E&L AKS74U: First Impressions

[Kokanee]

About E&L Airsoft

So E&L Airsoft is a new manufacturer whom launched a complete lineup of Kalashnikov rifles this past year. This is a Chinese company, but the quality of their rifles far surpasses other ACM companies like CYMA. Here is a link to a "torture test" pitting an E&L AKM against a real AKM;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS5U..._obZ22lfQhgtkA

AK enthusiasts, watch out for more from E&L in the future; they are without a doubt arguably the most realistic Kalashnikovs on the market right now if you are looking for an AEG.

The Rifle

I'm not going to list a long series of facts about the real AKS74U rifle, this is a look at the airsoft version after all. But if you need a primer check out;

http://world.guns.ru/assault/rus/aks-74u-e.html

The E&L AKS74U

I was looking for a shorter barreled AK to complement my LCT AK-105, something to use when playing a medic or engineer role that would be more portable and used primarily for self defence. I'd heard a lot about the E&L line on various message boards and FB groups, and decided to track down one in Canada. There are not a lot of retailers carrying E&L right now as they are so new, but Graham (Viperfish) @ Hero Outdoors was able to hook me up with one at a great price - $349 CAD shipped. That's the other benefit of these rifles, they are coming in at a crazy low price. Thanks to Graham for the rifle.

Out of the Box



Upon removing the rifle from the box, the first thing you'll notice is the sheer weight of this rifle - 7lbs! This is about spot on for a real loaded AKS74U, and compared to a CYMA AKS74U (5.9lbs) it's quite noticeable. So where is the extra weight coming from? Well, every piece of metal other than the mechbox on this rifle is steel;

Receiver? Steel.
Trigger? Steel.
Front sight? Steel.
Stock latch? Steel. etc....

Here are some shots of the steel components in this rifle;







Quality

The rifle takes down in a similar manner to the real rifle;



The overall quality of the E&L AKS74U is outstanding; better even than LCT I would argue. The machining is all done to a very high standard, and the finishing on the metal components is just stellar.





Most metal components have been machined, but even those that are cast are of cast steel and likewise have been finished quite well; the quality of the casting is far above what I have seen before in the industry for a Kalashnikov - makes my six year old Classic Army SLR-105 look like homeless by comparison.

Performance

I have not gamed this rifle yet, however I was able to put some rounds through it to ascertain the velocity. The rifle came with papers from the factory which certified it as shooting 118m/sec (380 fps) and my results at home confirmed that; this rifle was shooting an average of 382 fps with a range of about 5 fps variance between shots.

I will update this thread once I have had a chance to use this rifle in a game.

Value

As I have mentioned before, this rifle is arguably one of the most realistic AKS74U models you can purchase in AEG form today on the market. Considering the low price it goes for I would hazard to say that this is the best value if you are looking for an AKS74U, compare some prices;

E&L AKS74U: $349.99
SRC AKS74U: $510.00
ICS AKS74U: $399.00
LCT AKS74U: $485.00

[lurkingknight]

Having held the full length E&L AK I have to agree with your review. I believe the receiver is stamped steel like the real one. It's BEEFY.

Sad thing is there's very little battery space in them since they are using real steel furniture pretty much. The full stock has no room for the battery, it's got the storage compartment. For those looking for heavy upgrades with giant lipos, it might be a challenge to get a big lipo needed to drive low ratio gears on a super powerful motor unless you like external battery bags.

[Kokanee]

Agreed, but that being said a 7.2v lipo can crank a spring that will get your rifle shooting 420ish fps no problem with a good ROF, why would you need anything larger?

[Long_Bong]

Hi

Just ordered mine today!

Clearance sale on Redwolf for those!

Was wandering: would you recommend changing the inner barrel and hop up rubber or just go stock?

Thanks

[Kokanee]

The inners may need some work; mileage may vary. Try it out and if you're not happy then go ahead and change the inner and hop rubber.

Protip: If you throw the correct silencer on there, you can put an m4 length inner barrel in and get some great performance out of this AEG.

[Long_Bong]

Thanks! I got the ak 74 full length, plan on 11.1 lipo with fet, TB and new rubber, what would you recommend?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Sputmilk]

I just picked this gun up recently myself. I had a hard time getting used to how AK clips load and broke off some of the plastic lip off my mag.

[Kokanee]

Originally Posted by Long_Bong

Thanks! I got the ak 74 full length, plan on 11.1 lipo with fet, TB and new rubber, what would you recommend?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I've always had good luck with madbull and prommy tightbores, although i've been impressed with G&Gs new line of TB barrels as well.