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INSIDE AIRSOFT: VX-9 CONCEPT

EVENT: SHOT SHOW 2020

EVENT: AIRSOFT SURGEON 2020

MILSIM: BLACKLINE SIMS

Editor: Nigel Streeter Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing Ad Design: Deadshot Design Publisher: Nigel Streeter Cover Photo: VORSK AIRSOFT.

Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6PL

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Tel: +44 (0) 1684 878 003 Web: www.airsoft-action.online ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2019 All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions prior to print.

THE CAGE: WINTER GEAR FIND US ON… facebook.com/AirsoftAction

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ARMOURY: BOLT SR47

LETTER , IDEA OR QUESTION? Got something to say? A question for our experts? An article or article idea? Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the Editor: nige@airsoft-action.co.uk, write to us at the Calibre Publishing address above, or talk to us on Twitter or Facebook.

COLLECTOR: GREASE GUN

EVENT: OZ1 CONQUEST 19

CON ONT TEN ENTS TS 8 INSIDE AIRSOFT: VX-9 CONCEPT Airsoft Action has built up very strong relationships within the industry, which has led to a number of exclusive reports on new technology and models. This month Bill takes it even deeper by looking at the very creation of a new model that will be unveiled at IWA 2020! 12 ARMOURY: G&G BAMF In a world of me-too ARs and M4s, G&G’s radical race rifle stands out like a sore thumb. Steve T finds out if its performance can also rise above. 18 EVENT: SHOT SHOW 2020 Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, each January, the NSSF SHOT Show is an absolute must-visit for anyone involved in any kind of shooting discipline and this year Bill and Nige made the pilgrimage to “Sin City” to report back on what’s coming our way in 2020! 24 FEATURE: AIRSOFT ACTION LEGION As an exciting part of our new fully international digital format, we have started a new project to bring you in-depth articles from around the world, written by “local” airsofters.

Contents MARCH 2020

MARCH 2020

48 ACTION AIR: MADDERS CUP 2020 Sunday 19th January marked the 6th annual competition held in memory of Malcolm Dowding, a true gentleman and superb IPSC competitor. Dawn Williams, who shoots with South West Practical Shooters, covered the match for Airsoft Action. 50 THE CAGE: WINTER GEAR Bill gets together with the newly extended Airsoft Action crew to look at what you can do to get the most from any Winter BB-slinging adventure, by finding out what they add to their “Gear Gage” when the snow starts to fall! 54 ARMOURY: BOLT SR-47 Are you an AR user, or do you prefer the AK? This is a debate that will go on and on and while it does, Bill looks at a solution that never really made it in the real world but that could be the answer to your airsoft prayers, the Knight’s Armament SR47! 58 COLLECTOR: M41A PULSE RIFLE Frenchie pulls on his sci-fi hat to take a look at an AEG that only exists in the minds of its creators and yet seems to have a fan-base all of its own.

28 ARMOURY: TM V10 GBB Tokyo Marui tend to announce things and then we end up forgetting all about them until the release actually comes around. Not so with the V10 for Phil Bucknall, who is not a 1911 fan so for him to like one, it had to be different.

60 THIS IS MY M4: PART 4 After years of making minor modifications to RIFs with varying degrees of success, Steve T goes all-in on his MWS to find out just what an inept home tech can achieve. This month: increasing the FPS. 62 ARMOURY: SIGAIR M17 After being in the middle leagues of GBB pistols, VFC is making a break for the high ground. Steve T finds out if the new, officially licensed SigAir P320 M17 can measure up to the Taiwanese firm’s recent success with the Glock G19X.

32 ACTION AIR: AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 Airsoft Action has been promoting Action Air since 2012 and this February saw the UK’s biggest event yet. Nige reports from the Airsoft Surgeon Championship Shield Cup 2020, which took place alongside The Great British Shooting Show.

66 ARMOURY: TM MK46 MOD0 Phil Bucknall takes a long, hard look at this muchanticipated rifle from Tokyo Marui – but does it give your shoulder a good thumping, or just your wallet!

38 ARMOURY: SPECNA ARMS SV98 Bill has been on the range recently with a new addition to the ever growing line of airsoft replicas from Specna Arms and finds their new take on the Russian SV-98 very much to his liking! 42 MILSIM: BLACKLINE SIMULATIONS Bill was in conversation with a former military friend who has an interest in high-end MilSim and whilst the names of many mutual friends came into the conversation, “Blackline Simulations” in Canada proved to be an outfit that is little known.

73 COMPETITION: WIN VORSK 001! Win VORSK Number 001, a Hi-Capa 5.1, complete with Red Dot Sight in our exclusive, easy to enter competition! 74 COLLECTOR: GREASE GUN In the second of Frenchie’s “Collector” series in this issue, he turns his attention to a gun that was wellliked by those who used it.

46 KIT & GEAR: FAB GLOCK HOLSTER With SigAir’s G19X now a regular fixture on Steve T’s hip, he treats it to a new holster from firearms accessory firm, FAB Defense.

76 EVENT: OZ1 CONQUEST 19 Being effectively banned in Australia, Iggy Roberts has to travel to NZ to get his airsoft fix, from where he reports on OZ1’s latest big game.

47 KIT & GEAR: NUPROL OPEN MAG POUCHES With options in the range for both M4 and pistol, Steve T serves up a two-for-one special offer of Nuprol’s tasty looking taco-style open mag pouches.

82 LAST POST: UPGRADES Having seen an amazing figure touted on Facebook, Frenchie examines the tricky subject of upgrades or, more specifically, the amount of money some players seem willing to spend on them.

Photo by Victor Karlund. https://www.instagram.com/victorkarlund

UP YOUR GAME

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INSIDE AIRSOFT VX-9: CONCEPT TO REALITY

VX-9 FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY OVER THE LAST NINE YEARS THE TEAM AT AIRSOFT ACTION HAVE BUILT UP VERY STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, WHICH HAS LED TO A NUMBER OF EXCLUSIVE REPORTS ON NEW TECHNOLOGY AND MODELS. THIS MONTH BILL TAKES IT EVEN DEEPER BY LOOKING AT THE VERY CREATION OF A NEW MODEL THAT WILL BE UNVEILED AT IWA 2020!

’ve been with Airsoft Action for quite a short time, the next VORSK model is set for to be time very well spent indeed. But few years now and before that I played release at IWA 2020 - and what a model this is merely an overview of what already and ran games of my own. In my time it is! exists, and it’s the yet-to-be-released in “the industry” I’ve seen some brands The VORSK “project” has been ongoing VORSK VX-9 that I wish to bring to your come and, indeed, some brands go but for over two years now and the models attention this month. my relationship with those that have already out there have proved that taking weathered the vagaries of the international your time with your own concepts from HARDBALLER! airsoft market has, in some cases, moved just that, a concept in the form of a If you are a true fan of the mighty “1911” from professional to real friendship! then no doubt you will be familiar with Whatever industry you may work the AMT Hardballer Longslide but even in, you will undoubtedly make lasting if you’re no “gun nut” then you may friendships with certain individuals well have come across it in movies like “IF YOU ARE A TRUE FAN OF that are outside your own company, “The Terminator” or “The Phantom”, but that you deal with on a daily basis, THE MIGHTY “1911” THEN NO or indeed in games like “Resident Evil and such is my relationship with Ross 4” and of course “Hitman”. As a big DOUBT YOU WILL BE FAMILIAR at Nuprol. I am incredibly proud of this gamer himself, Ross openly admits young man, having seen him flourish WITH THE AMT HARDBALLER that the inspiration for the VX-9 comes from a young site tech to a key part of from various on-screen sources and LONGSLIDE BUT EVEN IF a successful and multinational airsoft that the creation of the pistol itself was business and whilst I already knew he YOU’RE NO “GUN NUT” THEN somewhat of a “passion project”. would go on to great things within the It’s an iconic “geek gun” and one YOU MAY WELL HAVE COME industry, as the “team head” behind that every self-respecting 1911 lover ACROSS IT IN MOVIES LIKE the new VORSK range of GBB pistols, will NEED in their collection. Yes, he and his team have truly established Western Arms made a “Hardballer” “THE TERMINATOR” OR “THE themselves as real innovators! back in the day but try getting hold of PHANTOM”, OR INDEED IN It seems only yesterday that I was one of those now! The real thing was writing about the new VORSK models, GAMES LIKE “RESIDENT EVIL 4” made by made by Arcadia Machine & models that I myself have come to Tool (AMT) from 1977 to 2002, and AND OF COURSE “HITMAN”.” love and trust, but these have been the Hardballer was the first entirely on sale for a little while now and stainless steel 1911 pattern pistol to garnered superb feedback in terms be manufactured, so it 100% has of durability and performance already its place in a historical sense! The amongst the player base. However, Ross scribbled sketch, through formal design Hardballer got its name from the roundand his team don’t let the grass grow, and both traditional and 3D, creation of nose hardball G.I. ammunition it fired, solid although the existing models have only bespoke tooling, development and testing 230 grain FMJ bullets in .45 calibre so, in been released to market for a relatively and then final manufacturing has proved all ways, it was a bit of a beast. Although

MARCH 2020

INSIDE AIRSOFT VX-9: CONCEPT TO REALITY

As much as I hate the phrase “OEM”, the VX-9 proves beyond any doubt that VORSK is 100% its own “OEM” and that for the brand to prosper and grow, real financial investment has been made to ensure that this will be the case. AMT produced a number of variants, the basic Hardballer was essentially an all stainless steel version of the Colt Gold Cup (a fabulous handgun!), fitted with micro rear sights. The AMT Longslide was an upgrade on the basic model, featuring an extended 7 in (178 mm) barrel, introduced in 1980. It had all the same qualities as the basic Hardballer but with slide and barrel lengthened by 2 in (51 mm) and this was the model that really became the movie/ game icon that we know and love. Ross told me: “I (and we) didn’t want to make yet another standard 1911/MEU style pistol, and as all VORSK models most definitely have their own ‘identity and feel”, the VX-9 needed to be unique and something more than just a bit special! Initially we had our doubts whether this model would be achievable at all, but with 18 months of development behind it I believe I can most definitely say that it is! If it’s not been made then why not? And my team and I have the mindset that... we will make it.” I’ve been lucky enough to see the development of this particular pistol since it was just a sketch on a piece of paper and Ross has been kind enough to share every stage of the design and manufacture process with me. He and tech guru Mark have agonised over the most miniscule of details, and from day to day, week to week, and month to month I would receive emails from them showing another piece that had been not only achieved but nailed!

When you look at creating something completely new it’s all very well having a concept, and indeed even a fancy design, but then comes the really hard, and expensive, part of the deal as you will need to create bespoke moulds and tooling to get things as right as you want them to be on the finished product. I can tell you now that the VX-9 needed 16-plus new moulds in its creation and this costs some serious money! Not only that, but as good as the mould and toolmakers are, sometimes “Mr Murphy” steps in and things have to be redone to get that “perfect” product. For the VX-9 not a single part is from an existing 1911 mould. This model may look like a 1911 but it’s kind of not! Getting every part right has taken months and months and many sample parts, and to give an indication of this I can tell you that Ross and Mark spent literally months debating just the final hammer style! But there’s more and I’ll explain just how much more by looking at the

distinctive Hardballer ridged slide! Again, Ross told me: “The slide took a few attempts to get right! The easy option would have been to make the top ridge a “bolt on” to an original slide and make minor adjustments. But in the end we decided the entire slide needed to be as correct as possible, so it deserved its own mould. As well as the bespoke well-known rear sight....” Starting with 3D printing, the slide went through numerous design phases until it was finalised into a resin “mockup”. This resin version then winged its way off to the toolmakers for creation of the mould before test-casting. After test-casting the initial parts were checked minutely to ensure that they were not only correct in “look” but also fit for purpose… and this is all before production could even be dreamed about!

SILENT ASSASSIN

With the basic pistol now complete for range testing, Ross and the team also turned their attention to the suppressor that was needed to round out the package and, again, multiple design samples were created, not only again to get the “look” but to ensure peak performance. Put plainly, the suppressor needed to attach to the pistol properly and effectively without the dreaded “thread against thread” issues that you encounter with even the best suppressor adaptors. The VX-9 suppressor is another bespoke design that has been

“GETTING EVERY PART RIGHT HAS TAKEN MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MANY SAMPLE PARTS, AND TO GIVE AN INDICATION OF THIS I CAN TELL YOU THAT ROSS AND MARK SPENT LITERALLY MONTHS DEBATING JUST THE FINAL HAMMER STYLE!” www.airsoft-action.online

INSIDE AIRSOFT VX-9: CONCEPT TO REALITY

“ROSS TELLS ME THAT THE VX-9 WILL BE AVAILABLE IN A RANGE OF DIFFERENT FINISHES AND WILL BE SOLD EITHER AS A SINGLE, OR AS A “MATCHED PAIR” WITH SEQUENTIAL SERIAL NUMBERS, WHICH SOUNDS SUPER-COOL. I’LL REPORT BACK HAVING SEEN THEM IN THE FLESH AT IWA, WITH A FULL RANGE REPORT SHORTLY AFTER, SO WATCH THIS SPACE!”

internally “tweaked” to make sure it attaches as smoothly and as efficiently as possible; both inner and outer barrel threads to extend the barrel have been addressed, with a custom moulded and designed suppressor made “just so” so that the VX-9 recoils correctly. Now I don’t know about you, but this level of attention to detail impresses the heck out of me!

What I am loving about the airsoft industry at the moment is that more than ever manufacturers are ploughing their own furrows in terms of innovation and design. When you add that we, as players, are not content these days to accept something that simply “looks like” a particular weapon, but also want the best levels of performance from it, then those same manufacturers are giving us just that, as standard, from the moment we lift our newest airsoft pistol or rifle from the box! They are taking the opportunity to make what people want but also what they don’t know they want, thinking quite literally outside the box! Is it the place of the manufacturer to open new areas for models? I believe it is and by creating the VX-9, taking inspiration from other areas that we all love, VORSK have done this, and I can’ wait to get my hands on one! In closing, Ross tells me that the VX-9

will be available in a range of different finishes and will be sold either as a single, or as a “matched pair” with sequential serial numbers, which sounds super-cool. I’ll report back having seen them in the flesh at IWA, with a full range report shortly after, so watch this space! AA

WIN VORSK NUMBER 001! IF YOU READ OUR EXCLUSIVE “VORSK OVERVIEW” IN THE JANUARY ISSUE OF AIRSOFT ACTION AND THOUGHT “WOW! I WOULD LOVE ONE OF THOSE!” WELL NOW YOU CAN WIN THE VERY FIRST VORSK - NUMBER 001 - WHICH COMES IN BLACK AND TAN WITH A RED DOT SIGHT ALREADY FITTED. THIS TRULY IS A COMPLETE ONE-OFF PRIZE, THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE NUMBER ONE AND WE ARE GIVING IT AWAY TO ONE LUCKY READER. FULL DETAILS OF HOW YOU CAN WIN THIS AWESOME PRIZE ARE ON PAGE 73.

MARCH 2020

armoury G&G COBALT BAMF

SCI-FI SUPERSTAR? MAKE IT SO... IN A WORLD OF ME-TOO ARS AND M4S, G&G’S RADICAL RACE RIFLE STANDS OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB. STEVE T FINDS OUT IF ITS PERFORMANCE CAN ALSO RISE ABOVE.

ill you just look at this thing?It’s like no AR15 I’ve ever seen! If Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard used a wormhole in the space-time continuum to send a phaser rifle from the Next Generation movies back to 2020, then it might look something like this. It’s all sleek bare metal with blue accents that are set to stun (sorry!) It might appear Alien to MilSim players, but that doesn’t mean it will only appeal to Spaceballs like me. As we’ll see, both the construction and performance will make it an attractive option for many airsofters.

BLUE MOVES

Despite the BAMF’s sci-fi sculpt, this is no movie prop replica. G&G’s latest licensed RIF is 100% based in the real world and a race rifle from Cobalt Kinetics. The Washington, Utah business is… not your usual firearms manufacturer. They sound more like a California company when they state that art overrides both form and function. Like a Silicon Valley tech co, they also talk about how their

“Blue-sky thinkers imagined design, features, and capability that did not… and could not exist”. And like any 21st century entrepreneurial start-up they aim to, “Disrupt the market”. How do they intend to do that? In their own words: “Cobalt Kinetics does not hire gun builders or gun-engineers - or even gun enthusiasts. We create and cultivate them.” Alarm bells, anyone? There’s a bunch of other promo guff but you get the idea - they let the marketing dude get freaky. All that having been said, the BAMF is an AR. A really - REALLY - sexy AR, but it’s still just an AR. The form factor will be familiar to any M4 user with control interfaces that instinctively fall to hand. “BAMF” stands for Billet Aluminum - they mean aluminium, folks - Modern Firearm. And G&G’s AEG meets those credentials too. It may weigh more than a polymer RIF but less than a conventional metal weapon, without feeling any less solid.

SEXUAL HEALING

Without coming over all weird, in terms of physical presence, the Cobalt Kinetics BAMF is almost sexual. The CNC machined construction is intended to result in a super-tight construction without wobbles. While that’s certainly true of the usually questionable buffer tube/stock area, we noticed that the handguard rotates slightly around the free-floating inner barrel, which also had more play than we’d expected. Our biggest reservation is that the mag release on the right-hand side just jumped off during normal operation. Luckily, that happened at home so we could find the tiny spring that shot out too, but it would be another story mid-game. Everything popped back in without trouble, but you’d be disappointed if that happened on a budget starter RIF, let alone a £500 special. C-clamp fans will be pleased to hear the handguard is devoid of rail contours, with a small portion of picatinny at the top and bottom of the tip for iron sights, flashlights and the like. You can always

“BUILDING ON THE SPEED-FIRST METHODOLOGY, THE PHYSICAL MOVEMENT OF THE AMBIDEXTROUS FIRE SELECTOR IS SMALLER THAN CONVENTIONAL, WITH SEMI AUTO AT JUST 45 DEGREES AND FULL AT 90. IT’S SO USER-FRIENDLY THAT WE CAN INSTANTLY SEE HOW IT MIGHT SAVE TIME ON THE RANGE.” 12

MARCH 2020

armoury G&G COBALT BAMF

add more accessories thanks to the M-LOK rails at 3, 6 and 9 O’clock. Up top, the aggressively contoured charging handle is offset by some curiously old-fashioned iron sights. I guess they presume everyone will just take them off to run an optic. There are QD sling points at either end of the handguard, which would make for some unbalanced sling configurations since there isn’t one on the skeletonised stock. The butt is slightly curved and feels natural in the shoulder. Building on the speed-first methodology, the physical movement

of the ambidextrous fire selector is smaller than conventional, with semi auto at just 45 degrees and full at 90. It’s so user-friendly that we can instantly see how it might save time on the range. It’s also clickyclicky-precise-nice. The flared magwell that is definitely oversized - and one of the more scifi aesthetics - is similarly designed to facilitate faster reloads, but some high capacity metal airsoft mags may be a tight fit further up the chute. On our tests at least, polymer mags are just fine. With a largely graphite grey finish, the unmissable neon blue of the buffer tube is picked out by that distinctive flash hider.

There’s also a flash of gold on the trigger, too. Flash is the word…

LENGTH ISN’T EVERYTHING

The BAMF was always designed as a range rifle first, so it’s not exactly the shortest platform. The full metal pistol grip and stock may also add weight, but that only helps with the overall balance against that long front end. On the inside, there’s the familiar G2 gearbox and you can unscrew the buffer tube to swap out the spring to adjust your FPS. The factory spec short-stroke gearing is designed to allow faster trigger response and hence, speed up subsequent shots too. The wiring also features an

inline MOSFET, so it’s 11.1 LiPo ready. There’s a rotary hop behind the ejection port that you can access using the charging handle and you can remove the non-adjustable stock to fit the battery using an Allen key. You can squeeze an 11.1 LiPo stick into the buffer tube, but only with some torturous feeding of cables up, down, back up again and with a bit of folding for good measure. And I thought the front-wired Evo was a pain! The fact you can’t adjust the stock through multiple positions might seem like an ergonomic step backwards, but I personally only ever tend to use a stock at its maximum adjustment, so it didn’t bother me at all. But you should make sure the BAMF fits you - and your batteries before buying.

(CARS). It’s largely based around the autoeject magazine system, which is imitated here, but G&G calls it the “Auto Drop Advanced Magazine” (ADAM). In the highly competitive world of two and three-gun shooting, the fractions of a second saved with auto-drop could make the difference between first and last place. When enabled on this airsoft version, the follower pops up on empty and a small plate releases the magazine, ready to replace. It might be an inconvenience midskirmish, but it would be altogether more welcome mid-course in a competition which is this RIF’s heritage. Mag depleted - which you should anticipate, after all - it drops by itself, new

mag in; go! Removing the intermediary step of manually dropping the magazine could shave split-seconds off your course run. We went in curiously sceptical but came out thinking it’s a giggle - there’s something impressive about a machine pre-empting your next move and saving both time and effort. There’s been a lot of speculation in the airsoft world about damaged mags since the BAMF’s drop-free feature was first announced and sadly, we have to report it’s entirely justified. The base plate on our review sample decided to go it alone after just a few hundred rounds. Throughout

DROP ‘EM!

In the real world, the Unique Selling Point for the BAMF is its reload speed in competition shooting. And as if they can’t get enough of acronyms, this is called the “Cobalt Advantage Reload System”

“THE BAMF BARELY BREAKS A SWEAT HITTING CANS AT 25M AND TORSO-SIZED TARGETS FROM 40M, WITH SHOT AFTER SHOT LANDING ON POINT. WE’D EXPECT NOTHING LESS GIVEN ITS RACE RIFLE ROOTS, BUT WE’RE STILL HAPPY TO FIND IT EXCELS IN THIS AREA.” www.airsoft-action.online

armoury G&G COBALT BAMF

its time on test with me, the mag has only landed on carpet - and carpet is a lot more forgiving than the concrete or stone you might find at a skirmish. I can’t see any securing mechanism for the base plate - other than sliding it on until you feel a slight click - but that’s so light I can guarantee it will come away again. It’s a matter of when - not if whether it snags on your pouch, sling or

clothing. The mag will still be functional, but the exposed inner body is shiny black plastic that’s unlikely to withstand torture treatment. The drop-free system operates flawlessly and genuinely brings something new to the market. But this magazine is literally

designed from the ground up to hit the ground on the way down, so you’d think they’d make the base plate like the bumper from a Hummer that could withstand the apocalypse.

TURN ON OR TURN OFF?

Happily, you can turn off the drop-free functionality by flicking a small switch on the top of the mag. Now you can play out any skirmish as if you were using a conventional mag, with reloads working exactly as you’d expect. You can also use your usual AEG STANAG mag with the BAMF. We’ve tried EPMs and high caps alike without problems and that’s probably the option we’d go for. And if you want to use the new drop-free mags in other STANAG AEGs? Sure - go for it! Now you can have insta-drop combined with any old M4-alike. It’s funny that gorgeous build aside - one of the BAMF’s Unique Selling Points is more to do with the mag than the RIF itself. It’s just a shame that unique mechanism comes with a follower you need to pop back into place every time you reload, like rejiggling your gentleman back into a pair of baggy old Y-fronts.

TIME SPENT ALONE VS FUN WITH FRIENDS

Before packing our bags for the frontline, we spent some time with the BAMF on the range and found that it performed well. Averaging 317FPS, it cycles with a brisk snap even though it’s well below UK site limits of 350. It feels sharp and focused. The BAMF barely breaks a sweat hitting cans at 25m and torso-sized targets from 40m, with shot after shot landing on point. We’d expect nothing less given its race rifle roots, but we’re still happy to find it excels in this area. Once you get past the safe zone cooes of “Oooh! What’s that?” - and who could blame them! - the BAMF operates much like any other AR. For a wellmatched sidearm that combines outright performance with zero mil-score, ASG’s recent race pistol, the CZ Shadow 2, would be its perfect counterpart. Self-proclaimed shadows - no pun intended - will opine that the BAMF is just too shiny to be practical, but what do they know? Of course, it isn’t a sniper rifle, but then it also isn’t limited in terms of Rate of Fire or Minimum Engagement Distance. With the range that was apparent even as standard, the BAMF might just make a great basis for a very sexy Designated Marksman Rifle.

