RED CELL: SHOTGUNS

from Airsoft Action - November 2021

FEATURE: STAGE ETS

RED CELL

TRENCH BROOMS, BREACHERS, AND COMPETITORS

YOU COULD CALL THIS MONTH’S REPORT “BILL’S ODE TO THE SPRING SHOTGUN” AS HE’S PULLED TOGETHER HIS EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THESE RIFS INTO ONE PLACE TO CREATE A BIT OF A “SPECIAL REPORT”, ONE THAT WE HOPE YOU’LL FIND EYE-OPENING AND INFORMATIVE - AND WILL SHED SOME LIGHT ON AN OFTEN-FORGOTTEN AREA OF AIRSOFT FUN!

The spring-driven “airsoft shotgun” holds a very special place in my heart and, in my opinion, it’s one of the most underrated RIFs that any airsofter can have in their armoury! When I first started out in what was to become a long, almost lifetime journey in the world of things that spit BBs, electric guns were still in their infancy in the UK and everyone I knew owned a fair number of springers, especially pistols, as they were cheap and, even back then, reasonably easy to get hold of.

When you’d got used to running around a friend’s deserted farm buildings, or some damp private woodlands shooting at your mates with a pistol that needed cocking for each and every shot, the thought of having something “longer” with greater range and accuracy was a joy to ponder. Back then you could even buy airsoft spring “models” which you actually needed to put together like a gigantic plastic model kit; I recall having an especially nice XM177E2 that I bought from my local model shop!

Today though, where the sheer range and choice of both electric and gas powered guns is jaw-droppingly staggering, you may well ask if the humble “springer” still has a place in our armoury (other than as a boltaction sniper platform) and in the case of the airsoft shotgun, for me the answer would be an unequivocal “OH YES!”

In recent years we’ve seen a move to both gas and electric-powered shotgun models, in some cases like the TM AA-12 making use of Hi-Cap magazines and even made a backwards step (in a way) to shellejectors like the APS CAM. Whilst these are most definitely airsoft works of art in their operation, as with all things electric they can suffer from “issues” and don’t even get me started on gas shotguns, especially the shell-ejectors! I am still the somewhat less-than-overjoyed owner of an original Tanaka “M1897 Trench Gun” which, although being a thing of absolute beauty, has never really worked since the day I got it… Then there’s the 8mm beast that is the ACM clone of the Marushin “M500” that hangs on my office wall…

Okay, I LOVE airsoft shotguns, especially pumpaction versions and my collection of G&P “Model 870 Wingmasters” continues to grow when I see one at a reasonable price! S&T have entered the market with some cracking clones of the G&P (and some unique models of their own!), NUPROL and CYMA provide an extensive range and if you’re really pushed for cash there’s always good old Double Eagle which, although cheap as chips, actually perform astoundingly well. Of course there’s also Secutor, who produce both gas and spring VELITE shotties and some of these are just stunning in their design!

These not-now-so-humble “springers” to me, fixed or adjustable hop, single or tri-barrel and all, are the epitome of the airsoft shotgun world and are easy to live with and eminently upgradeable externally.

Generally, they all shoot like lasers with excellent range and now with full metal construction, some are built like tanks even though the “magazines” and shot-shells can be somewhat fiddly at times.

Most players I know love the idea of an airsoft shotgun and at the moment a number of us are pursuing the current trend of “Practical Airsoft MultiGun”, or “P-AMG” shooting, not so much the regulated competition version, but more the “airsoft tacticool” approach so notably highlighted by the Taran Tactical Innovations video of Keanu Reeves when he was training for “Wick”. Even if your passion is out and out skirmishing or dedicated MilSim, the lure of shooting against your mates whilst also improving your shooting skills is a strong one and of course, for P-AMG you’re going to need a shotgun.

Let’s dwell on this for a moment more…

As well as for “Three/Multi Gun Competition”, a pump-action shotgun fits in almost every airsoft loadout genre! The humble civilian pump-action shotgun has found a home in not just the military, but also amongst police forces worldwide too. From that WWI “Trench Broom”, the US Forces continued to use the shotgun through WWII, Korea, into Vietnam and right up to this day, as it proved the perfect weapon first for jungle environments and then as a breaching tool. The SAS used the shotgun in both the jungle and then as a “breacher” and these days the sight of a Benelli M4 Super 90 in the hands of UK Forces has become a common one. From WWII US loadouts through the modern day and even extending to “Post-Apoc” loadouts the shotgun is a model that just “fits”!

