Finally got my hands on a Umarex Smith & Wesson M&P R8 Revolver to review for you. I have been waiting for what seems like forever and although it is a bit on the light side it looks durable enough. I will hopefully be staring my review process at the tail end of this week.
There is a lot of use of plastic in the S&W M&P R8 but I can say it does make for a good all weather robust kind of shooter. It does feel good and solid in the hand and I like the fact that the swing out cylinder is all one piece with no tell tail sign of a pellet or BB magazine like some of the other revolvers on the market. I'm not sure if it's going to stack up to the Dan Wesson line but then again it is only a fraction of the cost of a Dan Wesson revolver.
Last but not least, and the only Blowback pistol out of the bunch, the Crosman PRO77 is a decent single action true blowback BB air pistol worth checking out.
has realistic weight, power and feel in a compact semi automatic blowback air pistol. Squeeze the trigger and put 17 BBs downrange at 350 feet per second as quickly and accurately as you can. Then fully functioning slide re-cocks the hammer with each pull of the trigger. The under barrel weaver style rail will accept most tactical accessories or use the fixed blade and notch sights to zero in on your target. Accepts the 12 gram CO2 Powerlet.
If you love the early war guns then this one will interest you for sure. This Crosman All Metal P38-ish looking replica may not be licensed but it does look the part of the Walther P38.
The Crosman C41 pistol features alloy construction that gives it a realistic weight and feel to a real firearm. A medium framed pistol, the C41 has ambidextrous checkered grips and is modeled after some of the famous German pistols the Walther P38. Powered by a Powerlet® 12 gram CO2 cartridge, with muzzle velocities up to 495 fps, the C41 has an 18 round all metal spring fed drop out magazine that ensures accurate BB feeding with every shot. An easy slide grip guarantees quick CO2 replacement resulting in less downtime and more time on the range. Rear notch and front blade sights ensure accurate shots every time.
One of the first of three pistol I am adding to the Replica Airguns Store is the Crosman C11. This is a low cost yet very powerful CO2 air pistol that I am bringing to you on two version, the standard and the Tactical version. The Tactical version comes with a fake suppressor and sight rail for just $10 more.
Crosman .177 Caliber CO2 Powered, BB pistol - This modern styled semi-automatic CO2 powered pistol combines hand-held comfort with quality components, at a very affordable price. The Crosman C11 features a velocity of up to 480 fps and an accessory rail under the barrel for a tactical light or laser sight. The C11 also features an all metal drop free removable magazine for BBs, as well as grips that slide back for easy replacement of CO2 Powerlets. We also have the C11 available in a Tactical version with the addition of a sight rail and fake suppressor for only $10 more.
I've added some Crosman products to the store! Not the super new stuff Crosman showed us at the 2012 SHOT Show but still some popular items I have been asked to sell by many of you. First on the list is the Crosman Pumpmaster 760 Variable Pump Air Rifle Kit. This is the Canadianized detuned down to 495 fps version so yes you can buy this one without a firearms licence in Canada.
A proven and dependable Crosman favorite for over four decades, the Crosman Pumpmaster 760 Variable Pump Air Rifle offers an experience all its own. Over 12 million have been sold! It is unique in that it doubles as a BB repeater or a single shot pellet gun. This air rifle has been detuned to 495 fps for the Canadian market.
I wanted to get this video out to you a bit sooner but I have been really sick the past three days and so I have not had a lot of time to put this YouTube Video together. It's a pretty simple compilation of some photos and videos I took during my time walking around the 2012 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, not all of it is to do with airguns but most of it is. I even took a few touristy shots since it wasn't all work ;)
I thought you may all be interested in knowing that the Crosman M4-177 Pneumatic Air Rifle is coming to Canada. I was looking through the 2012 Crosman product guide that I picked up when I visited Crosman at the SHOT Show, and I noticed they have a Canadian product code!
I have had a lot of people asking if this one would be fore sale in Canada and it looks like it is coming, the question now is when...
