In this day and age where prices of everything have nowhere to go but up, it is becoming a challenge for airsoft enthusiasts to find the extra cash to finance their hobby, and for newbies to purchase their first gear to start playing. There are a lot of airsoft manufacturers out there releasing one airsoft gun or rifle after another ranging from the very expensive PTWs to the more affordable ACMs (all-China-made).

But as a new player trying to get into the sport without costing you your children’s inheritance, the question is always, “Which one do you buy?” And during this time when what we call here in the UK as “The Credit Crunch” is biting, my answer would simply be: Go cheap by buying an ACM and work your way up from there.

When choosing an airsoft rifle, most players look for two things—looks and performance. If you want to have both, buy a high-end brand like G&P but the reality is, airsoft does not end with your rifle purchase. You will have to get your tactical gears depending on the look you would like to have. Keeping all this in mind you should be wise in choosing what entry level airsoft rifle you would like to have and leave enough budget to purchase all the other things that you will need to complete your look.

Before the advent of ACMs, wannabe airsoft players, who are on a tight budget but would like to have a decent AEG, would go for a TM or Tokyo Marui, which are known to be good both in performance and in looks and at that time, at a reasonable price. The only downside was that TMs have low muzzle velocity, which normally ranges from 260 fps to 290 fps, and quite frankly, TMs don’t satisfy every airsofters craving for “power”. Legal or illegal, depending on one's location, the higher the muzzle velocity, the better. This can only be achieved by either upgrading your TM’s internals or outright purchasing AEGs that are known to have a more acceptable power behind every shot, and again easily upgradeable due to their more durable internal parts, with the likes of Classic Army, G&P and ICS.

Then came the ACMs like the DBoys, CYMA, Jing Gong and many more. Most of these brands have actually been on the airsoft market for quite some time, but were known to produce very, very cheap plastic models, which can never be used in a skirmish field. However, ACMs these days are a league of their own when it comes to airsoft. A typical high-end AEG package would normally consist of the AEG, a low or mid-cap cap magazine, a manual, a cleaning rod, and a small plastic of BBs. What this means is that before you can actually test fire your new and expensive AEG, you will have to spend an extra £30 to £40 for a decent battery. On the other hand, an ACM AEG package would give you all the items mentioned on the high-end package plus a hi-cap magazine (instead of the low or mid-cap) costing around £20 to £30, depending on the brand of ACM you buy. You will also get a decent 8.4V battery with charger, and some will also come with a sling and vertical foregrip, again saving you another £15 to £20. And the most important thing, you need not buy anything else to start test firing. By and large, this purchase alone would have already saved the buyer around £35 to £50 which can be used on other essential gears, such as safety goggles, head gear, gloves, and so on. If you buy wisely, £50 can go a long way.

Here are some more reasons why it is best at the moment to go for ACM brands:

Firstly, the price

This is the first obvious reason why a lot of airsoft players especially those who are just starting are going for ACMs. Most of these AEGs are more than half the price of their high-end clones.

Complete airsoft package out of the box

As I have mentioned above, all ACM AEG packages come complete with battery and charger. Some brands also throw in some more bonus items like slings, vertical foregrip, safety glasses and bb loader. So you are ready to go and will not have to think about buying the extra stuff that don’t normally go with a high-end AEG package.

Most if not all ACM AEG that are out there in the market are fully compatible and upgradeable with high-end after market parts

What this means is that new players or “newbies” can start out with a cheap ACM to get him started playing and along the way build his own dream custom AEG with after market parts. This is a very important quality of these ACMs as it gives the player the free hand to slowly upgrade their AEG both internally and externally with their preferred high-end brand. I have actually witnessed an ACM M4A1 transformed from a then cheap low-end rifle to a very high-spec G&P model.

Most of the better-brand ACMs are considered pre-upgraded with regards to the muzzle velocity they can produce

As we all know, most high-end AEGs fall short of the desired power that a serious airsoft player is looking for. Depending on the country and airsoft regulations the player is following, more often than not, he will have to upgrade the internal parts of his AEG in order for his gun to produce a more decent power and range behind every shot. And taking experience into account, this process is not cheap and sometimes cannot be achieved overnight. ACMs are somewhat a better choice as most of them, especially those considered as the high-end brands within this group like the Jing Gongs, the D Boys, the A&Ks, and the CYMAs, produce a high muzzle velocity with some of them firing at above the 400 fps limit.

ACM after market spare parts are now available

Element is an ACM brand that produces gearbox internal parts which almost as durable as the more expensive brands. This has given players a choice on internal spare parts when their stock parts have worn out.

Finally and probably the most obvious reason why going ACM is better at the moment is that not only are they cheap they are also getting better

We have witnessed in the last few months the advances in quality that these ACMs have made. Some good examples are the BDoys SCAR, A&K SR 25 and SR 25-K, The Kalash AKs, and just recently, Jing Gong have released their first full metal M4A1. Also, we have now seen the release of after market furniture such as metal receivers with full markings, front-end replacement kits, scopes, red dot sights, electric winding magazines, and the list goes on. The so-called high-end brands have actually been so worried about this that they were forced to release Sportline models to try and counteract this surge in popularity of ACMs.

It is difficult to imagine how much one can actually save by buying an ACM rather than a high-end brand, so I decided to do an experiment and search for two identical AEGs—one an ACM and one a high-end brand—and compare the difference. With a budget of $300, I will try to purchase as much as I can to get me started on the skirmish field with at least an assault rifle and safety glasses. I will get the prices from Hong Kong retailers.

For this experiment, I have chosen probably the most popular AEG, the M4A1, and also my favourite. And to be fair, I will choose the AEG that I will prefer to buy and use and not just choose the cheapest high-end or cheapest ACM or be biased against high-ends by choosing a PTW.

For the high-end brand, I have chosen the G&P M4A1 with extendable stock and for the ACM, the DBoys M4A1 with metal body.

Let's start:

*Note that prices are not “Best Price’ and were taken from two HK retailers and do not include shipping cost.

Conclusion

Airsoft is a hobby that is not for the short of cash, but as I was able to prove, it can be done in a way that you get more for your money by buying wisely. In this case, “Numbers speak louder than words”, and it can never be any clearer… to save cash and at the same time be able to start playing airsoft at the fraction of the cost, go for ACM products, not only on AEGs but on combat gears as well.

The only clue that you need to know that ACMs are getting better and becoming a major threat in the global airsoft market is the emergence of Sportline products from the high-end big name brands. In business management, this means that a big and serious threat is here, so lets do something to destroy this threat. And big companies will not pay any attention to a threat unless they know it a serious one. So with this we know that ACMs are getting better quality wise and coming with a complete package at the cheap price, there is no reason why a beginner would even think twice in starting with an ACM.

The reality is, buy your ACM AEG today and start playing when you get it.  Buy a high-end AEG, then buy a hi-cap mag, then buy a battery, then buy a charger and only then can you start playing.