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Magpul PTS AEG review


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Dear reader,

 

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NOTE: This review is split into two parts. This is part one; the review of the gun out of the box and the featured listed as standard. Part two will be it performance in the field; probably at Ground Zero in August. Sorry for the delay, but I have no access to a test zone at the moment. I will make up for it with a stonking Basho Cam! film about owning lots of newbs with this gun.

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Hattori Hanzo reviews the Magpul PTS AEG

"Revenge is a dish best served cold"

 

- Old Klingon Proverb -

 

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An English man enters Uncompany’s shop in Hong Kong. A single shop assistant hovers at the counter.

 

“What brings you to Hong Kong?” he asks.

 

“I came to see a man,” the Englishman replies.

 

“Who is he, may I ask?”

 

“Hattori Hanzo”

 

5188926177.gif The shop assistant looks shocked.

 

“What do you want with Hattori Hanzo?” he asks nervously.

 

“I have need of a Japanese Magpul PTS as I have many newbies to lace at the Ground Zero Weekender”

 

The shop assistant considers this, “You must have big-*albatross* newbies to lace if you need a Magpul PTS”.

 

The Englishman leans over the counter, “huge”.

 

“Follow me”.

 

 

Introduction

 

When I first started airsoft – all those years ago! – Magpul were exactly what the name suggests; a company that made little rubber devices to attach to your M4 mags to make them easier to pull from your pouches. I didn’t have enough money to afford them and so used some string and tape. Oh how things have moved on since then! Magpul started building custom guns, the type only seen in photos from ShotShows. Then I saw this:

 

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…and like the rest of us I fell in love. What a space age future look bit of kit!

 

Since then the name Magpul has come to mean to airsoft what the name of Gucci means to fashion. Airsoft has always been split into two worlds, that of players and chairsofters. For once, a company was releasing products that appealed to both. Then came an announcement:

The Store Assistant (Hattori Hanzo) and the Englishman (Basho) enter the attic. The room has racks of custom AEG’s held silently, lit by sunbeams. Motes of dust float in the air.

 

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As Basho examines the weapons Hanzo speaks,

 

1110223343_killbill13.jpg “Funny, you like AEG’s… personally I prefer pistols!” With a flourish he bangs the floor and a paper target slides out from the wall at end of the room.

 

Basho whips back his jacket to reveal a Western Arms AMT Hardballer!

 

The gun bursts from its low profile holster and Basho fires once at the target.

 

Hanzo walks over to the target and regards the shot, “I will make you the gun,” he says, “the Ground Zero Weekender is a month away. I suggest you spend the time practicing.”

The Magpul PTS AEG MOE Carbine is the first AEG from the the PTS Division who are a part of the Magpul company aiming towards training and therefore of great interest to airsofters. Their website is slick as hell and everything points towards a Gucci product. The specifications tell us that the internals are as hot as the externals, and this is not just a basic body kit over TM parts (nothing wrong with TM of course).

 

The specifications are as follows:

 

 

 

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  • Systema Ver II Turbo Gear Box and Motor Set

  • Systema BS 6.04mm Barrel (303mm).

  • Systema Hop Up pack.

  • Systema Metal Chamber Set

  • PTS Diecasting Metal Receiver

  • PTS MOE Hand Guard (Polymer)

  • PTS MOE Grip (Polymer)

  • PTS MOE Stock (Polymer)

  • PTS Modular Sling Adaptor with Sling Mount

  • PTS PMAG (Mid Cap 120 Rounds) (Polymer)

  • PTS MBUS – Rear Sight (Polymer)

  • Muzzle Velocity – 350 FPS

  • Color - Dark Earth

 

 

 

hattorihanzo.jpg Hattori Hanzo sits in front of the Basho examining his new product, “I'm done doing what I swore an oath to God 28 years ago to never do again. I've created something that laces people. And in that purpose I was a success.”

 

Basho watches the old gunsmith handing the new AEG and Hanzo continues,

 

“I can tell you with no ego, this is my finest AEG. If on your journey, you should encounter God, God will cry ‘hit!’”.

 

Basho takes the gun reverently from Hanzo’s hands and his eyes look at the greatest maker of AEG’s on this earth and says;

 

”Domo.”

 

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Basho looks at the finished product:

 

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The box is nothing special compared to some out there, but it got back safe from Hong Kong with no worries.

 

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The stock tube is a work of art. No rattle of the tube itself, the stock rattles a little of course. The action is smooth and simple.

