Airsoft Action - October 2022

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 142 - OCTOBER 2022 

ISSN 2634-9515

TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION 

TAP/CLICK IMAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

CONTENTS 

8 ARMOURY: G&G No.4 Mk.I SMLE 

In the last issue Stewbacca assessed the WE L85A2 GBBR and how 

it stacked up to his experiences of weapons handling training, but 

what of the classic bolt action No.8 .22LR training rifle, and its 

forebears? He got his hands on G&G’s latest gas powered No.4 

Mk.I offering to see if the old chap has been given any new tricks 

compared to the sudden influx of alternatives. 

WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

ISSUE 142 - OCTOBER 2022 

ISSN 2634-9515 

18 ARMOURY: ARES L42A1 

ARES have really been rolling out their historical bolt-action 

program as we’ve detailed in past issues, but their latest release 

takes things forward into the heart of the Cold War era! Bill takes 

a very close look at the L42A1, a rifle model that he adores, and 

finds out if it lives up to its hefty airsoft price-tag! 

Editorial Director: Bill Thomas 

Graphic Design: Calibre Publishing 

Ad Design: Deadshot Design 

Publisher: Calibre Publishing 

Web: www.airsoftaction.net 

©Calibre Publishing Limited 2022 

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be 

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted 

in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, 

photocopying, recording or otherwise without the 

express permission of the publisher in writing. The 

opinion of the writers do not necessarily reflect those 

of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit 

submissions prior to publication. 

FIND US ON… 

28 ARMOURY: SAIGO DEFENSE KYUDO 

Saigo Defense are a still relative newcomer to airsoft but they 

appear to have gained a healthy following amongst players with 

their aggressively-styled, well-priced, and competitively-specced 

AEGs, but in keeping with our theme this month Bill has been 

getting some rangetime with their latest model, the KYUDO boltaction! 

Photo courtesy Krios Photography 

LETTER, IDEA OR 

QUESTION? 

Got something to say? A question for our 

experts? An article or article idea? 

Drop us a line and let us know. Either email the 

Editorial Director: bill@airsoft-action.co.uk, or talk to 

us on Twitter or Facebook. 

36 ARMOURY REAL SWORD SVD RETROSPECTIVE 

Amongst the Airsoft Action crew we have a number of dedicated 

OPFOR players, and in recognition of its well-earned standing 

in airsoft circles Dan and Stewbacca put their heads together to 

take a look back at one of the most respected 6mm “Dragunov” 

marksman rifles to have been made, the mighty, and now rare, 

Real Sword SVD!

Contents 

OCTOBER 2022 

OCTOBER 2022 

42 THE CAGE: BATTLEFIELD ROLES 

It’s time for a big new sequence for 

discussion amongst the members of 

the AA Legion, and in the next few 

issues we’ll be casting the net a little 

wider as we look at different roles 

within a coherent airsoft team, and 

the kit that you need to perform 

those roles not just adequately, but 

effectively! 

74 TECH: BOLT ACTION UPGRADES 

When it comes to the subject of 

upgrading bolt-action rifles, this 

arena can be just as in-depth and 

complex as it is for upgrading AEG’s. 

The plethora of options, systems, and 

platforms available is extensive, and 

it’s easy to get “lost in the woods” 

trying to figure out your avenue of 

approach, so Dan simplifies things a 

little to give some pointers in getting 

the best “bang for your buck”! 

50 RED CELL: PLAYING THE LONG 

GAME 

What do YOU look for when it comes 

to a “precision airsoft rifle”, and 

what do WE mean by that? Within 

Red Cell we have members who have 

searched long and hard for the best 

“long gun” and some of those rifles 

are veterans of numerous games 

with a healthy “kill count” notched 

on their stocks! This month Red Cell 

take a look at many that have already 

undergone some rigorous testing 

both in-game and on the range! 

80 AA LEGION UK: NAF 2022 

Each and every year the AA crew 

head on down to the New Forest 

to check in at the National Airsoft 

Festival (NAF) to find out what’s been 

happening with friends old and new 

at a thoroughly convivial event that’s 

ALWAYS all about the airsoft, and 

with numbers maxed out for NAF 

2022 we’re delighted to report on 

an airsoft event that is truly unique, 

and continues to thrill in many, many 

ways! 

66 KIT & GEAR: MAGNIFIED OPTICS 

This month we’ve decided to get 

into “long guns” and of course a 

crucial part of this setup is choosing 

the right optic to sit on top of your 

favoured precision rifle. With the 

vast experience amongst some of 

the seasoned members of Red Cell 

and The Legion factored in Bill quite 

literally takes a look at some of his 

favourite options that may suit you 

too! 

92 AA LEGION: HONG KONG 

Although we have gone unashamedly 

“long gun” for this issue we couldn’t 

resist bringing you the latest report 

from Larri, our Legionnaire in Hong 

Kong and most-definite “pistoleer” 

as he brings the latest news on 

a righteous CQB site… and who 

wouldn’t want to play at Impact Force 

CQB when it offers such a brilliantlythemed 

experience? Larri tells more… 

70 TECH: HPA RIFLE BUILD 

Keeping with our theme this 

month we thought that it would 

be remiss of us not to include an 

HPA system-driven platform, and 

our once-sceptical tech Jimmy has 

been creating one of his very own. 

Delving into the mechanics of his 

chosen platform and system he now 

begins to detail his very own “HPA 

Adventure”! 

96 RELOADED: VFC PSG-1 

Having had his iconic dream rifle 

that is the VFC PSG-1 GBBR for the 

better part of a year now, how has it 

fared in Stewbacca’s reckoning? With 

more use in the field and additional 

accessories, and work being done on 

and with it, what’s gone more right 

or wrong since the initial purchase 

and Armoury Review in Issue 133? 

Photo courtesy Cool Under Fire

ARMOURY 

G&G NO.4 MK.I SMLE 

OLD GUN... 

NEW TRICKS! 

8 

octoBER 2022

ARMOURY 


IN THE LAST ISSUE STEWBACCA ASSESSED THE MOST RECENT BRITISH SERVICE WEAPON IN THE 

FORM OF THE WE L85A2 GBBR AND HOW IT STACKED UP TO HIS FORMATIVE EXPERIENCES OF 

WEAPONS HANDLING TRAINING MANY YEARS PRIOR, BUT WHAT OF THE CLASSIC BOLT ACTION 

NO.8 .22LR TRAINING RIFLE, AND ITS EARLIER FOREBEARS THAT DATE AS FAR BACK AS THE TURN 

OF THE PREVIOUS CENTURY? HE GOT HIS HANDS ON G&G’S LATEST RELEASE IN THE FORM OF 

THEIR GAS POWERED NO.4 MK.I OFFERING TO SEE IF THE OLD CHAP HAS BEEN GIVEN ANY NEW 

TRICKS COMPARED TO THE SUDDEN INFLUX OF ALTERNATIVES. 

The Lee Enfield No.4 SMLE in particular was 

developed prior to WWII and pushed into 

service midway through as demand for 

individual weapons and replacements for those 

damaged or lost in action soared, and the No.4 

sought to simplify the base rifle and avoid some 

of the frills that cost time and money to produce. 

It essentially distilled the Lee Enfield to a very 

workhorse-like weapon that took lessons from the 

practical realities of more recent actions and the 

modern, at the time, shifts in combat and more 

urbanised European battlefields, as well as the 

requirements of simplified mass manufacture in a 

wartime setting. 

Long gone were the classic magazine cutoff, heavy 

checkering of the furniture, volley sights and intricate 

rear sights of earlier classic models, with a simplified 

rear aperture sight optimised for shorter range use 

and rapid engagements; the flip up ladder sight was 

initially retained for the diehard users, paired with a 

heavier barrel that was also somewhat free-float in 

nature, albeit not yet fully exposed like later models. 

The No.4 Mk.I SMLE was all the business, but 

retained a lot of the classic look and feel of its earlier 

and much-beloved forerunners. 

Even in my younger years, I seemed to appreciate 

the classic lines of the No.8 single loaded training 

rifles we cut our teeth on, often liking the very 

deliberate action of a bolt-operated rifle; there’s just 

something timeless and almost personable about 

your involvement in the process and the cycling and 

firing of every shot. So of course those memories 

came flooding back as I unboxed the new G&G 

offering after getting another long suspicious outer 

cardboard parcel emblazoned with their logos, and 

opening it only to find their very well decorated 

main packaging with the name and picture of the 

Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.I SMLE and its accessories and 

features adorning it on all faces. 

The rifle is a little over 3.5kg so not terribly 

unwieldy despite its near realistic weight, and the 

wood-finish plastic is reasonably well executed, 

comparable to other recent offerings from other 

manufacturers that make use of such materials. 

One can’t grumble really, although I did see some 

comments on the internet regarding the price and 

the fact it isn’t real wood; unfortunately the realities 

of post COVID supply chain issues, materials cost 

hikes and just the realities of the G&G offering 

over its competitors hasn’t sunk in fully yet. You 

could, if you were a stalwart with the money and 

means, theoretically go about changing the front 

end furniture for real wood equivalents without a 

huge amount of trouble; the external barrel and 

its stocking up or interfacing with the furniture is 

the only functional thing to worry about ahead of 

magazine well really, and the benefit of the Lee 

Enfields is the front and rear split in the furniture 

around the metal receiver socket where the trigger 

and main gripping point are. 

MOTIVE FORCE 

However replacing the rear section with real wood 

alternatives would be a much harder prospect. 

This is a result of the propellant method used in 

G&G’s LE4 rifle; while some of the equally recently 

released spring action equivalents may benefit from 

wooden furniture, the gas reservoir that resides 

“EVEN IN MY YOUNGER YEARS, I SEEMED TO APPRECIATE THE CLASSIC LINES OF THE 

NO.8 SINGLE LOADED TRAINING RIFLES WE CUT OUR TEETH ON, OFTEN LIKING THE 

VERY DELIBERATE ACTION OF A BOLT-OPERATED RIFLE; THERE’S JUST SOMETHING 

TIMELESS AND ALMOST PERSONABLE ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS 

AND THE CYCLING AND FIRING OF EVERY SHOT.” 

www.airsoftaction.net 9

ARMOURY 


in the butt stock of G&G’s model 

would make that somewhat difficult 

to accomplish. With not a great deal 

of thickness left surrounding it and the 

external surface of the stock, I imagine you 

would struggle to make use of real wood, 

aside from perhaps a very tightly packed 

laminate solution akin to soviet era rifles, 

but either way G&G elected to take 

the simpler and more economical 

option to provide a functional 

and practical material that is 

less likely to fracture in use 

or rough handling, as well 

as no doubt making the 

system somewhat more 

affordable and open to 

a wider market given 

the times we’re 

living in and many 

manufacturers are 

suffering through. 

The reservoir 

itself is quite 

substantial and I 

counted a little 

over 300 BBs 

fired on a single 

10 


ARMOURY 


fill during my recent morning’s testing of the LE4 

prior to game on at one of team Taiji’s urban close 

quarter environment sites. I ran an entire thirty clips 

of ammunition through it, which was somewhat of 

an undertaking in itself and purely an excuse for me 

to get some data points whilst also pandering to 

the many teammates who had asked if I’d run ‘mad 

minutes’ with it during my testing process. Spoiler 

alert - he did, in fact, run a lot of ammunition through 

it in short order! 

And how does one run so many rounds through 

a bolt action, you ask yourselves? Well, one of my 

favourite features and selling points of the G&G LE4 

is its innovative charger loading magazine system! As 

with the real Lee Enfield systems, the main external 

magazine is removable, however that tended to be 

mainly for maintenance purposes, infantry were not 

issued additional box magazines, rather they were 

given stripper clips of five rounds of ammunition to 

load into the attached box magazine from above 

when the action was opened rearwards, with the 

overall ten round capacity being the largest of any 

such system in service at the time, giving the British 

and Commonwealth forces an advantage over most 

Axis troops. 

G&G deftly replicate the realistic loading experience 

while also making for a practical and fast operating 

mechanism by making use of their patented charger 

system; the magazines are in fact plastic cases made 

to resemble 5-round stripper clips which would be 

fed into the real rifle; however these blocks house a 

ten round spring loaded magazine tube in the body 

and feed lips built into the top round of the stack, 

as well as the included specialist speedloader which 

can be charged with thirty “rounds” of your chosen 

ammunition weight through its flip-up feed tube, 

which attaches to the driving shuttle. Basically you 

inject the rounds in through the tube after locking 

it upright, and they feed down into the loading 

tray beneath, then you can present the stripper clip 

magazines upwards into the feeding position, and 

ram the measured ten rounds in the feed tray into the 

stripper clip, and then repeat it for the other two clips 

included with a single load of the speedloader. 

All in all a very slick system, I have to say, and 

something I really enjoyed using for its realism in 

loading and delivering the real steel “ten rounds” of 

bolt action fire, of course you will be able to purchase 

additional stripper clip magazines to suit your usage 

case or loadout; in general with them being simple 

lightweight plastic units I can see them being very 

handy and economical to carry in volume for the 

dedicated re-enactor or impressionist user, and I’m 

already looking to source some more for my own use, 

as well as considering scoping up the LE4 for jungle 

sniping work. At the very first game I fielded it at our 

Hutoushan mountain site up in the hills west of Taipei 

I fired it in anger but once in the first round and got 

a stealthy eliminating shot out of it as a result - most 

impressed! 

The stripper clip system also has the advantage of 

an integral locking latch system; upon retracting the 

bolt on an empty external magazine, you can insert 

the stripper clip into the spring loaded storage cavity 


ARMOURY 


12 


ARMOURY 


within the main external magazine body beneath 

and then press down on it to latch it into its feeding 

position. Should you need to unload and make 

safe you can retract the bolt and press down on 

the stripper clip to unlatch and remove it before its 

ammunition is exhausted, or alternatively if you fire all 

ten rounds and run it dry, upon the final cycling of the 

bolt it will automatically unlatch and jump up into the 

way of the bolt, preventing it closing with no rounds 

present. The whole system works excellently, although 

on occasion one of the three stripper clips supplied 

would misbehave and pop up before all its rounds 

were expended, but by and large the whole design 

and operation of the feed system is excellent and very 

enjoyable to us in its utility and realism. 

GETTING INTO BATTERY 

The bolt itself is very smooth and easy to operate 

given that there is basically no spring pressure involved 

in its movement aside from the final resistance on 

the closing stroke caused by the realistic ‘cock on 

close’ action familiar to the real rifle; the cocking 

piece latches onto the main sear just as the bolt gets 

to its end of forward travel before locking with the 

downward cocking handle rotation. When the trigger 

is pulled it drops the sear and releases the cocking 

piece against the striker valve inside. You can close the 

bolt on a BB chambered by pulling the trigger as you 

cycle the action without firing it (I would however be 

careful if choosing to do so, and mindful of muzzle 

discipline nonetheless) then when you are ready to fire 

just grip the cocking piece and retract it to engage the 

sear and make the LE4 ready to fire. Alternatively you 

can use the manual safety lever on the rear left side 

of the receiver to lock both the cocking piece and bolt 

itself once the action is cocked, however as per the 

instructions be mindful not to cycle the action with it 

in the half or fully safed positions to avoid damage to 

the bolt and action. 

You can also remove the bolt completely for 

maintenance in the same manner as the real steel rifle, 

by retracting it to its rearmost point aligns the locking 

lug with a small takedown button on the right side of 

the receiver, pressing this down allows the locking lug 

to be disengaged and rotated upward and then the 

bolt can be removed completely for cleaning or to get 

access to the striker valve beneath it if required. 

Upon firing the cocking piece strikes this integral 

valve beneath the bolt and blasts out a measured 

amount of gas from the reservoir up through the bolt 

and into the chamber behind the seated BB round 

in the chamber, and then down the 625mm internal 

barrel. Despite such a considerable internal barrel 

length nearing that of the PSG-1, there is apparently 

no joule creep to worry about from the LE4 regardless 

of ammunition weight used; because it is a manually 

operated gas system with a single instantaneous 

gas release that is hit once by the cocking piece as it 

travels past, only a certain volume of gas is released 

with each shot, and because there is no recoil 

operation or NPAS system timing the gas release 

until the BB leaves the barrel, there is no excess gas 

usage and related increase in power due to heavier 

ammunition’s inertia and the related longer expansion 

time in the barrel upon firing. 

Thus during my testing I made use 0.2g, 0.3g, 

0.4g, 0.45g and 0.5g BLS BBs, with the Joule rating 

staying in the region of 1.5-2.0 and varying a little 

between shots regardless of the ammunition used, 

but not increasing dramatically as the BB weight 

tested was increased and the resultant muzzle velocity 

dropped progressively. Regardless the muzzle energy 

is perhaps a little hot for other markets, but the bolts 

themselves are marked on the underside, mine having 

‘2.4’ on the bottom of its main body which relates 

to the bore of the bolt nozzle, and Rick confirms that 

different nozzles will be supplied to suit different local 

environments and laws. 

Chrono’ing on the 0.2g rounds produced an initial 

peak shot of 140m/s that dropped down to 135m/s 

over a string of ten, while switching up to 0.3g BBs 

resulted in a similar string of ten rounds starting 

around 125m/s and dropping to 113m/s or so, 0.4g 

rounds resulted in 110-103m/s, and finally 0.5g 

rounds gave a 100-85m/s spread, so your ammunition 

weight of choice may have to be considered 

depending on the kind of gameplay or setting you 

intend on using the LE4 in if you’re contemplating 

running it in game. The general performance is fairly 

“YOU CAN ALSO REMOVE THE BOLT COMPLETELY FOR MAINTENANCE IN THE SAME 

MANNER AS THE REAL STEEL RIFLE, BY RETRACTING IT TO ITS REARMOST POINT 

ALIGNS THE LOCKING LUG WITH A SMALL TAKEDOWN BUTTON ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF 

THE RECEIVER” 


ARMOURY 


consistent, lobbing most rounds out to a good 40m 

range without much movement, and without even 

touching the HOP unit, the adjustment for which 

is cunningly disguised inside the magazine well 

front screw. Removing the spring-loaded magnetic 

adjustment tool from the rear storage compartment 

in the butt plate (which is also where the gas fill valve 

for the integral reservoir resides) allows you to turn 

the middle part of the magazine well screw to adjust 

the tension of the HOP unit directly above, however 

I found that the HOP is already somewhat overly 

effective even on the minimal setting, so perhaps 

needs minimal adjustment anyway. 

FINE TUNING 

I did find the barrel to be reasonably stable and the 

whole system consistent, however the path of the BBs 

was somewhat high over the sight picture afforded 

by the rear aperture and front blade, neither of which 

appear to offer much adjustment. Even though the 

flip up ladder sight is highly adjustable it seems the 

LE4 would always fire a little too high over the front 

sight and I had to mentally adjust for the variance. 

It was pretty consistent in shot placement to be fair, 

I just had to mentally aim below a ‘six o clock hold’ 

and sometimes slightly right to ensure the rounds 

met their target. As G&G are planning on releasing 

a scope mount base in the future you should be able 

to work around this issue with a more readily zeroed 

optical sight in a No4(T) configuration if you prefer, or 

indeed when using the No4 Mk.I against meat targets 

I doubt the variance will be such an issue. 

I was trying my luck hitting small targets at 

considerable ranges so perhaps expecting too much, 

and over the course of my testing the HOP unit did 

seem to settle in somewhat; I did have the whole 

front end apart to check the viability of using wooden 

furniture as a future upgrade potential, as well as 

seeing if I could bias the inner barrel down a little to 

drop 

the point of impact more in line with the 

point of aim, by using shims on the floating 

barrel; however, this seemed to produce corkscrewing 

shots way off centre and all over the place during 

further testing so I abandoned that idea, reassembled 

the front end after removing the shim and tightened 

the whole assembly up. There had been a bit of 

barrel wobble when my example arrived due to the 

construction of the front end and its realistic barrel 

band clamping action, it may be a case of fine tuning 

or fettling to get it seated nicely and shooting as 

consistently as possible. 

The main issue I had was upon arrival… the gas 

reservoir had a slow leak! I immediately took the 

rear butt plate off to inspect the gas reservoir which 

is how I realised the amount of space it took up, a 

likely inability to make use of real wood furniture for 

the rearmost section of the stock at least. For me it 

was a relatively simple fix of removing the reservoir 

back plate, soaking the included seal in silicone oil as 

I do with all my leaky gas magazines, and reseating 

it then reinstalling the rear plate. I have to say this 

design perplexed me somewhat as the back plate 

is entirely flush, and the seal itself is akin to an 

engine block gasket with indentations to avoid the 

threaded internal sections in the main reservoir that 

house the fixing bolts. My background in hydraulics 

engineering in a past life makes me think it would 

be better to have a simple oblong shaped seal with 

the bolt retaining protrusions biased to the outside of 

the reservoir vessel thus avoiding the complex gasket 

shape, and I’d also be inclined to sacrifice a little 

capacity to have a protrusion on the rear plate that 

forced the seal into its seated position as fitting the 

flush plate across the sealing surface and gasket was a 

bit of a pain in the rear to get right. 

This would likely be a warranty issue for most 

rather than something you try to rectify for yourselves, 

but for me; needs must, and experience allowed, I 

“EVEN THOUGH THE FLIP UP LADDER SIGHT IS HIGHLY ADJUSTABLE IT SEEMS THE 

LE4 WOULD ALWAYS FIRE A LITTLE TOO HIGH OVER THE FRONT SIGHT AND I HAD 

TO MENTALLY ADJUST FOR THE VARIANCE. IT WAS PRETTY CONSISTENT IN SHOT 

PLACEMENT TO BE FAIR, I JUST HAD TO MENTALLY AIM BELOW A ‘SIX O CLOCK HOLD’ 

AND SOMETIMES SLIGHTLY RIGHT TO ENSURE THE ROUNDS MET THEIR TARGET.” 

14 


ARMOURY 


stripper clips quickly enough for demand! 

Admittedly it is definitely ‘hard mode’ to field 

one of these up against your regular skirmish crowd 

running semi autos of any format, and believe me, 

I tried! At our terminal shoot I was running it most 

of the games in an 

would assume 

this 

would be an unusual 

exception 

and an artifact of early production and procedures 

requiring refining given its a brand new design, and 

the fact they wanted to get it to me for testing early 

after release. Regardless, once I resealed the reservoir 

with this easy fix I had no further issues with leaks and 

the rifle ran like a champ on every outing. 

MAD MINUTES FOR ALL! 

At this point I imagine I’ve run 500 rounds through 

the G&G LE4 over the course of three outings and 

particularly my gas capacity testing mad minutes 

on the most recent game, and I naturally got quite 

adept at running the action rapidly and smoothly. 

