I don’t believe I have ever interviewed EKOL at SHOT Show in the past. I have dropped by their booth and taken a look at their product line and chatted but this year EKOL had some new and interesting products that I feel fit in nicely with Replica Airguns products and Replica Airgun enthusiasts.
In this EKOL SHOT Show 2024 Interview Omer from EKOL goes over three Airguns that are new for this year. The EKOL ES P92 which is a CO2 BB Blowback Beretta 92 Replica but rather than rebrand a KWC made version, EKOL makes their own in their own factory and it is very unique compared to other CO2 BB Blowback Beretta 92’s on the market.
Another product form EKOL based on the ES P92 Pistol is the EKOL ES P95B which I would call an SMG or submachine gun with a folding stock, but it only shoots in semi auto and is based off of EKOL’s ES 92 mechanically.
Lastly, Omer showed me one of their Replica Pellet Rifles, the EKOL AK which is a break barrel AK Replica Spring Piston Pellet Rifle that really looks a lot like an AK 47. EKOL also makes a very believable AR/M16 Break Barrel Pellet Rifle as well!
We have not carried much if any of the EKOL product line over the last few years so hopefully we can get some of these into our Online Replica Airguns Stores as they should even be legal for import into Canada.
I’m back from SHOT Show 2024 and I always like to start off my series of SHOT Show Interview videos with a Teaser Video that not only shows off a few new guns but also gives everyone a vibe of what it feels like to visit Las Vegas and SHOT Show. I can only show you so much because as you know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…
I did get the chance to interview several Airgun Companies that I will be putting together Interview Videos for, including Umarex, ASG, KWA, Barra, EKOL and Byrna. Unfortunately Sig Sauer is no longer attending SHOT Show and Crosman had significantly reduced the focus of their booth and really did not have much in the way of Replica Airguns to show.
For this Video 2 Accuracy Test I shoot all of the above listed Airguns at a paper target setup 30 feet down range using a semi rested shooting position with my hands resting on a sand bag up front and seated on a stool in the back. It’s not perfect but works well enough. I didn’t take a ton of time with each gun since there where 4 to shoot in this Field Test Shooting Video so accuracy may have been a bit better if I took a little more time with each gun.
In Video 2 I test the power and penetration of each Airgun option shooting at a pop can, a soup can and a toilet paper roll so make sure to watch that video if you have not already watched it.
For this Video 1 Power Test I shoot all of the above listed Airguns first at a pop can, then a soup can and then a toilet paper roll. The ides is to test penetration abilities with the pop and soup can and then raw force shooting the toilet paper as it will absorb all the energy from each airgun round and by gauging how much the toilet paper reacts or moves it should tell us which airgun has the most raw power or energy.
In Video 2 I will be testing accuracy using my standard 30 round paper target setup in the Replica Airguns Sea Can so stay posted for that upcoming video shortly…
I often have people ask me what is more powerful in terms of one gun over another and which Airguns have more raw power, BB versus, Pellet, versus Airsoft, versus Paintball?
Well in this indoor field test shooting video I compare all of the above head to head to see which Airgun not only has the most raw power but also how well they perform on a target setup 30 feet down range since after all what does it matter how powerful a gun is if it can not hit the target!
The Airguns I used in this head to head shooting performance test where as follows:
Keep in mind the ammunition for each Airgun is very different not just in terms of materials but also their weight which will have a big effect on the energy they produce. For example for this test I used 4.6 grain 4.5mm Steel BBs, 4.6 grain 6mm Aluminum Airsoft BB’s. 6.9 grain .177 cal. Lead Pellets and 17.7 grain .50 cal. Rubber Paintballs.
Watch my YouTube Video to see how well each Airgun did in this comparison shooting test!
It’s been a while since I had Blank Gun available for silent auction here in Canada and this one is an EKOL Firat Compact 9mm PAK Front Firing Blank Gun in great shape well kept and with only 20 rounds through it.
It comes with a hard shell case, the flare adaptor, take down tool and manual. Pretty much everything it came with. The finish is closest to a stainless but I believe was called Chrome back in the day. I would call it a Satin nickel finish? Anyway watch the video and look at the photos to get a better idea of what I mean.
