TM M3 Shotgun (shorty), G&P M3 Extended Buttstock Review

Fallschirmjager

fellow airsofters, since i asked this before i may as well ping what i did so future generations can rest easier at night.

shotgun,why?
are you on the right board, well why not? listen if you are asking this question, may i suggest basket weaving or yoga or maybe you should pick your feet in Poughkeepsie, whatever you do, i wont be joining you but i digress...so firstly i got the tm m3 shorty (the one without the stock). i got this for a very good reason, well 2 actually..one this is a backup weapon and i dont want to get my spine ripped out by a low hanging branch that just misses my head but catches the big stock or barrel. also i could have gotten the stock version and cut the barrel, but didnt fancy having to replace the sights and maybe using a plumbers pipe cutter to get a straight edge. add to that i have never once in my life managed to cut by hand anything straight with a saw and you see where i am going. so when i opened the box, i was shown the face of god, well not quite. the tm is a little bit plasticy, not much but a little much. the bolt doesnt move its just for looks. the barrel is metal and some sundry bits. the weight is light but not too light. for realism reasons, its too light, for running around all day, its perfect. if you are like me, you just cant wait for it can you, you just have to rack it. now the rule the world over is shotgun racking has a very specific sound. no one wants to get rid of it, that sounds spells trouble..it means business, depending on which end of it you are, its the most comforting sound on the planet, or a bowel opening sound at the far end. unfortunately the tm, doesnt have that sound. its a sound akin to very unsatisfying not real, what a pity kinda sound. the safety is a bit of a wimp as well but since i never held a real m3, maybe its as per original. there is a small grooved button the opens a metal cover which pops open like a secret door in an incredibly cheap scifi movie. in here is where you place the m3 ammo, one shell, filled with 30 bb's it fires 3 bbs a go, so you have, (mumbles to self, get calculator out, add to the power of n for gravity), yes 10 shots of 3. the magazine is actually a shotgun shell you load. it comes with a special loader, i have not tried the speed loader yet, so i will check that out and see what its like. the m3 shorty gives the impression you get 3 shells, you dont you get 1 so you will have to buy some others, which also adds to the whole feel of the shotgun experience. the sights are small, but then again it is a shotgun.
the tm m3 and likes the spas12 is spring loaded, which works well considering you want to be able to rack it in the first place. be sure to press the shell fully in when loading, it isnt tricky but might be if a whole mob are charging and you just blew air at them. it fires well, i dont have a chrono but apparently its around 200ish fps (shouldnt we do doing meters now?) but definitely good enough for a spring loaded backup. the triple barrel doesnt spread the bbs as much as you would think, but tbh, i care not a jot. at the moment its my favourite. it looks mean, i feel mean, (maybe i am mean, better ask at home on that?). if you want to do a swat thing (and suprise, suprise) i do...this is the one for you. you may want to full version, and sometimes i think i should have done that, but maybe in the future. now to the real deal. i had also purchased the G&P m3 extended stock. there is quite a bit of confusion out there about how to attach that. most people on the web who asked were treated like a complete muppet noob, and having completed mine (well sort of) i can understand why. the G&P stock is a nice piece of kit and easy to install. it is angled downward and is mostly metal, except the usual bits and bobs that are rubber and abs. its extendable and its me, what more can i say. it makes the m3 look like the caw usmc 1 shot shotgun they sell. so how to add it.

so for the good of airsoft everywhere...
1. there is a hex bolt at the back of the m3, uncrew that. its long. i expected a few more screws to remove the handgrip but there isnt any, just this bolt. once that off the whole handgrip and back cover come off in one piece. you are then presented with an appendage (must resist the temptation to joke). it is grooved (resist). this is made of hard plastic (snigger).

2. get out the stock and get the longest philips screw driver you can find, no that one isnt long enough, the bigger one (i had to cut some of the rubber of my screwdriver to get it to work). there is a button to remove the shoulder component of the stock. take it off. now you see a hollow metal pipe (attached to the g&p grip) at the base of that pipe is a philips screw, unscrew it. you might need a pliers as there is a small metal disk that you dont need holding the screw in. you now have a metal bar (with handle) a long screw, and a metal disk and the shoulder piece all seperate. Scream, run around naked..er sorry wrong thread...

3. take the m3 and a measuring tape and follow the instructions. ha aha ha , you are kidding right, those instructions, sweet baby jesus and the donkey, who translated that, yes it suffers from the dreaded chinese to japanese to hindi to english rules of translation, well as it happens it does make a bit of sense once you start. picture one says reserve 19mm. when i read that i went WTF does reserve mean, well it means you measure from the point on the receiver part out 19 mm along THAT appendage and do a mrs bobbit on it. (BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU MEASURE FROM) i measured 20mm to be safe as the photocopied 1 millionth time sheet of paper is not clear. it will take about 1 minute with a hacksaw. keep the hacksaw straight this is important for the later steps.

