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ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

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  • ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

    An odd looking gun with a large price tag, chances are most people gave this one a 'nice, but not for me' glance, as did I the first time I saw it. But it's grown and grown on me, and after getting to have a play with one, I decided to treat myself to a brand new gun.


    First impressions.

    Opening the box, I was greeted with a well packaged rifle. I ordered the version without the scope and mount, as I have enough scopes to merit not spending another 80 quid on one.





    Inside you get the gun with two mags, the bolt, and a nifty speedloader. Mine came without a manual, which was slightly odd but not worth making a fuss over.

    The first thing I had to do was remove the plastic orange flashider, which I found had been glued into place. After a quick front end disassemble and some melting with a soldering iron, it was off and the proper supplied flashider was on. Next in went the bolt, and then the scope.





    This is an absolute tank of a gun. Extremely well built, with all the metal parts being CNC'd aluminium, and all the (black) lower parts being polymerised plastic. It feels very, very solid, there are no wobbles or rattles, and I'm very confident in its ability to survive trial by skirmish. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking:











    The trademarks are licensed by DSR Precision, making them true to real steel, which is a very nice touch. All the markings are laser engraved into the metal and look fantastic.

    The magazines are nice and heavy, and have got to be about a kilo each. They feature a removable bb feed chamber, which holds 22 bbs:








    Function.

    Almost everything on the rifle is adjustable in some way. Although I would have seen this as a one trick pony (you adjust once and then keep it that way forever), I actually find myself playing around with the different positions depending on whether I'm standing or lying prone.



    -The bipod is extendable and folds from above. The legs feature spring retention and so snap back into place (watch your fingers!) nicely. The whole mount also slides back and forward into six positions on the top rail.



    -The foregrip/handguard slides back and forward into six positions on its two rails. It also features a small undermounted rail.



    -The stock itself slides back and forward into seven positions. Be careful not to pull it back too hard, as it does slide right off the end to allow the bolt to be removed.

    -The rear buttplate can be adjusted up or down about three centimetres.

    -The cheekrest can be adjusted to about 15 different heights, all about a millimetre apart. It's a padded rest and so very comfortable.



    -The monopod has two separate extensions, the thicker one is threaded for fine adjustments, and the lower one is spring loaded.

    Altogether this makes for a very ergonomic rifle, despite the odd appearance. The grip is moulded for RIGHT-handed shooters. Lefties you'll need to learn to shoot this one right-handed, and holding that grip with your other hand is very uncomfortable.


    Performance.

    This rifle shoots at about 490fps on propane, which so far the seals in the mags have been ok with taking. I use 0.3s (Blaster Devils) and can get about 70m accurately enough to snipe. However, as I don't have the facility to do a 70m groupings test, here follows the results of a full 22rnd magazine at about 30m, with 17-18 shots hitting the paper (13cm by 10cm):



    So a nice tight grouping. The hop is set via a 2mm allen grub screw on the back of the top rail, and is easy to adjust and a good hopup unit. The barrel is a 6.03 and nice and long (which does make a difference on gas rifles). The gun emits a large 'crack' when fired, and although I would like to mount my silencer (which again actually works on gas rifles), the front thread is housed too deep within the front block to allow it to fit inside.

    Even with a gas system, in the middle of winter, the shots were surprisingly consistent. The chrono readings I got were:

    492
    485
    489
    482
    491

    Which levels out at about 489fps, so site friendly.



    Overall, this gun is a very nice bit of kit, with sniper rifle performance straight out of the box. It is however, extremely heavy and not for the run-about squad marksman. This gun was built for you to settle down in a spot and wait for your shots.

    Pros:
    Good performance straight OTB.
    Very well made.
    Durable.
    Fully adjustable to suit all shooters.

    Cons:
    Very heavy.
    Expensive.

    All questions welcomed. Thanks for reading.
    Last edited by The Keeper of Secrets; 14 January, 2011, 13:32.



  • #2
    Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

    Great review with loads of pics :D

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

      Do they require much general maintenance?
      Last edited by Jsmithy; 13 January, 2011, 17:55. Reason: Silly spelling mistake.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

        Not so far. The system of a gas boltie is massively simple when compared to an AEG, for instance. Most of the seal/gas working is inside the mag valves, which simply unscrew from the mags, or the bolt, which simply slides out of the back. I plan to give it a silicone lube after every skirmish to compensate for using propane over green gas though.


        Comment


        • #5
          Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

          I'm surprised the performance was good for you. Most people report problems, but that's good to hear.
          Old Feedback: http://forums.zeroin.co.uk/showthread.php?9500-TaylorB

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

            I was wary, but I think the problems were mostly with the V1. It had several silly little issues, namely the gas leaking out whilst you were cocking the bolt. The V2 seems sound.


            Comment


            • #7
              Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

              how much are new mags for this mate? Can they be found easily?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                I think they are readily available but, as with all gas sniper rifle mags, they'll be the wrong side of £50 odd quid a shot. I was very pleased this came with two.


                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                  Hate them, but after this review, i want one!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                    Does the ver2 includes the replacement springs for the bolt?

                    Asahi WA2000
                    WTB Piper Minigun

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                      I didn't get any spare springs in mine. But I've had it apart and the ones in there seem fine.


                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                        fantastic review :D cheers

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          A question or 2

                          Considering getting this or the m82

                          Does the version 2 leak when cocking the gun ?

                          Would you recommend it?

                          Accuracy any good?
                          sigpic

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                            Hey Wolf,

                            It's firstly a LOT lighter that the M82. Both in net weight and moment couple (it's shorter).

                            The V2 has fixed the bolt leak (I assume you've seen the AATV review, they had the V1). I haven't properly tested it to 70m but from what I could judge by eye it was accurate enough, certaintly to snipe with. Apparently a number of other issues were fixed with the V2, but I can't name them. All I can say is that this one is solid as a rock and performs well. The only annoying bit so far was melting off the orange flashider that comes glued on.


                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: ARES DSR-1 (Version 2) Review.

                              hmmm its the dsr or m82 :\ both of which i guess would be running around circa 425 fps ..

                              upgrades for dsr are there ?
                              sigpic

                              Comment

                              About the Author

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                              The Keeper of Secrets TreadStone Captain and Team Sniper. Find out more about The Keeper of Secrets
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