It's been a great year for Replica Airguns and I wanted to share with everyone some of my favorites that I reviewed this year. In this Vimeo Video I show some of my top Replica Airgun picks for 2016 and talk a little bit about each one and what I like about it.
Here is a list of the Replica Airguns in this lineup:
This has got to be one of the most asked questions when people are trying to decide on which CO2 BB Pistol they want to buy. The reality is that most non blowback CO2 BB pistols will generally shoot just over 400 fps and most blowback BB pistols will shoot around 350 fps. Some may shoot a little faster and some may shoot a little slower.
My question is this… What difference will it make if you are shooting a BB at 350 fps versus say 450 fps? I honesty think that some people believe that if they purchase a CO2 BB pistol that shoots a whopping 499 fps, then they have acquired a deadly weapon with crazy stopping power.
The truth of the matter is that even a 500 fps BB gun is still not suitable for even small pest control or hunting, you would only be causing the animal to suffer if you shot it with such a lower powered airgun. So using an air pistol for any kind of personal protection on human sized targets is completely out off the question.
Let’s talk about what CO2 BB pistols are really used for. Shooting at pop cans, shooting paper targets, perhaps setting up some army men and picking them off one by one. stuff like that. So does it really matter if the BB is going 350 fps versus 450 fps? It’s still going to go clean though a pop can even filled with water, paper is no match for a BB traveling even under 300 fps, and Army men stand no chance when head shot by a steel BB the size of a canon ball to them.
When is power really going to be important in a CO2 BB Pistol? Perhaps if you plan to shoot out at longer ranges but in this case Steel BB’s are not really meant to shoot out at long ranges as most BB pistols do not have rifled barrels meant for long range accuracy. I have found Steel BB guns to be very accurate up to 30 feet or so, even grouping within in a half inch with some CO2 BB pistols, but further out than that and the BB’s start to wander.
Normally higher velocity is what you want when you plan on using your airgun for hunting or pest control but again a CO2 BB pistol simply is not the tool for this job.
One comment I hear a lot from people is that they would prefer more power over blowback action and that they feel that blowback action robs the gun of too much power. Yes blowback does sacrifice some power since it uses a little bit of the CO2 to operate the slide but the benefits of blowback in my opinion are worth the 50 or so fps loss in power. Blowback operation adds realism to the CO2 BB gun simulating recoil, allowing true single action trigger operation and many CO2 BB Pistols will even lock the slide back on the last shot so you know you are out of ammo and can practice your magazine drop and reloading.
One of the most common types of question I get on my Replica Airguns YouTube channel has to be something like… Why is my Airgun not working? Most of the time the amount of info about the problem is limited to something like… “It was working yesterday but now it’s not working anymore” or something like “when I pull the trigger nothing happens”. My personal favorite is… “I took my gun apart and now it doesn’t work!”
I just made a similar video for Blank Guns and as I said in that video, trying to trouble shoot a mechanical or technical problem over the internet is very difficult, this goes for cars, guns, computers or what have you…
In this Why is My CO2 Airgun Not Working video I will however cover some of the more common and obvious problems I have seen relating to why a CO2 Airgun may not be working properly. I really don’t get a lot of questions about Spring Piston or Pump Airguns so I will be focusing on CO2 Airguns in this video. There will be a lot of crossover with CO2 Airsoft guns so this video may be helpful for some of you Airsofters out there
First let’s get the super obvious stuff out of the way!
Did you put a new CO2 cartridge in it and is it pierced all the way?
Did you load BB’s or Pellets into the Airguns magazine and is the magazine in the gun correctly?
Is the safety off?
If the gun is a blowback semi auto single action Airgun then did you pull the slide back prior to the first shot?
CO2 Related Problems:
Not all CO2 cartridges are created equal, they often have slightly different shaped nubs on them and some brands will work better than others in different Airguns. If the shape of the CO2 nub does not fit properly into the valve area then it may not pierce or it could pierce but then not allow you to tighten it all the way losing all the CO2 in the process. If the CO2 is coming form the airguns handle to CO2 Valve area then this is an indication that your problem is related to the area where the CO2 enters the airgun.
There is a seal where the CO2 cartridge buts up to the valve, this seal can be damaged or even deformed from usage or even leaving your CO2 in the gun for too long. The outside CO2 Valve seal can also take the shape of a specific CO2 nub so when you use a different brand CO2 the seal may not properly make concat with the new CO2 type you are using, again causing leaking or even the total loss of all your CO2. Watch my YouTube video on “How to Fix Leaking CO2 in an Airgun”.
