Mini-Uzi (CO2 Export version) - ArniesAirsoft

Author

R22Master

Dionysus

Registered: September 2004
Location: Static in the UK, but wishing I was motorbiking around the world - UK > Europe > Russia > Alaska > USA > UK.
Posts: 3,372

Review Date: 15/8/05

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: �105.00 | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Loud noise, heavy recoil, heavy replica, all metal, realistic operation, good price
Cons:	Heavy gas consumption, high power means it is un-skirmishable in the UK

Okay, I received my KWC CO2 Mini Uzi from WGC and I've barely been able to put it down since. I ordered it because I am always after something utterly realistic and this seemed to offer everything I wanted. Metal construction, heavy weight, loud noise and lots of recoil. Yup, this was the gun for me, and I was almost jumping for joy when the shipment arrived at my house.

First Impressions

The gun, accessories, and manual all come in the best free gun-case I have ever seen. The case is stamped with the genuine "Uzi" logo and is made of a very tough black plastic material.

Inside is the traditional foam inlay that keeps the gun safe from bumps and knocks, but more surprisingly there is a special hatch that contains the manual and tools, together with five slots for storing CO2 capsules securely.

I'm impressed.

Included is a sight adjustment tool, a 'key' for loading and removing the CO2 capsules in the magazine, a nicely laid out manual that is written in English (with lots of good photo-diagrams), and a BB-loading tool (custom push-rod type). Of course, the gun and magazine is in there too. Wink

The Gun Itself

The instant I picked up the gun I knew I was going to like it. The weight strikes you immediately as setting this replica aside from all the others. I have never picked up a weightier GBB this size.

The foregrip and pistol grip are plastic, but pretty much everything else on this gun is metal - even the internals. The bolt inside is a solid block of metal, as are the spring guides, body, barrel, rear folding stock, magazine, grip-safety and sights.

As an interesting feature, this gun has absolutely NO Airsoft related trademarks. There's no ASGK stamp, no "Made in Taiwan" writing, not even a "Read menu before happy fun shoots" warning. Everything is as per the real-deal.

The build quality is ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING! There are no other words to describe it. Everything fits together nicely, there are no squeaks or rattles, and everything feels solid as a rock - no 'sponginess' at all!

I am even more impressed.

Basic Operation

The metal folding stock is very solid and slots nicely into place in either position, although there is no actual locking mechanism. To fold or unfold the stock, all you do is pull on it. This can be a bit of a problem in very rare circumstances. For example, if carrying this replica in stock-extended mode with the stock running up your arm to the shoulder and the gun against your chest, pulling the gun too tightly in to your body might just be enough to collapse the stock. But this doesn't happen as long as you know how to avoid it happening.

The HOP-UP is VERY easy to adjust too. The 'Barrel Locking Ring' at the front of the gun is actually the HOP-UP adjuster on this particular replica. Simply rotate this ring to achieve the desired level of HOP. There is also a lock to stop the ring rotating by itself. The lock can be disengaged by pushing in the small lug above the ring on the front of the gun, although it only needs to be manually manipulated to remove HOP. When increasing the level, a clever ratchet system means the lock does not need to be disengaged manually. It is by far the easiest and most effective HOP-UP adjusting system I have EVER seen on an Airsoft gun.

The grip safety works flawlessly, but it has stopped me pulling the trigger a few times because my hand was not gripping the gun in exactly the right place. I have now disabled this safety as good gun handling techniques makes it unneccessary. However, considering the higher output power of this gun, an extra safety is probably a good thing for most people, to help avoid accidental injuries.

The magazine is very easy to load with BBs either from the top or from the front of the mag. There is a BB-Loading tool included, but it is a push-rod type (similar to that included with Marui AEGs), and of course it is just as fiddly to use. Luckily though, the mag is easy to load by hand and a little patience means that you can also use most speedloaders to fill the mag with BBs.

Swapping out the CO2 capsule does unfortunately require a tool and one is included. However, a 2 pence piece works just as well to open the gas compartment and with practice you can change gas bulbs within 1 minute.

Firing

Now the bit you've all been waiting for. How well does it shoot...

First off, this gun is powerful - very powerful compared to other Airsoft guns. In stock (unmodified) form with a normal CO2 capsule, this gun clocks between 471fps and 493fps with 0.20g BBs. While this makes for a great target shooting gun and can give you a huge smile knocking down tin-cans, it is NOT a skirmishing gun. In the UK, skirmishing guns can usually be no higher than 328fps and this gun is clearly beyond that level. While this gun would not cause lethal injuries, it could cause minor surface injuries and considerable pain to a human target. This gun is only recommended for use in a safe target shooting environment by people familiar with firing range tachniques.

Secondly, the noise and recoil (kick) is immediately apparent as being very bery impressive - far more so than most other GBB replicas. Of course as the BB is so light, there is no real recoil, but the action of the heavy bolt flying back and forth inside the gun creates a kind of 'Simulated Recoil' that makes this replica great fun to shoot, especially with the stock extended and shouldered.

The noise too is a very satisfying crack as the BB is launched and the metalic 'racking' as the internals do their thing. I would compare it as louder even than the TM Desert Eagle Hardkick which is a loud gun, although it is hardly deafening. It will definately get a smile from most users. Smile

The bolt cycles once for each shot, although the charging handle on top remains in the forward position.

