CA M15A4 CQB Compact SEAL

[GuzziHero]

I was PM'd by a member to tell them about this gun...so I figured Id post it up here as well.

 

Theres nothing I can tell you about most Armalites that you dont already know, so Ill stick to the CQB specific stuff.

 

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The main reason I got this gun is because I wanted a reliable backup. Ive had a real bad run-in with GBBs, so I needed a small gun that could fit inside the SMG portion of my multiple carry bag (I ride a motorbike so dont have much storage room!) and a bonus was being able to take M16 magazines. Even a G36K was too long, so I was really stuck for choice. Good job that I think the M15A4 CQB Compact SEAL is a fab looking gun then! I bought it from UNCo, it was shipped by TNT and got here in 4 days.

 

The gun is really solid, and quite small. I dont know about the power yet, sadly I have nowhere at home to even break it in, but Ill tell you what I can so far.

 

The gun has a fair weight to it, and weighs almost as much as my M16A2 Rifle. The foreend is really solid. If you want to use RIS covers, you will need to saw them down to fit because of the short main rails. The flash hider looks sweet, its the ribbed type with the counter-cut groove in the front (on the real steel, I presume that it provides a counterforce to the rifling friction, but just looks funky on the airsoft gun).

 

It attaches via the Delta ring at the back, and then at the front via 3 small hex screws that screw into the outer barrel. One small niggle is that standard CA foregrips are really hard to get onto the rail, it seems slightly too wide to accept them easily.

 

The top rail from the foregrip continues straight onto the top of the reciever. The rear sight screws on via a small hex key, and folds down when not in use. A nice feature is that the rear sight has 4 different size sight holes on a rotating disc, though with the shortness of the gun, I expect youd be best using the largest 2 most of the time.

 

Receiver is pretty standard CA. I was pleased to see that they havent tried to over jazz it up with some stupid special trades. The nearside magwell trades simply say Armalite Carbine 5.56mm M15A4 followed by a unique serial number. Rest of the trades are like any other CA M15 model.

 

The stock...this is the only letdown Ive found, and its probably not the gun's fault. The wiring from the back of the gearbox to the battery connector is poor quality - very thin and stiff. This is a real shame, as the wiring inside the gearbox is a lovely thick flexible type. Maybe it would be best to change this stuff right off the bat.

 

The good parts are the 4 positions that are available (the longest being slightly longer than my A2 solid stock) and it is simply the most comfortable stock I have ever experienced. It bring the eye perfectly to the sights almost every time. I had doubts about it being solid enough to handle a sling being mounted at the back...absolutely no fear here, it is really sturdy. Best bit is, although it wouldnt fit in my SMG pouch standard, simply removing the stock buttplate gives the extra room it needs.

 

Bad parts...Im having a real monkey of a time trying to fit a 9.6v battery. Im sure all crane stocks are the same, but when the stock is fully closed, the battery connector wants to stick out the back of the gun. Id recommend either keeping to an 8.4v battery, or extending the wires from the back of the gearbox (stock base) to the battery connector. In trying to fit the battery, Ive managed to break a battery wire and pull the horrid thin wires out of their connector

 

The gun has a very loud report, some what louder and more clacky than my A2 Rifle, even more so than my old P90 without suppressor. It really seems to kick hard as well, probably because of the aluminium piston head.

 

On that subject, I best mention some internal bits. Well, Ive only stripped it down as far as taking the upper reciever off and removing the stock tube but here are my observations on this:

 

I had to take the upper reciever off because the spring clip that holds the hop fulcrum pin was missing, and it was trying to evac out the ejection port (I hope this is a one-off problem, and Ive let UnCo know about it).

 

Inside, the gearbox looks like any other except the sides of the cylinder are a dark gunmetal colour and ribbed, as opposed to the flat brass colour of my A2 cylinder. The right hand side of the cylinder as you fire the gun has a small oval hole, purpose unknown. The piston is the same yellow jobby as in the A2. An interesting point to note is that unlike the A2, this gearbox has 'Classic Army' stamped in the casing where the trigger mech is. It is lubed like Billy-O.