The EKOL FIrat is a lot like the EKOL Jackal which also came in compact and Magnum version and resemble a Beretta 92. The EKOL Jackal however is semi auto and full auto capable while the EKOL Firat is semi auto only. This will save you a lot of money on blanks since blanks cost around $40 for a 50 pack.
To take part in the silent auction for this EKOL Firat Compact 9mm PAK Front Firing Blank Gun you will need to email me and let me know what your top bid is for it. The person with the highest bid will become the new only once paid for.
There are a couple things to keep in mind:
Get your bids in by noon Monday December 23rd.
Shipping will be added to the cost which is $29
Payment must be made within 24 hours of notification via EMT (Email Money Transfer), details to follow.
This can be a Christmas gift to yourself but it is not likely you will receive it by Christmas.
I have some harder to get here in Canada Blank Guns that I am selling from my personal collection by way off Silent Auction. These Blank Guns are more for the Canadian collector and perhaps not so much for the first time buyer. I would recommend for the first time Blank Gun buyer that you checkout our selection off brand new ROHM Blank Guns that we sell in our Canada Replica Airguns Store so check those ROHM Blank Guns out as they are excellent German made Blank Guns in a variety of styles.
Getting back to the Blank Guns in my personal collection. They are all previously owned, most only test fired once for review. Below is a listing of the Blank Guns I am offering in this Silent Auction with what I feel is there approximate value:
EKOL Aras Compact 9mm PAK Gloss Black Front Firing (New Condition): Missing magazine, should be able to buy and import magazine into Canada pretty easy. Takes the same magazine as most of the EKOL Blank Guns (Jackal, Dicle, ASI, Firat) $299
Here is how the silent action system works… First of all I will only be shipping these guns within Canada to a Canadian addresses and all funds are in Canadian Funds. You will need to email me and let me know which Blank Gun or Blank Guns you are interested in bidding on and let me know what your best price is. In approximately a weeks time when I feel enough offers have come in, I will then contact the winning bidder and give them 24 hours to pay up. If they do not pay me the amount they offered within the 24 hours I will then move on to the next highest bidder.
If you are bidding on more than one gun then I will take this into consideration since collecting money and shipping product to one buyer is easier than multiple buyers so this will help you with your offer.
I also will be charging $20 for shipping per gun, if you are buying multiple guns then I will discount the shipping a little bit so I will not charge you $20 per gun.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Gletcher GOLD APS Stetchkin is nice in both double and single action modes. Double action is fairly light as the hammer spring tension is moderate. The blowback operation will of course pre-cock the hammer allowing for single action shooting on almost all of your shots but the trigger pull length remains the same in both single and double action. The only difference is that in single action mode, the first part of the trigger pull, or should I say the take-up portion is much lighter until it gets to the hammer release point where you will notice more pressure and a short crisp release point.
Accuracy: I have already done a field test shooting review for the standard blowback Gletcher APS Stechkin which other than the finish is the same gun and will perform exactly the same. Make sure to checkout that shooting review for more info on how the Gletcher APS performed. In summary, I was able to get very close to the claimed 400 fps even on a rather cool early spring day (under 10 degree Celsius). I also shot with around a 2 inch 10 shot grouping from my standard target setup of 30 feet back in a semi rested position.
Build Quality: The Gletcher GOLD APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is well made, the Gold and black etched finish looks really nice but may not be to everyones personal taste, kind of a love it or hate situation when it comes ot Gold guns ;) The fit is good, not a lot of slide wiggle and pretty much the entire pistol is metal including the frame, slide, trigger, slide catch-release, safety, hammer, magazine and inner barrel. The only plastic parts would be the grips, outer barrel and some internal seals and o-rings.
Realism:The GOLD CO2 BB Gletcher APS is a 1 to 1 replica of the Stechkin Soviet Military sidearm, all the mechanical parts function just like you would find on the real steel version other than the full auto mode located on the safety, which has been disabled, perhaps for the European markets where full auto airguns are not allowed. The barrel opening and the stick magazine are the real only tell-tale signs that this is the airgun version rather than a real Stechkin.