 

The features of this stock:

MOE™ M4 Carbine Collapsible Butt-Stock – Military Model

Magpul® Original Equipment (MOE™) is a line of Airsoft M16/M4 accessories designed to provide a high-quality, economical alternative to standard Airsoft M16/M4 parts. The MOE™ line distinguishes itself with a simplified feature set, but maintains Magpul engineering and material quality.

 

The Magpul® MOE™ Stock is a drop-in replacement butt-stock for carbines using mil-spec size Airsoft receiver extension tubes. Designed for light, fast action the streamlined A-frame profile avoids snagging and shields the release latch to prevent accidental activation. The extra-power lock mechanism uses a premium chrome-silicon spring to avert auto-collapse failure and maintains strength by resisting spring relaxation. The Military Model includes a standard 0.30” rubber butt-pad which provides positive shoulder purchase to prevent slippage even with body armor or modular gear.

Features

- Mounts on Military Carbine Receiver Extension tube (Not included) from manufacturers such as Colt, Armalite, LMT, S&W, etc.

- Premium chrome-silicon lock spring provides positive locking and long service life

- Sloping cheek weld combines a slim profile with user comfort

- Shielded release latch prevents snagging and accidental operation

- Side mounting slots accept optional cheek risers for NON-AR15 / M16 applications

- Compatible with Single-Point® sling mounts

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This cover doe not close, or at least neither Trip or I can get it to close. By the looks of it the internals are blocking the body. I don't mind it open, but it may get damaged and let in water! I will have to mod a solution. As with many AEG’s, pulling back the slide reveals the hop up. The grip is very comfortable, but standard stuff. The selector switch is crisp for a new product. The body itself is plastic, but has a chunky solidness to it and removes all chance of creek. Every single angle is covered in trades, as keeping with the Gucci product

 

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The foregrip is a classic two part, but has no rails on it as standard. The Uncompany rep tried to sell me a custom front end which had four rails, but that was ugly in the extreme. I am going to get the “Drop in Rails” from the net that look like this:

 

 

 

 

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Getting the battery container off is a real bother, it is the classic pulling back of the ring and pulling off of the plate, but it is very stiff and tricky to put back on – requiring a few tries. Not something I will want to do in battle.

 

The wiring looks to be of very high quality.

 

I am using a 8v small battery, but the gun does say to use only a 7v. The Uncompany guys say that the 8v is fine, but a 9v will break the piston. Suffice to say, I will be converting to Lipoly ASAP.

 

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The sling attachment ring at the rear is adjustable to left or right, and this is a neat little idea.

 

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The Flash hider is a horrible orange plastic one, but no fear! A full metal one comes with the gun.

 

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The rear sight is a very nice pop model and completely adjustable. The sight hole clips down to adjust for range. I will be attaching a Red Dot of course.

 

Here is a quick vid of the rate of fire and the moving parts in action. Not the chunky thud of a single shot. This is a well balanced system!

 

**EDIT** Arnies doesn't allow video to be posted, so they are only on the original post on my site. So go there if you want to see them. /shrug

 

 

The P Mag.

 

One P Mag comes with the gun. Much is being made of the P Mag. It is being heralded as the best mag you can buy. Consider this YouTube on the subject:

 

**EDIT** Arnies doesn't allow video to be posted, so they are only on the original post on my site. So go there if you want to see them. /shrug

Edited by Basho
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Every angle is covered in trades again. All the mags are marked as 30 rounds, but actually take 120 BB’s.

 

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The fit into the gun is solid as I have every seen. No wobble or anything.

 

How does the gun handle in the hand?

 

The length of the gun is similar to that of any other M4, or LR. Slightly longer that a commando. The weight is very well distributed and the ergonomic fore grip aids target acquisition. The full battle report will come later as I have no access to a safe place to test the gun live ATM.

 

So, that’s it for now. I think the Magpul is a great AEG to own and something that will stand out in the field, if you can get hold of one!

 

I bought mine by flying to Hong Kong and going into the Uncompany shop. This was about £2.5k. I don't suggest you do that! You can order it for US$ 529.00 here (when in stock!)

 

Regards,

 

Basho

 

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If you liked this review, try some of my others!

 

WA AMT Hardballer

 

Classic Army SCAR

 

And remember to always wear full face!

 

---

Edited by Basho
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A few years late on the Kill Bill bandwagon eh?

 

The techs at uncompany who told you that an 8V battery on a Systema motor is too much are also full of it

 

So when you get your camera set up are you actually going to review it? Except for the fact that the dustcover cant close, i could have read all this information on the Uncompany and Magpul PTS websites.

