RELOADED: EVOLUTION LONE STAR RANGER SBR

OLD BUT GOLD!

WAY BACK IN 2013 BILL TREATED HIMSELF TO A NEW AEG, THE LONE STAR TACTICAL (LST) RANGER SHORT BARRELLED RIFLE (SBR) FROM EVOLUTION AND HE’S BEEN RUNNING IT PRETTY MUCH STOCK SINCE THEN WITH REGULAR MAINTENANCE! WHY IS THIS AEG SO IMPORTANT TO HIM, AND HOW IS IT RUNNING AFTER NINE YEARS OF USE?

Evolution Airsoft’s range consists of some very, very high quality AEGs these days, many of which I’ve been privileged to test and evaluate

over the years, but not that long ago in real terms they were “the new kid on the block”… how things change!

Back in 2013 I was very much taken with the look of one of their first “Lone Star Tactical (LST)” carbine models that were introduced as an integral part of their initial “Hardcore Series”. The LSTs were official airsoft replicas of the real Lone Star tactical rifles produced under a worldwide exclusive license granted to Evolution International S.r.l. by Lone Star Tactical Supply in the USA, and these airsoft replicas were made then in Hong-Kong under very close scrutiny!

The Lone Star replicas proved to be top-quality items, meeting strict quality control standards which

Evolution have insisted on since “Day1”, but let’s get the basics as to what you got out of the way first! Licensed trademarks and design, with a unique serial number, check. Anodized aluminium body and CNCmachined one piece barrel, yup. High torque motor, steel gears in a sturdy V2 gearbox,

“HEFTING THE RANGER SBR YOU WERE IMMEDIATELY AWARE THAT YOU WERE HOLDING ONTO SOMETHING THAT WAS BUILT TO LAST, AND THIS HAS TOTALLY PROVED TO BE THE CASE!”

reinforced piston, 7mm radial bearings, metal Hop Up, yuppity-yup, again all present a correct. All in all the LST’s were internally a pretty tight package; agreed nothing was going to set the airsoft world alight as Evolution have done with some of their more recent models, but everything was functional and hard wearing, just what you want from a gun that’s going to be used week in, week out.

What none of this addresses though is what you really got for your money and there was a lot more going on here if you looked closely. One of the pre-requisites in the licencing agreement between Evolution and Lone Star Tactical in the USA, who made top-notch real firearms for competition level use, was that any replica bearing the Lone Star logo should be constructed to the very highest level of quality in their build. Hefting the Ranger SBR you were immediately aware that you were holding onto something that was built to last, and this has totally proved to be the case!

EXTERNALLY UNIQUE

The upper and lower finished in a nice per the real firearm, receivers, dark grey as were, and are extremely and all logos and trades were very well achieved. The external parts were where things really started to get interesting though, because what you got was pretty surprising and somewhat unique at the time!

Essentially the front rail system was a replica of the CASV-EL system from VLTOR; there were no trademarks on this but the setup was unmistakeable, and the CASV system for you youngin’s out there was a freefloat dropin accessory “rail”, and the smooth main body allowed mounting points to be easily set up in multiple configurations. As with the real deal the replica came with a set of rail sections which could be simply screwed onto the main body just as you liked.

At the back end of the carbine it was a similar story as there was a very nice take on the VLTOR ModStock as well. Again this was unbranded but it was definitely a copy of the AIB-MCB IMod with a QD sling swivel included. This came with two sets of cheek pieces which were easily changed out to give a very personal fit. Even now there is next to no movement between the stock and the buffer tube, which offers six positions so once again it’s easy to personalise.

The last components which made the Ranger SBR look a little different to other ARs on the market at the time were the pistol grip, a replica of the ergonomic Tango Down Battle Grip, a Tango Down style foregrip, and on the sharp end a replica of the Noveske KFH Sound

solid with no movement or gaps discernible between them. All of the other parts were finished to uniform matt black (a version with FDE furniture was also available), which gave the carbine a visually stunning look, Amplifier. Starting to add all of these bespoke external parts up, the Ranger SBR really did give great value, as a real CASV-EL alone cost about US$240 at the time, and you’ll pay far more for one these days! In essence the Ranger SBR was a solidly built carbine with some workmanlike internals and some eye catching externals.

ALL THE NUMBERS

Okay, the Ranger SBR has had some love over a hard

“service life” so far with me, and I’ve had it professionally serviced twice with the usual hop rubber and seal replacements, but other than that and some attention to the electric components it’s still going strong! Testing now with .20g BBs still results in a respectable and usable average of 0.97 Joule/324fps through the chrono which means this AEG has been usable at virtually every site local to me, and a good few further afield too!

Once the hop is set this little carbine will “range” accurately out to a good 40+m on .28g BBs, and has proved to be great for CQB where engagement distances are lower, though it’s eminently usable in a woodland setting too. All accessories have slotted on perfectly to the supplied rail sections, and the only real change I made to the carbine was a personal one in that I fitted a singlepoint sling plate; this was easily done in about ten minutes by simply releasing the buffer tube and replacing the standard plate.

I’ve had my own Ranger SBR for some considerable time now and over the course of many a-days gaming I’ve experienced no issues with it whatsoever; at no point has it stuttered or misfed, each and every BB leaving the barrel with a satisfying “crack” courtesy of the sound amplifier. If you didn’t fancy this then the outer barrel was threaded 14mm CCW which means that any suppressor or flash hider could be easily substituted, and I’ve done so when the scenario called for it, but of course this is just “aesthetics”

My years to date with the Lone Star Ranger SBR have proved to be a very positive experience; I’ve a number of SBRs which are pretty heavily upgraded and the Ranger SBR gives them a run for their money as a stock gun, so I can’t really say anything negative about this super little AEG. I will say well done to Evolution Airsoft, as the growing reputation that they had in 2013 for starting to build quality airsoft replicas has certainly been cemented and indeed surpassed by their latest creations, although even by today’s standards the Ranger SBR is still a kick-ass little AEG! AA

“OVER THE COURSE OF MANY A-DAYS GAMING I’VE EXPERIENCED NO ISSUES WITH IT WHATSOEVER; AT NO POINT HAS IT STUTTERED OR MISFED, EACH AND EVERY BB LEAVING THE BARREL WITH A SATISFYING “CRACK” COURTESY OF THE SOUND AMPLIFIER.”