Third time is a charm or so they say? Now that we are on the third version of the Umarex “Steel” series of BB CO2 Blowback Semi and 6 Round Burst Air Rifles what can we take away from this Field Test Shooting Video? Does the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle measure up to its predecessors? Without a full on spoiler alert I would have to say the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle did not let me down…
Starting off with the Chronograph Velocity portion of my Indoor Sea Can Airgun Shooting Test, things did not start off so good, first shot out of the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle was below 200 fps? I think this is because the duel CO2 system needs a least a couple of shots to get primed up because the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle only seemed to get better with each shot which is the opposite of what happens with most CO2 Airguns. After several shots the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle seemed to settle into a nice 390 fps range and the temperature was only 18 degree Celsius or 64 degrees Fahrenheit. In warmer conditions I would expect to get at least the 400 fps claimed by Umarex.
Moving onto the accuracy portion of the Field Test Shooting Review for the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle, I was very pleased with the results. Placing 10 semi auto shots 30 feet down range into my paper target using a rested seated position I was able to get just under a 1 inch grouping. And this was using the built-in flip up none adjustable peep sights which I do fins a little bit hard to use with my aging eyes… The Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle even shot well centred just a little bit low and slightly to the left but very close to the bullseye. When I flipped the selector switch to 6 round burst things did spread out a bit but this was mainly because of the vibration that caused me to pull the gun to the right with each 6 round burst.
At the end of the day the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle is a really fun CO2 Blowback “full Auto” BB Rifle that has a crazy 6 round burst rate of fire and shoots pretty hard with good accuracy. You get all of this at a pretty affordable price. Are there other Full auto capable BB rifles that look a little bit better than the Steel Strike? I’m thinking about the Crosman DPMS SBR… Sure but in terms of performance the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 Blowback BB Rifle isn not lacking anything in this department. It may depend on your budget and if you’re simple just looking for a fun full auto CO2 BB rifle at the end of the day.
Type: BB Machine Gun/Rifle. Manufacturer: Umarex USA. Model: Steel Strike (AR Platform). Materials: Plastic shell with internal metal parts. Weight: 3.8 pounds (1720 grams). Barrel: 9 inch Metal non-rifled. Propulsion: CO2 x 2 (housed in b uffer tube) Action: Semi and 6 round burst blowback, single action only. Ammunition Type: 4.5mm BB's. Ammunition Capacity: 900/30 round drop out hopper/magazine. FPS: 400.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle is single action only, so you will need to charge the rifle by pulling back the charging handle first, once this is done the trigger is reset and the gun is ready to shoot. The blowback operation charges the internal bolt automatically after each shot so keep this in mind as the gun is going to be live and ready to shoot until you either run out of ammo or CO2. Make sure to place it in safe mode when not in use especially when you have CO2 in the gun.
Accuracy: I have not shot the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle yet but will remaking a Field test Shoting video very soon for it. But for a reference I did shoot the Umarex Steel Froce which is a very similar product and this is how it performed for me:
Shooting the Umarex Steel Force at a target from 30 feet away in a semi rested position using both the semi auto and 6 round burst modes, the Steel Force performed very good getting around a 1.5 inch 10 shot grouping in semi auto and then spreading out a bit in 6 round burst mode which was to be expected, still a respectable grouping. Shots where well centered on the target but I did have the advantage of using a red dot scope, I found when using the none adjustable open sights that come with the Umarex Steel Force that I was shooting under the target at closer ranges. My Chrony testing did not go exactly as planned due to my temperamental Chronograph but I was able to get two shots to read and they average out at 466 fps, well over the 430 claimed fps.
Build Quality: The Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle is mostly plastic on the outside with most of it's metal parts on the inside, pretty much everything you can see on the outside is going to be plastic except for maybe the magazine release and selector switch. The plastic seems durable enough but it has just a bit too much shine for me which I think makes it look less like metal and more like plastic. Everything seemed to function as expected but again I would have liked to have seen a bit more metal, not necessarily the outer shell, but I feel the flash hider, trigger, flip up sights and charging handle could have been made out of metal and would have given this Umarex Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle a bit more weight and balance to it.
Realism: The Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle is designed on the AR platform and for the most part is about the right size shape and look of an AR 15 / M16 type rifle. Even the selector switch, magazine release, rear adjustable stock and Charging handle function just like a real AR 15! Some parts are molded in just for looks like the bolt release, dust cover and forward assist but at least they look the part. The plastic for me was the real tell here as it kind of looks like plastic where as some plastic guns are really hard to tell they are not metal, but other than that this is a pretty decent replica of an AR Rifle.