Here is the Official Press Release of the Crosman C-TT:
C-TT PRESS RELEASE - CROSMAN ANNOUNCES NEW RUSSIAN-STYLE CO2 BB PISTOL
ROCHESTER, New York (January 17, 2012) – Crosman Corporation, long known for innovation and quality in products for the shooting sports, has introduced the new Crosman C-TT. The CO2 powered .177 caliber, semi-automatic BB repeater air pistol is styled after a World War II era Russian service handgun.
Appealing to fans of WWII memorabilia, “the C-TT is an authentic looking plinking pistol that offers hours of fun action shooting,” says Crosman Product Manager Flemming Molin. “Adding to the realism of the new, vintage-style C-TT pistol is its generous weight and the all-metal body. It gives this pistol its genuine feel,” he said. “The 18-round mag drops at the push of a button for quick reloading, getting you back to shooting sooner,” said Molin.
“Imagine the thrill of shooting as fast as you can pull the trigger with this new Soviet-style sidearm. What better way to enjoy target shooting than with a pistol that looks like it’s from your favorite WWII game?” Molin asked. “Put together some targets and challenge your buddies to a friendly competition,” he suggests.
The new CO2 pistol is a semi-automatic repeater powered by a Powerlet® 12 gram CO2 cartridge. It features a comfortable polymer grip, alloy body and is equipped with a front blade and rear notch sight. The C-TT holds up to 18, 4.5mm BBs and is as sturdy as the World War II Red Army service pistol it resembles,” Molin commented.
The C-TT has an MSRP of $99.99 and is available at retail.
OK, so I took a day off to appease the wife and did some "shopping" but then today it was back to business and I made the wife come along for the ride, she was a good sport about it so it all worked out!
I went back to Umarex and Crosman, just to verify a few things, first of all, the Umarex P38 is in fact a blowback pistol and it has a nice 400 claimed fps. I am looking forward to testing this one!.
I also went back to Crosman to checkout the C51 and the C*TT to see if the C51 Glock-ish looking replica had a polymer frame which it does and also to see if the C*TT is blowback which it is not :( But it is mostly metal and has a working slide so there is hope for the C*TT.
I dropped by the ASG booth but there was nothing really new there. I already have pretty much all their 4.5mm BB guns but they do have a nice selection of Airsoft guns, and speaking of Airsoft guns I am spending a significant amount of my time these days looking into the Airsoft market and what I can bring into Canada for sale. I have been talking with several suppliers and we should have some nice offering for us Canadians shortly so stay posted on this one...
Lastly, I have a few 22LR guns coming my way that I will be reviewing. yes I know they are not airguns but whenever I review a 22LR gun, I get a lot of questions and if you are like me, and you have your PAL, the 22LR guns make a nice addition to your low cost guns that you can buy and shoot for a fraction of the cost of the larger caliber guns out there.
Today I stopped by Chiappa and checked them out. I have a 1911 Tactical 22LR on the way that I will be reviewing and I may get some more 22LR from Chiappa down the road if the 1911 reviews well. By the way I also have a 22lR M22 ISSC "Glock" styled pistol also on it's way for review!
Well that's it from the Vegas SHOT SHow 2012 for now, see you on the flip-side!
I thought the Crosman C51 was dead, it was expected to be released back in the summer of 2011 but it got delayed and then word came out that it was dropped! But then to my surprise I saw it on display at this years SHOT Show and after a few questions it looks like it is back on the table as a new product for 2012.
This is great news because I have to say this is a very well made pistol all around very realistic. It has excellent weight to it, especially in the slide and it has a floating barrel with full blowback action and a single action trigger. You will also be happy to hear it has a full drop out metal magazine and seems to be designed like many of the 6mm Airsoft blowback airguns.
I am really looking forward to getting my hands on this air pistol!
One new item from Umarex that at first I thought was pretty much exactly like the Crosman C41 but after closer inspection it is very different and has some features that I believe will make it the better of the two.