 

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I hope this helps some prospective buyers!

[That_One_Person]

Ooh nice +1, but can you put some piccies up too in addition to the ones you have in picture threads?

[GuzziHero]

Ooh nice +1, but can you put some piccies up too in addition to the ones you have in picture threads?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Will do, as soon as I get some decent light. I dont come home till its dark ATM

[teetee]

Thanks for the quick review, hope to take a look at these once they're available in the UK.

[No Trace 13]

Surely you are not planning on getting one of these too TeeTee? are you lol

[Sarge133]

Awesome review GuzziHero. I have been thinking about putting one of these on my list of guns to buy.

[GuzziHero]

A bit of advice to anyone buying one of these:

 

Ive been told by a leading shop that you arent supposed to move the crane stock with the battery in place...seems a bit silly to me. But thats how I chafed through my wire so there ya go.

 

The good news is...there is a solution.

 

As long as you dont mind running 9.6v, this is a fab battery: http://www.airsoftarmoury.co.uk/product_in...6aee029fd93d2ce

 

Theres no cells in the centre, so no stubborn battery to move. The only mods I would suggest are that you file down the ends of the stock rail guide inside the back of the stock to prevent wires snagging (it wont affect the stock operation adversely) and that you twist the wires inside the stock tube into a spiral so that they stay out of the way when you close the stock. And like I said up there, replace the wire that goes from the gearbox to the battery with thicker silicone insulated wiring as soon as you get it - Ive seen better quality wiring in a £5 flashlight. Its thin, its stiff, and itll break in no time at all.

 

Long as youre reasonably gentle, this should allow you to operate your stock to your hearts' content

[GuzziHero]

I typed out an in-game review of this but then my poo-ey ISP dropped just as I hit Add Reply...so here we go again!

 

Finally got to use this gun today as I have no test range at home. Forgot to take my camera to get some pics of it...Ill have to take some on my next day off which is Wednesday.

 

Okay, got to the site and managed to break the gun in with a couple of hicaps worth of fire. First firing confirmed what I expected - the gun is quite short range (dont ask me to name a distance, Im pathetic at assessing ranges!), Id say about 2/3rds the range of my A2 Rifle when it was stock. At this distance, it scattered fire nicely - exactly what I want it for. It say you could accurately hit a man-size target at about 60ft each and every time, but not much past that. Some folk might expect/want more accuracy than that, but as a CQB only gun, its just what the doctor ordered.

 

First game justified my purchase nicely - quite a few kills in Unreal CQBs tight confines. The gun is weighty but never unwieldy, especially with a foregrip. And then it dawned on me after the 3rd game or so...I never bashed the barrel or any other part of the gun on a single item, all day. A total impossibility in there with my A2. The weight was high enough that you couldnt hold it for ever and a day, but comfortable enough for a minute or two. The balance is brilliant, especially with the crane stock out. Id say the balance point sits around the front of the mag well.

 

The gun is definitely on-key power wise. It isnt running at 1J (CA have dropped their spring powers because of Japanese legislation) but it is still more than enough for what this gun is intended for...close quarters battling. And as several folk told me today, it has a fair sting when it hits you!

 

On that note, I cant recommend the battery I mentioned above enough. It was brilliant, spiralling the silicone gearbox-to-battery cable around the stock tube allowed the battery connector to glide in and out without unduly snagging or stressing the wires. I could use all stock positions with no drama.

 

With a 9.6v battery, the gun fires fast enough for those snap shots, without being so fast that it empties magazines too quickly. I could easily use midcaps with this if I wanted to but then I do burst fire or semi auto a lot so it depends on your style of play. The metal piston head gives the gun a lovely kick when you fire on full-auto, but I was a little irritated by the very noticable sproing sound of the mainspring, something I never get with the A2 Rifle.

 

I didnt get tired of using the CQB Compact all day, in fact the A2 Rifle only came out for a glimpse of sunlight and I never used it, addicted to the agility of the Compact. Those who play in woodland exclusively would likely get frustrated with the Compact...you would be constantly outranged without doubt...but then its speciality is spelt out right there in its name

 

As long as you consider this gun a secondary, or a CQB-only primary, itll fit the bill. But if most of the shooting at your site is extreme range, its probably not the gun for you.

