12 minute read
ARMOURY: VORSK VP26X
in even atrocious weather so it won’t be lost in time, like tears in rain… SORRY, Roy Batty crept up on me!
The chamfered trigger is extremely positive; this is a double-action design, meaning that pulling the trigger will cock the hammer without working the slide and will fire the pistol, which is great for a sticky moment when you need to deploy your pistol and get a shot away fast because, you know, replicants are fast! There is also a smoothly-functioning de-cocking lever in front and slightly lower than the slide release that lets you safely and in a controlled manner set the hammer back to its neutral position, which will let you holster it in “Condition 1”, again for a fast shot from the draw if you need it…because… well… replicants again…
The “X” is full metal (alloy) construction and this follows through to the 20 BB magazine that benefits from a bumper on the base. VORSKs experience with other GBB models ensures first-class gas efficiency, easily emptying the standard magazine when putting BBs downrange. The 20mm rail on the lower “business end” allows for the attachment of a range of accessories and the NX 300 series of pistol lights mates perfectly to this and screams out for one of the NX LAMs… C’mon, every wetworker needs a laser!
On my daily sessions on the short range at home I’ve been using the “X” a lot, so I’ve now been able to spend some quality time with it. It’s been out with me in all weather conditions, in good weather, driving rain and now in super dusty, hot conditions as I took it with me to the NAF. I managed to snag an extra 20BB magazine for the pistol, so one of my belts is now all set up, and my Warrior Universal holster is mounted just as I like it. The “X” fits this setup and holsters perfectly and thus far has been a joy to work with, although if you want a dedicated holster solution you’ll need to get one custom made right now (I “might” have already given Kydex Customs a bit of a nod on this… “might have”…).
Sight options include either fibre optic iron sights, or Dot-Sight options, Black, Grey or Tan; the range includes NINETEEN variants in total with a choice of colours and sight options. If you want a more “tacticool” finish, Black, Grey and Tan are in the mix but you can also choose from two metallic, Silver or Brushed Aluminium (YES! SHINY!), and if you’re just starting out there’s even a Dual Tone blue option! The package also includes a 12mm CW/14 mm CCW thread adapter for you to fit your own barrel attachments or suppressor and side-loading CO2 Magazines are available as a spare item.
TAKING IT DOWNTOWN, SECTOR B5
I’ve been running the “X” on VORSK V8 gas, using .20g VORSK BBs for testing and the chrono settles consistently at 0.96 Joule/323fps on that weight, with little variance from new. The pistol has now had about 25 mags worth down the barrel (a mix of .20 and .25g VORSKs) and to date I’ve experienced no issues at all. Accuracy is actually getting better the more I run it, and at 10m I’m now down to some tight groupings when I try; consistently at 10m it’s a breeze hitting steels (targets, not a euphemism for androids!) each and every time, even when I’m on the move!
I’ve been close to the “X” project since its inception, and I have to say that I’m truly thrilled with the look, feel, quality, and performance of the finished product; this is absolutely no fallen angel… my apologies, I just can’t help myself! It looks like the VORSK crew have done it again, and it feels like each and every one of their releases just moves things forward another step!
The pistol has hit stores already, so if you’re anything like me you’ll be grabbing your grey gear and gearing up for a Shadowrun (hah, crowbarred that in too!) of your own, as the VP26X could well be the perfect choombah if you’re swapping meat for chrome and chippin’ in for some neo-corporate wetwork!
For more information please visit www.vorskairsoft. com or keep an eye on their Facebook page for regular updates. AA
STONER SUPPORT!
THE ARGUMENT OF THE BENEFIT OF A SUPPORT GUN OVER A STANDARD AEG WILL UNDOUBTEDLY GO ON AND ON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ONE SPECIFIC MODEL THERE’S SOME VERY GOOD REASONS WHY THERE ARE FOUR G&P STONER M63A1S OWNED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE AA LEGION - AND BILL WILL TELL YOU WHY!
Whether to bother with a support gun is an argument that I hear all too often as, in AEG form, the only single benefit that I can see is in the size of magazine/box/drum that can be carried! Whilst I am more of a Mid/Lo Cap player, used correctly a good support gun can be worthy of the increased weight and size IF it’s used as it should be - and that is as a SUPPORT tool for laying down large volumes of suppressive fire.
More and more I see even basic skirmish sites putting up restrictions for the use of standard AEGs that are used as “support guns” by simply adding a “C-Clip” or drum mag. Bluntly put, the average HiCap mag carries 450+ BBs and if that ain’t enough then in my world something has gone a bit awry! If you’re going to be a true support gunner, then shoulder that pig and do it right!
But there is one model that (for many of us at AA) really ticks all the boxes when it comes to having a true support gun in every way, that’s also easy to manipulate, can be carried all day long and can switch ultra-efficiently from semi for close-in work to fullauto (which gives a tremendous suppressive effect) and that’s the Stoner M63A1 from G&P.
There are FOUR of these splendid AEGs on the team, owned by myself (I believe I still had the first in the UK thanks to Fire Support!), Chris P for his superb “NAM SEAL” impressions, Marcus for general skirmishing and specialist contributor Scott from Land Warrior Airsoft, who swears by one at the very best MilSim events! It just goes to show that this excellent AEG really is a “jack of all trades and eras”, even if Chris and I do get a bit “stitch bitch” about the railed version!
