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ACM Claymore

 

Introduction

 

My interest in mines and explosives started during the compulsory military service men in our country enjoy once they turn 18. During the nine months of guerrilla warfare training me and mates attended, I learned to love booby traps, ambushes, raids and other nasty stuff we would do behind enemy lines if for some unfortunate reason SHTF. During the training, Claymores were a huge part of a successful raid/ambush and everyone got to carry some of them in their backpack.

 

Claymores themselves are comparatively lightweight explosives that can be triggered and set up in different ways. Their effect against soft targets is horrid. They are easy to set up in a hurry, relatively easy to disarm and very easy to disguise effectively. Original American Claymores have the legendary phase “FRONT TOWARD ENEMY” molded into them. Finnish Claymore copies have no markings (guess we know which way the thing blows up to!) but share all other specifications, except for the feet that are metal on the Finnish version.

 

When I noticed that a Finnish retailer (Muovisotilas) had the item in stock, I pressed the order button straight away without a second thought. I haven’t regretted the choice yet, even though I would have gotten the item for like half the price if I had ordered it from Gunner Airsoft straight. The customer service in Plastic Soldier was superb and it was only one day after the order that I had the well packed order in my hands. If you can live with their cruel prices, I recommend them.

 

What you get

 

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The airsoft mine comes in a cardboard box with the typical Styrofoam compartment underneath. Pictured are blueprints of the device, a small full colour picture and a random Asian guy setting up the mine. Oh, almost forgot. For everyone’s enjoyment and absolute pleasure, typical Engrish on the specifications is included too!

 

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Inside you have of course the Claymore replica in OD green finish. Also included are a manual written in English, a nicely finished remote controller and of course a safety pin extremely essential in operating the mine safely. Batteries for the remote control and the mechanism of the mine are included and already fitted.

 

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The manual is pretty well done and it didn’t take long from me to know my way around the toy and how it functions. I think the images speak for themselves.

 

The Claymore and operating it

 

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The body of the replica is cast of flexible and soft plastic. This is good because using a hard plastic would have made it more prone to breakage and shattering. It has a very nice OD matte finish and the whole piece seems to be well crafted. All metal parts (steel to be exact) are painted black and seem to be up to their task. The legs you use to install the mine are steel too and give you a nice possibility to adjust the curve you want your bullets to fly.

 

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The whole design itself is a direct copy, or a clone to be exact, of the already existing Supercell development ASC-7 mine that used to be available in Finland too. The bbs are made to fly by a cotton cloth sewed into and powered by two large springs, with steel legs and joints that form a folding mechanism as a whole. Once you fold and arm the mine, the cloth folds into a pocket you then load your ammo to. You can use a standard speed loader filled with bbs, the red hole in the front of the mine is where you aim for. REMEMBER that the mine can go off on your face if you aren’t careful doing this, always use safety goggles! The mine can support up to 200 pieces of 6mm ammunition at a time. Underneath is illustrated how the mechanism looks unfolded, out of tension and as such safe.

 

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The mechanism is, although simple, very effective and reliable. The only part prone to breakage is the cotton cloth, although a new one can be made with relative ease. At least when compared to worn out O-rings and other problems and maintenance gas powered mines require. Use bbs instead of small rocks (gasp!) and you will be fine.

 

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When opened, a small switch is visible. This electrical switch determines if the mine can be detonated with the remote control or not. The mine can be triggered to explode additionally with a trip wire in both cases. A red led on the top of the mine starts to shine when remote detonating is activated.

 

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Picture illustrating the electrical detonation mechanism on the back of the mine. Once the detonating button on the remote control is pressed, a brass pin pushes the release lever on the top of the mine, sending a swarm of white death hopefully on the enemy. Oh, and I would like you to meet Gagga, the furry and red toy monkey.

 

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The remote control, while not very MilSim looking, is perfect for it’s job. I tested how far it can reach and noticed that it works even up to 200 meters, assuming that visibility is at least average. You can program up to four mines to be detonated from a single remote control, giving you endless possibilities to cause harm to your friends on the (mine)field.

 

End of part 1

Edited by Abelius
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Part two!

 

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The safety. Be EXTRA careful with this piece, it WILL get lost if you don’t pay attention. A niggle with it is that you have to insert it in a right way, otherwise a slightly curved side of it will face the triggering mechanism, easily causing accidents. Marking the right side with a pen marker or something similar would be a good idea. Now that we are at it, placing a long red cloth to the ring would be wise too, to ease finding the piece if you manage to lose it. The safety itself works by blocking the mechanism from unlocking and you just pull it carefully out to unsafe the Claymore.

 

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The trip wire mechanism. You basically just install a trip wire and tie it to the small hole the arm has. Remember to have safety on and delay attaching the wire to the mine as the last action before arming it. The mechanism is very precise and even a slightest knock can cause it to go off when it is armed. It would be great to tie some cord around the mine if and when you want to carry it armed.

 

As said, the replica fires up to 200 bbs in one shot. The spread is about 15 meters at the absolute maximum range 20 meters. You will be aiming for kills that are between ten and fifteen meters. I won’t post a video of the claymore going off, since youtube is already full of them and it is very hard to get the explosion look like it really does on a low quality video. Let’s just say that the power and spread are more than enough to be practical.

 

Conclusion

 

Is it worth the money? For someone it is, for someone it is not. For me the idea of a practical mine itself already is. Should you buy one? That’s up for you to decide. If you want to enrichen your game experience, the airsoft Claymore is for you. If you just want kills, better get an upgrade spring to your gun and a load of highcaps for your ACU LBV. They will definitely get you more literal bang for your buck.

 

Pro’s:

+ It works

+ External quality

+ Airsoft explosives are rare

 

Cons:

- Very sensitive triggering

- Price

 

You may use this review on your website/forum freely. Just remember to mention the writer.

 

I'll be happy to answer questions that might pop up.

 

Copyright Abelius 2008.

 

All of the pictures can be found here:

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q199/abelius88/Claymore/

Edited by Abelius
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With 0,12g bbs they fly at about 200fps max, the less you load, the faster they fly. So no, a heavily decked up guy won't notice them for granted if for some reason he can't hear the device going off or he decides to cheat. Naturally you hear the voice of the bbs hitting you, you could compare it to being shot with a cheap springer but several times at once.

 

And like I said, 20m is the absolute maximum and you have to adjust the angle a lot to get the bbs fly there. :)

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Excellent review! This mine appears to be very similar to the Gamma M-33 Mine WGCShop used to sell. WGC also sell a separate remote detonator for that mine here. Do you know if those remote detonators will work with your mine? I assume it's possible given that these mines use garage door opener and or car alarm type systems to detonate.

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Thank you for your kind words! :)

 

I can't say for sure, but I guess they would work together, seeing as they both work on high frequency radio waves (four channels like typical walkie talkies). As far as my brain tells me, the ACM remote control might actually be a simplified and more cheaply made copy of the GAMMA version. Don't count on my word though, as I haven't had the pleasure of using a GAMMA mine ever.

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