Airsoft Action - Issue 174 - June 2025

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ISSUE 174 ISSN 2634-9515

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8 ARMOURY: KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

PTS Syndicate, perhaps best known for their prolific licensing with real steel manufacturers, has once again delivered a new AEG to the masses, the PTS Radian MOD 1! Dan has been working with this model, braving winter temperatures to conduct his testing, so now he brings us his thoughts on the very latest addition to this growing line of unique AEGs!

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ISSUE 174 ISSN 2634-9515

18 ARMOURY: SECUTOR ASTRA XI

SECUTOR have slowly but surely been establishing themselves in the AEG market. We’ve looked in depth at their “762/308” DMR models and found their performance to be on the money, especially with a bit of tweaking, and now it appears that they’re moving things forward with their “556” ASTRA models too. Bill’s been checking out the latest ASTRA XI and likes what he finds!

26 ARMOURY: ASG NEW MODELS Web: www.airsoftaction.net ©Calibre Publishing Limited 2025 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 publication.

How is it that we’re already in May and we’re still wading through the detail of IWA 2025? The fact is that there was SO much to see and then follow up on that it’s taking some time, but we want to give you the full lowdown on everything… so this month Bill takes a close look at what ASG have got in the pipeline for 2025 so far!

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36 ARMOURY: CLPD UPDATE

It’s been a minute since we last checked up on the mischief our good friend Clarence Lai has been getting up to in the custom upgrade component and complete gun solutions arena, especially in the competition circuit in Taiwan but also in the wider world community of Action Air. Stewbacca took the upcoming World Shoot 2025 and his preparations for it as an excuse to catch up with the “surgeon”!

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AIRSOFT ACTION - ISSUE 174

CONTENTS ISSUE 174

48 RED CELL: AK COMMENTS

62 KIT & GEAR: SPOOKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS

68 6MM TRAINING: SETTING UP YOUR CARBINE #2

74 TECH: PARD PANTERA 256Q THERMAL OPTIC

82 TECH: OAKWOOD MACHINE WORKS BRANCH

86 KIT & GEAR: AGILITE LOAD SOLUTIONS

88 AA LEGION PORTUGAL: KIA V

94 RELOADED: VFC LAR GBBR

Once again the thoughts of RED CELL turn to the AK category, and this time we’ve brought together out “Classic” and “Tactical” AEG armoury collection to give an overview of the models that we’ve used most over the period of testing, and why the “AK Life” is one that most of the crew have adopted during their time playing airsoft! As usual Bill kicks things off…

Once again we’re joined by our good mate and shooting instructor Andy N from Calibre Shooting who continues his journey with us in relation to all things “tactical carbine”; this month he takes a look at grip, stance, and how to set up a simple “home range” to practice those all-important skills and drills!

Sometimes there’s a piece of gear you’ve held onto well past its expiration date for lack of better options. And while you’ve been able to make it work, the number of shortcomings is not always fully realized until something better actually comes along and blows the lid off the charade. Such has been Dan’s experience with nursing along the Wilcox PVS-14 J-Arm for many years, but now he offers a solution to his woes.

Regular fixtures in our annual “airsoft schedule” are starting to kick properly into gear now, and as always Miguel and his fellow GHOT OPS team-mates have been on point, and fully-immersed in-game already… they have returned again to “KIA”, and Miguel brings us all the action from this year’s game!

One of the really fun aspects of airsoft is the sheer amount of customisation options available out there. From externals to internals, the sky is the proverbial limit, and we all load our AEGs and GBBRs up with the things we like most... but we’re always looking for something unique and functional, and Dan finds both in the form of Spøøky Solutions slings!

When it comes to the thrills of night games, thermal optics have been a topic of growing interest, and the PARD Pantera 256Q is a digital thermal optic that, although primarily marketed for hunting, has some serious potential for airsoft use! Our newest “recruit” Bruno takes a look at who PARD are, while Jase gives a breakdown of features, performance, and how the Pantera 256Q could fit into your loadout.

Ben has a busy old time when it comes to being “in game” and is always looking for kit that does its job “just right”, not only for himself but also for other players of a smaller stature too; this month he reflects on his time with some of the latest kit from Agilite, what works for him, and why!

Stewbacca having, like many, eagerly awaited the arrival of VFC’s FAL GBBR in August 2022 now nears the three year mark of owning his own and using it in a variety of environments for his initial review back in ISSUE 143, and at many events or regular games since, as well as even in a rifle competition down in the south of Taiwan. So what are his longer term thoughts and experiences?

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

BEAST MAX! 8

AIRSOFT ACTION - ISSUE 174

ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

PTS SYNDICATE, PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR THEIR PROLIFIC LICENSING WITH REAL STEEL MANUFACTURERS, HAS ONCE AGAIN DELIVERED A NEW AEG TO THE MASSES, THE PTS RADIAN MOD 1! DAN HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THIS MODEL, BRAVING WINTER TEMPERATURES TO CONDUCT HIS TESTING, SO NOW HE BRINGS US HIS THOUGHTS ON THE VERY LATEST ADDITION TO THIS GROWING LINE OF UNIQUE AEGS!

T

he PTS RADIAN MOD 1 marks the third licensed replica created in collaboration with KWA Performance Industries, starting with the Magpul branded PTS RM4 Scout, which kicked off the famous ERG lineup many years ago, then later following up with the hugely popular PTS Centurion Arms CM4-10. With the former releases, these were based around the AEG 3.0 gearbox, which featured fully functional

controls, last round cutoff and mechanical recoil.

The Radian MOD 1 takes on a different tack with the adoption of the AEG 3.0+ gearbox, omitting the last round cutoff function in favor of an ETU compatible gearbox design, yet still maintaining that simulated recoil that fans of the ERG system have come to love.

Externally speaking, the MOD 1 sets out to

“THE PTS VERSION HAS REPLICATED THIS QUITE WELL, FOLLOWING SUIT WITH A BILLET STYLE UPPER AND LOWER RECEIVER FEATURING AN INTEGRATED TRIGGER GUARD AND FLARED MAGAZINE WELL. THE LOWER RECEIVER DESIGN INCORPORATES THE SAME A-DAC DESIGN PHILOSOPHY; I.E. WHAT RADIAN TERMS THE “AMBIDEXTROUS DUAL-ACTION CONTROL.”” www.airsoftaction.net

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

replicate the 14.5” version made by Radian.

Among the myriad AR-15 style configurations out there, Radian’s certainly stand among the “most distinctive” category in the aesthetics department. The PTS version has replicated this quite well, following suit with a billet style

upper and lower receiver featuring an integrated trigger guard and flared magazine well. The lower receiver design incorporates the same A-DAC design philosophy; i.e. what Radian terms the “Ambidextrous Dual-Action Control.” This consists of fully ambidextrous controls, from the dual-lever charging handle to the selector switch, to even the bolt release, all of which is easily accessible from either side you prefer to run the gun from. Similar to the iconic Magpul P-MAG, the lower receiver also replicates the pattern found on the sides of a P-MAG, which creates a cool aesthetic when fitted with said P-MAG style magazines.

In my humble opinion, KWA’s have always held onto the title for having the best ambidextrous selector switch design in current production. It’s crisp, positive, and best of all it does not require that it be disassembled to access the gearbox.

This greatly simplifies the disassembly process, which as an airsoft tech I can appreciate. Here,

the MOD 1 has closely replicated the design of the Radian Talon selector switches, with some slight differences. There seems to be some added voodoo, however, as the indexing seems to be even better and more

precise than what is found on other KWA models.

I would even go so far as to say that this is among the best feeling ambidextrous selector switch out there.

Both the magazine release and the bolt release levers work perfectly from either location.

The bolt release serves the function of simply locking the mock bolt plate open to access the hopup chamber. The left side paddle is notably larger than your average AR-15 bolt release, with a similar design to the Geissele Maritime bolt catch. If you’re a righty, the right side lever can be actuated with a little effort via the trigger finger, but if one was running the gun as a lefty, it’s much easier to just press this home with your thumb as you would on the other side. Curious readers will be happy to note that I have physically verified

“IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, KWA’S HAVE ALWAYS HELD ONTO THE TITLE FOR HAVING THE BEST AMBIDEXTROUS SELECTOR SWITCH DESIGN IN CURRENT PRODUCTION. IT’S CRISP, POSITIVE, AND BEST OF ALL, IT DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT IT BE DISASSEMBLED TO ACCESS THE GEARBOX”

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

that it is possible to drop in an AEG 2.5/3.0 gearbox and gain the last round cutoff function… with the ambidextrous bolt release levers working without any issue with it, no less!

Rounding out the ambidextrous parts lineup

is the Radian Raptor charging handle, which has extended dual-levers allowing you to run it as a righty or lefty. This also features the prominent Radian branding on the main body of the handle.

SOLID AESTHETICS

The upper receiver maintains the same billet aesthetics as the lower, with a distinctive flaring of lines towards the 14” length M-LOK rail. This mounts up to a large cylindrical barrel nut via four screws and an anti-rotation pin to prevent the rail from twisting out of alignment.

The outer barrel consists of a heavy profile diameter with standard 14mm CCW threads, a mock gas block and chrome-plated gas tube. As they come out of the box, you get an anodized orange aluminum flash hider.

The one discrepancy to the visual flair here is that the PTS has a carbine-length gas system installed, whereas the real MOD 1 uses a midlength setup. Presumably this was done for cost saving measures, though one is reminded the PTS Scout of yesteryear featured a mid-length gas system.

Naturally, being carried under the PTS name this also features the usual bevy of PTS Syndicate furniture; the EPG motor grip, EPS stock and

EPBUIS iron sights are all standard equipment here. While the real MOD 1 typically features a Magpul CTR stock, the PTS EPS is a design concession owing to the fact that the buffer tube is taken up entirely by the recoil weight

assembly; thus, you pretty much are required to have a stock that will accommodate a battery somewhere.

In this case, you really can’t do any better than the EPS stock which will house a wide variety of battery types. Everything from nunchuck style Titan Power Li-Ion’s, or LiPo’s, to buffer tube style packs will fit down the side tubes. The buttplate area itself will easily house some rectangular bricks in the 1400mah capacity.

Aside from this, the only other notable departures between the replica and the real MOD 1 are going to be the ejection port cover, lack of trades on the push pins (though these are the low-profile design), the absence of the Vertex trigger, and the non-fluted buffer tube. All in all though, this is pretty dang close replica of the Radian MOD 1, and also the only one ever done in airsoft. Like any modern KWA, the bodywork is solid, tight fitting and it’s well finished throughout.

All of which is also to say… this is a somewhat heavy AEG in the hands. On my scale, I measured 7.6 lbs (3.4 kg) with the magazine. Comparatively, the current flag-bearer of the ERG line, the Ronin T10 is coming in at 6.5 lbs (2.95 kg) with the magazine. I would attribute this weight increase largely to the thicker billet-style receivers, the heavy contour outer barrel, as well as the additional length of the rail and barrel.

In some respects, it is a bit curious that the

“CURIOUS READERS WILL BE HAPPY TO NOTE THAT I HAVE PHYSICALLY VERIFIED THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DROP IN AN AEG 2.5/3.0 GEARBOX AND GAIN THE LAST ROUND CUTOFF FUNCTION… WITH THE AMBIDEXTROUS BOLT RELEASE LEVERS WORKING WITHOUT ANY ISSUE WITH IT, NO LESS!”

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

as few will really want a trigger pull with such long travel. This does not mean you are stuck with a long pull per se, as you can program the firing point so you only have to pull the trigger a minimal distance to fire the gun. But because the trigger itself does not have an overtravel adjustment, you will have a lot of “dead air” behind said firing point. So ideally, outfitting this with an aftermarket trigger that allows you to set the amount of travel you want will result in a cleaner setup in the trigger department.

Some of this could possibly be circumvented UNDER THE HOOD another way via the Gate TACTICKER, which is a Being as this was a new release, I was curious “real feel” trigger simulation device. I have not to see if there were any new and notable design had opportunity to check compatibility with the changes to the AEG 3.0+ format. Whether you KWA ETU as of yet, so this is just speculation. consider it remarkably consistent or not, the Radian remains exactly the same as what is found But the TACTICKER does work perfectly in conjunction with a Gate TITAN II in the KWA AEG in other KWA’s. Which is to say, under the sleek 3.0+ gearbox. Unfortunately, the lower receiver exterior of the Radian MOD 1, you have a stock has not adopted the larger cutout for the trigger Ronin T10 ETU. as found on other KWA models, so fitting any Despite the ambidextrous controls, none of aftermarket trigger will require increasing the these required removal to extract the gearbox, length of the cutout… again, not hard, just so it’s still the same quick five minute job to pull the box and get to the guts of the beast. Here you inconvenient.

For those unfamiliar with the ERG system, have KWA’s reinforced AEG 3.0+ gearbox shell, the recoil impulse itself is generated via a large which houses their recently released in-house brass recoil weight reciprocating within the buffer Electronic Trigger Unit. The ETU itself features easy programmability of various functions via the tube on a pair of stiff springs. This has often trigger. Pre-cocking, adjustable trigger sensitivity, erroneously been referred to as “electronic” recoil, but is in fact purely mechanically driven by burst mode, semi-auto only lock, and trigger the rearward stroke of the piston. This is a wellequalizer are standard features, and as well, the ETU features brushless motor compatibility. Being established and reliable design… in fact, far more robust and harder kicking than Tokyo Marui’s amongst the beta testers for this ETU in the past, and having spent some time with them in the wild NGRS system! And unlike NGRS, the KWA is 11.1v capable out of the box too. For the US market, now, I’ve so far found it to be a pretty good ETU these typically will chrono in at 390 - 400 FPS (1.4 and reliable (knock on wood)… I haven’t had any - 1.5J). come back in for failures yet.

However, players restricted to sub 350 FPS or My one and only gripe with the ETU is not with lower velocities will likely want to stick with 7.4v’s the ETU itself, but with the decision to mill the to avoid premature engagement damage of the gearbox shell to increase the available length of piston. This can be remedied through technical pull on the trigger. In my opinion this has been fixes, so one can enjoy the massive boost in increased to an almost absurdly large degree 14.5” length was selected here, when the general trend over the last five or so years has been towards shorter carbines and SBR’s. The 14.5” length may feel a little odd to one used to rocking their 10.5” MK18 or the like. Conversely, I could also see the longer length appealing to players who wish to develop their play style and their rifle around an SPR-style concept. If one is familiar, the Radian MOD 1 feels a lot like the Krytac LVOA in handling.

“THE EPS STOCK (WHICH) WILL HOUSE A WIDE VARIETY OF BATTERY TYPES. EVERYTHING FROM NUNCHUCK STYLE TITAN POWER LI-ION’S, OR LIPO’S, TO BUFFER TUBE STYLE PACKS WILL FIT DOWN THE SIDE TUBES. THE BUTTPLATE AREA ITSELF WILL EASILY HOUSE SOME RECTANGULAR BRICKS IN THE 1400MAH CAPACITY”

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

trigger response an 11.1v affords. Like anything in airsoft: “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”

With respect to the rest of the gearbox, you have KWA’s usual 9mm caged bearings, steel

anti-reversal latch and 18:1 ratio gears. All of these have stood the test of time, and being something of a KWA specialist myself for the past fourteen years of teching, I have very rarely encountered a broken KWA gearset, AR latch or bearing, and I consider them among some of the best OEM parts made.

The motor has been slightly updated to feature a CNC’d end bell, which in theory should help with heat dissipation. This otherwise still appears to be the same 19 TPA format with ferrite magnets; in combination with the gear ratio and an 11.1v LiPo, you should expect around 18 19 RPS on average out of it. The ETU has really helped to improve on the trigger response versus pre-ETU models. This can be improved further, notably by changing out the motor, but as it comes stock, it’s pretty respectable.

The compression parts consist of the GEN III tappet plate with the integrated polymer air nozzle and O-ring, polymer cylinder head, brass cylinder, billet piston head and polymer piston.

These parts are generally fine on their own when the system is run in the ideal velocity envelope of 1.4 - 1.5J, but in my experience they will reveal their shortcomings when you attempt to ‘hot rod’ the gun, in which case you should consider upgrading the piston and piston head at the very

minimum. I would like to see KWA make the transition to ported piston heads and full metal rack pistons at some point.

POINTS TO NOTE

Curiously, this example of the MOD 1 was outfitted with a shorter 6.05 diameter 303mm length barrel. This has been a bit of an interesting trend I’ve observed with some of the new KWA releases, with both the Q10 and M10 having shorter barrels their outer barrel would otherwise accommodate. Whether this is due to conscious decision or product shortages remains to be seen; that being said, it has no appreciable difference on the outcome as I was still able to turn in a respectable 393 FPS (1.43J) on average with .20g.

The hop up chamber retains the same excellent rotary design. I am not an especially ardent fan of KWA’s bucking, but that’s also to say I’m not a fan of most any stock bucking. I consider them “placeholders” in lieu of dropping in something better. Reportedly, the KWA bucking has been developed for the warmer heavy humidity climate of their native Taiwan, but in my experience this often struggles in our colder northern climates.

I’ve often seen where it requires a full magazine to be run through the gun to warm up the bucking to where it’ll hop properly.

As well, you might struggle to adequately lift heavier BB’s; case in point, at maximum adjustment of the hopup wheel, I was able to

“THE ETU ITSELF FEATURES EASY PROGRAMMABILITY OF VARIOUS FUNCTIONS VIA THE TRIGGER. PRE-COCKING, ADJUSTABLE TRIGGER SENSITIVITY, BURST MODE, SEMIAUTO ONLY LOCK, AND TRIGGER EQUALIZER ARE STANDARD FEATURES, AND AS WELL, THE ETU FEATURES BRUSHLESS MOTOR COMPATIBILITY”

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ARMOURY KWA PTS RADIAN MOD 1

push .30g’s at the heaviest, but maybe not quite at the ideal trajectory I would have liked. With .28g’s, it did better and I’d say the bucking is really optimized best for .25g to .28g’s. Fortunately,

a bucking is a simple matter to replace and there are a lot of excellent choices on the market these days. I have been a big fan of the GEN III Tru-Hop and 4UAD Quantum as two notable examples.

All in all, the PTS Radian MOD 1 is a solid choice of an AEG rifle, with some minor quibbles that largely stem from my desires as a tech to maximize everything that passes across the bench. For the average player who doesn’t want to crack things open right away, I think the only real detractor might be the extra heft (do you even lift, bro?), but some will not find it appreciable. I would like to see the lineup expanded a bit with the shorter 10.5” version for us SBR nerds, and it would make a lot of sense to also outfit it with the cutoff series gearbox as another option to

take full advantage of the ambidextrous controls.

Certainly the design of the outer barrel and ease of which one can remove the rail lends itself easily to having a SBR kit sold as an accessory.

Time will tell if such a thing becomes available.

The exterior of the rifle is, of course, beautifully

done, solid as a brick outhouse, and no doubt will be eye-catching to AR aficionados. I particularly love the tactile feel of the selector switches. KWA have long maintained a tradition of consistent quality control year after year, on par with the likes of Tokyo Marui. You can take KWA parts that were manufactured ten years apart and they’ll just plain fit without hassle.

