PB Top Picks - Our Favourite Beginner AR-15/M4

The handling of the M4A1 in its basic configuration feels extremely natural, even to an untrained user with no experience. All the controls are right where you need them. The buffer tube mounted stock has an adjustable length of pull to suit all body types. The sights are raised but when the rifle is shouldered they line up perfectly with your eye and are easy to acquire and align. The Picatinny receiver rail enables easy mounting of optics, and the AR-15 buffer tube enables mounting of a stock of your choice, depending on preference in looks or battery space required. The magazine release is particularly well placed; enabling smooth, fast reloads more easily than other platforms which require various workarounds and complex, unnatural movement. It will take a lot of practice to match the AR-15's reload speed with most other platforms for the average user. The magazines drop-free and are of a "straight in" insertion style, simplifying the reloading process and shaving off those precious seconds from your "offline" time. In the real world, the AR-15 platform is favoured for its modularity and ergonomics, as it is in the Airsoft world. Whilst the sport has evolved over the years, there is one change that is particularly noticeable; The sheer volume of AR-15 AEGs now on the skirmish field. At the time of writing, probably 80% of AEGs out there and being used are of the AR-15 design, and it owes its popularity to both its design, aftermarket support, and the wide variety of real-world M4A1 users out there.

Specna Arms, though they haven't been around forever, have rapidly gained an excellent reputation for high-quality feature-packed AEGs amongst the Airsoft community in the UK. Some of their CORE™ line even include MOSFETs, and  the EDGE™ line provide Metal receivers at an unheard-of price point. Specna offers a huge variety of configurations out of the box to suit almost every taste, with everything from Civilian practical shooting configurations to M4s with grenade launchers, 416s and SPR rifles. Specna's huge range of Pre-built M-LOK rifles and PDWs are very well set-up, and well equipped for skirmishing. Whether it is the CORE™, EDGE™, or ONE™ series, everything Specna produces is truly awesome, well equipped and very fitting for the various roles they will perform on the skirmish field. Specna Arms' popularity stems from the high-end internals included in all of their guns, even in the lower-priced options. As standard, every Specna Arms AEG has 8mm bearing bushings, a rotary HOP unit, steel gears and a quick change spring system installed from the factory. This combination of internal components provides a long-running, highly reliable AEG with an excellent rate of fire and trigger response. All the plastic components inside are well cast in high-quality material and have been lubricated with high-quality grease, guaranteeing excellent performance out of the box. An incredible feature set for rifles that start at such a low price! Specnas' internals include features many would formerly have only expected on high-end AEGs such as G&P or VFC, or in prebuilt gearboxes costing more than the entire SA-C01 rifle. All it takes is seeing a Specna Arms AEG in use and you will know, this company really goes above and beyond to provide serious skirmish tools.

The SA-C01 CORE is the most affordable of the Specna range, though is not without its perks. With a solid and well finished alloy outer barrel, handguard cap, delta ring, tri-sight and flash hider together with a considerate amount of high strength polymer in the build, it has everything it needs for a structurally rigid platform but no unnecessary metal components. This keeps the weight down and making the rifle one of the more pointable M4A1 replicas out there, allowing rapid snap shooting in CQB. You don't need HPA to compete with Speedsofters, just a lightweight set-up and some proficiency in using it! The furniture included, whilst of a basic M4A1 design, fulfill their role well and are constructed from re-enforced Polymer, just like the real thing. The ribbed handguard provides a grippy surface to hold on to, whilst not cutting your hands to ribbons with Picatinny rail. The included crane stock features a QD sling point and a rubber butt pad, providing large battery space with a comfortable cheek weld and excellent all-around ergonomics. The finger ridged pistol grip gives ample control over the rifle, whilst remaining compatible with any AEG aftermarket pistol grips, should your preference change.

As a platform for building your own custom AR-15 the SA-C01 CORE is miles above the rest, even other AR-15s, both in affordability and provision of exactly what you need internally, leaving you to turn the blank canvas of the SA-C01 into the gun of your dreams. This is primarily why the SA-C01 is my pick for the best affordable AR-15. Whether you are content with the plain jane M4 look or if you want to go further, the SA-C01 grants you the flexibility to be a victim of Airsoft fashion whilst not breaking the bank.

I must confess, I have a serious undiagnosed mental derangement which means I cannot buy an Airsoft Gun without modifying its externals in some way. I'm sure there are others out there, but thankfully, our addiction no longer has to put us into a financial black hole. The main reason I prefer the SA-C01 as a platform for modification is that it disassembles like a high-end AEG, with no shortcuts such as plastic barrels and front sights, no weird compatibility issues with the receiver and a well-tuned and high-end gearbox, which is the one part I have absolutely no interest in changing or modifying (too fiddly!). The affordable price just leaves me with more change for tarting that thang up! 

Other brands may offer fancier-looking AR-15s out of the box but this often comes at the price of non-compatibility with external upgrades. You may get a KEYMOD handguard and a low profile gas block and all that jazz, but these parts are plastic, proprietary and you are stuck with them forever. If you are like me and can't run a stock AEG, the SA-C01 will suit you well, it appears to me to be begging for customization. That, and I have yet to find a better base platform for a custom M4/AR-15 AEG on the market today, and I have been looking!

