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Reader Survey >Ekol ES1911 and ESP92B review: two CO2 replica pistols tested
- Last updated: 24/08/2026
Dave Barham takes Ekol’s ES1911 and ESP92B out to 7m in the back garden to see which of the two CO2 blowback replicas is the better buy, and there is a clear winner.
A couple of the new Ekol pistols have been keeping me busy in the back garden, and I have come away impressed. Both performed well at 7m, as you will see.
The pair on test are the ES1911, a full-metal take on the Colt 1911 at £129.99, and the ESP92B, a polymer-framed Beretta 92 lookalike at £119.99. Both run on 12g CO2, both are blowback and fire steel BBs, both arrive in a foam-lined blue hard case, and both are a lot of fun. One of them, though, is distinctly easier to live with, and it is not the one most people would pick.
Prices are RRP at the time of publication and may since have changed.
The ES1911 copies the Colt 1911, a pistol that served through both World Wars and remains in use with military forces today. A reciprocating slide and blowback system give it a convincingly realistic shooting experience, and the full-metal frame makes it heavy: at almost 2lb in the hand it is about as close to the real thing as a replica gets.
Like the original, it carries two safeties: a manual lever at the top rear of the grip, and a grip safety that comes into play as you take hold of the pistol. That second button is a large one, pressed by the fleshy part of the palm behind the thumb as you grip. It is a failsafe arrangement, and in practice you never notice it.
The 1911 features a dual safety system, including this manual safety lever.
This second safety gets depressed when you grip the pistol.
The grips themselves are a tough black polymer, well chequered for security, and they sit nicely in the palm. One of the selling points of this particular replica is that it field strips exactly as a real Colt 1911 does, which adds a good deal to the ownership experience.
The trigger works in single action as well as semi-auto, so, as on the firearm, the hammer has to be cocked for the first shot, either by hand or by racking the slide, after which the reciprocating slide does it for you. The single-stage trigger is firm without being heavy and the break is easy to predict. As a platform to shoot, it is a good one.
As with most replicas of this sort, everything happens inside the magazine housed in the grip. Press the chequered button towards the top left of the grip and the magazine drops out of the base.
Depress the button to release the magazine.
Use the supplied Allen key to tension and pierce the CO2 cartridge.
Drop a 12g CO2 cartridge into the slot in the magazine and use the supplied Allen key to tension it down and pierce it. Do that in one continuous movement, as quickly as you can, to stop gas escaping once the cartridge is opened.
Loading the BBs is another matter. I would like to say I love the system, but it is one of those nail breakers, as anyone who has owned a few replica pistols will recognise. You pull the black tab down against the spring, hold it there with one hand and drop steel BBs into a small opening with the other, before letting the tab go so the spring holds everything in place. It is no worse than plenty of rival designs, but a long session will cost you a fingernail or two.
The fingernail breaker loading system.
Once loaded, the spring keeps the BBs under tension.
The blowback action delivers plenty of recoil, which is the fun of it, and consistent groups at any speed take some learning. It took me five full magazines, 90 shots, to get into the swing of it, and the results at 7m were then quite impressive.
The sights are fixed front and rear, so you have to establish where the BBs are landing and aim off accordingly. Both are the same colour as the rest of the pistol, which makes the front post hard to pick up in bright or dim light. A dab of orange nail varnish on the post solves it, unless you would rather keep the pistol looking authentic.
The sights are all fixed and the same colour as the main chassis.
It all comes in a foam-lined blue hard case. For a shade under £130, anyone who enjoys replicas is getting a great deal of fun for the money.
The ESP92B takes its cue from the Beretta 92 and is among the more powerful models of its type, reaching up to 460fps.
The frame is a hardened, lightweight polymer with a Picatinny accessory rail moulded under the fore end. Polymer frame and metal slide together look convincing while keeping the weight down to 1.82lb. The grips carry a modest amount of chequering for the palm and fingers to hold on to.
This one is also single action plus semi-auto, so the hammer must be cocked by hand or by racking the slide for the first shot, after which the cycling slide takes over.
Depress the button to release the magazine.
This pistol has a two-stage trigger unit.
As on the 1911, the magazine in the grip does all the work. Press the chequered button towards the top left of the grip to release it, drop a 12g CO2 cartridge into the slot and use the supplied Allen key to tension and pierce it, again in one quick movement.
Turn that key as fast as you can to prevent CO2 leaking.
The magazine is where this pistol pulls ahead. Rather than holding the tab down by hand, you pull the metal tab down against the spring and push it left, where it locks. That leaves you free to load the 16 steel BBs at your own pace instead of racing the fingernail clock. Push the tab back to the right and the spring takes up the tension again.
This is a much more fingernail-friendly loading system.
Tilt the magazine downwards and drop your BBs in.
Note how a slide to the right locks the spring in place.
Blowback is realistic here too, but there is less recoil than the 1911 delivers, which makes rapid fire easier to keep on target. The two-stage trigger has a very long first stage that stops solidly, then breaks with a little more pressure. It is easy to predict and there is no creep at all. The one drawback is that there is no safety of any kind, so the pistol is live from the moment it is loaded.
The sights are better, too. The rear is adjustable via a small grub screw, and both are far easier on the eye, with an orange dot on the front post and a white dot either side of the rear notch.
Nice white dots on the rear sight.
The front post features an orange dot.
The rear sight can be adjusted via this screw.
Not a bad effort at 7m given the fixed sights.
It is a close call, but at 7m I think the P92B wins for accuracy.
Want the replica that feels most like the real thing in the hand? That is the ES1911. The metal frame, the weight and the field strip make it the more convincing of the two, and the twin safeties are a nice piece of faithfulness to the original.
Want the one you will enjoy shooting more? That is the ESP92B. On shootability, and on features such as the loading system and the adjustable sights, it is the clear winner of the two, and at 7m I make it the more accurate as well. It is also the cheaper, which settles the argument. The caveat is the missing safety catch: treat it as live the moment the magazine goes in.
£129.99 for the ES1911 and £119.99 for the ESP92B, each supplied in a foam-lined blue hard case. Prices are RRP at the time of publication and may since have changed.
The ESP92B, though not by much. The adjustable rear sight, the orange front dot and the lighter recoil all make it easier to shoot consistently, whereas the ES1911’s fixed sights leave you working out where the BBs land and aiming off.
Between 50 and 60 from a single 12g cartridge, on both pistols. Magazine capacity is 18 BBs on the ES1911 and 16 on the ESP92B.
No, none at all, so it is live from the moment it is loaded. The ES1911 is the opposite, with both a manual safety lever and a grip safety.
Yes, and it is one of the reasons to buy it. The field strip follows the same sequence as a real Colt 1911, which adds a lot to owning one.
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