do fps restrictions make sniper pointless?

[dstole]

Hi all,
I have been investigating and have considered getting a sniper rifle. Being in Japan I have been looking at the offerings of TM, Maruzen, and Tanaka. All of the reviews I have been reading in English talk about huge fps numbers like 500+ fps. One site claimed that a sniper rifle was pointless if it wasn't 50 fps or more over the course limit...

In Japan the law limits the airsofts here to .98 Joules (325 fps). As a result, most AEG shoot about the same as a stock sniper rifle, and doing upgrades on the sniper rifle will quickly make it illegal.

I have no intention on using an illegal weapon or having something that could seriously hurt someone (in my mind a 500+ fps could do some harm). Is there any point in buying a sniper rifle in Japan based on the Joule laws?

I currently have a M14 Socom that is .89J (94m/s or 310fps). I have been told that this is the highest fps that TM makes out of the box. If anyone can buy this close to the legal limit in Japan, is there any place for a sniper rifle that can only be upgraded by 15 fps before it is illegal?

Is there any reason to use a Bolt Action or Gas Sniper rifle over a stock TM AEG? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[CuppoJava]

It heavily depends on your reason for playing Airsoft. Compared to AEGs, you will be severely disadvantaged. Sniper rifles in airsoft rarely have a proper role, especially under fps limits.

That being said, with enough practice you might become good enough to be an effective player even with the bolt action "handicap". And you might enjoy playing this style, even though it's not as effective as if you used an AEG.

-Patrick

[L473ncy]

Not sure if you have paintball in Japan but I've seen some paintballers with pump action guns dominating the field against people with guns that are shooting full auto at insane BPS.

Here in Canada we've generally agreed upon limits of up to 425-475 FPS for sniper rifles with MED's (Minimum Engagement Distance). With 400 FPS being the limit for AEG's.

Now in Japan you have a different way of determining if the gun is "legal" or not so the best advice I can give you is probably go for an AEG. Otherwise you could take the handicap and get a sniper rifle but know that you won't be dominating the field at the start (like the pump action paintball player) until you get better.

Note: Above 350 FPS with .20's at close ranges ( point blank or < 5 ft) have good chances of giving bleeders or sometimes embedding a BB into the skin.

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by dstole

Is there any reason to use a Bolt Action or Gas Sniper rifle over a stock TM AEG? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

As a first gun, no. Using a sniper rifle effectively requires a lot of skill and familiarity with the weapon and airsoft ballistics.

Having said that, FPS generally means nothing when it comes to range and accuracy. What will effect that is the length, bore, and quality of the inner barrel, the quality and weight of the BB's you're shooting, and the quality of the hop-up. A well built sniper rifle will outshoot a shitty AEG any day -but the reverse is also true. A good AEG will always outshoot a shitty BAR. Stock, most sniper rifles are comparible to AEGs in range and accuracy. You need to drop some money and TLC into it to make it really sweet.

FPS ranges over 400 tend to do really stange things with BB's anyway because of the ballistics of a sphere. Some of the best shooting AEGs chrony in around 330 FPS stock. They shoot well because they are well built out of really good quality parts.

What makes a sniper rifle so useful is the fact that it's consistent and nearly silent -consistency is good for longer range shots that would normally need 5+ rounds from a less consistent AEG, and silence is good for the scout that normally has the sniper rifle and is trying to stay hidden. If you remember that the role of a sniper is primarily recon and scouting, then the sniper rifle makes a lot of sense.

And finally, bolt action rifles are fun. I'd recommend having a secondary on you though (like an MP5 or MP7) incase you need to actually do a bit of stand-up fighting.

[dstole]

Thanks for the insight and good advice.
1 more question if I can ask...
Does upgrading parts always increase fps? "length, bore, and quality of the inner barrel" were quoted as being important. If a quality inner barrel was added to my TM Socom M14 would it add more that 5% fps? If so that would make the gun illegal here in Japan. 5% seems like such a small increase in performance before things get risky.

I like the idea of the sniper rifle though, and will look into the offerings from maruzen and TM a little more (gas is less appealing because of cold weather issues).

Any other advice is appreciated.

[TokyoSeven]

Originally Posted by dstole

Thanks for the insight and good advice.
1 more question if I can ask...
Does upgrading parts always increase fps? "length, bore, and quality of the inner barrel" were quoted as being important. If a quality inner barrel was added to my TM Socom M14 would it add more that 5% fps? If so that would make the gun illegal here in Japan. 5% seems like such a small increase in performance before things get risky.

I like the idea of the sniper rifle though, and will look into the offerings from maruzen and TM a little more (gas is less appealing because of cold weather issues).

Any other advice is appreciated.

If your M14 is a stock TM, shooting somewhere in the area of 280 with a 0.20g BB, adding a a quality 6.04mm or 6.04 inner barrel will give you an FPS boost, but as long as your gun is under 325FPS with a 0.20g BB (0.98 Joules worth of energy) you will be fine in Japan. I really cannot see a tightbore adding 45FPS so I think its safe to say you would be fine.

[Tankdude]

If it is a stock TM M14, don't touch a thing on it. They are perfect out of the box for what your doing.

[L473ncy]

I just remembered, you should get in contact with a guy on this site named Aquamarine. He's in Japan right now IIRC so he's probably THE guy to talk to about Japan and airsoft/upgrades.

What really matters apparently is Tightbore to a certain extent and then after that it's a matter of hop up unit and rubber quality. Get a 6.04 tightbore and a high quality hopup unit and rubber and it should make your gun more accurate with a mild FPS increase.

[Donster]

Originally Posted by Tankdude

If it is a stock TM M14, don't touch a thing on it. They are perfect out of the box for what your doing.

i would respectively disagree. A tighbore would do wonders, such as increasing long range accuracy and adding a moderate fps increase. i think a tightbore should be added because since he cannot increase FPS, he should get a tightbore so as to have the best possible accuracy for his guns range. basically, by adding a tightbore, he will have laser accuracy to anything within his gun's range.

[TokyoSeven]

Originally Posted by Tankdude

If it is a stock TM M14, don't touch a thing on it. They are perfect out of the box for what your doing.

TM guns do have amazing hopups straight out of the box.

[MillerBRo]

+1 to what Donster said, if you cant make your guns faster I figure it pays to make them more accurate all the same... but really its subjective to the persons playing style anyway.

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by MillerBRo

+1 to what Donster said, if you cant make your guns faster I figure it pays to make them more accurate all the same... but really its subjective to the persons playing style anyway.

It ALWAYS pays more to make the gun more accurate than faster, even when you can upgrade FPS. Higher FPS accomplishes nothing but getting the BB to the target sooner.

[Amos]

I was thinking about this...

It seems the only advantage a boltie would have in Japan is it's sound signature... You can make bolt actions nearly silent.

If you do plan on going the "Marksman" route.. I'd recommend upgrading things for air seal and consistency. If you can't have a higher FPS than other people, you'll want a higher amount of consistency.

[dstole]

TokyoSeven,
I had the M14 at an indoor field with a .8J (90m/s) with .2 BB restriction and it clocked at 94m/s. That comes in at around 310 fps so I really only have about 15 fps of room to spare before I get up to the legal limit here in Japan. I would like the added accuracy of a tight bore, just don't want to add it if it is going to make the gun unusable.

Will try and contact Aquamarine.
Thanks again for the comments folks.

[kalnaren]

I should think a tightbore wouldn't actually add much benefit on an indoor field.