RELOADED CYMA CM.098A
TACTICAL TACK DRIVER
CYMA HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH AIRSOFT FOR ALMOST AS LONG AS ANYONE, AND HAVE RIGHTFULLY MOVED UP FROM THEIR POSITION AS THE “MOST LIKELY TO BE A RENTAL GUN” TO CREATING AEGS THAT ANYONE SHOULD BE PLEASED TO HAVE IN THEIR ARMOURY! AFTER OVER A YEAR OF OWNERSHIP BILL REFLECTS ON HIS “BIG BOY” DMR, THE CM.098A, AND HOW IT’S STOOD UP TO SOME HARD USE DURING LOCKDOWN!
T
his year I’ve really been working on my “distance game”, so I’ve been looking at longer range airsoft options; I wanted something with a little extra power and range, but preferably semi-auto rather than bolt-action, and there’s actually a lot to go at when it comes to this type of rifle these days to fulfil the role of “Designated Marksman” (DM)! Now this is, of course, a very different role from that of the true sniper, as the DM will usually be embedded within the usual section or fire-team order of battle for any unit, so what they will carry will not obviously look very different from the rifle of carbine carried by other members of their squad. The main difference between a DM and a sniper is that “marksmen are usually considered an organic part of a unit and are never expected to operate independently away from the main force, whereas snipers usually work alone or in very small teams with “independent mission objectives””. In recent conflicts it was found that the infantryman with a 5.56mm carbine or rifle was often outranged by enemies still using older, large calibre battle rifles, so the DM became a solution for helping them dominate the “middle ground”, ranges deemed beyond effective for
a standard infantry platform, but well inside that of a dedicated sniper rifle. The role of the DM in airsoft has likewise matured. There are many dedicated airsoft rifles, both AEGs and GBBs that you can buy “off the rack” to act as a DMR, and I for one love this! You can buy a decent SVD (I love my SVD GBBR for MilSim OPFOR shenanigans as I’ve said before!) or M14 EBR just about anywhere, and the sheer choice for Mod 12 SPRs and SR-25s in now somewhat mindboggling! Many of the so-called DMRs though still come as regular, full-auto AEGs so to create a “precision marksman platform” you’ll have needed in the past to do a fair bit of internal work, but of course programmeable systems are now making this far easier! There are a number of AEGs that I return to time and again to fine tune and tweak, and foremost among them has been a CYMA, namely their CM.098A “.308” AR DMR, and it’s a rifle that I have truly come to adore! CYMA have been producing AEGs for as long as I can remember, and could be rightly classed as one
“EXTERNALLY THE 098A IS A PEACH, AND IT LOOKS DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS IMO! THE ENTIRE RIFLE IS MADE OF HIGH-GRADE ALLOY, AND FINISHED IN A SUPER SATINBLACK THROUGHOUT, AND THE FINISH HAS STOOD UP WELL TO THE RAVAGES OF BOTH SITE AND RANGE.” 70
JANUARY 2022
