Daisy Airstrike Pistol

[The Legacy]

Hello! First review on here.

I'm relatively new to airsoft, so my experience is rather limited in regard to the various airsoft weapons that exist [now far more experienced with airsoft since I last wrote this]. However, there's one weapon I picked up as a temporary fill-in as a sidearm for my loadout; at the time (and even now) I only had primary weapons, which are a M4 and a M14. Both weapons are great on the field, but when it comes to close quarters, or if my primary goes down, I need something that is solid and useful.

Let me introduce to you something from Princess Auto (of all places): The Daisy Airstrike.

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/T...-Gun/8446023.p



(My painted gun with removed outer barrel and shortened mag release modifications)
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(My mag and painted gun)
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At first look, most people would say that a $40.00 pistol is junk, looks like crap, among other things.

Maybe they're right. However, I wanted to introduce to you some interesting facts about this gun, the reason why I swear by it, and why I intend to use it, even once I finally get my hands on a good $200.00 glock.


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

To start, the gun itself. It is a non-blowback, plastic, CO2 powered pistol. No moving parts except for the inner barrel and firing mechanism. The weapon isn't pretty, and the front barrel with the orange tip looks really bizzare. It's the reason why I ended up sawing off the forward barrel extension. You can do this without any adverse affect, and will make the gun look ten times better. However, if you do this, ensure that you don't accidentally saw the inner barrel. As long as it's flush with the black plastic back-piece, you should be fine.

One of the benefits of the very simple design is that it's a breeze to paint. If you take the time to tape over the magwell, the trigger and the empty space behind it, the small area under the fake cocking knob on the back, the front barrel (before sawing it off if that's what you intend to do), and the CO2 port, you should be able to spraypaint it, and it will fire perfectly fine afterward. (Note: I strongly recommend NOT painting the mags, so that they don't lose their ability to slide in as easily)

The CO2 port is hidden behind the left-hand handle grip panel; all it takes is a bit of pulling with a finger to pull it off; after screwing in a new CO2 canister, it simply snaps back in. The right-hand handle grip can also be removed by unscrewing the two screws attaching it on. You can remove it to make spray painting easier and to prevent the hand guard from being painted. It does not have any other effect, however, as you cannot access the CO2 port on that side.

The 'rail mount' on the bottom front does not seem to conform to exact standard sizes. Thus, depending on the design of the rail mount of the mod that you want to add, you may need to slightly reshape the sides in order to make it fit.


HANDLING

The handling of the Daisy Airstrike has a few big bonuses, and a few downsides. However, some of the downsides can be easily rectified with a little bit of modification.

To start, the magazine port, as well as the CO2 screw are on the bottom of the gun. The magazines slide in and out of the bottom very easily, making speed reloading a breeze. The magazine release, however, is a bit tricky; it sticks out a fair bit, and from my experience, easily can be accidentally pressed while inside a holster, causing your mag to pop out of the gun while moving around. I was lucky that the two times it happened to me, I was able to find it.

Because of this, it is imperative that the magazine release be modified before it is fielded. To do this, a dremel or some other sanding tool is required; sanding it down by 60% of its total depth should fix the problem. A small spring will likely jump out at about the 60% mark; to keep this in, simply glue on a small metal circle (a cut-out piece of metal from a can of food works beautifully), will seal it in. Ever since this fix, I've never had a problem with accidental mag release, and I can still eject mags without any trouble.

The magazines themselves are well designed for a $40.00 gun. Because the CO2 cartridge is inside the gun, the magazine's size can be reduced. However, the designers created a very good design; from my experience, most cheap 'clearsoft' guns use a curved, thin magazine that is hard and awkward to slide in, and even more awkward to load - speedloaders usually won't work. However, in this case, the magazine is actually quite clever; it is a simple, straight rectangular shape, that slides in straight in and out; there's no awkward turning, there's no fighting with it; just simple plug in and shoot.

