We get it. "Ugh, just another M4 review" I can hear you say from across the great wide series of tubes that is the internet.
What if a company did the unthinkable, and turned your M4 into an ergonomically smart feature rich blaster with a ton of customization options? What if that same company also had a track record of building some pretty badass blasters since their release in 2019?
Enter the Arcturus Centaur CT-03, one of three Arcturus Centaur models available on Airsoft GI, with a great eye for style and functionality. Does it hold up to the Arcturus model we have already reviewed? Let's dig in.
That's an age old question regarding the mythical creature this gun is named after. A half horse-half human forest creature has to have one wild gastrointestinal situation going on. Thankfully, that's not a problem we have here.
This gun is pure M4 on the inside. Arcturus's legendary V2 gearbox powers this beast, coupled with their microswitch trigger, torque motor, and built in tight bore to deliver precision shots and long distance with lightning quick response and rate of fire. We've covered this in a lot more depth with our review of the AR01 we did back in 2019. This gun is identical on the inside, and performance identical.
FPS on this test model came in at 400 FPS average, with a few shots over, and most shooting in the high 390's. Accuracy was clocking well past our practical standard of 200 feet. With a .28g BB, we were able to keep shots straight and on target. This gun will make a very practical on field shooter.
As we established, a centaur is a weird fantasy hybrid creature, what is hybrid about this airsoft rifle?
The Arcturus CT-03 is primarily an M4 on the outside, with a few key changes to make it a bit more ergonomic and special. Most important is the ambidextrous controls. This allows all of the major combat functions to be accessed easily by either right or left handed shooters. This is a welcome change that is present across many rifles in the Arcturus range. We're a fan of it, and more companies need to adopt this approach.
What gives it the centaur name is the relocation of the charging handle to the forward hand guard on the left side. This sits in place similar to the Mp5 or G3 style rifles from HK. This gives you an easy access point for the locking bolt. While it's use is limited in an airsoft application, it does make on the fly hop up adjustments quicker and easier, which while not as important as rapid chambering of a new round like a real firearm, it does give some minor benefit, and that's important too.
The weight on this gun is stout. With a full metal exterior, it is weighty, and definitely tips to the nose a slight bit. A foregrip definitely helps, and a good sling will help you manage the weight a little better. It was nothing we'd consider a deal breaker, as other guns we have reviewed have definitely been way worse in this category.
We found it snappy and easy to point, the way most AR's tend to be. The hand guard was easy to wrap our fingers around and keep on target, but the nose-heavy weight definitely made it easy to swing past a target if you weren't being mindful. Just spend some time learning the rifle, and you shouldn't have any issues.
At $275 on Airsoft Gi, the Arcturus CT-03 Centaur is on the high side of the intermediate rifle category. It provides a lot of features, with minimal downsides. Is it worth a purchase?
Yes. If you have a few M4's already, it may be a pass for you, but if you like the style, and want a killer gat to sling plastic while you parade through the forest like a majestic half-man half- beast, then this is the gun for you!