Legendary weapons have always attracted the attention of most of the country's male population. Thanks to the availability of pneumatic analogues for sale, many managed to get closer to the object of their dreams. So, Mosin and Berdan rifles, gun revolvers and "Smith and Wesson", Makarov pistols and "Desert Eagle" appeared in the personal collections of gun lovers. Many gunsmiths may be interested in another “toy”, which can be used not only for collection, but also for entertainment. The American novelty - Gletcher M712 (Mauser), a pneumatic gun that is capable of firing bursts without giving in to an assault rifle - has conquered the arms market. The German prototype of the legendary German-made weapon Umarex C96 (Mauser) will not go unnoticed. But first things first.
History reference
“An ordinary gun, nothing special,” any European would say, looking at the Mauser air gun. But in the countries of the post-Soviet space, every man will definitely give an answer what kind of weapon he is and in what films he saw it. Perhaps the story of the Mauser will tell. After all, all the boys of the late XX century knew more about weapons than today's youth. It is for those boys that all kinds of mock-ups and pneumatic modifications of the legendary weapons are now available on the shelves.
A pneumatic copy is not an original, it does not have such enormous power, and there is no stock in the kit, but there is an unforgettable sensation that allowed the gun to become one of the most popular among the Russian-speaking population a century ago - respect for the owner and increasing his self-esteem. After all, the cumbersome appearance, the heavy weight and the ability to fire automatically erases the visible boundaries between the toy and the legendary military weapon.
Legal purchase
A pressing issue for most buyers is the legality of the acquisition, storage, transportation and use of airguns. Do not trust this question to friends, neighbors or outsiders. It is enough to turn to the law “On weapons”. Like any gas balloon weapon, the Mauser air gun does not require any permits. A submachine gun with a caliber of 4.5 mm is smoothbore, and its muzzle energy does not exceed 7.5 Joules. To simplify the life of the owner and give answers to all questions regarding lawfulness, most sellers attach a certificate to the weapon, which describes the tactical and technical characteristics of the gun. Also, a document is attached to the certificate, in which the law "On pneumatic weapons" of the state in which it is implemented is printed. Problems can arise only in persons under the age of eighteen. In such cases, the purchase must be made by the parents.
Weapons for Russians
Judging by the numerous reviews of the new owners, the Gletcher air gun is focused on the Russian market. Indeed, for the sake of similarity with the original, only a Russian person will agree to close his eyes to the mass of purchase, unlike Europeans, for whom convenience and weight come first. The mass of the gun is impressive. Thanks to the metal structure in full ammunition, its weight reaches one and a half kilograms. The movement of the shutter when fired as in the original is another plus in favor of the gun, which in addition is easily disassembled and amenable to modernization. Pleased with the presence of the original shutter locking system. In general, when buying from many new-made owners, you might get the feeling that something was mixed up at the factory and, despite the airgun law, sold a military unit.
Reasons for Increased Demand
Any legendary pneumatic weapon - pistols, rifles and revolvers - is designed in most cases for firing one shot after each reload. But there was nothing on the market for automatic fire before the Mauser appeared. Strange parodies from Russian and American manufacturers on assault rifles intended for special forces are not counted. They are scared not only by very light weight due to the use of plastic instead of metal, but also by their appearance with build quality. Technical characteristics of pneumatic submachine guns also leave much to be desired. If you can tighten the bolts in the Russian sample or insert the bushings after active shooting, then the American version cannot be repaired at all. What can not be said about the Mauser: the pneumatic submachine gun is popular in that it has high fault tolerance, is easy to disassemble and assemble, and has no plastic structures.
Specifications
It is a pity that the Mauser is not produced for all calibres of air weapons. This can be considered its only significant drawback. Fans of large calibers will have to be content with the standard 4.5 mm with a muzzle energy of the order of three Joules. Shooting with steel balls is not intended for rifled weapons, so the barrel of the Mauser is smooth, but this does not interfere with accurate shots with excellent accuracy of fire. Unlike more expensive submachine guns, the Gletcher air gun provides its owner with a choice between single and automatic shots. For this, there is a two-position controller on the case. The initial bullet speed declared by the manufacturer is 110 meters per second. Many owners, judging by their reviews, claim that even with automatic firing, the declared bullet speed remains. In automatic mode, a 12-gram cylinder with CO 2 is enough for two full discharge clips.
Competitors are not asleep
On the market, the buyer may face a dilemma - two identical-looking Mausers, in the same price category, but from different manufacturers. Yes, in addition to the American company Gletcher, there is a German representative of the Umarex company on the market - the C96 Mauser. Ignoring the inscriptions, you can distinguish them from each other only by picking them up. Plastic "German" is inferior not only in weight. Its dissimilarity with the original may cause outrage of the buyer. The plastic shutter and receiver are clearly not associated with the legendary Mauser of the last century.
In the huge list of negative reviews received from owners and fans of Umarex, there are two "rays of light." Firstly, the gun is quite light and it is very convenient to shoot from it. Secondly, the initial velocity of the bullet is about 130 meters per second and exceeds the performance of the "American". The result is a perfectly acceptable competitor.
