I’ve always trusted King Arms when it comes to tactical gear and accessories. I’ve had different variants of their knee and elbow pads, slings, as well as their M4 type magazines. However I have never come across one of their AEGs before. Imagine the excitement I had when Popularairsoft told me that Mark from King Arms is sending a sample of their newest AEG for review and evaluation. The item was delivered to Sir Vince of the ACE Brigade Wildcats and he was as excited as I was when it arrived.

THE BOX AND PACKAGING

The box alone is impressive. It is of a sturdy cardboard material with glossy finish print on the top lid. There is no obvious indication that it contains an AEG (no illustration or diagram of the AEG that it contains). It has the King Arms logo in the middle and the text Airsoft Product on the upper left hand corner of the lid. Opening the lid I we found the AEG is supported by sturdy polyethylene foam moulded into the AEGs shape/contour. It also has moulds for the 190 round (Vietnam type) magazine and the screw on outer barrel. Just as with other high end AEGs, this unit does not come with a battery or charger which is expected but having a cleaning rod and a manual could be quite helpful too which was not included in the box perhaps due to just being released and retailers may have these when they start stocking their shelves. If this is the production packaging itself it is very commendable and well thought of.

The package didn't also come with a harris-type bipod and sniping scope. This one makes you think that it is an SPR at first glance. The design is actually more of an AR-15, close to those AR-15s designed by Bushmaster Firearms International. Furthermore, it is almost like the Bushmaster Stainless Varmint Special but without the mini-risers on the flap top to further increase the height of the scope attachment, except that King Arms consider this more of an M4-based design as AR-15s usually come in safe and semi mode (“fire”) only for civilian use, with some exceptions.

One thing to note that Mark of King Arms informed us that what they sent is a 26” Free Float Heavy Barrel Sniper Rifle which also caught us by surprise. If you visit the King Arms website, the longest variant is the 24” Free Float Heavy Barrel Sniper Rifle. This is a rare one, but could be considered the same as the 24” type, with  a 2” difference in length. 

OUT OF THE BOX

The AEG is very impressive at first glance and even more when you take it out of its protective polyethylene mould. To complete this AEG we had to screw on the outer barrel, which has been detached to decrease the length and make it fit the box. Once done we noticed that the rail attached to the floating barrel was a bit loose so we had to tighten the two small allen screws to fit it snugly unto the barrel. We attached the short mag (190 rounds with winding mechanism) and boy were we impressed again at how well it looks. The all metal body is equally impressive ­and funny enough it seems to be quite light. Maybe because we did not have a battery attached. So we looked at the butt stock and opened the battery ho­using. We found a large Tamiya type connector and on looking inside it seems to be able to fit a large battery. We connected a large battery without any degree of difficulty or extra effort in the process. We checked the weight again and felt that it still weighed lighter than a regular AEG.

THE LOOK AND FEEL 

This AEG is a definite looker and will add extra GUCCI points to anyone who will be skirmishing with this in hand. With the exception of the butt stock the whole thing is made up of aluminum. The color of the metal is uniform all throughout.

Another impressive thing is that the butt stock is nylon fiber, and gives the butt stock a grayish tinge to it and a very classy feel. The upper receiver has the standard flat top rail. As it is a sniper AEG, it does not come with a rear sight of any sort. The cocking handle is quite tough to pull in order to open the casing ejector flap and there's a bolt catch mechanism. Once open you will see why, instead of the usual magnet that holds the flap closed on other AEGs King Arms has devised a spring pushed piston type mechanism that keeps the flap tightly closed. This is probably to address the problem with the magnetic ones losing their grip due to vibration when operating the AEG.

Once open you will see the metal chamber and the plastic hop up mechanism. For the bottom receiver the mag well contains several markings on the outside. On the left side it has the Bushmaster rattlesnake logo, serial number and the caliber specifications of the rifle. The MOD.XM15E2S designation also confirms further that the receiver is along the lines of an AR-15 Bushmaster cal.223-5.56MM. On the right side it contains the text “Restricted Law Enforcement/Government Use Only”. It also has the usual fire selector switch text markings on both sides (Does this mean the selector switch can be moved for left handed users?). The selector switch feels sturdy and it gives a reassuring click when you change settings. The metal pins that hold the receiver together are of a lighter color than the rest of the AEG. They seem snug enough to stay on despite the vibration produced when operating the AEG. Since King Arms manufactures screw up metal bolt pins I feel these should have come with this AEG as it will definitely add to the robustness of the entire package.

The most striking thing about the bottom receiver is the grip. This AEG comes with a black tactical grip very similar to the Bushmaster Palm Swell Tactical Grip. This is the first time I have come to feel and hold this type of grip and it just feels superb. You have the sensation of being in total control.  For sniping, this offers you comfort and a correct trigger pull angle.

Moving to the front end of the AEG the hand guard is also quite remarkable. It is firmly screwed on to the top receiver and the amount of wobble is zero. It has the feel that the hand guard and the top receiver is of a single piece. At the bottom front of the hand guard is a bipod stud that reinforces this AEG's breed as a sniper rifle. The rail immediately in front of the hand guard, could accommodate a rail mounted front sight if coupled with a rail mounted rear sight.

Then there is the floating outer barrel, which fits snuggly once screwed on. Despite this being a floating barrel there is still no wobble to it and this surprised me. I don’t like surprises so I had to have a look. I unscrewed the hand guard and there was the reason. There is a bracket that is screwed to the outer barrel and it is this bracket that supports it and gives it strength and stability by resting snuggly inside the hand guard. 

INITIAL VERDICT

King Arms has definitely lived up to its reputation of producing high quality products. Although this review is just for the first impression I’m sure the field test and the take down will be just as notable. The remainder of review will soon follow, so stay tuned.