S-Thunder Composite Grenade Launcher Short Barrel.

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S-Thunder Composite Grenade Launcher Short Barrel.

 

I have always wanted to have a handheld grenade launcher. Even if most of them are based on fantasy looks it just seemed like a fun thing to play with. The other reason I wanted one is I have three m203 grenades and don't have a launcher mounted on my gun.

 

Pros

-Competitively priced

-Durable plastic body

-Very little pressure required to fire grenade using CO2

-Compact

 

Cons

-Safety sticks on occasion

-Seam line for two halves of body is kind of sharp and noticeable in areas

 

Function

The grenade launcher doesn't have a ton going on making it exceedingly easy to use. On the left hand side of the launcher just above the trigger is the barrel release switch. When pushed towards the end of the barrel it unlocks the barrel allowing it to be tilted forward. Once the barrel is tilted forward you can pop in your fancy chunk of metal or plastic in 40mm format and close the barrel. The three S-Thunder grenades I tested in this unit all slid in and out effortlessly. Even if the shell is too long for the launcher it will just hang out the end like with the long foam ball launcher, or the large gas shell. The Large gas shell just peaks out the end of the barrel while the foam ball one hangs out a good inch or two. The standard shell fits great. Once the shell is in and the barrel is locked down you can either fire the grenade or put it on safe for later. The safety is the switch at the very rear of the launchers body. It is marked with a F for fire or S for safe. I have had it stick a few times when the trigger is pulled while it was on safe. It only took a few seconds to get it going again. With the safety off the trigger is a very easy pull compared to pressing it with your finger. This is great because anyone who has attempted to fire a CO2 shell with their fingers when its charged to max pressure will know it's not an easy task. The grip is a M16 standard grip and appears to be very robust.

 

Build Quality

The whole unit is made mostly of plastic in one way shape or form. However this does not detract from the overall sturdiness of the unit. The pistol grip appears to be made of a different plastic then the rest of the launcher. My only dislike about the plastic is the two halves that make up the body. The seam line is fairly noticeable. This isn't really a huge thing as it's a cheap toy launcher made of plastic. Hopefully the metal version does not have this problem. There will be several variants of this launcher out in the next while so keep your eyes peeled and check out http://s-thunder.com/en/product/?pid=12 for the various versions.

 

Conclusion

Overall this is a great little gadget and I thank S-Thunder for sending it in along with a bunch of other toys for review. It is most certainly worth the money. Several of my teammates and I spent an hour shooting shell after shell at things. We had the bb's reaching out well over 50 feet. The launcher is very portable and points naturally at the target. I hope to get the railed version with a longer barrel in the next few months. I recommend this to all of you with shells that want a new toy. These will be available in Canada through http://tacticalinnovations.ca/

 

Pictures

 

I had hoped to get outside and take some pictures of this in the sun but it appears its monsoon season on base. So instead you get bed pictures and when I get home next I will have to use my white board for something prettier.

 

The side of the launcher showing all the controls

Cracked open

Shell loaded into the chamber

Showing the various grenades and how far they will extend past the barrel