07.29.08
Posted in Airsoft, Tokyo Marui at 3:37 am by admin
The latest interesting offering from Tokyo Marui (TM) is the AK74MN. Several things make this gun special. First, is the fact that the body of the gun is constructed out of metal. Most TM guns use plastic bodies. I only know of one other TM gun that has a metal body. It’s finally nice to see TM catch up a bit with the competition and put out some metal body guns.
Second, is the innovative, new recoil system. When firing the gun, there’s some light recoil and the bolt cycles back and forth. I guess one con from the inclusion of a recoil system is the added complexity and possible reduced battery life. I can’t properly comment on its battery life since I haven’t fired this gun for an extended period.
Third, they use a new magazine design, so your older AK mags will not work with this gun.
I had an opportunity to test fire this gun at a local airsoft shop and came away quite impressed with the end results.
The build quality is typical TM. That means that it’s solid and it doesn’t feel cheap at all. A metal Tokyo Marui gun! You finally don’t have to buy an aftermarket metal body kit.
The recoil is a nice touch. No way does it feel like you’re firing a 308 round but it still does add something to the realism. The recoil is similar to what you feel in your typical arcade gun game.
The consistency of the BB velocity is another highlight for this gun. While using a chronograph, the gun consistently fired in the 310-311 feet per second (FPS) range. While no thorough accuracy tests were conducted, BB groups were generally tight during our shooting session. Only Excel 0.20g BBs were used throughout this test.
With the new magazine design, I found the gun fired to the very last round unlike your typical AK airsoft mag. Again…your older AK mags will not work with this gun. Standard mags cost about $27 each.
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Posted in Airsoft, Guns at 3:34 am by admin
Airsoft guns are not classified as “real” guns, because they are 1:1 replicas of actual firearms. They are usually made of plastic or metal that propel plastic pellets known as BBs, using compressed air. A BB may be 5-8 mm round or spherical pellet weighs110-600 milligrams. Though an airsoft gun may not be real, its design and functional mechanism can be very similar to its counterpart.
There are three main types of airsoft guns – spring powered, gas powered, and electric-powered (or automatic electric guns). Spring powered guns differ from the other two, because they cannot be automatic or semi-automatic. They are spring-cocked, meaning that the user has to cock the spring by pulling back the slide or bolt before firing each shot. Spring powered airsoft guns are inexpensive and readily available. Though they may not be very suitable for close combat competitions, they are widely used for “sniper” and “marksman” functions.
Pressurized gases like propane and HFC134a refrigerant are commonly used to propel BBs by gas-powered guns. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen may also be used aren’t as popular. Advantages to gas powered guns include adjustable velocities and blowback features. Onboard or magazine stored gas storage systems are used in gas blowback guns or GBBs, using the same compressed air that propels the pellet to pull back the slide. Hence, this feature in BBGs makes them capable of automatic or semi-automatic fire.
Originally developed in Japan during the late 1990s, an automatic electric gun uses electrical power from an onboard battery to drive a motor that turns gears inside the gun to compress and release a piston. This piston creates a blast of air that propels the BB. These airsoft guns are capable of firing 600-900 rounds per minute. AEGs are widely used in competitions today.
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07.28.08
Posted in Airsoft at 12:54 am by admin
First of all you have to work out a budget of how much you are willing to spend, as you don’t need to buy everything at once. Thankfully with the internet and lots of used and new “western” military surplus clothing and tactical equipment has been quite large. On top of that with the new ACU pattern being adopted US woodland and US tri-color desert is now being phased out of most units when on rotation.
First and foremost, your first purchase should be a set of paintball approved goggles.
Next check your local surplus shop, as most OD or US woodland sets can be found for $5-$25 bucks depending on how used it is. If you live near a military base, try to find an off base surplus store near by as it will be a goldmine in kit for sale. Surplus shops are great because you can browse and sometimes find a really rare items if you know what your looking for. If your local shop is big in imported goods you probably will find some Swiss Alpenflauge or East German DDR rain camo for next to nothing! Rule of thumb is pick a pattern that works well every season and limits the use of black.
If that fails, you can always try the internet. There is all sorts of web stores around full of different patterns. From former Eastern Bloc states uniforms and current issue Russian to South African and sometimes the odd Australian Auscam uniform.
Next would be something to carry the AEG magazines, either a tactical vest or a webbelt and harness system. The webbelt and harness’s come pretty cheap, mind you in most cases you do have to buy the pouches seperate. Pick a neutral color for these, or a pattern that matches or blends well with your uniform. Your equipment should be checked if it fits your magazine type, general rule of thumb is one AK mag is fits one Armalite (with magpul) and two mp5 magazines / pouch cell. For modern “Western” army gear, sometimes the cheap alternative is buying a “knock off” replica vest. Lots of players in the States seem to be buying these to complete impressions.
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