REAL SWORD
SVD
Is Real Sword the closest thing to a real steel
rifle in airsoft? Scott Allan discusses the
company and takes a look at its SVD rifle
R
eal Sword has one ethos and
it is really, really simple – don’t
make it just like the real thing,
but the same as the real thing.
From the markings, materials
and manufacturing process, Real Sword made
the most exciting rifles and then worked
backwards to make them usable for airsoft.
Having met Real Sword on several occasions
over the past few years, one thing was clear:
it is not necessarily interested in the mass
market. David Huang, CEO of Real Sword
International Industry, said that when he played
he wanted the most realistic weapon he could
get without exception. Many companies have
made full-metal, real wood kits – but they have
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February 2012
never been ‘as per the real version’. So David
set out to do it right, by the book, on mainland
China. This may well be an impossible task (as
airsoft guns are illegal on the mainland) but
somehow he did it!
There are only six models in the Real Sword
armoury:
■ Type 56, the Chinese variant of the AK47
with a full stock and under-folding bayonet.
■ Type 56-1, the same rifle with a fold-under
stock like the AK47s.
■ Type 56-2, the slightly more modern AK with
polymer grips and side-folding stock.
■ Type 97, a bullpup rifle similar to the FAMAS.
■ Type 97B, a compact version of the bullpup.
■ RS SVD, the Chinese version of the Dragunov.
Every rifle Real Sword makes is a masterpiece
in its own right. Individually certificated with
FPS readings from the factory, Real Sword
shows an unmatched level of care and
attention to the rifle.
Real Sword’s SVD took a long time to
produce. Like all stunning rifles, the more
you wanted it the longer it seemed to take to
arrive. I have always been dubious about semiauto sniper rifles; it’s not that I have a major
issue with the higher FPS on a semi-auto rifle,
I just have never believed they performed
as well or as consistently as their spring
counterparts.
And then I ate a sizeable chunk of
humble pie.