armoury
G&G TR16 SBR 308 MKII
I
am, I will admit freely, an “airsofter of a certain
age” and although the bones are a bit creaky
first thing on a cold morning and I certainly
don’t bounce as well as I used to, those that know
me personally know that I still like to get stuck in,
whether it be simply on the range, at a day skirmish,
or indeed at a longer event!
This means in real terms that I grew up in the
1970’s and 1980’s when “7.62mm was King” and
I have to admit that I still have a taste for AEGs and
GBBRs with those big old magazines! I grew up with
the .303 SMLE and then the 7.62mm L1A1 SLR and,
to me, the latter
is still one of the
most beautiful
service rifles to
have ever existed!
Although the
first AEG I ever
owned was a
FAMAS, like many
of you I started
my “journey
proper” in airsoft
with various
MP5s and ARs. By the early 2000s I knew I was fully
hooked and that airsoft was going to be a major part
of my life, so I decided it was high time that I had
something “Gucci” and, after much deliberation, I
decided that what I REALLY wanted was an “MC51
SBS”, so I asked the guys at Fire Support to build me
an all-singing-and-dancing one and from memory, it
cost me upwards of £600, with some big old “7.62”
magazines to go with it. This lovely AEG is still rocking
to this day and was money well spent!
As much as I also love the SLRs and FN FAL
AEGs that are still in my personal collection, I guess
this is what also drove me to become an AK user,
as “7.62x39” sits up there for me too! I do fully
understand that we are talking about airsoft and 6mm
BBs here and that the “look” of a larger calibre rifle
has little overall bearing on how the airsoft version
will perform on the field (i.e. the same as every other
6mm BB platform!) but there’s just something about
that big old mag that sings to my heart.
At SHOT Show in January I first set eyes on the
TR16 SBR 308 MK I and II models (they only differ in
terms of inner and outer barrel length) on the G&G
Armament stand and that same heart of mine went all
a-flutter, especially in relation to the shorter-barrelled
MKII. This looked a similar length to my beloved
MC51 but was oh, so modern in appearance that I
knew from that moment on that a MKII was in my
future…
Just to clear things
up you might say
“hang on, he’s been
blathering on about
7.62 and now he’s
talking about .308”
and you’d be right
to say this. For those
that aren’t shooters
of real firearms
I think that the
guys over at www.
ammoland.com summed it up best (if you don’t check
their articles out already you’re missing something
pretty special!):
“During the 1940s and early 1950s, military rocket
surgeons wanted to improve the effectiveness of
the M1 Garand rifle and its .30-06 cartridge. One
contender, more suitable for higher capacity box
magazines was a modified .300 Savage design called
the T65. While specs varied throughout development,
it ended up as the earliest iteration of the 7.62x51mm
NATO. But, as usual, the commercial market was more
nimble, and Winchester launched the .308 Winchester
in 1952.
Technically speaking, in terms of specifications,
there are differences, but mainly in the chambers of
rifles designed to fire each cartridge. 7.62 brass is a
“I DO FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE TALKING
ABOUT AIRSOFT AND 6MM BBS HERE AND THAT
THE “LOOK” OF A LARGER CALIBRE RIFLE HAS
LITTLE OVERALL BEARING ON HOW THE AIRSOFT
VERSION WILL PERFORM ON THE FIELD (I.E. THE
SAME AS EVERY OTHER 6MM BB PLATFORM!) BUT
THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THAT BIG OLD
MAG THAT SINGS TO MY HEART.”
www.airsoftaction.net 9