ICS, TM, CA?

MP5 RAS · February 9th, 2007, 10:25

Hey everyone,
I've decided to purchase an M4. now the question is, which company do I choose? Price is not an issue as most are relatively similar, so next I want to know which gun fires the best, is most likely to not break (I'm not spending my money for nothing and not willing to buy another one if this one breaks), and is just overall the best purchase. Right now I'm leaning towards CA simply because of the metal body and slightly higher stock fps. If you can convince me otherwise please do, or if you can convince me to make the purchase, please do.
Thanks in advance for an replys.

thephenom · February 9th, 2007, 11:51

Can't go wrong with any of those. CA and ICS is the way to go for a full metal airsoft. CA is the way to go if you live in Canada since prices of CA are cheaper than ICS here.

Renegade) · February 9th, 2007, 12:15

Ive heard good things about the new version CA M15A4, and I am planning on buying one when I sell my ICS M4.

New CA's come slightly upgraded out of the box, reinforced mech, gears, and some other goodies you wouldnt get in most stock guns. Anybody can confirm what ive said or change it as I am not 100% on that, but its what I hear and read.

Right now Id recomend the CA, cant go wrong with FMU. But if you have the cash, go TM and upgrade.

LUTNIT · February 9th, 2007, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renegade)

New CA's come slightly upgraded out of the box, reinforced mech, gears, and some other goodies you wouldnt get in most stock guns. Anybody can confirm what ive said or change it as I am not 100% on that, but its what I hear and read.

As far as I know the mechboxes aren't reinforced but certain models do come stock with 7mm bushing mechboxes though structurally they aren't reinforced. Check the specs on the CA site. CA does use some weird dimensions so if you need to replace a part (receiver, mechbox shell, etc.) then you'll want to replace it with a CA part since fitting other manufacturers can be a huge headache. Internals are standard with any TM though. Yes CA guns usually come stock with steel gears instead of potmetal and M100 springs so shoot ~330fps out of the box.

For the price, can't go wrong with a CA and yes the M15A4's are really nice, had a full length one not so long ago and I loved it, currently have a full sized CA G36 and its great. The pistons and piston heads are crap though, really brittle and break easily, if you get any upgrades done to it get those swapped out at the same time. I put a stock TM piston and piston head into my G36 and it works great.

Also remember if your getting an M4 use it as an M4. If you want a longer ranged field gun get an M16. The longer barrel on my G36 gives it a 30fps advantage (and big accuracy difference) over my teammates G36c with all other internal upgrades the same (I'm shooting 390fps with an M110 spring, an M120 would probably bring me to 420-430fps.)

deltaop1 · February 9th, 2007, 12:58

Hi MP5 RAS,

I own both a TM M4A1 New Series and a CA M15A4 (sorry, no ICS details). Since you asked about what company's M4 to buy let me offer you my opinion:

If you prefer a more realistic looking M4 (more metal especially) then the CA version is the way to go. The TM version has more plastic furniture and so therefore doesn't have the same real steel look & feel. Another consideration is that since the CA version is built with more metal it is the heavier of the two AEGs. This consideration maybe important when you are carrying the weapon all day long in a gaming event, your arms will notice the difference.

If you prefer a M4 with the probability of more reliability then I would suggest that the TM model is better then the CA model. I am not a gunsmith expert by any means but my Airsoft mentor has a small article on his blog that talks about what he found when he took apart a CA M15A4 CQB AEG recently which I believe uses the same internals as the CA M15A4 Carbine. I am posting the blog url here for your review:

http://www.colinsun.com/Colin/nfblog/?p=450

I hope this information helps. I believe that both the TM and CA versions are great AEGs in their own rights but if I had to make a choice I would favor the TM model since a functioning AEG over how it looks is more important to me.

Renegade) · February 9th, 2007, 13:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUTNIT

Also remember if your getting an M4 use it as an M4 If you want a longer ranged field gun get an M16.

So are you saying that you dont recomend getting an M16 tightbore with silencer, upgrade piston kit for that extra range and SEAL style M4?

LUTNIT · February 9th, 2007, 15:09

If you want the look, yeah, sure, but I dislike the look of silencers period and much prefer full sized rifles. I always laugh at people who say "yeah, I got an M4 and installed a full stock, M16 tightbore and hid it under a silencer, this thing has awesome range now!" because why didn't they get an M16 to start with? I also find the people who want M16 performance out of an M4 without the extended barrel to be annoying. If you want an M16 get an M16, not an M4. If you want an M16 but want the M4 with silencer look than that route is possible too if your into that. Also why would someone need a piston upgrade to switch from M4 length to M16? All you need is a non-ported cylinder.