Will get a decent amount of shots with its dual CO2 configuration.
Removable and 2 position adjustable stock.
Flip up sights with optical sight top rail option.
Lots of rials for adding on accessories.
Not a bad replica of an AR platform gun.
Full auto has a very high rate of fire.
Internal blowback does give a bit of recoil feedback feel.
CO2 in the buffer tube makes more sense?
Price point is good for a fun full auto BB rifle.
Cons:
Pop up sights are non adjustable.
Plastic finish could have been a bit higher grade, like what most Airsoft AR's use.
Just a bit more metal would have been nice and added to the overall weight a bit. (Switches, Sights, Charging handle.
No sling mounts.
Comments:
The Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle looks to be an improvement over the Steel Storm and Steel Force, I like the new placement of the duel CO2 into the buffer tube and changing the location of the BB’s from the upper receiver and into the drop out magazine which is where we would normally expect them to be. We also get a magazine hopper capacity of up to 900 rounds with the new Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle so no having to refile int for several CO2 swap-outs. I think the overall looks ahed improved and the tighter aperture of the pep sight shoudl make getting BB;s on target with more accuracy a bit easier. I look forward to seeing what kind of performance I get out of the Umarex Steel Strike CO2 BB Rifle when I test it out during my upcoming Field Test Shooting Video.
My Vimeo Table Top Videos for the Umarex Steel Striker BB Rifle:
This is going to be the only video this week. I’m turning 50 on Friday April 5th and had a goal that I wanted to complete before I reached 50. I wanted to get my 1993 Ducati 750 Super Sport all fixed up and ready to go, and it’s been a lot of work cleaning, fixing, painting… Perhaps it’s a bit of a mid life crisis sort of thing but at least it’s gotten my but in gear :) Stay tuned till the end of the video for some video of what the mighty Ducati looks like today if you’re into that sort of thing!
Getting back to the KWA Ronin TK.45 Tekken AEG 2.5 & AEG 3 Airsoft Rifles. You may remember my Shot Show Interview with Jonathan, well he went front to back and up and down the entire KWA product line ending with the KWA Ronin TK.45 Tekken AEG 2.5 & AEG 3 Airsoft Rifles and boy does he know his stuff, I will be adding the portion of Jonathan’s interview that deals with these rifles at the end of this video also.
Here is some info on the KWA Ronin TK.45 Tekken AEG 2.5 & AEG 3 Airsoft Rifles…
Starting with my Chronograph velocity testing for the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol, I placed 5 .20 gram Airsoft rounds through my Chrony using a brand new CO2 and was able to average right around 298 fps. Pretty close to Umarex’s claim of 325. Keep in mind it was not super warm at right around 15 degrees Celsius or 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In a warmer environment I would expect to get right up to the 325 fps Umarex has stated on the box.
For the accuracy portion of my Field test for the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol I setup a new paper target down range and placed 10 rounds into it from my seated and rested shooting position. The Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol shot very well centered getting most of the 10 rounds right in the bullseye! The rest came out a bit making the 10 shot group just under 3 inches in diameter. Not bad at all for a low cost budget Airsoft Pistol.
Overall the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol is pretty decent for what you pay. It looks really good too. The trigger is a bit long but not too heavy for quick shooting. The slide spring is a bit weak which may be the reason the slide stayed back a couple of times for me? Other than that the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol is good value in my books and even comes with two metal stick magazines for quick reloading while on the field!
This review was plagued with nothing but recording issues during the target accuracy portion of the review. I had to record it 6 separate times for reasons like: Two battery issues, one wrong setting in my camera, a memory card issue (wasn’t reading) and in one test I had a piece of cardboard covering a camera lens!!! Anyway I did get it done in the end but it was very frustrating!
