I was sent a really cool new product form a company called ANT (Advanced Novelty Tech). Their CO2/HPA Converter allows you to hook up either a large CO2 tank or High Pressure Air system using standard Paintball hose system.
What's kind of neat with the Advanced Novelty Tech CO2 HPA Conversion Kit, is that you can still interchange your 12 gram CO2 if you want to even after modifying your gun to use Bulk CO2 or HPA!
The ANT Advanced Novelty Tech CO2 HPA Conversion Kit works with well over 100 BB, Pellet and Airsoft guns most of which would be Pistols but some rifles are included in this list.
The main advantages over using standard 12 gram CO2 cartridges would be a significant lower cost for CO2, along with less fps velocity fall off, so better performance overall.
Stay posted as I will be making a field test performance test using the ANT Advanced Novelty Tech CO2 HPA Conversion Kit with my KWC Mini UZI Full Auto BB Machine gun :)
A few years back the Umarex SA177 disappeared off the face of the earth, well not really, it simply juts stopped being made and fairly quickly retailers ran out of stock... As with anything that people want but can not get any more, the demand went up and all of a sudden everyone seemed to want to get their hand on an Umarex SA177 Blowback BB Pistol.
You might ask why Umarex stopped making what at the time was a fairly popular CO2 BB Pistol? Well if you know anything about Glock, they do not like it all that much when a company makes a product that they feel infringes upon their intellectual properties and copy writes. Did the SA177 look like a Glock, well sure it had some similarities and perhaps Glock felt it was a bit too similar and so may have kindly asked Umarex to stop making it? At least that's what I think happened :)
So that brings us to now. And a new gun on the market called the Umarex 9XP that in many ways is a lot like the SA177 but with a slightly new skin on it, one that differentiates itself a bit more from the traditional Glock look. Sure the Umarex 9XP Blowback BB Pistol has a some Glock looking properties but it am guessing it has enough subtle changes to make the lawyers over at Glock HQ happy enough to allow Umarex to again sell an airgun very similar to the SA177.
Internally and mechanically as far as I can tell the Umarex SA177 and Umarex 9XP are the same and so they should both perform very similarly too each other and with pretty much all the same specifications. Even the magazines seem to be interchangeable! The trigger and trigger pull look to be identical and even the slide catch release are modeled after each other. Again, the only difference are some minor cosmetic changes to the metal slide and polymer frame.
So if you have been looking to get your hands on an SA177, well the next best or perhaps even better airgun is now available in the new Umarex 9XP! And the price is all right too!
Some more new guns I will be checking out, well one is just a different finish of the Umarex Colt SAA Revolver but for sure worth taking a look at in this Preview Video.
All the guns in the Vimeo Preview Video and CO2 4.5mm BB Pistols, three are styled after revolvers and one is based on a semi auto modern pistol.
Starting with the revolvers I show off the absolutely gorgeous blued finish on the Umarex Colt Single Action Army BB Revolver and it all I can say is it really needs to be seen in person to fully appreciate how great it looks. I was not expecting the blued version to look nicer than the Nickel version but in my opinion it is my favorite of the two. And that's not to say the Nickel version is not a great looking pistol in it's own right.
I've been waiting a while to see firsthand the Webley & Scott MK6 CO2 BB Revolver and it finally came this week. Another really well built and designed classic Revolver to add to the list of shell loading CO2 BB Revolvers. I was really impressed with the trigger and hammer action, both single and double action feel super smooth and the position of the hammer makes for really easy draw for single action shooting. The 2.4 pound all metal weight give the Webley & Scott MKVI great balance and realism, while the top-break design makes for super easy loading.
Not to be mistaken with the Full Metal Shell Loading Umarex Colt Python 357, I take a look at the more affordable Umarex Polymer Colt Python 357 that fits the bill nicely when looking for a BB Revolver with a nice hammer and trigger, fully adjustable sights, and higher than average capacity magazines than your standard revolver.
Last but not least I look at another fairly affordable CO2 BB Pistol, the Umarex HK45. It's a pretty basic CO2 BB pistol but looks really good and has decent weight with its metal slide. The HK45 features white dot sights, a Picatinny rail, an all metal drop out stick magazine and full Heckler and Koch licensing.