Contrary to internet mythos, KWA’s are also in fact quite easy to upgrade, with a lot of options in this department to consider. After conducting my review of this MOD 1, I upgraded it for the new owner with a Ulysses Recoil Kit, Solink SX-1 brushless motor, Gate TITAN II Bluetooth, JVAN CNC 18:1 gears, Angel Custom KRATOS piston, Lonex piston head and cylinder head, stainless steel cylinder, MAXX CNC trigger and air nozzle, and a MAXX CNC M4A rotary hopup chamber, Gen. 3 Tru-Hop and Lambda One barrel…

It’s truly a formidable beast now! AA

“ALL IN ALL, THE PTS RADIAN MOD 1 IS A SOLID CHOICE OF AN AEG RIFLE, WITH SOME MINOR QUIBBLES THAT LARGELY STEM FROM MY DESIRES AS A TECH TO MAXIMIZE EVERYTHING THAT PASSES ACROSS THE BENCH. FOR THE AVERAGE PLAYER WHO DOESN’T WANT TO CRACK THINGS OPEN RIGHT AWAY, I THINK THE ONLY REAL DETRACTOR MIGHT BE THE EXTRA HEFT (DO YOU EVEN LIFT, BRO?)” www.airsoftaction.net

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ARMOURY SECUTOR ASTRA XI

IN SOLIDUM SURCULUS 18

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ARMOURY SECUTOR ASTRA XI

AFTER SO MUCH SUCCESS WITH THEIR EXTENSIVE SHOTGUN RANGE, AND SOME CRACKING PISTOLS SECUTOR HAVE SLOWLY BUT SURELY BEEN ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES IN THE AEG MARKET. WE’VE LOOKED IN DEPTH AT THEIR “762/308” DMR MODELS AND FOUND THEIR PERFORMANCE TO BE ON THE MONEY, ESPECIALLY WITH A BIT OF TWEAKING, AND NOW IT APPEARS THAT THEY’RE MOVING THINGS FORWARD WITH THEIR “556” ASTRA MODELS TOO. BILL’S BEEN CHECKING OUT THE LATEST ASTRA XI AND LIKES WHAT HE FINDS! www.airsoftaction.net

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ARMOURY SECUTOR ASTRA XI

I

t’s been my privilege over the years to try out many an airsoft “AR”, and I’ve had countless “556s” AEG models out on the woods range and in-game, and new models just keep on appearing!

PDWs, SBRs, mid-lengths and full-size have all come and gone, and it really does give you an appreciation of how intuitive the

SECUTOR I’m always quietly confident that I’m going to see something a little bit unique and interesting. I’ve been playing around with SECUTOR rifles and carbines since the summer of ’21 , and I’ve always enjoyed heading to the woods range with one to run through its paces; whilst they’re never the cheapest of AEGs in a highly competitive marketplace their build-

AR design is, as you can go one to another knowing exactly that the same drills and manipulations will work just as well with them all, with just small modifications to grip and stance to take into account different overall lengths.

The not-so-humble AR AEG is undoubtedly “king of the hill” when it comes to the majority of airsoft games, and there’s a good reason why! The controls are all in the same place, and mag changes are the same, and optics placement is largely identical so you can really get a consistency of operation even moving from model to model. As a reviewer it does make my life easier as I can use the same set of accessories, and pretty much the same set of drills from rifle to carbine to SBR, which if course means I get complete consistency in my weekly testing (and personal training) program. I use the same batteries and the same BBs for each and every model, and my method of testing is consistent too so that I get parity from one model to the next.

But just like all of you, I do love a new “shiny thing” and when it comes to new models from

quality has always been superb externally, sound internally and readily upgradeable, and bottomline, they’ve been a joy to shoot.

Back in 2022 I had chance to lay my hands on one of the original ASTRA AEG models, and although I liked it a lot with so many “black rifles” already in my personal armoury already I returned it to iWholesales after my testing was complete. From time to time though I wondered if I shouldn’t have just bought it, as when I look back on my testing notes I see that I concluded: “I have to say that the ASTRA XI I had to shoot really gives a massive amount of quality and performance for the money. It looks great, feels great, and shoots like a dream on both semi and full-chat, so as far as I can see SECUTOR have got this 100% right.”

I was pleased therefore to see that the ASTRA has now gone on into “the next gen” so to speak, and the latest ASTRA XI in coyote certainly looks the “opr8r biz” for sure; but would it impress me as much as the first one had? Only range-time and a whole heap of BBs would tell me that!

“PDWS, SBRS, MID-LENGTHS AND FULL-SIZE HAVE ALL COME AND GONE, AND IT REALLY DOES GIVE YOU AN APPRECIATION OF HOW INTUITIVE THE AR DESIGN IS, AS YOU CAN GO ONE TO ANOTHER KNOWING EXACTLY THAT THE SAME DRILLS AND MANIPULATIONS WILL WORK JUST AS WELL WITH THEM ALL”

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ARMOURY SECUTOR ASTRA XI

LO DRAG, GOOD TO GO

So, having tested out a number of the SECUTOR AEGs, and on the whole been impressed with them as stock platforms, when I saw the latest ASTRA I thought to myself “now that’s a bit of alright!” Okay, I’m a sucker for a tan AR, especially one with a bronzed rail, and the images I saw made me immediately

want to get my grubby little BB-slinging hands on one!

The original ASTRA in black and grey was pretty eye-catching, but the “coyote” version just looked righteous, and the addition of a slimline stock and “suppressor” as part of the deal just sang to me.

And when the test model arrived with me, I have to tell you that the carbine just feels great, and really is easy to manipulate!

The ASTRA is solid as a rock in every respect, and the mix of the “SF bronzed” M-LOK rail and the buffer tube really stand out from the smooth coyote tan of the CNC aluminium receivers and furniture, and the finish on all parts is absolutely first rate with not a blemish anywhere! The

feature set itself is extremely well thought out, as you get an ambi selector, ambi mag release, and very cool straight trigger. The pistol grip is a comfortable “MP-style”, and on the ASTRA XI the sliding stock has five positions so you can get it exactly as you like it.

There are QD sling points inset to the rail and the carbine comes with a single sling point on the stock at the rear. Some pretty darn decent flip-up

“iron sights” are included, and the ASTRA XI has a fitted suppressor with the 6.03mm inner barrel running to the end of it. There’s a fabric rail shroud which I actually love; I have been running the ASTRA XI without the modular foregrip, and just using the fabric shroud gives a positive lead-hand reference… if you want to though you can simply move this up to act as a suppressor shroud (very “SF”!) and run the foregrip and accessories on the M-LOK. The modular foregrip itself is worth a mention as although this isn’t new it’s a very unique design, and the guys at SECUTOR have obviously though this through fully… and it shows that they too are a team with different tastes and shooting styles too! But a foregrip is a foregrip, right? Wrong, as the SECUTOR take is a modular three piece design that means you can run the grip super-stubby (my preferred option), midlength, or long. You simply unscrew the end cap and inside you’ll find three threaded spacers

“BUT JUST LIKE ALL OF YOU, I DO LOVE A NEW “SHINY THING” AND WHEN IT COMES TO NEW MODELS FROM SECUTOR I’M ALWAYS QUIETLY CONFIDENT THAT I’M GOING TO SEE SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE AND INTERESTING”

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ARMOURY SECUTOR ASTRA XI

that mate with one another. The outer grip itself comes in three positive slottogether parts, and you can mix and match as you like!

The grip fits directly to the M-LOK rail, which again keeps everything very “lodrag”.

The ASTRA magazine is cool too! If, as I do, you associate SECUTOR rifles with those lovely RAPAX DMRs then the skinnier mag undoubtedly tells you that you’re into a different neighbourhood altogether; the mag itself, a very “P-MAG-esque” 120 BB midcap with dustcap looks great though, and continues the tone of quality… yup, just the magazine gives an indication of the quality of the ASTRA!

INTERNALLY

Internally there’s a lot going on too! First up you get the EFCS gearbox (with quick-change-spring function), programmable electronic trigger and Mosfet so if that’s your thing you can play with this to your heart’s delight, although as “stock” I see nothing wrong with the setup! The CNC trigger also has external travel regulation by means of a screw to reduce the travel and shooting sensitivity which is a neat touch, more of this “on range”...

A combination of 8mm bearings and bushings, a reinforced polymer piston with all metal teeth, a CNC steel cylinder and cylinder head made in a single piece to improve compression, and silver wiring throughout make everything nice and tight from the outset, although compatibility

with aftermarket parts will give you space to fettle further if you so desire.

There’s a 6.03 mm precision barrel fitted as standard that runs right to the end of the “suppressor” and this married up to what I know to be a reasonably robust and efficient rotary hop-unit, with a 60º Maple leaf installed as standard. Overall this is a very tight package from the get go, with soild componentry and a tried and tested program-system, and out of the box you’ll be able to run it happily in game with a range of options.

DOWNRANGE

I got hands-on and some righteous rangetime with the ASTRA XI, and on first impressions this is an AEG ready to roll with some premium features and some really superb “modern SF AR” styling.

In terms of spec, everything sounds positive, and I have to say that as new the ASTRA certainly worked excellently on the “range in the woods”.

I fitted the rifle with my usual carbine-ready holosight, and and it was good to go. From the box the Astra chron’d very consistently indeed at 1.07 Joule/341fps with .20g BBs (which is just a touch higher than the older version), and once I’d reset the hop it was more than happy on my gameuse .28’s although I felt it could actually hop heavier than this; the new hop rubber and setup obviously does its job in an agreeable manner.

The 120 BB magazine fits and feeds perfectly, and trying it with my collection of other brand ARstyle magazines (real, mid and hi-cap) gave great results with all.

So, all set up, .28g BBs in the mag, hop dialled in and optic fitted… 100% game-on!

The ASTRA delivers BBs downrange to the extent of the 30m range without any problem at all, which is great for woodland sites, and although the flip-up sights that come fitted as standard are more than adequate, and indeed are sturdily made (which makes the ASTRAs

“THE ASTRA IS SOLID AS A ROCK IN EVERY RESPECT, AND THE MIX OF THE “SF BRONZED” M-LOK RAIL AND THE BUFFER TUBE REALLY STAND OUT FROM THE SMOOTH COYOTE TAN OF THE CNC ALUMINIUM RECEIVERS AND FURNITURE, AND THE FINISH ON ALL PARTS IS ABSOLUTELY FIRST RATE”

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ready to roll straight from the box just by adding a battery and some BBs if you like!) with my holo at 30m unsupported it was easy to get hits on a torso-sized target with each BB flying straight and true. I also worked the ASTRA hard on my 10m range pushing it through hard transitions (after which you’ll certainly feel all of its 3,080g in your arms and shoulders!), and the rifle performed superbly, clanging the steels solidly, and the responsiveness of an excellent trigger certainly helps; this bodes well for CQB settings.

As they move forward there are no mindbending changes to the ASTRA AEGs, but I have to say that everything just feels a little bit “tighter” overall, and the power delivery has been marginally increased as a result.

SECUTOR externals have always been lovely, and just by refining their airsoft art it would appear that the performance is fast heading in the same direction, with consistent BBs on target now really starting to match up with the good looks.

Again, as I said earlier, SECUTOR AEGs are never going to be a cheap option, but these days I do believe that you’re getting what you pay for in one attractive, tightly-performing package; I have to say that the latest ASTRA XI I’ve put through its paces really give a massive amount of quality and performance for the money.

I sincerely hope that SECUTOR just keep making these small yet important steps forward, really nailing their AEGs down to be as good as they can be from the get go… right now I feel that they are absolutely as good as they can be as a stock AEG given the state of current technology and I see no reason to change anything… but I do look forward to seeing what they do next too!

Thanks as usual to iWholesales for providing the test model; you can check out all the SECUTOR models they have by visiting www.iwholesales.biz AA

“SECUTOR EXTERNALS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOVELY, AND JUST BY REFINING THEIR AIRSOFT ART IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE PERFORMANCE IS FAST HEADING IN THE SAME DIRECTION, WITH CONSISTENT BBS ON TARGET NOW REALLY STARTING TO MATCH UP WITH THE GOOD LOOKS”

www.airsoftaction.net

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NEW PARADIGMS AT ASG!

HOW IS IT THAT WE’RE ALREADY IN MAY AND WE’RE STILL WADING THROUGH THE DETAIL OF IWA 2025? THE FACT IS THAT THERE WAS SO MUCH TO SEE AND THEN FOLLOW UP ON THAT IT’S TAKING SOME TIME, BUT WE WANT TO GIVE YOU THE FULL LOWDOWN ON EVERYTHING… SO THIS MONTH BILL TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT WHAT ASG HAVE GOT IN THE PIPELINE FOR 2025 ...SO FAR!

I

WA 2025 as I’ve said many times was a great show for AIRSOFT ACTION, and the new models of AEGs and GBBs that we saw at this year’s show in Germany were certainly very exciting! I’ve got a great relationship with many of the airsoft brands out there that have been built over many years of shared trust and a true passion for airsoft, and as much as I’ve not always agreed with everyone on their directions, the fact is that any “disagreements” have been short-lived, and ultimately cemented again positively in understanding that certain things must happen to ensure that brands remain true to their goals, and their heart.

One of the longest-standing relationships that I’ve had personally has been with ActionSportGames (ASG), and while this has had its share of ups and downs over the years I have always had the greatest of respect for this airsoft-industry leviathan; with a great new team

now fully-established in the UK things are once again moving forward for ASG, and I for one am very pleased indeed to see the brand with a new paradigm and regaining their hard-won place in the market.

ASG however like to take their time in relation to development though, only fully releasing a new model when they are 100% happy that it’s as good as it possibly can be; looking at past performance they did so with the CZ EVO and the SP-01 and both have turned out to be great, beautifully crafted replicas with superb performance and durability, and I for one haven’t heard anybody complaining about either.

The fact that a manufacturer takes time to get things right from the get go can only be a good thing for all of us; how often have we seen a RIF rushed to market because it’s right on the current trend and been disappointed due to sub-par performance and a lack of reliability? Over the

“ONE OF THE LONGEST-STANDING RELATIONSHIPS THAT I’VE HAD PERSONALLY HAS BEEN WITH ACTIONSPORTGAMES (ASG), AND WHILE THIS HAS HAD ITS SHARE OF UPS AND DOWNS OVER THE YEARS I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE GREATEST OF RESPECT FOR THIS AIRSOFT-INDUSTRY LEVIATHAN”

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years I’ve seen this just too many times, and although today things are much, much better there’s still always the possibility of a lemon.

At IWA this year I saw from one manufacturer several AEG models that were “ready for release right now” and they’ve yet to reach any market at all, as design faults were discovered postproduction!

I’d much rather have an AEG or GBB that’s gone through all the checks and balances, thorough torture-testing, design and re-design, and a carefully controlled manufacturing process before I part with any cash. I also like a properly licenced replica as I know then what I’m getting is going to be as close to the “real deal” as possible, and ASG are past masters at conforming to all of the aforementioned processes. Has the build-up to the release of their latest models been just hot air though, or are they the platforms we’ve all been eagerly anticipating?

Over the course of IWA Jase and I visited the good people of ASG at their stand, and it was great to see Clark, Jordan, newcomer Rich, and of course our old mate Paul. Clark was very excited to not only show us around the new lines on offer but to inform us of their new partnership with ARMY; after spending the last few years concentrating on their own licences and models it’s actually very positive in my mind to see ASG returning to their “roots” as a distributor for other quality airsoft brands in addition to their own fine offerings, and the announcement at IWA that an agreement had been made with the good people at DELTA ARMORY only reinforced this.

However, what I will concentrate on here is the models that we saw under their own licences that really took our attention, and highlight some of the AEGs and GBBs that raised our eyebrows and illustrated that ASG are not hanging about!

SHORTS

The CZ Shadow that I mentioned earlier has, in all its incarnations to date, been a thoroughly successful model for ASG all over the world, and is often mentioned by our own “Man in Taiwan” Stewbacca when it comes to his practical shooting adventures, and at IWA we saw the CZ TS 2, or “the shape of things yet to come” as we christened it!

The real steel CZ TS 2 (or Tactical Sports 2 to give it the full moniker) is the sport-special for competing in the IPSC Standard

Division, or indeed for target shooting of any kind; fitted with flat, silver-anodized duralumin grips, fixed metal sights, there’s also an extended manual safety on the left side of the pistol, and a flat safety on the right side.

Alongside the Shadow 2, the CZ TS2 has fast become the pistol-of-choice for IPSC shooting marksmen, and ASG told us: “We knew immediately we needed to bring the airsoft replica to market, after all, if it’s prowess is proven in the sporting field, those same features are going to make a difference to 6mm airsoft sport-shooters the world over!”

In addition to the pistol’s realistic weight and feel, it has also been engineered for increased user performance and usability; its full CNC

“OVER THE COURSE OF IWA JASE AND I VISITED THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ASG AT THEIR STAND, AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE CLARK, JORDAN, NEWCOMER RICH, AND OF COURSE OUR OLD MATE PAUL. CLARK WAS VERY EXCITED TO NOT ONLY SHOW US AROUND THE NEW LINES”

www.airsoftaction.net

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aluminium grip, magazine release and trigger guard have been textured to provide a more comfortable fit into the shooter’s hand and avoid slippage. Furthermore, the swappable grips have been anodised a cool silver to look just like “the real”! The slide includes pronounced serrations to allow for easier cocking alongside

official licensed markings, and an enlarged safety catch finishes the time-to-fire credentials.

To provide this replica with an authentic handling weight and feel, the TS 2 upper and lower are crafted from high strength alloy. To increase the performance of the pistol, the TS 2 incorporates a fixed outer barrel which both tightens the tolerances of the pistol and improves its stability while firing.

Fitted with a single action trigger, adjustable for pre-travel (before the hammer drops) and aftertravel (after the hammer drops), the TS 2 offers precision action and comfort that could well mean the difference between “being there” and a podium place!

This airsoft pistol is a full 1:1 replica of its real steel counterpart, and as such, it includes a fibre optic front sight and adjustable rear sights to

provide AIPSC shooters with the same top quality target acquisition as the IPSC. Internally, the TS 2 boasts high quality components which provide everything shooters need right out of the box for a smooth and highly accurate shooting experience.

The magazine holds 27 BBs that fire at 1.0 joule (328fps).

Next up, the long-awaited CZ P-10C FPV (Full Polymer Version) gas-friendly pistol should be hitting stores already, and as Clark said “good things come to those who wait...” What really makes the P-10 C special and sets it above other similar pistols on the market, is the performance, as it offers unmatched consistency both between shots and between magazines. Thanks to its durable design and the inclusion of lighter-weight polymer parts, the P-10 C retains solid durability, minimising wear and tear, but minimises the maintenance required.

Its ergonomic grip provides the shooter a great

grip, offering a comfortable hold and satisfying feel that fits perfectly into your hands.

