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Apr21
CA M15A4 Carbine
Introduction
Being an avid Airsoft player, I am always looking for the best deal. Marui has been known for there great AEG’s because they were very durable and literally never broke down, because of there good reputation, it made them the only reliable AEG creator and thus everyone and there mom bought a Tokyo Marui AEG. Making Tokyo Marui the Microsoft of the airsoft world. In search for something different, me and my friend bought a Classic Army M4A1 version 3, only to realize first hand that Classic Army had bad quality guns. Although it seemed like a good deal, metal body, pre-upgraded, and under 300 dollars, it was not worth the hassle, during the first hour of play the gun broke, and it was then that I vowed never to buy a Classic Army gun. Fast forward 1 year later, and Classic Army has released yet another version of the M4a1 Dubbed the “M15a4 Carbine” sporting legal trademarks of Armalite Inc., steel gears, pre-upgraded, high speed and high torque motor, and under 300 dollars it seems like yet again, another bargain. Usually I would not fall for it again, but I wanted to give it a chance. It would only make sense that they would improve this time….. right?
History
With Tokyo Marui leading the way in the AEG world of airsoft, many companies have tried to surpass them in terms of value and quality. Classic Army, well known for their full metal body AEG’s have failed numerous time in trying to surpass Marui is terms of quality and value. Because of there many failures in creating quality AEG’s many players and dealers alike have decided not to buy them. I for one have decided to give this company another chance despite there failure in the past
First Impression
Taking the gun out of the box and holding it made me think, “hmmm… another M4”. Holding it felt a lot better than the Tokyo Marui M4. The Nylon and glass fiber hand grip and sliding stock is the first difference I notice. Compared to the TM M4 the hand grip feels not so smooth and toy like. It feels more realistic. Hard to explain, but all I have to say is that it feels better than a Marui.
The trades are a nice addition to the gun, but I still prefer Colt’s trademark, I think these trades are a nice addition and not to mention they are legal, so no putty here.
The metal body feels sturdy, just like a metal body should be. The metal body adds a lot of weight to it, and makes it cold to the touch giving the user an added sense of realism. A definite plus here, compared to CA metal body in the past, I would say it’s up to par with systema’s own metal body in terms of feel. I also like the color of it, unlike Tokyo Marui’s grayish M4A1, Classic Army made there’s a solid black. A very nice touch.
Also the hop-up is similar to the Tokyo Marui M4A1, but by pulling the charging handle will NOT open up the dust cover unlike the Tokyo Marui M4. Instead Classic Army did a more innovative solution which is more durable. They used magnets to open and close the dust cover. In the past I had my dust cover latch break, and I think this is a better solution.
The removable carrying handle is metal unlike Tokyo Marui’s plastic one, but the design is similar. Like the Marui, it has adjustable sights on the carrying handle, a major plus. With the carrying handle taken off, it turns the m15 into a flat top receiver to put scopes mounts and other accessories on the top rail.
The handgrip is where the battery is stocked, and you can see in the picture it can fit a 9.6v 1700mah Nun-chuck battery without modification. It’s been made to fit the 9.6v so if you are to buy this gun DO NOT buy a mini 8.4v 600mah. Since the gun is already pre-upgraded the 8.4v 600mah battery will not last, the 9.6v is the only way to go for optimum performance.
Accuracy and Testing
For accuracy,testing, and power I used .20g Airsoft Elite bb’s, a G&P 130 round magazine and 9.6v 1700mah Nun chuck battery.
Without further a due, let me tell you this now. THIS GUN WITH A 9.6V BATTERY ROCKS! The rate of fire on this gun is super fast thanks to the high torque motor and steel gears. I must say this gun is the fastest shooting gun in stock form that I have ever seen. It can go through a G&P 130 magazine in seconds and it can empty a Tokyo Marui/Classic Army magazine in no time. To put it in short the rate of fire is astonishing.
When testing for accuracy I tried grouping the gun at optimum hop-up for straight shooting. So first I tried the single shot test where as you can see in the picture the, the grouping was ok. 3 other people tried it and it seems the gun purposely shoots a little to the right as the grouping is on average 2 inches. Not great compared to other TM guns.
When shot in full auto, as you can see in the picture it is still at a grouping of 2 inches on average with the occasional middle shot. Not bad at all.
Power
As you know the m15a4 carbine is pre-upgraded when you buy it. Most people think that the m15A4 has 350 FPS, but that is not true. When I first took it out of the box and chrono’d it, the average FPS is 330.4 as you can see in the picture, more powerful than a stock TM, but it’s not like TM makes any of there guns over 300 fps anyway.
