It's always good to start the week off with an update video so everyone knows what's happening short-term and long-term...
I recently acquired a couple new items that I will be reviewing in the near future (along with several other reviews that I will be trying to get to ASAP!) First off is the Crosman M4-177 which is basically a multi-pump pellet and BB shooting replica of an AR or M4 styled carbine used by the US military. The Crosman M4-177 is mostly plastic on the outside but on first inspection seems to be built fairly well. It has removable metal sights and the magazine is also detachable but is not used as a magazine but rather a compartment for storage. The unit I have is the Canadian detuned version which shoots .177 caliber lead pellets and 4.5mm steel BB's at under 500 fps.
I also received my first old west blank shooting revolver (M1873), I have wanted one of these for a while and finally got my hands on one :) Unfortunately this one has a plugged barrel so it vents out of the cylinder area which may get a bit messy. I may see about making this one a front venting gun if possible and of course as long as it's within the law as I plan to make sure the cylinder stays semi plugged so no actual rounds could ever be shot out of it. The Old West M1873 Blank Revolver holds six .380 crimped blanks and is an all metal and wood construction. This should be a fun review!
I also touch upon a few other guns on the list of items I need to review and by the way in an attempt to get caught up I will be doing my Table Top and Shooting reviews combined.
Here are some of the guns that I will be reviewing over the next while...
Gamo P-25 & PT-85 .177 Caliber Blowback Pellet pistols (This one will get done this week!)
Another great opportunity for some of my Canadian based customers to get yourself a blank firing gun here in Canada. Today I bring you three models, two front firing blank pistols from EKOL in Gloss Black (Arda and Dicle) and one Italian made top venting Bruni Model 92 in Chrome.
Lastly we have a stunning Bruni Mod. 92 in Chrome:
Top venting.
8mm P.A.K. blanks.
15 round capacity.
Single and double action.
Comes with hard case.
Excellent condition!
All these guns are up for silent auction and this is how it works:
Send me an email with your top price as you will be bidding against others for the top offer. (Taxes and shipping will be added to your bid)
If you want more than one of these blank guns, please bid on each gun individually.
You have till Friday May 11th midnight to get your top bid in place.
Once the top bidder has been selected I will send them an email to notify them that they are the top bidder and Payment will be required within 24 hours or the next top bidder will be selected and notified.
FYI - We just got some more Dan Wesson 6 inch Silver in stock in our Canada Store, we are going to get our pre-order sales units out first to the customers who have been waiting for their pre-paid units and then we will take new orders, if you want one act fast as inventory is limited...
One question I get asked often is "Which are my favorite airguns?" or "What are my top 5 gun choices?" I have done my best to avoid answering this question because it's a very hard question to answer and to be truthful on any given day I may come up with a different selection of guns as there are just so many great airguns out there!
So today I took a bunch out and shuffled through them all to see if I could come up with five of my top picks, well at least for today that is, and I'm pretty happy with my selection (Umarex Desert Eagle - ASG CZ 75 P-07 Duty - Baikal MP-654K Makarov - Cybergun Tanfoglio Witness 1911 - ASG Dan Wesson 6 Inch Sliver). I know for a fact they are some excellent choices and if you happen to own or plan on buying one then I'm sure you will agree wiht me.
So checkout this Vimeo Video Review where I go through them and explain what I like about each gun, and why they made my Top 5 Airgun Pick.
Type: BB air pistol. Manufacturer:UmarexUSA. Model:Smith & Wesson M&P R8. Buy in CAN - Buy in US Materials: Plastic (polymer) and some metal construction. Weight: 1.37 pounds. Barrel: 5.1 (6.5) inches, metal smooth bore. Propulsion: 12 gram CO2 x 1. Action: Repeater, single and double action. Ammunition Type: 4.5mm steel BB's. Ammunition Capacity: 8 shot rotary magazine. FPS: 420. Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Umarex Smith & Wesson M&P R8 is not too bad but has a stickiness to it right at the beginning as the cylinder rotates and pushes the metal spring "feed ramp"in and out. Shooting this revolver pre-cocked in single action mode is a bit smoother but also has some resistance right at the beginning. Overall I would say it has a medium pull to it. UPDATE: When actually shooting this gun, the trigger felt very respectable and I was able to get excellent accuracy result shooting in both single and double action.
