TSD/Well L96 review

[Huge]

so I wanted to make a good review of my new L96 to help others with their purchase, but I stumbled upon this review and it's like everythiing i wanted to write was already there so why bother doing it again? Here it goes, it's a very thorough review with actual facts (and not the BS the company claims). It is also to prove this gun makes for a good sniper platform (platform being the key word, upgrade it for consistency and reliability)



Written by B. Keltner from Actual Airsoft

This rifle is a somewhat exact copy of the Maruzen Type96. It operates and disassembles identically. Note that this rifle comes in either Black or OD finish.

What’s Included, Construction

In the box came the rifle itself (two parts), two allen wrenches (one for hop-up adjustment, one for rifle construction), a sling, barrel cleaning rod, package of bb’s and scope (if you bought the scoped version).

The rifle comes in its box in two parts. Bolt/Barrel assembly and the stock. Very simple to put together. Slide the Bolt/Barrel assembly vertically into the rifle stock. There are 2 allen (hex head) bolts in the stock (they don’t come out of the stock). Line the bolts up with the holes on the Bolt/Barrel assembly and use the supplied allen wrench to tighten. Do not over tighten but make them snug. Your rifle is then together. Depending on whether you bought the scoped version you will then want to attach the scope to the rail. If you did not get the scoped version then I highly suggest you get a scope (or some kind of sight) soon due to the fact that there are no iron sights on the rifle what-so-ever.

The Bolt/Barrel assembly is almost 100% metal.

The sling that was included seems kind of flimsy. I am not sure how much abuse it will hold up to although it hasn’t failed me yet through one full game and several target practice sessions.

The barrel cleaning rod was a bit of a disappointment. It is simply a long piece of plastic. Correct diameter but it has no cuts or slits to hold a piece of cloth to swab the barrel. Not really sure how the manufacturer meant for this to be used. I ended up using my M4 cleaning rod, which was not long enough so I had to disassemble the weapon and clean the barrel from both sides.

The included bb’s were not marked. So enough said about that …I threw them away.


Your Rifle in two pieces. The scope is not attached when shipped.

The only word to describe it is “Excellent”. I have never held the Maruzen Type96 but I don’t see how it could feel any better than this rifle. The bolt is as smooth as silk (although I would keep it lubbed so it doesn’t loose that glide) and easy to pull. The attachment of the Bolt/Barrel assembly to the Stock is rock solid. No movement in any way, shape or form.

The trigger is another great aspect of this rifle. Not only is it solid and all metal but I was pleasantly surprised to find it equipped with an AccuTrigger (like the device developed by Savage Arms for their rifles). And even better…it works! After the rifle has been cocked with the bolt simply pull the AccuTriggers first trigger flush with the second trigger. Then your next millimeter (guessing on the distance) of pull sends your round downrange.

The magazine holds 35 rounds. When you put the magazine into the rifle make sure you get the solid “click”. If not your bb’s never make it into the receiver. The mag will stay put even if it isn’t all the way in so again listen for that solid “click”. The magazine is also spring ejected when you hit the release, unlike the BE version of this rifle which I am told you kind of have to pry out (although don’t quote me on that because I have never personally used the BE version), this is great for those quick battlefield reloads.

There is also a receiving port on the very front of the stock for a quick detach bi-pod. My L96 did not come with this accessory however i do know that some sites are packaging it with the rifle.

Pre Shooting Check

Before testing velocity with the Chrono I always clean out the barrel, and a good thing I did. Most barrels, when new, arrive to you with junk in them. However this on takes the cake. I spent close to half an hour cleaning this barrel, inside was some thick black almost axle greece like substance. I am sure it was left over from the machining process. Anyway that is probably not something you would want your bb’s to encounter while traveling down your barrel. So make sure you clean the barrel first. After this it was time to hit the chrono.

First Shots, The Chrono

So this is it, the part we’ve been waiting for.

Stock out of the box the Warrior I: L96 comes fire 440fps with .20g bb’s. 403fps with .25g bb’s.

Oh and its REALLY quiet too. Like really really really quiet. Did I mention it was quiet?

First Range Test, Accuracy, Distance

Now off to the range. Being that the L96 is a Sniper Rifle we aren’t going to bother with the sub 100 ft testing. I used a stable mount and in the prone position while testing accuracy to eliminate, as much as possible, my shooting ability (no matter how good or bad) from the equation. After dialing in the hop-up to my preferred setting the rifle performed as stated below:

100 ft - target: pie pan, hit nearly 100% of the time.

150 ft - target: human size, hit 8 out of 10 shots.

175 ft - target: human size, hit 6 out of 10 shots.

Sadly 175ft is the limit of our current firing range. Now you might be thinking, “175ft isn’t very far.” It is a lot farther than you think, go measure it out.

Oh and let me reiterate again just how smooth the bolt action is. VERY SMOOTH!…and quite.

Hop-up and Barrel

The hop-up is kind of strange. It can only be adjusted by an allen wrench (supplied with rifle) and is on the underside of the barrel in front of the mag release lever. You can’t really see in the area where you adjust the hop-up so if you don’t have a flashlight then you are stuck with feeling around until you get the allen wrench in the proper place. That aside it does work very well. You just got to get it right where you want it, plan on spending some time zeroing this one in. Adjust, fire, repeat.

The barrel we have determined is a standard 520mm barrel. Which is great news, a tight bore will probably be my first upgrade. Unfortunately though I have no real way to measure the inner diameter of the stock barrel to tell you the bore size.


The Allen Wrench Adjusts the Hop-Up.

Disassembly

The Disassembly of the rifle is fairly easy. Take a look at our tutorial for the take apart guide in the Tutorials section.

Spare Parts and Upgradability


Final Thoughts

The rifle is great, no way around it. you have a working hop-up and a great grouping too. Don’t plan on taking this rifle alone into an Op, you will need a sidearm. If you have ever tried to assault with a sniper rifle then you already know what I mean. I have notices a lot of people like to talk about getting some “sweet sniper scope” for their L96. Please remember this is an airsoft rifle with a max range of ~175 feet. The lowest power scope possible is the way to go. If you didn’t get the scope with your rifle then I would suggest the PowerLINE by Daisy (I got mine from Wal-Mart, ~$30.00) which is a 3x-9x variable zoom, just leave it on 3x. But beware, the rail mounts that came with the PowerLINE do not fit the Warrior I: L96. You will need to pick some new ones up there in the sporting goods section of Wal-Mart also.

So, if you are looking for a good marksman platform I do believe this could be the rifle for you.

The Tables and Score

Score (out of 10)

Construction 8.5 Feels very solid, almost all metal.
Battle Durability 9 This rifle is a Tank.
Velocity vs Claimed 9
Accuracy 8.5 Put a tight bore and probably a 9.5.
SCORE 8.75 It does everything they claimed.


Claimed Tested
Velocity (.20g) 430-460 440
Effective Range N/A 175
Accuracy at 100 ft (human sized target) nearly 100% hits
Accuracy at 150 ft (human sized target) 80%
Accuracy at 175 ft (human sized target) 60%

[suzenonest]

So i take it you would recommend this gun even tho its a WELL. I was thinking about the VSR 10 clone but this may be better. hmm descisions...

[Huge]

I have no idea about the VSR-10 to be honest, but the L96 is a very decent sniper platform. Couples upgrades and its up to par with just about every other Bolt Actions

[suzenonest]

from the reviews i read the vsr 10 is good but then theres some people who say its aweful. mostly good tho

[Huge]

Unfortunately, what's best is always your own perception. Other people's standards almost always differ from yours. Like somebody would be very happy with a used ICS clearsoft, and some people will only tolerate PTWs and the likes.

[Jagd]

In regards to Well's sniper rifles. Their L96 has much better feedbacks from various users on different forums than with their VSR10.

The best VSR10 clone (with all the review that I look over the internet) seems to be the JG BAR-10. Unfortunately they are very hard to find these days.

If you go with a Well or UTG clone sniper go with a L96 not a VSR10. They make excellent platform and seems to be somewhat comparable. Some people have heard that the UTG is better other people heard that the Well was better...I am pretty sure that they are both pretty equal.

[suzenonest]

Hmm I see. The price of the vsr10 is very attractive as the l96 is almost double the price but I guess it might be worth it for the quality

[Jagd]

Originally Posted by suzenonest

Hmm I see. The price of the vsr10 is very attractive as the l96 is almost double the price but I guess it might be worth it for the quality

Unfortunately L96 clones are WAY overpriced here in Canada in comparison to the VSR10 model

[suzenonest]

Yea I they are double the price here. He'll for 170 more u can buy an actual TM VSR 10

[teriases]

Ummm ok this is the review for then WELL L96 right? I was under he impression this gun isn't very good?

Body feels solid? Orly? I handled one before, the stock plus body is plastic, with injected foam filling(so I been told). There are no metal frame around the mag catch whatsoever....

That means after a while the body will start to crack there...

If anything the constriction should be 7/10(barrel assembly and bipod are ok), but I still feel the stock assembly is trash from first hand encounter.

[Jagd]

Body feels solid? Orly? I handled one before, the stock plus body is plastic, with injected foam filling(so I been told). There are no metal frame around the mag catch whatsoever....

Exactly like the Maruzen, the "real" one is not built more solid than the clone one...

[Huge]

Originally Posted by Jagdalex

Exactly like the Maruzen, the "real" one is not built more solid than the clone one...

Exactly. This is the thing with most clones (and in this case the Maruzen too), the quality of build will be lesser. But overall the gun feels very solid, not creaky at all (even some TM are creaky and the plastic's flimsy - Famas anyone?). I can only say good things about the Well L96 right now.

[teriases]

Originally Posted by Huge

Exactly. This is the thing with most clones (and in this case the Maruzen too), the quality of build will be lesser. But overall the gun feels very solid, not creaky at all (even some TM are creaky and the plastic's flimsy - Famas anyone?). I can only say good things about the Well L96 right now.

I agree with the overall, its worth the money. U get a scope, u get a bi-pod, gun is heavy.

Too bad u can't use it in most airsoft games, because of "trust" issues... Thats why I never bother buying one.

[Huge]

Originally Posted by teriases

I agree with the overall, its worth the money. U get a scope, u get a bi-pod, gun is heavy.

Too bad u can't use it in most airsoft games, because of "trust" issues... Thats why I never bother buying one.

why couldnt you use it? FPS is around 450 with 0.20s (you dont use 0.20 so with 0.30 its even less) if thats what you mean, definately accepted in nearly all the games

[suzenonest]

So even the real maruzen l96 is plastic body and kinda creaky like the clone? That's kinda dumb considering it's like 550 stock. If the clone is almost equal I'd rather go with that