Reviews

Dytac Combat Series M4 CQBR AEG

Operator7

Over the past four months, I’ve been using a new AEG from Dytac that ASGShop sent me. Dytac, or Dynamic Tactical have been in the market for a while as a parts and accessories manufacturer. In fact, they have been one of the greatest responsible for the introduction of water transfer products in Airsoft with their great looking Water Transfer Decoration line in different camo patterns such as A-TACS AU/FG, Multicam, and many more.

During the past year they have stormed the AEG market with two lines of products named Invader Series and Combat Series. With the latter being their line of entry level AEGs.

Dytac isn’t a newcomer to the Airsoft market, however their AEGs are, and it takes some time to build a reputation on this segment.

So far many of the reviews out there will only give you a very general overview of the gun without an in-depth look that will offer a comprehensive perspective on how the gun holds mechanically and physically to the test of time and Airsoft games.

Plus, I was very interested on seeing what exactly ASGShop had made internally to this gun, since they claim it comes with a power kit upgrade.

FURNITURE AND CONSTRUCTION QUALITY

There are several models on the Combat Series line and the one I’ve had the opportunity to use and review is the CQBR 10.5” with RAS II version, meaning that it has a shorter CQB barrel and a different rail system that clamps in the rear via three screws: one on the gas tube, one on the recess in the barrel nut, and another one on the rail on the upper body. It also clamps on the handguard cap.

The result is a very secure fit that has absolutely no wobble, and a portion of the rail is slightly elevated. You can take advantage of this elevated part of the rail to run your optics, instead of getting a riser mount. But if you plan for instance to run a hybrid configuration, with a red dot and a magnifier it might get too cramped to hold both optics.

On the front, there’s a pretty much standard flash hider and a metal FSB. On the rails, Dytac have included two side panels in black to protect the rails and a vertical support grip which improves the grip of the gun.

The mag is a gray M4 style metal hi-cap with a capacity to hold 300 rounds. Both the pistol grip and trigger guard are pretty much standard.

Not so standard, and this was a first for me, is the non-functioning ejection port cover, which doesn’t close. That’s right, it’s always open and you have no way to close it. Fortunately the dummy bolt carrier is painted with a very dark and matte grey which adds to the realism lost by the fact that you can’t close the dust cover. This means you’ll have to do shorter maintenance periods to your hop-up unit since its more exposed to the elements this way.

To expose the hop-up unit for adjustment, it’s just like in any M4 AEG --- all you have to do is pull the charging handle. Now, the dummy bolt carrier plate will not stay in place when you let go of the charging handle since it's spring loaded, so in order to adjust you hop-up you can’t let go of the charging handle.

Also, the bolt catch is not operational on the Dytac Combat M4.

The rear sight is a “ghost ring” style sight, that can be adjusted for windage and in elevation. Plus, it is collapsible. However it only has one aperture size, which is small in diameter making it not very advisable for CQB, so I would consider changing this sight if you plan on going CQB with this gun.

Most M4 magazines will work in the Dytac’s magwell, however the ACM replicas of the Magpul mid-cap mags did not work for me. Strange enough, a genuine Magpul PTS mid-cap mag worked perfectly…

One thing I should mention about the buffer tube has to do with the horizontal cut that was made: it adds no functionality and they left the edges too sharp. This results in having the electrical wires exposed because they get in contact with the sharp edges and the plastic that covers the wires gets cut easily.

Apart from these small shortcomings, the receiver is made of very good quality aluminum, just like the rail system, being that it has a very durable finish. The Dytac logo is printed in laser as well as the caliber, the words “HONG KONG” and a serial number.

The stock is a very positive note on this entry model AEG, since Dytac have included a six position retractable VLTOR iMod style stock.

I definitely liked running this stock, since it’s very ergonomic, lightweight and it's extremely well-built. This stock features a removable buttpad and two small storage compartments which can take up to two AAA or AA batteries and they are also removable.

The stock also has a Quick Detachable sling mount and two normal sling points for traditional web slings.

