Army Armament R608 Hi-Capa Combat XL GBB Pistol

The Hi-capa Combat XL from Army Armament fits right in with their range of combat-styled Hi-capa GBB pistols and carries over many of the well-liked traits from the earlier Army releases to this new, longer Hi-capa variant. Sporting a 20mm railed frame for the addition of accessories, a light enhancing front sight paired with an "anti-glare" rear sight, and an undercut trigger guard to enable the best possible grip for recoil control, the R608 has taken the sporty Hi-capa design and added a plethora of rugged, combat practical features.

Starting at the dangerous end of the pistol, we can find a straight profile 5.5-inch "bull" type barrel with female 12mm CW threading at the tip, finished in contrasting matt gold. The bull barrel serves to assist in heat dispersion and improve accuracy on a real handgun, but on the R608 this is purely to give the pistol a customised look, straight out of the box. The threading can be used to attach tracer units, suppressors, or any other muzzle device that suits your style with an Army Armament thread adapter. The combination of a gold barrel on a black pistol is practically the prerequisite look of a customised combat pistol these days, and the R608 Hi-capa Combat XL fits right in with current trends whilst asserting its own unique twist.

The slide of the Hi-capa Combat XL is longer than a standard 5.1 slide, but fear not! The slide has ports milled in either side, and on the top, which serve to reduce the weight of the slide to keep that snappy Hi-capa performance the platform is renowned for. Surrounding the ports we have a machined groove to further reduce the slide weight and provide a gripping surface for manipulating the slide from the front in a similar manner to front slide serrations. We also get a nice view of the gold barrel through the ports, underlining the custom look of the handgun. At the top of the slide we are treated to a very thoughtful and modern iron sight setup. The front sight blade contains a red light-enhancing fibre optic insert, and the rear sight is a flat notch type with anti-glare texturing. This combination of sights is easy to acquire and align and eliminates the possibility of mixing up the sight dots, as is possible with a white dot sight setup. The anti-glare texturing on the rear sight notch prevents the sight from being difficult to use in bright sunlight, which works well with the bright red front sight insert. The rear sight can be adjusted for elevation using the adjustment screw on the top, and for windage using the screw on the right side of the sight.

At the rear of the slide, we can find serrations on either side to provide optimal grip when cocking the pistol. These are especially useful in wet weather, and the depth of these serrations allows a good grip even when operating the R608 whilst wearing gloves. These serrations are swept back at an angle which matches that of the grove surrounding the front slide ports, giving the pistol a mean, dynamic look. The pistol's hammer can be found at the rear of the slide, attached to the frame, and is a skeletonised design with a textured section to provide positive control for when the hammer needs to be manually cocked.

Next up, we reach the frame of the pistol, which is constructed in standard Hi-capa fashion; with a metal upper frame containing the internal parts and a lower pistol grip/trigger guard module made from polymer. The upper frame of the Hi-capa Combat XL includes a 20mm Picatinny rail, with two slots of available attachment space which is absolutely perfect for a tactical flashlight designed for use on a pistol. The slide catch/disassembly lever is located on the left side of the pistol and has a slight extension to its upper surface with serrations for extra grip, providing assurance that you can operate this control effectively with no risk of slipping off and slowing down your reload. The slide catch also has a relief cut on the underside to reduce weight, this may only save a few grams but those grams add up!

To the rear of the slide release catch, we can find the manual safety, which is ambidextrous, and sits comfortably within reach of the shooter's thumb when holding the pistol in a firing grip, whether you are right or left handed. This safety allows the Hi-capa Combat XL to be carried "cocked and locked" safely, with only a very slight movement required to remove the safety before taking the shot. The R608 also includes the hallmark 1911/Hi-capa beavertail grip safety, which protrudes slightly from the rear of the grip. This safety ensures the pistol can only be fired when it is properly gripped, preventing accidental discharges.

The magazine release can be found just below the slide release catch, and is a standard design for a Hi-capa, omitting the extension in favour of greater security with a low profile catch. This control can still be easily accessed but does not protrude enough to cause the magazine to be released inadvertently. At the bottom of the grip, we cannot help but notice the rather large magazine well extension, which provides a wide flare to assist in reloading when you are pushing yourself to maximum speed, or you are positively shaking with adrenaline. The mag well extension is constructed from alloy, and is the same style as the one used in the JW3 pistol. This mag well also includes a relief cut to enable the magazine to be removed and retained, or pulled out if the magazine gets stuck, which is essential for a combat pistol which may encounter dirt and debris, or with which you may not want to drop your magazines after every reload. This characteristic is what separates this mag well extension from those present on competition style Hi-capas, as does the lanyard loop hole present in the rear of the extension.

The pistol grip/trigger guard module of the R608 Hi-capa Combat XL is a one piece unit, as it is with other Hi-capa pistols. The grip itself features aggressive stippling which adds to the pistol's custom look and provides extremely effective grips which will definitely do their part to ensure you never accidentally throw your lovely pistol when attempting a fast draw. This stippling spans the entire grip and signals the Hi-capa Combat XL's relation to the JW3 pistol. The trigger guard includes undercuts to provide an area for your support hand to index, giving you the best chance of achieving a consistent grip every time you draw the R608 which will cut down the time from draw to first shot, and encourage proper handling of the pistol.

The trigger itself is a skeletonised design, styled similarly to the hammer, and includes linear texturing on its frontal surface to promote a consistent trigger pull and prevent your finger from sliding around and pulling shots off during strings of rapid-fire. The trigger, as with many other Hi-capa and 1911 variants, has a very small amount of uptake before you get to the wall, and resets with a satisfying audible and tactile click with practically no over travel. The trigger is what makes real 1911 and Hi-capa pistols so popular with competition shooters, and fortunately for Airsofters, this perk has translated over well to the Airsoft equivalents! If you are shooting for speed, whether in a skirmish or for target shooting, you can't do much better than a Hi-capa trigger!

So, if you have had your eye on one of Army Armament's combat styled Hi-capas, they just made the choice that bit more difficult! Having another option is never a bad thing, and the R608 Hi-capa Combat XL was a hole in the series which needed filling! If you like the looks of the 1911, but you aren't a boomer, the Hi-capa Combat XL will scratch the 1911 itch and still give you big mags for extra snappy performance!

Features

• Full metal construction
• 12mm CW Female threaded barrel
• Matt black finish with gold barrel
• Skeletonised trigger and hammer
• Tactical magazine well flare - great for fast reloads
• Beavertail grip safety
• Ambidextrous manual safety
• Fully adjustable "anti glare" rear sight
• Light enhancing fibre optic front sight
• Aggressively stippled pistol grip
• Ported slide - Improves cyclic rate
• Compatible with Army Armament Hi-capa 5.1 magazines
• Tell your R604 and JW3 wielding mates: "Mine's bigger!"

Package Includes

• Army Armament R608 Hi-Capa Combat XL GBB Pistol
• 28rnd Army Armament Hi-capa Extended Magazine
• User Manual