The only downside I find with the magazine, is that although the package and manual states that it can support 12 rounds, in reality, it can only fit 11 reliably; the gun has an innovative, yet brilliantly simple circular port, where BB's can be loaded - with a speedloader no less! - until it is full. However, if you put in 12, I find that sometimes the 12th will pop out, and cause the rest of them to empty straight out of the mag. Thus, I always load 11 shots, and I've never had a problem. There's also another benefit - this gun comes with two magazines! Thus, loading two 11 round mags somewhat counters that.

IMPORTANT: Due to the smaller-than-average size of the mags, it is REALLY easy for them to fall out of your mag pouches/etc. It is good to research and to prepare a good way to hold these magazines on your person before fielding this, to prevent unwanted magazine losses. (EDIT - I found a workaround! What works REALLY well are shotgun shell sleeves designed to hold shotgun shells. The Daisy Airstrike magazines have very similar total dimensions, and will easily fit inside one. You can either put the sleeve around your combat belt, or, do a TMNT "Shredder" like loadout (which is my method), and wear a pair of them like bracers, and using them to reload without ever having to reach for your rig, by transferring mags from one arm to the other. This of course is depending on how many Daisy Airstrike mags you have; if you have only one of these, it's fine to get just one of these sleeves).

The safety of this gun is rather awkward, and there's really no way around it - using the safety of this gun is aggravating. To start, it is a tiny knob near the front of the gun. Unlike most guns, the firing mode is signified by a red dot, rather than being the safety. It is important to remember in case you think you just put it on safe when in fact it is not. Because of its position, it's very hard to do a tactical safety deactivation, unlike most guns which have it near one's thumb. It also requires a full 180 degree turn, which further delays your reaction time.

On the flip side, however, depending on how you look at it, it has a fairly strong trigger pull, and because of it accidental discharges are very uncommon. I've yet to experience it, and the user always knows that it's armed, due to the trigger pull when armed. As for the trigger pull itself, the trigger pull is strong enough to know when you're firing, but not so strong as to throw off one's aim too significantly.


PERFORMANCE

And now of course the most important part of this review - the performance. After all, if it doesn't shoot well, what's the point of buying it? :P

The gun's performance can be summed up really well: It's the AK of clearsoft guns. I've dropped it, I've lost (and found) it, I've done many fairly horrible things to it, and every single time, I've been able to pick it up, and fire it. From my many months of use, I've never had to do any maintenance to it.

The CO2 cartridge seems to be more than enough for this gun - I've used the same cartridge since when I bought it before Nightfall 2 (June 2013), and I've been to about eight airsoft games, and have dry-fired it many times in between. It's amazing that it still has air left, to be honest. Only now (possibly due to my own error), have I noticed the air gone, which may have been due to my packing the gun badly in my bag. Thus, if you pack thus gun, ensure that you put it in a gun case, where the screw won't accidentally be pressed.

Firing, this gun has surprising range, being able to hit about 100 feet, and about 60 feet accurately. It's not going to have the stability of full cost pistols, but it also has another advantage...

...In the wintertime, I've taken it out to -10*C to -15*C temperatures; I've seen my friends and fellow airsofters bring out their gorgeous $200.00 pistols, ranging from semi-auto gas, to gas-powered revolvers. Even the revolver I saw fail in these temperatures. Not this gun - I saw this thing still shoot the same ranges as always, at the same accuracy as always. Even dropping it in the snow, it still worked. Thus, for this factor alone, if you're a serious winter-time airsofter, buying this gun is a great buy, for that reason alone.

Due to the trigger pull, rapid fire is somewhat tricky; I can fire approximately all 11 rounds in about 5-6 seconds. However, for accurate shots, this isn't too much of a trouble, and for suppressive fire with a handgun, firing too fast is a downside as well, so I don't see this as a major downside.

Accuracy for this gun is fairly decent for a gun its type. The trigger pull makes it hard to be pinpoint accurate, but with practice, one can make really good shots with it. I nearly hit an airsofter with it at approximately 80 feet with a mag, in difficult conditions. With any pistol, it's hard to aim at those ranges, so for its type, it is competitive.