G&P WINGMASTER 870

My first “serious” spring shotgun was the “Wingmaster” 870 series from G&P. The “Wingmaster” model was developed as a sporting gun, so it’s quite unusual for the G&P series of replicas to bear this nomenclature. In fact if you search on the Remington website for “tactical” shotguns, it’s actually the Model 870 “Express” which is used for the basis of them rather than the “Wingmaster” but this can honestly be forgiven as the quality of the replica is simply stunning!

In my personal opinion these classics really set the tone for what we see in the market today, and I’ve owned my long “Wingmaster 870” Overfolder for a while now and it’s always been a bit of a favourite as it’s the model that you’ll see in numerous movies and TV shows. Mine is the model with the extended tube and metal overfolding butt carried by Linda Hamilton playing “Sarah Connor” in “Terminator II: Judgement Day”, but you’ll also see it in old home grown TV shows like “Ultimate Force”, as the Remington 870 was indeed used by the SAS as a breaching weapon and was known by the UK Forces as the L74A1. I particularly like models that give a nod to history and there’s even an “SAS private purchase” model in the Imperial War Museum!

The basic G&P 870 looks identical to the “Express Tactical” model. It’s full metal throughout apart from the parts that in real life are polymer; these are smooth finished in a very good quality matt black plastic which show minimal moulding lines. The metal parts are all satin finished to a very dull black and the whole thing feels solid and dependable in your hands. There is a manual “push through” safety on the rear of the trigger guard, coloured red when the gun is in fire mode. The short model magazine holds 22 BBs (spare magazines are available at minimal cost) and longer, higher capacity magazines can be purchased as aftermarket parts; to me though this spoils the attractiveness of the 870 as, when inserted, the short magazine just looks like the plate of the loading port. In action the G&P 870 is an absolute beast, sending .20g BBs downrange at an impressive 382fps/1.36J and you can send them just as fast as you can pump the silkysmooth action. I did some unsupported accuracy testing at 15 meters - probably the maximum for most CQB encounters - and all 22 BBs ended up in tight circle no larger than a UK£2 coin! Taking the range out, I was

G&P M870 FULL LENGTH

Price: iro UK£225.00 Age: Many years! Weight: 3500g Length: 1040mm Magazine Capacity: 22 Cold Chrono: 0.89 Joule/310fps Hot Chrono: 0.83 Joule/300fps Taclite Compatibility: Dedicated Pump Handle Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk

S&T 870 FULL LENGTH (WOOD)

Price: iro UK£150.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 2630g Length: 1040mm Magazine Capacity: 22 Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps Hot Chrono: 1.05 Joule/337fps Taclite Compatibility: Nope! Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

CYMA CM350LM “870” FULL LENGTH

Price: iro UK£70.00 Age: New Weight: 2205g Length: 1050 mm Magazine Capacity: 30 (10 x 3) Cold Chrono: 0.67 Joule/270fps Hot Chrono: 0.66 Joule/261fps Taclite Compatibility: No Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com

CYMA CM355LM FULL LENGTH

Price: iro UK£110 Age: New Weight: 2400g Length: 1040 mm Magazine Capacity: 30 (10 x 3) Cold Chrono: 0.90 Joule/312fps Hot Chrono: 0.88 Joule/309fps Taclite Compatibility: Nada! Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk

S&T STAINLESS 870 “POLICE”

Price: iro UK£170.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 2300g Length: 930mm Magazine Capacity: 22 Cold Chrono: 0.83 Joule/299fps Hot Chrono: 0.83 Joule/299fps Taclite Compatibility: Mmmm… nope! Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

DOUBLE EAGLE M58A

Price: iro UK£30.00 Age: Five Years + Weight: 1705 g Length: 915mm Magazine Capacity: 10! Cold Chrono: 0.78 Joule/290fps Hot Chrono: 0.77 Joule/288fps Taclite Compatibility: Umm… No. Supplied By: Frenchie!

