AGM L96 AWP Spring Airsoft Sniper Gun OD

AGM L96 AWP Spring Airsoft Sniper Gun OD
Specifications:
- Velocity: 450 fps (0.2 g BB) / Range 200-250 feet
- Barrel Length: 23.5 inches / 60 cm
- Magazine Capacity: 30 Rounds
Features:
- Integrated top and front rails
- Adjustable Hop-Up
- Adjustable Length Butt Stock & Cheek Rest
- Airsoft Gun Review Available - Click More Info
- Made in China

AGM L96 AWP Spring Airsoft Sniper Gun OD Manual

The AGM L96 is a bolt action, single fire sniper rifle. It outputs an impressive 450FPS right out of the box! The rails on the top of the gun allow for aftermarket upgrades such as a scope. The rails on the front of the gun allow for installation of bipods, lights or lasers. The gun does not include scope, scope rings, or a bipod.

Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 Review

First Impressions of Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

The Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 comes in the usual ACM sniper rifle box with a few accessories.  Incidentally, this gun seems to be designated as the MP002 as the new item code on this particular weapon.  The box describes as a Personal Defense Weapon, however, its representation does not seem like a PDW. The box also recommends that you do not "altar" the gun, which personally seems to be a redundant statement.  Here's the box that I recieved:


The box contains only a few items--the Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 gun in two parts, a manual, a sling (the clasp is a poorly designed metal piece to which it's prone to easily snap and dump your gun to the ground), a speedloader, and a sample of low quality bb's:

To assemble the Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 gun, you just slip the back end into the stock, drop it down, and screw it in with a size 4 (metric) Torx wrench.  The screws are actually built into the stock, however, the ACM stock screws tend to strip easily.  The screws look pretty strong which is a definite plus.  In any case, if you want to replace them, you can just drill a larger hole in the stock.  Here's the assembled gun:

Real Steel History of Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

The L96 was brought into service in the early 1980's to replace the British Army's L42 Enfield sniper rifles.  The Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 was made by Accuracy International (PM model).  One thing to note is that it did not have a solid polymer stock, but instead a hollow polymer stock formed around an aluminum bedding block.  A few years later, the Swedes also sought to obtain a sniper rifle that would work in Arctic conditions.  The AI PM (L96) won the contract, and was fielded as the Arctic Warfare sniper rifle, chambered for the .338 Lapua cartridge.  This particular airsoft rendition resembles the AW 338, with it's distinctive indentation in the bottom of the stock.  The original L96 did not have this feature:

In reference to world.guns.ru (with readability edits): "Built by Accuracy International of Portsmuth, England, this line of rifles is among the best in the world of sniper rifles today. This rifle can shoot less than 2" (51mm) groups at the distance of 600 yards (550m). The Arctic Warfare line includes 5 rifles: the original Arctic Warfare was designed for the British military. It gained its designation by special anti-icing features, allowing sniping operations to be carried out under Arctic conditions as low as -40C (-104F)!  The other models are Police (AWP), Suppressed (AWS), Folding (AWF) and Super Magnum (AW SM).  The first three rifles are designed for 7.62mm NATO ammunition, while the Super Magnum can be chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum and 7mm Remington Magnum.  The AW has a 26" (660mm) barrel, AWP has 24" (609mm).  The AW SM barrels are available in lengths from 24" (609mm) to 27" (686mm). The standard scopes supplied by Accuracy International are Smidt&Bender 3-12X variable or the Leupold Mark 4 fixed 10X scope."

I am quite estatic and curious to know what type of scope is used on this particular gun. I decided to mount a Leapers 3-9x50 R/G 5th Gen scope. It's quite a huge gun, so it deserves to have a huge scope. Some things to note that differ from the real version--it has the VSR style paddle cocking handle instead of the ball handle common to the L96 (more similar to the AICS). It also has a bull barrel, and lacks the flash suppressor and long magazine. Perhaps a small modification by gluing on a cut off shotgun mag or something similar in the future. So let's take a closer look at the gun itself.