Occasionally if you still impart a turning moment 

on the bolt handle as you retract the bolt body you 

might skew the cocking piece off-centre slightly 

and cause it to hang up, but for the most part its 

operation is smooth and there are even inward angled 

surfaces on the rear of the receiver track it travels in 

to encourage it to realign. If it does jam up its merely 

a case of pushing it back to centre and learning to 

run the bolt with authority and precision in your 

movements, which I managed for the most part 

and it IS extremely satisfying as both a tactical and 

auditory experience; the LE4 really brings a lot to the 

table in terms of nostalgia and realism, and many of 

my teammates from Commonwealth countries who 

had the opportunity to train on them in the cadets 

or own and operate real ones in the likes of Canada 

or Australia were crowding around at our Hutoushan 

game to reminisce about their younger selves running 

that action and thoroughly enjoyed doing so with the 

G&G replica, with plenty of BBs sent downrange that 

day as a result; I was actually struggling to reload the 

indoor 

and more targetrich 

environment, cycling 

the action and exhausting all 

my ammunition in short order; 

I definitely want another few 

packs of stripper clips and some form of bandolier 

storage solution as well as a scope, although it must 

be noted that fitting a scope will entail you having 

to remove the main external magazine from beneath 

and reloading the stripper clips into it manually while 

it’s out of the gun as the scope mounts will block 

the access from above for normal loading… certainly 

something to consider! 

Overall, despite my initial concerns over the gas 

system, the G&G LE4 No.4 Mk.I SMLE has been 

excellent fun to use and once I got past the initial 

teething issues it has run excellently, the novelty and 

realism of both the bolt action and its proprietary 

patented loading stripper clip and accompanying 

speedloader should not be understated! So if you’re 

in the market for a fine-looking and practical period 

correct system that is very easy to operate from any 

position without the need to overcome springs as 

with air cocking bolt actions, I would strongly suggest 

giving the LE4 more than a cursory glance; if you find 

a shop that will let you try it or run it it’s definitely 

worth it for the experience and fun factor alone! 

I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Rick and the 

team at G&G ARMAMENT once again for sending 

their LE4 for my testing and evaluation, and do Be 

sure to check out the latest on the LE4 program (there 

will be more!) by visiting www.guay2.com. AA 

“ONCE I GOT PAST THE INITIAL TEETHING ISSUES IT HAS RUN EXCELLENTLY, THE 

NOVELTY AND REALISM OF BOTH THE BOLT ACTION AND ITS PROPRIETARY PATENTED 

LOADING STRIPPER CLIP AND ACCOMPANYING SPEEDLOADER SHOULD NOT BE 

UNDERSTATED! ” 


TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

RALLYFORCE 

THE NEXT GENERATION OF TACTICAL 

SHOP NOW

ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

COLD WAR 

PRECISION 

18 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

ARES HAVE REALLY BEEN ROLLING OUT THEIR HISTORICAL BOLT-ACTION PROGRAM AS WE’VE 

DETAILED IN PAST ISSUES, BUT THEIR LATEST RELEASE TAKES THINGS FORWARD INTO THE HEART 

OF THE COLD WAR ERA! BILL TAKES A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THE L42A1, A RIFLE MODEL THAT HE 

ADORES, AND FINDS OUT IF IT LIVES UP TO ITS HEFTY AIRSOFT PRICE-TAG! 

I 

think it’s pretty obvious to anyone that regularly 

reads my reviews that I’m a child of the ‘60s, and 

that my formative years were the 1970s and 80’s, 

so you could say that I have more than a passing 

knowledge of UK Land Forces (UKLF) equipment and 

weapons of that period. 

I joined my school Combined Cadet Force (Army 

Section) in 1976 at the age of twelve, and eventually 

ended up as cadet “2 i/c” five years later. Thankfully 

our section was commanded by a rather wonderful 

man (and a mentor to me!), “Jack” Bird, who had 

been both an “original” and a Para before becoming 

a school teacher, and we took great pride that “our 

officer” would proudly wear his sand beret when we 

were “on camp”. His standards were fairly set but 

unwaveringly high, so every Friday was “drill night”, 

one weekend a month was usually spent with one of 

the regular army units or the Royal Marines stationed 

in our area, and summer camps were filled to the 

brim with adventure! 

It was Mr Bird that recommended me for the 

UKLF Leadership Course, and for two weeks some 

200 cadets from all over the UK went through some 

of the most rigorous training that the British Army 

could throw at us thanks to 3 RGJ and Cadre officers 

(another bloody Para for me!). We drove around in 

military vehicles of all types, flew in Gazelles and 

Pumas (bloody big Airfix kits!) and even deployed 

for our final 72 Hour Exercise in a Chinook! Physical 

training was at the fore (dawn runs and the assault 

course every day!) and second only to that was “Skill 

at Arms” with every infantry weapon in service at 

the time. It was a tough fortnight, and not everyone 

made it all the way through… 

At school we still maintained an armoury of No4 

Lee Enfields and BREN guns on site (oh, how things 

change!), but when we visited the units around us 

and had range days at Deal, Hythe and Lydd we had 

access to the L9 Browning pistol, L1A1 SLR, L2 SMG, 

the L4 LMG, L7 GPMG and very occasionally if we 

were lucky and talked nicely to the Royal Marines, 

the L42A1 sniper’s rifle! 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

Now having pretty much grown up with the No4 

(and the new G&G sounds quite wonderful too!) the 

L42A1 was definitely somewhat of a “revered beast” 

to me! I’d been one of the top shooters consistently 

with the .303 on range days, so every time I got the 

rare chance to get my hands on an L42 was like a 

dream come true. This beautiful precision rifle was the 

final evolution of the Lee Enfield, and when married 

up with a No32 optic I really couldn’t miss when I had 

one in my hands… and for this I genuinely adored it. 

Re-chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and with some 

subtle enhancements, it had the same operation as 

the No4 which I knew intimately, and, at least to my 

teenage self was just… better. 

You can therefore imagine my absolute delight and 

excitement when I saw that amongst the new releases 

from ARES as part of their ongoing “bolt-action 

program” there would be an L42A1 springer, and 

finally thanks to Tim at iWholesales I’ve finally been 

able to get my greedy little mitts on one, and without 

giving the game away totally it’s a beauty of an airsoft 

rifle! 

HERITAGE BUILT IN 

Now many players out there have been waiting for a 

truly outstanding Lee Enfield airsoft rifle, and it would 

seem that these prayers have been answered, at least 

in part. To put this in context the Lee Enfield in its 

myriad forms should ALWAYS have been produced in 

airsoft form, as it stood the test of time in the hands 

of the British Army for well over a hundred years! 

The first service rifle was the Lee-Metford adopted in 

1888, while the last was the L42A1 sniper rifle, which 

was only declared obsolete in 1992! In between came 

the famous No.1 Mk III Short Magazine Lee-Enfield 

and its mass production-oriented successor, the No.4 

rifle that served commendably during WWII and well 

into the 1950s until the L1A1 was adopted in 1954! 

So the story of the L42A1 was an especially 

poignant one, as it was the last bolt-action design 

based on the Lee Enfield pattern to serve with UKLF. 

Developed from 

the World War 

II-vintage No.4(T) rifle and mated with the 

same No 32 3.5 power telescopic sight (that 

had originally been designed to go on the BREN!) the 

L42 proved to be a well-liked and much respected rifle 

in its own right. 

Interestingly, research tells me that “when the 

7.62x51 mm round became the NATO standard, the 

British army had originally planned to convert a large 

part of their existing stocks of No.4 rifles to 7.62 mm 

for issue to rear-echelon troops, and both Sterling 

and Enfield manufactured kits for this purpose. For 

various reasons, including poor accuracy and reduced 

personnel numbers, the conversion process of the 

No.4 rifle to L8 specification was not fully pursued, 

but some work was done on an L8T sniper rifle 

version. These L8T prototypes, externally identical to 

the .303 No.4(T) except for the magazine, were tested 

extensively in 1965 but did not succeed and were 

never issued.” 

However, civilian shooters of the era had mated 

the No4 action with a heavy-profile, commercially 

manufactured barrel mounted in a shortened foreend 

as the heavier barrel did not require support. 

These innovations were not lost on the designers at 

Enfield who soon incorporated similar features into 

a prototype rifle called the XL42E1. The XL42E1 was 

“extensively tested in competition with offerings 

from various rifle and scope manufacturers, and was 

found to offer the best combination of reliability and 

accuracy.” 

Obviously the fact that a new military precision rifle 

could be created by converting the huge stockpile 

of existing No.4(T) rifles may have had some bearing 

on the decision taken; with a few minor specification 

changes, the XL42E1 was christened the L42A1, and 

production commenced in 1970. The specification of 

the trial rifles and the eventual production rifles was 

almost exactly the same, so much so that at least a 

few XL42E1s were later found on issue as regular 

sniper rifles! 

“NOW HAVING PRETTY MUCH GROWN UP WITH THE NO4... THE L42A1 WAS DEFINITELY 

SOMEWHAT OF A “REVERED BEAST” TO ME! I’D BEEN ONE OF THE TOP SHOOTERS 

CONSISTENTLY WITH THE .303 ON RANGE DAYS, SO EVERY TIME I GOT THE RARE 

CHANCE TO GET MY HANDS ON AN L42 WAS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE.” 

20 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

fit of the magazine and reliable feeding of cartridges. 

The L42A1’s fore-end was shortened, partly to save 

weight and partly because 

the heavier barrel 

did not require 

The barrel was a hammer-forged unit and was 

27.5” long and made from high-quality EN19AT steel. 

The magazine was a completely new unit to cater to 

the 7.62mm rimless round. The receiver was slightly 

modified in the magazine well to ensure the correct 

support. A 

modified handguard 

from the No.8 .22 training 

rifle was used along with either 

a new or original butt and the same cheek 

rest as the No.4(T). 

The L42A1 served with the British Army for nearly 

25 years, and it reportedly gave excellent service 

wherever it was used. Deployments included such 

disparate theatres as the Falklands and Northern 

Ireland (where the STARLIGHT sight proved 

invaluable!), and it saw sterling service with the SAS 

(sorry, I couldn’t resist!) in the deserts and wadis 

of Oman. Although probably the most famous 

images of the L42 are of with SAS, it is said that; 

“during the Falklands War in 1984, a particularly 

savage action was fought between the British 2nd 

battalion, Parachute Regiment, and the Argentines 

at Goose Green. It was arguably the longest and 

toughest battle of that brief but bloody war. The 

British Paras numbered 600 and were up against 

1,400 Argentine soldiers. They were fighting over 

open ground in daylight against prepared positions, 

were low on ammunition and lacked adequate fire 

support. The British won the fight but lost 17 of their 

soldiers against some 200 Argentine dead. Their 

L42A1 equipped snipers are known to have made a 

significant contribution to that grim toll.” 

You can say what you like to me about the L42A1, 

but the real rifle is without doubt the zenith of a 

distinguished family of Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles 

that served the British and Commonwealth forces 

with such distinction for more than a century, and as 

such rightfully deserves its place in firearms history! 

“THEY WERE FIGHTING OVER OPEN GROUND IN DAYLIGHT AGAINST PREPARED 

POSITIONS, WERE LOW ON AMMUNITION AND LACKED ADEQUATE FIRE SUPPORT. 

THE BRITISH WON THE FIGHT BUT LOST 17 OF THEIR SOLDIERS AGAINST SOME 200 

ARGENTINE DEAD. THEIR L42A1 EQUIPPED SNIPERS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE MADE A 

SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THAT GRIM TOLL” 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

TURNING REPLICA TO REAL 

So, with the heritage of the real L42A1 and my 

personal recollection of this fine military rifle in mind, 

it was initially with great trepidation that I approached 

the ARES replica; this was an airsoft rifle that I had 

dreamed of owning one day, but for many years the 

only way of doing so was by buying an insanely-priced 

custom creation. I dearly wanted an L42 to complete 

my collection of replicas that the UKLF had fielded 

during the late 1970s and 1980s, to sit alongside 

my Browning, Sterling and SLR proudly and be used 

in themed games (okay, I also want an L4 LMG, but 

“dream on”…). 

When the ARES rifle arrived with me I sat for some 

time just staring at the green “faux-wood crate” it is 

shipped in, but finally I gathered the courage to 

open this up and wrapped in “greased 

paper” was the very rifle I had 

dreamed of in 

airsoft 

form for so 

long, along with a 

magazine and a box that 

contained the replica “No32” optic. With great care 

and some reverence I unrolled the paper to reveal an 

utterly drop-dead gorgeous airsoft rifle. 

As I have said elsewhere in this issue I am no sniper, 

but having shot the real L42A1 what lay in my hands 

was obviously a thing of great beauty; now ARES 

describe this rifle as being “Museum Grade”, and 

although I am unsure exactly what they mean by this 

phrase, their finished replica is undoubtedly worthy 

of such display. If I saw it in a cabinet in an Infantry 

Museum in virtually every way I’d be hard-pressed to 

say that this was not an example of the rifle I had shot 

myself! 

The ARES genuinely IS stunning! Weighing in 

at 4400g and at 1140mm overall this is indeed a 

real beast of a rifle; the real L42 was 4535.92 and 

1181mm, so ARES have this pretty much bang-on 

to start with. The woodwork is said to be “High 

Grade”, and with a slightly “used” patina it certainly 

feels spot-on, and looks amazing… I have a genuine 

wood butt on my airsoft SLR and the tone is almost 

identical! The L42 butt features the correct cheekriser, 

and has the correct three sling swivels as per the 

real. 

When it comes to the metalwork there is certainly 

no “monkey metal” anywhere in evidence from what 

I can see, as the 95% of the parts are made from 

Grade 304 Stainless Steel with QPQ Finishing, and it 

certainly feels “right” to me. The outer barrel does 

not have the “snakeskin” finish found on some L42s, 

but there is most definitely a slight texture to it, which 

is a very nice nod to realism. A functional leaf sight 

is 

fitted to the rear of the rifle, with the 

again-correct shrouded post at 

the front. 

Okay, I’ll get a couple of tinyyet-utterly-forgiveable 

gripes out 

of the way at this point, and the 

first of these definitely puts me 

into “stitch-bitch” territory. The magazine 

should be re-shaped “to cater to the 7.62mm 

rimless round” but is in fact the same 35 BB magazine 

used in their No4 rifle; this is by no means and dealbreaker 

for me, and makes complete commercial 

sense as they can use the same design in three airsoft 

models, but in fairness it does need to be pointed out. 

The other slight head-scratcher for me is that the 

ARES is clearly marked “No MK*1 LONG BRANCH 

1942”… now Long Branch Arsenal did indeed 

produce Lee Enfield-pattern rifles along with STEN 

guns, but for the Canadian, British, and Chinese 

militaries. It was said in the Canadian firearms 

magazine “Calibre” of the No4 (T) rifles that “all 

the guns Canadians carried throughout the Second 

World War are cherished by their collectors, but none 

are as highly prized as this: The Long Branch No. 4 

Mk. 1* (T)… these rifles were hand selected due to 

their accuracy, and would then undergo a variety of 

modifications before being encased in secure transit 

boxes and shipped to their respective users. While 

just over 25,000 Lee Enfield rifles underwent this 

treatment, those from Canada’s Long Branch arsenal 

remain the rarest, with literally just a handful every 

year being produced”. This would make an L42 

bearing the LONG BRANCH stamp a VERY rare beast 

“I GATHERED THE COURAGE TO OPEN THIS UP AND WRAPPED IN “GREASED PAPER” 

WAS THE VERY RIFLE I HAD DREAMED OF IN AIRSOFT FORM FOR SO LONG, ALONG 

WITH A MAGAZINE AND A BOX THAT CONTAINED THE REPLICA “NO32” OPTIC. WITH 

GREAT CARE AND SOME REVERENCE I UNROLLED THE PAPER TO REVEAL AN UTTERLY 

DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS AIRSOFT RIFLE.” 

22 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

“THE ARES GENUINELY IS STUNNING! WEIGHING IN AT 4400G AND AT 1140MM 

OVERALL THIS IS INDEED A REAL BEAST OF A RIFLE; THE REAL L42 WAS 4535.92 

AND 1181MM, SO ARES HAVE THIS PRETTY MUCH BANG-ON TO START WITH. THE 

WOODWORK IS SAID TO BE “HIGH GRADE”, AND WITH A SLIGHTLY “USED” PATINA IT 

CERTAINLY FEELS SPOT-ON, AND LOOKS AMAZING…” 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 

indeed and it makes me wonder if ARES didn’t use a 

Chinese rifle for their template. 

However, this is pure semantics, and to be honest in 

no way detracts from what is a very, VERY fine airsoft 

rifle, and in no way diminishes the fabulous job that 

ARES have done in their replication. 

ZEROING IN 

One thing that I haven’t yet mentioned fully is the fact 

that the ARES L42A1 comes as a complete package, 

and that with the rifle you actually get a replica of the 

No32 optic and mount that is correct for the platform. 

I initially tested the L42 using just the leaf/post combo, 

and chrino’ing on a .20g gave me a highly respectable 

1.65 Joule/422fps, along with solid feeding from the 

magazine, and excellent accuracy out to 30m; while 

shooting prone I was able to group 10 BBs at 220mm. 

However, re-setting the hop to .30g BBs and fitting 

the optic transformed the rifle further, and that 

grouping crept down to 137mm at 50m! As well as 

being a splendid reproduction of the No32 and mount 

visually the optic provided has some of the clearest 

glass that I have seen on a stock model, with the 

correct reticle, and crystal-clear magnification! It is 

a delight to use, and although I would give warning 

that the thread on the mount screws does seem a 

little weak, I would ask as to why you would need to 

remove this with any regularity given that rifle and 

optic are made to be together! 

The operation is super, super-smooth with the 

bolt sliding “into battery” with a satisfying yet very 

audible “click” if you are going to use this rifle in the 

sniper role then I’d suggest that you’ll want to carry it 

pre-cocked with the safety applied until you’re ready 

to take your shot lest this very audible signature gives 

your position away! 

But this aside, am I happy with the ARES L42A1? 

You’d better believe that I am! It is a stunning 

replica that if you are a collector like me as well as 

an airsoft player you will want to own, and indeed I 

believe if you are a “Cold War Brit” player you’d sell 

body parts to acquire one of these fine rifles for your 

“gun wall”! 

It is another rifle however that will carry a hefty 

price-tag that on the face of it may put some doubters 

off, but I would urge you to consider the package 

on offer as a whole. I’ve seen that the L42A1 is now 

appearing on certain websites with an asking price 

around the UK£700 mark, and I would agree that this 

on the face of it seems a lot of money for a niche rifle. 

However, given that you get a solid gun case to kick 

off with, that re-lined with something like Shadow 

Foam could carry more than one rifle, and that you 

get the excellent No32 optic replica as well starts to 

make this price-tag somewhat more palatable. If you 

search online for a No32 optic what you’ll find in the 

main are “repros”, and one of these will set you back 

somewhere in the region of $US350, with another 

US£150-200 for the mount! If you want to find a 

genuine No32 then prices appear to start at around 

US$400 with US$600-700 being what you’ll pay for a 

decent one… and that’s before you start to factor in 

shipping and import duties! 

So, as I say you need to look at this magnificent 

ARES offering as a complete package, and I genuinely 

believe that for players like me that have lusted after 

this model for so long, the price will not be offputting. 

As a standard, from-the-box airsoft rifle the 

ARES L42A1 is a wonderful replica of a much-loved 

service rifle, and I also believe that with just a little 

light fettling this elegant rifle with a rugged optic 

from a bygone era could prove to be an undoubted 

winner in-game to this day! 

As always, and especially this time a huge THANK 

YOU to Tim at www.iwholesales.co.uk and the ARES 

L42A1 should be arriving with all good retailers VERY 

soon! AA 

“AS WELL AS BEING A SPLENDID REPRODUCTION OF THE NO32 AND MOUNT VISUALLY 

THE OPTIC PROVIDED HAS SOME OF THE CLEAREST GLASS THAT I HAVE SEEN ON A 

STOCK MODEL, WITH THE CORRECT RETICLE, AND CRYSTAL-CLEAR MAGNIFICATION! IT 

IS A DELIGHT TO USE” 

24 


ARMOURY 

ARES L42A1 


ARMOURY 

SAIGO DEFENSE KYUDO 

WARRIOR 

SPIRIT 

28 


ARMOURY 


SAIGO DEFENSE ARE A STILL RELATIVE NEWCOMER TO AIRSOFT BUT THEY APPEAR TO HAVE 

GAINED A HEALTHY FOLLOWING AMONGST PLAYERS WITH THEIR AGGRESSIVELY-STYLED, WELL- 

PRICED, AND COMPETITIVELY-SPECCED AEGS, BUT IN KEEPING WITH OUR THEME THIS MONTH BILL 

HAS BEEN GETTING SOME RANGETIME WITH THEIR LATEST MODEL, THE KYUDO BOLT-ACTION! 


ARMOURY 


Saigo Defense have really put a dent into the 

sales of some longer-established airsoft brands in 

the last couple of years, and this has been very 

apparent to me by watching just how fast their greatlooking 

little AEGs fly off the wall of my local store 

each and every time they come into stock! 

Now there have been rumblings about how the 

internals of the Saigo AEGs look very similar (read 

pretty much identical!) to those of another Euroairsoft 

brand, but the fact is that they offer solid 

performance out of the box and with their aggressive 

styling and the “Japanese Mystique” surrounding 

them in terms of model naming, Saigo AEGs have 

proved to be a huge hit. 

Ultimately though, the manufacture of Saigo 

models appears to be Euro-driven by SKW Airsoft, a 

part of SKYWAY TECHNOLOGY SA, a leader in the 

outdoor activities business in Spain that was founded 

in 1991. SKYWAY TECHNOLOGY SA distributes G&G, 

Marui, KJW, Tornado, Zoxna, Thunder B, and also 

offers a variety of products from China like Jing Gong, 

Dboys, Cyma, Well, A&K, Double Eagle, Galaxy, Snow 

Wolf and the like so it could be said that they have 

some form when it comes to knowing what a decent 

AEG should be like. 

I’ve had a Saigo Defense SHINOBI and RONIN 

AEG under test for some time to see how they 

really perform, and thus far I have to admit to being 

somewhat impressed. My personal preference is the 

SBR-length SHINOBI, and although it’s fully polymer in 

both receiver set and rail it’s a great, modern-looking 

little carbine with more-then-adequate internals 

that performs well… and if you search hard you can 

find them for just UK£150-160 which is great value, 

especially as they come with a LiPo battery and a 

decent mid-cap mag! 

THE WAY 

Now I’ve not written in any depth about Saigo 

Defense before, but given all the nods to the Japanese 

way of the warrior in their naming program I had, as 

always, 

to look a little 

deeper, and the 

connection I make 

is to Saigo Takamori (1828-77), a samurai from the 

remote domain of Satsuma in southern Kyushu who 

“came to doubt the viability of old values only to 

be repelled by the brash vulgarity of the new order 

he himself did so much to bring about”; he is often 

referred to as “The Last True Samurai”. 

