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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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2
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34451
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10/2/07
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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£150.00
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9.0
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Description:
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Part metal, part ABS plastic (typical of Marui) high-powered spring shotgun, 280fps consistent, fires 3 BB's at once, all at 280fps, 1800 grams, £130 - $150
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Keywords:
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Benelli Tokyo Marui Shotgun shotguns Benellim3 m3
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The_One_Free_Man
Registered: January 2006
Location: Peterborough, East Anglia
Posts: 236
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Review Date: 5/2/06
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £150.00
| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Looks very beefy, Cocking is a massive morale boost!
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Cons:
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1800 grams- not too heavy, Bad reputation with locking up, plastic foregrip, 265 fps bit low for some
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First off, I'd like to say I'm don't throw away points, if I have a gripe I won't beat around the bush about mentioning it.
I initially bought this gun because despite the fact it cost about as much as an AEG (bout 20 quid cheaper because of simple internals compared to AEG) it was in the long run, cheaper (Or so I thought) because I didn't have to buy a charger and battery.
I believe considering all the shotguns out there the TM series are without a doubt the best. They look excellent and perform like AEG's.
Onto the M3. I remember the first day I gleefully tore open the postage packing and was presented with a rather long box. Despite it being a far cry shorter than its brother, the benelli super 90, its still long and slim.
Picking it up out of the box, I noticed it was front heavy, like marmite, you'll either love this or hate it (I think only Brits will get that!). I personally like it being front heavy because it fools you into thinking the gun weighs more than it does. It isn't that heavy at 1800 grams, but again this can be seen as an up point. It does mean, considering its weight, and slim design it can be thrown all over the shop on the field.
Cocking the M3 feels good. Whacking it back feels solid and chunky and is a head turner on the field. One gripe I have is the bloody plastic foregrip. I'v seen a HUGE metal RIS foregrip dedicated for the M3 but its as much as the gun at 130 quid!
I'v heard alot of people saying that the Tokyo Marui shotguns are very stiff and hard to cock compared to other shotguns. This is why. The TM shotguns have 3 barrels, 3 springs, 3 hop-ups. You are effectively cocking 3 barrels at once, this also means you get an immense power release when fired (compared to other shotguns!). You'll feel a light jolt backwards when you fire.
Cocking the gun will feed in 3 .20 bb's from the shell you feed into it(will get onto the shells later). The first bb is fed into the top centre barrel, the next two into a left and right barrel, forming a triangle, check out the photo of the inside of the barrel to see what its like.
So there is a triangular formation of 3 barrels. Now lots of people talking about the TM shotguns have said that they're "more like sniper rifles that fire 3 bb's". I agree. The top barrel fires a bb just like a sniper gun, straight ahead at 280fps (lots of power for a shotgun). The bottom two... Sort of meander around, thinking about moving a little to the left... maybe to the right. At the end of their flight at 30 metres the grouping is inches apart. About the size of your hand. This can be seen as a good point of a bad one. Personally I'm not too bothered. I'm quite happy with pinning people at 20 metres with 3 bb's at 280fps. Some people will argue, if its trying to be a shotgun it should fire like one. Up to you.
Magazines, with the box you get one "shotshell" which holds 30 bb's so effectively 10 shots. Don't even think about skirmishing with this. Pick up 3 more shells for 17 quid.
The shotshells are quite ingenious, you feed 30 .20 in them and put them in the M3. When you rack it, 3 bb's are chambered. If you want to look different from everyone else on the field get a bandoleer! It looks awesome! They go for around 20 quid. Altogether, to look the part its about 50 quid to get 7 shells altogether and a bandoleer so only do this if you're passionate about playing with a shotgun.
Conclusion: This gun is completely sound. Alot of people have been foolish to think this would be a cheap option into airsoft! Remember, the gun is cheap but to skirmish you have to buy some shells too! It ends up being a bit cheaper than buying a working AEG.