A HAPPY ENDING

Most airsoft manufacturers seem content to ride the M4 treadmill, rinse and repeat. Kudos to G&G for bringing something new to the table here. If you can work around real-world wobbly bits like the mag release, base, and handguard, you’ll find the BAMF is every bit the sci-fi superstar it looks. If you’re looking for a distinctive and highly capable AR with real sex appeal then, as Jean-Luc might say, “Make it so!” AA G&G Cobalt Kinetics BAMF TEAM Price: £499.99 Weight: 3,592g Length: 940mm Inner barrel length: 430mm FPS: 317 avge (Tested) Hop: Adjustable Construction: Billet aluminium Full auto: Y Recoil: N Power source: Battery Gearbox: G2 (V2) Magazine type: Metal/polymer Capacity: 90 rounds

“OF COURSE, IT ISN’T A SNIPER RIFLE, BUT THEN IT ALSO ISN’T LIMITED IN TERMS OF RATE OF FIRE OR MINIMUM ENGAGEMENT DISTANCE. WITH THE RANGE THAT WAS APPARENT EVEN AS STANDARD, THE BAMF MIGHT JUST MAKE A GREAT BASIS FOR A VERY SEXY DESIGNATED MARKSMAN RIFLE.” 14

MARCH 2020

EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2020 - LAS VEGAS, USA

HELD IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, EACH JANUARY, THE NSSF SHOT SHOW IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST-VISIT FOR ANYONE INVOLVED IN ANY KIND OF SHOOTING DISCIPLINE AND THIS YEAR BILL AND NIGE MADE THE PILGRIMAGE TO “SIN CITY” TO REPORT BACK ON WHAT’S COMING OUR WAY IN 2020!

he 2020 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, owned and operated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), signalled a positive year ahead for the both the firearms and airsoft industries, both in the USA and internationally. Strong attendance, motivated buyers and sellers and a series of packed special events that collectively made up “SHOT Week” resulted in one of the best SHOT Shows

ever! The show spanned January 21st to the 24th at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Industry professionals packed the aisles from the get-go and by the time the doors closed on the Friday afternoon attendance totalled over 60,000 visitors! I’ve been to SHOT Show on a number of occasions now and if you’ve never visited, the sheer scale of what is on offer will blow your mind as they pack in over 2,000 exhibitors

over multiple halls. You’ll end up walking miles to see so much innovation that it quite literally takes your breath away - and it’s the perfect opportunity to make new connections and re-establish old ones. We have the IWA Outdoor and Classics Show here in Europe (and I’m pleased to report that it continues to grow steadily) but SHOT is like IWA on steroids, although to find all the airsoft exhibitors you need to put in some serious prep! Unlike IWA,

“WE HAVE THE IWA OUTDOOR AND CLASSICS SHOW HERE IN EUROPE (AND I’M PLEASED TO REPORT THAT IT CONTINUES TO GROW STEADILY) BUT SHOT IS LIKE IWA ON STEROIDS, ALTHOUGH TO FIND ALL THE AIRSOFT EXHIBITORS YOU NEED TO PUT IN SOME SERIOUS PREP!” 18

MARCH 2020

EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2020 - LAS VEGAS, USA

airsoft does not yet have its own dedicated area at SHOT. There are literally thousands of products for attendees to see on the show floor, encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun safes, apparel and tactical equipment, among other categories. Hundreds of new products from numerous companies are on display in the show’s New Product Centre alone. In addition to the exhibiting companies on the main show floors, the

NEXT Pavilion provides first-time vendors from the show’s extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and potential new customers. If there’s something you want to find in relation to Shooting Sports, including the very latest airsoft innovations, then “SHOT” is most definitely the place to visit! Not all of the important attractions are on the Show floor though and one of the most eagerly anticipated events is “Industry Day” at the Range. This takes place on the Monday immediately prior to the show at is held at the Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club Boulder City, Nevada, approximately 25 miles out into the desert south of Las Vegas. Sadly, Nige and I flew into Vegas on the Monday afternoon this year and missed Range Day but from all accounts much ammunition was expended and much safe, shooting fun was had by all that attended. Our arrival time also sadly meant that we missed SHOT MEALSIM at “The Heart Attack Grill” but at least I managed to keep my patch collection up to date!

POUNDING THE FLOOR(S)!

The doors to the show proper though opened bright and early on the Tuesday morning, and after a brief visit to the professionally run Press Room it was time to get rolling. As much as I like to see as much as possible when I visit SHOT, experience has taught me that you need to make a schedule and stick to it. It’s simply just not possible to see everything but with so many friends in attendance there was a constant “heads up” flow of information in relation to exciting new products. First up was real firearms - and you really can’t see everything! One of the trends that caught my eye very quickly was the move yet further towards even lighter carbines and rifles, with many manufacturers going for skeletonised rails and stocks. With all the big names in play, firearm models that stood out for me where from Knights Armament, Remington Defense, Daniel Defense, LMT, Lantac (oh, that SPR!), and BRO. It was also interesting to note that the AR/AK story also seems to be “still a thing”, and there was also a lot more “AK” action than I’ve seen before too! There were a couple of specific things that I wanted to check out and the first of those was the Laugo Arms “ALIEN” pistol, as this seems to be causing a lot of chatter. This is marketed (with a hefty price tag!) as their flagship pistol, which has now gone from prototype to production and even been approved for IPSC competition use. The 9mm “ALIEN” allegedly has the lowest bore axis available on a handgun, with the positioning of its fixed barrel some 1.7mm below the line of the grip axis. With an overall length of 8.5-inches, the pistol is certainly unusual to look at and it feels very comfortable in the hand. I can only speculate how long it will be until we see a licensed version but if the Hudson is anything to go by it won’t be long! Of course, the other stand I wanted to spend some time on was that of SIG

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EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2020 - LAS VEGAS, USA

“USING THEIR LICENSE TO B&T TO FULL EFFECT, ASG PULLED A BIT OF A FLANKER BY DROPPING THE USW (UNIVERSAL SERVICE WEAPON) AS THIS IS AN INTERESTING SIDEARM DESIGNED BY THE SWISS COMPANY.” (more on them later!) and I was not to be disappointed as the MG338 was on display loud and proud! SIG confirmed recently that it has delivered the new models to

fabulous to see just how much our friends at VORTEX have grown since we first met them and featured their “little known” range of optics and I’m looking forward

eye. If you’re looking to build a “lo-drag rifle” then this comes in a whole range of models and is extremely light and low profile! In terms of Tech that caught my eye, the big one has to be the MantisX training system which has again moved on a lot since I first discovered them back in 2017. From a one-table stand with a single tablet a few years ago, they were out loud and proud this time with an extensive display of their latest gear for showgoers to try. They’ve kindly provided for me one of their latest X10 Elite units to check out, which I’ll report back on in due course but it was their drop-in AR bolt/magazine combo that really got me excited as I’m keen to see if it will work in a GBBR AR!

NEW FACES, OLD FRIENDS

U.S. Special Operations Command, along with sound suppressors and ammunition for them. SIG says the .338 calibre machine gun weighs around 20 pounds, making it lighter than even the L variant of U.S. military’s standard 7.62mm M240 machine gun and lighter too than the MK 48, which SOCOM previously led the development of as a lighter-weight alternative to the M240-series. It’s a beast alright and, again, it will be interesting to see if SIG AIR look to produce a replica. I was also very taken by the NGSW-R prototype, which is called the “Spear”, in both 6.8x51mm Hybrid and 7.62x51mm. This is the latest evolution of the MCX platform but with some improvements, including a newly designed for-end with a full-length top rail and a standard AR-style charging handle with an additional folding charging handle on the left side of the receiver! I can see this being a very popular build for many NGSW “fans”. All the big names for optics were at SHOT 2017 but it was absolutely fabulous, as a Brit, to see the lads from SHIELD SIGHTS plying their trade up there with the very best. I’ve had a great relationship with SHIELD for a number of years now, and after a 20-plus year journey themselves the guys are taking great pleasure in showing off their family of mini-sights, including the new RMS, to the world. It was also 20

MARCH 2020

to spending some time catching up with them properly at IWA. When it comes to firearms accessories you can’t not mention MAGPUL but this year they seemed very subdued. The UTG/Leapers stand is always and impressive affair, but this year seemed bigger and bolder than ever before; if you need an accessory for your firearm then they will undoubtedly have it! There were some great rails and accessories on show for AK variants, but it was their “Super Slim” system that still caught my

Of course what we really wanted to get our teeth into was the airsoft side of things and although, as I said earlier, airsoft does not have a dedicated space, it was excellent to see this year that at least some of the manufacturers were actually grouped close together! It would be

EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2020 - LAS VEGAS, USA

impossible to bring you every tiny piece of news here but I’ll give you an overview of things that I personally found exciting. First off I mosey’d straight on over to the ASG stand to check out the “announced at SHOT” B&T USW. Using their license to B&T to full effect, ASG pulled a bit of a flanker by dropping the USW (Universal Service Weapon) as this is an interesting sidearm designed by the Swiss company. It was first introduced in 2016 and it brings the old concept of a stocked pistol to a whole new level. The airsoft version is a real sweetie, feels good and solid and I am certain it will be a hit with players of all types as it definitely ticks all the “Mil/LE” boxes whilst having a far wider appeal to both bolt-action and DMR users as a backup! And speaking of snipers, ASG also had the latest addition to their Accuracy International line of replicas, showing a very tidy MK13 Mod 7 springer! They were also showing the new ICS “CXP-ARK” AK which looked super-cool but as I’m seeing ICS at IWA in person, I’ll concentrate more on that next month in our report from the German show. Specna arms were also “loud and proud” at the show, with a tidy booth showcasing their firm favourites along

platform, and I for one can’t wait for this. Add to this, new partnerships for Specna Arms with Daniel Defense and Strike Systems and it looks like it’s going to be quite the year for them. Thankfully, this year EVIKE had moved up from the depths of the lower halls to take over a dominating site close to

Group (EMG). I’ve always been a Noveske fan so seeing both AEG and GBB versions of current firearms that are being built with input from the manufacturer themselves was a REAL thrill. I’ve already been booting the beejaysus out of the new “Infidel” AEG model on the range and I’ll be reporting back on that fully in Issue 112 next month!

“SPECNA ARMS WERE ALSO “LOUD AND PROUD” AT THE SHOW, WITH A TIDY BOOTH SHOWCASING THEIR FIRM FAVOURITES ALONG WITH SOME NEW MODELS AND SOME REALLY INTERESTING 3D-MODELLED CONCEPTS TO ADD TO THEIR ROCK RIVER ARMS COLLECTION…” with some new models and some really interesting 3D-modelled concepts to add to their Rock River Arms collection, along with some of their own creations such as an angled foregrip incorporating QD mount points, some neat “blade” trigger designs, and a nicely ergonomic stock thought up specifically to take into account new battery designs. Internally they had some cleverness going on with ORION gearboxes put together to maximise the performance given by the GATE ASTER. Although Specna Arms are saving the physical launch of the product range until IWA in March, they were also talking a LOT about the new EDGE 2.0 models that will come with the ASTER as standard, high torque motor, new hopup unit, and the ESA-2 quick change spring system. On the wall to handle and stroke was the latest Specna prototype model incorporating their take on the PDW stock system, which felt rock solid and was very easy to use. Again, being saved for IWA (hopefully!!!) is the new “J-Series”, their take on the mighty AK

other airsoft companies. Whilst EVIKE are obviously known best as a “mega” retailer in North America they are also fast becoming a purveyor of their own subbrands of airsoft gucciness! First up for me was the range of “Novseke” ARs that are being created by the Evike Manufacturing

The new “Strike Systems” (that name again!) “F4” AR from Dytac looked lovely, everything a thoroughly modern AR should be, with some extra goodies to boot. On the pistol front their Archon Type B looks good, and word is that this should be starting to ship soon, and a prototype

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ULTIMA JACKET BLACK / DARK COYOTE / GREEN / SRP: Â£89.95

EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2020 - LAS VEGAS, USA

Strike Systems (as yet un-named) pistol looked very cool indeed. Also appearing on the EVIKE stand was the full range of TITAN batteries but I’ll be hooking up with Matt again at IWA to get the very latest from them. Just around the corner was G&G. I’ve become used to their “mega stand” at IWA but although their SHOT booth was a little more modest it was certainly packed with some 6mm loveliness! Although models of the SMC-9 are rolling out and getting into the hands of players, it still featured front and centre of the G&G display and I am waiting eagerly to get my hands on one to test (any day now!). The BAMF rifle that you’ll find reviewed this month also looked great in their lineup and once again I was teased by the “microAKs”. these will not be to everyone’s taste, but as an out and out AK “lover” they have a certain something that grows on me every time I see them! Their pistol range is looking better than ever - and I have to admit that I drooled a little over the new VX9 MKV in Dark Earth. They also

put on a great show with their accessory parts and consumables, both of which we’ll be taking a closer look at soon! A bit out on their own but in some ways rightly so, were KWA. KWA have always gone their own way with what they create and the stand that they showed in one of the firearms halls was absolutely first rate! Pitched wholehearted towards the “training market”, their LM4-D got a LOT of approval from my real-steel buddies, with much fondling, stroking and coo-ing! It’s models like this that are really persuading shooters of the real thing that airsoft should be taken seriously as a part of any training regimen and when minus magazine, many of my friends had a hard time believing that this was “airsoft”! That’s not to say that KWA were neglecting their airsoft fans though, as they had a great display of the internals for both the AEG 2.5+ and AEG 3 gearboxes, probably one of the clearest and nicest I’ve ever come across. I was particularly taken by the QRF MOD3, and the Ronin 47 (their take on the AR/AK “hybrid”) definitely looked like it needed to come home with me! Overall, KWA put on a GREAT display that appealed I’m sure to everyone who visited them. …and speaking of training, I am going to return to SIG and, more specifically, SIG AIR. We all know that SIG have pulled their models back “in house” and if you check on their website they are unashamedly chasing the “6mm Training” market -

with some success too, as their ProForce P229 has become the official training firearm of the U.S. Coast Guard! Both the P229 and the M17 took pride of place in their airsoft line, along with the MCX VIRTUS which feels absolutely superb and it was an real joy to finally see airsoft featured in the “SHOT Daily” newssheet, albeit thanks to SIG and their “safe training” story. The “training” story is one, as a shooter of both real and replica, that I shall be following with great interest and I have to say that if others follow the lead that SIG have taken, then we will all be in for some righteous airsoft treats in the future!

IT’S A WRAP (AGAIN)!

Of course, what I’ve brought you here is just the very tip of the iceberg, there is SO much more exciting news that will be coming by the time that IWA is upon us and visiting SHOT show this year has let us tap into it earlier than ever before. We also spoke at length to more manufacturers in the footwear, clothing and equipment sectors but that’s a whole other story which we tend to concentrate on at IWA. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of tactical goodness lined up for evaluation and review, which will drop into Airsoft Action in the coming months and I have to give special mentions to both PTS for their “M-TEK FLUX” helmet and to Helikon-Tex for their new gear that is looking sublime. Again, I’m meeting both manufacturers again in Germany and will bring a better look at everything soon! SHOT Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world, attracting upwards of 61,000 attendees from100 countries and it was truly great to see friends old and new! Preparations have already begun for next year’s SHOT Show, which will return to the Sands Expo with an extension into Caesars Forum (hopefully with a dedicated airsoft area, who knows?) on January 19th to 22nd 2021. I hope to see you all there! AA www.airsoft-action.online

THE LEGION AA GLOBAL CONTRIBUTORS

WE ARE

LEGION!

AIRSOFT ACTION HAS BEEN BLESSED WITH MANY DEDICATED CONTRIBUTORS SINCE THE MAGAZINE STARTED AND WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON THE AUTHENTICITY, ORIGINALITY AND UNIQUENESS THAT OUR CURRENT TEAM OF EXPERIENCED WRITERS BRINGS TO EACH ISSUE. AS AN EXCITING PART OF OUR NEW FULLY INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL FORMAT, WE HAVE STARTED A NEW PROJECT TO BRING YOU IN-DEPTH ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, WRITTEN BY “LOCAL” AIRSOFTERS. SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IT’S TIME TO INTRODUCE “THE AIRSOFT ACTION LEGIONNAIRES”!

he aim of The Airsoft Action Legion is to bring you stories from all over the world with a truly local “take”, whether it’s a game or event report, a focus on a retailer or manufacturer, or even a report on a new piece of gear, or even an AEG! The initial “Legionnaires” are all players that have worked with Airsoft Action before but (in the main) in an “unofficial” capacity as an occasional contributor, but all players, and all with a huge passion for airsoft. The role of the “Airsoft Action Legionnaires” is to foster friendship and an excellent community spirit on a truly international basis, while fostering superb relations with our industry partners around the globe and bringing that news to you wherever you may be! As our international reach grows we aim to enlarge the remit of The Legion to truly encompass airsoft in an inclusive, global format and, at the time of writing, “The Legion” has already grown again as we’ve just been joined by another good friend, Turgay Dansik who runs Airsoft Pro in Turkey! If you are interested in becoming a part of The Legion, or just feel like reporting on airsoft games, events and developments in your own country then please just drop an email to bill@airsoftaction.co.uk To kick things fully into gear though, we’d like to introduce the starting lineup for The Legion!

MARCH 2020

KELLY “FEMME FATALE” HARDWICK - UK

Kelly joins The Legion as our “roving correspondent”, to bring you stories from the UK, the USA and even further afield! Kelly has been writing for Airsoft Action since 2015 but she started playing in August of 2014 and quickly became involved in airsoft media after she created one of the worldwide leading airsoft blogs, “Femme Fatale Airsoft”, in November 2014. She is an airsoft and tactical kit enthusiast, although “obsessive” is probably more accurate! At 27 years old, she makes her living as a full-time blogger, influencer and writer, travelling the world visiting airsoft sites and events. She is a CQB girl at heart who

loves to dabble in MilSim. Whilst reporting for Airsoft Action she has already travelled internationally to cover events for the magazine, from woodland skirmishes in France, to a 40-hour MilSim in Greece,

Germany for IWA and even Taiwan for the G&G CQB Cup! In her own words “I have travelled extensively and met so many awesome people, I am really grateful for the opportunities the magazine has afforded me” - and we all look forward to her bringing you more of the same!

CLARENCE LAI - AIRSOFT SURGEON – HONG KONG

Clarence Lai is one of the most prominent figures in Airsoft. His work as an Airsoft gunsmith and with Action Air (Airsoft IPSC) has helped him gain recognition and respect the world over. From the resplendent beauty of his one-off pistols, to his active work in promoting Airsoft IPSC globally, his work within the Airsoft community is revered and admired. Being the premiere airsoft guns and parts manufacturer, Airsoft Surgeon crafts custom guns for some of the most notable Action Air/Airsoft IPSC race shooters around the world. Based in Hong Kong, as well as producing his awesome pistols and rifles, Clarence also has close connections and relationships with every manufacturer, so is ideally placed to be on top of the news as it happens (and sometimes even ahead of it!). Airsoft Action, along with Chris Kong of RedWolf Airsoft, has worked for nearly eight years with Clarence to promote Action Air through the prestigious “Airsoft

THE LEGION AA GLOBAL CONTRIBUTORS

Surgeon Championship”, culminating this year with the event and the UK’s National Exhibition Centre, which is reported

Mainland China with them. Having formed the expat and local English speaker’s “TaiWan Anglophone Team” skirmish group, he’s already attended nearly one hundred games in the few short years he’s been in-country, as well as recently taking up Action Air IPSC shooting with the Taipei based SPPT team.

I’ve been in touch with Nige and Bill over the years and have been on the cover of it three times now, always in my snowcamo!

HANA - CHINA

elsewhere in this issue. Before he flew back to Hong Kong, Clarence commented “I am really delighted to be working with and writing for my friends at Airsoft Action. Without doubt it is the best airsoft magazine in the world and now it is going global, it will give us the opportunity to reach even more players and shooter alike.”

Chinese proverb: “Out of blows, friendship grows.” Hana joins us from China and she is the Chief Marketing Officer at OneTigris, a company whose equipment we love and use ourselves! At one time entirely ignorant of airsoft, Hana started playing with her team in China but has also now participated in a MilSim and events in the USA, and she fully comprehends the joys of building friendship through teamwork and BBs! In her words “I saw how people of different age, race, sex and cultural background could be united through their passion for airsoft. What I love about it is that each experience on the field is filled

STEF - NETHERLANDS

Stef is another player that we know and love for his enthusiasm for all things airsoft and he, like some of the other AA writers, sits proudly in the “older and bolder” category! Born in 1970 in the naval city of Den Helder in the Netherlands, Stef is a painter by profession. His airsoft adventures started in 2014 with “local” skirmishes in the Netherlands but he was soon travelling abroad to larger games, such as the National Airsoft Event in the UK

STU MORTIMER – STEWBACCA - TAIWAN

With over 14 years of experience playing airsoft in the UK & Spain and now residing and playing in Taiwan, Stu (Stewbacca) started it all back at First & Only Matlock, UK back in late 2005. Living and working in Taiwan for the past two and a half years, he’s made closer connections with the airsoft community as well as numerous manufacturers based there. Having already visited Bolt, Modify, and ICS facilities to report for TacticalTwo, as well as previously collaborating with Airsoft Action to

I hope I can bring some great photos and interesting articles for you all in the future!”

with determination and belief brought about by games and tactics and when we leave the field, each of us somehow carries this sense of preparedness and adventure to other stages of life itself.”

BJORN KLOCKAR - SWEDEN

share his airsoft related activities and international shows held in Taiwan. He also writes English language articles for local magazine “Combat King Monthly” in his spare time and has reported on events in Taiwan’s remote PengHu islands, as well as

Björn, more commonly known as just as “Klockar”, joins The Legion from Sweden and started playing airsoft in the late 1990´s. Initially just a player like all of us, he really got rolling in 2013 and now he’s here! He plays and hosts games mainly at Tjärnan Airsoft Field, possibly one of Sweden’s best CQB fields and enjoys both skirmish games as well as more MilSim oriented events. Bjorn has had collaborations with lots of companies and brands over the years, and now works directly with Evolution Airsoft as well as numerous kit manufacturers. He tells us: “It’s a huge honour to be picked to be in the “Legion” of Airsoft Action magazine.

and Borderwar in the Czech Republic. His view is that “the great thing about airsoft is that you make many new friends from all over the world.”

JONATHAN - IRELAND

Another “old friend” who has been involved with the magazine for some years is Jonathan, age 45, Irish gamer and MilSimmer! Jonathan has been playing in Ireland for twelve years, running sites for six, and currently owns and runs two! Like many of us at AA he is a self-confessed “real steel freak”, loves sound tactics, and is always pushing gaming to the max.

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THE LEGION AA GLOBAL CONTRIBUTORS

Jonathan has worked with us on a number of MilSim-related articles in the past, and

death! He has worked in over 51 countries for the last 35+ years and he managed to survive with luck and support from others, although he is a trained and certified “ninja” (yes the real kind!). Rob holds a Ph.D. in hard knocks and bullshit from The School of the Holiday Inn Express and is still

issue. He’s been involved in airsoft for over 20 years and has been producing events for about half of that time. After spending a large amount of time in the Vietnam War re-enacting community, he now focuses on creating covert espionage and tactical airsoft scenarios and helps to build missionfocused teams to complete them.

IOAN “IGGY” ROBERTS – AUSTRALIA

Iggy is a Royal Navy Photographer that has been a contributor to Airsoft Action magazine for 10 years and has been a regular fixture within the team as his duties have allowed, as well as a player known throughout the UK (and beyond!). Iggy will no doubt bring you updates on “The Irish Game” with his usual, individual flavour!

known to wield a gameday AK AEG when the mood takes him!

ROB – USA EAST COAST

SEAN - CANADA

Rob joins us from Florida to keep an eye on East Coast USA and developments there. As a man who has spent “time on the circuit” and former core member of Bill’s “OC-16 Airsoft Training/OPFOR Cadre”, he is now a shooting/tactics instructor who specializes in the use of airsoft for reality-based training (RBTwA). In his semi-retirement, he now works mostly with “shooters and looters” to correct their ego-driven errors and developed bad habits; he believes everyone can improve no matter how ninja you are and that using airsoft for RBT allows Overspeed training without negative side effects like... erm…

Sean joins us from Canada as the owner of Blackline Simulations, a highly immersive and realistic military simulation company

that you’ll see featured elsewhere in this

emigrated to Australia in 2018 and gets in his fix of airsoft now through visits to New Zealand and when he returns to the UK. As part of The Legion, Iggy is very excited to bring coverage of airsoft news and events from this distant corner of the world and to keep us fully updated with the continued legal battle to get our beloved game up and running “down under”. AA

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armoury TOKYO MARUI V10 GBB

V10 POWER!

Photo: Airsoft Project

AS IS OFTEN THE WAY WITH MARUI, THEY TEND TO ANNOUNCE THINGS AND THEN WE END UP FORGETTING ALL ABOUT THEM UNTIL THE RELEASE ACTUALLY COMES AROUND. NOT SO WITH THE V10 FOR PHIL BUCKNALL, WHO IS NOT A 1911 FAN SO FOR HIM TO LIKE ONE, IT HAD TO BE DIFFERENT.

he V10 isn’t a new pistol and in the real world it has been around for at least 20 years, if not longer. It’s also been out in airsoft form for a few years too and has always struck me as an odd choice for them to make, as it isn’t used by any military force and it doesn’t feature in any new films but as I like it, I’m prepared to let it go! As always for all things Marui in the UK, my goto was Defcon Airsoft UK, in Stoke. One, it’s really close to me and two, they always seem to have the goodies in before anyone else! The V10 was no exception and not long after over-paying for the Mk46, I got a message saying the V10 had arrived. I dashed down to the shop to pick it up before playing at Fireball on the Saturday, so I was keen to get it in time for that game.