Appearance/Feel/Build Quality of Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

The appearance of this Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 gun is excellent, although it's got your typical ACM construction.  There are visible seam lines (although the real L96, from the description, is supposed to have seam lines as well, so this isn't as huge a deal as it is on faux wood guns, for instance). The stock itself feels quite solid, with no flex, or creaking. The grip is quite comfortable, although the stock itself is much thicker than an M700, for instance. This gun is something of a fatty.  It includes a standard Picatinny rail, just like the MP001, although the receiver is not exactly the same as the MP001:

Another thing to note is that the magwell is in a different spot than on the MP001 (because of the longer cylinder which is the same length as the APS2 Type 96) and the magazine size is different. Here's a look at the magwell:

The cocking handle is a paddle style handle which is identical to the MP001 handle. You can also see the markings for the safety as well below the handle:

The Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 gun is devoid of any trademarks, although it does have hop-up markings molded into the stock.  The short and stubby magazine holds about 24 rounds, a cross between a VSR-10 magazine and an L96 magazine:


Here's a comparison to the MP001 magazine:

The rubber buttpad is nicely detailed and comfortable, although sadly it doesn't adjust outward like an M24.  Here's a shot of that:


The stock boasts an adjustable cheekrest, which can be changed using a Torx wrench and a couple screws.  It also has that classic Arctic Warfare cutout, which is fitted for your non-shooting hand, so that you can pull the stock into your shoulder for a better stockweld:


The front of the stock can fit a bipod, which is unfortunately not included, and has a sling mount on each side:


The weight of the gun is quite noticible with an ABS stock--perhaps a bit more than expected. The stock itself has weights that are glued internally.


The added weight was a cheap trick as it gives this gun a nice heft but the MP001 did not have this feature. Surprisingly, the distribution of the weights ain't bad. I am content with the way the gun feels. The glue looks solid enough, and if you foam your stock, you won't ever have to look at those weights again. The stock overall is decent ACM quality, but not as good as the WELL/TSD/UTG stock, although the quality is better than BE. That's hardly a big surprise, as WELL seems to be turning out better spring guns than AGM (MB02>MP001, etc). The barrel is matte black, and pretty well finished, although there are some paint chips on the muzzle cap. It looks essentially similar to the MP001, although the hop-up and magazine guide are farther towards the muzzle because of the longer cylinder:

The price and quality for the Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 gun is beyond words. The magazine catch like the MP001 is held in by a plate and works extremely well. The finish, although it's not as good as the WELL Warrior 1, and not even in the same class as the BAR-10, is still pretty decent, and it's a very solid feeling gun. This is not the best clone handled but the price is inexpensive as an L96 but performs great and an excellent choice.

Let's now take a look at the internals and what powers this gun.

Internals of Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

I'll start by looking at the trigger, as that will be my starting point. After you've unscrewed the gun from the stock, it's going to disassemble basically the same as an M700 spring gun.  One thing that you'll notice is that instead of a trigger guard, it has a metal block, which can be unscrewed with a Torx wrench:


Once you've got that off, you can go ahead and take a closer look at the trigger:


It's pretty obvious that it's a clone of the VSR-10 trigger mech, and I'm happy to report that the searbox is not only metal, but also higher quality metal than on my MP001.  It looks a bit more solid, and has the holes for trigger adjustment:



But don't get your hopes up, it doesn't actually have the set screws, although I think they could probably be added.  Let's take a closer look at the trigger mech:


It unscrews the same way as a VSR-10 trigger mech, perhaps because it's a 100% clone.  Taking a look at the internals, we can see a few things:


I want to remark that although VSR-10 sears will fit, the stock piston sear is a fraction longer than the EdGI VSR-10 sear that I had. It still works with my PDI trigger mech though, so you should be able to upgrade it with VSR-10 aftermarket trigger parts (sears and setpin).  The cylinder isn't a VSR-10 clone, however, so you won't be able to use a zero trigger. That requires a special piston and will not fit in the cylinder. We will look at the cylinder in depth.


The cylinder head is removable, and made out of nice looking brass. Note that the head is screws off easily, in which the cylinder will most likely leak. It is recommended that you wrap the threading with teflon tape before you screw it back in to increase the seal.


With all the parts removed you'll notice that the length of the piston and spring is long. The spring guide is plastic, and probably deserves to be replaced. It is great to have spares.  The cylinder is compatible with APS2 Type 96 aftermarket parts (the Type 96 cylinder is longer than the regular APS2 cylinder), so you can fully upgrade this gun:

The walls of the cylinder are pretty thick, but I'm still worried about putting upgraded springs in.  The teflon mod and teflon-taping the cylinder head threading, along with electrical taping the cylinder head, provide very solid power, on par or better than the WELL/UTG/TSD L96.  Here's what it looks like inside:


The cylinder is very greasy, so I wiped off some of the excess grease before re-assembly to save the hop-up accuracy.  We will take a look at the barrel itself.


