OPR8R COOL!

LAST MONTH BILL TOOK A LOOK AT AN ALL-NEW “MK18” AEG AND AS A LOVER OF SHORTER AR CARBINES, FOUND IT VERY MUCH TO HIS LIKING! AS HE’S ALSO A FAN OF GAS BLOWBACK MODELS HE WAS KEEN TO GET HIS HANDS ON THE LATEST MK18 MOD1 GBBR FROM VEGAFORCECOMPANY (VFC) AND, THANKS TO REDWOLF UK, HE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET “HANDS ON”!

Okay, this may surprise some of you that know me personally and know of my love for the OPFOR role when it comes to airsoft games but, like many of you, there is a small part of me that still revels in the “OPR8R” cool side of things! Although now I’m a bit older I find that the OPFOR role suits me better, there’s still a big old pile of Multicam and AOR1 gear in my personal locker for those moments that I feel the need to be all righteous!

I also have a quiet love for Short Barrelled Rifles, or SBRs and although I own a number of full-length ARs, for skirmish days a CQB-length AR, most usually my L119A1 or HK416 D10RS, is still a solid option to run out with when I’m not practising with one of my AKs. I’m a great believer in becoming familiar with the intricacies of different “platforms” and rolling over the use of AEGs means that none of my beauties are taking undue strain over time. Because of this I have AEGs that are 10-plus years old and thanks to regular maintenance and professional servicing, are still running “stock” with only hop-rubbers changed for a little performance “nudge”.

However, there’s another side to my airsoft which is “training”, a subject that we’re currently having a good chat about in the Airsoft Action Contributors group; in fact there will no doubt be an article on this in the New Year as this topic has really opened up a very interesting topic of debate!

What do I mean by “training” and is this directly applicable to “Sunday Skirmish Games”? The answer is both “yes” and “no”. As I usually shoot “real” on a weekly basis, albeit “paper punching” at my local club and also work as Editor on PMCI, the sister publication to AA, I’m usually on a range somewhere quite regularly, so my firearms safety and proficiency needs to be on point at all times. Although 2020 has been somewhat different, it’s not unusual for me during a normal year to attend courses in the UK, in Eastern Europe and in the USA. I also shoot with the PMCI USA guys when I get chance, so I need to be able to hold my own amongst them (okay, I like to “fly the flag” a bit when I can too!).

In strict airsoft game terms I’m not that interested in “team training”, although I know that many of you enjoy this immensely, however, I am ALWAYS interested in learning new skills that will make me more effective. I’m always happy to learn a new skill or drill that makes me more efficient in my manipulation, or enhances my accuracy! As an “old guy”, it’s training on my skills and drills that often keeps me in the game when you young ‘uns are hareing about… Whilst we are not training for any given scenario as the “pros” do, or indeed as a part of some kind of twisted “evil agenda training regime”, training is completely valid to make you a better, safer, more accurate and effective shooter. This to me matters as much in airsoft as it does in “real steel”.

So why do I train mostly with a GBBR and not an AEG, you may ask? It’s a personal thing really, as I enjoy the operation of a full-travel-bolt gas AR or AK and to me it gets as close to training with a real firearm as is possible. As, at the last time of looking, I am still a resident of Her Majesty’s fine land that means that even as a club shooter I am restricted in the firearm models that are available to me, so the “gasser” becomes even more important.

I believe the salient thing here is replication of operation; we’re never going to get the same complete action as a real firearm even with the very best “gasser” and certainly nothing approaching muzzle signature and true felt recoil. There’s also no real problem to deal with in respect of heat mitigation during handling either. I look for how the “replica” works and if it performs in close enough a manner to real as to make training with it worthwhile. What I look for is not a replica to play airsoft with per se (more on this later!), but one that will let me run the majority of my manipulation sequences so I don’t look a complete and utter useless twat when I shoot with my friends in the USA and Eastern Europe! If all I need to deal with when I shoot “real” is mainly muzzle and recoil management, then it’s a bonus.

VFC FOR THE WIN!

Again (as many of you will know), my personal choice of “trainer” is the VFC SR-16. In truth, the VFC SR-16 GBB hasn’t been designed and made for the mass market, it’s been designed and made for those that truly want a platform that operates exactly like the real thing but that fires safe and simple 6mm BBs,

“…THE VFC SR-16 GBB HASN’T BEEN DESIGNED AND MADE FOR THE MASS MARKET, IT’S BEEN DESIGNED AND MADE FOR THOSE THAT TRULY WANT A PLATFORM THAT OPERATES EXACTLY LIKE THE REAL THING BUT THAT FIRES SAFE AND SIMPLE 6MM BBS, NOT LIVE 5.56!”

not live 5.56! Yes, it’s been designed for the MilSim player but also for those that want to test themselves to the limit in any game or on the range, with reallike operation and real-world magazine capacities… Basically it’s been designed for people like me!

