I’ve been intrigued by the UTS-15 ever since I saw the first pictures and videos of them a few years ago. I liked the modern look (which reminded me of the H&K G11) [http://world.guns.ru/userfiles/images/assault/as42/g11_1.jpg] and compact size, but the initial reports of reliability and durability issues concerned me enough to bypass them and get a KSG instead. User reports of improved functioning (plus a significant price drop…around 30%) convinced me enough to try one. I ordered it last week and it arrived on December 23—just in time for Christmas. Here are my initial thoughts.
The shipping box has nicely fitted form inserts, and the manual is really excellent…maybe the best manual I’ve ever seen. It’s a real printed 57-page book, with attractive typography, detailed photos, thorough explanations and a neat little pop-up exploded parts diagram.
The first thing I did was replace the A2-style pistol grip—I hate A2 grips. I installed a Magpul MOE grip—it was not a perfect fit but a little dremelling at the top rear fixed that. I like it much better.
Even though on paper they’re not that different it feels bigger than the KSG. It’s a little bit longer, but especially taller top to bottom. This is due to the fact that it’s stacked “three tubes high”…the mag tubes, the barrel, and the tube that the pump handle rides on. You can get a light-laser combination to install in the tube—I was tempted but decided against it for now. Handling-wise it’s not bad, although the KSG does feel a little handier to me. I usually like a short LOP, but the UTS-15 almost feels too short. The sights I scavenged from my Kriss Vector…they feel a little low to me. I had another sight set that was the type that slides on the rail then uses a bolt to tighten. I found the rail too wide to use this sight set—it wouldn’t slide on. The ones I have on there now are the type that has an extendable clamping section
The gun comes with a screw-in breacher choke—it’s quite sharp. The manual says not to shoot it without a choke so I guess it’s staying in.
There are swing-open hatches on either side to load each magazine—seven 2 3/4” or six 3” in each. That’s one more per tube than the KSG.
The ejection port is on the right side (with a magnetic latch). The KSG of course ejects from the bottom.
There’s a large swing-open portion on the top of the buttstock to access the magazines and chamber. I like this better than the difficult-to access port on the bottom of the KSG. It’s like the “toilet seat” of the FS2000 on steroids. The action release is awkwardly located on the button of the buttstock.
Here’s a better look at the chamber area. There’s a new aluminum housing (the “gear box”) that was previously polymer. That’s one of the improvements in this version.
The gun easily disassembles into four major components (although I found re-assembly a little fussy…you need to sort of wiggle things into place).
Here’s a close-up of the bolt.
You can see the spring for the spring-assisted pump action. I’ve never owned a spring-assisted pump gun and was a little uncertain, but it feels pretty good. The spring is not too strong to make it difficult to rack, yet provides a nice boost when closing the action. I don’t think there’s a way to hold the action open, though. You can see a small screw on the right side of the spring—this fits into a slotted sheet-metal tab on the action bar. I guess that you could choose not to have the spring-assist by not slotting this in place.
Here’s a closer look at there rear of the stock. The switch can be used to specify left or right mag tubes, or if left in the centre, both tubes will be used. The KSG requires a switch between tubes (although that limitation has not bothered me). You can also see that there are plenty of corners and angles. The KSG has a nicely rounded buttstock that’s more comfortable.
So that’s a quick first look. What do I like? I still like the modern, unique look—my wife said that it looked like it was designed by a Japanese anime artist! I like the pump action—it’s slick and makes a very satisfying sound. I like the ease of loading. What are my concerns? The short LOP worries me a bit—the mag tube selector switch feels uncomfortably close to my nose. I’m concerned about the angular buttstock causing discomfort when firing. I must confess to a slight lingering concern about reliability and durability, too.
I’ll see if I can get out to the range before I head back to work to provide a range report and side-by-side comparison with the KSG.
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