Hey friends!
Happy new year! I hope you have had a wonderful holiday season with your nearest and dearest! We’re back and kicking off January 2023 with a review of the FN Herstal SPR A2 from Evike Europe.
The FN Herstal SPR A2 bolt action airsoft Sniper Rifle is a fully licensed replica brought to us by Cybergun. Not to be confused with the previous Cybergun SPR, as this one is an improvement on the original. The FN Herstal SPR A2 is made from mostly ABS plastic with the exception of the barrel, bolt assembly, Picatinny rails and some internals which are metal. The materials used feel durable and the construction is sound - there’s no wobble, rattling or give. On the top of the barrel, it has a small Picatinny section ready to mount a telescopic sight. On the lower, there is also a Picatinny rail so that accessories such as lasers or bipods can be mounted. Moving to the back of the rifle it has a chunky stock with a rubberised butt pad and an adjustable cheek support.
I couldn’t find that much information on the internals, but as the name suggests, it is spring powered, has a bolt-action firing method, and features an adjustable hop-up. It is compatible with most VSR parts too which makes this replica a great base for a sniper build if you want to upgrade in the future.
The FN Herstal SPR A2 comes in an FN Herstal branded blue/white box and at first glance, I did think the box was a little too small to contain a sniper rifle, however, on opening the box, the rifle is in two parts ready to be put together. Now I’m no tech - I stay far away from the internals of airsoft replicas and the closest you’ll see me get to any teching is cleaning and lubing my pistols, but this was easy to put together. The two pieces just slot together and are secured using together using bolts that can be tightened with Allen keys.
Once fully assembled, it doesn’t feel very heavy in hand - weighing in just shy of 3kg, it is relatively lightweight but it is a long boi. From stock to the end of the barrel is it 1.14m which as you can see from the pictures, is almost 3/4 of my height (I am 5”3 for context). The length isn’t an issue though, it is ergonomic enough for me to use without feeling awkward. Visually - the Olive Drab/Black colourway looks great. The pops of black help break up the colour and give it interest. It does come in tan too, but as I wear mostly green, the OD is my colour of choice.
So, the question we all want to know the answer to, is how does it perform? What puts and has put me off using sniper rifles (the reason I haven’t reviewed many over the years) is the fact that the bolt can sometimes be tough to pull back, but with the FN Herstal SPR A2 I didn’t have that issue - the bolt is easy to pull back but it does still have resistance so it is fun to use. On the specifications it says that the SPR A2 has an FPS of 428 FPS (on 0.20g BBs), when I chrono’d it at home I got a consistent 422 FPS which for an entry-level sniper is pretty good! This equates to around 1.7J. The recommended BB weight is 0.20g, however, it had no problems lifting 0.30gs and 0.32gs after a little tweak of the hop-up. I shot 4 mags through FN Herstal SPR A2 during my range test and I didn't have any jams, misfeeds or issues. I haven't yet had the chance to test this in a game yet (hence why this is just a first impression rather than a review) but I am excited about how it will perform.
From Evike Europe, it retails for €119.99 which I think for an entry-level bolt action sniper rifle that is fully licensed is a very fair price. In the box, you get the FN Herstal SPR A2 in Olive Drab, a 30-round magazine, a spare spring and a branded instruction book. You can save 15% on your order before shipping using the code FEMMEFATALE15 at www.evike-europe.com.
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