Your research has turned up some old data.

G&G has fallen asleep in the new player market and LT is lagging and not the leader any more. CYMA is hit an miss for CYMA is a manufacturing group....some in the group are better than others...and sadly the ones that make items for the beginner market is rather hard to discern and their products are "lacking".

The complete packages are best and I would recommend the Arcturus Sport Packages. They are the new standard with a solid high tech AEG, a good battery and charger and a 1 year warranty for the ORIGINAL owner.

At this point in your playing career...MODIFY NOTHING. Learn to use your tool before you change it...and another issue. The industry has no standards...changing non-core items is not as easy as say 15 years ago.

 

#1 best gun for a complete beginner is a rental AEG, followed closely by borrowing one from a friend who's been playing for years. Seriously. Try the sport out before investing your hard earned $$ into a gun, especially if you do not know which gun you even like yet. Airsoft is a lot of fun, but it is also a money pit in addition to being more of a workout than some people are ready for.

#2 gun would a stock Arcturus, maybe a G&G or CYMA if you spend some time researching which ones are still a good deal. Stick an optic on there if you want, and a vertical grip if you like, but heed the advice above - modify nothing internally until you've been playing for a few months. To many new folks invest their $$ in 'upgrades' right out the gate which are actually not upgrades at all and sometimes end up ruining the gun entierly; companies like evike are more than happy to sell you low quality parts for a premium.

#3 gun would be a used one from a friend you trust. Try to avoid purchasing from someone you've never hung out with irl unless they happen to own the field you play at: it is very very easy to slap a bunch of spare parts together and make something that's vaguely gun-like, but will crumble to bits after the first month or so of serious use.

Some pointers - try to get a gun which is fairly standard spec or 'TM compatible'; this means there's a higher than average chance aftermarket parts will work with it once you get to that stage of your career. Try to find a rifle with an ETU or MOSFET as this will allow you to use LiPo battery packs which are much lighter, more powerful, and charge a lot faster than the standard NiMH packs of yester-year. Do not settle on 1 gun - make a list of all the ones you like and whittle it down to the top 3 or so, then make a post/thread here asking which of them we would pick (and why) so we can help steer you away from any known duds. Expect to spend as much on your goggles, mask, gloves, etc, as you will your gun: you can't regrow your teeth or eyes so do not cheap out on protecting them (ESS, Onetigris are reputable brands). Approach the game with the right attitute. New players often have a certain smell - be humble, use your head, learn as much as you can from other players, and when in doubt call yourself out. You'll go far if you can manage that! Most importantly though, have fun and don't take airsoft to serious unless you're at an actual milsim. Airsoft, generally, is just cosplay with toy guns

 

Very affordable - Dboys AKS74U
Now sold under Golden Bell? Or Double Bell? Something like that. They change the name up but it's the same letters. At one point they called it a lancer tactical.
90 bucks
370fps w/.20
I used it for years and even lost it in some brush for a couple of weeks. Picked it up, shook the water out of it, still kickin'
I broke the charging handle from the fake bolt but kind of liked how I could crawl with a slick gun. The black all plastic setup was incredibly durable and lightweight, and the gun worked good enough for a scope, and even held the QD ak scope mount perfectly. Fed every mag I ever tried. Never locked up or jammed. Never had any issues, except the handgrip screw fell out after a year. I think that was 60 cents at the hardware store. Skeleton stock locked up tight, and worked perfect for years, with me playing with it every week. The quality of the plastic and the fit of everything was just incredible for the price. This was a decade ago, but I still see the same guns being sold, just with branding changes, and sometimes new colored furniture

 

Anything JG is good. I really enjoyed the ergonomics and functionality of the g36k. Clipped together as many mags as you want 470rds a piece. Battery compartment was 9.6v max but I'd wire it for an external battery nowadays.

Friend had the aks74 blowback. That was cool. Worked great.

Other friend got the M4 S system? With the cool rail, almost like the hk416. That thing worked great and I really liked the styling.

One friend got an ares m4 cqc thing, it wasn't fun to work on but he made it work. Pricey

A&K SVD springer. Easy to find parts for compression system, takes vsr10? Parts. easy to work on. Great performance for price. My only complaint is some screws were loose. 140$

Galaxy mp5 (discontinued but any cheap metal gearbox mp5 will rock and be about the same) reliable, ergonomics are great, can build great for anything, $140? Might need a spring upgrade as these usually come with a m80 spring. My velocities were a little low to be competitive with M100-M120 AEG guns.

I just had great fortune with the cheap full metal gearbox guns, from just about any manufacturer. The only way they went out was batteries sat too long, parents threw out all the screws to it while I had it apart, or the trigger electrically stuck on the mp5.

