34 minute read
RED CELL: GBB PISTOLS
RED CELL
COMIN’ AROUND AGAIN!
IT’S TIME AGAIN TO LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE MODELS THAT RED CELL CHECKED OUT FIRST IN ISSUE 121, AND TIME HAS REALLY FLOWN BY SINCE THEN, SO IT’S TIME FOR THE CREW TO GET TOGETHER VIRTUALLY TO UPDATE THEIR FINDINGS, THIS TIME INCLUDING SOME OF OUR NEWER “CELL” MEMBERS IN THE MIX AS WELL!
Time it does fly on by and I can’t believe that it was way back in 2020 when we first looked at the “OTHER GBB PISTOLS” category! The Red Cell program had really flourished during that time, with all members having triple figures of AEGs and GBBs to reference, and in turn passing that information on to you!
It is a rolling program, and as we promised at the outset we will continue to document the performance and durability of those models we first looked at, whilst continually adding new, globally popular models to the mix… sadly, as you’ll read when you get into the meat of things, not all of them have stood up to the pace of testing, and it’s sending the AA Tech’ers down some real rabbit holes in search of solutions… some say that “we break ‘em so you don’t have to” whereas WE say “we break ‘em and find a fix so you can keep on using ‘em!”
“Replica military models” are still amongst the most popular AEGs and GBBs that we all buy, but it’s incredibly interesting to see new designs hitting the market, concepts drawn up by airsoft manufacturers themselves. Models like the G&G Armament Piranha Mk1, the AAP-01, and the WE Galaxy are far from “military” but that’s not to say that they’re not righteous 6mm creations!
I don’t know about all of you but I’ve certainly been spending more time than usual with my handgun collection in the past couple of years, and even while stuck at home I made good use of my “home range”; you only need about 20-30 feet, your eyepro, some BBs and gas, and some targets set into a solid backstop, and you’re good to go! I do have neighbours, but they’re all used to seeing me “out back” with AEGs and GBBs as I’ve taken time to speak with them and “educate” them that what they see me shooting are “6mm BB replicas, and indeed these days, especially with some of the new “non-
mil” models they’re actually very interested, and I’m pleased now that I can invite them over to have a shoot!
I’ve actually been continuing to enjoy spending more time with my GBB handguns overall on the “home range”, and although I have my favourites it’s always nice to try something new isn’t it? Recently I’ve had new models through that I’ll be adding to the “OTHERS” test pool in the form of the VORSK OSORIS and the RAVEN R9 that you’ll see reviewed in this very issue, and as things are picking up again and shipments apparently back to full flow, I’m sure that I’ll be adding more for the guys of “The Cell” to test in due course. But with all the stats in the bag once again, it’s time to hand over now to the Red Cell crew themselves to give you an idea of how the pistol models they had to test initially have fared since we first got them together!
Boycie: The M17 is getting equal use alongside my other pistols. It’s also being a big hit at the local range where we use airsoft to allow everyone to take
part in two gun competitions. It’s proving to be a really nice pistol. A number of friends have given it a run out and then said that they intend on buying one for themselves. They’d been worried about some comments in groups that they are made of cheese and that is far from the truth. I love that I can use my Glock holster for the M17 which has saved me a lot in not needing to invest in a further holster, especially as I prefer Safariland holsters. Reloading is swift and I spend a bit of time each week in reload drills, now that I have 3 spare mags for it. I’m mainly using Nuprol 3.0 or V8 gas and Valken .28’s. I also like that I can use my weapon mounted lights and still holster it, this means I can sling my primary and go to my side arm when in close quarters. It’s also been a good back up sidearm when running the Steyr Scout (reviewed in a previous AA issue alongside “Little Stu”).
Bill: As much as I love the M17 I have to admit I’m still a sucker for another “SIG” as I’ve had it so long and played with it so much and that’s the “SEAL Mk25If pressed I would have to say that the WE pistol does look an awful lot like a Mk25 , which is going to please a lot of “Team Six” players no end!
Online research tells me that after extensive environmental trials that simulated the operating environment of SEAL units, including immersion in sand, salt water and mud, along with a thirty-thousand-round endurance test, USN SEALs adopted the Mk25 as their sidearm of choice over every other model out there!
