Home Reviews Ae M4mag Airsoft Elite M16/M4 300 rounds High Capacity Magazine

Airsoft Elite M16/M4 300 rounds High Capacity Magazine

by Arnie


Airsoft Elite M16/M4
300 rounds High Cap Magazine


By Arnie

Stock
Specifications
Features hi-capacity
wind
RRP 32 USD
Capacity 300 rounds (6mm)
Weig
ht
202g

The
guys over at AirsoftElite kindly sent in one of their new M4
mags for us to have a look at. The magazine comes in a sealed
transparent plastic bag with AirsoftElite markings, a part number,
and their address.

The new magazine is very similar to the TM and
CA hicaps, although there are a few tell-tale differences to
the keen eye. :)

Looks: First up is the colour, it’s
a slightly more light gray than the TM mags, but no worries there,
as the real magazines aren’t all the same colour. The AE mag
is on the left while the TM mag is on the right.

You’ll notice that if you place the mag on it’s
side you’ll see that the spot weld marks are slightly more visible
(those little regular indents) – that’s where the folded metal
has been joined up in the manufacture process.


AE mag on the right in
these shots, TM to the left.

At the top the plastics aren’t quite up to the
same quality as the TM mag. In these two shots you can see the
AE compared directly to the TM version, and you can see that
the two plastic halves at the top don’t quite line up, and that
there’s minor mold imperfections.

At
the base of the magazine you’ll
see the manufacturer’s markings. The TM gives the Adventure
Line MFR markings, whilst the AE has stamped on the bottom:

AIRSOFT ELITE
www.AirsoftElite.com
La Puente, CA USA

Now I have to say that being different
to the TM magazine is not a bad thing per se, I simply compared
it to the TM magazine as this is what most people will be used
to looking at.

Internals: In these two shots the AE mag
is to the bottom, whilst the TM mag is to the top, as you can
see the internals are for want of a better word identical. One
point of note is that you’ll need a 5/64 Torx bit to get the
AE mag to bits, and a 3/32 Torx head for the TM mag.

To strip the mags you simply undo the bolt at
the bottom, depress the tags that poke through the mag side
about 1cm down and then slide the plastic internals out the
steel cover. When you reassemble, do make sure that the bolt
is nice and tight otherwise it’ll undo itself when you least
expect it.

Compatibility: I tested
this particular magazine in both a TM M733 and the new CA M15.
The mag was a nice snug fit inside the mag well with both test
rifles. Fitment was a bit more sloppy in the CA receiver, but
that’s only to be expected as the CA mag well is slightly wider
(TM mags wobble in there too).

Performance:Winding and capacity/performance
is not the same as the TM model though, specifications have
been published that it can empty up to 80% of the magazine with
one complete wind. It
took roughly 100 ‘finger-winds’ to full prime the AE hi-cap.
The results of the tests were as follows:

  AE TM
Dispelled BBs 34g (170 rounds) 26g (130)
Capacity 60g (300 rounds) 60g (300 rounds)

It’s worth noting here that if you fill the magazine,
wind it, and then top up, you can actually get 350BBs in the
mag, but don’t overfill other wise this leaves no free room for
the mechanism at the bottom of the magazine to rotate.

The tests
were conducted with 0.2g BBs, and after a full wind, the release
catch at the top was slide back and the BBs allowed out against
a back pressure to slow the mechanism and flow down. The BBs
pushed out from a full wind were then weighed on some very
accurate scales. The results are the average of 3 tests each.

As you can see the Airsoft Elite magazine does
allow you to fire more BBs per full-wind, and in our tests
emptied well over half the magazine, 30% more than TM’s magazine.

Please do bear in mind that these were both brand
new magazines, so the mechanism will free up and therefore expel
more BBs per wind as it is lubed and used in the field. AE’s
claim of up to 80% per full wind therefore, although not proven
in these tests, cannot be disproven either.

When tested in an actual AEG for firing purposes,
no dry firing or misfires were exhibited, and it performed just
as well as the TM equivalent.

Conclusion: Well the AE mags are much cheaper
than the TM equivalent, and are built to the design. You get
at least 30% more shots off per wind, and they’re cheaper to
boot.

Sure they might lack some of the visual refinement
found on their more expensive brethren, but most mags look the
same after they get used, scratch and generally battered in use.
Half of my own hi-caps are missing most of their paint after
regular usage.

Given
the fact that they are available in the US for less than current
available imports, I can’t see much reason to buy any other
300 round hi-cap.

External
Links:
AirsoftElite

Site
links:
TBA

Comment
on this review in the forums


Last
modified:
Monday, October 6, 2003 2:05 PM
Copyright 2003 ArniesAirsoft




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