Do I have your attention yet? NO???
*Deep voice* How about thissssss...
I know what you're thinking. Me too.
I'm not going to lie...this is a review of the VFC HK 416 CQB and I'm going to tell you how much I love it therein.
I've got to be honest with you, sweet little reader. I don't get too impressed by many AEGs these days. However, VFC has managed to make my list of winners with this rifle. It's solid and really well built, all the way through.
Let's cut the chit chat, though, and get to the goodies...
I picked this baby up from Pyramyd Air a couple weeks ago and took some time to get to know her (the rifle). Got the free shipping, and of course, ordered it first thing in the morning to have it shipped out that day. Word. You can order your own HK416 here:
VFC HK416 CQB Product Page
Even the box it came it was attractive. It might be difficult to tell from my horrible cell phone picture, but the box is a nice, rich navy blue color. Click on any of the images below to see a larger view.
VFC HK416 CQB Product Page
Even the box it came it was attractive. It might be difficult to tell from my horrible cell phone picture, but the box is a nice, rich navy blue color. Click on any of the images below to see a larger view.
Are there any words really necessary here? (No.)
I know I said I love this gun. But I didn't say it was perfect.
I would have preferred whoever (either VFC or Umarex) put all that mag well writing in white text on a sticker instead of printing it directly on the gun. It's basically a warning that this gun is not a toy and stuff. I understand the importance of the message and that the manufacturer/distributor more than likely has some significant legal liabilities that they have to deal with, but I just wish that it was on a removable sticker so that once I read and acknowledged the warning, that I could remove it. Not a deal breaker from me getting the gun or anything, but just kind of one of those moments where when you first see it, you're like, "Bummer, man." Just like The Dude said, right Denis?
Right side of the rail system below. Notice the peculiar looking bolt near the lower left of the rail. I haven't taken that thing out yet to see what that does, but I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with disassembling the gun. But I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time. Just ask my wife.
I should tell you that the rifle comes with a little tool in the packaging especially for that weirdy bolt thing, so don't just haphazardly rip open the box when it first arrives at your door-step and ignore any contents that are NOT the rifle itself. You have been warned.
You might wonder why I'm so concerned with warning you about that special tool. Well, not that it's ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS, but I did haphazardly rip open the box (to some degree) and ignore the contents at first, which consequently resulted in me losing that special tool. I only know about it because I read elsewhere online that it exists. Shut up.
Left side (strong side?) Remember the Titans.
The flash hider is 14mm ***EDIT*** Counterclockwise (CCW), not clockwise like I originally said (thanks Sebastien), so you can attach your favorite suppressors or aftermarket flash hiders (I'd make sure it has an orange tip though. Big brother is always watching). I'd also like to point out that this rifle TOTALLY has the capability to fix a bayonet to it. You know. for those intimate times. I would like to give a shout out to my brother, who loves bayonets (N.H.).
Here's a shot from beneath the rifle, showing that there are sling attachments on both sides.
In case you're an idiot and/or weren't paying attention thus far, there's a lot of rail space. So things like your favorite Dot Sight (Don't you dare put a scope* on this gun), lights, lasers and other tactical treasures will have plenty of room to cohabitate with each other on the VFC HK416 CQB.
*A scope is different from a dot sight. A scope would look ridiculous on this gun. And if anyone knows ridiculous, it's going to be me.
Case in point:
That's an Airsoft M14 with a 6-24x56mm Leapers Scope with a 30mm tube, good for distances out to 500+ yards. Why do I have it mounted to a heavily upgraded rifle that only does about 80-90 yards on a good day? Because I'm ridiculous. That's why.
But I digress.
Note the adjustable rear sight and the charging handle, which pulls the bolt cover back, exposing the hop-up dial. The bolt release button is fully functional, as well.
Front Sight  | Rear Sight  |
Notice how nicely the rail system sits in line with the upper receiver.
Below, right side of the upper & lower. Check out the indicator on the Fire Selector Knob. Not a big deal, just a nice example of the attention to detail that went into making this rifle. Also, the labels for "Safe," "Semi" and "Full Auto" are engraved into the rifle, then filled in with the red and white paint. Another nice touch.
There it is. The hop-up adjustment wheel. It turns pretty well, doesn't seem too flimsy or loose, and stays in place, even when it's turned up high, placing a lot of backspin on the BBs.
Below, left-side upper & lower. Those are licensed H&K trades, dog baby. Other items to note are the bolt release button overlapping the joint between the upper and lower, as well as the charging handle up at top right. Both items are fully functional and are used to operate the bolt cover in the image above that allows access to the hop-up dial.