Now my “Mk25” has been with me a LONG time and has put up[ with all kinds of abuse, so much like the real deal I can honestly say that this old campaigner will be running hard when others start to fail! . The original finish is still excellent, having stood up to countless “Kydex draws” which will test the best paintjobs out there, and it still goes through the chrono at 295fps, emptying two mags out of one fill of Nuprol’s finest “green”. I still want to find some rubberised “combat grips” for it as the “SEAL Team” grips do feel a bit “plastic” as Jase noted in our original roundup, but I also have to agree with him that this 226 does indeed have the tightest fitting slide by miles, it literally has no wobble to it, and when it comes to hitting the steel it makes light work of the task!
And to keep me in line with my love for the “226”, although there are no (absolutely none, nada!) “trades” on the RAVEN R226 other than that nomenclature on the handgrips it undoubtedly is one, and in my opinion is one of the very nicest handguns that RAVEN have produced to date (although their
new R9 is pretty darn close!), and even with the love I have for the Hi Capa 4.3 as a “fighting gun” I truly believe that this new model has the potential to be one of the best “fighting GBBs” on the market for the money.
With an overall length of 190mm, and weight of 845g the “feel” of the R226 is superb, and this is further enhanced by the almost-rubberised-in-texture pistol grip that’s wrapped around the rear; it gives you confidence that once you have the R226 in your hand it’s going to stay there, whatever the weather, whatever the situation. I’ve been running the R226 on NUPROL 2.0 gas, using .20g RZR BBs for testing, and the chrono settles consistently at 0.83 Joule/300fps on that weight, with little variance from new. The pistol has now had about 75 mags worth down the barrel (a mix of .20 and .25g RZRs), and to date I’ve experienced no issues. Accuracy is actually getting better the more I run it, and at 10m I’m now down to regular 75mm groupings when I try; consistently at 10m it’s a breeze hitting steels each and every time, even when I’m on the move!
Chris: (cracks knuckles, right..) If I could sum up the WE Browning Mk3 in three words I would say, A beautiful disappointment. Externally my Mk3 is solid with no rattle, and the finish is thin but looks great… and that sadly is all the good points. Internally it’s a
letdown with the whole barrel and “hop” assembly being so loose from new it was no wonder I was having consistency issues. After tightening the barrel parts and adjusting the “hop” it has been very good with range and consistency.
That said, the Hop up is a major let down, its just a small rubber patch that is topped with the weakest brass screw known to man; if you’ve ever owned the WE Mauser 712 you’ll know what I mean. I’m waiting for this to just give up the ghost any second, talking of giving up leads me nicely onto another main disappointment. The mags; not only do you have to be extremely careful of a small spring in the magwell, (so careful in fact you have to insert and extract with the hammer back or it will bend and render the replica useless) the mag gas capacity/consumption is so bad you barely get through a whole mag before it runs out of puff, not very helpful if you’re depending on it as a reliable secondary. In conclusion, great to look at, hold and fill a pouch, awful to use. My only hope is that WE release a Gen2 with proper innards.
Stewbacca: The WE Luger is very much the same story, basically copied off the old Japanese system (Marushin or Maruzen, can’t remember which) and also has the mag insertion problem and poor efficiency. Knowing how good some of WEs kit is despite being economical I feel they have little excuse.
Bill: Yup, I had high hopes for the Mk3 as it’s basically one of my Cold War era “holy grail guns”, and I SO wanted it to be right, as good as the Mk25 has proved to be… sadly it’s not, for all of the reasons that Chris has mentioned before. The operation moves no further onward from WE’s “Canadian” and apparently if suffers from all the same weaknesses both internally and in relation to the magazine. Externally it looks exactly like I’d wished for (the real Hi Power was a bit of dog finish-wise if I’m honest), but I’m not sure how the finish will live up to hard use as it does indeed feel very “thin”. I’ve passed mine over to Jimmy to see what he can make of the internals, so we’ll have a look at that in due course to see if there are any “fixes” he can come up with…
Dan: The WE Browning is one I took in to repair for a friend. Externally it’s pretty, but the internals are certainly lackluster and our example suffered a sear failure after the owner had only put 3 magazines through it. As it was brand new to the market at the time, replacement parts were not available in the US and it took nearly 2 1/2 months to get a new sear from some obscure shop out of Hong Kong. Rather disappointingly, the new sear immediately died within a few pulls of the trigger. At that point, we binned it and sold it as a boneyard special. Aside from that, I concur with all of the points Chris brought up regarding this platform.