This has resonance to me in the way that Saigo 

Defence approach their AEGs; they obviously eschew 

some of “the old ways” in their designs, but accept 

“the new ways”, and whether or not I’ve hit the 

reasoning behind the naming of the brand, and 

the obvious connection to Japanese history in their 

naming of individual models, in an age of brand 

recognition and “brand values” this is a pretty cool 

direction as far as I’m concerned! 

And the inspiration for the naming of their new 

bolt-action rifle is also pretty cool; through my 

tabletop wargaming adventures I have become 

increasingly interested in the later Sengoku period, 

specifically the 16th Century. In this period of 

Japanese history my research and good old Wiki tells 

me that “The yumi (Japanese bow) as a weapon of 

war began its decline after the Portuguese arrived 

in Japan in 1543 bringing firearms with them in the 

form of the matchlock.The Japanese soon started 

to manufacture their own version of the matchlock 

called tanegashima and eventually it and the yari 

(spear) became the weapons of choice over the 

yumi. The yumi as a weapon was used alongside the 

tanegashima for a period of time because of its longer 

reach, accuracy and especially because it had a rate of 

fire 30–40 times faster.” 

So how does this pertain to the KYUDO you may 

ask, and the answer is that when the yumi was 

superceded by the matchlock, and subsequently 

with more modern firearms, the spiritual aspect of 

Japanese archery remained. This spirit harmoniously 

united the warrior tradition with the dignity of 

“I’VE NOT WRITTEN IN ANY DEPTH ABOUT SAIGO DEFENSE BEFORE, BUT GIVEN ALL 

THE NODS TO THE JAPANESE WAY OF THE WARRIOR IN THEIR NAMING PROGRAM I 

HAD, AS ALWAYS, TO LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER, AND THE CONNECTION I MAKE IS TO 

SAIGO TAKAMORI (1828-77).” 

30 


ARMOURY 


The chassis (stock and butt) of the KYUDO do 

indeed look almost identical to that of the MB04, and 

ceremony, 

and as the United 

Kingdom Kyudo 

Association website 

(www.kyudo.org.uk) tells me, this led 

to “the concept of Reisetsu - respect 

for the other” and “became the moral 

discipline which united these two 

aspects and formed the foundation for 

the modern practice of Kyudo - the Way of the Bow”. 

I love this, and the naming of their new rifle sits 

well with me as it seems to bring together all that 

is good about precision airsoft shooting together in 

a very spiritual sense; I’ve often talked about being 

“one with the rifle” to achieve the best marksmanship 

possible, and in this instance Saigo Defense appear to 

have arrived at the self-same point; there is, after all, 

more than just one “Way of the Warrior”! 

NUTS AND BOLTS 

Now given all this, the Kyudo is a rifle that again I 

have to admit I like already, although once again 

the provenance does appear to come courtesy of 

the WELL MB04A… Saigo seem to be very good 

at picking up inspiration from elsewhere and then 

improving on said “original” by giving it a complete 

makeover both internally and externally. You could 

be a bit sniffy about the fact that the new KYUDO 

resembles something that has come before, but the 

fact is that what Saigo eventually end up producing is 

something that is actually worth the money straight 

out of the box (unlike that old WELL!) and that can be 

bedded-in and taken to a game pretty swiftly. 

This to me is no bad thing; think of all the “VSRclones” 

that are out there, some of which can be 

turned into excellent precision airsoft rifles with some 

straightforward modification… but with the Saigo 

the building-blocks of potential excellence are largely 

already in place. 

still a little “plastic-y” to be 

honest, but with some extra flourishes 

that really make the design “sing” more. The solid 

block colour has been replaced on the green variant 

with a highlighted black/main-colour that really lifts 

the look of the KYUDO, turning it into an attractive, 

thoroughly modern-looking rifle. The plastic of the 

overall chassis is nothing to write home about to be 

honest, and feels a little harsh, but it’s very well put 

together and doesn’t flex. 

The Butt is adjustable for length, and the cheek 

riser for height; one thing I noted here is a strange 

little “fin” on the underside of the riser, but this 

disappears as you raise the cheekpiece. The pistol grip 

benefits from some subtle yet effective stippling, and 

the baseplate of the whole butt-assembly keeps your 

hand nicely in position, although I fear that those with 

big hands might struggle a little here. The forward, 

stock part of the chassis is quite plain with no railmounting 

points, although you have sling points 

front and rear on both sides. You do get the option 

of a forward stud-fixture for either a sling-swivel or 

a “Harris-Style” bipod (my favoured option) or a QD 

placement for an “L96-Style” model. 

The KYUDO arrives, like many bolt action airsoft 

rifles these days, in two parts; the chassis as outlined 

above, with the barrel/action as a drop in. The outer 

barrel and action come as one, finished unit from the 

box, and these are a decent alloy with an even satinblack 

finish. The outer barrel is nicely fluted, whilst 

the action is attractively cross-cut “ported” to reveal 

the silver “bolt” inside; the top rail for optics also 

“THE KYUDO IS A RIFLE THAT AGAIN I HAVE TO ADMIT I LIKE ALREADY, ALTHOUGH 

ONCE AGAIN THE PROVENANCE DOES APPEAR TO COME COURTESY OF THE WELL 

MB04A… SAIGO SEEM TO BE VERY GOOD AT PICKING UP INSPIRATION FROM 

ELSEWHERE AND THEN IMPROVING ON SAID “ORIGINAL” BY GIVING IT A COMPLETE 

MAKEOVER BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY” 


ARMOURY 


comes integral to the action, which keeps it nice and 

close to the bore. There’s a neat “two-stage” trigger 

that breaks cleanly, and above this on the right of the 

action you’ll find a “red-dot-live” safety. 

Externally once assembled the KYUDU does look 

very nice indeed, but internally there’s some good 

stuff going on as standard too! The rifle comes with 

a 6.03mm brass barrel as standard, and although this 

looks perfectly adequate it is an area that personally I 

would look to upgrade, as you also get and AEG-cut 

aluminium Hop Chamber with a Maple Leaf rubber 

60º and Maple Leaf Omega nub fitted as standard! 

The rifle also appears to feature an additional pressure 

ring between the barrel to the chamber for a great fit 

and a solid seal, but upgrading the inner barrel itself 

should be straightforward. 

DOWNRANGE 

For a rifle that retails for around UK£240 how did it 

perform? It’s an absolute beast! I ran it through the 

chrono and the chrono doesn’t lie, and over 10 .20g 

BBs from the 23 BB magazine the KYUDO delivered a 

mean power of 1.79 Joule/440fps! Now I know that I 

would usually put that kind of power output into the 

lower end of “fettled” territory rather than box-fresh, 

but the fact is the KYUDO has some hoof straight 

from the box, and this is very pleasing. 

The bolt seems very nicely engineered, operating 

smoothly each time it is cycled, and is easy to use, 

although you do get a little hang-up from the angle 

of the buttpad and the pistol grip configuration; it’s 

actually quite hard to cock it “in the shoulder” given 

the strength of the spring! Cocking the KYUDO 

“out of the shoulder” though is manageable but 

still requires some effort; compared to some higher- 

“THE RIFLE COMES WITH A 6.03MM BRASS BARREL AS STANDARD, AND ALTHOUGH 

THIS LOOKS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE IT IS AN AREA THAT PERSONALLY I WOULD LOOK 

TO UPGRADE, AS YOU ALSO GET AND AEG-CUT ALUMINIUM HOP CHAMBER WITH A 

MAPLE LEAF RUBBER 60º AND MAPLE LEAF OMEGA NUB FITTED AS STANDARD!” 

32 


ARMOURY 


powered spring bolt actions that I’ve tried in the past 

though, the KYUDO can still be chambered and fired 

quickly, as the bolt almost feels like a straight-pull 

action, even with the resistance of the spring. 

Once I’d moved up to .30g BBs and dialled in 

the hop beneath the forestock it was time to zero 

my 4x32 optic, and perhaps age has mellowed me 

somewhat, but I actually really enjoyed this part 

immensely as I knew I had some solid basic power 

to work with. Supported on sandbags and in the 

prone position BB after BB went steadily to target 

at a distance of 30m on the woodland range, and 

after about an hour or so I was able to achieve some 

good results on an A4 “X” paper target of my own 

creation; I think that with a little more patience and 

a longer range I could probably move that up even 

further over time, and for a “basic rifle” I find that 

quite a positive thing. 

The KYUDO weighs in at just 2625g without 

accessories, and even with them fitted it’s certainly no 

heavyweight! At 1180mm overall it’s still a long rifle to 

manipulate, but the balance is good, and it’s definitely 

a rifle you can carry all day. The Saigo Defense KYUDO 

undoubtedly looks cool and completely modern, and 

with just a new inner barrel I believe that you’d be 

getting solid, consistent hits with it at medium range, 

with the potential to hit out further still if you are 

willing to put even minimal effort and spend into the 

platform. 

It’s relatively simple, well put together, has some 

neat little parts fitted as standard, and is reasonably, if 

not cheaply, priced. For these reasons I can commend 

the KYUDO to you if you’re just getting started, or are 

on a serious budget and want to channel a little of 

that “warrior spirit”! 

Many thanks as always to www.iwholesales.co.uk 

for providing the sample rifle for testing. AA 

“THE BOLT SEEMS VERY NICELY ENGINEERED, OPERATING SMOOTHLY EACH TIME IT IS 

CYCLED, AND IS EASY TO USE, ALTHOUGH YOU DO GET A LITTLE HANG-UP FROM THE 

ANGLE OF THE BUTTPAD AND THE PISTOL GRIP CONFIGURATION; IT’S ACTUALLY QUITE 

HARD TO COCK IT “IN THE SHOULDER” GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE SPRING!” 


ARMOURY 

REAL SWORD SVD RETROSPECTIVE 

DEFINITIVE 

DRAGUNOV 

36 

OCTOBER 2022

ARMOURY 


AMONGST THE AIRSOFT ACTION CREW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DEDICATED OPFOR PLAYERS, AND 

IN RECOGNITION OF ITS WELL-EARNED STANDING IN AIRSOFT CIRCLES DAN AND STEWBACCA 

PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER TO TAKE A LOOK BACK AT ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED 6MM 

“DRAGUNOV” MARKSMAN RIFLES TO HAVE BEEN MADE, THE MIGHTY, AND NOW RARE, REAL 

SWORD SVD! 


ARMOURY 


Often the baseline metric for which Airsoft 

SVD’s and their various derivatives are 

measured against, the Real Sword Dragunov 

SVD has deservedly reigned dominant throughout the 

years. The Real Sword is a true 1:1 replica, possessing 

a quality of construction rarely, if ever, matched by 

airsoft companies; weighing within 113g / 4oz. of the 

real SVD (without scope) and assembled from durable 

heat-treated steel and laminated plywood, it is even 

finished in accordance to real SVD’s, with a parkerized 

base finish underlying a painted exterior. Simply every 

detail of this AEG was made to be as authentic as 

possible! 

In the current market the Real Sword SVD is a hard 

beast to track down, and owners are most certainly 

NOT leeting them out of their sight if they are lucky 

enough to have one in their armoury! Okay, we 

know that it a super-high-quality piece of airsoft 

engineering, but what makes it just SO special? 

Stewbacca leads off with a look at an airsoft rifle 

that has now 

gained a mythical reputation 

from a player 

perspective… 

first evening disassembling and reassembling it around 

fifteen times to get the power down, and even used 

the spring from my QBZ and swapped them out to 

balance the power levels of both guns. Once I’d done 

all that faffing about they were both shooting at 346 

and 348 FPS consistently respectively. 

From then on I used the SVD like any other AEG 

in terms of gameplay and the rules I had to abide by; 

at the time the whole grey zone of higher powered 

‘semi locked DMRs’ was something I personally 

avoided and I got more than ample performance out 

of the RS SVD using just normal power limits, thanks 

to its leviathan 690mm internal barrel and oversized 

elongated cylinder. I’d regularly outrange other players 

at Skirmish Ollerton and could dominate the football 

pitch paintball-style arena with the SVD, posting even 

lighter weight rounds consistently through gaps my 

other guns would struggle with; I would often be 

heard exclaiming “I @!>% love this gun” in my own 

gameplay videos when using it. 

I acquired a PSO-1 scope (possibly King Arms, it 

Stewbacca: Having already bought their QBZ97 

platform as a bit of something different during my 

bullpup and higher-end gun collecting phase (after I 

got rid of most of my cheapsoft gear) once I started 

focusing mostly on my own gaming instead of arming 

a whole minibus load of people in the previous years, 

I also decided to drop silly money on a Real Sword 

SVD AEG, having seen them advertised and then 

Landwarrior getting the first batch in the country. It 

came without the scopes or other accoutrements, and 

Scott had called me and pre-warned me at the time 

that they would likely be coming in on the warm side 

as they were straight in from Asia. 

I ordered one and once it arrived I broke out my 

chrono and decided to test it; initially I was perplexed 

when it only clocked around ‘170’, then I realised I’d 

left my chrono in metric mode... somewhat toasty 

indeed! After drilling a hole in the laminate flooring 

with that downward shot into a target net I spent the 

was a long time ago!) 

which needed some work to fit properly; I had to 

dremel its front mounting shoe to drop the reticle 

down considerably and allow me to get it anywhere 

near the point of impact, and the illuminated reticle 

electrics also had to have some work done on them. 

Eventually I also acquired a proper replica of the bipod 

which finished the look nicely and made it more 

manageable when using on overwatch for protracted 

periods. Also eventually I acquired eight midcaps in 

total and jungle mag taped them into pairs; I used 

four TMC utility pouches on a PLB belt to carry these 

pairs as finding suitable pouches for them as singles or 

in general was one aspect I struggled with. The short 

10 BB real-steel magazines are a bit square and boxy 

for most pouches, and having them taped in pairs at 

least meant I had double the capacity easily available 

when firing from prone or inconvenient positions. 

Playing OPFOR at all of the Copehill MilSim games 

“EVENTUALLY I ALSO ACQUIRED A PROPER REPLICA OF THE BIPOD WHICH FINISHED 

THE LOOK NICELY AND MADE IT MORE MANAGEABLE WHEN USING ON OVERWATCH 

FOR PROTRACTED PERIODS.” 

38 


ARMOURY 


I went to, the SVD was a regular showpiece for me 

to take along, allowing me some useful range from 

high places and the PSO-1 replica aided with target 

identification and to some extent even ranging thanks 

to its legit stadia curve thing that you bracket a man 

sized target in to get an idea of distance. Internally 

it was built like a tank and I had very few issues with 

it past that first mess around getting it shooting at 

a reasonable power; I thought at the time that they 

could have put a quick change spring system in under 

the top cover and made it a lot easier, but the whole 

thing had to be dismantled completely to work on the 

gearbox it seemed. 

I think I had one instance where the original spring 

eventually bound up and I had to strip the whole 

thing down and redo the internals, as well as clear 

out a bunch of grit that had apparently made 

its way 

in after I used the SVD as 

an impromptu entrenching tool; I fell over on it hard 

when I slipped in mud at one game, the gun was fine, 

the arm it landed on under me was bruised along its 

whole length... clumsy? Who, me? 

Overwhelmingly it was a positive experience 

owning it and gave me a lot of good games and just 

looked and felt the business, but in the end I sold it on 

to a friend for a third of what I’d paid for the whole 

lot before leaving the UK, and he’s made further 

modifications to it with MOSFETs etc since then... but 

oh my, I still miss the SVD even now! 

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST 

Okay, so, loved by the player, but what went on inside 

the RS SVD; what made it work as well as it did? Dan 

takes the story forward… 

Dan: For its time in history, the unique constraints 

of the receiver resulted in Real Sword having to design 

a completely new gearbox to sit inside of their SVD. 

Known formally as the “T3” gearbox, this was a 

high quality extended gearbox casing housing a large 

cylinder design, a beefy 19-tooth piston and a set of 

torque 28.7:1 ratio gears in 7mm bearings, and was 

powered by a short type 28 TPA ferrous motor. Just as 

in the CYMA SVD, which clones many aspects of the 

Real Sword, the 4th gear is just a transfer gear, which 

is necessitated due to the long design of the gearbox 

shell. 

There is an interesting little device that rides on 

the underside of the gearbox that can be used in 

instances where one might experience a semi-auto 

lockup. This is a situation that can occur if one is 

rapidly operating the trigger and inadvertently shortstrokes 

it, resulting in the trigger 

trolley and the cutoff lever binding and locking up 

the gearbox. By removing the magazine and inserting 

a long object, such as an Allen key, your car key, or 

the like you can depress this plate, which pushes 

against the cutoff lever and raises it away from the 

trolley. Pulling the trigger will then cycle the gearbox 

in full auto and clear out the lockup. If using a more 

powerful motor, 11.1v LiPo’s and making complete 

trigger pulls, one can greatly mitigate the need for this 

device. Still, it’s a nice feature to have for those rare 

instances where it might be induced. 

“THERE IS AN INTERESTING LITTLE DEVICE THAT RIDES ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE 

GEARBOX THAT CAN BE USED IN INSTANCES WHERE ONE MIGHT EXPERIENCE A SEMI- 

AUTO LOCKUP” 


ARMOURY 


Quite unique to the Real Sword, however, was the 

massive air cylinder design. This was both elongated 

for the aforementioned 19-tooth piston, and had a 

larger internal diameter than conventional bore-up 

cylinders, a bore up “plus”, if you will. Owing to such, 

the cylinder head and piston head were completely 

proprietary to it. Technically, by extension the gearbox 

shell was also proprietary to it as the cylinder area was 

enlarged to accommodate the larger compression 

components. The air nozzle was a quality design and 

featured an O-ring that helped maintain the excellent 

compression. 

The inner barrel was among the longest made for 

a stock AEG at 690mm in length, with a 6.05mm 

diameter bore. This was mounted to a rotary hop up 

chamber that had a top-down-center style hop up 

arm that provided vertical hop up pressure against 

the bucking. This assembly sat inside a very rigid steel 

outer barrel that was a precision fit to the receiver. 

A set of stabilizing screws sat to either side of the 

chamber and provided additional rigidity, but could 

also be used to help center the hop up chamber for 

better air nozzle alignment. 

With regard to upgrades, these will accept standard 

AEG-cut inner barrels, hop up buckings, V3 trigger 

switches, bushings, motors, and some other small 

parts. If you’re lucky enough to own a Real Sword, 

for longevity I would recommend installing an inline 

MOSFET to help preserve the trigger contacts. A 

Neodymium motor will also greatly improve the semiauto 

responsiveness, and this gun practically begs for 

a high quality inner barrel and aftermarket bucking or 

an R-Hop. Once so outfitted and tuned up, it becomes 

an absolutely formidable beast on the field. 

As mentioned, the Real Sword was originally fitted 

with many parts that are literally indistinguishable 

from the real steel analogue. This has lead to some 

popular misconception about them being made 

entirely from converted SVD’s, but in some areas, 

they do in fact use converted components. A notable 

example is the magazines, which was verified from 

some old correspondence with Real Sword as having 

been made from real converted SVD magazines. These 

are amazingly robust and have true steel locking lugs 

and incredible lockup, something I wish more Airsoft 

manufacturers would diligently pursue, especially with 

AK platforms. 

Having now been my near-constant companion 

on the field for over 14 years, the Real Sword SVD 

has proved itself nothing less than exemplary and 

extremely durable. Together, we have created many 

fond memories and legendary encounters that are still 

spoken of within the ranks of our local community. 

My example has been running a Guarder SP150 spring 

producing 2.7J / 545 FPS since day one, and is still 

running the stock gears, piston and bearings; all of 

which have dutifully chugged along without fail. I 

rarely see AEG’s that hold up as well for as long as this 

platform has, to be honest. 

A real SVD is admittedly one of my “grail guns” 

that I’d love to own someday, but can’t really justify 

laying down the cost of a small down payment for 

a house on. As such, the airsoft reproductions are 

eminently more approachable to the average layman, 

and just as fun to collect and shoot. 

Unfortunately, airsofters wishing to get their hands 

on one of these will have an uphill battle ahead of 

them as these have been long discontinued and Real 

Sword no longer appears to be in operation for that 

matter. When new, these used to be available for 

about USD$450 and used examples now can fetch in 

excess of USD$1000!. As such, whatever number of 

these that remain in circulation are kept close at hand, 

and used examples rarely appear on the secondhand 

market. Still, if you’re willing to put in some effort 

locating one, you could find no better SVD replica 

available. AA 

40 


ARMOURY 



THE CAGE 

BATTLEFIELD ROLES 

THE CAGE: 

BATTLEFIELD 

ROLES 

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. 

IT’S TIME FOR A BIG NEW SEQUENCE FOR DISCUSSION AMONGST THE MEMBERS OF THE AA 

LEGION, AND IN THE NEXT FEW ISSUES WE’LL BE CASTING THE NET A LITTLE WIDER AS WE LOOK 

AT DIFFERENT ROLES WITHIN A COHERENT AIRSOFT TEAM, AND THE KIT THAT YOU NEED TO 

PERFORM THOSE ROLES NOT JUST ADEQUATELY, BUT EFFECTIVELY! 

42 


THE CAGE 


The AA Legion “chat” is a very, very active place 

these days, as it’s where everyone from around 

the globe that acts as an “AA Legionnaire” 

gets together to throw ideas around and help one 

another with articles and reviews, and a while back 

Miguel piqued our interest when he posed the 

question as to “what makes a good airsoft LMG 

gunner”, and this sent the conversation down a 

wide-ranging and interesting route! 

As in this issue we’ve devoted our space to 

“long guns” though, it seemed only fitting that 

the first “team role” to get some scrutiny is that 

of “The Sniper”! During my many years involved 

with airsoft I’ve toyed many, many times the idea 

of adding another bolt-action sniper rifle to the 

armoury. I’ve tried many, many models from different 

manufacturers from super cheap to mega expensive 

and enjoyed shooting them all, but I’ve usually found 

myself thinking “I wish I could get just a bit more…”, 

which of course means investing more time and 

money into a platform that I’m not personally (and in 

all honesty) going to use very often. 

It’s not just the rifle itself that I’m talking about 

either as of course to get a good setup you’re going 

to need the accessories to go with it; an optic, 

decent rings or a mount, a bipod, and possibly even 

a suppressor all add to the overall cost of the build, 

and of course when it comes to optics the sky is the 

limit. 

