Over my years of Airsofting I, like many others have owned a number of pistols. Glocks, Sigs & a few 1911s, but nothing has come close to this amazing game changer. This is Airsoft’s answer to the real-world Heckler & Koch Mk23. Part of the H&K .45 family the real-world version was designed by the company as a response to the US military request for an offensive pistol. It’s a large frame pistol that can be mounted with a Suppressor & or a Laser aiming module. Now sit back & find out how the ASG MK23 held up to the tests we put it through.
On First Looks
For me the packaging serves a purpose & it would be nice to see a case like the TM gets but it’s not a problem. In the box is a pistol, magazine & suppressor. You even get some ASG BBs. For me upon first looks there is no real difference between the ASG & the TM MK23. Looking at just the pistol alone the magazine, pistol & suppressor all look & feel the same. The only major difference at first looks is the price tag. You can pick up a TM for around £140 but the ASG only retails at a fraction of the cost at £59. For me, on first looks it’s an amazingly built pistol & has great further potential with a little bit of love.
The magazine holds 28 BBs & with an extra mag on the go it’s a game changer.
On Closer Inspection
When getting to grips with this pistol the first thing you will notice apart from its size is it’s weight.
All of the weight for the ASG & TM MK23’s are held in its magazine. The Pistol itself is made from a strong, hard wearing plastic which is ideal for a non-blow back.
The second thing you’ll notice that stands it apart from the other MK23s on the market is the suppressor. The ASG MK23 has a barrel extension within its suppressor. This helps in some respects but also causes some issues. The way this helps is it ups your FPS but on occasions this causes issues with the straight flight of the BB & the accuracy of following shots.
The pistol for the price is a very good base on which to build on. We will cover the mods in detail on another edit. I have run my MK23 for over a year & had some really good results with the pistol with it stock but with the hop adjustment & stock hop rubber it does have its problems but for about £50 you can sort it out quick time.
As with most hop ups on pistols it’s in a very annoying place & the fact you have to remove the top slide in order to adjust the hop every time becomes a pain in the ass.
Other features include:Extremely Gas Efficient
· Two Stage trigger
· Trigger can be pre cocked for a faster First Shot
· Trigger Lock Safety
· Ambidextrous Magazine Release
· 16mm CCW Front Thread
· Front Rail for LAM Module or 20mm Rail Adaptor
· Suppressor extends barrel length and boosts FPS
Limitations
This Pistol is in no way crap & out the box it’s truly a fair price for what you’re getting. Again, we will cover MK23 mods in a separate edit but in short, within six months I would look to change the Hop rubber, Bucking and get a TDC mod at the very least. The distances out the box can be a little different from pistol to pistol and the FPS may differ too but with a good strip and clean that helps in the first instance.
It can be difficult to get a holster to take the MK23 but from what I’ve found the best option is to go for a DTD or similar as this allows for quick release & acquisition of targets as other styles slow you down due to the length of the pistol.
Field Test
The first weekend having this out the box me & one of the team found ourselves at Anzio Camp in Leek Staffordshire. Matt & the guys up there run an amazing site & for the price of £35 a day I will continue to be happy to drive the 5 to 6 hours from Kent to shoot here. I can get two days of really good CQB game play in & still see less out of my wallet than if I attended an AI weekender, plus I have more fun.
The MK23 comes into its own in the CQB environment. I found myself on more than one occasion drawing my MK23 to take out 2 or 3 enemy that were close together before they could realise where they were taking contact from. In one fire fight Kyle (TFJ02) & myself were going into an enemy held building. The suppressor went on & that’s when the fun started. Kyle watching one of the sides we pushed up a hallway into a large open area, Tap Tap, Hit! first man down. The man he was following didn’t know he had been hit due to the working suppressor so we went deeper in. Again, Tap Tap Hit! second man down. As we pushed through we could see Opfor moving in the other build so I shot into it across dead ground two more hit.
This Pistol out the box is amazing and only gets better when its upgraded.
Summing Up
The ASG MK23 is great for both new starters & seasoned pro’s alike. Depending where you go it can cost £54 to £60 mine was £55 from the helpful guys at Platoon Stores in Kent. The extra mags cost between £17 & £22 & it’s well worth getting at least one spare.
Keep an eye out for the Mod reviews.