I was excited to see a US company begin manufacturing airsoft guns because us...(More)

I was excited to see a US company begin manufacturing airsoft guns because us seasoned buyers had enough of buying over seas. I will try to write as in-depth of a review as possible. FIRST IMPRESSION: I previously owned a Classic Army M15A4 Carbine. It was a solid weapon except the charging handle had no function and the dust cover was simply a magnet. When I first received the ECHO 1, I was astounded, and more than willing to get rid of my Classic Army gun. It was exactly the same make as a Tokyo Marui M4 RIS. Same weight, plastic upper and lower receiver, almost exactly the same internals, but even more accurate. The quality of the crafting and parts is of the best as well. I am currently serving in the U.S. Air Force, and the only difference that I can tell between my issued M4 and the ECHO 1 is the orange tip. EXTERNAL SPECS: Starting from the rear, the collapsable stock is made out of high inpact plastic with a metal shaft. Exact same as my issued M4. The Charging handle is made out of metal and when it is pulled back, the metal dust cover opens to reveal the hop up. Same function as my issued M4. The flip sight is made out of metal and can be adjusted for windage, short or long range. The long range adjustment also works with NVG (night vision goggles). It can also be removed and repositioned on any 20mm RIS (Rail Interface System) rail. The RIS rail on the upper receiver is metal. The upper and lower receivers are made out of a high impact plastic with a metal fire selector switch, metal magazine release, metal push pins for field stripping, metal trigger and trigger guard, as well as a high impact plastic handgrip. The metal fire selector switch is identical to the issued M4 and has the same resistance to motion and clicks. The D-ring (Delta Ring) is made out of metal and has a strong spring for easy hand guard removal. The gun comes with three (3) RIS rail covers made out of plastic. These rail covers are identical to the issued rail covers and are made out of plastic to protect the shooter from the heat produced by the barrel. NOTE: An airsoft gun does not produce realistic heat. It is difficult to see in the product picture if you do not know what they look like. Just go to google.com and search 'ris rail cover' Not pictured is a RIS battery box that looks like a PEQ light. It is made out of plastic and will fit any 8.4V and some 9.6V batteries. The hand guard has four (4) RIS rails for multiple equipment attach points. The hand guard and rails are made out of metal. The barrel and front sight are made of metal, and the front sight post can be adjusted for elevation. Since this gun is being sold in the US, it comes standard with a safety orange tip. According to Federal Law, you must have an orange tip. If the authorities catch you, they can take away your airsoft gun, arrest you and you can even be charged for possession of a firearm. INTERNALS: I am not very knowledgeable with the internals of airsoft guns, but according to my experienced friends the internals are in competition condition. After I fired my first 200 rounds, I was happy to literally throw away my Classic Army airsoft gun, which had a high torque motor, 400 FPS spring, and other upgrades. All of the internal parts can be modified or replaced by Tokyo Marui, Classic Army, and other upgraded parts without and serious modification. I am so pleased with the performance that I will probably never modify my internals. I have fired about 1000 rounds so far and I have not had one break or misfire. The hop up works great and the barrel is made out of metal. This airsoft gun comes standard with an 8.4V 1500mA battery that fits in the battery box perfectly so there is no noise. The wiring also is just long enough to connect the battery so there is not loose hanging wire. The wire also has an in-line fuse to protect your motor. I had a dual stick 9.4V battery that I could hide in the hand guard of my Classic Army airsoft gun, but this hand guard has no space to do that. PERFORMANCE: WOW was my first reaction. Shooting on semi-automatic, at 100 feet, I hit a 5 inch by 5 inch target 30 out of 30 times (in the prone position of course). The automatic fire mode fires roughly 10-15 balls per second and cuts right through light brush. I also demonstrated to my mother how I can trim her bushes and as the leaves fell off her plant, she smacked me in the back of my head so do not repeat. As I mentioned in the internals section, there is no way to put a battery inside the hand guard. Right now I keep the stock battery in the battery box and I have not had a problem yet. I also had to recommendations to rewire the battery so that I can place it in a collapsable stock mag pouch. It is very possible, but I recommend that only the experienced do this. The battery charger that comes with it is a 'guesstimation' wall charger, meaning that you guess how long it will take until the battery will be fully charged. This will be sufficient for the first few times of use, but I strongly recommend that you invest in a peak charger and a discharger. I bought a new one with both peak charging and discharging off of eBay for $35.00. OTHER: I purchased this package from Empire Airsoft in June 2007. (http://www.empireairsoft.com) At the time of purchase, I bought the gun, a box of eight (8) one-hundred (100) round magazines, a M16 speed loader, and I received free shipping as well as 5000 free .2g BB's all for only $257.01. The gun alone costs $155.00 (and still comes with a 300round high cap magazine, 200 .2g BB's, 8.4V 1500mA battery, the wall charger, free shipping plus 5000 .2g BB's.) That's less than a Tokyo Marui or Classic Army and they do not even come with batteries!! These were specials so make sure you check before buying. The best thing about this gun is that I can take all of the hardware and equipment off of my issued M4 and it fits perfectly on this airsoft gun. Some things that I use are the US Issue vertical handgrip, tactical flashlight, CQB front post sling mount, and my tactical 3-point sling. For those of you who like the M16 carry handle, the detachable carry handle will fit perfectly on this as well. CONCLUCION: Definitely worth every penny! If you are a beginner and are looking for a quality airsoft gun that is durable, reliable, and cost efficient, I HIGHLY recommend that you buy ECHO 1. They also sell the MP5, other M4/M16, AK47, M14, and G36/G3 series and they are just as good as well as just as cost efficient. A friend of mine recently bought a G36 and was just as satisfied as I was. The only problem he had was the magazines can connect together to form dual mags, but he decided to put all 8 mags that he bought together so he would hide behind a tree and you could see 3 or 4 mags sticking out. If you do purchase a G36, I recommend only putting 2 mags together. Take Care and BUY AMERICAN! LINK TO GUN: http://www.empireairsoft.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_141&products_id=582(Less)