Pros:
Come in a nice Velvet lined Wooden Box.
Gold Plated with etching )either love it or hate it)
Very solid and weighty gun. Mostly all metal.
High capacity 22 round all metal stick magazine
Blowback operation is pretty heavy, slide locks back on last round.
Operational parts all work like they should (slide catch, safety, hammer, elevation adjustment, mag release)
Field Strippable.
May be able to attach a stock on it?
Shooting performance, good trigger pull, around 400 fps and got about a 2 inch grouping from 30 feet away.
Cons:
No reassessed barrel opening.
Would have liked to have seen full size drop out metal magazine on this gun.
Full auto feature disabled on safety.
Gold version is a lot more expensive than the standard blowback version. ($349 versus $179)
Comments:
When I saw this pistol in the Gletcher catalog, I did not realize how large it actually was, I was expecting the Gold Gletcher APS Stechkin to be a bit larger than the Makarov but it really does dwarf the Makarov. Being that it is a large pistol it does have some weight to it but it does not feel heavy for its size. The grips are long front to back but not overly thick side to side so even medium sized hands should be OK shooting this BB air pistol. I am really happy to see another historic airgun added to the available Replica Airguns at our disposal and it's a bonus that we also get this one with blowback operation. You do have your choice when it comes to what you are looking for in terms of finish and operation, there is of course the APS GOLD blowback BB Version being reviewed in this video, the standard black/grey none blowback APS BB version, the black/grey blowback APS BB version which again is mechanically exactly the same as the GOLD. If your prefer Airsfot you can even find a Gletcher APS Blowback Airsoft model to fit your needs. All you have to decide is which one is for you!
My Vimeo Table Top Video of the Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol:
I will be showcasing here on the Replica Airguns website and over on the Replica Airguns YouTube channel a series of videos I will be making for the purpose of selling some guns out of my personal collection. I simply have no more room for the new guns and in some cases I either have duplicate guns or very similar versions so there is no need to have both. Some guns I am less attached to and as I already stated I need to make room for some of the new stuff I will be reviewing.
To start this series off my first video is to highlight the blank guns I am selling, there are only 4 of them, all of which are really hard to get here in Canada so I am not going to let them go cheap. By the way I am only selling to Canadian residents since shipping cross borders is a little sketchy.
Make sure to watch my above YouTube video to see the blank guns I am selling and instructions on how you can take part in the sale and purchase of them.
Here is a list of the blank guns I am selling from my personal gun collection:
Another preview video with some pistols from Umarex, ASG and Gletcher. Two of these Airguns I got to see whiel I wa sin SHOT Show this year so it was nice to be able to spend a bit more time with each one now that I have them in person for review :)
Lets start off with the ASG Dan Wesson 715, mine happens to be the Stainless version in 4.5mm Steel BB. What an upgrade over the original Dan Wesson Revolver and I thought those where already really good! The all new ASG Dan Wesson 715 is super solid coming in close to three pounds with its mostly solid metal construction.
Next up is the Umarex Combat Vet 1911 which is essentially a KWC 1911 distributed and Colt licensed via Umarex. The Umarex Combat Vet 1911 is a limited edition product made to look weathered and used and it does look amazing!
Lastly the Gletcher Stechkin in a Gold finish shipped in a real wood box with velvet lining. This is the same Airgun as the Gletcher APS but blinged out a bit, the Gold finish is lined with black etching to really make this gun look unique.
As with my standard Field Test Shooting Reviews, I shoot 5 rounds through my Chronograph to get a real world Velocity reading in feet per second. I also shoot 10 rounds into a paper target using a semi-rested position from 30 feet away. Since I had two versions of the EKOL ES 66, the long and short barreled versions I decided I would test pistols both on the Chrony and just the long barrel version for the accuracy testing.