So how did the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol perform for me during this Field Test Shooting Video? I would have to say a bit hot and cold. In terms of velocity, the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol was bang on averaging right around 325 fps which was right in line with KWC’s 328 fps claim. And the temperature was not super hot inside the Sea Can Indoor Airgun Shooting Range. About 15 degrees Celsius or around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Moving on to the target portion of this Field Test Review I did manage to get a 4 inch 10 round grouping during my first test (which had recording issues) but for the shooting test that made it to this video my grouping spread out a fair amount closer to 6-8 inches. I did play around with the internal hop-up because the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol likes to shoot low and to the right, so I thought that if I adjusted the hop-up up, I would be able to get shots a little higher on target but this adjustment only seemed to make the gun shoot a little bit less accurately for me? As always I was shooting using me rested seated position from 30 feet down range.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol is a little different then that of the real steel APX. On the real steel APX there is actually a trigger safety and the actual gun uses a striker based system with a fairly short reset and take-up. On the Umarex Replica Airsoft version the trigger does not have a built in safety and the reset and take-up are much longer (full length). I have read that both the real steal and Airsoft versions of the APX both have about 6 pounds trigger pulls but I personally felt like the Airsoft version was heavier than that, perhaps because of the long pull. Overall the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol trigger is acceptable but not my favorite.
Build Quality: Very good, the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol feels heavier than 1.5 pounds in the hand, perhaps because it is a more compact gun. The metal slide, metal stick mag and internal metal parts all help to balance off the polymer frame nicely. Fit and finish is also good.
Realism: The Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol overall is a really close replica to the real steel APX other than the added safety and missing trigger safety. The added safety does not stand out too much and does serve a purpose while the missing trigger safety could of at least been there for show if not an actual working safety. Other than that the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol is very close to the Beretta APX with its full licensing, open ejection port, recessed barrel working slide catch release and blowback operation. Available at the:Replica Airguns Store
Pros:
Good weight and feel to it, build quality seems good overall.
Really nice replica of the original Beretta APX in most ways.
Working slide catch and release. Will also lock back on last shot.
Fully Beretta licensed through umarex.
Easy to see white dot sights front and back.
Recessed barrel and open ejection port for added realism.
Accessory rail for adding a laser or tactical light.
Stick magazine but plate gives the elusion of a full size magazine.
Warning instruction are nice and discreet!
Comes with two magazines and an additional back strap grip in a different color.
Cons:
Trigger is a bit long and perhaps heavier than the real steel APX trigger. It also does not have the trigger safety.
Has a stick magazine rather than a full size magazine.
Comes with orange tip but can be removed with some work.
Comments:
I like that the Airsoft version of the Beretta APX now comes in a box and also includes not only an extra magazine but also an included grip back strap in an alternate color for those that want a bit of customization. The Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol feels good in the hand and even thought the trigger is a bit long you can still get off some pretty quick shots since the trigger pull is not too tough. The Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol makes a fairly economical option for your sidearm in Airsoft battles and if you want more than two magazines than additional magazines are not that expensive and will not weigh you down on the field.
My YouTube Videos for the Umarex Beretta APX CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol:
Type: Blowback BB Pistol. Manufacturer: Made and Distributed by KWC. Model:K17. Materials: Metal & Polymer. Weight: 1.68 pounds (760 grams). Barrel: 4.3 inches metal non-rifled. Propulsion: 1 x Co2. Action: Semi auto blowback, single action only trigger. Ammunition Type: 4.5mm steel BB's. Ammunition Capacity: 17 round drop out full size metal magazine. FPS: Claimed 329.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is short with only a little bit of take up, the release is light and crips. The blowback action resets the internal Hammer / Striker with each shot for that true single action trigger and it’s also nice that the trigger does have a working trigger safety.
Accuracy: At this point I have not shot the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol so I can only quote what KWC is saying in terms of FPS which is around 330. For a full blowback action steel BB pistol like many other KWC Blowback Air Pistols this is about what you are going to expect. It may sound low but to be honest 300+ is fast enough at 30 feet to only notice a slight delay from the time you press the trigger till the steel BB hits the target and you can expect to put holes in pop cans all day long. In terms of accuracy I should be able to get at least a 2 inch 10 shot grouping from 30 feet down range if the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is on point for me.
Build Quality: TheKWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol feels really good, I’m going to say it’s probably one of the nicest KWC CO2 blowback pistols I have had in my hands to date. The finish is really nice, the polymer frame is flawless and fit is really good with nice tight tolerances throughout.
Realism: The KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol being a full blowback Airguns is supper realistic in terms of looking like and functioning like a real steel gun. All the parts function as you would expect them to including the ability to filed strip the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol which gives you easy access to the hop-up. In terms of the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol being a replica it does look similar to Glock with some differences like the trigger guard, slide cut-outs, extended beaver tail and straighter pistol grip. Available From: The Replica Airguns Store.
Pros:
Good weight with very solid feel to it.
Full blowback action will produce good recoil effect.
Full size drop out metal magazine.
