THE ARMOURY
On the outside
Externally the materials are nearly the
same as the real version: the unloaded
weight is pretty much spot on and,
comparing both at the Shot Show, I was
astounded that this replica could look so
similar. Coming in two colours (black or
flat dark earth), the AKM has an 11.5in
barrel, a 150-round AK PMAG magazine
and takes a NiMH Mini or LiPo battery.
The front handguard is polymer, as is
the lower receiver and fully-adjustable
stock. The upper receiver and top 20mm
RIS rail are metal. It comes with a MBUS
removable rear sight and an integrated
flip-up front sight. The fire selector,
magazine release and bolt catch release
are all ambidextrous. The cocking handle
can be quickly changed from one side
to another in about 30 seconds. The
whole package comes in at around
2.9kg compared to 3.1kg for the real
counterpart – pretty damn close!
Getting into the guts
The Internals are similar to many airsoft
rifles, although one of the key differences
is a micro-switch trigger rather than
a straight trigger contact. This gives a
better trigger response and provides a
more reliable firing system all in all. The
barrel set is a quick-release type, true to
the real version, which allows new barrel
lengths to be quickly attached. The hop
adjustment is a fairly standard and looks
similar to the G36/AUG type. The gearbox
is an 8mm type, as is common in highend design at the moment.
The AKM has a new motor type which
gives better trigger response and rate of
fire compared to the previously-released
M4. The only issue I’ve seen is that some
cheaper or rebranded BB’s may cause
feed issues – but if you use cheap ammo
then that is to be expected.
Performance
An airsoft gun is just that: it’s designed
for skirmishing against other players.
It’s never going to knock a buffalo down
at 300 yards but, at 320fps (using a
Blaster 0.20g BB) it is very respectable
for use all over the UK.
One thing that can really count with
an airsoft rifle is the quality of the inner
barrel and hop unit – these are almost
as important as the overall power of
the rifle. This rifle can easily place shots
20m further than a standard airsoft
rifle, even some that are considerably
more powerful. I was happily putting
shots out to 60m with a reasonably
tight grouping of around 50cm – plenty
tight enough to hit an opposing player.
In the field
I’ve used mine for a couple of months
now and I’ve enjoyed everything about
it. It’s lightweight, compact and, most
important of all, reliable. It can easily
hit targets out as far as 60m, which is
surprising given the 320fps reading on
the chronograph.
One other thing I quite like is the
smooth sounding gearbox, without
the grinding, smashing noises I’ve
experienced with some other rifles.
This all sounds like a finely tuned car.
For all the body work is polymer I’ve
never felt like it would fail me. I treat
my gear as an accessory – it’s there to
do a job and it bloody well better do it!
The Masada AKM does certainly not
disappoint.
Summary
Keeping ahead of the game is tough but
it seems that Magpul, having embraced
the airsoft market as an equally
important part of its business as the real
steel side, is set to succeed with the
Masada range. It’s not a budget item,
but in airsoft you get what you pay for.
DATA:
Velocity: 320 Feet Per Second (with a
Blaster 0.20g BB)
Rate of Fire: 900 Rounds Per Minute
(11.1v 1200mah LiPo Battery)
Weight: 2.9 Kg / 6.4Lbs
Magazine: AKM 150 Round PMAG only
www.airsoftactionmagazine.com
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