8 minute read
RELOADED: A&K WINCHESTER
STILL SHOWDOWN READY!
SEVEN YEARS AGO BILL TREATED HIMSELF TO ONE OF THE ORIGINAL A&K WINCHESTER LEVER ACTION RIFLES, AND IT TRULY FUELLED ALL OF HIS DREAMS OF AIRSOFT ON THE “WIDE OPEN RANGE”; HE NOW RETURNS TO THIS WESTERN CLASSIC TO GIVE HIS OVERVIEW ON HOW IT HAS PERFORMED… AND CONTINUES TO PERFORM TO THIS DAY!
Over the many years I’ve been playing I’ve had the pleasure of trying most forms of airsoft, but one that I STILL want to give a go is “6mm Wild West”; sadly my fight with “The Big C” over the last few years has put a bit of a dent in my airsoft adventures, but now I’m thankfully in recovery mode it’s time to look again to the future!
Our old mate Josh and his great crew at Gunman Airsoft run regular western themed games under the “Flying Lead” banner, and from what I’ve heard, and seen in post-game pictures, they are very, very good. There are some excellent airsoft “Western” revolvers out there from manufacturers like Hartford, Tanaka, Marushin, and now King Arms which have been, and are, superb; manufacturers like KTW and Marushin have built Winchester and Randall rifles they have traditionally been very expensive, and in many cases didn’t perform very well from what I’ve been told. And of course if you want a sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun… they are out there!
I have been lucky enough to shoot real Winchester lever action rifles and “clones”, most recently a lovely Uberti “1873” chambered in .45 Colt, and they are a part of the western “legend”. I really wanted to put together a “cowboy” airsoft loadout so a Winchester was high on my list of priorities, along with a brace of Single Action Army (SAA) revolvers; the rifle I now have and have loved for some time, but the pistols sadly still elude me. I spoke to a number of the guys involved in the “Cowboy Airsoft” scene way back
and almost everyone told me not to bother with any of the older Winchester models unless I was going to put “some serious money” into getting one that worked properly and reliably so you can imagine I was overjoyed when I managed to snag a rather nifty looking lever action from A&K. This was the then-new, UK friendly replica, and to see a classic yet affordable Western themed rifle from them was a joy; those “Saturday Afternoon Westerns” of my dim and distant youth came flooding back to me!
The real Winchester 1892 was actually first manufactured after the “golden age” of the American frontier, and the true “Guns that Won the West” were the earlier Models 1866 and 1873. That said the 1892 became an icon of the Western through its use in hundreds of cowboy films and television shows, standing in for the older models. Hollywood movies studio bought up literally hundreds of the 1892 because it was in regular production during the silver screen cowboy heyday but looked sufficiently like “Old West” Winchesters to substitute for valuable antiques, and because in calibres .44-40 and .38-40 it could fire, together with the Colt Single Action Army “Peacemaker” revolver, the standard blank cartridge.
This mirrored the way that real cowboys found it convenient to carry a rifle and a revolver chambered with the same ammunition. John Wayne famously carried 1892s in dozens of his films and owned several personally, some with the distinctive oversized “loop” lever that is seen “filling his hand” in “True Grit”; Steve McQueen was also a fan, famously using his “Mare’s Leg” (so named because it kicked like one, and also now available from A&K!!!) in the show “Wanted: Dead or Alive”.
It is believed that some 1,007,608 1892 rifles were made by Winchester, and although the company phased them out in 1945, they are still being made by companies like Rossi, Chiappa, Uberti, and by Browning in Japan. In its modern form, using updated materials and production techniques, the Model 1892’s action is strong enough to chamber high pressure handgun rounds, such as .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .454 Casull!
A&K NAILED IT!
With this absolute wealth of history and cinematic provenance in hand I was truly impressed by how the A&K Winchester performed out of the box when I bought it, and it has not missed a beat since then (although it has now been stripped and serviced a couple of times!); A&K really did nail it! They offer two “1892 Western” models in their range, the “1892” which comes with faux-wood plastic furniture and the “1892A” which has real wood, albeit somewhat “Chinese Orange”; this wood finish is okay, but a little sanding down and re-staining have this looking “just so”, so to me it’s not a problem. Alongside this A&K now offer that supersweet “Mare’s Leg” and the “tacticool (why not?) “1873RS”. All the models are predominantly full metal in their construction including a rather nice brass buttplate for the “1892”
variants. In terms of dimensions and weight A&K have done very well as the real 1892 measured 953mm and weighed 453.4g, and the replica comes in at 955mm/360g.
The finish on all the metal
parts is very, very tidy indeed, a nice matte black throughout which has stood up to wear well. In the hands, if you’re used to modern firearm models, the Winchester feels almost diminutive given its slender and elegant profile, but it shoulders well and is easy to move around. There’s next to no “fluff” about the 1892; there’s a small ring on the left hand side for securing it into a saddle holster, and sights are simple yet effective with a blade at the sharp end and a ladder sight adjustable for windage and elevation (Mrs Langdon!). The 1892 has no controls and no safety catch, but once cocked the hammer can be released forward by easing the trigger so the rifle can be safely carried when loaded; when you’re ready to fire it’s just a case of cocking the hammer back with your thumb and pulling the trigger.
The A&K is gas powered and gas is charged into the chamber by removing a small plate on the front of what would be the magazine on the real thing; this is quickly and easily achieved and the small plate resembling a screw head is held securely in place by a tiny spring-loaded ball. Just like the real thing the replica 1892 is loaded via a small port on the right hand side just above the front of the trigger guard; a special loading tool consisting of a tube, plunger, and angled plate is provided with the replica as the BBs actually load in at an angle which you’d be hard pressed to achieve with a normal speed loader.
HOME ON THE RANGE
As new the Winchester loaded up with its full complement of 24 0.20g RZR BBs and charged with NUPROL 2.0 gas fully lived up to my expectations. Through the chrono the rifle delivers a consistent average of 332fps over a string of 10 BBs which is perfect for all sites. With the hop set (this is situated on top of the barrel and accessed by cocking the rife, and easily adjusted using a small Allen key which is provided) at 10m unsupported I’m able to group 10 BBs within 25mm, and I can easily hit my “sandbag” at 30m. The rate of fire is of course governed by how fast you can work the lever action, but this is very smooth in operation; you do need to ensure however that you cycle the action fully as internally there is a small plate which lifts the next BB into place and if you don’t work the lever completely you’ll be left “dry firing”!
This performance, with regular servicing, has remained constant over the time I’ve owned the 1892, and I have to say that I still find it utterly charming, and it’s proved to be no slouch in terms of build quality or performance either. I will go as far as saying that this is a replica I have genuinely loved owning, and as it cost just £179.00 when I bought it (they seem to be even cheaper now!) I’d say that’s money well spent!
Would you use this as a skirmish rifle on a weekend? I’d have to say no, but if you’re thinking of dabbling in “Wild West Airsoft” as one day I intend still to do now that I’m healthy again, then this is a rifle that will let you do just that at a sensible price, and you’ll have a lot of fun doing so!
Fill your hands you SOAB!!!
For further information on the A&K Winchester 1892, the “Mare’s Leg”, and the 1892RS, and many, many more fine airsoft replicas please do visit www. nuprol.com, and all models should be hitting your favourite airsoft stores again right now. AA
