Star M249 MK2
Written by: Shotgun_ned
Written by: Shotgun_ned
First impressions
I had always wanted some form of support weapon but had been put off by the price and reliability issues of the TOP range, so when Star announced they were developing a cheaper M249 I knew I would have to buy one. I purchased mine from http://www.fire-support.co.uk/, who are an excellent retailer, for £370.
Moving on, what's in the box?
Star have packaged the 249 in a rather nice hard carry case, which takes the 249 (disassembled) with a bit of a squeeze (you need to kneel on it to get it to close..). It also comes with a 2500 round box mag, which is nice considering all the other 249 variants out require it to be purchased separately.
The 1st thing you notice about this gun when you pull it out the case is the weight. As it is mostly plastic it only weighs in at about 3.5kg loaded. Some people may consider this a downside but I personally think its a good thing. I know we may well be doing milsim and the added weight would be more realistic, but when I go to work the next day I don't want my shoulders killing because I was lugging a 6-7kg gun around all day. The plastic itself is of good quality and isn't shiny which is always a good thing. The only parts that are metal are; barrel, bipod and carry handle, plus a few other smaller pieces.
Features
The main features which were advertised with this gun were the included carry case, included box mag and the plastic quick swap gearbox. Seeing as I've already said just about all there is to say about the carry case I'll start with the box mag.
The included box mag is made out of an OD plastic. It seems to be of fairly good quality, though I've read that some people have snapped the mag catch off after falling over onto it. The box mag holds approximately 2500 rounds of plastic death and the battery, which is different to the other 249 variants where its usually housed in the stock. Also unlike the other variants, the box mag electric winding is automatic whenever you pull the trigger which is handy as its one less thing to worry about when firing. The battery fits snugly in a separate compartment, and word is you could easily fit up to a large 9.6v battery in there. A word of warning though, STAR, in their infinite wisdom only included a small battery connector, so if you want to use a large battery with this gun as its been designed to you'll need an adapter. The winding mechanism, as with all the other variants, requires 2xAA batteries to operate.
Next up is the gearbox. STAR has made 3 different types of gearbox for their 249. First there is a yellow one, with plastic bushes and gears and a 75% spring designed for urban and CQB. Next there is the clear type, as is included with the gun. This has metal gears and bushes and a 100% spring. Finally there is a red type, which is designed for long range support. This one has the same as the clear, but has a 150% spring and can easily take a 9.6v battery. There has been much discussion regarding the strength of the polycarbonate gearbox, but I have yet to see anyone have any problems. The added bonus with this gearbox is the ability to change the spring out in about 20 seconds. The stock spring pushes out approximately 300-310 FPS, so I replaced mine with an M100 spring.
The spring release
The hopup adjustment on this gun is a small bolt located in front of the gearbox and is adjusted using a small allen key. Something to bear in mind about this hop, it requires quite a bit of adjustment for it to start working. At 1st I thought it was broken but it turned out I just wasn't tightening it enough. Once its set, its very effective and won't unwind.
Performance
The general performance of this gun is very impressive
.The accuracy is almost perfect. You do get the odd shot which goes off somewhere random, but mostly you just get a solid white line heading towards whoever you're firing at 8).
The rate of fire is also very good, even when using an 8.4v battery and the M100 spring.
The range is excellent as well. With the M100 spring in I was out ranging most people even with upgraded guns. The hopup really works well keeping the BBs going straight and level for ages. Its perfect for keeping people's heads down just like it was designed for.
Conclusions
I am very impressed with this gun overall and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an affordable support weapon.
Pros
- Impressive accuracy, range and rate of fire
- Lightweight
- Cheap
- Comes with the box mag and carry case as standard
- The spring can be changed in a matter of seconds
Cons
- Possible strength problems with the plastic gearbox
- Box mag is fairly weak
- It's mostly plastic
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