Patrol Base Blog

Today we uncovered a problem with the King Arms M4 transparent model that we believed, you as the paying customer deserves to be made aware of. The trigger contacts in the rifle are not the best in the world…. However don’t let this be off putting to go ahead and purchase this rifle. It is an easy fix!

The contacts in the King Arms are open to corroding relatively quickly, even with a small 9v battery connected. However, today we opened up an M4 that was having issues firing on full auto. This was due to a slightly miss shaped trigger contact. The problem was simply resolved by replacing this contact with a brand spanking new Dboys for £15.99.

To prevent the contacts from burning out we are also now able to fit our home made MOSFET in store before posting for an additional £20.00. The MOSFET works by lowering the voltage going to the trigger contacts from 9v to 1v yet still delivering full power to the motor. Below are a few photos of our in store engineer investigating the problem along with a picture of home made MOSFET fitted into the M4 front.

After recent experiments we discovered you can use the same “ASG Pumpgun Shells” in the Franchi SAS 12 and Tactical Shotgun Airsoft shotguns. Even though one fires three rounds at once, the 1×30 shells will still allow triple shot shotguns to fire three rounds at once.

You can purchase the 1×30 shells rather than the more expensive 3×10 shells here for only £9.99 compared to the more expensive 3×10 shells at £12.99!

Today we got a leaflet which we thought we would share with everyone who wishes to take a look. It is all about the hop setup and bb weight.

You can see that the 0.25g bb’s deliver slightly more accuracy over a longer range but do fall marginally shorter than the 0.2g bb’s.

Check it out below:

With the weather getting better and the woodlands become more and more overgrown with fern and bushes to hide in to ambush the enemy… Why not blend in with your surroundings properly to take the enemy out with badass ninja skills.

We have a range of Ghillie in store and soon to be further expanded online. One of our most recent additions is the Kombat UK Ghillie which covers your back, arms and also includes a detachable Velcro and press stood hood.

Most Ghillie suits are pre fabricated with layers of fibre such as hessian. However the Kombat UK Ghillie system is a gown type design with a plentiful amount of elastic loops. The amount of elastic loops is more than enough to allow for a range of vegetation to be thoroughly applied all over your body, providing excellent concealment during a prone or crouched position.

We highly recommend this suit for woodland use all year round. Vegetation is easily attachable and removable by hand allowing quick and easy storage after a hard days Airsoft game.

Below are a few picture of the suit being modelled to give you a look at the quality, loops and how it drapes whilst you are stood still. Please note the suit has been worn by a <6ft airsofter and a 6ft5 Airsoft sniper and both found the suit comfortable and a must have purchase at only £36.99!!!

Today we have had a second customer come in with a King Arms Thompson come in with a lockup fault. This is where the gun simply won’t fire and you would initially think your motor isn’t turning or your gears have ceased.

The fault is that the anti reversal latch has gone and catched the bevel gear halfway through a piston cycle. This mechanical fault / safety precaution is caused by poor trigger discipline. By poor trigger discipline we mean that the user is using very fast bursts of the trigger on either single or full auto. It is important not only in the King Arms Thompson but any Airsoft AEG that if you are using burst shots, to pull the trigger fully in and to release accordingly, not just after a single shot on full auto mode.

Fortunately the fault is easily fixable within the King Arms Thompson!

Below is a pictured guide on how to fix the fault and allow you to go out and play again within seconds.

First of all you need to remove your battery to prevent any shorting within the gearbox and wiring:

The next step is to remove the grip that covers your motor, this is simply done by undoing the base screw, then slide the grip off:

With the cover (grip) removed you can now remove both of the screws that attach your motor housing to the gearbox. Once you have undone the screws simply pull (lightly) the motor away from your gearbox as shown below:

The next step is to locate the anti reversal latch. The anti reversal latch works in an oposite way to most other Airsoft AEG’s in that to release the cycled piston you simply need to push the anti reversal latch into the gearbox. Below is the anti reversal latch indicated with a red circle. A small screw driver is then used to push the anti reversal latch in. Once you have done this, simply re assemble in the oposite order to this guide. Below are the pictures of the process:

The re-assembly is straight forward being a complete reverse of this guide. For any more information of help contact us.

Recently we have been receiving several complaints about the hop unit causing problems within a Magpul Masada PTS. After several hours of repairs we have come down to a conclusion that it has possibly been caused to incorrect disassembly of the inner barrel / front end section.

To correctly disassemble the front end preventing damage you must first of all fully turn off the hop unit!

The Magpul Masada PTS has an excellent design in how it can be disassembled within seconds. However, due to the ease and pace users are stripping the rifle and causing internal issues, generally it is repairable but with excessive incorrect disassembly you could create long term and expensive damage to your hop unit!

Below is a step by step picture guide showing you how to remove the front end and inner barrel correctly.

