By Meatball
Published: June 19, 2008
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TSD Sports 88-Shotgun MSRP $48 Single Shot Pump Action 350-380 FPS Hop-Up Adjustable Body Finish: Black Includes 4-30rd Shells & Shell Holster, Shells are TM Compatible  I received this shotgun along with its counterpart the TSD Tactical 3-Burst Shotgun, so I instantly had another product to compare it to. This made it easier since I have not used other high end shotguns, but do have some experience with the lower end spring shotguns from early on in my Airsoft career. I must say that this gun does advertise a lot for its $48 MSRP with a 350-380 FPS range, adjustable hop-up, and four TM compatible 30rd shells included (along with a shell holster). Looking at the specs you would say this gun is looking to dominate the springer world. I must say had I had this gun been around when I was at the springer stage, it would have dominated the STTI G3a3’s and even the HFC M16’s I was using. First Impressions The gun came in box which is familiar for TSD Sports products. Has a colorful lid with the guns specs and information written on the outside, and the gun is neatly packaged with in a Styrofoam mold. This part of the package actually came wrapped in plastic which is something you are not used to seeing on Airsoft package. Included in the package were 4 shells which hold 30 rounds each, a shell holster which clips onto the top of the shotgun, a speed loader for loading the BB’s quickly, some BBs and an unjamming rod. All pretty impressive considering it is less than $50  I then took wrapping off and took out the gun to find it was pretty lightweight. Is exactly what you would expect considering it would technically fall into the springer category. It has a black finish and is nearly all plastic. The only metal parts I was able to identify were the magazine hatch and release, the trigger, and the front sling piece. The gun is a solid plastic, nothing too fancy, again it falls into what you would expect for a spring rifle; it meets expectations. The butt plate is rubber which adds some extra comfort as raw plastic would not have had a nice feel to it. So that is one nice touch to the gun. The stock slides along a plastic beam which seems sturdy enough but would be an obvious risk factor if you plan on being rough with the gun. It seems to be strong where it needs to be with both the charging pump in the front and pistol grip feeling very sturdy. On a shotgun these are obviously the points which would wear down first from the pressure of constantly loading and firing the gun.  Operation  The gun has four shells as mentioned and you use the supplied speed loader to load the 30 bb’s into the front of the shell much like a standard magazine on AEGs work. The loader itself is actually the same thing as the TM speed loader which made its first appearance several years ago with the SG 552’s release. The loading process is quite painless and fast as may not be expected by some, and I would say in a spring battle it would be considered quite a fast reload process. Obviously in a faster paced AEG or GBB game it will probably not be a fast enough reload time, but this gun is probably not best suited for those types of skirmishes anyways.  Once you have your four magazines loading, giving you a total of 120 rounds you release the shell hatch by hitting the release conveniently located by the trigger, and then slide the shell in, and close the hatch. It is a smooth reloading process as well and should be able to be done fairly quickly. From there you just pump and fire until you are out and must reload once again. There also is a safety located behind the trigger, which is always a necessary feature. This one seems to be pretty solid as well, with some spring guns you can actually squeeze hard enough to basically override the safety or even break the safety. On this one I squeeze as hard as I could just to test it out and nothing, no break, no fire. Stock  This particular model has the adjustable stock. There is another TSD Sports 88 Shotgun which has the full un-adjustable stock if that is what you would prefer and the rest of the review besides this portion would apply to that product as well. The stock can be moved to four different positions for maximum options of comfort. The longer stock is nice for target shooting, and typical skirmishing while the shorter stock is good for maneuvering and close quarters. The stock does have a little slot for a sling if you choose to use one, but I doubt it would be needed as it is pretty light weight. If you are planning to use this as a back-up to throw over your back just in case, then the sling is there as an option for you. The stock appears to be fairly sturdy but at the same time is fairly lightweight. I would not expect it to break easily with common use, but if there were some sort of situation where you fell on it or otherwise applied significant force it may give out and break. This is not so much a flaw as it is a usage risk which applies to all Airsoft guns, as any part can break with enough force. 