Short and light single action only trigger.
No ugly markings or warnings.
Has some bling with the gold barrel and vented slide.
Field strips like the real steel version.
White dot sights front and back.
Adjustable hop-up to adjust for elevation as needed.
Working trigger safety along with serial number safety.
Cons:
Full blowback action will produce lower fps and use up more CO2.
Not sure I like the Gold barrel?:
Comments:
I really like the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol, it may even be one of my favorite CO2 Blowback BB Pistols from KWC to date. That will be somewhat determined by how it shoots of course. The only thing I’m not a huge fan on is the Gold barrel but that’s a personal preference thing. You amy really like the Gold Bling! I could easily polish the barrel to more of a stainless finish if I wanted to and maybe I will? All in all if you’re looking for that Modern Pistol design than the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is going to fit the bill. And by the way if you’re more into Airsoft then you can get the Airsoft version of the KWC K17 CO2 Blowback Airsoft Pistol in our Canada Online Store!
Type: Blowback GBB Airsoft Pistol. Manufacturer: Distributed by Umarex. Model:Glock 17 Gen 4. Materials: Metal & Polymer. Weight: 1.45 pounds (658 grams). Barrel: 3.75 inches metal non-rifled. Propulsion: Green Gas or Propane. Action: Semi auto blowback, single action only trigger. Ammunition Type: 6mm plastic Airsoft BB's. Ammunition Capacity: 20 round drop out full size metal magazine. FPS: Claimed 300+.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Umarex Glock 17 4th Gen GBB Airsoft Pistol is fairly short with only a little bit of take up, the release is light and crips. The blowback action resets the internal Hammer / Striker with each shot for that true single action trigger and it’s also nice that the trigger does have a working trigger safety.
Accuracy: At this point I have not shot the Umarex Glock 17 4th Gen GBB Airsoft Pistol so I can only quote what Umarex is saying in terms of FP2 which is around 300 using Green Ga or Propane. This is fine for playing Airsoft games but for Canada import it can get a bit sticky. Luckily we where able to get a bunch into Canada so hopefully we can get some more in our Canada Replica Airguns Store in the future… US supply will be less of a problem.
Build Quality: TheUmarex Glock 17 4th Gen GBB Airsoft Pistol seems well made overall. It does seem a little bit underweight but still feels solid enough in the hand. The Slide is metal but has a bit of an unusual finish that makes it look a lot like the plastic frame rather than a more shiny metal look. All the parts seem to fit nicely, maybe even a bit snug at first as I noticed the side had a bit of friction to it but seems to be working in nicely now.
Realism: The Umarex Glock 17 4th Gen GBB Airsoft Pistol looks the part of a Glock 17 4th Generation all day long. Other then the slightly lighter weight it would be hard to tell off hand until you remove the magazine and take a closer look. All the parts work as you would expect them to, similar to the real steel version and you can even fully field strip the Umarex Glock 17 4th Gen GBB Airsoft Pistol which makes getting to and adjusting the hop-up easy enough to do. Available From: The Replica Airguns Store.
Pros:
Decent weight and feel to it, build quality seems good.
Really nice looking replica of the original Glock 17 Gen 4.
Fully Glock licensed.
Easy to see white dot sights front and back.
Recessed barrel for added realism.
Accessory rail for adding a laser or tactical light.
Full size drop out metal magazine that holds the CO2 and 20 6mm Airsoft BB’s.
Warning instruction are nice and discreet under trigger guard
Nice light SAO trigger as the blowback pre-cocks the internal hammer/strike.
Working trigger safety.
Cons:
May or may not come with an orange tip but can be fairly remissly removed.
Sight are non-adjustable which is common with low cost airguns like this one.
FPS is a bit low making Canada import difficult.
Comments:
Getting the Umarex BB versions of the Glock 17 and Glock 19 has for sure been a bit easier since fps velocity is not a factor. So it was great that we where able to import at least some of these Umarex Glock 17 4th Gen GBB Airsoft Pistols into Canada. I hope we will be able to continue supplying the Glock Airsoft versions in our Canada Replica Airguns Store but I can not promise anything… So if you see some in stock then grab one while you still can!