First of all remove the magazine using the mag release catch as shown below:

The next step is to remove the body pin that keeps the front hand-guard connected to the lower receiver. This is a simple push out pin and is easier to pop out using a pointed object such as a biro as shown below:

Continue to pull the rest of the pin out from the other side of the gun. The pin will not pull out completely unless you use excessive force, this is not needed! Pull the small pin until it clicks, then slide the front fore grip forward as shown below:

The next step is to fully turn the hop off, do so by turning the hop wheel in the opposite direction to what the arrows show. For the purpose of this guide we have highlighted the arrows red. Turn the wheel the opposite way! To access the hop wheel, you need to pull back the charging handle first as shown below:

Next you need to disconnect your battery if you have one fitted:

Next step is to pull down the locking arm, then twist anti clockwise (to the right shown in the pictures). As you do so the locking mechanism will click and grind, this is a normal sound! Once fully undone, you will be able to slide the outer and inner barrel forwards and you have completed the disassembly of the front end.

Below is a photo of the locking mechanism that holds the inner barrel, outer barrel and hop rubber all together.

The re-assembly is straight forward being a complete reverse of this guide. For any more information of help contact us.

Airsoft….. Something we love to do on a fortnightly or even weekly basis, to go out with your mates and shoot at one and another all day with little plastic balls and play like soldiers with toy guns.

“Airsoft was created and marketed in Japan in the 1980s, due to civilian ownership of firearms being banned. Airsoft was used to closely emulate real guns. Now air soft guns have been adapted with a purely recreational application in mind. Many air soft guns are produced in China and Japan, where their distribution and sale is restricted. This has sometimes led to shipments of arms to many Airsoft dealers being confiscated. Air soft guns are also produced in the Philippines, the United States, and Taiwan.”

Source – Wikipedia (Because we all know Wikipedia is the number one website for facts and history)

Below are a few pictures of Airosft games taking place at a local site near Patrol Base named “Heywood” taken by Jack Brooke. Owned by First and Only Airosft.

It is quite surprising just how many people don’t have their hop set right within their Airsoft gun. With a properly setup hop unit you can easily increase your range by up to 100%!

As well as having a nicely set up stock hop unit, you can also upgrade the hop unit to provide further range and accuracy at a small cost. One of the most important practices though is regular maintenance of your hop unit to ensure you are getting the most out of your Airsoft gun either is be an AEG, Pistol or Sniper Rifle.

Generally to apply hop you need to either twist or screw the hop adjustment wheel or screw clockwise. Some sniper rifles such as the TM VSR will have a sliding arm that you pull towards the rear of the gun to apply more hop. Most AEG’s including the M4 and variants have a wheel that you usually adjust Anti Clockwise to apply hop.

It is also important to have the right BB weight. A new hop unit will need to be bedded in and is always best to settle the hop with about 1000 to 2000 rounds with your desired BB weight. Usually rifles between 340 to 350+ fps are best with using 0.25g BB’s. Anything lower than this would be best to use 0.2g BB’s. Sniper rifles are completely different, usually FPS between 400 and 420 you would want to use 0.3g BB’s, FPS from 440 to 470 would be best to use 0.36g BB’s. Anything over 480 fps would require 0.4g bb’s or higher.

First of all fire a few rounds through your gun with no hop applied, then apply hop minutely until you get a level bb flight with no upwards curving. Fire about one or two magazines through the gun and then apply a little more hop. For best results in terms of range, accuracy and consistency you want a level bb flight.

There are different types of hop rubbers you can go for that range from £5 up to £20 and more per rubber. You also need a good bucking which is what applies the pressure onto the rubber. Usually an AEG of 350fps would be best to use a soft hop rubber with a medium to hard bucking. Anything over 450 fps would be best to use a hard hop rubber and bucking.

Always be sure to have a clean hop rubber and inner barrel. A quick squirt of silicone spray and then dried off with a cotton bud is enough until it’s clean. Another important note is to never remove the inner barrel from your Airsoft Gun with the hop applied. You risk damaging your hop rubber and your hop unit!

After months of pondering whether the move from the standard 9.6v NI-MH battery to Lipo, I decided to go for the plunge the other day. Along with my “trusty” M4 I also had two other guns that I fancied trying lipo out on which included a JG G3 and a Cyma AK47. All of these guns are fully upgraded in terms of shims, bushings, tight bore barrel, hop rubber and a good air seal in all of the AEG’s.

After a full days skirmish in a woodland site using all the guns (being shared between myself and friends) the results were mixed but I didn’t walk away feeling I had wasted my money.. All of the AEG’s ranges in FPS from 310 to 350 but all of them have been upgraded to supply a high rate of fire at an average of 30 rounds per second or higher.

The M4 and the G3 both used a 7.4V 1400mAh lipo stick battery. The Upgraded Cyma AK47 used an 11.1V 1600mAh lipo block battery. Unfortunately the AK 37 was only used for half a day as the fuse went and blew out due to the high voltage and ampage. The other two guns managed to get a strong 3/4′s of the days use before the Lipo alarms started to bleep. We recommend that after you hear the Lipo Alarm beep for a second time, change or remove the battery?

