The crew from Aliens review the Magpul PTS AEG in the field

“Game over man, game over!”

Gorman: Morning, Marines. I’m sorry we didn’t have time to brief you people before we left Gateway, but…

Hudson: Sir?

Gorman: What is it, Hicks?

Hudson: Hudson, sir.

[points]

Hudson: He’s Hicks.

Gorman: Basho, please tell us about the new equipment…

Basho:  “Ok men here it comes, most people don’t review guns in two parts.  No, they instead setup a target, perhaps in their home, shoot a few times at it and give you the benefit of that wisdom.

What there is of it.

I too have written ones like this, but then I stopped.  When I reviewed the TM Desert Eagle Hard Kick I noted its lack of long range accuracy, its mighty jump in the hand that ruined your second shot aim, the lacklustre gas performance in the mags.  Then I went out and played with it and realised that I had forgotten the most important piece of information; the DE scares people.  I have actually had people cower when I pull it out.

That is priceless information!”

Hudson: “So, is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another newb’hunt?”

Gorman: “All we know is that there’s still no contact with the colony, and that Team Beans may be involved.”

Frost: “Excuse me sir, Beans? What?”

Gorman: “Team Beans.”

Hicks: “It’s a newb’hunt.”

Basho: “So, this review is another gun, perhaps a real winner, and certainly flavour of the month, tested out where it belongs: in the field.  Out in the mud and leaves where I can tell its hidden abilities.

The Ground Zero Weekender is not like many other airsoft games.  Not only is it larger, now sporting over 1200 players, but its size actually has a strange effect on those who attend.  They bring all their new toys to play with.  People make an effort for Ground Zero, an effort they not often make for a muck about down any old woods. I saw people dressed as characters from Intel Adverts, whole teams in Vietnam load outs and more multicam clad warriors than at the last Delta Force BBQ.

For the Magpul PTS to score highly on the “Bling’ometer”, it would have to be very special indeed.”

Vasquez: “Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are.”

Drake: “Go, Vasquez. Kick ass.”

Vasquez: “Anytime, anywhere, man!”

Basho: “I sure hope you are right”

[Gorman scowls then, thanking Ripley with a nod, takes over the pred-op briefing.]

Gorman: “All right, we have Basho’s first report on the basic weapon on file.  I suggest that you all read it.  An addendum follows.”

MOTHER: OPSED-2501. FILE ACCESS GRANTED.

MOTHER: Displaying file: “Basho – MAGPUL PTS Addendum report”

Notes:

1. The first thing that hits you when you are trying to sling the Magpul PTS is that it is not heavy.  Even with a battery and loaded P-Mag in, it still is lighter than many AEG’s.  This is due to mainly to the size of the gun, the skeletonised stock and the light but strong plastic in the hand guards.  I slung it to a Chalker “Tactical Bra” sling that hangs the gun directly on the bodies centre line.  It was short enough that when I knelt it did not strike the mud, but of course if you are tiny then this may still happen to you.
2. I ran the PTS on both P-Mags and standard King-Arms mid caps.  I personally had no problems at all with mags or feeding.  The P-Mags do fit tightly in the well and can be a little more of a pain to change quickly, but with practice I was quick enough to fight strong.
3. I dragged the gun through mud, in puddles, in leaves.  I crashed to the ground, dived and rolled, all sorts of stuff.  The gun took it all.  It is a tough little customer.
4. It drew only a few envious looks.  To quote the late, great, Douglas Adams: The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. “Make it evil,” he’d been told. “Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with.”

[Deep in the woods, the Delta Alpha team get ready for battle]

Lex: All right, sweethearts, you’re a team and there’s nothin’ to worry about. We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna kick some, is that understood? That’s what we gonna do, sweethearts, we are going to go and get some. All right, people, on the ready line! Are ya lean?

DAs: Yea!

Lex: Are ya mean?

DAs: Yea!

Lex: WHAT ARE YOU?

DAs: Lean and mean!

Lex: WHAT ARE YOU?  Get on the ready line, DA’s, get some today! Get on the ready line! Move it out! Move it out, goddammit! Get hot! One, two, three, four! Get out, get out, get out! Move it out, move it out, move it out! Move it out, move it out, move it out! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! Aaarrrrr, absolutely badassess! Let’s pack ‘em in! Get in there!

