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Ever since I saw the MK23 with it's LAM unit and silencer in Metal Gear Solid, It has been my favorite pistol. It's sleek and heavy look, makes it seem like it would take down anything that stood in it's way. And it. It proved useful the whole way through the game, with it's powerfull stopping power, quite firing, and, well, it made Solid Snake even more badass.
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In real life, the pistol was developed for the U.S. Navy SEALS. It surpassed rigorous test, with flying colors too, and received the SEALS' approval. Because of it's size, it is meant to be an offensive pistol, not so much a secondary.
When I discovered the TM MK23 SOCOM, I knew I had to have it. Luckily I found a used one for a good price.
So let's get on to the review
Appearance
The gun comes with a hard case, the silencer (that actually silences), LAM unit, a red barrel plug, a cleaning rod, and some crap bbs.
The gun has some nice trades and has the same nice look the real gun has. The replica is made out of plastic, but it feels solid, and it won’t break on you. It does feel light, however.
The TM MK23 is a NBB, but it does have a unique firing system. There are 3 ways you can cock the gun. The first way is by pulling the slide back and releasing.
The second way is by pulling the hammer back.
The third, and final way, is by pulling the trigger. The trigger is a two-staged system where pulling the trigger halfway cocks it, and the other half fires it.
The sights are quite nice, dotted with white paint. But one thing that is unique to this gun, is looking down the sights and seeing the top of that huge silencer. Aiming this gun brings back memories of aiming and taking down baddies, with the MK23 SOCOM, in Metal Gear Solid.
Accuracy
The gun is quite accurate. More than most your pistols. And that is good cause it is after all, an offensive pistol. I did not do an accuracy test, nor am I. Just pistols has a review and an excellent accuracy test in it. The accuracy test can be found here:
http://www.justpistols.co.uk/tmmk23.htm
Usefulness
When you hold this gun, you will notice it is very big and bulky. This makes it very trouble some to carry around as a side arm. To make matters worse, it is very difficult to find a holster that fit’s the gun WITH it’s LAM unit and silencer on. The only ones that I found that works are the adjustable holsters with velcro. But even they need some heavy modification. Your probably better off getting a lanyard or small one point sling, and wearing it across your chest. Depending on if you wear a vest, and what vest you wear, you might be able to find a way to buckle it in.
In my opinion, if you are going to use this gun, use it with the LAM unit and silencer. The gun by itself is already too big, so you might as well make it look cool by adding the included accessories on. The LAM unit proves only useful for looks. The light in it is way to dim to be useful. And actually, my LAM unit doesn’t even have a bulb in it. The bulb burned out on the previous owner. So my lam unit is actually hollow. I have no intentions of fooling with it to get a new bulb in there and make it work. I don’t play in the dark so if I did, it really would have no purpose. I leave the LAM unit on there as it is what makes the MK23 so cool.
Now unlike the LAM unit, the silencer is quite useful when skirmishing. Without the silencer, the gun sounds like a loud “pop”. With the silencer on, the firing noise is significantly reduced, and the gun makes a soft “thud”. In fact, it makes it quite comical when you are hiding, shooting at your friend in a pistol fight, and he is looking around, trying to find where the bbs are coming from. Even when you are shooting at him and he is taking cover behind a tree, as you are, the silencer still gives you an advantage. The fact of the matter is, he does not know when you are shooting and when not. With an AEG, you can hear the gun fire and then have a second to take cover to dodge the bbs. Not so much with the MK23 and its silencer. Now I could have made a video showing you the difference, but there are already a bunch of those videos on you tube, and to tell you the truth, they don’t give it justice. It is truly something you have to experience in person. If you are interested of getting an idea of how much the silencer reduces the firing noise from the gun, visit Just pistols, again, as they do an excellent job, again, on showing you how much noise is reduced by the silencer with a sound test. If you forgot, there review can be found here:
http://www.justpistols.co.uk/tmmk23.htm
Summary
I said it before, and I’ll say it again; the MK23 SOCOM is my favorite pistol. TM has done a great job of not only replicating it, but also creating a new obstacle in the game of airsoft by making players facing someone who has it, clueless to when the MK23-wielding person is firing. There are faults to the pistol. It is light and constructed of plastic. But these faults are considerably overweighed with all the positive aspects the gun has. That being said I would have to give this gun a
4 out of 5 for those two reason and the fault of being bulky, a flaw created by the design of the real-steel gun.
In conclusion, if you are a fan of this gun, and don’t have it already, do not hesitate to pick it up. It is a fun gun and while not as easy as something the size of Glock, it can still be used as a side arm if you choose.
For people unsure, curious, and indifferent on the gun, some of you will pick it up and fall in love the feel and look of this monster.
For other people, the size and bulk of this pistol will scare you away and make you retreat to your beloved M1911.
This gun gets:
4 out of 5 cats which it cannot scare away
)
