By Kornkob
Published: 24 January, 2003
The guns commonly referred to as the 'Macs' or 'Ingrams' are a family of submachine guns or machine pistols that were cheaply made, easily handled and presented the firer with an impressive rate of fire, emptying it's magazine in 2 seconds or less. Inexpensive, reliable, easily concealed and simple in design one would think that this series of weapons, first designed by Gordon Ingram in the 1970s, would have become more popular with Law Enforcement. While it did see legitimate use, for the most part it has become a toy for firearms collectors and movie makers after gaining some notoriety as the sidearm of criminals during the violence that erupted surrounding the 1980s drug trade. (References: VPC and Firearms ID)
The particular model of this series that was picked up by KSC, KWA and HFC to create is the M11a1. This model was manufactured by SWD Inc in the mid-1980s and was chambered for .380 caliber. Recently Airsoft Retreat acquired a copy of tech KWA M11a1 to review for our website.
The Package
KWA's M11a1 comes is a brightly colored package that contains the usual styrofoam insert holding the various bits and pieces. Inside is a loading tool, a small package of .2g BBs, a small tool for adjusting the hop up, a 48 round magazine, an owner's manual and, of course, the replica itself.
Maybe I'm the only one but I tend to pull each item out of a package like things, leaving the gun itself to absolutely last.
Loading Tool
The loading 'tool' is pretty much a fancy funnel, allowing one to pour BBs into it and direct them into the magazine's feed tube. A simple, practical device but no where as handy to use as the typical Tokyo Marui ramrod style loader. Of course, the 100 BBs they included were of typical quality-- smooth seamless and without visible flaws.
Hop-up Key
The metal 'Hop-up Key' is interesting. The head is similar to one of those keys used to open soft drink machines or Kryponite locks. With a series of small teeth around the outer edge of the key's head, the handle is designed to angle into the chamber and grab the Hop-up directly. While the key is really neat and well designed, it sure seems that using a hex or phillips would be more practical, ensuring that one can adjust the Hop-up long after the originally included key has been lost.
Magazine
The magazine was most surprising in it's weight and the solid feel of its construction. All metal, the front edge is open and you can see the feed spring as well as the BB plunger. To load you run the plunger all the way to the bottom of the magazine, where it locks in the lowest position. Then you pour the BBs in the feed tool and let them stack. It's notable that the BBs are double stacked in the mag. This means that if you pour the rounds in too quickly, they will not settle properly, which will limit the number of rounds you can fit in the mag as well as potentially causing feed problems when shooting.
The M11a1
Then came time to pick up the gun itself. This gun has some real heft to it. A matte black finish covers the entire gun and remains uniform despite the fact that half of it is plastic. The tightly constructed gun hefts well in the hand. The barrel is metal making it easier to removed the painted orange tip to clean this replica up for display or theatrical purposes. The half inch of threads at the base of the barrel are ready made for a variety of after market mock silencers. Right behind the threads is a ring for attaching a strap, which on the real steel helps control the recoil. The wire stock is also metal, as are portions of the frame. While some of the body is ABS plastic (whereas the real steel is all stamped metal and steel) it doesn't look it.
The Mac11 is angular, utilitarian and functional, with no time energy or materials wasted on aesthetics or cosmetics. The one nod to ergonomics is a slightly curved plastic item on the rear of the pistol's grip, which sticks straight out of the lower receiver in an unusual T shaped design. This design makes it a little less comfortable to hold, as compared to many of the more modern pistols. Some may find it somewhat awkward.
The stock is also rather minimalist. Made of sturdy metal, it neatly folds out of the way when collapsed, where it also helps balance the weight of the replica. When fully extended it is still rather short, just barely doubling the machine pistol's length.
The sighting system is also pretty basic. A simple post at the fore and a pinhole to the rear. The sight picture is made very close to the top of the receiver, the operator forced to get directly behind the gun in order to peer though the tiny hole in the sight. Firing the gun pistol style this system is challenging but not impossible, although I found myself less comfortable with this than the normal slot and post system found on most pistols. However, when combined with the short wire stock, this peephole sight system is somewhat awkward even for someone of below average height like myself. I can only imagine that someone of larger stature might be very uncomfortable trying to sight this weapon with the stock extended and may find it impossible.
Of course, the proof is in the pudding so naturally I had to put some rounds down range!