CO2 Valve Related Problems:
Again, make sure that Outside CO2 Valve Seal is in good condition and any leaking is not being caused by this problem, if you have checked the Out Side Seal and everything is OK with it then perhaps there is a problem with the CO2 valve?
One indication that your CO2 Valve might be the culprit is the total loss of all your CO2 when you try to insert and tighten a new CO2 Cartridge. Usually all the CO2 will exit the barrel, not the handle or valve area. What may be happening is the valve is stuck open or the internal seal is broken or deformed. If this is the case you will have to remove the valve and have a look inside, this is a lot easier on CO2 airguns that have the CO2 valve in the magazine, if the CO2 valve is in the actual Airguns then a lot more disassembly may be required and I would recommend an Airgun technician take care of this for you.
If the gavel is in the magazine then you will have to unscrew it, you may require a special tool for this? Once the valve is out of the magazine take a look inside and examine the internal seal, also look for any bits of metal shavings as they can disrupt the action of the valve causing leaking. Give the inside of the valve a good clean and then lubricate it with some silence spray. hopefully that fixes your problem!
BB’s getting Stuck in the Blowback Gas Tube:
I have actually made a dedicated video for this problem so I will put a link to it in the description of this video. The main reason people may have this problem is because we all like to rack that slide on our full blowback Airguns, but if you have a fully loaded magazine then each time you reach that slide without shooting the gun, you are inadvertently trying to load another BB into the breach area, the breach is only designed to hold one BB at a time so after a few racks of the slide the newly loaded have no place to go but into the Gas Tube where they can get stuck and cause having to the operation of your Full Blowback CO2 Airgun.
BB’s Rolling Out of the Barrel of Your CO2 Airgun:
This is not actually a fault of the gun but happens because of the way the gun is designed. This situation can happen with certain CO2 Airguns when the gun user pulls the trigger really slowly while the gun is point slightly in a downward position. What is actually happening is the first part of the trigger is made to draw a BB from the magazine into the breach of the gun. If the barrel of the gun does not have a rubber hop-up stopper in it then the BB is free to roll down the barrel and out of the gun. How do you fix this problem? Be more committed to your trigger pull and or shoot at a target that is not so low. Perhaps place your targets slightly higher than the gun so the barrel is not pointing down, especially if you like to take your time with the trigger :)
A Little Maintenance Can Go a Long Way!
Sometimes a good cleans is all you need to do to get things working as they should, again I have already made video Tutorial Showing “How to Clean Airguns and Blank Guns”.
What about stuff like My Airgun is jammed or my trigger is stuck or some random part fell out of my gun?
There is only so much I can cover in this video, most other problems are going to get a bit more complicated to fix and I suggest if your Airgun is not working and the suggestions I have made in this video do not solve your problem, then consider taking your gun into a gun tech.
First off I want to say it’s hard to trouble shoot technical or mechanical problems over the internet regardless of if ithas to do with guns, cars, computers or pretty much anything where unless you are there in person it’s really hard to figure out the problem.
But I will attempt to address some of the more common issues why a blank gun may not be functioning properly.
Why is my Semi Auto Blank Gun Not Cycling or Ejecting Shells?
One very common reason a blank gun may not be cycling the shells properly is because the owner has removed the barrel restrictor plug. People usually do this to make the barrel opening look more realistic but the barrel restrictor is a necessary component to increase the back pressure allowing the slide to cycle fully to the rear position so it can eject and pickup a new shell.
The blanks you are using may not have enough gun powder in them. Some blank guns require banks with more gun powder than others, again this additional internal pressure forces the slide all the way back, if the blank does not have enough gun powder in it then only a partial slide motion happens and so the discharged shell may not eject properly, in this case the user would have to clear the blank gun manually so another shell can then be picked up and loaded into the breach.
If your blank guns is dirty or not lubricated then it may act sluggish again restricting the full movement of the slide which will effect correct operation. Make sure to thoroughly clean and lubricate your blank gun, that may be a quick fix for you!
You may have a faulty extractor? The extractor is like a hook that grabs the discharged shell while the slide is in the reward position pulling or extracting the shell out of the breach. If the extractor is worn or broken then the empty shell will not be ejected from the breach so when a new shell is picked up from the magazine it has nowhere to go and usually you will get a jam-up in the ejection port area.