INTERNALS AND PERFORMANCE

Now,  when I said that this would be an in depth review it is because first of all, it would give you a pretty good idea on the gun’s qualities and flaws, how it has behaved over the past four months and how are the internals now that it has accumulated several hours of duty on the field.

As I’ve had the opportunity to mention before, ASGShop went ahead and improved what already was a pretty nice stock mid-level AEG and they’ve added some internals which have direct influence on the FPS power and performance:

By replacing the stock nozzle, cylinder head, piston head and the spring, they were able to optimize the air seal and flow that is produced by the stronger M110 spring from Guarder and then passed along to the BB via the Deepfire ABS plastic enlarged air nozzle which increases the air flow. The Ultimate Version Double O-Ring Cylinder Head and Polycarbonate Piston Head with high pressure bearings also have a great role in this improvement which increases FPS from 350 from the stock unit up to 370 with the kit installed. The piston is also polycarb and has the first tooth reinforced in metal.

The Dytac Combat M4 CQBR also comes with an Aluminum Spring Guide with Steel Bearings and a Polycarb Transparent Tappet Plate.

The gears are very well-machined and the trigger assembly is pretty much standard.

Another detail I liked is that ASGShop did include in the box the stock internals, so if you want to you can go ahead and replace them yourself or ask a technician to do this for you.

If  370 FPS is too hot to play in the field in your country, you can always ask them to send the gun without the internals installed, meaning it will come just like it was out of the factory.

With over 370 FPS, this gun is running quite hot for a CQB AEG, but I really don’t mind because I mostly use it outdoors and this offers me more range.
One of the things I most liked about this AEG is the fact that you can get a whopping 19 rounds per second just by using an 11.1v battery, which I have started to use a couple of months ago.

But since this would put a bit more stress on the internals, I was worried if I couldn’t be damaging either the piston teeth or the gears.

So just a few days ago I decided to open the gearbox for the first time, and one thing I noticed is that ASGShop included a warranty seal, meaning of course that they’ve upgraded the gun. Another thing I noticed immediately, the 8mm bearing installed, which unlike most AEGs, you can see the ball bearings perfectly.

Fortunately, as you can see on the photos, all is great and the internals are coping pretty well with the extra effort that has been asked. The gears showed absolutely no wear from the hours I have been using the gun over the past four months, and even the trigger assembly is still very clean without any carbon on the contacts.

Trigger response is fast, and even faster if you use an 11.1v Lipo. The hop-up unit is a standard metal one, being that the inner barrel is also quite standard, so if you install a precision inner barrel you’ll most certainly gain more FPS and achieve a tighter grouping.

Overall, performance-wise, it was a very nice surprise and I am really enjoying using this gun in the field. In terms of accuracy and precision, since it has a shorter CQB inner barrel, you’ll feel more confident with short range targets. However, you can also take on mid-range foes with more precision than most CQB sized AEGs out there.

Go ahead and check out the Chrono and precision video:

CONCLUSION

So my final verdict on the Dytac Combat M4 AEG is that I have come to really like this gun. It’s got great internals and very well thought-out power kit fitted by ASGShop. In terms of externals, there are some minor flaws which are totally mitigated by the quality of the materials.

To me it has become a base platform to evolve and build a custom gun that reflects what I am looking for on an AEG. Ever since I’ve had it, I’ve installed the Madbull PRI Gen III Round Rail, I went ahead and fitted a Magpul pistol grip and pretty soon I will be installing a High Torque motor, a longer precision barrel and a dummy suppressor.

This will be a gun I will keep and work on the future with some upgrades, so stay sharp as I will come back to report them!

The Dytac Combat M4 CQBR is available from ASGShop.pl and it costs €274.75, around £234, and only there you’ll get the power kit out of the box

Pros

  • Custom Power Kit inside!
  • Great performance
  • Nice ROF using an 11.1v Lipo
  • Quality internals
  • I really enjoyed the VLTOR stock

Cons

  • Section buffer tube with sharp edges
  • Rear sight
  • Non-functioning ejection port cover

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