The thing about regular cleaning and inspecting barrels is something that I harp on about all the time!
I did have some pics on the old GBF showing the internal barrel finishing/polish on some brand new aftermarket Alloy, Stainless and Brass barrels……. which looked like they had been finished with 80 grit sandpaper internally!
Also pics of second hand Bruisemaster Brass barrels that I had, each one with different levels of internal surface dullness, obviously due to prior care/cleaning and age factors.
Broken Gels/Confetti:
Yup, a single broken gel going through the barrel is enough to completely destroy accuracy and distance until it is thoroughly cleaned out.
Same can happen with gels getting sliced and diced through AEG mag motor wheels or sharp GBB mag rails/feed lips etc.
Might not turn into confetti, but certainly bad enough to cause poor performance and also added likelihood of broken gel particles being fed through the system.
I must admit I felt the RPM performed reasonably well out of the box and the hop up worked fine. It’s just inner was just not suitable for my gels that I prefer for consistent performance and the aesthetic was not what I wanted.
I actually had a new one turn up while i was at work today, Vector Paragon 1x16 prism. By far the best optic I’ve used and more than enough adjustment to get to gel level. Lifetime breakage warranty too.
The FOV feels more than twice as large as the comp m5(which also couldnt zero more than a foot low enough for gels). Side note, dont use a non-lithium battery in an aimpoint and leave it turned on… POP!
Also cycled a mag of 7.2mm gels i left on the counter in that loader overnight, shrunk to about 7mm and just a fkn laserbeam at 20m, go figure. I’m actually pretty convinced that closer to 7mm is the way to go, bit iffy keeping them in the mag lips though.
The battery(which was a good quality one) ruptured and leaked through the compartment, bricking it. Got it working again with a rather judicious (and electrically safe)cleaning but the inside of the battery compartment is ruined and the pressure misaligned the interior tube and pushed the optic off center.
From googling it seems this is quite common with aimpoints and clones if you use alkaline and dont police the on/off (and why the hell would i, it has a 5 year battery life). The stupidity of the situation is that I only threw the battery in there to test it and then promptly went on holidays and forgot to take it out. It’s likely that it just had a leaking jacket from sitting on the shelf too long (despite being in date) and just happened to crap out at a bad time, normally when it happens it isnt an issue… but your average tv remote isnt a waterproof sealed tube with 1mm+ walls and nowhere for the swelling to go.
Golden advice in here thanks guys, I managed to tilt the tongue on the barrel up a touch and it’s doing a lot better, if I can only find good consistent gels
It retails for around that yeah, the Aimpoint Compm5 in the other photo was/is a pretty decent clone but the zeroing is a bit gummy and it doesnt get low enough for gel rounds.
Buy once, cry once IMO. I bought the m5 clone and it was good but still a few quality issues and still came out at 120ish from Evolution gear on Aliexpress. If i was to buy another scope of the same quality then i’d be sitting at nearly the price of the Vector prism anyway (which is better with my eyes).
If you want a decent red dot Vector also do them starting at about $140AUD and the code they send out (CONTINENTAL) should get your 12% off that (though i dont have any experience with their red dot quality).
Just dont buy from a certain australian “hunting” store who have their range all $50 cheaper but never actually send you the stock (thx paypal).
Quite a few of the optics I’ve fitted to blasters have needed significant shimming at the back end of the mount to put them in an attitude roughly in line with the flight of the gel. Otherwise the windage and elevation adjustments are outside a workable range.
Obviously a lot to do with the ridiculously short ranges we have to accept with blasters… and, being toys and made in China, precision firearms they definitely are not… who knows where the bore line of the barrel is in relation to that top pic rail… if it’s parallel it’s a fluke.
And I won’t even mention the accuracy and build precision of a $50 optic
I’m seeing many comments lately from the proliferation of the popularity of Gelblasters throughout Europe and the USA that are very focused about the distance and accuracy of Gelblasters.
90% of my replies regarding sights and optics are basically reinforcing that optics only need to show a field of view, and not real life pinpoint target accuracy.
I am severely short sighted and only used optics as a way to be able to physically see objects in the distance from my position to give a general area in which to aim at……… definitely not Kicking Mustang/NOVRITSCH Airsoft type long distance sniper head shot accuracy!
Had a nice BUSHNELL Scope on the ACR Bushmaster DMR that was really good with the correct height rizer below it to be able to really dial in distances……which isn’t shown in this old photo….
But my absolute favourite rugged and effective sights were these Alloy ECOG sights, perfect for direct mount without risers and plenty of field of vision for whatever situation, having either open peep sights, or through the optical lens
Yea for sure I just forget the rear sight on an AR type and front post it. I mean you are only going for spitting distance, sif you could pull a 300M headshot
Hence my no need for optics only for looks and fit out. They serve no purpose. I always said that before you joined. Been bagged for it but I don’t care. Open sights all day. Front post like the pistol shooting etiquette I was taught.
It works. But hey it’s yo blasta do whatever the fk you want with it.
100% agree… just open iron sights for practicality and weight saving, optics for tacticool, if that’s your jam.
I’ve wasted so much money on optics and all I find them good for is the bling factor on the wall. The most useless optic I’ve bought has to be this one…
Unless it’s a uranium fuel rod 
