By Adam Dykes Review gun provided by Redwolf Airsoft

Name: HFC M191 Special Force Length: 217mm Height: 195mm Width: 40mm Weight: 1kg Barrel Length: 100mm Magazine Capacity: 36BB Round: 6mm BB

The HFC M191 Special Force (also known as the HFC M190 Special Force CO2 version) is finally out! Put simply--it’s big, it’s heavy, it’s loud, and it’s mean. It also looks and sounds really good.

One of the first things you’ll notice about this pistol is its size. The gun is 217 mm long (just over 8 1/2 inches), 195 mm tall (almost 7 ¾ inches), and 40mm wide (just over 1 ½ inches). It’s a variant of the Beretta M92, and has a very solid feel. I have fairly large hands, and this gun fills my palm.

Another thing you’ll notice right off is the gun’s heft. It weighs at least a full kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) with the magazine inserted. You will feel it when you pull out this pistol, unlike some that feel like they’ll float away if you let go. I used this gun at a game recently, and my usual backup of a stock gas blowback pistol felt like a feather afterwards--even with the magazine in. A lot of this weight comes from all of the metal in the gun’s construction. The outer barrel, slide, and frame are all metal. In fact, the only plastic bits evident when you look at this gun are the grip plates and the cover on the bottom of the magazine. All that metal gives the gun a look and feel that’s excellent for collectors and players who want more realism in their Airsoft guns. The M191 also has a good solid kick. My hand actually jumped slightly when I first fired it--unlike many lighter, less-powerful pistols I had used before. I was ready for the kick after that, but I could easily feel every shot. If fact, if the M191 weren’t so heavy, it would probably be difficult to aim. Part of this is no doubt because of the metal slide, and some is certainly due to the power the gun has.

Despite its kick, the M191 is accurate, too. When I shot it, the bbs stayed in line with my point of aim consistently. Even the kick wasn’t a problem, and after just a few shots I was easily able to compensate for it and put the bbs where I wanted them. As I mentioned before, this is largely because of the gun’s heavy weight.

This pistol also makes an impressive sound when it’s shot. Other players will know when you start shooting. The metal parts also make the pistol sound particularly realistic (great for those looking for realism). The slide has that sort of heavy clink-clack sound whenever you work it and whenever the gun is shot. The slide also locks back when there’s an empty mag inserted, and the safety on the back of the slide works, too.

All that metal also makes this gun more durable. One of the complaints I’ve heard fairly often from people who have powerful pistols with plastic slides is that the slide tends to break quickly. Having a metal frame helps, too. One of my gas blowback pistols had parts of its frame break, rendering it unusable. These problems are, of course, far less likely to occur with metal parts.

The M191 chronographs consistently at 350-360 fps with 0.2g bbs, giving it some serious punch. The Green gas version chrony’s at 310-320 fps with 0.2g bbs. This amount of power tends to recommend the use of heavier bbs when you play, which should get you better range. The combination of power and heavy bbs will also let you shoot through foliage a bit easier than usual, too.

The gun also has hop-up, which helps add range, as well, especially with heavier bbs. I got the best range with the M191 using 0.25s, though 0.3s did well, too.

The most interesting feature of the M191, though, is the magazine, which is designed to operate the gun using a standard 12-gram CO2 cylinder, also known as a powerlet. This is the same type of powerlet that many bb guns and smaller paintball guns use. They have high pressure--which accounts for at least some of the gun’s high muzzle velocity--and they’re also pretty cheap and easy to find. In fact, regular sporting goods stores generally carry them.

The CO2 powerlet system requires a slightly longer than usual magazine, which allows for more pellets (36) than can be held in shorter mags, and one CO2 powerlet can get you through two loads of pellets. The mag loads by simply pulling the bb follower down until it locks and feeding the bbs in through the loading port at the bottom of the mag. Once loaded, a push on the dot on the follower releases it to push the bbs up into the gun. To gas up the mag you just take off the plastic cap shielding the bottom and unscrew the plug. Then just drop a CO2 powerlet into the mag with the narrow end facing the top of the mag and screw the plug down quickly and firmly. Then just put the cover back on the bottom of the mag to keep gunk out of the threads, and you’re ready to go.

You can either work the slide to load a bb into the chamber, or you can fire the gun once with just gas--either single or double action--which will work the slide for you and load the first bb. As I mentioned earlier, you can get through about two loads of bbs with one powerlet, so reloading shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re a player who likes to shoot a lot, then just pack a spare mag or two and you’ll be set. If you play more conservatively, then the one mag should do fine for you.

One other nice feature is the RIS mounting rail on the front of the frame. You could mount a flashlight, laser sight, or other gadget. You should, of course, check to make sure an accessory will fit before getting it, but the rail is standard sized, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding any accessory you want to fit.

Possibly the best thing about the M191 is the price. Redwolf Airsoft carries it for just $133.00 for the full-metal version, which I’ve been describing here. For those of you less familiar with Airsoft guns, decent gas pistols start at $90 to $100 or so, and go up from there, depending on what features they have. Full-metal versions often cost anywhere from $50 to $100 more. There are, of course, the occasional good deals to be found, and this gun is one of them. I’ve found it to be solid, accurate, and reliable, as well as impressive.

HFC is an often overlooked Airsoft company that has previously focused mainly on less-expensive guns. The M191 appears to indicate that they are getting into higher-end guns, but they’ve also managed to keep the price down. This is, of course, good news for those of us (like me) who don’t have a lot of money to spend, but want to get a full-metal pistol.

If you want a big, heavy, powerful Airsoft pistol that isn’t going to maul your bank account, this is your gun.