Hey everybody! I know we've been on a sniper rifle kick lately, but so many good options are coming out, and I am excited to tell you about the ASG Action Army T11. If you want a high-quality, upgraded sniper rifle out of the box, this one may be the best beginner sniper rifle for you.
Action Army is an Asia-based company well known for making parts and airsoft guns in Taiwan. They are popular among those who build off the Tokyo Marui VSR-10 style sniper rifles for their durable and high-quality upgrade parts. With that experience in mind, Action Army has made its lineup of rifles that will rival anything out of the box for a reasonable price.
We can now get these slick rifles within the USA through their partnership with Action Sports Games. First off, this is fully built around the VSR-10 platform. This is the most popular base gun for building up and tuning for high performance, so picking a platform with tons of available parts and upgrades is important if you want to get serious about your equipment. With that in mind, this gun is something you could build out and keep running for a long time, but you don't have to.
The Action Army spared no expense in this gun's design. This gun is built from their capabilities and features high-quality internals that all work together to give you a robust rifle. If a part should fail or you want to change out a part for whatever reason, there is a huge aftermarket for you.
Inside the gun is what makes or breaks an airsoft sniper rifle (literally). Starting with the piston it is metal with a 90-degree sear setup, which means it will be very durable and can take upgrades if you wish to go to a heavier spring. Now, with any modifications, you will void any warranty and have to own up to whatever you do to your airsoft gun, so I highly recommend you leave it alone unless you accept full responsibility for what you do. The spring included makes the gun shoot at 1.6 to 1.8 joules out of the box (a little over 420 fps with .20g BBs with our testing).
This is not mind-blowing out of the box, but the idea is that casual users can use it on most outdoor fields out of the box. Field limits vary all over the place, so they kept it a little lower on purpose, but that does not speak for the capabilities of this rifle. The only thing you should do if you want to enjoy this rifle is to upgrade your spring. If you aspire to be an accurate airsoft sniper, getting to know your rifle and working on it is what you need to do.
The trigger box is high quality and, as mentioned, is a 90-degree sear type. This is more durable than the lower-end sniper rifles, which feature a common 45-degree sear. If you look at upgraded airsoft sniper rifles, everyone goes to a 90-degree sear (which must be paired with a 90-degree piston). The sear and other components are high-quality metal, though I am still determining exactly what type. It is not cheaper pot metal, though, so don't worry. Each component's axles look like stainless steel, which means less friction and worn-out trigger box problems down the road. Trigger pull is average, but it's not the worst.
The hop-up is a VSR-10 style chamber, as is the inner barrel, which also comes with a stabilizer to keep the vibrations from affecting your shots. The VSR-10 chamber means you can use a VSR-10 intended bucking and tight bore barrel to pick and choose what you want in there to achieve your desired results.
The bolt is also a critical component for an upgraded sniper rifle, and this one seems to be made very well. My biggest complaint about the cheaper rifles is this is a part that often fails, so rifles half this price is not recommended by me if you intend to use them a lot. For a beginner or casual player, those lower-end rifles are fine. But this bolt looks very well constructed, is slick, and does not have anything that stands out that could loosen or get torqued and beat up over time, and that's good.
On the exterior of the rifle, you have a polymer stock that is very sturdy and feels substantial in your hands. Unlike the cheaper airsoft sniper rifles, the stock is where you will first notice what kind of rifle is in your hands. That is not a true indicator of performance, but it can tell you about the attention to detail and the kind of people for whom the rifle is built. The ergonomics of this stock are attractive.
There is a palm swell, which is odd. The rest of the stock feels great and has a wide, flat base, which aids in aiming in some situations. There is a Picatinny rail to which you can add a bipod and some provisions for mounting additional hardware. The extended version of this rifle went with a strange combination of a single sling loop and a QD socket. I don't get it, as you would want two of these types rather than one and one.
One thing you'll see on the outside is the magazine location. It has what looks to be an external magazine with a thumb-activated catch. Sorry, this is just a faux magazine, but this toolbox contains all you need to work on your T11. The actual magazine is a VSR-10 compatible one and resides in the usual location, just forward of the bolt. This is how all airsoft sniper rifles are laid out, so you will never see a magazine in its true real-steel location unless the maker did some crazy stuff to make it happen. This setup is typical in the best beginner sniper rifle options, ensuring ease of use and maintenance.
This rifle comes in at the $200 range, which is phenomenal. A lower-end budget sniper rifle already costs $90-200 and would require upgrades. These Action Army upgrades typically run about $300-500 on their own when you build up a VSR-10 type rifle and get it all in this rifle for the low $200's. If you really want a starting or mid-tier rifle that can last, start with this sniper rifle and skip anything below it. I mentioned the quirks in this honest review, plus the need for a harder spring to match your field's limits, but other than that, this is a solid one to go with, and you will be very happy.
