COUNTING THE DAYS

IF YOU’RE AIMING FOR A PROPER, FULL-ON “UKSF” IMPRESSION THEN ONLY ONE PRIMARY PLATFORM IS REALLY GOING TO DO THE TRICK RIGHT NOW, AND THAT’S AN L119A2! THANKFULLY THIS STORIED CARBINE IS FINALLY APPEARING AS A REASONABLE AEG REPLICA AT SENSIBLE PRICES, SO BILL TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST MODEL FROM DOUBLE BELL… BUT WONDERS IF THE DAYS OF THE A2 ARE NUMBERED…

Ihave an abiding love for CQB-length carbines as regulars here will know, and as much as I adore my Mk18s when it comes to “being a Brit” and flying the flag then I really like to have a primary platform that reflects this. During my time living and playing in the USA I often had a run out with my STAR and then ICS L85s with full DPM or DDPM kit to match, and I was pretty proud about that I can tell you!

However, time and tide moves on and those L85s were soon replaced with a couple of L119A1 builds, both CQB and full length, and these were the days that I started to embrace the “mixy-matchy camo” thing that I’ll talk more about in CAGE this month; if you were going to do “UKSF” right, then you need an A1! I’ve kept things up to date in this respect in my personal “airsoft armoury”, and whilst these days I also favour GBBRs I couldn’t quite justify the stretch to add one of the awesome ARCHWICK A2 gas variants; don’t get me wrong, the ARCHWICK A2’s are fabulous and benefit from possibly to only correct A2 monolithic upper out there right now that’s not a custom job.

This is actually an important thing! In the real world of ARs “monolithic” refers to an upper receiver group where the front handguard or rail system and the actual upper receiver itself are manufactured as one complete piece. There’s still massive debate in the real firearms world over this, but some argue that a monolithic upper means all rail attachments and optics retain zero more effectively, especially when it comes to using rail-mounted laser aiming modules that need to marry-up perfectly with the optic of choice, and it’s one thing about the A2 IUR (Integrated Upper Receiver) that fascinates me as a thoroughly modern military firearm!

Important for airsoft then? Not so much these days really as the old ”front-end wobble” that we used to find on AEGs is thankfully now a thing of the past, and the interface between upper receiver and the rail system is usually solid as a rock on most AEGs that we lift from their box. Why then do I mention this? Simple really, and as I begin to get into the AEG in question here, the DOUBLE BELL 041 (L119A2) then you’ll see to a degree where money has been shaved off in the production to make these, like the ROSSI A2 that I do now have in the armoury, come in at a sensible price.

I’ll get this straight out of the way; like the ROSSI A2 (which is a super AEG and has only needed a replacement spring since new!) the 041 is a two-piece upper configuration where a pretty standard and generic AR receiver set has been bolted together with an albeit very nice take on the front-end rail system to mimic the IUR setup, and it’s far cheaper as an overall package then laying out for the HAO or Angry Gun standalone rails.

However, that in turn means that there are other features of the A2 that are absent from the 041; if you’re going to be a “stitch bitch” then immediately the charging handle is incorrect as it’s “standard AR” and the Colt Canada version is different, and the Colt Canada ambi selector group is absent completely. In fact there is no ambi control group at all, with the selector being on the LHS only. The muzzle device fitted to the 041 is a standard birdcage rather than a facsimile of the Surefire FH556, but I believe that some A2 models have been seen with the standard device, so it’s not all bad.

MORE POSITIVITY, MORE!

Okay, there are some other minor things that I could gripe about, but let’s be real and realise that we’re talking here about an AEG that sits almost in the “budget end” of the cost spectrum; I feel I’m being overly harsh about the 041, but there are actually some pretty cool redeeming features about it!

DOUBLE BELL have earned a good reputation amongst the AA Crew of late through a commitment to innovation and making some darn serviceable AEGs, and in fairness the “L119A2”reflects this dedication.

First up is the motor grip, and DOUBLE BELL have done a nice job here of recognising a detail which the Gen 1 ROSSI missed, and that the fact is that the grip is a pretty decent take on the heavily stippled ERGO grip that’s correct for the A2… this is important as to get “the look” right I had to search for ages and spend another UK£30 to get the right thing for the ROSSI… another little nod goes in the direction of the lower rail as the 041 actually has the grenadelauncher lug in place; much like that of the Angry Gun A2 aftermarket rail the lug fitted to the 041 is removable rather than being an integral part like that of the “real”, but all the same it shows good attention to detail.

Also the 041 comes fitted as standard with a nice replica of the CTR stock which again is a standard part on the real A2; it also happens that I REALLY like MOE and CTR stocks and fit them to most of my carbines as they are a compact, lightweight, collapsible stock designed for platforms where the user requires a high degree of manoeuvrability. In the case of the all-black 041 both these accessories are also black, and it would have been cool to see them in the tan of the real, but hey, it’s a great nod to accuracy again!

