armoury APS/HAKKOTSU APM40A3 (EXTREME POWER)
COOL PROVENANCE!
The first name to catch my eye was “APS Limited”. Formerly known as “APS Airgun Ltd”, the company was established in 2001 and they specialise in in designing and building Simulation Training Equipment. APS (the three words stand for Accuracy - Pneumatics - Shooting) are best known over here for their superb CAM 870 shell-ejecting shotgun system (I currently have my eye on a CAM MKII Red for... reasons...) and also their Electronic Blow Back (EBB) products. Even though their airsoft products are made in China, all the designers, quality control and Directors are based in Hong Kong, which means that we can purchase airsoft products at a low price (China made) but which are also guaranteed as a high quality item (Hong Kong QC). So far so good… Hakkotsu were another matter, until I remembered the “Hades Arrow Mortar System” that I saw way back at SHOT 2012, thanks to Brian Holt of Echo 1 USA. To be fair, Hakkotsu has never come onto my airsoft radar again until now and their involvement with the M40 intrigued me, so I dug deeper to find out more.
First up, “Hakkotsu” is a Japanese word which means “skull” or “skeleton” and the reason for them using such logo is that the company’s products were designed for law enforcement training purposes. Behind the Hakkotsu brand is “Pioneer Rich Technology Development Ltd” (known as P.R.T.D), which was conceptualised in 2000 and registered as a business formally in September 2003 with its base in Hong Kong, although the company founder, Mr Frog Lee, has been involved in the airsoft industry since 1997. The company goal was (and still is) to develop Tactical Simulation Training equipment and P.R.T.D has been serving Law Enforcement Units for years. P.T.R.D owns a factory specialising in development and production; located in Guangdong with more than 13,000 square meters of plant this factory has advanced, sophisticated production equipment and high-quality management personnel. The company has become a model for innovation and technology, and their products have won favour with customers in Europe, America, Singapore, and Australia. So, with all this under my hat I was convinced that
I’d found a bit of a “hidden gem” and duly sent in an order. Within a week (the service from TaiwanGun is excellent by the way!) the rifle duly arrived from Poland.
NO INTRO REQUIRED
Normally in one of my reviews I’d go into the history of the real-world rifle model, but when it comes to the M40 no introduction is required other than to say it’s the 7.62mm NATO bolt-action sniper rifle used by the United States Marine Corps. Built from a Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, and modified by USMC armourers at Marine Corps Base Quantico, it has had four variants, the M40, M40A1, M40A3, and M40A5; the M40 was first introduced way back in 1966! The changeover to the A1 model was completed in the 1970s, the A3 in the 2000s, and the A5 in 2009. Featured in both “Jarhead” and “Sniper” it’s a well-known and muchloved rifle, and the A3 seemed perfect for my needs! What surprised me most when the package arrived from Poland was the shortness of the plain box the rifle came in, but upon opening it I remembered that one of the features shown was a removable butt for ease of carriage. This did set slight alarm bells ringing as this can often be a weak point, a point of potential failure, but when I locked the butt in place (you can remove it simply be pressing a button!) it was 100%
solid as a rock! This is a useful feature indeed for transporting the rifle, meaning it will fit neatly into a medium hard case. Externally the rifle is very neatly achieved. All the black metal parts including the above-chamber rail are very nicely finished with a matt effect which gives the rifle a classy look. The furniture is available in plain black, plain desert tan and Multicam Black (for a bit more money of course!), and to fit in with my “four gun” concept I chose the tan. Throughout the moulded furniture is very precise with no gaps or prominent lines present, and both the grip area and the forestock are nicely stippled for ease of retention. There are QD studs fore and aft if you want to fit a sling, but the front stud also doubles for the attachment point if you wish to fit a bipod. You can adjust the height of the cheek pad by simply squeezing the APS logo to get the best fit for you; this has three heights so you can get the perfect position behind your optic of choice. Even as new the action is super-smooth and precise.
“THERE ARE LOTS OF MANUFACTURERS MAKING LOW END SPRING SNIPER RIFLES TO A PRICE-POINT, BUT DEFINITELY NOT THE APM40A3 STYLE, AND CERTAINLY NOT WITH THE OUT-OF-THE-BOX QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE THAT THE MAKERS SEEM TO HAVE EKED OUT OF THIS RIFLE! ” www.airsoft-action.online
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