Inside the box, in addition to a very cool pistol, ASG also include changeable backstraps so that the

“TO PROVIDE THIS REPLICA WITH AN AUTHENTIC HANDLING WEIGHT AND FEEL, THE TS 2 UPPER AND LOWER ARE CRAFTED FROM HIGH STRENGTH ALLOY. TO INCREASE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PISTOL, THE TS 2 INCORPORATES A FIXED OUTER BARREL WHICH BOTH TIGHTENS THE TOLERANCES OF THE PISTOL AND IMPROVES ITS STABILITY WHILE FIRING” 28

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shooter can customise the grip to match their own individual preferences; these backstraps come in small, medium and large.

It also comes equipped with traditional iron sights for fast target acquisition, and the P-10 C is an easily customisable pistol with a lower accessory rail which can be used to mount lasers, lights, or other accessories. Also, the P-10 C boasts under-frame safety controls as well as trigger safety. Its smaller size not only makes it a great compact platform to carry discreetly into the CQB arena, but also makes it lighter and faster to draw.

The P-10 C Gas magazine holds a total of 22 BBs, firing at an average velocity of 0.90 joule (295 fps) on 0.20 BBs (obviously ASG used their own consistent, high-quality Blaster’s in testing!).

Again, as ASG told us, “...it is the culmination of years of pistol-making expertise and a deeprooted passion for airsoft which results in a truly exceptional pistol that is ready to let it rip in all types of airsoft play”, and I have to say that we agree!

Stepping out of the ASG “stable” for a moment we also got our first look at the awesome MODIFY TRINITY, and both Jase and I loved this! Aimed at both IPSC/target shooting and skirmish/CQB players alike, the Modify Trinity is a unique Hi-Capa pistol designed with lightning fast, on-the-move, hop adjustment in mind.

Airsoft pistol shooters have had to deal with inaccessible hop adjustment for years; if you’ve ever had to part strip your pistol in the middle of a game you will know the stress of that moment all too well. With a simple adjustment mechanism involving the slide release the shooter can zero in the BB flightpath in seconds, even while shooting!

Other great features include a steel firing mech, short-travel trigger, an aluminium alloy slide, 11mm thread for mounting of tracers/ muzzle attachments, a hard-wearing and tactile nylon fibre grip, and a picatinny accessory rail…

bottom line, this thing looks superb, and I for one can’t wait to shoot it!

Coming up after this article you’ll find an update on what our old mate Clarence Lai has been up to of late, and my

“STEPPING OUT OF THE ASG “STABLE” FOR A MOMENT WE ALSO GOT OUR FIRST LOOK AT THE AWESOME MODIFY TRINITY, AND BOTH JASE AND I LOVED THIS! AIMED AT BOTH IPSC/TARGET SHOOTING AND SKIRMISH/CQB PLAYERS ALIKE, THE MODIFY TRINITY IS A UNIQUE HI-CAPA PISTOL DESIGNED WITH LIGHTNING FAST, ON-THEMOVE, HOP ADJUSTMENT IN MIND” www.airsoftaction.net

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TAP/CLICK THE PAGE FOR MORE INFO

TAP/CLICK THE PAGE FOR MORE INFO

ARMOURY ASG NEW MODELS

last inclusion in the “ASG Shorts” section here shows just what happens when ASG join forces with that master of precision upgrades with a 6” Dan Wesson 715 firmly in focus!

The ASG UK guys told me after the show that...

“We had this very special model on display at IWA and it was super popular! Vistors were amazed and impressed by the clockwork trigger and barrel action. With time-to-fire drastically reduced, we’re taking things to a whole new level of competitive action. A chrome revolver is a thing of beauty, but let’s get it out on the field rapidly taking targets down!”

The Dan Wesson 715 will impress anyone with a shooters soul due to its precision engineering, perfect grip and solid feel. From the one-piece 6-inch heavy barrel, complete with vent rib featuring threading for mounting accessories, to the imitation Hogue rubber grip, the DW 715 stands out as one of the finest replica

airsoft revolvers on the market!

Clarence (as we well know) has a passion for precision engineering within

airsoft sports shooting, and continues to surprise with bespoke parts options, and ASG have said that they are always

pleased to collaborate, as Clarence holds a special place in our industry.

The much-loved Dan Wesson 715 6” version Revolver, has now been graced with the Clarence Lai Project Design treatment, and will come fitted with the CLPD adjustable trigger, improved grip,Early Bird Trigger Hand which improves strength and cylinder timing, and the

Competition Upgrade Spring Set that offers “clockwork precision”. This genuinely is a thing of beauty, and as the happy owner of a standard 715 I can only imagine just how cool, and how smooth the CLPD-fettled version will be!

LONGS

I’m not going to dwell heavily here on the CZ EVO as AIRSOFT ACTION has been a part of that particular story since the very first AEG landed in the UK, and we’ve followed it ever since…

“THE MUCH-LOVED DAN WESSON 715 6” VERSION REVOLVER, HAS NOW BEEN GRACED WITH THE CLARENCE LAI PROJECT DESIGN TREATMENT, AND WILL COME FITTED WITH THE CLPD ADJUSTABLE TRIGGER, IMPROVED GRIP,EARLY BIRD TRIGGER HAND WHICH IMPROVES STRENGTH AND CYLINDER TIMING, AND THE COMPETITION UPGRADE SPRING SET THAT OFFERS “CLOCKWORK PRECISION”.”

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however, it would be totally wrong of me not to mention that we saw a new version of the EVO 3 A1 Value Pack, and this time it’s a price-pointed sportsline variation. We all know this model series well, so the small variations include losing the three-BB burst but you will get an 11.1v battery in the box.

I’m also not going to comment as yet on the ASG branded optics joining the line-up as these look excellent and deserve their own space when they hit the market; speaking to the ASG UK guys I hope that we’ll be able to get “hands-on” with these soon, and we’ll spill the beans in full later when we’ve tried them out!

What I WILL focus on though are two AEG models that are focused on the all-important entry-level airsofter, but that are more than capable of holding their own in anyone’s airsoft armoury. Two models very much took our eye, the first being an AR-mag-compatible model with, as he put it “a Masada-like vibe” that Jase liked a lot, the FLCN 556!

ASG say of this this new carbine-length AEG:

either the left or right side to fit the needs of the shooter. The ejection port cover locks to the open position to give easy access to the rotary hop up, and closes with a press of the ambidextrous bolt catch.

The lower receiver is also polymer, and accepts all AR-style AEG magazines, giving you a huge selection of aftermarket choices. The fire selector is ambidextrous as well, making the FLCN 5.56 perfect for right or left handed shooters right out of the box. A six-position collapsible and folding stock with a four-position adjustable cheekrest wraps up the entire package, making the FLCN 5.56 great for players large and small. QD sockets on both the handguard and stock allows for the easy installation of a sling.

Internally, the FLCN 5.56 has a programmable electronic trigger with an optical sensor that also monitors the health of the gearbox and battery level. The 8mm bearing gearbox has a quick change spring to easily switch from indoor to outdoor muzzle velocities in under a minute. A rotary-style hop-up ensures precise adjustments

“The FLCN 5.56 Sportline AEG is the ultimate choice for players looking to stand out from the crowd. This airsoft rifle has a sleek modern appearance paired with high performance that makes it a great addition to the arsenal of new and experienced players alike.”

Externally, the FLCN 5.56 has polymer monolithic upper receiver that is rigid and durable, but that is lightweight enough to run happily all day long ingame. The handguard is slotted to accept M-LOK accessories at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions, and the charging handle can be installed on

for accurate and consistent shots.

The FLCN 5.56 is wired for Deans/T-Plug, but also comes with a mini Tamiya adapter, and the battery is stored in the stock.

Of course, whilst Jase was cuddling the FLCN 5.56 (he is SO BLUFOR!) I had to take the OPFOR-stance on the new models, and it was superb seeing the ARSENAL name come back fully into ASGs line-up in the form of the Arsenal SAM7R.

“EXTERNALLY, THE FLCN 5.56 HAS POLYMER MONOLITHIC UPPER RECEIVER THAT IS RIGID AND DURABLE, BUT THAT IS LIGHTWEIGHT ENOUGH TO RUN HAPPILY ALL DAY LONG IN-GAME. THE HANDGUARD IS SLOTTED TO ACCEPT M-LOK ACCESSORIES AT THE 3, 6, AND 9 O’CLOCK POSITIONS”

www.airsoftaction.net

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The SAM7R brings that classic AK style with a modern visual twist! Just like Arsenal themselves this product is all about preserving old-world firearms craftsmanship whilst adding in modern day tech advances.

Again, this is a fully licensed, 1:1 replica Sportline AEG that delivers the classic AK look, but brought right up to date as it comes attachment-ready with four accessory rails (Upper, lower and both sides of handguard); this is a truly iconic design that belongs in every player’s collection.

Whilst the SAM7R looks the absolute business in terms of its replication with metal and polymer where it counts, there’s a lot going on inside too as you get a T-Plug battery connector, along with a programmable electronic trigger unit (ETU)/ Mosfet Iron Sights, an easily accessible and adjustable hop unit, and a mag-locating insert to ensure a great connection when reloading.

It will also come with M95 and M120 springs included, iron sights that are good to go, a front attachment point and rear sling loop, a hi cap 525 BB magazine, and a unique Serial Number. I understand that an AK, even a “modernised” one may not be everyone’s

cup of joe, but as a dedicated OPFOR platform, or a wellpriced backup AEG this certainly looks good to me!

Overall what Jase and I saw at IWA was very impressive, with ASG concentrating on their “core” models, but also branching out into more

exciting territory again; ASG have been a bit quiet in recent years but this year they REALLY got back into the game! I’ll reiterate my comment here from the IWA report earlier this year that the thing that impressed me the most though was the sheer joy and enthusiasm for airsoft that I encountered on their stand (along with the new CZ and Modify TRINITY pistols!)!

I genuinely thought ASG were heading all “corporate” on us, but the work that they’ve done on their existing and new platforms is awesome, and their sheer joy at showing them too us was 100% infectious! Thanks so much to Clark and Jordan for showing us everything, and if I’ve missed something here then that’s on me, not you guys as you were outstanding…

To conclude though, along with all the new and exciting models, upgrades to existing lines, the new agreements in place with both ARMY and

MODIFY and the distribution deal with DELTA ARMORY I believe we’ve got a lot to look forward to from ASG as we move through 2025!

This is brilliant news and we wish them all the very best in their new projects and brand relationships as they continue to forge ahead! AA

“I GENUINELY THOUGHT ASG WERE HEADING ALL “CORPORATE” ON US, BUT THE WORK THAT THEY’VE DONE ON THEIR EXISTING AND NEW PLATFORMS IS AWESOME, AND THEIR SHEER JOY AT SHOWING THEM TOO US WAS 100% INFECTIOUS!”

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www.airsoftaction.net

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ALL THE SHINY THINGS! 36

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ARMOURY CLPD UPDATE

AS THE YOUNG FOLK ARE WONT TO SAY THESE DAYS “IT’S BEEN A MINUTE” SINCE WE LAST CHECKED UP ON THE MISCHIEF OUR GOOD FRIEND CLARENCE LAI HAS BEEN GETTING UP TO IN THE CUSTOM UPGRADE COMPONENT AND COMPLETE GUN SOLUTIONS ARENA, ESPECIALLY IN THE COMPETITION CIRCUIT IN TAIWAN BUT ALSO IN THE WIDER WORLD COMMUNITY OF ACTION AIR. STEWBACCA TOOK THE UPCOMING WORLD SHOOT 2025 AND HIS PREPARATIONS FOR IT AS AN EXCUSE TO CATCH UP WITH THE “SURGEON”! www.airsoftaction.net

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ARMOURY CLPD UPDATE

H

aving last featured our father figure of the action air circuit back in ISSUE 162 (June 2024), I figured it was past time I covered what’s been going on since!

I have, as always, been keeping in regular contact with Clarence and enjoying the fine company of his good self and his lovely wife Katherine (and their two cats, one of which nearly came home with me having made herself comfortable in my gun bag last visit, it seems!).

With a few instances of newer products requiring the “Stewbacca blunt instrument test regime treatment” I am apparently becoming well known for, many of my Taiji teammates or online followers regularly quiz me on what I’ve been using or testing and whether it’s approved or “Stuproof”!

Alongside getting one of the earliest KJ Works Shadow 2 Orange off the production line prior to official release in time for the 2023 Level III TPSA in Kaohsiung, one of the further highlights of the past year was certainly getting hands on his customised variant of the WinGun manufactured CZ P10C with his full steel slide kit and red dot mount plate, along with acquiring additional CO2 magazines required to cycle the hefty top end of the superbly comfortable polymer framed Czech pistol.

Our man Boycie took the lead on the original cover story gun review of the stock version in ISSUE 159 (March 2024) and things have most assuredly moved on.

The steel slide kit is approved and fully licensed

by ASG and includes a steel outer barrel as well, along with uprated recoil springs to handle the increased recoiling mass and power of the CO2 which is then assembled with the standard blowback unit transferred over.

The weight increase, along with the much heavier recoil, genuinely feel as close to the experience of a real 9mm pistol, and that’s

based not just on my experiences, but my IPSC and skirmish teammate Ou, and (Ivo) Bridges of Heavy Recoil Club who also has the kit and uses real pistols as well.

This, coupled with the excellent ergonomics of the base pistol evidently made an impression as it was the clear winner for me personally in the “pistol of the year”’ slot for my part of the Airsoft Action annual roundup, and likewise it made its way into the Top 5 selection for the Player’s Choice Awards “best gas blowback pistol” category, which I also happened to present this year.

Besides these parts, there was also lots to look forward to that I first saw on the CLPD stand at MOA, and with my aforementioned IPSC Action Air team SPPT teammate Ou JiaCheng deciding to make the switch to Production Optics (PO) division alongside me, we both went over to visit the Lai household to get my own Shadow 2 Orange completely overhauled, and for Ou to politely ask if he could acquire one as well and join the CLPD sponsored shooters team spread around the world as well.

Clarence was also good enough to join Ou, myself, local shooter DaWei and local brands Conqueror and TBRM (Tactical Barracks Range Marksman - our team’s gas and ammunition sponsor) in putting forward some money towards team SPPT’s new team uniforms for 2025 and participation in the World Shoot.

HANDS ON WITH THE MAIN MAN!

So, back in mid-February we found our way to the south of Taipei and the usual warm hospitality of Clarence and Katherine, and talked shop all afternoon and evening before enjoying dinner out together.

Clarence went to town on my Shadow 2 Orange and as is his wont, and by the end of things there wasn’t much left of the original which got

“WITH A FEW INSTANCES OF NEWER PRODUCTS REQUIRING THE “STEWBACCA BLUNT INSTRUMENT TEST REGIME TREATMENT” I AM APPARENTLY BECOMING WELL KNOWN FOR, MANY OF MY TAIJI TEAMMATES OR ONLINE FOLLOWERS REGULARLY QUIZ ME ON WHAT I’VE BEEN USING OR TESTING AND WHETHER IT’S APPROVED OR “STU-PROOF”!”

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unceremoniously cast aside having been beaten on by me for over a year already and shedding its paintwork.

The original outer barrel and recoil assembly, and blowback nozzle were probably the only things retained; a new silver frame and opticready top-slide, lightweight blowback housing, replacement springs and magazine release, as well as of course his inner barrel and HOP unit went in, featuring his now standard choice of 4UAD SmartAirsoft HOP bucking, all gunsmithed together by the man himself in his office adorned with numerous guns on his walls… a familiar theme for me!

Ou also acquired his own Shadow 2 Orange, which he has since added a red dot and US sourced real steel LOK grip panels to that has made it a weighty beast of a competition pistol, and (of course) he’s immediately beating me at my own game, being much faster on his feet and experienced with IDPA in Taiwan and related live fire competitions in the US, having trained under our Taiwanese American friend Frank ‘The Tank’ Hsu while over there.

Who we have, in fact, teamed up along with two other Taipei based shooters as a four man squad to take on the challenge of Team Production Optics title at the World Shoot as well… I imagine I will be the deadweight on that front!

As well as sponsoring a raft of shooters in Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and further afield in Europe, Clarence has kept himself busy churning out a continually growing array of option or upgrade components predominantly for the Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Orange which I’ve continued to crash test during my own competitive shooting escapades.

With very few components not addressed at this point, somewhat like the ‘ship of Theseus’ or ‘trigger’s broom’ for fans of British TV, there’s nothing much left of my original guns.

BREAKING IT DOWN

But what of those CLPD parts? I’ll outline the “shiny things” for you, fellow shooters!

Custom aluminium Shadow 2 & Orange (KJS2SLIDE-ORBK/ORSV black/silver) Available for some time now, but appearing after my previous product breakdown article and thus not included in it, standard geometry but lightweight CNC aluminium slides in black and silver allow for faster cycling and more efficient gas or CO2 usage.

CNC Aluminium Optic ready slides - Shadow 2 & Orange (KJS2SLIDE-ORBK/ORSV black/silver) Alongside Clarence’s earlier custom lightweight CNC 7075 Aluminium slides for the Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Orange, the new optic ready variants are similar but also feature CNC machined optic mounting slide cuts that match the real steel equivalents and related blanking or mounting

“CLARENCE WAS ALSO GOOD ENOUGH TO JOIN OU, MYSELF, LOCAL SHOOTER DAWEI AND LOCAL BRANDS CONQUEROR AND TBRM (TACTICAL BARRACKS RANGE MARKSMAN - OUR TEAM’S GAS AND AMMUNITION SPONSOR) IN PUTTING FORWARD SOME MONEY TOWARDS TEAM SPPT’S NEW TEAM UNIFORMS FOR 2025 AND PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD SHOOT” www.airsoftaction.net

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plates to suit RMR/SRO, CMore, RTS and Shield sight footprints as well as Aimpoint ACRO or replicas thereof.

CNC Aluminium frames - Shadow 2 & Orange (KJS2FRAME-SV/BK - silver/black) Clarence’s CNC 7075 frames include the ASG licensed CZ markings and offer a more durable alternative to the original cast alloy frames which - from my own experience - tend to shed their surface finishes all too readily, unless you pay to have them cerakoted to your taste.

High performance recoil springs (KJS2HPS3) Compatible with the ASG KJ Shadow 2, Shadow 2 Orange and TS2 models, the CLPD high performance recoil springs come in a triple pack of yellow/green/red colours that offer an additional 10, 20 or 30% spring rate over the stock recoil springs for snappier cycling - especially for those making use of CO2 magazines - in which case the added spring rate will help avoid the damage I experienced with my original Shadow 2 as a result of CO2 mag use.

150% loading nozzle springs (KJS2SP150) Uprated nozzle springs compatible with the whole KJW CZ Shadow lineup the SP01, Shadow 2/ Shadow 2 Orange/ and TS2 - these stronger springs will ensure more rapid retraction of the loading nozzle in concert with the stronger recoil springs to ensure reliable feeding with higher slide velocities.

