My WE 4168 (HK416) Review

[joeyphoshowey]

To view original review with all pictures included, please follow this link:
http://www.gasguns.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2668
I placed the pre-order for the WE4168 (HK416) back on December 5th from Blowback Armory and it came in today (January 14, 2010).
My initial thoughts:
The box itself, like the scar is nothing to write home about.
Contents:
Carbine replica, Manual, Magazine (green gas), and loader.
The cardboard left some dust on the gun, it just needs to be wiped down with a rag.
The zip ties were cut, so I'm assuming that Blowback Armory tested the gun before shipping it out- Good QC.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...w/DSC03726.jpg
EXTERNALS:
When I picked the gun up I noticed the RIS was VERY loose and has quite a bit of play- I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but I guess the barrel really is 'free-floating'. The rail clamp bolt is some type of cross I've never seen before, since I dont have the tool, I'll have to try to use a large flathead to tighten it down. KAC style grips, and [pistol] tac-lights fit VERY snug on the rail with absolutely no play at all (niiice).
The external finish is amazing. I believe that it is anodized aluminum. Similar or better than the SCAR (black) as I remember it. The gun feels solid and cold to the touch, both everything that should be metal is, and the furniture is fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) . The grip is nice and textured, slimmer than your standard AEG's grip- as it should be. The 4-position stock has some play, but that is to be expected.


The carbine length barrel front can be twisted off, exposing the 360+/- mm length barrel (CCW thread) so you can attach your H&K silencers or w/e.

The Rear sight is adjustable between 4 different apertures and clicks into place nicely.

INTERNALS:
As I inspected the 'BCG' and other internal components, I noticed plenty of grease on the charging handle and the top of the bolt carrier, there is also a bearing/roller on top.

I tightened some of the phillips screws above the firing pin housing and any other screws I could find.
This is my first GBB 'rifle' replica, so I'm not familiar with what all needs to be tightened, but I have read that everything should be inspected, lubed and tightened before firing if it's fresh from the factory.
(If anyone could share tips on maintenance with me- that'd be awesome.) Before putting the BCG and charging handle back in, i sprayed some silicon lube into the trigger group, firing pin housing, and selector area.
The hop-up is kind of hard to access for adjustment. I guess you M4/M16 owners already knew that.
The brass loading chamber does appear to have some rough edges, as do SCARs which may lead to the left/ right hooking of the trajectory.
The inner barrel was filthy, so be sure to clean those out upon purchasing your HK416's.
PERFORMANCE:
First mag: 30 rounds
Propellant: C3H8 (propane)
Ammunition: 0.20g crossman bbs (i know i know, it was just for testing since the hop-up hasnt been broken in)
Ambient temperature: 52F ~ 11.1C
Humidity: 100%
Altitude: Austin, TX (500 ft ~ 230m)
Results: They had a tendency to hook to the left. (this is BEFORE i cleaned the barrel and factory hop-up settings) The bolt did NOT lock back upon last round fired.
Firing pattern: 10 Single with 4 seconds intermittent, 3 round burst, 10 single, 3 round burst, then single until empty. Although the bolt did not lock back, I dry fired 2-3 rounds before reloading the mag.
Verdict: the BB's went everywhere.
Second mag: Variables remain constant.
Results: Same. Very sporadic trajectories, though the range is noticeably further than my M16 (350fps) AEG. The Bolt locked back upon last round discharged.
Third mag: 30 rounds
Ammunition: Matrix 0.25g bb's
All other variables held constant.
Results: Still very sporadic trajectories. Only improvement was that I actually hit a can sized target at 50 feet (for the first time). Still heavy left hooking tendency.
Fourth mag: 30 rounds
Ammunition: Matrix 0.25g bb's
Propellant: CO2
Barrel cleaned, hop-up adjusted.
All other variables held constant
Results: Excellent range. Over 150 feet - could even be 200 feet, I cannot accurately gauge distance with given test facility (my back yard). The bolt cycles MUCH faster, therefore increasing recoil. Increased consistency for burst fire. The bb's no longer hooked in any direction, except up- unfortunately I only had about 30 0.25g bb's left, so i could not finish calibrating the hop-up settings. Regardless, after cleaning the barrel and turning the hop way up the bb's flew straight. Decreasing hop after every round, the last shot looked correct. The bolt locked back.
I was able to fire about 20 more dry shots with the remaining co2 (on full auto). So that's around 50 shots per 12g cartridge.
PHOTO DUMP! Some Tacticool Accessories...



