Airsoft Action May 2020 | Page 8

armoury G&G PRK-9 G&G INNOVATION ATION + AK STYLE = PCC PERFECTION THE 9MM CARBINE AEG HAS BEEN ALL THE RAGE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WITH NUMEROUS AIRSOFT MANUFACTURERS ENTERING THE FRAY BOTH WITH LICENCED REPLICAS AND MORE ESOTERIC DESIGNS OF THEIR OWN CREATION. BILL HAS BEEN WATCHING THE ROLLOUT OF A NEW FAMILY OF “PISTOL CALIBRE CARBINES” FROM G&G ARMAMENT FOR A WHILE NOW AND FINALLY GETS HANDS ON WITH THE ALL-NEW PRK-9! U sually I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to airsoft guns, and whilst I’m certainly not all about the “Mil” look I do tend to veer towards AEGs and GBBs that have at least some basis in reality! However, at the risk of contradicting myself, I also have an insanely soft spot for manufacturers that go their own sweet way in terms of new designs, and unique directions, and I have to say that G&G Armament are certainly at the forefront of this. Whilst they do create some fabulous “Mil” and, indeed, competition rifles and carbines, they’re also unafraid of going in their own direction and I have to say that this appeals to me greatly. The new “PRK” family shows just how much fun a manufacturer can have when they take off the blinkers and decide to create something all of their own! Regular readers of AA will also know that I have something of a “Kalshnikov obsession” and my personal collection is quite extensive these days, with everything from a totally classic AK-47 up to and including the AK-12. If pushed, I would have to say that my personal favourites are still the classic AKM and AKMS variants as they are so versatile in airsoft form, covering off conflicts from the Cold War up to the present day, so you might well expect me to take one look at the G&G PRK-9 and immediately dismiss it. In this you’d be very, VERY wrong! Basically, of the three PRK-9 models that are being released as I write (some retailers already have them on pre-order!) two are essentially what, in the real US-firearms world, would be described as “pistols”. The basic PRK- 9 resembles an MP5K if you squint a bit - and that’s no bad thing; with no stock of any description the PRK-9 is definitely in “pistol” territory. Whilst the PRK-9 L gives you a “pistol calibre” full-length rifle, it’s the PRK-9 RTS with a side-folding buffer-tube stock that got my attention right from the very first moment I started seeing it as shows. COOLNESS INSIDE AND OUT! Essentially the PRK-9 and PRK-9 RTS are the same, short (13 inch/330mm) and sweet AK-style members of the family and both come with the same features. Internally you have a metal gearbox and gearset, 8mm bearings and a fully programmable Mosfet that gives you semi/full auto/3-round burst functions. You also get the tried and tested G&G ETU, but the hop-up unit is the first-in-the market rotary hop-up chamber for the VIII gearbox, which I’ll come back to later. Externally is where things, at least for me, get really “…IT FEATURES A FAL-STYLE LOCKING SYSTEM THAT HOLDS A BUFFER TUBE WITH POLYMER SLIDING STOCK (THE STOCK DESIGN IS ONE OF G&GS OWN, AND IS VERY, VERY GOOD!) FIRMLY AND SOLIDLY OPEN OR CLOSED, MEANING YOU CAN SHOULDER AND AIM PROPERLY, RATHER THAN JUST SPRAYING AND PRAYING!” 8 MAY 2020