Here we go again with another Favorite Airgun Video of 2018, this time I show you my Air Rifle Favorites! There are usually a lot less Air Rifles that come out than Air Pistols but this year was’t too bad for new and interesting Ari Rifles. As per usually there where more 4.5mm Steel BB Rifles and I am sorry to say nothing really came out at least in the Replica Air Rifle department but of course there where 6mm Airsoft rifles too.
I do mainly focus on the 4.5mm BB rifles but throw in the group a very well made and ultra realistic Airsoft Rifle that was for sure in this years Top Five!
Next in this video I take a look at what I can say was my number one pick this year, the Crosman DPMS SBR Steel BB Rifle! When Crosman announced the Crosman DPMS SBR Steel BB Rifle at SHOT Show I was a bit surprised since Crosman is not known best for their Replica Airguns. Not only did Crosman decide to come out with an M4 Replica Air Rifle but they in fact made what I believe is the best one out there at least in 4.5mm Steel BB. It covers all the check boxes I am looking for. It’s very well made, shoots in semi and full auto with a working internal blowback bolt. All the mechanical parts work in the same way as a real M4 including being able to take apart the upper and lower receivers. I really hope Crosman took note of how popular this style of Airgun is and keeps making more product like the Crosman DPMS SBR Steel BB Rifle.
Another 4.5mm Steel BB M4 Replica that came out in 2018 is the Air Venturi HellBoy CO2 BB M4 Air Rifle. The HellBoy may not be as full featured as the Crosman DPMS SBR but it is worthy of this years Top Five. The Air Venturi HellBoy CO2 BB M4 Air Rifle is similar to how the Cybergun AK 47 BB rifles are built, using a magazine design that is basically the bulk of the working mechanism, it hold the CO2, CO2 Valve, BB’s, and even part of the trigger mechanism. The Air Venturi HellBoy CO2 BB M4 Air Rifle may not be as ultra realistic as the Crosman DPMS SBR but it’s an excellent full metal M4 Replica with decent shooting performance.
My only Airsoft contribution to this years list is the KWA LM4 RIS PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifle. I just love this Airsoft Rifle, It may not be the cheapest M4 GBB Airsoft Rifle out there but it sure is worth it. When you pick it up it just feels like quality and when you shoot it you know it’s quality, the shooting performance is awesome for a GBB Rifle. I barely noticed any cool down even when shooting off the entire magazine in full auto. If you want the most realistic M4 Air Rfile out there than the KWA LM4 RIS PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifle is going to be the one.
Last up to showcase in this years Favorite Air Rifles is the Umarex Legends MP40 CO2 BB Weathered Submachine Gun. I know the Umarex Legends MP40 CO2 BB Submachine Gun kinda came out last year but I did not get my hands on the Weathered version till only recently so I decided to put it in this years Top Five pick. The Umarex Legends MP40 CO2 BB Submachine Gun is another fine 4.5mm Steel BB Rifle in this case it’s more of a Submachine Gun. The Umarex Legends MP40 CO2 BB Submachine Gun also offers semi and full auto select fire and is a very close replace to the real steel MP40 in almost every way. The Weathered Finish and included Leather Sling really finish it off to make it super believable.
In this Field Test Shooting Review I only test out the KWA LM4 RIS PTR GBB Airsoft Rifle since both the RIS and KR7 are virtually identical in terms of their build and internal components, the KR7 has a a slightly shorter barrel but both KWA Airsoft AR M4 Rifles should perform very similarly.
To begin this Field Test Shooting Review of the KWA LM4 RIS PTR GBB Airsoft Rifle I first place 5 shots through my Chronograph using .20 gram plastic Airsoft BB’s and a full mag filled with propane gas. The rounds varied anywhere from around 330-360 fps but averaged a nice 345 fps which is perfect for most Airsoft games.
