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Jing Gong - AK-47 Beta F
(Submitted by Quinch)
 I’ve
always wanted an AK47S. An AK47S is suitable for use in urban and
woodland…unfortunately the ACM manufacturers couldn’t provide me with an AK47S
that I would be happy with (the only option was the CYMA unit and I wanted one
with a TM compatible hop-up) at the time I wanted one.
Anyway, Jing Gong do a good range of Beta’s…now, I’m not a big fan of the TM
Beta…the full stock, though practical for airsoft, wasn’t aesthetically pleasing
to me. It seemed to unbalance the AEG visually.
JG did though, make a Krinov version (no stock at all) or an “f” version which
had a folding stock….I liked both…both were the same price….I chose the “f”
version as I'm basically getting a folding stock free!
Free is always good....especially in “Cheapsoft”
So, it was decided that a JG Beta-f was to be ordered from RSOV, as I’d had
great experience of Kevin before.
10 days later the package arrived. Unfortunately I got stung for VAT and other
charges so had to fork out another £20 (the package included other items as
well). Still, even with this charge the AEG itself came to less than £80
including all charges and carriage.
Bargain!
I opened the package to be very nicely surprised by the general finish of the
AEG. Receiver cover is metal and whilst the lower receiver is plastic, it’s a
nice solid plastic. Stock is obviously metal as is the outer barrel, sights,
selector switch, trigger and trigger guard.
I’m sitting here at work, waiting until 4pm so I can get this home and start
charging the battery! (and have a proper look, bosses are a bit touchy if you
get a RiF out in the office you know )
Supplied battery doesn’t show any capacity or type unfortunately but I’d taken
the liberty of purchasing an Intellect 1400mAh NiMH from RSOV as well so
hopefully, if I have issues with the supplied battery I have another one that
should last me nearly a whole day anyway, I’m not the trigger happy type.
So far this looks and feels like a quality bit of kit and certainly up to TM
standards.
Initial Testing:
I charged up the Intellect 1400NiMH battery I bought separately over night and
tested the AEG this morning. First task was to clean the barrel. It seems
that every ACM AEG has the dirtiest barrel you could ever have the misfortune to
clean! Still, what can you expect for the price huh? Around 8 patches of
cloth later, I was still not 100% sure it was clean but the trigger finger was
itching too bad.
First off was a power test - strait through one side of a coke can and very
nearly through the other (severe dent)! Has to be between 290 and 339fps...just
as advertised. Nice... The power is quite evident in the retort of the AEG
as well in full auto....wow!
The AEG shoulders well, is a good weight and is exceptionally point-able, the
stock has some wobble when extended and locked but it’s not off putting and it
feels secure enough. Perfect for Urban and other close environments. Add a full
size magazine and this looks like a real mean piece of equipment. I've added a
G&P slanted flash-hinder as well to replace the...to my mind...rather silly Beta
one. This also makes the whole thing look nice and "nasty".
It was at this point that my wife wanted a go. What followed were lots of "this
is nice"..and..."I like this gun"...and I offered to get her one for herself to
which she replied..."I thought this one WAS mine?!?"
...crud... looks like I've lost this one then! (good job she can't skirmish
whilst she’s pregnant!)
The only downsides so far are that the stock doesn't lock closed with the RIS
fore-grip, so it’s either a chop-job or a new fore-grip that doesn't have a RIS.
I took the plunge and butchered the fore-grip to enable the stock to lock in the
closed position. This has left two penny sized holes in the fore-grip which I
intend to close up using a combination of plasti-card (which is a very thin,
flexible plastic sheeting that you can get from hobby shops) and epoxy resin,
this will be finished off with black krylon paint. I need the paint to re-do the
scratches on the stock anyway (more on this in a moment).