[In battle the command-team watch over the personal camera and see a guns-eye view of the play]

Hudson: “There’s Beans all over the place! They’re coming out the f*cking walls man!”

Basho: “Now I could tell you about my play with this gun. I could wax lyrical about it and even perhaps manage to put something across about how it plays.  But this cannot compare with seeing it for yourself yourself.  So, I attached a camera to the weapon and recorded its play in the field.  I have two files for you.”

MOTHER: OPSED-2502. FILE ACCESS GRANTED.

MOTHER: Displaying file selection.  Please pick an option:

1.  Band of Dark Angels.  This file contains footage of the GZ event and lots of the gun in action at the end.

2.  Magpul part two.  This is the footage of play cut out from the above and lots of extra footage of the gun firing at various targets.

Not bad for a human!

As you can see from the footage, this is a great AEG and a definite buy if you get a chance.  Let’s ask one last character from the film, what he thinks:

GET ONE! HHHSSsssss

Regards,

Basho

PS:  I did have lots of photos of the gun at the event, but my iPhone had a malfunction and I lost them all the day after I came back   Sorry!

If you liked this review, try some of my others!

WA AMT Hardballer

Classic Army SCAR

And remember to always wear full face!

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“Revenge is a dish best served cold”

- Old Klingon Proverb -

An English man enters Uncompany’s shop in Hong Kong. A single shop assistant hovers at the counter.

“What brings you to Hong Kong?” he asks.

“I came to see a man,” the Englishman replies.

“Who is he, may I ask?”

“Hattori Hanzo”

The shop assistant looks shocked.

“What do you want with Hattori Hanzo?” he asks nervously.

“I have need of a Japanese Magpul PTS as I have many newbies to lace at the Ground Zero Weekender”

The shop assistant considers this, “You must have big-ass newbies to lace if you need a Magpul PTS”.

The Englishman leans over the counter, “huge”.

“Follow me”.

Introduction

When I first started airsoft – all those years ago! – Magpul were exactly what the name suggests; a company that made little rubber devices to attach to your M4 mags to make them easier to pull from your pouches. I didn’t have enough money to afford them and so used some string and tape.  Oh how things have moved on since then!  Magpul started building custom guns, the type only seen in photos from ShotShows.  Then I saw this:

…and like the rest of us I fell in love.  What a space age future look bit of kit!

Since then the name Magpul has come to mean to airsoft what the name of Gucci means to fashion.  Airsoft has always been split into two worlds, that of players and chairsofters.  For once, a company was releasing products that appealed to both.  Then came an announcement:

The Store Assistant (Hattori Hanzo) and the Englishman (Basho) enter the attic.  The room has racks of custom AEG’s held silently, lit by sunbeams. Motes of dust float in the air.

As Basho examines the weapons Hanzo speaks,

“Funny, you like AEG’s… personally I prefer pistols!”  With a flourish he bangs the floor and a paper target slides out from the wall at end of the room.

Basho whips back his jacket to reveal a Western Arms AMT Hardballer!

The gun bursts from its low profile holster and Basho fires once at the target.

Hanzo walks over to the target and regards the shot:

“I will make you the gun,” he says, “the Ground Zero Weekender is a month away.  I suggest you spend the time practicing.”

The Magpul PTS AEG MOE Carbine is the first AEG from the the PTS Division who are a part of the Magpul company aiming towards training and therefore of great interest to airsofters.  Their website is slick as hell and everything points towards a Gucci product.  The specifications tell us that the internals are as hot as the externals, and this is not just a basic body kit over TM parts (nothing wrong with TM of course).

The specifications are as follows:

Systema Ver II Turbo Gear Box and Motor Set Systema BS 6.04mm Barrel (303mm). Systema Hop Up pack. Systema Metal Chamber Set PTS Diecasting Metal Receiver PTS MOE Hand Guard (Polymer) PTS MOE Grip (Polymer) PTS MOE Stock (Polymer) PTS Modular Sling Adaptor with Sling Mount PTS PMAG (Mid Cap 120 Rounds) (Polymer) PTS MBUS – Rear Sight (Polymer) Muzzle Velocity – 350 FPS Color – Dark Earth

Hattori Hanzo sits in front of the Basho examining his new product, “I’m done doing what I swore an oath to God 28 years ago to never do again. I’ve created something that laces people. And in that purpose I was a success.”

Basho watches the old gunsmith handing the new AEG and Hanzo continues,

“I can tell you with no ego, this is my finest AEG. If on your journey, you should encounter God, God will cry ‘hit!’”.

