Elite Force VR16 Avalon Saber Carbine Gen 2
Today we will take a look at the newly updated VR-16 Avalon series of guns brought to us by Elite Force and manufactured by VFC.
The VR-16 lineup of guns is made by VFC for Elite Force and represents VFC's interpretation of the M4/AR style rifles. These AEGs are the top dog in the airsoft world and feature many things that make them a solid choice for serious players. The Avalon in the gun's name represents the most current and latest generation of VFC internals that is offered exclusively with their partnership with Elite Force. Recently, the 2nd generation of the Avalons have been introduced. VFC has been making guns and airsoft parts for a long time, and they have evolved over the years to become a force to be reckoned with. And that is what you should expect out of these guns. The features and performance are all great and VFC doesn't take any risks by introducing wild features to get your attention. They are about consistency and performance through and through, and no-nonsense players will probably enjoy these rifles the most.
Elite Force VR16 Avalon Calibur Carbine Gen 2
Externals
First of all, these are all metal guns. You may see some pretty cheap full metal guns out there, and they certainly get the job done. These cheaper full metal guns are often heavier, using lower grades of metal to get you that feel and durability, but often with unrealistic weight attached to it. VFC guns use a higher grade of aluminum, so they are still tough and sturdy, and bear a weight resembling a real AR or closer to it. Either way you cut it, the cheap metal guns do the job just the same, but the finish and refinement is much more noticeable in the VFCs.
Keeping with the trends, these rifles will have a rail system of some sort -- they can be had in configurations that feature MLOK or Keymod compatible rail systems. These will be free-floating, meaning the handguard makes no contact around any of the barrel. This aids in accuracy in real firearms because pressure on a handguard that touches the barrel can affect accuracy. It is debatable in airsoft but this is replicated in these guns nonetheless.
Elite Force VR16 Avalon Saber CQB Gen 2
The gun is adorned with VFC's QRS furniture - this includes a nice grip, battery compartment stock, and a cool 120-round mid-capacity magazine. The grip has a pleasant texture to it and the stock is specially designed to house airsoft batteries and make it easy to get to. The QRS 120-round magazines feature a cool texture and contours that not only serves an aesthetic purpose but makes it functional by making it easier to grab. High-cap versions of this are also available.
The controls such as the magazine release and selector are ambidextrous. The fake bolt locks back when you pull the charging handle, which makes it easy to adjust the hopup. The bolt release is functional and will close the fake bolt when pressed. The flat-faced trigger also looks great and hints at the performance that lies beneath.
Internals
This is where the heart of the gun lies -- the 2nd generation Avalon version 2 gearbox. For the newbies out there, version 2 just refers to the form factor of gearbox. The version 2 is a prominent design and is what is in all M4-style guns, though every manufacturer has their own take of it. The Avalon 8mm gearboxes feature a quick-change spring guide, built-in protection MOSFET, and some of the best air-seal tuning out of the box I have ever seen. Everything is precision crafted and fit beautifully and the quality control is top notch. Air seal tuning is important because the maker is squeezing the most performance while maintaining a level of efficiency that will make sure your electrical system is getting the most with the least effort. To add to that, if your gun is not working as hard to achieve the same FPS as other brands, your gearbox should last longer due to less stress too.
Elite Force VR16 Avalon Calibur CQB Gen 2
Paired to this amazing gearbox is a brass 6.03mm tight bore barrel installed in a rotary dial hopup unit for ease of adjustment. The gun shoots accurately and operates smoothly. I cannot emphasize enough that these guns are a pleasure to shoot and they sound.
Performance
On paper performance, most airsoft guns look similar. It is hard to convey what this gun shoots like so I implore that you check out our Youtube video that accompanies this blog. In a nutshell though, this gun lives up to its hype. These guns are stated to shoot abour 380-400 fps on .20g, which is a generous spread and is up there with outdoor field limits. Again, on paper, not a big deal cause even cheap guns can do it.
In testing though, with this VFC and with others, we found the FPS to be on the upper end of that spread, usually at 400 or more. This test gun I used for this review is shooting 420 FPS! The deviation we saw in chrono testing was less than 5 FPS shot to shot. That is insanely consistent performance. This shows how good the air seal tuning is, the quality and care in manufacture, and just the overall quality you can expect. And all their guns will shoot like this. The rate of fire was good too. Normally we get about 25 to 27 rounds per second given the MOSFET and more speedy nature of VFC's setups. My test gun was getting mid-20's as well, but I think with the harder shooting spring it is not as fast as other VFC's I've shot. That said, these are still a high rate-of-fire (and excellent trigger response) out of the box!
Conclusion
These guns look and feel great and are the guns you want if you value top notch consistent performance without any gimmicks. If you are moving up into a pro-line level, VFC guns should be the standard by which others are judged. A lot of guns can shoot hard, or accurately -- VFC guns do all that but with a level of refinement that is not matched by others.