That 'This Is the One' Moment

[alxndrhll]

Over the years I’ve bought and received a whole heap of different RIFs, in my younger years when I started (about a decade ago give or take) I used to go through RIFs quicker than underwear. Nothing seemed to stick, I’d get a build exactly where I wanted it... and then I was over it. Sometimes not even fielding it before selling or trading it away for the next thing that caught my attention.

Over the years this slowed down to a point when I hadn’t bought a new RIF in a fair old while. Yesterday I took delivery of an SRS A2 and it’s probably the most excited I’ve been receiving and opening up the box on a new RIF since my first ever RIF (a CA M15 CQB) back in 2005/2006. Moreover, this is the most excited I’ve been to tinker and field a RIF likely since I started.

From this point forward I’ll go ahead and call this my ‘this is the one’ moment. That’s not to say this is the last RIF I’ll ever buy, nor the last RIF I’ll ever use... hell, for all I know I’ll sell it in 3 weeks time. But my initial reaction to it was that of a teenage boy discovering boobs for the first time (sans the involuntary errection). It just has something about it that just makes me so much more excited than I’ve been in a long old while when it comes to toy gnus.

So the question is, which RIF gave you that ‘this is the one’ moment? Not to be confused with ‘wot am ur bestest gnu?’ or ‘wot am ur favurit gnu?’ (though I’d wager there is likely some crossover, good ol’ psychology).

The follow up being, do you still have it... and do you still use it? And if not, will a little trip down memory lane cause you to drag it out of the cupboard of shame and give it another go... or is it best left as a memory?

Cheers,

Alex

Note for Mods - Apologies if this would serve better in the ‘Guns, Gear and Loadouts’ section.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

hmmm

starting out there were 2 guns i wanted most of all and i'm now in a position where i own both of them.

first was the g&g f2000, which i bought as my first gun. for all it's belgian space fish looks and real easy dissassembly it doesn't get used much and i'm contemplating selling it. it's a finnicky gun to keep running right at the best of times and my god the trigger is awful.

second was the WE gbb dragonuv, a gun i've finally got around to buying, i plan to review her in the future but i'm waiting until i can answer a few questions i know someone contemplating buying one would want to know.

the funny thing they're both guns that are kinda hard to field and frankly not as effective as your run of the mill m4 or ak, certainly the dragonuv is a lesson in picking your battles because 20 rounds and a PSO sight picture does not make for a gun that can snap-shoot easily.

 

[Skara]

My "this is the One" gun?

It has to be my Ares Honey Badger.

Bought it around 5 years ago, when I got back into airsoft. At the time I was still a noob in the teching department, I didn't know Ares guns had so many issues and proprietary parts, I just wanted something that worked without too much hassle and that had some electronics built in.

It did fit the bill quite nicely without paying a TM price tag.

I have to be honest, it's been a workhorse, over time I did change very few parts (bushings, nozzle and tappet plate because they died after 2 years) and it's still going strong. I then got more into teching and realized how lucky I've been with that gun, fucking hell I'm still using the stock piston and it seals!!!!!!

I've also had another Ares Amoeba AEG but it was utter shit, no matter what I did to it I couldn't get it to work, but the HB always puts a grin on my face whenever I use it

Whenever it dies I'll just pop a regular V2 box in it, even the super expensive Retro Arms one if necessary.

 

[Cannonfodder]

I'd say my cyma AKS74U. I picked it up second hand about 10 years ago and the range on it was insane, to the point I was accused of running a hot gun as it was out ranging sniper rifles. Unfortunately I ended up breaking the upper receiver after a quite spectacular fall and used it for a few years with duct tape holding it together, before finally replacing it with an E&L of the same model. That E&L turned out to be a lemon so in the end I just put the cyma gearbox into the E&L body and it's been running fine ever since. In all those years the only internal part I've had to replace is the motor cage 

Edit: as good as my little AK was/is, it hasn't stopped me buying more as I'm a bit of a gun slut who'll play with anything that takes my fancy

 

[alxndrhll]

Interesting. I guess ultimately I'm trying to use this thread to figure out if there is any rhyme or reason to that feeling we get. I've always been an 'AR guy' (boring as it is), the most fun I've had playing through the years was using some sort of AR based DMR. This led me to a point where I wanted to see it through to it's natural conclusion and try out bolt action snipers. I'd be lying if I said any sort of sniper rifle had been anywhere near my 'dream gnu' list so I wasn't overly fussed on exactly what I went with.

I'd been tossing up between a VSR or an SRS for a while and ended up going with a VSR which I picked up on here (and it's lovely). But I still found myself looking at the SRS over and over, so I figured while in a financial situation I could afford it to go for it. Part of me was toying with this being a 'your biggest surprise RIF' thread, but that isn't it... because I knew the SRS was going to be good. I wasn't surprised at all by the objective things which make a RIF a good RIF, it was the subjective parts which caught me off guard. Ultimately I guess it's just that emotional reaction we have to something we really like, one which we have little to no control over. Worth noting that I haven't even really done much with the SRS yet, bar throwing a new spring in it and chronoing it, this is all based off that initial reaction of cracking the box.

If, at the start of this year, someone said to me "By the end of this year you'll own an MWS dressed up as a Salient GRY and SRS A2, and the one you're more excited about messing with and fielding is the SRS" I'd go ahead and assume they'd got the wrong person.

 

[PopRocket123]

I don't really have this experience. All of my guns, bar a couple of pistols, came to me either in pieces or not working so instead I have that reaction to the first time using it when it works. For that it'd probably be my main AEG. It's an M4 but it's been completely built from new parts, exactly how I want it internally and externally. I think the moment was when I got the M-LOK rail and folding stock adapter fitted that it truly became my "that gun". 