My first gun was a clear p90 with maybe 280fps and a 600rd? Magazine. It rocked. Lasted for a couple years before something happened to the motor or trigger. You can't go wrong with a cheap tokyo marui clone.

 

600 Rounds isn't a TM Clone...max they got was a 300 and that fed poorly.

 

Hey everyone,

I am new to airsoft and looking to get my first rifle. There are so many options out there and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I am planning to play mostly outdoor games with some occasional CQB. I want something reliable, beginner friendly and not too expensive.
.....................
Thanks in advance for helping out a newbie !!

With Regards,
Derek Theler

I'm going to agree with @mikedabomb, I personally have a few JG Works (aka Jing Gong, Golden Eagle their HK Distributor, and aka their parent company, Fuxx "Company" Shenzhen CN) and I've worked on (mods vs repairs) many for my customers (I do Gunsmithing and "Airsoft-smithing"). They have VERY budget models, to some very nice intermediate models (not so cheap), that have some thoughtful cloning of non-China knock-off brands like TM, G&G, VFC, KWA,
etc. They also make some damn nice GBBR that are based on the oldest and most reliable "WA System" (Western Arms, Japan) that many other notable companies like VFC, G&G, WE Tech, have semi cloned with their own minor spins. I have several of the JG W GBBR M4's, no complaints other than "I wish the Hop-up was made better". Barrel are tight at a ball-gauge Mic'd 6.03, decent polish and the system is efficient enough to get ranges of 225 ft with .38BB's, although tight accuracy falls off at 150ft.

I would highly recommend a mid-priced JG W "Golden Eagle" M4, way over any "AK" style, because M4's have thousands of after market upgrades and replacement parts to that of the AK's, look for yourself on any major online sellers' website, not much for AK's

My favorite JG W "Golden Eagle" SBR M4 (heavily modified exterior) Gas Blowback with working Suppressor. I'll put this GBBR that was $149 on sale against any VFC M4 that's 3x more $$ (though It won't get as many BB shots with one mag fill of Propane as a VFC)!

 

The Calico Jack is a good gun that runs well out of the box. But again I would recommend renting a gun first to see if you are going to stick with the hobby. Also while your playing you can ask people what their opinions are.

 

You may not know this, but "MOST" of Evike's "Matrix" branded Airsoft guns (rifles and pistols) are actually made FOR THEM (Matrix is just a 'slapped on re-branding") by JG Works (aka Golden Eagle, their HK marketing / distribution co) Evike has BS'ed customers for years that Matrix and EMG is a manufacturing company, they are not, just a "contract buyer" from China based companies like JG Works (Fuxx Co). SOME of the Matrix models of GE AEG and GBB's are subpar contract guns to the self marketed JG W or Golden Eagle branded ones. They "skimp" on internal parts that will wear out faster than the higher priced "JG W or GE" branded same models. Evike may also go to some other lower tier China manufacturers for other "Matrix" re-branded Airsoft guns.

I think Guges Mk3 will mostly agree with me, he know that Chinese market pretty deeply. My experience is that I've bought a lot of JG W's GBBR and a few GPPP's and have really gotten to know the ins and outs of them. I think from my experience, that JG W made Airsoft is FAR better than CYMA.

 

I was under the impression a lot of the Matrix components are contracted from Chihai.

And I must be among the minority here: I like JG, or at least their old designs. Cheap and I know what to expect, generally respond well to modifications and upgrades, and generally have pretty good compatibility with aftermarket parts.

 

That's because the Aftermarket parts are the same parts inside low end China AEG's.

 

Hey Derek,
Solid choice going for an AEG, especially for outdoor play with some CQB mixed in. You’re right that G&G, Lancer Tactical, and CYMA are great beginner brands.
Quick heads-up: Some airsoft retailers rebrand OEM guns under flashy labels, which sometimes come with cheaper internals. It’s like buying a mystery burger you might get steak, or you might get soy filler. That’s why I recommend sticking with original-branded rifles from known names like G&G or CYMA’s Platinum line. What you see is what you get, no surprises.
Airsoft Station is one spot where models are listed clearly by brand, so you know you're getting legit builds, not just sticker swaps. Go for something solid, practice first, and save the upgrades for when you’re ready to fine-tune your playstyle.
Enjoy the game. See you on the field (hopefully not on the wrong end of your barrel).
BB-slinger with too many mid-caps and not enough weekends

 

CYMA Platnum line is an Umbrella Export Brand. Any AIrsoft factory with no Export license can export under CYMA's export license (when they remember to renew it i a timely manner...). Which means good, bad and the ugly can be exported under this "brand".

For this AEG, being sold now is an "ugly"...

This is an AEG made of spare/over production parts...KeyMod died over 8 years ago...