Kwan Ju Works, (KJW), is a well
known manufacturer of inexpensive gas powered airsoft pistols. One
of their first gas blowback designs on the market was USP series.
They currently offer this pistol in three different versions: the
standard full-size military version, the shorter German police
version, and a 'Tactical' version. All basically work the same.
Many people have been turned off by the many problems these gas guns
have been rumored to possess. Hopefully this review will shed some
light on this pistols plusses and minuses.
First off, let me give a quick
description of this airsoft gun. The KJW USP’s are rather large,
bulky semi auto pistols. Not at all flashy, the USP is rather bland
and utilitarian in looks. The gun has a nice ambidextrous magazine
release, although the safety is right hand only. Trigger pull is
somewhat long but not too heavy; good for a combat pistol. Slide
action is nothing to write home about, but functional. Sites are
pretty good on the standard pistol. The Tactical version has nice
adjustable ones. The hop-up system could’ve been designed better:
you need a small hex wrench to adjust it through the slide. Field
stripping the gun takes a little practice, but is fairly straight
forward. The weight and feel however are quite good, being nearly
that of a real USP.
On the firing range, the USP’s
don’t distinguish themselves at all. They are neither too weak nor
super powerful. They aren’t target pistols, but they aren’t
altogether inaccurate, either. In fact, I would say they are the
epitome of the word “Mediocre”. Clocking in at about 250fps for the
standard and tactical USP, and around 230fps for the compact, it’s
respectable but nothing to write home about. Accuracy is similarly
average. Realistically speaking, the standard USP can hit a
man-sized target out to about 25 to 30 yards using good quality .20
bb’s. Don’t expect bulls eye's with this gun. Magazines hold 15
rounds- the same as the real USP. This may be a bad point for
airsoft players that are use to pistols holding more.
Mechanically speaking, the KJW
USP’s are solid guns except for a few niggling problems. The first
is its well documented leaky magazine issues. The o-rings on the
mags seem more suited for use with the weaker R-134a gas than the
advertised Green Gas use. To Kwan Ju’s defense, they have
redesigned the valves to have a tighter seal. They’ve also packaged
spare o-rings with their replacement magazines. And
fixing/replacing the valves has become less of a chore than on their
old clips, too.
Now that the magazine problem has
been addressed, a new more serious problem as arisen. It appears
that the metal of the trigger tends to snap, making the gun
unusable. Replacing the trigger is quite easy, but getting a new
one is next to impossible! What causes the trigger to break is a
mystery, but my guess is Kwan Ju started using either a new casting
method or a different type of metal to make their triggers.
Hopefully they’ll fix this new problem as soon as possible. Or at
least offer replacement triggers!
My first experience with the KJW
USP was about 6 years ago when I purchase a first generation
version. This gas gun had no hop-up and very poor quality o-rings
in the magazines. Consequently, the range was fairly short and the
magazines would start leaking if not properly taken care of.
However, even after the constant abuse I subjected this gun to,
(dropping, using it in extreme weather, using poor quality gas,
etc), it continued to operate. Its rugged design made it a very
reliable sidearm. But it could still be better.
Overall, the Kwan Ju USP Series
could be a good beginners sidearm. Tough and very usable, it offers
very few frills but it will get the job done. Once they fix the
problem with the magazines and the triggers, I would give this
airsoft gun the thumbs up for first time players or those looking
for a sidearm for occasional use. But until then, I would say look
elsewhere.
If you have any questions or
comments about this review, please feel free to contact me by
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