NUPROL SIERRA STORM BRAVO (“BENELLI”, POLYMER)

Price: iro UK£55.00 Age: Three Years Weight: 2000g Length: 970-1090mm Magazine Capacity: 30 (10 x 3) Cold Chrono: 0.85 Joule/303fps Hot Chrono: 0.85 Joule/303fps Taclite Compatibility: Not much. Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

CYMA CM363LM (“BENELLI”, METAL)

Price: iro UK£75.00 Age: New Weight: 2700g Length: 925-1040mm Magazine Capacity: 30 (10 x 3) Cold Chrono: 0.64 Joule/264fps Hot Chrono: 0.58 Joule/250fps Taclite Compatibility: Hmmmm, possibly… Supplied By: www.gunfire.com

A&K SXR 002 TACTICAL

Price: iro UK£125.00 Age: Four Years Weight: 3055g Length: 840-910 mm Magazine Capacity: 30 (10 x 3) Cold Chrono: 0.84 Joule/301fps Hot Chrono: 0.77 Joule/288fps Taclite Compatibility: Yes, railed pump handle Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

SECUTOR VELITES SV

Price: iro UK120.00 Age: New Weight: 1670 g Length: 820-900mm Magazine Capacity: 30 (10 x 3) Cold Chrono: 0.68 Joule/272fps Hot Chrono: 0.67 Joule/270fps Taclite Compatibility: Oh YES! Supplied By: www.landwarriorairsoft.com

easily able to hit a sandbag at a good 50 meters; this thing is absolutely no slouch and upping to a .30g BB gives a super-flat trajectory with minimal loss of range. Impressive, especially considering the G&P has a fixed hop!

The entire G&P “Wingmaster” range uses the same core “guts” but then takes things in numerous directions, both classic and thoroughly up to date. The “Original” model is just that, a basic Model 870 with no frills. This was originally available with a short, medium, or long length barrel and either a fixed butt or simple pistol grip. A pistol grip medium barrel variant was also produced with an integrated tactical light. The long-barrelled version with the overfolding butt and extended tube gave that real “movie look”, and for all the pistol grip models you could change that out for a full butt using a dedicated “butt-stock kit” if you so desired - there is even a super-short “Mad Dog” version if you hunt hard enough!

If you go to the G&P website you’ll still see lots of superb shotgun parts, which, although hard to get hold of now do come up occasionally on evilBay, that will allow you to transform your own shotgun in numerous ways to make it 100% unique. There’s even a body kit which can transform one of the original short barrel models into a thoroughly accurate “Masterkey”, which personally I’d love to have under one of my ARs!

S&T “870” SERIES

I’ve owned my full metal G&P models for a long time and they’ve always been, just like the real thing, extremely rugged, reliable, and accurate. Yes, they only fire a single BB with every pump, but the accuracy means that this BB usually hits the target it was intended for! Although the G&P 870 is a lovely replica, the fact of the matter is that the “classic” models a) feed from a rather fiddly magazine insert that makes it difficult to “show clear” and b) now go for some serious money …if you can get your hands on them!

I’m going to be blunt and say that the S&T 870s are almost direct copies of the G&Ps but they are absolutely stunning replicas and I knew from first time I saw one that I needed to get my hands on one! Much as I would have liked to have the “Police” or “Extended” version, the initial delivery of the S&Ts sold out super-fast and all I could get at the time was the “Sawn Off” - which turned out to be an absolute corker! I fell in love with the airsoft shotgun all over again, especially when I fitted a G&P “overfolder” stock to it!

Basically, the S&T is undoubtedly a direct “clone” of the G&P but S&T have taken that original design and improved on it even further! The shotgun is still single-barrel magazine-fed, and that mag looks almost identical to that of the G&P, although now due to a couple of subtle design changes you can actually remove it easily and “show safe” immediately. Wellfinished external metal parts are used throughout (the quality every bit as good as the G&P!) and extend to include the inner barrel, inner slide, shell ejection port, sling swivels, barrel clasp, and chamber cover. The cutdown stock of the “Sawn Off” (read pistol grip) and pump handle are real wood, and of decent quality to boot.