4. clean up the loose plastic. test fit your piece. you should wind up with the handle fitting perfectly. the stump should fit into the stock (just barely fit) and provide a bit of support.

5. put the screw in and tighten.

6. now the test fit should show you you have 1mm gap. this is good. you need to get a metal file and file off the 1mm off the stump (remember i cut 20mm not 19mm) so it is flat and level. if you are incredibly brave and related to bill gates and can afford to make a mistake, cut 19mm save yourself 1 minute of filing...(ps everyone hates you, stop airsofting and fix your crap os)

7 before you tighten it make sure the grooves on the metal bar of the g&p are vertical. if not your stock , when put back on will be misaligned.

8. click you stock back on..bingo...now stand back and look at the majesty of your engineering abilities and marvel at one of the coolest shotty in the universe. so cool in fact it should be called mr cool, cool street county cool. the short barrel really make it for me, but each to their own.

so there you have it. the addition is complete, as is this review, well nearly.
the only other thing that is lacking on the m3 is attachments. there doesnt appear to be a lot. i was hoping there was a ris/ras part to sex it up, but i cant find any, so you might have to get a short rail and some bondo to do a bit of diy. i saw only once a foregrip that SHOULD have fitted it with a tac light, but honestly it was on a page 20 of a google search, down in the depths of google where the m3 porn is (!? go figure). you can get bolt on lights for the barrel but its just not me tbh. the search continues. you could screw off the foregrip add a metal ris rail -- i might do that in the future.

tm shotty 7/10
looks 20/10
bowel opening fear 10/10
accuracy :8/10 (more like a rifle, but not adjustment other then to the sights)
would i buy it again : DEFINITELY

g&p stock 10/10
ease of install 10/10
instructions 0/10
g&p making life difficult for something easy 10/10
would i get it again if i broke it : DEFINITELY
so there you have it..

one other thing you can add a sling to the g&p stock as you loose the other sling point on the shorty. currently the loadout i was planning was a g&g mp5, more ammunition then arnie in commando, and 2 pistols (because i can, that why) one on my leg and one on my vest and on my back the shotty...if like me, you are incredibly ****e at aiming, i now have 3 backups. its not viable as a loadout at all, but it sure does feel good...

also the manual with the tm is hard to read but worthwhile. you do need to oil the shells and the shotty regularly...

ED E

Nice, still dont see the point in shotguns, yeah they llok damn cool but cocking them, just get an mp7 or mp5k(think its k thats the short one?)

[--SC(+)PE--]

Welcome to the Benelli club my friend , also welcome to the over equiped loon club aswell i think thats just yourself and myself in that [my main loadout is a modified JG AUG with an M3 Benelli on my back and 2 Beretta's on my hips].

ED E

What did you do to the JG???

kdouglas

nice review man, post some pics when you can, curious to see how it turned out

[--SC(+)PE--]

added a 590mm 6.03 prometheus barrel, a guarder hop rubber and bucking [getting a big out H-hop bucking instead] systema shims and Bushings and a 9.6 volt battery.
And externally i just ripped of the hand grip through on a troy-style silencer and a 1.5-5*32 power scope and sometimes a bipod , i would have said "upgraded" it but that would imply a power upgrade which wouldnt do at all.

ED E

Got the same barrell myself on my CA aug, guarder hopup never arrived!, rest is stock(got the A1 Millitary version:D ). Wonder how your ROF compares to mine.

BTW, what treads are on the barrel, was looking at getting a madbull amp sometime in the future(black of course).

[--SC(+)PE--]

anti clockwise threads.

ED E

size?

Fallschirmjager

kdouglas wrote:

nice review man, post some pics when you can, curious to see how it turned out

will do except everytime i try and load pics it gets rejected..i will give it another go..

Fallschirmjager

[--SC(+)PE--] wrote:

Welcome to the Benelli club my friend , also welcome to the over equiped loon club aswell i think thats just yourself and myself in that [my main loadout is a modified JG AUG with an M3 Benelli on my back and 2 Beretta's on my hips].

hahahah excellent...good to in a cub even if its just 2...perhaps more over equipped types want to out themselves??

ambro25

Thnx Falls, nice review - waiting for the pics with baited breath.

Oh yeah, while I'm here......................................................


CAN YOU LOT STOP SPAMMING THIS REVIEW THREAD ALREADY!?! :mad:

chalky

Fallschirmjager wrote:

hahahah excellent...good to in a cub even if its just 2...perhaps more over equipped types want to out themselves??