For one the Umarex P38 has a slide catch and release, the Crosman C41 has a moving slide but no slide catch to speak of. The Umarex P38 also has the actual Walther P38 licensing which is a nice touch and it has an actual working hammer. I am not 100% sure if it is blowback or not but I plan on going back and asking a few more questions about the Umarex Walther P38 as it looks to be a nice addition to the Umarex Replica Air Pistol line up.
The SHOT Show is out of this world! You really need a week to check it all out or perhaps a clone of yourself... I barely touched the surface today. I did make sure I had a chance to checkout both Umarex and Crosman, I also made it to some other booths, but I will touch on them later in another post. There is enough information I can share with you from Crosman and Umarex to keep you drooling for now.
In short, here is what is new...
Crosman is bringing back the C51 Glock inspired Blowback BB pistol that we all thought was dead and I have to say it looks really really nice - more to come on this one. Crosman also has the new C*TT BB pistol that looks to be a blowback pistol replica of the Russian Tokarev. I also saw a very nice looking two tone version of the M4-177 and there may just be a Canadian detuned under 500 fps version on the way? Crosman is also introducing a really well made Nitro Piston air pistol called the Benjamin Trail NP that looks to be a very well made break barrel spring piston air pistol that shoots in the 500 fps neighbourhood.
Umarex also had some new items, one of which at first glance looks a lot like the Crosman C41 P38 replica but I have to say it has more going for it with a locking slide, licensed trade marks, true single action and overall just a more realistic version of the real P38. Umarex is also bringing the Smith & Wesson 327 TRR8 BB Revolver to North America, which is very similar to the Dan Wesson line but with extra rails on the top and bottom of the barrel. Umarex is also adding a couple Browning based air guns, one is a low fps Browning Buck Mark copy which is a break barrel .177 caliber pellet shooter targeted for the beginner target shooter and also a Browning High Power replica. One last BB pistol many people have been asking for is the Beretta 90 Two BB pistol and it looks like it has landed in North America finally!
Make sure to check back for some more photos and more info on all these guns...
Action: Electronic trigger with 1-3-6 round burst & 300-340-600 Rounds Per Minute.
Ammunition Type: 4.5mm steel BB's.
Ammunition Capacity: 900 rounds.
FPS: 360-500.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the IZH Drozd Blackbird is nice and light due to the fact that the trigger is not mechanical but is instead an electronic on-off switch that operates a solenoid. The solenoid pulsates in turn hitting the CO2 valve release. This is how the single fire and burst fire rates are achieved, by means of electronics.
Accuracy: The Drozd Blackbird is designed to be a machine gun and so testing it in single shot mode for accuracy is kind of taking it out of its element. Even so it did reasonably well, but when when I flicked it over to full auto it actually seemed to tighten up and start grouping even more centered and closer together considering the vast amount of rounds coming out of the barrel all at once :)
Build Quality: This is a typical Russian made gun, all business and less importance put on looks but even so it is visually appealing, at least to me! Everything works exactly as it should and even though the main shell is made out of plastic, it's really more of a weapons grade polymer so there is no cause for concern here. There are a fair amount of metal components like the factory barrel, much of the magazine and many internal parts. This air gun is very durable!
Realism: The Baikal Drozd Blackbird IZH MP-661K is not a replica, but it does look like a sub machine gun of sorts, I'm really just not sure exactly what it looks like as it kind of has its own look. When you start shooting it, looks just don't seem to matter anymore, all you can think about is how much damage is happening down range.
A bit more accuracy in semi auto mode would have been nice.
On the pricey side.
Comments:
The Baikal Drozd Blackbird IZH MP-661K takes all the fun you get with the Classic Drozd and gives you even more fun. It may be one of the more pricy BB machine guns on the market but it is well worth the extra cost to get such a quality product that not only is great out of the box but can also be modified in so many ways to improve its performance and looks dramatically. If you are looking for the absolute top player in the BB Machine gun category then the Drozd Blackbird is the top contender with its excellent build quality and performance along with the nearly unlimited modifications available to make the Blackbird perform up to anyones standards.