One final situation that can cause your blank gun to not cycle properly is to strong of a slide spring, some blank guns out of the box just come with a really heavy slide spring, so much so that even blanks with lots of gunpowder in them are still not strong enough to make the slide operate full motion. Your only option here would be to replace the heavy slide spring with a lighter one.
Why Are My Blanks Not Firing?
This is a situation where you pull the trigger and nothing happens. Lets get the obvious causes right out of the way here… Did you put blanks in your gun and are they new blanks? Did you chamber the first round in your semi auto pistol?
So now that that’s out of the way let’s look at some other reasons why your blank gun may not be firing a blank. Perhaps the firing pin is broken? Most blank guns are not made out of carbon steel and even the firing pins can be lesser quality than what you would find in a real gun so blank guns are more prone to breaking than real guns. I have seen broken firing pins in blank guns first hand so make sure to check the firing pin and that it is fully operational.
Try changing up your blanks to another brand? Again blank gun ammunition is not made to the same higher standards that real firearm ammo is made and some primers may require a little more pressure than your gun is providing. Even with real guns an ammo change may help the gun operate better.
Why is the Trigger or Hammer Not Operating Properly?
I have come across blank guns where there are mechanical problems in the trigger and hammer areas, you may be able to address this yourself but I would recommend taking your blank gun to a gunsmith since you will have to take the gun pretty much full apart to fix a problem in the trigger and hammer areas.
Of course make sure your gun is clean and lubricated, this can help a lot with the mechanical areas of your blank gun.
One problem I saw with a few EKOL Special 99’s was specifically with the single action potion of the trigger, when I would pull the hammer back it would not lock back and the hammer would often slip and fire randomly, this is rather dangerous. When I took the gun apart I found that the table top or step that the trigger was supposed to catch on was worn down on the edge so it would simply slip off. I was able to fix this by filing a new edge on the step area. Again this can happen because blank guns are not made out of as high quality metal materials as real guns.
Why does the Flame Come out the Top of My Blank Gun and Not the Front?
If you find that the flame or discharge comes out of the top of your blank gun and not the barrel, this usually does not mean anything is wrong with your blank gun. All it means is you own a top venting blank gun and not a front firing blank gun. In some countries front firing blank guns are not allowed but front venting blank guns are. The same may also be reversed in some countries, for instance here in Canada we can only import front firing blank guns with flare adaptors since our blank guns are imported under the assumption that they are to be used as signaling or flare devices.
Can I Convert my Top Venting Blank Gun into a Front Venting Blank Gun?
I really don't recommend altering a blank gun in any way as it may be a violation of your local laws and it could cause the blank gun to malfunction in a very bad way causing serious injury or even death!
In theory I suppose it may be possible to convert your Top Venting Blank Gun into a Front Venting Blank Gun but again you would need to allow for just the right amount of back pressure so a wide open barrel would not work unless it was a revolver. You can not simply remove the red plug and bingo you have a front firing blank gun because in most cases the barrel will be completely plugged in the frontal region. Not only would you need to drill out the plugged portion of the barrel but you would also have to somehow fill in the top venting area and again makes sure to allow for just enough back pressure to cycle the slide back and forth.
Hopefully this has helped some of you with blank gun issues. If you’re looking for a blank gun make sure to come down to www.ReplicaAirguns.ca and www.ReplicaAirguns.us and have a look in our blank gun area of our online stores.
Power Sources Covered in this review: CO2 - Spring Piston - Variable Pump -HPA (High Pressure Air)
Pro’s:
CO2 Airguns allow for fast repeat shooting, great for action shooters, generally CO2 Airguns will supply a medium power range. No need to pump or cock your CO2 powered weapon in-between shots and a CO2 power source can allow for a very realistic action of the gun you are shooting.
Spring Piston Airguns are best suited of single shot situations, they can provide low to high power output depending on the spring used. Spring Piston Airguns are very low cost to operate since you only need to buy the Pellets or BB’s. Spring Piston Airguns are not greatly effected by outside temperatures.
Variable Pump Airguns allow you to decide how much power your gun will have and can offer very high power output depending on the Airgun. Variable Pump Airguns are very low cost to operate since you only need to buy the Pellets or BB’s. Variable Pump Airguns are not greatly effected by outside temperatures. Variable Pump Airguns generally have very low recoil and vibration.
HPA (High Pressure Air) Airguns generally do not require pumping or cocking in-between shots and some even come in semi automatic or bolt action. HPA Airguns can have very high power output and even be used on larger game using large caliber ammunition. HPA Air Rifles have lower recoil and low vibration. HPA Airguns can be charged ahead off time so they are ready for use when you need them.
