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jse57
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Meatball's Featured Reviews |
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Airsoft Core |
By Infrared
Published: December 6, 2003
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As noted in other reviews, the Sig P226 is my favorite combat handgun, so I've been searching the airsoft market for as many different copies as possible to find which one is the best. The gas blowback Sig P226 by KWC is a good rendition and is inexpensive for a gas gun.
Appearance
KWC makes this gas blowback P226 from many of the same parts as its spring powered version and the two handle very similarly, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The grips on this model are good and parts seem well proportioned in relation to the real thing. The front sight has a white dot painted on it, which aids in target acquisition. The slide and frame are a nice even shade of black even though they can look a little plasticky under certain lighting conditions. The magazine is similar in size and shape to the spring pistol, which is to say that it's smaller than a real Sig magazine is, but it's still big enough to hold a stack of BBs and the gas reservoir. The slide is all one piece and the ejection port does not open when the slide is pulled back, which is a minus on this model but not a big one.
Function
This P226 airsoft has a couple of shortcomings in the function department, but they're nothing serious considering how inexpensive this model is. The first functional issue I have is the trigger/cocking assembly: The pistol is always fired double action (the trigger must be pulled all the way to the rear from the full forward position to fire) though the pull isn't very heavy. However, this means the potential for rapid fire such as double-taps is greatly reduced. The trigger is not connected to the hammer at all. The hammer moves when the slide goes back, but does not stay cocked. Another problem with the trigger is that it makes a lot of squeaking noise while the metal parts move against plastic. I'm sure this could be solved with a little silicon lubricant in the right place, but it's one more thing to think about. Another thing that falls short in the function category is how the pistol locks open when it's out of BBs. On a good high-end gas gun, the slide will lock open much as it would on the real gun, by moving all the way to the rear where it is locked open by the slide stop. On this model, the slide travels all the way back but then moves halfway forward again and stops on the magazine follower. Having the slide lock on an internal part makes things difficult for a couple of reasons: when you remove the empty magazine, the slide slams forward by itself and the only way to prevent that is by holding onto the slide with one hand and easing it forward after you pull the empty mag out. It also means a slower reload because instead of simply inserting a new magazine and hitting the slide stop to bring the pistol back into action, you have to insert the magazine and cycle the slide by hand. And since the ejection port doesn't open, it would be hard to clear a jam (though no jams occurred during my tests).
Anyway, away from the negatives. The safety is similar to the one on the spring version, where the "decocking lever" is actually used as a manual safety. The pistol can be taken down much like a real P226 by removing the magazine and pulling the takedown lever out of the frame and then running the slide forward. The magazine release functions well and holds the magazine securely in the gun. I haven't kept track of exactly how much gas the reservoir holds, but it will fire at least two magazines' worth of BBs (13 BBs per magazine) on a single gas charge, and it will probably fire more like three or four magazines on a single charge. The pistol fed and fired three different weights and qualities of BBs reliably. The magazine holds 13 rounds in a single stack up the front of the mag; it is loaded from the top like a Marui spring pistol magazine but is done while pulling down in the magazine follower to allow the BBs to go in easier.
Accuracy
This is where the KWC P226 gets a chance to stretch its legs and show off a bit. The pistol performed very well with .2g and .25g BBs, shooting about an inch or two low and grouping well, and near the same point with each. The pistol would not reliably group with .12g BBs, but then again most guns won't. I usually add them to the accuracy tests on the off chance that there may be a gun that is actually tuned to use them, like the mini electric guns seem to be. UPDATE: when fired under controlled indoor conditions at ranges from 15 to 25 yards, this gas gun performed well, considering it's a bottom-of-the-line blowback pistol. It wasn't as accurate as the Mk23 SOCOM, but it maintained around a 75% hit ratio on a human silhouette target out to 25 yards with both .2g and .25g BBs.
8.5x11" target fired at seven yards, approx. 26 .12g BB
8.5x11" target fired at seven yards, approx. 26 .2g BB
8.5x11" target fired at seven yards, approx. 26 .25g BB
Overall Impressions
This airsoft is an excellent choice for an inexpensive gas blowback - it's accurate and it functions reliably. Any shortcomings it has are mainly just irritations and not serious issues. If you are getting into airsoft and are considering getting a spring pistol because gas guns are too expensive, the KWC P226 might be the way to go for you since it's only about 50% more than a good spring pistol will be. In my experience with airsoft P226s, this one rates about a seven out of ten, with the major negatives being the mushy, squeaky trigger pull and the lack of a real slide stop. It's a nice pistol, but pales in comparison to the more expensive Tanaka version
- Infrared
Team SASOT
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