First Impressions

First impressions were very good, with it looking great in its box with the contrast between the highly polished sides and the sand-blasted effect on the top and curved surfaces. The porting on the slide is nicely done too, as are the 10 ports in the black,

cone-shaped barrel which attaches to a nicely done chrome effect breach/chamber. The markings are crisp and replicate (to some degree) the real gun, however, the medallions on the pistol grips say “Tokyo Marui” - the gun doesn’t suffer for that though. Take down is like a cross between a standard 1911 and one with a guide rod but easy enough to do if you’ve ever handled either type of airsoft 1911 in the past. Even if you haven’t it’s actually quite intuitive and easy to do. So, how did it hold up after using it on Saturday at Fireball Squadron Airsoft Club? I’d say it was a game of two halves if I’m being brutally honest. It is a great little Photo: Airsoft Project pistol to shoot

and accurate too out to about 20-25m, with a nice snappy recoil using Nuprol 2.0 green gas and Devil Blaster 0.28g BBs. FPS was 220 +/- 2 (0.63J) with said BBs, which is well below the legal limit here in the UK. It’s very comfy in the hand thanks to the moulded grips and it’s overall size is comparable to a G19. The contrasting finish from the flat sides to the textured curved surfaces is very appealing and looks fantastic to me - and a few others who

“FIRST IMPRESSIONS WERE VERY GOOD, WITH IT LOOKING GREAT IN ITS BOX WITH THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE HIGHLY POLISHED SIDES AND THE SAND-BLASTED EFFECT ON THE TOP AND CURVED SURFACES.” 28

MARCH 2020

armoury TOKYO MARUI V10

were quite impressed by it. The sights are Novak ones but don’t have any paint on so in low light acquisition is a challenge. I shall rectify that with some white paint ASAP, however. If RMRs are your cup of tea, then the V10 is optic-ready and comes with a mounting plate for the Marui version ONLY. it will not work with aftermarket options but I have a couple I’m going to try that have a specific 1911 plate included, so stay tuned. Unlike newer Marui releases the slide needs to be removed to adjust the hop unit but it is easy enough to do and had no problem with 0.28g BBs.

shots. It was about 7.5degs under the trees temperature-wise and I would fully expect the gas efficiency to only get better as the temp climbs into the summer months, when even the shorter mags for the V10 should be able to empty their full load of BBs. One thing of note though, is that there have been notices online from Marui themselves about slides cracking at the rear. Mine is fine thus far, so I don’t know if this is cracked from the factory or after some use so as it gets warmer but if you are concerned, using 144a instead of green gas would probably be a sensible course of action. If you do happen to have a crack develop, then that’s something you’re going to have to take up with your retailer. In the UK, this on its own is a very compelling reason to buy from a UK retailer, to protect your investment and for that I cannot recommend Defcon Airsoft UK enough. They have delivered 100% on any and all TM needs and wants I’ve had over the last 18 months or so and consistently have stock, even when other retailers don’t.

SUMMARY

A LITTLE STIFF

The stiff slide release wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be, it just took a little getting used to and a slight adaptation to my manipulation of it. It’s probably partly down to my usual handgun being a Glock and the fact I haven’t used a 1911 for quite a while. I certainly wouldn’t let it put me off if I were looking to buy the V10. The mags hold 22 BBs but if you think you’re gonna get 22 off presently (with the temperature being sub-10degs), then you’re dreaming unless you leave… Ooooh, I dunno? Maybe 30secs between each shot? If you want anything useable then you’re either going to have to under-load the mag or accept that the last few won’t be fired. I found 16 was the absolute max during that game and still have enough punch to lock the slide back and not lose power with the last few

So there we have it. A nice little pistol. It’s nothing new really, as the V10 has been out for years by other manufacturers but it is a very well executed replica of a little-seen 1911 variant. It isn’t without small issues (common to most 1911’s when the temp is low though) and one potentially BIG issue but whether the slide is a problem across all of them remains to be seen. I’m glad I got it as a change to the modern handguns I have been using for the best part of the last 4-5 years.

LAST MINUTE UPDATE!

Just before going to press, something happened that I have never ever experienced with Marui - the slide cracked at the rear where Marui had said they’d been having issues! I was absolutely amazed if I’m being honest, even though I knew the release had been delayed as a direct result of this very problem. I’d probably put maybe 20-25 mags through the gun so it wasn’t through over-use. Luckily Defcon took the gun back and I am on my second V10. So far (after 10 mags) it shows no signs of damage and I am watching it like a hawk. I have noticed that everything in this one feels a little less tightly sprung; the slide release is much easier to actuate and it seems to be a little more controlled. Perhaps this has some bearing on the longevity of the slides but I honestly don’t know yet. Rest assured that as I use it, I will report back on it and how well it holds up as the weather, hopefully, gets warmer. I find myself torn now as it really is a nice little pistol and different to boot! Can I recommend it knowing I’ve already had one fail on me though? Well, yes, I think I can - so long as you are aware and happy to take that chance. If you are not particularly gentle with kit, or have no idea how to fix things, or if you feel you’d be unable to get it back to the retailer you bought it from if it does break, then I’d have to say steer clear of it …for now! Let’s see if any more of them have issues and what Marui are prepared to do about it as the manufacturer but, until that is clear I’d have to say “caveat emptor”, which is a real shame! AA

“THE STIFF SLIDE RELEASE WASN’T ACTUALLY AS BAD AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, IT JUST TOOK A LITTLE GETTING USED TO AND A SLIGHT ADAPTATION TO MY MANIPULATION OF IT. IT’S PROBABLY PARTLY DOWN TO MY USUAL HANDGUN BEING A GLOCK AND THE FACT I HAVEN’T USED A 1911 FOR QUITE A WHILE. ” www.airsoft-action.online

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EVENT REPORT AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

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ACTION AIR AT THE BRITISH SHOOTING SHOW AIRSOFT ACTION HAS BEEN PROMOTING ACTION AIR SINCE 2012 AND THIS FEBRUARY SAW THE UK’S BIGGEST EVENT YET. NIGE REPORTS FROM THE AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD CUP 2020, WHICH TOOK PLACE ALONGSIDE THE GREAT BRITISH SHOOTING SHOW.

t just after 12am, on the 12th of February, I found myself standing in the empty vastness of Hall 9, at the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham, England, having just clambered out of the seven and a half ton lorry I had driven into the hall a few minutes earlier. It was one of those “odd” moments, when you feel both 100% alive and yet dreading that something would go wrong - a definite “Why the eff are we doing this?” moment!

A BIT OF BACKGROUND

Regular readers of Airsoft Action, particularly those who have been with us from the beginning, will know that the magazine has been a solid supporter of (what used to be called) “Airsoft Practical Pistol Shooting” since it made its first appearance at Airsoft Arms Fair 5, in 2012. In the July 2012 issue I reported from AAF5, where I had the pleasure of meeting a guy from Hong Kong called Clarence Lai, also known as “Airsoft Surgeon”. Back then I had very little idea of who the Airsoft Surgeon was, although I was hugely impressed with the Practical Pistol Workshops he ran, tickets for which sold out almost as soon as they were made

available. At the time, I wrote “Watching him handle a pistol is not like watching someone simply holding a pistol – it is as though it has become an extension of his arm and he doesn’t have to think about doing something with it, he just does it!” During a break between sessions I got to chat with Clarence and we immediately struck up a friendship but neither of us could have imagined then where that would lead – and why I would end up standing in the middle of an empty Hall 9 at the NEC, in the middle of the night, eight years later!

IPSC? WHAT’S THAT?

IPSC stands for “International Practical Shooting Confederation”, which is the worldwide governing body for practical shooting and its many disciplines, including handguns, rifle, shotgun and “Action Air”. As their website says: “IPSC shooters need to blend accuracy, power, and speed into a winning combination. Multiple targets, moving targets, targets that react when hit, penalty targets, or even partially covered targets, obstacles, movement, competitive strategies, and other techniques are all a part of IPSC to keep shooters challenged and spectators

engaged.” Eagle-eyed readers might spot the word “spectators” in there and it was that word that set me thinking whether we could leverage it to get more people involved in the game generally. Fast-forward to March of the following year at IWA, in Nuremberg, Germany. I was scheduled to meet Chris Kong on the RedWolf Airsoft stand, which is where I would also find Clarence Lai. Needless to say, the three of us got to talking and at some point in the conversation one of us asked whether it would be possible to run an Airsoft Practical Pistol UK Event, which rapidly morphed into “Why just the UK? Why not make it a European Championship?” In October of the same year the first “Airsoft Surgeon European Championship” took place at The Grange, not far from Coventry in the UK and looking back at what I wrote of the event at the time, I included the line “…less than eight months later I found myself standing inside a vast marquee….”!

THINKING BIG

Over the next seven years the event continued to grow, as did Action Air throughout Europe and in many ways, I think what we were doing with the

“THE BRITISH SHOOTING SHOW IS HELD AT THE NEC AND ALMOST JOKINGLY, I QUIPPED THAT “MAYBE WE COULD RUN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ALONGSIDE THE SHOOTING SHOW?” IMAGINE MY UTTER ASTONISHMENT WHEN STEVE SAID “WHY NOT? I’LL ASK THE BOSS!”” 32

MARCH 2020

EVENT REPORT AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

negotiations with FRL Media, it was settled – the Airsoft Surgeon Championship 2020 would be held right alongside (and as an integral part of) The Great British Shooting Show 2020! …and that is how, after many months of very hard graft and a huge effort by a brilliant team of people, at just after 12am, on the 12th of February, I found myself standing in the empty vastness of Hall 9, at the National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham, England!

CUTTING IT CLOSE

Airsoft Surgeon Championships was partly responsible for that growth. The event also moved venue from The Grange, first to Strikeforce Airsoft in Gloucester and then, having taken a break in 2018 for the World Shoot in Hong Kong, to FPS on the Isle of Wight last year. However, as good as each of those venues were – and the competitions at all of them were excellent – after the splendour of the World Shoot we wanted to “raise the bar”, so Chris Kong and I set about looking for a suitable venue. This proved to be a bigger challenge than either of us thought it would be. With some venues shying away from “shooting” and others concerned about potential damage, it wasn’t until a chance meeting in the Press Room at IWA in 2019 that things really started moving.

FRL MEDIA

You might not know the name but FRL Media are the company behind both “War and Peace” and “The Great British Shooting Show” and while in the IWA Press Room I ended up chatting to FRL Media’s Steve Morgan, where the subject of the difficulties we were having finding a venue came up. The British Shooting Show is held at the NEC and almost jokingly, I quipped that “maybe we could run the championship alongside the Shooting Show?” Imagine my utter astonishment when Steve said “Why not? I’ll ask the Boss!” Back in the UK and following (it has to be said) some pretty straightforward

The only way we were going to make a success of the event, was to have a team of people who knew what they were doing and had the skills and determination to make it happen. We were very fortunate that Tim Wyborn, from Xsite Airsoft and Xsite Practical Shooting Club, said he would take on the job of designing the required twenty stages, ably helped and assisted by his sons, Matt and Paul. If you are involved in the UK airsoft Trade, you may also know Tim, as he works for iWholesales and all three are excellent Action Air shooters, having won many trophies between them. Tim also happens to be the UKPSA (United Kingdom Practical Shooting Association, the governing body for IPSC in Great Britain) “Action Air National Squad Director”, so we knew that all the stages would be both challenging and to IPSC standards. Tim also brought John Thompson onto the team, who designed and built the electronic timing units and ran the “Stats Office” during the match. Meanwhile, Chris Kong and I had the job of building all the partitions (walls) and barriers for the stages, a job that took far, far longer than we expected and we

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EVENT REPORT AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

didn’t actually fully complete until just a couple of days before we had to get it to the NEC. On more than one occasion we wondered if we would make it! But make it we did and having completed the pre-match shoot on Thursday (a “pre-match shoot” is usually held before all big events and is where the match officials compete against each other, whilst looking for any issues and problems that could arise), the stage was set for the arrival of the shooters on Friday.

The Match

Shooters were not allowed into the NEC until 7am and by 9am all but a few had arrived and been registered. The entry fee also allowed them full access to all three days of the Shooting Show – not that they would have too much time in the first two days of the match. With over 100 shooters and twenty stages to complete, we hoped that there would be some “down time” on Sunday for them to explore the other halls. There was, however, another element that many shooters may not have experienced before… public spectators! We all know that if anything is to grow it needs to be fed and, in that respect, neither skirmishing nor Action Air is any different. In the very early part of our planning we decided to include provision for spectators to come 34

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and watch and, with the huge amount of space we had, the stages were laid out to accommodate a wide walkway where spectators could see the action from in safety. The idea was that being at a “shooting show”, visitors would at least have some perception of what it was all about – and probably not part of the “guns are bad, guns kill people” lobby! If we could get them to come and look, maybe we could also get them interested in Action Air, or airsoft in general but, in particular, we wanted to prove that our sport isn’t just “shooting plastic BBs from toy guns”! To aid in that, we enlisted the help of the Neil and Rob from Attack Sense Targets, who set up a superb, multi-target range where anyone could have a go – all for free. NUPROL kindly sponsored the gas and BBs, along with Raven and Vorsk pistols. As I mentioned earlier, the stages had been designed by Tim Wyborn and his sons and they had done an amazing job of creating a variety of different challenges – some simple, some difficult but all good fun to shoot. Some involved opening doors or having to shoot one target to activate another so you could then shoot that too. One even had a “wobbly walkway” that you had to stand on, while yet another was called “The Rollercoaster” and yes, you had to shoot from a moving carriage on a track! All, though, had one thing in common… To be successful you would need to plan how you were going to complete the stage and then execute that plan up against the clock – and a hundred plus other competitors – while being watched by members of the public. No pressure then! As Friday progressed it soon became apparent that shooters were enjoying the challenges and spectators were appreciating what they were watching, with spontaneous rounds of applause breaking out around the stages. From my point of view, I was really chuffed to see everyone having a good, albeit competitive, time – and that is something else I have noticed over the years that I have been involved. It might sound a bit of a cliché but there really is a “family” atmosphere about the whole thing and when someone has a problem, other competitors don’t consider it “one less person to worry about”, they offer help, advice and even use of their own gun, to make sure the other competitor can continue. I know this also happens in airsoft but I have never seen (as I have in quite a few Safe Zones), little groups huddled together, not talking to anyone else or even acknowledging their presence. It just somehow seems more “open” and

EVENT REPORT AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

friendly. One minor inconvenience about being at the NEC, is that events have to close at 4:30pm and the Championship was no exception and so, at spot on 4:30 shooting stopped, guns were packed away and everyone headed off for a well-earned rest, ready to be back the next morning to kick off again at 9am. Sitting in the “Shooters Area”, we had a quick debrief before heading off ourselves and yes, there had been one or two very minor hiccups but all-in-all, it had been an almost perfect start to the competition, due largely to the enormous amount of detailed planning beforehand (“The Six Ps” really do work!). As I live only 45 minutes away (on a good day, with no traffic), I drove home for food and a few hours sleep, before getting up before the sparrows to head back to Birmingham. Most shooters, however, had taken advantage of the NEC’s superb location, with its excellent transport links and masses of nearby hotels, some of which were just five minutes walk away. Refreshed and ready to go, shooting commenced again at 9am and the match carried on from where it left off the day before. As I had already taken nearly 500 photos, I decided to spend some time wandering around the show itself.

The British Shooting Show

Some readers might remember The British Shooting Show from its previous venues, Stoneleigh Park and before that, Newark Showground and while the show still bears the same name and some resemblance to those earlier venues, it now so much bigger and better. Just about every form of shooting is catered for, although if you want to shoot a pistol (as a firearm) then your choice is limited to just LBP (long barrelled pistols), which have a stock attached and must measure a minimum of 24” from muzzle to butt. I have always been very averse to this type of pistol, finding that the ”stock” prevented a proper “draw” and banged underneath my forearm when in use (the pistol that is, not my forearm!). However, Shield Sights (who also sponsor the Championship) had the new .22 CZ75 Shadow on their stand, with the stock cleverly attached to the back of the grip, rather than underneath it. I say “stock”, it is more like a thick piece of wire with a small counterbalance at the end which, when using a “speed” holster draws and presents like any other pistol. They also had a very sexy .22 version of the Kriss Vector to fondle and drool over! The main show was in Halls 7 & 8 and traders were doing swift business with

the many thousands of visitors. It was great to catch up with Scott and the rest of the guys at LandWarrior Airsoft, where their life-size(?) metal “Predator” was attracting the usual level of interest. Also there “flying the airsoft flag” was Bespoke Airsoft, iWholesales and NUPROL. I must admit that I was a surprised at the lack of airsoft representation at the show and think airsoft retailers are missing out on a potentially lucrative three days. Yes, I know it is expensive, what with travelling, stand, hotel and staff costs and yes, I know the argument that (in the UK) there are restrictions on what you can sell to whom but here’s the thing… The argument “I don’t go because I can’t sell (black) airsoft guns” - known as “RIFs” in the UK - I believe, is no longer (as) valid. If you can’t sell black guns then don’t! There are masses of guns, both rifle and pistol, where the predominant colour is blue, red, green and yes, even pink! I haven’t got the final visitor figures but I am certain they will be more than last year and possibly over 40,000, the vast majority of whom are NOT airsofters. They are not going to be taking part in a MilSim, neither are they likely to be heading off to a Sunday skirmish any time soon but they might just be looking for something to do a bit of back yard “plinking”, or a multitude of other reasons. The point

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EVENT REPORT AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

is that colour is not important and that means, providing they are at least eighteen years old, they can be sold to and let’s face it, are you ever likely to get 40,000 potential customers walk into your shop in a year, let alone three days?? Away from airsoft, the likes of Browning, Umarex, GMK and many others had substantial stands, as did Accuracy International, where I had chance to catch up with Dave Walls, the man behind the World’s Best Sniper Rifle and who still shoots a mean .50cal! Tucked away in the far corner, the sounds of ACDC blasted out from “Big” Phil Campion’s “Battleship” CQB area, where members of the public were “encouraged” by Phil around a series of corridors while taking out “the bad guys” – all of which could be seen on four large screens outside! I bumped into AA Contributor, Andy Nightingale and his colleague from Calibre Shooting, Tighe, who, after the obligatory photo for the mag, were quickly roped in by Phil to run the area while he grabbed a quick cuppa. Just past this was a .22 range and alongside that, a number of air rifle ranges where visitors could have a go. It is great to be at a show where you can actually do some shooting, rather than just see guns piled up on racks, or stare balefully thought glass cabinets. The ranges

MARCH 2020

seemed busy – but not as busy as the range we had set up alongside the Airsoft Surgeon Championship and which I think deserves special mention, for more than one reason.

ATTACKSENSE TARGETS

Very early on in the planning of the Championship, we decided to attract spectators, not just to come and look but also to ”have a go”. Real steel pistols (not LBP) are banned in the UK and this would provide the opportunity to try an (almost real) alternative. So, just inside the entrance to the Championship area a special stage was constructed where shooters could test their guns and which would also serve as a “Have A Go” range for spectators. I spoke to Neil at AttackSense Targets and he immediately offered to bring a load of targets and run the range, along with his colleagues, Rob and Mark. NUPROL very kindly sponsored the gas and BBs, plus we were also given two Raven and two Vorsk pistols to use – and I’ll come back to how the pistols fared. Each day, the show opened at 9:00am and each day there was a queue at the range shortly afterwards, which did not disappear until the show closed at 4:30pm – and even then there were still people waiting. I took the opportunity to chat to as many spectators as possible and even, on occasion, cajoled those (how can I phrase this…?) reticent to shoot a “toy gun” (as some called them) into having a shoot. Obviously, not everyone came away having changed their minds but, by far, the majority certainly came away with a smile on their face and were eager to see where they were on the scoreboard! Coverts? Not all but some, definitely! To say that the AttackSense guys worked their butts off would be a massive understatement and I want to publicly thank them for the huge effort they put in and the support they gave us. Cheers guys! Incidentally, we (of course) loaned every spectator a set of eyepro as they entered the area and beforehand took a guess at how many pairs we would need, being 200. On more than one occasion we had to stop visitors from coming in until we had pairs returned and the flow of spectators was constant throughout the whole match.

RAFFLE & RESULTS

Such was the planning and organisation, by Sunday lunchtime most shooters had completed all twenty stages and were taking the opportunity to take a look round the show while the results

EVENT REPORT AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

were being compiled. Back in the day, all the scores were recorded on paper and the figures typed into a computer program to calculate the final scores. These days the individual scores for every shooter and every stage are entered onto a pad that is linked to a central location (although often backed up on paper just in case there is a problem with the network or internet) and all that is required is for them to be verified and printed. While this was being done, it was time for the (now traditional) raffle and this year the generosity of our sponsors had been tremendous, with everything from Airsoft Surgeon pistols, to rifles, to boots and even a MantisX 10 Elite (and if you don’t know what that is but are interested in improving your shooting skills, then I highly recommend you do a search on Google!), plus masses of other prizes. As always, the raffle was in aid of “Maggie’s”. Maggie’s centres “are a network of drop-in centres across the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, which aim to help anyone who has been affected by cancer. They are not intended as a replacement for conventional cancer therapy, but as a caring environment that can provide support, information and practical advice.” Once again, everyone dug deep and over £1,500 was raised and we were delighted that Anna was with us once again to receive the money on the Charity’s behalf. With the raffle complete, results announced and trophies awarded, it was time for the closing speeches and goodbyes “until next time”. On a personal note, I would like to thank the many, many people who helped make the Airsoft Surgeon Championship Shield Cup 2020 a success. Everyone put in a huge effort and it clearly showed in both how smoothly things ran, how any issue was dealt with in a totally professional manner and I would particularly like to thank Fiona and Jane, who kept us fed and watered throughout. Last but by no means least, a massive thank you to the shooters themselves, who flew in from as far away as Hong Kong! I hope you had a good time and look forwards to seeing you back again in 2021. However, just before I close, I want to go back to the pistols used on the range, the two Ravens and Vorsks because I have never seen so many rounds put through pistols over such a short period of time

with so few problems! One of the Ravens suffered a loose barrel and… that was it! The most-used pistol was a Vorsk and it (quite literally) had tens of thousands of rounds put through it and it did not miss a beat. No venting, no leaks, no doubleshots, no mag issues, nothing! It just kept going …and going …and going for three all three days. The other three pistols were also thoroughly tested but that particular pistol was an absolute Trojan which, for the price, is simply stunning!