Basho takes the gun reverently from Hanzo’s hands and his eyes look at the greatest maker of AEG’s on this earth and says;

”Domo.”

Basho looks at the finished product:

The box is nothing special compared to some out there, but it got back safe from Hong Kong with no worries.

The stock tube is a work of art.  No rattle of the tube itself, the stock rattles a little of course.  The action is smooth and simple.

The features of this stock:

MOE™ M4 Carbine Collapsible Butt-Stock – Military Model
Magpul® Original Equipment (MOE™) is a line of Airsoft M16/M4 accessories designed to provide a high-quality, economical alternative to standard Airsoft M16/M4 parts. The MOE™ line distinguishes itself with a simplified feature set, but maintains Magpul engineering and material quality.

The Magpul® MOE™ Stock is a drop-in replacement butt-stock for carbines using mil-spec size Airsoft receiver extension tubes. Designed for light, fast action the streamlined A-frame profile avoids snagging and shields the release latch to prevent accidental activation. The extra-power lock mechanism uses a premium chrome-silicon spring to avert auto-collapse failure and maintains strength by resisting spring relaxation. The Military Model includes a standard 0.30” rubber butt-pad which provides positive shoulder purchase to prevent slippage even with body armor or modular gear.
Features
- Mounts on Military Carbine Receiver Extension tube (Not included) from manufacturers such as Colt, Armalite, LMT, S&W, etc.
- Premium chrome-silicon lock spring provides positive locking and long service life
- Sloping cheek weld combines a slim profile with user comfort
- Shielded release latch prevents snagging and accidental operation
- Side mounting slots accept optional cheek risers for NON-AR15 / M16 applications
- Compatible with Single-Point® sling mounts

This cover doe not close, or at least neither Trip or I can get it to close.  By the looks of it the internals are blocking the body.  I don’t mind it open, but it may get damaged and let in water!  I will have to mod a solution.  As with many AEG’s, pulling back the slide reveals the hop up.  The grip is very comfortable, but standard stuff.  The selector switch is crisp for a new product.  The body itself is plastic, but has a chunky solidness to it and removes all chance of creek.  Every single angle is covered in trades, as keeping with the Gucci product

The foregrip is a classic two part, but has no rails on it as standard.  The Uncompany rep tried to sell me a custom front end which had four rails, but that was ugly in the extreme.  I am going to get the “Drop in Rails” from the net that look like this:

Getting the battery container off is a real bother, it is the classic pulling back of the ring and pulling off of the plate, but it is very stiff and tricky to put back on – requiring a few tries.  Not something I will want to do in battle.

The wiring looks to be of very high quality.

I am using a 8v small battery, but the gun does say to use only a 7v.  The Uncompany guys say that the 8v is fine, but a 9v will break the piston.  Suffice to say, I will be converting to Lipoly ASAP.

The sling attachment ring at the rear is adjustable to left or right, and this is a neat little idea.

The Flash hider is a horrible orange plastic one, but no fear!  A full metal one comes with the gun.

The rear sight is a very nice pop model and completely adjustable.  The sight hole clips down to adjust for range.  I will be attaching a Red Dot of course.

Here is a quick vid of the rate of fire and the moving parts in action.  Not the chunky thud of a single shot.  This is a well balanced system!

The P Mag.

One P Mag comes with the gun.  Much is being made of the P Mag.  It is being heralded as the best mag you can buy.  Consider this YouTube on the subject:

Every angle is covered in trades again.  All the mags are marked as 30 rounds, but actually take 120 BB’s.

The fit into the gun is solid as I have every seen.  No wobble or anything.

How does the gun handle in the hand?

The length of the gun is similar to that of any other M4, or LR.  Slightly longer that a commando.  The weight is very well distributed and the ergonomic fore grip aids target acquisition.  The full battle report will come later as I have no access to a safe place to test the gun live ATM.

So, that’s it for now.  I think the Magpul is a great AEG to own and something that will stand out in the field, if you can get hold of one!

I bought mine by flying to Hong Kong and going into the Uncompany shop.  This was about £2.5k.  I don’t suggest you do that!  You can order it for US$ 529.00 here (when in stock!)

Regards,

Basho

If you liked this review, try some of my others!

WA AMT Hardballer

Classic Army SCAR

And remember to always wear full face!

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