Con’s:
CO2 Airguns require the additional cost to buy the CO2 as they do not function without it. CO2 Airguns have a limited power output and lose power as you shoot and use up the CO2. CO2 Airguns are effected by hot and cold temperatures and will have less power in colder temperatures and may not even work in super cold environments.
Spring Piston Airguns require cocking before each shot. Spring Piston Airguns can have a lot of recoil and vibration, so much so that special optics must be considered when buying an optical sight. The action of the spring recoil can effect accuracy, especially if you are not use to the vibration and recoil or have spent some time practicing using a Spring Piston Airgun.
Variable Pump Airguns will require multiple pumps to achieved maximum power output which can take some time in-between shots. So you are going to have to work for each shot.
HPA (High Pressure Air) Airguns require the use of a manual pump to fill their built in air tank to maximum pressure and it does take a lot of time to manual fill an HPA tank. Alternatively you can have the air tank filled at a shop or buy a pressurization system similar to a scuba tank out paintball setup, the cost of this setup can be very high but will save you the castle of manually pumping air in to your HPA Airgun. HPA Airguns are generally a little more bulky then other Airgun systems since they have to accommodate fairly large air pressure tanks.
Power:
Generally speaking a longer barrel is going to allow for more power. If you compare most CO2 pellet pistols to CO2 Pellet Rifles, you will find that the CO2 Pellet Pistol will generally shoot about 300-400 fps using a standard lead Pellet. On the other hand many CO2 Pellet Rifles can get up to as high as 600 fps which is much better speed for humanly shooting some smaller pests.
If you are talking about Springer or Variable Pump Air Pistols versus their Air Rifle counterparts, again the Air rifles will generally shoot with much more power. I have seen some none CO2 Air Pistols shoot up into the 500-600 fps range but again compered to none CO2 Air Rifles, they can even double these numbers.
Some of you may ask about Steel BB Pistols and Rifles. I personally would never really sue this type of ammunition for pest control simply because most BB Rifles have much less raw power than Pellet Rifles and steel BB’s will not be as accurate at any type of longer distance.
Stability:
When holding any rifle from the shoulder, you have three point of contact with your body spread out in a much longer distance than a two handed pistol grip. Holding steady even without a rested position is much easier using a rifle. Even when using a rested position, the rifle will more stable.
Accuracy:
A big factor in accuracy is stability but there are also other factors to consider. Barrel length its self does not make the gun more accurate, you only need a few inches of barrel length to get constant accurate results from a gun. What makes longer barreled guns more accurate is the distance between the rear and front sight. The closer the sights are together, the more margin for error there is, the longer you spread out the sights from each other, the more accurate the sighting system becomes.
Overall More Humain:
When you consider Air Rifles tend to have higher power, better accuracy and overall more consistency than shorter barreled Air Pistols. The logical choice for humanly shooting a Pest is to use the Air Rifle. The last thing you want to do is make any animal suffer, even if it has been causing a lot of havoc around your home or farm or place of business.
I already made several review videos for both Gletcher NGT (4.5mm Steel BB) and the Gletcher NGT R (.177 Cal Pellet) Revolvers, including table top and shooting videos. So make sure to check those videos out for more information on both versions of Gletcher NGT and NGT R Revolvers.
I did however miss some noteworthy details that I wanted to cover in this video. Firstly, the real steal Nagant M1895 Revolver this Gletcher NGT is styled after has a very unique gas-sealing system that the Airgun version does not replicate or really require but it is worth mentioning.
Here is some more info on how the original Nagant M1895 Revolver Gas Seal System works:
(From Wikipedia) The M1895 by contrast, has a mechanism which, as the hammer is cocked, first turns the cylinder and then moves it forward, closing the gap between the cylinder and the barrel. The cartridge, also unique, plays an important part in sealing the gun to the escape of propellant gases. The bullet is deeply seated, entirely within the cartridge case, and the case is slightly reduced in diameter at its mouth. The barrel features a short conical section at its rear; this accepts the mouth of the cartridge, completing the gas seal. By sealing the gap, the velocity of the bullet is increased by 15 to 45 m/s (50 to 150 ft/s.) This feature also eliminates the possibility of injury through the dangerous expansion of gases from the cylinder behind the barrel, which are easily capable of severing a finger if the user holds the gun incorrectly (with a finger positioned in front of the cylinder during fire) - a noted safety-issue in conventional revolvers.