So how did the EKOL ES 66 and ES 66C CO2 BB Pistols both do? In terms of fps, they both got into the 400+ range with the shorter barreled ES 66C version averaging 402 fps from 5 shots and the the longer barreled ES 66 getting a 444 fps 5 shot average. I was expecting the longer barrel ES 66 to outperform the shorter barrel ES 66 so this was no surprise. The temperature was not all that warm on this day but I did keep both guns fairly warm inside right up till I went outside and shot them. On a warmer day I would expect even better results.
Now for the accuracy results and don't hold your breath on this one... I have to say that the EKOL ES 66 was one of the worst BB guns I have shot to date in terms of accuracy at 30 feet. I could actually see the BB's curving after about 20 feet out, almost like they had some random spin on them? Perhaps the rifled barrel was catching a bit of grip on the smooth steel BB's and making them spin? Because this was so random it was hard to predict where the BB's where going. I also found that the EKOL ES 66 was sighted in way to high so at 30 feet I needed to aim very close to the bottom of the target and even still, about half of the BB's went well over and did not find the paper target. Perhaps actual lead BB's may be better in this pistol?
One thought I had was to somehow smooth out the rifling on the barrel as perhaps it needs to be worked in before more consistent shots can be obtained?
It was really too bad that I did not get the accuracy results I was looking for with the EKOL ES 66 Series of CO2 BB Pistols, I really like the overall quality and design of these Turkish made CO2 BB Pistols. Again perhaps some barrel work could improve the accuracy and make this a more well rounded BB gun.
This video focuses only on the shooting performance of the Gletcher APS. I test the (FPS) Feet Per Second performance first using my Chronograph to see what the actual real world velocity is and then I take my Gletcher APS Blowback BB pistol out to the 30 foot range and shoot 10 rounds on a paper target from a semi rested position.
So how did the Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol do? Pretty decent overall. Gletcher claims around a 400 fps max velocity and got an average 5 shot reading of 394 fps on what I would consider to be a rather cool day (under 10 degree Celsius). I was of course using a brand new CO2 to get optimal results.
When I tested the accuracy for the Gletcher APS Stechkin from my standard semi rested 30 foot position, I got failry typical results for a BB pistol at right around a 2 inch grouping, more than adequate enough for shooting small to medium sized targets around the yard.
The Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is bigger than I thought it would be, you can see this in my Table Top Review where I show it side by side to my 2013 Baikal Makarov BB Pistol. The Gletcher APS weighs in at over 2 pounds and has larger than average grips so small handed shooters may not be comfortable shooting the Gletcher APS. I found the blowback action to have a nice firm snap too it and the trigger pull was long but had a good feel and nice and easy to predict release point.
Overall I found the Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol to be a really fun gun to shoot, it felt good in the hand with nice blowback operation, fairly high fps for a blowback gun and decent accuracy.
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull with both the EKOL ES 66 CO2 BB Pistols is fairly heavy in double action mode as the hammer spring is fairly firm. In single action mode the trigger pull lightened up a lot and allows for more precise shooting when required. The double action pull is fairly long and the release point is fairly far back.
Accuracy: I have not shot either of these EKOL ES 66 styled airguns but I have conducted a similar test using a similar EKOL BB Pistol, the EKOL ES 55 which is basically the same base gun with a different slide. I would expect all of the EKOL airguns to shoot about the same. Based on my past experience the ES 66 C and ES 66 should shoot right around 420 fps or more and get 1-2 inch groupings from 30 feet out. We will find out for sure when I conduct my official Field Test Shooting Review for them.
Build Quality: The EKOL ES 55 comes from a company that primarily makes blank pistols. EKOL makes this gun directly from a similar model (The EKOL Sava) that shoots blanks so in many ways the ES 55 and ES 66 are designed more like a real gun than an airgun. The EKOL ES 66 Series is all metal with rubber grips and feels fantastic in the hand. There are really no plastic parts to speak of and I could not find any quality concerns on these airguns at all! The Chrome finish is something you don't often see in airguns but does look nice, just watch out for those finger prints ;)
Realism: The EKOL ES 66 CO2 BB Pistol is not an exact replica but does look a lot like a browning Hi-Power other than some small cosmetic differences. The basic size and shape is very close. With the shorter EKOL 66 C, this similarity is harder to see.
