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Table of Contents
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1.) Introduction
2.) Packaging
3.) Appearance
4.) Additional Gun Info
5.) Some Gun Pictures
6.) Performance Part 1 (Wal-Mart BBs)
7.) Performance Part 2 (High Grade BBs)
8.) Wal-Mart/High Grade BBs Compared
9.) Conclusion / Pros and Cons





1.) Introduction
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This is my first review so, sorry if it isn’t that great. I spent a long time debating between many different guns including the CM028, BE TECH AUG, CYMA MP5J, but in the end I purchased the R8 for $80 from www.geartron.com. The shipping took about six days to reach my house.


*The BBs I used during testing/firing my gun during this review are .20 High Grade BBs and .20 Cyber Gun BBs from Wal-Mart. High Grades


2.) Packaging
----------------
The packaging was fairly simple. The R8 comes with standard AEG items, but to be exact it includes the following:
-(1) R8
-(1) Cheap two Point Sling
-(1) 425 BB High Capacity Magazine
-(1) Charger
-(1) 8.4V Battery
-(1) Red Dot Scope
-(3) Metal R.I.S.
-(2) Allen Keys
-(100) Very Cheap BBs
And some poorly translated directions.

Picture of Box

9/10

3.) Appearance
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The Appearance of the WELL R8 is amazing. The gun itself really has no metal in it's exterior construction, the only external metal parts are the R.I.S. rails, the trigger, the clips for the sling. The externals are not a downfall by being plastic though as the gun is very compact which makes the plastic really sturdy. The chances of snapping the gun on a wall are probably 0.01%. The length of the gun is around 26 inches. Other meatl parts include the gearbox, and the metal weights inside the gun to give it a total weight of about 4 pounds. The thing I like best about the R8 being compact is it is very easy to shoulder.

9/10


4.) Additional Gun Info
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*Red Dot Scope - The Red Dot Scope is pretty much useless. It isn’t really an accurate scope, chances are you wont use it, but it makes for a nice extra.
*Rail Interface System (RIS) - The R8 comes with three metal RIS rails, which screw onto the bottom and two sides of the handguard. There is also a rail on top of the gun, where the Red Dot Scope would go. You can add any additional item you would like such as flashlights, lasers, ECT.
*Charging Time - The Charging time for the 8.4V battery that comes with the gun is 4.4 hours.
Battery Information
The battery that comes stock with the R8 is an 8.4V battery with mini connecters. The charge time is 4.4 hours with the included charger, as stated above. On a fully charged battery, you can expect to fire off about 1,000 rounds. You will know when the battery is dieing because the firing starts to sound different, also the power and range will become weak.


Installing the battery in the handguard
The battery is installed in the front of the gun. To get the battery in you must remove the handguard, put the battery in then reinstall the handguard.

Remove The Handguard



Connect the Battery



Slide Battery Into the Handguard



Slide Handguard Onto Gun

Installing the battery in the stock could be possible.


The Battery may be able to go into the stock, but you would have to take apart your gun and re-reoute the battery connector to the buttstock. If you can manage to fit a battery inside the stock you can use a stick battery.

The stock removed



Rail for the stock



R8 with no stock



Looking into the stock



The battery extension/connector in back of gun



Removable butt plate



The weight inside the stock



The weight removed from the stock



Looking into the empty buttstock

The Hop-Up
The Hop-up that comes in the R8 is constructed from plastic. The hop-up is of course adjustable and does make a difference in your range and accuracy. It may take a while to get the dialed in for accuracy at the desired distance. To reach the hop-up you must first pull the cocking handle that is located at the front of the gun. In the picture below the lever sticking out to the right of the gun is the cocking handle. Pull that and that moves the hop-up’s hatch.

The hop-up is white in color. The R8 is compatible with any TM or CA G3 type hop-up which is a plus.

The plastic on the gun
The plastic on the R8 is very sturdy. The gun itself looks really appealing with its plastic body. At a distance it can really look like a real firearm. The gun also has no creaks in the plastic, which is good. to test for craks, i held it and shook it back and forth in a rough manner. It is good quality plastic.

The selector switch
The R8 has the three standard fire modes, Safe, Semi Automatic and Full Automatic. While flipping the selector switch there is a nice “click” to announce that the switch is locked into place. The switch moves between fire modes very easily.

(No Score)



5.) Some gun pictures
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The directions Side A

The directions Side B



The Red Dot Scope (Right Side)



The Red Dot Scope (Left Side)



The Left Side Without Scope



WELL R8 Trademark



"Made In China"



Side of Magazine



Other Side of Magazine



Magazine Top



The BBs Enter Here



(No Score)

6.) Performance Part One (Wal-Mart BBs)
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Warning: Use Low Grade BBs at your own risk
Now this is the main part of the review, the performance testing.


