armoury SPECNA CORE CO3
SOLID TO THE CORE
HUNTING AROUND FOR A GUN HE COULD LEND TO FRIENDS, OR USE IF A PRIMARY WENT DOWN, PHIL BUCKNALL TURNED TO SPECNA’S CORE RANGE TO SEE IF HE COULD FIND SOMETHING SUITABLE FOR AROUND £120…
A
nyone who has read the magazine in the past few months will know that I am quite the fan of Specna and their line of affordable, yet feature-packed, range of guns. I was first introduced to them back in May last year when I was at the Northern Shooting Show and was thoroughly impressed by both the size of the range and the quality of the guns. I was passed one of the CORE range to have a look at; the CORE is their entry level range but still packs a hell of a lot of gun into a more than reasonable price point. In fact, with a bit of searching around, it is possible to get one for around £120 …maybe even a little less! I was so impressed with the CORE guns I saw at the show that I bought one of the EDGE series, with the GATE X-ASR Mosfet installed pretty much straight after the show, followed by two of the H series - their take on the famous HK416 rifle. Then more recently, I decided that I’d get one of the CORE guns to keep as a loaner for if I had a friend who wanted to come along and play or if someone’s primary went down. I wanted a gun that wouldn’t cost the earth but one I also wouldn’t be too upset about if it did get broken. For £120 I figured this would be perfect. So, what does this amount of money get you then?
In the box there is: • The gun - obviously! • A polymer hi-cap magazine • Instruction manual, stickers, a Specna lanyard • Spare M100 spring
• Battery and charger So, it’s quite a good offering. Personally, I wouldn’t use the supplied battery as I’ve always found them to be of low quality when you get one included with a budget gun. I cannot comment as to whether this one was or not, as I use Titan Li-ion packs and that is what I ran when playing with the CORE CO3.
EXTERNALS
Starting with the externals, I was completely blown away by the gun once I’d been told the price! There are obviously areas where costs have been saved, so this M4 has a polymer receiver, which actually feels very sturdy and nothing at all like the creaky plastic of days gone by. It also bears the fully-licensed trademarks for Rock River Arms. The controls are where you would expect to find them on an AR pattern gun and they work very crisply; theres no mushy fire selector here. The plastic pistol grip is the traditional A2 style and mounted on the polymer buffer tube is a plastic cranestock with a rubber buttplate. The stock can easily swallow a 7.4v 7000mah Li-ion Titan battery pack, so that should be enough to keep you going for, well, …erm, about three months! The outer barrel is metal as are a few other components but like the receivers, the rail is polymer - although I haven’t had cause to complain about it and it doesn’t flex or otherwise move about in use. It feels like a very sturdy gun from the tip of the muzzle to the buttplate; there is nary a creak or squeak from it and the receivers are mated together very nicely, minimising any slop there,
“I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE CORE GUNS I SAW AT THE SHOW THAT I BOUGHT ONE OF THE EDGE SERIES, WITH THE GATE X-ASR MOSFET INSTALLED PRETTY MUCH STRAIGHT AFTER THE SHOW, FOLLOWED BY TWO OF THE H SERIES.” 64
MAY 2020
