By speedgem
Published: 22 November, 2003
I'm writing this review because I see lots of people saying that these awesome spring rifles are crap. I'm hoping to end the trashing of these. I've two of the HFC M16A2 rifles and they have been excellent weapons.
First Impressions and Appearance
I love any type of Armalite or M16 rifle so I was looking for an affordable but good M16 type spring rifle. I saw these and for the price of $80 I ordered one. I waited for 6 days to get the rifle. It finally got to my doorstep and I opened it up. After that I took the gun out of its box and looked at it. It was really heavy and solid, no rattles or anything. It was also like 40 inches long. The HFC M16A2 has trademarks that say "HFC Air Model Gun". It could have been better if the trademarks were real Colt or Armalite markings but it's fine. It would also be cool if it had an opening dust cover and ejection port. The color of the gun is a really dark, flat gray and flat black. This M16A2 looks awesome. It would look really good with a red dot sight, a sling, and a bipod. Upon checking out the rest of the gun I noticed that the entire outer barrel/flash hider/and front barrel assembly is all metal. The "T" charging handle and all the internal parts are metal as well. The selector switch goes to the "Safe", "Semi", and "Auto" positions but since this is a spring rifle the Auto position is pretty much useless. The M16A2 also has sling mounts. The sling mounts are plastic but they are beefy, they can handle a sling without breaking. The HFC M16A2 comes with a 20 round magazine, a small bag of yellow .12g bb's, and an instruction booklet. I dont know why HFC put .12g bb's in the box with the M16's/XM's because you cant use them. Well, you can use them but the will go straight up after about 10 feet because the hop up on the M16 is too powerful for the light weight .12g bb's. If you do decide to get a HFC M16 or XM177 then get some good .2g or .23g bb's.
The Magazine
After looking at the M16 for a few minutes I loaded it up with some good .2g bb's. The mag holds 20 rounds and is sometimes touchy. You have to insert the mag just right or some of the bbs will fall out. The mag slides in the gun smoothly, you just have to insert it right. The mag release button in on the right side of the gun. You just push in the button and pull out the mag. Extra mags are easy to find and they are cheap as well.
The T handle is pulled back to charge the gun and make it ready to fire. The sound is awesome when the T handle it pulled back and you let it slam forward, then it's ready to fire.
Performance/Accuracy/Power
I then went outside and set up a coke can 50 feet away. On the first shot I hit the can and knocked it over. I though that was very good. I then tried to hit a 9 inch wide tree in my backyard that it about 90 feet away which is pretty easy. It is easy enough to hit a person sized target out to 90 feet with a HFC M16A2. The M16A2 is really quiet, it makes a low sound. When I was shooting the first mag through the gun I noticed that it didnt jam, not once. Lots of people say that HFC M16's/XM177's jam constantly. Never happend with any of my M16's or XM177's. The HFC M16A2 is pretty powerful. Im guessing that it will shoot a .2g bb at 250-260 feet per second. It will shoot right through one side of a coke can and dent the other side.
Sights
The sights on this gun are not very good but they do work well enough. Im going to get a M16 scope mount and put a 30mm Red Dot sight on it to improve the problem of the poor sighting system. I noticed that when I was shooting it with .2g bb's, the M16A2 shot them fine but they curved up a tiny bit. I want to get some .23g bb's and that red dot sight so I can update with some real accuracy tests.
Modifications
There are several mods you can do for this gun. You can add a scope mount and scope or a laser. You could also add a sling or bipod. You could even make your own custom silencer for the M16A2. If you wanted more power then you could add a spacer behind the spring. I'm also thinking about trying to shave off the carry handle and make it into a flat top reciever. Then put a rail on the top, remove the front sight, and add a red dot sight. That would be really cool, but I dont know if its possible to shave down the carry handle yet.
New Accuracy Test
I finally got some .23g bb's and tested the accuracy again. It fires .23g bb's dead on accurate. They fly straight for 85-90 feet. I set a coke can up 60 feet away this time, the first shot didnt quite make it to the can (I shot too low, I've been use to the .2g bb's flying up a litte) and then I aimed again and hit the can dead on.
Overall Impression
Theres not really much else to say. Ive had a HFC M16A2 a while ago and it was good. I just got this new M16A2 and its just as good. They are fine M16 rifles for a fairly cheap price around $80. They are great rifles. They are built solidly and they have a lot more metal than most other M16 spring rifles and they have hop up. I've had several of these HFC M16 and XM177 rifles and they have proven themselves to be durable, accurate, powerful, and reliable. I really like my new HFC M16A2 and if you are looking for a spring rifle, check out a HFC M16A2. They are cheap and very nice. There are only some minor things like the sights and the mag. Other than those two small things the HFC M16A2 is an awesome rifle.
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