RESULTS Lady Open Champion: Siu Yi Ma Second: Marianne Gundayo Standard Champion: Ching Chi Mak Second: Jo Lucas Third: Evelyn King Super Junior Standard Champion: Sasha Mikailov Junior Open Champion: Matt Wyborn Standard Champion: Paul Wyborn Senior Open Champion: Tim Wyborn Second: Danny Yau Third: Mark Chandler Standard Champion: Mike Darby Second: Clive Gamlin Third: Geert Van de Vyver

Standard Champion: Paul Wyborn Standard Second: Alisdair Mustard Standard Third: Sergio Santos Standard Fourth: Kwok Fai Lau Standard Fifth: Alex Meade Classic Champion: Pak Lam Lai Classic Second: Rafal Tomanek Classic Third: Miguel Vincente Production Champion: Chong You Leung Production Second: Matthew Reed Production Third: Alexandre Venancio Production Optics Champion: You Fung Chan Production Optics Second: Andre Miranda Production Optics Third: Laurent Christophe Cheron

FINAL THOUGHTS

Of all the events I have covered as Editor of Airsoft Action, this year’s Airsoft Surgeon Championship was the most challenging and rewarding by far, however, the results prove that it was well worth every single moment. I honestly belive we showed thousands of people that we are not “just a bunch of adult kids running around the woods shooting each other with plastic pellets from toy guns” and, judging by the reaction from the vast majority of spectators, airsoft has got a great future. Obviously, it has not been possible to include anything like the number of photos I took over the weekend, so if you’d like to see the rest, head over the The Airsoft Surgeon Championship’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ airsoftsurgeonchampionships. AA

Super Senior Open Champion: Steve Taylor Second: John Cull Third: Norman Humphries Standard Champion: Guy De Backer Overall Open Champion: Joe Lau Open Second: Matt Wyborn Open Third: Mateusz Cichecki Open Fourth: Justin Cooper Open Fifth: James White

“EVERYONE PUT IN A HUGE EFFORT AND IT CLEARLY SHOWED IN BOTH HOW SMOOTHLY THINGS RAN, HOW ANY ISSUE WAS DEALT WITH IN A TOTALLY PROFESSIONAL MANNER” www.airsoft-action.online

armoury SPECNA ARMS SV98

REAL DEAL BOLT ACTION RUSSIAN STYLE PUTTING HIS OPFOR HAT BACK ON THIS MONTH BILL HAS BEEN ON THE RANGE RECENTLY WITH A NEW ADDITION TO THE EVER GROWING LINE OF AIRSOFT REPLICAS FROM SPECNA ARMS, AND HE FINDS THEIR NEW TAKE ON THE RUSSIAN SV-98 BOLT ACTION RIFLE VERY MUCH TO HIS LIKING!

hh… The joys of OPFOR! For those of you that know me personally, you will understand that the “sneaki-cheeki-breeki” bone in my body is very strong indeed and although I have played many roles in airsoft games, it’s that of the bringing problems to BLUFOR that I really enjoy these days! Just like many of you out there, I’ve done my time standing “on stag” in all weathers and the thought of crowding round the brazier with my OPFOR “colleagues” and then nipping off to cause mayhem is far more attractive to me now! And of course, when I want to make merry with BLUFOR then having a bit of “reach” is most definitely a good thing, and to date it’s been my gas SVD that has been my “tool of choice” to accomplish this task with. I’m very particular, especially in a MilSim environment, to have the correct rifle and over the years I’ve often fancied trying the “true” sniper role but frankly, just as in the real world, it takes a very particular mind-set to perform this even adequately. In an airsoft game, a talented sniper with a higher-powered, bolt-action rifle can act as a real “force multiplier”, reaching out beyond normal engagement distances to remove the threat of a support gunner, or take out a “high value target”. I’m more of a “direct action” type of player though and I’ll be the first to admit I just don’t have the patience to crawl around in a “Ghillie Suit”, waiting for that one perfect moment. That said, I’ve often found myself at a MilSim game where playing as OPFOR I wanted to engage and harass NATO forces in their Forward

MARCH 2020

Operating Base, or whilst they are out on patrol. As good as my beloved AKs are, with them set to 1.07Joule/340fps and with relatively short barrels, I simply don’t have the range or accuracy to get beyond the return fire! Even my beloved SVD, which performs at 1.59 Joule/415fps (.20g chrono), tends to max out at around 90m and my search for something more “meaningful” has been a long one! And, coming back to my desire to have the “correct” rifle, just like

“AS GOOD AS MY BELOVED AKS ARE, WITH THEM SET TO 1.07JOULE/340FPS AND WITH RELATIVELY SHORT BARRELS, I SIMPLY DON’T HAVE THE RANGE OR ACCURACY TO GET BEYOND THE RETURN FIRE!”

in the real world the SVD has really been the only sensible choice when it comes to playing a “Russian” role, unless you wanted to carry an ancient Mosin Nagant M1891/30 sniper rifle with PU scope, or were talented enough to custom build a half-way decent SV-98. Luckily there are now a couple of models of this most modern of OPFOR bolt-actions out there

and the model I’ll put in front of you here is that produced by Specna Arms.

REAL DEAL RUSSIAN STYLEE

The SV-98, or “Snaiperskaya Vintovka Model of 1998”, came about due to the need for Russian units to replace their aging stock of SVDs for the true “sniper role”. As good as the SVD is, it is essentially still a DMR in nature and even though some models were accurized beyond the norm, specialist units still felt the need for a dedicated precision rifle due to their own changing roles. Developed in 1998 by a group of IZHMASH designers, led by Vladimir Stronsky and produced by JSC Kalashnikov Concern, the SV-98 is based on the design of the Record CISM full bore target shooting rifle series, also made at Izhmash. The original SV-98 had a unique appearance, featuring an adjustable chassis of dark green aviation plywood, a fixed buttstock with adjustable stops, cheek and stock shock-absorbers and a telescopic bipod (reference pictures show both “L96” and “Harris” styles in use). The “business parts” of the SV-98 were a cold-hammer forged receiver and a cold-hammer forged, free-floating heavy barrel which could be chrome lined to order. The barrel featured a threaded muzzle, which could accept the standard provided conical muzzle brake, or a specially designed TGP tactical suppressor that required the use of subsonic ammunition. The rifle was developed to fire 7.62×54mmR 7N1 standard sniper, 7N14 enhanced penetration sniper or “Extra” match grade sports cartridges.

armoury SPECNA ARMS SV98

The rifle fed from a 10-round, staggered column, detachable box magazine, which had marked holes on the left side so the user could easily ascertain how much ammunition they had available. This seems a little superfluous to me, as any good sniper will know exactly how many rounds they have put on target, but in a stress-shooting situation every little helps! The SV-98, just like the older SVD, did have open sights; the front sight was hooded and the adjustable rear sight was removable to ensure that any optic could be fitted as close to the bore of that special barrel as possible. The most common optics noted are the 7x PKS-07 with an illuminated reticle, or the 3-10x variable 1P69 “Giperon” optical sight and for night work, the 1PN113. Other optical and night sights, including imported models are used and this is backed up by images easily found online. According to the manufacturer, the SV-98 sniper rifle was designed to engage targets at a range up to 1,000 m (1,100 yards), an incremental improvement over the SVD’s

800 m (875 yards). The SV-98 shows a move away from the traditional Soviet reliance on “firepower over precision” and has provided a tool ready to take Russian Forces into a new era. The SV-98 is used by some counter-terrorist forces such as the FSB, Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Internal Affairs and by sniper units of the Russian Armed Forces. As of 2015, it became the precision platform for Russian Airborne Troops and in 2018 an order was placed for the supply of 26 SV98M rifles for the National Guard of Russia.

65BB box magazine, and I’ve found the bolt to be smooth and simple to operate

REACH OUT

in all conditions. Internally, the SV-98 is put together with parts compatible with the “TM standard”, so that’s good news

So, with the SV-98 now in service throughout the Russian Federation the introduction of this model to the Specna Arms line will no doubt prove popular with airsoft players who favour a “Russian Military” loadout - and amongst the OPFOR enthusiasts like me! Although there are other models appearing on the market and there are some great custombuilt SV-98s out there (as owned by AA contributor Taz!), until now you’ll have needed to save up your pennies for some time to afford one, or have access to a REALLY talented airsoft-smith. Thanks to the Specna Arms mantra that their CORE-series replicas will have “an attractive price in combination with good performance straight out of the box as well as high-quality materials” their SV-98 comes in at just €220 (€295 for the rifle/ scope/bipod package) which makes it an affordable choice. That’s not to say that the price in any way relates to “out of the box” quality and performance though! I’ve been working with the spring-powered SV-98 for about a month now (and their SA-SO2 bolt-action for significantly longer) and thus far I’m extremely happy with both models. The Specna Arms SV-98 replica features a simple and reliable boltaction mechanism fed from a detachable

for you “upgraders”! The guys at Specna Arms also tell me that upgrades can easily be made using tuning and upgrade parts from AirsoftPro.

In terms of construction, the SV-98 is made of metal and reinforced polymer. Metal parts include the entire external

“A UNIQUE FEATURE OF THE REAL SV98 IS ALSO REPLICATED WELL, IN THE FORM OF THE TRANSPORT HANDLE MOUNTED ON THE RIGHT-HAND-SIDE OF THE CHASSIS; ALLEGEDLY THIS WAS FITTED TO STOP USERS GRABBING THE OPTIC WHEN MOVING THE RIFLE!” www.airsoft-action.online

N E W

5 . 1 1G E A R J U S T L A N D E D

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5 . 1 1 D u t y R a i n S h e l l J a c k e t

5 . 1 1 D e f e n d e r F l e x R a n g e T r o u s e r s

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armoury SPECNA ARMS SV98

barrel along with the chamber, trigger and charging handle as well as RIS accessory rails and all assembly elements such as screws. The chassis with the stock, stock pad and the magazine are made of solid polymer and rubber; the use of Specna’s own “NCore” reinforced polymer makes the construction very durable and the matte finish of the chassis gives the rifle a striking and unique look. Oh, that green… (you can have boring black, tan, or olive if you wish)! The stock has three adjustment points as the cheek pad and the comfortable, profiled buttpad can be adjusted for height and length. At the bottom of the stock there is an adjustable monopod which improves the stability of the rifle when shooting prone. The SV-98 consists of two main elements: the chassis with the stock and the barrel with the chamber. This is a practical solution when it comes to transportation and disassembly of the rifle, as takedown requires only the removal of three hex screws. Thanks to a top RIS mounting rail, the SV-98 can be equipped with any optics and you have options for both styles of bipod commonly seen on the real thing, thanks to both a stud and prong fixture incorporated in the chassis. A unique feature of the real SV98 is also replicated well, in the form of the transport

handle mounted on the right-hand-side of the chassis; allegedly this was fitted to stop users grabbing the optic when moving the rifle!

RANGE IN

I’ll get this out of the way first… The SV-98 is, at 1,210mm/48-inches long, a big rifle! That said, of course what that also means is that it does have an exceptionally long 585mm/23 -inch inner barrel too! From the box the SV-98 chrono’d nicely at 1.58 Joule/413fps with .20 BBs but I’m sure that could easily be tweaked higher and still comply with the “sniper” limits found at most sites. However, even at 415fps with the hop set correctly (easy to do, it’s a big dial on the bottom of the chassis!), the long inner barrel, and that amount of power I was interested in what the range and accuracy of the rifle would be like. For a start, I knew it was pointless taking it to my little 30-metre range, so I waited for “Game Day” at my local site and took it along to their 50-metre range to put it through its paces and let me tell you, I was in no way disappointed! Moving up to .30g Precision BBs kindly supplied by Specna Arms with the test rifle I was able to get a more solid trajectory and the SV-98 hurled BBs downrange with

a huge “crack”, which certainly turned some heads! Once I’d dialled the optic in, I was easily hitting the “dinner plate” targets at the furthest extent of the range, which is exactly what I’d hoped for. When I returned home, much as I hate maths, I performed some basic calculations which told me that with a slight power-tweak, a .30g BB should, in principle, be able to haul ass way beyond the 50 metre mark, even when the rifle is “stock”! During this summer we are moving our “home range” to give more distance to shoot over and soon I will have 140m to test on! I am keen to see what the SV-98 will be able to achieve as it is but, once that has been tested, I believe that this beautiful rifle may be in line for some work to see just HOW FAR I can get a .30g to travel accurately! For now though, all things considered I’m really, really happy with the Specna Arms SV-98 and it’s exactly the kind of “reach out and touch somebody” rifle that I hoped it would be. It’s a fabulous bit of kit and I’ll be keeping it well tuned for dedicated MilSim events… probably! Thanks to Specna Arms for providing the test model. You can check out all their models by visiting https://specnaarms.com and the SV-98 is currently available from https://gunfire.com. AA

“MOVING UP TO .30G PRECISION BBS KINDLY SUPPLIED BY SPECNA ARMS WITH THE TEST RIFLE I WAS ABLE TO GET A MORE SOLID TRAJECTORY AND THE SV-98 HURLED BBS DOWNRANGE WITH A HUGE “CRACK”, WHICH CERTAINLY TURNED SOME HEADS!” www.airsoft-action.online

SPECIAL REPORT SITE REPORT REAPER OPSSIMULATIONS - CANADA BLACKLINE

BLACKLINE SIMULATIONS PRODUCING THE MOST IMMERSIVE MILITARY SIMULATIONS IN CANADA

NOT SO LONG AGO BILL WAS IN CONVERSATION WITH A FORMER MILITARY FRIEND WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN AIRSOFT, ESPECIALLY IN HIGH-END MILSIM AND WHILST THE NAMES OF MANY MUTUAL FRIENDS CAME INTO THE CONVERSATION, “BLACKLINE SIMULATIONS” IN CANADA PROVED TO BE AN OUTFIT THAT IS LITTLE KNOWN. BILL REACHED OUT TO THE GUYS AT BLACKLINE, MAKING A NEW FRIEND ALONG THE WAY!

Rescue teams conduct vehicle exit rehearsals while waiting for advanced teams to locate a downed aircrew - Photo Credit Sid Sharma Photography

he airsoft community does seem to throw the phrase “MilSim” about quite a lot doesn’t it? But what do we mean by “MilSim” and how do we begin to categorise what is a true “MilSim Event”, rather than simply an “upgraded” game? This is a question that I still find hard to answer as, by definition and stated in law in some countries as part of an ownership defence for “realistic imitation firearms”, what we all engage in when we head out to get our airsoft on, is a form of “military simulation”. For me, a true “MilSim” features 100% immersion in the event/game world, with the highest levels of authenticity in choices of kit, comms, and AEGs/GBBs. The event should be of a longer duration (12 hours minimum) and run uninterrupted for that time. Once you enter the AO you should deport yourself as your chosen character, be that techdrippingly “operator” or down and dirty OPFOR, for the entirety of the event. You will be issued tasks and orders and you must work to achieve the goals you are set, in the most effective manner. Again, in my mind, a “True MilSim” will usually take place on a unique site (although I’ve got involved in some great “woodland” events over the years!) and

feature unique elements to aid in the immersion, along with strict ammo limits. It will undoubtedly NOT be cheap but, ultimately, it will be satisfying, you’ll come away tired yet elated with stories to tell and shared experiences tucked away in your back pocket! Okay, that’s my take and whilst some will not agree with this description, there are more that will, I believe. And this is what led me personally to look at Blackline Simulations. Blackline produces an immersive roleplaying experience where you take on the role of intelligence officers and tactical teams as you work to uncover and eliminate threats around the AO. Blackline have been creating an alternate reality full of spies and clandestine activities since 2016. Taking elements from real-life espionage stories and special operations actions, they blend them with familiar gameplay mechanics and cinematic drama to create a unique, one of a kind experience. In their own words “It’s as if Jason Bourne and Tom Clancy had an escape-room baby”. The Blackline team were tired of participating in events that didn’t focus on realism, or those that penalized people who wanted to spend time planning, use real tactics, practice real

skills, or use equipment in an authentic way. They created scenarios where there would be real consequences for actions taken; they wanted failure to be a real possible outcome. At Blackline you can expect a blend between reality and an event that is as seamless as they can make it. Intelligence is real, the enemy is everywhere and your ability to perform will make a real difference to the outcome of the event! Very much liking the sound of all of this, I spoke to Sean at Blackline and asked him “What is the overall ethos at Blackline and how did that come about and develop?” This is what he told me: “The origin and culture of Blackline can be traced back to an experience that a lot of MilSim players might relate to… “I was in command of a faction at a MilSim and trying to provide my players with a realistic environment. I set an overall strategy, worked with some of the switched-on team leads to create well thought out plans and put us all to work on the objectives we were assigned. However, when things kicked off, a few different situations occurred. First, our main flanking maneuver failed because a team went rogue. Second, a team became lost in the woods and had to be guided out. Third, our

“TAKING ELEMENTS FROM REAL-LIFE ESPIONAGE STORIES AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS ACTIONS, THEY BLEND THEM WITH FAMILIAR GAMEPLAY MECHANICS AND CINEMATIC DRAMA TO CREATE A UNIQUE, ONE OF A KIND EXPERIENCE. IN THEIR OWN WORDS “IT’S AS IF JASON BOURNE AND TOM CLANCY HAD AN ESCAPE-ROOM BABY”.” 42

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SPECIAL SITE REPORT REPORT BLACKLINE SIMULATIONS REAPER - CANADA OPS

intelligence gathering tasks were an anticlimactic box-checking exercise to collect envelopes with the word “Intel” written on them. Finally, our strategy of not attacking a technologically superior enemy in a heavily defended position was interpreted by them as us “giving up” and created a lot of animosity. After the event ended it became clear that different groups had different expectations for the event. Some thought they would just set their own objectives and ignore the rest of the team. Some thought it was just a skirmish and wanted to shoot. Others didn’t expect to need any skills beyond pulling a trigger. Meanwhile, another group wanted a more authentic and realistic experience. All of these expectations are fine on their own, but when you mix them, no one is really 100% satisfied. “After 20 years of playing airsoft, this one experience clarified for me what I was missing in events. I wanted realistic missions where authentic tactics and strategy would be useful and appreciated. I wanted dedicated and capable teams who were there to complete the mission. I wanted consequential objectives that required real thinking and effort. Most importantly, I wanted everyone attending to want those same things. “None of that existed here. So Blackline Simulations was created with the explicit purpose of providing realistic immersive challenges and creating the high-performing teams needed to accomplish them. That mission has attracted individuals who put the mission first and who want to do it well. They are selfless, focused, teachable, free of ego and ready to put in the hard work in order to succeed. They’ve made those

Surveillance exercise in preparation for OP CIVIC BURDEN held in downtown Toronto, Ontario - Photo Credit 09A

traits our culture and it’s attracting some of the most talented people I’ve seen in this sport. “The biggest compliment we’ve received was “I’ve been playing airsoft for 15 years, and I’m finally getting to do what I’ve always wanted to.” It’s exciting to be part of something getting comments like that.” Having spoken about Blackline specifically I also asked Sean “In Canada is MilSim more popular, or are themed games and general skirmishes still good to go” and he commented: “Milsim is a broad term that encapsulates a lot of events here. In Canada, you may see a 36-hour event with military vehicles and complex objectives that calls itself a MilSim. Then you’ll see a six-hour-long event with a lunch break also market themselves that

way, too. If we define a MilSim as a nonstop event with medical simulation and complex objectives, then I’d say between 10 and 20 percent of Canadian events are true MilSims (I’d agree with that from a wider perspective too! Bill). “Skirmishes and day games make up the bulk of play here but you’ll find the player base moves between the types of events pretty regularly. The themes of these events generally focus on NATO vs. Russia conflict, with a good number also inventing their own imaginary BLUFOR/ REDFOR, or GREEN/TAN belligerents and storylines. There are a couple of more “game” themed events, such as one based on the board game RISK and one on the video game Battlefield. A lot of these larger MilSims are annual events that people look forward to every year. “Complicating things is the fact that

EX IVORY ZERO tasked a small group of participants with constructing and occupying a surface hide during a Canadian winter - Photo Credit IG @zerodarkmedia

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SPECIAL SITE REPORT REPORT

One of three personnel tasked with managing logistics, communications, and unit tracking at the Tactical Operations Center - Photo Credit 15D

BLACKLINE SIMULATIONS REAPER - CANADA OPS

Canada is a massive country (59 hours of non-stop driving to go from coast to coast). That creates a lot of regional and cultural differences as well. A side effect of that size is that a lot of regions are self-contained and there isn’t a lot of communication between them. Being in Ontario (a little east of the centre of Canada), you would find a clearer division between people who participate in MilSims and those who participate in skirmishes. In Quebec, there are a few large MilSim events that tend to appeal to the skirmish player base as much as the “military” enthusiasts. To the west, in Alberta and British Columbia, it seems there are fewer MilSims and more casual events. Full disclosure though, I base that observation off of the discussion groups I’m a part of and not from boots-onthe-ground experience (see reference to 59-hour drive!). “One big difference I see between Canada and other regions like the USA and Europe, is our lack of focused “impression teams”, although there are some general interest groups where people use Russian equipment, or Cold War gear. We definitely have re-enactor units that focus on WWII or the Vietnam War but they aren’t exclusively airsofters. And like most regions, there are a ton of individual impressions focusing on real-world and fictional units. However, it’s hard to find an airsoft-centric team that has come together and created a

very specific impression with the intent of being as authentic and realistic as possible. Back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s there was a small selection of teams that focused in on Naval Special Warfare that mandated the kit list right down to which specific belt you could use, but that commitment seems to be less of a focus for people now. (Side note to Canadian impression teams… If you’re out there get in touch with Blackline! We have some events for you!)“ As always I’m keen to know about the legalities of airsoft in any country where I might one day play, so Sean told me: “Like a lot of places, Airsoft lived in a grey area for a while. In Canada, a 1:1 copy of a real firearm that cannot cause injury is considered a “replica” and those are prohibited. Any gun firing a projectile over 500 feet per second or having muzzle energy of 5.7 joules is considered a firearm and is subject to all the laws relating to those. However, since airsoft guns can cause serious injury but don’t have the fps or muzzle energy required to be a firearm, they were tough to classify. Eventually, some studies were done and it was determined that an airsoft gun would have to fire over 366fps and under 500fps to be legal, and at that point it would be considered an “uncontrolled firearm” and available to the public. This limits some of what we can purchase but manufacturers and retailers have adjusted to meet the criteria and navigate the regulations. Our

airsoft guns don’t need to have orange tips and they don’t need to have clear or brightly-coloured components. “There are some obvious laws and consequences. Using an airsoft gun in the commission of a crime would result in real weapons charges. Similarly, walking down the street with one or playing in a public park will get you into a different brand of trouble. In some provinces there are age restrictions on purchases that require you to be at least 18 years old. Overall though, Canadians are pretty lucky and we don’t have to deal with the same challenges our neighbours to the south or across the pond have!” Once again, speaking to a fellow player about airsoft in their own country has been a real eye-opener and is a big part of the international community “spirit” that we all share… that of shared experience through airsoft. I was lucky enough to meet Sean in person at SHOT Show and, along with our mutual interest in Vietnam Era Living History, I found him to be very much on “my wavelength”. To this end, Sean has kindly agreed to become part of “The Legion” and I look forward to collaborating with him on future articles! If you like the sound of Blackline Simulations as much as I do, then check out their superb website: www. blacklinesimulations.com AA

Typical operating conditions during a January in Canada - Photo Credit IG @zerodarkmedia

“EVENTUALLY, SOME STUDIES WERE DONE AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT AN AIRSOFT GUN WOULD HAVE TO FIRE OVER 366FPS AND UNDER 500FPS TO BE LEGAL, AND AT THAT POINT IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED AN “UNCONTROLLED FIREARM” AND AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.”

www.airsoft-action.online

KIT & GEAR FAB GLOCK HOLSTER

DOING A 360!

WITH SIGAIR’S G19X NOW A REGULAR FIXTURE ON STEVE T’S HIP, HE TREATS IT TO A NEW HOLSTER FROM FIREARMS ACCESSORY FIRM, FAB DEFENSE.

f a sidearm fits in one of my universal holsters, then I’m usually happy. But every so often, I find myself enjoying a particular pistol so much that it makes sense to treat it to its own home away from home. The SigAir Glock G19X by VFC - as reviewed last issue - is one of those pistols. Rather than opt for a retention holster from one of the usual airsoft brands, I chose a product that has been designed for use with the real firearm. The FAB Defense G9R MX Scorpus Level 2 holster might only cost about a tenner more, but the build quality is in another league. It also comes complete with three mounting options included at a total price of around £32.00, representing value for money that’s on par when you factor that in.

YOU SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND

The Israeli manufacturer describes the MX as: “The holster for the professional who is looking for versatility and performance”. Like just about any roto holster - other brands are available, kids - you can adjust the way it sits on your loadout through 360 degrees, making for “endless Cant adjustment options” (in their own words). Not only does the MX come preinstalled on a paddle, ready to drop into your waistband, but also included are a solid belt-loop mount and the MolleX adapter. So, whether you want the versatility to use it in any number of trousers, mount more sturdily on a belt or to your chest rig or plate carrier, all your options are covered.

OPPOSING FORCES

So far, so standard for the breed but,

MARCH 2020

unlike most roto holsters, the Scorpus Level 2 Retention System features two separate opposing retention devices that capture the trigger guard of the handgun, one pressure activated locking lever and one spring-based retention device. This combined system ensures that even after you release the locking lever, the handgun is still held by the springbased retention device. Simply hold the grip firmly, push on the pressure activated locking lever and then perform a clean draw. As long as you aren’t sloppy as you draw, the G19X pops out with a sense of purpose every time. We love the added security that inspires confidence that your pistol won’t jump free at the far end of the field - for you to realise it’s missing only when you go to take your mag out on the way back into the safe zone!

SCORPUS 1 VS 0 DOORFRAME

I’ve had the pleasure of using FAB’s MX Scorpus holster for a few games now and it hasn’t caused a problem once. Even after a couple of incidents with a stubborn doorframe, as well as there being barely a mark on it, functionally there’s been no grabbiness, no snatchy releases and no fuss. In fact, I can only think of one problem with the MX. They don’t seem to make one for my new Sig M17 (reviewed this issue)... AA

RUGGEDLY HANDSOME

The MX’s construction has far less flex than many rivals, which has a real benefit in that it won’t deform as you grab for your pistol in the heat of battle, which could potentially postpone - or even prevent - an efficient draw. This rugged fiberglass reinforced polymer composite holster feels like it would really take a beating and keep on going. The locking lever initially feels stiffer than others we’ve used, but ultimately more solid too and we not only grew accustomed to it in no time, but we’re reluctant to go back to other options now. Looks are a personal thing and some may find it overly complicated or fussy, but to me the MX’s sharp lines and angles are every bit the modern operator I could ever hope for.

