I also have a page
devoted to
Collectable BB Air Pistols & Rifles
which you may be interested in.
Every persons
definition of a collectable .177
pellet air
weapon may differ and many will
probably disagree with my assessment
of such weapons. The first
impression of appearance is all
important
in combination with the
replication accuracy in relation to
the design of the original firearm.
Of course, I
would like an air weapon to offer excellent handling and firing .177 or .22
pellets with 398 feet per second (FPS) or more velocity through a rifled
barrel, but very often, one cannot have all of these wishes in an
collectable air weapon - we have to make allowances.
The appearance of a black gun with
black grips may not be so appealing
as one with a nickel
finish and brown wooden grips - the Umarex
Beretta M92 FS (fixed slide) is a typical example.
As well as all black, it also comes in nickel with black grips and in
chrome with black grips.
All the pistols
within this article are CO2 gas capsule powered and fire .177 pellets
with one exception, the very authentic replica of the Glock 17, the
Umarex Glock 17 Gen 4 that fires BBs.
The most appealing and realistic
replica collectables are the Umarex
1872 Colt Single Action Army
revolvers. These are all
metal
(apart from the grips) and they are
true to the originals. They now come
in a 5.5" barrel and only in
antique and nickel plated
finishes.
They even replica the two
dimples on the right hand side
casing (above the trigger) of the
original 1800s guns. The 1872 Colt SAA is the gun that reputedly 'tamed the west' and also known as
the 'Peacemaker' and the 'Smoke Wagon' it came in 7.5" and 5.5" barrels. The 7.6" offered greater accuracy but the 5.5" was favoured as the gun
for carrying in the townships as it offered a faster draw due to its
shorter barrel. The 'Antique Finish' of the Umarex 1872
Colt Single Action
Army Revolver
is a very desirable replica.
However, it is well known that on dress occasions, especially when gambling at night, Doc Holliday carried a nickel plated 1872 Colt Single
Action Army Revolver with ivory white grips and a 5.5" barrel for a
right cross fast draw from a left side holster. Doc preferred a right
cross draw as the gun in a left holster (across the front of the waist)
was harder to access by another person - the Umarex 1872 Colt Single Action
Army Revolver in nickel with white grips is a very close replica.
A close second
and very often the most appealing
revolver is the ASG 1870 Smith &
Wesson
'Aged Finish' Schofield with
its top-break action cylinder.
Many peace officers, and outlaws of the 'old west' carried the Smith &
Wesson Schofield Revolver with its fast loading 'top-break cylinder'.
Men like
John Wesley Hardin,
Pat Garrett,
Theodore
Roosevelt,
Virgil Earp,
Billy the
Kid,
and many others. The Smith & Wesson No. 3 revolver was famously used by
Wyatt Earp
during the
OK Corral
Gunfight
with the
Clanton
Gang. The
ASG 1870 Smith &
Wesson 'Aged Finish' Schofield is a
faithful reproduction.
Loading
and firing all of these revolvers is
as close as you will get to the real
guns from the 1800s. These weapons
offer the added bonus of excellent
velocity and accuracy.
To some the 'Aged Finish' is more accurate a replica than the highly
polished chrome, nickel and silver finishes.
A typical example of this
is the true to the period, Webley Service Mark VI Revolver which comes
in a 'Battlefield Finish'. This finish is what would expect if you were
in World War 1 and after a few years into the battle the original colour
of the gun would be worn down in contact areas to display a very
appealing patina.
The Webley Mark I
service revolver was adopted in 1887 and the Mark IV was used during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The
Mark VI, introduced in 1915 during the First
World War, is the best-known model. Normally worn in a flap top holster,
it had a ring on the base of the butt to secure it by a lanyard to the
wearer's body.
The 'Battlefield
Finish' of the air replica is very desirable but then some collectors
might prefer the 'exhibition' model which is finished in silver with
black grips.
Imagine you are 'Dirty Harry' with a Magnum Revolver
and blowing away the bad guys. The
Smith & Wesson Model 29 which was
designed and manufactured in
1955 and released to the public in 1956 was
also known as the .44 Magnum which fired a .44 Remington magnum
cartridge. It came in a black finish with brown grips and had a heavy
recoil and loud flash on firing.
There are many 'Magnum' air revolver replicas
and probably the best are the ASG
Dan Wesson series, especially the 6" barrel variants. The
replication of an original Dan Wesson 715 .357 Magnum is excellent but one downside
is that 'Dan Wesson' is written along the barrel and 'Made in Taiwan' is stamped on the side of the
frame. ASG
do not make a black finish revolver with brown grips that fires .177 pellets which is very unfortunate and
I can assure you, when they do make such a model, I will
be first in the queue.
An alternative choice is the ASG Dan Wesson 715 6" Barrel Revolver
(see image above) in a
steel grey frame with black grips
BUT ASG also offer genuine brown wooden grips as optional
accessories. It fires .177 pellets loaded into 6 x cartridges.
I like the ASG Dan Wesson 715 4" Barrel Revolver in a
silver finish,
its a nice gun
and modelled on the original Dan Wesson 715 .357 Magnum. I like the small size, the way the
.177 pellets are inserted into the back of its 6 x metal cartridges and
loaded into the cylinder chambers.
The replication is excellent and it
is finished in a silver plating. A downside is that 'Made in Taiwan'
is stamped on the side of the frame. Interestingly enough, the ASG optional
brown wooden grips fit this gun as well - cool.
An
alternative to the Dan Wesson is the Umarex S40 Legends which is a
true replica of the Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum Revolver. It has
a 4" barrel and is finished in nickel plating and I like the shape of
the black grip which is a true example of the original.
The barrel has Legends S40 stamped on it but the frame only refers to
the calibre of the pellet. True to the original, it chambers 6 x
cartridges with .177 pellets inserted in the rear of each one.
The
weight and manufactured finish of the Umarex S40 Legends Revolver is second to none which makes the gun a
delight to handle, load and fire.
The Gletcher NGT-R .177 air pellet,
rifled barrel revolver is an authentic
replica of the Nagant M1895 Revolver which is
a seven-shot, gas-seal revolver designed and produced by Belgian industrialist Léon Nagant for the Russian Empire.
The Nagant M1895 was chambered for a proprietary cartridge, 7.62×38mmR,
and featured an unusual "gas-seal" system, in which the cylinder moved
forward when the gun was cocked, to close the gap between the cylinder
and the barrel, providing a boost to the muzzle velocity of the fired
projectile and allowing the weapon to be suppressed (an unusual ability
for a revolver)
The Gletcher NGT-R is a worthwhile addition to any collection and
Gletcher have understated the average FPS performance of their gun which actually
delivers around 418 FPS rather than the claimed 328 FPS. They also
manufacture a .177 pellet, rifled barrelled
Gletcher NGT-R Nickel Version of
the revolver.
Semi-automatic pistols with fixed
slides and blow back slides are too
many to mention but only a few could
be considered as collectable. A fixed slide pistol will
not automatically
re-cock the gun's
hammer so the user has to pull the
trigger to cock and fire the hammer
or pull the hammer back to cock it
before pulling the trigger.
Therefore
the replication of a blowback slide pistol is not so authentic but
invariably the fixed slide pistol delivers a more accurate shot.
The Umarex Walther CP88 air pistol is as near a perfect replica of the
original Walther P88 firearm. It has a fixed slide but is glorious in a
black finish but perhaps more appealing in a nickel finish with black
grips?
The Walther P88 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the Walther
company of Germany in 1988, hence the model
name P88. Its main feature
is a high-capacity double-stacked magazine designed for military and law
enforcement use.
The Walther P88 is highly prized among collectors and sport shooters due
to its superb accuracy and high-quality construction. The Umarex Walther
CP88 follows this trend with a superb replica, albeit with a fixed slide
– sometimes you cannot have it all.
However, a fixed slide pistol is often very
desirable due to the finish
of the weapon. The Umarex Beretta M92 FS shown at the top of this
article is a classic example.
A fixed slide will deliver more shots per CO2 capsule than a blow back
slide
BUT then the feel of the recoil and the blow back slide in action,
is a hard act to follow.
The Umarex Colt M1911 A1 Dark Ops pistol has a fixed slide but the
overall feel and look of the gun is excellent. It has a very firm
split/top loading system via a circular metal disc with .177 pellets inserted and the
butt magazine
is a fixed replica look alike which houses the Umarex CO2 capsule by
unclipping one of the grips. Its a very nice replica of the original gun,
the
M1911,
also known as the "Government" or "Colt Government", which is a
single-action,
semi-automatic,
pistol and was standard-issue
sidearm for the United
States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986.
It was widely used in World War I,
World War II, the Korean
War, and the Vietnam War. It
also comes in a complete black finish with black grips. There is a
nickel version in some UK retailers but it is not listed on the Umarex
website.
A pistol with a
blowback slide is cocked by pulling back
the slide along
the top of the gun to load the first
round. When you pull the trigger, the
firing makes the blow back slide
recoil backwards and the hammer is
cocked for the next trigger pull.
To finish the experience, you want a magazine that loads like the
original firearm. So, snap in the magazine,
pull the top slide back to load, flick up the safety to red for fire and
pull the trigger, pull the trigger and so on until the magazine is
empty; fantastic realistic blowback recoil, the gun is great fun. To decock, just flick the safety on and the hammer clicks back without
firing the weapon.
To ultimate blowback pistol is one that allows
you to field strip the gun by removing the top slide and the slide locks
back when the last round is fired.
You
cannot have it all, but the one air pistol that offers as near 100%
replica realism as possible is unfortunately a BB version and not a .177
pellet. The
Umarex Glock 17 Gen 4 has it all, realistic blowback with
last shot slide lock back, field strippable and a great magazine that
looks and feels like the real thing - how cool is that?
I don't like BBs as they ricochet everywhere but you can purchase
alternatives to steel, such as dust devils and copper coated lead BBs,
which are less prone to ricocheting. There is probably no better replica than the Glock GEN4 and I am seriously tempted to purchase one - just because of
the way it performs like the real firearm.
As always, there are
downsides and poor accuracy on the target is one of them. The main Glock weakness is the lack of firepower which
propels 5.37grm steel BBs at around 320 FPS BUT by purchasing a couple
of spare
magazines the Glock delivers an enormous fun factor. You rapid fire the 19
rounds with blowback slide re-cocking recoil, eject the spent magazine (CO2 capsule
still reusable when reloaded with BBs) and pop in
another. No need to worry about loss of power as the new magazine also
has a new CO2 capsule alongside the BBs section. The magazine is about
as authentic as you can get and is made of metal. The Glock GEN4 is
likely to eat CO2 capsules and probably you will have to be nearer that
tin can to hit it but the fun factor makes up for the extra
costs - be sure to wear proper safety glasses when you are firing BBs.
I went for the Umarex
Beretta PX-4 Pistol, which has the blowback slide,
a fairly realistic (plastic) magazine, decocking safety, fires .177 pellets through a rifled barrel
and it is field strippable - if you remove a pin in the body.
It is
collectable but mine will be used as an every day gun from a holster so
it will not be residing in a display cabinet.
Last but not least, if you want to
keep your gun in pristine showroom
condition, do not use a holster
because as sure as night follows
day, the gun coating will wear off.
Best keep the gun in a sturdy case
with foam inlays for the gun and any
accessories.