I’ve run a good few mags through an AAP01 and mucked about in the internals some. Overall, I found it technically interesting, it not a little derivative to its influences, and slightly cheap feeling. I came
away with the impression that the designers knew this pistol would be an instant hit, and therefore did the minimum amount possible to refine the parts, knowing most of the meaty bits were just standing in as “place holders” for latter upgrades. And maybe that’s fine, owing to intention of the platform; that is after all why many builders purchase the JG VSR-10 over the Tokyo Marui VSR-10. If you’re going to gut absolutely everything, why start out with the more expensive product first?
Stewbacca: With regards to the Action Army AAP01, you can find my full review in April 2021’s back issues, but for the short version; it’s clearly a winning formula given the fact it took the Airsoft arena by storm, an economical, highly adaptable or customisable reimagining of the Ruger, its fixed inner barrel gave it surprising out of the box accuracy for me, especially with mid-weight ammunition such as the 0.3g region, especially useful is its integral threaded barrel muzzle section and protector, enabling you to whack a tracer on it from the get go, which I did, with great results.
It’s clearly left an impression in skirmish and speedsoft communities alike and I’ve seen countless players in Taiwan favouring it for the sheer plethora of functional and aesthetic components available to really make it your own, while the fact it takes practically any Glock mags and is also compatible with their internals no doubt lends further to its appeal.
It took Redwolf Airsoft’s top spot in terms of gas pistols, and with clear reason. I always recommend them - if you can find them - to people who want something that just shoots well, accurately, and reliably out of the box and allows you to grow the platform in future. I have numerous gas pistols and have owned countless others in the past, but few can be depended on to fire first time, every time, without many if any failures to speak of.
Jimmy: Reliability out of the box… hmm, I kinda have to disagree sorry to say Stu. They are renowned for braking hammers and disconnectors and the BBU wears thin incredibly fast. I have worked on many all suffering the same symptoms. I have a brand new one sat in a box; it had one burst of full chat and pretty much obliterated itself! They are good after fitting some choice upgrades but as for out of the box I personally wouldn’t rate them. I agree that the market has been taken by storm and the imagination of the AAP community has pretty much exploded and it is a platform that lends itself well for performance enhancing upgrades. I think regarding custom builds it is up there with the Hi Capa if not in front.
Stewbacca: Jimmy, I do wonder if there was a downturn in quality after they saturated the local market? I see loads of guys running them here without seeing anywhere near as many problems, and from what I hear their lead design guy recently split off to become the head guy of TTI, so I’m not sure if it is a case of “too big, too fast” and they dropped quality to get the insane bulk of them out the door...
Concerning the Shadow SP01, my full review of the KJW is available in the August 2021 in back issues! I used this for a good six months in Action Air,- which is an intensive run for any gas pistol compared to the usual holster filling role or occasional up close and panicking sidearm, and it didn’t disappoint given the beating it endured. A
hefty all metal frame and slide construction does make it somewhat from another era for many - including myself - who prefer the plastic fantastic polymer framed wonder-nines and other such mid to late eighties arrivals. But that makes it ideal for competition use and steady, flat shooting, with the weight eating up a lot of the already much lesser recoil impulse of an airsoft gun, which along with its very short, light and crisp single action trigger mode lead to me stacking double alphas in short order.