Compared to the old 9.6V 1600mAh crane stock NI-MH battery, the 7.4V Lipos deliver a noticeable faster rate of fire and nicer feeling trigger response. The price of Lipos are also considerably cheaper when you look at it in the sense a 7.4V Lipo at £13 runs at the same ROF as a £30 96V 4300mAh battery.

So overall, when you consider you are getting practically an extra two to three volts performance for a battery at half the price of a NI-MH alternative, Lipos are worth it. The batteries come in a range of sizes but the higher the voltage the more strain can be put on your gearbox so you must ensure it is properly serviced, shimmed and setup which is a service we can provide here at Patrol Base.

The other day we got our first delivery of the Well AW338 sniper rifle. The rifle is a near identical clone of the Star/Ares AW338 versions. As soon as you open the box you instantly want to pick it up and see how it all works with all those buttons and movable parts.

In the box you are given:

• Well Aw338 stock rifle
• Tools for fitting receiver and outer barrel to folding stock
• 1 gas tight magazine

There are no scope and bipod supplied with this version of the AW338 but they can be bought separately. Contact Us for more information of extra accessories we can supply.

After fitting the upper receiver and outer barrel into the stock we went and gassed it up to test out the fps and performance. Please bear in mind we have a maximum of 30 metres to test the range.

Instantly after fitting the mag into the rifle there were a couple of teething problems. The layer of paint on the magazine resulted in the mag not naturally sitting in the right location. After a couple of times inserting and removing the magazine it fed bb’s perfectly every time. Initially when you would push the bolt in a bb may pop out the mag and go sideways or backwards rather than sliding into the hop chamber. This was down to an incorrect magazine height. As stated, after a couple of times fitting the mag into the Airsoft RIF it sat fine every time.

You need to first of all pull the bolt so it is open before inserting the magazine, then push the mag in fully then tug it lightly until it won’t come any further down. This will set the mag at the perfect height. After several goes it will become a natural thing to do when you next fit a mag.

So with the magazine fitted, gassed and loaded full of BB’s (the strip which can be replaced for new mag strips) we took it to the chrono. The initial readings were 380 fps consistently using Kickass Gas. We then took the bolt out to learn this clone also has an adjustable grub screw designed to up or lower the fps. We tightened the grub screw in (be careful how far as it will fall out if over tightened) and went to re chrono and achieved 410fps average using the same gas at room temperature.

We then took it to the top of our shop and using 0.2g bb’s (as when chronoing) we hit the other side of the shop (35 metres roughly) easily which a loud crack on impact. The bb travelled perfectly straight with no hop applied! We estimate this rifle to hit 60 metres easily with 0.25/3g bb’s and a nicely set up hop unit.

The weight of the sniper rifle is great! Not too heavy but you know you have a serious bit of kit in your hands as soon as you pick it up. Any airsofter will initially think it’s too heavy but you soon get used to it after half a day’s use on the field. The gun is built with a collapsible stock for easier storage in smaller spaces which is easy to use but you do not get a click noise to identify it is unlocked ready to fold. The rifle also has a spring retractable monopod at the rear of the rifle to offer better accuracy and support when laid in prone.

The rifle also comes with a full metal outer barrel, receiver, bolt and flash hider! The flash hider is replicable with a 14mm silencer to offer even stealthier attacks upon the enemy.

As the rifle is upgradable with an AEG inner barrel and hop rubber, you can instantly increase fps and accuracy for a small cost of roughly £50 to give you a considerable and worthwhile investment. The disassembly of the gun is easy even for beginners and takes roughly 5 to 10 minutes for beginners with a handful of screws and alen key bolts.

We would not recommend this rifle for beginners. The level of care required is above average compared to your traditional spring L96′s. You must ensure the mag is sat right and when left alone it must have gas in it to keep the seals healthy and alive (split second job), you must pull the bolt out gently (not fully out as you can reload the rifle by pulling the bolt roughly 1″ out) and the bolt has to be pushed back straight, firmly and with the bolt handle kept up until all the way in.

As with any Airsoft gun, maintenance is important to prolong life.

There are little negatives to the rifle that we can identify initially, the main one is the weight as no other sniper rifle is as heavy apart from the original Star/Ares series. The foldable stock functions perfectly fine but there is no click noise to identify you have unlocked the stock to fold once you have pressed the release catch.

Apart from those two, the build quality is excellent. The rifle is easily upgradable, very silent with no silencer, great efficiency within the mag resulting in at least 2/3 strips being used before you need to re gas up. You must however always keep some gas in the magazine even whilst storing to ensure the seals will not dry out.

We would highly recommend this sniper rifle for experienced airsofters who are looking for something different and delivers excellent results. For £249.99 you are not going to get any sniper rifle better for that price region in terms of accuracy and range. Beginners would be able to use this sniper rifle providing you have the patience to get used to how it all works. Once you get the action right of the bolt and mag fitting, you won’t forget how to use it ever again.

Overall I would personally rate this rifle 8.5/10 out of the box.