Buy it if you like shotguns, simple as that. If you don't, you won't like it. Yes, on the field, you will have the same range (30 - 40 metres accurate) and power as most AEG's (upgraded ones will trump it at 300 fps) but you have to chamber your gun every go! You will be subject to plastic diarrhea from owners of AEG'S. I'v found all my kills are either on surprise or very, very sly. Sometimes, considering its nature you can quite easily snipe someone off 40 metres.
Like shotguns? Want to try something different? Buy it. If you're stuck in your ways about automatic, avoid. Even if you're curious you might be dissapointed. Like marmite, you'll either love it or hate it.
EDIT: After a couple months the foregrip has become wobbly. I have replaced it with full metal RIS. Also installing tightbores to give fps more punch.
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sig too big.
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aka Erky
Registered: May 2006
Location: Morton Grove, Illinois
Posts: 6
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Review Date: 10/2/07
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Cons:
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Tokyo Marui M3
Hop-Up: Fixed
Weight: Shorty - 1,500g (~3.3lbs), Super 90 - 2,000g (~4.4lbs)
Length: Shorty - 640mm (~25 inches), Super 90 - 1040mm (~41 inches)
Capacity: 1, 30 Round Shell (10 Shots)
Power: ~0.83 Joules (~300 FPS with 0.2s, ~280 FPS with .23s, and ~265 FPS with .25s)
Bought From: RedWolf
Gun Cost: Shorty - $140 USD, Super 90 - $167 USD
Purchased With Gun: 24 Extra Shells from PowerEdge
Real Steel Background (taken from World.Guns.Ru)
Type: Selective pump-action or semi-auto recoil inertia operated
Gauge: 12
Length: 1040-1200 mm
Barrel length: 500-660 mm
Weight: 3.2 - 3.5 kg
Capacity: 8 shells in underbarrel tube magazine
The Benelli M3 is an updated version of the Benelli M1 shotgun. M3 uses the same inertia recoil semi-automatic system as earlier Benelli M1, but with the addition of the another Benelli patented feature, which allows the shooter to lock the semi-automatic action and switch to the manually operated pump-action mode and back in the matter of seconds. The action type switch is located at the forward end of the forearm, and is formed as an annular knurled ring. Rotation of this ring either engage the action rods of the pump system and locks the semi-automatic recoil system, or disengages the action bars, locks the forearm and allows the inertia recoil system to operate the action automatically. This greatly improves the versatility of the shotgun, allowing it to fire low-powered ammunition (mostly of special purpose, such as less-lethal rubber or tear-gas projectiles) in the manually operated pump action mode, and to fire full power combat loads with slugs or buckshot in rapid semi-automatic mode. The under barrel tubular magazine usually holds 8 rounds for police or military versions, or less in some civilian models.
M3 Super 90 is available with various barrel lengths and stock options, with fixed butt and semi-pistol or pistol grips, or with top-folding butts and pistol grips. Sight options include shotgun-type open sights, rifle type open sights, ghost ring (diopter) sights and various mounts for red dot or low magnification telescope sights and tactical flashlights and laser pointers.
M3 is a high quality, very versatile shotgun, and is very popular as a police weapon, and as a civilian weapon for self defense and sporting purposes (IPSC shotgun).
Head Note
The Shorty and Super 90 are only different in three aspects, and those are 1) the stock, 2) the magazine tube, and 3) the outer barrel. Other than those cosmetic differences, the guns are exactly the same. So this review applies to both models of the gun.
Ordering the Gun
Alright, so after I bought and skirmished with my MP7, I realized that it was missing some things, those were 1) power and 2) 1337ness. I forgot who, but someone said that the best gun for you is the one that you could imagine yourself with when kicking down a door, and the MP7 just wasn’t it. So after researching for a while I decided to get the TM M3 because it was powerful, it was 1337, and I could easily imagine myself holding it after busting down a door.
