Real Steel History from wikipedia.com
While not a direct replica of any real gun due to changes required by the spring bolt system, the gun us largely based on the famous Remington Model 700.
The Model 700 series of firearms are bolt-action hunting rifles manufactured by Remington Arms since 1962. All are based on the same centerfire bolt action.[3] They come with a 3, 4 or 5-round internal magazine depending on caliber, which sometimes includes a floor-plate for quick-unloading, and sometimes is "blind," meaning it has no floor-plate. The Model 700 is available in a great number of different stock, barrel and caliber configurations. It is a development of the Remington 721 and 722 series of rifles, which had been introduced in 1948.
The Remington 700 comes in a large number of variants, with different stocks, barrel configurations, metal finishes and calibers. In addition there are 3 lengths of action (not including the Model Seven lightweight's action, which is even shorter than the 'standard' short action). There is the short action for .308-length cartridges, the standard for .30-06 length cartridges and the long action for magnum calibers. To these can be added various magazine configurations; a blind magazine which has no floorplate, a conventional magazine with detachable floorplate and a detachable box magazine. There are standard consumer versions as well as versions designed for military and police use. Some variants come with bipods, slings and other accessories.
Basic Information
The Well MB-03 is available from Airsplat.com for the low price of $89.95. This is technically the "C" variant which denotes it includes a basic scope and rail mounted bi-pod. It also includes the standard accessories, a small bag of BB's, a speed loader, one magazine, and a basic sling. The gun does come disassembled due to it's length, but the assembly is very basic and only requires a metric allen wrench.
Product Description/First Impressions:
The first thought upon opening the package is that the gun looks just like every other VSR-10 clone I have seen. This is not necessarily a bad thing, if the system works, why change it? The packaging is pretty standard for Well's products, featuring a black box with Styrofoam tray to hold everything. As stated above, this particular version is a complete package which include a bipod and scope, so it is ready for use out of the box. The included speed loader is always a welcome inclusion.
Externals
Externally the gun is your average VSR-10 clone. In fact, I was hard pressed to tell the difference between the Well MB-03 and my JG BAR-10. I would even go so far as to say I suspect the externals for the two guns are made in the same factory or at least using the same molds. The plastic stock feels a bit cheap, but no more so than the BAR-10 or any other low cost Chinese airsoft gun. While the texture leaves a lot to be desired, there's no creaks or wobbles of any kind.
The barrel is also very light weight but once again does not give any indication of durability issues. The gun comes with a plastic orange tip as required by law. However unlike most guns without flash hiders, the orange tip is simply a orange plastic version of the standard VSR-10 muzzle cap that is simply threaded on. Apply a little bit of torque to break loose the glue/locktite and it just unscrews like flash hider.
One thing I think is greatly improved on the Well vs the JG is the length of the hopup adjustment arm. The Well's arm is longer which makes the hopup far easier to adjust. The scope rail is full length and will take any normal Picatinny scope mounts. I did not have any issues using QD mounts on mine which are sometimes an issue on a rifle like this due to the thickness of the mount.
Internals
Internally, most spring guns are pretty simple compared to your average AEG or Gas Gun. Unfortunately the rear screw mounting the trigger assembly to the receiver apparently was stripped when the gun was assembled preventing me from completely disassembling the gun. Therefore, the best I can do is external pictures of the internals.
The receiver is a bit lighter colored than the other VSR-10 clones I've handled but the trigger assembly is visually identical to the trigger assembly on the JG BAR-10. Beyond that there's not much to see on the trigger assembly.
The only difference I was able to see between the MB-03's internals and the JG BAR-10's internals is the hopup and the cylinder. Without being able to completely disassemble the MB-03, I can't say just how different they are but there's a slit/hole on the bottom of the MB-03's cylinder that isn't present on the BAR-10's.
As stated previously, the hopup is slightly different on the MB-03 than on the BAR-10. The adjustment arm is a little bit longer on the MB-03 and it adjusts much smoother than on the BAR-10. Based on the performance I'll discuss below, it seems to be much more consistent than the BAR-10's as well.
Beyond that, visually, the chambers seem to be identical in design. My only assumption can be minute manufacturing differences between the two.
Power/Magazines
As the gun is a spring powered, bolt action rifle, the power source for cycling the gun is your arm. The bolt pull is a little bit stiffer than a JG BAR-10 due to the stronger spring, but I had no difficulty pulling the bolt back from a variety of shooting positions. The bolt action itself is very smooth free from any snags or rough spots. The gun uses standard Tokyo Marui compatible VSR-10 magazines.
Performance Characteristics:
This is where the gun really surprised me. Up until now, it seemed like your run of the mill VSR-10 clone. Because I was comparing it to the JG BAR-10 which has a much lower velocity, I was testing with Airsoft Elite .23g BB's rather than my normal .25's. With said BB's the gun chrono'd at 409fps, 10 shot average. There was only a 3fps variation from the highest reading to the lowest reading. Nothing to set it apart from other clones, but nothing to rule it out of the competition. That all changes right here.
I have never been more shocked with a guns stock performance than this gun. As mentioned before, I was directly comparing this to a JG BAR-10 as they are direct competitors. I was using the same BB's, from the same bag, with the same speed loader, and the same mags. The guns were literally sitting next to each other and I was alternating shooting them. Because the Well does have a significant velocity advantage (~100fps), I did not want to push the range too far to give the Well an advantage. At 100', the Well MB-03 was achieving 2" tighter groupings than the BAR-10.
To my amazement, at 100', the Well MB-03 was getting sub 1" groupings. The two "fliers" were my fault beyond all shadow of a doubt due to a less than ideal shooting position. I ran the test 3 times just to be sure. That kind of groupings with a sub-$100 gun is nothing short of astounding in my mind. In all aspects, this gun is simply more consistent and precise than the BAR-10 and other clones.
Accessories/Modifications
As the gun is a VSR-10 clone, there are numerous accessories out there for the gun. If you are on a budget, the only thing I would recommend is a scope with a little better eye relief, a couple of spare magazines, and some good BB's. I personally mounted a Leapers 3-9X50 Mil Dot scope on mine. The Leapers scope looks great and doesn't break the bank. If you prefer a gun with a little more heft to it, you can check out some of the guides on filling the stock to improve the weight and balance or get an aftermarket stock such as those made by Fortress.
Upgrades:
Once again, as the gun is a VSR-10 clone, it will take any of the countless VSR-10 parts on the market. Personally I feel it it's not broke, don't fix it. With that in mind, the gun shot so exceptionally well for a stock gun, I would hesitate starting to swap parts unless absolutely necessary. Externally, a PDI outer barrel and a Fortress stock gives it the looks to go with the performance you get.
Skirmish Results
The gun performed flawlessly on the field, and several people expressed surprise at the fact the gun was completely stock. The hopup is very consistent and doesn't seem to have any issues staying where you set it. Despite it's light weight, it doesn't seem to have any problems surviving being banged around
Conclusion:
I started this review with pretty low expectations. I've had mixed experiences with Well's guns and there's an abundance of existing VSR clones with established reputations. That's not to say I thought it would be a bad gun, I just didn't expect anything to stand out about the gun. I could not have been more pleasantly surprised with this gun. It is not often I can say a gun completely exceeded all of my expectations, but this one certainly did. Regardless if this is your first airsoft sniper rifle or you are just looking for your next project gun, I would strongly recommend starting here.
End Notes:
Many thanks to Airsplat for generously providing this gun for review.
Written by XavierMace, 03/20/2010
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