ARMOURY: VFC COLT M733 GBBR

BRINGING THE

WITH YET ANOTHER SHIFT IN THE EVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF REAL STEEL LICENSING WITHIN THE AUTHORISED AIRSOFT REPLICA ARENA, VEGA FORCE COMPANY (VFC) HAVE MANAGED TO REACQUIRE THE RIGHTS TO THE COLT TRADEMARK THROUGH CYBERGUN AFTER A FEW YEARS OF IT BEING THE SOLE REALM OF ANOTHER LOCAL COMPETITOR. WITH THIS RENEWED ACCESS NO TIME WAS WASTED BRINGING A FRESH PRODUCT TO MARKET BEARING THE PRANCING PONY AND ASSOCIATED LETTERING, AND NOW STEWBACCA GETS DOWN AND DIRTY WITH IT!

The Colt M733 is a cult classic for many of us (more experienced and possibly slightly long in the tooth!) airsofters and firearms aficionados, well known for those who grew up, or tried to avoid doing so, throughout the 1990’s with very memorable appearances in cinema with the likes of ‘HEAT’ or ‘Blackhawk Down’ in the hands of both the good guys and the bad, but also more recently in ‘Blood Diamond’ as well as featuring in numerous video games!

The M733 is the modernised equivalent of the earlier Vietnam era XM177 or CAR-15 carbines which were derived from the larger M16A1 to give commanders as well as vehicle or helicopter crews something less cumbersome than the full-size individual weapon that the US service personnel were trudging through the jungles of southeast Asia with.

My own journey can be said to be somewhat allegorical; having owned the Marui AEG M733 many years ago in the UK, and having shifted to almost exclusive use of GBBRs since coming to Taiwan, I’ve been trudging through jungles in the tropical heat for the last few years and have likewise come to appreciate the lighter weight and shorter overall profile of SMGs, PDWs or carbines, and as a result vastly enjoyed fielding the latest offering from VFC. Having seen the new model announced at the MOA 2022 campfest a few months ago, this was somewhat of a surprise release compared to some of their other much awaited offerings. I recently returned once again to the VFC Pentagon Service Centre not far from my place in Taipei and met with our good friend Ray Chang to get the lowdown on this sneak release for 2022; with so many exciting licensed replica products from a range of real steel manufacturers coming out of VFC’s understandably secretive headquarters as of late, I was keen to find out more about the return of Colt to this illustrious list.

Ray told me that the M733 will be a limited single production run release predominantly for Asia and was intended as a somewhat more economical offering compared to VFC’s usual premium feature packed product lines in the GBBR arena. The carbine itself also presents an ideal entry level Armalite/Colt style platform for those looking to get into the gas gun game as well as it being compatible with other such systems in VFC’s range. With a reduced overall physical footprint the M733 is ideal for the smaller or slighter players (somewhat more typical in Asia) after all, but as well as offering a good gateway platform it leans on the real steel history of its counterpart, and finally offers a gas blowback alternative to the classic AEG many of us enjoyed. Thus it has wide appeal to new players who might not be old enough to remember the storied history of the carbine in real world events and popular culture, while also giving the older players a retro appeal rifle that has all the latest internal features as well as the external trimmings of its original counterpart.

FIRST RATE, INSIDE AND OUT!

Running the latest third generation fire control system inside, with its steel hammer and simplified, durable valve striker unit, the VFC Colt M733 GBBR also makes use of their latest magazine design, with a cast aluminium alloy internal reservoir encased in a predominantly aluminium STANAG style grey painted magazine shell, which is capped off with a reinforced head unit that encapsulates the feed lips, vent valve as well as the inlet valve. As is increasingly the case the gas feed has been placed on the rear spine of the magazine so that it is protected within the magazine well when fitted in use, preventing any dirt ingress during gameplay as well as improving the realism and aesthetic of the magazines.

The M733 is for all intents and purposes an M16A2 with shortened furniture; the front handguards are much shortened compared to the full size rifle, with the cylindrical ribbed profile rather than the earlier Vietnam era triangular versions, although noticeably thinner than the M4A1 handguards which followed, allowing for easier handling even for someone with longer arms like myself; normally the likes of an MP5 standard handguard will give me wrist ache trying to C-Clamp or support hand hold it and I default to vertical fore grips on most guns.