My Vimeo Video Review for this Russian made Blackbird BB Machine gun:
I'm kind of doing this one backwards this time around. I was going to do the table top review of the Baikal Drozd Blackbird first but the weather was just too nice to pass up today to not get outside and give this gun a thorough testing.
I will be posting the table top review in a few days with all the specification (Here it is now) but if you're looking for some basic info on the Blackbird you can checkout our online store where you can find some statistics on the Drozd Blackbird and you can also checkout my Drozd Classic Review where I do a short comparison between the Drozd Classic and the newer updated Blackbird version.
I had a lot of fun shooting this gun, it lays down a lot of steel in a very short amount of time and has a virtually endless 900 round BB hopper that just keeps on going. During my testing I shot close to 400 rounds or more using one 88 gram CO2 cartridge and even near the end the Baikal Drozd Blackbird had pretty good feet per second performance.
My Baikal Blackbird does have some upgrades: (JimC Barrel, Full Auto-High RPM Mod Chip, Added Accessory Rails, Red Dot Scope, Tactical Light, Laser and Bulk Air kit) but the stock version is "almost" as fun :)
Thought I would share this photo of a Magazine doubler for his Umarex MP5K PDW one of my viewers (Daniel) sent to me. He lives in the UK and bought his from a supplier out his way. I don't sell them sorry but I have included an Amazon link for my US viewers.
Here it is by popular demend, a video of all my Air and Blank Guns, many of which where added in 2011. Thank you to everyone for your suport, without you all, this would not have been posible!
Here is a list of all my Air and Blank Guns so far...
Pistols BB:
Umarex PPK/S Nickel platted 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol (Full Auto Mod).
Umarex PPK/S 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex CP99 Compact 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex CP99 Compact Recon 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex H.P.P 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex SA177 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex Steel Storm 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Machine Pistol.
Umarex Makarov 4.5mm CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex H&K USP 4.5mm CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex Colt Defender CO2 4.5mm BB Pistol.
Umarex Colt Special Combat CO2 4.5mm BB Pistol.
Umarex Smith & Wesson M&P 4.5mm CO2 BB Pistol.
Umarex Beretta Elite II 4.5mm CO2 BB Pistol.
Baikal IZH MP-654K (Makarov) 4.5mm CO2 BB Pistol (Nickel).
Cybergun P226 X-Five 4.5mm Blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Trigger Pull: The ASG Dan Wesson Revolvers have very predictable triggers with the single action having a lighter pull as you would expect. Double action mode is very usable without a lot of extra pressure required. Shooting this gun in single action is a lot of fun, kind of like the old west days!
Accuracy: I shot the pair of Dan Wesson Revolvers at a target from 20 feet out in a free standing position, and they performed well getting close to 2 inch groupings pretty well centered on target. The sights are adjustable for elevation and windage so if you find yours shoots off just a bit, you can easily adjust them. My Chrony testing with a six shot averaged result where 327 fps for the 2.5 inch and 345 fps for the 4 inch Dan Wesson's.
Build Quality: These fine revolvers are well built, just like their Dan Wesson 6 inch Silver & 8 inch Black counterparts. The fit and finish looks very nice on both of them and they performed very well without any problems loading or shooting them.
Realism: The ASG Dan Wesson BB revolvers are as close as you can get to a real six shooter, ASG didn't leave any detail out and thought of a few I may have never even dreamt up! Loading and ejecting actual brass shells into the cylinder makes you feel like this gun is much more then an unassuming airgun! One of my favorite airgun revolvers for sure!
Only shoots BB's, would have been cool to shoot pellets too.
2.5 inch version does not have the recessed barrel.