“THE STEEL SLIDE KIT IS APPROVED AND FULLY LICENSED BY ASG AND INCLUDES A STEEL OUTER BARREL AS WELL, ALONG WITH UPRATED RECOIL SPRINGS TO HANDLE THE INCREASED RECOILING MASS AND POWER OF THE CO2 WHICH IS THEN ASSEMBLED WITH THE STANDARD BLOWBACK UNIT TRANSFERRED OVER”

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Stainless steel magazine catches Shadow 2 & Orange (KJS2CMC-SV/BK silver/black) CNC machined steel magazine catches allow for a more reliable lock up and stronger material for resisting breakage, especially when making use of CO2 magazines, some time last year I became the market need for that when the button sheared off my own Shadow 2 during a practise session - the cast components always seem to fracture following work hardening under extensive recoil life cycles, as happened with the outer barrels.

CNC 6061 + steel reinforced HOP unit (KJS2HU) Offering improved stability and durability with CNC 6061 aluminium body shells and a steel HOP adjustment ring also improves gas seal and efficiency which can increase muzzle velocity by as much as 10% as well as improving shot to shot consistency as a result.

Steel hammer Shadow 2 & Orange, SP01 & TS2 (KJS2SHSV/BK - silver/black) Modeled after the more recent hammer design used only in the real steel TS2 and Shadow 2 Orange, the improved steel hammers allow for better performance and aesthetic.

Stainless steel outer barrel (KJS2ORCZOB) The stainless steel outer barrel allows for improved durability and also much better fixed barrel stability and accuracy, eliminating the Browning tilt action and related wear.

Replacement stainless steel pins (KJS2SPIN) Stainless steel replacement body pins for holding in the fire control group, hammer, and main spring retention chassis allow for an all silver aesthetic to match the silver frames.

Steel extended ambidextrous safety levers (KJS2SAMSSV/BK - silver/black) For those looking to use the Shadow 2 & Shadow 2 Orange as a skirmish or open division competition pistol, the extended safety levers offer a more convenient www.airsoftaction.net

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method of running your Shadow 2 like an M1911 as well as offering a thumb rest position for recoil control - of course these aren’t permitted in production or production optics divisions by IPSC rules.

Stainless steel magazine catches TS2 (KJTS2MCSV-OR) Already making inroads to create the same wealth of upgrade components for the recently launched ASG replica of the CZ TS2 target shooting single action only pistol, Clarence has also begun replicating the success of his Shadow 2 range - the replacement silver steel magazine catch offers the same durability and aesthetic improvements as his other versions.

Custom CNC aluminium slides - TS2 - Black/ Silver Joining the replacement slide offerings is one for the TS2 in the same CNC 7075 aluminium giving the same lighter weight benefits - a 10% reduction over the stock slides - and related performance improvements.

Super lightweight Blow Back Housing - TS2 (KJTS2ALSLBBH) The TS2 compatible two piece lightweight blow back housing greatly improves performance and cycling speed with either green gas or CO2 in the same manner as the earlier Shadow 2 & Shadow 2 orange compatible version.

“AS WELL AS SPONSORING A RAFT OF SHOOTERS IN TAIWAN, THE PHILIPPINES, HONG KONG AND FURTHER AFIELD IN EUROPE, CLARENCE HAS KEPT HIMSELF BUSY CHURNING OUT A CONTINUALLY GROWING ARRAY OF OPTION OR UPGRADE COMPONENTS PREDOMINANTLY FOR THE SHADOW 2 AND SHADOW 2 ORANGE”

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CZ P10C ambidextrous magazine release The ambidextrous replacement magazine release allows the user to push the knurled button releases on either side to actuate the internal release lever and drop the magazine.

The Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Orange option components are also compatible with the 4.5mm calibre variants of the KJ Works Shadow 2 pistols which are also becoming popular in target shooting in Europe and elsewhere.

JiaCheng Ou - Taiwan - Shadow 2 Orange

There are also further collaborative efforts such as the new ARES CLPD Smith & Wesson CO2 capsule powered revolver line up (which I have also been furnished with for longer term testing and an individual review article to produce) along with the CLPD rubberised caps and stainless steel cartridges as well as the full-moon clips and related cartridge installation and removal tool, so I look forward to bringing you further news of that once I have more time to test and use it for competition purposes.

As mentioned beforehand, Clarence has been sending his products to a growing group of very capable action air shooters (very much more so than myself!) some of whom are detailed in the photos he supplied to us.

Many thanks for Clarence’s continued support of our efforts at Airsoft Action, as well as my own personal IPSC Action Air journey and team SPPT and, in particular, myself and Ou JiaCheng’s efforts for the upcoming world shoot 2025… I’ll have more upcoming related features soon! AA

Jesse Nio - Finland - Shadow 2 Orange

“MANY THANKS FOR CLARENCE’S CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR EFFORTS AT AIRSOFT ACTION, AS WELL AS MY OWN PERSONAL IPSC ACTION AIR JOURNEY AND TEAM SPPT AND IN PARTICULAR MYSELF AND OU JIACHENG’S EFFORTS FOR THE UPCOMING WORLD SHOOT 2025… I’LL HAVE MORE UPCOMING RELATED FEATURES SOON!”

www.airsoftaction.net

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TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

RED CELL AK COMMENTS

RED CELL

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ONCE AGAIN THE THOUGHTS OF RED CELL TURN TO THE AK CATEGORY, AND THIS TIME WE’VE BROUGHT TOGETHER OUT “CLASSIC” AND “TACTICAL” AEG ARMOURY COLLECTION TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE MODELS THAT WE’VE USED MOST OVER THE PERIOD OF TESTING, AND WHY THE “AK LIFE” IS ONE THAT MOST OF THE CREW HAVE ADOPTED DURING THEIR TIME PLAYING AIRSOFT! AS USUAL BILL KICKS THINGS OFF… www.airsoftaction.net

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A

n AK is for life, not just for (insert holiday of choice here)! You might say that airsoft itself is a bit of a “lifestyle choice”, but finding the perfect AK AEG is something I believe that every player out there should aspire to.

Once you’ve bought your first AK it’s the start of a journey, and it’s a path that will probably see you embracing the platform and starting your own “AK Life”, and trust me, when this starts there’s no stopping!

Over the course of my long and somewhat unillustrious “airsoft life” like most of you out there I’ve had ARs aplenty, numerous SMG models, DMR’s and even bolt-actions, but there’s one particular model that has a sub-collection in my personal armoury, and that’s the Avtomat Kalashnikova, or simply THE AK! Many moons ago during my time playing and

running games in the USA it was fellow RED CELL member and now one of my oldest and closet friends, Robbie, that persuaded me to turn to the dark side of OPFOR, and this in turn led to me fully adopting “The AK Life”, initially with a little “Suchka”, the AKS-74U that was the platform of choice in our regular setup, but subsequently with all manner of classic and then “tacticool” AK variants.

More recently I’ve built up a sub-collection to the sub-collection with a number of AK-12 style AEGs from different manufacturers… and luckily the AEG version seems far more robust in general terms than the “real” from what we’ve all read quite recently… this has also led me into the realms of the very latest, fully-tricked-out models with all that “Z-style” shizzle, and right now of course we’ve seen the latest Specna Arms CORE AKs hitting the market with new licenced KPYK accessories pre-fitted… and yes, I’ll be needing me one of those!

But “The AK Life” is not just for those like me who embrace the OPFOR role seriously, it’s for anyone that has a true love of firearms, albeit in airsoft replica form! Anyone that calls themselves a “shooter” should have at least one AK variant in their airsoft armoury, and train with it just as diligently as they do with their beloved AR… everyone should have a working knowledge of how the AK differs in terms of operation and manipulation as if you end up playing airsoft as long as some of my fellow “greybeards” and I have, then there will undoubtedly come a time “in-game” where you end up having to grab a Kalashnikov and crack on with it…

This is partly what I love about airsoft, the fact that we can pick up virtually any “firearm”, or replica thereof and get to shooting it! Whether you are an aficionado of the classic wood and steel, minimalist models or the more modern “tacticool” railed and tricked-up variants, there’s an AK out there for everyone!

“FINDING THE PERFECT AK AEG IS SOMETHING I BELIEVE THAT EVERY PLAYER OUT THERE SHOULD ASPIRE TO. ONCE YOU’VE BOUGHT YOUR FIRST AK IT’S THE START OF A JOURNEY, AND IT’S A PATH THAT WILL PROBABLY SEE YOU EMBRACING THE PLATFORM AND STARTING YOUR OWN “AK LIFE”, AND TRUST ME, WHEN THIS STARTS THERE’S NO STOPPING!” 50

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TEAM TALK

This time, as I hand over to the members of “THE CELL” for the final time in this category before we finally publish our full testing data around the end of the year, I’ve asked them to not concentrate on individual models per se, but rather what “living the AK life” has brought to them… so, over to RED CELL! Stewbacca: Historically throughout my airsoft “career” as one might call it, I’ve never been big into AKs per se, tending to favour the “bag of kochs” that has typically been my armoury - allied forces or local police armoury picks of the H&K or Walther offerings among others - especially given the typically “OpFor” connotation on the other side of the fence of the whole NornIron thing in

the back of my mind and wanting to avoid such associations.

That said, when it came to MilSims and my latter years in the UK I relented and finally purchased the Marui NGRS AK102 along with my team Honey Badgers teammates in an order direct from Echigoya in Japan and enjoyed running it effectively at Copehill weekenders with the others using the same or AK74s among other mish-mash weapons of irregular forces! Despite the otherwise unfamiliar manual of arms to me, the AK102 AEG was quite capable out to medium ranges, although I never ran anything besides .20g BBs in the UK, and didn’t really bother tinkering inside guns for the most part besides my later Real Swords that I tuned for improved range and accuracy.

The battery compartment was very limited and the full auto was of a largely accurate cadence to the chugging of the real thing over other faster platforms, but then, as with here in Taiwan, we rarely used “full giggle” much anyway. Junglemag-pairs made managing all eight of mine with just a triple shingle on my plate carrier easy enough and that setup was fine for largely urban adventures without the need to go prone… come to think of it, I didn’t get around to selling it, so I might see if Rocco who I left it with can drop it off with some of the Red Cell guys to add to the armoury in my absence.

Fast forward a few years from leaving the shores of blighty and of course my work with Airsoft Action has brought me into contact with AEGs, especially the LCT AK74 system I’ve extensively reviewed and the modular setup of in last year’s articles, as well as their more recent AK MOE shorty which I’ll save talking about more for another day as it’s so unique!

I have to say, the AK74 with modernised furniture in all-black or perhaps with just the light brown magazine to accent it does have a certain aesthetic appeal, and of course LCT sending me

“WHEN IT CAME TO MILSIMS AND MY LATTER YEARS IN THE UK I RELENTED AND FINALLY PURCHASED THE MARUI NGRS AK102 ALONG WITH MY TEAM HONEY BADGERS TEAMMATES IN AN ORDER DIRECT FROM ECHIGOYA IN JAPAN AND ENJOYED RUNNING IT EFFECTIVELY AT COPEHILL WEEKENDERS”

www.airsoftaction.net

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LCT LCKMS

Price: iro UK£370.00 Age: Seven Years Weight: 3500g Length: 660mm/900 mm Magazine Capacity: 130, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.03 Joule/334fps Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331.8fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk

E&L AKM PLATINUM

Price: iro UK£385.00 Age: Six Years Weight: 3485g Length: 916mm Magazine Capacity: 120, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 0.99 Joule/327.9fps Hot Chrono: 0.99 Joule/327.9fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

BOLT AKS 74U BRSS

Price: iro UK£420.00 Age: Four Years Weight: 3100g Length: 510mm/730mm Magazine Capacity: 120 (2), will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 0.98 Joule/325.1fps Hot Chrono: 0.97 Joule/324.4fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

LCT LCKS74UN EBB

Price: iro UK£330.00 Age: Four Years Weight: 2685g Length: 490mm/730mm Magazine Capacity: 130, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/330fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: Dedicated Muzzle Brake Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

SPECNA ARMS J-08 EDGE

Price: iro UK£155.00 Age: Four Years Weight: 3245g Length: 590mm/825mm Magazine Capacity: 130 (2) will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.08 Joule/341.9fps Hot Chrono: 1.08 Joule/341.6fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.gunfire.com

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a large proportion of their accessories allowed me to experiment to my heart’s content and even help out teammates set up theirs the way they liked. As much as I said I won’t go into detail here, the shorty-MOE was even handier and the tracer unit on the front made for excellent indoor and low light gameplay with mixed green/red ammunition stacked in my mid caps to visually indicate the last ten rounds in the magazine and remind me to reload soon.

Consistency and accuracy of the LCT series has been pretty good with mid-weight BBs such as .30g or .36g helping me reach out without even having to soup up the gearboxes much, and the rear sight mounted red dot and modern PP19 stock setup really worked well in CQB for me. The LCTs without included MOSFETs could leave a little to be desired in terms of gearbox responsiveness in earlier models, but it seems they’re increasingly getting on board the on board electronics train at least.

Still by far not my favourite family of firearms, but by no means unusable and impossible to

see me fielding, at least the 5.45 platforms use magazines that are largely compatible with STANAG load bearing gear or pouches thanks to their gentler curvature.

Boycie: I’ve had AK’s from as far back as I can remember, starting with the TM AK47 which would out range the “oh so super” Systema PTWs of the day! Yes, the BB would take it’s time to get to the target but it was accurate. I’ve also owned Specna Arms, Real Sword, LCT, KWA, Cyma, Nuprol plus others, too many models to list.

For me it was my go to when playing OPFOR as Bill mentions, but also when I just wanted to use something different. Rocking up in jeans, checked shirt, basic plate carrier and carrying the AK was just really simple, even variants like the SR47 back in the days of the hunting in Tora Bora mountains. The only “sorta” AK I still have at the minute is my KWA RN47. It won’t be long before a “pukka” AK finds its way back into my kit for “just when you have to go basic”…

Ben: I’ve had three AK platforms… two CYMA make, AK47 and 74U... nothing special about

“WE CAN PICK UP VIRTUALLY ANY “FIREARM”, OR REPLICA THEREOF AND GET TO SHOOTING IT! WHETHER YOU ARE AN AFICIONADO OF THE CLASSIC WOOD AND STEEL, MINIMALIST MODELS OR THE MORE MODERN “TACTICOOL” RAILED AND TRICKED-UP VARIANTS, THERE’S AN AK OUT THERE FOR EVERYONE!”

www.airsoftaction.net

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CYMA CM.048 AK74

Price: iro UK£130.00 Age: Six Years Weight: 3290g Length: 960mm Magazine Capacity: 525, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps Hot Chrono: 1.07 Joule/340fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com

ICS IK74 (WOOD)

Price: iro UK£330.00 Age: Eight Years Weight: 3314g Length: 960mm Magazine Capacity: 550, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.13 Joule/350fps Hot Chrono: 1.1 Joule/345fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk

SPECNA ARMS SA-J02 EDGE (GATE ASTER) Price: iro UK£300.00 Age: One Year Weight: 3545g Length: 960mm Magazine Capacity: 130 (2), will accept most AK style Cold Chrono: 1.08 Joule/341.9fps Hot Chrono: 1.1 Joule/345fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.gunfire.com

TM NEXT-GEN RECOIL AK47 (TYPE 3) AEG Price: iro UK£400.00 Age: One Year Weight: 2800g Length: 875mm Magazine Capacity: 90 Cold Chrono: 0.82 Joule/298fps Hot Chrono: 0.84 Joule/301fps Taclite Compatibility: None Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Available From: www.fire-support.co.uk

LCT LCKS-74

Price: iro UK£370.00 Age: Three Years Weight: 3500g Length: 705/945mm Magazine Capacity: 130, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.03 Joule/334fps Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331.8fps Taclite Compatibility: A whole range of accessories are available!

Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied by: www.lctairsoft.com

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them nor did I do anything to upgrade them. My recommendation with these would be if your kid or nephew is starting up airsoft and wants an AK then these are perfectly fine for that!

The third one was a Tokyo Marui mini AK 47... which was my very first AEG back in the days of me getting into airsoft and when they first came out… yes I’m that old and been playing since then and just before! I’ll never forget being the first of my friends having a fully automatic airsoft gun, 88 BB’s compared to their pistols of 12/15… I was loving it!! I have very fond memories of that silly little mini beast!

Miguel: I’m the proud owner of a Specna Arms J08 EDGE 2.0, and in my opinion too, everyone should have an AK in their “armoury”. At least here in Portugal, there are plenty of games with an OPFOR side, which most of the time are quite fun to be a part of! Not only that, you get to test your metal against those who always play in BLUFOR and consider themselves the cream of the crop… so let me tell you, winning has a special warm feeling!

I’m very happy that Specna Arms have just launched their tactical models, so I’m also looking into something like a tactical AKSU. The new tactical models look to have a solid configuration that lets you jump straight into the action right out of the box! First off, they feature the SPECNA ARMS HAL™ system with magnetic sensors, offering active brake, binary trigger, five trigger sensitivity levels, six precocking levels, and programmable fire modes.

You also get the new TDC Magnus rotary hopup chamber, improved, sealed internals with aluminium nozzle, 6.03 mm precision inner barrel, quick spring change system, and there’s of course an excellent “in house” S-MAG magazine included, although I’ve run mags from other manufacturers in my existing J-SERIES model!

Update on this… my new Specna Arms AK just arrived with me, so watch out for a full review on that soon!”

Bruno: AKs yes... hehehe! So I own a LCT AK 74U AEG, gotta say it’s awesome, and with little

“WHEN IT CAME TO MILSIMS AND MY LATTER YEARS IN THE UK I RELENTED AND FINALLY PURCHASED THE MARUI NGRS AK102 ALONG WITH MY TEAM HONEY BADGERS TEAMMATES IN AN ORDER DIRECT FROM ECHIGOYA IN JAPAN AND ENJOYED RUNNING IT EFFECTIVELY AT COPEHILL WEEKENDERS”

www.airsoftaction.net

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CYMA CM.076A

Price: iro UK£135.00 Age: Five Years Weight: 3000g Length: 530/740mm Magazine Capacity: 450, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.0 Joule/328.9fps Hot Chrono: 1.02 Joule/332.9fps Taclite Compatibility: KeyMod Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com

NUPROL ROMEO NOMAD BRAVO

Price: iro UK£299.00 Age: Six Years Weight: 3500g Length: 805/875 mm Magazine Capacity: 500, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.02 Joule/332.9fps Hot Chrono: 1.03 Joule/333.5.9fps Taclite Compatibility: M-LOK Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

ICS CXP-ARK

Price: iro UK£365.00 Age: Three Years Weight: 3365g Length: 638/884mm Magazine Capacity: 520, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 0.87 Joule/307.4.1fps Hot Chrono: 0.88 Joule/307.8fps Taclite Compatibility: Railed Polymer Foregrip Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.icsbb.com

TOKYO MARUI AK102 RECOIL

Price: iro UK£450.00 Age: Eight Years!

Weight: 2960g Length: 602 - 848mm Magazine Capacity: 90, 480 Hi-Cap Available Cold Chrono: 0.95Joule/320fps Hot Chrono: 0.97Joule/324fps Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.fire-support.co.uk

BOLT AKS74U-TACTICAL

Price: iro UK£390.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 3600g Length: 710/800mm Magazine Capacity: 200, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 0.89 Joule/310fps Hot Chrono: 0.93 Joule/317.4fps Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.bolt.tw

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changes like the hop up rubber, changing the gears from 18:1 to a set of 16:1 and a high torque 40k motor, its super awesome; I’ve yet to upgrade the inner barrel and add an ETU, but as it sits, awesome little replica!