AVAILABLE OPTIONS While the product on test here is for Glock 9mm standard and compact models, the MX Scorpus Level 2 holster is also available for a wide range of sidearms from 1911s and the Sig 226 to H&K USPs and Makarovs. In terms of colours, not only is it available in standard Matte Black and the de rigeur Flat Dark Earth, but we’re delighted to report that you can also get it in Olive Drab green. The Southpaws among you will be happy to hear that the MX is available for both right or left-handed use.

KIT & GEAR NUPROL OPEN MAG POUCHES

A TALE OF TWO POUCHES

WITH OPTIONS IN THE RANGE FOR BOTH M4 AND PISTOL, STEVE T SERVES UP A TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL OFFER OF NUPROL’S TASTY LOOKING TACO-STYLE OPEN MAG POUCHES

t was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I doubt Charles Dickens was thinking of Nuprol’s Open Mag Pouches when he spoke of hope and despair in the opening to A Tale of Two Cities, but he may as well have been.

SIMILARITIES

The frames to either side and molle mounting points are all made of a tough polymer, while the main panels are a high-quality rubber compound. The overall effect is something of a halfway house between soft fabric pouches and rigid shells, which should offer the best of both worlds. While the overall pocket simply can’t fold, flap or roll down making it easier for a mag to slip out, the construction remains flexible enough

to mould to the mag - especially under pressure - rather than forming a solid chute for a mag to slide out of like a kid hopped up on candyfloss at the funfair. With both retention style pouches intended to be universal across rifle and pistol magazines, they’re Molle compatible and tighten with bungee cord to either side that squeezes the mag in place. The fit is adjustable for your mag by pulling the cord at the bottom, where you’ll also find drainage grommets. You can also slacken the cord to release the tension for a larger mag or freer draw. Both are available in Black , Olive Drab, Tan and Grey.

DIFFERENCES

But as in any family, the DNA is just different enough that these two are not identical twins. The M4 pouch costs £12.00, is height adjustable and also features mounting points to the fore, so you can stack either further M4 or pistol magazines on top. While the pistol pouch is £2.00 cheaper and can be angled fore and aft to match the arc of your arm, you can’t stack them. The key difference is the way the pouches

mount to your Molle platform. The M4 pouch is fixed to its frame with up to five screws. Two polymer arms thrust down through the Molle with enough flex for the under-over manoeuvre providing added security, with the only disappointment being the end tabs that close ever-soslightly less firmly than we’d like. The pistol pouch’s mounting system uses fewer screws/bolts that all too easily pull the nuts back through the polymer belt mount either as you tighten it - or upon impact. After fitting, one pouch even came off the belt in my hand before I even made it out of the safe zone...

IN OPERATION

The main benefit of a retention pouch is that there’s no need for those pesky bungees over the access hole, which can only slow down reloads. Even if some protuberance doesn’t foul on the line on the way out, I found I still needed to look down more than I wanted to see what was going on in my rig, rather than in the game. I was pleasantly surprised how my reloads were instantly smoother and faster using the Open Pouches. Swapping mags mid-game takes a fraction of the time and might just prevent the tide turning when every second counts. In terms of security, I’m by no means a dynamic player, running all over the field and sliding feet first into cover, but I have yet to lose a magazine from these pouches and feel confident they would stand up to those tests too. As long as your pistol pouch doesn’t rip free, that is… M4 pouch recommended, pistol best avoided. AA

www.airsoft-action.online

EVENT REPORT THE MADDERS CUP 2020

“MADDERS” 2020

SUNDAY 19TH JANUARY MARKED THE 6TH ANNUAL COMPETITION HELD IN MEMORY OF MALCOLM DOWDING, A TRUE GENTLEMAN AND SUPERB IPSC COMPETITOR. DAWN WILLIAMS, WHO SHOOTS WITH SOUTH WEST PRACTICAL SHOOTERS, COVERED THE MATCH FOR AIRSOFT ACTION.

alcolm Dowding was one of the UK’s top shooters and was a true gentleman and ambassador of the sport; always willing to offer help, encouragement, and advice to others. Malcolm was an excellent shooter; he spent many years as an armed officer in the police and then maintained his shooting skills at East Barnet Shooting Club (EBSC) after retiring from the police force. As well as being an excellent shooter, Malcolm was also a very experienced Range Officer; respected for his knowledge and fairness on the range. Malcolm meant a lot to everyone in the shooting community and was muchloved and respected; known lovingly as “Madders” amongst his friends, he is still much missed by the UK’s Action Air community. Sadly, Malcolm passed away suddenly in March 2015 but the shooting community did not want his passion and memory to fade away and on 5th April 2015 the 1st annual “Malcolm Dowding Challenge Cup Match” was held in his memory. This annual competition soon became known as the “Madders Cup”; being hosted by a different UK Action Air Club each year. This year the competition was held at East Barnet Shooting Club (EBSC), near London. East Barnet Shooting Club is a live-fire shooting range where Malcolm

introduced many shooters to the Action Air Practical Pistol shooting discipline. EBSC is considered to be Malcolm’s “home” club. Fifty-four shooters from across the UK and Europe gathered together at 9am to start the 12-stage competition at EBSC, which was organised by both EBSC and Watford Practical Pistol Club (WPPC) club members. Fifteen UK Clubs were represented: - EBSC - WPPC - SWPS - XPSC - LPSAA Striker - Double-Tap - GPS - 3-Gun UK T.S.C - Basildon - 1066 Action Shooting - Surrey Borders RPC - AAA - Ham & Petersham - Maidstone Pistol Club - Tameside Pistol Club La Défense and French Rooster European Clubs were also represented at the competition. After the Safety Briefing was conducted and the competition was officially started, there was a strong sense of friendly rivalry,

mixed with a genuine family vibe as the competition held in memory of a respected friend kicked off… The twelve stages (Courses of Fire) were split into four shooting ranges, allowing for four squads to shoot simultaneously. There was a good mixture of short, medium and long shooting stages that utilised a combination of paper targets, steel drop targets and moving targets. These provided an interesting combination of simple shooting stages requiring a small number of shots, and other stages that required more shooter movement and a strategic approach to the completion of the stage to achieve a good stage score, as quickly as possible. For example, one stage required shooters to stand on a floating platform whilst completing the stage, whilst another stage required the shooter to take a “starting position” that involved sitting at a table holding a wedge of cash and a handful of playing cards, simulating a card game! There was also the welcome return of the “Mind The Gap” stage, which involves shooting a large quantity of steel drop targets and paper targets from very tight shooting angles. The match flowed without a glitch, due both to the meticulous planning and preparation by EBSC and WPPC club members and the support demonstrated

“SADLY, MALCOLM PASSED AWAY SUDDENLY IN MARCH 2015 BUT THE SHOOTING COMMUNITY DID NOT WANT HIS PASSION AND MEMORY TO FADE AWAY AND ON 5TH APRIL 2015 THE 1ST ANNUAL “MALCOLM DOWDING CHALLENGE CUP MATCH” WAS HELD IN HIS MEMORY.” 48

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EVENT REPORT THE MADDERS CUP 2020

during the competition from the volunteer Range Officers and Scorers. Shooting stopped as planned at approximately 5.30pm and the shooting family all pulled together to dismantle the competition shooting stages to return EBSC to normality ready for the week ahead, whilst the competition scores were calculated. The scoring was calculated efficiently throughout the competition using the live-feed “Shoot n’ Score It” scoring input system, so it didn’t take long for the final scores to be published from the ten Shooting Divisions. These were as follows: Standard: 1. Alastair Mustard 2. Alex Cox 3. Matt Liddy Standard Senior: 1. Pete Thornton Standard Super Senior: 1. Guy De Backer 2. Stephen Birtwhistle 3. Ronnie Graham Standard Lady: 1. Elured (Elmo) 2. Misty 3. Dawn.H Standard Super Junior: 1. Kiko 2. Adam Lake Open: 1. Matt Wyborn 2. Justin Cooper 3. Mario Open Super Senior: 1. Steve Taylor 2. Paul Van De Bosch 3. John Cull Open Lady: 1. Marianne 2. Dawn.W 3. Richelle There were also a couple of shooters who were the only people shooting in their divisions and categories; Matt Reed (Production) and Jon (Classic) and Matt Wyborn, from XPSC, also took home

an additional trophy for the combined “Overall Winner”. The trophies were made for this competition by Kent Laser Craft and were based on designs from WPPC club members, which included photos of Malcolm on the two trophy designs. Individuals and traders donated generously towards the raffle; donating prizes such as airsoft pistols, an airsoft rifle, BBs, gas, safety glasses, red-dot sights, caps, and shooting experience vouchers. Contributing organisations included: - Redwolf Airsoft - iWholeSales - Practical Shooting Supplies - Elite Shooting Centre - Black Rifle - Gunfellas - Carlisle Small Arms Club - WPPC members & friends

familiar faces (and some new ones) at the competition; demonstrating the Action Air “family” pulling together to support the event and to celebrate and remember Malcolm; a real tribute to Malcolm and his passion for the Action Air sport. AA

The annual memorial competition raises money for local charities each year, with the charity being chosen by the shooting club hosting the competition. This year’s chosen charity was the Fire Fighter’s Charity and a grand total of £1,500 was raised from a combination of competition entry fees and raffle ticket sales. It was great to see so many

“ONE STAGE REQUIRED SHOOTERS TO STAND ON A FLOATING PLATFORM WHILST COMPLETING THE STAGE, WHILST ANOTHER STAGE REQUIRED THE SHOOTER TO TAKE A “STARTING POSITION” THAT INVOLVED SITTING AT A TABLE HOLDING A WEDGE OF CASH AND A HANDFUL OF PLAYING CARDS, SIMULATING A CARD GAME!” www.airsoft-action.online

THE CAGE WINTER GEAR

THE CAGE:

WINTER GEAR

All images courtesy of Björn Klockar

THE TEMPERATURE MAY HAVE PLUMMETED BUT IT’S STILL TIME TO GET OUT AND PLAY AIRSOFT, SO THIS TIME BILL GETS TOGETHER WITH THE NEWLY EXTENDED AIRSOFT ACTION CREW TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO GET THE MOST FROM ANY WINTER BB-SLINGING ADVENTURE, BY FINDING OUT WHAT THEY ADD TO THEIR “GEAR GAGE” WHEN THE SNOW STARTS TO FALL!

here I live in the UK, the chance of blizzard conditions during an airsoft game is small but, even here, not unknown! I’ve had a couple of extremely memorable games during the dark months of the year where the snow has set in and being well prepared has meant I’ve been able to enjoy every precious moment when the chance presented itself! Preparation and the right clothing setup can mean the difference between a long, enjoyable day’s play and an early trip home due to becoming mildly hypothermic (or worse!). You may think that this is a rare occurrence but believe you me, it’s more commonplace than you might realise. Many airsofters, even seasoned ones that I know, will spend huge amounts of money on their airsoft guns and tactical gear but very little on their clothing. I’ve heard the excuse “I don’t have the money for expensive winter gear” all too often but what it really comes down to is a lack of forethought and preparation. This is equally true when it comes to your AEGs and GBBs, although that is a discussion

for another time! Setting yourself up with a clothing and gear system which will allow you to hit the field year-round is actually not as expensive as you might think. If, during the summer you budget for just a single piece of kit each month you’ll be surprised how quickly your system builds. Add to this, that many retailers are selling off old stock at good prices to make room for new models and that players are getting rid of surplus gear at shows and airsoft boot fairs and you can really snap up some “off season” bargains! First off though, what do I mean by a “system”? Quite simply put, a clothing “system” is a selection of garments that will work as standalone pieces in their own right but which can be combined effectively to give you a set of gear that works all year round. This “system” will normally consist of: Base Layer: Your base layers are the items of clothing that are worn directly next to the skin. They come in different weights and thicknesses of fabric for summer and winter use, although a

mid-weight set will work for different seasons. The fabric properties will be mainly to do with moisture management as they will actively “wick” moisture away from you skin, keeping you dry and comfortable. Mid Layer: The mid layer is all about levels of insulation, allowing you to regulate your body core temperature. Mid layers can be fleece or “lofted” insulation; it’s best to avoid down jackets and vests in the UK as we’re often dealing with wet cold rather than dry “snow” cold. If down gets wet, it stays wet and actually draws heat from your body trying to dry itself so it’s better to look at synthetic fills. Shell Layer: Exactly as it sounds; your shell layer forms the outer barrier against the elements. This layer will be of a waterproof and windproof fabric and these days may be either “hard” or “soft” shell. Hard shells are normally fully waterproof with taped seams but many tend to be noisy due to the face fabrics used. Soft shells may or may not have taped seams and whilst they are sometimes not fully waterproof, they will

“…IT’S BEST TO AVOID DOWN JACKETS AND VESTS IN THE UK AS WE’RE OFTEN DEALING WITH WET COLD RATHER THAN DRY “SNOW” COLD. IF DOWN GETS WET, IT STAYS WET AND ACTUALLY DRAWS HEAT FROM YOUR BODY TRYING TO DRY ITSELF SO IT’S BETTER TO LOOK AT SYNTHETIC FILLS.”

MARCH 2020

THE CAGE WINTER GEAR

be highly water resistant; they also tend to be made of softer, quieter fabrics. By understanding what you are buying and why, the choice becomes straightforward. What you are aiming to do is create a set of gear that will actively work together. The base layer draws moisture away from the skin and lets it transport through the insulating mid layer. The shell layer allows moisture inside the system to escape whilst keeping wind and rain out. By juggling with these layers you can be comfortable in any climatic situation and get your game on no matter what “Ma Nature” may throw at you.

A SYSTEM THAT WORKS!

For my own system I will always look for a mixture of three things: performance, comfort, and durability. Most of us need to travel light these days so you can add lightweight and packable as a sub-criteria. It’s a real struggle for many manufacturers to bring all of that together but all of your clothing should work together seamlessly. Bjorn has very kindly provided me with a list of the gear that you’ll see him wearing in the supporting pictures for The CAGE this time, which I’ll share with you to give you an idea of what you might need over your base layers and usual clothing: • Alligator 3d Max - snowdrift ghillie suit. • Multicam Snowsuit - noname from Ukraine seller on eBay. • LBX chest rig “Tatical Assault chest rig heavy”(ranger green) equipped with molle front and backpanel in Multicam. Front panel tacos in Multicam Alpine from High speed gear. • Gloves from Wiley X “DURTAC” tan. • Goggles from Wiley X “SPEAR” tan. • Backpack from 5.11 AMP 24 in “Kangaroo” colour.. • Snow shoes from Miltec “Snow White” • AEG is a Tango Down model from Evolution airsoft. • Boots are Lowa Zephyr GTX Mid tan.

Now you may not need to go the full hog of carrying snowshoes but for a Winter game, when worn over good quality base and mid layers, what Bjorn has outlined will allow you to cover off most scenarios. Whilst this is an excellent list for any player to work from as a template, I asked my colleagues (including those from The Legion) the question: “How do you prepare for winter games and is there any specific item of gear that you always carry/wear when it gets properly cold?” Steve: “Always look after yourself first; weapons can’t perform without an operator, so... layer up! That said, I’ve never played in sub-zero conditions, so a thick pair of socks in proper boots and a good fleece to wear in the safe zone between games has done me proud. One thing I have learned is that it’s not a good idea to leave guns, gas mags or even batteries in the car overnight when it’s cold. In fact, just this weekend I was testing a GBB pistol, left it outside for just 20 minutes at most while I sorted out an AEG and it was useless, just vented gas everywhere. Totally not the pistol’s fault, it cannae defy the laws of physics, Cap’n! Keep green gas mags warm by keeping them near your body where you can or, even better, switch to CO2 if your pistol supports it. And even with a variable nozzle, you’d be well advised to park even the best GBBR in favour of an AEG when temperatures drop hard!” Phil: “I don’t feel the cold as much as others and I don’t do 24/48hr MilSim or long games that require really cold weather sleeping or playing, so I kinda’ rely on a few layers with T-shirt, sweatshirt and then a soft shell. Headwear-wise, I only tend to wear a helmet during the winter months or a nice microfibre Magpul beanie as my head gets really hot if I’m running around with a hat on, so it’s got to be minus figures almost before I feel I need to cover the old bonce!” Jonathan: “In Ireland there’s never a dramatic change in weather, it just rains… all the time! There is not a huge change in seasonal loadouts. However, from an Irish perspective in primary platforms there’s a huge difference!! A

lot of lads run GBBRs in the summer and change to AEG in winter, this goes for secondary platforms there’s not much you can do unless you swap out mags from Green to CO2!! With the weather the way it is, the big problem I see is batteries during the winter months and how to look after them to get max value and performance; personally I tend to run a PTW which runs 12 months of the year without much of a performance difference, and TM pistols never let you down in any weather! Salomon boots, Sealskinz socks, Crye Combat Pants and tops are always suitable for any weather, with duck feather jacket, Mechanix gloves, belt kit and chest rig for us older players if it’s a long game or MilSim!” Rob: “Here in Florida winter is the dryer and the less hot season, so clothing doesn’t differ a whole load year round! Back when I opened my indoor CQB place up north though it was a different deal, and it was those little hand warmers in a dump pouch with the gas magazines that kept them running properly!” Callum: “My Russian military winter sleeping bag is a MUST! I did a weekender last year and it was -5 every night but I couldn’t tell, I was toasty and warm! Equally I lived off the Russian army MRE for the duration and the increased calories and fat content kept me going and not feeling the cold or losing energy throughout (another interesting point, that of rations, and one we will return to – Bill)” Björn: “Bill has already made mention of my Winter kit, but building up your clothing in layers is priority one I think and be sure to check your boots and keep a spare pair of gloves with you. We play down to -20 C over here in Sweden!” Sean: “I will echo Björn in that clothing is going to be a priority. Airsofters are generally averse to discomfort and if they’re not well prepared to handle cold weather conditions they’ll just head home. That usually (and luckily!) happens long before they encounter genuine dangers like hypothermia and frostbite. However, those are also excellent reasons to own and know how to use cold weather clothing. An additional challenge we’ve

“...BUILDING UP YOUR CLOTHING IN LAYERS IS PRIORITY ONE I THINK AND BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR BOOTS AND KEEP A SPARE PAIR OF GLOVES WITH YOU. WE PLAY DOWN TO -20 C OVER HERE IN SWEDEN!”

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TAP PANELS FOR MORE INFORMATION

THE CAGE WINTER GEAR

encountered in Canadian Winter is the fallibility of guns. Batteries die quickly, gas loses pressure, and equipment can get brittle. One local event saw all weapons fail overnight when the temperatures dropped to -20C. There are groups here that use small heating packs to keep gas

magazines and batteries warm.” Nige: “It has been a while since I last played in very cold conditions and, like Phil, I tend to rely on a few layers over my usual playing attire of “combats and teeshirt”, coupled with a woolly hat (which normally comes off after a few minutes).

The only other additions are full-finger gloves and, if really cold, a shemagh. Footwear-wise, if the ground is icy or snow-covered, thermal socks are the order of the day and I revert to my tried and tested DM boots which, despite years of use, still have the best grip of all the boots I have in my kit-locker.” Scott: “Always thermal base layers; always! Although I played in -13C once and all the guns pretty much froze solid!” For me there’s one particular bit of kit that’s proved invaluable; one of the things with any game is that you will undoubtedly spend a fair amount of time in a cold, static position. You might be attending the safety briefing first thing in the morning or breaking for lunch, but it’s a rarity to find a heated Safe Zone isn’t it? Also when you’re out in game and digging in for an ambush it’s unlikely you’ll find a patio heater, so for years I’ve always had an original Snugpak “Softie” jacket in the pack for just such times, for when you want a bit of instant warmth. This has now been updated to a Military Mountain Leader Smock which has been created to support the user in a diverse range of operational environments, especially when exposed to extreme cold weather. What is interesting is that as I commented earlier, for many airsofters it is still all about their AEGs and GBBs, so this leads to another question as to how we look after our airsoft guns in the Winter… one for the future there I feel! AA

www.airsoft-action.online

armoury BOLT SR-47 URX3.1

AR + AK

= SR47 I

t is a big question, isn’t it? Are you AR or AK? The world of airsoft is dominated by “AR” models and there are so many takes on this that it’s genuinely mindboggling! If you want an out and out “MK18” then it can be yours, and if you want something that might grace the hands of “John Wick”, or a Three Gun World competitive shooter style, then with a little judicious searching of parts pretty much any AR derivative can be yours fairly quickly. And the same can now be said of AKs, as there are so many parts accessory available, along with some pretty darn fine “tacticool AKs” that are good to go straight from the box if you want something unique, or indeed like to keep things completely and utterly “classic”. However, you might like the idea of something that was truly one of a kind, one that melds together the best elements of both platforms and I’d say if this is the case, then you may wish to turn your attention to the Knight’s Armament SR-47. Back in the early days of “The War on Terror”, USSOCOM units looked for every advantage they could find whilst operating “behind the lines” and the concept of an AR/M4-style platform, that could use the ammunition they would find easily in their AO, led to a procurement order

ARE YOU AN AR USER, OR DO YOU PREFER THE AK? THIS IS A DEBATE THAT WILL GO ON AND ON AND WHILE IT DOES, BILL LOOKS AT A SOLUTION THAT NEVER REALLY MADE IT IN THE REAL WORLD BUT THAT COULD BE THE ANSWER TO YOUR AIRSOFT PRAYERS, THE KNIGHT’S ARMAMENT SR47!

for such a weapon. Knight’s Armament Company won the contract for the initial prototype, a run of just six

rifles. Knight’s already had a history of modifying the issue M4 carbine into SOPMOD platforms and, to them, this was just simply an extension to the selfsame program, albeit with a technical curveball thrown in due to both calibre and loading differences. The finished weapon was thought to be the best of both worlds; an “AR” style rifle that used standard AKM magazines and ammo. Born from the idea of a soldier being able to resupply behind enemy lines and operators being able to leave a smaller

footprint to conceal their presence, the SR47 combined the familiar AR ergonomics with the legendary 7.62x39mm cartridge used by the AK-47. The SR-47 was specifically designed to allow operators to utilise munitions acquired from the enemy in situations where resupply was not an option. Additionally, the SR-47 had the added benefit of sounding like a typical AK-47 (not an AR), which helped mask an operator’s presence as well as being able stay covert by not leaving any evidence, such as casings from a NATO weapon. The SR-47 was developed with a specific purpose, or to fulfil a specific set of operational requirements but until recently it was a pretty “hush hush” platform. However, with another surge of interest in loadouts in the style of NAVSPECWAR-DEVGRU (no doubt thanks to the popularity of the show “SEAL Team” and even “Cat Shit One Packy”) perhaps this unusual platform is worth a revisit!

“…THIS WAS JUST SIMPLY AN EXTENSION TO THE SELF-SAME PROGRAM, ALBEIT WITH A TECHNICAL CURVEBALL THROWN IN DUE TO BOTH CALIBRE AND LOADING DIFFERENCES. THE FINISHED WEAPON WAS THOUGHT TO BE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS; AN “AR” STYLE RIFLE THAT USED STANDARD AKM MAGAZINES AND AMMO.” 54

MARCH 2020

armoury BOLT SR-47 URX3.1

BOLT FROM THE BLU(FOR)!

A few years ago I had the chance to get my hands on one of BOLT Airsoft’s first takes on the SR-47 style, in the form of the “KeyMod Cobra”. I loved the idea of an AR/AK hybrid and, at the time, managed to unearth a lot about the “real world” rifle which endeared it even further to me.

However, the non-military styling of the “Cobra” left me with a little feeling that all was not totally right and lovely rifle that

it was, it got sold on after a while. I loved the rifle and the system but for me the “look” was just wrong. Recently though I discovered the SR-47 URX3.1 version and the love affair was immediately rekindled! The URX 3.1 Rail is a free floating, fully modular replacement forend for the AR platform and, unlike “traditional” quad rail designs, the URX 3.1 incorporates

short sections of M1913 Picatinny rail at its front and rear ends for mounting tactical accessories, eliminating the commonly unused sections of rail for reduced overall weight and a more comfortable grip. There are also four integral QD sling swivel sockets provided for ambidextrous sling compatibility and, by adding URX 3.1 Rail Panels and additional rail sections, you can customise the URX just as you like it. This is beautifully rendered on the BOLT replica and little extra touches like the use of a Knight’s-style 7.62 QDC muzzle device really pull the whole look together. Externally everything is solid-as-a-rock and tight, and you get an outer barrel assembly, receiver set, buffer tube and various operating items made from a combination of alloy and steel for a durable finish and which also provides a realistic weight. Where Polymer has been used on the real thing (pistol grip, rail covers and stock) BOLT use a high density nylon fibre which is a tough material that feels great! BOLT Airsoft’s rendition of the SR-47 features their Bolt Recoil Shock System (BRSS) to create simulated recoil for enhanced realism. In addition to the recoil system, BOLT has also greatly reinforced the gearbox and the rest of the internals to withstand the powerful recoil “shock” and to enhance the rifles durability and performance. The BRSS produces kinetic energy from the gearbox and transfers that energy down through the receiver (produced by the piston’s movement, transferred to a recoil weight in stock tube) and into your shoulder

through the stock. The development team at Bolt Airsoft have created a powerful recoil system which once was a revolutionary idea but is now one that has been thoroughly tried and tested. Bolt are not hiding any reduced quality parts inside their rifles to bring the manufacturing cost down either; the rear-wired gearbox is a work of art! Forged steel gears seated in low friction 8mm bearings will handle cycling all day long. You’ve even got an aluminium spring guide, one-piece metal hop-up unit, high torque motor and precision inner barrel as standard! Are you getting the idea?