The barrel is made out of brass and nicely crowned.  The hop-up and barrel are identical to the hop-up and barrel in the AGM MP001.  This means that they come with the plastic bucking/rubber combination, and will only take dbcustom or EdGI upgrade barrels.  The barrel is not, in fact a tightbore, although it has a tighter diameter than the MP001:


The hop-up is identical, although the quality of the screws is much better than on the MP001:


It is unfortunate that it's still a U-hop:


The accuracy is minimized and will not be the best. Here is the gun upgradability:

The MP002 will take VSR-10 trigger parts, APS2 Type 96 cylinder upgrades, and MP001 tightbores. The hop-up, as far as I know, is not replaceable, although it might take APS2/M24 upgrades. The stock will NOT fit a BAR-10, sadly, and the magazines are not compatible with any other type of magazine. So, it's pretty much upgradeable, but it's a mixed bag.  I'm a bit bummed about that, and especially pissed about the magazines. It would have been so easy to make it compatible with other magazines, but it's not even MP001 compatible, and that's just stupid. Okay, so let's see how it performs. That's right, I'm dispensing with the function section. If you haven't figured out how a bolt-action sniper rifle works from my previous reviews, you're just going to have to guess.

Performance of Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

Stock power is actually very good.  The box claims 350 fps.  It shoots closer to 450 fps, being easily can bottom capable, and chronoing in at about 441 fps averaged over 20 shots.  Even more surprisingly, the bolt pull is really easy; about as effortless as an ACM gets, which is great for that high stock power.  More, the seal, like with the MP001, is terrible.  It gets pretty close to 500 fps if you electrical tape the nozzle, and seal the cylinder head.  A teflon mod of the hop-up wouldn't be a bad idea either.  It's still not can top capable, despite some inflated reports of 600+ fps performance, even with a spring spacer, e-tape mod, teflon taped cylinder head threading, teflon taped hop-up, and EdGI 6.01mm tightbore bull barrel.  Don't worry though, I tested the stock accuracy before I tossed in the upgrade parts.

I want to briefly mention here that the hop-up and barrel were ridiculously greasy.  It took me 10 minutes to clean it all out thoroughly, and get the bucking washed clean.  I also fired several shots from the cylinder part to remove any excess grease in there.  I did my standard testing from 100 feet in controlled conditions with AE .2g bb's, and for whatever reason, this is the worst sniper rifle I've reviewed so far.  It's still easily torso capable, and probably headshot capable from that range, but my groupings were all over the place.  I fired two 10 shot groupings, one aimed at the middle, and the other at the top of the target, and as you can see, it's all over the place.  The stock bucking is probably a bit too soft for the gun, and stock effective range is unlikely to be more than 130 feet.

Accessories and Modifications of Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

The same mods that can be done to the MP001 hold true here as well.  The nozzle ought to be e-taped:



You can also do any number of different things, including spring spacers, modding the hop-up lever, teflon taping the hop-up, teflon taping the cylinder threading, foaming the stock, and making mock suppressors.  The barrel is 1" diameter, so the same BAR-10/UTG M324/UTG L96/MP001 suppressors will fit nicely.  It is, as we mentioned, compatible with a mix of upgrade parts (VSR-10 trigger parts, APS1 Type 96 cylinder parts, and MP001 inner barrels).  It can fit a QD bipod, and a scope.

The Final Word of Airsoft Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96

My final opinion on this Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 gun is that it's a solid starter rifle, and can be made to be a great performer on a budget.  However, it's not the best stock ACM L96 on the market, and it's stock accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.  The lack of magazine compatibility and low quality hop-up really detract from this rifle.  That being said, it's a solid-feeling rifle with unique looks, great stock power, and with a tightbore, it can still shine.  It's also very cheap, and you get a lot of gun for the price.  Worth buying?  Definitely.  The best ACM L96A1 on the market?  Sadly, no.  It's a pretty good gun, but lacks a lot of the features that make the WELL MB01 Warrior 1 worth buying.  If you're short on cash or just need a cheap L96, this is clearly the gun for you.  If you want a good upgrade platform, stick to the WELL or Maruzen offerings.  I would probably prefer this gun to the BE, however.

Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 Pros	Spring Rifle AGM MP002 L96 Cons
Durable Has a nice heft to it Very powerful in stock form Compatible with a good amount of aftermarket upgrades Unique looks Really light bolt pull Comfortable buttpad Cheap--cheapest L96 on the market Comes with a scope mount Openable cylinder Brass inner barrel Metal trigger searbox Comfortable to hold Adjustable cheekrest	It's not a full VSR-10 clone for the internals No magazine compatibility Finish isn't as good as other ACM's--visible seam lines Glued in weights look tacky when disassembled Can't replace stock screws without drilling wider holes in the stock Non-upgradeable hop-up Can't take anything but custom aftermarket barrels U-hop-up yields poor accuracy

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This airsoft gun is not to be misrepresented as a real firearm or gun that is manufactured by Accuracy International and is merely an airsoft gun that fires 6mm pellets. The manufacturer of this airsoft gun is AGM.