SW Barrett M99 review

[Shark413]

I wasn't really looking for one of these because in the past all that was available were uber expensive conversion kits. But recently I received a coupon that gave me 50% off so for under $100 bucks I picked up a brand new Snow Wolf M99. Not sure what to expect because I never heard of Snow Wolf, but for that price I decided to take a chance. Most of this review will be concentrated on the internals. I did a little research prior to my purchase and this rifle is supposed to be copy of the Maruzen APS2 internally. I have a Maruzen APS2 SV so once the M99 arrived I took it part to compare the two. At first glance (other than the trigger) it does appear to be very similar to the APS2. Since the M99 is a bullpup design the M99 uses a sliding trigger linkage ending in a plastic wedge that presses up against the trigger nub. You would think all this extra linkage would add slop to the trigger pull, but actually after a little cleaning up it was not bad. I cleaned the barrel as it was full of grease and chrono'd it at 485fps. The APS2 uses a plastic trigger box, where as the M99 uses a metal box which theoretically should be stiffer. The M99 cylinder is aluminum with a brass nozzle at one end and a crimped on zinc bolt stub at the other, same as the APS2. The piston is plastic with one o-ring and the spring guide is also plastic, again same as the APS2. The M99 magazine feed is smaller than the APS2, so the APS2 mag will not fit without modding. One good thing about the SW M99 mag is that it has a small lever that when inserted into the rifle holds the feed follower down slightly so the nozzle does not catch when the mag is empty. Anyone with a Maruzen will know about this issue, as the APS2 nozzle will catch on an empty mag and the nozzle can be damaged if the bolt is forced forward on an empty mag. I am still waiting for my scope so I have not been able to see how accurate it is, but so far I have been impressed with what you get for under $100. This rifle is not for everyone because it is huge (long) and heavy (14 pounds), but it is unique and many APS2 hop-up parts can be added.

 

Snow Wolf M99

 

Side by Side, SR25, M99 and APS2

 

Mag well (M99 on top)

 

Trigger internals (M99 on the left)

 

Cylinders (APS2 on top)

 

Nozzles, the holes used to remove the nozzle have different spacing with the APS2 being slightly wider.

 

inside the M99

 

Inside the M99 trigger, trigger nub and a nice steel sear.

 

Bolt handle mounts, the APS2 has a square end the SW has a round end.

[Shark413]

Here is a picture of the SW M99 next to my WE G39. This thing is huge.

 

[Shark413]

Here are some optional parts I will be installing into the M99. Most of these parts were originally for my APS2 but I never installed them.

 

[ricenotburgers]

Whats the long term stock reliability of it look like?

[Special K]

Where did you order it from? I looked at one some time ago, If I find one in the over $100 range I've got some APS2 parts hanging around.

[D-JHapyMeal]

Please get accuracy test ASAP, please!!

[Shark413]

Where did you order it from? I looked at one some time ago, If I find one in the over $100 range I've got some APS2 parts hanging around.

 

A while back I received a 50% off coupon from Airsplat on any spring powered rifle, so I checked their site and ran across the M99. I probably would not have made the purchase without the coupon because the rifle is so big and heavy, but for the price I paid it was a good deal.

[Shark413]

Whats the long term stock reliability of it look like?

 

I only put a few hundred rounds thru it so I really can't say for sure how it will hold up in the long run. But it has the same build quality as some of the other sniper clones out there (nylon piston/spring guide, zinc metal parts, aluminum cylinder, etc). One thing I liked was the metal trigger box which seems like it would be more durable than the plastic trigger box in most clones. Also it came with a steel piston sear, instead of a weaker zinc part.

[Shark413]

Please get accuracy test ASAP, please!!

 

I really have not had time to tune the rifle, but stock it was shooting about a 3" group at 50 feet with a few flyers. This is with .20g bb's which are probably way too light and at longer ranges I am sure the group would be a lot bigger as the lighter bb's would get blown around. So I am waiting for some heavier bb's and then I will try again. Also there was no inner barrel spacer, which probably caused some of the flyers, I have to see if I can fit an APS2 or Type 96 spacer in there.

[KokoNut]

Just a friendly warning to any would be buyers of this beast...

 

I bought one of these off evike about a year and a half ago, and it ended up having a warped barrel. The outer barrel leaned towards the right. Even with my scope's windage adjusted full right to compensate it was way off target. We're talking several inches at only 20 yards.

 

I shipped it back and got put on the waiting list for the next batch, and after waiting about 4 months I finally canceled and got a refund. I was on a forum over the summer (don't remeber which site) and saw a post about this gun and someone mentioned the exact same problem, a warped barrel. It may have been the evike forums so it's possible this unlucky guy bought my boneyarded return, but I can't be sure.

 

Maybe I just had a lemon or there was a bad batch, but when viewed from the top you could see the lean in the barrel, it was off several degrees. QC must have been drunk that day (if snow wolf even has QC). Anyways just wanted to throw that out there, it seems like most people didn't have this issue. And it was pretty cool looking

[wolfgeorge]

Great review....

I read it somewhere about that warped barrel problem and at a German forum and at Evike that's why I bought the Socom GearM82 instead but it's not worth it. it;s under powered for use as a sniper rifle. I'm waiting for the Polar Star HPA conversion Gearbox so I can play with it again!

[Shark413]

After reading Kokonut's reply I went and checked my barrel alignment and sure enough it was off to the right by several degrees. This would explain why my groupings were to the right, I have to consider this a design flaw. I guess this gun will become a wall hanger.

[airsplat2]

After reading Kokonut's reply I went and checked my barrel alignment and sure enough it was off to the right by several degrees. This would explain why my groupings were to the right, I have to consider this a design flaw. I guess this gun will become a wall hanger.

 

hey Shark,

 

sorry you are having issue with the gun. How long ago did you recieve the item in the mail? If its within 30 days and you've got all the original packaging in good condition, you can set it up for an exchange. The exchange price would be for the sale price of the item though (around 100$) Let us know by PM and we can set it up for you

[Mikeandwendy74]

Don't give up on the M99, and the barrel being cocked is a 2 part issue, for one most likely you have a design flaw in the top rail, usually they are cocked to the left or right, making it difficult to sight the rifle it, after fixing that , you need to resecure the 2 outer barrel caps that hold the outer barrel to the rifle(under the top cover) From the factory they are loose a couple wraps of black electrical tape put the caps back on and no more "BENT" or "WARPED" barrel issues, I made a series of upgrade videos on this rifle dealing with almost everything I could find on it. If you upgrade this rifle like I did, and put the work into fixing the faulty machining(very easy) you will have a rifle that hits the same hole at 75 feet 20 times out of 20 shots. I'll post a link to the youtube channel you can check the videos out if you wish.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/Mikeandwendy74?feature=mhum

 

if you watch the videos, make sure to watch the one titled M99 Shooting test Split vid. that will show you the result of your labor.

Edited February 6, 2011 by Mikeandwendy74

[ShinSeiki]

Saw this topic by accident and immediately checked mine, its straight, maybe you got a lemon...