But having thoroughly enjoyed finding a MK18 AEG that is both reliable and well-priced, in the form of the Specna Arms model I looked at last month, my attention soon returned to GBBRs and I remembered that VFC had a new “MK18” model in their range! A quick call to Danny at RedWolf UK saw one shipped down to me in the usual RedWolf-efficient way and I was soon out on the short range giving it some beans!

The VFC MK18 MOD 1 GBBR is patterned after the MK18 MOD 1 used by many “operators”, most famously by USSOCOM and, as I discussed last time, it has come out of the Naval SOPMOD programme. In a nutshell, just as the Special Purpose Receiver morphed into the Special Purpose Rifle and was type-classified as Mk 12 Mod 0/1, the complete CQBR-length carbine has been type-classified as the Mk 18 Mod 0, or the Mk 18 Mod 1 with a sightless gas block and fulllength accessory rail kit.

The gas airsoft version from VFC replicates the “real” very well indeed and although it lacks the “trades” of a fully licenced model it’s obviously a MK18, right down to that super “SF Bronze” 245mm rail system on the sharp end (which interestingly IS trademarked and may give a clue as to where the Taiwanese manufacturer may be casting their effective licencing efforts in the future), I certainly hope so! Made of high-quality alloys and steel components throughout, the VFC MK18 is exceptionally well made - but I expect that from VFC. The gun is extremely solid, weighing in at 2,319g feels great in hand, all the parts fit together beautifully and the only things I would change on this carbine are the CRANE stock and the A2 pistol grip. Thankfully virtually any aftermarket parts will fit, so the choice of “furniture” can be totally down to you, the final setup as you like it.

Essentially the VFC is as close to the real deal as you’ll find in airsoft form and everything is nailed down to look and feel exactly as it would on the real thing, including the operating system. Internally the gun runs the latest VFC GBBR system which makes it extremely efficient and the internal construction also ensures added durability as well, providing a recoil impulse is solid and consistent, which makes the shooting experience fun and immersive. Like my SR16, it has a full-travel “bolt carrier group (BCG)” and once again this replicates exactly the operation of the military carbine so your drills need to be 100% the same. For instance, the VFC magazines only hold 30 BBs so your reloads need to be on point. In relation to magazines, the grey STANAG style provided is also the latest version from VFC, with no visible valve on the base, which adds to the “real feel” overall. This version is even more reliable and will go through more BBs with less cooldown if you do decide to go crazy in full auto and this is a “gasser” where you can actually do that without the whole deal venting! The steel magazine housing also adds good weight, a realistic feel and “wear and tear” will add a real worn look in time. In addition to absolutely first-rate build quality and superb

components, the MK18 also offers realistic takedown; by splitting the receivers you can remove the BCG for cleaning and

maintenance, again, just like the real thing.

BOOMTIME!

I’m pleased to tell you that in operation the MK18 is, if anything, even better than my SR-16!

As I’m in “C-Virus Lockdown”, I

initially tested the carbine on my 10m short range at home, to chrono and evaluate and in terms of power I got a consistent 1.07 Joule/341fps on a .20g RZR BB using green gas. With .30g RZR BBs the accuracy was stunning at that range, ringing the steels with each and every BB. I did take an “afternoon stroll” up to my woodland range eventually though and ran some drills using a mix of the STANAG and VFC V-Mags, plus the excellent BUISs that come fitted as standard and once I had the hop set just so, was again punching out the sandbags at 30m with a dead-flat BB trajectory to target. This carbine has some serious legs to it! If you’re going to use it in a CQB environment, accuracy is NOT going to be an issue once you have it set up right! So, this is a REALLY fine carbine and another great addition to the VFC product range and one that is undoubtedly going to delight the MilSim crowd… but is it usable as a regular “skirmish tool”? Again, I’d have to say both “no” and (a qualified) “yes”. In terms of holding its own against a field of Hi-cap-fullauto AEG players I believe that you may struggle but only down to the sheer weight of fire you’ll be facing. If you’re good enough to get in close to give some double taps with a support gun giving you some covering fire though, then you’re going to be living on “Planet OPR8R” - and there is no better feeling than that in my opinion! Bottom line, I guess, is would I buy a VFC MK18 GBBR myself as I already own the SR-16 GBBR? Yup, you better believe I would!! The MK18 is “of its time and place” and quite apart from that, it’s a darn fine airsoft gun! Although my days of hard-charging “Zero Dark Thirty” style play may be on the decline, I still love an AR with a “soul” and the MK18 has a very big soul. Add to this that it’s also a fine training tool, it’s reliable and accurate and you have a package that’s sure to delight you every time you pick it up - and that’s a more-than-good enough reason to own one!

My thanks again go to my good friend Ray at VFC (https://www.vegaforce.com) for being part of this article and also to the guys at http://uk.redwolfairsoft. com for supplying the MK18 for T&E. AA

“IN ADDITION TO ABSOLUTELY FIRST-RATE BUILD QUALITY AND SUPERB COMPONENTS, THE MK18 ALSO OFFERS REALISTIC TAKE-DOWN; BY SPLITTING THE RECEIVERS YOU CAN REMOVE THE BCG FOR CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE, AGAIN, JUST LIKE THE REAL THING.”