ARMOURY: SAIGO DEFENSE KYUDO

WARRIOR SPIRIT

SAIGO DEFENSE ARE A STILL RELATIVE NEWCOMER TO AIRSOFT BUT THEY APPEAR TO HAVE GAINED A HEALTHY FOLLOWING AMONGST PLAYERS WITH THEIR AGGRESSIVELY-STYLED, WELLPRICED, AND COMPETITIVELY-SPECCED AEGS, BUT IN KEEPING WITH OUR THEME THIS MONTH BILL HAS BEEN GETTING SOME RANGETIME WITH THEIR LATEST MODEL, THE KYUDO BOLT-ACTION!

Saigo Defense have really put a dent into the sales of some longer-established airsoft brands in the last couple of years, and this has been very apparent to me by watching just how fast their greatlooking little AEGs fly off the wall of my local store each and every time they come into stock!

Now there have been rumblings about how the internals of the Saigo AEGs look very similar (read pretty much identical!) to those of another Euroairsoft brand, but the fact is that they offer solid performance out of the box and with their aggressive styling and the “Japanese Mystique” surrounding them in terms of model naming, Saigo AEGs have proved to be a huge hit.

Ultimately though, the manufacture of Saigo models appears to be Euro-driven by SKW Airsoft, a part of SKYWAY TECHNOLOGY SA, a leader in the outdoor activities business in Spain that was founded in 1991. SKYWAY TECHNOLOGY SA distributes G&G, Marui, KJW, Tornado, Zoxna, Thunder B, and also offers a variety of products from China like Jing Gong, Dboys, Cyma, Well, A&K, Double Eagle, Galaxy, Snow Wolf and the like so it could be said that they have some form when it comes to knowing what a decent AEG should be like.

I’ve had a Saigo Defense SHINOBI and RONIN AEG under test for some time to see how they really perform, and thus far I have to admit to being somewhat impressed. My personal preference is the SBR-length SHINOBI, and although it’s fully polymer in both receiver set and rail it’s a great, modern-looking little carbine with more-then-adequate internals that performs well… and if you search hard you can find them for just UK£150-160 which is great value, especially as they come with a LiPo battery and a decent mid-cap mag!

THE WAY

Now I’ve not written in any depth about Saigo Defense before, but given all the nods to the Japanese way of the warrior in their naming program I had, as always, to look a little deeper, and the connection I make is to Saigo Takamori (1828-77), a samurai from the remote domain of Satsuma in southern Kyushu who “came to doubt the viability of old values only to be repelled by the brash vulgarity of the new order he himself did so much to bring about”; he is often referred to as “The Last True Samurai”.

This has resonance to me in the way that Saigo Defence approach their AEGs; they obviously eschew some of “the old ways” in their designs, but accept “the new ways”, and whether or not I’ve hit the reasoning behind the naming of the brand, and the obvious connection to Japanese history in their naming of individual models, in an age of brand recognition and “brand values” this is a pretty cool direction as far as I’m concerned!

And the inspiration for the naming of their new bolt-action rifle is also pretty cool; through my tabletop wargaming adventures I have become increasingly interested in the later Sengoku period, specifically the 16th Century. In this period of Japanese history my research and good old Wiki tells me that “The yumi (Japanese bow) as a weapon of war began its decline after the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543 bringing firearms with them in the form of the matchlock.The Japanese soon started to manufacture their own version of the matchlock called tanegashima and eventually it and the yari (spear) became the weapons of choice over the yumi. The yumi as a weapon was used alongside the tanegashima for a period of time because of its longer reach, accuracy and especially because it had a rate of fire 30–40 times faster.”

So how does this pertain to the KYUDO you may ask, and the answer is that when the yumi was superceded by the matchlock, and subsequently with more modern firearms, the spiritual aspect of Japanese archery remained. This spirit harmoniously united the warrior tradition with the dignity of

“I’VE NOT WRITTEN IN ANY DEPTH ABOUT SAIGO DEFENSE BEFORE, BUT GIVEN ALL THE NODS TO THE JAPANESE WAY OF THE WARRIOR IN THEIR NAMING PROGRAM I HAD, AS ALWAYS, TO LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER, AND THE CONNECTION I MAKE IS TO SAIGO TAKAMORI (1828-77).”

ceremony, and as the United Kingdom Kyudo Association website (www.kyudo.org.uk) tells me, this led to “the concept of Reisetsu - respect for the other” and “became the moral discipline which united these two aspects and formed the foundation for the modern practice of Kyudo - the Way of the Bow”. I love this, and the naming of their new rifle sits well with me as it seems to bring together all that is good about precision airsoft shooting together in a very spiritual sense; I’ve often talked about being “one with the rifle” to achieve the best marksmanship possible, and in this instance Saigo Defense appear to have arrived at the self-same point; there is, after all, more than just one “Way of the Warrior”!

NUTS AND BOLTS

Now given all this, the Kyudo is a rifle that again I have to admit I like already, although once again the provenance does appear to come courtesy of the WELL MB04A… Saigo seem to be very good at picking up inspiration from elsewhere and then improving on said “original” by giving it a complete makeover both internally and externally. You could be a bit sniffy about the fact that the new KYUDO resembles something that has come before, but the fact is that what Saigo eventually end up producing is something that is actually worth the money straight out of the box (unlike that old WELL!) and that can be bedded-in and taken to a game pretty swiftly.

This to me is no bad thing; think of all the “VSRclones” that are out there, some of which can be turned into excellent precision airsoft rifles with some straightforward modification… but with the Saigo the building-blocks of potential excellence are largely already in place.