Type: Blowback CO2 BB Pistol. Manufacturer: Distributed by Umarex. Model:Glock 17 Gen 3. Materials: Metal & Polymer. Weight: 1.6 pounds (726 grams). Barrel: 4 inches metal non-rifled. Propulsion: CO2 x 1. Action: Semi auto blowback, double action only trigger. Ammunition Type: 4.5mm steel BB's. Ammunition Capacity: 18 round drop out full size metal magazine. FPS: Claimed 365.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is in a way a single action trigger since the blowback action pre-cocks the internal hammer allowing for a much lighter single action type trigger pull. I call it a a double action trigger mainly because there is an indexing of a BB from the magazine into the breach area every time you pull the trigger which means the take up is long and there is a little bit of friction from the mechanical mechanism that indexes a BB.
Accuracy: At this point I have not shot the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol so I can only quote what Umarex is saying in terms of FP2 which is 365. That's sounds reasonable based on other similar guns like this that have that parcial blowback action and BB indexing system to allow for a more sealed system. We will find out when I perform my Field Test Shooting video for the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol shortly.
Build Quality: TheUmarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol seems well made overall, Fit and finish are nice and slide wiggle is minimal. There is a bit of a clanky sound when the slide cycles but since pretty much all of these types of airguns are made out of pot metal with a high con ten of zinc alloy this is kind of expected.
Realism: The Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol absolutely looks the part of a Glock 17 3rd Generation, sitting on the table and even holding it in your hand you are going to think it's the real deal until of course you drop the magazine and see that it is a Co2 mag. Mostly everything operates like a real Glock 17 but the slide is not a full blowback meaning it only goes back about 3/4 as much as a real Glock 17 slide would. One other noticeable difference is the ability to quickly field strip the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol, you will need to remove a pin since the take down tabs are non functioning and moulded into the frame. Available From: The Replica Airguns Store.
Pros:
Great weight and feel to it, build quality seems good.
Really nice looking replica of the original Glock 17 Gen 3.
Fully Glock licensed.
Easy to see white dot sights front and back.
Recessed barrel for added realism.
Accessory rail for adding a laser or tactical light.
Full size drop out metal magazine that holds the CO2 and 18 4.5mm steel BB’s.
Safety built into the serial number plate area keeps it well hidden.
Warning instruction are nice and discreet under trigger guard
Not bad feeling double action only trigger as the blowback pre-cocks the internal hammer/strike.
365 fps is decent for a blowback BB gun.
Cons:
Does have blowback action but not full blowback.
Slide sound is a bit clanky.
Sight are non-adjustable which is common with low cost airguns like this one.
Would have liked to have seen more pristine packaging from Glock.
Comments:
Since there release of the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol we have all been waiting for a blowback version and now we have it in the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol! Defiantly another step in the right direction when it comes to a Licensed Glock. Am I looking forward to the Glock 17 Gen 4 Blowback BB Pistol, sure but if you’re a Glock fan why not have them all and this version will get you a bit higher fps and more shots per CO2 while still offering blowback action with a decent trigger!
In this Vimeo Preview Video I show off three new Glock and Glock-like Air Pistols. Two of them are from Umarex and are Glock Licensed, one being a GGB Airsoft Pistol and the other is a CO2 Blowback BB Pistol. I also show an unlicensed Glock-like CO2 Blowback BB Pistol from KWC that kind of looks like a glock but has several key differences that do make it deviate a fair amount from that of a true Glock pistol.
Starting with the KWC 17. At first glance you may think it looks a lot like a Glock but on closer inspection it has the following differences: Notched out trigger guard, extended thumb guard or beaver tail, straight pistol grip with no finger indents, cut out on slide, slide serration on front. The KWC 17 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is a full blowback Airgun with a full size drop out metal magazine that holds the CO2 and 17 rods of 4.5mm steel BB’s. You can expect to get around 330 fps for it.
Another Blowback CO2 BB Glock is the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol which is fully Glock licensed and also features a full size drop out metal magazine that hold 18 4.5mm steel BB’s. The Glock 17 Gen 3 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is a partial blowback Airgun so you can expect a little bit higher velocity of around 365 fps and additional shots per CO2.
Lastly I show you the Umarex Glock 17 Gen 4 GBB Airsoft Pistol, another fully Glock Licensed airgun with full blowback operation and a full size drop out metal magazine that holds 20 6mm plastic Airsfot BB’s and the either Green Gas or Propane Gas. Velocity will be around 300 fps on this one.
Pickup one of these Glock and Glock-like Airguns form either our Canada or US online Replica Airgun stores!
Being that KWA is a new product in our Replica Airguns Online Stores, I wanted to go over as much of the KWA product line as possible and really not only learn for myself but be able to share all of this information with everyone. I have to thank Jonathan for spending so much of his time really diving in deep to what KWA has to offer.