I also have a GHK AK 74NN that I converted to look like an AK103; I 3D printed an RK3 grip and extended bolt handle, and added a buffer tube to be able to slap a crane stock with the fluorescent yellow paint for Portugal. I made a few mods to a Cyma railed dust cover to be adapted to the GHK , fixed a tubular handguard with a railed gas tube and internally only added a maple leaf hop up chamber with a Crazy Jet inner barrel and it’s done!

Dan: My third airsoft purchase many years ago ended up being an AK. Back then, our airsoft group was pretty frequently doing OPFOR stuff, especially acting in the role for the National Guard and ROTC at FTX’s, so there was some emphasis on “dressing the part” so to speak.

This was a Real Sword Type 56-1 underfolder, as classic a bad guy gun as you can get, and it carried me on many an occasion when I couldn’t haul my Real Sword SVD out.

Since then, I’ve owned plenty more AK’s, from multiple examples of Real Sword’s entire Type 56 series (56, 56-1 and 56-2) to an LCT AKM, LCT AKMSU, LCT AKS-74U, LCT AK105, and an E&L Platinum AKM and WE AK74UN GBB (which was the absolute worst AK I’ve owned, BTW). Being a full-time tech, I’ve also had my hands in the guts of most every other brand of AK out there.

For me, the AK design is much like the rock standing solid amidst the flowing stream. Nothing in the M4 / AR-15 realm imbues the same sense of solidity the AK does, especially when you’re working with the brands that use full steel externals.

The Version 3 gearbox design is robust and strong and over the fourteen years I have been teching, I can count on exactly zero hands how

many shells I’ve seen break. By nature of the hop up chamber being secured to the gearbox shell and also to a rigid steel outer barrel, the V3 platform is also intrinsically accurate; with a little tuning and a quality bucking and barrel, you can get a real tack driver out of these.

Since I am primarily a semi-auto kind of guy, my preference is to build an AK out for semiauto response; with the advent of brushless motors, these have become my go-to choice for any AK build now. Brushless brings a ton of advantages to the table, namely efficiency and cooler operating temperatures. As most AK’s are limited to stick style LiPo’s, a brushless motor will gain you a lot more shots per battery charge and operate more comfortably within the batteries safe amperage draw threshold too. I usually like to pair something like a 30K brushless with shortstroked 13:1 gears and do some modding to the trigger to reduce length-of-pull. With this setup, you can get down to around 12 - 13A continuous draw and have excellent semi-auto response.

Of course, it’s no slouch on full auto either; so if you want to pour on the heat, you can treat your enemies to a sedate 25 RPS. I don’t have a particular preference for classic or modern AK’s, one way or another. While the classics are indisputably beautiful (as much as brutallist wood and steel amalgamations can be), you can’t deny the advantages some modern kit brings to the table either. Adhering strictly to the “nyet, rifle is fine!” ethos is restrictive and in my opinion, counter-culture to the freedom of choice that is a core tenant of what airsoft is all about.

While I have philandered about with M4’s, MCX’s, SCAR’s and many other platforms over the years, I inevitably always find myself circling back to the AK platform again and again…

Bill: So, to conclude this month it does indeed seem that there is an AK for all tastes, whatever your style of airsoft may be! If you want something for CQB then some form of shorty SU is just the

“I DON’T HAVE A PARTICULAR PREFERENCE FOR CLASSIC OR MODERN AK’S, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. WHILE THE CLASSICS ARE INDISPUTABLY BEAUTIFUL, YOU CAN’T DENY THE ADVANTAGES SOME MODERN KIT BRINGS TO THE TABLE EITHER. ADHERING STRICTLY TO THE “NYET, RIFLE IS FINE!” ETHOS IS RESTRICTIVE”

www.airsoftaction.net

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ARCTURUS AK-12 (GEN 1)

Price: iro UK£220.00 Age: Four Years Weight: 3480 g Length: 700/880/950 mm Magazine Capacity: 30/130, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.13 Joule/336.3fps Hot Chrono: 1.1 Joule/337.9fps Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com

LCT LCK-12 EBB

Price: iro UK£480.00 Age: Six Years (nearly!)

Weight: 4215 g Length: 865 - 955 mm Magazine Capacity: 130, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 1.08 Joule/336.7.9fps Hot Chrono: 1.08 Joule/338.1fps Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: Dedicated Supplied By: www.nuprol.com

G&G GK12

Price: iro UK£540.00 Age: Three Years Weight: 3565g Length: 880-985mm Magazine Capacity: 120, will accept most AK-style (no cutoff) Cold Chrono: 1.06 Joule/339fps (after spring change) Hot Chrono: 1.36Joule/384fps (original spring) Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.guay2.com

DOUBLE BELL AK-12 (MODEL 026)

Price: iro UK£249.00 Age: One Year Weight: 2300g Length: 885-995mm Magazine Capacity: 450, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 0.96 Joule/322fps (After Spring Change) Hot Chrono: 0.99 Joule/327fps Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.gunfire.com

LCT ZKS-74UN

Price: iro UK£460.00 Age: Two Years Weight: 3500g Length: 467mm (Folded), 667/770mm Magazine Capacity: 130, will accept most AK-style Cold Chrono: 0.92 Joule/315fps Hot Chrono: 0.94 Joule/319fps Taclite Compatibility: Standard Rail Sections Suppressor Compatibility: 14mm CCW Supplied By: www.lctairsoft.com

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RED CELL AK COMMENTS

ticket, whilst a classic AKM/AK74 ticks a lot of boxes for period/themed-scenario events, and one of the more modern tactical variants will put you right in the thick of things for a good MilSim OPFOR tool.

I have to say that I love all of my AKs, but the little CYMA that I built up from the 076A holds a particular spot in my heart, as it’s the culmination of my SU-fixation and has served me well, even though I still keep messing about with it as parts wear and break… the latest was a broken trigger (broken in transit, even inside a hardcase) which I’ve replaced with a racy flat-face job!

The LCT LCKMS (AKMS) is still a favourite too, it’s an absolute tank of an AEG… apart from regular cleaning and a new hop rubber I’ve not done a thing to it from stock, and it’s STILL performing brilliantly! LCT really do make products that are not only cost effective but also reliable in performance and solid in build quality, and the LCKMS features the same high-quality external build expected of LCT products which will give good, reliable long-term performance. I believe that the LCKMS is a strong, reliable AEG for those that love the AK platform and want a viable “MilSim” alternative to gas for the depth of winter; you really can’t go wrong with this one!

Currently in my armoury I have an LCKM, LCKMS, LCKS-74, LCKMSU (modified a little, “True Lies” style!), and an LCK-12 and I adore them all for different reasons, so sticking with LCT my most recent acquisition brings things completely up to date, it’s the ZKS-74UN. LCT have now really taken this area to heart with an entire sub-range of their “Z-SERIES” parts that are purpose made to work with their own AEGs (and fit some other brands too!). In this range you can find anything from simple rail sections to full handguards, pistol and foregrips, stocks, muzzle brakes/flash hiders, and even sling mounts with which to modernise your current AK! However, if you don’t want to go to all the trouble of installing accessory parts, or you’re about to dip your toe into modern OPFOR AEGs then look no further than the ZKS-74UN! Weighing in at 3500g and at 770mm (667mm stock folded) this neat little model comes pre-fitted with all the base goodies that you could possibly want, like the distinctive side-folding ZPT-1 stock (I’ve

always wanted one of these, and I bloody love it!), ZTK-2 muzzle brake, and the ZB rail system; it’s basically a “Modern Tac SU” in a box and just needs an optic and taclite added to be good to go!

It is beyond doubt in my mind that LCT have done more to popularise the “AK” AEG platform in general than any other single manufacturer, and thus far I’ve never had an LCT model in my hands that didn’t deliver the goods in all ways. That said, we’re constantly seeing manufacturers having a crack at the venerable AK, and the likes of Arcturus and now Specna Arms are really, really moving forward strongly in this area.

Fact of the matter is that there’s never been a better time to get yourself your very own slice of “AK Life”, so go ahead and give it a try if you haven’t already, as any of the models shown will set you up and serve you very well indeed! AA

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KIT & GEAR SPØØKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS

SLINGTIME SWEETNESS

ONE OF THE REALLY FUN ASPECTS OF AIRSOFT IS THE SHEER AMOUNT OF CUSTOMISATION OPTIONS AVAILABLE OUT THERE. FROM EXTERNALS TO INTERNALS, THE SKY IS THE PROVERBIAL LIMIT, AND WE ALL LOAD OUR AEGS AND GBBRS UP WITH THE THINGS WE LIKE MOST... BUT WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING UNIQUE AND FUNCTIONAL, AND DAN FINDS BOTH IN THE FORM OF SPØØKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS! 62

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B

eing a sucker for such things, I often find myself taking a few of my more special builds and giving them an extra touch, something a bit more bespoke and fitting with the character of the gun, so to speak.

Lately, I have been having a fun time discovering many of the little unknown shops and small businesses that populate places like Instagram, Facebook and others, and in a way, these are shops that exist in a little bit of a “frontier zone”, you might say. They do not typically have a traditional website, or an email address, and their sole existence seems to largely be found primarily within the social media ecosphere they find themselves residing in.

When the relentless adjudication of the algorithm isn’t putting its thumb down on anything it finds disagreeable to its “community standards” (i.e. guns, airsoft, et. al.) and throttling post reach and page presence, you can find some pretty unique variety out there in the wilds. Case in point, the only reason I actually discovered Spøøky Solutions was by way of clicking on a username while reading comments on an airsoft page I follow.

Spøøky Solutions is a small, one-man show, created by a fellow airsoft tech that evolved out of a matter of practicality that soon formed into a passion project. After purchasing my slings, I reached out to the owner for a request for review and to learn a little bit about their backstory. As “Spøøky Solutions Actual” relates: “I was big into the MilSim/Airsoft scene. At one point I was a well-known AEG tech. When the COVID pandemic hit, my area unfortunately took a big hit for airsoft. Most of the public fields went out of business, and we haven’t had a large MilSim event since March of 2020. Since the pandemic basically killed MilSim in my area, I changed gears towards real-steel collecting.

As my collection grew, I was spending more

and more on slings every time I built a new rifle, as I’m a firm believer in “every rifle requires a sling.” I’ve always preferred buying US-made slings, but prices range from 60-120 dollars for most US-made slings. I decided I could save some money and make my own. I sourced some US materials and hardware, an old household sewing machine, and got to work on making a few slings for my personal rifles. They turned out really good considering my limited experience and tools. So then I decided to invest in better equipment.

“I purchased a Singer 591 D300AD industrial machine from a good friend. Including a handful of materials. I always hated that US companies only made slings in five colors: Multicam, Ranger Green, Coyote, Black, and Multicam Black. I wanted more unique options. I wanted to give people the same thing that I was looking for; options. Not just more camo pattern options, but strap color options, hardware options, and even down to thread color options. And most importantly, I wanted it to be affordable.

“The same reason I started making slings in the first place was cost. I hated buying a US$70, boring, ranger green sling, then getting hit with another $10 for shipping. So I decided to offer fully customized padded slings for $50 and free shipping within the US (I only charge additional for international). You can choose from 125+ (and growing) pad color options, multiple strap colors, hardware types and colors, and even choose your thread color!

“We even decided to get extra creative, and come up with the first reversible sling. A different camo on each side of the pad. The sling can be disassembled and the pad flipped, to show another camo of your choice. And still offer it at the same price. This has proved to be useful for customers in regions where they require multiple camouflage patterns for different seasons or environments. Long story

“SPØØKY SOLUTIONS IS A SMALL ONE-MAN SHOW CREATED BY A FELLOW AIRSOFT TECH THAT EVOLVED OUT OF A MATTER OF PRACTICALITY THAT SOON FORMED INTO A PASSION PROJECT. AFTER PURCHASING MY SLINGS, I REACHED OUT TO THE OWNER FOR A REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEIR BACKSTORY” www.airsoftaction.net

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KIT & GEAR SPØØKY SOLUTIONS SLINGS

short, I wanted to offer fully custom, US-made padded slings, with way more options than the big tacticool companies, at a lower price, and sell directly to the end user. And I believe that mission has been accomplished, and continues to be accomplished every day.”

EVERY RIFLE (OR AEG!) NEEDS A SLING!

Indeed, there is a veritable wealth of patterns, strap colors and more that can be perused over on Spøøky Solutions Instagram page. And if by chance there is something you’re interested in that isn’t on the page, he probably has a picture of it tucked away somewhere to give an idea of the finished product.

For myself, I purchased two slings, with the intention of refitting my Real Sword SVD and PKM accordingly. Of course, some might say that finding a sling done up in a unique camouflage pattern is not hugely novel; there are several companies offering this at varying price points out there. As a counterpoint, I would argue that none offer the sheer variety of patterns and customisation that Spøøky Solutions do and at as affordable a price-point, to boot. Moreover, I also have not found any that are offering up Russian camouflage patterns, for that matter, so as soon as I saw he had Partizan and KLMK available, I had to have them!

Spøøky Solutions slings are fabricated from a mixture of components. The straps themselves are made from MIL-W-17337 nylon webbing and A-A-55301 nylon webbing. Depending on the pattern and availability, the pads can be made from 50/50 NyCo, 500D Cordura, 1000D Cordura, and NyCo Twill/Cotton Twill. The hardware used is MilSpec ITW Nexus and YKK - and you can even special request either, if you have a preference.

Everything is stitched together using Tex-70 Nylon thread. And for us US based Airsofters, they really are a flat US$50 shipped per sling (add

reasonable shipping for international orders).

Remarkably, it only took five days from time of placing my order to physically receiving the new slings in the mail!

The padding that the Partizan sling is using appears to be done in a 50/50 NyCo blend and it feels amazingly soft and comfortable to wear around the neck. I intended to run this specific sling on my customized PKM, and that’s exactly where it wound up.

Beforehand, I have been using a Blue Force Gear padded VCAS sling for a couple of years now. This is an excellent sling and about as “bombproof”as they come, but the padded portion itself left something to be desired. The way Blue Force Gear folds the material and stitches it together leaves a rough edge along one side of the pad that unfortunately rubs raw against your neck; I did not often like to wear it without some kind of collar to protect my neck from chaffing.

By contrast, the Spøøky Solutions sling feels like heaven on the neck. The KLMK sling I opted to hook up to my Real Sword SVD; being as it is a ‘retro’ camouflage pattern now, I felt suited the personality of the SVD well.

FIELD USE

Of course, any modern sling these days typically has some means of adjusting the length on the fly. Personally, I am a massive fan of the VCAS’s sliding style adjustment and consider it superior to all else. By pulling forward on a short hand strap, you can easily take up slack, stowing the sling tight to your body, or by pulling it towards your body, you can increase length to allow you to shoulder the gun from either shoulder you’re working off of.

I have briefly used slings that have a long dangling strap used as their adjustment point, but I really dislike that style as I found the strap tends to get hung up on gear and thick foliage. I was

“I’VE ALWAYS PREFERRED BUYING US-MADE SLINGS, BUT PRICES RANGE FROM 60120 DOLLARS FOR MOST US-MADE SLINGS. I DECIDED I COULD SAVE SOME MONEY AND MAKE MY OWN. I SOURCED SOME US MATERIALS AND HARDWARE, AN OLD HOUSEHOLD SEWING MACHINE, AND GOT TO WORK…” 64

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happy to see that Spøøky Solutions elected to use the same style of adjustment the VCAS slings do.

It goes without saying, you can also get the strap done up in any color you like too.

These slings do not come with attachment hardware, so in their native form you will only be able to lace them through anything that has at least a 1” wide sling loop available. For any other type of attachment interface, you will need to purchase your own components. Of course, it is a simple matter to lace on a QD sling swivel or HK hook in this case. The ITW hardware is sufficiently sized to allow the strap to be laced through the keeper, then back over and through for added security. And if you make the jump to QD hardware, this provides the benefit of being able to easily transfer the sling to other platforms too.

As of the writing of this review, I have only had one opportunity to skirmish with the new slings, and some extended wearing sessions while filming video, but so far I have zero complaints and am very happy with the build quality and comfort. I will also add that it was nice to be able to actually talk with the owner and get something uniquely customised down to the individual details. Much like him, I am fully in agreement that “every rifle requires a sling”…- but why not make it something unique while you’re at it?

You can check out Spøøky Solutions slings at their Instagram page here: https://www. instagram.com/spooky.solutions This review was not a paid endorsement, nor was it given freely of charge. I purchased these slings with my own funds for my own personal use. AA

“I WILL ALSO ADD THAT IT WAS NICE TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY TALK WITH THE OWNER AND GET SOMETHING UNIQUELY CUSTOMISED DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL DETAILS. MUCH LIKE HIM, I AM FULLY IN AGREEMENT THAT “EVERY RIFLE REQUIRES A SLING”…- BUT WHY NOT MAKE IT SOMETHING UNIQUE WHILE YOU’RE AT IT?” www.airsoftaction.net

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Airsoft Gas Blow Back (GBB) users often struggle with year-round reliability due to gas power constraints.

“WHAT IF” there was an alternative?

WHAT IF...

You could use your gas blowback system all year round

Winter and Summer, the same way? Imagine consistent performance regardless of the weather, no more struggling in the cold or worrying about performance dropping in the heat of battle.

You will not have cool down effect and can shoot full auto at the same fire rate?

Sustained fire rates without performance degradation would be a game-changer, especially in scenarios requiring rapid engagement.

You could shoot at any angle, even upside down?

Shooting at any angle, even upside down, adds a new level of tactical flexibility and dynamic gameplay possibilities.

Your mags will be lighter weight?

Reduced weight would decrease fatigue and improve handling, especially during extended games.

You will have multiple ways to fill your mags?

More convenient filling options would increase efficiency, and reduce cost, making it a more accessible, viable solution.

Temperature will not impact your gun's performance, same output?

This translates to reliable power across all conditions, meaning more accurate shots and consistent groupings, improving gameplay significantly.

WHAT IF IT DOES EXIST...

RIGHT NOW! The future of airsoft, today.

Regulated CO2 system.

Safety of Regulated CO2: Regulated CO2 ensures controlled power, eliminating the risk of overpowered output that could damage your gun or cause it to exceed field safety regulations. The MaxTact system is regulated and set to 8kg (competition version/Japan standard) or 12kg (combat version/ commonly used green gas) power, and can’t be adjusted.

6MM TRAINING SETTING UP YOUR CARBINE #2

RUNNING THE GUN 68

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ONCE AGAIN WE’RE JOINED BY OUR GOOD MATE AND SHOOTING INSTRUCTOR ANDY N FROM CALIBRE SHOOTING WHO CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY WITH US IN RELATION TO ALL THINGS “TACTICAL CARBINE”; THIS MONTH HE TAKES A LOOK AT GRIP, STANCE, AND HOW TO SET UP A SIMPLE “HOME RANGE” TO PRACTICE THOSE ALL-IMPORTANT SKILLS AND DRILLS!

