I've been on the lookout for a really nice revolver replica since I surrendered my .177 Brocock Air Cartridge pistol earlier this year. The nearest I had come so far was unsurprisingly the Webley MKVI 4" Police model. It's a similar size and the action feels nearly as nice apart from the usual hammer bounce that you get with all CO2 pistols. But it didn't quite satisfy the urge, although I certainly won't be getting rid of the Webley. It's big hitting .22 cal is too satisfying!
I've bought a couple of other revolvers which didn't quite hit the mark in one way or another - Chiappa Rhino (heavy trigger) and M29 3" (woefully inaccurate).
Today I picked up a Gletcher NGT which is a replica of an older Belgian pistol latterly made by the Russians for WW1 & WW2. I think I may have found "The One."
It's a nice compact revolver - the Webley MKVI taking pride of place in the "Hand Canon" section of my collection. The Gletcher action feels crisp without being notchy. The Webley in comparison is buttery, but not quite as nice IMHO. The Gletcher is single shell loading, which initially I found off-putting, but I'm now finding part of the charm. I think it's due to the way the shells just fall into the cylinder chambers thanks to the valley profile of the right hand side of the gun. It takes about 20 sec to empty and reload compared to 10 sec for the Webley or 8 sec for the Rhino with speed loader. But the Gletcher does hold 7 rounds rather than the usual 6. It offers double and single action.
Accuracy is good though limited by the lack of adjustment on the sights. The foresight is better than the Webley making elevation adjustments easier. Both have short rifled barrels and fixed sights. The grip is the same brittle plastic that nearly all CO2 revolvers suffer with, but in this case the thickness to width ratio is quite strong making it feel more substantial.
One of the best parts of this revolver is the cylinder. Every other CO2 revolver I have has a cylinder that is partly or wholly hollow. But the Gletcher looks solid. In addition, it is field strippable. You can remove the cylinder with a couple of operations without any tools which I think is a unique feature.
In summary it's a fine compact revolver with good accuracy and power in the higher end of the usual CO2 replica pistol range of 2-3ftlb. Movement feel is up there with the best, and you trade single shell loading for field strip ability. If they made a .22 version it would be the only CO2 pistol I would need!
I've bought a couple of other revolvers which didn't quite hit the mark in one way or another - Chiappa Rhino (heavy trigger) and M29 3" (woefully inaccurate).
Today I picked up a Gletcher NGT which is a replica of an older Belgian pistol latterly made by the Russians for WW1 & WW2. I think I may have found "The One."
It's a nice compact revolver - the Webley MKVI taking pride of place in the "Hand Canon" section of my collection. The Gletcher action feels crisp without being notchy. The Webley in comparison is buttery, but not quite as nice IMHO. The Gletcher is single shell loading, which initially I found off-putting, but I'm now finding part of the charm. I think it's due to the way the shells just fall into the cylinder chambers thanks to the valley profile of the right hand side of the gun. It takes about 20 sec to empty and reload compared to 10 sec for the Webley or 8 sec for the Rhino with speed loader. But the Gletcher does hold 7 rounds rather than the usual 6. It offers double and single action.
Accuracy is good though limited by the lack of adjustment on the sights. The foresight is better than the Webley making elevation adjustments easier. Both have short rifled barrels and fixed sights. The grip is the same brittle plastic that nearly all CO2 revolvers suffer with, but in this case the thickness to width ratio is quite strong making it feel more substantial.
One of the best parts of this revolver is the cylinder. Every other CO2 revolver I have has a cylinder that is partly or wholly hollow. But the Gletcher looks solid. In addition, it is field strippable. You can remove the cylinder with a couple of operations without any tools which I think is a unique feature.
In summary it's a fine compact revolver with good accuracy and power in the higher end of the usual CO2 replica pistol range of 2-3ftlb. Movement feel is up there with the best, and you trade single shell loading for field strip ability. If they made a .22 version it would be the only CO2 pistol I would need!
