MSRP: $88.00

Action: 3-Busrt, Pump Action
Velocity: 280FPS with .20g BBs, recommended TSD .20g
Hop Up: Fixed for .20g BB
Matel Parts: Barrel Assembly & Cocking Tube
Body Finish: Matte Black with Ruberized grip
Includes: 4-30rd Shells & Shell Holster
Warranty: TSD 30 Days

Introduction

I was fortunate enough to receive this gun along with the lower end version in the TSD Sports 88 shotgun. This of course is the TSD Tactical line, which is higher end and more expensive. From my experience between the two companies it appears that they perform similarly but the TSD Tactical’s have a better feel to them, and they go through a lot of effort to make the guns seem like the real thing. This is the story with these two shotguns. While the TSD Sports 88 shoots very well, it does not feel nearly as real as the TSD Tactical 3-Burst shotgun. This is my first time reviewing a product that fires multiple BBs at once, as I have never owned a shotgun like this, nor have I used a grenade launcher or anything. From the start I was skeptical about the three round burst for a primary weapon. It just does not seem like it would work right in Airsoft. I imagined three BBs coming out either basically in the same spot, or coming out of one barrel and just going different distances. I did in the end find out that there is a certain appeal to the “3-Burst” but at the same time I would consider it more of a niche preference. It is a cool buy, and does the job when it comes to realistic feel.

First Impressions

The box seems to be a standard TSD box, brown for the most part with the picture and key specs listed over the front. It had interesting packaging with Styrofoam on the inside but only over both sides of the middle of the gun. It housed the mid section of the gun and accessories that come with it, but either end of the gun was more or less exposed in the box. I see no problems with it, just probably a more efficient way of packaging since the mid-section being secure makes the rest of the gun secure.

I was blown away by the size of this bad boy. It is enormous, no buts about it. It has an appropriate weight to it, and a nice solid feel. It was not a hard choice to pick this one as the first of the two shotguns to test fire as it simple was more fun to just hold. The gun is pretty bare, not many trademarks or anything (it is a shotgun after all). It is a straight up black plastic, which is dull and sturdy enough to give it a real look and feel. It is really just one of those guns which are fun to hold/have/see etc. The accessories which come with the shotgun will all prove to be extremely useful. You have the speed loader to load up the four included 30 round (10 shot) shells. It is the typical speed loader which the Airsoft world is used to seeing thanks to Tokyo Marui. You load it up with BBs and it has as piece which pops up and pushing it down repeatedly loads the shells. They also throw in a nice holster for the shells on the stock. It straps on conveniently and holds all the shells in some elastic slots. I must admit that this gun with those slots full of shells looks that much cooler.

Performance

When it comes to performance I would describe this gun as a niche gun. It is as advertised, and I would guess probably shoots at least 280 FPS if not more. They seem to be coming out pretty hard. It does shoot 3 rounds for every pump and shot, and it does not skip a beat. It will shoot as fast as you can pump and pull, and three shots never fail to come out. It is interesting how smooth it runs considering there are three separate barrels on the gun for each BB that comes out. It just seems to me that complications would have occurred in either the feeding process or with the BBs just out of the barrel. Neither has been an issue at all, so there I am really impressed. The gun is functionally sound.

There is one way however, that the gun slightly "malfunctions" and that is if you do a half pull on. If you do not pull the handle all the way back it will load the 3 BB's but not the spring, so up loading the spring you will actually have 6 BBs come out. It has only happened to me once, but just thought I would let you know of it. This would probably be more likely to happen to those who do not have the strength to load the spring repeatedly, like younger airsofters. 

Now the next question is an obvious one, how does it shoot? This gun is hard to grade as this functions like an actual shotgun. It has a spread of pellets rather than just one so you just need the spread to go in the right direction to hit someone. It is more of a point and shoot gun when it comes to success, and that is the beauty of the spread the gun puts out. I however am only accustomed to reviewing guns where one BB comes out and accuracy mattered, so this was a new experience and made it a little harder for me.

