ICS M4 (PCR-97) Full Photo Review
By: James

Purchasing the weapon:
I purchased my ICS PCR-97 from AirsoftGI for a total of $300.

Contents of the package were:
ICS PCR-97 Manual
ICS PCR-97 (M4A4)
ICS 0.2g bb bottle
ICS 450rnd hi-cap metal magazine
Large type charger
Large to small converter
PHX 8.4v 1200mah mini battery
Unjamming tool




First Impressions:
The Box: When I first opened the large brown box from ASGI, inside I found another brown box with PCR-97 MIL4AS on it and a huge Olympic Arms logo on it. The box is pretty bland and not as dressed up as some ECHO1 or Tokyo Marui boxes. However, inside my rifle was snugly held in by molded plastic covered in a nice red felt



The Rifle: When I first picked it up out of the box I was surprised at how heavy this thing was. This is my first high quality AEG however so I wasn't used to a lot of things about it.


First thing I noticed after the weight was how much of it is made of metal and how much it functions like the real deal.
Metal:
Upper Receiver
Lower Receiver
Iron Sights
Charging Handle
Shell ejection cover
Outer Barrel
Front Sight
Flash Hider

ABS:
Pistol Grip
Foregrip
LE Stock

The Magazine: I've never been a fan of hi-cap magazines, and this one is going to change that opinion. however, it's well constructed from metal and holds 450 rounds, I haven't tested that it holds 450 thats just what the spec is.



Performance:
When my rifle arrived, inside the box UPS left me, on top of the ICS box, there was a quality control sheet from ASGI that said they have fired my weapon with Airsoft Elite 0.2g bb's and it fired 345 fps.

Personally I have found that this weapon will blow out glass, relatively thick glass to.
there's an abandoned what looks like an old meth lab down the street from where I live and the building is going to be bull dozed in about a month so a friend and I went there to test out my weapon for the first time. regardless, I took aim at a window pending my friends request to see if it'll blow it out. The first shot ricocheted off the window with a loud crack, the second round cracked the glass, the third went through the window and from there fully automatic fire demolished the window.

regardless, the Rate of fire on this weapon is pretty high considering I'm only using the 8.4v 1200mah battery it included.

I also as any airsoft owner should, got shot with my own weapon from a 20 foot range. I don't think it's fair to be shooting at other people when you don't even know how your own gun feels. So my friend and I measured out 20 feet with a tape measure, and he took fire at my back on semi-automatic with 0.2g bb's. With that said I can vouch for the 345 fps ASGI say it fires. I had some nice welts for about 2-3 days.

Key Features:
The new generation of ICS's M4 Series comes with the newly designed 2-part gearbox, personally I like it. It's very easy to get to everything for either upgrades, maintaining or simply cleaning. You just pop the lower receiver pin after hitting the forward assist button to release tension on the spring and reset the gears, and like that you have your weapon open.


This new 2-part gearbox also contains all metal internals as far as I can see. there is one little plastic part but it doesn't look like it plays a role in the gearboxes function.


With the new 2-part gearbox, you can easily change the profile of your weapons performance by sliding in or out a different upper gearbox. Also, several different upper gearboxes are available from ICS, all of which sport an M120 spring claiming to give the weapon 400FPS. The different upper gearboxes come with different internal parts, aluminum pistons, ported heads, etc.

Another new feature of the new model ICS's is that the forward assist button actually works. When you push the forward assist after firing the weapon, you will hear a "whiiiz" sound, thats the sound of the gears returning to a neutral state as tension on the spring is released. This feature was made for long term storage and to preserve the strength of the Spring

Another cosmetic feature of the weapon is the Olympic Arms trademarks.
The trades on this weapon have been laser engraved onto the lower receiver and have beautiful clarity and quality. Mine personally saying,
"PCR-97 MIL4AS
CAL 5.56 NATO
MOD.P.C.R DD
BA0700890"
Also the words "OLYMPIC ARMS. OLY, WA USA" are printed above the fire select mode



Specifications:
Length:
34.5" (stock extended)
30.75" (stock collapsed)

Height:
5.5" (Top of iron sight to empty mag well)
9.0" (top of iron sight to bottom of pistol grip)
10.5" (top of iron sight to bottom of hi-cap)

Width:
1.75" (across back of stock)

Weight:
approximately 6lbs.
I'll get it weighed and edit this post.


Pros:
Sturdy construction
- Metal and ABS
Realistic Iron sights
Functioning Charge Handle
Functioning Forward Assist
Metal Barrel
Metal internals
2-part gear box
Fires hard
Upgradeable
available in full stock

Cons:
Might be expensive for some people
RIS kit is expensive
ABS fore grip and stock
Mini battery connection
small space for battery in fore grip

Rating:
Appearance: 10/10
Beautiful trades, great detail with "5.56 NATO 1/7" printed on the barrel
Performance: 9/10
It fires harder than most off the shelf rifles, however it's not the FPS of an ECHO1, but is far more reliable
Durability: 9/10
It's made of high quality metal and ABS Plastic, however, It could be better if the fore grip, pistol grip and stock were metal. regardless, the ABS is very solid.
Upgrade potential: 9/10
There are numerous upgrades you can get for this weapon, however the 2-part gearbox might deter people who are more used to the V2 gearbox.
FPS: 10/10
It fires at a high 345fps with 0.2gbb's.
ROF: ?/10
With an 8.4v battery it fires quite quickly on fully automatic, however I havn't had a chance to test with a 9.6v.


Conclusion:
In the end, it's a well rounded weapon with amazing new features only the ICS M-series has.
The quality of the weapon is superb, from the appearance, to the performance.
It fires hard, and fires quite accurate with the factory barrel.
It's easy to upgrade, and has a large market of external upgrades including a RIS Kit which will allow mounting of any accessory you desire.
It's a bit expensive, but well worth the money.

And lastly, sorry if I missed anything, this is my first review

(NOTE: ALL IMAGES HAVE BEEN RESIZED - IF YOU WANT THE ORIGINALS FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME)

This post has been edited by James: Dec 14 2007, 04:41 PM