G&G GTP-9
Model: G&G GTP-9 Price: iro £110.00 Age: 18 Months Weight: 755g Length: 21.6cm Magazine Capacity: 27 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps Hot Chrono: 0.75 Joule/284fps Holster Compatibility: Only tested with Amomax Universal Holster Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: 12mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
G&G PIRANHA MK1
Price: iro £150.00 Age: 18 months Weight: 670g Length: 195mm Magazine Capacity: 25 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.72 Joule/280fps Hot Chrono: 0.53 Joule/240fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Adapter Required Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
ASG SHADOW SP-01
Price: iro £110.00 Age: 4 Years Weight: 1079g Length: 225mm Magazine Capacity: 26 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.77 Joule/288fps Hot Chrono: 0.72 Joule/280fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: N/A Supplied By: www.actionsportgames.com
ASG CZ75 CLASSIC
Price: iro £125.00 Age: 5 Years Weight: 980g Length: 206mm Magazine Capacity: 24 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.89 Joule/310fps Hot Chrono: 0.80 Joule/295fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: N/A Suppressor Compatibility: N/A Supplied By: www.actionsportgames.com
RAVEN R226
Price: iro £100.00 Age: 18 months Weight: 845g Length: 190mm Magazine Capacity: 20 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.78 Joule/290fps Hot Chrono: 0.72 Joule/280fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Good Supplied By: www.rvnairsoft.com
WE MK25
Price: iro £130.00 Age: 5+ Years Weight: 100g Length: 195mm Magazine Capacity: 24 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.80 Joule/295fps Hot Chrono: 0.78 Joule/290fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: Adapter Required Supplied By: www.weairsoft.com
SIG PROFORCE M17
Price: iro £160.00 Age: 18 months Weight: 769g Length: 203mm Magazine Capacity: 28 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps Hot Chrono: 0.86 Joule/305fps Holster Compatibility: Good Taclite Compatibility: Good Suppressor Compatibility: N/A Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk
WE BROWNING MK3
Price: iro £120.00 Age: 20 Months Weight: 819g Length: 218mm Magazine Capacity: 20 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps Hot Chrono: 0.75 Joule/284fps Holster Compatibility: Great in a ’58 pattern version! Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: No Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
WE GALAXY G-SERIES
Price: iro £130.00 Age: New Weight: 901g Length: 220mm Magazine Capacity: 23 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps Hot Chrono: 0.75 Joule/284fps Holster Compatibility: Bespoke Taclite Compatibility: Railed Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
ARMY AAP-01
Price: iro £90.00 Age: 15 Months Weight: 655g Length: 230mm Magazine Capacity: 27 BBs Cold Chrono: 0.95 Joule/320fps Hot Chrono: 0.75 Joule/284fps Holster Compatibility: Bespoke Taclite Compatibility: No Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: Stewbacca
Eventually I supplanted it with my current Shadow 2 which has served for a year and a half and is currently in bits awaiting a major overhaul as it’s seen even more intense abuse, but that was mainly an aesthetic and handling reason, I found the Shadow 2 points and shoots a little better and fits my bear paws more comfortably, but nonetheless there’s nothing wrong with the SP01 if you want the classic lines of a Beretta like form factor in a legendary Czech package. The high side walls of the dust cover and inverted rails make for great controllability and hand placement even with tactical gloves on, and even the double action is relatively light and easy if you prefer to carry one hammer down.
Bill: As I’ve said before in use the ASG version of the SP-01 is flawless, although I have had a few issues now with magazine floorplates, thankfully easily remedied by buying some 3D printed versions “off of t’interwebz”!. The action is still very crisp indeed, although the old gal is starting to show some signs of slide wobble… not bad though after the hammering it’s taken! When cocked the safety still clicks into place firmly and solidly. The pistol uses a gas magazine with extended floorplate as standard (now replaced as mentioned) which is still positive and easy to load, and this continues to snap into place with a reassuring “clack”. Overall this is a really satisfying airsoft pistol and continues to live up to its initial promise. It still looks and feels great, shoots beautifully after a couple of services, and continues to cycle perfectly on both green gas and CO2.
Jimmy: Before any shooting commenced I wanted to chrono test the GTP9 and the first ten shots out of the box were quite impressive on the power output; using RZR 0.20g BBs the power was better than a lot of other pistols I’ve tested with a high fps of 302 and a low fps of 294. I proceeded to the range and released a whole magazine with fifteen at a slow pace and the remaining eight rapid fire and it happily emptied all of them with equal power.