Inside the mag well, the hop-up chamber is a clear plastic material. Also visible is the Warranty Seal, that if broken, does something crazy. It voids the warranty! I would like to take a moment to address an awesome situation regarding the seal. It provides the warning in not only English, but also in Deutsch (German, silly). Why is this a big deal? Well...it's not. But German is a very fun language to speak. I took a class on it once, but retained none of the things I had learned after it was over. Bummer.
Here is something you don't see everyday on a stock rifle.
VFC has taken the liberty of stipling the grip, to give it a nice textured feel and providing extra traction for your hand (twss).
The manufacturer was also kind enough to allow the user access to the motor height adjustment set screw. You'll need a very tiny Allen/hex wrench, likely in metric size to insert into the hole in the center, below. Turning the screw to the right will raise the motor further into the gearbox, and turning the screw to the left will lower it further from the gearbox. This technique takes some experience, because it involves the ability to audibly assess whether your motor's pinion gear is properly meshing with the bevel gear of the gearbox. This is a whole other topic for another time, but that's what that set screw is for.
Accessing the battery space in the crane stock.
 |  |
 |  In the center space, aka the buffer tube, you can just start to see the wiring for the battery. |
The High-Capacity, 320 Round Magazine
 |  |
The mag is pretty solid and of course, made of metal. It has a nice, fairly high black gloss finish to it, not to mention the licensed HK trades, you see above.
Here is where I start to ask the question, "What in the world?!"
Photo 1  | Photo 2  |
My solution is to simply leave the plate off when I play. It's not like anyone's really going to see the bottom of your mag anyway, nor would most people notice that the plate is missing.
EDIT: It was brought to my attention that this rifle comes with a little wrench for winding the mag. It is SUBSTANTIALLY quicker than having to manually wind the mag. You'll notice the little hole in the side of the mag, seen pictured above. That is where you insert the winding wrench.
Here is the top of the mag. As you can, it bears a striking resemblance to many of the other M4 Airsoft magazines on the market. In fact, the resemblance is so striking, it's pretty much going to be compatible with most Classic Army/Echo1/Tokyo Marui-type M4-style AEGs.
Peek-a-boo!
Cons:
Magazine base plate has to be removed in order to wind the mag
Huge product warning/legal trademark legal disclaimer printed on lower
Battery space is limited
Pros:
Solid body, well built
Rail System
Very upgradeable
Magazines are cross-platform compatible (can be used with other guns & vice versa)
Comes with a limited warranty, provided you don't "break the seal"
Licensed H&K trades
Summary:
The VFC HK416 CQB rocks my heart and mind. In case you don't feel like scrolling way up to the top to check out the product page, I've included it here for your convenience.
Part II with chrono and performance results will be forthcoming shortly. Grab a snickers.
Airsoft.
12 comments:
you dont need to remove the base plate to wind the mag- see the hole on the side of the magazine? well, there will be a crank/winder in the box that the aeg came in. This crank/winder inserts into this hole, and you wind the magazine by turning it..
Hmmmmm. Well, Mr. Anonymous, you very well may have just highlighted the importance of reading the manual prior to operation. I, however, failed in the regard of reading such a manual. I do recall seeing a little tool in the packaging that I pretty much ignored. But now that you mention it, it just might be the exact tool you speak of. I'll have to check that out when I get a chance. Thanks for the heads up.
Just a follow up: I humbly admit that Mr. Anonymous was right. There is, in fact, a tool that winds the mag. However. It CAN be cumbersome to deal with until you get used to it. Once I was able to get my huge fingers accustomed to dealing with such a small part in the midst of a fire fight, I was able to quickly rewind my mag up and get back in the game. So, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. FYI.
I just purchased my first AEG (HK416). Can you confirm that once the magazine is filled with BB's, and the hand crank is wound, the Gun will not continue to feed the rest of the BB's in the Magazine.
I had to crank the manual winder around ten times to empty a full Magazine. Is this normal for this Gun, and all AEG's, or is something defective?
Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you.
First off, congrats on making your first AEG an awesome one. I am still very much in love with my HK416. While I'm a bit fuzzy about what you're asking on the first question, I can confirm that if you wind the mag until the little clicks start sounding like louder snapping or cracking, then it should feed quite a few BBs into your 416 before you have to wind it again. In order to get to the point where your mag is fully wound, I can also confirm that you will have to complete quite a few rotations on the winder, so it does not sound like your gun is defective. It sounds like you are going through what every other first-time AEG user goes through. You will learn the ins and outs of your gun as you use it more. As soon as the sound of your magazine's clicking changes to something a bit more harsh, STOP. It is fully wound and you run the risk of damaging the winding mechanism if you continue to wind it.
Hope that helps. Please don't hesitate to post any further questions you may have on your new rifle. I'm glad to help out where I can, with my limited abilities.
