CQB Radio - Episode 3: And on the line we have...

Lots of phone interviews on this episode - check it out!
Episode 3 is up and you can find it at:

http://www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=cqb+radio

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CQB Radio - Episode 3: And on the line we have…
- Welcome and Introduction
- Word on the Street: The latest New England airsoft news
- Word on the Street Focus: D-Day at Harris Field Farm in Maine
- Assessment: 2 reviews: TSD SD87 and the KJW M9
- Tricks of the Trade, Part 1: Airsoft gun magazines
- Tricks of the Trade, Part 2: Talking with Zach from Airsoft Reports
- Loadout: Non-optic accessories for your weapon
- Retailer Review – an interview with Craig from Federal Airsoft
- Just In: Some new airsoft gear, as well as some cool sites.

This is a TOP M-60 from Federal Airsoft - one of the many AEGs Craig has at Federal Airsoft

Last episode we talked about cleaning out your AEG. Check out this picture - here's what came out of my gun - pretty nasty, huh?

COYOTE BROWN COMPETITION: Find the least-expensive vest or chest rig in true coyote brown for me and you can score a pair of Mechanix gloves! Contest ends June 15th.

Word on the Street: Here are a few links to some of the sites we talked about:

Operation Failed Drop - D-Day Event at Harris Field Farm. Raffle for Systema Tw5 and 2 Tornado airsoft grenades with distraction devices. http://www.maineairsoft.com/ – check out the “Events” section.

Feel Good Farms Build Day – June 7th; Spring Offensive – June 13th and 14th. http://www.neasg.org/ – check out the “Up-coming Events” section.

In Country – June 27th and 28th – Wolcott, CT. http://www.historicalmilsim.com/

CQB Urban Combat Training I in Rhode Island: http://www.newenglandairsoftevents.com/

Operation Silent Vigil in Charoltte, VT – June 21st. http://www.airsoftvt.com/

2 Lions Claw Events in New York: http://www.oplionclaws.com/

I didn’t mention any Massachusetts events in this episode just because of the timing of the podcast release and when the events were taking place. Nothing personal, Mass. – I had to go away for a wedding in Oklahoma so I had some time constraints.

Assessment Review #1 was on TSD SD-87 multi-shot shotgun

Assesment Review #2 was on the KJW M9 GBB Pistol

In Tricks of the Trade – Part 1 we talked about airsoft magazines. Here’s a photo of the mag fix that helped my Jing Gong mags load more effectively with my Classic Army M15A4.

In Tricks of the Trade – Part 2 we chatted with Zach from Airsoft Reports. Check out his site for great, detailed reviews of airsoft guns and some gear.

You can find these reviews http://www.airsoftreports.com/ and at http://www.youtube.com/user/Airsoftreports

In Loadout, we talked about non-optic accessories for your airsoft weapon. Below are some pics of the items we discussed.

The G&P laser/flashlight mount - $7

The G&P laser/flashlight mount with a flashlight on my M4

Flashlights - a $5 light from Auto Zone and a $25 flashlight from MXDL that I took out of a foregrip/light combo

M4 Cheek rest- $15

Magpul Mag Assist - 3 for $10

Vertical foregrip - about $20 for the UTG version, $5 for the basic version

Basic DBOYS PEQ box - $5, added a laser for another $5

M16/M4 Carrying handle scope mount rail - about $12

Our retailer review was an interview with Craig from Federal Airsoft (http://www.federalairsoft.com/). Here’s his shop and Craig himself.

For Just In, here are a few links/items to check out:

http://www.cfaprogram.tk/ - build your dream weapon
http://www.airsoftgi.com/ - check out their videos
http://www.asrdb.com/ - a huge list of airsoft reviews

The H&K MP5 on Pyramid Air
Echo 1's full-metal, real wood Red Star AKM

The Ares Tabor is out, and they put out a floor stand and a wall mount
AGM GBB M4s are out now
Mad Bull - 4 colors of tracer BBs

Thanks for listening, and keep on firin',
Carp

DOUBLE EAGLE M56 DL - THE REVIEW OF THE WEEK

Double Eagle M56 DL Shotgun
You'll pick up this trend from the reviews on CQB Radio, but I am a shotgun junkie. I'm not sure why I am so interested in them, but I seem to tend toward those links on websites that talk about the latest and greatest in these old stand-bys. In this review, you'll get a little more info about a new line of shotguns from Double Eagle.The M56DL is based on the Benelli M4 shotguns used by the U.S. military. This model is a longer-barrel version put out by DE, though they also have the M56 A, AL, B, and C (check out http://www.gunnerairsoft.com/ and click on the "shotgun" link). Now onto the review.

When the gun first arrived from Trinity Airsoft, the gun came in your standard box. If there was any doubt that airsoft companies were working together (you may have heard about JG and Echo 1 being closely related) just check out UTG's M3L box and you'll see that the cover looks very much like this Double Eagle box. No biggie, but interesting to note.

In the box comes: 1 shell for the gun, a sling, a speed loader, instructions, a hex wrench, and some free BBs (toss them out - they are usually low quality and may break inside your gun). The shell holds 30-round (1o shots), the sling is not bad for a free-be, and the speed loader is your standard that you get with many airsoft guns. The hex wrench can be used to adjust your rear sight. There is a rail on top of the gun (see below) that you can put optics on. I chose to add a Leapers reflex sight that ran me about $12.

The retractable stock is adjusted by turning it to the right and then pulling back. It does scratch the metal tube slightly when you do this, but not terribly. Right off the bat, I noticed the gun is about medium weight (5.75 pounds) and it felt notably lighter than the UTG M3L that I have - the UTG has a non-adjustable, full stock. There is a nice mix of metal (barrell, pump tube, stock tube) and non-metal parts (pump action, pistol grip, cheek rest), but overall it feels solid. The length is about 40 inches when fully extended and about 36 when full retracted.

Like the UTG and TSD models that are similar to this one, the main advantage of this shotgun is that is fires 3 BBs per shot. You'll probably need to get some extra shells if you plan on using this in a skirmish (UTG shells work) and you'll note that I did add the Blackhawk shotgun shell holding sling. A shell holder does not work o on the stock since it is not full and is also adjustable. You can store a shell inside the grip and it fits quite snuggly. I recommend a dump pouch to toss your empty shells in during a skirmish as well. The gun does have a safety, but does not have an adjustable hop-up.The rear site is adjustable, but you can also add optics on the rail. I'd say that the weapon is accurate to just under 100 feet. I used .2s to test it, but I think I'll be moving to .25's for greater accuracy. The FPS clocks in around 300 - 320. The grouping per shot were fairly close to around 45 feet, but after that they began to spread out a bit.As for the internals, I take my perspective from a Kapowwe airsmith who said that he doesn't take guns apart until they need to be taken apart. Thus, I can't tell you about the spring, spring guide, etc. If I do disassemble it sometime, I'll post about what I find.Would I recommend this weapon? Well, I haven't had it in a skirmish yet, but I think I can still say "yes". It's accuracy is decent, and if you've never used a shotgun in a game before, you'd be surprised how fast you can empty 30 rounds. It's certainly not a SPAS 12, but for the money, it's a great buy. I'd say that in a CQB, this would be a great piece of weaponry. Overall, a good buy at around $60 from Trinity Airsoft. The sling ran me about $20 total with shipping, and the sight ran me about $18 total. Shells are availble on-line at 6 for $15. Out of 10, I give this shotty a 8 for value, a 9 for looks, 7 for quality of contruction, and I'll let you know how it holds up on the field.

Keep on firin',
Carp