This gun shoots under 400 feet per second, thus is legal in airsoft. I don't remember specifics, but I believe it shoots at least 250 FPS.


MAINTENANCE

The obvious downside up front: This is not a standard airsoft gun. Thus, unless you buy more than one to cannibalize for parts/mags, good luck finding parts for it. However, the internals themselves are actually very simple, and, most importantly, are easy to access and put back together. If you want to learn how to take apart and put together your own airsoft guns, this is a great starter pistol. I've taken it apart twice, and both times it came back together easily, and fired as if I never took the thing apart. I've tried taking apart some other guns, and it didn't always go well... >.<

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(Yes, the CO2 cartridge is empty...) :P


VALUE

If you're looking for something that gives a good bang for its buck, this is one of the best. To start with, it is $40.00 regular price, and comes with two magazines inside the package (one in the gun, one next to it). For its price, and for having two magazines, it's a killer deal. If it's still on sale, you may even be able to get this for $20.00. If you do, it is an unrivaled deal. Want more mags? If you can get the gun for $20.00, you can two mags each, and thus pay $10.00 per mag, and get a free backup just in case your original gun goes down. Or, loan one out to a friend, or go all matrix and buy as many as you want/need (for example, if you want a few effective cheap gag pistols that you can do a New York reload without worry :P). It's entirely up to you.


SUMMARY

Despite its quirks, this gun is a solid buy for a beginner, or someone looking to have a reliable sidearm during the winter.

PROS:
- Decent range
- Two magazines
- Easy reloading
- Extremely CO2 efficient
- Works very well at subzero temperatures
- Durable
- Inexpensive
- Great way to learn how to disassemble, reassemble, and maintain airsoft guns

CONS:
- Requires modification of the reload button to fit in most holsters
- Not very aesthetically pleasing, requires painting for most milsim fields
- Magazines easy to lose, due to their small nonstandard size
- Cannot fit full 12 rounds due to design flaw
- Difficult to use safety switch
- Trigger pull may be a bit too much for some

UPDATE - August 2014: I've now used these things for over a year and a half, which includes one winter, two Nightfalls, and a moderate number of other events. Though I don't reach for them that often, Nightfall 3 ended up being a major milestone for my Daisy Airstrikes, as I spent about eight hours exclusively using them, as it was late at night and I needed to drastically reduce my loadout, especially because I was running as a medic. I found the accuracy to be pretty good even after a year and a half of operation, dozens of accidental drops, rolling around in mud, banging against walls, and going through dozens of loaded magazines (I fairly frequently do practice shots against a target inside my apartment hallway).

So far, I've yet to have a single Daisy fail on me (though I've had my little mag release modifications pop off on some of the more recent additions; it's VERY important to get it done right the first time or you may lose the spring! The original one has yet to do that, though). I've only used maybe 12 CO2 cartridges, of which probably half were from accidentally bumping the screw on the bottom, causing it to lose its pressure. I've fired probably about 500 BB's from my original Daisy Airstrike, which to this day is still my primary pistol of the four. Thus, I can easily tell when the Daisy will eventually fail from usage, as the other three have barely ever been used outside of target shooting. As well, performance has never changed since I bought it, always hitting with the same accuracy, and performing equally well during summer or winter. As well, as I've added to the original review, I've found that by putting Daisy Airstrike magazines inside a shotgun shell sleeve, you will likely never lose it. Just be careful to not accidentally release the magazine's contents when sliding it in. Sliding out has no issue, however.

With that in mind, I can now safely declare that these guns are very durable, and last for a surprisingly very, very long time. As far as a $40 gun goes, for beginners and for veterans alike (the latter for gag/backup/etc pistol, not a primary of course), you really can't go wrong.

[ThunderCactus]

why the fuck did I waste my money on a KSC?!

Good, comprehensive review, although a word of advice; never start a review with "I'm relatively new to airsoft"

[jordan7831]

I will say this. People will knock you for the gun you reviewed. But in terms of your writing ability...brovo.