With a slight adjustment to the hop up I had the BBs shooting nice and straight and hitting centre mass on the target every time at a distance of 10 metres. I managed to get through three magazines before having to re-gas, as on the fourth mag the slide wasn’t travelling far enough back to reset for a follow up shot. After putting 100 BBs down range I went back to the chrono and found that the fps had dropped slightly, highest fps 290 and the lowest fps was 284 so if we look at the earlier readings to the recent readings we are looking at an average of around the 290 mark. Performance wise it performed much better than I had imagined it would and I actually expected it to fall flat on its face!
So now that we have covered all of the good stuff let’s take a look at the little niggles I have after a while. The trigger is very Glock-like, but it has a fair amount of take up with a massive 12mm before anything happens, then it has a reset of about 6mm. It’s not a heavy pull but it’s not what I’m used to. The magazine itself isn’t a problem and can accommodate 27 BBs at a push, the problem is in the loading. It is quite stiff on the feed lips and the mag follower has to be pulled fully down and locked in place in order to make loading somewhat easier, and should you forget to unlock it (like I did several times) it will render it useless especially when you need it most but to be honest that’s more a user error than a mag problem. I’m sure that after a fashion you will remember to unlock it without giving it a thought. I must admit I have been proven wrong, and yes, I did have to eat the whole humble pie. Out of everything regarding the GTP9 I could only really find those three little niggles which are from a personal perspective, so it’s a win for G&G at the end of the day.
Bill: Sticking with the G&Gs, and I’ll get this out of the way first; the Piranha is most definitely not a replica of a “military or police” pistol, but something far more interesting! It’s a unique design that G&G have created in house, and in my opinion it shows the very best of the current drive for airsoft manufacturers to play with their own concepts, ones that feature all their latest technology all wrapped up in a pleasing and ultimately very usable finished product! I’ve set the Piranha up with .20g RZR BBs for chrono and
.28g for normal shooting, and the 24 BB magazine is slightly larger than the magazine of the GTP-9, and sadly not compatible… I get a pleasingly consistent and perfectly playable 0.8 Joule/295fps on .20g over the course of the magazine on NUPROL 2.0 “Green”.
And as much as the Piranha is a very attractive, lightweight modern design, and a lovely thing to behold, at the end of the day it’s how it performs and if anything it shoots even better than it looks! As I’ve stated many times before, for me a handgun is a backup, and certainly one that needs to excel on the 10m range, and as I’d hoped, at this distance the Piranha has proved to have some serious bite! Once you’ve set the “muzzle hop” with the sweet little “bullet tool” to your chosen weight of BBs (0.28g worked well for me over testing to date), at 10m it’s deadly accurate; where the accuracy of many of my pistol collection would start to fade a little beyond that distance though, the Piranha is still bang on the button. Upping to 20m using the classic three-dot sights I’m still happily hitting sandbags!
To conclude this month I’ll finish off with one of my all-time favourite pistols, both real and airsoft! As much as I’d had high hopes for the WE Browning Mk3, if you want a great, classic-lines airsoft handgun then I believe you’d be hard-pressed to find an historical model much better than the CZ75 from ASG, which shows that licencing works perfectly as you’d be hard pressed to distinguish the replica from
the real thing! All the dimensions are pretty spot on with the replica coming in at 206.3mm long as opposed to the 206mm of the current 75B; in terms of weight the real thing tips the scales at 1000g and the replica when loaded with its full complement of 24, .20g BBs is pretty darn close at 984.8g.
The ergonomics of the replica also mimic those of the real thing and this is a pistol that really does sit very comfortably in the hand. The angle of the pistol grip (which is slightly longer than the Hi-Power and 1911) is nigh on perfect, and even the chequered plastic grips featured the embossed CZ logo. The controls are all quite similar to those of the Hi-Power and the 1911 as well so if you own one of those models the 75 will feel pretty instinctive. In use the ASG CZ75 is equally flawless. The action is very crisp indeed, the slide easily moved to the rear thanks to some deep serrations on either side of the slide at the rear. When cocked the safety clicks into place firmly and solidly. The pistol comes with a 24 round gas magazine as standard which is swift and easy to load, and this snaps into place with a reassuring “clack”.