Amongst the “Nam Airsoft” community these are prized possessions and I’ve seen various mods done superbly to provide both the longer-barrelled variant, plus that with the drum rather than box mag. That said, the railed version has brought the M63A1 fully up to date, so I can totally see why Scott and the MilSim fraternity love them so much too! In fact, “Stoner Owners” seem to cherish these remarkable AEGs as much as we do and, as time goes on and these become even rarer than they are now, I can see that they’ll be going second-hand for a VERY good price - and they weren’t cheap in the first place!
But what sets the Stoner apart from any other support gun you may ask, and what has made it such an icon? To answer this I need, as usual, to delve back in time to put things in context…
BIRTH OF A LEGEND
When Eugene Stoner, designer of the AR-15/M-16 series of combat rifles, left Armalite Corporation in the early 1960s, he decided to design a unique weapons platform that used a common receiver to transform one base into a rifle, carbine or light machine gun without using special tools, and would be inexpensive and simple enough for mass production. To see the project through, Stoner convinced Cadillac Gage, a U.S. military contractor, to provide financial aid to establish a new small arms development branch of the company.
Initially chambered and tested in the 7.62×51 mm round used by the M-14, a subsequent design incorporated a change to the increasingly popular 5.56x45mm .223 cartridge of his M-16 rifle and was designated the “Stoner 63”, with the first ones produced in early 1963. Like the M-16, the Stoner used plastics instead of wood when necessary but, unlike the M-16, it used a gas piston instead of the direct impingement method for operation.
The “Spec Ops” website tells me more of the story: “…after months of unit trials it was decided that the Stoner 63 was too unreliable for general issue and recommendations were made for improvements. These included ejection port dust covers, modifications to the feed mechanism, a stainless steel gas cylinder, a different fire selector and improved safety. Stoner met these changes and the new weapons produced were given the designation Stoner 63A, which didn’t reach production until 1966. Even so, they were hurriedly deployed to South Vietnam in small numbers, and in some of the most appalling conditions imaginable, the Stoner began to forge a reputation for itself not with the average G.I. or Marine, but with the Navy SEALs who used the preferred version, the LMG, with deadly efficiency.”
Using box or drum magazines the Stoner provided valuable fire support to the small SEAL teams operating in the swamps and jungles of the Mekong Delta when engaging enemy forces at close range. The Stoner was smaller and weighed much less than the M60, which also required belts of ammunition to be slung over shoulders because it did not have a magazine. Unlike the units that encountered the Stoner in the trials, reliability remained excellent thanks to constant maintenance by the everscrupulous SEALs, even in the harshest of conditions. The Stoner became their “emblem” in Vietnam almost as much as the coveted “Budweiser” and everywhere the “men with the green faces” went, the Stoner went with them. If you have any doubt about the use of the Stoner “In Country” then I’d thoroughly recommend that you get yourself a copy of “The Element of Surprise” by Darryl Young as it’s a cracking read about the US Navy SEALs whose job in Vietnam was to perform “silent recon” and capture enemy soldiers for “intel” …bringing them back alive was of course not that easy!
In 1970, the U.S. Army trialled an “improved” LMG variant of the Stoner (XM207, with improvements again by Cadillac Gage) and this was issued it to a number of Special Forces units for evaluation. However, due to its complexity and high maintenance requirements (along with the fact that the war in Vietnam was drawing to a close) the project was canned in 1971. That same year Cadillac Gage ceased all production of the Stoner 63; it is believed that around 4,000 63 and 63A units were built in total. The SEALs continued to use the Stoner 63 and had officially adopted the Commando version (as replicated by G&P) as the Mark 23 Mod 0 but, by the late 1980s, the Stoner was completely phased out as the then-new M249 SAW came into service and sadly most of the remaining guns were destroyed! It is believed though, that a couple of complete Cadillac Gage “Stoner Systems” (at a reputed $15,000 a pop back in the ‘60s!) still exist in the armoury of a certain US Police Department but this could be just another “ghost in the machine” fable… I for one hope that this is fact rather than fiction!
But this was not the complete end of the “Stoner Story” as, before he passed away in 1997, Stoner continued to develop and evolve the Stoner Light Machine Gun concept and the subsequent LAMG (Light Assault Machine Gun) was manufactured by Knight’s Armament Company (KAC). This thoroughly modern platform can directly trace its lineage back to the Stoner 63 and although there are no military users of the KAC LAMG/AMG system, it is highly regarded within the firearms industry as the latest evolution of the light machine gun.
It is though, the “Stoner 63” that will be forever remembered by firearms aficionados worldwide as the most unique - and best - thing that Eugene Stoner ever designed after the AR15/M16 …and that is a remarkable legacy!
6MM COOL
The ‘63 is a fabulous replica of Eugene Stoner’s unique “Nam Era” LMG design, one that most definitely bridges the gap between a traditional support gun and carbine/rifle AEG. Put together almost entirely from steel and high-grade alloy, with an absolutely beautiful and uniform finish, the Stoner comes in at a very user-friendly and manageable 4,620g and