 If you just want something that looks like a rifle and puts BBs downrange reliably and accurately, the SA-C01 is also a fine choice; and if you ever decide you would like a different look you don't have to purchase another gun, you can drop 99% AR-15 AEG parts onto your SA-C01 CORE without any worries. With the SA-C01, the options are almost endless; making a DMR AR-15 variant? A Daniel Defense Block II style M4? Or maybe your habitat is the CQB field and you want Firehawk-esque PDW optimized by you? With the SA-C01 as a starting point, configuring your AR AEG to suit your play style and preferences is an absolute breeze. You can add a plethora of either drop-in railed handguards that use the delta ring attachment system, or with a little help from an AR-15 Barrel nut wench, any free-floated rail system, including sleek M-LOK and KEYMOD handguards.

The receiver can take any AEG-compatible outer barrel, unlike anything out there at a lower price point than this, and many slightly more expensive AEGs. This means you could have an M16 length 20" barrel one day and a Micro PDW 5" the next. The carry handle can be removed to reveal a receiver rail, meaning the choice of what aiming device to use is entirely down to your own personal preference. The outer barrel already installed on the SA-C01 is of excellent quality, with a thick and hardwearing, but smooth paint finish. The tip of the barrel also features a 14mm CCW thread and allows full compatibility with suppressors and tracers for the sneaky types.

The breadth in configuration the SA-C01 offers also applies to the loadout you run. The M4A1 platform is used in various forms by operators from all around the world. Having a basic M4A1 AEG allows you to mimic the US Army, US Marines, UKSF, Royal Marine Commando, Parachute Regiment, Canadian Military, (BREATH) Australian Special forces, Israeli Army, private military contractor(PMC), and various Law Enforcement units, amongst many many more, all with just a few small parts changes. If you ever get bored of running one of these loadouts, swap a few bits on the outside of your SA-C01 and you can move to the next! The basic M4A1 configuration has the added perk that it isn't expected to come with a loadout, unlike something like an SA80, FAMAS or GALIL, which look a bit strange to me when not used with something approximating the appropriate gear. The M4A1 looks great with jeans and a hoodie, you could be a Special forces covert operative, a PMC or undercover Police! 

The flexibility having a standard M4A1 grants you in choice of loadout is unmatched, with no other platform coming close to giving you the options the M4 does. It will also pretty much never go out of fashion, as the AR-15 has been around for over 50 years now, and shows no signs of being replaced. In fact, many Militaries have adopted the M4A1 or similar AR-15 variants to replace much newer platforms that have reached the end of their service life. A good example of this being New Zealand, with the recent adoption of an LMT AR-15 variant to replace their aging Styer AUG rifles. Being both a beginner's rifle and one for those who can't resist modification, the SA-C01 is a hidden gem in my opinion. Whilst my days as a beginner are long gone, I purchased an SA-C01 around a year ago, primarily due to the internals being practically equivalent to any high-end AEG I own, and the externals being basically disposable parts I can shed as I replace them with the parts I want on my own M4A1, which changes like the wind.

I have had plenty of fun with my SA-C01 whilst skirmishing, and usually I bring it along even if I have chosen a different primary weapon for the majority of the Skirmish. My SA-C01 is still in basic M4A1 configuration, though I have replaced the outer barrel with a slightly lighter CYMA outer barrel and added a G&P Troy 7" MRF rail system I had gathering dust. The rifle handles like a dream, and with the quick trigger response, I am regularly able to engage multiple targets and clear an entire large room in CQB, if my timing is right. 

My usual primary is either a G36K or the VFC Avalon Leopard, meaning I am quite accustomed to longer handguards, though the shorter handguard of the M4A1 still feels great in my hands, and gives me the ability to stay flexible in my shooting stance and remain familiar with all platforms. The rifle is light but not particularly short in airsoft terms. This may appear to be a disadvantage when compared with PDW AR-15s and ARP-9s, but this enables me to have fun using real-world CQB doctrine and helps avoid training scars developed from using a teeny tiny gun and getting too accustomed to a short front end. Use a short gun for too long and you end up damaging your long guns when maneuvering! Being slap bang in the middle, the 14.5" barrel of the SA-C01 allows me to tear through a woodland or CQB skirmish getting my share of the kills in both.

Having used and owned various AR platforms over the years, I always have more fun with the SA-C01, even though some of my other ARs objectively outperform it in rate of fire, and all but the SA-C01 are full metal. It feels right in hand, looks Militant af, and is so light it almost flies around the skirmish field of its own accord, hunting for targets and dragging me along for the ride. In long woodland games it comes into its own; towards the end of the day when everyone else gets tired I switch to the SA-C01 and it feels like I just had new arms installed. In CQB this rifle can be whipped from target to target at breakneck speed, even with an M203 mounted, you can throw this thing around like it's inflated with helium, tracking moving targets and reacting to sudden threats with ease. The best thing about this is no one knows how light the SA-C01 is until they hold it, so you end up looking like an absolute operator as you transition between targets like a robot designed for the purpose. Don't worry, if I see another SA-C01 user on the field I won't give the game away!