Overall, the S&Ts ooze quality and feel absolutely great! Controls are simple, with a push through safety and magazine release button; these are located right next to the trigger, which makes their operation very simple and intuitive. What I really love though about the S&T is the price, as the “Sawn Off” will only set you back around UK£130. Most retailers shipping costs are very reasonable these days so you could have your very own “870” delivered to your door for less than 140 GB quids! The “Sawn Off” looks almost identical to the shotgun used by Denzel Washington in “The Book of Eli” but it would look equally as good in a Nam “point man” setting, or even as a modern day “breacher” attached to your Multicam pack! For about UK£150 you can lay your hands on the longer “Police” and “Extended” S&T “870s” (Yes, I eventually bought one of each!) and if you want one that’s really quite

stunning, the LIMITED EDITION STAINLESS versions really ticks all the boxes. Again, these models are made from high quality metal and wood parts. If you want to add a polymer butt or other furniture then the good news is that the S&Ts are completely compatible with old G&P parts. I tried a polymer slide and butt, a standalone pistol grip, on with the steel “overfolder” stock from G&P and they all mated up perfectly, meaning that you can still change “your 870” to suit your own individual style!

With the S&T models it’s never been easier to add a great quality shotgun to your armoury and believe me when I tell you that when you do, you won’t be sorry as they’re great fun to own and skirmish with and in my opinion, you just can’t beat the S&T for the price. Popping BBs out accurately at 330fps/1.01J on a .20g, there’s no battery to contend with, no gas to vent on cold days, just a big old spring that’s cocked by the pump action... quite literally “rack and run”!

CYMA CM352 “870”

CYMA have always been good value for money and I’ve met many players over the years who swear by the brand. I have to admit that in recent years I’ve become one of them, loving their AK series and the newer ARs and I’m running a CYMA “.308” as a precision semi-auto as part of one of my “P-AMG” setups. CYMA spring shotguns continue to improve as well, and the CM352 is exactly like the more expensive “870s” but is polymer-bodied, as opposed to full metal. That said, the polymer of the body, pump, pistol grip and outer barrel is very solid indeed with not a creak or flex. It is very solidly put together. There are numerous ZnAL metal parts used though, including the inner barrel, grip slide, shell ejection port, tactical sling swivels, barrel clasp, and chamber cover. The overfolding collapsible stock is made of steel, just like the real thing.

Controls are simple with a push through safety and bullet chamber lock button; these are located right next to the trigger, which makes their operation very simple and intuitive. The steel stock folds over onto the top of the body, which allows for fast reduction of the size of the shotgun, making it great for CQB or transport.

What I REALLY like about the CYMA “870” though, is the operation - as it has 3 inner barrels. As you’d expect, accuracy is not up there with G&P or S&T but it is by no means a slouch in that respect. The tri-barrel arrangement allows you to fire three BBs at once, which directly results in a greater chance of a hit. BBs are loaded into a now-standard “shell” of thirty BB capacity, which is in turn placed in the chamber of the shotgun… rack the action, pull the trigger and BAM! Three .20g BBs fly downrange at a mean velocity of 300fps/0.84J. Repeat nine more times, change out to another shell and off you go all over again! For competition purposes this is ideal, as to “show clear” you simply drop the shell out, pull the trigger to ensure all BBs are expended and then present to the RO.

What’s also great about the CYMA CM352 is the price, as it will only set you back around UK£65. The CM 352 is also compatible with thirty shot BB shells from other manufacturers, such as NUPROL. You can pick up a pack of four spare NUPROL shells for just UK£7.99, add a nice sling and a gun sleeve and be fully set up and ready to go for not much moolah! If you want to add a fixed butt or wood furniture rather than the steel overfolder and the polymer pump, there are accessories out there to let you do this. However, CYMA also offer the CM355LM tri-barrel, which is naughtily “Magpul” and is the choice that Jon and I have both made for our P-AMG “shotty of choice”!

