23 minute read
RED CELL: GBBR
RED CELL GIVING IT THE GAS!
IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, BUT FINALLY THE CELL HAVE MANAGED TO POOL THEIR RESOURCES AND PULL TOGETHER A GROUP OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE TO BE SOME OF THE BEST AR AND AK GBBRS OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT! WITH MEMBERS TORN BETWEEN THEIR EXISTING AEGS AND THE “REALISM” LURE OF THE GBBR IT’S TIME TO DIVE ON IN AND FIND OUT WHAT THEY THOUGHT; IS THE “GAS LIFE” WHAT THEY ALWAYS WANTED, OR SIMPLY A CLOUD OF NOXIOUS VAPOUR?
So, as usual I’ll head on off with some brief notes about our subject this month, gassers! Personally I love ‘em, and I’ve written extensively over the years about my love for gas-driven platforms! However, I will be the first to admit that in order to get the best from a gas carbine or rifle platform in the past you were truly devoting yourself to a style and form of airsoft play that meant you had to
have deep (and I mean dark and very deep!) pockets. When I first bought a gas AR many moons ago, a G&P WOC which was basically just a take on the alreadyelderly Western Arms system (“WOC” standing, I was led to believe at the time, for “Western (Arms) Official Custom), and although mine had some very cool steel internals it was a right b’stard to get running properly, and when it came to going full-auto… well, it didn’t!
Time and tide though, as they say, moves on, and the enjoyment I got from that old G&P sold me on gas carbine and rifle platforms, and from that time on I’ve searched constantly for a platform that is both close in function to a real firearm and reliable to actually use in a game. It has been a long and often frustrating journey that has led me right back to those original Western Arms GBBRs, on past VIPERTECH, through KJW and KWA, and onto both WE and VFC, with a smattering of Umarex (I still love their MP5) and GHK along the way. I’ve cried tears of anger and frustration when parts have failed (the original nozzle on the WE “SVD” seemed to be made of coke-bottle plastic… in fact it was more fragile than that!) or when I’ve simply tried to set the hop (who thought placing a tiny hex-screw OVER the barrel, inside the upper was any kind of good idea???), and the sheer number of instant-vent magazines I’ve had to contend with beggars belief! But, and it’s a BIG BUT, things have indeed moved on, and these days when I go to test a new GBB AR or AK they all seem to work!
Numerous companies have continued to work on the fundamental driving force behind a GBBR, namely the gas itself, and as these have become more reliable and stable, so the performance of the platforms
themselves have improved. Add to this that the base technology has been improved when it comes to something as simple as a nozzle, seal, or hop unit, and things begin to settle. More and more if us own and use a GBBR, perhaps not in a skirmish setting, but certainly when it comes to a MilSim, and understand that just like a real firearm a “gasser” needs both love and regular maintenance to get the very best from it!
We’ve also seen the inexorable rise of “6mm Training” in the professional users market, and as what are essentially airsoft platforms gain greater acceptance for training purposes we are likely to see even greater reliability and durability from our game tools!
In my mind the future of the gas carbine and rifle in airsoft is looking healthy, and I hope that our overview here of some great airsoft platforms will give you something to ponder on; should you buy a GBBR? Ultimately that is your call, but now we’ve tested a few “head to head” at least you’ll have a bit of a “heads up” on what to look at, and for.
RANGETIME – GAS STYLE!