Durability
Now we know the gun shoots great at first, but how long will this gun really last? Because with a gun that is shooting that fast, I expected it to strip gears, or strip the teeth off the piston within no time. It seems that I have been proven wrong. Within the first 3 hours of firing we fired off a whole bag of 3000 Airsoft elite bb’s with no problems whatsoever. Sure it fires great inside but what about outdoors? After 6 straight hours at a paintball park and numerous skirmishes on free fields, I was yet again surprised that it lasted reliably. It was kicked around, abused, fired numerous times, dropped, and thrown around, so in short the gun lasted a whole month of plinking and skirmishing with no problems whatsoever.
Comparing the Tokyo Marui M4A1 and the Classic Army M15A4
Technically speaking these guns should not even compare because of what they feature. The Classic Army M15 has a metal body and is pre-upgraded, while the Tokyo Marui M4 has a plastic body and stock internals. But in terms of looks I will let the picture tell it all. And in terms of value, I would definitely go for the Classic Army M15A4 Carbine.
Overall
It seems that after all that classic army has done in the past, they have finally learned from there mistakes, and made a winner. With all the tests passed, I feel this gun is a great gun, it shoots fast, it’s quite durable for the time being, and it’s a great value for all you get. But there are a few problems mind you, but they are very small
* When first bought it is really difficult taking out the handgrip to put in the battery, so I have to take out the handgrip spring and modify it. Not a big problem, but with a little modification it can be solved, and it could’ve just been my gun.
* It cannot use Airsoft Elite M4/M16 magazines reliably. After trying to test a full Airsoft Elite magazine we found that it cannot feed it properly, we had to push it up to feed properly. So if you buy this gun we recommend you do not use Airsoft Elite M4/M16 magazines as they tend to misfeed.
Besides those problems the gun works fine. All Marui magazines including the 190 hicap, Classic Army Magazines, and G&P magazines work well with it. So in closing, I would say Classic Army’s M15A4 Carbine is a sure winner. We have yet to open one, but why should we? I believe the gun is great as is, so there is no reason to open it. Now if you wanted to upgrade a stock gun, I don’t recommend buying this, as we are unsure of its upgrade capabilities. But as a stock gun, this is sure no doubt a great buy. We plan to sell these in the near future, so keep on a look out.
Being an avid Airsoft player, I am always looking for the best deal. Marui has been known for there great AEG’s because they were very durable and literally never broke down, because of there good reputation, it made them the only reliable AEG creator and thus everyone and there mom bought a Tokyo Marui AEG. Making Tokyo Marui the Microsoft of the airsoft world. In search for something different, me and my friend bought a Classic Army M4A1 version 3, only to realize first hand that Classic Army had bad quality guns. Although it seemed like a good deal, metal body, pre-upgraded, and under 300 dollars, it was not worth the hassle, during the first hour of play the gun broke, and it was then that I vowed never to buy a Classic Army gun. Fast forward 1 year later, and Classic Army has released yet another version of the M4a1 Dubbed the “M15a4 Carbine” sporting legal trademarks of Armalite Inc., steel gears, pre-upgraded, high speed and high torque motor, and under 300 dollars it seems like yet again, another bargain. Usually I would not fall for it again, but I wanted to give it a chance. It would only make sense that they would improve this time….. right?
History
With Tokyo Marui leading the way in the AEG world of airsoft, many companies have tried to surpass them in terms of value and quality. Classic Army, well known for their full metal body AEG’s have failed numerous time in trying to surpass Marui is terms of quality and value. Because of there many failures in creating quality AEG’s many players and dealers alike have decided not to buy them. I for one have decided to give this company another chance despite there failure in the past
First Impression
Taking the gun out of the box and holding it made me think, “hmmm… another M4”. Holding it felt a lot better than the Tokyo Marui M4. The Nylon and glass fiber hand grip and sliding stock is the first difference I notice. Compared to the TM M4 the hand grip feels not so smooth and toy like. It feels more realistic. Hard to explain, but all I have to say is that it feels better than a Marui.
The trades are a nice addition to the gun, but I still prefer Colt’s trademark, I think these trades are a nice addition and not to mention they are legal, so no putty here.
The metal body feels sturdy, just like a metal body should be. The metal body adds a lot of weight to it, and makes it cold to the touch giving the user an added sense of realism. A definite plus here, compared to CA metal body in the past, I would say it’s up to par with systema’s own metal body in terms of feel. I also like the color of it, unlike Tokyo Marui’s grayish M4A1, Classic Army made there’s a solid black. A very nice touch.