The chassis (stock and butt) of the KYUDO do indeed look almost identical to that of the MB04, and

still a little “plastic-y” to be honest, but with some extra flourishes that really make the design “sing” more. The solid block colour has been replaced on the green variant with a highlighted black/main-colour that really lifts the look of the KYUDO, turning it into an attractive, thoroughly modern-looking rifle. The plastic of the overall chassis is nothing to write home about to be honest, and feels a little harsh, but it’s very well put together and doesn’t flex.

The Butt is adjustable for length, and the cheek riser for height; one thing I noted here is a strange little “fin” on the underside of the riser, but this disappears as you raise the cheekpiece. The pistol grip benefits from some subtle yet effective stippling, and the baseplate of the whole butt-assembly keeps your hand nicely in position, although I fear that those with big hands might struggle a little here. The forward, stock part of the chassis is quite plain with no railmounting points, although you have sling points front and rear on both sides. You do get the option of a forward stud-fixture for either a sling-swivel or a “Harris-Style” bipod (my favoured option) or a QD placement for an “L96-Style” model.

The KYUDO arrives, like many bolt action airsoft rifles these days, in two parts; the chassis as outlined above, with the barrel/action as a drop in. The outer barrel and action come as one, finished unit from the box, and these are a decent alloy with an even satinblack finish. The outer barrel is nicely fluted, whilst the action is attractively cross-cut “ported” to reveal the silver “bolt” inside; the top rail for optics also

“THE KYUDO IS A RIFLE THAT AGAIN I HAVE TO ADMIT I LIKE ALREADY, ALTHOUGH ONCE AGAIN THE PROVENANCE DOES APPEAR TO COME COURTESY OF THE WELL MB04A… SAIGO SEEM TO BE VERY GOOD AT PICKING UP INSPIRATION FROM ELSEWHERE AND THEN IMPROVING ON SAID “ORIGINAL” BY GIVING IT A COMPLETE MAKEOVER BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY”

comes integral to the action, which keeps it nice and close to the bore. There’s a neat “two-stage” trigger that breaks cleanly, and above this on the right of the action you’ll find a “red-dot-live” safety.

Externally once assembled the KYUDU does look very nice indeed, but internally there’s some good stuff going on as standard too! The rifle comes with a 6.03mm brass barrel as standard, and although this looks perfectly adequate it is an area that personally I would look to upgrade, as you also get and AEG-cut aluminium Hop Chamber with a Maple Leaf rubber 60º and Maple Leaf Omega nub fitted as standard! The rifle also appears to feature an additional pressure ring between the barrel to the chamber for a great fit and a solid seal, but upgrading the inner barrel itself should be straightforward.

DOWNRANGE

For a rifle that retails for around UK£240 how did it perform? It’s an absolute beast! I ran it through the chrono and the chrono doesn’t lie, and over 10 .20g BBs from the 23 BB magazine the KYUDO delivered a mean power of 1.79 Joule/440fps! Now I know that I would usually put that kind of power output into the lower end of “fettled” territory rather than box-fresh, but the fact is the KYUDO has some hoof straight from the box, and this is very pleasing.

The bolt seems very nicely engineered, operating smoothly each time it is cycled, and is easy to use, although you do get a little hang-up from the angle of the buttpad and the pistol grip configuration; it’s actually quite hard to cock it “in the shoulder” given the strength of the spring! Cocking the KYUDO “out of the shoulder” though is manageable but still requires some effort; compared to some higher-

“THE RIFLE COMES WITH A 6.03MM BRASS BARREL AS STANDARD, AND ALTHOUGH THIS LOOKS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE IT IS AN AREA THAT PERSONALLY I WOULD LOOK TO UPGRADE, AS YOU ALSO GET AND AEG-CUT ALUMINIUM HOP CHAMBER WITH A MAPLE LEAF RUBBER 60º AND MAPLE LEAF OMEGA NUB FITTED AS STANDARD!”

powered spring bolt actions that I’ve tried in the past though, the KYUDO can still be chambered and fired quickly, as the bolt almost feels like a straight-pull action, even with the resistance of the spring.

Once I’d moved up to .30g BBs and dialled in the hop beneath the forestock it was time to zero my 4x32 optic, and perhaps age has mellowed me somewhat, but I actually really enjoyed this part immensely as I knew I had some solid basic power to work with. Supported on sandbags and in the prone position BB after BB went steadily to target at a distance of 30m on the woodland range, and after about an hour or so I was able to achieve some good results on an A4 “X” paper target of my own creation; I think that with a little more patience and a longer range I could probably move that up even further over time, and for a “basic rifle” I find that quite a positive thing.

The KYUDO weighs in at just 2625g without accessories, and even with them fitted it’s certainly no heavyweight! At 1180mm overall it’s still a long rifle to manipulate, but the balance is good, and it’s definitely a rifle you can carry all day. The Saigo Defense KYUDO undoubtedly looks cool and completely modern, and with just a new inner barrel I believe that you’d be getting solid, consistent hits with it at medium range, with the potential to hit out further still if you are willing to put even minimal effort and spend into the platform.

It’s relatively simple, well put together, has some neat little parts fitted as standard, and is reasonably, if not cheaply, priced. For these reasons I can commend the KYUDO to you if you’re just getting started, or are on a serious budget and want to channel a little of that “warrior spirit”!

Many thanks as always to www.iwholesales.co.uk for providing the sample rifle for testing. AA

“THE BOLT SEEMS VERY NICELY ENGINEERED, OPERATING SMOOTHLY EACH TIME IT IS CYCLED, AND IS EASY TO USE, ALTHOUGH YOU DO GET A LITTLE HANG-UP FROM THE ANGLE OF THE BUTTPAD AND THE PISTOL GRIP CONFIGURATION; IT’S ACTUALLY QUITE HARD TO COCK IT “IN THE SHOULDER” GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE SPRING!”