16 minute read
ARMOURY: ARES WWII RIFLES
BOLT (AIRSOFT) ACTION!
IT WILL COME AS NO SHOCK TO KEEN WWII AIRSOFTERS THAT ARES HAVE RECENTLY RELEASED A BATCH OF NEW MODELS FOR BOTH AXIS AND ALLIED WOULD-BE-TROOPS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO ACCESS THEM THANKS TO IWHOLESALES IN THE UK WHO VERY KINDLY SHOWED THE ONLY ONES “IN COUNTRY” AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS. AS WE HAD OUR “D-DAY SPECIAL” ALREADY IN PLANNING THEY SEEMED THE IDEAL CHOICE TO LEAD OFF WITH THIS MONTH, SO IT’S OVER TO BILL FOR HIS “FIRST TAKE” ON THEM!
As you’ll see from the contents page for this month we made the decision a little while back that for our June issue this year we would bring a lot of information together to celebrate all that is good in WWII-soft whilst remembering the events of D-Day and focus on the AEGs and GBBs that have been, and are, out there; as luck would have it (or perhaps fate!) this coincided with the arrival of two very important rifle models crucial for this period from ARES AIRSOFT!
When it comes to ARES I am lucky that I have an exceptionally good relationship with the guys at UKdistributor iWholesales, and I visit them every other month to catch up with what’s new from this brand and all the others that they work with. I had been given the “heads up” that the new ARES historical bolt action models were due to arrive, but it wasn’t until I got there during late May that this became a reality, and I was finally able to get my hands on them!
These two new lines in their CLASSIC series are vitally important for players that favour the WWI period, and in the context of D-Day were probably two of the most widespread models in the hands of the combatants. Tucked behind that “Atlantic Wall” young soldiers of the German and AXIS forces, some of them green and untested in battle, would have nervously clutched their Kar98k rifles as they awaited the invasion forces heralded by overnight glider and parachute landings as well as countless small resistance actions. They must have known that something was coming, and those rifles must have seemed very heavy in their clammy hands.
Equally young men of the Allied forces, some veterans already of many years of war, and some just as green as their foes waiting for them would have been huddled against the elements in the bottom of vomit-filled landing craft heading for the dramatically beautiful beaches of Normandy; in some cases though those beaches had become death traps, and the Lee Enfield No4 MkI gripped tight between their thighs must have given them some confidence, even if both that and their youthful bravado were somewhat forced and strained.
So, two massive forces clashed along the Normandy coastline, while inland a game of cat and mouse played out! Although movies and TV shows would have us believe that every German carried an MP40 and a clutch of stick grenades the truth is that the Kar98k would have actually been, alongside their fast-firing light machine guns, the predominant firearm on that side of the battle. Likewise, although STENs and “Tommy Guns” were favoured by the Commandos and Paras, most of the Commonwealth forces would have been carrying a Lee Enfield alongside their “Section BREN”.
But why were these two particular rifles so important and where had they come from? To answer this I will look into the history of both models as this gives an indication both of changing military weapons and the tactics that came with them.
AXIS
The Karabiner 98 kurz (“Carbine 98 short”) often referred to as the Kar98k was adopted on 21 June 1935 as the standard service rifle by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the family of Mauser rifles that had served the German army for many years, and just like the models that had gone before it was respected by all that used if or faced it; it was known for its reliability, safety and a highly accurate effective range of up to 500 metres with iron sights and 1,000 metres with a telescopic sight. Although the arrival of both semi-automatic and fully automatic rifles showed that the world of the infantryman was about to change yet again, the Kar98k remained the main German service rifle until 1945.
Online resources tell me that;
“The Karabiner 98k was born of the classic Gewehr 98 (G98), Mauser’s bolt action rifle that set the design standard for battle rifles in a new century of warfare. The Gewehr 98 debuted in combat in China in the hands of German troops participating in the Peking Relief Expedition of 1900. The Gewehr 98 then went on to be the primary German service rifle until 1935, gaining considerable fame during the First World War. The famously smooth Gewehr 98 action, its internal five-round magazine — easily loaded by stripper clips — and the powerful 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge all contributed to make the G98 a dominant battlefield weapon in the early 20th century.”
By the mid-1930s, Germany looked to update their already excellent infantry rifle, and the Kar98k was born. Changes in post-WWI tactical doctrine
meant that the old days of stalemated trench warfare were relegated in the main to a distant past, and the fledgling “manouver warfare” of the Wehrmacht meant that a shorter barrelled rifle was needed for troops that would be working in harmony with motorised transport over a fast-changing, dynamic battlefield. In trials it was also found that the Kar98k, featuring a 23.62 inch long barrel, also heightened the performance of the standard German rifle cartridge; the 1903 pattern 7.92×57 cartridge, originally designed for machine gun use, produced less muzzle flash from rifles that had a shorter barrel and also provided better accuracy!