Renegade) · February 10th, 2007, 11:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUTNIT

If you want the look, yeah, sure, but I dislike the look of silencers period and much prefer full sized rifles. I always laugh at people who say "yeah, I got an M4 and installed a full stock, M16 tightbore and hid it under a silencer, this thing has awesome range now!" because why didn't they get an M16 to start with? I also find the people who want M16 performance out of an M4 without the extended barrel to be annoying. If you want an M16 get an M16, not an M4. If you want an M16 but want the M4 with silencer look than that route is possible too if your into that. Also why would someone need a piston upgrade to switch from M4 length to M16? All you need is a non-ported cylinder.

Just from what I have heard from CA owners, those stock piston/heads are pos's so youd be doing yourself a favor swapping em. Your right, a simple ported piston is the simple way to do the longer barrel. I still havn't decided, but I heavily see your point.

evilmonkey · February 10th, 2007, 14:29

I currently have a CA M15A4 carbine and i love it, I used to have a TM and i have a friend who has the ICS and i can out shoot the TM and ICS both in power and accuracy. Unfortunitly i need to sell it to buy a rifle that suit my new teams needs better but i deffinitly sugest the CA over TM and ICS

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February 9th, 2007, 10:25	#1
MP5 RAS Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2004	ICS, TM, CA? Hey everyone, I've decided to purchase an M4. now the question is, which company do I choose? Price is not an issue as most are relatively similar, so next I want to know which gun fires the best, is most likely to not break (I'm not spending my money for nothing and not willing to buy another one if this one breaks), and is just overall the best purchase. Right now I'm leaning towards CA simply because of the metal body and slightly higher stock fps. If you can convince me otherwise please do, or if you can convince me to make the purchase, please do. Thanks in advance for an replys.

February 9th, 2007, 12:15	#3
Renegade) A Total Bastard Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Tottenham, Ontario	Ive heard good things about the new version CA M15A4, and I am planning on buying one when I sell my ICS M4. New CA's come slightly upgraded out of the box, reinforced mech, gears, and some other goodies you wouldnt get in most stock guns. Anybody can confirm what ive said or change it as I am not 100% on that, but its what I hear and read. Right now Id recomend the CA, cant go wrong with FMU. But if you have the cash, go TM and upgrade. __________________ W1-5 Last edited by Renegade); February 9th, 2007 at 12:19..

February 9th, 2007, 12:58	#5
deltaop1 Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greater Toronto Area, Ontario	M4 Choice Hi MP5 RAS, I own both a TM M4A1 New Series and a CA M15A4 (sorry, no ICS details). Since you asked about what company's M4 to buy let me offer you my opinion: If you prefer a more realistic looking M4 (more metal especially) then the CA version is the way to go. The TM version has more plastic furniture and so therefore doesn't have the same real steel look & feel. Another consideration is that since the CA version is built with more metal it is the heavier of the two AEGs. This consideration maybe important when you are carrying the weapon all day long in a gaming event, your arms will notice the difference. If you prefer a M4 with the probability of more reliability then I would suggest that the TM model is better then the CA model. I am not a gunsmith expert by any means but my Airsoft mentor has a small article on his blog that talks about what he found when he took apart a CA M15A4 CQB AEG recently which I believe uses the same internals as the CA M15A4 Carbine. I am posting the blog url here for your review: http://www.colinsun.com/Colin/nfblog/?p=450 I hope this information helps. I believe that both the TM and CA versions are great AEGs in their own rights but if I had to make a choice I would favor the TM model since a functioning AEG over how it looks is more important to me. Last edited by deltaop1; February 9th, 2007 at 13:25..

February 9th, 2007, 11:51	#2
thephenom Trader rating Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toronto	Can't go wrong with any of those. CA and ICS is the way to go for a full metal airsoft. CA is the way to go if you live in Canada since prices of CA are cheaper than ICS here.

February 9th, 2007, 15:09	#7
LUTNIT Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ottawa	If you want the look, yeah, sure, but I dislike the look of silencers period and much prefer full sized rifles. I always laugh at people who say "yeah, I got an M4 and installed a full stock, M16 tightbore and hid it under a silencer, this thing has awesome range now!" because why didn't they get an M16 to start with? I also find the people who want M16 performance out of an M4 without the extended barrel to be annoying. If you want an M16 get an M16, not an M4. If you want an M16 but want the M4 with silencer look than that route is possible too if your into that. Also why would someone need a piston upgrade to switch from M4 length to M16? All you need is a non-ported cylinder. Last edited by LUTNIT; February 9th, 2007 at 15:11..

ICS, TM, CA?

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