Socom MK.23 - TM clone by KJW - with extended barrel/mock silencer.

[Biigs]

Hi all,

 

I noticed there was no review of this surprisingly brilliant clone pistol of the famous socom MK.23 navy seal .45 side arm.

 

The Tokyo Marui version is a damned fine gun and rather costly, this version features a silencer as a silencer, as you can imagine on a gas pistol this works pretty well.

 

The KJW version i bought for two reasons, the price (less than half the TM version) the second reason being that this version comes with a barrel extension in the silencer not a spring and foam rings - hoping for better accuracy  and less bothered about being quiet.

 

 

To my surprise the KJW "stealth assassin" mk.23 is actually very quiet, non blow back gun as it is but with the extender on, is more accurate, increases fps by about 10-20% and makes it really REALLY quiet [which didnt really make sense].  Its main active parts are metal, but almost everything else is strong plastic.  I wish i had access to the TM version to see which is quieter, the clones extended barrel or the TM suppressor - i suspect the TM would be quieter, but it would be far closer a call than the TM owners would like.

 

The KJW version comes with the barrel extending mock silencer, some free BB's that were not total garbage like most free bb's and one 26 round magazine, the magazine taking up a large portion of the guns total weight, the gun feels very cheap and nasty without the mag in, but also solid due to the fairly robust ABS plastic it doesnt feel totally useless - and it certainly performs WAY above it's expected 'pay grade'.

 

Who is this gun for and who is it not for:  Pro mil-sim players wanting realism - stay away, this guns not for you.  Players who want good value for money, yes this should definitely be looked at as well as the TM version - snipers who want a side arm with some punch, yes!.  New players - definitely, just a great starter pistol!

 

The non blow back makes for a few BB refills before the gas is gone, shoots a VERY respectable 320 fps which is only a bit lower than my AEG!!!!

 

One thing i must bring up, the rail on the underside of the front end barrel is NOT weaver or picatinny, it is larger, there is a LAM unit available that does fit this gun specificity, but be warned, some are just for looks and some barely function rather than full operation [high lumen light and real laser].  I cannot go into more detail as i modified mine with accept a certain lamp/strobe, since the LAM unit didnt come with this clone but the TM version does. Again, cannot provide any first hand info on this, so next!

 

If there was a standard rail underneath, id be so tempted to mod this gun into little sniper, its got the range and power in the zone of ability to hit at well over 50 meters, and head shot size groupings @ 20 meters consistently.

 

Issues worthy of note: does jam some times, this can be both internally and in the mag, but nothing a tap on the side, or eject mag/rack slide cant fix in a few seconds.  No paint on the sights, easy fix drill tiny dip in each of the rear sights and front sight and put a drop of neon acrylic or some white paint on, then scratch off excess around the drilled 'dot'.

 

This was my first review, i wont post any pics as my mk.23 has been modified since unboxing, please go gentle if you have any questions.

 

regards,

 

Biigs

Edited April 15, 2016 by Biigs

[Dentonboy]

My brother picked up the STTi version (the box looks familiar to the one above) from TaiwanGun last week for about £20.

 

He absolutely loves it, and it seems to be an absolute bargain.

 

The FPS noticeably shoots up once the silencer/extended barrel is screwed on, and it sounds very nice.

 

I would say though, the plastic feels quite light-weight and I wouldn't trust it to survive a fall onto something harder than grass, so a lanyard/decent holster would be a must buy IMHO.

 

I have the TM MK.23 and I love it. But the STTi version makes that seem heavyweight.

[Biigs]

Yeah the sound is quite a calm "thwump" kind of sound, often in CQB the BB pinking off things is far louder than the shot noise.

 

 

One thing i should have mentioned is that this requires a very large holster, so if you cant find something MK.23 specific or listed as a gun type fits, you need to be thinking along the lines of a desert eagle and if you add a LAM unit or any under rail attachments do what i did and go for a fully adjustable velcro holdster, mines some unbranded cheap version with a belt hoop and 2x plastic clips for keeping it strapped to the leg - cost me about 10 quid on ebay.

 

I paid about 50 quid for mine in the UK (gun+extender+mag), ive no doubt its cheaper in Taiwan etc, but this is one time with a cheap gun thats really "blown me away" with just how damned practical it is for all its lack of realism, in actual skirmishes.  Yeah it might break if you fell on it but at this price, just buy another one!

Edited April 15, 2016 by Biigs

[DarkLite]

The Warrior Universal Pistol holster can be adjusted to fit a mk23. Just FYI

[Biigs]

A big EDIT here, after some research due to the number of clones i wasnt happy mine was actually made by who i said it was, i managed to stumble on a video of the exact gun being taken OUT OF THE SAME BLACK BOX, its NOT a JKW like i said its actually a  HFC HG-302.

 

Sorry for not having caught this sooner and more importantly writing a review on it, but there it is, its in fact a  HFC HG-302 "stealth assassin".  of course everything i said about the gun was completely correct, since i have it in my hands right now - just goes to show that some of these clones come without clear manufacturer logos or ... well in this case any clue of this guns actual brand.

 

?I do apologise and when my next review comes up i will be sure to get such a simple thing correct the first time round, my next review will be of a M4 stubby CQB weapon that im expecting any day [its actually late already], i will however wait till ive taken it on a full days skirmish before spilling any beans on its performance.

 

regards,

 

Biigs

[Guges Mk3]

I thought that thing was made by Y&P

 

[Guges Mk3]

Mis-post.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Guges Mk3

[renegadecow]

That it is. Even says so on the box of free bbs. But nobody really knows who Y&P is so you can't blame retailers to just list them as something more familiar.

[RedRob]

We've got one of these - from TaiwanGun as well. By the way, for those that don't realise, they are in Poland so no import duties, and I've had excellent service from them - quicker and cheaper than most UK sites. Anyway, back to the MK23 - it's far better than its price suggests, Biigs review is spot on. I solved the rail issue by simply screwing a spare piece of 20mm rail under it so it could take a standard torch (or a bipod for giggles!). I've found it very consistent, and I won an impromptu pistol competition with it when my "proper" GBB M9 preferred to vent rather than propel BBs....

[CaseSpartan]

I skirmished with just one of these for years and loved it! I wish i hadnt sold it!