Either that or my SCAR H DMR which isn't finished yet but I finished designing the rail extension after something like 2 years. My dad printed it off so I didn't have it in my hand until it was time to fit it and it's a great feeling finally holding something you've been looking at on a screen for so long and it feeling and working exactly how you hoped. 

 

[Shamal]

Like Skara my favourite and 99% go to gat is my ares amoeba 013. I got her about fours years ago.she was second hand but man she just felt right.apart from motor connections coming loose(fixed now) I've had no probs. Great gun and many notches on stock! She has been good to me and I've  rewarded her with nice attachments for when we go out together lol 

Regards 

 

[Apharmd]

Probably my G&G TR16 Short. Got it for a Fallout Vault 34 costume for the Halloween game, loved it so much I decided it was the one.

Eventually got parts to make a Marksman Carbine out of it. Just got the All-American style paintjob and engraving done last year.

Only internal upgrades are a flat hop mod and tightbore barrel. Still shoots like a dream, and I get people telling me it sounds great on full-auto.

View attachment 61937

 

[alxndrhll]

I find it curious how so many of these replies seems to be RIFs which are (forgive the lazy term, trust me, it’ll make sense by the end... probably) ‘wife material’. Reliable, low maintenance, no real need to change anything and often cheap... perhaps finding yourself punching above what the price tag would suggest.

I’m certainly in the honeymoon period as it stands, did you folks find you had that ‘holy shit I love this thing’ straight away? Or very much something that developed as the successful ‘war stories’ started to stack up while the invoices for replacement parts stayed largely non-existent?

 

[Apharmd]

Kind of both for me. my TR16 was the first M4 type gun I owned, and it was a little easier to use than the MP5 I had - it was certainly easier to put in a battery!

That alone pushed it to the frequent use pile right away.

After eight years (IIRC), the only complaint I've had was that the hop pulled to the left after about 30-40 metres, which was fixed with the hop upgrade.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

I find it curious how so many of these replies seems to be RIFs which are (forgive the lazy term, trust me, it’ll make sense by the end... probably) ‘wife material’. Reliable, low maintenance, no real need to change anything and often cheap... perhaps finding yourself punching above what the price tag would suggest.

that is a fair point.

in your wife analogy i'd defo say i'm wedded to my jg aksu, perfectly fulfills all those criteria.

but what that makes it is the gun that lives in the airsoft bag for when my other guns inevitably encounter some form of technical difficulty and having something you just slap a battery into and go shoot stuff is required.

 

[alxndrhll]

but what that makes it is the gun that lives in the airsoft bag for when my other guns inevitably encounter some form of technical difficulty and having something you just slap a battery into and go shoot stuff is required.

That certainly matches my experience,  my best guess is that it's attached to the energy and finances we put into our fancy plastic slinging machines. The more money and effort that's put into a RIF, the more you want to claim that back in enjoyment on the field and taking in the compliments of others toward your hard work. But once all that tinkering gives way 3 mags in, your back to old reliable and we dare not risk tinker with old reliable.

I guess this thread ended up in a different direction than expected in the end, hitting me with the realisation that we don't really have any say in how excited we get when a new toy arrives. Much like we don't have much of a say in when we get bored of a RIF and decide we'd prefer the money toward starting the journey all over again.

Perhaps down the line it'll turn out the SRS is indeed 'The One', everything said in here certainly draws the conclusion that you need some miles on the clock before you know. However, I'm still absolutely enamored by it and our brains certainly do a pretty good job of justifying our decisions and convincing us of our own truths.

 

[SeniorSpaz87]

Ive had several like that.

My custom VSR-X was one - dropping a .65g BB into the chamber, and hitting a body at 120m with the first shot - I was all grins. I rarely use it though as its only really suited for MilSims - the 3.6j limit and very long range shot options make it worth it - if I snipe at a skirmish game Ill just use my lightweight VSR, or my new gun thats coming *wink *wink.

My M134 also definitely falls in that category as well - the first time you heft that thing and give it a whirl... Still havent fielded it and its a PITA to work on, but still...

My custom DP-28. Throw on a Maska 1 and you just feel the soviet national anthem playing in your blood.

And finally, my Taginns. The first time you fire a Taginn dont get surprised if youre rocking half mast. Doesnt matter if its my ML-36, my Tag-015, or my Ares M320 with a C02 shell. Hell, I probably waste $150 in rounds just popping them off at the range - theyre just that much fun.

Those are the main three that I just glance at and smile. I have guns I use a lot more - my KA 9mm SBR with prototype Virgo system comes to mind, as does my Jag - the first gun I built into a real powerhouse. But they dont have that love at first sight feeling.

 

[HuttArmouries]

I think my cyma rpk was my first gun which I really liked. Unfortunately a friend borrowed it and managed to snap the reciever in half over a rock. Since then my a&k pkm has been one of my go to guns. I owned the rpk for around 4 years unmodified other than dropping the fps a little. 

 

[Cromulon1994]

I would say I'm the same as the OP, in that guns have just come and gone, some even before being skirmished. 

I've had the "I'm going to keep this forever" feeling twice before, both occasions they were tm spas 12s with foldover stocks.

The 2 that have stuck, are an ASG schofield, this is my second. The first I sold, then really couldn't work out why. But honestly, I just really like it. I like skirmishing with it, I like shooting it. Especially after putting a lot of hours into tinkering with it to make it probably one of the best performing airsoft revolvers available.

The second, which I've only technically bought tonight, is an old KTW flintlock pistol that's been on permaloan from a mate for about 18 months or more. Again... I just like it. I've had some technically excellent RIFs, from the realsword type 97, escort mp5 and sun project m40 to some right rare stuff like the mgc calico and KHC M88 but the Schofield and the flintlock have stuck because they're fun.