Edited by Azulsky
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The techs at uncompany who told you that an 8V battery on a Systema motor is too much are also full of it

 

Well, the gun comes with a very clear label saying "7v only". Use a 9v and you will wreck it. I am switching to LiPoly to stay in line with my team, so I will be testing that too. Its ROF is quite high.

 

So when you get your camera set up are you actually going to review it? Except for the fact that the dustcover cant close, i could have read all this information on the Uncompany and Magpul PTS websites.

 

Unfortunately arnies doesn't allow posting of video, but the video's are on my site if you want to hear the gun firing, rof and moving parts. I also linked a great video about the P-Mag.

 

As for the second part of the review, I am waiting till my next skirmish, which will be the GZ weekender. There I will also have our resident engineer (http://www.g-sel.com/) take it apart and I will photo this and record all his comments. I will have video of the gun in action and in game then.

 

I would not normally do a split review like this, but times being what they are and Electrowerkz being out of action, I have to wait until I get to my team's resources. Anything G-Sel say about the internals will be of much higher value than if I pull it apart.

 

As for Kill Bill, personally I love that film :P

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is both an enlightening and highly entertaining review! Well written and I thoroughly enjoyed the Kill Bill references. Even if some of the info could have been gleaned from various other websites, it's always nice to see someone's personal experience and opinion on a product. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  • 1 month later...

PART TWO!

 

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NOTE: This review is split into two parts. This is part two; the review of the gun out in play and my commentary on its real world performance.

 

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The crew from Aliens review the Magpul PTS AEG in the field

"Game over man, game over!"

 

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Gorman: Morning, Marines. I'm sorry we didn't have time to brief you people before we left Gateway, but...

 

Hudson: Sir?

 

Gorman: What is it, Hicks?

 

Hudson: Hudson, sir.

 

[points]

 

Hudson: He's Hicks.

 

Gorman: Basho, please tell us about the new equipment...

Basho: “Ok men here it comes, most people don’t review guns in two parts. No, they instead setup a target, perhaps in their home, shoot a few times at it and give you the benefit of that wisdom.

 

What there is of it.

 

I too have written ones like this, but then I stopped. When I reviewed the TM Desert Eagle Hard Kick I noted its lack of long range accuracy, its mighty jump in the hand that ruined your second shot aim, the lacklustre gas performance in the mags. Then I went out and played with it and realised that I had forgotten the most important piece of information; the DE scares people. I have actually had people cower when I pull it out.

 

That is priceless information!”

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Hudson: “So, is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another newb’hunt?”

 

Gorman: “All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony, and that Team Beans may be involved.”

 

Frost: “Excuse me sir, Beans? What?”

 

Gorman: “Team Beans.”

 

Hicks: “It's a newb’hunt.”

Basho: “So, this review is another gun, perhaps a real winner, and certainly flavour of the month, tested out where it belongs: in the field. Out in the mud and leaves where I can tell its hidden abilities.

 

The Ground Zero Weekender is not like many other airsoft games. Not only is it larger, now sporting over 1200 players, but its size actually has a strange effect on those who attend. They bring all their new toys to play with. People make an effort for Ground Zero, an effort they not often make for a muck about down any old woods. I saw people dressed as characters from Intel Adverts, whole teams in Vietnam load outs and more multicam clad warriors than at the last Delta Force BBQ.

 

For the Magpul PTS to score highly on the “Bling’ometer”, it would have to be very special indeed.”

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Vasquez: “Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are.”

 

Drake: “Go, Vasquez. Kick *albatross*.”

 

Vasquez: “Anytime, anywhere, man!”

 

Basho: “I sure hope you are right”

 

[Gorman scowls then, thanking Ripley with a nod, takes over the pred-op briefing.]

 

Gorman: “All right, we have Basho’s first report on the basic weapon on file. I suggest that you all read it. An addendum follows.”

MOTHER: OPSED-2501. FILE ACCESS GRANTED.

 

MOTHER: Displaying file: “Basho – MAGPUL PTS Addendum report”

 

Notes:

  1. The first thing that hits you when you are trying to sling the Magpul PTS is that it is not heavy. Even with a battery and loaded P-Mag in, it still is lighter than many AEG’s. This is due to mainly to the size of the gun, the skeletonised stock and the light but strong plastic in the hand guards. I slung it to a Chalker “Tactical Bra” sling that hangs the gun directly on the bodies centre line. It was short enough that when I knelt it did not strike the mud, but of course if you are tiny then this may still happen to you.

  2. I ran the PTS on both P-Mags and standard King-Arms mid caps. I personally had no problems at all with mags or feeding. The P-Mags do fit tightly in the well and can be a little more of a pain to change quickly, but with practice I was quick enough to fight strong.