 

So to summarise:

 

Pros:

Compact and quick to use

Nice spread pattern for use as an indoors scattergun

Comfortable stock

Sturdy

More accessory rails than you can shake an AN/PEQ at

 

Cons:

Short range

Clacky, sproingy sound when firing - this aint no thumper

Stock can be awkward to use with Sub-C cell battery packs

Magnet on the ejection port/hop cover fell off

 

And finally, a couple of very poor quality, indoors pictures (and yes, I know the front sight is the wrong way round in the bottom pic!).

 

[DarkMM]

Great review.

 

And it's so cute, almost like a pet for the A2 .

 

Muuusssstttt rreeeessssiiiiissstttt.....

 

Hmmm, maybe if I sell a kidney, I have a second one.

[GuzziHero]

Well at £299 in the UK, and about £230 with shipping from HK, its an expensive speciality gun. And I thought the MP7 was an expensive sidearm!

[GuzziHero]

As requested - pics! Ive got pics with my mods as pics of the guns without the bits are all over the place

 

 

And I was asked for a pic of the cocking handle...

 

Tried to take some pics of the ribbed cylinder outer but the light isnt good enough and it kept flashing out with my mini Medion camera.

 

Additions:

Cut-down CA handguards

CA carry handle

CA mag clamp

Colt replica 4x20 scope - eye relief on 3rd out position is brill

G&P 'AK' folding foregrip

UTG sling loops

[pacino]

Thanks for the review mate- Got mine delivered a coupla days ago and I'm well happy. You are right about the battery tho'....I got the one you linked to and had a real bit*h of atime gettin the end caps on. Until I realise it was the wrong way 'round!

Anyways...+1 from me!

[CALI SWANGIN]

GOT TO LOVE IT.....MAAAAN!!!

 

 

 

Greetings,

 

CALI SWANGIN

[azngoonie313]

ok here goes

 

I bought my CA M15A4 Compact from Airsoftextreme. I tested the gun with the chronograph at the shop, and it registered a good 315 to 325 fps. Pretty good for stock rifle. It came with:

One hicap magazine; i don't like hicaps overall, but i wasnt too impressed with the feeding on the CA hicap.

Very nice solid rail system.

I've noticed some complaints about the CA crane sock wiring, but it did not bother me at all. If you use a 9.6v 4200mah ( i suggest it because it will have a much higher ROF) the stock cannot retract all the way in, but thats a small price to pay for the fast ROF and long lasting battery.

However i did change the motor to an eg1000 because the CA motor seemed to not fit very well into a KA G27 grooved grip.

The rear sight has a nice ball bearing design, which i like.

 

As for tighbore or spring upgrades, i don't think it is very necessary. If anyone is buying this gun, it should be for close quarter combat, and a hard hitting spring or a tightbore would not really be necessary. Plus the gun itself has a surprising ability to shoot a decent distance. I was able to hit targets up to at least 120 to 140 feet by just adjusting the hop-up.

 

If you want to deck this gun out, it is very easy, ACOG, eotech, PEQs, and verticle grips all work very well.

This is my setup:

 

and i do suggest using this gun for police, or SWAT ops, because it pairs so well with the outfit.

 

 

Overall it is a great buy for the price, i really recommend it.

 

External:

Pros:

very solid

very light

nice finish on the body

 

cons:

not much really

crane stock wobbles a tiny bit. barely noticeable

 

Internal:

Pros:

great internals

nice spring 315 to 325 fps

nice gears ( they can handle quite a bit of shooting)

 

Cons:

nothin much either

but if i had to pick, changed the motor even though it wasnt really necessary

 

 

 

[sigseals]

Strange about the reports of low range. In many reviews i have read the m15a4 cqb outranges a standard m15a4 because of its new hop up design. Indeed it appeared that the accuracy was the only thing that needed improving. But seriously at 60 feet you should easily be able to hit a man size target everytime..

[luvs2shoot]

wow just 3 months shy of 2 years

 

Can you say NECROPOST?