ARMOURY: SPECNA ARMS SA-J04

SPECNA ARMS HAVE BEEN TEASING US ALL WITH THEIR NEW “J-SERIES” AEGS FOR A WHILE NOW, AND FINALLY THEY’RE HERE! OUR RESIDENT “AK GEEK” BILL TOOK DELIVERY OF ONE DIRECT FROM POLAND AS SOON AS THEY WERE RELEASED, AND NOW HE TELLS US ALL IF THE WAIT FOR THE “SPECNA AK” HAS BEEN WORTH IT!

Honestly, as an airsofter, if you haven’t by now heard of Specna Arms I truly believe that you must have been living not only under a rock but beneath one that has been located at the back of a very deep, dark cave!

Specna Arms have come onto the airsoft scene relatively recently but have wowed airsofters around the globe with their now-comprehensive AR series of AEGs from their CORE, EDGE, and ONE Series, plus also visiting the G36 with their G-Series, and even throwing in some decent boltaction rifles along the way! They’ve impressed even the most seasoned of players, including a number of the Airsoft Action Team, with their external build quality and what is included in the package with internals as standard, featuring components such as their ORION V2 gearbox, GATE X-ASR and ASTER Mosfets and their ESA2 quick change spring function.

They’ve forged some fabulous strategic alliances with real firearms manufacturers, first with Rock River Arms and now with Daniel Defense and Strike Systems. Add to that the fact that they are constantly designing and innovating “in house” too and I believe that Specna Arms will be with us for the foreseeable future, bringing value and excellence to players worldwide!

One area though that has, at least to my mind, been missing from the offering date though is the not-sohumble-any-more Kalashnikov, but I am overjoyed that they have now addressed this with the launch of their “J-Series” (why “J” and not “K” I can’t tell ya!), and the initial eight variants/models now appearing for sale bring a little warm glow to my otherwise stony old heart!

I love firearms of all kinds and have done pretty much all my life. When I was 14 or 15 I wanted to be a gunsmith and I even looked at apprenticeships, until my family convinced me that going onto higher education was a better idea. Nearly 40 years on and here I am writing about… firearms, albeit replicas rather than real! Bottom line, what is meant to be, will be.

With all the stunning firearm models around the world, both military and civilian, my heart belongs to “Comrade Mikhail”! Ever since I first laid my hands on a real AK-47 many, many years ago in Africa, I’ve been sold, the “Joy of AK” transcending even my boyhood love for the SMLE, L1A1, and FN FAL. Now of course I’m largely, though not exclusively, restricted to airsoft versions of “The Russian Rifle”, so whenever I see a new one hit the market I’m super-drooly-keen to get my mitts on it… and thanks “THEY’VE FORGED SOME FABULOUS STRATEGIC ALLIANCES WITH REAL FIREARMS MANUFACTURERS, FIRST WITH ROCK RIVER ARMS AND NOW WITH DANIEL DEFENSE AND STRIKE SYSTEMS. ADD TO THAT THE FACT

THAT THEY ARE CONSTANTLY DESIGNING AND INNOVATING “IN

HOUSE” TOO AND I BELIEVE THAT SPECNA ARMS WILL BE WITH US FOR

THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE…”

to Specna Arms I now have their all new SA-J04 (AKS-74 to you gun-bunnies!) to talk about!

MODERN CLASSIC It was way back in 1977 when the Western world first saw the “new” Kalashnikov being carried by airborne troops in Red Square and rumour has it that the CIA paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the mujahedeen during the Soviet–Afghan War, such was their eagerness to get their hands on a specimen of the latest model!

In truth though, the rifle had been around for some considerable time before the first sighting, as it was developed in the early 1970s by Mikhail Kalashnikov as the replacement for the earlier AKM, itself a modernised version of the AK-47. Much like their western counterparts, the Soviet military were interested in the better performance given by intermediatecalibre high velocity ammunition and the main change was that the AK-74 used a smaller 5.45×39mm cartridge, replacing the 7.62×39mm chambering of earlier Kalashnikov- pattern rifles, and this enabled a number of steps forward to be taken. These

improvements were primarily the result of converting the rifle to the new cartridge; compared to the preceding AKM the AK-74 had better effective range, accuracy (which was a main development goal) and reliability.

The AK- 74 was equipped with a new shape of butt, a handguard which retained the AKM-type finger rest, and gas cylinder. The stock had a shoulder pad different from that on the AKM, which was made of rubber and serrated for improved grip. In addition, there were lightening cuts on each side of the butt. The butt, lower handguard and upper handguard were first manufactured from laminated wood, whilst the AKS variant replaced the rearmost wood with a skeletonised butt which folded neatly to the left hand side of the receiver.

To this day the AK/ AKS-74 is still used by most countries of the former Soviet Union. Licensed copies were produced in Bulgaria (AK-74, AKS-74 and AKS- 74U), and East Germany (MPi-AK- 74N, MPi-AKS-74N, MPi-AKS-74NK), and of course these have found their way into the hands of soldiers and fighters worldwide!

GUN UP TOVARISCH!

