Socom Gear Barrett M82A1/M107 review by Booligan
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Real Steel History
Ordering
Basic Gun Information
First impressions/Packaging
Included
Gun Specifications
Externals
Trademarks
Magazines
Performance
Internals
Modifications
Pros/Cons
Overall
Introduction
This is a gun that really needs no introduction. If you're looking for the biggest and the baddest AEG, look no further than the Socom Gear Barrett M107. It's big and heavy, but in the right hands, it can be used very effectively. I'll be talking about all the positive and negative aspects of this gun in the next few sections!
Real Steel History:
The Barrett M82 family of sniper rifles is legendary both in military and law enforcement circles as being one of the most accurate and deadly sniper rifles available. Firing the .50 BMG round at over 2700 FPS, it has an effective range of over one mile. The M107 variant, which this AEG is a replica of, is one of the latest evolutions of the original M82 design, and differs from the standard M82A1 in a few regards, namely the lengthened accessory rail and the integrated rear grip.
US Army soldier manning a Barrett "Light Fifty"
Ordering:
I purchased the M107 directly from Socom Gear in order to review it here on Airsoft Retreat. The one being reviewed here is one of the first ones in public hands. It arrived two days after ordering, safe and sound through its shipping ordeal. It is currently available at most large airsoft retailers priced at about $850, making it the least expensive M82 replica available.
Basic Gun Information
This gun is a behemoth, plain and simple. The upper and lower receivers, as well as the bipod and carry handle are made of steel, with certain other parts being manufactured from CNC machined aluminum. It includes a metal V2 gearbox, Madbull tightbore inner barrel and hop-up bucking, meaning that it's not just pretty shell; it's a fully skirmishable rifle.
First impressions/Packaging:
The M107 came in a relatively plain cardboard box with integrated carrying handles, and a simple, full color sticker showing off the gun and some of the features. Inside the package was the gun itself in two pieces, requiring a slight bit of assembly before use.
Included:
The package includes the gun itself, one magazine, and a very thorough manual. There is no battery included, so you must provide one yourself. I am using a Kong Power 11.1v LiPo battery in mine with no ill effects thus far. Socom Gear recommends that you use their LiPo battery in it, according to the sticker on the box.
Gun Specifications:
Weight: 22 lbs
Length: 56.5"
Width: 4" (at charging handle)
Height: 7.75"
Sight Radius: Varies depending on sight placement, rail is 24.5" long
LOP: 14.75"
Externals:
"Full Metal" seems like an understatement when describing this gun. It is made of steel and aluminum, with most parts being CNC machined and welded together. The craftsmanship on this gun is better than I've seen on more than a few real firearms.
We'll start the detailed overview with the back of the gun, working up the front. The lower receiver is made of steel, and houses the firing controls, gearbox, and butt pad. There's not really a separate stock on this gun, it's all just one big piece. The butt pad is very thick rubber, but has one slight flaw. The holes where the pad is screwed onto the frame of the gun aren't reinforced at all, so the pad can come off if the screws are tightened too much. I solved this on mine with the addition of some small washers. Below this is the rubber rear grip, used by the nonshooting hand to stabilize the gun when firing.
From here on, click all pictures to enlarge
Back end
Butt pad
Moving forwards slightly, you will run into the pistol grip, fire controls, and magwell. This piece is welded onto the main receiver using some very well done welds. The grip is a standard M4 pistol grip, with a non vented motor base. The selector switch is metal, and clicks firmly to all three positions; safe, semi, and full auto. The trigger is metal and has a standard V2 gearbox type of trigger pull.
Trigger group
Selector on safe
Selector on semi
Motor base
The magwell deserves its own mention, as it's a large part of this gun. It obviously houses the magazine, which rocks into the gun like an AK mag, by first hooking the front and then rocking the back into place until it locks. The magazine release is activated by pushing the lever forward, then rocking the magazine back out of the gun. I'll cover the magazine itself in its own section.
Magwell
Shot into magwell
Magazine release lever
Above the magwell you will find the mock charging handle. This handle is a spring returned design, but because of the tight tolerances of the gun, it does not always slam back to the front when released. Pulling it back exposes the hop-up adjustment dial, which is an M4 style unit.
Charging handle
Handle pulled back
Just in front of the magwell is the block that houses one of two pins that keep the two receiver pieces locked together. The other pin is located at the very rear of the gun, just in front of the butt pad.
Pin
In front of this pin, you will find the part that could best be described as the handguard. It is a ventilated design, and has the mount for the bipod welded on. On the upper portion, you will find the forward sling mount.
Handguard
Bipod mount
Speaking of the bipod, it's made of steel and folds to 3 positions, and extends to several more. Folding it is accomplished by pulling it down to clear the locking lugs, then rotating the leg to the desired position. The bipod is quickly and easily removed by pulling the pin out, and sliding the bipod off of the mount.
Bipod
Bipod extended
Bipod removed
The barrel on this model is a replica of the 29" model, and it is very securely attached to the upper receiver so there is no wobble. During shipping, the barrel is collapsed inside the upper receiver, and must be extended and locked in place using the included screw. It is a fluted design, with some very nice details on the overall construction.
Barrel
Barrel detailing
Barrel locked inside the receiver
The ubiquitous Barrett muzzle brake is faithfully replicated, both in form and in attachment method. It is screwed onto the outer barrel and secured by two screws with washers, just like on the real one. It is threaded clockwise, but I have not determined the size and pitch of the threading yet. Needless to say, it's a lot larger than the 14mm that we're all used to.