Loaded up with .20g NUPROL BBs and gas the CZ75 send BBs downrange with astonishing accuracy giving excellent groupings at 10 metres. The pistol does have an adjustable hop-up which is accessed by removing the slide, and this is very well explained in the full colour instruction manual supplied with the pistol. On .20g ammo it has chrono’d consistently around the 300fps mark over several thousand BBs; ASG do offer a CO2 magazine as an accessory, and this works equally as well. Overall this is a really superb airsoft pistol and is worthy of a place in anyone’s collection. It looks and feels great, shoots consistently and extremely accurately, and cycles perfectly on both green gas and CO2! AA
INSPIRED MAGIC
ALWAYS KEEN TO HUNT OUT SOMETHING JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT BILL TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST RAVEN PISTOL MODEL IN THE SHAPE OF THE R9 WHICH MAY JUST GIVE PLAYERS AN AFFORDABLE “M9” STYLE HANDGUN, ONE THAT PERFORMS RELIABLY, AND THAT COULD BE THE ANSWER FOR MANY PLAYERS THAT LOVE THIS NOW-VENERABLE PLATFORM!
RAVEN really seem to be rolling hot when it comes to affordable skirmish pistols, and they’re slowly but surely covering off some absolutely classic designs with their usual performance twists; slow in the case of bringing a durable and reliable airsoft pistol with great levels of performance out of the box is a good thing to me, as it indicates that some thought has been given to rectifying the performance issues in “models gone by”. RAVEN seem to be especially good at looking back to models that we all love (and have found wanting from other manufacturers) and reinvigorating them with parts-redesigns and tweaks, new moulds and fresh manufacturing processes!
I’ve been running a number of RAVEN models for some considerable time now, and I absolutely adore the RAVEN Hi Capa family when it comes to sound skirmish performance. Sometimes though you need a specific model for a specific loadout so I was very, very pleased when I saw that they’d added the R9 (a “Beretta M9” inspired model in anyone’s book!) to their range. Most will be aware that the Beretta M92 pistol served the majority of the US Forces during the Gulf War and the Afghanistan years, and if you’re creating a loadout for this period (I’m revisiting it in my BLOCK 1 M4 builds at the moment, more on this next month!) then a serviceable “Beretta” is exactly what you’re going to need! Beretta is a name that is rightly known throughout the world of shooting, from the mighty claybusting shotguns, through sporting rifles, to out and out fighting machines, and bizarrely it’s in the military world where Beretta started, and Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta, literally, Pietro Beretta Arms Factory, was founded in the 16th century making it the oldest active manufacturer of military firearm components in the world. With models used throughout the ages Beretta has a strong military history, and the Model 12 sub-machinegun has served it’s users well over through the years; I mention the Model 12 as it’s a little known fact that its debut in combat came during the TET Offensive in 1968 when the Marines guarding the U.S. embassy in Saigon repelled an assault by the Viet Cong using the smalle-buteffective Beretta SMG!
What makes the Beretta interesting to me as much as the “military role” though is its role as a “cultural change model” thanks to its inclusion in two movies that changed the way firearms were portrayed in “LE-use” and in the movie-goers psyche; in 1987 “Lethal Weapon” came out, and firearms in the movie were actually very carefully chosen to tie into the characters that were using them, and rather cleverly showed another cultural trend in the change from the wheelguns of old to more modern semiautomatic handguns. Martin Riggs choice of the Beretta (92F) over the revolvers used by most of the cops, including his long-suffering partner Roger “I’m too old for this…” Murtaugh, showed a new approach to reliability and “superiority through firepower”, or as Murtaugh states “Nine millimeter Beretta, takes fifteen in the mag, one up the pipe, wide ejection port, no feed jams.” Riggs is also highly proficient with the Beretta, able to “draw”
a smiley face on a silhouette target at several dozen yards with it, much to the bewilderment of Murtaugh in one memorable scene!
In 1988’s “Die Hard” (probably one of Red Cell’s favourite movies as you may well know!), the handgun used by John McClane was his trusty Beretta (again a 92F to be clear). This at the time was a handgun that would not have been on the issue list of the NYPD, but it doesn’t shock me greatly that McClane carried this model, especially a customised version with an extended magazine and slide release. I’m proud to know a number of serving and former LE guys in the USA and believe me when I tell you that many of them carry a handgun concealed when offduty that is far from their issued “service pistol”. Bear in mind that McClane is going to see his family and is not at work during the film, but from the very first moment it’s glimpsed under his jacket when he’s still on the plane it establishes him as a police officer, one of the “good guys”. Interestingly (to me at least!) the live-firing handgun that was used in both movies has since been retired to a glass museum case and is now part of movie lore.
SOLID AND SOUND
Okay, so as a “generic M9” is the RAVEN going to tick all my boxes? I’ve had numerous airsoft “Berettas” over the years, mainly when I lived in the USA and was running an American loadout with a SOPMOD BLOCK 1 M4! Sadly I’ve retained exactly ZERO in the armoury as for numerous reasons they’ve all been thoroughly underwhelming as a skirmish pistol, if not downright bad. The reason that I’m so pleased that RAVEN have entered this territory is that I’ve been running quite a few of their existing models on a regular basis on the range during lockdowns, and they’ve all performed, and more importantly CONTINUE TO PERFORM, superbly, so I have high hopes for the R9!
What you immediately feel when you lift the R9 from its box is the sheer solid heft of this full-metal handgun, as it weighs in just over 600g; it’s a big, 215mm-long chunk of fully-functional metalwork that, if you’re anything like me, will put a big old grin on your face! The R9 has a 20mm rail on the lower front of the frame, so it’s a snap to fit a taclite for those “TORA BORA” moments. The controls will be familiar if you’ve ever had an airsoft “Beretta”, and everything is on the left side of the pistol. The magazine release is a button-style where the trigger guard meets the frame, and the slide release can be found just above easily within reach of the stronghand thumb, and in front of this is take-down pin for slide removal, maintenance and for adjustment of the Hop.
You also get an ambidextrous decocking/safety lever at the rear of the pistol; with the action cocked, a simple movement of the safety catch down will decock the hammer, allowing you to carry the R9 in “Condition1” like a 1911. However, the R9 can be fired from “Condition 1” without having to re-engage with the lo-profile hammer, as with the safety off it has an SA/DA trigger. Sure enough, the first shot will have a long pull with follow-ups being significantly shorter as the gas-efficient system comes into its own! Other nice finishing touches include functional nonadjustable sights, angled serrations on either side of the slide to give a positive handle when cocking the pistol, and diamond checked pistol grips which offer, in combination with the backstrap, solid retention. There’s also a threaded outer barrel as standard (for use in conjunction with a RAVEN thread adaptor) that will allow you to run a suppressor should you wish to do so.
And now to the all-important shooty bit!
DOWNRANGE
Loaded up with .20g RZR BBs and NP2.0 greenbottle gas the R9 sends a full magazine of 25 BBs downrange with astonishing accuracy thanks to the 113mm 6.03 inner barrel, giving excellent groupings at 10 metres; the sights are a simple front blade/rear notch affair although you could potentially upgrade these to “fibre dot” sights should you wish as the real-deal M9 after-market is awash with these.
On the .20g ammo it chrono’s consistently around the 0.83 Joule/300fps mark. RAVEN do tend to offer a CO2 magazine as an accessory (this is yet to be confirmed for the R9 though) and this will raise the power a little; I hope they do offer a C02 mag eventually as this as a positive and will give greater consistency in the colder months of the year for those of us in “temperate” climates.
Overall this is a really first-rate airsoft pistol and is worthy of a place in anyone’s armoury. It looks
and feels great, shoots consistently and accurately, and cycles perfectly on “green-bottle” gas. Whether you buy an R9 as a simple, solid skirmish pistol, as a loadout-specific military model, or indeed just as a part of silver screen history the fact is that RAVEN’s take is going to serve you well, and as it sits at that magic UK£100 mark it is most definitely NOT going to break the bank of pocket money! I’ve wanted a replica of this iconic model for many years, one that would offer me reliability and durability, and now thanks to RAVEN I believe I’ve finally found the one I’ve been looking for!
My thanks as always go to the guys at RAVEN for letting me check out the new R9, and you can get more information on all the models they offer by simply heading over to www.rvnairsoft.com AA
