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Proline CXP APE

Proline CXP APE

Call it what you like, the Magpul Masada or the Remington/Bushmaster ACR, the fact of the matter is that the Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR) is a very distinctive design that is almost instantly recognisable unless you’ve had your eyes closed for the last few years!

The ACR is the production name for an updated version of the Masada Adaptive Combat Weapon System. It is an assault rifle platform originally designed by Magpul Industries and named after the famous siege. As Magpul put it: “Magpul has always found the story of the Masada as a bold example of defiance.”

With the M16 and M4 showing their age, finding a potential replacement was of paramount importance, and of course whoever found the answer was going to become very rich, very fast, if a DOD contract was acquired. With Magpul leading the initial development, in January 2008 Bushmaster entered into a licensing agreement with Magpul where they would take over production, future development, and sales of the Masada. Remington Arms (part of the Freedom Group, Inc portfolio that includes Bushmaster) was contracted to manufacture the rifle for the US military and US law enforcement agencies and at this point the name Masada was dropped and the project simply became known as the ACR.

Adapability

The fully-modular Remington Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR) program has continued apace from that time. The ACR was initially conceived to provide the modern day soldier with a reliable, accurate, and mission-adaptable rifle. The three companies involved shared a common vision and after multiple rounds of torturous testing only the strongest materials, components and concepts survived.

The ACR can change calibres from 5.56mm to 6.8mm in minutes simply by swapping out the bolt head, barrel, and magazine. The ACR can also change barrels, stocks, and accessories to go from a close-quarters battle carbine to a designated marksman rifle. The ACR is fed from detachable 30-round magazines, originally the Magpul PMag, but is now fully compatible with M16/ M4 and other NATO magazines. The ACR has a full-length Picatinnytype rail system for mounting optics and can be fitted with detachable iron sights or various optics or night vision sights. It also has a side-folding removable modular stock, which is adjustable for length and has an adjustable cheek rest; it can be fired with the stock folded. The ACR has a superbly reliable gas piston operating system, controllable full-auto fire capability, a non-reciprocating bolt handle, a monolithic free-floating handguard rail system, and intuitive, ambidextrous controls; add all this together and you have a platform that is a natural fit for any soldier and gives him or her all the options required.

There have already been numerous airsoft replica versions of the Magpul Masada, some licenced and some not, but generally speaking, like any replica model it went through its moment of glory and then dipped off in popularity for a while. This has changed again with new models hitting the market as I write and the Masada is due, in my opinion, to rise again. The only people to have a good crack at the ACR though have to date been WE Airsoft Europe with their MSK, and very nice it is too.

I Chi Shivan (ICS) have been around for a while, 1995 to be precise, and in fact they were one of the original ‘Big Three’ airsoft manufacturers and the first company to build AEGs in Taiwan. They’ve always gone about things their own way with a strong R&D team containing professionals from 16 different, yet associated, industries. They constantly devote resources into product design while obtaining patents and authorised certification from firearm companies to provide their customers exactly what they need to play airsoft. As they put it: “This is the mission of ICS: Innovation, Competition, and Satisfaction.” Over the years I’ve had a great relationship with ICS and it’s always a pleasure to meet with them at any of the big shows. They are super people individually, and as a team they are always interested to gain information, hear opinions, and really find out what the buzz is amongst players.

Replica or Not?

I have to say that, in my opinion, the APE most certainly is a replica of the ACR, as some of the features just scream out ACR. Although it does not purport to be an exact replica (licenced or not) of the American rifle there are just too many similarities to push aside.

Starting from the rear you have a six-position ‘SF1’ sliding stock with rubber buttpad which acts as the battery compartment, this also has an adjustable cheek rest and folds to the right. The rear sling point sits just ahead of the stock as it does with the ACR. The pistol grip is pretty much that of the late model ACR, and on the ICS it can be changed out as it’s not part of the all in one polymer body of the original Masada.

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The fire selector is fully ambidextrous, which is a very nice feature, as are the magazine and bolt release catches and charging handle; this once again mimics the controls of the real-world ACR. The upper receiver is one-piece alloy (check!) with a continuous rail along the top (tick!), but it’s lower down where ICS have actually upped the ante by installing a rather fetching Keymod system which incorporates a flip-up front sight and allows you to position a QD sling stud wherever you like it. As I’ve said before, this is all the rage at the moment, so ICS are right on the ball, as I expect them to be, and provided are three small sections of Keymod rail as standard.