All metal construction - very heavy and solid feeling gun.
Expect to have decent accuracy and good power.
Safety is actually a de-cocker but a nice touch.
Nice full size drop out Magazine that holds the CO2 and 4.5mm Steel BB’s.
Double and single action trigger / hammer.
One of the few BB pistols with a rifled barrel.
Nice wrap around ergonomic grips.
Very unique airgun, not a lot of them around.
Cons:
Some parts don't function - slide release - slide when CO2 is in the gun.
No cutout ejection port.
Sights are none adjustable.
Double action is a bit heavy and trigger take-up is long.
Comments:
EKOL makes several blank guns and I have reviewed many of them back when we used to be able to import more varieties of blank guns here in Canada. What makes the EKOL airgun version kind of different than most airguns out there, is that it is made very similarly to the way EKOL makes their blank guns. Many parts are interchanged so in some ways the airgun is a lot like the blank gun version which one could say is a lot like how a real gun is made. What I am getting at here is that the EKOL ES 66 and ES 55 look and feel more like real guns than an airgun. Make sure to pick one of these EKOL airguns up before we run out, our supply for them is limited and when they are gone we may not be able to get any more?
My EKOL ES 66 CO2 BB Pistol Table Top Vimeo Video Review:
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Gletcher APS Stetchkin is nice in both double and single action modes. Double action is fairly light as the hammer spring tension is moderate. The blowback operation will of course pre-cock the hammer allowing for single action shooting on almost all of your shots but the trigger pull length remains the same in both single and double action. The only difference is that in single action mode, the first part of the trigger pull, or should I say the take-up portion is much lighter until it gets to the hammer release point where you will notice more pressure and a short crisp release point.
Accuracy: I have done no preliminary shooting with this pistol so other than how the trigger feels I can not comment on the performance. The Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol has a fairly long barrel length so it should get close to the claimed almost 400 fps and since the rear sight is adjustable for elevation I will be abel to make aim point adjustments up and down if need be. The slide does snap back with decent firmness so I am also expecting there to be a decent amount of blowback feel.
Build Quality: The Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol is well made, the metallic dark grey finish looks really nice and the fit is good, not a lot of slide wiggle and pretty much the entire pistol is metal including the frame, slide, trigger, slide catch-release, safety, hammer, magazine and inner and outer barrel. The only plastic parts would be the grips and some internal seals and o-rings.
Realism:The CO2 BB Gletcher APS is a 1 to 1 replica of the Stechkin Soviet Military sidearm, all the mechanical parts function just like you would find on the real steel version other than the full auto mode located on the safety, which has been disabled, perhaps for the European markets where full auto airguns are not allowed. The barrel opening and the stick magazine are the real only tell-tale signs that this is the airgun version rather than a real Stechkin.
Pros:
One of the only 4.5mm BB shooting Stechkin replicas I have come across.
Very solid and weighty gun. Mostly all metal.
High capacity 22 round all metal stick magazine
Blowback operation seems heavy, slide locks back on last round.
Operational parts all work like they should (slide catch, safety, hammer, elevation adjustment, mag release)
Field Strippable.
Should be able to put a stock on it?
Shooting performance pros yet to be determined…
Cons:
No reassessed barrel opening.
Would have liked to have seen full size drop out metal magazine on this gun.
Full auto feature disabled on safety
Shooting performance cons yet to be determined…
Comments:
When I saw this pistol in the Gletcher catalog, I did not realize how large it actually was, I was expecting the Gletcher APS Stechkin to be a bit larger than the Makarov but it really does dwarf the Makarov. Being that it is a large pistol it does have some weight to it but it does not feel heavy for its size. The grips are long front to back but not overly thick side to side so even medium sized hands should be OK shooting this BB air pistol. I am really happy to see another historic airgun added to the available Replica Airguns at our disposal and it's a bonus that we also get this one with blowback operation.Let's hope the Gletcher APS Stechkin shoots as well as it looks!