NUPROL SIERRA STORM SERIES

For many though, the “competition element” will never be an area of interest and those of you that fall into that category ultimately look at a shotgun more as a straightforward game day tool - and there’s nothing wrong with that! Even at the highest levels of MilSim, where kit quite literally verges on the “living history” scale of accuracy in terms of loadouts, then the shotgun, especially the “breacher”, is a very necessary bit of kit to have in your armoury.

And this, my fellow airsofters, is where the guys at NUPROL have been very, very clever in their choice of shotgun as, to front up their SIERRA STORM line of RIFs, the model they have chosen to replicate is none other than the Benelli M4, or to us Brits the L128A1! The http://www.eliteukforces.info website tells us that:

“The L128A1 Combat Shotgun is a semi-automatic 12-guage shotgun in use with British forces. Combat Shotguns are typically carried by the point element of a section and is particularly useful when engaged in close quarter battle such as clearing compounds in Afghanistan or operating in dense vegetation. The Combat Shotgun is a Benelli M4 fitted with a Eotech 552 sight. It features a rail for mounting accessories such as foregrips. The weapon also features a 3-position extendable buttstock, which many users find either too long when extended or too short when retracted, or both.”

Okay, the airsoft version of this shotgun is pumpaction rather than semi-auto like the real deal, but here we have a proper, full-on, “military style”

shotgun model that will fit perfectly as part of any modern loadout, whether that be British, American, Australian and many, many more! NUPROL really have pulled a blinder here, as the SIERRA STORM series comprises of twelve models; in reality it’s six models to be fair as you have the choice, dependant on your budget, of either full metal-bodied or polymer-bodied, railed or non-railed versions, but that’s just being picky!

I’ve now tried all the metal and polymer versions and own a metal one and I have to say I’m impressed by them all. Performance-wise, the NUPROL versions are as good as any out there and I will go as far as saying that the finish of the metal SIERRA is very nearly as good as that of my rather more expensive 870s! Although I tested different variants, I have to say that my personal favourite is the fully-railed, sliding stock metal version (yup, the “issue” one), but for competitive shooting I’d probably plump for the full stock, plain-pump version.

All models are Tri-Shot and use standard 30BB shells (NUPROL produce their own of course) and are loaded via the trap underneath the main body which is opened using a latch next to the trigger guard. The push-through safety is also located to the upper rear of the trigger guard. Loading up a shot-shell is simplicity itself and at the chrono using .20g you get a mean reading of 296fps/0.81J, which is spot-on for the intended use.

NUPROL seem able to make us what we really need and that’s solid RIFs at a good price and the accessories to go with them! Add to this that the SIERRA STORM series replicates the shotgun used by UK Armed Forces and, to me, it just doesn’t get much better!

DOUBLE EAGLE M58A

OK, I will come right out and say this… Chinese-made Double Eagle airsoft shotguns are CHEAP! As Frenchie (another spring shotgun fan) long ago pointed out, you can have yourself a perfectly workmanlike “SPAS 12” with (just!) change from UK£50 - and that’s by no means the cheapest version from the manufacturer that’s out there either, as you can have yourself a Double Eagle M309 single shot pump action from around £15! Yes, that’s right you can have an airsoft shotgun of your very own for about the same price as a decent bag of BBs and a can of gas! I will say that, personally, once upon a time and not so long ago I wouldn’t touch anything with an electric motor from the brand if you actually paid me (how things move on and change!), but when it comes to their spring guns it’s always been a different matter! I’ve had an original Double Eagle single-shot M58 (which neatly resembles the “1897 Trench Gun”) for some considerable time and it’s proved to be a thoroughly sound little gun in every way. I bought it on a whim, as it only set me back about US$25 but boy, for that money did it perform! Putting out somewhere in the region of 330fps when new, the rudimentary sliding hop-up meant that was actually deadly accurate, and it impressed friends from the word go. I’ve now had several of this model (one actually purchased from Frenchie!) and they’ve been chopped, cut down, sawn-off and painted as “faux-wood” to suit a number of loadouts.

Looking at the number of Double Eagle shotgun models that are available today I have to say that there genuinely is something for everyone in the line. The build quality has improved since I bought my original, and although they are in majority made of plastic I would once again direct your memory to the fact that once upon a time all RIFs were made of plastic! The feel of the up-to-date versions though is very solid indeed, especially the models with fixed stock and butts.

