ARMOURY: DOUBLE EAGLE EK47 UTR

OPFOR DELIGHT

MOST PLAYERS OUT THERE WILL TELL YOU THAT THE AR HAS “THE BEST ERGONOMICS” WHEN IT COMES TO IN-GAME USE, BUT IS THIS JUST BECAUSE THE AR-STYLE REPLICA IS SIMPLY THE MOST-USED PLATFORM OUT THERE? THERE ARE ALWAYS OPTIONS, AND EVEN FOR THE DEDICATED OPFOR PLAYER THESE OPTIONS CONTINUE TO GROW, AND THEY DON’T ALL HAVE TO COST THE EARTH AS BILL SHOWS AS HE LOOKS AT DOUBLE EAGLE’S TAKE ON THE MIGHTY “SR47”!

As I said way back in June 2020 (Oh how long ago that seems!) when I looked at the thennew Double Eagle (DE) M904A “if you’d said to me that I’d be looking at a neat little AR AEG with a host of up-to-the-minute features from Chinese manufacturer Double Eagle even a couple of years back I’d have probably nodded sagely and said “Oh yes, I’m sure it will be fine…””, but the fact is that it’s turned out to be way more than just “fine”, and the Double Eagle Falcon Fire Control System (FFCS) has turned out to be a bit of a gem, offering a multitude of features at a price affordable by all players.

Yup, our choices are wider than ever, and to be honest there are some awesome AEGS and even GBBRs appearing at prices that once I would have thought utterly unachievable, but recent events have thrown this up in the air again! Prices for some truly excellent entry-level AEGS are heading upwards, and in my opinion the “price-point” for some of them has been kept artificially low as airsoft brands vie for increased market share.

Since the C-VIRUS kicked in we’ve seen all manner of changes, and whilst this doesn’t per se affect airsoft as a game, it DOES affect airsoft directly when it comes to pricing, and again my opinion, but I do believe we will be seeing the price of our “good to go guns” changing in 2023. Okay, I’m told by many manufacturers and distributors that freight costs (and times) are getting better again which is a bonus, but I’m also being told by many OEMs that “raw material” costs are spiralling… think about an AEG for a moment and we all know that they are the combination these days of some pretty good alloys and a collection of high-end electrical parts… the cost of which are ALL going up and up, WHEN they are available in the first place! I’m not being all “doomy” here, but I believe we have to

“YUP, OUR CHOICES ARE WIDER THAN EVER, AND TO BE HONEST THERE ARE SOME AWESOME AEGS AND EVEN GBBRS APPEARING AT PRICES THAT ONCE I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT UTTERLY UNACHIEVABLE, BUT RECENT EVENTS HAVE THROWN THIS UP IN THE AIR AGAIN!”

understand that price-structures are changing; when I looked at the DE M904A just two years ago the retail price for it was iro UK£150, but for the model I’m looking at here, the EK47 UTR, I’m seeing at prices iro UK£200 for what under the skin is largely the same thing in different, albeit very cool, party clothes… this is NOT manufacturers trying to get more money out of us, or distributors upping their “margin take”, it’s simply how the global economic situation is hitting the airsoft market, and it is what it is.

Sorry, I needed to get that out of my system as all too often at the moment I’m seeing negative social media crap about increased prices and “players getting ripped off”, but the simple truth is that the world has changed… and continues to change, and whilst it may seem that the situation is negative, I can only be positive about the majority of new AEGs and GBBs that I’m seeing right now, and the DE EK47 UTR is a great example of how you can still buy an excellent little AEG, something a bit different too, and still get exceptional value and performance!

THE OPFOR AR!

Now I make no bones that a) I like a bit of OPFOR sneaky-beaky, and b) I do love an AK! However, again due to real-world events a lot of us are somewhat reticent to field our “Russian Rifles” right now and rightly so; you know where Airsoft Action stands on events in Ukraine!

So what to do when it comes to having something a bit different for OPFOR work, but something that handles just as well as the BLUFOR ARs? I’ve said it before, and I will no doubt say it many more times when I see a new take on it, just BUY AN SR47!

The SR47 was designed to be the perfect platform for the airsoft OPFOR player; born from the idea IRL of a soldier being able to resupply behind enemy lines and operators being able to leave a smaller footprint to conceal their presence, the original Knight’s Armament SR47 combined the familiar AR ergonomics with the legendary 7.62x39mm cartridge used by the AK-47/AKM. The SR-47 was specifically designed to allow operators to utilise munitions acquired from the enemy in situations where resupply was not an option. Additionally the SR47 had the added benefit of sounding like a typical AK and not an AR which helped mask an operator’s presence as well as being able stay covert by not leaving any evidence such as casings from a NATO weapon.

Having spent some quality time now with my fabulous BOLT SR47 I have to say that the familiar feel of the AR design and control interface but with AK magazines and loading/unloading drills has really endeared it to me. Although, in my opinion, the BOLT is a super AEG, the fact is that you’re going to need to drop iro UK£400-plus for the URX 3.1 version and I have found that it’s a little picky on what magazines it likes to devour too.