My Vimeo Table Top Video of the Gletcher APS Stechkin CO2 Blowback BB Pistol:
More guns to show off! Good for you and me! In this update video I show you some very interesting guns indeed! As many of you are aware, the Baikal Makarov MP-654K CO2 4.5mm Steel BB pistol has been really hard to find new here in Canada, making the price of used ones escalate up into the $700+ price range for one in as new condition. Well for those looking to buy a Baikal Makarov MP-654K we have located some and have them for sale now in our Canada Replica Airguns store (Very limited supply). These are the 2013 PM new design models with the narrow grips and mags, they also have the recessed barrels and cut out extractor. We sell them in the blued version only.
Another CO2 BB pistol that has been out of stock for some time is the EKOL ES series. I reviewed the ES 55 CO2 BB Pistol a while back but until now have not been able to show off the ES 66 Series which is more browning high power looking in design. The good news is we have both the ES 55 and ES 66 CO2 4.5mm Steel BB Pistol in stock in our Canada Store. These guns are mostly metal with full size drop out metal magazines that hold the CO2 and BB's, they also shoot in both single and double action and have pretty decent power! We are now selling both the ES 55 and ES 66 series of guns in our Online Canada Store.
I've looked at several Gletcher Airguns over the last little while and finally got my hands on the Gletcher APS Blowback CO2 BB Pistol which is a replica of the Russian Stechkin Soviet Military sidearm introduced back in the 50's. It's kind of a bigger brother version of the Makarov, i was surprised at how large it actually was when i got my hands on it! The real steel version had the ability to shoot in both semi and full-auto but my Gletcher APS 4.5mm BB replica only shoots in semi auto. Again, checkout the full line of Gletcher Products in our Canada Replica Airguns Store.
I have a near new condition Semi and Full Auto EKOL Jackal Dual Compact Front Firing 9mm P.A.K. Blank Gun up for Silent Auction! It comes in the original plastic hard shell case along with the flare adaptor, take down key and of course a 15 round magazine.
To get in on the bidding, simply Email Me Herewith your highest bid by no later than July 22nd 2013 by midnight. At the conclusion of this Silent Auction I will notify the winner and they will have 24 hours to make payment before I move onto the next highest bidder.
This Rare EKOL Blank Gun Silent Auction is open to my Canada customers since we sell EKOL guns in the US Replica Airguns store, Canadian Customers will pay an additional $17.99 for Shipping/Handling plus their local provincial sales Tax. Good luck to everyone!
You can watch my earlier Review videos for this Front Firing Blank gun here:
In our quest to bring you even more of the good stuff we are constantly adding to our Replica Airguns Store, we have recently added to our US Replica Airguns Store some more Blank Guns, Blank Gun Ammo and Blank Gun Magazines. We also added a new item, "Stock Badges".
I was going to put these two very nice EKOL Dicle 9mm P.A.K. Front Firing Blank Pistols up in the Canada Replica Airguns Store at a preset price but after viewing the condition and the fact that I have had a lot of people asking about blank guns being available, I decided to put them up as silent auction items instead, I kind of wanted to show them off in a video ;)
They are both in "as new" condition, one has never been shot, the other has had a handful of rounds through it, to be honest I can not tell which is which? So basically they are both in "new condition".
Both EKOL Dicle's are being sold with customized Hogue grips but I will include the original grips with them. Both come in the original cases and with the flare adaptors.
To place a bid to purchase one or both of these very nice EKOL Dicle Blank Pistols, you will need to Email Me Here with your highest bid. I will contact the winning bid at the end of the auction and send them a PayPal request for the total amount including $17.99 Shipping/Handling along with their local tax rate. The winner will have till the end of the day to pay or I will move on to the next highest bidder.
This auction will conclude on Friday November 16th Midnight so act fast!
Enjoy my YouTube Video showcasing the EKOL Dicle twins:
For my Canadian Blank Gun collectors, I'm not going to list these ones as Silent Auction items this time around so if you're looking for an EKOL blank gun, I have one of each of the following versions for sale:
