Post by stone on Nov 30, 2007 0:08:00 GMT -5
Chinese M500 SSB 8mm Shotgun Review
Written By Stone[/center]
Ordering/Price: I purchased this replica from AirSplat for $149.95. For purchases over $150, free shipping is/was available, so I bought some silicon oil [which came in handy] for $5, which compensated for the $13 I would've payed on shipping. California sales tax (8.25%) made the final total about $170. A frugal-minded person may find a cheaper method of purchase, I'm sure. I ordered on Saturday and received my package on Wednesday.
First Impression: With all of the junk being pumped out of China for pennies these days, I was a bit skeptical of the idea of a gas-powered Marushin shotgun clone. I opened the box. [Cue an exclamation of how wonderful metal airsoft replicas are!] As I tugged the replica out of its ever-lasting Styrofoam nest, I was shocked at how nice the stock and pump handle looked. The wood grain looks better than most fake wood furniture I've seen -- it certainly beat a Marui AK47's fake wood by a longshot. The rubber butt pad is good quality -- not too soft and not too hard [but more hard than soft]. The replica is quite hefty and everything feels very durable. The finish on the metal surfaces is even, but it isn't flawless. After I examined it for a few seconds, I grabbed the manual and read all of its four pages of instructions [IN ENGLISH! Amazing!].
Loading: Filling the replica full of BB's doesn't take much. A pump, a press and twist of a little lever, an extending of a tube, the pouring of BB's down a hole, and the rest is reverse steps.
Filling the replica full of gas is even simpler. A nice feature is that there's an O-ring installed on the fill valve, so no gas escapes while filling. It seems to have a slight gas leak from the reservoir (something I expected to be a more serious problem, since this is a Chinese clone). Applying more silicon oil to my propane tank adapter seemed to help fix the problem, but It still seems to leak a small amount, but I have yet to try other solutions [such as disassembling the replica and pinpointing the leak].
Firing: This replica is very fun to plink with! Three 8mm rounds exit simultaneously [technically there's a slight delay, since there's only one barrel and three BB's]. Power seems evenly distributed between the three BB's. The adjustable ghost-ring style sights are a nice touch, although the elevation adjustment wheel doesn't click as it is adjusted [some would call that "mushy" or "soft"].
F1 Chrony results: 0.34g 8mm BB's with Propane at ~66°F with ~5 seconds between shots
* No BBs were fired. No real explanation, but it seems that the internal magazine has a little trouble loading the last shots at times.
The fps drop-off is obviously due to a lack of gas. The manual says to charge the reservoir with gas for 30 seconds. That amount of time seemed excessive to me, but perhaps the fps drop-off isn't as extreme if you actually count out 30 seconds while charging the reservoir.
Looks: Sexy. Damn sexy! The finish may not be flawless, but the flaws (if any) aren't noticeable unless you sit around fondling and eyeing your replicas all the time like me. Racking the replica sounds extraordinarily realistic -- without an orange tip, people would definitely think one of these replicas is a real firearm. This replica is fairly loud, and often emits a plume of "smoke" when fired, which adds to the overall realism.
Link to a YouTube video of the Chinese m500 (Source: Airsoft-News.eu)
Summary:[/u]
Pros:
+ Relatively Inexpensive [good value-for-money ratio]
+ Feels heavy, cold, and durable
+ Looks gorgeous
+ A bit intimidating [three heavy 8mm's coming from a powerful gun]
+ Extremely fun to shoot
+ Decent range
+ No shells to worry about
+ Might be useful for foliage penetration in some cases
Cons:
- Chinese [increases chances of receiving a lemon]
- Leaks slightly [may not be the case with all of them]
- Powerful for CQB purposes [may not be legal at some CQB fields]
- 8mm [more expensive and may not be legal at some fields]
- Tough to reload in combat
