APS Conception have sent me a sample of their latest full airsoft pistol that does full auto fire named after one of the feared predators of the Ocean ---  the Shark. With the name like that, I wonder if it will be feared in airsoft as well. APS do name their airsoft pistols right, using some catchy names rather than some staid names that usually just have numbers added at the end.

The APS Shark (which I willl as the "Shark" from hereon) is a Co2 powered airsoft pistol with full auto functionality. This is not the first time that APS have released this kind of an airsoft pistol but from what I could gather, the Shark is meant to be a better and more robust airsoft pistol than its predecessor.

The Shark comes in the usual APS plastic pistol case. Inside you will get the Shark pistol, 1 Co2 magazine, an extra rear grip pad and a tool for unscrewing the magazine Co2 cap.

First impressions are good. The pistol looks great. It feels solid and has a good weight to it. The frame has a nice matte finish and matches that of the frame. The front sight is fibre optic and oddly enough the rear sight is an ordinary notch style. I did not like this at first as this appeared a bit weird but it does work when you look down the sight. The red fibre optic front sight stands put really well making it easy to aim at targets.

On the top of the slide are two cutout holes designed take some weight off the slide. On the front side area of the slide are serrations which aide in pulling the slide back and also adds to the looks of the pistol. Towards the rear of the slide is the fire selector switch. Pulling the switch back will activate the pistol’s full auto function.

The pistol is also designed to be used by left handed shooters as APS made sure there is an ambidextrous safety switch and magazine release.

The pistol also features a flat trigger as some shooters find this more responsive and an enlarged trigger guard for shooters with giant fingers or for those who simply prefer wearing gloves when shooting. The grip is ergonomically designed and the added texture makes it comfortable to hold or grip and there is a spare or extra rear grip pad included to adjust the thickness of the grip. The magwell is flared for rapid reloading. Underneath the front area of the frame is a rail system for attaching torches or laser sights.

DISASSEMBLY

APS also made this pistol to be disassembled easy and quick. There is a pin located halfway down the frame just after the safety switch. Push this out from the left side of the pistol and the slide can be detached. The pin locks in place so there is little to no chance of losing it. Internally, the pistol looks good. It has a steel hammer to ensure durability even on full auto mode. The hop up dial is small but can be easily adjusted. Lubrication is also good and not excessive.

CO2 POWER

The pistol uses the usual APS Co2 magazines. To access the Co2 chamber, simply remove the base of the magazine and unscrew the cap. Remember to unscrew the cap as a whole unit to avoid unswerving just the middle part. Once removed, insert the Co2 bulb upside down and put back the cap. Once the cap is tight, tighten the middle part a bit more to ensure that the bulb is punctured.

PERFORMANCE

The Shark shoots very well even on slightly cooler temperatures. Obviously, being a Co2 pistol does help with this. On single shot mode, it can easily empty two full mags with one Co2 bulb with a little amount of gas left within the magazine. On full auto mode, it will empty a full mag in under 3 seconds.

Using 0.2g BBs will give you a muzzle velocity between 310 to 330 fps depending on how cool the ambient temperature is.

Shooting the Shark on single shot feels really good. Just like any ordinary Co2 powered airsoft pistol, the firing experience feels very crisp and the blowback and recoil is heavy and very satisfying. Full auto mode is a totally different story and is guaranteed to put a cheeky grin on your face. Range and accuracy is very decent at to about 25 feet with a slight breeze. This is consistently hitting a torso sized target with the hop-up kept on its out-of-the-box setting. Range is also decent on full auto mode although you will get one or two flyers and accuracy doesn’t really matter when you’re able to shoot 23 BBs in under 3 seconds.

As good as the Shark may seem to be, I can’t help but wonder if it is actually too good to be true. On usage, I have noticed that some internal parts grind against each other and seem to scratch each other’s surface. So this is something that I will watch out for and will make a follow up report if anything significant does happen.

THE COMPLETE PACKAGE

The Shark is the second Co2 airsoft pistol from APS that I have had the pleasure to review and I would have to say well done to the team at APS for delivering yet another great pistol that doesn’t just have the looks but also the performance that can compete with the big boys of airsoft.

The Shark is also meant to be one of the more robust pistols from APS as shown by the torture test video that APS made. This combined with the pistol’s performance can surely be probably one of the best airsoft pistols to come out of the market.

The magazine is the same design as the first APS pistol that I reviewed. It has a two stage cap and the Co2 bulb is inserted upside down. This design is meant to optimise the usage of the gas and ensuring that the entire gas chamber is pressurised.

Pros:

• Good looks and external design
• Solid build
• Full auto fire function
• Ambidextrous controls
• Flat Trigger
• Steel trigger
• Comfortable ergonomic pistol grip
• Co2 powered
• Magazine design provides optimum gas usage
• Competitive price

Cons

• Proprietary magazines

Our thanks to APS for providing us the review unit.