I look forward to reading your reviews when you get your hands on some nice higher end guns.

Just a small suggustion, pictures and more pictures really help supplement large blocks of text. Many of us are visual people and we like seeing detailed pictures in a review.

Good job legacy!

Jordan

[Ricochet]

This isn't directed as a flame, but is this post the ASC equivalent of a satirical comedy? Your post is well written, but why did you do a comprehensive review on something that most people consider to be "not" an airsoft gun.

But seriously, I am "not" trying to make fun of you. Are you serious? Never mind me. I guess for $40, as long as it keeps you in the game.

[The Legacy]

Fair enough guys. :P Perhaps it's satirical to some, but it's actually a decent gun for $40.00. But as I said, you can get far better for $100 or more. But if you're just starting out, and you don't want to throw too much money at the hobby up front, (Or you're wanting a bunch of effective cheap gag weapons so you can do the New York reload without worry about damaging a $200.00 gun :P), the point of the review is that this isn't a bad gun to start with, because a lot of clearsoft guns are utter junk, as I have learned. This thing is an exception to the norm. No offense taken, Ricochet. :P I understand your position entirely.

Also, thanks for the compliments, everyone.

I'll be editing with updates shortly, with some additional information.

[ThunderCactus]

The only major issue I have with the cheap CO2 pistols, is every inexperienced noob will have one, and every inexperienced noob will be using a ~400fps pistol in CQB.

[The Legacy]

Update completed. Added a bit about the internals, in case it comes up. :P

ThunderCactus - Very true, but thankfully this one shoots well under 400FPS, but high enough to have the range needed. Do most clearsofts have problems with FPS, Thunder?

[ThunderCactus]

just CO2, it's a much higher pressure gas than propane.
All CO2 pistols I've seen have been in the 360-380 range

Biggest problem most players have with clearsoft is when it breaks no one will touch it with a 10ft pole lol

[ccyg8774]

Did you have a chance to chrono this one? I am curious on its FPS.

[The Legacy]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

Biggest problem most players have with clearsoft is when it breaks no one will touch it with a 10ft pole lol

True. :P

Originally Posted by ccyg8774

Did you have a chance to chrono this one? I am curious on its FPS.

Many times, and not once has it failed a chrono for being too hot. It's been a while since I chrono'd with a fresh CO2 cartridge, but if I recall it was above 300, but well below 400. I think about 320FPS, if I recall correctly back in Nightfall 2. Later on, when the cartridge was less full, it was shooting about 250FPS, and still had good range. In other words, if it's somehow shooting too hot, which I highly doubt, carefully release some gas and you should be fine.

[L473ncy]

One of the more effective clearsoft pistols out there is the CO2 Cybergun Taurus 24/7 NBB. IIRC it was well under 330 FPS (on .20's) with fresh CO2 cartridge. I guess it must waste a lot of the CO2 when the hammer strikes the spring valve, or it must have super low flow valves to get it that low.

[cetane]

My cheap ass rugar co2 clearsoft shot sub 350 with 0.20's and had very little joule creep with heavier rounds. That was before drilling out the gas ports inside to 1/16" from the original 0.015"'ish size. Now it does 350'ish on 0.36's lol. Needs a hopup though.

[Drake]

Well first off, well written review. I look forward to reading more.

As for the gun itself, while not what most people would go for, it is a cheap, sub-400 fps (unmodified) CO2 gun which might be interesting to some people who want a gas powered pistol for cold weather games.

Either way, kudos to the author: the gun exists and he provided a useful review, and that's the purpose of reviews.

[Deadpool]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

Biggest problem most players have with clearsoft is when it breaks no one will touch it with a 10ft pole lol

Except for the good old crossman tri-barrel shotgun. The only ASC approved clearsoft.

[The Legacy]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

If you guys want, I can post a tutorial on how to fix the mag release for those wanting to buy this gun. If so, should it be posted in this thread, or in a separate forum?