I ordered the gun on Sunday and was expecting it to come on either the following Saturday or Monday, but what do you know? It came on Thursday! Luckily I didn’t have school the following Friday, so I spent most of that day admiring my new gun.
First Impression
I opened up the package, and there it was…..blasé orange tip and all. Upon further inspection, I found that the guys at RedWolf carelessly painted my tip orange because 1) it's unevenly painted, 2) there are red marks on the receiver, and 3) upon further inspection, it seems that most of the gun is covered by molecules of blasé orange paint, this could only be seen if a flashlight is angled to shine on the surface of the metal parts, but it still pisses me off to know that the paint is pretty much everywhere. Thank God for rubbing alcohol. I used some 70% isopropyl alcohol I found in the medicine cabinet to get the blasé orange tip off and when I get some more time, I will clean the entire gun with it.
Sloppily Painted Blasé Orange Tip
The More Noticeable Orange Markings
Back to the gun, here's exactly what the guns come with: a cleaning rod, a 30 round BB loader, TM 'Heavy Weight BBs' (I assumed they were .25s, but I later learned that they were .2s), one shell, a small allen wrench, an M3 users manual, a model specific mini manual (how to take off the pistol grip/stock), a TM catalogue, a safety guide (in Japanese), a mail back review thingy (or at least that's what it looks like, also in Japanese), and five paper targets.
The Box
The Box Opened
Anyways, myself being 5'4" I decided to buy the Shorty version; I later learned that this was a mistake. It just didn't feel right when walking around with it and it obviously didn't look as cool. Luckily for me, someone answered my call and sold me his broken Super 90. Now I have the basic working M3 with optional stock, longer outer barrel, and longer magazine tube, plus the spare parts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on the Super 90’s box and papers, but I’ve been told it comes with the same things as the Shorty.
Looks and Trade Marks
This gun looks beautiful. It's sleek as hell, yet it looks like it could really take a beating. Unfortunately this gun has no Benelli trademarks.....yeah it sucks, but TM made up for this by adding a plethora of their own little engravings on the gun.
The Bolt, for the purpose of this section, the Bolt will be on the right side of the gun.
“MOD. M3 SUPER 90” – Left side of the receiver, above the trigger.
“ORE IRUMA [TM]” – Left side of the receiver, above the trigger, under the ^above^ trade.
“TOKYO MARUI CO., LTD. AYS A.D.S. MADE IN JAPAN” – Left side of the barrel.
(NOTE: I had to remove the pump to get the whole trade in the picture) “KG 01760 CAM 98 - 109 IRUMA ORE [TM]” – Left side of the barrel, under the ^above^ trade.
“TOKYO MARUI CO., LTD. - MADE IN JAPAN” – Right side of the receiver, above the trigger.
“M200898” – Right side of the receiver, above the trigger, under the ^above^ trade.
“ASGK” – Right side of the gun, on the trigger guard, underneath the shell door release switch.
“3 BARRELS / 3 CYLINDERS SYSTEM” – Right side of the receiver, on the bolt.
“12 GA. 3” – FOR 2 3/4” OR 3” SHELLS”
“READ OWNER’S MANUAL BEFORE USING GUN” – Right side of the barrel.
“C289810” – Right side of the barrel, under the ^above^ trade.
Metal Parts
Metal parts include: safety, trigger, shell door release switch, shell door, outer barrel, sights, front sling mount, (for the Shorty) rear swivel sling mount, and (for the Super 90) rear ambidextrous sling mount.
Feel
This thing feels like a shotgun should. The weight of it is perfect for the Shorty, but a bit front heavy for the Super 90. My only other complaint is that the pump moves minuscule amounts to the left and right and backwards, but you wouldn't even notice that during a skirmish.
Features
The M3 features the ability to kick ass. The Shorty comes with a rear swivel sling mount on the pistol grip while the Super 90 features an ambidextrous sling mount on the stock, both guns also come with a front sling mount that can be adjusted from the center to the left or right side of the gun.