I’ve often fancied trying the sniper role in airsoft 

games but to be perfectly honest, just as in the real 

world, it takes a very particular mind-set to perform 

this even adequately. In an airsoft game, a talented 

sniper with a higher powered bolt-action rifle can 

act as a real ‘force multiplier’ (as I’ve found out time 

and again when I’ve come up against a very talented 

individual in the woods during numerous games!), 

reaching out beyond normal airsoft engagement 

distances to remove the threat of a support gunner, 

or take out a ‘high value target’. 

Time and again though I come back to the fact 

that even as I get older I’m still more of a ‘in your 

face, take ground’ type of player and I’ll be the first 

to admit I just don’t have the patience or inclination 

to crawl around or hide away in a bush in a ‘Ghillie 

Suit’, waiting for that one perfect shot. I have to 

admit that also I don’t really have the “sniper mindset” 

which is really a must to be effective on the 

field; yes, I’ll happily hit a game with a semi-auto 

only DMR, but the thought of laying patiently in 

wait or sneaking through the woods in a ghillie suit 

hunting for my quarry is not really my style! 


THE CAGE 


A good sniper though is worth their weight in gold 

though, and I do truly admire those that embrace the 

role fully, and over the years there are many times that 

I’ve taken a hit seemingly from nowhere and called 

out “Bloody good shot mate!”. But I have my idea of 

what a “sniper” is, and this is just a single viewpoint, 

so I threw the question at the members of The Legion 

to find out what they thought… 

TEAM TALK 

So, my specific questions to the Legionnaires this 

month were: “Have you ever played airsoft as a 

Sniper? What do you believe the role of the sniper 

REALLY is in an airsoft game?” 

Miguel: The sniper role is always attractive, but 

it’s impossible for me... I’m stuck being a team leader 

and playing sniper forces one to have a special kind 

of attention and gameplay, and it’s not feasible to 

balance both. For example, even using scoped sights 

starts to create necessary tunnel vision, so from 

experience I end up not using them. 

But I do have to oversee a sniper (just one for 

now) and the way I use the sniper is as a recon 

member; for example, if we are preparing to leave 

for a mission and we are still getting info from the 

faction commander I can still send out our sniper to 

the mission area in advance as a scout. It’s important 

to mention that our guy is “kinda fit”, so he takes 

off running like it’s nothing and arrives fast at any 

location. That way I can have an idea of how the 

mission area is looking. But when it comes to standard 

team progressions he works as a “dangling” member, 

always moving around our flanks, looking out for 

danger to the rest of the team 

Stewbacca: A few years in when we were playing 

Vietnam themed games I spent a while getting into 

bolt action and even the M14 scoped up as an M21- 

esque sniper platforms and got really into reading 

up on exploits of the likes of Carlos Hathcock during 

the real conflict. I got quite into it and enjoyed being 

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 

“I USE THE SNIPER IS AS A RECON MEMBER; FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE ARE PREPARING 

TO LEAVE FOR A MISSION AND WE ARE STILL GETTING INFO FROM THE FACTION 

COMMANDER I CAN STILL SEND OUT OUR SNIPER TO THE MISSION AREA IN ADVANCE 

AS A SCOUT.” 

44 


THE CAGE 


sneaky and crawling everywhere and radioing Intel in 

or taking occasional shots, and once I got into MilSim 

weekenders I’d take the SVD out and provide rooftop 

overwatch and comms/Intel for the whole team in 

larger operations. 

I certainly think there’s a lot more to it than just 

long range shooting, certainly if you want the most 

realistic experience and to be an asset to your team 

rather than a lone wolf marksman. I think it’s not an 

ideal position for new players unless they’re really 

committed to the mindset and the camouflage and 

concealment and above all else the patience for 

playing a potentially longer and less action packed 

game. 

In Taiwan I’ve seen a lot of new players come 

into shops and drop silly money on high-end sniper 

platforms with scopes big enough to do stargazing, 

and a few weeks later come in and just get an AEG 

or something more sensible and fun for somebody 

starting out with a trigger itch, but there are some 

seasoned players out here and among my team who 

really take their time to get their loadouts looking top 

notch and perform well in a larger team. 

Jimmy: The role of a sniper is to unnerve, 

discourage, weaken and even undermine your enemy 

in order to collapse morale. Seeing objectives from 

a distance you provide intel, sort from surveillance 

all while staying concealed. The ability to pick off 

important targets at long range gives you a major 

advantage but you need to be equally proficient at 

close quarters as you will come in to close contact, so 

the skill of small arms must be of high standards to 

ensure your survival. 

Training is essential, you don’t just become a sniper/ 

hunter and learning the art of stalking, concealment 

and shooting all take time to master. Snipers are 

trained to make the rifle an extension of themselves, 

the scope an extension of the eye, the trigger an 

extension of the fist. Sniping is an art form and can 

take years to master properly. When it comes to 

sniping in airsoft things change and depending on 

the game- style can alter the way a sniper approaches 

things. Skirmish, battlesim or full on milsim will require 

you to adopt slightly different methods. 

Having recently immersed myself into this role has 

allowed me to slow things down and get a better 

angle on things. For one my ammo count has dropped 

dramatically, my want to run into the fire has lowered 

and the thirst to shoot everything that moves has 

somewhat become quenched. I spent many years 

shooting hft (hard field targets) and this has given 

me a head start as I understand more about distances 

and accuracy and the ability to adjust according to 

distance and the effects Mother Nature can have on a 

projectile. 

Having only played skirmish days up until now 

it amazes me just how many players are like sitting 

ducks which makes it much easier to take them out! 

You find pockets of people just stood around not 

really doing much and some of the tactics they use 

trying to get close enough to get the drop on you is 

comical. Using the concealment can allow you get 

incredibly close, allowing you to easily pick them off 

with a pistol and them not have one clue where It 

came from. At 6ft 4” and 16st you would think it 

difficult to hide but so far I have taken to sniping like 

a duck to water and I can honestly say I am enjoying 

it immensely, constantly learning and picking up new 

techniques. At the last game day while stood in all my 

gear, ghillied up, one young lad looked up to me and 

said “damn you’re big, how do you hide” and I just 

replied “make like a tree” lol. 

It’s a good idea to interact with other airsoft snipers 

especially if you are new to the role you can learn so 

much and I recently had the pleasure of meeting “Silly 

Ghilie” over at one of my local sites, in my eyes a very 

skilled airsoft sniper. Ultimately airsoft is about having 

fun and being out in the elements so don’t take it to 

seriously! 

Chris: To me a sniper should be a support element 

as per the real role, observation and reconnoitring 

first, precision application second. I think the role 

of sniper in airsoft is romanticised to the point of 

overdoing it and the original real world role being 

overshadowed by kill counts for likes. 

When I play with a bolt action precision rifle I 

always play more as a marksman, someone who 

moves with the team and can aid in long range 

engagements if required. although personally I have 

my “long range rifle” downgraded (yet still accurate) 

to add a little bit of a challenge. 

Boycie: I agree with Chris that the problem with 

“TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL, YOU DON’T JUST BECOME A SNIPER/HUNTER AND 

LEARNING THE ART OF STALKING, CONCEALMENT AND SHOOTING ALL TAKE TIME TO 

MASTER. SNIPERS ARE TRAINED TO MAKE THE RIFLE AN EXTENSION OF THEMSELVES, 

THE SCOPE AN EXTENSION OF THE EYE, THE TRIGGER AN EXTENSION OF THE FIST.” 


THE CAGE 


sniping in airsoft is that a lot of new players come 

into the sport having only played COD/MW and other 

shoot ‘em ups and have a totally unrealistic impression 

of what sniping is all about. Also they have no 

concept of, in some occasions, the lack of hit taking 

on general open skirmish fields. 

Much as others have alluded to, sniping is really a 

one or ideally two person role and can often mean 

slow, deliberate movement to get into position for 

just a few shots. I really enjoy that side of things now, 

mainly as I’m not as young as I used to be! 

Bill W-R: The sniper role for me has always been as 

a support role. Now I’m not one of the ghillie brigade 

and find that even with just a standard CSMO loadout 

good positioning can bring results!. However, the true 

sniper role is a long and thankless task as you may not 

get as many targets as a run and gun player, but like 

fishing patience and preparation have their rewards! 

Larri: I tried few games as a sniper like 20 years 

ago! Patience and payong attention to the details are 

very important. 

Dan: I think it takes a certain personality to be in 

the role of a sniper. You have to have the patience of 

a saint and possess a tacit understanding of the ebb 

and flow of battle and when to “get out of dodge” 

when the numbers aren’t in your favour. You need 

to be able to work independently of a team, and 

understand that you might inevitably find yourself 

outside of radio range and have to make your own 

decisions on the spot. 

You also need to understand people and 

personalities: be a people watcher, if you will. You 

need to understand the makeup of the opposing force 

and how to use that to your advantage: new guys 

get tunnel vision hard and can be drawn away from 

their teams and main force into ambushes. Seasoned 

players will not typically give chase so easily unless 

they have numerical superiority or can rally up a posse 

to hunt you, and even then, you might not be worth 

their while unless you’re being seriously harassing. 

Regardless, try not to get cornered, always have an 

exit plan, and never let them get inside your MED… 

ideally never let them get to where they have range 

on you! Always leverage the superior range of your 

gun to your advantage. You need to know your rifle 

intimately, to where it’s an extension of yourself and 

you know exactly how it will perform and where to 

make your holds at various ranges, etc. 

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 

46 


THE CAGE 


It’s not a role or play style I generally recommend to 

new players to the sport, as they haven’t found their 

“airsoft feet” yet and figured out their groove (and 

this naturally evolves over time too). 99% of the time, 

a new guy will get a COD fantasy in their head, buy a 

bone-stock bolty and immediately get trashed on by a 

12 year old with a G&G Wombat machine, followed 

by a week later finding that same bolty put up for 

sale on Airsoft Classifieds. They don’t understand that 

it takes a financial investment to properly build out 

a true long-range setup, nor do they understand the 

tactics and persona required of someone involved in 

the role. You also need to separate preconceived or 

anticipated fictions from reality. There’s no such thing 

as 360 no-scopes in airsoft! 

For myself, I’ve been long invested in the role, 

but I wouldn’t say I play as a sniper so much as in 

a supporting role. Maybe the lines are just blurred 

due to the vagaries of airsoft lol. We rarely have 

opportunity or the terrain for doing the discreet 

reconnaissance, as an example. I can’t remember the 

last time where I really had to just scout around and 

do recon, to be honest. The majority of time when 

playing with teams, I’m given free reign to do my own 

thing, where I’ll just travel from skirmish to skirmish 

taking care of issues that are outside the reach of my 

teammates so they can try and get a leg forward. 

I’ve developed some tactics that work very well for 

me and my play style, and have proven to be quite 

effective. 

I’ve apparently developed a real flair for it over the 

years, so when people see me drag out the SVD in 

the safe zone, they start groaning and trying to jockey 

and find out which side I’m playing on. So I guess I’m 

instantly demoralizing without even firing a shot half 

the time (“job’s half done, eh!” lol). 

Robbie: This is so tough, tougher than any other 

role to chat about, honestly IMO. I have written 

erased and rewritten this maybe ten times. My issue is 

what I feel, what I see, and what I know don’t match. 

Especially based on real-life past work. 

I’ll say this... it so depends on the field, (especially if 

you can see further than you can shoot which is a big 

issue in airsoft field design IMO), the game rules/fps/ 

rof, and the basis of whether you gaming to win or 

gaming to LARP! AA 


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LONG GUNS 

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PLAYING 

THE LONG 

GAME 

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN IT COMES TO A “PRECISION AIRSOFT RIFLE”, AND WHAT DO WE 

MEAN BY THAT? WITHIN THE RANKS OF RED CELL WE HAVE MEMBERS WHO HAVE SEARCHED 

LONG AND HARD FOR THE BEST “LONG GUN” THEY CAN LAY THEIR HANDS ON, AND SOME OF 

THOSE RIFLES ARE VETERANS OF NUMEROUS GAMES WITH A HEALTHY “KILL COUNT” NOTCHED ON 

THEIR STOCKS! THIS MONTH, IN LINE WITH OUR THEME, RED CELL TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THEIR 

FAVOURITES, MANY THAT HAVE ALREADY UNDERGONE SOME RIGOROUS TESTING, BOTH IN-GAME 

AND ON THE RANGE! 

50 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

Ah, the lure of the “Precision Rifle”! Virtually 

every airsofter I know has at one point or 

another looked at either a bolt action or 

semi-auto “sniper” models and thought “I’ll have 

me some of that”, but inevitably many hopes 

and dreams are dashed on the rocky shores of 

underperformance, leading the majority of players to 

walk away from platforms that don’t give them the 

vicarious and immediate thrill that an AEG or even a 

full-auto GBBR does! 

Of course a minority stick with their beloved 

“long”, and put in the hours and hours of testing 

and development necessary to build a REALLY good 

rifle, marrying up upgraded internals (and even 

HPA systems) with a reliable optic, bipod, and other 

accessories to turn their stock rifle into an absolute 

tack driver at engagement distances that most AEG 

users can only dream about! They build a custom 

summer ghillie, again spending many hours getting 

this just right so that they can melt into the foliage of 

their favourite site, and then they create another to 

take into account changing foliage conditions in the 

winter months. They scour the interwebz for tutorials 

on camouflage, fieldcraft and stealthy movement, 

and some I know even delve into real, old-skool 

paper books to research the tactics used by real-life 

snipers over the ages. 

Not only do they hunt for other players, but they 

constantly hunt for knowledge and an edge, that 

extra little bit of performance from their rifle, or that 

extra scrap of know-how that will allow them to ply 

their trade even more effectively! 

I’ve known many airsoft snipers over the years, 

and some have been truly exemplary; when playing 

pick-up games in Florida I remember my friend Kyle 

(and his late father Scott, RIP old friend!) would 

simply disappear into the palms and mangroves at 

the start of the day, and the only thing we would 

see of him until game-end was players holding their 

arms up and crying “HIT” as he added another notch 

to the stock of his simply-amazing Maruzen L96. 

In larger games, Kyle was a real “force multiplier” 

for our team too, as he would range on our flanks, 

dealing with threats we never even knew about. If 

our advance was bogged down by a talented gunner 

or, lawd forbid, another good sniper I would call Kyle 

up to our line and simply say “deal with it”… and he 

would! 

Thankfully I’ve known a few outstanding and 

talented airsoft snipers like Kyle, but like you I’m 

guessing, I’ve also known the ones that are either 

lone-wolf glory-hounds more interested in filming 

“NOT ONLY DO THEY HUNT FOR OTHER PLAYERS, BUT THEY CONSTANTLY HUNT FOR 

KNOWLEDGE AND AN EDGE, THAT EXTRA LITTLE BIT OF PERFORMANCE FROM THEIR 

RIFLE, OR THAT EXTRA SCRAP OF KNOW-HOW THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO PLY THEIR 

TRADE EVEN MORE EFFECTIVELY!” 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

their “killstreak” on their Go-Pros for some kind of 

weird and needy self-aggrandizement, or those that 

simply are inept! 

I won’t mention the site, but at one game our 

advance was bogged down by an OPFOR gunner and 

as usual I made the call “Sniper Up!” Said “sniper” 

arrived with his tricked out VSR, spent a couple of 

minutes fiddling and settling, and then took his 

shot… and hit nowhere close! He took another shot 

and I actually watched the BB drift and curve lazily 

over the OPFOR position… again, NOWHERE close! 

Eventually I became so frustrated that I simply stood 

and loosed a burst from my AKS74U which by sheer 

chance nailed the opposing gunner, and I’m sure the 

look of disdain I gave that “sniper” remains with him 

to this day… but probably not, such are airsoft egos... 

To me the success of a true airsoft sniper is not 

measured by the amount they spend on their rifle, 

but rather the effectiveness of their actions in game. 

Whilst by nature a sniper IS a bit of a “lone wolf” they 

can also be a hugely valuable member of any team if 

they are good at what they do. It should come as no 

surprise to you then that some of the rifles that Red 

Cell have chosen are not super-expensive, but instead 

are good, solid models that with minimal “fettling” 

and a good optic will let a GOOD shooter with the 

requisite mind and skillset get to business… and 

business will be good! 

OPFOR GOLD 

Bill: I’ll start the ball rolling with a righteous 

choice for the OPFOR players out there, and 

although Dan and Stewbacca have already sung 

the praises of the awesome Real Sword SVD I’ll 

offer up my own choice for this platform in the 

shape of the WE ACE VD GBBR. 

The Dragunov (or “Snayperskaya Vintovka 

sistem’y Dragunova obraz’tsa 1963 goda (SVD-63), or 

Sniper Rifle, System of Dragunov, Model of the Year 

1963” to give the rifle it’s full name!) is a unique rifle 

for several reasons. First, it was not meant for highly 

trained and specialised sniper teams, but rather for 

designated marksmen in an infantry support role…. 

So it fits airsoft perfectly! After the introduction of the 

rifle, the Soviet Army deployed designated marksmen 

at the basic motorised infantry rifle platoon level. Such 

marksmen were estimated to have a 50% probability 

of hitting a standing, man-sized target at 800m/875 

yards, and an 80% probability of hitting a standing, 

man-sized target at 500m/547 yards. For distances 

not exceeding 200m/219 

yards the 

probability was estimated 

to be well above 90%. 

There are numerous 

airsoft manufacturers 

who make a 

Dragunov replica, 

and they are all, in 

the main, very nice 

indeed; a friend of 

mine still has a 

spring version 

which is 

great 

but of 

course loses 

the flexibility 

of the semiauto 

function 

if you need 

it. I’ve had 

a chance 

“THE DRAGUNOV (OR “SNAYPERSKAYA VINTOVKA SISTEM’Y DRAGUNOVA OBRAZ’TSA 

1963 GODA (SVD-63), OR SNIPER RIFLE, SYSTEM OF DRAGUNOV, MODEL OF THE YEAR 

1963”...) IS A UNIQUE RIFLE FOR SEVERAL REASONS. FIRST, IT WAS NOT MEANT FOR 

HIGHLY TRAINED AND SPECIALISED SNIPER TEAMS, BUT RATHER FOR DESIGNATED 

MARKSMEN IN AN INFANTRY SUPPORT ROLE…. SO IT FITS AIRSOFT PERFECTLY!” 

52 


RED CELL 

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to play around with electric versions too which 

have been great airsoft guns but somehow lacked 

character; most of the electric versions also require at 

least some major upgrading to get true performance 

from them, but thankfully this is an area where a 

good gas rifle can shine! 

The ACE VD GBBR with the laminated wood suits 

me perfectly, and from word go I was thoroughly 

taken with this elegant yet functional battle rifle. 

I’ll get this out of the way first; the Dragunov is at 

1215mm/48inches long a big rifle! That said, of 

course what that also means is that it does have 

an exceptionally long inner barrel too, coming in 

as it does at a whopping 620mm/24.5inches! 

When you’re talking about an airsoft rifle one 

of the things which helps with accuracy and 

range is barrel length (think smoothbore 

musket) and they don’t come much longer 

than this. 

Although it is a long 

rifle it is far from ungainly; 

weighing in at 2900g/6.4lbs 

it’s really not that heavy 

and is a rifle you can happily 

carry all day. The construction is metal 

throughout, and the finish is absolutely 

first rate, a semi-matt black. The heavy, 

full-travel open bolt is finished in 

brushed silver which looks particularly 

attractive, and the laminated wood of 

the stock and handguard also looks 

spot on. The 22 BB gas magazine is 

also metal and finished the same as 

the receiver. 

Now let’s talk performance; when 

I got my Dragunov I immediately 

handed it off to my “gas man” and 

asked him to do two things. 1) I 

wanted it as close to my local fields semi-auto 1.87 

Joule/450fps DMR limit as possible, and 2) I wanted 

the trigger fettled for as smooth a break as possible; 

when he returned it to me I was getting a consistent 

1.79 Joule/440fps on a .20g BB and the trigger broke 

like glass. What you need to consider here is that the 

trigger, unlike a battery powered AEG, can be worked 

on just like the real thing! You do also need to replace 

the stock hop-rubber as it’s awful, along with the 

nozzle as the “factory” one is made of cheese, and a 

very delicate soft cheese at that! 

Moving up to .40g BBs to get a more solid 

trajectory the Dragunov hurtles them downrange with 

a huge “crack” which certainly turns some heads! 

Once I’d dialled the iron sights in I was easily hitting 

“hub-cap” targets at 50m, which is exactly what I’d 

hoped for. I’ve not invested in a “real deal” optic for 

mine as I’m perfectly happy on the “irons” and on 

those alone I’ve even hit a moving player at just over 

100m… thankfully witnessed by my team-mates! All 

things considered I’m really, really happy with the ACE 

VD “Dragunov” and it’s exactly the kind of “reach 

out and touch somebody” rifle that I hoped it would 

be. Retailing iro UK£400 it’s a fabulous bit of kit and I 

keep it well-tuned mainly for MilSim events… mainly! 

Dan: Airsofters seeking a reliable semi-auto airsoft 

sniper rifle outside of the conventional would do well 

to take a hard look at the CYMA OTs-33 SVU. This 

AEG is essentially a bullpup variant of the venerable 

SVD Dragunov design. Here, CYMA has made an 

excellent replica of this unusual looking firearm, and 

IMHO, the SVU and SVD are among CYMA’s best 

made AEG’s. 

Unusual appearance aside, the bullpup format 

creates a nicely condensed length when compared 

to the full sized SVD, with a rear-biased center of 

gravity that makes the whole gun quite comfortable 

to shoulder and manipulate. Externally the SVU has a 

full metal steel body and fittings fitted with a modern 

polymer handguard, pistol grip and buttplate. The 

sheet metal dust cover is also fitted with a polymer 

cheek riser that extends over the top of the cover and 

makes aiming the rifle more comfortable. A beefy 

looking mock suppressor is affixed to the outer barrel 

as would be found on the real version. The polymer 

handguard can be separated to reveal the battery 

“UNUSUAL APPEARANCE ASIDE, THE BULLPUP FORMAT CREATES A NICELY 

CONDENSED LENGTH WHEN COMPARED TO THE FULL SIZED SVD, WITH A REAR- 

BIASED CENTER OF GRAVITY THAT MAKES THE WHOLE GUN QUITE COMFORTABLE TO 

SHOULDER AND MANIPULATE.” 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

compartment 

space, and 

below that is a 

folding bipod, which 

is attached to a long 

tube that extends the pivot point 

for the legs past the gas block area. As 

bipods go, this one is useable but more 

akin to something found on an LMG and not 

a precision rifle. It’s not especially rigid as the tube 

has some flex when “loading” up the bipod, and 

the legs do not rigidly lock into place when extended 

either. This is a removable assembly, though, and users 

wishing to shave a little weight might opt to remove 

it. 

The pistol grip is hollow and does not contain 

the motor, as one might surmise. Some users with 

large hands might find it a bit short in length, but it’s 

otherwise serviceable. The actual safety is found here 

in the form of a crossbar style safety that prevents 

movement of the trigger linkage when the switch is in 

safe mode. Pushing it to the left will allow for firing. 