The good side of the R8 is the High stock FPS. Stock, the gun can pierce both sides of a soda can from five feet away. When firing the gun it makes quite a lot of noise, so it will give your position away. See video for an example of the sound of the gearbox. This gun would be deadly in any CQB skirmish and also be a good gun in woodland skirmishes. The maximum effective range (the distance where you can hit a man-size target) is probably between 100-130 feet. This of course is with a properly adjusted hop-up. The accuracy is the down side to the WELL R8. At times there is a "random" BB that gets away, but other than that it is great. Also sometimes you may experience a misfire. Meaning that the BB will not fire on semi automatic. This problem usually happens when either my battery is low, or I pull the trigger halfway. Another problem I have encountered is that it occasionally will double fire on semi automatic. I am not sure to why this occurs, but it really isn't a problem. The sights on the gun are actually pretty accurate, I was just plinking stuff in my backyard at hit whatever I aimed it at. Also lasers work great with this rifle. I would slap my laser on it and wherever the laser went, the BB hit there! It was pretty cool. (60 ft. distances)


FPS (Feet per Second)
The FPS is really good on the WELL R8. I would say it is around 280-310 using the Poor Mans Chronograph. Here is what it did to one of my soda cans on semi. Clearly the BB went through both sides of the can, this shot was fired from about five feet away.


Magazine
The magazine is plastic and holds around 400 bbs. The Magazine feeds flawlessly on both semi and full automatic. The WELL R8 can be used with Tokyo Mauri or Classic Army G3 model magazines, so if you would like to buy a metal Classic Army magazine they would work inside the WELL R8. This is one magazine I have found that would be compatible with the R8.

Front Side of Can



Back Side of Can



Side of Can



Some Other Cans


BB Entered



BB Exit



BB Entered



BB Exit



BB Entered



BB Did Not Exit A&W Root beer must use stronger cans, same results on all three A&W cans I tried.

Accuracy tests
These tests where done with .20 Cybergun BBs from Wal-Mart. The results of testing with High Grade BBs are further in the review. I do not recommend using Wal-Mart BBs.

Test 1 (20 ft. Semi)
10 BBs were fired on this taget



Test 2 (40 ft. Semi)
10 BBs were fired on this target

The Paper says 9/10 but is actually 10/10


Test 3 (60 ft. Semi)
10 BBs were fired on this target



Test 4 (35 ft. Full Auto, 4 seconds)



Test 5 (Full/Semi Auto Video)
Shooting up a cardboard box. Click the picture below to view the video.
If you can’t tell the ROF is pretty fast, about 15 RPS.

8/10


7.) Performance Part 2 (High Grade BBs)
----------------------------------------------------------
These tests where done using Jungle Toy's "High Grade 5000 ct BBs."

Test 1 (20 ft. Semi)



Test 2 (40 ft. Semi)



Test 3 (60 ft. Semi)



Test 4 (35 ft. Full Auto, 4 seconds)

8.) Wal-Mart/High Grade BBs Compared
-------------------------------------------------
Not surprisingly, High Grade BBs do have a bit more range and accuracy, but not a great deal. For some reason on full auto, Cybergun BBs showed themselves to be more accurate. Clearly High Grade BBs were a little more accurate in semi auto fire than the Cybergun BBs. I wouldn't use Wal-Mart BBs because they do have little ridges on every BB and may damage your gun's hop-up bucking.
Now here are some pictures comparing the 2 BBs.

Which ones are High Grades?

The High Grades are on the left


Which ones are High Grades?

The High Grades are on the right


High Grade BB Perfectly smooth



Wal-Mart CyberGun BB Notice the little bump?



Tests Compared High Grade BBs will be on the Top
Test 1 (20 ft. Semi)




Test 2 (40 ft. Semi)




Test 3 (60 ft. Semi)




Test 4 (35 ft. Full Auto)

9.) Conclusion / Pros and Cons
---------------------------------------------
The WELL R8 is a very good value for the monry. I would recommend the WELL R8 to anyone that would like a nice durable gun. The gun is perfect for CQB and woodland battles.


Some Suggested Upgrades
If you want any kind of upgrades I would recommend getting a tight bore barrel for your R8. The stock barrel is toolarge in diamater, which results in poor accuracy. Getting a new barrel would increase both range and accuracy. If you do get a new barrel you would have to also make an outer barrel extension because you can't get the correct length for your gun. I am going to get a 363mm barrel and it will increase the total length of my gun by about five inches.


Pros
-Cheap Price
-Strong FPS
-Compact and easy to carry
-Can hit man size targets from 100 ft.
-Magazine feeds flawlessly
-Very comfortable when shouldered


Cons
-Not a lot of metal
-Accuracy is ok (suggest a longer barrel)
-Sometimes double feeds/misfires (not a big problem)


I would give the WELL R8 a 9/10. For the price you really can’t go wrong. Great Deal.