I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to fill in our May 2015 Replica Airguns Survey Giveaway! We had over 700 responses which is really going to help us determine the direction our customers and viewers want us to go.
So who won this time around? Congratulations go out to Sharon B. from Canada, Please contact us at info@replicaairguns.ca from your email address *****@mcsnet.ca to claim your prize!
Way back in the beginning of 2011 I posted some video reviews on a Chinese made AK-47 CO2 BB gun I owned and also at the time sold in the Replica Airguns Store. Unfortunately I had to pull these videos off of YouTube and the Replica Airguns Website because there was a police investigation related to these CO2 BB rifles.
I decided to repost these videos now that some time has gone by and the sting from this experience has lessoned for me a bit.
For those of you that want to know a bit more background on the reason why I removed the videos you can read on... Without going into a huge amount of detail, the police thought that for some reason these CO2 BB guns where being illegally imported into Canada and could be somehow converted into real working AK-47's. The police even believed that people like myself who owned and sold them had some sort of underground conversion operation going on? All of this make believe nonsense sent the RCMP down a path that led to over a dozen Airgun resellers like myself getting a visit from their local SWAT detachment, getting arrested, and spending some time at police HQ trying to figure out what in the world we where being arrested for? This all took place in October of 2011.
To give you an idea of the extent of the raid, there where at least 40-50 police officers at my house, police cars lined up down the street, SWAT members clearing rooms, a team of police going through all my personal belongings gathering guns, computers, network gear, cameras, drives and other evidence. I can not even imagine how much this would have cost Canadian tax payers just at my house alone never mind the other dozen or so simultaneous raids going on?
What makes all of this so silly is that the CO2 BB AK-47's in question where legally imported into Canada with the CBSA's seal of approval and to top it off the company that imported them was the same company that also sold the police their real firearms. You would think the police would have done a little bit of research checking into the background of where these AK-47 CO2 BB Rifles came from instead of jumping headlong into a very costly sting operation that did not even include a visit to the warehouse that imported them into Canada legally in the first place.
Even though I was arrested I was never charged with anything since the police quickly realized the error in their assumption. But still the police confiscated all my guns, my firearms license, my computers, my network gear, my hard drives, cameras and memory cards and kept all of it for a over a month. Perhaps next time they could of just asked a few resellers where they got their guns from rather than causing a huge disruption in peoples lives and business.
The icing on the cake is that these scary CO2 BB AK-47's could not be converted to fire live ammo but even still the RCMP declared them "prohibited" and went about tracking down as many buyers and owners as they could and confiscating their BB guns without any sort of compensation to the owners who bought them legally. No accountability was ever put on the CBSA who allowed them to be imported in the first place and no compensation has ever been paid out to the law abiding Canadians who spent their hard earned money on these BB guns (about $300-$400 each).
Anyways, I tell this story not to get people riled up and mad at the RCMP and/or CBSA, most of these folks are very good people with good intentions. After all, everyone makes mistakes from time to time. My problem is that my kids watched me get arrested and hand cuffed, yet I had done nothing wrong. At no point in time did the police give me any kind of apology or send some one over to talk to my kids and let them know that their Daddy was not a bad person and that it was all just a big misunderstanding? I hope that whoever masterminded this so called sting operation got some sort of reprimand since it would of cost Canadian tax payers a boat load of money just to get a bunch of BB guns off the streets!
In this Field Test Shooting video I test out the performance of the Gletcher Grach NBB using my Chronograph to get a real world Feet Per Second rating, I also take aim 30 feet back and shoot 10 rounds at a paper target using a semi-rested position (Sand bag up front and standing in the back).
In terms of velocity the Gletcher Grach NBB CO2 BB Pistol performed a little lower fps then I expected shooting just under 350 fps. It was about 15 degrees celsius on this day but I also kept the pistol indoors where it was nice and warm right up till shooting time. I used a brand new CO2 and my ammo of choice was RWS 5.1 grain zinc coated BB's.
