UNIQUELY AR!

HERE WE GO AGAIN, YET ANOTHER “M4 REVIEW”, AND WHY SHOULD THIS BE ANY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE THAT WE’VE SEEN BEFORE? BILL REFLECTS BACK ON A LITTLE “AR HISTORY” AS HE BRINGS IN HIS EVALUATION OF THE LATEST ALPHA ETU AEGS FROM DELTA ARMORY AND EXPLAINS WHY THE DA-A02-ETU IS NOT AN “M4” BUT IS UNIQUE IN ITS OWN SPECIAL WAY AND IS TOTALLY WORTH YOUR ATTENTION AND TIME!

Aquestion that I am regularly asked is “How, after so many years of reviewing and writing about airsoft, can you find something new to say about an M4?”, and on the face of it this is a pretty valid question, one to which I have an equally valid answer I believe… when it comes not to the “M4” which is a very specific platform I instead look to all-things-AR, and that my good airsoft friends is a whole new ballgame!

The “AR”, in its many and myriad forms, is undoubtedly the “King of the Skirmish”, and I shudder to think just how many AEG and GBB “ARs” there are out there these days… but this is also true of the real shooting world.

Whilst yes, essentially there is only one true AR, that developed by Eugene Morrison Stoner and that “uses a true expanding gas system instead of the conventional impinging gas system”, the very nomenclature, “AR-15” goes back to the very roots of the story…

In 1959 ArmaLite, where Stoner did most of his development work, sold their patent and trademarks to Colt’s Manufacturing Company, most of the patents for the Colt AR-15 are believed to have expired in the late 1970’s, which opened the way for a whole host of clever creators to start producing rifles and carbines that were totally unique. While these were undoubtedly “AR” under the hood and still very much the original design of our man Eugene, things got “interesting”. It’s equally interesting though to note, that although those patents expired many moons ago now, Colt retained the trademark to the AR-15 name and is the sole manufacturer able to mark their firearms as such, although of course every “AR” as we now know it is not a Colt!

You could go as far as to say that a similar situation actually exists in airsoft, and that every airsoft “AR” out there is actually a Tokyo Marui, as how often do we use the phrase “TM compatible” as a benchmark? Just like Stoner came up with the idea of the AR design and operating system, it could be argued that every AEG essentially works around the old Tokyo Marui internal setup, and that what comes now is simply extended tinkering with this. In fact, the evolution of the “AR” is mirrored in airsoft, with manufacturers striving via new gas systems and electronic components to bring new levels of performance and functionality to our “replicas”.

But just as the AR-15 morphed into countless external profiles, and eventually for military use became the “M4” that we all know and love today, the civilian shooting market has taken things ever-forward to new heights. Every single part of the “AR” externally has been chopped, changed, modified, and customised, and the “aftermarket parts” industry brings even more to this party. And once again this is mirrored in airsoft, not only via the wonderful companies that make accessories, many of them fully-licenced, but also by the manufacturers themselves that bring creative new designs not only to the internals but also to the externals of our beloved airsoft tools!

So how do I find something new to say about an AR? Actually it’s pretty straightforward and comes, not easily sometimes but eventually, when you’ve seen as many wonderful shooting creations as I have, both real and replica! Ultimately there is ALWAYS something to talk about, and I’m certain I could easily bore you silly by discussing the very tiniest of details.

But that, of course, is not what I’m here to do, is it? I’m here to talk about what makes a design, “ARshaped” as it may be, fundamentally and intrinsically unique. I’m here to tell you, after many years of working with replica “ARs” about the things that sing to me, and why you should consider specific models not over others, but alongside them, and when it comes to DELTA ARMORY (or DA for ease) it’s actually pretty easy to do, because they do things their own way.

Forging Their Own Path

Back in ISSUE 152 I spoke about the very first AEG that I’d had my hands on from DELTA ARMORY, and I was enthusiastic to tell you about that as it was their take on the Mk18 which is one of my all-timefavourite “AR variants”.

I said at the time “The AEG has a very distinctive full-metal body with unique serial number; and I do mean “VERY distinctive”! Although it may cause some raised eyebrows among the “stitch-bitch” fraternity I

This is equally true of the latest model that’s come to me from them via Dom at DELTA ARMORY UK and www.patrolbase.co.uk (who are working directly with DELTA ARMORY for the UK market), the DAA02-ETU ALPHA M4A1 RAS AEG, as this features that awesome “billet-like” receiver-set setup that I liked so much in the Mk18.

A word of explanation and clarification here if I may...

There is something for everyone in the line-up that’s on offer from DELTA ARMORY, from solid entry-level ARs in the all-polymer CHARLIE Series, through polymer/metal-handguard BRAVOs to fullmetal APLHAs for the player looking for a well-priced backup, project AEG, or solid skirmish tool. And now even the ALPHA line has been differentiated further, as you now have ALPHAs and ALPHA ETU models. This at first may seem a little bit confusing, but bottom line is that it actually makes perfect sense, as some of us still actually prefer an AEG with LESS electronics as long as it does what it should… that is, shoot BBs accurately and consistently to a good distance!