Moving on to some of the features incorporated into the Gletcher NGT NGT-R CO2 BB and Pellet Revolver that I did not point in any of my previous videos. There is an extractor rod that can be used to extract a shell, this is not really necessary on the airgun version since the shells do not expand and tighten on the cylinder as they would n the real steal Nagant M1895 Revolver built is nice that we can replicate this feature with the Airgun version. You can also remove the cylinder completely from both the BB and Pellet shooting Gletcher NGT NGT-R CO2 Revolvers. The cylinder is actually very heavy and adds a lot of weight to this compact 7 shot Revolver.
It is always nice when an Airgun is built in such a way that it replicates the real steal version as closely as possible and the Gletcher NGT NGT-R CO2 BB and Pellet Revolvers do this nearly perfectly.
I get asked on a daily bases form many of my Vimeo Viewers about how and if there is a way to get rid of the White lettering on Airguns, Typically people are wanting to remove the intrusive Warning instructions from Airguns like the Cybergun Tanfoglio Witness 1911, the Cybergun/Swiss Arms GSG 92/P92 and many other CO2 Replica Airguns that have lettering or branding that you may want to get rid of.
In this Instructional Tutorial Video I show you how can at least tone down the white lettering and even completely remove it on some Airguns without damaging the Airguns finish underneath the white lettering. You will have to use some patience and perhaps repeat this method a few times but the end result is worth the effort.
The magical product I use to remove the white lettering on many popular Airguns is a product from Birchwood Casey called the Presto Gun Blue Pen. This product is actually designed to touch up real steel gun in areas where the blueing has worn off, lucky for us the Birchwood Casey Presto Gun Blue Pen also works well to remove the ugly white lettering from Airguns.
I have often been asked which of the Shells for the Shell Loading Revolvers work in which Shell Loading Revolvers? After all many of them look a lot alike so can you mix and match Shells for the various types of Shell Loading Revolvers?
In this Vimeo Instructional Video I test out a bunch of Shells to see which ones actually will work or not work in several of the most popular Shell Loading Revolvers.
Some of the Shell Loading Revovers Tested in this Instructional Video are:
Dan Wesson Classic Revolver (BB, Airsoft, Pellet)
Dan Wesson 715 Revolver (BB, Airsoft, Pellet)
Colt Single Action Army Peacemaker (BB, Airsoft, Pellet)
Gletcher NGT and NGT-R (BB and Pellet)
Webley Mark VI (BB)
KWC 357 / Umarex 357 (BB, Airsoft)
G&G G731 (Airsoft)
Make sure to watch my Table Top Review for all the Features and Specifications for the ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit.
In this Field Test Shooting Video Review I compare using a standard 12 gram CO2 versus my ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit with HPA (High Pressure Air).
To make this as comparable a test as possible I used two KWC/Gletcher Makarov Full Blowback Pistols each with their own separate magazine, again one with a 12 gram CO2 and one using the ANT system.
HPA or High Presure Air is not effected by cold weather which makes this setup ideal for shooting in cold situations since fps is not effected at all. As CO2 requires heat to expand, the colder the outside temperature the less amount of expansion you get from the CO2 whihc results in less power, this is really noticeable on your follow-up magazines as the CO2, magazine and even the gun will have started to cool down from the CO2 exposure.
The ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit even when using large 20 ounce CO2 tanks will help with the cool down effect since the large CO2 tanks will take much longer to cool down and even freeze up as compared to the smaller 12 gram CO2 which can get frosty even after the first magazine.
I did notice in this Field Test Shooting Review that the CO2 did pretty good as it was my first magazine and the temperature was not all that cold out. I can say the HPA System was shooting much harder, after making this video I popped off another couple magazine with each gun shooting out to at least 100 feet and the ANT FIRE HPA setup was really throwing the 4.5mm Steel BB's out there quickly. As expected the 12 gram CO2 mags really started to trail off especially on the third magazine of shots.
All in all, the ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit will not only bring your cost per shot down significantly but it allows you to keep shooting with no down time waiting for your gun to warm back up and the ability to use HPA (High Pressure Air) means you will get even more fps performance out of your air guns but also much more consistent shot performance all day long!
I reviewed the Original ANT (Advanced Novelty Tech) CO2 HPA Conversion Kit last year and did both a Table Top Review and Field Test Shooting Review, so make sure to check out my video reviews for the Original ANT Advanced Novelty Tech CO2 HPA Conversion Kit.