Shorty’s Rear Swivel Sling Mount
Super 90’s Rear Ambidextrous Sling Mount
Front Sling Mount
Also a convenient feature would be the shell door and the way it holds and releases the shell. When the gun is held horizontally or to an angle so that the barrel is aimed skywards, when you release the shell door the shell will sort of 'pop out' into your hand (granted that your hand is there to catch it). On the contrary, if the gun is held in such an angle that the barrel is facing the horizon, the shell will either come out resting on the opened shell door, or if aiming more at the ground, the back end of the shell will come out half way making it easy to simply pull it out with out the risk of dropping and/or losing it.
Shell Door Closed
Shell Door Open
Now, we come to the safety. It’s rather simple. No Red = No Shoot. Red = Shoot.
Safety On
Safety Off
Lastly the M3 has a little piece inside the receiver that prevents double cocking. So if you cock the fully, you won't be able to cock it again until you fire it.
Oh, and just for kicks, the M3's tri-barrel goodness.
(Don’t blow your eye out!)
The Pistol Grip and Stock
Like I said before, I bought the Shorty and later a broken Super 90. The pistol grip on the Shorty isn't bad, cocking the gun isn't extremely difficult, but it could be easier. Secondly shooting the gun isn't extremely difficult either, but again, it could be made easier, and that's where the Super 90’s stock comes into play. Personally, I don't like cocking the gun while the stock is against my shoulder, so I put the stock under my armpit when I cock it, and with that, cocking becomes easier than with the Shorty’s pistol grip. Shooting the gun also becomes much easier with a stock, it provides great stability and it makes using the iron sites easier. Here are some comparative pictures between the two models.
The broken down Pistol Grip and Stock
The back of the Pistol Grip and Stock
Back of the Pistol Grip (uses a metric #4 allen wrench)
Back of the Stock (uses a medium sized philips head screw driver)
I only have two problems with the Super 90's stock. The first reason, as previously stated, is that the stock is a bit on the light side and makes the gun a bit front heavy. There are seven compartments in the stock that can hold lead weights, but the gun only comes with one weight. The easy solution is to buy some small weights and wrap them in electrical tape so they fit snuggly. The second flaw of the full stock is the pistol grip, it's slightly unstable and creaks a lot; however there is a simple solution. [See Pictures] Take off the stock, unscrew the grip, and apply some masking tape to the grip (I recommend cutting a long strand of tape in half vertically and then applying half to each side). Then put the grip back on the stock, screw it on, and put the stock back on your gun. [/See Pictures] Now it should feel better than new.
Remove Butt Pad (Not Glued On).
Unscrew bolt, take off Back Plate, and pull off the Stock.
Single Weight inside the Stock
Removed Ambidextrous Sling Mount (can only be removed when bolt is taken out of the stock, but there is no real need to remove it anyway)
Unscrew that Screw and pull off the Pistol Grip.
Apply Masking Tape.
The Magazine
This gun uses magazines in the shape of a 12 gauge shotgun shell. They are rather plasticy and overpriced for their quality. PowerEdge has the best deal I've seen on them (3 for $15) so I ordered 24 spares. Anyways back to the shells, they feel like they are made of toy plastic and they are on the light side. I'd love this gun much, much more if they had tough, heavy weight, ABS plastic shells for them, but those would also probably be overpriced.
“TOKYO MARUI 3 x 10 ROUNDS SHOT-SHELL TYPE MAGAZINE”
“Caution: Always use the marui BB Bullet for this Shot shell Type Magazine. MADE IN JAPAN.”
“TOKYO MARUI 12 GA”
Top of Shell
Iron Sights
When I saw pictures of the sites on this gun on the internet, I immediately tried looking for some real steel Benelli ghost ring sights. I found a nice pair, but I was worried that they wouldn't work on the TM. I was later told by an M3 user that the sights on this gun weren't half bad and when I actually received the gun, I was pleased to find that the sights are very nice. They are metal and the rear sight is adjustable by using the little allen wrench that comes with the gun to adjust the left screw in front of the sight, the right screw is a dummy and doesn't do anything, this makes adjusting a bit easier.