Comments:
I'm not really a revolver person, but the Dan Wesson's really look good and are very fun to shoot making these guns a really nice change from the usual semi auto pistols I usually like to purchase and shoot! And with 4 barrel length and various designs to choose from, it shouldn't be too hard to find one that you like. Heck I like them all!
My Vimeo Video Review for these amazingly real Revolvers:
I am happy to announce that the Dan Wesson 2.5 Inch Sliver and Dan Wesson 4 Inch Black are now in Stock and shipping so all the pre-orders will be going out ASAP. If you didn't pick one up yet then grab one today!
Sometimes you just got to make a video because you can and because it's just plain old fun! And that's why I made this video of me shooting some cans with dual full auto BB machine guns. One is my full auto converted and trusted Cybergun Mini UZI and the other is my newly acquired ZMZ Tyrex PPA-K-01 Russian Machine Pistol.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the ZMZ Tyrex PPA-K-01 is a bit on the heavy side even though it is single action only. In full auto mode this doesn't really matter too much, but in semi auto the heavy trigger can slow down how fast you can shoot your followup shots. You quickly forget about it though because you are having so much fun shooting the Tyrex :)
Accuracy: I was very impressed with the Tyrex PPA-K-01 BB machine guns accuracy in both semi and full auto. I was actually expecting it to do poorly in this area because of the sights, they are inverted or in other words when you are shooting with the stock open, the peep sight would be best suited and when shooting with the stock folded, the pistol "V" sight would be best suited. Unfortunately the setup is backwards on the BB gun version, perhaps a mixup in manufacturing? I may attempt to switch this around at some point. Even with hard to use sights, the Tyrex shot a 1.5 inch 8 shot group in semi auto from 20 feet out and a very respectable full auto burst grouping.
Build Quality: The ZMZ Tyrex PPA-K-01 is not going to win any beauty contests and it's a bit rough around the edges but everything about it is made to last. It's virtually all steel with the exception of the grips and when I say steel, I mean the real hard stuff they put in actual firearms. You won't find any zinc in this BB gun! The Tyrex feel solid and tight with no slop in the moving parts at all, and when you shoot it, it feels like the real thing, minus the loudness and extra recoil of course.
Realism: The Tyrex PPA-K-01 is a very close copy of the Kedr PP-91 (9 x 18 mm Makarov) which is also made in the Russian ZMZ factory. You can tell them apart visually by the grips but other then that they are virtually the same! Based on the quality of the steel used in this gun I would bet money that the BB gun version is made in the same assembly plant and using the same steel.
Purchased From: Private sale
Pros:
All "Steel" construction - Good weight and very solid gun.
Fit of the parts is very good.
Heavy blowback action.
Semi and full auto selectable with a nice high rate of fire in full auto.
Good accuracy in both semi and full auto.
Very Accurate Kedr PP-91replica.
Pretty easy operation.
The folding stock works very well and is very secure.
Not too bad amount off shots for this style - About 2-3 25 round magazines.
If you can find one you will be the only kid on the block with a Tyrex for sure!
Peep and "V" sight should be the other way around.
CO2 access can be a bit finicky and be very careful when removing it!
Finish is a bit rough but about what you would expect from many Russian made guns.
Supper hard to find and if you do find one you will pay a lot of money for it.
Comments:
I have been wanting to get my hands on the ZMZ Tyrex PPA-K-01 BB machine gun for some time now and I was willing to pay dearly for it! I am very happy with this purchase not just as a collector piece but one that I plan to take out and shoot often. Here in Canada the real version of this gun is completely unobtainable so this will have to do and even better yet I can shoot it in my backyard! The Tyrex PPA-K-01 is very pleasing to shoot and sounds more like a suppressed real gun then a BB gun adding to the enjoyment of shooting the Tyrex. Perhaps one day I'll swap the rear sight around and really see how well this BB gun shots?
My Vimeo Video Review for the ZMZ Tyrex PPA-K-01 4.5mm BB shooting machine gun: