Review of springer Kar98k

[Totenkopf]

Review of the ACM Kar98k


What’s Hot

• Overall look. The gun is made of plastic but it is hard to tell. At 2.6 kg, its heft is convincingly real. Details which the Tanaka models sported, e.g., serial number, are absent but overall, the gun is a photogenic copy of the original.
• The Mechanism. The mechanism is a good replica of the real one. The bolt is not something for kids, requiring real brawn to open and close. When a shell is to be pushed into the firing chamber, more oomph is needed. I like it when shells are ejected when the bolt is pulled. It gives the gun a most realistic feel. The trigger requires a fair amount of pressure to pull and it is obviously not for kids. As a copy of the real thing, the mechanism is real winner.
• Accuracy. From a distance of 7 m and using the standard sitting position, I fired the rifle at a paper target with a black circle the size of a 5-peso coin at the center. Of my 15 shots, only 2 missed the paper and most of the shots hit the paper within 6m of the dark circle. I tried shooting a PET bottle as well from almost the same distance and I was able to hit it.
• The Shells. The shells are made of metal and make a convincing metallic “dzing” when they hit the ground.

What’s Not Hot

• The Bolt. According to the manual, the bolt can be placed in “safe unload” position. I wanted to try it, but the bolt simply cannot be opened when in this position. The manual also indicates that the rear of the bolt protrudes longer when the bolt is cocked. So far, I can’t tell the difference.
• The Mechanism. One should be careful when pulling the bolt towards the rear. The catch has a not-so-strong spring and the bolt can easily be pulled out of the gun if too much forced is used. Not good if you need to fire at a rapidly advancing foe. When you are pushing the bolt foreward, make sure you apply consistent force. If you hesitate and do not push all the way, the shell could jam because of the strong spring of the magazine. That’s also bad during combat.
• The Shells. The metal of which the shell is made is very soft. They deform easily, either when they hit the ground during ejection or when they are too forcefully pushed into the chamber. The result: you cannot put the BB into the shell or the BB will simply not leave the shell during firing. Two of the five shells I got with my Kar98k had to be repaired after just about 5 firing cycles. And be careful of the O-rings at the front and rear ends of the shells. Nothing but simple metal-rubber adhesion keeps them in place.

I promise more reviews and maybe photos as I continue my tests....

[Takuya]

Yeah the manual is inaccurate. I tried that too with mine (I have the real wood version).

When the gun is cocked, and you try to pull the bolt again, you gotta be careful because it will do one of two things, both of which cause the gun to de-cock:

1. It might fire the BB even if you don't pull the trigger.
2. It might eject the bolt backward with a strong force (based on the power of the spring). I've almost hurt myself once with this, as my hand was sitting behind the bolt at the time. I was expecting it to de-cock by firing.

I'm not sure what causes one or the other.


Let me know if you buy more shells from a source other than Hong Kong. It seems the DBoys shells that can be found in Hong Kong are of poor quality. The o-rings that hold the BBs in the shells particularly (different sizes, giving variably poor accuracy). The soft shells dropping on hard ground can be remedied by learning to catch the shells yourself. I catch them with my bolt hand haha. It takes some practice, and is unrealistic, but I don't damage or lose my shells anymore as a result.

[Totenkopf]

Thanks, Takuya, for the notes you shared. I did get a my right thumb after the bolt sprung backward while I was trying to open it. I forgot it was cocked. So far, i haven't experienced any accidental firing, only an occassional dud.

i'll let you know if i find another source of the shels. I'm thinking of getting a machine shop to make some for me but that may be expensive. I may even ask some friends in the army to give me similar shells that I might try to "re-engineer" for use in the Kar98k.

[Totenkopf]

I did some target shooting with my Kar98k this weekend.

First, I shot at a target from a distance of 7 m using the classical sitting position. I fired 10 shots, all of which hit the target. The average distance from the bull's eye was 4.5 cm, one shot hitting it at 1.3 cm from the center. The farthest hit among was 9.6 cm probably due to the deterioration of the rim of one of the shells. Thirty percent of the hits struck between 12 and 3 o'clock of the bull's eye, 10% between 6 and 9 and 6 o'clock and 60% between 9 and 12.

Then I tried shooting at the target from a position 2.75 m above and 7 m from the target. This time, I had to shoot standing. The result was very different. Of ten shots, 3 missed, 6 hit between 12 and 3 o'clock and 1 between 9 and 12. The scatter was greater with the maximum and minimum distances from the bull's eye 11.7 and 2.3 respectively. In addition, most of the shots struck around 5.1 cm from the center.

I'd like to show you pictures of the targets but I'm not allowed yet to post attachments. Those pictures would be more telling.

Anyway, I think the springer Kar98k may be difficult to use against AEG-armed opponents given its rate of fire alone. However, it would be nice to use in a sniper-vs.-sniper duel or a target-shooting competition.

[Totenkopf]

I saw in another website a solution to the problem of shells hitting the ground too hard. Somebody attached a pouch to his shell-ejecting MP40. It might work for the Kar98k.

I did some more target shooting, this time the distance to the target is 10.2 m and I was shooting 2.7m above it. In the first test, only 5 out of 15 shots hit an A4-size paper target and none came closer to the bull's eye than 6-7 cm. The second test was not much better. Only 6 shots made it to the paper target although 2 did land within 4 cm of the target.

May I also report that holding the gun at the magazine floor may not be a good idea. As I was closing the bolt, the magazine flew off, scattering shells. I think even squeezing the magazine can cause it to do that.

[kalbs]

Nice review TK but I think I'll stick with my Tanaka. I would end up hunting for discharged shells before I leave my position. The biggest problem with this rifle is indeed the shell extraction system making this gun non-skrimishable.

Checkout this korean guys page on how he made his Dboyi look so real. It's worth a look
http://blog.naver.com/figureimage

[Totenkopf]

Nice review TK but I think I'll stick with my Tanaka. I would end up hunting for discharged shells before I leave my position. The biggest problem with this rifle is indeed the shell extraction system making this gun non-skrimishable.

Checkout this korean guys page on how he made his Dboyi look so real. It's worth a look
http://blog.naver.com/figureimage

Thanks, Kalbs. I would get a Tanaka, too, if only I had the money and I could still play.

You are right about the gun being non-skirmishable. My Kar98 is only for display and some occasional plinking. I'll definitely check that url you sent me.


-----Added 9 Mar 2009 at 03:48:43------
-----Auto merged by FAS' System for Double Posting/ Bumping within 24hrs.
-----Please consolidate all your messages into one post. Use the EDIT feature.


Yeah the manual is inaccurate. I tried that too with mine (I have the real wood version).


Let me know if you buy more shells from a source other than Hong Kong. It seems the DBoys shells that can be found in Hong Kong are of poor quality. The o-rings that hold the BBs in the shells particularly (different sizes, giving variably poor accuracy). The soft shells dropping on hard ground can be remedied by learning to catch the shells yourself. I catch them with my bolt hand haha. It takes some practice, and is unrealistic, but I don't damage or lose my shells anymore as a result.

I did a lot of surfing trying to find a source for those shells. Most sites I visited led me to conclude that the shells are too expensive. But one site gave me an inspiration. This owner proposes to re-do real Kar98 shells for use in the dBoys model. I asked a friend of mine who has friends in the Army. He suggested that someone he knows can actually re-create the shells in his shop. I'm delighted but was not able to ask for cost etc. I will follow this up and let you know what happens.

By the way, have found the store that sells those O-rings?

[Totenkopf]

MP's, I wonder if it is possible to change this thread into a blog? I plan to report regularly on my tests of the Kar98k.


-----Added 15 Mar 2009 at 06:52:57------
-----Auto merged by FAS' System for Double Posting/ Bumping within 24hrs.
-----Please consolidate all your messages into one post. Use the EDIT feature.
Over the past few days, I learned that I could extract the shells from the chamber without causing them to fly off. All I do is pull the bolt backward until the entire length of the shell is visible and just before it is pushed outward. Then I slowly pull and the shell only slowly leaves the gun. It was slow at the start but I am really getting good at it.

I continued my firing tests, shooting a target from a horizintal distance of 10.2 m and an elevation of 2.7m. Taking note of the previous results I obtained using these test parameters, I adjusted my aim and dramatically, my hits rose to 75%. This time I was shooting at a small PET bottle (for ice tea). I aimed at the bottom and to the left of it, bringing the forward sight just in line with the left edge of the bottle outline. I was elated. In earlier tests, I was becoming disappointed because consistently I was only hitting the target 5 out of 15 times and the target was the size of A4 paper. However, I noticed that the shots that did hit the target did so almost consistently between one and two o'clock. So, with that in mind I tried again and improved my performance.

Now I learned an important lesson. One should not overlook that with guns, it is really the skills of the shooter rather than the gun that matters. I was almost ready to agree with other reviewers that the dBoys Kar98k is not good for sniping but in the hands of a skilful marksman/sniper it can be a "deadly" gaming weapon.