I

n my last article we looked at configuring the carbine to suit our personal shooting style, this month I want to press on with the basic understanding of your chosen platforms functions and start practising some basic drills but, before we can start to “run the gun” we must first acquaint ourselves with the basic rules of safe “gun handling”, and this applies to airsoft just as it does to any shooting discipline: • Treat all guns as loaded.

• Never point to going to anything that you are not willing to destroy.

• Keep your finger off the trigger until you intend to shoot.

• Be sure of your target on what is beyond.

These rules were developed by the late and much venerated Colonel Jeff Cooper (Google him!) and can be found on almost every range in the world. They are the most important set of rules that you will ever need during your shooting/ training sessions, but they also firmly apply on the battlefield. Once you have grasped the safe handling rules you can start to practice shooting the carbine and the first thing we have to get right, is the hold.

Anyone can pick up a carbine or rifle and point it at a target, but to successfully hit the target depends on how you hold it and manipulate it and, first off we need to know which hand is your “strong hand”. This is the hand that you pull the trigger with and is usually your “dominant” hand, probably (but not always) the one you write with.

For this article we will presume that your right hand is the dominant (left-handed players can just reverse the process).

You will need to hold the carbine grip with a

firm grip but do not squeeze the hell out of it. Your “weak hand”, or the hand that is going to support the front of the carbine, will need to be placed out to the front of the platform. There are many ways in which this can be done.

The traditional “straight grip” of holding the forestock or rail system directly will ultimately cause stress in the wrist which will result in fatigue over long periods of time, as it is not a natural position in which to hold the platform.

The use of a vertical foregrip will allow the wrist to relax and give better support to the platform, as well as providing a positive “index point”.

The further forwards the grip is on the platform will also cause fatigue in the arm and shoulder, so further back towards the magazine well the better, as you can tuck in the elbows and pull the grip tighter into the shoulder.

The butt plate on the stock should be positioned deep into the well of the shoulder, but here lies a problem with body armour. The body armour will not provide that natural pocket for the stock to ride in. The need to customise the body armour is up to you but be aware that body armour will make a difference to the hold and you may find the stock of your weapon “walking away” from its correct position.

The side of the stock itself provides a smooth surface for your cheek and this is known as the “cheek weld”. The head should be kept as upright as possible and tight to the stock. The eye should be approximately 25mm away from your sights (on tube sites), known as “sight relief”. Gain a comfortable hold on cheek weld then have someone adjust your sight relief if it needs moving and that’s pretty much about it on actually

“ANYONE CAN PICK UP A CARBINE OR RIFLE AND POINT IT AT A TARGET, BUT TO SUCCESSFULLY HIT THE TARGET DEPENDS ON HOW YOU HOLD IT AND MANIPULATE IT AND, FIRST OFF WE NEED TO KNOW WHICH HAND IS YOUR “STRONG HAND””

www.airsoftaction.net

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6MM TRAINING SETTING UP YOUR CARBINE #2

holding and aiming the combine, it’s not rocket science at this stage.

POSITION IS ALL

Next up is your position; this is how we stand when taking the shot. There are a multitude of different positions but as we are only at the basic stage of running the gun we will look at the “traditional” standing position for now.

First off, place both feet approximately shoulder width apart. The “weak side” foot needs to be slightly forwards of the strong side foot, around one step. This will turn the left hip slightly forwards towards your intended target. Slightly bend the left knee and keeping your back upright and stable (if you take the carbine away and keep in this position you will notice that you’re in a similar stance to a boxer). The right leg should be straight, with the foot slightly turned out to the side.

Once completed the body should stand about 45° angle to the target. To aid in the recoil management the shoulder can be brought forward slightly but not too far as to overbalance past the right knee.

When you bring the carbine up into that aim you will notice that the platform is lying slightly across your body to the left; this is a more natural position to stand in and aim the platform at the target without any undue physical effort… this is the traditional “offhand” stance. The less physical, or muscle, energy you exert during the firing process, the less tired you will become during the aim, thus greatly increasing your chances of accurately hitting the target. Now it’s time to run the gun.

We will presume that the platforms sighting system is zeroed at this stage, as I want to get you into some shooting drills (at the end of this article I will show you how to set up a simple range at

“WHEN YOU BRING THE CARBINE UP INTO THAT AIM YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE PLATFORM IS LYING SLIGHTLY ACROSS YOUR BODY TO THE LEFT; THIS IS A MORE NATURAL POSITION TO STAND IN AND AIM THE PLATFORM AT THE TARGET WITHOUT ANY UNDUE PHYSICAL EFFORT… THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL “OFFHAND” STANCE” 70

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home in your garden). Stand on the firing point and load and make ready your carbine in the way that suits your particular platform. Remembering all of the safety rules we looked at earlier, take careful aim at your target and release the safety catch and fire one “round” at the target. Apply the safety catch and bring the platform down into a resting position, then relax.

Once you are ready, perform the same drill over and over, remembering the safety rules at all times and remembering to reset the safety catch after each shot. The drill, although slow and simple, will get you familiar with your platforms operation and feel.

The second drill I want to do is for you to have a small table next to the firing point with the carbine set on it, along with the magazine. This drill will start by you picking up the carbine (remember the safety rules!) load your platform and fire one “round” into the target. Apply the safety catch and fully unload the platform before setting it back down on the table. Repeat this drill until you are confident in your actions. This second drill will get you familiar with gaining a correct stance, correct hold and grip and also help familiarise you with the loading and unloading process, a must for any airsoft Safe Zone.

I know what you are thinking here, “I can already do that!” Well yes, so can I but these drills help you keep on top of your game. How many times have you returned fire and had to readjust your stance and grip? Simple drills like these help gain confidence and consistency in marksmanship… never be afraid of going back to basics!

If you have a garden that is secluded and safe enough to set up your own range then that’s great; a word of advice though, be sure to let your neighbours know that you’re practicing with your airsoft platform and that you’re just shooting BBs for fun so as not to alarm them unnecessarily. If you don’t have a garden that’s safe enough, then

you can still set this range up in your garage or home, just follow those rules and think of how you appear to non-shooters… probably best not to be in full “battle rattle” at this stage, although training in your kit will come later.

Set up a “round/BB catch” (any receptacle that will catch BBs will do) at around chest height and mark back up range 3m, 6m, and 9m; use cones or flags to mark these distances, and if you like an old doormat can be placed at these points for you to stand on to make them totally clear. Make sure that you load and make ready the carbine only when you are on the mat. Use a bull clip on the round catcher to secure the target to the catcher itself. The use of A5 sized paper in the landscape orientation is a good target size that matches the thoracic cavity (the target size of the chest).

If you have access to an electronic target system like AttackSense then so much the better but remember to start with you’re only going to be using a single target set at chest height… all the clever gubbins can come later! Whatever target you use, just run the drills slowly and get used to the feel of your own platform.

Now we’ve got some proper basics in place, next month I’ll move things up a gear… just remember those cardinal rules and work to them.

With those in place and mentally logged you’ll be good to go and welcome on any range you visit.

AA

“JUST REMEMBER THOSE CARDINAL RULES AND WORK TO THEM. WITH THOSE IN PLACE AND MENTALLY LOGGED YOU’LL BE GOOD TO GO AND WELCOME ON ANY RANGE YOU VISIT.”

www.airsoftaction.net

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TECH PARD PANTERA 256Q THERMAL OPTIC

ALL THE RIGHT NIGHT MOVES

AS AIRSOFTERS WE’RE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR INNOVATIVE GEAR THAT CAN ELEVATE OUR GAME, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE THRILLS OF NIGHT GAMES. THERMAL OPTICS HAVE BEEN A TOPIC OF GROWING INTEREST, AND THE PARD PANTERA 256Q IS A DIGITAL THERMAL OPTIC THAT, ALTHOUGH PRIMARILY MARKETED FOR HUNTING, HAS SOME SERIOUS POTENTIAL FOR AIRSOFT USE! OUR NEWEST “RECRUIT” BRUNO TAKES A LOOK AT WHO PARD ARE, WHILE JASE GIVES A BREAKDOWN OF FEATURES, PERFORMANCE, AND HOW THE PANTERA 256Q COULD FIT INTO YOUR LOADOUT. 74

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A

s we saw at IWA this year, PARD has come out with a really cool-looking thermal scope. Actually, for those who aren’t that used to thermals, you’d say by the looks that this isn’t even a thermal scope. But before we jump into it, let me introduce you to their history and mission.

Before Jase gets into the exciting aspects of the PARD Pantera 256 Q, let me ask you to pause for a moment to appreciate the company producing this ground-breaking product.

PARD Technology isn’t just another optics firm; they are at the forefront of night vision and thermal imaging technology and are known for providing superior quality, accurate, and cutting-edge devices.

performance and reliability.

• 2018: Introduced the NV007 night vision clip-on, a resounding success that sold over 100,000 units.

• 2021 & 2022: Winner of two consecutive “Night Vision Product of the Year” awards at the Great British Shooting Awards, solidifying their position as a market leader.

Such enthusiasm for innovation has also fuelled overseas development, with offices around the world, placing PARD within reach of customers globally. Their commitment to excellence is also seen in their constant pursuit of perfection, always pushing the boundaries of what is

Whilst PARD has fostered a top reputation among hunters, providing shooters with the means they require to perform at the highest level, their technology applies beyond the disciplines of any sport. Their focus on innovation and performance has enabled them to design flexible and useable products well-suited for a wide variety of applications, including the most demanding of shooting disciplines, our own beloved airsoft.

The history of PARD began in 2010, based on a passion for developing high-quality optic-electronic products. Their dedication to research and development has resulted in a series of ground-breaking products: • 2013: Introduced their first thermal imaging product, which was extensively embraced by outdoor users.

• 2015: Launched their first night vision product, a new standard in terms of

possible in night vision and thermal imaging technology.

PARD’s mission is straightforward; to equip individuals with better night vision and thermal imaging technology. They want to provide cutting-edge technology that optimizes performance, allowing users to have the precision and confidence to perform at their best in any given situation. It’s not just about the technology; it’s about the experience, confidence, and being able to perform at your best!

PARD’s vision for the future exceeds even their current success; they see themselves as a global industry leader, not only distinguished for their technology but also for their relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction. They are committed to forming long-term customer relationships, working constantly to improve their products and deliver superior value.

“PARD TECHNOLOGY ISN’T JUST ANOTHER OPTICS FIRM; THEY ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF NIGHT VISION AND THERMAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND ARE KNOWN FOR PROVIDING SUPERIOR QUALITY, ACCURATE, AND CUTTING-EDGE DEVICES”

www.airsoftaction.net

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TECH PARD PANTERA 256Q THERMAL OPTIC

While PARD’s origins are rooted in the realm of hunting, the accuracy and versatility of their technology puts it in the most advantageous position to meet the tactical needs of airsoft players and shooters. The PARD Pantera 256 Q is the ultimate embodiment of this adaptability, providing premier performance to a new platform.

It’s a testament to PARD’s commitment to innovation and to their ability to provide quality solutions to a wide range of applications.

GETTING HANDS ON

Jase: I do love a good optic, and I am a bit of an “NV Fanatic”, so when the chance came to work with Bruno and look into the pre-production sample of the PARD Pantera 256Q it brought together two areas that I really enjoy… good glass, and the ability to operate more effectively in night-time scenarios! I thought, therefore that it would be sensible after having “hands-on” with the optic to break things down.

Design and Weight: The PARD Pantera 256Q is incredibly lightweight, especially compared to traditional analogue optics. This is due to its digital nature, it doesn’t require the glass components of standard optics. The absence of these heavier components makes it an excellent choice for players who need to minimise weight during long sessions. The unit’s dimensions are 295mm x 82mm x 70mm. Once mounted it still feels surprisingly light while making the transition of the rifle up to the shoulder and such and ease.

Visual Quality and Display: The unit boasts an impressive OLED screen with a resolution of 1024x768, providing sharp and crisp visuals. The 256x192 pixel sensor contributes to the clarity of the thermal image, making it easy to spot targets within the 50m to 100m range during controlled testing. For those in the airsoft world, this range is typically ideal for mid-to-long distance engagements. The OLED display ensures that you get a clear, detailed view of your surroundings,

“WHILE PARD’S ORIGINS ARE ROOTED IN THE REALM OF HUNTING, THE ACCURACY AND VERSATILITY OF THEIR TECHNOLOGY PUTS IT IN THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION TO MEET THE TACTICAL NEEDS OF AIRSOFT PLAYERS AND SHOOTERS”

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whether in greyscale or thermal mode. There are five different viewing options that cater to various conditions.

Zoom on the Pantera 256Q offers several levels—2x, 4x, 6x, and 8x—to help focus on distant targets. This zoom can be quite useful, though it’s worth noting that holding the optic steady can

be tricky, especially at higher zoom levels. For airsoft players, this could be an issue while in active play, it could be a challenge.

For those who will be using the 256Q for hunting will most likely have a tripod or stand and negate the issue. One aspect to note is that the 1x setting feels closer to 2x, which could make some airsoft users feel slightly off-put by the field of view.

Fortunately, PARD has acknowledged this and mentioned that this could be adjusted in the final product.

Performance and Features: The 256Q is not without its quirks; when switching between modes, there were moments of lag or freezing, particularly when raising the rifle after running.

While this could be a deal-breaker in the heat of an airsoft game, it’s worth considering that this is still a pre-production sample. As the unit approaches final production, it’s likely that these issues will be resolved. Another key feature is the onboard recording and photo capture function, with a generous 32GB of internal storage. This allows players to record gameplay or capture images to review later, adding a unique aspect to

airsoft, players can relive those key moments and share them with friends. For those interested in a bit of social media content, this feature is certainly appealing.

While Night Testing I had my NVGs with me.

I had the opportunity to test the Pantera 256Q in low-light conditions and was impressed by its performance. The thermal mode allowed for excellent target identification in the dark, and the transition between greyscale and thermal was seamless when tracking targets in low-visibility environments. The clarity was particularly noticeable at night, with the thermal imaging providing a significant advantage when spotting enemies.

The screen’s resolution helped bring a level of detail that’s often missing from lower-end thermal optics, making it a strong contender for night games or tactical scenarios. During my night testing, I was also running my Gen3+ PVS14 night vision monocular (NVG’s) alongside the Pantera 256Q, and I was pleased to find that the two units worked together very well.

However, I did notice some potential issues with splashback from the OLED screen.

I deliberately ran the optic without the eyecup to see if this would be the case, and indeed, the bright OLED screen caused some noticeable reflection. This could potentially give away the position of a player using the 256Q to others equipped with NVGs. It’s something I’d like to test further in a MilSim environment to see if this issue remains true under more dynamic conditions, as

“THE PARD PANTERA 256Q IS INCREDIBLY LIGHTWEIGHT, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL ANALOGUE OPTICS. THIS IS DUE TO ITS DIGITAL NATURE, IT DOESN’T REQUIRE THE GLASS COMPONENTS OF STANDARD OPTICS. THE ABSENCE OF THESE HEAVIER COMPONENTS MAKES IT AN EXCELLENT CHOICE” www.airsoftaction.net

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it could have significant implications for stealth and positioning during night time operations.

The Pantera excels in its thermal detection, with the ability to sense objects up to 1200m away. While I have yet to test this full range, the fact that it can pick up targets easily at 50m to 100m suggests that it can handle mediumrange engagements quite well. However, it’s important to note that the optic struggles to see through glass.

Bruno’s wealth of knowledge tells this is common with thermal optics, as they rely on detecting infrared radiation, which is blocked by glass surfaces.

With recoil resistance and durability in mind, PARD claims that the Pantera has a recoil resistance of up to 6000j, which is quite impressive given that a real AR/M4’s recoil is about 8j. The level of recoil tolerance should ensure that the optic holds up well under airsoft combat and MilSim environments even when mounted on the kickiest of GBBRs. It’s built to withstand the recoil from a variety of firearms, so for our purposes, it’s reassuring to know that it can take the bumps and shakes of a highintensity airsoft game.

The 256Q also features connectivity options through the PARD app, which allows you to view the thermal visuals on your iPhone or Android device. While the pre-production sample had some lag, this feature could be incredibly useful for team coordination or for players who want to review their shots in real-time. We can expect improved functionality in this regard. As the product nears its final release, I am informed that

the Pantera will go to production at the end of May, meaning we could see units drop on shelves for Autumn.

While the PARD Pantera 256Q is primarily designed for hunting, it shows significant potential for airsoft, especially with its impressive display, lightness and longrange detection capabilities. The ability to record footage, coupled with decent zoom functionality, makes it a standout in the thermal optic category.

If PARD can address the minor issues, such as lag and mode switching freeze, the final product could be a great fit for airsoft players looking to add a new layer of strategy and visibility to their gameplay.

JC out…

GETTING THE LOWDOWN

Since we have tested and written our article, Hans from PARD kindly addressed some of our points with explanations and reasoning, and we’ll reproduce his comments here verbatim to avoid any confusion.

As regular readers will know we don’t adjust our articles as we feel fairness and neutrality is what makes Airsoft Action a trusted source within our community, but as this is a pre-production model, it’s only fair that we let PARD make some sound comments in response to the initial comments, which Jase shared with them for exactly this reason.

Magnification Discrepancy: The magnification shown on the device refers to digital magnification rather than true optical magnification. We understand this can cause

“THE LEVEL OF RECOIL TOLERANCE SHOULD ENSURE THAT THE OPTIC HOLDS UP WELL UNDER AIRSOFT COMBAT AND MILSIM ENVIRONMENTS EVEN WHEN MOUNTED ON THE KICKIEST OF GBBRS. IT’S BUILT TO WITHSTAND THE RECOIL FROM A VARIETY OF FIREARMS, ...IT CAN TAKE THE BUMPS AND SHAKES” 78

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confusion, especially for users expecting a true 1x view. That said, this is something we can potentially adjust via software updates in future iterations.

Mode Switching Freezing: What you’ve experienced is actually a normal behaviour in thermal imaging devices. The momentary “freezing” you noticed comes from the shutter correction (NUC – non-uniformity correction) process, which ensures the sensor maintains optimal performance during prolonged use.

However, there is a shutterless mode available in the settings menu that reduces the frequency of this correction – especially useful in scenarios where continuity is critical, like tracking a moving target.

Zoom Stability: Thank you for highlighting this; we’re looking into potential improvements here.

In the meantime, we’d also love to hear if you have any suggestions on how we might improve aiming stability further for users on the move.

Streaming Latency: The lag in the live view you experienced is indeed something we’re working to improve. The sample you tested is a preproduction unit, and we’re currently optimizing WiFi performance in the final production version to ensure a more stable and responsive experience.

OLED Splashback: The screen light leakage can be minimized by using the standby mode, which powers off the display without shutting down the whole device. That said, for maximum stealth in night operations, we still highly recommend using the eyecup to prevent any potential light exposure.