The BRSS system also has some great advantages other than the obvious “felt recoil” and these include: • Low Energy Consumption: BRSS technology provides great power recoil action even when using Low Voltage batteries. Its unique design makes this AEG solid inside and out, with outstanding reliability. • High Durability: BRSS Gears are made strong, which makes them stronger to handle the strong recoil shock, which longevity to the AEG’s life. • High Compatibility: BRSS Gearbox system parts offers a high degree of compatibility with other brands’ gearbox parts. Over 90% of BRSS parts are compatible with those available on the market. These advantages give players lower long-term ownership costs and a wider choice for possible repairs, upgrades, modifications and customisation. That means you can upgrade to your heart’s content - if you really feel the need to improve on what’s available out of the box.

“THESE ADVANTAGES GIVE PLAYERS LOWER LONG-TERM OWNERSHIP COSTS AND A WIDER CHOICE FOR POSSIBLE REPAIRS, UPGRADES, MODIFICATIONS AND CUSTOMISATION. THAT MEANS YOU CAN UPGRADE TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT - IF YOU REALLY FEEL THE NEED TO IMPROVE ON WHAT’S AVAILABLE OUT OF THE BOX.” www.airsoft-action.online

STRETCH PANTS BLACK / DARK COYOTE / GREEN / SRP: Â£69.95

armoury BOLT SR-47 URX3.1

DOWNRANGE

But what happens on the range I hear you ask? All this clever stuff is great but how does the SR-47 actually shoot? The answer is… well, VERY well! Given that the internals are the latest iteration of the tried and tested BRSS, I had no doubt that outof-the-box performance would be right up there and I wasn’t disappointed!

Using .20g RZR BBs the SR-47 delivered a massively consistent chrono reading

of 0.92 Joule/315fps which is absolutely perfect for use on all UK sites. I did try

the BOLT with a number of different brand AK magazines and, sadly, it does seem a little picky in this respect. Of all the models I tried other than their own, only my old MAG brand “AK74 bakelites” (which frankly fit anything!) seated well. This could be a small “downside” if you’re buying as a team. With the 600BB “steely” hicap magazine topped off with .25 RZRs it was time to set the hop and have at it! Like all Ars, the SR-47 has the fire selector above and to the left of the pistol grip, and with semi engaged the BOLT went off with a righteous “crack” and a good jolt in the shoulder, sending BBs straight downrange to target at 30m. Cranking up to full just upped the “giggle factor” as the thump in the shoulder seemed to increase - but affected accuracy not at all! As you’ve probably guessed, I’m really excited about this rifle. Bolt Airsoft kick pretty

much every other manufacturer’s butt when it comes to this AR/AK hybrid, not only with the awesome recoil system but also through value for money along with quality of parts and construction. The SR-47 appeals to me as it is based on a real military weapons platform, albeit one that was subsequently mothballed but it also fits neatly into the “well-financed contractor loadout” bracket which we all love. If you love your AR but want to steer away from the herd then the BOLT SR-47 URX3.1 may well be the rifle you’ve been looking for! Sincere thanks, as always, go to the guys at NUPROL (www.nuprol.com), who distribute the BOLT brand in the UK, for providing the test rifle. AA

“GIVEN THAT THE INTERNALS ARE THE LATEST ITERATION OF THE TRIED AND TESTED BRSS, I HAD NO DOUBT THAT OUT-OF-THE-BOX PERFORMANCE WOULD BE RIGHT UP THERE AND I WASN’T DISAPPOINTED!” www.airsoft-action.online

THE COLLECTOR

THE COLLECTOR: M41A PULSE RIFLE

FRENCHIE PULLS ON HIS SCI-FI HAT TO TAKE A LOOK AT AN AEG THAT ONLY EXISTS IN THE MINDS OF ITS CREATORS AND YET SEEMS TO HAVE A FAN-BASE ALL OF ITS OWN.

M41A PULSE RIFLE A

pparently… “The M41A uses an electronic pulse action to fire, controlled directly from the trigger and powered by a battery located in the carry handle. The internal mechanism, including the rotating breech, is mounted on free-floating rails within a carbon-fibre jacket and the entire assembly is recoil dampened to reduce the effects of muzzle climb during burst and fully automatic fire. Even so, the weapon’s recoil is fairly significant. A thumb selector allows the firer to switch between selective, four-round burst or fully automatic firing modes. A manual charging handle on the right-hand side of the receiver allows the user to check for rounds in the chamber or clear the breech in the event of a stoppage. The standard M41A ammunition magazine stores 99 rounds in a ‘U’ bend conveyor. Rounds are fed mechanically into the weapon’s rotating breech. While the magazine weighs 1.5 kg when fully loaded, standard practice is to only fill it to 95% capacity (95 rounds) to prevent jamming. “The M41A generally mounts the under barrel U1 grenade launcher, comprising a barrel, breech and four-round internal

magazine, fired using a trigger just in front of the rifle magazine, the housing for which doubles as a grip during grenade firing. While this launcher was integral to initial versions of the rifle, later models featured a modular system that allowed the launcher to be swapped out for a different unit at the user’s discretion. Grenades must be hand-loaded into the launcher’s four-round magazine, which are then loaded into the breech and primed to fire from a pump action.” (courtesy of Xenopedia at avp.fandom.com) I had been going to start this month’s piece with my usual introduction but since we are dealing in fantasy (and I’ll come back to that later), I thought I would let the idea speak for itself first. Yes, I’m going to have a look at the M41a Pulse rifle, one of the most iconic movie weapons ever in my opinion. This is not a Collector per se, as there are two versions of this available to airsofters and they are basically identical – one was a G&P kit that was built around a Marui M1A1 Thompson and the other was a kit that came pre-built around a Chinese built M1A1 copy, by Snow Wolf (if my memory serves me right). Since one was a copy of the other and since I have

had considerable experience of building and ripping these apart, I thought I would just take a look at this brilliant rifle, and why it is so utterly awful!

AT THE MOVIES

This is a movie gun – the fact that there are some live firing versions out there does not change that fact. The M41a simply doesn’t exist. Caseless ammunition isn’t rimmed and cannot therefore be manually extracted in the way brass can – if you want to argue that point find some videos about the operation of the H&K G11. Sorry – that was one of the things that leapt out at me in the description above… I shall therefore leave the unreal aside and deal with the real. The first one of these I built was from a kit and a Marui Thompson and it was a sod, mainly because I was learning as I went and also because some of the design decisions were poor. The catch that secures the sliding stock could have been much better – it works but it took some work to make that so. There are lots of screws, lots of locating pins and acres of wire that go into making one of these. Bringing it together, once the gun is inside the

“SINCE ONE WAS A COPY OF THE OTHER AND SINCE I HAVE HAD CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING AND RIPPING THESE APART, I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THIS BRILLIANT RIFLE, AND WHY IT IS SO UTTERLY AWFUL!”

MARCH 2020

THE COLLECTOR M41A PULSE RIFLE

shell is a bit of a juggling act and at the time I turned the air blue as it constantly frustrated me. Together it all went, however, and it worked! The base gun, the M1a1, is a really good airsoft gun with a solid gearbox and generally excellent range and reliability, so there was never any doubt that the M41a would perform. The grenade launcher does nothing (which is a shame) and it is rendered as a 12-gauge shotgun, which is also inaccurate. That first M41a went to a player who had the benefit of being employed for his family’s metal working business and the last I heard (and this was a long time ago), the heatshield had been replaced by a genuine SPAS 12 article and he was working on fitting a Marushin gas powered shotgun into the launcher. Nice …if it worked! More recently, when Snow Wolf released their complete version, I spent days tearing them apart and reducing their muzzle velocity - as they were a bit cheeky, to put it nicely. What I found then was that my previous experience stood me in good stead and this was a pretty easy job. Once you know, you know, I suppose.

A BRILLIANTLY AWFUL GUN So why do I describe it above as a “brilliantly awful gun”? It’s brilliant because it looks amazing, the designer(s) got that bit spot on. It’s chunky, serious and looks like it actually should work. Beyond that, as an airsoft gun, it’s awful.

Firstly, balance - or the complete lack thereof. Removing the stock from the M1a1 and replacing it with a thin sheet metal sliding stock, while at the same time piling some serious weight at the front of the gun makes for a handling nightmare. I am sure there are some absolute fans out there who would dispute that, but it makes L85s seem well thought out. This more than any other single factor is why I never owned one, no matter how cool they are. Next, weight. The original outer barrel assembly is replaced and, credit where it’s due, the new parts are pretty solid. That makes the M41a front heavy as noted but also heavy in general. As a movie gun it doesn’t have to do anything but look good but trust me, this would absolutely fail any military weapon test program. “Unwieldy” is the nicest thing I can say about it. Contrary to the description of the M41a in Alien-land, it is not robust. Now it isn’t rubbish that falls apart instantly, but the stock isn’t strong and is best left collapsed. The magazine floor plate will disappear faster than a Xenomorph playing hide and seek and there are no proper sling points to ensure it doesn’t go flying, should you stumble. It is also big. The pistol grip is big, bigger than the Thompson original. The front end is fatter than it really needs to be. Proper guns are built to fit the average human

being – the M41a was largely free of that consideration - and it shows. Finally, power. Being an airsoft gun, it needs a battery somewhere and it fits in through the rotating barrel end cap. When I started with these it was difficult to find a decent NiCad or NiMh that would fit and last, LiOn batteries have at least sorted that issue. You may feel that I’m being unfair to the M41a and that may be true. It looks fantastic still and I would love to have one as a wall-hanger but I just can’t rate it as a useable airsoft gun. Those of you familiar with the original Thompson M1a1 know that it is a bit of a handful – it was designed in very different times – and the Pulse rifle takes those handling deficiencies and multiplies them many times over. It looks great but, honestly, I think it only ever worked properly in the movies. AA

“AS A MOVIE GUN IT DOESN’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING BUT LOOK GOOD BUT TRUST ME, THIS WOULD ABSOLUTELY FAIL ANY MILITARY WEAPON TEST PROGRAM. “UNWIELDY” IS THE NICEST THING I CAN SAY ABOUT IT.”

www.airsoft-action.online

FEATURE MY FIRST (PROPER!) AEG

THIS IS MY M4 PT 4:

MOAR POWAR! AFTER YEARS OF MAKING MINOR MODIFICATIONS TO RIFS WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS, STEVE T GOES ALL-IN ON HIS MWS TO FIND OUT JUST WHAT AN INEPT HOME TECH CAN ACHIEVE. THIS MONTH: INCREASING THE FPS

alle-fricken-lujah! After a couple of months of dressing her up, I can finally start improving the base performance of the already impressive MWS from Marui. I love a good Gas Blow Back Rifle (GBBR) but, so far, every single one I’ve purchased for the UK market has come in on the disappointing end of the FPS scale and the MWS was no different. Even after a few hundred rounds for it to loosen up - and a re-chrono to boot - Tokyo’s finest still only came in at 297FPS average using Green Gas. I have pistols that shoot harder than that.

up on the product but thankfully you can now buy it domestically without worrying about import duties. And that’s exactly what I did! After a couple of months playing dress-up, now I can get into the performance upgrades.

PERFORMANCE BY NUMBERS

close it back up. Push the pin back through and you’re done! It’s a matter of moments to complete and as a result, your MWS now performs as it was originally intended – albeit after a little fettling.

ON THE LIMIT

When I said this was a “drop-in” part, I wasn’t kidding! Fitting the High Speed Carrier with MPA nozzle almost literally could not be any easier - painting by numbers is more difficult than this! All you need to do is tap out the rear receiver pin - or just pull it out in our

The beauty of an adjustable nozzle on a GBBR is that you can vary output on both a day-by-day and site-to-site basis, so that you can dial in your RIF to perform right on the limit every single time - meaning that you’re free to focus on achieving your objective on game day. It takes all the guesswork out of which strength gas

case - to rotate the front of the RIF down around the front pin. Then pull back on the charging handle and bolt assembly to remove them together. Don’t worry when the two parts separate in your hand they’re supposed to do that. Simply realign the new carrier with the charging handle, slide both in again and

will make you competitive - or even just legal - and means that you no longer need to carry a spare bag of numerous gases to feed the GBBR beast on your back. Like most mechanical thingamybobs, lefty-loosey, tighty-righty means turn anticlockwise to reduce gas flow, clockwise to raise it. Simples! Adjustment is done with

NOT A GO-GETTER FROM THE GET-GO

GBBRs are notoriously underpowered here in the UK and with that in mind, I buy them fully expecting to need to upgrade the output from the get-go. For that reason, a variable nozzle is always going to be a day-one addition for any GBBR in my book. That’s why I ordered a drop-in part from 6,000 miles away in Hong Kong, ready for the second part of this series only for Royal Mail to lose it 12 miles from home! At that time, it was a new-to-market solution from Asia’s Angry Gun that wasn’t stocked by any UK supplier, hence ordering from overseas. I was looking forward to bringing you an early heads-

“WHEN I SAID THIS WAS A “DROP-IN” PART, I WASN’T KIDDING! FITTING THE HIGH SPEED CARRIER WITH MPA NOZZLE ALMOST LITERALLY COULD NOT BE ANY EASIER - PAINTING BY NUMBERS IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN THIS!”

MARCH 2020

FEATURE THIS IS MY M4

an Allen key to the front of the group, which means you’ll have to remove it every time you want to tweak the FPS. This does mean disassembly every time to

its thing, and while every adjustment has an effect, it seems that not all turns are created equal. Sometimes a quarter turn will have a big impact on output; other times it barely registers. It’s a process of trial-and-error to dial in the required performance and a bit more persnickety than we’d prefer, but there’s no denying that we were able to raise the FPS over standard to reach - and even exceed - UK limits. While adjustment may be easy rather than convenient then, if that’s still a scary prospect, you can always dial in the FPS 10-20 below the most common site restrictions when you set it up to allow for temperature variance and never touch it again. I’ll be honest - that’s what I’ve done!

350 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

adjust but as we’ve seen, that’s far from needing a tech. It’s a bit fiddly just to make sure the key is actually inserted properly and doing

As we’ve already seen, this MWS averaged less than 300 FPS stock but the MPA nozzle easily enables it to reach the magic 350 for most UK sites using regular green gas and without breaking a sweat. You might even be able to open the valve further for higher numbers but we called off when the bolt started to feel too loose, nipped it back up and were happy with the end result anyway. Of course, higher FPS means greater range, so we weren’t exactly surprised to see BBs travelling both further and faster after installing the MPA and carrier and raising those numbers by 50 from 300 to 350. While bigger numbers can all too

easily come at the expense of accuracy, we didn’t note any drop-off, with the MWS still making inch-tight groups at 25 metres - the extent of my outdoor range. Beyond that, I’d guesstimate from a few cheeky attempts that accuracy at longer ranges is similarly unaffected. I’d love to report an improvement in FPS consistency having fitted an aftermarket nozzle, but variance between maximum and minimum remained constant at about 40FPS on average - albeit at a higher level.

ON FULL VENT

Fitting the MPA as part of the carrier raised FPS by 17% for a reliable 340FPS, so we’re all good, right? Yeah… not so fast. The problem is that this mod has introduced a new problem, where the MWS vents gas on full auto. It’s fine for short bursts but anything over three or four shots and you start to see a gas cloud. That might work for me and any triple-tap players out there but airsofters with a heavier trigger finger might struggle to make it work for them. Using a tighter setting with higher powered gas - Abbey Vertex - mitigated the effect but swapping back to the standard TM unit almost entirely negated it. And I do mean almost - it seems this mod simply accentuates an issue that was there to begin with. Marui internals are not exactly renowned for their resilience when faced with higher powered gases, which raises a question mark over long term reliability if you choose to use anything above 144a - or standard green gas. So, it seems we have a trade-off here do you prioritise gas efficiency or outright power? There’s no right answer for everyone but since this is my build, I’ve gone with higher FPS and range over stock thanks to the MPAS - for now. I’ve reached this decision because I tend to shoot fewer rounds from greater range. You might choose exactly the opposite for the way you play. I’m not exactly happy about the results and fully intend to circle back and see if there are other options on the market to improve output that are less compromised. I’ll let you know if I find that silver bullet... Next month: The front end - inner barrel and rails. AA

“I FULLY INTEND TO CIRCLE BACK AND SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS ON THE MARKET TO IMPROVE OUTPUT THAT ARE LESS COMPROMISED. I’LL LET YOU KNOW IF I FIND THAT SILVER BULLET...”

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armoury SIGAIR M17

AFTER YEARS IN THE MIDDLE LEAGUES OF GBB PISTOLS, VFC IS MAKING A BREAK FOR THE HIGH GROUND. STEVE T FINDS OUT IF THE NEW, OFFICIALLY LICENSED SIGAIR P320 M17 CAN MEASURE UP TO THE TAIWANESE FIRM’S RECENT SUCCESS WITH THE GLOCK G19X

easily adjust the M17’s hop with your bare hands. Either way, we like; more please! Where the G19X feels nimble, the P320 is an altogether weightier - and slightly more cumbersome affair. That’s not to say it pales in comparison - far from it but worth mentioning to help you choose depending on your requirements. This isn’t a head-to-head review though, so let’s focus on the sidearm in question: SigAir’s first under its own banner and quite appropriately, the M17.

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

hey may be different beasts but this Sig obviously shares DNA with last year’s G19X. Of course, they’re made by the same airsoft manufacturer (VFC), both officially licensed with the original firearms firms paying close attention (Sig Sauer and Glock respectively) - and they’re also both hearing aid brown. Or fifty shades of beige, if you prefer. Beyond that, they also share operational similarities in airsoft, such as the under-barrel hop adjustment, which is so brilliantly convenient to use. But where the G19X requires an Allen key, the M17 comes with a bespoke tool. Fret ye not if you lose it though, because you can just as

MARCH 2020

Sig Sauer’s origins may be in Germany but the company now largely operates in America. After a lengthy review process, a modified version of the P320 was selected by the US military in 2017 as the winner of its Modular Handgun System competition, when it would become known as the M17. The compact carry version is called the M18. Utilising 9x19 NATO rounds, the M17 was judged to have better accuracy and ergonomics than the outgoing and long-serving Beretta M9. The first unit to receive the M17 was the 101st Airborne Division, with planned adoption as the standard sidearm for the US military and a subsequent order for 421,000 weapons. A limited run of 5,000 units was made available to the civilian market in 2018,

while international services that have since adopted it include Denmark, the Royal Thai Police and numerous US police departments. Initial feedback from those in service that have been issued this sidearm to date seems largely positive. If the US military has a new pistol, then you can bet it’s soon going to become a regular sight on the airsoft field, much like Glocks before it.

EXCELLENT FINISH TO START

We’ve seen unofficial M17s from other airsoft manufacturers before but this is the first in a line of in-house projects by the mighty Sig themselves. And if the German/ American legends are going to put their name to something, you better believe it’s going to be good. Manufactured for airsoft by Taiwan’s Vega Force Company, this M17 - bought at full retail, conspiracy theorists - arrived slathered in oil and in need of a good strip and rub down upon delivery; at least you know it hasn’t had chance to dry out during storage or transit. Rightly or wrongly, first impressions count and despite its otherwise sharp lines, that gopping mag extension hanging out of the bottom of the magwell is aesthetically awful. It doesn’t even add BB capacity over the CO2 version in terms of functionality. The good news is that it makes the pistol more comfortable for players with larger hands, but having spoken to many potential owners, SigAir - I can tell you right now that a lot of players will be put off purchasing the P320 on those grounds alone. I believe there’s a shorter magazine on the way as an option and I hope we see it sooner rather than later. Overall, the finish is excellent throughout - as you’d expect from VFC - it feels solid, the mechanisms work sharply

armoury SIGAIR M17

and we don’t think you’ll be disappointed. There’s nary a rattle to be found, other than on that overlong mag - and even then it’s far less noticeable than even on the already impressive G19X.

IS SQUOVAL A THING?

With good rough textured panels to all four sides of the grip - complete with crisp trades - I still found the overall shape to be an odd compromise between square and oval that wanted to rotate in my hand more than I’d like, despite the recess above the mag release that makes a natural feeling place to rest your thumb. Although it invites your thumb to rest on the triangular mag release, it’s definitely just above, so there’s absolutely no risk of dropping the mag accidentally - it takes a definite movement to do that. I wish my beloved FNX had sculpted this area so well. The lefties among you can also swap the mag release to the right side, while the slide release and safety are ambidextrous from the get-go. Speaking of those crisp trades, you’ll find them all present and correct with “SIG SAUER M17” to the front left of the slide, plus the company logo to both left and right of the grip. There’s even a unique serial number engraved to the right, behind the famous “Newington, NH, US” legend. While the ejection port carries the legend “9mm x 19”, the only place you’ll find a giveaway to this RIF’s airsoft nature is a subtle warning under the trigger guard and ‘Cal 6mm BB’ in the under-barrel rail.

SIG IS AS SIG DOES

The slide release is undersized compared with many other pistols and mounted towards the rear but it falls readily to hand, which will be familiar to owners of Sig’s previous pistols such as the legendary 226. The safety is similarly small and initially stiff to apply with just a thumb. Moving it to fire is a bit freer but neither are really usable until the M17 gets a couple of games under its belt, after which both seem to work fine. Similarly, the travel on the trigger between take up and release has improved with use, while the reset remains almost all the way back out again without a strong physical sensation. It’s hard to get a feel for. Target shooters may struggle with that, but you wouldn’t notice it in a skirmish. Serrations to both front and rear of the slide help with racking and there’s a lanyard hole to the rear of the grip to make this pistol difficult to lose, but leaves an unavoidable awkward void behind the bottom of the extended mag. Appearances should count for nought, but it just looks

like a part’s dropped off the mag somewhere between the safe zone and the heart of the game. A rail under the barrel makes it easy to fit flashlights etc, and the iron sights are solid - even if there’s daylight under the front that might slow a fast draw from a universal fabric holster if it gets snagged. And if iron sights don’t do it for you in 2020, that black plate to the rear of the slide is designed to remove and replace with a bespoke RMR Red Dot that’s yet to be released. The prototype was on display at this year’s SHOT show and it looks pretty trick.

BIG GUN HEAVY SLIDE MOAR GAS

Our first shot out of the box on a fresh mag of green gas using .20 BBs read 380FPS and kicked hard - that got our attention! But it soon settled down to an average of about 300FPS. In normal usage - giving gas time to normalise for temperature and then using just one shot per second - FPS drops off sharply, from a more realistic 358 with a full charge to an average of 340 within the first 10 shots. You’d be well advised to squeeze off a couple of rounds before you chrono to come in under the usual (UK) 350 limit then, but after that you’d be safe. From there - and oversimplifying slightly - the M17 seems to lose about 20FPS every 10 shots or so. By the time it reaches the end of the second magazine of BBs on a single gas charge, the M17 is down to about 263FPS on average and struggles to operate. If you wait long enough, it’ll regain its composure and offer up a few more shots, but probably best to bank on re-gassing every time you reload if you can. OK, there’s a big heavy slide to shuttle to and fro but that’s still a bit disappointing when VFC’s own G19X - admittedly shorter and lighter - can manage up to double the number of mags. But anyone looking for a one-to-one training tool with the real deal won’t be disappointed; empty mag means reload, after all… But at least gas fills are done to the rear of the mag rather than underneath, which will help with drop resilience and something we’d like to see adopted as standard. The important thing is how the M17 shoots and at 5-10m, it lands most shots within an inch or so. And it remains accurate at greater distances - when the

hop comes into play - and it can still hit a torso-sized target at around 30m or more. I’ve been happy to take the M17 out for a skirmish, confident in the knowledge that it will work as expected. While the G19X - with its more efficient gas performance - can still work effectively when temperatures are down, the M17 can land longer shots on target. The more I use the M17, the more I like it...