The M733 however just seems to work comfortably for me, perhaps due to its much lighter overall weight and slender profile I found it much easier to wield and manoeuvre during my skirmishing and testing of it, just like my old beloved AEG version in the UK. The front handguard and barrel section is in fact relatively similar in length to the extended butt stock, giving the carbine a surprising aesthetic and physical balance to it, perhaps that’s one element to its overall appeal. The butt stock itself is of the early telescopic version with just two peg holes for the adjustment lever actuated spring loaded catch to lock into; at fully collapsed and extended lengths, although as with the real steel equivalent there is plenty of material in the buffer tube extension beneath to drill further holes into to customise the length of pull to an individual’s taste and requirements, and fully extended was just fine for me, thankfully.

Being an earlier variant the M733 lacks any QD attachment points or a castle nut receiver plate with sling loops included, although the clean lines do make

“THE M733 IS FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES AN M16A2 WITH SHORTENED FURNITURE; THE FRONT HANDGUARDS ARE MUCH SHORTENED COMPARED TO THE FULL SIZE RIFLE, WITH THE CYLINDRICAL RIBBED PROFILE RATHER THAN THE EARLIER VIETNAM ERA TRIANGULAR VERSIONS, ALTHOUGH NOTICEABLY THINNER THAN THE M4A1 HANDGUARDS WHICH FOLLOWED, ALLOWING FOR EASIER HANDLING EVEN FOR SOMEONE WITH LONGER ARMS LIKE MYSELF”

it aesthetically more appealing and less likely to catch on clothing or obstructions during use, but does mean your slinging options are going to be likewise somewhat classical; with the front standard sling swivel and twin upper and lower integral sling loops moulded into the butt stock allowing the attachment of a two point fabric sling. Personally I just threw on one of my fairly standard Fastex QD buckle units with a toggle to tighten the loop around the buffer tube and attached the carbine to my integral sling built into my plate carrier that I use for all of my own guns, which also added to my ease of handling allowing me to effortlessly transition between right and left handed use for navigating corners and obstacles.

DOWNRANGE

I fielded the M733 just using the iron sights which are actually M16A1 styled; the earlier prototypes of the real steel equivalent all made use of M16A2-styled handguards and pistol grips, however the upper receiver geometry tends to vary along the lineage, with the initial examples still employing M16A1 fixed rear sight units with the simpler adjustment dial rather than the later fully adjustable floating sight block inset into the cutout of the later carry handle styles typified by the M16A2 rifle series. The folks at VPSC were also good enough to lend me three of their 30 round modernised magazines to fill my plate carrier with, which worked excellently throughout and didn’t present me with and feeding or gas issues at all; I probably put a few hundred BBs downrange with the testing and skirmishing I did during our game day.

Initially I chronograph-tested the M733 at home with a few shots using BLS 0.2g BBs and ‘12kg’ or ‘green gas’ from Puff Dino (somewhat industry standard in country) and clocked it throwing out 1.3 Joule/375 fps max in a reasonably consistent fashion, while at the skirmish I made use of my own standard 0.3g BLS BBs and the chrono came in at a consistent 330fps in many of the shots with even less variance for the most part. I also had to tweak the HOP unit setting as a result of using the heavier ammunition, and having seen the 4UAD Smart Airsoft team’s video about the M733 they managed to lift even the heaviest ammunition with the included HOP unit! I found that once I got it dialled in the range and consistency were astonishing for such a short inner barrel of only 275mm; I’m not sure exactly how many BBs have already been put through this particular example as it’s the VPSC demonstration gun as such, but the HOP is either excellent out of the box or has settled in well over its use as it was consistently stretching shots out the length of the disused factory hall we were playing in; at least 50-60m long, after only a short time tuning and putting some rounds down range I quickly managed a first round elimination with just the iron sights and against a lot of return fire, so most pleased!

The HOP adjustment itself is accessed via the horizontal seam between the upper and lower front handguards, which allows the top and/or bottom segments to be removed independently by retracting the spring loaded ‘delta ring’ at the rear of the handguards where they meet the upper receiver body; this is admittedly very heavily sprung and can be somewhat challenging to remove, requiring you to brace the butt of the carbine against something and really pull back hard on the ring to allow you to pop them off, one of my only complaints about the platform, and admittedly one you shouldn’t have to endure once the unit is set to your preferred ammunition weight. This gives access to the drum wheel style HOP unit beneath the chamber and barrel, which is conveniently marked with + and - symbols for increasing or decreasing the HOP effect; it is relatively stiff which means it won’t move unwantedly but the large surface area and ribs enable you to easily push it in the desired direction of rotation to adjust it.

