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SMK Victory CP2

SMK Victory CP2

Let me open by stating that I have been itching to get my hands on one of these CP2’s for some while, and with supply issues initially thwarting my efforts, then other projects getting in the way, a sense of anticipation has really built.

Opening the flashy presentation box here, was with a genuine sense of excitement then, and now, having fully sampled the goods, I can tell you, this is a whole box of fun for sub £200!

Clever stuff

Inside the padded, polystyrene sections is a CO2 pistol and everything needed to convert it into a rifle. So, a skeleton stock, full-length rifled barrel, foresight assembly, silencer, a bag of spare seals, Allen keys and finally, two cassettestyle magazines. My gun came in Camo, but it comes in Black too and that one is £20 cheaper! It’s effectively two guns in one, with lower power in pistol mode and higher power when assembled as a rifle. What impresses is the execution, so let’s take a closer look.

Pistol format

Super slimline, and with a handy ambiguous configuration, the pistol at the heart of the CP2 is impressive in its own right. With open sights as standard, a fairly long sight base and a fully adjustable rear sight, it’s all very user friendly.

Gassing up requires one 12-gram CO2 capsule. To gain access, first unscrew the front, knurled cylinder cap, then drop a CO2 capsule in neck first and screw the cap back up to gently pierce the capsule and release the gas. This design is typical, whereby it isn’t always possible to exert enough hand pressure, but SMK has excelled themselves with attention to detail. Look to the front of the cap and the small central bar can be unscrewed, then inserted into the hole in the side of the cap and used as a tensioner - ingenious stuff. There’s even a small window in the cylinder to see whether a CO2 capsule is inside!

Cock and pull back the bolt and the choice is then whether to shoot using the single-shot tray (slid in from the left side and held in place by a small magnet) or use one of the magazines supplied - 7-shot in .22 (on test) and 9- shot in .177. To fill the mag, twist the clear lid right round anti-clockwise, then holding it against spring pressure, insert a pellet skirt first into the exposed chamber at the rear. This holds the mechanism. Now fill each chamber head first from the front and close the lid.

On test, everything cycled perfectly, and with a reasonably light, well-shaped trigger, 1/2” groups at 10 yards were easy to come by. One minor negative concerns the shape of the grip cap, which, as it arcs backwards, does sit slightly in the wrong place, but hey, this is no time for grumbles. The pistol is all very well, but to be honest, I couldn’t wait to get that rifle together. So that comes next.

From pistol to rifle

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The first stage of the conversion is to remove the rear sight. Start by unscrewing the front Philips screw, then using a straight edge screwdriver, fully remove the elevation adjuster screw, taking care to catch the spring beneath. When the top flips up, remove the second Philips screw and remove the sight.

Next, slacken the three grub screws that hold the barrel on the front of the action and gently pull out the barrel. Then, unscrew the bottom bolt in the grip and remove the cap. Take the rifle barrel and insert the purple breech seal into the lip, then push the skeleton stock into position and screw it into place.

Finally, insert the rifle barrel into the action and nip up all three retaining grub screws, then slide the replacement rear sight bracket over the cylinder and gently tighten the Allen bolt. You’re now in business!

I was always a huge fan of the Spaghetti Western genre, and the CP2 in rifle guise is very much in the style of something Lee Van Cleefe would carefully unfurl from his piece of cloth in Sabata. I’m getting carried away, but it really is an immensely satisfying piece of design work and SMK deserve plenty of praise for the way it all goes together.

Stat attack

Think of it logically and we have the same CO2 capsule onboard when firing as a pistol and a rifle. We are not altering any of the mechanical settings, but simply by fitting a longer barrel, we get higher power, because the pellet is in the barrel longer and less gas is wasted on each shot. Unsurprisingly, I recorded an identical shot count from the CP2 in both formats - 42 shots approximately. You’ll get several more undoubtedly, but velocity will tail off.

Performance-wise, the pistol generated 5.7 ft/lbs and the rifle managed 8 ft/lbs, while the velocity spread from the latter was just 23 FPS. 1” groups at 25 yards, with a scope bolted on, also made a statement, and all I can say is the CP2 just puts a smile on your face. Plus, it’s super light, with the rifle tipping the scales at a mere 3.25lbs, even with the silencer.

What really impresses me is the way the skeleton stock and all the features are of sufficient quality for everything just to work and not feel flimsy or too much of a compromise.

Serious fun

This is a fun gun first and foremost, yet a high standard of manufacture and finish elevate the CP2 above many cheap and cheerful rivals. Nicely produced and brilliantly executed, the SMK Victory CP2 is not only two guns in one but a classic piece of airgun design. At sub £200 all in, it’s another bargain from this prolific manufacturer/distributor.

Thanks to Range & Country Shooting Supplies in Sleaford, Lincs for the kind loan of this model for test.

  • SMK Victory CP2 - image {image:count}

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  • SMK Victory CP2 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

gun
features

  • Name: SMK Victory CP2
  • Type: CO2 Powered, Multi-Shot Pistol and Rifle
  • Calibre: .177 & .22 (on test)
  • Weight: 2lbs (pistol) / 3.25lbs (rifle and silencer)
  • Overall Length: 14.75“ (pistol) / 39” (rifle and silencer)
  • Barrel Length: 8.4“ (pistol) / 17” (rifle)
  • Stock Material: Composite
  • Power Source: 12-gram CO2 capsule
  • Trigger: 2-stage
  • Price: £199
  • Contact: Sportsmarketing - www.sportsmk.co.uk
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