About Supplies
Special attention should be given to bullets for airguns. Manufacturers' recommendations specified in the technical documentation for the gun regarding ammunition should not be left out of the ears. The manufacturer strongly recommends using very expensive balls for firing of their own design for good reason. There is a "pitfall", which is not written in the technical documentation. The Mauser pistol, a pneumatic analogue of a military weapon from an American manufacturer, was endowed with two barrels due to the reduced caliber to resemble the original. One barrel “for appearance” is steel, and the second, located inside the steel, under a caliber of 4.5 mm, is made of brass. As you know, brass is wear-resistant, but strongly inferior to steel in strength, respectively, uneven steel balls purchased for a penny will quickly destroy the inner surface of a smooth gun barrel. With the German manufacturer Umarex easier. A high-quality steel barrel allows you to shoot cheap balls, which will allow the user to significantly save on ammunition.
The first revision of the Mauser
By studying airguns, prices and reviews about it, any buyer could pay attention that the combat Mauser is positioned as a light carbine that had a special holster used as a stock. The idea that such an amplification was necessary purely for military weapons, for which the accuracy of the shot and the firing range with minimal recoil are important, will return to the newly made owner again. At that moment, when a powerful pneumatic weapon Mauser will make his first shot. With one and a half kilogram weight of the weapon, shooting, even with two hands, is problematic. It remains either to get used to, or to make a butt under the gun. Fortunately for the novelty, ready-made offers in the form of a holster-butt have already appeared, which are offered at an affordable price and, along with high quality workmanship, have a simple and reliable device for attaching to the gun handle. It is worth noting that the installation of the butt is possible only on an American-made pistol, because the manufacturer equipped the handle with a special groove for modernization. The German counterpart from Umarex does not have mounting grooves.
The elimination of the American "gift"
Most owners who purchased powerful airguns from the American company Gletcher, as a result of frequent firing from a pistol in bursts, find a “gift” from the manufacturer in the form of a weak attachment of the firing switch. Turning the toggle switch to the firing position "solitary", a pistol breakdown in firing bursts is detected. Judging by the reviews of many experts in the field of pneumatic weapons, the technical device of the firing switch cannot be upgraded. When contacting a service center, you can get an answer with a proposal to remove all the grease in the switch mechanism. In the future, lubrication can only be done with silicone spray. Such a strange solution leads to small jamming in the fire switching mechanism, but completely eliminates the problem. In general, it is very unpleasant to realize that the American leader in the production of airguns presented on the market an expensive copy of the legendary weapon with such a “gift”.
About optical devices
Focusing on the sighting range of 10-15 meters, the manufacturer toughly acted with lovers of weapon modernization. By installing an adjustable rear sight and front sight as an aiming device, the manufacturer cut off the possibility of further improvement. But for fans of modernization, there are no barriers, especially for those who have chosen the Gletcher M712 (Mauser) for themselves. The pneumatic gun is made of metal, including an aiming device, which, after a little refinement with a dremel or a milling cutter, turns into a kind of Picatinny rail. Such modernization opens up a world of great opportunities for amateurs to upgrade legendary weapons. A collimator, a laser or an optical sight will easily be on a makeshift bar.
In general, after a thorough study of the metal case of the pistol, the Mauser beginner “Kulibin” will be satisfied. If you have a welding machine and a little desire, it will not be much effort to create your own modification of the legendary weapon for "Star Wars".
Shot boost
A huge desire to improve pneumatic weapons, whose prices range from 7-10 thousand rubles, and the availability of acquisition have led to the appearance of pre-pumping systems, popularly referred to as PCP. Initially, this system was installed on short-barreled rifles with the trigger pulled to the front of the butt, and later all owners of conventional rifles became interested in it. Seeing the increase in bullet speed when changing the technical characteristics of airguns using PCP, many gun owners subjected their “toys” to modernization. Affected by this improvement and the Mauser pistol. When replacing a standard gas cylinder with a pre-pumping system with a high pressure reducer, the pneumatic analogue allows you to shoot steel balls at a speed of 160 meters per second. This is the only positive thing after the upgrade, no matter what the happy owners say. Judging by the reviews, everything else is a solid negative.
- The weight of the weapon is comparable to a rifle, but shooting is extremely inconvenient due to the lack of a full stock.
- The absence of a rifled barrel leads to a chaotic movement of the ball, which at a distance of more than 25 meters flies into the unknown. You can forget about aimed shooting in general.
- When firing a burst, one clip "eats" a completely filled tank of 200 atmospheres. And in the presence of a gear, shooting by a queue does not work.
Finally
Before buying any choice of this or that pneumatic weapon, any buyer must first decide how the gun will be used. If the purchase is a satisfaction of the desire to own a copy of the legendary weapon that can shoot and shows good accuracy of fire, then you should make a choice in favor of the Mauser pistol. A pneumatic analogue of military weapons will replenish the existing collection and will provide an opportunity to show your abilities with friends. Entertaining shooting from the legendary submachine gun will make it possible to enjoy not only the owner, but also the surrounding team.
But lovers of modernization should not expect something grand from the Mauser. This is not a Russian IL, which as a designer is intended for modernization, the Mauser submachine gun is not for improvement. The maximum that sensible can be squeezed out of it is the installation of a holster-butt. Everything. This is where the potential of the legendary airgun ends. Any improvement results only in deterioration of the tactical and technical characteristics of the gun. When making a purchase, you need to make an informed choice, because the Mauser is not sold in a cheap class, so the desire and opportunity should be in synergy.