need to be firm when carrying out actions
on it. Don’t go over the top and start bashing
it about, but if it doesn’t locate the first time
then take it out and try again. With the mag
located I pushed the bolt forward; you can
hear it collect the round from the mag and
feed it into the chamber. It really does make
you feel like you are on the ranges at Bisley!
Bearing in mind it was only 5°C when I
tested this, my expectations weren’t too
high – but when I pulled that trigger, Christ,
was I wrong! There was a hiss and thwack as
the heavy pellet whacked into a metal Fig 11
target some 120ft away. Pulling the bolt back
extracted the empty cartridge and flung it about
6ft away (don’t forget to pick them up, or do it
properly and cup your hand over the extraction
port to catch the casing). It made all the right
metallic noises as it did so. Bolt forward again
and another round chambered, pull the trigger
and repeat the process – it didn’t take long to
do all five rounds. It was running really well
so I loaded up the cartridges, bombed up the
mag, re-gassed the bolt and did it all again, and
again, and yet again!
Pulling the bolt back is nice and easy with
a smooth action. You can now access the
gas valve, which is located on the top of the
exposed bolt. I used ASG Ultrair on this test
and for the first fill I pumped in nearly 30
seconds’ worth of gas. It would be a good
idea to support the bolt from underneath
with your free hand when filling up with gas.
I doubt that not doing so would cause any
problems, considering the substantial build
quality of this rifle, but when buying top-end
kit why would you not want to look after it
and elongate its life?
With the gun gassed up the fun really
began! Taking the five dummy brass .408
cartridges out of the packet I put an 8mm BB
in each. Socom Gear recommends Marushin
8mm BBs for the cartridges but I am sure
that the likes of Madbull 8mm will be fine to
run through it as well. Loading up the mag
with the dummy cartridges was easy; the
spring on the magazine is strong but not so
strong as to make it difficult. The clink of
brass against metal as I fed the rounds into
the mag put a real smile on my face.
It was running nice and consistent so I
decided it was time to put a chrono in front
of it. Ah! Problem! This rifle is so long and
as I was on my own I had to hold the chrono
while reaching back with my other arm to be
able to pull the trigger. I must have looked
like a circus act – no jokes please!
The first shot achieved 325fps, so did
the second and third, while the fourth was
slightly less at 314fps and the fifth just over
300fps. That doesn’t sound like much, but
bearing in mind that the chrono is set for a
6mm 0.20g BB and how much bigger and
heavier the BB I was shooting through it,
my mind staring whirring over. With the aid
of my trusty calculator I scaled it back and
worked out that this is firing equivalent of
around 430fps-ish. Now that is more than
ample and most sites will allow you to use it
on game days, albeit with a minimum contact
distance. I would still check with the site
owner/operator beforehand though. Don’t
forget this is a sniper with only seven rounds
so you want every shot to count and make
sure that your target knows he’s been hit!
In Use
Summary
After finishing off my bowl of three Weetabix
I picked up the Cheytac, magazine, tin of gas
and pack of BBs and headed off outside for
testing. Putting the magazine in the rifle took
a couple of attempts – I was being too gentle
the first time! Like most things on this rifle,
and again like working on a real firearm, you
Sniping in airsoft is a quirky role. I see sniper
rifles of all shapes and sizes on game sites,
spring, AEG and gas, and they mostly stay
in the Safe Zone. So on one side, spending
a fair wedge of cash on a rifle you might use
for one game would be mad! However, if you
are really serious about sniping and want a
THE ARMOURY
useable, consistent, ultra-realistic sniper rifle,
then this is the one for you. Be prepared to
spend another wedge of cash on a decent
scope and get yourself down the gym to
prepare for lugging this 9kg beast around.
Some of you will be asking, is it all worth
it? When you see that round hitting its target
at over 150ft away, watching their hand go up
and hearing that word “HIT!”, you’ll know it’s
worth every single penny. ■
SPECIFICATIONS
Socom Gear CheyTac M-200
Intervention
Weight: 9kg
Length: 1189mm (stock collapsed)
1366mm (stock extended)
Inner barrel length: 650mm
Build: Steel bolt, bipod, magazine and
stock; heavy aluminium barrel, chassis
and forend; reinforced carry handle with
oversized bolts
Magazine: Seven-r