As the Pantera 256Q moves toward its final release, we’re excited to see how it performs in a full-on, live airsoft game. Keep an eye out for future updates as we hope Bruno and Jase will be back to test the final production version of this unit further! AA

“SINCE WE HAVE TESTED AND WRITTEN OUR ARTICLE HANS FROM PARD KINDLY ADDRESSED SOME OF OUR POINTS WITH EXPLANATIONS AND REASONING, AND WE’LL REPRODUCE HIS COMMENTS HERE VERBATIM TO AVOID ANY CONFUSION.”

www.airsoftaction.net

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TOKYO MARUI

L119A2 CUSTOM BUILD

NEXT GEN RECOIL SHOCK CONTACT US FOR DETAILS

THE L119A2 IS JUST ONE POPULAR EXAMPLE OF OUR CURRENT RECOIL MODELS, BASED ON TOKYO MARUI’S FANTASTIC SYSTEM - FITTED WITH THE ANGRY GUN RAIL SYSTEM AND REAL STEEL MAGPUL FURNITURE

TECH OAKWOOD MACHINE WORKS BRANCH

INHERENT STABILITY

SOMETIMES THERE’S A PIECE OF GEAR YOU’VE HELD ONTO WELL PAST ITS EXPIRATION DATE FOR LACK OF BETTER OPTIONS. WHILE YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT WORK, THE NUMBER OF SHORTCOMINGS IS NOT ALWAYS FULLY REALIZED UNTIL SOMETHING BETTER ACTUALLY COMES ALONG AND BLOWS THE LID OFF THE CHARADE. SUCH HAS BEEN DAN’S EXPERIENCE WITH NURSING ALONG THE WILCOX PVS-14 J-ARM FOR MANY YEARS, NOW HE OFFERS A SOLUTION TO HIS WOES. 82

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AND

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O

kay, my circumstances are somewhat unique; my night vision setup consists of a Gen. 3 MVM14 Pinnacle, which is housed inside of a MUM-14 style housing.

For the unfamiliar: the MUM-style housing was developed as a 35% lighterweight alternative to compete against the PVS-14. This new housing also offered improvements in environmental resistance specifications and optical clarity, as well as the ability to take common AA or CR123A cells.

Here, in the United States, MUM-type units found favor with some notable three letter agencies in the US and other select groups.

They were also relatively popular on the export market, with many examples spotted in the hands of European counter-terrorism units and having even been seen in the hands of Russian SF units.

Perhaps the one linchpin to the MUM housing was the use of the mini-rail mount, which ran contrary to the relative industry standard which was based around the long-established dominance of the PVS-14. And despite finding relative commercial success, this probably contributed greatly to the aftermarket sleeping on providing accessories to the MUM platform.

Consequently, for many years you only had the issued plastic J-Arm and USGI “Rhino” mount to select from, itself a simple adaptation of the basic J-Arm and helmet mount the PVS-14 has been issued with since at least 2000… the Rhino mount itself being significantly older yet!

Anyone who has spent time with this ensemble on either the MUM or PVS housings is well aware of its shortcomings.

Serviceable as it is, the entire thing is a

wibbly-wobbly, old-timey-wimey mess of compromises. It wasn’t until some years later that a third-party manufacturer developed an adapter plate that would allow you to switch out to the Wilcox ecosystem, the L4 G24 and J-Arm, respectively. Back then at least, this felt like a quantum leap when coming from the old USGI system.

Better as it was, there were still issues with this setup, however. The Wilcox components were, after all, designed primarily around the PVS-14 housing. The adapter plate limited the ability to actually swing the monocular from one eye to the other and hope for things to line up (they didn’t). Additionally, the J-Arm itself had only two positions for pivoting and aligning the unit to your eye, neither of which is quite right.

The adapter plate made by HFG Manufacturing (whom now appear to be defunct) was also problematic. A chief issue was this could pivot on the large thumb screw the Wilcox J-Arm uses to attach to the adapter plate. Despite all of this, you could forgive it, because it was still better than the Rhino mount.

ENTER OAKWOOD

Fast forward to 2025 and whilst sleepily browsing the new items section on Amped Airsoft late one night, I spied an interesting new J-Arm from Oakwood Machine Works, dubbed simplistically: “The Branch.” What piqued my curiosity even more was that they had a version made specifically for mini-rail interfaces. Never have I hit the “Add to cart” button so fast!

The Branch is an ingeniously simple design machined out of 6061-T65 aluminum and featuring two points of articulation joined around a central linkage. On one end, you have the common dovetail mount which will plug into your Wilcox L4 G24 or other mounts that use this interface. On the monocular side, you have the option of selecting the PVS-14 screw mount

“FAST FORWARD TO 2025 AND WHILST SLEEPILY BROWSING THE NEW ITEMS SECTION ON AMPED AIRSOFT LATE ONE NIGHT, I SPIED AN INTERESTING NEW J-ARM FROM OAKWOOD MACHINE WORKS, DUBBED SIMPLISTICALLY: “THE BRANCH”…

NEVER HAVE I HIT THE “ADD TO CART” BUTTON SO FAST!” www.airsoftaction.net

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or the mini-rail mount. The latter is perhaps the most elegant and low-profile mini-rail attachment I’ve seen yet.

The central linkage has been skeletonized for weight savings and is offered in two styles, offset or straight. I would say for airsoft use, most will want to select the offset version

unless they are perhaps using the G24 mount with the extended rails. Depending on orientation, the offset allows you to shift the entire monocular either rearward or forward by approximately 1/2” when used with the standard Wilcox L4 G24. For us airsofters, this is advantageous as we’ll be wearing eye protection, so gaining that 1/2” of forward clearance for goggles or eye pro is hugely appreciated.

As it ships, the Branch comes with the linkage setup to shift the monocular closer to the eye; this would actually be fine if you didn’t wear eye pro, but adding that into the mix and you quickly run out of room on the G24 to shift the monocular forward. With the linkage reversed, there’s plenty of room to clear even the thickest of goggles and still have room on the rails to make fine adjustments.

It’s a simple affair to reverse the linkage, fortunately, which is accomplished by removing the two black socket-cap screws, flipping the linkage around, and reattaching the screws. The Branch has been cleverly designed to index the retainer nuts for the screws so they cannot freely spin. Still, a little care must be taken to ensure

they’re correctly indexed and that you have not lost the washers either.

The pivot point tension can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the screws. Ideally you want it to be fairly rigid so it doesn’t sag or flop around, but still able to be freely moved into the ideal position in front of your eye. You can even lock it out entirely if you simply wanted it to remain in a static position for all eternity. A good litmus test of seeing if the tension

is correct is to take it for a run and see if you have any issues with the branch losing its position.

The real beauty of this J-Arm is that it has vastly more adjustment available to it than the old Wilcox J-Arm ever did. Additionally, switching the monocular between either eye is an absolute breeze, which was not easily possible with the Wilcox J-Arm and the JDAPT plate, both of which really limited how you could set things up and align it to your eye.

Another feature I absolutely adore is how tight you can stow the monocular to your helmet too; no longer is it jutting out there like a unicorn horn.

You can tuck it in nice and tight alongside the G24 and your lid - whether you are running it from your right or left eye.

Total weight of the Branch with the mini-rail interface is 1.3oz, while the PVS-14 versions of the Branch come in a little heavier at 1.53oz.

Comparably, the Wilcox J-Arm sits at 2.6oz with the JDAPT plate. The product pictures for the Branch do not really convey a sense of scale,

“THE CENTRAL LINKAGE HAS BEEN SKELETONIZED FOR WEIGHT SAVINGS AND IS OFFERED IN TWO STYLES, OFFSET OR STRAIGHT. I WOULD SAY FOR AIRSOFT USE, MOST WILL WANT TO SELECT THE OFFSET VERSION UNLESS THEY ARE PERHAPS USING THE G24 MOUNT WITH THE EXTENDED RAILS” 84

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suffice it to say that when you receive it, it’s actually a lot smaller than expected and feels as though it floated in on a cloud. I almost thought I had received an empty box at first! Funnily enough, it’s also packaged in a small bed of fake moss, like a branch that’s fallen onto a forest floor!

ROBUST AND SIMPLE

After showing some photos of the Branch to friends, the question arose as to how sturdy it seemed, and my only comparison is to the aforementioned Wilcox J-Arm; on that, I have broken the screw that adjusts the vertical pivot multiple times now.

A major flaw of this design is the tiny screw has a hole drilled through it for a retainer pin, which weakens the integrity of the screw greatly.

Unfortunately, Wilcox basically does not have a customer support department for us mere mortal civilians, so attempting to source spare screws or request a repair is all but impossible. I’ve gotten by with buying screws and drilling them myself, but it’s always been a shortterm bandaid, in my opinion.

By contrast, you can tell the Branch is a much more robust (and simpler) design with substantially beefier screws on the pivot points.

Based off my time with it, I have little doubt that it will hold up for the long term. Notably, when I had a question about reversing the linkage, the

owner responded promptly to my email inside of 24 hours… while *checks watch* it’s been quite a few years with multiple emails and zero response from Wilcox about getting their J-Arm repaired.

So in the rare event that I somehow managed to break the Branch, I have every confidence that I can at least reach a human being and get it repaired.

I’ve been playing around with the Branch nightly for close to a month now, and while I have not had an opportunity to take it to an event yet, I have never once had the mount loosen up or present a failure of function or material. It’s been easy to adjust, stows out of the way beautifully, and works 110% exactly as advertised.

Honestly, I wish this product had existed sooner! All these years later I have now fully realized just how handicapped the Wilcox and its compromises have been. This is a fantastic piece of kit for your monocular needs.

You can check out Oakwood Machine Works at their website: https://www.oakwoodmw.com This review was not a paid endorsement, nor was it given freely of charge. I purchased the Branch with my own funds for my own personal use. AA

“HONESTLY, I WISH THIS PRODUCT HAD EXISTED SOONER! ALL THESE YEARS LATER I HAVE NOW FULLY REALIZED JUST HOW HANDICAPPED THE WILCOX AND ITS COMPROMISES HAVE BEEN. THIS IS A FANTASTIC PIECE OF KIT FOR YOUR MONOCULAR NEEDS” www.airsoftaction.net

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(AGI)LITE IS RIGHT!

BEN HAS A BUSY OLD TIME WHEN IT COMES TO BEING “IN GAME” AND IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR KIT THAT DOES ITS JOB “JUST RIGHT”, NOT ONLY FOR HIMSELF BUT ALSO FOR OTHER PLAYERS OF A SMALLER STATURE TOO. THIS MONTH HE REFLECTS ON HIS TIME WITH SOME OF THE LATEST KIT FROM AGILITE, WHAT WORKS FOR HIM, AND WHY!

O

kay, my thoughts and experiences with Agilite’s pincer placard open top elastic 5.56 triple mag pouch, plus the new multi calibre mag pouch and the K-19 and K-ZERO plate carriers...

I’ve had the K-19 for about two years with the first triple 5.56 open-top elastic mag pouch and I was mightily impressed, I’ll start with the mag pouches... when I saw these being released I was like okay, I need them in my life as it just makes sense! The reinforced open top mag pouch? Well, it just makes life easier when it comes to faster reloads, and the fact you can insert and extract a mag one-handed is cool, and with a little bit of practice and muscle memory you can do it literally blindfolded!

The well-designed elastic pouch was tested to over 80,000 inserts before any kind of failure was even apparent, and the ingenious design of the reinforced open top makes inserting your mags a breeze unlike other elastic pouches your always fighting to just get it open. The first Pincer Placard triple mag pouch was only designed for AR/5.56 mags, but after this super-success Agilite reached out to its supporters and asked what mag-sized pouch should they make next; I can only imagine the overwhelming response they got!

I personally asked for a pouch to fit the 4.6 x 30 MP7 mag. Agilite was super on the ball with taking on board with everyone’s different desires and 86

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asks, so they stepped up the design of what they already had and came out with the multi-calibre Pincer Placard … and what a game changer this is!

The lager reinforced open top allows for a 7.62 mag to nicely fit just as the 5.56 does, with the next ingenious design a place-able insert divider for smaller calibre mags; when put in the middle of the pouch it allows for two Glock or similar sized mags to sit lovely side by side, or if you’re like me and want the slightly more awkward-sized mags then if you just off set the insert divider piece so you can get it to your desired size, and have your MP7 mag or other in this one-stopshop mag pouch and save yourself some money on getting different QD mag pouch fronts for your plate carrier. Honestly the Agilite multi-calibre Pincer Placard is probably one of my best buys when it comes to my equipment, making my games far more enjoyable, efficient and effective on the field and in battle.

PLATING IT UP

Now as for the plate carriers, both the K-19 and K-ZERO are in my opinion above and beyond almost all other carriers out there, both supermodular and future-proof. Agilite didn’t just cater their design for only their products, so they’re adaptive to a multitude of other makers and quite often cheaper.

The overall quality of both these plate carriers

KIT & GEAR AGILITE LOAD SOLUTIONS

is of “Tier One SF” levels as they were designed

by Israeli and alongside US SF in today’s current modern warfare sphere. Both these plate carriers are currently fielded by Israeli forces and no doubt being used elsewhere around the world, although they serve the same purpose they are designed for slightly different approaches in combat.

The K-19 is of a more bulky design, yet with comfort well in mind it’s thought of more as the longer running ops carrier, well suited for carrying pretty much all you could want and not feel those awkward hot spots after a few hours of wearing let alone days. If I had to knock it in any way, shape, or form it would be the shoulder straps and some of the clips the way the straps are placed... they are of a slightly wider V-shape than most other carriers which for me being a short and smaller framed person has its moments of awkwardness, like when kneeling down the plate carrier would lift slightly and a strap would slide off a shoulder.

Now this is only a personal issue and probably wouldn’t affect 95% of others; as for the clips they are made of a good plastic, but one of mine was hit with a BB and it cracked.

Now I got hold of Agilite about this and they sent me out a replacement clip but I also suggested for future design to make clips like this with metal and solve that issue, to which leads me on to the K-ZERO

Again Agilite listened to their supporters and had made this change with the clips and shoulder straps! The K-ZERO is the more the actnow-fast-response plate carrier style, slimmed down with comfort still in place; they cut back on particular comfort spots but still turned them into a useful, well-thought out design by, for instance, using comms cable-management loops (or even for water lines), and then they took a step further and looked at the body structure and design of how the plate carrier was to sit and fit around the body more naturally.

Things like the back plate sits a little higher than the front because of your shoulder blades so the curve of the plate contours to this, giving comfort and protection where it’s needed but stopping the back portion of the plate carrier from sliding down your back. The overall thought and design of the K-ZERO is that next level and AGILITE K ZERO for me is perfect!

Yes, it’s a slimmer platform but that really doesn’t take away from it you can still load this sucker up if needed and keep that more agile movement.

The K-ZERO is the plate carrier for me with the multi-calibre Pincer Placard mag pouch as it just has enough adaptiveness yet stays clean-lined and looks pucker! I highly recommended everyone to seriously look at Agilite’s multi-calibre Pincer Placard mag pouch as it’s a top tier buy, you can’t go wrong with it,...just make sure your plate carrier is suitable, but otherwise get yourself a K-ZERO to go with… job done! AA

www.airsoftaction.net

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KIA V – PMC FTW!

REGULAR FIXTURES IN OUR ANNUAL “AIRSOFT SCHEDULE” ARE STARTING TO KICK PROPERLY INTO GEAR NOW, AND AS ALWAYS MIGUEL AND HIS FELLOW GHOT OPS TEAM-MATES HAVE BEEN ON POINT, AND FULLY-IMMERSED IN-GAME ALREADY… THEY HAVE RETURNED AGAIN TO “KIA”, AND MIGUEL BRINGS US ALL THE ACTION FROM THIS YEAR’S GAME!

F

or the last three years, the “Killed in Action” event (K.I.A.) has been a mandatory presence for my team. It’s normally the first major game of the year, and since it’s more of a complex skirmish than a MilSim, it’s a great way to start the year, especially when there are new players in the team, which was our case!

So, we set out Sunday early towards the town of Alenquer, but with the mandatory stop along the way to get some breakfast in. Always remember, it’s important to eat before a game!

When we reached the field, we were welcomed by the typical “traffic jam”; everyone had to show their ticket even before entering the parking complex. Although all it takes is for the staff to read the QR code, some players forget to have it ready, and that creates a line of cars waiting to get in. But, after a few minutes, we got in and parked.

Since we still had time, before fully gearing up, I took a few moments to say hi to some players that I know in our community, and of course to the other members of my team. Like always, seeing old faces and talking a shop for a while is part of airsoft, a part that I very much enjoy.

But, in order to take advantage of us arriving early, we geared up and hit the check in and

chrono, which was almost empty at the time. We cleared the control points without any problems or fuss, and then all we had to do was to wait for the briefing. Of course, during that time, we checked out the stands that were present, some guys even picked up a couple of purchases from a shop, and we hung out with many known faces who had arrived in the meantime.

Since we were expecting rain, my loadout for this event counted with the Viper Venom boots (with waterproof treatment), the Invader Gear MkII Predator, the MFH Level 5 PCU jacket (you can see my review in ISSUE 172!), a Viper Tactical Flex cap, the VX Multi Weapon System, and the Specna Arms Prime P23.

During this time, we were also blessed by a visit from the police, in this case, the department of weapons and explosives, which is the authority responsible for airsoft in our country. And of course, this left many players on edge, mostly because of past situations where the authorities are there just to be picky and punish us. Our law leaves room for many interpretations, even within the authorities, so we never quite know what to expect. In this case, they started to complain a bit about the serial numbers of some replicas...

“BEFORE FULLY GEARING UP, I TOOK A FEW MOMENTS TO SAY HI TO SOME PLAYERS THAT I KNOW IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND OF COURSE TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF MY TEAM. LIKE ALWAYS, SEEING OLD FACES AND TALKING A SHOP FOR A WHILE IS PART OF AIRSOFT, A PART THAT I VERY MUCH ENJOY” 88

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and as we know, some brands, or even models, don’t have a unique serial number!

Luckily, they dropped the subject, and no major issue occurred...

BRIEFING AND GAME ON!

Soon after, it was briefing time, so we moved to the location and got under a tent, since it really did start raining properly… yes, it is not all sunshine in Portugal! The K.I.A. events have so far rotated between rain one year and sun the next, and this year, it was rain’s turn.

As the briefing went on, we remembered those who were part of our community but are no longer with us, players who most of us have known throughout the years. So it’s a heavy moment, followed by a minute of silence.

The briefing itself was

short, since the ANA has the game briefing in a podcast during the week before, where the players can ask questions live. There is also a Telegram channel, where the game information is placed for all to see. We all knew that K.I.A. is a “muscled” skirmish game, with role-play, several objectives and even active military staff commanding both factions. And this year the game would pit a PMC group working under a mining company against a Special Forces detachment with orders to put a stop into it.

