Simply Airsoft Guns

Brand – Classic Army
Power – Electric
FPS – 315
Type – AEG
Body – Plastic (as per actual gun)
Magazine – 2 x hi caps, 2 x low caps

After spending money on kit hire for a few games I decided to invest in the first of many now many airsoft guns, but being difficult, I had a tricky specification.

I was looking for a lightweight, accurate, fully automatic airsoft sniper rifle that fired over 300 fps. My options were limited due to only a few local retailers, so the choice was between M4’s or G36’s.

After much deliberation I decided to go with the Classic Army CA8/2 airsoft sniper rifle, which came in at around $350 – a good price in relation to other weapons of this build quality but certainty not in the cheap airsoft guns category.

The rifle is an exact replica – a heavy duty plastic body, metal barrel and metal gearbox. Being a sniper rifle, the barrel is a good length, which combined with over 300 fps and a decent hop up gives it a great accuracy once tuned.

At the front is a fixed leg length bipod, tough as hell with a solid hinge. However, as the maximum range for airsoft weapons is around 40 metres and players generally have lots of ammo, I don’t find lying down too effective. Also, being a fixed length you’ll have to find cover at just the right height, which doesn’t tend to happen too often.

The bipod attaches to a removable front handle where the battery is housed. It uses a mini battery as standard, which unfortunately doesn’t last long with most airsoft electric guns. This is a real problem because fitting the battery in the handle is a real pig and even with practice it’s tricky. The handle is fixed on via a tight bolt which requires a screwdriver to push through (although I have done it with a twig under fire) and horizontal extensions to the barrel to support the handle restrict the battery space. Combined with a large fuse, there’s a lot to fit in in not a lot of space.

I did find a great solution though – the handle can fit a nunchuck double battery, with half fitted in the middle of the handle and the other at the gearbox end. It’ll fit an 8 cell, 1400mh one at that. This offers great firing all day, which is lucky because it’s especially hard to fit it in and requires a lot of jigging. However, once it’s there you can just stick out the battery connecter and recharge without dismantling totally.

The CA8/2 features a carry handle, really useful when setting up and running between cover and given its light weight (only 3kg) it offers maximum manoeuvrability. To that end, I’ve only ever needed a single point sling – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The handles built in scope is nice to look at but practically it’s useless. Aligning your head with the reticule is very difficult due to the small relief (made even harder if you use the included cheek pad as it’s too big!) and the viewing window is so small it’s really difficult to spot with. Rarely used. I recommend replacing the handle with a rail and a full scope, but finding a rail the same length as the handle could be difficult.