armoury
SA-E21 PDW EDGE™ CARBINE
EDGING
OUT THE
COMPETITION
SPECNA ARMS ARE ON AN ABSOLUTE ROLL AND IT SEEMS THEY RELEASE MORE NEW MODELS OF AEG EACH MONTH
AND HEAD IN NEW DIRECTIONS AT THE SAME TIME! BILL HAS SPENT SOME TIME WITH ONE OF THE LATEST MODELS
TO BE RELEASED, THE SA-E21, AND BRINGS IN HIS FINDINGS…
I
honestly think I’d be hard-pushed to think of another
AEG manufacturer that has consistently released so
many models and variants in such a short space of time,
as although Specna Arms have been knocking around for
a while now, their recent output can only be described
as “prolific”! I remember seeing the brand appear on the
Gunfire stand several years back with a small range of
“AR-inspired” models and, if memory serves, our very first
mention of them actually spelt the name wrong!
I believe it would now be impossible to make that
same mistake, as Specna Arms have become an “airsoft
household” name, with a wide range of retail stockists
throughout Europe and further designs on expansion
into the US market (if their presence at SHOT Show is any
indicator of intent).
And the fact is that they have the goods to back all this
up and they continue to innovate and inspire with new
models to suit any (and every) airsoft player out there -
models that are well-built, well-priced and perform from
the box. This, ultimately, is what we, the players, truly want
if we’re honest, as although we are bombarded with words,
pictures, and videos from folk telling us to “fettle, change,
and upgrade” our AEGs and GBBs, what most of REALLY
want, especially at the moment, is to get out and play a
game!
It may surprise many of you that most of the airsoft
guns I personally own and use these days are internally
“stock”, as what you get as standard from the likes of
Specna Arms are AEGs that actually have most of the bells
and whistles we used to add internally, fitted as standard.
It wasn’t so long ago that MOSFETs, for instance, were the
stuff of fantasy and being able to set your AEG to anything
other than semi or “full chat” wasn’t even an option we
considered. Tightbores were things that the “techies” fitted
- and don’t even get me started on the size of batteries…
Although we are constrained right now in our ability
to actually get out and use our airsoft kit in earnest, the
fact is that in my opinion we are living in somewhat of
“golden age of airsoft”, where most firearm models are
available as really quite excellent airsoft replicas and our
choice is bigger and wider than ever. And that, to me, is
where manufacturers like Specna Arms (there are others!)
have stepped into the ring with gloves raised to take on all
comers in a thoroughly professional way.
Not only are we seeing the “business model” of airsoft
changing but, as I have said before, we are seeing airsoft
manufacturers going their own way to pursue design
concepts of their own and turn those concepts into reality.
Trust me, from conversations I had at SHOT earlier this year,
there are those in the “real shooting” community that are
looking quite hard at what the airsoft world is creating right
now and new relationships forged by Specna Arms with
“THIS, ULTIMATELY, IS WHAT WE, THE PLAYERS, TRULY WANT IF WE’RE HONEST, AS
ALTHOUGH WE ARE BOMBARDED WITH WORDS, PICTURES, AND VIDEOS FROM FOLK
TELLING US TO “FETTLE, CHANGE, AND UPGRADE” OUR AEGS AND GBBS, WHAT MOST
OF REALLY WANT, ESPECIALLY AT THE MOMENT, IS TO GET OUT AND PLAY A GAME!”
8
JUNE 2020