On the model I received from Fire Support to test the polymer lower, pistol grip and stock are all finished in a good quality matt FDE with the alloy upper being a really nice bronzed affair, and the sharp end is finished off well with a very ACR-like mock gas block and a unique flash hider. One feature I particularly like is that, just like the real deal, you have a quick change barrel system, allowing you to make use of carbine or rifle length barrel groups; a special tool and full instructions are included in the package.

Internally ICS also do things their own way; they are well known for their tried and tested split gearbox design and this is easy to dissemble and simple to maintain, upgrade and even repair if necessary. There is a factory installed upgraded reinforced piston, a reinforced MIM pinion and bevel gear as standard which allow smooth and reliable performance. The CXP has an Infinite 2500 long pin motor which performs very well, and Fire Support provide it with a UK friendly M100 spring as standard. The hop-up is of the rotary variety, easy to adjust, and is accessed by pulling back the cocking handle which moves the bolt cover to the rearmost position; at this point the bolt cover locks in place while you make adjustments and is released forward by depressing the ambidextrous bolt-release in front of the trigger guard.

Handling and Performance

In use the CXP is a right little firecracker! All the ergonomics come into play when you bring everything together and it handles well and is easy to manipulate. All the controls are easy to use once you get to know them, and the magazine setup is similar enough to a standard M4 that changes are instinctive and straightforward.

The CXP comes with an innovative 300-round high capacity ‘T’ magazine which will provide players with maximum firepower. It is specially designed with a transparent window so you can see at a glance how many BBs remain in the magazine. The skid-proof magazine shell also provides excellent grip in all weather conditions, although it has very specific dimensions so you may find that certain aftermarket magazines won’t fit the CXP.

With the magazine loaded with my usual NUPROL .20g test BBs and fitted with a 7.4V 1450 mAh LiPo battery in the stock (nice feature, easy to change batteries quickly with no tools needed!) it was time to get down to business. As stated earlier the CXP has a flip-up front sight incorporated into the top rail, and ICS provide a detachable rear flip site as part of the deal; these are adjustable for windage and elevation and are perfectly acceptable should you not wish to attach an optic. The CXP comes into the aim surprisingly easily and with a quick click it’s safety off and onto the target.

The CXP chrono’d in at a very respectable, consistent and site friendly 334fps using .20g BBs and once the hop was set it was accurate enough for me! At 10 metre groupings were sub 4cm, whilst at 30m I was happily hitting my sandbag target; the BB trajectory was pleasingly flat, with .20g just spinning off at around the 50 metre mark. I feel that with more use to bed everything in, that range would improve considerably, which from a carbine length barrel is very good indeed. Switching up to full-auto gave a crisp trigger response and sent the bolt cover (the electronic blowback component) clattering happily back and forth; in my opinion this blowback area is something that ICS still need to up their game on, as it’s a little insipid given some of the recoil systems out there now, but knowing they are working on this gives me hope for the future.

Conclusion

The ICS CXP APE comes in both rifle and carbine length and is available in all black, all tan, or a mix of tan and black, which is actually a lot nicer than it sounds. The rifle length version comes in at £339.00 with the shorter carbine model at £335.00, and I have to say that there is a lot going on in the overall package to make this a worthwhile and thoroughly acceptable price point. Are you getting an ACR replica with a fancy Keymod system with the CXP? I’d have to say actually ‘yes’ as the similarities between them are too obvious to overlook.

That said, if you like the ACR and want to have something quite different from the Masadas already out there, then the ICS CXP APE Proline is most definitely worth a look; this is a fine, well-built airsoft replica that looks great, has some awesome features and shoots very well indeed!

For more information and a detailed pdf overview of the CXP models please visit www.fire-support. co.uk; my thanks go to Frank and John for providing the test model.

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  • Proline CXP APE - image {image:count}

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  • Proline CXP APE - image {image:count}

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  • Proline CXP APE - image {image:count}

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  • Proline CXP APE - image {image:count}

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