Accuracy: Very good! I got 6 out of 8 shots inside my 1.5 inch bullseye and only two shots went outside a bit. these results where done shooting from 20 feet out in a semi-rested position. I also shot freehand in double action shooting quickly and also got a fairly well placed grouping. When it came to FPS performance the Umarex S&W M&P R8 was a bit disappointing (336 fps average 8 shots) but on the plus side it got well over 150 shots per CO2 and was extremely quite to shoot.
Build Quality: This is an almost all external polymer air pistol with some metal components on the inside like the inner barrel, hammer and some other internal framing components. The fit and finish is very good on the S&W M&P R8 and the plastic seems rigid and does not have much flex to it. Overall the R8 has decent weight but I felt another half pound would have helped this gun out.
Realism: The Umarex S&W M&P R8 is a licensed replica of the actual Smith & Wesson M&P R8 revolver. It is a very close looking copy in almost every way. There is a lot of attention to detail that helps make this gun very believable like the Smith and Wesson markings throughout the airgun and full size swing out cylinder! Provided by:ReplicaAirguns.com
Pros:
I don't know the shooting side of things just yet but here's what I can tell you so far.
Should have decent FPS and good CO2 usage.
Inexpensive but decent build quality.
I like that the cylinder is full size and looks real.
Adjustable rear sight.
Well hidden CO2 tab.
Full S&W licensing, very good replica.
Single and double action trigger.
Magazine is removable for easy loading and you can get extras.
Easy to add accessories to it and make it customized to your liking.
Cons:
The plastic exterior may put off some customers looking for a more metal gun.
Lighter weight makes it feel a bit cheap.
Trigger action is a bit sticky at the beginning.
I would have liked to see this one in a pellet shooter.
Comments: The Umarex Smith & Wesson M&P R8 BB CO2 Revolver based on my first impressions in this table top review portion is a rather nice low cost CO2 revolver. Other than it's low cost, it has a lot going for it like the extensive Smith & Wesson trademarks and the full size swing out 8 round cylinder, just like its hard hitting 357 big brother. The S&W M&P R8 also has an adjustable rear sight and full single and double action trigger for fast paced shooting or slowed down precision. I also really like the well hidden CO2 tab and larger diameter barrel opening that add to the realism of this Air pistol. Yes it shoots BB's only, and yes it is mostly plastic but I think once you start shooting this gun you will quickly forget these two minor shortcomings and remember how little all this enjoyment cost you!
My YouTube Table Top Review for the Smith & Wesson M&P R8 BB CO2 Revolver:
UPDATE: The 4 inch Black and 6 inch Silver Dan Wesson Revolvers are now back in Stock!
First, the bad news... We are sold out in our Canada Store of some of our most popular Airguns; this includes most of the ASG Dan Wesson revolvers along with the STI Duty One, and the very popular Cybergun Witness 1911.
Now for the good news! You can pre-order these while we get some more back in stock and save $20 while also reserving yours ahead of the non-pre-orders.
We are looking at about a 2-3 week wait while we get more in and as soon as they are back in stock we are putting the price back up so if one of these has been on your wish-list then make sure to grab one on sale now!
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.
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 ;)
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!
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 :)
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!
We are looking at the arrival of two new barrel lengths for the very popular ASG Dan Wesson 4.5mm BB Revolvers. The two new barrel lengths are the 2.5 inch Silver version and the 4 inch Black version.
Based on the requests I have been getting for more shorter barreled revolvers and the popularity of the 6 inch and 8 inch Dan Wesson's we have already been selling, I know these are going to sell well. And as per usual, I will pick some up for my personal collection and do a full review to share with everyone.
I am hesitant to offer a "Pre-sale" on these two new ASG revolvers with the current Customs delays going on but our last ASG shipment made it through pretty quickly. The expected availability for the ASG Dan Wesson 2.5 and 4 inch Revolvers is at the end of November!
This is a "Pre-sale" item Save $20 (we expect to arrive near the end of November - please make sure to read over our Terms & Conditions concerning "Pre-sale" orders)
The Umarex S&W M&P R8 Air Pistol is a CO2 powered 4.5mm BB Revolver. You can also add a tactical flashlight or laser to the integrated accessory rail . The Smith & Wesson M&P R8 has a manual safety and black synthetic grips, as well as fixed front and a windage adjustable rear sights. This BB replica revolver is not only great for plinking, but also makes a good target shooter.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Real Action Paintball RAP5 feels kind of like an on/off switch, even though it is not an electronic switch it kind of feels like one a bit and it seems to need some CO2 or Air pressure in order to operate. Once the pressure is there, you can engage the trigger. The trigger is fairly short and nice and light.
