ARMOURY: ICS VULTURE

THE AGE

OF THE VULTURE

AS HE GETS ON THE RANGE WITH THE NEWEST PISTOL FROM THE EVER-EXPANDING ICS HANDGUN RANGE, IT SEEMS LIKE BILL HAS GONE ALL LYRICAL ON US BUT WILL HE FIND TRUE MENACE LURKING WITH THE BLE “VULTURE”? READ ON TO FIND OUT…

Okay, I do seem to be garnering inspiration this month from quotations and sometimes when you’re faced with yet another 1911-style pistol you need to take inspiration where you can get it, although I’m pleased to report that my friends at I Chi Chivan (ICS) Airsoft have yet again gone off in their own unique and exhilarating direction, with a little help from what has come before!

Normally if we think of a vulture it’s of the carrioneating kind, which isn’t exactly a flattering picture to have in your mind, or when it comes to naming a rather exciting airsoft pistol… Hawk? Eagle? Kestrel possibly but “Vulture”? It’s only when you cast your inspirational net wider that you come across little gems like this one from W. Somerset Maugham:

“In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing. It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time.”

Now I didn’t ever think I’d be reaching back into my old “English Lit” days when it came to writing a review of a new airsoft pistol but this quote seems somewhat apt in this instance, for the BLE “Vulture” that’s soon to hit airsoft stores does make me wax a little lyrical, as it’s actually a rather good handgun… Actually, make that VERY good and with its compact “EDC/urban” styling, it certainly has the potential to be a true (airsoft) monster!

ICS have been venturing further and further down the GBB handgun road for a while now and it’s been my huge pleasure to have worked with them on pretty much each and every release to date in this respect, and that does give me somewhat of a rare overview of what they have created - and are creating. Whilst I loved their PM2 and the Korth replica for what they were, both of these had some inherent “gremlins” when I first saw them prior to release but, in fairness to ICS, they took my small criticisms on the chin and worked to rectify the issues noted before they released the models to market. Sadly, in the case of the Korth the issue with the weak magazine floorplate did make it to market, marring what was otherwise a very, very fine replica.

However, while ICS have already made some fine “replicas” they have also very much concentrated on their own designs under the “Black Leopard Eye” program and when they go their OWN way this, to me, is where they really shine. In many years of working with them their best work, both internally with their original split gearbox and externally with some brilliant “in house” designs for parts and accessories, has been exemplary and it’s been my pleasure to see their new projects coming to successful fruition time and again!

EYES ON

Let me lead you through the new BLE Vulture if I may, as it 100% deserves your full attention!

Firstly, I would say that there is just a little of the Korth in the design of this latest pistol, as it’s a single stack 1911-style which, like the PRS, has a thoroughly up-to-the-moment “blocky” design that we’re currently seeing from a lot of the cutting-edge ‘smiths in the real firearms world. From the front end you get a very square profile, as the cutaway alloy slide marries up to an equally squared-off frame featuring a four-slot rail that’s just perfect for a taclite.

Moving back along the high-standard alloy frame, the trigger guard is shaped perfectly with a lower spur to snugly accommodate a Surefire X300 or similar and the trigger itself is attractively skeletonised, but with a positive feel. The pistol grip is distinctly “1911” in your hands, and the rake angle of the pistol grip and the position of the controls will feel immediately comfortable to anyone that owns a “Colt”. At 775g the Vulture has some heft to it, which I personally like, but at just 200mm from muzzle to the extended beavertail it settles in your dominant hand perfectly. The Vulture is beautifully put together throughout, finished an even satin black and is a true 1:1 scale airsoft pistol. ICS even include a CCW 14mm Barrel Adapter in the package if you want to run a suppressor!

On the range the Vulture is a very pleasing - and exciting - pistol to shoot! In terms of those familiar

controls, you get a right-handed safety, the extended slide release is exactly where you’d find it on any 1911 and the cutaway slide (along with what looks to be a stronger return spring) means that you get a real “smack” when you release it forward! This lighter slide also seemed to make a real difference in the operation of the pistol, as over the course of a morning it happily sent .20g RZR BBs downrange with a very consistent reading through the chrono of 0.62 Joule/260fps. The Vulture comes fitted with the Quantitative Gas Injection Valve which we saw first on the BM9 and is carefully designed to release unneeded air pressure, which allegedly increases the gas injection efficiency by 30%! I’d have to say again that this works and that the slide cycles swiftly and smoothly as a result.

In terms of performance the Vulture is right up there too. Like the Korth it benefits from tri-dot luminous front and rear sights that make target acquisition swift and instinctive even in low light conditions, and if you mount a taclite these are still obvious in a no light encounter! Once you’ve dialled in the hop to get things nice and flat in terms of BB-flight, then you can crank away to your hearts delight and the “15+1” mag has enough capacity to keep you rolling! I’ll comment here that the single stick magazine does look very much like that of the Korth but, in this case, it comes with a strengthened floorplate which makes it not only very efficient, but also MUCH more durable and user-friendly, so thumbs-up for this ICS! In terms of accuracy, the Vulture is again right where you want it and at 10m you’ll be hitting your target with ease and I’d say that the consistency of power and those excellent sights really help with this.

Like other pistols in the ICS BLE line, you’ll be needing a bespoke holster due that solid “square” front end. I tried the Vulture in a number of 1911 holsters I own, both Kydex and leather, and the only one I have that works is a low-profile Bianchi leather cutaway that accommodates virtually every 1911 in the AA armoury!

In summation I have to say that ICS have moved both their BLE and “1911” programs most firmly forward with the Vulture and this feels at last like their take on the modern 1911, evolved. My feeling is that this will be a pistol that really places ICS on the fasttrack forward when it comes to GBB pistols, as the operation is very smooth, the gas efficiency excellent and the design very striking and appealing.

I believe that the BLE Vulture is ICS’ “coming of age” pistol model, one that gives a firm nod to the best developments in the “real world” whilst providing the very best of that “ICS flair” in design and airsoft gas performance. It strikes me as a pistol that 1911 fans will most certainly want in their collection but one which they will rely on and use regularly - and that makes it another winner for ICS and this time a winner totally on its own merit!

My sincere thanks o to the super team at ICS for providing this early test model for Airsoft Action. Be sure to keep an eye on their website, www.icsbb.com and their busy social media platforms (and Airsoft Action, of course) for regular updates of what they have coming next! AA