feature
LOCKDOWN WOES
XM177 and the Uzi, it had an alternative, more gamefriendly
method of cocking: a fold out handle beneath
the fore grip which allowed you to pump away furiously,
dramatically increasing your rate of fire, although at some
cost to accuracy. Wah Hey! Off we go! Well – no, not
really. Yes, it helped in extremis and yes, I have used it
but there were drawbacks. The biggest one was the fact
that the cocking system was all of a piece, so when you
used the forward grip, the T-piece still came back. That
was a detail to get down and remember unless you enjoy
plastic up your nose! As alluded to above, while you could
maintain a modest rate of fire and achieve some degree
of suppression of the opposition, it tended to be a bit wild
and you had a very limited supply of ammunition. Finally,
since the gun wasn’t exactly stealthy (no VSR this!) you
loudly proclaimed your position and intention to all around
you. Granted, this isn’t nearly as bad as the Uzi with which
I have actually frightened a player into submission simply
by cocking it close behind them, but it is the nemesis of
sneaky.
It will be obvious that if you are, perhaps foolishly,
going to use one of these, you have to pick your shots as
carefully as you can. Like all Marui springers, these were
designed and intended for 0.25g ammo although 0.2g
was an acceptable compromise. You could snipe, in the
truest sense of the term, by using cover and taking your
time, however, mad charges under suppressing fire were
doomed to failure and only to be attempted for laughs.
As mentioned previously, nearly every part is plastic
other than some carefully placed weights. Despite that, I
don’t think I ever broke one of these. Take it as read that I
was aware of their possible fragility, but I also don’t recall
babying them through games. Like all Marui springers
they were better designed and better made than anyone
else’s and that paid off. Internally you will find all the
components are well-built and as large as they can be.
I have never had pistons, cylinders or sears fail. I’m sure
with sufficient time and abuse I could cause such failures
but none of mine ever let me down. I love that about
spring guns!
Just out of curiosity, I sneaked a couple of shots out the
office window, down my garden. The only ammo I had
to hand was 0.3g but I had the advantage of height and
they went about as far as I remember. I got almost exactly
the same results from my abused XM177 but given that
the two rifles are identical internally with only the barrel
length being different, I wasn’t surprised.
Nor was I surprised that after years of inactivity and
dust both worked first time, that’s what springers do. I
will curb my no-doubt irritating habit of ranting on about
the “divine purity” of spring-powered airsoft guns and
just observe that with simplicity comes reliability. Would
I suggest that anyone seeks one of these out and plays a
game with it? Only if you really, really like a challenge and
are blessed with a good sense of humour! Beyond sniper
rifles and shotguns, the day of the springers on site are
well past. That’s progress and don’t for a moment think
that as soon as I could afford an AEG I didn’t go there – I
absolutely did – becoming a FAMAS firepower monster for
many years thereafter!
The spring rifles were never, I think, intended for
playing, other than possibly with a few like-minded
friends. They make great plinkers if you have somewhere
that doing so won’t excite the neighbours, and they
are passable replicas. For me they were a means to an
end and kept me in the game until my circumstances
improved sufficiently to move on. For that I am grateful.
I’ll spare you any humbug about “learning fieldcraft” or
“improving use of cover” – I was always a straight-down
the middle sort of player so that would be errant BS. They
worked, they’re fun; that’s really all that needs to be said!
AA
“OH, IT’S MUCH WORSE THAN YOU SUSPECT, BECAUSE THE M16A1 I HAVE SAT BESIDE
ME AS I TYPE IS, IN FACT, ONE OF MARUI’S SPRING RIFLES, AN AIRSOFT GUN THAT
SHOULD NEVER BE USED ON A SKIRMISH FIELD. UNLESS YOU’RE ME.”
www.airsoftaction.net 33