SUMMARY

I don’t know if Sig will love or hate me for saying this - or more likely just won’t care either way - but as a relatively big handgun, the P320 feels a lot like a 1911 on steroids, much like their MCX is even more so an AR15 that’s levelled up. With familiar but streamlined control interfaces alike, that just means they’ve taken two of the most successful tried-and-tested platforms of the last 100 years and improved on proven classics in both cases. In terms of airsoft replica sidearms, it seems that VFC is on a roll - and long may that continue! On recent evidence, the Taiwanese company has taken a genuine step up both in terms of quality and performance to place them on par with brands that have further reaching heritages. As for the M17 on test today, if you want to replicate the US military’s current sidearm, then you can do so confident in the knowledge that the SIgAir by VFC is also an excellent airsoft option. AA SigAir P320 M17 ProForce Price: £156.99 Weight: 761g (Tested) Length: 20.3cm (Tested) Inner barrel length: 139.7mm FPS: 297 avge (Tested) Hop: Adjustable Action: Single action only Construction: Metal slide, polymer frame Full auto: No Power source: Green gas (tested)/CO2 magazine Magazine type: Metal polymer Capacity: 27 rounds (Tested)

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armoury TM MK46 MOD0 RECOIL LMG

R E C O I L

PHIL BUCKNALL TAKES A LONG, HARD LOOK AT THIS MUCH-ANTICIPATED RIFLE FROM TOKYO MARUI – BUT DOES IT GIVE YOUR SHOULDER A GOOD THUMPING, OR JUST YOUR WALLET!

here to begin with this one? Possibly one of the most anticipated releases of last year from Marui and if you asked players prior to its announcement it would’ve been one of most in demand types of gun to have a recoil function. It’s been a dream of many for years - a recoil LMG? Yes please! In fact, I’ve never owned an LMG and I never had any desire to do so either. I didn’t want to lump it around if my normal M4 could do what it could do. The only way I was ever going to buy one was if it had recoil. Now some would argue that the Marui Mk46 is no different to any other NGRS AEG and, to a degree, you’d be correct but it is so much more than just that!

Firstly, I have to say a huge thank you to the guys at Defcon Airsoft in Stoke-onTrent for getting these into the UK superquick after they were released in Japan and before pretty much any other retailer in the UK. If you want to preorder one from the next batch (and I know they are trying to secure more as their first batch sold out on the day of arrival), then drop them a message at www.defconairsoft.co.uk

to start with it shortly. The retail price is anywhere from £1,200 (the Defcon Airsoft Price) to the highest I’ve seen, at £1,400. Yes, it is a lot; especially when you consider that the average price for a standard Mk46 from other manufacturers is roughly £400-£500. However, I don’t think it’s a comparison that’s valid as it is the only gun on the market with the features it offers - and those features are definitely worth the asking price to me! However, it’s a decision anyone thinking of buying one needs to make for themselves. It isn’t even the most expensive airsoft gun available today, that crown still belongs to the GBLS DAS and, like the Mk46, it too is a unique item with zero direct competitors.

R I F L EXTRAORDINAIRE? 66

MARCH 2020

OUCH!!

Now let’s address the elephant in the room straight out of the gates shall we? The price! Be under no illusions this is an expensive gun. It’s the flagship product for Marui and has had huge R&D expenditure invested in it, plus it comes with lots of unique features that only add to the experience when you fire it. Even the packaging is on another level. I don’t usually go into much detail when discussing the box that a gun comes in (as it’s just a box) but in this instance I’m going

BOXING CLEVER

Back now to the packaging that is more than that. Firstly, the box is huge! It’s about the same size as three Marui 416 boxes stacked on top of each other and it’s not

armoury TM MK46 MOD0 RECOIL LMG

“THE FIRST THING YOU SEE ON OPENING THE OUTER BOX IS A REALLY NICE GUN METAL GRAY TRAY WITH A PLASTIC CARRY HANDLE AT EITHER END. WHEN YOU LIFT THIS OUT THERE’S ANOTHER GUN METAL GRAY BOX BUT THIS ONE HAS A HOLE IN ITS MIDDLE THROUGH WHICH PROTRUDES THE HANDLES FOR THE INCLUDED GUN BAG AND THAT’S HOW YOU LIFT IT OUT.” light! The first thing you see on opening the outer box is a really nice gun metal gray tray with a plastic carry handle at either end. When you lift this out there’s another gun metal gray box but this one has a hole in its middle through which protrudes the handles for the included gun bag - and that’s how you lift it out. Popping the Velcro tabs (which I’ve never seen as a method for sealing packaging in airsoft and shows the effort in presentation and attention to detail Marui have gone to) on the first box reveals a selection of small, sturdy brown boxes, each labelled with the contents. In one you find the links for the ammo belt each in its own little cut out; the second has the fake rounds beautifully presented in bullet-sized cut outs in a foam tray; the next box has the box mag in it; another one has the rather sturdy all metal bipod and finally the last box has the manual in it. The manual has been designed so it actually looks like a pseudo military manual and even has instructions in English. Unlike most Marui products, there’s no exploded diagram but I don’t think anyone is going to be in a rush to take their £1,200+ pride and joy apart in a hurry anyway! Going back to the second box, you once again peel open the Velcro panels that secure it and then you see the bag. This is not some dirt-cheap gimmick of a bag either, it’s a proper JTECH offering with YKK zippers and is very sturdy with high quality stitching holding the very durable and thick material together. At either end there are zippered pouches with elasticated netting for storing bits and bobs or bottles of BBs, which you’re going to need a lot of! There are three further pouches on one of the sides - two smallish horizontal ones perfect for stick batteries and a few tools and a large one that could also hold BBs. A full bag of Airsoft Surgeon BBs fitted quite nicely but so would a pistol to use as back

up. You could conceivably put everything gun-wise that you’d need for a day’s play into this one bag if you wanted to. On the side pouches are Velcro panels for moral or ID patches but they already have on them two of the hottest patches available now. A Marui one and one that’s

says “Mk46 Mod0”. The bag opens so that it’s sides will lay flat, revealing the Mk46 nestling in there supported by a foam block at each end and holding the gun securely in place and protected. These blocks are covered in fabric and have Velcro straps over them to further hold down the gun. You can also flip them over and use the bag to transport two M4 sized rifles as there are cutouts for two guns on the underside. The bag has more than enough padding to protect whatever you decide to use it for, so no worries there.

THE GUN

Now, to the gun… Oh the gun!! It is one sturdy, solid, gorgeous, 6.5kg hunk of gun! The lower is all one piece and its thick metal too. There is no creak or movement at all. The same is true of the railed hand guard. Nice and thick and beautifully

executed. There’s a QD socket on either side of the gas block in the lower frame. Everything clicks and locks into place with a very positive feeling. You know when it’s locked together or not. The latches that are there to unlock the feed tray cover and to remove the outer barrel have no mush about them, which is a step up from some guns I’ve tried over the years. The lever for the barrel gives a nice click when actuated and the fluted outer barrel and gas port pops forward to be removed so a battery can be installed in the rail underneath it. I use Titan Power Li-ion 2600Mah 7.4v stick packs for this as they

“NOW, TO THE GUN… OH THE GUN!! IT IS ONE STURDY, SOLID, GORGEOUS, 6.5KG HUNK OF GUN! THE LOWER IS ALL ONE PIECE AND ITS THICK METAL TOO. THERE IS NO CREAK OR MOVEMENT AT ALL. THE SAME IS TRUE OF THE RAILED HAND GUARD. NICE AND THICK AND BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED.”

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armoury TM MK46 MOD0 RECOIL LMG

provide a lot of power in a decent sized package. When you push it back in it clicks and locks solidly too, so no worries there. The outer barrel is a chunky unit and thus far I haven’t had any issues with it due to it being two-piece. RoF, FPS and accuracy are unaffected by its removal and insertion. You also have to remove the barrel to install the bipod, which is all metal and very sturdy. It deploys easily enough and has a good range of vertical adjustment. When folded it moves around a little and can make the gun a little cumbersome to hold but when in use this freedom to move means it’s very easy to pivot on it for an arc of fire. One thing I noticed here, was that there is a little metal U-shaped bracket/ guide that the outer barrel sits in. After a couple of games it had loosened and needed cinching up with an Allen key. This could be due to the recoil but more likely down to using the bipod itself. Marui have used plastic mock rails for the side rails on the lower receiver and this is to stop metal on metal rubbing of the bipod feet on the body. I personally don’t think it detracts from the gun in the slightest and has absolutely zero effect on mounting options for accessories, as you wouldn’t put them there anyway. Saying that, I swapped out the supplied bipod for a Gripod, as I

found the Marui one a bit of a pain in the arse to be honest! Especially if you ran a vertical grip on the bottom rail. It was only swapped for preference and definitely not because it was subpar or not up to the job it was made for. A minor gripe is that the paint finish

on the cone at the breach end of the barrel has suffered a lot of wear from the removal/insertion process which may bother some people - not me though, I like it! It looks “used”. I just thought it would take longer to get to the level of wear it has but I haven’t been overly gentle with it either so... Now we get to the receiver and it is just amazing. The finish is fantastic and so far, pretty durable. The pistol grip is the rather large FN fare as expected and just above it is the push through safety. There is no fire selector; it’s a support gun after all. The feed tray cover is sprung so you don’t need to hold it open when clicking the fake rounds into their mechanism and the feed tray itself appears to be metal, which makes sense given the rounds are constantly moving on it when the gun is fired. There is an integral rail running the length of the cover and I used it to mount my 558 and magnifier with room to spare and right at the back is the adjustable rear sight. The cover release buttons are one on each side at the rear also. Once open you have access to a nice chunky wheel situated front and right of the feed tray, which is super easy to dial in and was easily hopping my 0.28g BBs with more adjustment in the tank, although

“IT’S AN INGENIOUS LITTLE DEVICE; NOT OVERLY COMPLICATED BUT EFFECTIVE AS IT SLIDES LEFT AND RIGHT, MAKING THE AMMO BELT JUMP INTO THE GUN AND OUT AGAIN, WHICH, AT FIRING SPEED, REALLY DOES EMULATE A REAL BELT-FED GUN FEEDING.”

MARCH 2020

armoury TM MK46 MOD0 RECOIL LMG

heavier BBs wouldn’t be a good idea in my opinion, purely down to cost and the effect on FPS. Under the cover you will also find the caddy that the rounds clip into and the sprung system that’s connected to the recoil weight to simulate the rounds feeding. It’s an ingenious little device; not overly complicated but effective as it slides left and right, making the ammo

There was no way it could be little and it isn’t. I haven’t removed it and have no interest in doing so either but the accepted figure is that this is 600g! That’s just great and you get a nice buzz in the shoulder after a decent burst. If it had been any less I think the whole thing would’ve felt pretty underwhelming to shoot but that simply isn’t the case... it’s an absolute blast!! The magazine inserts into a dovetail

belt jump into the gun and out again, which, at firing speed, really does emulate a real belt-fed gun feeding. With it being plastic only time will tell if it’s durable but with approximately 9,500 rounds through the gun to date, it still looks as new. The fake rounds, however, are frankly a crushing disappointment!! They look great out of the box but three games in and the paint has completely worn off down to silver where the links hold the rounds and they look rubbish. I have replaced them with some inert 5.56mm rounds I had already and even though these weigh 43% more, it doesn’t seem to have affected anything negatively. I am genuinely horrified that Marui have the balls to charge $99 for spare rounds and links!! They’re rubbish and I’d feel robbed if I’d paid more than $20 for them as spares! Now, to the recoil weight, which sits atop the gearbox. Oh boy, if there was one thing they HAD to get right it was this.

mount on the underside of the gun and also feeds from the bottom, which I much prefer to the tube feeding system that most 249s have. One thing that has become apparent as more people get these guns, is that this is a potential weakness and there have been more than a few reports of this mount breaking effectively rendering your gun a heavy, expensive paperweight. Marui have even acknowledged this fault and have made a replacement part available. If you’re not in Japan and this happens to you, then you will have to go back to the retailer from whom you bought it to see if they can get a replacement through their importer/distributor. I have been lucky so far but I am treating it a little more cautiously after seeing some of the photos showing this part split in two. It’s definitely something I shall be keeping an eye on in the future though. However, back to the gun… Once the mag is in place you prime it by pressing the bullet-shaped button, which is flush to avoid it getting hit accidentally, on the top of the mag hidden under the belt of fake rounds. It’ll wind the mag on and you

can get roughly 200-300 rounds out of it before you need to wind it further. More on this later… The trigger and pistol grip are next and they are the usual FN fare, so anyone familiar with the M249 family of guns won’t be surprised here - nothing really to write home about. The fire selector is mounted above the trigger and is the push through type. It’s either on safe or full auto

Image courtesy: Landwarrior Airsoft

as per the real firearm. Finally, we get to the stock and seeing as there are no mechanical or electrical components in there, it is a bit surprising that Marui have gone with the full stock option over the collapsible one, which most people would want. It should be possible to retrofit one of the aftermarket Mk46 stocks to the Marui without too much fettling. I hope!!

HOW DOES IT SHOOT?

Pretty sure we’ve covered everything from muzzle to butt stock now, so I suppose we’d better get onto how the thing shoots. Everything so far certainly points to a very high level of attention to detail; materials used (bar the magazine dovetail mount!), innovative features and solidity certainly helps explain why the Mk46 is at the price point it is. What we really want though, is a gun that shoots like it is worth £1,200+. For some people that means a ridiculous RoF, or an ability to shoot out to 800m with magic, heat-seeking BBs and this is where I think quite a bit of the “hate” comes from, as it obviously doesn’t

“…ON A MEASURED 60M RANGE WITH A LIVE TARGET … TO RECORD WHERE THE BBS LANDED AND USING 0.28G AIRSOFT SURGEON PRECISION BBS, THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY NO TROUBLE REACHING OUT TO THAT RANGE AND FURTHER – AND THAT WAS WITH A MAX RECORDED FPS OF 237!!”

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armoury TM MK46 MOD0 RECOIL LMG

“BY THE END OF THE FIRST MORNING GAME EVERYONE ON SITE KNEW WHEN AND WHERE I WAS PURELY BY THE VERY DISTINCTIVE SOUND THE 46 MAKES. IT IS NOT AN ANEMIC SEWING-MACHINE, IT HAS A PROPER BARK AND A REAL SOLID-FEELING RECOIL IMPULSE THAT PROVIDES A NICE THUMP TO THE SHOULDER.” do those things. Also, you are quite right in assuming that “your mates A&K M249 can shoot faster and further” but this does not mean that is better, just that it is just different and it doesn’t do anything else the Mk46 does. I’ve also seen a veritable tsunami of negative comments about the Mk46’s range. I can’t comment on what other reviewers have done with them to get such appalling range with low weight BBs because on a measured 60m range with a live target (many thanks to Joe from Sixmil for being said live target!) to record where the BBs landed and using 0.28g Airsoft Surgeon precision BBs, they had absolutely no trouble reaching out to that range and further – and that was with a max recorded FPS of 237!! So I would say that if you see vitriolic and downright ridiculous negative comments about the Mk46, they are likely to have come from someone who has never even seen, let alone held one in the flesh, or has another type of Mk46, or they are just salty cause they can’t afford one. Contentious statement maybe but a lot of the abuse I’ve had (yes, abuse!!), has been from people who ended their rant with “I’ve never seen one and I don’t want to as I wouldn’t buy it anyway!” Guess what? You ain’t Marui’s target market sunshine!! With the mag inserted, rounds clipped in under the feed tray, battery inserted and charging handle racked, it was game time. I used the 46 as intended; I would take up a position and lay down short, controlled bursts so my team could advance and if it was a defend game, then I would sit

in one spot and provide… erm… “area denial” I believe the term is. I say “short” bursts because I quickly discovered that I got through the 1,000-round box mag fairly rapidly and secondly, it is so loud next to your ear that if you did hit anyone you wouldn’t necessarily hear them shout “HIT!” By the end of the first morning game everyone on site knew when and where I was purely by the very distinctive sound the 46 makes. It is not an anemic sewing-machine, it has a proper bark and a real solid-feeling recoil impulse that provides a nice thump to the shoulder. I played without winding the box mag as I used it and sure enough, every few hundred rounds the gun would stop. You would then have to wind the mag on and recock the gun - perfect for the simulation of reloading and meaning that you can’t just walk around with your finger pressed all the way to the rear of the trigger guard - there are, limited, consequences! The 46 is great fun to shoot and I thoroughly enjoyed using it as did everyone else who has had a go since. Not a single person said it was overpriced, even if they had no intention of ever getting one. Whilst the 46 is not the heaviest support gun out there by a considerable margin; it is still heavy and for me having never used a LMG in airsoft before and having a bad back too I found I was only able to use it for a few games and then I’d have to revert back to one of my trusty M4’s. I don’t mind this but for those who have fully embraced the LMG role in a team or squad and especially for those teams that play exclusively Milsim games

where they stick to designated roles, I imagine lumping it around all day and night is part of the appeal, maybe? Internally I have absolutely no idea what it looks like; what the gearbox architecture is like or what the upgrade potential is and I have no desire to find out. It shoots at a very realistic RoF and has good range even with heavy weight BBs. To mess with that while the gun is so new and no aftermarket support is evident would seem to be a fool’s errand but one I am sure someone will embark upon before too long! Not me though.

SUMMARY

I like the Mk46. I think they could definitely improve on the quality of the fake rounds, however, but apart from that I’m not sure what else they really need to do, seeing as the dovetail issue has already been addressed. It is fun to shoot and provides a level of realism to the LMG role that hasn’t existed before. It has several safety features to prevent damage, like not being able to fire without the outer barrel inserted and the top cover closed and it is beautifully put together. It is accurate and works and makes you smile when you use it; what more could you ask for from a gun? Cost-wise, well that’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the asking price and whether you’re happy spending £1,200+ on a single gun - remember though; even at £1,200 it still isn’t the most expensive gun out there! It is, however, probably the most distinctive! AA

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N I W

competition WIN VORSK 001!

Win VORSK NUMBER 001!

If you read Bill Thomas’ overview of the new Vorsk pistols in the January issue, where he said of the (then) upcoming release “I will finish up by saying that I really am keen for this project to reach fruition, and to see those new models arriving on store shelves. The culmination of months of concept work, design, and development, each Vorsk pistol combines direct input from airsoft shooters around the globe along with the experience of the best factories in the business, to create a family of pistols that are equally at home on the skirmish field as on the range.”

Here are the questions… good luck!

Shortly afterwards Vorsk pistols started to appear in the shops but one very special pistol was kept back… Pistol Number 001, the very first and now you can win it in this special competition!

Enter online at www.airsoft-action.online. You can also post your entries to: VORSK Competition, Airsoft Action, Calibre Publishing, Wyche Innovation Centre, Walwyn Road, Malvern, Worcs, WR13 6PL, UK or email to: competition@airsoft-action.co.uk with “VORSK Competition” in the subject line. Entries received after midnight on 14th March 2020 will not be valid. One entry per person. Entrants must be at least 18 years old. The winner will be the first entry randomly drawn from all the correct entries. Incomplete or illegible entries will be discarded.

This Vorsk is a HI-CAPA 5.1 with a Black slide and Dark Earth frame and comes with a Red Dot Sight fitted, so all you have to add is some NUPROL gas and BBs – and if you want to know how well Vorsk pistols perform, make sure you read Nige’s coverage of the Airsoft Surgeon Championship in this issue. All you have to do is answer three questions which, if you read Bill’s VX-9 article and visit the Vorsk website, shouldn’t be too difficult! All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this superb pistol, is answer the following questions correctly and get your entry in before the closing date.

Q1: Which movies and games inspired the new VORSK VX-9? Q2: How many models are there currently in the VORSK Range of GBB Pistols? Q3: Which real-world pistol model was the inspiration for the VORSK HiCapa 5.1?

GDPR: By entering this competition you are giving explicit consent for Calibre Publishing Ltd. to retain personally identifiable information for the purposes of contacting the winner of this competition. All entries will be destroyed after the closing date. Please note: This competition is open to everyone 18 years and older, however, there may be restrictions with regard to importation or ownership in your Country. Please check before entering. The prize includes delivery in the UK, if you are outside the UK, a small charge to cover the cost of delivery will be made before despatch.

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THE COLLECTOR

THE COLLECTOR: GREASE GUN

IN THE SECOND OF FRENCHIE’S “COLLECTOR” SERIES IN THIS ISSUE, HE TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO A GUN THAT WAS WELL-LIKED BY THOSE WHO USED IT.

A LITTLE BIT OF GREASE T

his time we’ll take a look at another historic firearm in airsoft form and one I have a fairly big soft spot for The US M3/M3A1 submachine gun, better known as “the Grease gun”. There are several airsoft options to choose from we’ll get to them later but first, a short history lesson. The USA entered WWII with the Thompson as their M1 submachine gun. Although a tried and tested design, the Thompson was heavy and expensive, in large part due to manufacturing processes which hadn’t changed significantly since the end of WWI. Although the USA would simplify production and reduce cost, it was rapidly apparent once they were fully involved in the war that a replacement was needed; something much cheaper and easier to produce in large numbers. The US Ordnance board realised in 1941 that these “gangster” guns were actually highly effective in combat and ordered a study to develop its own “Sten gun” in 1942. George Hyde, of General Motors Inland Division would design the gun, working closely with Frederick Sampson who would oversee tooling and production. After testing at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds,

the gun was formally adopted in December 1942 as “U.S. Submachine Gun .45 calibre M3”. As requested, the gun was constructed from stamped steel with a minimum of machining. A simple collapsible wire stock was used and there was no fire selector, the Ordnance Board having decided that full-auto only was sufficient. The low rate of fire - circa 500 rounds per minute - meant that it was easy enough to fire short burts and the design exceeded the

accuracy requirements demanded by the Army. There is, lurking on the internet somewhere, a short film showing the comparative accuracy of the M3, the MP40 and the Thompson. With its low rate of fire, the M3 is significantly more accurate than either of the other two submachine guns. Of the original design, around 600,000 would be produced by the end of the war. There were two significant design changes resulting in the M3A1 - the mechanical

“A SIMPLE COLLAPSIBLE WIRE STOCK WAS USED AND THERE WAS NO FIRE SELECTOR, THE ORDNANCE BOARD HAVING DECIDED THAT FULL-AUTO ONLY WAS SUFFICIENT. THE LOW RATE OF FIRE - CIRCA 500 ROUNDS PER MINUTE - MEANT THAT IT WAS EASY ENOUGH TO FIRE SHORT BURTS AND THE DESIGN EXCEEDED THE ACCURACY REQUIREMENTS DEMANDED BY THE ARMY. ”

MARCH 2020

THE COLLECTOR GREASE GUN

cocking lever and pawl were removed, replaced with a simple hole in the bolt for cocking. This meant lengthening the ejection port and moving the safety, which was integral with the cover. Other changes included moving the oiler bottle to the grip (it had previously been mounted on the receiver) and adding a loading tool to the stock to aid reloading of magazines. The stock itself, when removed, now served as a wrench to remove the barrel for cleaning and maintenance. This model, the M3A1 would see little service in WWII but would serve with the US Army until the first Gulf War, as the personal weapon for tank crews. If the M3 had one flaw, it was to use a double stack/single feed magazine based on the Sten magazine, which was in turn based on the MP38/40 magazine. This design has always been less reliable than a double stack/double feed design and would cause stoppages, especially if damaged or dirty. That aside, the M3 was a reliable gun, far more compact than the Thompson and considerably lighter and despite acquiring the nickname “Grease gun”, was well-liked by troops. Although technically obsolete following the adoption of the M14 rifle (which was meant to replace sub machine guns), the M3 would be found in Vietnam, both originals and locally made copies. A suppressed model was made as this simply required swapping out the barrel for a drilled version with an integrated suppressor and there were kits available to convert the gun to 9mm, presumably to take advantage of captured ammunition. However, the US Army never took to this idea and relatively few of these kits were produced.

AIRSOFT M3S

Not surprisingly, Ares were first to this party with their M3A1. A perfectly nice wall hanger and, with Ares inexplicably deciding to put the battery in the magazine, that’s where it is likely to stay.

