THE ARMOURY RWL NIGHTHAWK CUSTOM S&T TAR-21 1911
NIGHTHAWK Custom 1911
SCOTT ALLAN GETS TO GRIPS WITH A TOP HANDGUN PRODUCED UNDER LICENCE BY REDWOLF AIRSOFT
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SCOTT ALLAN
Scott has worked in airsoft retail for many years – and played airsoft long before that. He likes big, heavy guns, loud explosions and MilSim games in particular
he 1911 is a hundred-year-old icon with masses of variations – and the airsoft replica on test here is the Nighthawk Custom, produced under licence by RedWolf and manufactured by KWC. This is also the same pistol that Chris Costa is often said to favour – and this might just be the best airsoft gas blowback ever. Why, you ask? Read on...
REAL STEEL Nighthawk never just say, ‘that’s good enough.’ In September 2012, they started using nothing but parts that they developed which are fully machined from solid billet. This includes very difficult-to-machine parts, such as the beavertail grip safety, thumb safety, magazine release, slide stop, hammers, and so on. They have also switched to an extreme high cut under the trigger guard. This is very noticeable once you pick up the gun. Even customers with large fingers may suddenly find that even an officer-size build will allow them to get all three fingers on the frame. So it boils down to them being very serious about their 45 ACP-touting 1911. The 45 round is far from new but it is still
very popular. It’s like firing a large brick at your target – and this is why still, to this day, it is equally loved by civilians and law enforcement alike – even the US military still love this pistol. So old doesn’t always have to mean out of date!
THE REPLICA 1911 pistols have one problem in airsoft – they generally suck a lot in the cold weather and, as you have no doubt noticed, we’re now in the cold season big time. There are two ways around this for me normally. Option 1, don’t use a pistol in winter; or option 2 (my favourite), buy a Walther P99 or Socom MK23 non-blowback. Players do seem to get humpy when a pistol is non-blowback yet have no issue with their rifle not having any – an odd observation. The finish of the metalwork on this version is nice, very nice. The balance and weight feel good and accurate, the finish on the paintwork is an even, flat black – but this definitely adds to the look. The grips are a black plastic and while they are okay I would be sorely tempted to bin them in favour of real Nighthawk versions as quickly as possible, which cost around £56 for the really nice styles. There are other real grips available for 1911s these days that are very cheap and plentiful. These will compliment the Nighthawk Custom markings on the top slide perfectly. The trigger action is nice and smooth as you would expect
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