Front Sight
Rear Sight
Read Sight Adjustment
Power
It is difficult to measure the FPS of this little beast because it shoots three BBs at the same time, but using the Poor Man's Chrono, I was able to make a few accurate assumptions. As stated at the very beginning of the review, this thing shoots ~300 FPS with 0.2s, ~280 FPS with .23s, and ~265 FPS with .25s.
Note: The FPS seems lower at close range because the three BBs are close to each other and hit at the same time, so penetration will be lower at closer rages, which is why I tested this gun at one inch and at 15 feet.
With .2s, at about an inch, the three BBs were able to put a nice big dent in the can.
.2s at One Inch
.2s at One Inch
With .23s, at about an inch, the three BBs were able to put a slightly smaller, but deeper dent in the can. Also, one of the BBs was able to make a small gash in the can.
.23s at One Inch
.23s at One Inch
With .25s, at about an inch, the three BBs were able to put an even smaller, but equally deep dent into to can as with the .2s. But, all three BBs were able to put gashed in the cans.
.25s at One Inch
.25s at One Inch
With .2s, at about 15 feet, one BB penetrated.
.2s, at 15 Feet
With .23s, at about 15 feet, one BB penetrated and another BB caused a small gash in the can.
.23s at 15 Feet
With .25s, at about 15 feet, two BBs penetrated.
.25s at 15 Feet
Range and Accuracy
It’s difficult for me to get a good estimate on the range of this thing, mainly because I don’t have 100+ foot tape measure or a completely flat field where I could test it out. But from what I’ve seen, with .2s, this thing can get a maximum range of 150 or so feet with an effective range of about 120 feet. While with .23s, it can get a maximum rang of about 150, just like with the .2s, but it has a greater effective range, about 130 feet. With .25s, as with the other BBs, the maximum range was about 150 feet, but surprisingly, the effective range is only about 120 feet. The .25s the BBs flew straight and true (well, more so than the other BBs) and in a perfect triangle, but then at about 110 feet the near perfect triangle of BBs becomes too large to be able to hit anyone more than 120ish feet away.
Moving onto the accuracy, well it’s a shotgun, so it’s not going to have pin point accuracy like a sniper rifle would, but never the less; the accuracy of it is impressive. I could shoot at a one foot wide target and hit it ten times out of ten from 40 - 45 feet away with .2s. With .23s, I could do the same, but with tighter groupings. Lastly, with .25s, again, I could hit the target, but with even tighter groupings.
"So what BBs should I use with gun?" - Well it depends on your situation. If you're playing CQB, then I'd recommend .2s because of their greater velocity and spread. If you're playing woodland, then I'd recommend .23s because of their slightly tighter groupings and greater effective range. As for .25s, well I don't recommend them at all, sure you may get tighter groupings for the first couple dozen feet, but common, it's a shotgun, what’s the point of it?
Conclusion
If you love shotguns and want realism but don’t want to break the bank, buy a TM M3 shogun. If you want a bad ass, powerful gun, buy a TM M3 shotgun. If you want a small, compact, high ROF gun, stay the hell away from the TM M3 shotgun. It's as simple as that.
Pros:
It's a TM
It's a shotgun
3 shot spread
Powerful
Anti-double cock feature
Mostly well built
Most overseas sites have replacement parts
Pwnz0rz in CQB
Penetrates foliage fairly well (better than an AEG)
No batteries that die on you
No expensive gas that doesn't work well in winter
Cons:
Somewhat difficult to pump at first
You have to count your shots so you don't blank fire
Shells could be better
Plastic receiver
Slightly wobbly pump
The nozzles are prone to break if you half cock, then fully cock the gun
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Registered: January 2006
Location: Peterborough, East Anglia