Elite Force Airsoft Guns
Elite Force is one of the few airsoft gun companies based in America, being overseen by Umarex out of Arkansas. We like our American airsoft gun companies. They create American jobs, generally have warranty programs and good customer service, and come with instruction manuals that actually make sense. Umarex provides a 60 day manufacturer warranty and does not even require the customer to go through the shop where it was purchased. This is almost unheard of in airsoft and is definitely a nice little bonus.
Umarex does not produce their own gearboxes or have their own factory so their offerings come from various original equipment manufacturers. They've decided to rope in agreements with the top quality guys, however. Elite Force guns come from companies like VFC and Ares. Some of the other Umarex replicas, like the H&K series, come from G&G. Speaking of H&K, Umarex has the rights to their trademarks along with trademarks from Walther, Beretta and Tactical Force. Along with their AEGs, they do some GBB pistols and sell BBs as well.
One of the most popular and highly regarded models from Elite Force is their K-PDW. PDW stands for 'Personal Defense Weapon', and PDWs are generally manufactured to be lightweight and compact but with a fairly long effective range. The Elite Force K-PDW bears a close resemblance to the real steel Knight's Armament Company PDW. It uses a VFC gearbox that features an aluminum piston head, 8mm steel bushings and a ball bearing spring guide among other things. These are extremely consistent gearboxes, often firing every shot within 5FPS when testing.
The Elite Force K-PDW fires around 340FPS using .2g BBs, and they only come stock with an M100 spring. It comes equipped with a 6.04mm brass inner barrel for excellent accuracy. The front grip includes rails on the bottom as well as both sides, and another rail runs along the top of the gun. The K-PDW has full metal construction, with aluminum receivers and most everything else made from steel except the magazine. The magazine is a 120 round mid cap that fits and feeds perfectly. The bolt catch is functional and the aluminum stock folds. The motor is of the 30,000RPM high speed variety and this gun fires around 18 rounds per second using a 7.4V Lipo battery.
Another one of Elite Force's most popular replicas is the M4 CQB. It is essentially just a regular M4 and features a crane stock as per usual. However, there is a rail that runs along the top of the gun and flip up sights instead of a carrying handle. There are also more rails along the bottom and sides of the front grip. It is finished in a desert tan color and has a triangle front sight. The body is made of a nylon fiber, which is a lot nicer than ABS but still not metal. The front sight, rear sight and rails are all full metal. Overall the gun is well balanced and comfortable to hold.
The Elite Force M4 CQB is based on an Ares gearbox which features the signature Ares quick change spring. This means the spring can be changed on the fly without opening the gearbox, making a quick drop in FPS no problem to achieve. It's a reliable gearbox with 8mm bushings and a polycarbonate piston. In the grip is a 40,000RPM motor and this rifle fires around 340FPS with .2g BBs. Rate of fire comes out to around 13RPS using only an 8.4V NiCad battery.