Also the hop-up is similar to the Tokyo Marui M4A1, but by pulling the charging handle will NOT open up the dust cover unlike the Tokyo Marui M4. Instead Classic Army did a more innovative solution which is more durable. They used magnets to open and close the dust cover. In the past I had my dust cover latch break, and I think this is a better solution.
The removable carrying handle is metal unlike Tokyo Marui’s plastic one, but the design is similar. Like the Marui, it has adjustable sights on the carrying handle, a major plus. With the carrying handle taken off, it turns the m15 into a flat top receiver to put scopes mounts and other accessories on the top rail.
The handgrip is where the battery is stocked, and you can see in the picture it can fit a 9.6v 1700mah Nun-chuck battery without modification. It’s been made to fit the 9.6v so if you are to buy this gun DO NOT buy a mini 8.4v 600mah. Since the gun is already pre-upgraded the 8.4v 600mah battery will not last, the 9.6v is the only way to go for optimum performance.
Accuracy and Testing
For accuracy,testing, and power I used .20g Airsoft Elite bb’s, a G&P 130 round magazine and 9.6v 1700mah Nun chuck battery.
Without further a due, let me tell you this now. THIS GUN WITH A 9.6V BATTERY ROCKS! The rate of fire on this gun is super fast thanks to the high torque motor and steel gears. I must say this gun is the fastest shooting gun in stock form that I have ever seen. It can go through a G&P 130 magazine in seconds and it can empty a Tokyo Marui/Classic Army magazine in no time. To put it in short the rate of fire is astonishing.
When testing for accuracy I tried grouping the gun at optimum hop-up for straight shooting. So first I tried the single shot test where as you can see in the picture the, the grouping was ok. 3 other people tried it and it seems the gun purposely shoots a little to the right as the grouping is on average 2 inches. Not great compared to other TM guns.
When shot in full auto, as you can see in the picture it is still at a grouping of 2 inches on average with the occasional middle shot. Not bad at all.
Power
As you know the m15a4 carbine is pre-upgraded when you buy it. Most people think that the m15A4 has 350 FPS, but that is not true. When I first took it out of the box and chrono’d it, the average FPS is 330.4 as you can see in the picture, more powerful than a stock TM, but it’s not like TM makes any of there guns over 300 fps anyway.
Durability
Now we know the gun shoots great at first, but how long will this gun really last? Because with a gun that is shooting that fast, I expected it to strip gears, or strip the teeth off the piston within no time. It seems that I have been proven wrong. Within the first 3 hours of firing we fired off a whole bag of 3000 Airsoft elite bb’s with no problems whatsoever. Sure it fires great inside but what about outdoors? After 6 straight hours at a paintball park and numerous skirmishes on free fields, I was yet again surprised that it lasted reliably. It was kicked around, abused, fired numerous times, dropped, and thrown around, so in short the gun lasted a whole month of plinking and skirmishing with no problems whatsoever.
Comparing the Tokyo Marui M4A1 and the Classic Army M15A4
Technically speaking these guns should not even compare because of what they feature. The Classic Army M15 has a metal body and is pre-upgraded, while the Tokyo Marui M4 has a plastic body and stock internals. But in terms of looks I will let the picture tell it all. And in terms of value, I would definitely go for the Classic Army M15A4 Carbine.
Overall
It seems that after all that classic army has done in the past, they have finally learned from there mistakes, and made a winner. With all the tests passed, I feel this gun is a great gun, it shoots fast, it’s quite durable for the time being, and it’s a great value for all you get. But there are a few problems mind you, but they are very small
* When first bought it is really difficult taking out the handgrip to put in the battery, so I have to take out the handgrip spring and modify it. Not a big problem, but with a little modification it can be solved, and it could’ve just been my gun.
* It cannot use Airsoft Elite M4/M16 magazines reliably. After trying to test a full Airsoft Elite magazine we found that it cannot feed it properly, we had to push it up to feed properly. So if you buy this gun we recommend you do not use Airsoft Elite M4/M16 magazines as they tend to misfeed.
Besides those problems the gun works fine. All Marui magazines including the 190 hicap, Classic Army Magazines, and G&P magazines work well with it. So in closing, I would say Classic Army’s M15A4 Carbine is a sure winner. We have yet to open one, but why should we? I believe the gun is great as is, so there is no reason to open it. Now if you wanted to upgrade a stock gun, I don’t recommend buying this, as we are unsure of its upgrade capabilities. But as a stock gun, this is sure no doubt a great buy. We plan to sell these in the near future, so keep on a look out.
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