There really is an absolute ton of info in this video that in no way I can put into words so you’re going to have to watch this KWA SHOT Show Interview from start to finish. So go get yourself a snack and something to drink, cause it’s going to be a long one!
This year at SHOW Show 2019 Bob from ASG had a lot to show me so make sure to watch the full Interview Video for all the details and information.
Bob and I first go over a new ASG CZ Airsoft Pistol called the Shadow 2 kind of like a modernized SP-01 Shadow. The ASG CZ Shadow 2 is a competition stile pistol with adjustable sights and trigger and will come in both CO2 and Green Gas magazine options.
Next up Bob showed me the CZ75 SP01 ACCU Shadow with some special edition features like: Ergonomic anodized aluminum grips with grip tape, match style high sights, oversized slide release and ambidextrous safety and a tunable anodized aluminum trigger.
ASG being the exclusive partner with ICS had some new ICS Pistols to show us. First up was the Airsoft ICS XPD, a compact Gas Blowback System that will come with shorter compact magazines and extended magazines that will hold more green gas. Both Gas magazines will feature a new valve system called the Revo system.
If you like the feel of a 1911 but perhaps want something a bit more modern then checkout the New ASG Korth PRS Airsoft Pistol, you can even put real 1911 grips on it!
Not new to ASG this year is the CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1 but ASG has enhanced this Airsoft rifle by working with a designer to adding an M-Lok Handguard, Magwell Grip and Fore Grip that will be a three part system you can customize.
Last Bob showed me around the CQR Hera Arms Airsoft Rifle that is a collaboration of ASG, Hara Arms, ICS. It will come in standard Mosfet and Triple-S (Smart Shooting System).
Looking forward to getting my hands-on some of these new ASG
I stumbled on what I thought was one of the most interesting new Airsoft products at SHOT Show this year. A company by the name of American Airsoft Factory has made an AR styled Airsoft Rifle that is completed Battery/Electric operated but acts and feels like a Gas Blowback System. They use a computerized fire control system to operate a mechanical Open Bolt with full Blowback operation. The American Airsoft Factory AR system will auto decide when the your standard Hi-cap or Mid-cap AEG magazine is empty and the bolt will lock back ready to swap out a full magazine, just press the bolt release and you’re ready to engage your target!
The American Airsoft Factory product will not be cheap but it is incredibly high end and features real steel compatibility. I see this being of interest to military and police organizations along with serious Airsofters that are looking for the ultimate Airsoft Rifle.
So now I just need to get my hands on an American Airsoft Factory rifle so I can test it out and make a review! Maybe we can even add them to our Online Replica Airguns Stores?
Air Venturi announced their new Springfield Armory lien of BB and Airsoft guns at SHOT Show 2019 and of course I stopped by to talk with Scott and see what these new products where all about!
First off we have the Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Rifle. You will be able to get it in either 4.5mm Steel BB or 6mm Airsoft versions. Both will have full drop out metal magazines that hold the 12 gram CO2 and either 15 BB or Airsoft rounds. You can expect around 40-60 shots per CO2 since the Springfield Armory M1 Carbine is a full blowback Airgun. The standard version will come with a synthetic wood stock that is very believable but for around $100 more you will have the option of a real wood stock which does add a bit to more weight to the rifle.
Continuing on with some more Springfield Armory Airguns. Air Venturi will be distributing the XDM pistol in a compact and full size configuration, again both 4.5mm Steel BB and Airsoft versions. There will be a solid black version and a two tone silver slide version so lots of options to pick from. The 4.5mm Steel BB version will use a 12 gram CO2 while the Airsoft version will allow for Green Gas or CO2 mags.
I wanted to mention one more product Scott showed me that is still in production, a reactive target system called the Bata-Bang that connects to your phone via Bluetooth allowing you to time your shooting and play shooting games with it and others even online. Hopefully we see this product soon from Air Venturi!
This may be a bit confusion to some of you but Crosman has done a bit of a rebrand and is now going by the name of Velocity Outdoor. This is because Crosman has been acquiring more and more products over the years that are not necessarily airgun related and felt that putting all the brands under the name Velocity Outdoor made more sense from a company stand point. Of course in this video we are going to focus in on the Crosman Products within Velocity Outdoor.