Performance The performance of this gun was fairly stunning. Being the lower end of the two products I was reviewing, and being a springer I was not expecting much and I was definitely not expecting it to meet the 350-380 FPS expectations. After a fair amount of usage I would say 350 fps is a fair estimate and I would actually recommend using .25g BB’s in this gun as that is what I used, and it shot great! I legitimately wish that I had this gun years ago when I was shooting around with spring rifles, as it would have been perfect. This gun packs a solid, accurate punch and should not have any trouble hitting a human size target from 100+ feet! A key feature on this gun is the adjustable hop-up which is really out of its league when it comes to these lower end guns. It really does pay off however and make a difference as you can adjust the gun for different conditions and mainly for varying BB weights. The hop up unit is straight forward and easy to use. You slide the piece forward for more hop and backwards for less hop. The pump action is most definitely the best charging option for a spring weapon. It is the easiest, fastest and is just more natural. Some spring guns load using the T-Charging handle or a lever connected to the dust cover; both of these options are much more difficult to load. I invested in a shotgun once for this reason but it shot poorly and broke fairly quickly (Viper USA Riot Shotgun) so never considered it an option from there. I would not expect anything like that with this gun. Considering this gun must have a strong spring in there to be capable of firing with such pop, the loading motion is fairly easy. You should not have a problem pulling the handguard to load the gun, unless you are very young or small. It will tire out those with the strongest arms after some rapid fire. One of the first things I did was see how fast I could go through 2 shells (60 rounds) and I found it not only to be fast but quite tiring. This is something I feel you will get used to, and it would be quite rare to have to shoot at such a pace anyways. What I want you to take from this is that it is a stronger spring, so it is slightly harder to charge than your typical springer, but the fact that it is a shotgun makes it easier than it would otherwise be. The gun is quite accurate for a spring gun (using .25g BBs) but lacks consistency found in some other spring guns (most of which are way more expensive and sniper rifles). The BB’s may tail to the right and then next time tail to the left, but for most of the flight they shoot straight, and the groupings from 50 feet probably are not much more than several inches. The accuracy should be good enough to make target shooting entertaining around the house. It does lack any sort of serious sight however, and this is appropriate as it is probably not accurate enough for high quality sights (though that does not stop some companies from sticking them on their guns). Another note it is not an option on this gun to load multiple BBs into the chamber. It will only accept one pump per trigger pull. So once you pump the gun can not be pumped again until it is fired and the single shot is released. This is for the best because multiple BBs in the barrel can cause jams, and also severely hurts the accuracy of the shots. Shells/Holster  The shells hold 30 rounds each and TSD conveniently provides a speed loader in order to load the shells quickly. It comes with 4 of these shells and a holster to hold the shells. The holster is all plastic and pretty lightweight. There really is not much to it besides some cheap plastic, but it clips nicely onto the top of the gun and is very convenient to have. If you plan to use this gun as a primary I would recommend getting a pouch to drop the spent shells into quickly, because it takes a little time to slide them into the shell holster. The holster is pretty tight and it appears it is best to load them through the top, with the BB’s facing downwards. Otherwise it is sometimes a struggle to get them in there at all. The piece is meant to be a “throw-in” item of sorts, and it serves the purpose. It is functionally sound and makes the gun look cool when it is clipped on with shells.  The shells load one at a time underneath the gun. There is a release switch near the trigger guard which causes the hatch to open up, and allows the shell to slide right in. Very quick and smooth process, no complaints here.  Who should get this gun? This gun with its low price really is for anyone that likes Airsoft, and likes the look of the gun. It packs enough of a punch to at least be somewhat useful at every level, or even fun for plinking around the house. This gun is definitely capable of being a primary in springer wars and other lower end (price wise) skirmishes. It has more than enough velocity, holds enough shots, and should have the durability as well. Not to mention it looks pretty cool as well. More of an AEG guy but find shotguns intriguing? This gun is intriguing, and pretty fun to shoot around with. Pretty low priced, so therefore kind of on the lighter side when it comes to build, but it performs well and functions as the part. It is light enough to sling over your back in a typical AEG skirmish for the “just in case scenario”. Conclusion  This gun has an MSRP of $48 and chances are you can get it somewhere for less. It shoots 350 FPS with .20g legitimately, and is fairly accurate. These two facts paint the picture and tell the story of the TSD Sports 88 shotgun. As long as it holds up, you can not beat the value. True it will not be capable of competing with AEGs since it lacks the ROF, but it can match and beat with range making it an acceptable back-up. In addition it has the light weight and plenty of rounds to go through. The gun has a cool look, and shotguns are always fun to have. So it is not a bad buy for any level of airsofter as you will have fun with it, and for a low cost.
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