At 680/760mm long and weighing in at 2520g “bare bones” the 041 is an AEG that most of us could run with all day long, and its compact form means that it’s easy to manipulate even in tight CQBspaces. The finish is actually very good indeed for the price-point, although like the ROSSI this little AEG is just screaming out for a little rattlecan action! The constituent external parts are all metal where they should be, and are fitted together well; in fairness, externally the 041 is built like a tank! The sharp end

UP IS THE MOTOR GRIP, AND DOUBLE BELL HAVE DONE A NICE JOB HERE OF RECOGNISING A DETAIL WHICH THE GEN 1 ROSSI MISSED, AND THAT THE FACT IS THAT THE GRIP IS A PRETTY DECENT TAKE ON THE HEAVILY STIPPLED ERGO GRIP THAT’S CORRECT FOR THE A2… THIS IS IMPORTANT AS TO GET “THE LOOK” RIGHT” features a standard 14mm CCW thread, allowing easy fitting of muzzle devices such as suppressors and tracer units…. and you WILL want a “SF-style” unit on this platform for sure!

Internally, things are pretty darn solid, but somewhat unremarkable, but again, remember the pricepoint! The 041 features a pretty standard motor, V2 gearbox, 8mm bearings, CNC aluminium air seal components, and a full steel-rack piston, giving reliability and consistency; these are coupled with a rotary hop-up unit (accessed in the usual way and with a working bolt release) and “6.02±0.01” brass inner barrel (so, 6.03 then!), so everything is tidy and should be durable and offer good accuracy.

Downrange

Now to the all-important bit as always… rangetime! The carbine chrono’d as new at a perfectly acceptable mean of 1.2 Joule/333fps on a .20g BB and has stayed there during testing so far. Pushing up to .28g and resetting the hop, with targets out at 30 metres just using the excellent “irons” that come fitted as standard I’ve been able to get very precise hits on semi-auto, and had great fun ringin’ the plates at the same range when I’ve switched the selector up to full. The AEG comes with a pair of mags, and HiCap and a Middy, and both fit and feed well; I’ve tried the 041 with all my AR mags and to date I’ve not found one it’s not happy with.

Thus far I’m satisfied with the performance given the price of the 041, and a few little tweaks (hop rubber and possibly the inner barrel) I feel could let you create a very accurate AEG indeed. There’s nothing wrong with the standard hop rubber per se as far as I can tell, as in honesty it needs a good bunch more BBs down the barrel to get things properly settled, but I just think I could get more from the 041 so I’ll probably hand it over to one of the “techies” to get another opinion here. Like the ROSSI though, the thing that REALLY gets this AEG a bit of a “well done” from me is the quality, fit and finish of parts, and the immediate performance as stock given that it costs iro UK£260! The 041 “looks like an A2”, is really nicely finished and put together, and has functioned perfectly during testing.

However, as a closing comment I would now question if those that are set on creating an up-todate “UKSF” loadout will want an L119A2 anymore? Obviously recent events have once again moved the clock forward, and I’m thinking that soon it will be all about the KS-1! And yes, there are already airsoft custom versions of the KS-1 “in the wild” (I’m looking at you Dave’s Custom Airsoft!) so I don’t think it will be long before we start seeing someone in “The East” producing a simpler, and more affordable, production version. Just as I was excited to see more sensiblypriced A2 AEGs entering (and continuing to enter, like the 041) the market, the 13.7” KS-1 variant was adopted as the L403A1-AIW by the British Armed Forces last year (to much excitement in the airsoft world) to replace the L85A2-A3 and L119A1-A2 platforms, so I don’t think it will be long before we see a 6mm replica!

As much as the days of the L119A2 may be numbered in the real world, I do foresee a long and happy “service life” for the AEG versions in the hands of airsofters who “like a bit of Brit”, all over the world, for some considerable time to come. I also believe that like me many will want an “A2” in their personal armoury to hang on the wall alongside their “A1’s”! And what you do get with a DOUBLE BELL 041 is another basic-yet-solid “119 inspired” AEG that has some pretty cool features as standard, and with some fine-tuning could be a real performer rather than just a “wall-hanger” too!

My sincere thanks go to www.iwholesales.biz for supplying the DOUBLE BELL 041 test sample; do be sure to check them out for more from DOUBLE BELL and all the other superb airsoft brands that they work with. AA

“AS A CLOSING COMMENT I WOULD NOW QUESTION IF THOSE THAT ARE SET ON CREATING AN UP-TO-DATE “UKSF” LOADOUT WILL WANT AN L119A2 ANYMORE?

OBVIOUSLY RECENT EVENTS HAVE ONCE AGAIN MOVED THE CLOCK FORWARD, AND I’M THINKING THAT SOON IT WILL BE ALL ABOUT THE KS-1!”

‧ Aluminum Alloy Hollowed Design Slide

‧ MASTER MODS R-Hop System

‧ REVO.II High Performance Valve System

‧ Adjustable Trigger

‧ Incl. Steel CCW 14mm Barrel Adapter

‧ Reverse Plug Retention Clip

‧ 3-dot Luminous Sights

‧ TDC Hop-Up Chamber (Compatible with TM spec)

‧ Steel Made Fire Control System Components (Compatible with TM spec)

‧ SUS301 Stainless Steel Sear Spring (Compatible with TM spec)

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