THIS IS MY M4
PART5: BARRELS
THIS IS MY M4 PT 5:
INNER BARREL
AFTER YEARS OF MAKING MINOR MODIFICATIONS TO RIFS WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS, STEVE T
GOES ALL-IN ON HIS MWS TO FIND OUT JUST WHAT AN INEPT HOME TECH CAN ACHIEVE. THIS MONTH: A
LONGER INNER BARREL.
E
ven with a well-established
manufacturer such as the revered
Tokyo Marui, it’s fair to say that this
build has suffered more than its fair share
of setbacks due to parts availability. Of
course, that’s not down to TM but it’s a
good indicator when you’re planning a
project, that aftermarket parts might not
be as readily available as you’d hoped for,
from even the most well-supported airsoft
brands.
Depending upon the parts you choose,
not only may you need to be willing to
import from say, Hong Kong or Taiwan,
but you should also factor in all the
international postage costs and potential
“lost parcel” perils that might entail.
Before we go any further, let me remind
you that this series is aimed at novices to
wrenching such as myself, not talented
techs that already know everything.
BARRELLING AHEAD
This month it’s time to work on the MWS’
front end to accommodate the longest
inner barrel that fits the standard outer,
meaning nothing too excessive. I know
that a longer barrel doesn’t necessarily
mean more accuracy but it (usually)
equates to slightly higher FPS and more
range. As someone that tends to hang
back looking for a tactical advantage,
rather than piling into a situation headfirst,
that’s what I want.
One advantage to working with such
a popular platform is that there are many
alternatives. You could always add a longer
outer barrel but where the MWS standard
inner is 250mm long, the Prometheus GBB
370mm from Laylax fits the standard outer
like a dream. At 6.03, it also potentially
offers improved finish and tolerances for
greater consistency between shots for
about £50. So, other than lacking tech
skills - Hello! That’s me! - why wouldn’t
you?
Of course, swapping the inner barrel
means removing the entire front end,
which is not something the average
airsofter will feel comfortable doing - but
how hard can it be? Famous last words
maybe, but let’s find out…
FULL FRONTAL STRIP
In theory, the removal and replacement of
the front end is a relatively simple affair
but, as we all know, life isn’t always as
easy as we’d expected. Since this is a
functional work in progress, the first step
was to remove the foregrip, front sight, QD
sling point and optics we’d used in earlier
games.
Separate the upper and lower receiver
by removing the rear pin, then we found
that it then helps to rotate the upper down
before trying to remove the front pin,
when it should just pop out from the left
- while still being retained on the far side.
No need to worry about losing it.
From there, just pull back on the lower
section of the rail down to remove it. Using
a 2.5 allen key, remove the bolt to the top
of the rail at T14 and lift the rest of the rail
off.
Unscrew the flash hider clockwise and
put the washer and O-ring to one side.
The most obvious physical obstruction
to remove is the front A-frame sight.
Remove the screw to the bottom using a
1.5mm key, then resting the barrel right-
side down, tap both pins out from the
nearside. You could use something like an
Allen key or a jeweller’s screwdriver with
a small hammer. One of ours was firmly
seated and needed some persuasion.
Pay attention to which way around the
pins came out if you intend to reuse the
foresight, but we could disregard this.
A-FRAME BEGONE
Then you can wiggle the A-frame forwards
and off the outer barrel; the gas tube
and fittings will most likely come with it.
After which, undo the crosshead screw
to the underside and slide off the other
components before loosening the barrel
nut using an armorer’s wrench. You could
use an adjustable wrench for this step but
you run the risk of chewing up the surface
material. I’m trying to avoid specialist
tools I may never use again for this build
but, for the sake of a tenner, this is one
“DEPENDING UPON THE PARTS YOU CHOOSE, NOT ONLY MAY YOU NEED TO BE WILLING TO IMPORT
FROM SAY, HONG KONG OR TAIWAN, BUT YOU SHOULD ALSO FACTOR IN ALL THE INTERNATIONAL
POSTAGE COSTS AND POTENTIAL “LOST PARCEL” PERILS THAT MIGHT ENTAIL.”
60
APRIL 2020