Bill: I’ll continue to kick this report off as I’ve shot every single model included here extensively, and in fact a number of them belong to me and sit happily
VFC BCM MCMR
Price: iro UK£600.00 Age: New Weight: 2142 g Length: 710/790 mm Magazine Capacity: 30 Cold Chrono: 1.28 Joule/372fps Hot Chrono: 1.2 Joule/368fps Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: uk.redwolfairsoft.com
GHK URGI
Price: iro UK£700.00 Age: New Weight: 2750g Length: 690/770mm Magazine Capacity: 30 Cold Chrono: 1.34 Joule/381fps Hot Chrono: 1.31 Joule/377fps Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
VFC SR16
Price: iro UK£360.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 2740g Length: 758/870 mm Magazine Capacity: 30 Cold Chrono: 1.24 Joule/367fps Hot Chrono: 1.18 Joule/358fps Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: uk.redwolfairsoft.com
WE M4A1
Price: iro UK£350.00 Age: Six Years Weight: 3050g Length: 768/850mm Magazine Capacity: 30 Cold Chrono: 1.16 Joule/354fps Hot Chrono: 1.13 Joule/349fps Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
KWA LM4
Price: iro UK£450.00 Age: One Year Weight: 3260g Length: 730/815mm Magazine Capacity: 40 Cold Chrono: 1.17 Joule/356fps Hot Chrono: 1.04 Joule/336fps Taclite Compatibility: Picatinny Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: store.kwausa.com
VFC VR16 CQB II (MK18)
Price: iro UK£365.00 Age: One Year Weight: 2500g Length: 696/777mm Magazine Capacity: 30 Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps Hot Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps Taclite Compatibility: 14mm CCW Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: uk.redwolfairsoft.com
GOLDEN EAGLE MC6595M
Price: iro UK£170.00 Age: New Weight: 2700g Length: 720/800 mm Magazine Capacity: 50 Cold Chrono: 0.48 Joule/228fps Hot Chrono: 0.43 Joule/216fps Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.allagesairsoft.com
S&T M4 KEYMOD 13”
Price: iro UK£185.00 Age: New Weight: 2600g Length: 770/850 mm Magazine Capacity:50 Cold Chrono: 0.62 Joule/259fps Hot Chrono: 0.57 Joule/248fps Taclite Compatibility: KeyMod Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
WE AKPMC
Price: iro UK£365.00 Age: Five Years Weight: 3200g Length: 890/960mm Magazine Capacity: 30 Cold Chrono: 1.22 Joule/363fps Hot Chrono: 1.18 Joule/358fps Taclite Compatibility: Dedicated Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com
GHK AK105
Price: iro UK£325.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 3155g Length: 592/831mm Magazine Capacity: 40 Cold Chrono: 1.29 Joule/374fps Hot Chrono: 1.20 Joule/361fps Taclite Compatibility: No, but rail systems are available Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.wgcshop.com
TOKYO MARUI AKM
Price: iro UK£490.00 Age: New Weight: 3550g Length: 890mm Magazine Capacity: 35 Cold Chrono: 1.12 Joule/348fps Hot Chrono: 1.10 Joule/345fps Taclite Compatibility: No, but rail systems are available Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.allagesairsoft.com
GHK AK74
Price: iro UK£350.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 3400g Length: 950mm Magazine Capacity: Cold Chrono: 1.06 Joule/339fps Hot Chrono: 0.99 Joule/328fps Taclite Compatibility: No, but rail systems are available Suppressor Compatibility:14mm CCW Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk
in my personal collection! That said I’ll leave the comments on individual platforms to the members of Red Cell and simply set the scene.
We really wanted to get true parity between the test models so they were all tested on the same day in a stable environment on the basement range at our local shop, All Ages Airsoft. The temperature was 17C/62F, and all the models were treated with MAGLUBE and had their barrels pulledthrough prior to shooting. Testing was carried out on NP 2.0 “Green Bottle” gas, using .20g RZR BBs. With all this established I’ll now hand over to The Cell… James: First impressions gas blow back rifles, as an AEG-user under normal circumstances the test was an interesting day to get to play with a large selection of GBBRs, and the selection available didn’t disappoint. As an AK fan the selection certainly did their job, good solid rifles, all with a quality finish, and the action of all under full auto gave (especially the TM AKM!) the perfect “AK Chatter”. Chronos came in at acceptable and safe levelss and all the AKs happily emptied a mag downrange consistently and on target; the TM is certainly on my personal “to get” list.
For me the KWA LM4 was one of the more stand out models , very well put together , looks great and has an awesome recoil from the heavy bolt action; this again happily dumped all rounds downrange with a nice tight grouping on target. The only one small issue picked up was a bit of movement on the plastic mag joint which was probably down to the pin system used to open it up for servicing. The S&T M4 is at the more budget end of the selection , and came in at 259fps on the chrono, although it fired consistently and on target. For me the lack of recoil and a slow chugg on full auto was disappointing; it does the job but does not stand out from other models. I also noted a fair amount of movement between the upper and lower receiver which gives it away as not so well engineered.