Fire it up, now!
After pouring the BBs thought the loading funnel, I gassed it up in the usual way. I did notice it took a bit longer to fill the mag than it does on my pistols, but that was too be expected, considering the number rounds the mag holds. It's notable that unlike other guns, it is important to pull the bolt back on the Mac11 BEFORE inserting the magazine, as the gun fires from an open bolt. Slamming the mag home on the closed bolt could damage the magazine and may also have some negative impact on the bolt itself. Perhaps this Open Bolt firing system begs some explaining.
Open bolt firing works the opposite of the Gas Blow Backs you are used to. In most GBB guns when you pull the trigger, the round is fired and the slide is thrown back. Then the slide slams forward, chambering the next round in preparation for another trigger pull. On the Mac11's open bolt system, the trigger pull releases the bolt, locked back in the rear position bye a sear, and a round is chambered and fired in one motion, afterwards the bolt is blown to the rear again. In semi-auto mode (or when you release the trigger in full auto) the sear then catches the bolt and holds it in the rear for the next shot.
So to load the piece you release the safety (which both unlocks the trigger and the bolt), draw the bolt back and push the magazine home. You are now ready to fire. It is notable that dropping a M11a1 when the magazine is charged and loaded is much more likely to discharge than with other airsoft guns. This is an important safety consideration.
I found the gun more comfortable to fire with the stock collapsed. Being hunched behind the gun only marginally increased by stability, while significantly making me more uncomfortable. In both the extended and the pistol grip configuration, I found the sighting system difficult to use, especially when trying to rapidly acquire a target.
The trigger squeeze is fairly light, with very little slack. However, it is easy to feel the pont of no return. This gun ROCKS--- literally. Unlike some guns that do give one the impression of a kick, as the M11a1 rips of a burst it just rocks in your hand- stable, clean and regular. It fires very rapidly, pushing rounds out as fast as anything else I've ever fired. So fast, in fact, that I had a hard time getting my brother to believe my story, so I pulled out the digital video cam and burned some tape of this little beauty in action. The following movie is the second 48 rounds fired on a single charge of 134a gas. Click here to see the movie in Windows Media Video format (600k).
The speed with which this piece throws plastic down range is impressive. Not only does it have an impressive rate of fire in full auto or semi, but its stock FPS on ever 134a gas is impressive as well. After firing off 50 rounds on semi auto across my chronograph, I got readings from 270 to 285 with most of them coming in pretty close to 280, as pictured below.
Needless to say this gun is a lot of fun to shoot. I blasted away almost 2 cans of gas before taking it over to a friend's house when he was having a couple guys over and letting them push a few hundred rounds down range. We tore up an aluminum can before we ran out of gas.
All told there have been probably 1000 rounds pushed through this little guy, a mixture of .2 and .25 gram. Generally I've been able to get two runs of 48 rounds per gas charge. The second run on a single charge does seem to fire at a lower rate and seemed to have more issues. Out of those 100 rounds there were perhaps 3 or 4 instances where the bolt failed to blow back, despite the fact that there was gas and rounds left in the magazine. Standard remedial action clears the issue (pull the bolt back and make sure the magazine is still seated) so it isn't a huge deal. To be fair, a majority of our shooting was done outdoors in ambient temps below 40 degrees--- this tends to have a negative impact on gas gun performance.
Accessorize it!
While I've been reasonably happy with this gun's performance there are some things that one might want to make note of and perhaps get your hands on to make it a very good backup or CQB weapon.
The first thing I noted is that a fore grip strap would be pretty handy. Right at the base of the barrel is an attachment point for a small strap. While on the real steel this strap is to aid in controlling the recoil, it would be handy to use in the airsoft replica for stability. With it's angular, sparse construction, it would add an additional place to hold on to the gun when shooting it using either the pistol or the submachine gun configuration. While I found several online for about $10 (before shipping), it seems to me that with a little webbing, a D ring and some sewing, I can probably make one for a dollar or 2 pretty readily.
As I considered the tactical practicality of this piece, it occurred to me that there is one significant problem: the magazine is huge! Wearing this gun in any kind of waist or thigh holster would leave you with a very long mag sticking out somewhere, potentially hanging up on something or someone. Realistically, only an under arm holster is really practical with the standard sized mags.