The spread is significant at times when it shoots. At about fifty feet out the two outside BBs are usually further than 3 feet apart, and none of the three BBs travel in a straight path. This is most of the time. I have had times where the three BBs stay pretty much together through their whole path and end up hitting only inches away from one another at their target. They do usually curve a lot during their flight and each shot does not necessarily look like the previous. So there really is no consistency when it comes to shooting, besides the fact that three come out and will spread out more, the further they go. You will see the success rate of this gun drop as you go further from your target. Hitting someone from 100 feet is not out of the question, but it is not likely either. The reason being that it does not have the velocity to go all that far, and they spread out so much by that point, that your chances of success go down. If you can get a couple shots off great, you will probably get the target, but in most skirmish situations, if the opponent has an AEG, you will not have that kind of time.

This gun does have some appeal to it however, and there is certain situations where it would have the advantage over even an AEG. This advantage would come in the close quarters, where instantly you can put three BBs into the air at someone, with one trigger pull. This best comparison I could think of was to shotguns which are in video games. They do next to nothing from a distance, but up close they are the most effective (this rings true with real shotguns as well of course). So if you are interested in closer engagements (45 feet or less) you will probably find yourself successful with this gun. This is why I call it a niche product. There is only a certain type of player and distance where it is very effective, but there are other types of shots where it will not perform as well.

As can be seen above the shells go into a slot underneath of the gun. There is a release switch for this hatch right by the trigger to make it easy and fast to load this gun up.

Who should get this gun?

I would say that everyone should get this gun if it was not for the $88 MSRP. The gun is A LOT of fun to hold and use, and I give it an A+ on the “cool” scale. Now I am not saying the gun is not worth $88 I am simply saying that there are some airsofters out there not willing to spend that kind of money on a gun to just have fun with (while many others would find this price an enormous bargain). I would not get this gun and expect to be able to compete with AEGs outdoors. You will have success if you are good enough to get yourself into the right positions (it does after all shoot 3 BBs at 280 FPS at once) but you will feel outmatched 1v1 with an AEG as they will be able to put more BBs at you, and outrange you. In big group games, with AEGs supporting you, you will have more success and probably would be a good gun to really make moves with. By make moves I mean be the first guy into the fort, the guy to grab the flag etc. where you are the closest to your enemy and things will occur more quickly.

I recommend this gun for CQB, and that may be obvious to some already. Three BBs with one shot at close range is pretty devastating, and in a small space the opponent simply will not have anywhere to go. It may not be as good as an AEG, but in this arena you will be able to compete with the right tactics. I feel that by the description of the gun, people will be able to tell if this gun is right for them. I know someone is just sitting there thinking that this gun sounds like a lot of fun. If you would like to compete with lower velocity AEGs or springers and gas pistols, you might be in business with this gun. Even though it may get outmatched by AEGs from a distance it still shoots 280 FPS and 3 BBs a shot. Considering the 3 BBs a shot it will be pretty accurate when it comes to getting your man, so I think this would be a great primary for spring battles.

This gun would be a perfect gun for someone who wants a backup in case their AEG goes down. It is good enough to get the job done at almost every level, and does not require anything beyond the initial purchase to get going. It is pretty cheap considering what you get, and at least you will be able to keep playing if a battery dies, or your gun breaks.

Overall

Overall this gun is solid. Cosmetically it is sturdy and realistic. It has a nice weight to it, and as mentioned numerous times it is simply fun to hold (more so than other Airsoft guns). The operation is smooth, with no problems whatsoever thus far. I would not expect many malfunctions with this gun, nor would I expect anything breaking externally. It is a good looking product and as a shotgun it can serve as just a fun gun to have in the arsenal. For many Airsoft collections out there $88 is not all that much, and since it comes ready with a sling, loader, four shells (10 shots, 30 bbs/ 40 shots, 120 bbs), and shell holster there is nothing more for you to do beyond the initial costs.

I am very pleased to be able to add this gun to my collection; I hope you all enjoyed the review and take a look at the gun. Feel free to ask any questions.