So what’s new? Well an even better Crosman DPMS SBR! How can you make the Crosman DPMS SBR even better? By creating an updated or version 2 called the Bushmaster MPW. It comes in two tone black and false dark earth with a shorter hadnguard yet it keeps it’s barrel leith by extending the barrel right to the end of the mock suppressor. Tis can also swap out the but stock with any AR but stock and the Bushmaster MPW comes with a red dot sight. Internally the Bushmaster MPW and the Crosman DPMS SBR are the same.
Some of you may remember the Crosman Night Stalker CO2 Pellet Rifle? That product was retired years ago but Crosman has used the name in a new CO2 BB Pistol called the Night Stalker. The Crosman Night Stalker Pistol has a built in guide rod styled laser, has blowback operation along with a stick magazine. This should be a fun plinker with its laser sight.
Going even further back to the old Crosman 357 days, this revolver styled CO2 air pistol just seems to live on and on being revamped just a little each time by Crosman. Now you can get it in their Triple Threat package. Basically it’s the same Crosman 357 frame that comes with three barrels you can swap out as needed. You get a three inch snub nosed barrel, a six inch barrel similar to the Vigilante and then an eight inch Dirty Hairy styled barrel. Who says you can’t have it all?
This year at SHOT Show Las Vegas 2019 Umarex introduced some new Glock's, a New Beretta and a new Pellet Rifle which unfortunately was not brought to my attention when I did my Interview so sorry now coverage of the Ruger 10/22 CO2 Pellet Rifle :(
Starting with two new CO2 Blowback 4.5mm BB Glocks, Umarex now has a Glock 17 Generation 3 partial blowback CO2 BB Glock with a full size drop out metal magazine. This setup will increase the fps a bit since it uses the more efficient partial blowback system. If you would rather have a full Blowback CO2 BB Glock then Umarex has it in a Glock 17 Generation 4 version that functions pretty much like a traditional Airsoft Blowback gun but instead this one uses 4.5mm steel BB’s.
In terms of Blowback Airsoft Glocks Umarex has a two Glock 17’s, yo can get them in generation 3 or 4 an both are full blowback with full size drop out metal magazines.
Umarex introduced a really nice M9A3 Beretta this year at SHOT Show 2019. The Umarex Beretta M9A3 comes in the FDE color scheme and has an extended threaded barrel that should be able to take a much suppressor. The Beretta M9A3 is full blowback with a full size dropout metal magazine and can be shot in semi or full auto.
Now for the Umarex Ruger 10/22 Pellet Rifle I completely missed at the Umarex booth… Well if you didin’t know there was a pellet version of this rifle you would be hard pressed to be abel to tell the difference between it and the real 22LR version! The Umarex Ruger 10/22 Pellet Rifle utilizes twin 12 gram CO2 cartridges to fire .177 caliber pellets. It has a 10 round drop out magazine with interchangeable rotary nmagzines that can be pre-loaded. And yes the Umarex Ruger 10/22 Pellet Rifle is a blowback Airgun!
Here we go, the first SHOT Show Interview for 2019 and why not kick things off with Sig Sauer. After all Sig Sauer has been super dedicated to bringing new Airgun designs to the airgun community year after year and this year at SHOT Show was no exception!
My favorite item from Sig Sauer this year at SHOT Show was the Sig Sauer P365 ASP, as the name suggests it is based on their 9mm firing real steel Sig Sauer P365 and somehow similar to how they fit 10 rounds of 9mm ammo into such a compact magazine and gun, the BB version also manages to jam a 12 gram CO2 cartridge into a very tiny drop out metal magazine! Really looking forward to getting my hands on this one!
Sig Sauer launched several Airsoft guns, an AEG Airsoft Rifle called the MCX Virtus and two GBB Airsoft Pistols, the M17 and P226. All of them fully licensed and also should be Canada import ready.
Last up but something that we have all been waiting for in an ASP Pellet firing rifle, the Virtus 22 Caliber PCP Rifle. Well the name says it all. It’s basically an MCX Pellet Rifle but now in 22 caliber and with a PCP tank built into the rear stock. In Canada you will need a PAL to buy one but import into Canada should not be a problem for license holders since the 22 Virtus PCP will quality as a long gun.
I’m back from SHOT Show Las Vegas 2019 and as always I had an awesome time. I love January since I get to go to SHOT Show each year. What an awesome job!
This year was another great show with lots of new products from the Airgun companies. I managed to get seven interviews in this year so I have my work cut out for me editing and uploading all of these informative YouTube Videos.