Fortunately, the world loves to copy Ares and the S&T version, also an M3A1, puts the battery in the pistol grip. It’s a tight squeeze, but it goes in and you don’t have to mess around every time you run out of ammo! ICS are also fond of the odder guns, and they produced an M3. Snow Wolf appears to have cloned this version. In the ICS design, the rear of the receiver tube comes off to allow the battery to be installed. All of the guns are made from alloy rather than steel - no surprise - and all have tried to replicate the grey, phosphate finish applied to the real gun, with varying degrees of success. I strongly suspect that any one of these would look much better after either a bit of use, or some careful weathering. Ironically, the airsoft M3 variants also seem to suffer from weakness in the charging pawl, a problem with the original guns. This is either due to soft alloy or a failure to understand exactly how they work. For a display or re-enactment piece, this wouldn’t be a major issue but it’s worth bearing in mind.

thumb hole from the M3A1 that replaced the failed external lever. In short, the Snow Wolf is basically an M3A1, with a cocking lever. If we turn our attention to the Ares, we find all the same inaccuracies as we have seen on the Snow Wolf, leaving only the S&T version to save the day and, thankfully, it does! It is a proper M3a1 - correct stock, correct port cover, correct bolt, correct oiler placement and correct sights. Of the others, the ICS comes closest but is blessed with the sights from the M3A1 variant for some reason. If you’re a collector, or a reenactor, the S&T is a safe bet - it is correct in all details. If you need the earlier version, ICS is nearly there - only the lack of an oiler and the wrong sights let it down. As to the Ares and Snow Wolf, I personally wouldn’t give either of them house room, when there is a correct replica of the M3A1 out there in the shape of the S&T. For those of you that play, the M3A1 especially covers everything from WWII right up to the first Gulf War, if you fancy doing a US Army tanker loadout. It’s acceptable for Vietnam and I would guess that it has cropped up in conflicts around the globe. According to Wiki, it was used by the British 78th Division after 1944 and by 41 Commando in the Korean war. The Chinese produced two

ACCURACY IS EVERYTHING On neither of the M3s will you find the oil bottle in its bracket on the left-hand side of the receiver but the Snow Wolf variant doesn’t know what it is! The ICS is largely correct - original M3 stock, cocking pawl, short ejection port cover. The Snow Wolf has the later M3A1 stock with the loading tool, the longer port cover of the M3A1, the Grip mounted oiler and the fake bolt has the

versions of it; the Type 36 and the Type 37 - both also used in Korea. The Free French used it in WWII, it also saw service with them in IndoChina and in Algeria. As a gun to suit a variety of loadouts, I’m not sure it can be beaten. It wasn’t beautiful and its magazine was a weakness, albeit not a unique one but, as simple blowback submachines guns go, the M3 was arguably one of the best ever produced! AA

“ALL OF THE GUNS ARE MADE FROM ALLOY RATHER THAN STEEL - NO SURPRISE - AND ALL HAVE TRIED TO REPLICATE THE GREY, PHOSPHATE FINISH APPLIED TO THE REAL GUN, WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS. I STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT ANY ONE OF THESE WOULD LOOK MUCH BETTER AFTER EITHER A BIT OF USE, OR SOME CAREFUL WEATHERING. ”

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EVENT REPORT OZ1 CONQUEST 19 - NEW ZEALAND

BEING EFFECTIVELY BANNED IN AUSTRALIA, IGGY ROBERTS HAS TO TRAVEL TO NZ TO GET HIS AIRSOFT FIX, FROM WHERE HE REPORTS ON OZ1’S LATEST BIG GAME.

OZ1 CONQUEST 19 A

s I was thinking of the next move I should issue to the Global Coalition (GC) under my command, to do my disbelief I saw the commander of the United Federation Front (UFF) walking in the open battlefield. I got one of my guys in Alpha section with a DMR to shoot him and before he had a chance to respawn, we went out to him and wished him a good morning; we then exchanged various pleasantries whilst both sides were aggressively engaging one another all around us, a very unreal moment. All that was missing was a cup of tea! After a quick photo opportunity, we let him go and returned to flank the UFF who were attacking Charlie section as they attempted to reach the drone capture point. All the guys I sent around the flank of the UFF were killed by a sniper and a machine gunner. I then told Charlie section to withdraw as I laid down suppressing fire to block their withdrawal. I was happy with the lay of the map at present. We owned 4 capture points to their 2. This all happened just under 2 hours

into day 2 of the Conquest 19 game run by OZ1.

THE BEGINNING

I was offered the role of GC commander. A role I was excited and honoured to be given but let’s take this back a few days. I arrived with two other friends in Christchurch, New Zealand at 01:00 hrs on Thursday morning, where we were greeted by a familiar face, Dave the sniper I teamed up with in Conquest 18. He had been in-country a day already and enjoyed some great private games and took great pleasure in letting us know all about his new Gas Blow Back (GBB) Glock 19 pistol he had just bought! After being shown our room and waking up the lad that was already there, we all slept (as best as one can when excited) until 06:00. We had a breakfast and went straight to Ultimate Airsoft store. This experience is so good I visit every year because, for many Australians, it’s their first time they actually get their hands on an Airsoft gun. Once everyone got what

they needed and we picked up our hire guns, we jumped back in the car and headed to the airsoft site. We played a few simple games with the Aussie Assassins team, which allowed us to see a bit of the site and get used to our hired M4s. One of the guys, Phillip, had an SLR which performed very well. I had to stay low and move quickly to even get close enough to lay effective fire on him. I must say the SLR is an impressive airsoft weapon when used effectively (as Phil does) it can really make a mess of enemy tactics and organisation. Unfortunately, it started to rain about two hours into our gaming and we were called back to the shop because the guys from Unlimited Airsoft were concerned about the hire guns shorting out. In respect to them, they gave us our money back for the hire and green fee; of which most of us spent again in their shop or indoor CQB site! That evening we went out for dinner with the Aussie Assassins in Christchurch before catching up on some, by now much needed sleep.

“ONCE WE HAD VISITED ALL THE CAPTURE POINTS, THE DAY WAS DRAWING TO A CLOSE AND PEOPLE WERE GETTING TIRED, AMMO WAS LOW AND SOME BATTERIES WERE STARTING TO DIE. I GOT A CALL OVER THE COMMAND RADIO... GET YOUR TEAM READY TO DEFEND YOUR CURRENT CAPTURE POINT! ” 76

MARCH 2020

EVENT REPORT OZ1 CONQUEST 19 - NEW ZEALAND

PREP DAY

Friday morning, game prep and orientation day. We arrived at the Airsoft site early to get the best prep area and soon after both sides had everyone present and correct. Myself and the UFF Commander were told to get our guys and take them to designated capture points. The day comprised of a round-robin tour of the site, allowing both sides to view the locations of the capture points for the upcoming Conquest 19 game. At each location we were told about any key points we should know about the capture point, such as hazards, out of bounds areas etc. Then we practiced various tactics, often through using them in a mini-skirmish. This allowed the players to see what works and how theory adapts to practice. There is nothing like doing it for real in my opinion. Also, it gave people trigger time, which is what they paid a lot of money and travelled internationally for. We were all made aware of a third team in the game, the Private Military Contractors (PMC). They would support

either side, be neutral or against everyone, all in benefit of the overall game. What team they were on was indicated by how they wore their baseball caps. Peak to the front they sided with the UFF, Peaks back they favoured the GC, Peaks to the side meant they were against all and no baseball caps meant they were neutral and not in game. Once we had visited all the capture points, the day was drawing to a close and people were getting tired, ammo was low and some batteries were starting to die. I got a call over the Command radio... Get your team ready to defend your current capture point! The UFF are advancing to take it from you! At once I got what players I had left in a defendable position. The UFF arrived and advanced what seemed to be from all around us. We fought until there was not one of us left to defend, so eventually the remaining UFF walked up and claimed the capture point. A lesson learnt there. I must do better tomorrow!!

DAY ONE

Both sides arrived in good time ready and keen to do battle. I am told to muster the guys and take them to my start point. As soon as we were away from the UFF I divulge my plan. To my frustration one of the guys informed me I had been misinformed and my planned route couldn’t be achieved because we would be trespassing on private land. So, after a quick last-minute change in the plan, we set off. To our surprise, the UFF had no such issues and already reported over the main game radio, “Game control, Village held by UFF. Out.” “Game control, Drone held by UFF. Out” We rushed to our first capture point, the kill house at Hanger capture point. One of our guys radioed it into game control. After a small exchange of fire with the PMC team we held the kill house and two of our sections (Alpha and Delta) chased the withdrawing PMC forces until they reached the forest capture point, of which another of our side reported the capture into game control.

“AFTER WHAT SEEMED AN ETERNITY FOXTROT AND ECHO (OR WHAT REMAINED OF THEM) MANAGED TO PUSH OUT THE UFF FROM FORT MURRAY. THERE WERE A FEW SNIPERS AND DMRS DUG IN THE FOLIAGE, WHICH WERE INCREDIBLY HARD TO ERADICATE AND COST A GREAT NUMBER OF GC LIVES. ” www.airsoft-action.online

EVENT REPORT OZ1 CONQUEST 19 - NEW ZEALAND

I decided to stick to my plan of using the Hanger kill house as my main point to operate from. I sent Foxtrot and Echo section to take over the Fort Murray and push through to mortar. This capture point was now cut off with only one way in and out due to the sudden change in the map. I wanted GC to own the Hanger, Forest, Fort Murray and Mortar capture points. I discarded the village as its location is too far out to defend or send any support. I planned on keeping the enemy busy at the drone capture point, that way they would be distracted and lose focus on trying to drive their forces through the dogleg to the other capture points. After what seemed an eternity Foxtrot and Echo (or what remained of them) managed to push out the UFF from Fort Murray. There were a few snipers and DMRs dug in the foliage, which were incredibly hard to eradicate and cost a great number of GC lives. Once I received the message we held Fort Murray, I sent Bravo section to assault and take the drone capture point. Charlie section was already part of the way there as I left them in a defensive role ahead of the hanger capture

MARCH 2020

point “our GC HQ”. A soon as Bravo section were just out of sight from the defending Charlie section they were under fire. I knew the UFF would be strong, so I advanced with the few players I had left in Alpha section (my section) and took Charlie section out of defence to assist me. I told Bravo to return to the Hanger after they had respawned. We got within 20m of the drone capture point but simply couldn’t push any further with the numbers we had. The enemy were too great in number and when they respawned, they started to flank around us. I didn’t like how our odds were looking. I took Alpha back to a bung line and used it to move around the flank to a pill box where we could support Charlie section that was pinned down and locked in furious exchange of fire with the UFF. It was at this point I spotted the UFF commander and took the opportunity to make an example of him in a gentlemanly manner. Upon returning the kill house at Hanger capture point I checked how the other sections were

getting on. To my delight we still held the dog leg capture points. So I left the hanger in the capable defence of Charlie and Bravo with instructions to push again on the drone should they wish. I took all of Alpha section I had with me down to the forest capture point. It was great to be reunited with my whole section again! We heard that Fort Murray capture point was under constant barrage from UFF members that respawned in region of their capture point. We decided to leave the Forrest capture point to investigate and support. We ventured towards Fort Murray and found a large group of UFF pushing on Delta and Foxtrot sections. We picked them off as they were all facing the opposite direction assaulting Fort Murray. The enemies we didn’t get, the guys from Delta and Foxtrot sections in Fort Murray did. I decided to try another tactic that would free up manpower to assault on the reaming capture points. Our intention was to block off the access to the dog leg area of the map by using the forest capture point as a defendable base and operate defensive patrols across the only access area into the dog leg. However, after fighting a few UFF forces that were still roaming the forest we were all called back to game HQ by radio. This was the end of Day One. We were in a good place, eight and a half hours capture time ahead of the UFF. After a quick feed we returned to the site for some night games. I took advantage of the darkness and got in a few knife kills. Although it was hard because I knew a few of the players had

EVENT REPORT OZ1 CONQUEST 19 - NEW ZEALAND

night vision, so slowly approaching them with my rubber knife was quite nerveracking.

NEXT DAY

The next morning we started at the opposite side to the day before. All positions were free again. I had a plan... Send the same sections up the dogleg to capture and hold Fort Murray and the forest whilst I, with three other sections, race to the village and drone capture points. To my horror, as soon as the game started we found we were on the back foot, as the PMC team had already started ahead of us and were aiding the UFF in advancing to the village. Bravo Section, who went straight for the drone, were all slaughtered in the open ground by extreme high numbers of UFF and PMC forces. We made it to the village but were quickly surrounded and the UFF poured manpower into the village as the PMC team flanked around using their range from their DMRs to pick us off as we took cover to defend the village. I, accompanied by Dayna from Charlie section, set up a small ambush in the path of the flanking PMC team and managed to hold off the first volley of their assault. However, after I noticed it was only myself and half of Charlie section remaining I decided to withdraw and regroup. All that were left managed to get out and we used cover and manoeuvre to get ourselves to a safe location. There we were joined by other members who were back from respawn and decided to go for yesterday’s stronghold, the kill house at hanger capture point. We swiftly made our way from cover to cover through the open field until we reached the tree line where we started yesterday. To our shock the UFF were there in large numbers to our right and to the front. Charlie section, thirsty for vengeance dived right in and fought hard but as their numbers started to dwindle a lone gunman that was sitting in a hut we passed could not believe his luck. All fourteen of us passed him without him being spotted and by the time he looked to see what we were up to, we were already low in surviving numbers and engaged in combat facing away from him. He simply used his DMR and picked us off one at a time, by the time each of us realised what was

happening it was too late! This wasn’t the start I had hoped for. The rest of Sunday pretty much felt that way. Any move I made the UFF, bolstered by the PMC, would swarm us and although we caused many enemy casualties, we simply didn’t have as many guys engaged as they did. We also lacked the range of the PMC team. Our next move was to clear the dogleg and bring out Foxtrot and Delta sections that had secured Fort Murray but were under constant continued attack. We got to the forest capture point to find a red UFF flag flying. I couldn’t let that be, so planned a three-pronged assault to the capture point. We just got to the capture point and were about to be overrun when Pikachew came bouncing in and changed the flag to ours aided by the PMC team, who were now helping us! After this strange victory I sent Bravo and Charlie section back up to Hanger to take our old home. They swiftly advanced into the distance, on a course to do just that!

With Alpha section, I went to aid Fort Murray but by the time we got there it was quiet... eerily quiet! We could see the GC guys manning the walls of the Fort. As soon as they had eyes on us they opened fire. After a fair amount of shouting and radio calls whilst taking cover from our own side, they realised it was us and welcomed us into the fort. They were all twitchy on their triggers from constant assault all morning and no support. Jacob, one of the guys in my section, realised that one sneaky UFF player switched the Fort Murray flag to red. The capture point wasn’t in the fort itself but behind a tree outside of the fort. I promptly went there and fixed the problem. Whilst there I radioed game control for a battle space picture of who owned what. The response was not in our favour. We only held Fort Murray and the Hanger. Even the Forest had been taken back. Just then a familiar voice came over the capture point radio... Taunting me and letting me know I was being hunted. It was Phil, the leader of the Aussie Assassins and a good friend - but

“BETWEEN THEM AND THE REST OF THE GUYS DEFENDING THE FORT NOT ONE UFF GOT CLOSE TO DIGGING US OUT. ONE OF MY GUYS IN ALPHA RAN OUT OF AMMO, SO I GAVE HIM MY RIFLE AND PULLED OUT MY KNIFE. I WAS NOW FIGHTING WITH A KNIFE AND A RADIO!!” www.airsoft-action.online

EVENT REPORT OZ1 CONQUEST 19 - NEW ZEALAND

not whilst he was on the side of the UFF. I knew this meant trouble. I went back into the fort to find out where all the GC players were on the map. Whilst radioing for each section we got hit again and again at the fort. The PKM, M60 and my own gunner in Alpha section, Lucas with his G&G CM16 LMG, were constantly firing repeated bursts for what seemed an hour. Between them and the rest of the guys defending the fort not one UFF got close to digging us out. One of my guys in Alpha ran out of ammo, so I gave him my rifle and pulled out my knife. I was now fighting with a knife and a radio!! We pushed the assaulting forces back out from the dogleg. After they were gone, the machine gunners poured their fourth bag of BBs for the day into their box magazines. I got my hire gun back and we could actually breathe. An opportunity came over the radio. The PMC team were escorting a high value target (HVT) through the site and if captured, then the team that captured the HVT would get a bonus hour added to their final capture time. I split Charlie section into two fire teams and left one fire team to roam the open areas of the map as a reconnaissance team, “Call Sign Queen”. I set up a team to assault the PMC guys head-on using every available GC player I could spare, consisting of Alpha section and the remainder of Charlie section. All other GC units failed to respond due to being locked in the bigger game. The PMC team were further ahead than we had thought and we were too exposed to

MARCH 2020

set up a strong defence of their advance. As they pushed through and around us, Elmo from Sesame Street brandishing an AK walked in the middle of them! My last message before being wiped out by the PMC team was for “Queen to kill Elmo”!!! That did actually happen, although it didn’t count because Elmo got to his extraction point. There were a few GC there but they were killed off by the advancing PMC and the UFF came from the other side of the GC guys. The response of the PMC were to turn their caps sideways to allow them to engage all sides and no one got Elmo. We pushed to the Hanger capture point and the kill house where Bravo and Charlie section went earlier. I got hit along with my 2nd in command of the section. We both had to go to respawn leaving my section to push on. When I came back into the game I was joined by another GC player from Charlie section. We both wanted to get to the Hangar capture point. Unfortunately, between us and the hanger capture point was the entire PMC team. We thought “why not?” and made a very short-lived assault, trying to break through their lines to our friendly forces on the other side. The PMC team took me prisoner. By the time I was taken to the PMC leader our guys had lost the kill house. It was decided that I was to be made an example of... I was forced to my knees and executed in front of as many GC players as they could find. After that I was told to get all my forces together for the final game.

FINAL GAME

This involved a truce between the UFF and GC where both armies would meet on good terms and the UFF would hand over a briefcase containing the launch codes for the UFF ballistic missile program in an offering for peace. This displeased the PMC team as it meant they couldn’t fight for either side, so they shot the UFF leader, knifed me and ran off with the launch codes to sell on the black market. They held out in the kill house and other surrounding buildings. Both the UFF and GC worked together momentarily to secure the briefcase from the PMC guys. Only problem was they were in the back of the kill house behind many PMC guys and the kill house maze that was laced with booby traps. I couldn’t just watch people sheepishly try to enter the kill house so I took the lead and charged the entrance activating the booby trap, at the same time as receiving a grenade and being shot in the head from a GBB pistol, all in the same instant! Yeah, there wasn’t much left of me after that; but we were in! Eventually the PMC team fell and we had the case. Only a few UFF started a rebellion and wanted the codes back and the war to continue. The case switched sides five times before leaving the kill house. Outside the UFF got it and they just ran. Whichever side got the case back to game control got a bonus of an hour added to their overall capture time and I had an ambush waiting, just in case this happened. However, the UFF ran through the car park so my GC ambush couldn’t shoot at them because the customer’s cars were parked there and by the time they got their sights on them it was too late. Throughout the day the UFF had almost got their overall capture time equal to ours from the first day, then with the bonus points from having the case in the end they were the victors of Conquest 19. The game came to a close and later that evening we enjoyed the tradition of all dining at the Lone Star Steakhouse, where war stories were exchanged and thanks was given to key organisers of another sterling OZ1 event, along with the annual presentation of the honourable Dingo awards. This year’s Dingo awards were presented to Adrian AKA Candy man, Rob, Victor and to my surprise and delight I was a recipient too. Conquest 19 was a brilliant event with good old-fashioned airsoft game play, along with moments of humour thrown in. I am already waiting for the next OZ1 trip to New Zealand. AA

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last post UPGRADES

WHAT PRICE, UPGRADES?

HAVING SEEN AN AMAZING FIGURE TOUTED ON FACEBOOK, FRENCHIE EXAMINES THE TRICKY SUBJECT OF UPGRADES OR, MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SOME PLAYERS SEEM WILLING TO SPEND ON THEM.

am no stranger to this subject but I saw something this week on Facebook that made me go “What”?!! Someone had posted about a £900 upgrade to a Marui SCAR. Yup, £900 Great British Pounds, or $1,171.00 freedom loving Dollars, if you prefer! That is considerably more than the gun itself cost and it’s widely accepted that the current Generation of Marui recoil guns are no slouches straight out the box. So how do you justify spending that much on an airsoft gun?! I went to the original post and the many comments it generated to try and glean what exactly had been done for the money. Yes, there were internal upgrades but nothing that justified the asking price. Polishing rails and adjusting the Angle of Engagement, unless teeth have been removed, is bullsh*t fairy dust stuff. Then claiming to remove teeth to adjust AoE just makes it worse! Lots of this stuff is of highly dubious value (read: almost none) but a good way to pretend you are, as a tech, somehow more dedicated than other techs. As an aside I would suggest that this £900 upgrade demonstrates nothing that justifies the cost. That doesn’t mean you can’t.

DEEP BREATH AND…

I’m going to roll my outrage right back and try and be sensible about this - for once. Like many techs I tend to regard “upgrades” as something that enhances,

or materially improves the performance of the gun and, like most techs, I tend to think of mechanical or electrical/electronic improvements only. I therefore dismiss things like rails, sights, replacement external parts and the like as mere “bolt ons” - not really upgrades. Which I realise is wrong and somewhat snobbish - you can upgrade a gun without having to get all greasy. Let me turn briefly to the dictionary: Upgrade - raise (something) to a higher standard, in particular improve (equipment or machinery) by adding or replacing components. “By adding or replacing components…” That’s a pretty key expression there. Yes, if I rebuild a gearbox using higher quality components and taking more care than was maybe shown in the factory, that is an upgrade. But if you really dislike the stock pistol grip and find it off-putting, or like me you favour a short foregrip on a rail to push against to improve control, that too is an upgrade - it is improving the performance of the rifle, for you at least. I therefore apologise unreservedly for being a bit of a snobby tech for years! Any change to a gun that makes it easier to handle, use, deploy, carry, whatever is technically an upgrade. Once I accept that, I can start to understand why you can spend shedloads on upgrades, especially if you factor in the cost of fancy (and expensive) external parts. Good rails or replacement front ends are not cheap - you can easily reckon on a couple

of hundred pounds for good kit from a reputable supplier. You may need to pay someone to fit it - the SCAR recoil has working parts extending well forward of the magazine well - having been bitten by a SCAR through my own foolishness once I can understand that you might not want to just go lamping in there full of enthusiasm and ignorance. Even things like PTS plastic components aren’t cheap, let’s be honest, and some of the decent quality internal upgrades for Marui guns are reasonably pricey too. It all adds up, and depending on where you want to end up, adds up quickly. The underlying question is whether it’s worth it really breaks down into two parts: is it worth it to you, and is it value for money? I can’t answer that first one: that’s up to the owner. As to the second, it probably depends on how you assess the cost. As I have stated before, any upgrade to a decent stock airsoft gun is probably already bucking the law of

“POLISHING RAILS AND ADJUSTING THE ANGLE OF ENGAGEMENT, UNLESS TEETH HAVE BEEN REMOVED, IS BULLSH*T FAIRY DUST STUFF. THEN CLAIMING TO REMOVE TEETH TO ADJUST AOE JUST MAKES IT WORSE!”

MARCH 2020

LAST POST UPGRADES

diminishing returns - the more you spend, the more you change, the less of an overall improvement you achieve. If you assume that a decent airsoft rifle these days is capable of good range and reasonably consistent accuracy, every upgrade adds only a little more to that performance. I’ve done lots of high-speed setups to improve trigger response and rate of fire and they are great. But the gun is simply responding faster to the trigger and firing more rounds in a given period. It’s not shooting further or more consistently. Having used my own work, it’s great fun and there is a noticeable improvement but could I have achieved the same with the stock gun? Very possibly. The best upgrade I have ever done to my guns was to sort the hop out, maybe fit a Madbull 60 hop rubber and set it up for 0.28g ammo. Instant improvement in consistency, impact, brush-bucking and yes, usable range. Cheap as chips as well. That doesn’t mean that I think upgrades are a waste of money, not at all, I am just

suggesting - well stating really - that the more you do, the less you get back for the money and time spent. If you work on the basis that any good gun is already at 80 or 90 percent of its maximum capable performance, all that money is going into unleashing a maximum of twenty percent. External upgrades are harder to quantify as they are inherently personal. As I said, I have a few that I favoured but on the whole, I didn’t do that much. Many other players do lots and that commitment and spend is entirely up to them. Sight systems, be they short dots or red dots? If you like them, great, they add value in terms of target acquisition. New rail systems to which you attach a positive bucketful of accessories? Magic! It’s not for me nor for anyone else to judge what you choose to do to your gun. I may personally not like it, but that frankly is neither here nor there. If it makes you feel better, makes you feel that your gun is better equipped and more capable, that is all that matters. All of this counts as upgrades, however

- it is improving the original in your eyes and shouldn’t be discounted or ignored when we discuss the cost of upgrades. To return to the premise of this piece can you spend £900 on upgrading a Scar, or any other gun? Of course you can but, like any spend, it has to be worth it to you and it’s always worth checking that some of the costs incurred are genuine improvements, as opposed to wishful thinking! AA

“THE BEST UPGRADE I HAVE EVER DONE TO MY GUNS WAS TO SORT THE HOP OUT, MAYBE FIT A MADBULL 60 HOP RUBBER AND SET IT UP FOR 0.28G AMMO. INSTANT IMPROVEMENT IN CONSISTENCY, IMPACT, BRUSH-BUCKING AND YES, USABLE RANGE.”

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