Time and tide moves on though, and these days many of you want to have every single element of the “electronic control interface” for want of a better term at your fingertips, and this is what the latest and this is even truer when it comes to their latest ETU models. Starting with a 6.03mm precision inner barrel and a metal, modern-style CNC A-type, flatface trigger, inside there are solid high-quality internal parts with an SHS piston featuring full metal teeth, SHS delayer, 8mm bearings, rotary hop chamber, and a reinforced gearbox that I’m told can handle a 120-130 spring with no problems; I’ll refer back to my initial conversation with the guys at DLETA ARMORY when they told me “we ran several long-term tests with our Delta Armory Springs, but please note that different brands have different strength of springs even when they are named with same number; M120 from SHS can have the same strength as our SP140!”

Add to this the DA QRS system; you can easily change out the spring in few minutes without disassembly of the entire AEG; DA have even gone as far as to create a quick simple video tutorial that can be accessed via their website, or by hitting the DELTA ARMORY YouTube channel direct. There’s also a Quick Motor Change function that’s pretty straightforward given the DA motor grip. But then you get even more! All these quality parts are driven along by a high-torque motor with and the addition of an ETU/ MOSFET system. What does this bring to the table for you to enjoy then?

“(EVERYTHING) ACTUALLY ALL WORKED PERFECTLY! BINARY TRIGGER? CHECK! IMPROVED ROF? CHECK AGAIN! BURST MODE? OH YEAH BABY! AND ALL THIS JUST BY JUGGLING WITH THE FIRE SELECTOR AND TRIGGER… NO CABLES, NO MUSS, NO FUSS… AND EVEN I COULD DO IT ALL… EASILY!” as flashlights, grips, lasers and optics.

Another nice touch is that the package contains an older-style foregrip, a design that suits me well and is simple to fit onto the rail system. The outer barrel has a 14 mm CCW thread with a classic “birdcage” flash hider, so you can easily swap that out for a suppressor or tracer unit, and everything is finished off nicely with a singlepoint sling plate, and CRANE-style stock.

Overall it’s a modernised take on the tried and tested “M4 Carbine” design, and I couldn’t wait to get this on the range to see how all those extra functions performed!

Downrange

So it was off to the Short Range to see if this “technoluddite” had been able to work with the “electronic magic”, and it actually all worked perfectly! Binary Trigger? Check! Improved ROF? Check again! Burst Mode? Oh yeah baby! And all this just by juggling with the fire selector and trigger… no cables, no muss, no fuss… and even I could do it all… easily!

Moving up to the 30m range, on the chrono the AEG was as consistent as the Mk18 before it, settling in at 1.09 Joule/343fps on a .20g RZR. Performance was in line with the Mk18 too, with both range and accuracy up there with the best of them. The 120 BB ridged polymer magazine supplied with the AEG feeds beautifully, but the ALPHA proved to be just as happy with all the other AR and STANAG-style mags I have too. As I fired the AEG I also noticed that the motor seemed quieter than the norm, and upon inspection I discovered that new High Torque version lurking, and that does indeed work very well!

At 30m everything seems solid and competent, even using the standard, out-of-the-box rotary hop and rubber, and it seems happy enough to hop a .30g to the extent of the range with a nice flat trajectory. On semi the trigger response is VERY crisp even at its most basic, and this strikes me as an AEG that could hold its own quite happily in either a woodland or CQB setting. I’ve put everything back now to “factory settings” and I’ll be continuing to test the ALPHA “M4” alongside the Mk18 over time… continue to watch this space!

I’m confident that although DELTA AMORY are a relatively new addition to our industry, they do appear to have a very open and forward-facing approach to creating some very workmanlike and durable performance AEGs, and obviously they’re not afraid to push forward with new technology either! They’re taking a solid line with their licenced FREYA project (of which I hope to hear more and report on it later this year!), and the fact that they spend so much time creating their own unique and attractive external designs really does sing to me.

Whilst the DA-A02-ETU ALPHA “M4” may not be a true replica of the military M4A1, it is most certainly a brilliant representation of a thoroughly modern and unique “AR” AEG that nods with great respect at its forebears externally whilst moving things forward yet again internally in airsoft terms at a very keen price considering what you’re getting! As such I believe we have even greater things to look forward to from DELTA ARMORY in the future as they move things ever onward in their own unique way… long may this continue!

My thanks go to DELTA ARMORY for supplying the test model featured here, along with Dom at DELTA ARMORY UK and the guys at www.patrolbase.co.uk (where you’ll find an extensive selection of the DA AEG models!) for expediting delivery to AAHQ! AA