You can still have a simple, single shot springer if you so desire but the fact of the matter is that many of the newer Double Eagle models are tri-barrels firing, not from a “magazine”, but from a 30 BB loaded shot shell that fits into the bottom trap just like the real thing - and like more expensive airsoft models. Some models are still fixed hop but others in the range now have quite reasonable parts and adjustment, and the accuracy I so loved from my original is still very apparent.

The M58 models, of which there are two, still have to be my real favourites from the range though! Resembling that old Winchester 1897/Model 12 due to the heat shield over the outer barrel, this could fit anywhere from WWI to the “wastelands of the apocalypse”. Both with full-length barrels the M58A (butt) and M58B (no butt) offer great performance for

a great price; the M58A retails at just under UK£30, with the “B” variant very slightly cheaper.

If you’re in the market for your very first airsoft shotgun, or, like me you want yet another variant for the collection, then the Double Eagles are most certainly worth a look and are superb value for money! Don’t expect a “full metal, weigh-yourloadout-down, might-use it occasionally” wall-hanger for the money, but do expect an airsoft shotgun that you will come to love and use on a regular basis as that “clack-clack” rack becomes absolutely addictive once you have one!

SHOT OUT!

Airsoft spring shotguns are not for everyone, I get that, but I’d still suggest to anyone that they can be a reasonably-priced purchase that will serve you just as well on a skirmish day as in a Milsim, and the move towards more “user-friendly” competitive airsoft shooting gives just another reason to own one! An increasing number of truly good sites have always run “spring and gas only” days which are tremendous fun, and normally that means you’re going to run with a gas pistol and a spring shotgun. A good “springer” (and bear in mind again that a lot of airsoft sniper rifles are spring powered) can be superbly accurate, especially with a longer barrel.

You may notice that this instalment of “Red Cell” article is a very personal one and that’s because all of the models featured here have come from my personal collection that has been built up over an number of years - and it’s been a joy to share them with you! I’ve not gone deep into a couple of the featured models as they obviously have commonality with models that ARE detailed, and the VELITES is a new addition to my collection that I’m super-pleased with but will look at in more depth when I’ve had chance to run it in game properly. All of my shotguns have been constantly available for “The Cell” to try though, and I’ll wrap things up this time by including some of the comments the team have made…

Stewbacca: “I have used spring shotguns on a few occasions in the past, I had the KTW Ithaca M37 tube mag-style pump-action as a spare/up close gun as well as a similar cheap mag fed one that I was in the process of sticking to my F2000 AEG as a Splintercell masterkey style thing. I did also buy and M870 CYMA thing on a whim in Taiwan but quickly exchanged it with a teammate. They’re definitely “hard mode” if you’re up against rifle or SMG armed opponents and can be a bit disheartening to use in that scenario. But, for pistol and shotty only games they can be riotous good fun and perhaps give you a first shot spread and range advantage over some pistol wielding foes. Not my first choice, but not the worst either!”

Bill W-R: “I would love to have a few different ones. My cheapo single shot “lockdown purchase” was a right giggle!”

Jon: “The CYMA “Magpul” is an absolute blast. A true, spring powered Tri Shot. It’s not difficult to cock, once it’s been worked a few times it’s easy to load, pretty much takes any shells, shoots well out to about 10-15m with a fairly consistent spread and it looks pretty cool (especially if you Cerakote them). Cheap as chips and works well. Mine chronos in around 340fps/1.07J on 0.2g.”

Chris: “When I first started playing airsoft seriously I bought a Marui Benelli M3 from Wolf Armouries (2000) …loved it …got surgical with it …and didn’t bother with an AEG of my own till 2003! I miss using them, they are great fun and can certainly hold their own against AEGs in any field, I’m living proof that can happen if you get used to the style of play - and I do want another one!”

Now that everyone can finally buy petrol to travel again (Oh boy, the curve balls just keep on coming!) “Red Cell” will be back in full next month with a look at Gas Rifles and Carbines and we’ll see then whether Bill can persuade Jimmy that he really needs to make the leap from AEGs to “gassers” at last… Watch this space…! AA