Shoulder holsters for the Mac series do exist and knock offs are available at reasonable prices. While I am going to continue to shop around for a while to see if I can get a holster in Olive Drab rather than black, I do not doubt that the way I will carry this gun into a skirmish is in a shoulder holster.
Now, thigh rigs for Macs also exist and, in fact, the M11a1 will fit snugly in a holster designed to hold a MK23 with LAM attached. I've not only seen them in stores but watch someone in a skirmish with one. Basically, the only real problem is that long, heavy mag sticking out there. Not only does it catch on things, it is heavy, causing the entire rig to flop more than it would with a weapon that had it's mass more centered. The person who was wearing that was bigger than me, I can only imaging how awkward it would be on someone of my stature.
I did happen across rumors that, at one point, there were 22 round short mags available for this gun. This would be an excellent compromise for this gun. While the M11a1 would tear through 22 rounds in nothing flat, it would make it more convienient to carry as a secondary as the 22 round shorty would barely peek out of the handle of the Mac11. I recently asked Francois at Combat Depot to see if any of his suppliers can find one of these mags for me. So far he's been unsuccessful on that front, but we'll have to see.
A mock silencer might be of use as well. Screwing one of these on would make it easier to use as a submachine gun, giving the operator a place to grab onto it. Additionally one might be able to install a longer inner barrel inside the silencer to add a few more FPS. Or just use it for cosmetics to capture that Miami Vice drug runner look.
One thing that might be a disappointment for those of you who like to have their airsoft replicas be plastic shooting Swiss Army knives: not a rail to be found. The Mac series are pretty plain without any easy way to attach lights, lasers, scopes or other toys and tools without significant modification or construction of custom attachment points.
Internal parts, on the other hand, seem to be readily available. A short search turned up everything form mag valves to barrels to magnesium bolt assemblies. If you're one of those folks who like to tweak out your guns for a little more speed, this gun isn't going to disappoint. Myself-- I'm very happy with its performance, as I've said before.
Disassembly
Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I am my father's child and had to disassemble the gun. While many people could own one of these and never have a need to take it apart, I wanted to see what made it tick. Besides, I convinced myself I was doing it for all the ASR readers who owned one of these bad boys. So, for you guys, here it is.
Take down is simple. At the front of the Mac11 is a 2 part pin that needs to be removed. Push the pin to one side and it slides out, allowing one to remove the other half of the pin from the other side. While the first time that forepin can be a pain to get out, it is rather simple once you've had it out once or twice. Next you need to remove the stock, easily enough done by folding it out like it is to be used and then pushing the extension button once again to let it pop out. Strictly speaking one can skip this step, however it makes the replica easier to manipulate by reducing it's length and weight.
Once you've taken those parts away, there si the sole tricky part. You first make sure that the safety is off. Then grabbing the barrel/front sight area you lift up and pull forward gently. The entire upper receiver will come up and away from the lower. You will note that the bolt, however will pull backwards. Once the upper has come forward as far as it can if you hold the charging handle and shift the assembly backwards, a small hook at the rear of the bolt will disengage. Now the upper assembly will come completely off. The final image shows the upper receiver/bolt assembly
Reassembly is merely the revers of this process.
Summary
The KWA M11a1 is a sturdy replica with nice balance and excellent heft. While some might find the sighting system a bit awkward, all will find the rate of fire and FPS quite satisfying as it empties its mag in seconds. The Mac11 is a sharp looking gun that is small, agile and definitely designed under the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). While it's boxy shape and lengthy mag might make it hard to carry as a secondary, there are shoulder holster solutions and possibly short mags to aid in convenient carry. Accessories for this little beast are abundant, both in terms of useful add ons and internal upgrades. However lack of ways to easily attach popular add ons like Tac lights and red dot scopes might be a drawback for some.
Myself, I like this little beast. In fact, I've given it a name: The Mayor. It's my intent to dig up a good carry solution and a spare mag or two and carry this as a secondary. It's impressive muzzle velocity, sturdy build and devastating rate of fire will make it a welcome partner in those tight spots when my primary isn't cutting it. I was thinking of getting one of the autofire glocks in order to improve the firepower I carried in reserve but after letting The Mayor chatter for a while, I gotta admit, he talked me into taking pass on that.
Know what? All this talk about my new elected offical has put me in the mood to go shred some paper! See you later.
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