On the other hand the VFC MK18 is a rock- solid build CQB-er, great to look at, great to shoot! I was closely torn between this and the KWA , the LM4 just pulling ahead with recoil but the VFC stands up well with consistency, grouping and reload, and chrono’d in at a close-quarter-friendly 290fps. The WE M4A1 was the veteran of the pack having seen six or seven years of service, but has stood up well against the rigors of usage and could easily passed for a much younger gun; credit to Bill’s gun maintenance routine on this, obviously! Chronoing in at 349fps it still has guts and nice tight tolerances between parts; there was a bit more gas venting from the bolt area, but this was probably its only age give away. That said, it shot well downrange and has certainly proved a good purchase. Jon: Okay, kicking off with the VFC SR16, this has a nice recoil, responsive trigger, little play anywhere, was accurate on test range, and felt quite light. The KWA LM4 in turn had a hard recoil, excellent trigger play next to no wall, and a really solid feeling (it has a bit of heft!). The new VFC BCM has a subtle recoil, shoots like a darn like a laser, is gas efficient, trigger is tight with next to no wall, and it just feels great in hand. Onto something that looks a million bucks too, the GHK URGI; this looks super impressive with the Geissele and charging handle, but felt sloppy and not as refined as the others, and in fairness had a couple of double feeds in testing, along with a loose-feeling trigger with a squishy wall.
Onto the “old campaigner”, and you can’t knock the WEM4A1 as it still has an excellent trigger response felt almost “hair”) and is accurate, mobile, and a great weight. In contrast the S&T feels good, looks good but was disappointing; sloppy trigger, lacklustre recoil, awful gas efficiency and the worst mags to load. Okay if you NEED a budget gas gun but not in the same league as the others. Sticking to a budget the GE also feels good, looks good but is again as above, disappointing, with a sloppy trigger, lacklustre recoil, awful gas efficiency and the same poor performance when it came to mags to load.
Onto the AKs, and the TM AK47M is The Grail, literally. A gorgeous, superbly polished piece of engineering, that looks great and shoots superbly; the trigger is exceptional, and it has fab gas efficiency. The issue is it’s not “agricultural” enough. It’s too refined. The GHKs however are much more clacky, much more agricultural, not as refined as the AKM and nowhere near as good in finish, but they do have an excellent trigger, excellent recoil, and an overall excellent feel. Jimmy: It’s no secret that I’m not a gas fan, but for the purpose of research I put aside my feelings as it isn’t all about me! My opinion however is that GBBR is for the more experienced player looking to immerse themselves further and seek more realism in airsoft. GBBR’s are best suited for the more level-headed player as opposed to those that just love spamming on triggers and shooting anything that moves, and don’t really care to preserve ammo. I would say that a gasser is a bit more refined, a bit like a suede smoking jacket.
The one thing I do like about GBBRs is just how solid the majority of them are and how weighty they can be over an AEG. Recoil effect is another thing that differs largely over an AEG; if you are wanting recoil then a gasser is you’re best choice by far if you can put up with the twang of recoil springs. There are several manufacturers making recoil AEG but honestly most are quite anaemic and I’m not fussed for recoil. Some GBBR recoil effects could quite easily be comparable to something shooting a 22LR round but that’s about as much as it will get.
I’m trying really hard to be positive honestly! Magazine capacity forces you to be more conservative which could put you at a disadvantage when up against an AEG . On our last range day Bill (the guv) presented us with a healthy selection of rifles for us to test as you can see from the list, and I was keen to test both the new BCM and the LM4D. All of the test subjects performed
on the day and all giving different results and churning up different opinions, but I’m going to focus mainly on the VFC BCM and the KWA LM4D as for me these were the best of the bunch, both sporting very solid construction and offering high performance with satisfaction to boot I was impressed by these two.