  3. I dragged the gun through mud, in puddles, in leaves. I crashed to the ground, dived and rolled, all sorts of stuff. The gun took it all. It is a tough little customer.

  4. It drew only a few envious looks. To quote the late, great, Douglas Adams: The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. "Make it evil," he'd been told. "Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with."

[Deep in the woods, the Delta Alpha team get ready for battle]

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Lex: All right, sweethearts, you're a team and there's nothin' to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna kick some, is that understood? That's what we gonna do, sweethearts, we are going to go and get some. All right, people, on the ready line! Are ya lean?

 

DAs: Yea!

 

Lex: Are ya mean?

 

DAs: Yea!

 

Lex: WHAT ARE YOU?

 

DAs: Lean and mean!

 

Lex: WHAT ARE YOU? Get on the ready line, DA’s, get some today! Get on the ready line! Move it out! Move it out, goddammit! Get hot! One, two, three, four! Get out, get out, get out! Move it out, move it out, move it out! Move it out, move it out, move it out! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Aaarrrrr, absolutely badassess! Let's pack 'em in! Get in there!

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[in battle the command-team watch over the personal camera and see a guns-eye view of the play]

Hudson: “There's Beans all over the place! They’re coming out the f*cking walls man!”

 

Basho: “Now I could tell you about my play with this gun. I could wax lyrical about it and even perhaps manage to put something across about how it plays. But this cannot compare with seeing it for yourself yourself. So, I attached a camera to the weapon and recorded its play in the field. I have two files for you.”

MOTHER: OPSED-2502. FILE ACCESS GRANTED.

 

MOTHER: Displaying file selection. Please pick an option:

 

1. Band of Dark Angels. This file contains footage of the GZ event and lots of the gun in action at the end.

 

CLICK HERE

 

2. Magpul part two. This is the footage of play cut out from the above and lots of extra footage of the gun firing at various targets.

 

CLICK HERE

 

Not bad for a human!

 

As you can see from the footage, this is a great AEG and a definite buy if you get a chance. Let’s ask one last character from the film, what he thinks:

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GET ONE! HHHSSsssss

Regards,

 

Basho

 

PS: I did have lots of photos of the gun at the event, but my iPhone had a malfunction and I lost them all the day after I came back :( Sorry!

 

If you liked this review, try some of my others!

 

WA AMT Hardballer

 

Classic Army SCAR

 

And remember to always wear full face!

 

---

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Well your second vid shows that you sure do like to "Overkill" bad play sir... very bad!

 

If i was the poor sod stood behind the tree at the end of your second vid i would have called a marshal and reported your *albatross*, a very long burst of full auto from about a metre or less just shows you to be a dangerously BAD PLAYER! ever herd of single shot/ bang kills at close range.

Your the kind of player that gives our sport a bad name!

 

Sir you need to get some discipline, just because you have a Gucci gun that has an obscene rate of fire doesnt entitle you to act like an *albartroth*!

I am a regular at Ground Zero and go to the weekenders, if i see you doing the same s#*t to people there again i will do my best to have you removed!

 

Grow UP!!

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Well your second vid shows that you sure do like to "Overkill" bad play sir... very bad!

 

If i was the poor sod stood behind the tree at the end of your second vid i would have called a marshal and reported your *albatross*, a very long burst of full auto from about a metre or less just shows you to be a dangerously BAD PLAYER! ever herd of single shot/ bang kills at close range.

Your the kind of player that gives our sport a bad name!

 

Sir you need to get some discipline, just because you have a Gucci gun that has an obscene rate of fire doesnt entitle you to act like an *albartroth*!

I am a regular at Ground Zero and go to the weekenders, if i see you doing the same s#*t to people there again i will do my best to have you removed!

 

Grow UP!!

 

Agreed. Was that during a real game or were you just messing around with your friends?

 

I still like your gun. :)

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The charge.. well done

hosing people at point blank range OUT OF ORDER!

 

Well, the marshalls (two of them) standing right next to this guy decided that not only was this event OK by them, but that it deserved a medal. So, I reiterate in a different way: It is not your place to rant at me for anything. And anyway, the footage looks much worse than it was and also does not show context. Very important context.

 

You were right about something though, the PTS does have an awesome rate of fire! :P

 

 

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Ok Basho maybe i was a little harsh with my first comments BUT if your going to publish a video on view to the public you must be prepared for comments!

 

I have tried counting how many shots hit the guy behind the tree with but the ROF of your gun is too high, its somewhere between 10 to 20 i would say.

