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artillery

by Arnie


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Tanaka Colt S.A.A .45 “Artillery”
version
Vital
Stats:

Owner:
888
Total
Length:

10.5
inch
Inner
Barrel:

Aprox.
5 inch
Weight:
740
g

Shot
Capacity:

18
Power:
370
FPS w/ .30g & green gas
Effective Range:
30-50
feet
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I
never liked these pistols, I though of them as ugly, impractical,
and only good for dressing up as a cowboy  to shoot at balloons
for those “quick draw” contests in Japan.  Therefore, I never
really even gave these pistols a second glance. 

Back
in June, I bought the May edition of ARMS magazine since it featured
an article on the “
Battle
of Stalingrad
,” or
as many of you better know it from the film,
Enemy
at the Gates
.”  Anyway, flipping through the magazine I stumbled on
a 12 page Tanaka SAA .45 report. Quickly flipping through, there
were pictures of middle-age Japanese guys dressed up as cowboys,
recreating typical shoot-out events and having a grand ol’ time.
Since the pictures looked so damn funny, I started to read the
article…

To
make a boring story short, the article explained the Pegasus system
in detail, the upgradability potential and featured all sorts of
cosmetic add-ons available. I started to get interested, and quickly
wanted to sample one just to satisfy my
curiousity.

One
obstacle was getting someone else interested. Since everyone I game
with think of the Peacemaker pistols  as I once did, the only
reaction I got was laughter. However, I found out
Enlil
had an
interest in these guns long before me, so this actually helped me
make my final decision to buy one.

Besides, whats a Peacemaker without having someone to “draw”
against? ^_^
The
“original” Pegasus system…

However, unlike the “modern” Tanaka revolvers, the function
is not exactly the same. Instead of flipping open the cylinder to
access the gas nozzle & to load the bb’s, the Peacemaker
functions slightly different. 

Where
a bullet would be chambered for the real steel, that is where the
gas must be filled. After you flip open the metal latch, you need to
“half-cock” the hammer to line up the gas fill valve to the opening.
Simple enough.

To
load bb’s, you first individually load 1 into each of the 6 ports
from the front. Next, you pour 12 more down the tube pictured on the
above right.  The feeding rod has quite a bit of spring
tension. If you load all 12, cocking the pistol feels a bit “rough.”
To remedy this you can either load less ammo or disassemble the tube
and snip off a few coils to relax the tension. Also simple enough.

This
loading system is a bit easier than the “newer” revolvers. You will
however need to push the release pin with something to access the
tube. I found this can be done very easily by just pressing it
with  a bb and pulling the rod
out.
Technical:

The
release pin is spring loaded. ALWAYS be sure it is secured in place.
If you lose the feeding rod, you will have to fabricate another
system or be content with just having a 6 shot
capacity.
Performance, Function &
Build:
The
Peacemaker is single-action, hence S.A.A (Single Action Army) What
this means is you have to manually pull the hammer every time you
want to take a shot.

No
problem though, the function is so smooth & crisp, its hard to
put the gun down… As a matter of fact, I havent been able to leave
this gun alone since it first arrived, which is quite somthing since
most of my airsoft guns are put away until I have a game to
play…
There
are many different aftermarket hammers available for the Tanaka
Peacemakers, from “fast-draw” hammers to “diamond-cut chrome”, the
choices are plenty.

The
original hammer is a nice solid slab of steel. The sides are
unfinished
(which
can easily be polished if you like)
and
the top is black.

The
hammer has a very heavy feel to it when it hits the strike pin.
Easily hits 2x harder than the M29 series.

Power
of the artillery version is right on par with the 629 Performance
Center, the inner barrel is only about a half inch shorter so
consistency is more or less the
same.
One
thing I dont like at all about the Tanaka Peacemaker is the awful
seam lines, as a matter of fact, it runs right through the
manufacturing logo.

Luckily, there are many metal aftermarket outer barrels &
metal frames. HEAD 1950, Hartford, and Sheriff are some of the more
well known manufacturers of these parts. Like I mentioned earlier,
you can easily build a one of a kind Peacemaker since there are so
many parts to choose from.

Field
stripping is very simple. Included with the gun is a very handy
cylinder disassembly tool. Its quite easy to open up the gun once
you get the hang of it. Best of all, no complicated levers &
springs to worry about in the unlikely event you get
stuck.
Final
comments:
I
anticipated that the stock grips that come with the gun would be
less-than desirable, so  I ordered mine with the aftermarket
wood grips.  However, since the construction of the stock grips
are not “hollow” like the M29 or Python, its not so bad.
Nevertheless, I quickly swapped them out as soon as I opened the
box. Whats with Tanaka and the crap plastic grips  they make
anyway? <lol>

So
whats my overall take on the Peacemaker now?

I
mentioned in the .44 magnum review that the trigger & hammer
function of that gun was the best I’ve ever sampled. Well, compared
to the Peacemaker, forget about it. The .44 magnum feels like a toy
again…

Single
shot not fast enough for you? Well, the Peacemaker can be
“rapid-fired” just like the ol’ western flicks if need be, and I
havent had a misfeeding problem in doing so. Takes a bit of getting
used to, but it will work.

The
function is exactly to the real steel version, so the cylinder will
spin just as fast when half-cocked. However, the movies often
portray this pistol like the cylinder runs on ball bearings. Maybe
with modification you can get it to spin that fast, but in my
opinion, its just fine the way it is.

I
guarantee if you sample one, you will be hooked. Be sure to run down
to a gun shop and  compare it to the real thing, you will be
surprised to how close this pistol
gets…



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