Next I placed a fresh paper target 30 feet away in my Indoor Sea Can Airgun Range. I then proceeded to shoot 10 shots in semi auto to see how accurate the KWA LM4 RIS PTR GBB Airsoft Rifle would perform for me. I am not a big fan of the aperture or peep sights found on most AR rifles, sure they work well for quick target acquisition but in terms of accuracy at least for me I find them hard to look through. Even so I was able to get about a 4 inch grouping with the KWA LM4 RIS PTR GBB Airsoft Rifle. I am pretty sure I could tighten this up with some more practice using these types of sights so user influence was involved here.
Of course I also had to place the KWA LM4 RIS PTR GBB Airsoft Rifle in Full Auto mode and do first a mag dump of the remaining 25 rounds and then I switched up the magazine for a fresh 40 rounder and did some shorter bursts again followed by a mag dump. The KWA LM4 RIS PTR GBB Airsoft Rifle performed flawlessly even in this somewhat cooler environment (17 degrees Celsius - 62 degrees Fahrenheit).
the KWA LM4 RIS PTR and LM4 KR7 Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles are fantastic performers, it’s hard to find consistent Gas Blowback Full Auto guns that can truly get through an entire mag without some sort of major cool down effecting their performance. In my testing even at the end of a full auto magazine the cycle rate was still high and there was no problem at all getting all 40 rounds out. If you want one of the highest quality and best performing Gas Blowback AR M4 styled Airsoft rifles then look no further!
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the KWA LM4 RIS PTR and KWA LM4 KR7 PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles is exactly what you would expect on an AR style rifle. You are required to pull the charging handle back for the first shot which draws the bolt back and chambers a round. The Single action trigger has very little take up and a light crisp release. Of course if you select full auto mode all you need to do is hold down the trigger until the magazine is empty!
Accuracy: So far I have not field tested either the KWA LM4 RIS PTR and KWA LM4 KR7 PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles but I did throw some green gas in one of the mags and fires off a bunch of semi and full auto shots in my Sea Can Airgun shooting range. You can expect a ton of felt blowback recoil and both semi and full auto modes performed perfectly for me with no problems unloading a full 40 rounds magazine and no slow down in the blowback action.
Build Quality: The KWA LM4 RIS PTR and KWA LM4 KR7 PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles are about as good as it gets in terms of build quality. They both have pretty much the same aluminum metal receivers and reenforced steal bolts. Fit and finishes is excellent everything just looks and feels great on these high end KWA Airsoft rifles.
Realism: The PTR in the name stands for “Professional Training Rifle” and the KWA LM4 RIS PTR and KWA LM4 KR7 PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles not only look the part but operate as close as you are going to get to the real steal version in an Airsoft rifle. You can even interchange the stock, grips, trigger guard with MilSPec components and the same goes for the rails, all MilSpec ready. I want to mention the blowback recoil again because it is truly awesome on these rifles!
Really well built mostly aluminum and steel components.
Fully customizable MilSpec design throughout.
Amazingly realistic perfect for training.
Gas Magazine performs really well easily getting through the 40 rounds.
Type 3 Hop-up for extended range shooting.
Fully Field Strippable.
Cons:
GBB system has more limitation compared to an AEG, less rounds, not goof in cold weather.
Not the cheapest Airsoft rifles out there but worth every penny.
Hard to keep in stock.
Comments:
I know most go-to Airsoft rifles for game play are going to be an AEG since they are going to have a lot more rounds per mag and more consistent performance over a Gas Blowback Airsoft rifle. That said the KWA LM4 RIS PTR and KWA LM4 KR7 PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles really make you want to reconsider this choice and try and figure out if perhaps you could use a Gas Blowback Airsoft Rifle on the field? Sure you will need a lot of extra magazines but man is it ever fun feeling that blowback action on your shoulder and experiencing a more true to life experience shooting the KWA LM4 RIS PTR and KWA LM4 KR7 PTR Full Metal GBB Airsoft Rifles. If you want the most realistic training Airsoft rifles then it would be hard to find a better option out there.