Templar
Hey Templar, awesome blog on the 416, thanks! I'm new to the AEG business and I could use a few answers if you feel up to it. I just got this gun from Pyramyd and I'm confused. You say your flash hider is CW, mine seems to be CCW. At least if you name it after the way you tighten it? I unscrew mine in a clockwise motion and tighten it counter clockwise. Are our guns different or am I defining CW wrongly? Secondly, the rubber circle plug you have in the photos with the mag. Mine came in the bag with the winding tool and I just dont understand what it's for, can you explain this please?
Thanks
Hey Sebastien, you are not mistaken about the definition of CW vs. CCW. In fact, you are very correct. I'm embarrassed to say that I absent-mindedly wrote "clockwise" at first. Accordingly, I have edited the post to correct the issue. Thanks for pointing that out and congratulate yourself on having your head on a swivel.
Regarding your second question, the rubber plug is just used as a stopper to keep the metal plate on the bottom of the mag in place. If you don't have it inserted like it is in the mag pics above, then it's only a matter of time before the metal plate will work itself lost and probably fall out. That's really all there is to that thing.
Let me know if you've got any other questions. Thanks for checking out the blog.
Templar
Actually, I was kinda wondering about a few things more. Are the internals of this gun good enough to put an 11.1v lipo in it without it breaking down or do you recommend upgrading it first? Also wondering about MOSFET, is there one installed from factory in this gun or do should I venture into that myself? I don't know much about guns but I'm fairly decent with electronics so I'm sure I could install one myself if you think it's worth it?
Thanks
Excellent questions, Sebastien. First off, the internals of this gun are some of the best out of the box that I've seen. I assume you'll want to run this gun on full auto, or at least burst? Personally, I would upgrade a few things first because of that, but nothing complex. Really, I would just add a 120 spring and a high-torque motor like this one: http://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/ICS_Turbo_3000_Motor_Long_Type/3143
The gun does not come with a MOSFET. I haven't heard of any AEGs that do come with a MOSFET already installed. I only use Extreme Fire MOSFETs in my guns. I haven't tried any others, so I'm not saying there aren't other MOSFET units out there that are good, but I have had such phenomenal experiences (yes, plural) that I have no need to try anything else. The way that the Extreme Fire units are made, the hardest part of installing them is rewiring your gun. But once you've got the wires reconfigured, the unit is pretty much a plug and play set up because it uses screw clamps, instead of having to solder the wires to it. And since you have to rewire the gun, you'll have to open up the gearbox, so you might as well throw that 120 spring in there and swap out the motor. Plus I would get some 14 awg, stranded, silver-plated copper wire since you've already got the gearbox open. There's a bit more to it than what I'm saying now, in terms of installing the MOSFET, so if you decide to go with it and aren't sure about the whole process, just let me know here on the blog and I'll walk you through it. It's definitely not "rocket surgery."
I think it would definitely be worth it to put that MOSFET in there. But if you're not good with figuring out how to take apart your gearbox and put it back together again, and ESPECIALLY if you're not good at soldering, you will need to either have someone more knowledgeable assist you or practice on another gun first so that you minimize the risk of ruining your beautiful HK416. Or just leave the gun alone and enjoy it in its current form, which, of course, is the safest bet.
You WILL want to remove the fuse in the gun if you're going to run the LiPo. Unless you'd like to carry a bunch of spare fuses in your pocket so that you can replace the gun's fuse in game when it blows (and it will fairly easily). MOSFET is the way to go.
Templar
Great info here m8, thanks. A 120 spring you say? I was kinda thinking I would downgrade that very part.. I haven't chrono'd yet but cqb regulations where I play are 330 fps and I'm guessing a 120 spring will blow right past that, right?
What MOSFETs have you used? The computer controlled ones or the normal AB. Personally I'm not sure I care much for burst mode etc, I just want protection for my expensive hardware basically. The soldering part I'm quite good at but this will be my first time inside a gearbox. Any guides for that you recommend? Of course I could most likely send the gun to an airsoft mechanic but I really do want to learn this stuff.
Thanks
Hey, me again. I was kinda hoping I could convince you to make a quick video tutorial of the disassembly of this particular rifle, for us newbies. I have the basic idea clear but I guess I'm a tad scared of ruining my gun by doing some stupid beginner's mistake. Any chance?
@Sebastien, For you, I will see what I can do about that tutorial. It's actually pretty easy to deal with, but I completely understand about your fear. I have done some serious damage to a few guns I've owned in the past where I've tried to take them apart and couldn't figure out how to do so properly at first. It'll have to wait until I can get all my shot show material posted, but that shouldn't take more than a week or so at this point. In the meantime, you might read over this post I did about taking it apart: VFC HK416 Disassembly Guide. If that doesn't help you, then let me know and I'll get a more concise tutorial up.
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