to come apart on me through the course of the day. This led to long delays in the safe zone while I tightened and re tightened components that were coming loose. I have just written a E Mail to A&K inquiring on replacement parts for the now missing cocking lever assembly and a spare magazine.

 

Speaking of magazine, at the very end of the day, it stopped feeding, I just popped the bottom off the box mag here at home and found it was jammed up on a miss formed BB. This is the only stoppage I have had in 25000 rounds. Impressive. I can now tell you that this box mag has NOTHING in common with the ARES or STAR magazines, it has a spring assist and a weighted flywheel that helps it pick up BBs a move them up the feed tube.

 

While I was trying to clear the jam on the field, I used the barrel release lever to pop the whole inner and out barrel and hop up assembly out, (great feature by the way) be careful when you do this the ROF rheostat has a plug and wires that lead from the gearbox wiring harness, these wires are thin and break easily, Just be cautions if you end up doing this.

 

As for effectiveness on the field? It is a awesome, I had no feeding problems that were the fault of the design it has the power to push .25s but not to much to make .20s inaccurate. My Padded M60 sling made its size and weight a little more livable on the field. Do NOT use the "carrying handle" this is thin and flimsy it will bend or break under the weight of this replica.

 

 

4/23/2010

Micro update: the last two LP games I have been using this replica hard, Another 15000 BBs through (40000 BBs total) it with out any mechanism problems and only one jam. however due to impatient stupidity I busted it up pretty bad. Basically I ninja 'ed into a well concealed unexpected direction on my opponents deep into a brier patch. After the game while fighting my way clear I got caught, thinking it was the sling I powered my way clear, sadly what I was caught up on was the feed spring and power wires that lead from the box magazine to the replica. I tore these up pretty badly. But don't dispair, below is the repair. This also applies to most box magazines including STAR,ARES, A&K,ECHO1, Classic Army and TOP. I have not tried this with any real sword, Inokatsu, Trigger Happy or other replicas.

 

This is the damage done to the M60, I was pretty mad at myself.

 

broken wires:

 

elongated feed spring"

 

Missing bolt mechanism, still not response from A&K on replacement parts.

 

4/28/2010

First, this box magazine is NOTHING like the STAR or the ARES M60 magazines internally. It is closer to the classic army mechanism the feed mouth inside is double the size of the for-mentioned competitors. In addition the feed mechanism is not only spring assisted, but also has a counter weighted flywheel both of which help the motor to force BBs up the feed tube with out issue. No wonder that it feeds so well!

 

On tho the repairs:

much like the STAR/Ares box magazine start by removing the bottom panel by removing 4 screws:

 

 

Then remove the jam nuts form the damaged feeding spring and set a side, take the opportunity to slide the feed spring inside the box magazine proper so its not flopping around.

 

 

 

Once that is done flip the magazine so the bottom is up and remove the mechanism and the feed ramp by removing one screw,

 

 

Remove the feed ramp by backing out a jam screw and carefully spinning it off so you don't force anything.

 

 

 

Then push/pull the damaged feed spring from the box magazine, careful that you don't pull off any wires from the mechanism while it is loose from the box magazine.

 

Now the fun part, I made replacement feed springs and tube stock available thru McMaster Carr The specific part are below. The springs wire is slightly thinner than the stock components, with a higher number of coils per inch, this is not a big difference as to make the use of the feed ramp and jam nut at each end unusable but it is less coarse allowing BBs the feed better and smoother. This is a great MOD to do to balky A&K M249 box magazines which sometimes feed poorly.

 

1 3038K192 1 Each High-temp Nsf-51 Silicone Rubber Tubing, 5/16" Id, 7/16" Od, 1/16" Wall, Translucent, 10'l

2 9664K49 1 Each Spring-tempered Steel Cont Extension Spring, 36" Length, 5/16" Outside Diameter, .028" Wire

 

There is enought stock here to do several box magazines for less than $20

 

 

 

The last step is to prepare the need feed spring by cutting it with a dremel tool to length and insuring that the cut end is smooth and flat by squaring it off carefully with a dremel.

 

You are now ready to reassemble the box magazine in reverse order of disassemble,

 

OPTIONAL and SUGGESTED To prevent future tangles and snags that damaged the feed spring in the first place, you can slide the silicone tube over the feed spring, this will protect the coils, keep out debris while remaining flexible, It will also keep the feed spring coils aligned which also will help achieve smooth feeding from the box magazine and the replica.

Edited April 29, 2010 by JeepCJ8