Accuracy: I was pretty impressed with the RAP5 BB machine guns overall accuracy. I did not have to play around to much with my Red Dot scope to get it on target and keeping it on target is easy to do in both semi and full auto modes. I was especially impressed with how well it stayed on target in full auto mode. I like the fact that it pumps out BB's very quickly and they go exactly where you want them too go.
Build Quality: I was very impressed with the overall build quality of the RAP5, it has lots of metal parts exactly where they would be metal on the real MP5 giving the RAP4-RAP5 BB machine gun a very solid feel. Even the magazines feel solid and are made with metal. I was bit concerned about how the RAP5 would feed and shoot the BB & casing combination but it really seemed to work well and the combined full auto and ejecting casings makes the RAP5 a total gas to shoot!
Realism: The RAP5 BB machine gun is extremely realistic, you can even mix and match real H&K MP5 accessory parts! The only way you can tell its not the real steel is the small ejection port where the .43 caliber casings fly out, and they really come out with some momentum! Other then that this BB machine gun is very realistic in how it operates, looks and feels.
Ejecting casings makes for a realistic experience.
Semi and full auto selectable with a nice high rate of fire in full auto.
Can customize with actual MP5 add on parts. (stocks, rails, grips)
Good accuracy even in full auto mode.
Can use either CO2 or bulk-air power sources.
Decent 400fps for a full auto machine gun.
Cons:
Not a cheap gun!
Hunting down the ejected casings can be a bit of a chore but they are not expensive to buy.
.43 caliber ejection port on the side is a bit of a giveaway.
Would have liked more options of power-sources when purchasing. (Dual 12 gram CO2 adaptor should come standard)
Comments:
When I heard about this BB machine gun, I new I had to have it and mostly because of the way it feeds and ejects the shell casings, much like a real gun! I'm also a big fan of the H&K MP5 styled rifle and PDW version. I was genuinely impressed with everything about this BB shooter; design, quality, realism and shoot-ability and I hope to one day get the RAP4 (M4 styled) version of this gun which uses the same feeding mechanism. If you want the most realistic looking and operating full auto 4.5mm BB machine gun you can get then this is really it.
I get a fair bit of interest and questions from people in the TV, Movie, Stage, Internet and Photo business looking for guns they can use in their productions, so I thought I would put together an informative video to show them some options available to them at least here in Canada.
The problem is a lot of times a "Gun Handler" is required, as in many cases real firearms are used and very strict guidelines need to be in place for obvious safety reasons. This is most likely the best option in the case of a Matrix styled movie and an extensive amount of guns are required in the production. What if you only need a few guns and you want to keep your budget and complications to a minimum? Well there are other options and that's where I come in.
Watch this short Promotional Video for more information if you are looking for a simplified and easy solution for your realistic gun use in Movie, Stage, Internet and Photo productions.
Here is another great Replica Airguns Limited Time Sale for you! If you want a really really small blank gun that will fit just about anywhere, take a look at the EKOL Arda 8mm blank shooting mini revolver. It has a very unique design, kind of a mix between a Derringer and a Revolver.
You just have to have the classic AK47 and this one even has the wood foreword stock. I will be reviewing the Under Folding Stock version of this very realistic looking AK47 Paintable Assault rifle.
The Tacamo T68 AK47 Series of Paintball guns are based on the most widely used assault rifle in the world - the AK-47! Tacamo has taken the AK47's classic lines and melded them with the powerhouse T68 internals to create this powerful marker for scenario paintball and military training. The Tacamo marker is designed as the "opposing force” weapon to enhance military combat training, or for when you just want to play a bad guy for the weekend.
The Tacamo T68 Series Paintball Guns are manufactured at a registered weapons factory in the PRC using actual production parts from AK47's where possible!
This Paintball gun is made but Tacamo but does not carry the Tacamo Brand.
.68 caliber Paintballs
Adjustable 200-400 FPS
AK Magazine
Authentic Metallic Sights
Realistic Size, Weight
14 inch barrel
Semi auto
Hopper fed
Reliable T68 Internal with All-Mechanical Performance—no batteries!