CYMA do a passable SR47 replica at a more palatable price, the 093, but my favourite is still the the CM096, and this is because it replicates another AR/AK hybrid, namely the CMMG Mk47 “Mutant”! When you first look at the “Mutant”, or Mk47, you might be rightly mistaken that it’s just another AR; everything screams out “.308 AR”, but the lower and especially the flattened-out “industrial style” magwell with a paddle magazine release begins to tell quite another story; of course, when you see that big old AK “banana mag” in the magwell all becomes clear! Again, I love this rifle, and with a price of just over UK£200 at the time I bought it a couple of years back, as far as AR/AK hybrids go was a real bargain… but guess what? Yup, you’ll now pay iro UK£270 for the exact same AEG!

Now I know that price isn’t everything (to some!), and that you get what you pay for, but the DE EK47 is out there iro UK£190, and you get an awful lot of modern “SR” for a little-ish price!

NUTS AND BOLTS

First up, let’s look at the styling of the EK47, and oh boy, does it look “bang on trend”! You get a very unique, almost “billet-like” receiver pairing that’s beautifully finished and well put together; the lower also has a slightly over-sized trigger guard that’s ideal for use with even bulkier gloves protecting a flatface trigger. The upper melds neatly and solidly into an excellent ¾ length contiguous top rail (licensed by Aeroknox LLC Firearms to DE, just so you know!), while at 3,6, and 9 0’clock you have full-length

“SO WHAT TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO HAVING SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT FOR OPFOR WORK, BUT SOMETHING THAT HANDLES JUST AS WELL AS THE BLUFOR ARS? I’VE SAID IT BEFORE, AND I WILL NO DOUBT SAY IT MANY MORE TIMES WHEN I SEE A NEW TAKE ON IT, JUST BUY AN SR47!”

M-LOK compatibility meaning you can set it up with your favoured optics and go-faster accessories. Rounding out the externals you have an ergonomic pistol grip and sliding stock that are very “MP”, and a unique muzzle brake on a 14mm CCW thread… the EX to me really needs a “soviet-style” suppressor though!

Overall it’s very cool throughout, lightweight at 2280g and very sturdy. Control-wise you have a really well set-up ambidextrous selector lever and charging handle, along with an extended magazine release making everything slick when it comes to drills and manipulation. To top things off, quite literally, there are polymer flop-up sights front and rear; it’s a neat and solid package.

Of course internally is where things get interesting due to the Falcon Fire Control System (FFCS) that I talked about back in 2022, but this time the V2. This is DE’s own “in house” design and it’s proved to be effective in their standard ARs, and a number of techs that I know give it “the nod” as being a great example of a programmeable system… and program it you can for: • 1-5 BB burst mode • trigger sensitivity adjustment • binary trigger mode • voltage detection • motor and gearbox protection • battery protection • safety function

The gearbox also offers a quick spring change system (more on this later!), and 8mm steel bearings, and wiring ids of good quality, leading to a DEANS connection in the buffer tube. With a 6.06mm internal barrel and a rotary hop adjuster, the EK is pretty much good to go as soon as you’ve programmed it to your preferred setting, and this is simple and well-explained.

BANG ON!

As the EK47 had come to me straight from the shipping container, it was HOT when it arrived, but thankfully Tim at iWholesales gave me the heads up on this, along with a new spring; this is where the quick change function helped as it was a simple job to change this out, resulting in a power level through the chrono of 1.09 Joule/343fps on a .20g BB, bang-on for most sites! Now, most good retailers will change the spring to comply with local site restrictions, but make sure it’s been done before you take it home if you’re in the UK as the original power will put you into dodgy legal territory!

Once the new spring was in though, the power level remained pretty constant through the chrono. As I’m a midcap player I was delighted with the 200 BB polymer “waffle-style” model as standard, and this fed flawlessly throughout testing, although I did test with a variety of different AK mags and had sporadic results; you do need it seems to pick your mags carefully, but I especially liked the look of my AK12 mags in the EK as these make it look properly “of the moment” and fed just fine! In terms of hitting the target at 30m this was not a problem, and once the hop settled in a little on a cold day POA/POI were pretty darn spot on at the furthest extent of the woods range; like my other SR47s I’m certain this will improve further once the EK has had time to fully bed in fully.

So, does the DE EK live up to my expectations for a decent little OPFOR-esque blaster? Yes it does, and the shorter length compared to my other SR47s (735815mm) and its modern styling makes it unique in a good way! With a price of just under UK£200 at the time of writing this, as far as AR/AK hybrids go this is a great little AEG and one that deserves a rightful place in my OPFOR armoury! So, if you do fancy something different from the average AR, something truly a bit “Red Cell” in the very best way, then the Double Eagle EK47 UTR could be the very thing you’ve been searching for, and you can check it out by visiting www.iwholesales.co.uk AA

“SO DOES THE DE EK LIVE UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS FOR A DECENT LITTLE OPFORESQUE BLASTER? YES IT DOES, AND THE SHORTER LENGTH COMPARED TO MY OTHER SR47S (735-815MM) AND ITS MODERN STYLING MAKES IT UNIQUE IN A GOOD WAY!”