A set of flip-up iron sights sits atop the rifle, with 

the rear being a peep style aperture that allows 

for elevation adjustment only. The front allows for 

windage and elevation changes. Most will never really 

use these as the rifle is intended to be used with 

optics, so they exist more as a backup than your main 

aiming source. The SVU features the same scope rail 

interface as the SVD series, so it has compatibility with 

SVD optics and optic rails that use an SVD mounting 

interface. Other SVU variants made by CYMA feature 

M-LOK rails and full length picatinny top rails for 

mounting western-style optics. 

Aft of the pistol grip is the receiver proper, which 

has the mock bolt carrier, behind which is the hop up 

chamber 

and where you 

would adjust it. 

The traditional 

SVD style selector 

switch is also found here, but in this case, 

the SVU has a 3-position switch that also allows for 

firing in full auto. While a helpful feature for rectifying 

gearbox lockup (where rapidly operating the trigger 

in semi-auto and inadvertently short-stroking it might 

induce a gearbox jam), most fields require DMR’s and 

snipers to be locked to semi-auto only, so this will 

likely have to be disabled. 

Just behind the motor grip is the magazine well, 

which can be fitted with either 120 round hicap or 

80 round midcap SVD magazines. Presuming one 

can find them, Real Sword SVD magazines can also 

be fitted with some mild modification to the locking 

interfaces. The magazine release will be eminently 

familiar to anyone who’s handled an AK, and thusly 

is truly ambidextrous in operation. This design also 

works excellent for the bullpup format, and changing 

magazines is a breeze. 

Moving over to the internals, we have the exact 

same gearbox as found on CYMA’s SVD, which is 

itself a clone of Real Swords “T3” gearbox design. 

There are some minor differences with respect to 

the requirements of the bullpup design, specifically 

the trigger linkage and selector gears. This uses an 

elongated cylinder design with a 19-tooth piston. 

Unlike the Real Sword, however, these are not 

“THE MAGAZINE RELEASE WILL BE EMINENTLY FAMILIAR TO ANYONE WHO’S HANDLED 

AN AK, AND THUSLY IS TRULY AMBIDEXTROUS IN OPERATION. THIS DESIGN ALSO 

WORKS EXCELLENT FOR THE BULLPUP FORMAT, AND CHANGING MAGAZINES IS A 

BREEZE.” 

54 


RED CELL 

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bore-up style compression parts, and are 

similarly sized to that found in the SR- 

25. Thus, attempting to swap in a Real 

Sword cylinder, cylinder head and piston 

will require a lot of modification. Generally 

speaking, I have found that with a little 

proper tuning and some AOE 

correction the stock 

my experience, most of these have rather good 

compression out of the box and will typically shoot 

in the nature of 1.8J / 440 FPS. For the money, the 

CYMA SVU is a great value for the user looking for 

something different in appearance and mannerisms 

that sets it apart from the usual plethora of bolt-guns 

on the field and the rank-and-file SR-25’s. It requires 

only minimal upgrades to reach its true potential 

and if so outfitted can be an excellent longrange 

suppression tool in the right 

hands. 

compression parts are 

quite strong and will handle more FPS 

than the rifle comes equipped with. The main weak 

points here are the air nozzle, which is regrettably 

made from clear polycarbonate and lacking an O-ring, 

and the piston head which is a crude and inelegant 

design. Both of these can fortunately be replaced with 

quality aftermarket options. 

The trigger switch is a standard Ver. 3 setup, 

and would benefit from one wiring in a inline style 

MOSFET to help protect the contacts from burning out 

over time. On the gear side, we have an arrangement 

of four gears and CYMA’s 7mm crosshatch sintered 

bushings. The gears are a torquey 28.7:1 ratio gearset, 

with the 4th gear simply being a transfer gear, or idler 

gear, as it’s otherwise known. Paired with this setup 

is CYMA’s 22 TPA Neodymium motor, which provides 

good trigger response. Ideally, the SVU should be ran 

with 11.1v LiPo’s to obtain the best responsiveness 

out of it. The battery compartment is large enough 

to house normal buffer tube length LiPo’s and some 

larger stick styles in addition to a MOSFET. 

The stock barrel is a 6.05mm bore diameter and 

comes equipped with a nice rotary style hopup 

chamber that has a true top-down-center hopup 

arm. Coupled with the secure mounting interface 

and rigidity of design, this makes it an ideal setup for 

eking out accuracy; especially with upgrades. 

Despite the air nozzle lacking an O-ring, in 

Bill: Okay, it would 

be remiss of us not to include a dedicated OPFOR 

bolty, and of course the one that immediately springs 

to mind is the SV-98. Although there are now a 

couple of different airsoft models of this military rifle 

out in the wild now, along with some truly excellent 

custom versions, but I wanted an AS-98 and didn’t 

want to spend the earth, so I went for the Specna 

Arms version, and I’m actually pretty glad that I did! 

The SV-98, or “Snaiperskaya Vintovka Model of 

1998”, came about due to the need for Russian 

units to replace their aging stock of SVDs for the true 

“sniper role”. As good as the SVD is, it is essentially 

still a DMR in nature, and even though some models 

were accurized beyond the norm, specialist units still 

felt the need for a dedicated precision rifle due to 

their own changing roles. Developed in 1998 by a 

group of IZHMASH designers, led by Vladimir Stronsky 

and produced by JSC Kalashnikov Concern, the SV-98 

is based on the design of the Record CISM full bore 

target shooting rifle series also made at Izhmash. 

Thanks to the Specna Arms mantra that their 

CORE-series replicas will have “an attractive price in 

combination with good performance straight out of 

the box as well as high-quality materials” their SV-98 

comes in at just UK£115 (UK£223 for the rifle/scope/ 

bipod package) which makes it an affordable choice. 

But that’s not to say that the price in any way relates 

“AS GOOD AS THE SVD IS, IT IS ESSENTIALLY STILL A DMR IN NATURE, AND EVEN 

THOUGH SOME MODELS WERE ACCURIZED BEYOND THE NORM, SPECIALIST UNITS 

STILL FELT THE NEED FOR A DEDICATED PRECISION RIFLE DUE TO THEIR OWN 

CHANGING ROLES.” 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

WE ACE VD GBBR 

Price: iro UK£450.00 

Age: Six Years 

Weight: 3400 g 

Length: 1220 mm 

Magazine Capacity: 22 BBs, Gas 

Cold Chrono: 1.79 Joule/440fps 

Hot Chrono: 1.87 Joule/449fps 

Supplied By: www.nuprol.com 

REAL SWORD SVD AEG 

Price: iro UK£750.00 (as new) 

Age: Many Years! 

Weight: 4800g 


Magazine Capacity: 96 BBs 


(as new) 

Hot Chrono: As Per User Setup 

Supplied By: You’ll be lucky to 

find one! 

CYMA SVU AEG 


Age: Three Years 

Weight: 3500g 

Length: 920mm 


Cold Chrono: 0.92 Joule/ 315fps fps 

Hot Chrono: 1.01 Joule/331.8fps 

Supplied By: www.iwholesales.co.uk 

SPECNA ARMS SV98 SPRING 


Age: Two Years 

Weight: 3755g 

Length: 1210mm 


Cold Chrono: 1.58 Joule/413fps (as new) 


Supplied By: www.gunfire.com 

APS M40A3 SPRING 


Age: 18 Months 

Weight: 2920g 





Supplied By: www.taiwangun.com 

56 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

EVOLUTION M40 SPRING 


Age: One Year 

Weight: 2900g 





Supplied By: www.evolution-airsoft.com 

SPECNA ARMS SA-S02 SPRING 


Age: Three Years 

Weight: 2815g 





Supplied By: www.gunfire.com 

ASG STEYR SCOUT SPRING 


Age: One Year 

Weight: 2950 g 



Cold Chrono: 1.8 Joule/440fps (as new) 


Supplied By: www.landwarriorairsoft.com 

ARES MS338 (M40A6) SPRING 



Weight: 4700g 

Length: 860mm/1090mm/1145mm 





ARES STRIKER AS-01 SPRING 



Weight: 4100g 



Cold Chrono: 1.08 Joule/336.7.9fps 

Hot Chrono: 1.08 Joule/338.1fps 



RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

to “out of the box” quality and performance though! 

I’ve been working with the spring-powered SV- 

98 for a couple of years, and their SA-SO2 boltaction 

for significantly longer, and thus far I’m still 

extremely happy with both models. The Specna Arms 

SV-98 replica features a simple and reliable boltaction 

mechanism fed from a detachable 65BB box 

magazine, and I’ve found the bolt to be smooth and 

simple to operate in all conditions. Internally the SV-98 

is put together with parts compatible with the “TM 

standard”, and I’ve found that many small upgrade 

parts just drop right on in, although I’ve done nothing 

significant to it. 

In terms of construction the SV-98 is made of metal 

and reinforced polymer; metal parts include the entire 

external barrel along with the chamber, trigger and 

charging handle as well as RIS accessory rails and all 

assembly elements such as screws. The chassis with 

the stock, stock pad and the magazine are made of 

solid polymer and rubber; the use of Specna’s own 

NCore reinforced polymer makes the construction very 

durable and the matte finish of the chassis gives the 

rifle a striking and unique look; oh, 

that green (you can have boring 

black, tan, or olive if you wish)! 

The stock has three adjustment 

points as the cheek pad and the 

comfortable, profiled buttpad can be 

adjusted for height and length. At the bottom 

of the stock, there is an adjustable monopod that 

improves that helps stabilise the rifle when shooting 

prone. 

The SV-98 is at 1210mm/48-inches long a big rifle! 

That said, of course what that also means is that it 

does have an exceptionally long 585mm/23 inch inner 

barrel too! From the box the SV-98 chrono’d nicely 

at 1.58 Joule/413fps with .20 BBs , but I’ve tweaked 

that higher but still comply with the “sniper” limits 

found at most sites. Set now at 470fps with the hop 

set correctly (easy to do, it’s a big dial on the bottom 

of the chassis!), the long inner barrel, and that 

amount of power I can easily hit accurately to 75- 

80m using a .40g which is perfectly fine by me! I may 

still make some further improvements to the internal 

operation in the future, but for now though, all things 

considered I’m really, really happy with the Specna 

Arms SV-98. 

MORE MIL! 

Bill: If you’re looking for a more BLUFOR “Mil-style” 

precision rifle, then once upon a time I would have 

immediately said “go for an L96”, but times move 

on and this venerable platform has largely been 

superceded. What I look at personally in a “Mil” rifle 

now usually find me picking up some form of “M40” 

rifle, and one of my favourites of the last few years is 

most definitely the APS APM40A3! 

An airsoft M40 for just 105 Great British quids 

though, there had to be a catch… but a few years 

down the road I’m yet to find one. The first name to 

catch my eye here was APS Limited (best known for 

their CAM 870 shell-ejecting shotgun system, and 

closely followed by that name was another, that of 

Hakkotsu, they of the “Hades Arrow Mortar System” 

fame! So, with all this under my hat I was convinced 

that I’d found a bit of a “hidden gem”, and it has 

proved to be that I was totally right! 

With the M40 no major introduction is required 

other than to say it’s the 7.62mm NATO boltaction 

sniper rifle used by the 

United States Marine Corps. Built from a 

Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, and modified by 

USMC armourers at Marine Corps Base Quantico, 

it has had five variants, the M40, M40A1, M40A3, 

M40A5, and the M40A6/7. The M40 was first 

introduced way back in 1966, and the changeover to 

the A1 model was completed in the 1970s, the A3 

in the 2000s, the A5 in 2009, and the A6/7 in 2016. 

Covering many different timelines, and featured in 

both “Jarhead” and “Sniper” it’s a well-known 

and much-loved rifle both in real and airsoft 

form. 

Externally the rifle is very neatly achieved. 

All the black metal parts including the 

above-chamber rail are very nicely finished 

“IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A MORE BLUFOR “MIL-STYLE” PRECISION RIFLE, THEN ONCE 

UPON A TIME I WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATELY SAID “GO FOR AN L96”, BUT TIMES MOVE 

ON AND THIS VENERABLE PLATFORM HAS LARGELY BEEN SUPERCEDED.” 

58 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

with a matt effect which gives the rifle a classy look. 

The furniture is available in plain black, plain desert 

tan and Multicam Black (for a bit more money of 

course!). Throughout the moulded furniture is very 

precise with no gaps or prominent lines present, 

and both the grip area and the forestock are nicely 

stippled for ease of retention. 

The action is super-smooth and precise. With a 

short lift and sharp pull to the rear there is a little 

resistance due to the power (oh, the power!) but 

you soon get used to this. Internally you will find 

a 6.03 Stainless Steel Inner Barrel as standard; the 

M40 actually has six built in inner barrel stabilisers 

and APS/Hakkotsu have ensured that there is perfect 

alignment of the inner barrel as it is installed in the 

rifle. It appears to me that they wanted to make sure 

the accuracy of this rifle is outstanding from the get 

go, and it is. 

APS/Hakkotsu don’t call this rifle the “EXTREME 

POWER VERSION” for nothing! This thing came out of 

the box at a whopping 2.77 Joule/547fps on a .20g, 

and at this power level you may find some sites that 

won’t be happy with it as a skirmish 

tool. 

I however 

got mine 

purely for use as a 

“precision target rifle” and it will never 

be shot at another player, so I’m more than 

happy. Thus far I’ve been feeding the 

beast .40g BBs and it seems more than 

happy with these! 

Bjorn: I’ve had fun getting the EVOLUTION M40 

on the range, fitted with a Harris-style Bipod, and a 

Vortex 4-16x50 Crossfire II optic, and so far I’ve kept 

things down to 50m. The rifle itself is certainly capable 

of more though; I test fired a few shots to dial in the 

hop up and then chrono’d it (that’s the way over here 

in Sweden) and it chrono’d in at just below 1 Joule 

which is perfectly acceptable for a “stock” bolt-action 

spring rifle. 

To start with I tried some 0.32g BBs as my other 

guns tuned to 1 Joule are set up with them. I 

continued to shoot, and soon figured out 0.32g was 

just too much for the rubber to handle at this power, 

and I found that actually 0.28g and 0.30g gave a 

better result range-wise. So after clearing that up and 

adjusting a bit back and forth, I went to the range for 

some target practice! 

We have an old shooting range nearby that I was 

able to access for testing and to take pictures; it’s a 

kinda old military range with huge numbers set up in 

the sand, and goes out to 200+ metres, more than 

enough for an airsoft rifle! 

First off I set up three plate targets of medium size, 

(300mm x 300mm approximately) at 30, 40 and 50 

metres, as I figured it was what I could expect with 

this amount of power and a newer rifle. At 30m: no 

problem! Hits every time! At 40m, still okay, maybe 

hits about every second shot. At 50m: okay… 

now it got a bit challenging! I was hitting the plate 

about every fifth BB, but remember 

that this is a brand-new rifle, and 

the size of the target at 50m 

was… small! 

So, maximum range out 

of the box I would say 

is just above 50 metres 

for a player-size target, 

but again, the stock rifle 

as new I got for testing 

was only at just below 1 

Joule! However, the look 

of the 

rifle? It screams tactical and 

awesomeness right away. Assembling it is 

very easy, just some screws basically. I did notice the 

rifle is rather heavy, much heavier than my TM VSR 

“I’VE HAD FUN GETTING THE EVOLUTION M40 ON THE RANGE, FITTED WITH A HARRIS- 

STYLE BIPOD, AND A VORTEX 4-16X50 CROSSFIRE II OPTIC, AND SO FAR I’VE 

KEPT THINGS DOWN TO 50M. THE RIFLE ITSELF IS CERTAINLY CAPABLE OF MORE 

THOUGH...” 


RED CELL 

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60 


RED CELL 

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rifle, but for a potential precision rifle this is not a bad thing as you want a solid 

shooting base for consistent accuracy. 

Bill: Okay, time to get real! I do love the classic M40 style of rifle, but of 

course then something comes along that is all “Gucci and shiny” that turns 

your head and makes your plans go slightly awry, and I’m as guilty of that as 

any of you! For me that moment came at IWA when I first laid eyes on the ARES 

MS338/M40A6 MSR on the iWholesales display in 2019! 

The Modular Sniper Rifle, or MSR, is a bolt-action sniper rifle developed and 

produced by Remington Arms for the United States Army. It was introduced in 

2009, and was designed to meet specific United States Army and USSOCOM 

Precision Sniper Rifle requirements. In 2013, the MSR was declared the winner 

of the Precision Sniper Rifle competition. This was followed by a $79.7 million 

contract for 5,150 rifles with suppressors, along with 4,696,800 rounds of 

ammunition to be supplied over the next ten years according to MilitaryTimes. 

com. 

In 2013, the USMC released a solicitation for the M40 Modular Stock 

Program. Upgraded features included a folding stock, compatible with current 

M40 actions and barrels, to make the rifle more compact for transportation 

inside confined spaces like vehicles and a full-length rail to accommodate optics 

and accessories; the M40A5 has only a few inches of rail space beyond the scope 

for a night vision optic, so extending the rail length would allow more accessories 

to be attached, enabling snipers to put rounds on target under any conditions. 

The resulting weapon from the program was originally to be re-designated the 

M40A6. 

Officially licensed by Remington, the ARES MS338 spring-powered boltaction 

sniper rifle is a faithful replica of the MSR/M40A6; as well as being a 

real-world tack-driver, this rifle gained a popular following from video games 

like Call of duty Modern Warfare3 and Ghost Recon Future Soldier! Of full 

metal construction and weighing in at 4758g, this is a precision rifle that you 

can actually carry easily. At just 890mm with the stock folded it’s easy to strap 

on a pack in addition to your primary, but at 1100mm with the stock extended 

it becomes a thoroughly usable beast. Ergonomic features include an adjustable 

riser/cheekrest, and a fully adjustable butt for a perfect fit that is entirely tailored 

to you. Mini RIS rails on the butt allow you to attach accessories or a monopod 

on the rear for a more stable shooting platform. 

The upper receiver on the MS338 is CNC aluminium, while the lower receiver 

is die cast aluminium alloy. The fore-grip, barrel, flash hider and rail are CNC 

machined as well for greater authenticity. I understand from “sniper friends” 

that the spring cocking system is compatible with the TM VSR-10 system, which 

means that you can use after-market performance parts designed for the VSR-10 

in this rifle. 

The MS338 chronos on a .20gat a very tidy 1.47 Joule/401fps; I’d hoped for 

more, but “400” is in my mind more than adequate to get cracking with! At 

50m on .40g with very little error I was soon able to hit an A4 sheet of paper, 

and then working slowly but surely I was able to pull the grouping of the BBs in 

towards the centre of the cross drawn upon it. As it was spot-on at 50m I saw no 

reason whatsoever that it would be a no-brainer reaching that 70m mark, and 

this proved to be the case once I got an optic up top! 

The whole feel of the MS338 is absolutely lovely, and the action of the bolt 

is silky smooth, meaning that you can easily stay on target between shots. The 

trigger is crisp with almost zero take-up. The pistol grip is sublime with a great 

shape and some super texturing, and that butt… oh boy! You can fiddle with 

this to your heart’s content to get it absolutely perfect! 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

GOING “CIVVY” 

Bill: Now for many airsoft snipers out there the TM 

VSR-10 is king, and it’s undoubtedly a cool base rifle; 

however, reams and even volumes have already been 

written on this rifle so we’re not going to bore you on 

OUR thoughts too! However, if you want something 

that doesn’t really scream “Mil” at all then there are 

some fine crossover choices on which to base your 

bolty! 

My personal choice for this is the Specna Arms 

SA-S02 CORE as it’s inexpensive (the basic S02 comes 

in just under €100!), easy to work on and upgrade, 

and even comes as a “package” if you want to get 

into the sniper role on a budget! In terms of looks 

the SA-S02 CORE still closely resembles the M40 rifle 

design, but in a pared-back way. Up top is a standard 

Picatinny mounting rail, so it’s again easy to fit an 

optic, and the S02 also features a short section of rail 

for the bipod, along with two double-sided swivels for 

the attachment of a QD tactical sling; if you prefer you 

can mount the bipod to the swivel stud which brings 

it closer to the chassis. 

The furniture itself is made from metal and 

reinforced polymer; the use of “Ncore” reinforced 

polymer makes the construction very durable and 

adds a nice matt finish to the chassis. In addition, 

metal elements feature a Nano Coating finish that 

prevents scratches, and metal parts include the 

entire external barrel along with the chamber, trigger 

and charging handle as well as RIS accessory rails 

and all assembly elements such as screws, with the 

bolt carrier featuring laser-engraved Specna Arms 

markings. The chassis with the butt, butt pad and the 

magazine are made of solid polymer, and the butt has 

a comfortable rubber pad, the thickness of which can 

be adjusted using a set of exchangeable overlays. In 

combination with the adjustable cheek pad it allows 

62 


RED CELL 

LONG GUNS 

adjusting the butt to user preferences. A neat safety 

is located next to the bolt and can be operated with 

your thumb. 

Internally the S02 (apart from the Hop-Up chamber 

and the magazine) is fully-compatible with the everpopular 

VSR-10, which enables easy power tuning 

and means that spare and upgrade parts will never 

be an issue! I have to say that it looks the business, 

and power testing as standard on a .20g BB gave me 

a very consistent mean of 1.65 Joule/423fps which 

is brilliant straight from the packaging! Range is also 

solid out to 50m using a .30 BB, and I can still punch 

out to 65m accurately if I try hard enough! This rifle 

from me gets a big “thumbs up”. 

Chris: I have to admit since buying the Steyr Scout 

at the tail end of 2021, I’ve only fielded it a handful of 

times (four maximum) being only able to play once a 

month due to “adulting commitments” and wanting 

to use my AUG. But, what little experience I have 

with this replica is all extremely 

pleasing. It’s first game was at full 

stock strength and innards, which 

I may say is extremely impressive, I 

did however paint the stock a nice 

OD to match my AUG; okay I have 

a thing about Steyr guns in OD/ 

black! 

Since first game the only parts 

I’ve changed/added are the main 

spring, to bring it down, yes… 

down... to 345fps with a .20; why 

would I want to use a bolty at 

low power? Several reasons, but 

chiefly, it’s a scout rifle. The whole 

scout rifle doctrine as described 

by Jeff Cooper is something I have 

subscribed to, having an accurate 

bolt action rifle that can engage at 

close range quickly makes airsoft 

very fun for me, I’ve been playing 

for so long now that these little 

challenges keep me going! 

