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Gigueand · February 11th, 2011, 11:26

I ran an ICS L85A2 for a bit of the summer season here in Michigan.

The ICS L85A2 has pretty decent balance, but is still relatively heavy. The bullpup balance makes it easy so shoot with the off-hand, or simply one-handed.

I found that the rifle was great for when I was "on the move," but it was hard to manage from the prone position. This could just have been me. Reloading in the prone is terrible, I often found that I had to roll onto my side just to get at the magazine and pull it clear. The gun did feed from all of the magazines I own (MAG brand, ICS high-caps, crappy China made high-caps, STAR, etc).

Magazine changes are not as fast as an armalite or similar, but easier with practice. The controls are not very well set-up and the magazine release is awkwardly placed.

These are inherent "problems" with the design of the real steel weapon.

The ICS internal design is great, however. Easy gearbox to work on, quick change spring feature. Has a nice, crisp trigger pull due to the way the trigger mechanism is designed. The plastic are nice and heavy duty. Compared to a G&G, the ICS feels a lot more like a real weapon and less like a toy. I have been told that the STAR/ARES version is cosmetically better, but would bet that the ICS is more "user friendly" just based on the way it is designed.

This discussion on Arnie's shows how the different L85s on the market break down and pretty much demonstrates how much better designed the ICS version is in that regard.

Some more discussions of different brands:

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...69790&hl=L85A2

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...64801&hl=L85A2

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...65773&hl=L85A2

RE: other rifles -

I owned a P90 for a while, but just couldn't get over how plasticy and lightweight they feel. The magazines are a pain to carry around, in my opinion.

The F2000 or AUG would probably be my choice if I was planning to buy another bull-pup. G&G F2000, however, can only take high capacity STANAG magazines stock, if I recall correctly. Mid-caps have to be modded to fit. Unfortunately, no one in China has figured out that an AUG that takes STANAG magazines (MSAR) would be a best seller...

I have only held a Tavor once and it left a good impress. Having read up on them, however, I have seen far to many people complaining of various problems. Seems like a gun that you really, really must want to own in order to make the investment necessary to get it running 100%.

February 11th, 2011, 11:26	#49
Gigueand Trader rating Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: MI, USA / Toronto, ON	I ran an ICS L85A2 for a bit of the summer season here in Michigan. The ICS L85A2 has pretty decent balance, but is still relatively heavy. The bullpup balance makes it easy so shoot with the off-hand, or simply one-handed. I found that the rifle was great for when I was "on the move," but it was hard to manage from the prone position. This could just have been me. Reloading in the prone is terrible, I often found that I had to roll onto my side just to get at the magazine and pull it clear. The gun did feed from all of the magazines I own (MAG brand, ICS high-caps, crappy China made high-caps, STAR, etc). Magazine changes are not as fast as an armalite or similar, but easier with practice. The controls are not very well set-up and the magazine release is awkwardly placed. These are inherent "problems" with the design of the real steel weapon. The ICS internal design is great, however. Easy gearbox to work on, quick change spring feature. Has a nice, crisp trigger pull due to the way the trigger mechanism is designed. The plastic are nice and heavy duty. Compared to a G&G, the ICS feels a lot more like a real weapon and less like a toy. I have been told that the STAR/ARES version is cosmetically better, but would bet that the ICS is more "user friendly" just based on the way it is designed. This discussion on Arnie's shows how the different L85s on the market break down and pretty much demonstrates how much better designed the ICS version is in that regard. Some more discussions of different brands: http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...69790&hl=L85A2 http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...64801&hl=L85A2 http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...65773&hl=L85A2 RE: other rifles - I owned a P90 for a while, but just couldn't get over how plasticy and lightweight they feel. The magazines are a pain to carry around, in my opinion. The F2000 or AUG would probably be my choice if I was planning to buy another bull-pup. G&G F2000, however, can only take high capacity STANAG magazines stock, if I recall correctly. Mid-caps have to be modded to fit. Unfortunately, no one in China has figured out that an AUG that takes STANAG magazines (MSAR) would be a best seller... I have only held a Tavor once and it left a good impress. Having read up on them, however, I have seen far to many people complaining of various problems. Seems like a gun that you really, really must want to own in order to make the investment necessary to get it running 100%. Last edited by Gigueand; February 11th, 2011 at 11:31.. Reason: added stuff.