For now here is a SHOT Show Las Vegas 2019 Teaser Video along with some photos…
What we also like to know about most of the airguns I get my hands on is how do they perform in the real world? Do they get close to the claimed fps? Will the shoot a nice tight grouping on target? How does the blowback operation and the trigger feel?
First I like to perform my Chronograph “Power” test where I shoot 5 pellets through my chronograph using a brand new CO2 of course. Since Sig Sauer sent me a tin of their Sig Sauer Match Pb Precision Wadcutter Lead Pellets, I figured I would use them with my Sig Sauer M17 ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol. These pellets are 8.18 grain so not the lower weight Alloy pellets most companies use to get their higher fps rating that you usually see on the box. In other words I was not expecting to get the claimed 430 fps since that would be using a much lighter Alloy pellets that would weigh at least 3 grain lighter than the pellets I was using during this FPS test. All of that to tell you I got an average of 280 fps using the 8.18 grain lead pellets. And if you where wondering the temperature in my Sea Can Indoor Airgun Range was about 17-18 degrees Celsius (about 62 degrees Fahrenheit).
Next I performed my accuracy test with the Sig Sauer M17 ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol, after all what good is power if you can’t hit the broad side of a barn? I setup my fresh paper target 30 feet down range and got into my usual shooting position which is me sitting on a stool in the back with my hands rested on a sand bag up front. This setup works pretty good for me helping to stabilize my hands as much as possible but there will be some human factor involved since well… I am only human! Out of the 10 rounds shot on target, 9 of them shot within about 1.75 inches of each other. The 10th outlier shot did make the group larger, more like 2.5 inches but again that could of been me and my old shaky hands?
My Sig Sauer M17 ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol did shoot fairly low hitting the outer bottom rings but it did shoot very well side to side. At 30 feet from your target you will have to aim a little bit over your desired aim point to shot bullseyes and unfortunately you can not adjust for this with the sights since they are non-adjustable.
The Sig Sauer M17 ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol is an awesome CO2 Blowback Pellet Action Replica Pistol and the best one yet from Sig Sauer. It has great blowback operation and feel, a very nice trigger, that 20 round high capacity belt magazine and it shoots good on top of all that. If you’re a Sig fan like me then you will have to get the Sig Sauer M17 ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol and add it to your collection for sure!
In this Evolution of the Sig Sauer ASP Pellet Pistols YouTube Video I show you Sig Sauer’s full lineup of ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistols and talk about how Sig Sauer has consistently improved their ASP Airgun designs to make their ASP Pellet Pistol the new standard for other airgun companies to follow.
Sig Sauer introduced and started shipping their Sig Sauer APS P250 and P226 CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistols in 2015. Both of these Pellet firing Air Pistols used a similar styled double sided rotary magazine as the Umarex PX4 which is common in many blowback pellet Airguns today. The Sig Sauer ASP P226 did include a new lever styled CO2 piercing system that did not require manual tab based tightening of the CO2. Both the Sig Sauer APS P250 and P226 included full Sig Licensing and one to one scale accuracy in a very high quality build.
In 2017 Sig Sauer introduced the Sig Sauer ASP P320 which included their first Belt Fed Rotary Magazine similar to the Belt Fed Rotary Magazines in their ASP Rifle line. The Sig Sauer ASP P320 stick styled belt magazine held a whopping 30 rounds!
In the spring of 2018 Sig started shipping their Sig Sauer ASP X-Five which featured a Belt Fed Rotary Magazine along with Sig’s Lever CO2 Loading System. The Sig Sauer ASP X-Five is also one of the rare action shooting CO2 blowback Airguns with a fully adjustable rear sight.
In the Fall of 2018 Sig brought out their latest ASP CO2 Blowback Pellet Air Pistol, the Sig Sauer ASP M17. The Sig Sauer ASP M17 CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol nailed everything us Airgun enthusiast are looking for in an Airgun which can be hard to achieve when pellets are involved! The Sig Sauer ASP M17 CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol not only featured a Belt Fed Rotary Magazine and Lever Style CO2 System but put all of this into a full size drop out magazine. The Sig Sauer ASP M17 CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol brought even more features we where looking for like a Cut Out Ejection Port, Recessed Barrel Opening and the ability to be Filed Striped for easy access to a removable barrel just incase a pellet managed to get jammed.
So as you can see Sig Sauer is pushing the boundaries of Airgun Designs and always trying to make even better and better products to bring to us each year. I look forward to seeing What Sig Sauer is going to show me this year at SHOT Show 2019!