The VFC is an exquisite piece of kit and it proves exactly what VFC can really do; I feel VFC along with BCM (Bravo Company Manufacturing) have made one of the highest quality GBBR’s that I have ever seen and let’s be fair, when a company like VFC team up with veteran marines you expect it to be good and yes they delivered! It feels a bit lighter than most but maintains a heavy presence. Adorned with BCM licensing it shows they are proud or their new platforms and the attention to detail here would make it difficult to differentiate between airsoft and the real deal. I really like the 11.5” handguard as it’s slim and offers up a lot of room for your M-Lok attachments as well as the BCM marked covers which is a nice touch. Performance of the rifle was pretty flawless during testing and BB after BB kept hitting the same sweet spot of a 2” spinner with a clout and a very satisfying recoil effect. It’s also very gas efficient with little or no wasted gas which could easily see another reload while maintaining power and velocity; I’ve seen gassers lose fps with every trigger pull due to gas depletion but the BCM held up well over the chrono. Admittedly we didn’t have much range as we were indoors but it was reliable and very consistent right up to the last shot fired. There is one gripe I had with the rifle and while it’s a very small gripe it just puzzled me as to why it was done; out of all the furniture they could have fitted it’s a shame they used the pistol grip they have (okay, it’s close to the real deal, but…) as it would have looked so much better with a PTS MOEstyle grip or something along those lines! Of course this didn’t affect its performance, it’s just my personal thought. The 30BB mag is a typical gas mag so it’s never going to be a quick reload that’s for sure but it’s the same across the board in all honesty.
The KWA is truly a bit of a beast, and it feels like a beast the second you
handle it! It has a heavy weight to it and I believe it to be
around 3kg and it is an excellent replica; something KWA pride themselves on is the quality and detail The LM4D brings to airsoft some new features on GBBR technology, and the new hop up design has made life easier, as does that of the VFC in fairness, for the user. The new advanced gas system makes it very efficient indeed and it didn’t suffer with cold fatigue which can plague some gas platforms. Accuracy was spot on shooting the same 2” spinner with precision, although I had a few misses but that’s down to me not being used to gas rifles.
Velocity was very respectable and stated consistently around 336fps on green gas but I tested it on some of the new Vorsk gas, the 220psi gas, which I suppose would be equivalent to black gas and the power went up to nearly 370fps. We were given a CO2 magazine to test but sadly the 12g canisters wouldn’t fit so couldn’t test that. This also used a 30rd mag but I noticed a small amount of play on the top section which is polymer and it looked to be coming away from the body of the magazine. I believe it to be fatigue of the polymer being held by the pin allowing it to move ever so slightly, although it didn’t hamper performance one bit. This rifle has a very healthy recoil to it and it’s felt throughout the whole gun.
After all of the testing I can’t say that I’m looking to buy any gas platforms as I am an AEG lover through and through, but should that decision ever arise rest assured these would be the two that I would be considering hands down! Chris: I have a love/hate with GBBR’s; I love the idea of them but hate how they operate in the UK weather. Yes we have hot summers that help with reliability, but I’d like to be able to use them all year round. I don’t feel like we can with enough reliability unless you go with a HPA build, and trailing hoses are not my bag. From the rifles tested all felt fairly mediocre, samey but they ran, some sloppy and one, Golden Eagle, is definitely one to avoid for the time being, with a poor fit and very weak action and more gas being expended out of the ejection port than down the barrel. I was hoping it would give the bigger brands a bit of a run for their money but sadly that was not the case.
Only one truly stood out for me, the new BCM by VFC. Not only is the hop design a breath of fresh air for those on the fly adjustments, but the recoil was sharp even on low power green gas pointing to good gas efficiency with very little expelled from the ejection port on cycling even when the mag was cooler. The trigger was crisp and positive; the build quality of the receiver was also superb, nice with good, tight fitting parts. Range was limited due to where we were testing so it would be Interesting at some stage to take this outside and give it a proper run. Bill W-R: So having always wanting a good gasser I was very happy to get to test out a few during our Red Cell meet. Now for those of you that run them you will know three things: • Someone invent a decent speed loader for those magazines! • If only the manufacturers could standardise the magazines. The cost per unit would then be a tad more sensible. • Just like real steel, maintenance and lube is king!