The Kar98k actually cut down the overall length from 49.2 inches to 43.7inches and cut the weight from 9.0 lbs. to 8.2 lbs. The Gewehr 98’s straight bolt was replaced by a “turned-down” design that increased rate of fire by creating an easier-to-operate action. The new bolt also allowed telescopic sights to be y fitted directly above the receiver, but more on this later as it wasn’t quite as straightforward as that! The 98k also replaced the “roller” rear sight with a conventional leaf sight, and after 1939 the 98k was fitted with a hooded post front sight to reduce glare. Accuracy and rate of fire increased while size and manufacturing complications went down, and production of Kar98ks ramped up; by September of 1939 most frontline infantry units were equipped with the new model, and this would prove to be a durable, reliable, and accurate rifle that would serve the German soldier well in multiple theatres!
For snipers, Kar98k rifles were pulled from the production lines and selected for being exceptionally accurate during factory tests. These rifles proved to have an effective range of up to 1,000 metres when used by a skilled sniper, and scopes fitted included the German Zeiss Zielvier 4× (ZF39), the Zeiss Zielsechs 6× and Zielacht 8× telescopic sights amongst others,
and a number of different mounts produced by various manufacturers were used. Although the new bolt meant that fitting a scope was “easier” this is somewhat a relative term, as attaching a scope to a Kar98k required machining by a skilled armourer! A scope mounted low above the centre axis of the receiver did not leave enough space between the rifle and the sight body for unimpaired operation of the bolt handle or the three-position safety catch lever! This problem was solved by mounting the scope higher above the receiver (not always a good thing as it changed the sight over bore relationship somewhat), modifying or replacing the safety lever or using an offset mount to the left side in relation to the receiver centre axis. Although these may seem a little “ad hoc” the Kar98k in the sniper role was actually highly effective, and it’s believed that some 132,000 of these sniper rifles were produced!
From the German perspective, the machine gun was their primary infantry weapon, and during WW II their riflemen supported the machine gun rather than the other way round, so Germany’s decision to continue their use of the bolt-action Kar98k, despite the development of semi-auto rifles like the Gewehr 41 and Gewehr 43, and indeed the StG44 makes some sense in relation to the doctrine of the day.
ALLIED
When I refer to “Allied” here what of course I mean is “Commonwealth”, as we all know that by the time D-Day arrived the US infantry soldier, traditional and airborne both, was issued with the mighty M1 Garand, “ping” and all!
I covered the No1 MkIII Lee Enfield in some depth back in Issue 135 and as I mentioned there this rifle would go on to see use for many years to come, and it was most certainly still carried on D-Day! However, further developments of the Lee Enfield “program”
had come about in 1939, although the new No4 MkI was not officially adopted until 1941. The trusty “old campaigner” that was the MkIII was long overdue for some updating, and this began with the replacement of the notch-and-post tangent sights with long-radius aperture sights, meaning instead of a post in a notch, there was a post that was to be centred within a circle. Initially designed with a ladder-style rear sight, the final No4 design was simplified for the sake of mass-production; a dual-position, 300yd (imperial, so 274 metres!) ‘battle sight’ could be flipped for longer range engagements up to 600yd (548m). The No4 also utilized a far thicker barrel than the MkIII which improved accuracy and was also mostly floating (ooh, “old skool free float!” in the furniture apart from the underside of the stock applying a measured amount of pressure on the barrel.
The No4 MkI, with its focus set to improving the accuracy of the MkIII, was designed to group within 50mm from the factory at 100yd (91m). Trigger modifications were also made, along with a new button-style of removing the rear sight but the MkI* reverted to a more MkIII style of bolt removal which was cheaper and faster. Like with the MkIII “star series”, the No4 MkI* sought to decrease the cost per unit, so by 1943 a Lee Enfield cost £7 15s to produce whilst to put this in perspective a STEN MkII submachine gun cost just £2 10s! The No4 rifle was primarily produced for the United Kingdom, Canada and other Commonwealth countries, and served its users very well indeed!
In terms of the ‘sniping’ role it is believed that some 25,000 standard No4 rifles, selected again for their accuracy during factory tests, were modified by the addition of a wooden cheek-riser, and telescopic sight mounts designed to accept a No32 3.5× sight. The sight had a field of view of 8 degrees 20 minutes and featured a bullet drop compensation range drum graduated in 50 yard (45.7m) increments from 0 to 1,000 yards (914m), and these rifles were designated as the No 4 MkI (T). The wooden cheek-riser was simply attached with two screws, and the rear “battle sight” was ground off to make room to attach the scope to the left side of the receiver; each No 32 and its mount were matched and serial numbered to a specific rifle.