In terms of construction the M733 follows the other recent releases from VFC, as with their Mk48 LMG it is predominantly aluminium and alloys thereof to allow for economical and lightweight construction, but is excellently finished with the familiar hard anodisation that resembles the surface texture and colouration of parkerized steel. The steel components are thus limited to some of the internal components and wear surfaces, with the receivers, outer barrel and bolt carrier group being castings of zinc aluminium alloys which are then finish CNC machined on internal functional surfaces. The general feel is nonetheless

“THE HOP ADJUSTMENT ITSELF IS ACCESSED VIA THE HORIZONTAL SEAM BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER FRONT HANDGUARDS, WHICH ALLOWS THE TOP AND/OR BOTTOM SEGMENTS TO BE REMOVED INDEPENDENTLY BY RETRACTING THE SPRING LOADED ‘DELTA RING’ AT THE REAR OF THE HANDGUARDS WHERE THEY MEET THE UPPER RECEIVER BODY”

exceptionally sturdy despite this, and there’s little if any movement or creak in any of the joins or components, even the captive receiver retention pins retain their resistance nicely and are easy enough to drift out when required, but won’t do so of their own accord as in some other manufacturers examples.

The buffer and related spring are actually reduced rate to give them a softer effect on the bolt carrier during recoil, which gives a surprisingly strong impulse upon firing, perhaps because the bolt carrier is a more significant proportion of the weight compared to larger, heavier AR GBBR platforms, but nonetheless the very loud and satisfying report are followed by an equally enjoyable thudding of the carrier within the receiver. The general feel is crisp and sharp and follow up shots were fast and accurate during our more heated game rounds and team training for marksmanship after we finished skirmishing.

The integral carrying handle also features the required holes in its upper surface to allow attachment of top rails or classic optics with the specific bolting or clamping arrangements, however I found the iron sights very easy to use even with my ageing eyes. The magazine well features the M16A2 and Colt name and “prancing pony” markings, the fire selector is left side of the body only for right handed use, and similarly the magazine release is right side only for right handed index finger actuation, all told it is a very much ‘no frills’ carbine externally, but I kind of like that for the classic or retro appeal and just the slimmer and cleaner lines.

Overall I am extremely impressed with the Cybergun licensed VFC Colt Commando M733 GBBR, to the point where I am struggling to stave off buying one until other priorities have been fulfilled, but I’m pretty sure this is an itch I’ll inevitably have to scratch. The only issue I found, aside from the somewhat stiff handguard retention, was a slight sticking of the trigger reset towards the end of my morning shoot; again the 4UAD team found something similar in their example around the 6000 BB mark, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for if you do find yourself with one. Having seen their solution I inspected the internals and found the same slight uneven wear on the hammer sear hook surface; it’s merely a case of evening out that wear with a slight amount of filing to rectify this issue if you encounter it, and not something that would put me off given the myriad other issues I’ve had experimenting with numerous other gas guns in my time thus far! The M733 has really left a lasting impression on me for just how much fun it was to shoot and very comfortable and easy to handle and transition with.

So, if you find yourself in the market for a new GBBR AR for the gun wall, or are looking to start your adventure in gas guns, the licensed Colt M733 GBBR from VFC is something I’d happily recommend to you; it’s perfect for any player of any build really, even being a wookiee-esque lumbering giant myself I still appreciated the weight and length reduction and the general aesthetic appeal. I’d once again like to sincerely Thank Ray Chang, Sam Shen and the rest of the VPSC team for their time and entrusting me once more with one of their products to test, and for their commitment to supporting me, and Airsoft Action, with their very latest creations! AA

“...IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW GBBR AR FOR THE GUN WALL, OR ARE LOOKING TO START YOUR ADVENTURE IN GAS GUNS, THE LICENSED COLT M733 GBBR FROM VFC IS SOMETHING I’D HAPPILY RECOMMEND TO YOU; IT’S PERFECT FOR ANY PLAYER OF ANY BUILD ”