Well ANT (Advanced Novelty Tech) made an update model that supports a bunch more guns, that's a good thing of course. This new model is called the "FIRE" and it supports the following guns. I did find however that ANT list that the Gletcher NGT and Webley Mark VI Revolvers where supported by the FIRE but my findings indicated the CO2 screw on both these guns had a smaller diameter so they where not compatible. Other than that small discrepancy most of the other guns on their list should work just fine.
What exactly is the ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit?
The Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2/HPA Conversion Kit is a remote line adapter for Airsoft, BB, and pellet guns. Compatible with over 60 guns, it is easy to install and converts a compatible gun for use with a Paintball remote line and CO2 or HPA tank. Eliminating the need for disposable CO2 cartridges, while still being interchangeable with disposable CO2 cartridges, it delivers a longer, more powerful, and more consistent shooting experience between refills.
So what is the ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit going to do for you?
Eliminate the need for the more expensive disposable 12 gram CO2 cartridges.
Use interchangeably with disposable 12 gram CO2 cartridges.
Use in conjunction with a Paintball remote line with standard quick disconnect fittings and a CO2 or HPA tank. (recommended use up to 1000 psi)
Shoot thousands of rounds before needing to refill your CO2.
Fits compatible Airsoft, BB, and pellet gun CO2 pistols.
Easy drop-in installation.
Overall cost savings.
More consistent FPS especially when shooting fast or in full auto.
Longer play time :)
I will be doing a Field Test Shooting Review for the ANT Advanced Novelty Tech FIRE CO2 HPA Conversion Kit but based on my experience with the Original ANT CO2 HPA Conversion Kit I expect it to work as advertised.
Almost a year or so ago I made my Table Top Review Video for both the 6mm Airsoft and 4.5mm Steel BB shooting KWC Mac 11 M11 CO2 Pistols, and no they are not machine pistols since they only shoot in semi auto mode. Well anyway, I finally got around to testing these low cost Mac 11 replicas out shooting them through my Chrony Chronograph to find out their real world fps velocity along with my standard 30 foot back semi rested paper target accuracy test. Both CO2 Replica Pistols performed rather well for me and turned out to be both powerful and accurate.
In terms of power, KWC claims 120 meters per second or 394 feet per second for the 4.5mm Steel BB KWC M11 while the 6mm Airsoft Mac 11 had a claimed fps of 152 mps or 499 fps. During my testing both guns actually shot much faster than claimed with the steel BB M11 shooting 5.1 grain steel 4.5mm BB's at an average of 453 fps. The Airsoft KWC Mac 11 with its lighter .20 gram 6mm plastic Airsoft BB's averaged a very hot 556 fps which is probably going to be too hot for most Airsoft fields but a lot of fun shooting in your back yard!
Both the Steel BB and Plastic Airsoft BB KWC M11's have an internal fixed hop-up system which did seem to help out a lot with accuracy. From my semi rested shooting position with paper targets setup 30 feet away, I was able to get well centered 1-5 to 2 inch groupings from both versions of the KWC Mac 11 CO2 Pistols.The Airsoft KWC M11 did shoot a little high and to the right but not a lot while the Steel BB M11 was centered well left to right but again just a little high.
Both KWC Mac 11 M11 CO2 Pistols shoot in double action and have what I would consider to be about medium pull triggers since there are not a lot of moving parts or any type of blowback operation. This means they will be more CO2 efficient and likely to have very few problems since they are very simple in design. If you want a great performing low cost and simple in design Mac 11 Replica then take your pick, 4.5mm Steel BB KWC M11 or 6mm Plastic Airsoft KWC M11!
I have already made a Table Top Video Review for the Gletcher NGT Silver CO2 BB Revolver which for the most part is the same gun but in a 4.5mm Steel BB non rifled barrel version and as the title indicates with a different finish being the silver version. Other than finish and ammunition being used, both guns are virtually the same.
I always like getting outside and shooting the airguns I review even on these fall overcast days, at least the temperature was not too cold, right around 14 °C or 57.2 °F so decent for my testing purposes. The Gletcher NGT R like the BB shooting NGT is a fairly small air revolver and so pretty much anyone should be able to shoot this air revolver even if you have smaller hands, I did find that pre-cocking the hammer for single action shooting was a bit of a stretch when reaching over with the thumb, but you can just as easily shoot in double action, both trigger pulls are nice and light with the double action being a bit longer and heavier.
Loading the 7 round cylinder will take longer than your standard stick magazine BB pistol since you first need to pop some .177 caliber pellets into each shell, if you want to speed up the process you don't have to eject the shells to load them, you can simply index the cylinder and pop a pellet into each shell while still inside the cylinder.