When I received the Specna Arms replica

“AKS-74”from my friends at Gunfire, one of the very first things I noted was the overall “feel” of the rifle, as it has, at 3.4 kilos, a really good weight to it. All the parts that should be are metal, and indeed steel parts include the receiver, top cover, outer barrel, trigger guard, magazine latch, fire mode selector plate, gas block, muzzle brake, sling loop and plate on the stock, rear sight, cleaning rod, stock latch, stock, and pins and rivets. Even where steel is not used, all parts are alloy with a special coating used in the finishing process which gives a very realistic appearance overall.

There is a black polymer pistol grip, and I’m pleased to report that the wood handguards are a much better colour than some of the orange “Chinese wood” versions that we see all too often on AKs with a keen pricepoint, as on the J04 they are a very rich brown, almost “chestnut”, hue. To sum things up, externally the finish of the rifle is very good throughout to be honest and it is absolutely solid as a rock with not a wobble or a creak apparent anywhere.

Internally, Specna Arms have earned a good reputation for using quality parts as I mentioned earlier, but the V3 ORION is, to the best of my knowledge, still to be fully “field tested” over time. However, given that the V2 ORION has largely proved to be a sound unit, I have high hopes for the longevity of the V3 and of course, inside the J04 you get a reinforced polymer piston with a steel teeth, an aluminium double air-sealed cylinder head, aluminium double airsealed piston head with bearings, 7mm bearings and steel gears. All of these ARE tried and tested components so you’re on pretty solid ground with them. One of the things that is absent from the J-Series is the GATE Mosfet, but could Specna Arms be holding this back for some reason? Only time will tell… The J04 comes with a pair of 500BB “AK-74 Bakelite” Hi-Cap magazines which are finished in a nice matt colour, rather than the brighter hue you sometimes find. The inclusion of two Hi-Caps to me suggests, as does the keen pricepoint, that the J04 is aimed at the entry level player,

“LICENSED COPIES WERE PRODUCED IN BULGARIA (AK-74, AKS-74 AND AKS-74U), AND EAST GERMANY (MPI-AK-74N, MPI-AKS-74N, MPI-AKS-74NK), AND OF COURSE THESE HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THE HANDS OF SOLDIERS AND FIGHTERS WORLDWIDE!”

or the player who wants a “second” or OPFOR gun and doesn’t want to break the bank, but I’m pleased to report that all my AK Mid-Caps from different brands fit and function well. I always find that, other than steel versions, AK Hi-Caps feel a little insubstantial and even “flimsy”, but the Specna Arms versions fit and feed well, although I did notice a little “flash” came off the maglips with a “crack” when first fitted. One associated feature I really like is one that you may easily miss and that’s the little locating plate in the magwell that lets you easily seat your magazine… plus points here Specna Arms, as this will really help new AK users!

The J04 has standard AK-74 iron (steel) sights, but if you fancy fitting an optic then one additional feature that comes as standard is an AK sight mount on the left hand side of the receiver; you’ll need to buy the correct sight rail to clamp to this though, and please note that if you fit the rail then you can’t close the steel stock.

On the range AK74s have always given me very respectable performance, and given the 455mm inner barrel, pretty solid range and accuracy too. First, I ran the rifle through the chrono on .20g RZR BBs and recorded and consistent 1.11 Joule/347fps. Moving up to .25g BBs, easily resetting the sliding hop adjustment and using just the iron sights (which are also easily adjustable), I was able to hit A4 targets and group reasonably at the limit of the 30m range. A 7.4V LiPo battery fits easily under the top cover but if you’re judicious you can squeeze in an 11.1V pack which brings up the ROF quite seriously! My only quibble with the entire rifle is the top-cover latch, which seems a little “short”; even though I was able to lock the top-cover closed once I’d fitted a battery it felt like the catch itself needs to be a couple of millimetres “prouder” to ensure a solid lock. It’s totally usable as is but I feel a slight change here would be

advantageous for future models.

Many airsofters, especially those just starting out, try to find a replica model that will work for a variety of loadouts and themes and the J04 certainly ticks all the boxes in this respect. If you look at timeframes the AKS-74 was used way back in Afghanistan (Round 1!) so you’re good for a “Cold War” loadout, and it is still being used today - so that’s “modern/OPFOR” and everything in between cracked too. If you favour the ever-popular “contractor” look then the J04 will work for that perfectly.

With solid performance out of the box, reasonably cheap accessories and magazines should you need more, and an introductory price of just €159 at the time of writing the SA-J04 is a great bit of kit, and if you’re in the market for something other than the “M4” then I’d really suggest you take a good long look at this new model from Specna Arms. I’m just keen to see exactly where they take “Project J” next!

Thanks as always to www.gunfire.com for supplying the test/review sample. Please do though visit www. specnaarms.com to check out this model and the comprehensive range of Specna Arms models on offer! AA

“ONE ASSOCIATED FEATURE I REALLY LIKE IS ONE THAT YOU MAY EASILY MISS AND THAT’S THE LITTLE LOCATING PLATE IN THE MAGWELL THAT LETS YOU EASILY SEAT YOUR MAGAZINE… PLUS POINTS HERE SPECNA ARMS, AS THIS WILL REALLY HELP NEW AK USERS!”