Aside from downgrading, I have 

installed the Modify H Nub (blue), 

and this has made an already 

very accurate replica even more 

so; I’m not talking real rifle sub- 

MOA accuracy but using a 1.5x 

scout scope it’s putting a .36 on a 

figure 11 target’s centre mass at 

50 meters every time. It may not 

sound amazing but some users are 

reporting they are putting .40+ 

upwards of 90 meters with the same accuracy using 

stock internals and just the H Nub added. 

Pretty impressive for a toy! 

Overall, I’m still massively impressed with a replica 

I’ve waited 20+ years for, and my only single gripe 

is that it doesn’t feed from the proper mag well… 

always something to work on, isn’t there… it’s airsoft! 

Bill W-R: What to say about the ARES Striker? 

Well, in its various iterations it has something to suit 

everyone, from the standard AS01, the upgraded 

AS02 to the bonkers AS03 “knee capper”! My AS02 

had a short but fruitful time with me following spring, 

piston and hop upgrades. A raft of add-ons are 

available and there is a great facebook community for 

owners which is mature and non-toxic for a pleasant 

change. 

As for my AS02 I loved the adjustability at the 

stock-end and the built in holder for the spare 

magazine is a wonderful touch. I feel that some more 

could be done by ARES to up the performance and 

quality to bring it line with competitors hitting the 

market like the Scout. It has always surprised me that 

some manufacturers just sit back and concentrate on 

volume rather than evolution. 

With the range having now been out for quite 

a few years now it would be good to see the next 

generation of these come out. Overall a good 

platform that needs some money to be invested in it 

including the aftermarket hop adjuster which ARES 

should really have included in the rifle. 

Bill: So, there you have it, the Red Cell meanderings 

on what we ourselves use and why! Being an airsoft 

sniper doesn’t mean you have to throw gazillions 

of buckeroos at your preferred platform, but it does 

mean that you need to put time in both in terms of 

making that platform as accurate as possible, and in 

learning ALL the skills that make the sniper a truly 

useful, and valued member of any team! 

See you out on the field… but then again, maybe 

not, if you’re doing it right! AA 

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KIT & GEAR 

MAGNIFIED OPTICS 

SIGHTING 

IN 

THIS MONTH WE’VE DECIDED TO GET INTO “LONG GUNS” AND OF COURSE A CRUCIAL PART OF THIS 

SETUP IS CHOOSING THE RIGHT OPTIC TO SIT ON TOP OF YOUR FAVOURED PRECISION RIFLE. WITH 

THE VAST EXPERIENCE AMONGST SOME OF THE SEASONED MEMBERS OF RED CELL AND THE LEGION 

FACTORED IN BILL QUITE LITERALLY TAKES A LOOK AT SOME OF HIS FAVOURITE OPTIONS THAT MAY 

SUIT YOU TOO! 

Most airsoft manufacturers now seem to have 

a solid range of different optics, but the 

concentration for most of us is usually the 

more “tactical” style given the engagement distances 

we normally skirmish and play at. I do like holo and 

red dot sights (especially the micro RDS that have 

appeared on the slides of my pistols!), and you might 

argue that given the realistic shooting range of an 

airsoft replica this is really 

all that’s 

needed. That said, I 

was running 

a Vortex 

Razor 

HD Gen 

III 1-10x24 

optic on 

my airsoft 

DMRs, and I 

66 


KIT & GEAR 


recently tried using this on my gas ARs, and I’ve been 

pretty happy with the result so that’s now where it’s 

found it’s “forever home”; however, this is a “real 

steel” model and therefore was not a cheap buy! 

I usually head to my “go to” supplier for my optics, 

and that’s NUPROL as these days they have virtually 

every type of optic you can think of, including the 

fabulous “retro” models that I’ve used in my ongoing 

“BLOCKS” builds and even a PKO for my fellow 

OPFORists! In their range you’ll find that they offer 

some pretty nifty magnified optics to sit alongside 

the “CQB” styles though, and my absolute favourite 

of these is the NP Optics ZR10 1.25-5x26 IR; this 

is a super-clear optic that boasts some excellent 

mechanical features not often seen on such an 

affordable sight as it retails around the 

UK£110 mark. The windage and 

elevation dials can be popped 

and locked into place 

to avoid 

any accidental 

changes made 

to your zero. 

The mount is also 

included and bolts 

straight onto the sight 

tube with twelve bolts in 

total, so the whole unit 

becomes rock solid once 

mounted on your toprail. 

The illumination is 

great too thanks 

to the 

variable brightness and with three (RGB) colour 

options, you have a very crisp outlines of the main 

central dot and outer ring that does not distract from 

your target be it at 1.25 or the optional 5x max zoom; 

this excellent sight really works very well and everyone 

I’ve shown it to thus far has been impressed! 

In relation to more “traditional” optics there are 

three models to choose from. The NP Optics - 4x32 

IR, 3-9x40 IR, and 3-9x50 IR so you can really find the 

ideal airsoft sniper scope that works for you should 

you wish to take out a target at distance. Thanks to 

the wide selection of colour and brightness modes 

on the reticles you can take out your target in any 

lighting condition be it outdoors or in built up urban 

environments. The NUPROL scopes all come with 

20mm rail mounts and airgun mounts too; they’re 

very easy to setup, rock solid once 

and add very 

fitted 

minimal 

weight to 

your rifle. 

GETTING REAL 

That said, there is always the question of 

whether to go for a dedicated optic from one of the 

“real steel” companies out there, and after speaking 

to the crew it does appear that VORTEX are still very 

much the brand of choice for many. When you’re 

spending good money on a piece of glass you want 

to know it’s going to be with you for a considerable 

time, and the fact that Vortex offer their “VIP 

Warranty” which effectively says they will “repair or 

replace your Vortex product in the event it becomes 

damaged or defective at no charge to you. It doesn’t 

matter how it happened, whose fault it was, or where 

you purchased it” means that your outlay is well 

protected, and I know that they honour this even for 

airsoft use. 

As much as I love, and own, their Crossfire Red Dot 

(which has proved massively durable with outstanding 

performance!) it’s their magnified optics 

that really do it for me! The Strike 

Eagle comes in four different 

models, with differing 

magnification levels, but 

the one I personally 

love is the 1-6X24 

model. The 1x 

variable optics 

offer speed 

and versatility 

for rifle and 

carbine users 

who need 


KIT & GEAR 


to engage targets from point-blank out to extended 

ranges. And that’s exactly what you’re going to get 

with Vortex’s Strike Eagle 1-6 x 24. Take into 

consideration what it costs to get into this 

optic, and you may find you can’t afford not 

to buy it! Whether you’re burning through 

a 3-Gun Stage, logging some range time, or 

holding for that elusive target on the skirmish field, 

the Strike Eagle is up to the task. High-quality, fully 

multi-coated lenses deliver a clear, crisp sight picture 

and optimal low-light performance. A true onepower 

on the low end of its 6x zoom range provides 

quick target acquisition in close quarters scenarios. 

Need to engage targets at distance? Crank it up to 

6x and let it rip! 

Again available in four different guises the 

Diamondback Tactical 6-24X50 FFP is the darling 

of the discerning airsoft sniper crowd! The first 

focal plane reticle, a feature ordinarily reserved 

for 4-figure-priced optics, allows shooters to 

use the information-packed EBR-2C reticles for 

ranging, holdovers or windage corrections on any 

magnification. Housed inside its durable, one-piece 

aluminium tube is a 4x optical system delivering 

excellent edge-to-edge clarity and sharp resolution. 

Exposed elevation and windage turrets are low 

profile enough to stay out of the way in packing 

situations, but offer the quickness, ease and 

precision of dialling accurate shots at distance. A side 

adjustable parallax gives shooters peace of mind by 

removing parallax error from the equation from 10 

yards to infinity. 

A MATTER OF TASTE 

Now of course this is just MY idea of what optics are 

“bestest for precision airsoft”, but I thought it would 

be interesting to see what the guys had to say on 

this matter too, so I asked them what they used, and 

why, and I was surprised to see answers very similar 

to my own, even down to the brands chosen! This is 

what they had to say… 

Rob: I went with the TRUGLO TRU-Brite 30 Series 

1-6 X 24mm Dual-Color Illuminated Power Ring 

Duplex MIL-DOT Reticle Gun Scope with Mount, 

Matte Black, TG8516TL on my ranged AR (real) 

for scout style use. After playing with it for a few 

months 

I find it to be 

the absolute 

best 

of both worlds 

for my 

use. For airsoft I would 

recommend a scope I’d definitely go for a 1-4 or 

1-6x scope of some sort. With that said airsoft 

distance and parallax adjustment are a massive deal 

so maybe look into a cheaper air rifle scope with 

adjustable parallax… 

Adjustable parallax allows you to set the focus 

specifically to just before the target so you can 

actually see your BBs trajectory and when they hit (or 

miss) and use it as a poor man’s range finder. Go out 

and use a specific ranged setup, mark your scope 

settings to those exact measurements, then you can 

shoot a tree at distance, see where it hits, and adjust 

parallax, adjust aim, and when a target goes to take 

cover at said tree you will be 100% on! 

Boycie: For me it depends on the game and role 

I’m playing. For the games where I’m observing/ 

spotting I usually use a Vector Forester as it gives me 

the best of both worlds. On other long guns I prefer 

my Leupold 3-9x40. 

Stewbacca: I prefer to stick to red dots or 

holosights for the most parts these days, being 

focused mostly on CQB; however when I break 

out the long bois I have the Vortex Optics 2-7 x 32 

scope atop my PSG-1 which is an excellent piece of 

glass with MIL-DOTS and obviously the adjustable 

zoom helps. With the L85 the ruggedised G&G 

ELCAN replica with 4x optical magnification works 

very nicely, as does my similar 4x ACOG that floats 

around my ARs as and when required, and I would 

tend to argue that 4x is probably an ideal power for 

use in identification or targeting, and a lot of real 

steel applications seem to support that. 

Miguel: The only scoped sight I use is my old 

Strike Systems 4x32; it’s really easy to use and 

has great eye relief. I do tend not to use scoped 

sights since they steal a bit of attention from the 

surroundings, but if we are talking about a big field 

“GO OUT AND USE A SPECIFIC RANGED SETUP, MARK YOUR SCOPE SETTINGS TO THOSE 

EXACT MEASUREMENTS, THEN YOU CAN SHOOT A TREE AT DISTANCE, SEE WHERE IT HITS, 

AND ADJUST PARALLAX, ADJUST AIM, AND WHEN A TARGET GOES TO TAKE COVER AT SAID 

TREE YOU WILL BE 100% ON!” 

68 


KIT & GEAR 


(like plains) I like to have something that will help me 

looking further. 

Björn: For my Evolution M40 I use a Vortex 

Crossfire II 4-16×50 that I got from tacticalstore.se, 

and this is more than enough for airsoft! But that is 

only for my sniper rifle… sometimes I use 1-4 or a flip 

x3 for forest games or bigger fields even if it’s a CQBtuned 

AEG. 

Dan: I run a genuine POSP 4x24 with the 1000m 

SVD reticle on my Real Sword SVD. I’ve had a couple 

of the replica’s in the past and after having so many 

issues with them losing zero or having bad soldering 

on the electrical switch, bendy mounts, gross sticky 

rubber finishes and various other issues, I ended up 

just breaking down and buying a legit version. I’ve 

been using this one on the regular since 2010 and so 

far it’s been an absolute tank and holds zero perfectly. 

The reticle is quick and intuitive and the stacked 

chevron design works amazingly well for hold-overs in 

airsoft. I’ve been supremely happy with it. 

I did score a good deal on a 6x42 PSO a year back, 

thinking it might have a little wider field of view and 

maybe I could use the extra magnification... but it 

actually had the same FOV as the 4x24 and the glass 

clarity wasn’t as good as my POSP either. So that went 

in the sell pile… 

Bill W-R: One scope that I have always enjoyed 

using is the same NUPROL ZR10 1.25-5x26 that “the 

other Bill” also favours. This is probably one of the 

unsung heroes of the optics world given the price; 

it has amazing eye relief which is always an issue for 

a glasses wearer and those that wear goggles or a 

mask! 

So, as always we have both a general consensus as 

what to look for when it comes to a precision optic 

both from dedicated airsoft manufacturers and from 

their “real steel” counterparts. When it comes down 

to it you can spend an absolute fortune on an airsoft 

optic, or you can “try before you buy” and decide on 

which one works best for YOU. 

All the optics mentioned here are of stunning 

quality, offering sharp, precise sighting options and 

when you decide which is best for the application you 

desire, and whatever your shooting style, there’s sure 

to be something that will let you reach out and touch 

somebody in a thoroughly positive manner! AA 

“THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE OPTICS WORLD GIVEN THE PRICE; 

IT HAS AMAZING EYE RELIEF WHICH IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE FOR A GLASSES WEARER AND 

THOSE THAT WEAR GOGGLES OR A MASK!” 


TECHNICAL 

HPA RIFLE BUILD 

MAX AIR 

FORCE! 

KEEPING WITH OUR THEME THIS MONTH WE THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE REMISS OF US NOT TO INCLUDE 

AN HPA SYSTEM-DRIVEN PLATFORM, AND OUR ONCE-SCEPTICAL TECH JIMMY HAS BEEN CREATING ONE OF 

HIS VERY OWN. DELVING INTO THE MECHANICS OF HIS CHOSEN PLATFORM AND SYSTEM HE NOW BEGINS 

TO DETAIL HIS VERY OWN “HPA ADVENTURE”! 

Up until a few months back I had only ever 

been interested in AEG’s and GBB pistols and 

I honestly didn’t care much for anything else. 

My head was well and truly buried in the sand when it 

came to “operating systems” and looking back I rode 

very roughshod, not paying any attention to others 

and their opinions on anything; like many out there, 

I’d set my course and I was steering it! 

This was actually a bit wrong of me if I am to 

be completely open and honest, because boy, was 

I missing out! The thought of a High-Pressure Air 

systems, or simply HPA as we all know it, in airsoft left 

a sour taste in my mouth; I believed firmly while it has 

its place, its place was not in airsoft and should stay 

very much in the paintball world, and the thought of 

running around with “scuba gear” as Bill so kindly 

calls it, “old skool fool” that he is, left me cold. I 

liked the freedom of a self-contained, battery-driven 

system, and that was an end to it! 

There seems to be a lot of stigma surrounding 

HPA systems and the people that use them. Well, my 

opinion has completely changed in that I believe that 

HPA is a very effective way to power an airsoft rifle, 

specifically a good sniper platform, and let’s be fair 

70 


TECHNICAL 


on this, HPA is becoming more prevalent; from an 

industry perspective there is no going back now and 

the feet of HPA system manufacturers are well and 

truly under the airsoft table, so deal with it! 

Let me preface my personal journey into HPA 

though; a few months back a dear friend of mine 

asked if I would take a look at a couple of his HPA 

rifles and see if I could get them working properly. 

Over the course of a few weeks I learned so much 

about HPA, and then had the pleasure of playing 

using this system in the interests of testing my work 

for my friend, and that is when my opinion changed. I 

managed to trade a few old AEGs and ended up with 

a Double Bell “VSR” clone, which was actually quite a 

nice piece of kit, and for me was the first “VSR” I had 

seen with a real wooden stock. As with many stock 

bolt action airsoft rifles, while it worked okay and was 

pretty damn quiet it needed something more to be 

field effective. 

I acquired a Mancraft SDIK kit which would 

enable me to convert the spring system into a HPA 

system; sadly the Double Bell turned out to have a 

different spec to that of a Marui VSR which was a bit 

disappointing as I really liked the wooden stock, so 

back to the drawing board. A couple of weeks later 

another friend of mine (yes, you Mr Seal, you beauty!) 

mentioned he had a Tokyo Marui VSR G Spec that he 

was not using and would gift it to me in return for 

some work which he wanted me to carry out on a 

few of his AEG’s. 

GETTING DOWN TO IT 

Great I thought, and gladly accepted the offering 

knowing that the Mancraft SDIK kit would fit 

perfectly. To my utter amazement the G Spec was 

dripping with aftermarket parts already, including; 

• Laylax barrel 

• Laylax barrel stabilisers 

• Laylex cylinder 

• Laylax piston 

• Laylax spring 

• Laylax spring guide 

• Laylax trigger group 

• Action Army hop unit 

I honestly could not believe just how lucky I was 

and it was such a great gesture on his part; sometimes 

your friends amaze you, don’t they, and although I 

would carry out the work on his AEGs as discussed, 

this was still a very, very generous gift - sometimes our 

BB-chucking community is simply a wonderful thing! 

With zero hesitation I got straight to work fitting 

the Mancraft engine; it fitted in perfectly in the G 

Spec and was really quite easy to fit with only one 

small mod needed, which was to drill a small hold 

for the inlet tube to feed through allowing easy 

connection of the air tank. Once installed into the 

cylinder it is just a case of feeding the airline through 

the trigger group where once the spring guide 

stopper sat slide on the brass tube which now acts as 

a spring guide stopper and button everything back 

up. 

“WITH ZERO HESITATION I GOT STRAIGHT TO WORK FITTING THE MANCRAFT ENGINE; 

IT FITTED IN PERFECTLY IN THE G SPEC AND WAS REALLY QUITE EASY TO FIT WITH 

ONLY ONE SMALL MOD NEEDED, WHICH WAS TO DRILL A SMALL HOLD FOR THE INLET 

TUBE TO FEED THROUGH ALLOWING EASY CONNECTION OF THE AIR TANK.” 


TECHNICAL 


The next part was to decide where I wanted the 

airline to exit; I opted to have it short, exiting in front 

of the trigger guard. The Mancraft kit utilises a piston 

and a spring still unlike other HPA engines which rely 

solely on air to propel the BB. The Mancraft engine 

operates slightly differently, so rather than the spring 

creating all the power, the piston itself is air driven, 

making it very consistent maybe not as quiet as 

something like a Wolverine engine, but much quieter 

than a spring powered version and with a foam-filled 

suppressor you will go unnoticed with no muzzle 

report . 

I am a fan of a mechanical style HPA system now, as 

it is much simpler and easier to maintain and service, 

should any problems arise. Taking into consideration 

the fact there are very few moving parts I would be 

highly surprised should anything go wrong. Being 

HPA it is very easy to set your velocity and I am able 

to get it bang on and sit nicely at 500fps on a 0.20g 

BB; using a 0.40g BB it is hitting 353fps at 2.34J using 

around 100psi and will see fluctuations of +/- 3fps, 

but this all depends on the regulator that you are 

using. At present I am using a Valken Ultra Rig LPR 

which is proving to be very consistent with its delivery 

of air. 

SNIPER LIFE 

So this rifle would be my path into the world of 

“airsoft sniping” and so far I am thoroughly enjoying 

it and have taken to it like a duck to water! I still have 

a lot to learn about the true role of the sniper but it 

is something I am willing to learn and work at… and 

work HARD! 

So, why HPA I hear you ask? Well, the fact of 

the matter is this; HPA systems have very consistent 

performance and are easily configurable should you 

need to adjust for different site limits, and due to 

simplistic design they offer repeatable and consistent 

performance. Another major benefit is the operation; 

an HPA-driven rifle is a lot lighter to operate than 

a heavy spring model, meaning less fatigue on the 

user and a more stable position when taking followup 

shots; smooth action, no needing to jerk about 

heaving a spring-bolt about, as an HPA-bolt just 

travels back and forth “into battery” like a silkysmooth 

thing! 

As good as it seems on paper it still isn’t something 

that is going to make you an overnight pro; there is 

still a lot of fettling and testing needed for the rifle to 

be effective, then the rest is on the user. For instance, 

BB weight… after much testing I discovered that 

the Firefly hop rubber fitted prior to my ownership 

was struggling to lift a BB heavier than 0.36g. Now 

most snipers use a 0.40g BB and above for accuracy 

and flight-stability, something I was struggling with 

so I decided to swap out the Firefly for a Maple Leaf 

Autobot 70 degree rubber, but in order to do that I 

had to modify the barrel slightly as the Maple Leaf 

rubbers don’t work with bridged barrels. In order for it 

to fit I had to machine down the bridge. 

Now with the Autobot rubber and an Omega nub 

the rifle is able to lift a 0.40g BB very consistently 

way further than before, and I can say I am effectively 

reaching targets out to around 80m which will far 

exceed most other rifles including AEG’s. I would love 

to get it out onto a proper range and see the 100m 

mark (Bill’s gas benchmark… challenge accepted!) 

which I know to be achievable. 

There is one downside to running HPA regardless 

of the platform though and that is the fact you 

are tethered to a tank, so something I am always 

conscious of is the airline it can get caught up 

sometimes, but that is a price I’m willing to pay 

for performance, and honestly, it doesn’t affect my 

“freedom” as much as I thought it would. This project 

is still ongoing, and as I learn more about my chosen 

platform, and more about the true role of the sniper 

in airsoft I’ll report back. 

This is but the commencement of my further 

journey into the world of “all things airsoft”, and as a 

tech the words “never stop learning” are particularly 

poignant. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed both 

creating my own HPA setup, and fielding it in game, 

but I know that this is just the very beginning of 

another exciting “airsoft journey”… watch this space! 

72 


TECHNICAL 



TECHNICAL 

BOLT ACTION UPGRADES 

ALL THE 

JOYS OF 

SPRING! 

WHEN IT COMES TO THE SUBJECT OF UPGRADING BOLT-ACTION RIFLES, THIS ARENA CAN BE 

JUST AS IN-DEPTH AND COMPLEX AS IT IS FOR UPGRADING AEG’S. THE PLETHORA OF OPTIONS, 

SYSTEMS, AND PLATFORMS AVAILABLE IS EXTENSIVE, AND IT’S EASY TO GET “LOST IN THE 

WOODS” TRYING TO FIGURE OUT YOUR AVENUE OF APPROACH, SO DAN SIMPLIFIES THINGS A 

LITTLE TO GIVE SOME POINTERS IN GETTING THE BEST “BANG FOR YOUR BUCK”! 

Many owners fresh to the bolt-action life often 

become dismayed that their newly purchased 

rifle is not performing as expected, and in 

fact, many find themselves outgunned and outranged 

even by simple stock AEG’s. The cold, hard reality 

is that starting out your airsoft journey with a boltaction 

first often means that journey will end shortly 

thereafter and the “bolty” is quickly put up for sale at 

a loss. 

While a stock rifle is certainly something one can 

skirmish with, it should be understood that very few 

commercially manufactured bolt-action rifles will 

actually be fully tuned from the factory or possess 

high quality parts that give them a leg up against 

their sewing machine competitors (AKA AEG’s). This 

is largely down to price-point and the simple fact 

that most manufacturers consider bolt-actions low 

on the totem pole of product offerings. Excluding 

some boutique custom shops, you will not find 

a major manufacturer touting a bolt gun as their 

‘flagship’ product, as an example; when looking at it 

from a pricing tier, the majority of bolt guns can be 

purchased for around US$125–200, which doesn’t 

package something up with a lot of improvement in 

material quality or component design. 