We all have a responsibility of care to others when playing airsoft, such as snipers using high powered rifles having minimum engagement ranges etc, same goes for AEG users, rules of engagement, that close range a single shot/bang kill or a very short say 3 round burst would have been more appropriate.

Over the years I have seen players and a friend get severe lacerations to the skin from being hit on full auto at that close a range in games... its not funny and put them off playing for a good while/permanantly... that isnt good for our sport!

 

You showed more skill in the earlier engagement in your video when you caught 5 or 6 players totaly unawares in the open on top of the hill, that should have got the medal!

 

In my opinion people running around with hi caps/box mags and their finger welded to the trigger is not as skillful, no disrespect but any noob could do so.

This is why i use normal cap mags and mostly shoot on semi. this to me is more skillful, i have to choose my shots more carefuly and use tactics (like you showed on the hill) to get my kills.

On the first day of the Ground Zero weekender i scored 24 kills and did not get hit once myself (and no im not a teflon plated warrior!) This gave me a huge buzz!

 

Anyway sorry for flaming you so harshly but as you can tell "close range overkill" is a very sore subject with me!

Rant over, back on topic chaps

Al

 

Ps; your gun does look the muts nuts mate!!

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Ok Basho maybe i was a little harsh with my first comments BUT if your going to publish a video on view to the public you must be prepared for comments!

 

Fair comment, and I am! (The main video "Band of Delta-Alpha" is all over the web at the moment and someone even posted it on the Army Rumour Service forums.)

 

In that spirit let me answer your points.

 

I mentioned context because the situation was a particular one. My side was flanked by this lone guy and he was taking fire from about 15 people and (from our point of view) being a nob by hiding behind a tree and, well, basically blind firing us all and claiming he wasn't being hit. Having been a marshal, I know that there is no way we could tell for sure. After a minute of this nonsense I thought, well damn this! and charged him. I held down my trigger as I charged to pin him behind the tree and then used my high speed combined with coming from the blind side of the tree to catch him unawares. When I saw him I targeted his webbing and gave him a burst. You can see in the footage that most of the BB's hit him on the back and only when he ducks his head down does he catch a few on his *albatross*. I am sure they hurt a little, but hey this isn't paint ball. I was then immediately shot by his friend hiding behind the bank at his feet. As I walked back, the marshal's called me over and gave the medal.

 

That's the context.

 

I am someone very serious about safety in airsoft. I was a marshal at Electrowerkz before it closed and many people on here will remember my stance on overkill etc. I also made a post a few years back calling for fullface to be mandatory and had to fight off a *suitcase* ton of abuse to defend this. So, I do care.

 

I only use mid caps and low caps. That was a P-Mag in the PTS. 120 rounds.

 

Suppression is a valid tactic even in real steel.

 

The guy was not taking single shots. There are times, we have all had them, when you are faced with a choice: Fight on and take a burst. Or fake a hit and walk as the situation is too high octane. This guy, hats off to him, fought at least 15 guys on his own for 2 minutes. That's someone taking it to the max. Then to start being a little teflon, well, that's balls deep. You are always going to get "properly shot" when the OpFor do finally get you!

 

There was 8 guys in the section of the video where I snuck up behind them. The first video shows it in even slower motion with added sound effects.

 

I like single shot, its much more my style. I have never owned a box mag! My team are all strict milsim these days, so its single shots all round for me. I did find that at the GZ Weekender, people were simply not taking them.

 

If you think that was a lacing, you should have seen some of the stuff I had to deal with at Electro. We had one guy with a gun that shot 42bb's a second!

 

Anyway, thanks for your comments!

 

Basho

Edited by Basho
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Couple of related points:-

 

It did seem as though our hero was a bit heavy on the trigger once he'd got behind the guy.

Conversely, what was the guy doing? Waiting for a taxi to arrive and extract him?

Geez, if somebody's charging at you at least shoot back or run away!

 

Most importantly, however, as a Member of long-standing, Basho knows better than to insult other forum members directly.

That's just not on. :waggle:

 

*EDIT*

I was gonna give Basho warning points for his insults but, meh.

It's a bloody good review and the videos were enjoyable to watch so it'd be wrong to p*ss on anybody's chips over a bit of internet drama.

Please, in future, keep the direct insults to yourself.

Hit the report button if you find something truly offensive. :)

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You showed more skill in the earlier engagement in your video when you caught 5 or 6 players totaly unawares in the open on top of the hill, that should have got the medal!

 

Yea how was that even possible? It left me dumbfounded. Hahah.. :P

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