Sorry for bad quality, it's from your general use digital camera. The Pictures do not do the gun justice. The finish is superb.
-Review by JoeyRHO

[dman3lax4]

Good and informative review! Thanks for reviewing.

[Cannon Fodder]

Yes very good review. I am tempted to hear the FPS with .20 bbs and the CO2 mag. I had heard that the CO2 makes the gun shoot hot . But either way good review.

[Nubbles]

Such I nice looking rifle... I want a gas blow-back

[AustinWolv]

Thanks for posting.

[joeyphoshowey]

Originally Posted by Cannon Fodder

Yes very good review. I am tempted to hear the FPS with .20 bbs and the CO2 mag. I had heard that the CO2 makes the gun shoot hot . But either way good review.

Thanks man,

To cure you of your curiosity - I cannot. I dont have a chrono, but I can confidently tell you it's well above 450FPS with CO2 and 0.20g bbs... maybe even 470. That being said, I wont be able to use it as an assault type weapon until my NPAS valve comes in next week (Negative Pressure Adjustment System).
I really want to use this gun at TacPB tomorrow, so I spent the morning fabricating a part to put in the lower receiver that would hinder the selector from being able to be rotated to the "30" position, full auto.
I mounted a nice 4x zoom optic, bi-pod and removed the BUIS. In addition, I added a nice barrel extension to complete the look.

Now I have a neat little "DMR" style carbine. Since I only have a couple 30 round mags, it should serve me just fine, seeing as how I can only operate the weapon in semi-automatic anyways.

I am familiar with DMR role engagement distances (100 feet minimum) and will observe all safety regulations on the field. I will carry a side arm chronoing under 320 FPS so long as I use my HK416.
Though, I'm not 100% confident that the accuracy would fall among the ranks of others' say... Cali or Ralph's guns, but it'll be pretty fun still with the heavy recoil and all. hehehe

Here's some eye candy:

[Yeahbuddy42]

Hey man,

I read your post about your new Gas rifle, and I was wondering how it was doing after using it for almost a month? Any trouble with it so far?

[joeyphoshowey]

Originally Posted by Yeahbuddy42

Hey man,
I read your post about your new Gas rifle, and I was wondering how it was doing after using it for almost a month? Any trouble with it so far?

I did encounter one problem while at a skirmish several weeks ago.
I overfilled the magazine (packed bb's too tight into the mag) and when I loaded the gbbr the mag wouldnt fit, so I forced it in while in the middle of a firefight- not thinking- and after i pulled the charging handle, i realized the nozzle was being pinned by the tightly packed BB's.
This caused my nozzle to separate from the BCG. The gun was inoperable for the rest of the day.

This wasnt so much of a big deal since I had already ordered an RA-Tech NPAS, which is a replacement valve/ nozzle assembly that allows me to adjust the output muzzle energy.

After installing the NPAS, the gun has been completely and perfectly operable. Ive ran about 20 CO2 and maybe 30 Green Gas mags through the gun since it's been in my possession.
Once the hop-up is dialed in correctly, a 0.25g bb will fly pretty far and accurate.
The gun is not as consistent as say an M14 AEG, but definitely has a comparable if not better range than my dboys M16 AEG.

[lord_nor]

I just acquired this amazing gun myself and I had a few questions even after reading your detailed review/experimentation .

1) Which way do you turn the hopup to increase it (aka bb' start flying way upward). My orientation is looking at the gun with the dust cover side, with the stock to my left and barrel to my right...do i rotated up or down?

2) Can the stock mag's use CO2?

3) at the start most of my bb's just dropped at around 100 feet, this doesnt feel normal... is it?

4) when i pull out my cocking handle and barrel assembly, a long steel rod attached to a plug assembly comes out as well, is this normal?

Thank you for your time!