We were part of the PMC faction and, as the briefing ended, we started heading towards our HQ. As the team gathered, we divided between our designated sections and the starting missions were handed out. The guys and I were part of the Delta Section, along a few friends from the F.O.E. team and two independent players. Our staring mission was

“SOON AFTER, IT WAS BRIEFING TIME, SO WE MOVED TO THE LOCATION AND GOT UNDER A TENT, SINCE IT REALLY DID START RAINING PROPERLY… YES, IT IS NOT ALL SUNSHINE IN PORTUGAL! THE K.I.A. EVENTS HAVE SO FAR ROTATED BETWEEN RAIN ONE YEAR AND SUN THE NEXT, AND THIS YEAR, IT WAS RAIN’S TURN” www.airsoftaction.net

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to activate and control one of the mining stations, which were part of the main game objective. To do that, first we had to escort the mining team to their location, and then locate and retrieve a device that

would activate the mining location.

Of course, things wouldn’t be that simple, on our way we got in heavy contact with groups of the enemy faction, who had the mission of locating the possible mining locations.

And we didn’t have much choice but to attack; our objective was to our front, to our right we had enemy contact and to our left we had a big drop! Going around was either impossible, or timeconsuming, so our section, with the support of Charlie (who were assigned the same mission) and a couple others, started a strong push. And after some complicated confrontations, we were able to find a gap among the enemy and push them hard; the enemy found itself flanked in several areas, and we were able to clear them out enough for the mining team to reach the stipulated area.

PUSHING ON

However, our goal was not yet complete! We still had to find a device that would enable us to get the mining location operational, so that meant that we had to push even further infield.... But this time, since the location of the objective was far from enemy movements, we had no issue in locating our objective. While it was easy to recover the objective, bringing it back to the mining location was another story!

The enemy made another push toward their own goals, and we had to drive them back. It was a complicated fight, mostly because we had few ways to advance and flanking was out of question. So as in other instances when all else fails, we had to use brute force, even if it meant taking a few “casualties”.

With that, we were able to reach the mining crew and activate the location.

Now that the platform in our charge was active, we were ordered to defend it and deliver what the mining crew found and handed to us. Some

“WE GOT IN HEAVY CONTACT WITH GROUPS OF THE ENEMY FACTION, WHO HAD THE MISSION OF LOCATING THE POSSIBLE MINING LOCATIONS. AND WE DIDN’T HAVE MUCH CHOICE BUT TO ATTACK; OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO OUR FRONT, TO OUR RIGHT WE HAD ENEMY CONTACT AND TO OUR LEFT WE HAD A BIG DROP!” 90

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packages had to be delivered to our HQ, and others to a nearby chemical lab. And that was basically our game; our section along Charlie had to control the spot and deliver the objectives to the determined locations. It was a push and be pushed game, we lost the control of the platform a few times, and recovered it the same number.

But that wasn’t the only area in dispute, we had two other mining locations that were also under constant pressure. I’m also aware of some special missions that dropped, but unfortunately we weren’t part of those.

Another thing that was constant was the rain, and I’m so glad for the MFH jacket that I mentioned in my loadout, every time it started raining, all I had to do was put on the hood and

I was good to go! In the end of the game I was dry and ready for more! As the game ended, we headed towards the Safe Zone, packed our gear and waited for the roast pig to be ready… nothing like some good soul food after a long game. There were also a few giveaways from a few brands and stores, but as luck dictated it, we got nothing!

Our thanks to the Associação Nacional de Airsoft (ANA) for another great event! You can check out what else they have going on this year by visiting https://anairsoft.com, and I and my fellow members of GHOST OPS hope that some of you may come and join us in playing… who knows what the next iteration of K.I.A will hold, and are you up to the challenge? AA

“AS THE GAME ENDED, WE HEADED TOWARDS THE SAFE ZONE, PACKED OUR GEAR AND WAITED FOR THE ROAST PIG TO BE READY… NOTHING LIKE SOME GOOD SOUL FOOD AFTER A LONG GAME. THERE WERE ALSO A FEW GIVEAWAYS FROM A FEW BRANDS AND STORES, BUT AS LUCK DICTATED IT, WE GOT NOTHING!” www.airsoftaction.net

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RELOADED RELOADED VFC LAR BCMGBBR MCMR GBBR/AEG

FAL-URE POINTS STEWBACCA HAVING, LIKE MANY, EAGERLY AWAITED THE ARRIVAL OF VFC’S FAL GBBR IN AUGUST 2022 NOW NEARS THE THREE YEAR MARK OF OWNING HIS OWN AND USING IT IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS FOR HIS INITIAL REVIEW BACK IN ISSUE 143, AND AT MANY EVENTS OR REGULAR GAMES SINCE, AS WELL AS EVEN IN A RIFLE COMPETITION DOWN IN THE SOUTH OF TAIWAN. SO WHAT ARE HIS LONGER TERM THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES?

T

he “emotional journey” is something I’ve had a few times with VFC’s offerings over the last few years, finally acquiring my own PSG-1 almost a year prior to my FAL, and more recently at the time of writing finally getting my hands on my own Walther PPKS. Our friends at VegaForceCompany keep knocking it out of the park with great releases that really fit my own aesthetic or Cold War police and military favourites, and the FAL (LAR in VFC parlance) has always jostled its way to the top of the “I love this gun” list alongside the PSG-1.

It seems the older you get, the more you begin to appreciate ‘lorge boollet’ battle rifles and derivatives thereof, rather than these modern contrivances such as the 556 AR that seems to be the new hotness that the allied world’s right hands reach for these days.

Has it lived up to the hype? I would certainly think so, The FAL is still a sturdy, trusty platform that has seen plenty of use in the intervening

years beyond the initial review requirements; I’ve used it numerous times in regular skirmish days as a relatively lightweight (albeit somewhat long) option that has sent heavyweight BBs out to the roughly 70m range reliably and with an ever present recoil impulse that shakes my cheeks and brings a smile to my face.

It was my primary weapon of choice throughout the POLK 3 MilSim on Taiwan’s East coast back in ISSUE 153, as well as being adorned with all of the eight magazines I managed to acquire… which are still apparently in demand and shortage overseas with many other loving FAL owners it seems! It performed excellently with an ACOG replica fitted, giving me a great deal of range in terms of seeing OpFor and landing rounds on them, with me and my Kiwi teammate crawling ahead of our lines and throwing down towards the end of one round, surrounded by our spent magazines and with huge grins on our faces.

I also made use of it for the eight Kaohsiung

“THE FAL IS STILL A STURDY, TRUSTY PLATFORM THAT HAS SEEN PLENTY OF USE IN THE INTERVENING YEARS BEYOND THE INITIAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS; I’VE USED IT NUMEROUS TIMES IN REGULAR SKIRMISH DAYS AS A RELATIVELY LIGHTWEIGHT (ALBEIT SOMEWHAT LONG) OPTION THAT HAS SENT HEAVYWEIGHT BBS OUT TO THE ROUGHLY 70M” 94

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TSMOC rifle stages alongside the 12 TPSA IPSC Pistol stages of the level 3 competition in December 2022, albeit in a shortened form with the barrel extension section removed to put another muzzle device right in front of the faux gas-block making it a more wieldy carbine setup for getting around the barricades more easily.

IT’S JUST WEARING IN…

Throughout all of these adventures, it hasn’t always been plain sailing, however. As an early adopter I was one of the first players fielding the FAL for regular skirmishes; there are no “safe queens” in my collection, even the PSG has been fielded numerous times and like the FAL

enjoys a nice natural patina of scratches and mild corrosion that completes its industrial look.

Having acquired one of the earliest first generation examples, it turned out that the rear sight systems were initially made a little tight on tolerances, so just a few months after buying it we were out on a reasonably hot October Sunday at our Xindian game sight and I was charging along to the ridgeline to put fire down on the opposing team below only to notice something fly off my FAL during a string of fire… my rear sight itself had deformed under recoil due to being overly tensioned as a result of the tight tolerances… cue a few minutes of me rummaging around the base of the tree I was taking cover behind hilariously trying to find my rear sight, adjustment release button and its related spring! By some miracle I managed to find all the pieces and not get shot out as a result, but was obviously having some trouble aiming after!

Luckily the guys at VFC’s Pentagon Service Centre are a short trip away by bus or MRT from the various places I’ve lived since being in Taipei, so it wasn’t a huge inconvenience for me to go and get it serviced and a slightly looser newer production rear sight installed. The original broke the ring open on its right side and flew off; thankfully it was an easy fix for me at least, but if you are a user overseas or just out of Taipei I can imagine you’d be more nonplussed. Around the same time I also had the thin gas-piston pipe break its front end threads off which is another common issue reported; it’s only a cosmetic component at least, but requires some form of running repair with electrical tape just to stuff it effectively into the port and stop it slopping around noisily under recoil in normal operation.

A further two months down the line in December at the Kaohsiung Level 3 competition I managed to run the shortened barrel configuration of the FAL through all eight stages over the two days alongside my pistol stages; I

“THROUGHOUT ALL OF THESE ADVENTURES, IT HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN PLAIN SAILING, HOWEVER. AS AN EARLY ADOPTER I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PLAYERS FIELDING THE FAL FOR REGULAR SKIRMISHES; THERE ARE NO “SAFE QUEENS” IN MY COLLECTION”

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RELOADED VFC LAR GBBR

had experienced some ‘doubling’ as a result of the sear issues which were replicated from the real steel equivalent and mentioned in my initial review.

Finally, after the end of stages I handed it over to some of the Range Officers to help me empty all my loaded magazines as a bit of a treat for them; they work hard keeping the administration going and rarely get chance to get in on the action themselves, so they were sharing the FAL around dumping BBs gleefully when I noticed another thing fly off the rear end of it… this time it was the rear sight, still attached to the rear vertical portion of the receiver… the whole rear sight base section fractured and flew off during recoil!

This, it turns out, was a somewhat self-inflicted

issue; having watched the ‘Explosive Enterprises’ review teardown video, the fine gents in the US had advocated for removing the rear buffer block that reduces the stroke of the bolt carrier group to improve the cadence and realism of the system.

Unfortunately what none of us realised until my

mishap, and that of some other users on the Heavy Recoil Discord server, was that when the bolt carrier reaches the rear of travel the “rat’s tail” connecting it to the recoil spring in the fixed stock actually tends to strike the upper surface of the receiver’s rear portion where the rear sight affixes… so eventually the upward thrust causes a brittle fracture in the aluminium alloy.

Suffice to say, since then 3D printed alternative buffers or other similar efforts have been made available to allow people to lengthen the overall stroke of the bolt carrier group without encountering that final portion of travel that causes the interference and damage issue… another trip to VPSC it was, this time leaving it with them for a few days while the replacement receiver components were ordered from head office and installed for me.

Following this I ended up acquiring a further four magazines in early 2023, having gotten just four with my FAL when I first collected it in late 2022. On my first outing using them at Linkou CQB I went to reload in cover and put magazine No.5 in (I mark all mine with paint pens for maintenance issue tracking, or instances just such as this) the bolt was still closed on a loaded chamber as I was tactically reloading off a partial magazine prior to assaulting, only to rock and lock the fresh magazine in and have the FAL start emptying rounds into the ceiling in a runaway fashion…

I dropped the mag and cleared the action and prepared to reinsert it, assuming I was having some form of further sear issue knowing that there were minor problems with the fire control group before only to re-lock the magazine in and have the same behaviour… most perplexing…

So, yet another trip to VPSC after retiring that particular magazine for the rest of the day’s gaming and it turns out the main gas release valve built into the top rear of the magazine’s head wasn’t seated fully or was otherwise slightly out

“WHEN THE BOLT CARRIER REACHES THE REAR OF TRAVEL THE “RAT’S TAIL” CONNECTING IT TO THE RECOIL SPRING IN THE FIXED STOCK ACTUALLY TENDS TO STRIKE THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE RECEIVER’S REAR PORTION WHERE THE REAR SIGHT AFFIXES… SO EVENTUALLY THE UPWARD THRUST CAUSES A BRITTLE FRACTURE IN THE ALUMINIUM ALLOY” 96

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of spec and over-length. Basically when I fitted it to the gun it immediately opened as the cocked striker face hit it due to its unusually rearward protrusion compared to normal magazines; a minor issue all told, but a good job I was pointing the FAL in a safe direction during the reloading shenanigans!

causing any deformation or binding.

Over time it appears that it can cause the aforementioned rails and the receiver walls themselves to bow outwards due to the way the mounting shoes pull them outwards as you tighten them up enough to hold the rail in place, something that many others have complained about on the Heavy Recoil Club Discord. I found my original top cover being somewhat sloppy in LEVELLING UP A further additional purchase I made fairly swiftly its fit as a result when I switched back to using it, the VPSC guys clamped and re-positioned my after acquiring the FAL itself was VFC’s replica of receiver rails and walls at a more recent servicing, the DSA heavy-duty replacement top cover with and thankfully as per my FAL OSW review the integral Picatinny rail for optic mounting; this is a great addition if you want to use more modern rail factory-fitted rail top cover uses a much more mounted optics. I used an SRO clone for the close substantial and better mounting setup with machined blocks which engage with the rails range quick target acquisition and situational with less side-loading and a more consistent awareness for the rifle competition, then the ACOG replica for longer-range MilSim or skirmish and simple installation process that makes game engagements, a setup I have also repeated reattaching the whole assembly more repeatable to ensure your optics don’t lose zero too much with the more recent FAL OSW review to equally due to services or maintenance. great effect.

Next up in mid-2023 I was emptying out my The only down side of this accessory is it’s a bit of a pain in the backside to fit and remove due magazines through the FAL (as unloading them manually can be a struggle, and it’s an excuse to to the individual mounting “shoes”’ which clamp the top cover component to the side rails of the receiver that the original flat receiver top cover slides into from the rear. It can be a slow and annoying process lining up these individual clamp-shoes on each side of the cover as you slide it onto the receiver, then the pairs of bolts on each shoe that pull them outwards against the rails require tensioning in somewhat of a progressive order to ensure the Picatinny rail is co-axial with the barrel, and not laterally offset or otherwise

“A FURTHER ADDITIONAL PURCHASE I MADE FAIRLY SWIFTLY AFTER ACQUIRING THE FAL ITSELF WAS VFC’S REPLICA OF THE DSA HEAVY-DUTY REPLACEMENT TOP COVER WITH INTEGRAL PICATINNY RAIL FOR OPTIC MOUNTING; THIS IS A GREAT ADDITION IF YOU WANT TO USE MORE MODERN RAIL MOUNTED OPTICS”

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fire the FAL a lot… a win win!) at our Longtan site when I had a really hard stoppage occur; the bolt was utterly jammed in place mid-stroke and I couldn’t figure out why initially. Thankfully it didn’t affect the day’s gameplay as we were wrapping up after the last round, but I had to remove the railed top cover later when I got home and found the culprit… the “rat’s tail” retaining bolt that passes through the bolt carrier group had loosened up under the intense recoil cycle I put the FAL through with all its storied use, and it seemed like the threads themselves had been stretched longitudinally and squashed down to their roots making them less effective at interlocking with the bolt’s threaded socket.

Either way the bolt loosened off and then buried itself into the inner face of the railed top cover as it moved forward on the return stroke - something to keep an eye on and potentially loctite in place as the instances you have to take it out compared to the damage having it loose can do probably means having to wrestle it out from loctiting is the lesser of the two evils.

Following the stellar performance of the FAL at POLK 3, for some reason I decided to start messing with it to try and push its performance at range even further; I should have known to leave well enough alone! I purchased a fulllength one-piece steel outer barrel to replace the original two piece aluminium inner section and steel outer section outer barrel; getting it installed initially was a bit of the effort for the VPSC guys (too much loctite from the assembly guys at headquarters seems to be a common complaint

on a few different models) and they went to town with a blowtorch and wrenches to get the muzzle device off the original barrel and fit it to the full length steel one! I also found the threads tend to carve into the aluminium receiver’s threads a little and you need to watch out for shavings falling off during assembly or disassembly during maintenance.

A PUSH TO FAR?

At the same time I purchased a Unicorn Airsoft tightbore 6.03mm x 500mm long stainless-steel inner barrel to make more use of the outer barrel space available, knowing how well the 650mm PSG-1 barrel they gifted me for review worked previously.

This self-inflicted meddling ended up putting the FAL largely out of useful action for the best part of a year while I struggled to get it working with the new inner barrel; it would consistently “nose dive” BBs out as soon as they cleared 10m from the muzzle; regardless of the various hardness and types of HOP rubbers I tried, in the end I replaced the original inner barrel which is much lighter and shorter and immediately

“AT THE SAME TIME I PURCHASED A UNICORN AIRSOFT TIGHTBORE 6.03MM X 500MM LONG STAINLESS-STEEL INNER BARREL TO MAKE MORE USE OF THE OUTER BARREL SPACE AVAILABLE… THIS SELF-INFLICTED MEDDLING ENDED UP PUTTING THE FAL LARGELY OUT OF USEFUL ACTION LARGELY OUT OF USEFUL ACTION FOR THE BEST PART OF A YEAR” 98

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regained the excellent performance I’d already had before. I’m not sure if the Unicorn barrel was just too long for the balance of the system or if the much heavier stainless barrel was sagging or deforming due to a lack of more rigid support within the steel outer barrel; the aluminium standard barrel seems to cantilever off of the HOP unit and receiver and terminates at the front sight block. Whatever the reason, the longer and heavier inner barrel just wouldn’t seem to play well with the standard FAL system, even with the CLPD NPAS valve installed jacking up the gas flow to make use of the longer barrel.

During all this messing around it also seems like I managed to break the HOP protrusion off the HOP cradle itself and never really noticed due to the shininess of the plastic HOP components behind it which appear to make it look like it is still there due to the way the light falls on it. I don’t even know when the protrusion broke off but that no doubt added to the issues of trying to adjust it to deal with the longer barrel. Regardless, I took the FAL for a service to work out all the bugs and get the newer HOP unit fasteners installed as I was then having trouble dismantling the HOP unit in general due to the small retainer pin interfaced with the adjustment screw drum deforming or binding up… the guys had to beat the old HOP unit out and help me fit a new one.

With all of these things addressed and a great deal of BBs put downrange in numerous settings, and with the arrival of the FAL OSW which is much improved as well as sharing the same magazines (which I now have nine of!) it seems like I’m finally settling into a better long-term experience of the VFC FAL. The FAL hasn’t always been flawless, but regardless of the drawbacks it’s still been an overwhelmingly positive experience overall and my love for the platform has not been diminished by its idiosyncrasies in airsoft form… and with having two variants using common magazines I can see myself using them

for the next upcoming POLK 5 MilSim later in 2025 in a similar vein to the M16A2 and M733 setup I ran for POLK 4 last year.

Many thanks to Vega Force Company and in particular their Pentagon Service Centre staff for their continued support and knowledge transfer regarding the ongoing learning process of all the tweaks and minor issues that arise in their products over their service lives. Thanks to them also for continuing to support my habit with more recent releases that fill the gaps in my gun walls! I’m looking forward to running the FAL and OSW more in future as they’re both established favourites which turn heads of my own teammates and tails of the OpFor when I field them and have a great time running them in a myriad of game styles! AA

“THE FAL HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN FLAWLESS, BUT REGARDLESS OF THE DRAWBACKS IT’S STILL BEEN AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE OVERALL AND MY LOVE FOR THE PLATFORM HAS NOT BEEN DIMINISHED BY ITS IDIOSYNCRASIES IN AIRSOFT FORM…”

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