THE ARMOURY
besides the usual Thompsons that
you see. Because the real version
had such a long working life, it lends
itself to Vietnam or even Cold War
loadouts too.
All in all a phenomenal bit of kit. I
just wonder what else Ares will be
releasing in its classic line range… n
The safety is easy to use as it is just
a big lever on the right-hand side of
the receiver. The hop unit is simple to
adjust by lifting the hinged ejection
port cover (which you need to do when
firing) and sliding back the imitation
bolt to allow access. The adjuster itself
is a simple slide lever.
The stock is a basic two-position
‘all way in/all way out’ and the catch
is located at the top right-hand side of
the pistol grip. The magazine release
catch is on the left-hand side of the
receiver at the top of the mag well.
Magazines fit very snugly and initially
require a gentle tap to engage fully.
The fixed aperture rear sight and
fixed front sight, as well as the sling
mounts, all add to the realistic look.
Using the M3A1
With mag firmly in, ejection port cover
open and stock fully extended I took
off the safety and pulled the trigger…
Wow! Straight out of the box with the
hop half-on, I was hitting my target at
just over 100ft. The electric blowback
mechanism really put a smile on my
face. As the imitation bolt went back
and forth with a ‘chugga-chugga’
sound I was really impressed – and still
smiling like a kid at Christmas!
Firing at around 660rpm – which
is faster than the real thing – I was
achieving a reading of between 288307fps (with hop on).
Must Points
The Ares M3A1 is made mostly of
steel so it is very important to keep
the externals clean as part of your
regular maintenance, or you could
find rust getting into the bodywork.
Secondly, keep the contacts on both
the magazine and inside the mag well
clean. It won’t take long for muck from
your pouches to get on them, which
would severely hamper your use and
enjoyment, and keeping these clean
will stop carbon deposits building up.
Summary
Having been a fan of Ares as a
manufacturer since buying my L1A1
SLR a while ago, I’m really pleased
that the thought put into the design
and construction of the M3A1 has
reaffirmed Ares as an attentive,
top-quality manufacturer producing
exciting weapons. The only downside I
can see is the battery-in-mag scenario,
but given the compactness of the
Grease Gun I can see they had little
choice.
Although not everyone’s cup of tea,
the Grease Gun is iconic and, if you
are doing WWII airsoft in a US role,
this gives you another quality option
SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 4,500 grams
Build: Steel receiver and stock,
aluminium outer barrel
Length: 580mm stock retracted
750mm stock extended
Internals: Metal gearbox with high
torque motor
Hop-up: Adjustable
Mag capacity: 65 BBs
Battery: 8.4v/9.6v stick/nunchuck type
NiMH 7.4v LiPo
Velocity: 288-307 (hop on)
311-335 (hop off)
Price: Around £230
To find out where to buy the Ares M3A1,
check out the retailer list on page 82.
Thanks to RedWolf Airsoft for
supplying The M3A1 Grease Gun used in
this article: www.redwolfairsoft.com
www.airsoftactionmagazine.com
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