"This machine is Wicked. i'm running mine with a 9.6v NIMH pack with nothing else and it is great. Awesome Bi-Pod, full metal BB spitting beast. It is a bit heavy around 11lbs empty but still lighter than most LMGs . I'm old and slow so it fits my playing style great. Get a decent strap and you can either spray and pray or shoulder it up and use the iron sights. It doesn't need an optic in my opinion as it has great range and good accuracy.
Only problem i have now is deciding what type of Hi-Cap mag I'm going to use. It will empty a 400 round mag like no ones business.
Great buy!
"I owned this model for a few years, stock, and as a bull pup lover, this gun suited my playstyle. It's heavy, it's unique, and chugging bbs downfield was always fun. The quick spring change system is nice and with three settings; low, medium, or high, you can easily change what you need depending on the field. Mind you, high settings for me were reaching 405-410 FPS and medium was within the 380 range. My spring now fires about 360 on medium and 380-390 on high. Misc info: it has a rear grip which is realistic and fun to hold while firing just for the sake of using it. It has a rubber cheek rest and is relatively comfy with balaclavas. It has a shoulder like brace located on the butt pad. Great if you don't want it slipping much (it won't be anyways).
The gun is stamp steel and you can feel the durability. My gun has been dropped, banged against trees, run into trailers, slammed into the ground due to running and falling, played in rain, etc. The only thing I have not tried is dropping it from several feet high, and I wouldn't really recommend it. I'm sure it would run fine regardless though. On the other hand, this thing is relatively heavy. Not as heavy, as say, an M249 with a box mag loaded, but still weighs in around 11lb. With a susat and loaded high cap, you're looking at about 13 lb. I may be off, but last I checked my gun was over 10lb. What's good though, is that the length of the gun makes it decently balanced and easy to handle. Personally, I slung this over my shoulder, held it by the rear grip, and ran.
This gun also features a bipod on the front with adjustable legs, also made of steel.
I would like to say this gun should not also be put into the sun. This thing can get hot.
The accuracy is ok, not great. The barrel is a wide bore as far as I know, but with proper hop and .25s or .28s, you can get a pretty decent distance. I would only suggest .25s or .28s on the medium or high setting for the spring. .20s or .23s for the low or medium setting.
The selector switch makes a nice clicking into place, but I wouldn't play with it too much. The tooth can wear down, thus making the switch between auto and semi a little more of a hassle.
The internals are pretty standard, but nothing has shredded itself and the hop up system is still in good condition. Taking the body apart is rather easy, but putting it back together takes some practice as the upper and lower pieces must be inserted correctly or else it will be misaligned. Forcing you to take it back apart and do it again.
The iron sight/handle can also be removed and replaced with a SUSAT. You will need to modify or purchase a rail adapter for that. I think MATRIX sells two variants. G&P used to sell one but it seems to be discontinued.
Pros:
Unique look
Not an M4 or variant
Easy to change spring with 3 settings.
Incredibly durable
Well balanced despite weight
Decent battery space - 8.4 brick, 9.6 nunchuck, small lipos. ICS recommends the 8.4v. I wouldn't go higher than a 7.2 lipo if your running stock.
Does a decent job suppressing with a high cap.
Can be turned into a DMR
Easy to take apart, put together
Had success with ICS, Elite Force, and KWA magazines
Comfy cheek rest
Cons:
Not an M4 or variant
Everyone thinks its the L85.
Relatively heavy, over 10lb fully equipped
Not the most accurate thing I've shot.
Needs slight modifications to accept a drum mag.
Putting it together make take some practice
Fire selector switch can wear down pretty badly
Lack of choice between brands for a SUSAT
"The ICS L86a2 is nothing short of spectacular.
I looked for a period of 6 months before making the decision on what kind of support weapon I wanted and this took the cake. As far as price, it is completely fair at $429.00... but by all means a steal if you utilize a 20-23% off coupon to knock it down to around $340.
The build quality is exceptional. Can and will take almost any abuse you throw at it. Apart from the poly grips on the front barrel, stock pad, pistol grip, and the "behind-the-magwell" grip... all metal. The orange tip is painted on, so if you don't like it use some matte-black nail polish. The front bipod is very study and attached to a post that allows it free rotation (which means unless you prop it up the rifle does not freestand upright), so it allows you to plant it and have a very large angle of fire without readjusting too much. The bipod feels integral to the L86. I removed it to alleviate some weight (bipod is the majority of it), it doesn't quite feel right without it on... the balance is off. The front sight post is easily removable, as is the rear sight aperture/carrying handle. The poly KWA M4 midcap mags that I use for it fit snug and do not wiggle.
The battery compartment on the front of the gun fits a 11.1v 1450mAh easily and it is what I ran in it for 2 months, or 5 all day events. But running that battery caused the gears to bugger up, and I had to re-shim them. while I had the gearbox apart there was no sign of stripping on the gears because of the LiPo.
As for what I put with the rifle, I took off the stock 19mm rail and outfitted it with a 20mm rail and a SUSAT sight. It looks great, and definitely drew the attention at the field when wearing full gear and fatigues. The L86's amazingly long 590mm barrel provides accurate fire at 100 feet and can still reliably hit a human sized target in 3-5 round bursts at 150 feet. Has the same range as all but the most upgraded springer sniper rifles (in terms of putting a 3-round burst down range and getting the same result).
Maneuverability isn't meant for close quarters, even if it is a bullpup. If you go into buildings, get a backup. If you have 1-2 people with you and you move together this rifle is perfect for keeping heads down as they move up and check corners. The suppression is real.
In part from the mags I use, the L86 has never jammed, dry-fired, or had a malfunction in an active game situation (apart from not tracking ammo and popping a corner only to come up empty, that other guy was right about the fat-kid in a candy store).
If you don't like having ammo cans full of mags for different guns or changing out pouches and loadouts just because you are going to a different scenario this is definitely up your alley. I have it as part of my permanent use loadout for those very reasons.
I have the KWA KM4S, JG P90 T-mod (with some heavy modification after that), and the L86a2. All of which use the same KWA M4 midcap mags.
I would go into details about the adjustable spring, reliable hop-up, and the built-in fuse that the gun has for the battery and everything, but you can refer to Steven L's review on that. It's spot on.
Pros:
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- Very Sturdy, all metal
- Long 590mm barrel
- Easy to maintain
- Definitely eye-catching
- Accurate
- Deceivingly lightweight
- Everything that can be removed, is very simple to do so
- Comfortable ADS
- Is not front heavy
- Secure mags
- Large battery compartment
- Intimidating
- Built in fuse for battery cable
Cons:
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- Gearbox had some trouble after extended use with 11.1 LiPo (what gun doesn't)
- Makes you a target
- Is a little louder than most, but that's due to motor placement (and that's just nitpicking)
In conclusion, there is no other gun I'd rather have than this one. Later on down the road if I want to upgrade it, its even compatible with the V3 P* motor.
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