"HPA burst onto the airsoft scene with much hype. Tippmann made an entry in 2014 with their very own mechanical HPA rifle. With no FCUs to tune or external HPA bottle regulators to install, the Tippmann M4 is a simple, fun and competitive rifle. The muzzle report alone is impressive in a skirmish world dominated by AEGs making angry sewing machine noises. Let's dive in and see what the Tippmann is all about.
The Tippmann (or Tippy) comes with the rifle, a few Allen keys, a midcap magazine, an unjamming rod and an intricately detailed manual. Definitely hold on to the manual. This short stapling of papers will help you setup, tune and repair your Tippmann quite well. The rifle runs off co2 capsules in the Tippmann midcap mags or off a paintball style remote line using the input fitting conversion. I have yet to witness anyone running the Tippy with the co2 capsules, since every time you remove an inserted magazine, all the co2 in that capsule sprays out. Converting the Tippmann M4 to remote line is simple as unscrewing an Allen key and installing a small air line fitting. Speaking on that, the Tippy's FPS/ROF/Hop-up is adjusted by Allens. It just loves those Allen/hex tools. We'll get to adjusting those settings later.
Once you convert the dreaded Tipster to remote line, options start to appear. Now you get to chose what remote line and HPA bottle/tank to run. Since these are paintball items and paintball has been standardized/established for quite a while, you have tons of avenues to take. You can get a cheap (yet heavy) aluminum HPA tank or a lightweight (yet high capacity) carbon fiber tank. The carbon fiber tanks are truly worth the money if you are going to use the Tippy as your main rifle. The rifle runs at 800 output PSI, so air consumption is going to be more intense than Polarstars/HPA tapped JAG shotguns that run external regulators that tune down the output pressure. One brand that does carbon fiber HPA tanks right is Ninja. Their HPA tanks are solid, look great, the tank hardware (regulator, high and low side burst discs and air gauge) are all upgraded versions of what regular HPA tanks have, and are made and designed in the USA.
After you decide on which HPA tank(s) to run, you'll need an air line to connect the Tippy to your air source. I've ran the tank on the rifle using the ASA adapter and it's a bit heavy if you use a large aluminum HPA tank (pic attached so you can get some ideas how you'd like to set up your Tippy). You can get cheap basic lines that have no disconnect and you must unscrew the HPA tank side knob before you disconnect the rifle (not recommended, too slow) a slide check where you move the afterforementioned slide to de-gas your rifle (they're okay, you can accidentally de-gas your rifle if you slide into a bunker/tree) or a push to connect line which you push on to connect, then push a side button to de-gas & disconnect your rifle (best choice because connecting/disconnecting to air is fast and simple).
Getting the Tippmann M4 ready for game day is simple. Go to a sporting goods/paintball store and get your HPA tanks topped off. No more forgetting to charge a battery. Many airsoft fields are also paintball fields and offer free air with admission, so it would behoove you to top off your HPA tanks at the end of the day so you are ready for the next game day. If you run a 90 cubic inch, 4500 psi (90/4500) HPA tank, you can spam with drum mags/hicaps for a entire game day unless you are really heavy on the trigger.
Actually firing the Tippy is a blast, literally and figuratively. Rack the bolt back, connect your HPA tank and shred away. There's some recoil, not as much as a GBB but definitely more than a EBB AEG. The "BANG BANG BANG" of the Tippmann stands out on the skirmish field. The rifle's report is made even better with an amplifier. The range of the stock Gen 1 Tippmann is alright (Gen 2's get a stock TDC hop up unit which helps lots) and the FPS can be ramped from 300-500 depending on if you have the high or low velocity valve installed. Mine came with the high velocity valve and somehow shot 546 FPS out the box. I bought a low velocity valve, installed it and tuned the Tippmann down to 350 FPS for cqb arenas. All I have to do to meet chrono in either woodlands or CQB is swap a valve in the upper receiver. Skirmishing is fun, some will be scared of the loud bangs that the Tippy slams out. Just remember that you'll draw attention, in the safe zone from people jealous/worshipping that you are part of the HPA master race and on the field firing the insanely loud rifle.
For maintenance and upgrades, the Tippmann M4 breaks down similar to a real M4. Pull out the two self retaining receiver pins and the rifle's upper and lower separates. The internals are somewhat like a shrunken down 98 custom/A5. Cleaning the Tippmann involves lubricating the O-rings and moving parts with pure silicone oil or paintball gun grease. To adjust the FPS, screw in or out the Allen bolt on the lower receiver on the trigger group. To adjust the ROF, screw in or out the Allen bolt inside the upper receiver. To adjust the hop-up, screw in or out the Allen bolt under the ejection port of the rifle.