ARES NAIL IT… AGAIN!
In an era when semi-auto rifles like the Garand and the Gewehr 43 had begun to appear more commonly on the battlefield, and indeed the first “assault rifles” had started to be issued, it was still the humble bolt-action that lay in the hands of many of the infantrymen of both sides on D-Day, and this is why I feel that the new models from ARES really have a place in any decent WWII airsoft armoury!
Both models have of course been produced before, and you’ll find comment on some of them in Red Cell this month! However, I believe it is fair to say that all the Kar98ks and Lee Enfield’s to date have been a little uninspiring when it came to out of the box performance but one thing that I will tell you about the two new ARES replicas is that they certainly DO NOT lack consistent power! They arrive with a chrono reading on 1.54 Joule/411 fps on a .20g, so although I’ve (as yet!) been unable to range test them properly it would indicate to me that with some minor fettling of the hop/inner barrel these could be absolute nail drivers!
The power is certainly there, so much so that when Tim at iWholesales first lifted one from its oh-so-lovely case (both rifles come in a “crate-style” case!) and worked the action of the Kar98k it actually gave a little cough like a gasser, and released a small vapour cloud from the muzzle! As, at the time, everyone was still wondering if these were gas or spring (ARES were REALLY cagey about the power source initially) I somewhat embarrassingly asked Tim where the gas went… I can only surmise that there was a little lubricant in the barrel that got spat out with that first shot!
Internally we now know that unlike most ARES spring bolt action guns the new models feature a direct feed system similar to the Amoeba STRIKER series to make the action much more realistic, and it certainly makes the action of the bolt super, supersmooth; I’d go as far as saying that the action is closer to the real deal (and I’ve shot both the real rifles on numerous occasions) and significantly smoother than most airsoft bolt-actions it’s been my pleasure to try over the years!
I won’t go into range and accuracy as I don’t feel that it would be fair to do so yet; we all know
that any airsoft rifle takes a while to “bed in” fully, and this is especially true with bolt-actions, so I’ll reserve comment on this until I’ve been able to range test both models over a significant period. As I said though, the power is there, and the actions are impeccably smooth, so with a tweak to the hop rubber I’m expecting great things from these rifles.
Externally all I can say is that the rifles are STUNNING! The finish is absolutely A1 throughout, both in the accuracy of replication of individual parts and the quality of the final finishing! 95% made of steel with QPQ finishing they also have the most beautiful furniture I’ve come across as standard in an airsoft replica, and I’m told that the head honcho at ARES was unwilling to release the rifles until he’d found exactly the right wood to mimic perfectly the look of the real thing… a little bird tells me that this wood finally came all the way from Turkey though!
Here we have a pair of beautiful, elegant airsoft rifles, so let’s look at the “numbers” head to head!
SMLE NO.4 MK1
• LENGTH: 1125mm • WEIGHT: 3600g • MAGAZINE: 35 rounds (6mm BB) • 95% Made of Grade 304 Stainless Steel with QPQ Finishing • High-Quality Wood
KARABINER 98K
• LENGTH: 1110mm • WEIGHT: 3800g • MAGAZINE: 20 BBs (you get two though!) • 95% Made of Grade 304 Stainless Steel with QPQ Finishing • Genuine Laminated Wood
Whilst the basic rifles are superb, ARES have also gone the extra mile by simultaneously releasing “sniper variants” of both, and with these DELUXE versions you also get the correct modifications and a pre-fitted period-correct scope with mounts! With some crossover to the STRIKER series we already know what can be achieved in upgrades, so it bodes incredibly well for some real sniper-elite-level action with a little effort.
I’ve always had a soft-spot for the seriously under-sung ARES “Classic Line” given the sheer gorgeousness of their L1A1 SLR, and I truly believe that the No4 MkI and the Kar98K are going to make a lot of you out there sit up and take notice too! “Period Airsoft” might always be a niche part of what we do, but having superbly-finished, good-to-gofrom-the-box rifles might just persuade a few more players to get involved and have a go, so well done ARES, well done indeed!
Will I buy one of these lovely rifles for myself? The answer is probably no to be honest as I do shy away from WWII scenarios for personal reasons that will become apparent in my other articles this month… but, and it’s a HUGE- UBER-MEGA-BUT I certainly WILL be buying myself the ARES L42A1 sniper variant that has also come out at the same time as the WWIIera rifles and is based on the Lee Enfield for my Cold War collection! AA