In terms of fps performance, the Gletcher NGT R CO2 Pellet Revolver shot a little higher than expected getting a 4 shot average of 376 fps using 7 grain RWS Lead pellets, so around 50 fps higher than the claimed 328 fps on the box and even a bit higher than the steel BB version I tested earlier. This is really good considering the short barrel and fact that a revolver can leak a little CO2 between the cylinder and the barrel and even the cylinder and the CO2 valve.
I really felt comfortable using the rather old school fixed open post and notch sights, the grey/black finish on the Gletcher NGT R may be a bit hard to see on darker targets but shooting on my white target was no problem. My 7 shot grouping from 30 feet back using a semi rested shooting stance produced about a 1 inch grouping well centred vertically just a hair to the left so all in all the Gletcher NGT R CO2 Pellet Revolver has the power and accuracy I was hoping for even in such a small package.
I would definitely recommend the Gletcher NGT R CO2 Pellet Revolver, not only is it a real looker but it also has the performance to back it. even better than its 4.5mm Steel BB shooting brother.
It has been a while since I picked out some of my favorite guns, after all my favorite gun picks change on a daily basis since there are so many awesome guns out there to pick from.
This Vimeo video is a little different since I pick out my favorites from a bunch of mostly replica gun categories including Steel BB, Pellet, Airsoft, Revolvers and Blank Pistols.
You may notice most of my picks happen to be blowback guns but to me airguns are all about being as realistic as possible and having blowback operation to me help to simulate the realism that much more. The exception in this video is in the pellet gun category since I decided on a pellet gun that was more about function and purpose over being any type of real replica.
Hopefully you take the time to watch my entire Vimeo video since I also bring out some close runner ups but here is a list of my top picks on this day, tomorrow it could be a completely different list of guns ;)
In this Field Test Shooting video I test out both the Daisy Powerline 5501 and Daisy Powerline 5502 CO2 Blowback BB pistols to determine what the real work velocity is and also how well they performs in terms of accuracy. To test velocities for both Airguns I use a my Chrony Chronograph and do my best to get 5 good readings which I then average out. I always use a brand new 12 gram CO2 cartridge and generally use 5.1 grain Zink Coated Steel BB's for my entire Field Testing. For my accuracy test, I set myself up 30 feet back using a semi rested position, to do this I place a sand bag up front to rest my hands and gun on and then stand securely in the back while I place 10 rounds on a paper target. There will obviously be some humane factor involved since I am not perfect but I can usually get a good idea on how accurate a given gun is using this method.
During my Velocity or FPS Chronograph testing, I managed to get 4 good readings out of 15 shots with the Daisy Powerline 5501 scoring an average of 367fps. Amazingly my first 5 shots with the Daisy Powerline 5502 all ready perfectly on my Chronograph even though they where moving a good 50fps faster, go figure? My average velocity for this 5 shot sting of shots was 417fps.
For my accuracy testing I was expecting both guns to perform about the same since mechanically they arevirtually the same other than a longer barrel on the 5502. The Daisy Powerline 5501 however seemed to struggle with consistency, it did group well left to right and up and down on the target but the spread was about 5 inches and it should of gotten closer to 2-3 inches in my books for a blowback pistol like this. The Daisy Powerline 5502 did perform better in terms of accuracy getting closer to a 2-3 inch grouping so overall I have to give the Powerline 5502 the advantage in both velocity and accuracy.
Another noteworthy point to mention is how much quieter the Daisy Powerline 5502 is in person! I am assuming the longer barrel along with the compensator perhaps muffling the sound a bit plays a roll in this. Both Daisy Powerline CO2 Blowback BB Pistols have a nice solid blowback action simulating some recoil and the triggers on both are fairly decent being that they simulate more of a double action feel with their long medium weight pull.
I do like the look of the more simplified Daisy Powerline 5501 with it's chrome frame but the performance and accessory option of the Powerline 5502 are a definite benefit for this model.
First off I want to point out that both of these guns I have already reviewed in slightly different cosmetic versions. The Umarex Beretta M92 A1 Desert Storm is essentially the same gun as the Umarex Beretta Mod. 92 A1 Blowback CO2 BB Pistol but with a distressed aged look and the Commemorative Desert Storm licensing on it. Similarly the Daisy Powerline Tactical 5502 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is based on the chrome framed Daisy Powerline 5501 but the Daisy Powerline 5502 comes with a sight rail and compensator.
