new tanaka kar98

I would imagine a drill would be involved...

you could buy a BGS Hop unit - it comes with an unrestricted nozzle.

Also the inlet hole on the underside of the bolt may require the restrictor removed.

Since the law changed in Japan they have to be restricted for the domestic market. Maybe Tanaka will make an export version? Otherwise you have to drill a bigger hole.

This is the unrestricted version of a Tanaka Type 99 rifle:

This is the restricted version after the law changed:

Tanaka sold an official bolt head conversion - came with threaded nozzle and 3 sizes of restrictor. Not sure if they are still available?

A decent gas k98 would be nice though!

I have one of those. I also have an unused spare Tanaka Bolthead & Restrictor Set, still in their original packaging.

Shame. I think I'll have mine buried with me when I die. An outstanding item bought new, cared for, stripped down, re-stained the stock & had BGS Hop Unit fitted. Sat and fired a 1000 bb through it to bed in the BGS Hop.

Not failed me yet, got some good kills too - ask the Allied troops I've faced.

Aye, isn't this the one that run on a CO2 cartridge?

I think it's a stroke of genius and I can't believe it hasn't been done before with normal skirmishable rifles. Separating the troublesome bb holder and gas tank with all the problems that entails - leaking filling/vent valves, the mechanical levers. The Tanaka magazine is both expensive and heavy. The gas you fill it with is a variable, change gas supplier for whatever reason and you have no idea what 'green' means or if it is the same from another maker. Slap in a mass manufactured pre-filled standardised CO2 cylinder and loads of the weakness and variables vanish. There is the power question of course. I equate "CO2" guns with high power (too much power to shoot at anyone for fun) but I'm sure there is no reason why it has to be like that, surely just a question of regulation and quantity of gas released per pull of the trigger?

I can only assume that the bolt is identical/near identical to the original tanaka. If that is the case it can be adjusted with relative ease and a chronograph. From what I can see the magazine is of a similar shape to the tanaka, but the front comes off to put a capsule in.

Oh, so that only removes the gas tank from the mix then. No bad thing I suppose - all the rest is proven, why reinvent stuff when you can copy it.

Only thing I'd like to see is a decent hop unit in it!

All gases in airsoft/air guns are regulated, surely? Why would it be unregulated?

Unregulated CO2 is not consistent, ask anyone who used early paintball guns! However, if some kind of low pressure, inline regulator is fitted, it's a very good power source (though not as good as compressed air or nitro).

So then what does a 'regulator' do and how? And why would the needs be different between Co2 and green gas (apart from pressure difference)?

With a gas gun such as the Tanaka the gas is released from the tank for a brief moment (the time of which is 'regulated') through a particular valve diameter (regulating release) and ultimately through a small nozzle, the diameter of which can be changed to regulate the fps (power). All these steps (and there are probably more!) create a usable power for skirmishing. In what way would CO2 be different? I assume it would just be a matter of chamber sizes, aperture sizes, valve opening time, to get a usable power down the barrel. If not, why not?

Since G&G wouldn't sell any kit if this weren't a skirmishable gun then I assume they have sorted the 'regulation'.

Answers please!

Unregulated CO2 is subject to the same variables as "normal" airsoft gasses. CO2 has to expand from a liquid to a gas and, the rate it does this at is affected by temperature, pressure of source, etc. What a regualtor does is take that liquid CO2, convert it to gas and then, release it at a predetermined pressure. This fixed, regulated pressure is what makes CO2 superior to so called green gas. An inline regulator isn't that big anyway and would easily fit into a K98 stock.

Thank you for the explanation. Do the close ups of the magazine & parts shed any light?

I think they have gone down the Air rifle route, and are using a regulated CO2 inside to make each shot consitant. This means that the FPS should be the same in winter as it is in summer but just requiring more CO2 in winter to hit the pressure needed to fire.

Yes, but are there any clues as to how the Co2 is regulated - the concern expressed in posts above?

I can see the Co2 bulb and I can see where is fits. I can see a screw-in cap with a hex key that presumably gets driven into the back of the bulb to pierce the seal at the other end. I can see the bb holder with spring and follower. I can see this bb holder fits over the bulb hole and is locked in place by a catch and would then look pretty similar to a Tanaka mag. So therefore you only need one gas tank and only swap out spare bb holders to reload - possibly even doing this from above, like loading a r/s 'clip' leaving the gas tank in place. But I can't see any means of gas adjustment. Could this be done in the bolt assembly? If gas adjustment IS all done in the magazine could the the magazine be a straight replacement for the Tanaka mag and therefore an accessory for Tanaka owners?

In this photo you can just see the gas release firing pin on the other side of the magazine - looks to be in the right place for the Tanaka striker.

a co2 mag would be nice for current tanaka owners

with some small adjustments to a co2mag , my tanaka could then become a viable hunting rifle for ratting (without haveing to change my airsoft spec tanaka) as long as i keep it under 12 ftlb . at the moment i have to use an air rifle , but a powerfull boltie would be far more practical