Now the platforms! WE A1; now this is a six or seven year old pew belonging to Bill, and although an older model it is like a fine vintage wine, very well balanced with positive action on the bolt and fire selector. The recoil was one of the best on test. In fact I almost got away with hiding it under my jacket to take it home! For the KWA a big plus point on this is the ambidextrous fire selector. Good positive recoil. It did have a slight rattle from the magazine during the firing cycle however, but it just pips the WE due to the fire selector. The Golden Eagle, what can I say? It all felt very vague. In full auto it cycles well but feels like it just needs to be refined a little more. S&T was one of the cheapest on test and sorry, it shows as it’s very basic, and underperformed against all the others. I own a long barrel version which has been converted to a DMR, and have to say that the worst point is the hop adjustment as it’s at the receiver end of the barrel. Cleverly they cover it up with the barrel nut and hand guard meaning you have to strip down the whole front end of the gun to adjust the hop! More positively again, the BCM is a good solid all round gun with one great innovative idea, the external hop adjustment on the gas tube.
So finally the one I really wanted to have a go with. The TM AKM. Top quality as you would expect with
copious amounts of their famous pixie dust sprinkled both inside and outside; however I returned it a very disappointed man. They say you should never meet your hero’s or idols, and with this GBBR it is true. Yes it is a very polished and precise gas AK. This is the thing though ...it is an AK. The real steel built in factories across mother Russia and China makes it an industrial weapon, rugged and utilitarian. This however, to give an automotive analogy, is more Audi than Lada and is sadly the lesser for it. Boycie: I was rather impressed with the LM4D when I reviewed it earlier this year. Now it’s had around 5000 BBs through it and a couple of strip downs and polish a couple of surfaces, it feels better than it did when I first got my hands on it. One thing I find is occasionally it will fire two to three shots “automatic” when the selector is set to Semi and I’m still trying to ID the cause. KWA don’t do a CO2
magazine yet but I was able to get some “PMAG” style ones via Evike. When allied to a standard “factory spec” bolt the LM4D is capable of delivering 500+ fps which for UK laws is a well on the naughty side for an auto capable rifle, the UK limit being 375 fps on a .20 or 1.33j. I would like to see the ability to fit RS selector levers as this would allow, for the UK market, the LM4D to be used “locked to semi” and under the legal limit.
Stewbacca: Although I wasn’t able (for very obvious reasons!) able to attend the test day, as regular readers will be aware I’ve already reviewed my WE Tech HK416D GBBR back in AA issue 125, but I’ve also had the WE Tech T91 (Taiwan’s national service rifle; a blend of AR15 receiver and bolt with an AR18 short stroke piston system in real steel) which I’ve been working up another review for, and as a regular user of gas platforms Bill asked me to “add my bit” to the report.
My experiences of both are that for the money they’ve got quite a lot of life in them, and are cheap and easy to maintain and repair where parts are available; WE are at least known for being pretty good in terms of spares availability. Both exhibit the typical Armalite “sproing” from the buffer during firing, and tend to have quite a gentle cadence to their action, even in rapid strings or on the odd occasion I use full auto functionality.
The bolt carriers and fire control groups are probably the main failure point thus far in terms of wear and misfeeds, with the plastic nozzles eventually burring along their guide rails when moving within the metal carriers and requiring increased lubrication, replacement retraction springs, and just leading to increased malfunctions or misfeeds that I’ve experienced. Aside from that they’re fairly accurate once the hop rubbers bed in and a real hoot to get behind on open ground or CQB!
Compared to the VFC BCM and GHK/Archwick ARs I’ve spent time testing thus far there’s a definite difference in recoil impulse, build quality and smoothness of operation though. The VFC and GHK offerings clearly have more robust buffer systems and tighter internal tolerances as the working parts don’t seem to move around off their axis as much during firing, giving a much cleaner recoil impulse and smoother cycling in general, so I want to spend more time behind both of their offerings in future to draw longer term comparisons.
The main takeaway for me has always been; once you’ve had blowback, you’ll never go back! AA
COVERT BOOT
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