The AirsoftRifle readers who know me personally know there has always been one universal truth when it comes to my taste in Airsoft guns.
I HATE HPA airsoft guns.
I happen to be a former paintball player, and I moved to airsoft for realism, and to me personally, having a remote line and a hose kills all of that sensation. Other companies have tried to do the remote-line free Air Stocks, and those are great, but they always end up looking bulky to excess and beyond reasonable accommodation, with tons of gauges, valves and other armatures poking off to kill the look. On the rare occasion in the past that I found a gun which did not abhorrently offend my visual sensibilities, I was still hampered by either a lack of full auto, or the requirement of a battery, at which point an AEG was always the superior option.
Enter the Lancer Tactical LEGION HPA rifle.
The Lancer Tactical Legion HPA rifle is a unique beast.
It is a fully mechanical HPA rifle. That means no batteries required. Unlike systems by other companies such as Redline or Manncraft, this rifle is capable of fully automatic fire, much like Tippmann's CO2 or HPA powered pneumatic rifle. However, unlike the Tippmann, performance on this gun is phenomenal without having to resort to a remote line.
That means it fires every time you pull the trigger, without a battery, in semi or fully automatic. It uses a standard AEG style barrel and hop up, which means you can get insanely consistent long range performance shot to shot. It also produces a kick ass pseudo-recoil sensation every time you shoot, which just ups the fun factor to 11.
In our testing, we got abusrd rates of fire (in the low 30's per second) and consistent FPS (right around 380 +/- 1) on the demo model that GI Tactical Texas received and let us play with. While we could not test the range outright, the overall consistency of the stream of BB's we saw leads up to believe that this gun is capable of great things.
Even using it is a breeze outside of shooting. The stock/tank cover slides out of the way easily when it's time to install or change your air tank out, and the rail it rides on also folds out of the way. This makes tank changes a breeze, something other similar brands struggle with.
This gun has finally removed all of my personal hang ups with HPA rifles.
There is no remote lines or batteries. It actually looks really clean, and the stock convincingly looks like an AR stock at distance. It shoots great and feels even greater to pull the trigger on.
Here's the best part:
It's only going to cost $400. This is one of the most affordable ready-built options for HPA on the market.
I can't wait to get a full production model into my collection. Keep your eyes peeled to Airsoft GI so you can snag yours as well!