Another issue isn’t really one with the AEG and certainly very minor. The thread
for the flash-hinder is approx a half turn too long, meaning that if I tighten
the G&P slanted flash-hinder completely it no longer has the nice form and the
slanting is obscured. A temporary solution to this came from my four year old
daughter who was willing enough to part with some of her elastic hair bobbles.
They’re very small, thin, clear rubber bands and form a passable “O” ring until
such times as I can fully measure the type of spring washer or metal “O” ring I
need. A more permanent and solid “O” ring should be easy to find and add to this
some thread lock and all should be well.
The other notable issue is that the stock is quite scratched, looks also that it
was scratched before even fitting in the factory as there are some clumsy
attempts to touch it up in places. Still, not that fussy about this as a swift
blast of black Krylon will solve that.
This is still proving to be a superb buy.
The supplied battery seems to be fine. I charged it over night (approx 12hrs) on
a very slow charge (50mAh) and it worked ok in testing. I didn't fire it until
it gave out though and the RoF seems slightly lower than with the 1400mHa I
tested it first with. Still, this should do perfectly as a secondary battery
should I use up my 1400 unit in a day.
Other than this small modification of the fore-grip for practicality, I intend
to leave this AEG mainly as it is. I am planning no internal works on it as it's
more than powerful enough already. Should the internals fail at any time it is
then that I'll open up the gearbox and replace the internals OR just buy a
strait replacement Ver.3 mechbox - depends how lazy I'm feeling at the time and
how much money I have.
- NOTE: Images taken with MAG "waffle" (plastic) Mid-Cap fitted –
I've posted a short video of semi and full auto testing using the 1400NiMH
battery on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6se7kqbNVU
Post Skirmish:
Well, to say that EVERYONE was impressed with this AEG would be an
understatement. I visited a woodland site but due to the dense undergrowth it
boiled down to quite close quarter fighting and this seriously excelled. The
ability to bring this short and powerful AEG to bear as fast as you could
register a threat was outstanding and whilst I didn’t put that many rounds
through it, that is also a good indication of the ability of this AEG as it had
the range to reach the targets, the accuracy to be ON target and the power to
cut through leaves etc to hit the targets without expending 100’s of rounds in
full auto.
The only very minor downside so far is that the selector switch is not very
responsive. Whilst my ARMY AK engages into full and semi in a very firm and
confirming way the JG Beta’s action is quite loose and you have to check that
you have the selector in the correct position. This may be something as simple
as tightening the screw on the lever that will correct this though.
This JG Beta just kept going all day, and impressed everyone at the site with
looks and performance.
Rankings:
Build Quality = 9. This is only let down by some scratching on the stock.
It’s still got a lot of plastic, but with no solid stock and its short front it
just “feels” unbreakable.
Performance = 9. Very powerful, but still legal. It’s only let down by
accuracy which is due to the short barrel which is unavoidable.
Reliability = 10. This has never missed a beat! The Jing Gong gearboxes
are known as some of the best from China and for good reason.
Value For Money = 10. For me, you can’t get a better range of Beta’s than
the Jing Gong ones…they now build full length AK47’s of various types and
continue to uphold good sturdy construction. Trouble is, you just HAVE to have
two of these (or two Krinov’s)
Overall = 10
 As
a CQB/FIBUA weapon this demands the utmost respect. It's exceptionally pointable
in the close confines of room entry and corridors, has the power to reach
targets whilst your between buildings or even laying down suppressive fire…hey,
you know with 1,000 round Hi-caps or even 2,500 auto winding drum magazines
available from China (did someone mention only £30 for the drum mag?), this AEG
and the Krinov version can be easily turned into the
“Uber-nasty-urban-murder-death-kill-machine” from Hell! With at least double the
magazine capacity of all those M4’s and MP5’s out there, an even shorter barrel
which means better and smoother movement and target acquisition…there’s even a
RIS for a vertical grip if you want…I can’t think of what I’d rather take into a
skirmish in a building.
Note - picture of Krinov version shown for demonstration only and is not
owned by me.
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