The Rate Of Fire (ROF) is just right in my opinion. It is slower than the real-steel Mini-Uzi and approximately the same as the real-steel Kalashnikov AK47. For reference, that is a little slower than a stock Airsoft AEG. This is a good thing as a more rapid ROF would ruin this gun's performance as cool-down would take full effect.

I am ball-bouncingly impressed.

Gas Efficiency

Note on Cool-Down: The 'Cool-Down Effect' occurs when compressed gas is released from a container quickly. As latent heat of vaporization is taken from the atmosphere to allow the gasses to expand, the container cools down dramatically and ice can even form. As there is less and less heat available for this liquid-to-gas conversion, the gas is released more slowly and with less force. This lowers the power available to the blowback mechanism on the gun and decreases performance. As the Mini-Uzi uses so much gas so quickly on Full-Auto, cool-down is a considerable problem.

Expect this gun to get 1 full magazine of BBs out of the barrel for every 1 CO2 capsule. However, there are a couple of exceptions.

If you fire off an entire magazine in full-auto and in one long burst, the gas will not last long enough to empty all of the BBs. Chances are you will only get three quarters of the way through the available BBs before the gas runs out. This is due to the increased Cool-Down Effect (see above) of firing in this way.

If you fire off the entire magazine in semi-auto mode with at least 10 seconds between each shot, the CO2 capsule will most likely last up to two whole magazines worth of BBs before running out. This is due to the reduced Cool-Down Effect (see above) of firing in this way.

As you can see, the best way to fire this gun for a good mix of fun and performance would be a mixture of semi and full-auto. Leaving the gun unfired for extended periods between bursts also helps massively as it allows the CO2 capsule to warm back up and makes more latent heat of vaporization to become available for the next burst. You will get the hang of it fairly quickly as long as you aren't too trigger-happy. Wink

Accuracy

The HOP-UP can be a bit tricky to get just right as the cool-down effect will throw off your shots if you try to set it too quickly. Take your time though and it is dead easy. Accuracy is excellent when the HOP-UP is set just right, but again, accuracy goes down when rapid firing as the strength of shots changes. It is still better than most other GBBs though Wink

Maintenance and Improvements

This gun is VERY easy to take apart. From its fully assembled condition, I can remove the top cover, access the bolt and remove it within 5 seconds, and that is without practice.

Lubrication REALLY improves the efficiency and performance of this gun. The manual indicates 3 locations where oiling is beneficial - it is correct. Most notably the top, sides and bottom of the bolt can be lubed to seriously increase gas efficiency (less resistance = less gas needed per shot). Putting some silicone oil inside and around the blowback cylinder will also help with the operation and efficiency of this gun (A silicone oil dropper works better than a silicone oil spray in this gun).

Also, I add a couple of drops of silicone oil in to the capsule-gasket (the seal between the inside of the mag and the lip of the CO2 cylinder) before loading each capsule. This stops leaks, increases the life of the seals and gives the internals a nice bit of lubrication while firing.

The 'Green Gas / TOP Gas adapter'

There is an adapter that you can get for this gun that allows it to run on Green Gas. The adapter however was primarily designed for other guns in the KWC range (the Desert Eagle, Sigma SW40F, etc...) and does not do a very good job in this Uzi. After a good chat to Airsoft Scotland on the phone, they advised me not to bother with one of these. The output power levels provided by this adapter are still over 1 joule and the efficiency is even worse than with the CO2 capsules. My thanks to Airsoft Scotland for their honesty. Wink

Conclusion

This gun is AMAZING and I have been so impressed by it, it is difficult to put in to words. It is a must for anyone who wants the realism and excitement that is rarely found shooting most Airsoft models. It's VERY heavy, great fun to shoot and makes even the weediest chap look like a manly stud Smile

The noise, the recoil, the quality of build and the unusually low price are all reasons why everyone should have one. You'll never look at another GBB in quite the same way again.

I am REALLY glad I have got one of these and will be splashing out on a couple of spare mags shortly. You MUST buy the CO2 in bulk though. I use around 25 capsules every 24 hours and I have been really trying to restrain myself. It is just too much fun to ignore and if you are a fan of realistic operating airsoft guns, this HAS to be the best thing you can get. Just such a shame it will never see a skirmish field.

The low efficiency of the gas is the only downside really. It means that rampant full-auto joy is something that needs to be tempered with this particular model, but it is so far outweighed by all of the good points, I really can't complain.

I give this gun a 9 and a half out of 10. Great stuff Smile!

Buy one.

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Registered: April 2008
Location: Boise
Posts: 2

Review Date: 24/4/08

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Wicked, just wicked
Cons:	CO2 capsules are expensive....

These are great, I really have a great time with this. I thought the review was well done and so I just want to add one note:

A piece inside of mine recently broke and I was very upset that my gun was disabled. I finally looked up KWC's website (expecting it to be in a far eastern moon-language) but as it turns out it is very useful and has interesting tech articles for KWC guns. Anyway, I wrote their customer service department describing the part that I need and they got back to me within a day with a price and payment instructions. Within about another week (if even) I had the part and I was back in business. I HIGHLY recommend KWC for their customer support. This is one gun that you will be able to repair no matter what should happen to fail on you. For the record, that one part is so far the only one to fail on me.