I'm a wannabe over equipped loon, unfortunately its a rather expensive club to be in.

Fallschirmjager

ambro25 wrote:

Thnx Falls, nice review - waiting for the pics with baited breath.

Oh yeah, while I'm here......................................................


CAN YOU LOT STOP SPAMMING THIS REVIEW THREAD ALREADY!?! :mad:

ambro, the g&p stock is 90 odd dollars on uncompany...it is well worth it.

Fallschirmjager

here is the shotty, will be adding the other to the usual thread

ambro25

OOOO Prettyyyyy

Shame about the chambering sound being a let down, though - I miss my real steel one, that very peculiar "shlik-shlak" was one of the main reasons I was after one...mmm... not so sure now

Fallschirmjager

ambro25 wrote:

OOOO Prettyyyyy

Shame about the chambering sound being a let down, though - I miss my real steel one, that very peculiar "shlik-shlak" was one of the main reasons I was after one...mmm... not so sure now

i think the maurzen ones do that. they also have the gas in the shells. you will need a catch bag unless you want to walk around picking them up. they can also be modified with extras...might give one of them a go eventually, but like you i have a target for either the sig seals tm one or perhaps an mp7..but i am now officially cashless...so roll on next month...

ambro25

Fallschirmjager wrote:

i think the maurzen ones do that. they also have the gas in the shells. you will need a catch bag unless you want to walk around picking them up. they can also be modified with extras...

Too much faffing about. I get to shoot my real steels nearly everytime I go visit family in France, so that (and the TM...perhaps... eventually... after the SIG) will have to do.

It looks like you got the shotty before me and I be getting the SIG before you then - and it sounds like we're playing Top Trumps or something

kdouglas

Fallschirmjager wrote:

i think the maurzen ones do that. they also have the gas in the shells. you will need a catch bag unless you want to walk around picking them up. they can also be modified with extras...might give one of them a go eventually, but like you i have a target for either the sig seals tm one or perhaps an mp7..but i am now officially cashless...so roll on next month...

pretty sure those maruzen shotties are well over the limit, unfortunately

Edit: maybe not, according to redwolf, the m1100 fires at 220fps, but that doesnt say how many bb's were fired when chrono'ing it, you would assume 1, but it is possible to chrono with more than one bb firing i think, although a little difficult. as it says, the power reduces when firing more than one bb

o1s1n

kdouglas wrote:

pretty sure those maruzen shotties are well over the limit, unfortunately

Edit: maybe not, according to redwolf, the m1100 fires at 220fps, but that doesnt say how many bb's were fired when chrono'ing it, you would assume 1, but it is possible to chrono with more than one bb firing i think, although a little difficult. as it says, the power reduces when firing more than one bb

Pretty much *almost* everything that's gas powered bar pistols and grenades is over the limit. Or has the capability to go over the limit. Shame. As there are some lovely gas shotguns out there.

Fiach Dubh

It's a shame alright. Those Maruzen shell ejecting shotty's are the buisness.

Fallschirmjager

o1s1n wrote:

Pretty much *almost* everything that's gas powered bar pistols and grenades is over the limit. Or has the capability to go over the limit. Shame. As there are some lovely gas shotguns out there.

jjeze that was close then, i just assumed, shotgun, slow, etc would always be around the 200 mark...glad i got my tm then...

and i think it has a gas tank not gas in the shells...my mistake..

Fallschirmjager

ambro25 wrote:

Too much faffing about. I get to shoot my real steels nearly everytime I go visit family in France, so that (and the TM...perhaps... eventually... after the SIG) will have to do.

It looks like you got the shotty before me and I be getting the SIG before you then - and it sounds like we're playing Top Trumps or something

hahaha i will always give way to someone who has a real one..even if it is in a different country...

yep.. i have set my heart on the sig...i just wish i could metal it up or get a metal one..i saw some parts on unc or maybe wgc about a metal receiver...but first i suppose i have to get the cash for the tm one.

Mark_Sc

Anyone seen any nice SPAS 12s?:)

ambro25

eHobby is your friend, they've always got one or two on sale.

tonyj_mc

yeap, decent price to was considering one but want the one with the metal stock, appears out of production (could be wrong)

i've seen the stock seperatly but costs a bloody fortune

ambro25

Fallschirmjager wrote:

yep.. i have set my heart on the sig...i just wish i could metal it up or get a metal one..i saw some parts on unc or maybe wgc about a metal receiver...but first i suppose i have to get the cash for the tm one.

