What Gun Magazine Article

WHAT GUN?
Mechanical or gas?
We look at three air pistols – a traditional springer
and two new CO2 powered semi-autos!
SIG Sauer P226 X-Five
and SP2022 CO2 pistols
Reviewer: Tim Finley
The two CO2 pistols on test
here are licensed replicas
from Cybergun built by
KWC and based upon real
SIG Sauer firearms. They
are the P226 X-Five ‘Blowback’ and the SP2022.
The SIG Sauer
P226 X-Five
The P226 is popular for a
number of reasons; it was until
quite recently the standard
sidearm of much of the
British Armed forces. This
Cybergun copy has a blowback action making it more
realistic, which along with
the all metal construction and
heavy feel does make it mimic
a real SIG P226 rather well.
The removable magazine
‘clip’ holds the 12 gram CO2
bulb that powers the pistol, this
is housed in the grip where the
magazine on the real SIG would
be. As well as the power source
it also has a linear magazine
for the .177 (4.5mm) BB
ammunition. This is on the front
Author shooting
the non-blow-back
SIG Sauer SP2022
CO2 pistol
face of the magazine
body, it has a spring
loaded plunger which
has to be pulled down
to allow loading. The
magazine takes 18
BB’s comfortably.
A 12 gram CO2
bulb fits narrow end
first into the base
of the magazine
after taking out the
threaded plastic
cap. The Allen
key provided can
then be used
to tighten the cap and
pierce and seal the bulb.
Controls
The gun has a manual
ambidextrous safety catch
on the rear of the action. The
safety disengages the trigger.
Side views of the two
guns; (top) SIG Sauer
P226 X-Five and
(bottom) SIG Sauer
SP2022
Once a fully loaded and charged
magazine has been placed into
the base of the pistol grip there
are three options for firing the
P226. 1) Simply pull the trigger
in double action mode this takes
the hammer back and then
"I loved the operation, weight
and feel of the P226 with its
realistic action, but it’s low on
power and shots compared to
it’s stable mate the SP2022"
releases it. 2) Manually cock the
hammer with your thumb, then
pull the trigger, this is in single
action and gives a much lighter
trigger weight. 3) Pull the top
slide back to set the hammer
and then pull the trigger, this is
the coolest way of the three!
Once empty of BB’s the
magazine can be dropped out
of the gun by pressing the
magazine release button on the
left hand side of the grip behind
the trigger. This mag release
catch is in the same place as
the real SIG. You can lock the
top slide back as in the real gun
with a pressed metal lever on
the left hand side of the action.
Blow back
When you do fire the X-Five
the top slide comes back in a
very realistic manner as the BB
goes out of the front. To be able
to do this the gun uses some
of the CO2 gas from the 12gm
bulb. The only downside of blow
back pistols is that they have
less shots and less power than
a non blow-back, as we will
see with the other SIG in this
review. Over the chronograph
the P226 gives 1.0 - 1.4ft/lbs of
muzzle energy with 5.3 grain
steel BB’s. It was good for 40
shots or two magazines worth.
A very realistic feature is
that the top slide locks open
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when the magazine is empty
and the last shot is fired.
Aiming is done via fixed
open sights, and the front
sight does have a white dot to
speed up target acquisition.
Accuracy is good; at six
yards it shoots just over half
and inch (15mm) groups.
The SIG Sauer
SP2022
On to the non blow-back,
and cheaper SIG Sauer CO2
pistol - the SP2022. This
gun is based upon the real
SP2022 made by SIG Sauer,
a popular and relatively small
polymer framed gun. It is well
shaped and heavily stippled,
the magazine release catch
falls under the thumb for
a right-handed shooter.
Build and lay-out
The top slide is made of metal
but being a non-blow back
gun this does not move at all.
The gun is double action only,
meaning that the hammer
cannot be manually cocked
on this gun. The trigger is
pulled in one operation to
cock the hammer and release
it to fire the gun - yet I was
pleasantly surprised as it
felt smooth and quite light.
The standard 12 gram
CO2 bulb is fitted in the
base of the detachable
magazine via a port covered
by a synthetic screw cap. The
linear magazine has a spring
loaded plunger but no latch
to lock it down while you load
4.5mm (.177) steel BB’s into it.
Along with the Allen key,
a box of steel BB’s and an
instruction manual, Cybergun
have also included a speed
loader which slips over the
top of the magazine and
has a small raised section
which pushed the magazine
plunger down as you slide it
down the mag, it has a large
aperture at the top where
BB’s can be poured into from
a BB tub. The magazine on
the SP2022 holds 23 BB’s,
compared to 18 in the P226.
The bottom of the
magazine is shaped to
fit around the base of the
hand, and the grip on the
SP2022 really is fantastic.
The realistic blow back
action of the SIG Sauer
P226 X-Five
average, it delivered 2.11ft/
lbs. of muzzle energy using 5.3
grain steel 4.5mm BB’s, much
more surprising was the fact
that it also did this for two
magazines worth, or 50 shots.
The sights are the fixed
open notch type with a
144mm base, it does have
the Picatinny rail under the
barrel, this is 35mm long and
can be fitted with lights or
lasers. The front post has
a 2mm diameter white dot
to speed up alignment and
target acquisition. At six
yards the gun shot sub-25mm
groups all day long, good for
a double action CO2 pistol.
The safety catch is on
the left hand side of the gun
right above the magazine
release. Both the magazine
release and the safety are
easily operated by a righthanded shooter’s thumb.
Comparison
realistic action, but it’s low on
power and shots compared to
it’s stable mate the SP2022,
which has a much better grip
and is almost half the price.
It’s a difficult decision to
pick which one is the best,
so I didn’t - I got both.
The SIG SAUER P226
X-Five Blow-back pistol is
priced at £119.95 while the
SIG SAUER SP2022 non blowback pistol is £69.95. For more
information on stockists visit
John Rothery www.bisley-uk.co
and SMK www.sportsmk.co.uk
The trigger
and ‘controls’
on the P226
I loved the operation, weight
and feel of the P226 with its
Both guns with
magazines removed
Shooting the SP2022
Not venting off CO2 to
make the top slide move
does have its advantages,
these being more power
and more shots. Over the
chronograph this ‘non-blowback’ gun performed above
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