To properly evaluate stock bolt-actions in their 

proper context, one must look at it from the 

perspective that these are a simple chassis, 

or template, if you will, with parts as 

placeholders that you can upgrade at your 

personal discretion. You will have to spend 

some to get some with this class of rifles. 

Getting the most out of your bolt-action 

rifle will involve creating a plan of attack 

first and foremost; and here, the plan 

gets a little simpler than approaching 

an upgrade path with AEG’s… 

SELECT YOUR PLATFORM 

The first stop is to select the 

platform you’d like to start with. 

I often recommend thinking 

about the aesthetic style or design 

you like first because gun choice is 

often a very personal matter, then 

researching whether it has any 

upgrade options available for it. 

This latter aspect might influence 

your choice more than you’d like 

to admit, and may even omit 

some designs entirely due to lack 

of available upgrades and other 

pitfalls. 

74 


TECHNICAL 


On an aside, I will caution that researching bolt 

guns can be a bit of a hurdle in and of itself too. 

There are fewer true subject matter experts on 

upgrading these, and often they are more specialized 

or concentrating on just one or two platforms that 

they know intimately. Perhaps as a side effect of the 

cost point at which most bolt-actions are priced at, 

this tends to generate a lot of low-quality information 

about how to upgrade them too. Quality information 

is harder to find and amongst “experts” there are 

unfortunately also more than a few “gatekeepers”. 

I’ve not found it to be nearly as tough a neighborhood 

as it is in the GBB world, but it’s definitely not as 

eminently accessible to the everyman as the AEG side 

is. 

So when it comes to selecting a platform to settle 

on, you will doubtlessly notice a theme trending here 

with regard to aftermarket support. In the bolt-action 

world, the Tokyo Marui VSR design (and clones) 

reigns king for aftermarket upgrades, much like the 

Hi-Capa or Glock for GBB pistols, or the Ver. 2 M4 

and Ver. 3 AK for AEG’s. Other designs, such as the 

L96, Ares Striker, KJW M700’s, and etc. typically have 

decent support, but will not have the same degree 

of customization available. More niche platforms 

like the A&K spring SVD or S&T Kar98k have even 

more limited upgrades; in this case, just one or two 

manufacturers produce any aftermarket parts for it. 

You can get even more obscure with shell-ejecting 

rifles or truly niche “partless monsters” (to quote 

my friend Mark Van Dyke) like the CheyTac M200 

Intervention, as a notable example. 

ACCURACY FIRST 

Regardless of any other upgrade you can throw at the 

gun, the most noticeable and biggest performance 

upgrade you can immediately make is upgrading the 

hop up bucking and barrel. On the cheaper end, just 

swapping in a quality bucking can do wonders, and 

this should be the very first upgrade you pursue. As 

most bolt actions are quite easy to disassemble, this is 

also a quick and painless upgrade to install and only 

costs a few dollars at most. 

Somewhat more technical to install, but paying big 

dividends in the range department is having an R-Hop 

installed. I would actually suggest doing this only after 

you have selected a higher quality barrel as there’s no 

sense in doing it twice. 

As mentioned, an aftermarket barrel is a good 

second upgrade to consider if the budget allows for 

it. Here bore quality and internal finish level matters 

more than length, although length is an important 

factor to consider when it comes to properly voluming 

the bore. EdGi, PDI, and Lambda are among some 

of the best brands out there for producing straight 

barrels with high quality internal finishes. 

Additional ‘icing on the cake’ would be in the 

form of upgraded hop up components or hop up 

“QUALITY INFORMATION IS HARDER TO FIND AND AMONGST “EXPERTS” THERE ARE 

UNFORTUNATELY ALSO MORE THAN A FEW “GATEKEEPERS”. I’VE NOT FOUND IT TO 

BE NEARLY AS TOUGH A NEIGHBORHOOD AS IT IS IN THE GBB WORLD, BUT IT’S 

DEFINITELY NOT AS EMINENTLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE EVERYMAN AS THE AEG SIDE IS.” 


TECHNICAL 


chamber. A lot of aftermarket companies make these 

for most of the major platforms, and the designs 

can differ from something as simple as an improved 

hop up arm design, to full CNC hop up chambers. 

design deficits and provide more durable components. 

Chiefly among these will be sears, which is a rather 

common component to break on stock bolt-actions. 

Incidentally, this is often the first part that will break 

Generally speaking, I suggest looking for something 

that offers more precise movement and a bonus is if it 

allows for a true top down center hop up arm, which 

is absolutely ideal for R-Hops or even conventional 

buckings. 

One worthwhile upgrade is an externally adjustable 

hop up adjustment. This usually takes the form of 

a wheel that you can adjust by hand, but saves the 

hassle of always having to carry an Allen key (that 

conveniently seems to always wander off!) to adjust 

the hop via traditional means. 

THE OS 

Once you’ve got the main component of your 

accuracy side handled, now it’s time to consider 

what operating system (OS) you want to run. There 

is something to be said for simply running the gun 

up until something dies, then upgrading. That way 

you get more value for your buck. But whether you 

decide to upgrade now or later on, you will have to 

eventually decide whether you wish to run it in its 

native design, which will generally be either springpowered 

or gas, or make the switch to HPA or CO2. 

There are some pros and cons for either pathway. 

Spring-powered upgrades are generally a lot lower 

in cost and relatively reliable, though some parts 

such as improved sears, trigger packs, pistons and 

cylinders, etc. can certainly start creeping up the 

expense sheet. Many of these parts primarily address 

on a stock rifle too, so this is one of those parts that 

should be on high your upgrade list if you intend to 

keep the gun spring-powered. 

Cylinders and cylinder kits is another area where 

you can get some more improvement. Some of these 

are simple polished steel affairs, and others use special 

plating’s or Teflon finishes, with the aim of reducing 

the amount of friction when the piston is drawn back. 

Other designs can also slightly increase the amount of 

air volume possible. 

Most spring powered guns will typically chrono 

around 1.5J / 400 FPS, which is typical for fresh out 

of the box guns, but may be too high for some sites 

in Europe or elsewhere. Often, upgrading the main 

spring is done out of necessity to meet field limits 

or to put the rifle into a new class bracket, such as 

‘sniper’ class. In the US, as an example, most boltaction 

rifles can shoot as high as 2.7J / 550 FPS, with 

a rare few being as high as 600 – 650 FPS. Keep in 

mind here that when you increase the spring weight, 

you also increase the amount of stress imparted on 

the sear and trigger components. Hence, these two 

upgrades often go hand-in-hand. 

One of the downsides to spring-powered setups is 

the draw weight of the bolt handle. Unlike real steel 

bolt-actions, which have no rearward resistance, you 

do have this on spring-powered airsoft bolt guns by 

virtue of having to cock back the spring for every 

shot. As mentioned, there are cylinder designs and 

76 


TECHNICAL 


other assorted improvements one can make to reduce 

the effort of this. Just remember, the heavier the 

spring you use, the more strength will be required to 

pull back the handle. Conversely, decreasing spring 

strength will reduce stress on the sear and trigger 

components, while also decreasing the amount of 

effort required pulling the bolt back. 

HPA systems (as detailed by fellow tech Jimmy in 

this issue), and by extension CO2, get up there in cost 

as it represents a larger financial investment right out 

of the gate. If you’re not doing an on-board air supply 

or CO2 cartridge holder, then you will need to also 

purchase an air line and tank too. Some may not like 

the added weight this represents, nor necessarily enjoy 

being tethered to a tank for that matter. 

Another con is some HPA systems require a battery 

to power the solenoid, which may be a detractor 

for someone seeking a simpler system, as this also 

requires a battery charger too. Most HPA powered 

systems are truly fully mechanical and do not require 

a battery or FCU such as is used when converting 

an AEG to HPA. On the positive side, HPA and CO2 

systems completely eliminate the heavy pull weight 

variable of the bolt handle. Some unique designs and 

modifications even dramatically reduce the amount 

of distance required to pull the handle so it’s down 

to just the 6mm of distance required to seat a fresh 

BB. On the whole, one can more quickly operate the 

bolt on air-powered setups easier than they can on a 

spring gun. It’s almost like cheating! 

HPA systems in particular are also easier to fine-tune 

the Joule / FPS output on as this is usually controlled 

off the regulator which is accessed from outside the 

gun. This can save a lot of time vs. the spring-action 

build, which will require disassembly every time to 

change spring weights. 

IT’S ALL ABOUT AESTHETICS 

Once you’ve settled on which system you want to use 

and have sorted out the internals to your liking, then 

comes the fun part of dressing up the exterior! 

Naturally, the first stop is to top your rifle off with 

a bipod and good optic, another matter discussed 

elsewhere in this issue. There are a myriad of options 

and price ranges from the budget to the “spared 

no expense” to consider. For airsoft ranges, I would 

normally suggest a variable magnification scope to 

give you some options with your viewing distances; 

you don’t typically need much more than 4x power 

due to the ranges we normally encounter, but some 

highly specialized setups will benefit from increasing 

this. 

Many platforms allow for the fitment of 

aftermarket stocks, external barrel lengths, mock 

suppressors, bolt handles, trigger shoes, and all 

manner of greebling. Most of these don’t really 

provide any performance enhancements, but do serve 

to make your rifle more bespoke. 

Obviously, as with any aspect of airsoft, hobbies 

or otherwise, you can certainly sink a lot of money 

into your bolt-action. It’s good to approach it with 

a plan and a budget in mind, but also be willing to 

flex your budget and expectations as things evolve. 

A well tuned bolt-action is an absolute delight to use 

on the field, and represents a more unique challenge 

and style of play that’s quite unlike what you typically 

encounter. For someone looking to broaden his or 

her horizons a bit or try something new, I definitely 

recommend looking into it! 

Many thanks to our good friends over at Airsoft & 

Milsim News for helping us out with additional images 

to support this article; you can find their full review of 

the Modify M24 at https://airsoft-milsim-news.com/ 

review-modify-mod24-sniper. AA 


EVENT 

NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL 2022 

NAF 2022 - 

BACK WITH 

A BANG! 

EACH AND EVERY YEAR THE AA CREW HEAD ON DOWN TO THE NEW FOREST TO CHECK IN AT THE 

NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL (NAF) TO FIND OUT WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING WITH FRIENDS OLD AND NEW 

AT A THOROUGHLY CONVIVIAL EVENT THAT’S ALWAYS ALL ABOUT THE AIRSOFT, AND WITH NUMBERS 

MAXED OUT FOR NAF 2022 WE’RE DELIGHTED TO REPORT ON AN AIRSOFT EVENT THAT IS TRULY UNIQUE, 

AND CONTINUES TO THRILL IN MANY, MANY WAYS! 

80 


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With player numbers traditionally in the thousands, The National Airsoft Festival (NAF) is the UK’s 

largest airsoft event and this year’s gathering was even more highly anticipated as it was the first 

full-speed iteration after a slightly quieter post-pandemic event last year, that we all enjoyed fully as 

we could finally get out in the New Forest woods again! 

Airsoft Action has been present at all but one NAF and I have seen (what was then called) The National 

Airsoft Event become a joyous meeting place for airsofters Europe-wide, with players travelling from across 

the continent to enjoy not only the wide-ranging gameplay, but also the incredible social atmosphere created 

when thousands of airsofters get together! This year’s event was fully maxed out, and fully back up to 

previous years, and for those 3000-PLUS PLAYERS who did make it this year, we were treated to a madlyfabulous 

weekend of all-things-airsoft both on and off the field of play! 


EVENT 


Over the years I have reported from the NAF we 

have seen it grow into more than “just another 

game of airsoft” …into something really special. As 

I say every time I report back, yes, the gameplay is 

great fun and, given the sheer size and scale of the 

Ground Zero Airsoft site (where the event is held), as 

challenging as you choose to make it, but there is just 

something “special” about it that raises the Festival 

to a whole new level. From the moment 

players start arriving on 

Friday 

morning to check 

in and get their player number and 

wristband, the atmosphere starts to build as groups 

of players form and merge and, following loads 

of “high-fives” and “man-hugs”, the inevitable 

“airsoft banter” begins! 

Right alongside the event, the campsite 

rapidly fills with motorhomes and tents of 

all shapes and sizes and just like in previous 

years, it became home to multiple team 

“swimming pools” and “bars”, although 

there is also a “quiet area” for those who 

actually prefer to sleep! This year, the 

Airsoft Action crew approached the event 

in a slightly different way; we make a 

lot about the fact that we are airsofters 

ourselves, but we have always before had 

a gazebo in the main vendors area where we’ve met 

with players and friends, but this year Jimmy, new Red 

Cell member Ben and I decided to (literally!) pitch in 

with everyone else in the on-site camping area and 

get stuck into the event properly! 

Whilst I was still around to meet with our industry 

partners and fellow media-folk, Jimmy and Ben were 

in the thick of it, and there’ll be more from both 

of them later! Suffice to say that we were looking 

forwards to another hugely entertaining event …and 

that is exactly what we got! 

Once upon a time I would have been amongst the 

many airsoft players that said “yeah, the National 

Airsoft Festival, what about that?” but after a series 

of totally entertaining and illuminating events over the 

past few years I was really, really looking 

forward to heading on down to Ground Zero 

to attend an event that I’ve done a total 

about face on; it’s one weekend each year 

that I get to hang out with old friends from 

both the UK and further afield so that in 

itself makes the trip 100% worthwhile, 

and this year was still extra-special given 

the restrictions that we all faced during 

2020 that meant there was “no NAF” for 

that year, and last year of course Covid 

restrictions were still very firmly in place, 

precluding extended travel for many and 

keeping numbers down. 

NAF, SO WHAT? 

For those that are still oblivious to the event the UK 

National Airsoft Festival takes place every August 

Bank Holiday down at the Ground Zero site in the 

depths of the New Forest. The NAF/NAE 

has been running since 2007, 

when Ground 

Zero/Zero One 

made history by hosting what 

was at that time the largest airsoft event 

ever held in in the UK (and probably still is!), bringing 

in players from all over the UK and Europe. 

At a time when many of us in the UK we are still 

“AIRSOFT ACTION HAVE ALWAYS BEFORE HAD A GAZEBO IN THE MAIN VENDORS AREA 

WHERE WE’VE MET WITH PLAYERS AND FRIENDS, BUT THIS YEAR JIMMY, NEW RED CELL 

MEMBER BEN AND I DECIDED TO (LITERALLY!) PITCH IN WITH EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ON-SITE 

CAMPING AREA AND GET STUCK INTO THE EVENT PROPERLY!” 

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EVENT 


a little bewildered as to what will happen in regards 

to our relationship with the rest of the world, and 

travelling around it, I will say that many friends gather 

at the NAF every year, and it’s a time when I can 

actually get together with old mates 

from all walks of airsoft 

face to face, 

which 

I love. Things will 

continue to change in the 

months and years to come (who knows 

how right now?) but one thing I do know is that 

these guys will always be my friends, and it’s always a 

pleasure to see them! 

Bottom line is that the NAF is just one HUGE 

celebration of airsoft, not just for UK players, but 

usually for players from around the world that make 

the pilgrimage to Ground Zero, and this year the 

player numbers were WAY UP THERE! The thought 

of a massive airsoft game involving quite literally 

thousands of players is my personal worst scenario 

though; we all know that sadly you get the odd 

“cheater” at even the very best game, and the chance 

of that happening with so many players in one place 

at one time means that this is magnified… 

Many players, even good ones that are always 

willing to give the benefit of the doubt decide not to 

attend the NAF for this reason, and having now been 

a number of times before I think they are genuinely, 

truly missing out on a great “airsoft experience”, even 

if they don’t play for a minute! Even though certain 

friends were still missing this time my old friend Stef 

and the crew from the Netherlands were back, and 

the event maintained the warm, friendly “Festival 

Feel”, and I for one love a bit of that action! 

But the NAF is undoubtedly BACK and the numbers 

continue to grow again now we’re out of “The Plague 

Years”, both in the number of active players, but also 

in the volume of folk who turn up to camp for the 

weekend, see mates, 

bask 

in the sun with an 

ice cream or a cold 

beverage, and shoot 

the breeze about 

their favourite 

6mm pastime! 

Many will 

say “don’t 

bother” 

when it 

comes to 

the NAF, 

but pay 

the “naysayers” 

no heed! This 

year the numbers 

were solid again, 

and 3000-plus 

airsofters in one 

place is a truly a 

sight to behold, 

especially given 

some of the 

“fancy dress” 

options… “Boris”, I’m talking 

about you, well played good sir! 

FESTIVAL FUN! 

Upon arrival at the Ground Zero site you’ll be 

immediately impressed with the sheer size of the field 

and the diversity of terrain, and that is just as you 

drive in! Ground Zero is situated about a mile from 

the nearest road on the private grounds of Somerley 

Estate in Ringwood, Hampshire, and boasts some 175 

acres of playable terrain, with a massive 50 acres of 

Safe/Camping Zone! Now you may find that latter 

number “overkill”, but I’m going to tell you that with 

thousands of bodies and all the varied entertainment/ 

logistics staff on site 50 acres soon becomes very, very 

small and intimate. 

The main Safe Zone is split away from the camping 

area and is almost a self-contained “festival village” 

in its own right. There were numerous gear-sellers 

“AIRSOFT ACTION HAVE ALWAYS BEFORE HAD A GAZEBO IN THE MAIN VENDORS AREA 

WHERE WE’VE MET WITH PLAYERS AND FRIENDS, BUT THIS YEAR JIMMY, NEW RED CELL 

MEMBER BEN AND I DECIDED TO (LITERALLY!) PITCH IN WITH EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ON-SITE 

CAMPING AREA AND GET STUCK INTO THE EVENT PROPERLY!” 


EVENT 


around the village, with Jo and family from Flecktarn 

UK and the Enola Gaye team, along with Ian and 

Dave (Ratty and Rocky to their friends!) with 

the VIPER stand who made a one 

player VERY happy 

with 

good old fish n’ chips, wood-fired pizza and even 

fresh coffee and donuts! The licensed bar marquee 

this year was rocking as usual, but being fully open on 

one side made the most of the breeze, and the usual 

outdoor table area was packed out! Again as usual, 

the Ground Zero team did an excellent job of making 

sure that they did the very best possible for player’s 

enjoyment. 

“Viper Lockbox” winner, Regan Smith with 

Ratty from Viper and Rich from Zero One. 

their “player 

number locked crate” gear 

giveaway, quite apart from the “tabletop 

gear dispersal system” that was put in place on 

Saturday evening! Neil from Attack Sense 

Targets, and my good friend Taig from 

Kydex Customs (who is REALLY pushing 

along with his range and launched 

the new “BARE BONES” holsters fully 

at the event!) were in their usual 

spots, and you could even have your 

photographic portrait done by Josh 

from Krios Photography! It was a 

pleasure to meet James from Airtac 

UK, and to finally get a chance to 

chat properly with Finchy from 

Finch Embroidery (and patches!) 

at last! Apologies to others exhibiting and 

selling that I just didn’t get time to speak to… 

Then there’s a whole plethora of stands that make 

up the “food court”. If you wanted an ice cream or 

a bacon roll, then it was there for the having, and 

if you didn’t want to cook over the weekend then 

you had a choice of very well-priced Greek food 

(absolutely legendary kebabs!), burger and chips, 

GAME ON! 

As per past years I was able to watch all the 

proceedings as players arrived and booked in, and this 

was again done very efficiently with an absolute lack 

of fuss, although the line at times was LONG… with 

so many players booking in and needing to chrono 

this was inevitable, but things at least appeared to 

move on swiftly enough; each player came away 

chrono’d and with a “goodie bag” and their player 

armbands, Green for “Delta”, Orange for “Bravo”, 

and “Blue” for the “Others”. The “range” stayed 

open late into the evening, and was in use the 

whole time, as was the MET CQB area. Across from 

this you could also try out the AttackSense target 

system that we’ve been using for our Red Cell Test 

Days, and this was busy the entire time too, and 

proved especially popular (to say the least!) with the 

very competitive fellows that tried their hand at it! 

After a relatively swift and to the point 

safety brief (Team Briefs had 

happened well 

Rich from Zero One delivering his usual 

succinct and to the point safety brief! 

before this) it 

was time for “Game On” 

and players headed out to their respective 

start points. After a rousing brief from the team I/ 

Cs the game started properly, and it was time to 

“THEN THERE’S A WHOLE PLETHORA OF STANDS THAT MAKE UP THE “FOOD COURT”. IF YOU 

WANTED AN ICE CREAM OR A BACON ROLL, THEN IT WAS THERE FOR THE HAVING, AND IF 

YOU DIDN’T WANT TO COOK OVER THE WEEKEND THEN YOU HAD A CHOICE OF VERY WELL- 

PRICED GREEK FOOD (ABSOLUTELY LEGENDARY KEBABS!), BURGER AND CHIPS, GOOD OLD 

FISH N’ CHIPS, WOOD-FIRED PIZZA AND EVEN FRESH COFFEE AND DONUTS!” 

84 


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get the fight on. Although the site is HUGE it’s also 

broken down into smaller “game zones” that are 

eminently playable in their own right, and that on a 

regular “skirmish day” would delight anyone. There’s 

a small village, a “prison”, outposts, guard towers, 

trench systems and numerous other structures to play 

through. Of course for the weekend EVERYTHING 

is in play at the same time, and wherever you went 

there was the sound of a firefight taking place. All 

three teams had objectives to achieve and points 

to be earned from them and from what I saw every 

objective was hard-earned by the eventual victors. Play 

continued throughout the day, with some hardy souls 

lasting the duration, whilst others returned to the 

camping grounds and “The Village” for much needed 

R&R as this year it was yet again hot, darn hot, REAL 

HOT and the ice cream vans did outrageous business! 

As Day One wound down, the evening “action” 

started with the raffle, and the now usual “banter” 

from Marshal Rich; 

this has become 

something of a 

legend, but if 

you’re of a gentle 

disposition it’s best 

to stay away as 

just like the game, 

the action gets 

somewhat “down 

and dirty”, but 

in a very funny 

way! The main 

“action” for 

Saturday night 

appeared to 

be once again 

centred on 

the camping 

grounds 

where many 

groups had 

their party heads on, although 

sensibly this year due to the ultra-dry condition in 

and around the forest, BBQs were kept well under 

control… this didn’t appear to put a lid on high spirits 

in any way though, and our very own “tacticool Jedi” 

Ben impressed many, including me, with a rather 

awesome impromptu lightsaber display! 

You can never have too many guns! 

This was when the 

real “festival spirit” 

took over, and in 

“The Village” the 

bar rocked thanks 

to some live music 

that featured a 

real old mixture 

of classic tunes, 

but it seemed 

that the heat 

of the day 

had sapped 

everyone. 