The Tippmann has a few internal upgrades available. I've put in a buffer spring spacer, Prometheus 6.03 barrel, Madbull redshark hop-up bucking and Advanced Airsoft TDC hop-up unit. The buffer spacer allows for a slightly higher ROF and snappier semi auto action. You take the buffer spring out, put the whole setup in a vice, disassemble, then slap in the spacer and put the buffer spring back together and in the rifle. The Prometheus barrel gave me more consistent groupings then a Madbull barrel and the stock barrel (thing was cheesy as hell). To install, take apart the handguard, unscrew the delta ring, remove the half moon spacers, turn your hop-up down (to prevent the hop-up bucking from tearing when you remove the barrel) and remove the barrel and hop-up bucking. The Madbull redshark hop-up bucking gave me slightly more range than the stock G&G green bucking and lots more range than the Modify bucking I tried. The redshark bucking grips each bb tightly, allowing for consistent feeding and backspin/hop-up action. It's best to change your barrel and hop-up bucking at the same time, since they are literally attached to each other. The Advanced Airsoft TDC hop up bucking was a game changer on this rifle. The TDC makes the hop-up go from either weaksauce or zooming to the stratosphere. To install, remove the original hop-up unit. Then you put the screw in a drill, attach the TDC to the screw and sand down the TDC hop-up unit until it is a snug fit inside YOUR upper receiver. Then you drop in the TDC, one grub screw (the adjustment one), the other grub screw (this one locks your adjustment in) and then the side grub screw (locks in your TDC unit). These upgrades make the Tippy more solid and powerful.
Externally, the Tippmann M4 is a standard M4. It's easy to find accessories for this thing. The Tippmann uses a milspec size delta ring and buffer tube. I slapped a metal Blackhawk RIS handguard, Dye assault matrix modular rail covers, grip pod foregrip, Stream light protac rail version, Aim point pro red dot sight with lens covers and killflash, Magpul flip up iron sights and a Magpul MOE carbine stock. Of all these accessories I put on this rifle, the Aim point is the best one. Airsoft engagements happen at close ranges where a red dot is preferable. Aim points are well built sights that can take abuse and not lose zero. I had my front lens cover shot out in a woodland game and there wasn't a scratch on the lens, no zero loss, no damage at all. I just bought a new lens cover and killflash and used the Aim point the next game day. The Blackhawk RIS is far better than the stock plastic RIS. The Dye rail covers are rubberized, stay put and are comfy. The Grip pod combines bipod and foregrip well. The Stream light provides tons of light in dark warehouses and a switch pad that is precise and easy to actuate. The Magpul flip up sights and stock are both better versions of what's stock on the rifle. M4s are highly customizable and it's up to you to set yours up how you like.
Well, that's all I got on the Tippmann M4. It's a solid skirmish weapon for sure. The easily adjustable velocity via Allen keys and the swappable velocity valve makes playing at any field a breeze. Should you use this HPA rifle over other HPA rifles/AEGs? That all depends if you want recoil, loud muzzle report and a purely mechanical HPA. Are AEGs/other HPA setups more practical? Yes and no. In my opinion this Tippmann is easier to work on then AEGs, the parts are larger and less fiddley. However, this rifle is not as popular as AEGs or Polarstars, thus there might be less people that know how to tech on the Tippmann in your area. Since the Tippmann M4 is built similar to their paintball guns, swinging by your local paintball store if you get stumped on a technical issue is recommended. All in all, the Tippmann M4 is highly recommended.
Here's some helpful links for the Tippmann..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tippmann.airsoft Has lots of knowledge just scattered all over it, just search whatever
https://www.tippmannparts.com/M4-Carbine-Airsoft-Replace-
ment-Parts-s/1736.htm Lots of parts
https://www.youtube.com/c/Advancedairsofthonolulu/videos Tech videos for the Tippy
https://www.facebook.com/advancedairsoft/photos/a.230512-
123778691/851886551641242/ TDC hopup units and ROF kits for sale, message him on Facebook and he'll get you his custom made parts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Sfqdv80B4 Advanced Airsoft TDC install
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_42DHctfWfQ&t=347s Field strip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1zlRsyTnsc Hopup unit reviews
http://paintball.tippmannparts.com/diagrams/Tippmann%20M-
4%20Carbine%20Airsoft%20Manual%20TPL.pdf The manual for this airsoft gun is actually useful, WHO KNEW
https://youtu.be/E83kPg2uZl0?t=147 Buffer spacer install, increases ROF and FPS (adjust for field requirements)
https://youtu.be/cA-dfJrQY7w Tournament/velocity lock install, some fields require this because people pass chrono and then ramp their FPS all the way up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5J_3ZFuyLQ&t=87s Barrel swap video, the Tippy comes with the cheapest stock barrel known to humanity so please swap it out asap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRjlENft_Cc Air Supply Adapter (ASA) install, useful because you can run a tank directly on the rifle or have your remote line run parallel with the ground. This allows you to go prone easier and the line is less likely to kink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgEME_Br3uY Explains over-stroking of the bolt assembly, which was causing a no full auto condition in my Tippy and also broke the front bolt/nozzle and rear bolt.
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