Before I go any further I want to make it clear that I am reviewing this gun through the eyes of someone who is looking at using this as a project gun and upgrading it extensively.
I was so excited when this arrived last night that I broke out the sand paper and started the customization process right away. This means that my pictures will not all be of the stock gun. I will do my best to note any differences from the stock gun in the photos.
This is my first actual review so pardon any oddities that you might find. I will be following this outline:
I. Introduction
II. First Impression
III. Detail Impression
IV. Function
V. Upgrading Options & Compatibility with TM P226 parts
VI. Conclusion
I also want to present a disclaimer that I can't guarantee the quality of this gun or the fitment of TM items. This review merely consists of my observations and impressions.
II. First Impression
This box arrived in the post yesterday.
Since I am not a box collector or a packaging aficionado I will not review how the gun was packaged. My very first impression on lifting the gun was that it was all metal. It had been sitting on my porch and every piece was cold to the touch. I was also impressed by the solidity and fitment of everything. I guess that I was expecting some "slop" since the gun is a KJW but I was pleasantly surprised. The slide cycled nicely when I tested it. I tested the decocker and found that it worked exactly as advertised.
I dry fired the gun in single and double action mode and was quite pleased with the results. The SA was light and reasonably smooth like the TM P226. The DA was a bit heavy, in fact it was noticeably harder than the TM P226. The finish also looks smooth and well applied. All in all I was favorably impressed by my first experience with the gun.
III. Detail Impression
-First off is the outer barrel. I don't know why KJW chose to do this but they seem to have extended it.
The RS P229 has an outer barrel that doesn't protrude at all.
I guess that it's time to break out the hacksaw.
-Second, there is a strange looking notch at the front of the slide
However, after a bit of googling I found that the RS version has this feature as well. Props to KJW for replicating details.
Aside from these specific details I found the gun much as I expected. The finish is quite good all over the gun as far as I could tell. There are some small seems on the controls but they are hard to spot unless you disassemble the gun. The other obvious note is that other than the grips there are no trades on this gun. Defiantly a Con in my book but I was expecting it so I wasn't to disappointed.
I also am happy with the magazine although I am sure that the finish will be damaged with very little use.
IV. Function
Unfortunately, due to snow, I was not able to chrono the gun. If/when the weather improves I will post an average FPS.
For the accuracy test I used .2g KSC BB's and HFC GG. The test was conducted indoors at ~70F (~21C). I fired 5 BB's at each target.
- First off was the 6m test. I had the hop-up turned off and shot with a two handed stance. the following is the result:
the stray was more my fault than the guns
My guess is that if I had tuned the hop-up prior to this test the height would have been correct. I was actually quite surprised at the grouping the gun got.
-Second was the 10m test. I turned that Hop-Up half way on for this test since it would be over a longer range. The following was the result:
please note that the "x" hit is not from this test
Again I was impressed by the consistency of the gun over range. For only having a 83mm barrel it did very well. My guess is that much of this performance can be attributed to having a cloned TM hop-up. I truly love TM's hop-up.
So, the gun fires with good power and above average accuracy for a compact in its class.
V. Upgrading Options & Compatibility with TM P226 parts
After taking this gun to bits it would appear that almost everything is TM compatible. That includes controls, barrels, Hop-Up parts, and magazines. I have not had a chance to work on the blowback mech yet but my guess is that it is TM compatible as well.
Just for kicks I tried out my TM P226 slide on the P229 frame. Guess what, the gun works fine.
Kinda Looks like a franken-gun though. If you don't want to be so radical you could also try this:
please note that this was taken after I started polishing the gun but before I finished
I included this picture to help demonstrate the difference in size between the two guns.
again, my apologies for the half polish job
I tested out my DB TM Hi-Capa 4.3 6.01mm (94.5mm) barrel in this gun the first time I took it apart. Not only did it function beautifully but it also was hidden by the slightly extended outer barrel when the gun was locked and loaded. The only time it protruded was when the slide was locked back. Since the stock barrel length appears to be ~83mm I will probably be buying a 4.3 tightbore and trimming it down to fit.
Here are a few notes and observations:
-The grips screws are compatible with TM ones
-A RS mainspring seat can be fitted to this gun just like the TM P226
-A TM after market hop-up buckings will work in this gun
-The recoil spring is that same size as a TM Hi-Capa's so it would be easy to custom cut a super strong spring
There were a few disappointments though. For one thing the front sight is molded into the slide. I have yet to remove the rear sight so I can't tell whether it is molded or not yet. I also found that the screws throughout the gun were overtightened. I actually can't remove the screws that hold the blowback mech into the slide. I can't say whether this is true of all P229's but it is a real pain.
As I continue on my project I will be making more specific notes on what you can and can't do upgrade/TM compatibility wise. Feel free to ask specific questions that I haven't answered.
VI. Conclusion
The KJW P229 is a good little gun. It has its flaws but it is by far the best base gun out there for a FM P229. I am surprised that more 24/SIG fans haven't worked with this gun. I will be posting the results of my upgrading in the P226 picture thread. If you are interested stay tuned.
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