Stepping back 30 feet and shooting at a paper target, the Gletcher Grach NBB CO2 BB Pistol produced a very tight 10 shot 1 inch grouping, not many BB's pistols have been able to get in that 1 inch grouping at least for me! The Gletcher Grach did shoot a little to the left and a bit low but not far off the bullseye. The sights are not adjustable so you will have to slightly adjust your aim point if you find yourself not exactly dead center.
I found the Gletcher Grach NBB to be extremely quite so if you are looking for a discrete backyard shooter then the Grach would be a good choice. I also found the trigger to be very good in both single and double action but when the BB mag is loaded to the max, the trigger first stage will be very heavy since the follower spring is holding the BB's in place and creating friction while a BB is loaded into the chamber. To fix this problems simple don;t load as many BB's in the magazine.
In this Field Test Shooting video I test out the performance of the ASG CZ 75 CO2 Blowback 4.5mm BB Pistol using my Chronograph to get a real world Feet Per Second rating, I also position myself 30 feet back and shoot 10 rounds at a paper target using a semi-rested shooting position (Sand bag up front and standing in the back).
In terms of velocity the ASG CZ 75 BB Pistol shoot fairly conservative at just under 300fps. The noise this CO2 Licensed Replica Pistol makes is fairly quiet making it a good choice for the backyard if you have neighbors to consider. I also found the blowback to be mild since the amount of CO2 being released with each shot seems to be minimal.
Stepping back 30 feet and shooting at my paper target, the ASG CZ 75 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol produced a decent 2-2.5 inch 10 shot grouping that was just a little to the left and a hair low. The trigger is super light and the release is crisp, I actually had to get a bit used to how light the trigger was as I was shooting a bit early and before I was ready since only a slight bit of pressure is required.
I would like to see just a bit higher fps from the ASG CZ 75 CO2 Blowback BB Pistol, that would also give it a little bit more blowback kick but even the 300-ish fps out of the box, the ASG CZ 75 is a really nice pistol to shoot with it's super responsive trigger!
In this Field Test Shooting video I test out the performance of the Gletcher SS 2202 Metal Slide using my Chronograph to get a real world Feet Per Second rating, I also step back 30 feet and shoot 10 rounds at a paper target using a semi rested position (Sand bag up front and standing in the back).
In terms of velocity the Gletcher SS 2202 Metal Slide CO2 BB Pistol performed very close to the KWC SP 2022 review I did earlier shooting as high as 468 fps. I did have some chronograph miss-readings that made the average come down a bit but I would say a flawless string of readings would have been around 450+ fps.
Stepping back 30 feet and shooting at my paper target, the Gletcher SS 2202 CO2 BB Pistol produced a respectable 4 inch grouping that was just a little to the left but not by too much. I really like the trigger on the Gletcher SS 2202 CO2 BB Pistol, for a double action only pistol it is very smooth, light and not overly long! The release is very predictable and there is zero stickiness in the first stage.
The fairly high fps for a shorter barrel pistol is most likely due to a more than average amount of CO2 released per shot but even so you can expect close to 100 shots per CO2. If you plan on using the Gletcher SS 2202 in your back yard, keep in mind that it is louder than most CO2 BB pistols, it really gives a nice loud crack with each shot.
All in all a real decent performance out of the Gletcher SS 2202 Metal Slide CO2 BB Pistol, if you are a Sig Sauer fan like I am then this Sig Pro replica is a no brainer to have in your collection!
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Gletcher Metal Slide SS 2202 is double action only but is very smooth and fairly light, it does allow for some pretty quick shooting even though it is double action only. When you pull the trigger the internal barrel moves back into the magazine while the internal hammer moves rearward and then releases forwards striking the CO2 valve releasing CO2. It is a very simple yet effective design.
Accuracy: I have not done any preliminary shooting with the Gletcher SS 2202 Sig Pro Replica so other than how the trigger feels I can not comment too much on the performance. If I where to base my result on the performance of the Cybergun Sig Sauer SP 2022 I tested previously, then I can expect very high fps and good overall accuracy, we will have to wait and see...
Build Quality:Build quality was very good, I was extremely pleased with the fit and finish of my Gletcher SS 2202 BB Pistol! The metal slide and polymer frame along with the all metal full size drop out magazine gave this BB air pistol a really nice balance and weight to it. I would expect it to feel in weight and balance very similar to the real steel version since they are both constructed similarly.
Realism: The Gletcher SS 2202 Air Pistol is very close to the look, weight, and feel of the real Sig Sauer SP2022 Sig Pro! For a lower cost airgun, I was very impressed with all the details and closeness to the real steel Sig Pro. There is no actual Sig Sauer licensing on the Gletcher SS 2202 but other than that it is pretty much identical in appearance. It would have been nice to have a working slide and slide catch release but at least you have the ability to take the slide off for cleaning and oiling if required.
Pros:
Good weight and solid feeling gun.
Metal slide.
Full size all metal magazine.
Very Accurate Sig Sauer SP2022 replica without licensing.
May have good FPS! Fingers Crossed!
Fairly affordable.
Nice light and quick double action trigger.
Picatinny rail for accessories.
Cons:
No blowback - slide does not move either
Hammer does not move at all.
Non adjustable rear sight.
Comments:
I have always been a big Sig Sauer fan so I like the look and feel of the Gletcher SS 2202 Metal Slide CO2 BB Pistol. I would love it even more if it had a working slide with blowback action but then again the non-blowback version keeps things simple so should be super reliable and have good power. I am optimistic about the fps performance of this pistol since I got such good results when I tested my Cybergun distributed version a while back. Stay tuned for my Field Test Shooting Review for this pistol to find out how it does...
My Vimeo Table Top Video of the Gletcher SS 2202 Metal Slide CO2 BB Pistol:
Trigger Pull: The trigger pull on the Gletcher Grach NBB is nice in both double and single action modes. Double action is fairly light as the hammer spring tension is moderate but there is a fair bit of trigger pull length, Racking the slide or pre-cocking the hammer will allow for single action shots which reduces the trigger pull but you still have the full range of trigger take-up before the hammer is released.
Accuracy: I have done no preliminary shooting with the Grach NBB BB pistol so other than how the trigger feels I can not comment too much on the performance. I would expect to get pretty close to the factory claimed fps based on my other testings with Gletcher products. With it's single action trigger and white dot sights I am hoping for a fairly tight grouping when I perform my accuracy test later on.
Build Quality: The Gletcher Grach NBB CO2 BB Pistol is well made, the black semi-gloss finish looks really nice and the fit is good, not much of slide wiggle to speak of and pretty much the entire pistol is metal including the frame, slide, trigger, slide catch-release, safety, hammer, magazine and inner and outer barrel. The only plastic parts would be the grips and some internal seals and o-rings.
Realism:The Gletcher Grach is a 1 to 1 replica of the Russian Yarygin (MP-443 Grach), all the mechanical parts function just like you would find on the real steel version. The only indicators that it is not a real Yarygin would be the smaller barrel opening since the 4.5mm BB barrel is not recessed at all. Even the weight is near identical to the original MP-443 Grach coming in only 10 grams heavier.
Pros:
Good weight and solid feeling gun, over 2 pounds
Pretty much an all metal pistol
Full size all metal magazine
Working slide that also locks back
Very Accurate Yarygin (MP-443 Grach) replica without licensing
Fairly affordable
Nice light and quick double action trigger, also shoots in single action.
Field Strippable.
Cons:
No blowback
Barrel is not recessed.
Non adjustable rear sight.
Comments:
Without shooting this gun so far all I can comment on is how nice it looks and feels, the Gletcher Grach NBB really is a well made and detailed CO2 air pistol mirroring the original real steel Yarygin (MP-443 Grach) almost exactly. Pretty much everything is metal on this pistol helping it come in only 10 grams off again of the original. I like the single and double action trigger / hammer and the working slide and slide catch release that locks back when the BB magazine is empty. I am really looking forward to giving this gun it's field test shooting review!
My Vimeo Table Top Video of the Gletcher Grach NBB CO2 BB Pistol:
As with my standard Field Test Shooting Reviews, I shoot 5 rounds through my Chronograph to get a real world Velocity reading in feet per second. I also shoot 10 rounds into a paper target using a semi-rested position from 30 feet away. Since I had two versions of the EKOL ES 66, the long and short barreled versions I decided I would test pistols both on the Chrony and just the long barrel version for the accuracy testing.
So how did the EKOL ES 66 and ES 66C CO2 BB Pistols both do? In terms of fps, they both got into the 400+ range with the shorter barreled ES 66C version averaging 402 fps from 5 shots and the the longer barreled ES 66 getting a 444 fps 5 shot average. I was expecting the longer barrel ES 66 to outperform the shorter barrel ES 66 so this was no surprise. The temperature was not all that warm on this day but I did keep both guns fairly warm inside right up till I went outside and shot them. On a warmer day I would expect even better results.
Now for the accuracy results and don't hold your breath on this one... I have to say that the EKOL ES 66 was one of the worst BB guns I have shot to date in terms of accuracy at 30 feet. I could actually see the BB's curving after about 20 feet out, almost like they had some random spin on them? Perhaps the rifled barrel was catching a bit of grip on the smooth steel BB's and making them spin? Because this was so random it was hard to predict where the BB's where going. I also found that the EKOL ES 66 was sighted in way to high so at 30 feet I needed to aim very close to the bottom of the target and even still, about half of the BB's went well over and did not find the paper target. Perhaps actual lead BB's may be better in this pistol?
One thought I had was to somehow smooth out the rifling on the barrel as perhaps it needs to be worked in before more consistent shots can be obtained?
It was really too bad that I did not get the accuracy results I was looking for with the EKOL ES 66 Series of CO2 BB Pistols, I really like the overall quality and design of these Turkish made CO2 BB Pistols. Again perhaps some barrel work could improve the accuracy and make this a more well rounded BB gun.
This is the Field Test Shooting Review for the Gletcher P08 Luger CO2 Blowback BB Pistol, to view my Table Top Review with features and specifications click on this link.
During this Field Test Shooting Video Review of the Gletcher P08 Luger CO2 Blowback BB Pistol, I test the actual real world velocity using my Chronograph and then conduct an accuracy test using paper targets from a controlled shooting position.
I shot 5 rounds through my Chrony Chronograph and got an average of 374 fps which was pretty decent for a blowback CO2 BB pistol on a not so warm early spring day (Around 10 degrees Celsius) I could see this Gletcher P08 BB Pistol getting around 400 fps on a warm summer day. I should be able to get around 80-100 shots from a single CO2 cartridge.
Next I performed my accuracy test from 30 feet back in a semi rested position, I was able to get a 1-5 to 2 inch grouping with 10 shots. The Gletcher P08 Luger CO2 Blowback BB Pistol does have a single action trigger which makes the release smooth and light but there is a bit of a sticky rough early trigger stage where a BB is loaded. When shooting fast this will not be as noticeable but when slowing down your shooting for accuracy it is noticeable for sure. I didn't seem to effect my accuracy all that much which was nice and I was able to get a pretty well centered grouping (just a tad to the left) with the none adjustable sights.
This Field test of the Gletcher P08 Luger BB Pistol goes to show that a blowback CO2 BB pistol can have both good feet per second performance and accuracy.
During this Field Test Shooting Video Review of the Baikal Makarov MP-654K, I take a look at the actual real world velocity using my Chronograph along with some accuracy testing using paper targets with a controlled shooting position.
I shot 5 rounds through my Chrony Cronography and got an average fps of 306 which was not super high but just fine for plinking. I would expect to get well over 100 shots with my Baikal MP-654K Makarov since the CO2 being released with each shot is fairly conservative. The temperature on this day was under 10 degrees Celsius.
Moving on with my accuracy results from 30 feet back in a semi rested position, I was able to get a 5.5 inch goruping with 10 shots. The Baikal Makarov CO2 BB Pistol does have a rifled barrel which may work better when using lead BB's but you would have to be careful not to load too many at a time since the magazine follower spring is rather heavy and could deform the softer lead BB's making them jam in the gun. Hard Steel BB's do not deform or jam in the gun but are not optimal for rifled barrels since they do not grip the rifling very well and can give sporadic results. My grouping was also centered a bit to the right but not by too much.
The 2013 Baikal Makarov MP-654K CO2 BB Pistol may not be the best performer I have tested in terms of velocity and accuracy but it is for sure one of the best built and most realistic BB pistols I have reviewed.