A number 

of “adult 

beverages” 

went 

down 

in a sociable and 

thoroughly chilled out atmosphere, 

with groups from all the teams exchanging 

their “war stories” from the day and having a 

genuinely good laugh. As the evening progressed 

though many players moved on outside, and 

shenanigans continued… what happens at NAF stays 

at NAF though! 

HOTTER THAN A SNAKE’S… 

You need to make sure you have sufficient sun cream 

to last you the weekend at the festival, and this year 

you really needed it as players needed to contend 

with heat and the sun blazing down on them without 

mercy. The teams obviously felt there was still more 

to play for though, and on Sunday morning they 

headed back to the game, and they just kept on 

playing, gaining objectives and points whilst having 

a thoroughly good time. Reports are that there were 

actually very few heat-induced incidents, although by 

early afternoon a few players were heading back in as 

tempers wore thin; again I believe that this was in the 

minority though, as most players were having a great 

time of it! 

I’ll hand over now to Jimmy and Ben for their 

thoughts on the game itself… 

Jimmy: My first visit to the NAF, while it wasn’t 

“DUE TO THE ULTRA-DRY CONDITION IN AND AROUND THE FOREST, BBQS WERE KEPT 

WELL UNDER CONTROL… THIS DIDN’T APPEAR TO PUT A LID ON HIGH SPIRITS IN ANY WAY 

THOUGH, AND OUR VERY OWN “TACTICOOL JEDI” BEN IMPRESSED MANY, INCLUDING ME, 

WITH A RATHER AWESOME IMPROMPTU LIGHTSABER DISPLAY!” 


EVENT 


86 


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As always, a huge THANK 

YOU to Josh and the team 

at Krios Photography, whose photos appear 

throughout this report and on both of these pages. There are, quite 

litterally, hundreds more so if you want to see them (and maybe buy 

a few) head over to their website: https://bit.ly/3AHaj3t 


EVENT 


massively action packed it was lovely to get away from 

civilisation and spend time with some of the team 

and finally experience the Festival I’d heard so much 

about. I would have liked to play a bit more but due 

to a fuzzy head from Friday night (who knew taclite/ 

laser sky-duelling at 02:30 was a thing?) we focused 

on getting some photography work done for the 

magazine and met with some industry mates, freeing 

up Sunday for us to do as we pleased game-wise. 

Finally out on the field, putting the new Daniel 

Defense ICS Mk18 was a joy and it is a cracking 

platform as usual from ICS. I must say a massive thank 

you to ICS Rita for getting it sent over in such quick 

timing ready for the weekend and from many players 

it received some very positive views and opinions; 

everyone who saw it… loved it! 

While playing it was really very busy with so many 

players all trying to achieve the same results and due 

to this I saw some very tight bunching in certain areas. 

It’s strange, I have never had to queue to shoot at the 

opposition, so that was very new to me lol…. 

But upon reflection I had a thoroughly good time, 

hooking up with friends old and new and I would 

recommend anyone who is into airsoft get themselves 

down to the National Airsoft Festival at least once; it 

really is a great experience! 

Ben: As this was my first time at The National 

Airsoft Festival have to say I very much enjoyed it, 

which comes from different factors... the energy and 

vibe of everyone that was there, walking around and 

seeing people in their loadouts as if it was the normal 

to do so, the love we all have for all things airsoft... 

then most important of all this was being with your 

friends/family as at the end of it all we share our 

experiences and the reasons why we love what we do. 

Now it’s not for everyone as some may feel that the 

word “festival” gives off an impression of an all-out 

party with many different things to see and experience 

and this wasn’t that, which isn’t to say you wouldn’t 

have a good time, as it is focused around airsoft and 

not fire-eating performances and the like… It’s left to 

YOU and others to find your own form of choice of 

self-entertainment, so it takes YOU to go and find this 

out if it’s something for you! 

As for the Airsoft game itself... wow! The site 

is massive; it would take a few times going to the 

Festival to get around the game site to see it all. The 

Marshalling was excellent considering the amount 

of people to have to keep an eye on, and they were 

always giving good morale boosts and guidance for 

those who seem to be stuck or confused. Hats off 

to all those who played on both days especially the 

Saturday... it was hot! For those in full loadouts or in 

the weird and wonderful costumes that entertained us 

all so much, playing all day you were true troopers, so 

much respect, whatever team you were on! 

I will be happy to go again and not just for the 

gaming, but to meet more of the lovely people and 

make new friends! So overall is it worth going? 

Obviously YES! 

As for everything else… you don’t know man! You 

wouldn’t understand if you weren’t there! 

Thanks to Ben and Jimmy for their input, and 

my final thoughts on the National Airsoft Festival 

2022? As I’ve said before, the site is superb and the 

organisation impeccable, even with numbers being 

WAY back up there! The facilities on site were first 

rate (although the portaloos as ever… ‘nuff said…) 

and the scheduling spot-on. Once again I’ll echo my 

thoughts of past years as the play that I saw was 

hard, fast, and in the main fair, with hits taken and 

compliments given where they were due, and both 

Jimmy and Ben would appear to agree with that. The 

“after game” was as much fun and as lively as I’ve 

seen, and the bottom line is that everyone seemed to 

have a thoroughly bang-on time whether they played 

for the duration, for a few hours, or not at all! 

Well done to the players of DELTA who took the 

win this year, and I’m certain that BRAVO and THE 

OTHERS will be back with vengeance on their minds 

next year! Again as I now say every year, whatever 

your style of play may be the National Airsoft festival 

has something to offer you. The Festival is first 

and foremost just that, a joyful festival event that 

celebrates airsoft in all its diverse and wonderful 

forms, and a festival that just happens to be set on an 

awesome site that has an enormous game going on at 

the same time… and long may it continue! 

For further information for the 2023 National 

Airsoft Festival please keep an eye on www. 

groundzeroairsoft.com/nae, and I look forward to 

seeing you there; you don’t need to be a “Boris” to 

have fun, but hey, it’s AIRSOFT, so just go for it! AA 

“WELL DONE TO THE PLAYERS OF DELTA WHO TOOK THE WIN THIS YEAR, AND I’M CERTAIN 

THAT BRAVO AND THE OTHERS WILL BE BACK WITH VENGEANCE ON THEIR MINDS NEXT 

YEAR! AGAIN AS I NOW SAY EVERY YEAR, WHATEVER YOUR STYLE OF PLAY MAY BE THE 

NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER YOU.” 

88 


EVENT 


AA Red Cell members, Jimmy and Ben. 


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AA LEGION 

HONG KONG 

GOING 

JAPANESE 

IN HK! 

ALTHOUGH WE HAVE GONE UNASHAMEDLY “LONG GUN” FOR THIS ISSUE WE COULDN’T RESIST 

BRINGING YOU THE LATEST REPORT FROM LARRI, OUR LEGIONNAIRE IN HONG KONG AND MOST-DEFINITE 

“PISTOLEER” AS HE BRINGS THE LATEST NEWS ON A RIGHTEOUS CQB SITE… AND WHO WOULDN’T WANT 

TO PLAY AT IMPACT FORCE CQB WHEN IT OFFERS SUCH A BRILLIANTLY-THEMED EXPERIENCE? LARRI 

TELLS US MORE… 

92 


AA LEGION 

HONG KONG 

Facility decoration and layout is one of key 

marketing factors for any Hong Kong CQB 

Airsoft field, and I’m talking about a nicely 

themed and set up playing zones and a great lobby! 

Impact Force CQB (IFCQB) has been providing such 

premium service for more than TEN years here in 

Hong Kong, and while there were social distancing 

issues early on in 2022, IFCQB rebuilt a brand new 

Japanese themed game zone “Sakura No Kuni”, 

which brings you a total airsoft experience in “Japan 

street view”! 

Impact Force CQB was founded in 2008; in the 

early days it was located in San Po Kong and moved 

to Hung Hom in 2016. After they moved to the 

latest location, they’ve never stopped upgrading their 

venue and it was never just a case of relocating the 

barricades! Field-theme changes are based on player 

reviews and renovated accordingly, which keeps 

giving the airsofter surprises! They had renovated 

about seven times between 2016 – 2022, changing 

not just the barricades, but also theme, lighting and 

audio system; as an airsoft player, we are always 

thrilled to see all new changes which keeps the 

games fresh and exciting. 

On our visit, once we entered Impact Force CQB, 

we found that the whole floor is decorated like a 


AA LEGION 

HONG KONG 

theme park with different zones for different types 

of players. The lobby is nicely built with great sofas, a 

VIP room, and is a well air-conditioned 

setup; the whole 

setup 

helps them 

to draw a lot of new airsoft 

players or team building corporate clients. 

Besides airsoft, there are a variety of services 

provided; there’s also Jelly Gun and a Laser Tag Gun 

Rental service for different types of players. I’ve tried 

Jelly Gun before, it is a weaker version of airsoft 

with a jelly bullet! This full auto jelly gun sets its 

firepower to around 0.2J, so it’s totally not painful 

and great for costume party or younger players, 

so any organiser can leave it to their participants 

to decide what they want to play; however, 

obviously airsoft is still my best pick, as they have 

THREE individual game zones. 

CHOOSE YOUR THEME! 

Sakura No Kuni 

The first game zone is called “Sakura No Kuni” and 

is modified from the “Snow Garden” game zone; 

it is a very finely decorated Japanese-themed game 

zone of around 8000 square feet, and the hardware 

has been built based on airsoft competition arena, 

each side with two fortresses for sharpshooter , 

while the middle part is a paradise for assault players. 

As it’s decorated as a maze with walls of different 

heights, players have to mind their heads as you 

may easily get sniped. Unless it is a 10 v 10 game 

it is nearly impossible to guard all intersections, so 

if you push fast enough, you can definitely surprise 

your opponent from behind too! Personally this 

setup I enjoyed as it benefits the speedsofter, and as 

it’s decorated in white it is great for filming GoPro 

footage; besides that, people enjoy taking photos 

there to have the Japanese-trip feeling! 

Victoria Town 

The second game zone, “Victoria Town” is 

the largest of all three zones; 

it is around 10000 

square 

feet, and is 

capable of handling largerscale 

CQB actions. I believe it is totally 

capable of handling 20 v 20 people or more! It’s 

an indoor town theme with decorations like a train, 

shops, and market place, to bring participants a 

very realistic combat zone. Also, they’ve built three 

stages in between buildings, which grant a perfect 

long shot spot during gameplay. Within the zone, 

we are able to see the Egyptian decoration at the 

Museum session, and that’s a very iconic decoration 

of IFCQB as people have been shooting around this 

decoration for more than 10 years! 

This zone has three major routes; there is a 

linked room section, low light road section and 

mid-way with several buildings. Again personally, 

94 


AA LEGION 

HONG KONG 

I think the low light section is great for assault, as 

there are less corners to search. The mid-way area 

is also low light, with a lot of corners 

and it is great for 

ambush 

and defend instead of speed 

pushing. For the linked room area, there are 

several stages guarding the exit, so you got to be real 

careful or bring your teammates for that section. As 

the venue is in low light condition, players can make 

use of the situation for surprise attack; however 

the low light setting is not great for action camera 

filming. 

Amazon Arsenal 

The third game zone called “Amazon 

Arsenal” and is 

around 5000 square feet, a great venue for small 

scale action like 5 v 5. As it’s a maze setting game 

zone, the tension pushes your adrenaline to max 

level. 

The venue built 

with around six 

open buildings 

with no camping 

spots; to move 

through the 

whole game 

zone, it 

challenges the 

shooter to 

make use of 

both strong 

and weak 

hand, 

and keep 

moving is 

the key to 

survival! 

For my 

personal 

experience, 

I do enjoy using the game 

zone boundaries for shortcuts and to 

secure the rooms with teammates for further assault 

approaches. 

A TRUE AIRSOFT EXPERIENCE 

Among all the game zones, our favorite is “Sakura 

No Kuni”. It definitely challenges our guts and timing 

to coordinate assaults; the maze is the best part 

to make use of since there are lots of corners that 

benefit to defender, so corners have to be carefully 

checked. Last but not least, It is important to get 

a rear guard in each squad as this can save you 

from surprises, and this will give you a great CQB 

experience in “Japan”! 

For those who interested in seeing Impact Force 

CQB – Sakura No Kuni, you can check out my 

video gameplay on YouTube (https://www.youtube. 

com/watch?v=K8PWxss1-Xc). AA 

“THE VENUE BUILT WITH AROUND SIX OPEN BUILDINGS WITH NO CAMPING SPOTS; TO MOVE 

THROUGH THE WHOLE GAME ZONE, IT CHALLENGES THE SHOOTER TO MAKE USE OF BOTH 

STRONG AND WEAK HAND, AND KEEP MOVING IS THE KEY TO SURVIVAL!” 


RELOADED 

VFC PSG-1 

PSG-ONE 

YEAR ON! 

HAVING HAD HIS ICONIC DREAM RIFLE THAT IS THE VFC PSG-1 GBBR FOR THE BETTER PART OF A 

YEAR NOW, HOW HAS IT FARED IN STEWBACCA’S RECKONING? WITH MORE USE IN THE FIELD AND 

ADDITIONAL ACCESSORIES, AND WORK BEING DONE ON AND WITH IT, WHAT’S GONE MORE RIGHT 

OR WRONG SINCE THE INITIAL PURCHASE AND ARMOURY REVIEW IN ISSUE 133? 

As I eagerly await the imminent release and 

inevitable purchase and review of another 

long awaited 7.62 x 51mm platform in the 

shape of VFC’s LAR/FAL GBBR, which admittedly was 

announced or at least teased as far 

back as MOA 

first acquired it I bemoaned the 

sheer bulk of the carry case 

supplied in lieu of your 

2018 and 

therefore didn’t sneak up on us all 

quite as much as their almost surprise announcement 

and release of their HK PSG-1 replica, I nonetheless 

find myself staring at the somewhat impressive gun 

wall in my new place and casting my eyes to the 

right where the ‘lorge boi’ HK still takes equal pride 

of place, and thinking about what I’ve put it through 

already and the future plans or other improvements 

I still want to make to it and how I can utilise it more 

often where possible. 

One of the major improvements I’ve stumbled 

upon is a creature comfort factor of sorts; when I 

typical cardboard box and 

blister pack carton most replicas would be sold in. 

To be fair the PSG-1 is one of the largest and most 

cumbersome platforms I think I’ve encountered, and I 

can just about get away with single point slinging it or 

an SVD, so I’m by no means small. Nonetheless, while 

the armoured realistic deployment case VFC supplied 

it in serves well in protecting your investment, its 

weight is equal to that of the fully decked out gun 

with all its accessories so you’re essentially carrying 

around the best part of 15kg or so with the gun, 

magazines and case, and the carry handle isn’t exactly 

comfortable for prolonged use as I experienced when 

navigating the local MRT with it for pickup to go to 

“I NONETHELESS FIND MYSELF STARING AT THE SOMEWHAT IMPRESSIVE GUN WALL 

IN MY NEW PLACE AND CASTING MY EYES TO THE RIGHT WHERE THE ‘LORGE BOI’ 

HK STILL TAKES EQUAL PRIDE OF PLACE, AND THINKING ABOUT WHAT I’VE PUT IT 

THROUGH ALREADY AND THE FUTURE PLANS OR OTHER IMPROVEMENTS” 

96 


RELOADED 

VFC PSG-1 

games! 

Similarly, unless you have your own vehicle, or 

even if you are sharing someone else’s, it’s somewhat 

cumbersome and doesn’t easily fit into most boot 

spaces; I had to strap it to my teammate Barrie’s roof 

rack atop his mini on more than one occasion, so 

just getting it to and from games can be a pain for 

yourself and anyone else who might want to fit a gun 

in the car! 

In the end I stumbled on the idea of treating it as 

a cool assassin style ‘takedown’ 

gun; by popping 

the two body pins out 

and storing them in the 

typical stock mounted 

sling loop adjacent 

holes I can remove the 

somewhat clunky butt 

stock assembly, as well as dismount 

the trigger group and bulky 

pistol grip sub-assembly. By doing this I found I could 

store the PSG-1 in my long rifle case quite effectively, 

with the scope still attached to the main receiver and 

barrel assembly, and then the stock placed alongside 

the barrel to make best use of the bag space, while 

the trigger group is kept in the separate accessory 

pouch in between the four magazine pouches on the 

front of the gun bag which carry all of my magazines. 

I now have four of the full sized 20 BB G3 

magazines as well as the custom “5 round” sized 

one just for perfecting the look 

and as a wall hanger or which 

can be used as an emergency 

backup magazine or to carry 

the heaviest ammunition 

in an easily distinguished 

manner. This is by and large 

a much more practical 

“I FOUND I COULD STORE THE PSG-1 IN MY LONG RIFLE CASE QUITE EFFECTIVELY, 

WITH THE SCOPE STILL ATTACHED TO THE MAIN RECEIVER AND BARREL ASSEMBLY, 

AND THEN THE STOCK PLACED ALONGSIDE THE BARREL TO MAKE BEST USE OF THE 

BAG SPACE” 


RELOADED 

VFC PSG-1 

solution, although it doesn’t afford the same level 

of protection to the whole system; I have to remain 

careful in how I carry it around or stack it in vehicles, 

but at least it has allowed me to make use of the 

PSG-1 far more readily and I’ve fielded it more often 

as a result, which is the main thing really, seeing 

as I refuse to let it languish as just a wall hanger, I 

bought it to test its limits and my own! 

CONTINUATION TESTING! 

On the subject of testing, since acquiring it and 

my initial review and zeroing process I’ve further 

experimented with a wide variety of ammunition 

weights from the BLS BB range, with everything 

from 0.2g, 0.3g, 0.36g, 0.4g, 0.45g and even 0.5g. 

All were chrono’d on the same day in an attempt 

to minimise the shift in other variables, although it 

was a particularly hot day at the indoor range SPPT 

use for action air, and I sat there ‘thumping away on 

the long gun’ and testing it out before one of our 

infrequent afternoon makeup sessions that usually 

fall on a national holiday weekend which upsets our 

usual training schedule. 

As yet I still haven’t adjusted the NPAS at all, 

but will look towards this as the next phase of 

fielding and fine tuning the whole system to use 

an optimal ammunition weight and output power 

suitable for sustained in game use where I’m not 

concerned about it being overpowered even by 

Taiwanese gameplay standards. The 650mm barrel 

and large gas cylinder volume and heavy action in 

general make for a noticeable joule creep effect, 

when comparing the same 12kg ‘green gas’ usage 

and 0.2g vs 0.5g ammunition the resultant muzzle 

energy is essentially doubled, with less than a 20% 

velocity drop it seems, so it’s definitely a potential 

hot runner by most standards; something to seriously 

consider if you are looking to use it in game! 

With responsible use and adherence to the 

minimum engagement distances however it can be 

used very effectively to deliver long range supporting 

fire, and during one session where I fielded it at 

our Xindian mountain site in the southeast of Taipei 

I managed to get some uphill long range shots 

to drop onto opposition snipers and designated 

marksmen hidden largely behind a ridge line 

overlooking our team as we tried to advance up the 

main track flanked by trees. 

I did frustratingly find the wind that day carrying 

my BBs off course just as they’d reach the opponents 

positions at times though as there was a break in the 

treeline just downhill and off the track so I’d see the 

rounds majestically sailing toward them through the 

very clear Vortex 2-7 x 32mm scope I have mounted 

on it, only for them to drift off target at the last 

moment! Some would also frustratingly ping off 

branches just ahead of the targets, but regardless 

I was enjoying stretching its legs and assessing its 

realistic capabilities. Gas blowback guns are after all 

not always the most consistent performers, but the 

PSG-1 still manages to throw BBs down fairly well 

and I’m sure the hop unit will continue to bed in well 

with time spent in use. 

ATTS AND DETS 

The addition of a VFC Harris-style bipod became 

an immediate priority after my first fielding or 

two of it, not wanting to rely on sandwiching my 

98 


RELOADED 

VFC PSG-1 

support hand between it and low lying cover when 

using it prone, and saving my old back some of the 

suffering! Of course this addition now brought the 

gross weight up to 6.5kg for the PSG-1, scope, bipod 

and magazine, but the two point quick adjustment 

slider style sling at least makes it more manageable 

for me to hang off my large frame and comfortably 

field it without having to strain my arms or back as 

much. The bipod itself has sprung flip- down legs 

with spring-out telescopic legs and reasonably wide 

feet on their ends which enables me to get a good 

firing position, and when stowed actually provide a 

surprisingly comfortable grip and indexing point for 

my larger hands than the front foregrip alone used 

to before I fitted the bipod beneath it… win win I 

guess! 

One thing I noticed after the first game or two 

trying to make use of it was the need for me to 

increase the length of pull due to the positioning of 

my scope and its required eye relief; when playing 

around with it at home I’d failed to account for 

the offset in your shoulders you tend to get when 

lying prone or taking cover on an incline behind it, 

so I soon found myself making use of the wind out 

acme-threaded butt plate, which now sits around 

an inch or so out of the flush position and is locked 

there for convenience. 

On the subject of the scope I still need to get 

around to either machining off the picatinny rail 

claws of the scope rings I bought and direct tapping 

and threading them to the stanchions welded 

onto the receiver… or come up with an entirely 

custom machined scope mount that interfaces with 

them to avoid that stepped rail which doesn’t look 

particularly realistic or appealing. This also increases 

the height over bore considerably and therefore the 

cheek piece comb height has to be at its upper limit 

to align my eye with the scope. Hopefully I can work 

something better out when I find the time. 

The two point sling I added is affixed to the 

rear sling loop in the buttstock and then wrapped 

around the front of the receiver just ahead of the 

magazine well and behind the charging handle slot’s 

rearmost edge, all held in place with the aid of the 

bipod mount to keep it reasonably static. That way it 

isn’t inhibiting the shouldering or movement of the 

rifle much but also isn’t in the way of the action or 

cocking handle. 

The only issue I have to report thus far has been 

the perhaps somewhat undersized recoil spring 

mount screw that holds that whole reasonably 

heavy spring system into the butt stock socket; this 

has worked its way loose and partially stripped its 

thread extremities during all the firing and perhaps 

as a result of my repeated dismantling of the gun 

for transport, but it wasn’t an impossible fix. I just 

had to remove the mounting plate from the butt 

stock and retighten the recoil spring assembly mount 

screw to it from behind with the plate out of the 

stock. This small gripe aside, the VFC PSG-1 has 

been performing very well for me thus far and I look 

forward to beating it some more and fine tuning it to 

the point where it starts earning its keep on the field 

as much as it earns my admiration on the gun wall. 

If you find yourself able to pick one up, or 

someone very nice will let you take a few shots on 

theirs, it’s definitely an experience worth trying; 

there’s typically a queue forming behind mine 

whenever I field it! AA 


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Airsoft Action - October 2022

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