It is one very sexy beast, is the 552. 'seen it again the other day in The Transporter. I don't what it is, but it's just suddenly grown on me like a bad rash - must be that real b@d@ss front end, with them little ventilation holes down the sides and that mean flashhider. If it could speak, it would sound just like the black Colonial Marines Sarge in Aliens, when they're prepping before the drop :cool:

tonyj_mc

have to say was never a big fan of the 552, liked the sniper version but not the standard then i saw these two

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SIG-552-p1030040.jpg
http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.canadiantactical.ca/Images/Sig552T8.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.canadiantactical.ca/pictures.html&h=280&w=864&sz=31&tbnid=hP-kt6Ow9L50RM:&tbnh=47&tbnw=145&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsig%2B552%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2

i like them a hell of a lot, might be a future project

ED E

I'd love a 550, such a cool gun. If legal I'd have it with like 450fps ans auto like the real one:D

Fallschirmjager

tonyj_mc wrote:

yeap, decent price to was considering one but want the one with the metal stock, appears out of production (could be wrong)

i've seen the stock seperatly but costs a bloody fortune

yep i have been watching for a stock version as well tony...nothing, nada, zilch for quite a while now...i did see the stock as an extra, but it was over 100 dollars...no thanks.

tonyj_mc

yeah its almost the same price as the shottie, ws think do did a quick look on e-bay there seems to be a couple of like $50 stocks just searched under shotgun stock i think, not sure if they woudl fir though but prety sure though with the correct amonut of persuasion, (hitting with a big hammer) they would

o1s1n

Lethal_Bullet wrote:

I'd love a 550, such a cool gun. If legal I'd have it with like 450fps ans auto like the real one:D

It is legal. Just start applying for a license.

Fallschirmjager

ambro25 wrote:

It is one very sexy beast, is the 552. 'seen it again the other day in The Transporter. I don't what it is, but it's just suddenly grown on me like a bad rash - must be that real b@d@ss front end, with them little ventilation holes down the sides and that mean flashhider. If it could speak, it would sound just like the black Colonial Marines Sarge in Aliens, when they're prepping before the drop :cool:

ah yes, sarge apone.....
All right, sweet hearts what are you waiting for,breakfast in bed? another glorious day in the marine corps, A day in the marine corps is like a day on a farm. Every meals is a banquet! Every paycheck is a fortune,every formation is a parade! i LLOOOVEEE the corps!

Fallschirmjager

ambro25 wrote:

It is one very sexy beast, is the 552. 'seen it again the other day in The Transporter. I don't what it is, but it's just suddenly grown on me like a bad rash - must be that real b@d@ss front end, with them little ventilation holes down the sides and that mean flashhider. If it could speak, it would sound just like the black Colonial Marines Sarge in Aliens, when they're prepping before the drop :cool:

there is a hurricane metal body for the sig and just found on wgc a front grip for the 551 Carrot SG552 Conversion kit for SG550/551. they have a hold on the order , dont know if its metal but looks like it is....

Fallschirmjager

tonyj_mc wrote:

have to say was never a big fan of the 552, liked the sniper version but not the standard then i saw these two

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SIG-552-p1030040.jpg
http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.canadiantactical.ca/Images/Sig552T8.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.canadiantactical.ca/pictures.html&h=280&w=864&sz=31&tbnid=hP-kt6Ow9L50RM:&tbnh=47&tbnw=145&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsig%2B552%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2

i like them a hell of a lot, might be a future project

jeeze tony, they are friggen cool..its a crane stock...the bipod one is super cool...looks H&Kish to me...like a m4 crane stock with a mp5 front rail system...jeeze if someone made that.....oooh baby....

ASI Casper

I see you beat me to it with the M3 stock. I've mine still sitting here but have yet to put it on. Good to have the tips now though, cheers!

As for the Sig, I've got a 552 with the Hurricane metal body with rail.
It also has a tight barrel, some Systema parts in the gearbox and a 10.8v battery.

It's heavy, it was a bargain and it's very very sweet.

The Hurricane metal body alone costs £160 from wolf armouries!
Might have to see if I can find that railed front end for it, although, I don't think an airsoft version exists.

Fallschirmjager

ASI Casper wrote:

I see you beat me to it with the M3 stock. I've mine still sitting here but have yet to put it on. Good to have the tips now though, cheers!

As for the Sig, I've got a 552 with the Hurricane metal body with rail.
It also has a tight barrel, some Systema parts in the gearbox and a 10.8v battery.

It's heavy, it was a bargain and it's very very sweet.

The Hurricane metal body alone costs £160 from wolf armouries!
Might have to see if I can find that railed front end for it, although, I don't think an airsoft version exists.

casper, wing an emailto wgc and see what they say...you lucky git getting the sig...care to share a pic or 2...