Check out my other reviews for the Daisy Powerline 5501 and Umarex Mod. 92 A1.
In this video I show you around both the Umarex Beretta M92 A1 Desert Storm and Daisy Powerline Tactical 5502 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol and compare them to their significant similar versions. I talk a bit about specifications but this is a preview video so I don't go into full details. I hope to add some follow up reviews especially a comparison shooting video between the Daisy Powerline Tactical 5502 and Daisy Powerline 5501 since there is a barrel length difference that may give the Powerline 5502 an FPS performance advantage.
I will leave you now with some specifications for both guns.
12 gram CO2 with Blowback
4.5mm Steel BB's
18 shot magazine
Smooth Bore Barrel
Single & Double Action
Semi & Full Auto Selectable
310 fps
2.4 Pounds
Buy Umarex Beretta Desert Storm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol in Canada
Buy Umarex Beretta Desert Storm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol in the US
12 gram CO2 with Blowback
4.5mm Steel BB's
15 shot magazine
Smooth Bore Barrel
Single Action Only
Semi Auto
480 fps
1.66 Pounds
Buy Daisy Powerline 5502 Tactical CO2 Blowback BB Pistol in Canada
Buy Daisy Powerline 5502 Tactical CO2 Blowback BB Pistol in the US
This comparison Review Video serves a few purposes, first to compare the ASG Dan Wesson 715 Revolver 4.5mm steel BB version to the 6mm plastic Airsoft version in both velocity and accuracy. Secondly to give my new Chrony Chronograph with lighting kit a test to see if I can get more reliable readings in lower light and thirdly to try and redeem the Steel BB version of the Dan Wesson 715 as last time I tested it, it did not get all that high of fps readings, well below the claimed 430 on the box.
In this review video I test both Dan Wesson 715 Revolvers out, first with my Chrony Chronograph and then all in one take I setup and shoot 6 rounds each on separate paper targets from 30 feet back to see how accurate the smaller heavier Steel BB rounds are compared to the larger lighter Plastic BB's. I used 5.1 grain RWS 4.5mm Steel BB's and .20 gram 6mm plastic BB's and installed brand new 12 gram CO2 cartridges in both guns.
In terms of my Chrony consistency, the smaller steel BB's still struggled to get consistent readings with only 2 out of 6 shots while the larger Airsoft BB's managed to get a good reading 4 out of 6 shots. Steel BB velocity was right around 350 fps while the Airsoft BB's where travelling much faster at closer to 450 fps.
Both the Steel BB and Airsoft CO2 Dan Wesson 715 Revolvers shot 6 round grouping of about 2 inches with 4 out of the 6 shots making a much tighter 1 inch group again with both ammo types. The Airsoft Dan Wesson 715 seemed to be centered on target well while the Steel BB Dan Wesson 715 shot a bit low.
Recently I picked up my new Chrony Beta Shooting Chronograph to replace my F-1 that has not been working so well for me in past videos... I wanted to get outside and give it a try shooting a few of the airguns that I was not able to test out properly. Now I know that under my patio deck, the lighting is not optimal even on sunny days and because of this I have never expected to get perfectly consistent fps recording but as many of you know, my old Chrony F-1 was pretty much not working at all near the end there.
I have ordered a light kit which will help out a lot especially when summer is over and the sky becomes more overcast. But for now I decided to test my Chrony Beta Chronograph under my deck roof as I have been testing all along and see if I can get better results with this newer Beta version.
So makes sure to watch my Vimeo video testing of my Chrony Beta Shooting Chronograph shooting a selection of airguns.
Here is my second instalment for this summers Full Auto Fun Videos. in this Full Auto Fun Video I shoot my KWC M712 Broomhandle CO2 BB Pistol at some more water filled Pop Cans and Clay Pigeons in Full Auto mode of course :)
Make sure to watch my other KWC M712 Broomhandle CO2 BB and Airsoft Pistol videos and keep in mind we sell both the 4.5mm Steel BB version and 6mm Airsoft Version in our Canada Replica Airgun Store.
Last summer I made some "Full Auto Fun" videos and well... I had a lot of fun making them and of course shooting the full auto airguns. So I got to thinking I should make some more Full Auto Fun videos again this summer, at least for some of the new Full Auto guns I have not made these videos for yet.
So to kick it off, I brought out my Umarex Beretta Mod. 92 A1 CO2 BB Pistol and shot up some clay pigeons and water filled cans in Full Auto Mode of course :)