Muzzle brake
Locking screws
The top rail is very interesting in several ways. First off, it's where you mount a scope, obviously, but its design was faithfully replicated from the real steel item. The real rifle has the rail elevated 27 MOA, to allow for full use of the elevation settings on the scope of your choosing. It's designed for optimum long range shooting. In airsoft, it automatically engineers a bit of lob into your shot, for great long range performance. Usually when you lob your shots, it's very inconsistent, but with this design, the shots are very consistent as to when the cross back down across the crosshair. The rail is a whopping 24.5" long, meaning that you can mount pretty much whatever you want up there. It houses the carry handle, which is made of steel and takes the weight of this gun with ease. There are no iron sights on the gun whatsoever.
Top rail
Carry handle
The fit and finish on the external parts are extremely nice, with no creaks or wobbles of any kind detected. The finish is in a dark grey color, with a mildly textured feel to it. It looks and feels real, plain and simple. The welds are nicely done with no excess spatter or anything like that. Overall, I was extremely impressed by the externals of this gun.
Detail shot of the welds
Trademarks:
One thing that sets this Barrett replica from others out there is the fully licensed and accurate trademarks. The left side of the magwell has some very tastefully engraved trademarks that are quite difficult to see with the naked eye. There is a spot for serial numbers, but there are no numbers there at all.
Trademarks
The top rail has laser engraved numbers running the full length, so you can consistently mount your optics and accessories in the same place every time.
Numbered rail
Magazines:
The gun includes one high capacity magazine, which is of an interesting design. Basically, you have a magazine inside a magazine. Inside the big, steel .50 cal mag is an M16 VN hi-cap, mounted backwards, in order to line up with the hop-up. Filling the mag is accomplished by removing the main mag from the gun, opening the door on the hi-cap, and dumping ammo in. Winding the mag is accomplished by a cleverly placed hole in the bottom of the .50 cal mag. The internal magazine is not easily removed from the outer shell, so if you need to reload in the field, you'll either need an entire spare mag assembly (available soon from Socom Gear) or you will have to dump more ammo in the hi-cap in the field.
Magazine
Detail of inner mag
Winding hole
Size comparison with Thermold mag
Performance:
Baseline performance after a 500 round break in period is as follows:
FPS (Recorded using TSD .20g BBs shot through a Madbull V1 chrono):
High: 415.8
Low: 409.5
Average over 10 shots: 412.7
ROF will greatly depend on the battery that you use, and if you use full auto at all. For my use, I am running a Kong Power 11.1v LiPo, so trigger response on semi-auto is instantaneous, and the gun hasn't locked up on semi auto at all.
Accuracy and range was quite good, considering the stock power output. I was shooting TSD .25g ammo through it, and after tweaking the hop-up to my liking, I was able to zero in my scope at 175'. Now, due to the rail elevation, you will not get a flat trajectory through your scope. Instead, you will see the BB rise to the top of the scope picture, and come back down across the crosshairs at whatever range you dial it in for. With some practice into how this gun shoots, I was consistently hitting people at 170'-180' within 2-3 shots. With a power bump, this thing can be terrifyingly effective.
Internals:
The gun features a V2 gearbox as a power source, which is similar to the latest gearboxes from Echo 1. It is wired to the front, but with the wiring ran to the rear of the body. It has a small Tamiya connector, but it can fit a large type battery with ease.
Gearbox
Battery connector
The V2 gearbox is equipped with 7mm ball bearings, a metal spring guide, and an orange Systema clone polycarbonate piston. The chromed cylinder is a Type-0 portless design, which is optimized for the long barrel. The motor is an unmarked high torque type, which spins the gearbox with ease. The top of the gearbox is reinforced using a very thick metal support that is screwed onto the four screw holes. It should help stiffen up the top of the gearbox, for high FPS upgrades.
Bearings
Spring guide
Motor
Air nozzle
The hop-up is a metal M4 style unit, with a Madbull blue bucking installed. The inner barrel is a 650mm long 6.03mm ID Madbull "Black Python" unit, which is the longest that Madbull makes. You could easily fit a longer barrel in it if you can have one made.
Hop-up
Inner barrel
Yep, it's a Madbull
Overall, the guts of this thing are a step up from your normal "off the shelf" gun. It utilizes a very nice tightbore barrel from the factory, as well as an upgraded bucking. The wiring is some of the nicest that I've ever seen on a stock gun. The gearbox shell is reinforced, and has external reinforcing pieces to keep it in one piece. This thing should last a good long time in stock form, and should hold up to all but the most extreme internal upgrades with the stock parts.
Modifications:
Externally, this thing is basically perfect. The only complaints I had were that the entire muzzle brake was painted orange, instead of just the federally mandated 6mm, so it had to get painted quickly, and the aforementioned issue with the butt pad, which was easily remedied with some washers. I plan on upgrading the power on mine to the 500-600+ FPS range, and possibly having a longer inner barrel made.
Socom Gear has some accessories coming out for it, namely a rear monopod and a realistic spring loaded barrel system, but price and ETA haven't been determined yet.
Pros:
Full steel and aluminum construction
Smooth firing gearbox
Licensed and tasteful trademarks
VERY high build quality
Most affordable M82 replica to date
It's a Barrett. Enough said
Cons:
Bulky and heavy (faithfully replicated from the real gun)
No iron sights, which the real one comes with
Limited release, could be hard to find
Gigantic orange muzzle brake
Butt pad issue on mine
Overall:
I was blown away when I first opened the box on this gun, and it continues to impress me to this date. Yes, I actually have skirmished with it, and found it to be very skirmishable out of the box. With a few upgrades, it'll have terrifying performance to match its terrifying looks. Overall, I am 100% satisfied with this gun, and look forward to more unique releases from Socom Gear!
Many thanks again to Socom Gear, Deadrag Airsoft Radio and of course, AirsoftRetreat!
And yes, I have skirmished with it:
And a few glamour shots:
