The Most Fun to be had with a Rimfire
Indeed, the ‘high-cap’ magazine contributes much to the experience of this sub gun, and it is a range-toy in the purest sense. A few stats to get out of the way upfront: the GSG-16 is 90% plastic with very few observable metal parts on the exterior frame, and the bolt carrier itself looks like a plastic component to boot. It will do 2 MOA more or less out to 50m from bench rest position without great concentration nor effort. There are no ready sling mounts out of the box, but enough rails to accommodate any manner of aftermarket attachments. It is M-Lok compatible. The selector switch itself carries a yellow coloured dot for whatever reason. The collapsible stock, while able to accommodate an extra magazine, is a bit silly in design, whereas a fixed stock seems generally more favoured by consensus. On initial pickup, it feels very much like an airsoft platform.
But once locked and loaded, the GSG-16 is hands down the most fun I’ve had with a .22LR on the range! It is the combination of a 20+ round mag, the poof-poof sound it makes on every discharge, the sensation of being John McClane even if your not running around Nakatomi Plaza on any given day of the week. Absent any expectations for this to be a precision shooter – in fact, I’d argue that the accuracy of this platform is roughly equal to that of a STG-44 or MP-40 to some extent – I would have no hesitation handing this over to my nieces and nephews, or any rookie shooter for that matter, as an excellent introduction to our sport. The GSG-16 is lightweight, easy to operate, has minimal felt recoil, and cheap to operate. My first trip consumed some 400+ rounds of Federal and CCI without any issues whatsoever, and very AR-like in that it feels direct-impingey together with the familiar click-clicks emanating from the receiver on every round discharged.
The factory sights are mostly useless, and in fact I gave up on calibration after about 10 minutes; a red dot is highly recommended. They are themselves plastic in construction, but thankfully replacement pieces come pre-packaged and in varying heights for the front post but no differential irises for the rear. One surprise to me is that the charging handle/cocking lever does not lock back on the last round, even though the bolt does; that is, you have to pull the handle back down the forend and up, insert a new mag, then slap as usual to release the bolt. I suppose this is how MP5s work too and I must have missed this in over a thousand watches of Die Hard, as it caught me by surprise so much that I thought mine might have been defective; alas, the described procedure works every time. Take down is somewhat cumbersome, requiring a flat head screwdriver and an allen key, neither of which are included. This is certainly not a tool-less operation and not recommended for field-stripping without risk of loosing small parts. It’s not complicated by any means - but not super straightforward neither.
All in all, the GSG-16 is no ISSF qualifier, and experienced shooters may find this platform lacking; but I personally foresee many hours of fun with this in the woods this fall as a backup sub! And at this price point, what have one to loose given that some pellet guns run for way more money. One this initial trip I had also packed a VZ58 which was left untouched – because 5 rounds suck when you can lob 20+ downrange for a fraction of the cost. I opine that 1 drum mag would not do this platform justice, but x2 drums dumping 200+ rounds as fast as you can squeeze your finger will be a rare experience indeed. Yippee ki yay!!
Indeed, the ‘high-cap’ magazine contributes much to the experience of this sub gun, and it is a range-toy in the purest sense. A few stats to get out of the way upfront: the GSG-16 is 90% plastic with very few observable metal parts on the exterior frame, and the bolt carrier itself looks like a plastic component to boot. It will do 2 MOA more or less out to 50m from bench rest position without great concentration nor effort. There are no ready sling mounts out of the box, but enough rails to accommodate any manner of aftermarket attachments. It is M-Lok compatible. The selector switch itself carries a yellow coloured dot for whatever reason. The collapsible stock, while able to accommodate an extra magazine, is a bit silly in design, whereas a fixed stock seems generally more favoured by consensus. On initial pickup, it feels very much like an airsoft platform.
But once locked and loaded, the GSG-16 is hands down the most fun I’ve had with a .22LR on the range! It is the combination of a 20+ round mag, the poof-poof sound it makes on every discharge, the sensation of being John McClane even if your not running around Nakatomi Plaza on any given day of the week. Absent any expectations for this to be a precision shooter – in fact, I’d argue that the accuracy of this platform is roughly equal to that of a STG-44 or MP-40 to some extent – I would have no hesitation handing this over to my nieces and nephews, or any rookie shooter for that matter, as an excellent introduction to our sport. The GSG-16 is lightweight, easy to operate, has minimal felt recoil, and cheap to operate. My first trip consumed some 400+ rounds of Federal and CCI without any issues whatsoever, and very AR-like in that it feels direct-impingey together with the familiar click-clicks emanating from the receiver on every round discharged.
The factory sights are mostly useless, and in fact I gave up on calibration after about 10 minutes; a red dot is highly recommended. They are themselves plastic in construction, but thankfully replacement pieces come pre-packaged and in varying heights for the front post but no differential irises for the rear. One surprise to me is that the charging handle/cocking lever does not lock back on the last round, even though the bolt does; that is, you have to pull the handle back down the forend and up, insert a new mag, then slap as usual to release the bolt. I suppose this is how MP5s work too and I must have missed this in over a thousand watches of Die Hard, as it caught me by surprise so much that I thought mine might have been defective; alas, the described procedure works every time. Take down is somewhat cumbersome, requiring a flat head screwdriver and an allen key, neither of which are included. This is certainly not a tool-less operation and not recommended for field-stripping without risk of loosing small parts. It’s not complicated by any means - but not super straightforward neither.
All in all, the GSG-16 is no ISSF qualifier, and experienced shooters may find this platform lacking; but I personally foresee many hours of fun with this in the woods this fall as a backup sub! And at this price point, what have one to loose given that some pellet guns run for way more money. One this initial trip I had also packed a VZ58 which was left untouched – because 5 rounds suck when you can lob 20+ downrange for a fraction of the cost. I opine that 1 drum mag would not do this platform justice, but x2 drums dumping 200+ rounds as fast as you can squeeze your finger will be a rare experience indeed. Yippee ki yay!!
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