Pellet pistol

This nifty .177 pellet repeater pistol is actually a replica based on the S&W Military and Police firearm, hence the ‘M&P’ tag, and it really looks and feels the part.

Unlike similar models in the range, which shoot BBs, this one features an 8-shot rotary mag’ system rather than a drop-out type. Incidentally, you get two mag’s supplied in the box. It’s also a very versatile pistol to shoot, as I shall explain.

LOADING THE CO2

When it comes to inserting the CO2 cylinder, there’s no messing about with Allen keys and screws – it’s rather ingenious. At the base of the pistol grip is a lever system, a dummy magazine floorplate. You simply pull the bottom part of this floorplate down, which in turn forces the backstrap (rear part of the grip) outwards and open, to reveal the CO2 loading port.

Now you can insert the 12g CO2 cylinder into the loading port and use the built-in butterfly screw to tighten down onto the cylinder to pierce it and hold it in place. Having gone through around a dozen CO2 cylinders I can assure you that this system is superb, and you don’t even have to panic about trying to do the screw up quickly to prevent the CO2 escaping, it’s all sealed really well.

To close the backstrap back up is a slightly trickier manoeuvre on the first attempt, but I soon got into the swing of things. What you need to do is partially close the bottom floorplate cover that you first used to open the hatch. Then it’s just a case of gripping the pistol and using the palm of your hand to push the back of the grip forward, whilst holding on to the main body of the pistol with your other hand. This slams the whole lot shut, including the flip-open floorplate at the base, to make everything secure.

LOADING THE MAG’S

The two rotary mag’s supplied are easy to load – they’re the push-in type, but there’s only one way the mag’s can go into the loading port. You must make sure that the side with the little raised ‘star wheel’ is facing you as you push your pellets into the respective holes, nose first.

Once you’ve loaded the mag’ you use the slide release button immediately above the grip to access the loading port. A swift pull down with your thumb sees the front of the slide power forwards about three-quarters of an inch to expose the loading port. You can then insert the mag’, with the ‘star wheel’ pointing back toward the rear of the pistol. It’s all pretty much common-sense because there’s clearly a recessed area where the ‘star wheel ‘sits. With the mag’ in situ, you then pull the front of the slide backwards to lock it all up, which in turn, pushes a pin through the centre of the mag’ to secure that in place. Now you’re ready to go!

MANUAL SAFETY

The safety lever is situated on the right- hand-side of the pistol between the top of the grip and trigger guard. Pull it down to make the pistol safe and push it up to expose the red dot and make the pistol live.

I should also mention at this point that there is a Picatinny rail moulded into the body of this pistol at the front end, underneath the barrel. You can add a laser or LED lamp to pimp it up a little bit. I’m definitely going to add a red-dot laser once it stops snowing here, and have a bit more fun in the back garden.

DOUBLE ACTION

You can pull the trigger and shoot this pistol as fast as you like, or you can rack it! If you pull back the rear part of the slide it will click and engage the trigger, then fly forward again. The pistol is now cocked and all you have to do is pull the trigger to shoot.

I really like this adaptation, because rather than having to pull the trigger the full 20mm or so to shoot, as you do normally, racking it pulls the trigger back and locks it so you only have about 10mm of pull to release the shot. It makes for far more accurate shooting, and because the pistol is already cocked in this way, the weight of pull is dramatically reduced. At a guess, I’d say it’s less than half compared to pulling the trigger through its full cycle. I measured the pull weight at around 1.4lbs, so it’s reasonably heavy when shooting in standard ‘point and shoot’ mode.

The safety lever is very easy to use.

CLEAR SIGHTS

This pistol has the usual iron sights configuration, but unlike some pistol that utilise fibre-optics, this one has orange dots painted on. There’s one on each side of the rear sight, and a single dot on the front post, and they’re extremely clear to see when aiming.

ED’S VERDICT

This pistol is extremely well made and great fun to shoot. It’s also fairly accurate as far as CO2 pistols go, and I managed to hold groups well within a regular target at 10 metres.

I love the fact that it can be racked and shot, too, which adds a bit more finesse rather than pulling the trigger as quickly as you can. Don’t get me wrong, you can still bounce a tin can around the range whilst speed shooting, which is equally as much fun, but with only eight shots at your disposal I found that racking was more fulfilling.

If you like your replicas then this is definitely one to consider.

TECH SPEC

Manufacturer: Umarex
Importer: John Rothery Wholesale
Webite: www.bisley-uk.com
Model: Smith & Wesson
M&P45 Type: CO2
Blow-back: No Trigger:
Double action Calibre: .177 pellet Overall
Length: 190mm
Weight: 620g
Sights: Front and rear dots
Safety: Manual
Velocity: 393 fps
Shots Per Fill: Around 60-70

PRICE: From £154.95