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According to LCT, the phrase “cutting corners” isn’t in their vernacular. Their rifles are masterfully crafted from hardened steel and reinforced aluminum, carefully forged to bring each customer a primary that puts the rest of their arsenal to shame. While durability and realism are the usually the first things that come to mind when LCT is brought into question, not much is typically said about their internal capabilities. There’s no denying LCT’s rightful place as the go-to brand for externals, but can their performance keep up on a competitive airsoft field? In this article, we’ll dive into LCT’s rifles inside and out to find out just that. We’ll take a look at some of their most recent products and investigate whether or not their internals deserve to be housed within the battle-born beauty of their externals.
Let’s begin by taking a look at their most iconic rifle:
Right out of the packaging, a brief handling of this rifle proves something evident: Absolutely nothing wobbles, creaks, or even rotates without significant force applied. To say that the tolerances are tight on this platform would be a grim understatement. Any part that can move, such as the sling swivel on the stock, requires a significant amount of force to rotate. Heck, even the dust cover refuses to seat properly once removed without a hearty slap to beat it back into place. Any standard LCT rifle without a folding stock will have its battery wired to the rear, while most others will have their battery wired neatly under the dust cover.
The real wood is real pretty. In all fairness, it might look a little too pretty for a rugged wartime rifle right out the packaging. It’s the perfect blank slate to be battered up with battle bruises event after event!
Now, onto the internals!
Giving an overview of LCT’s internals is a bit of a tricky ordeal considering how many generational variants they have of their gearbox. Different AKs made in different years can have small but impactful changes in the material/design of their internal parts. Some LCTs come with a basic MOSFET, and some don’t. Some offer a quick-change spring system, and others still require you to fully disassemble the gearbox to change the velocity. Generally, the newer your LCT, the more advanced features it will have. Here’s a breakdown of what your average LCT gearbox should include.
The standard LCT Gearbox should come with these base features:
- Quick Change Spring System.
- CNC Aluminum Cylinder Head and Piston Head with a ribbed Steel Cylinder.
- Full Steel Rack Piston.
- 8mm Bearings with Hardened 18:1 Steel Gears.
- Basic Ferrous Motor.
- Quick change spring system for easy FPS adjustments.
The general synopsis of LCT internals is that they’re built just as tough as the external bodies they’re housed in. Unless you opt for the GATE ASTER edition of your LCT, they typically don’t come with MOSFET units in order to keep the system simple and straight to the point. They might not have the fastest trigger response in the world of airsoft AKs, but if you need something to survive hell and back, this is your rifle.
LCT also offers a world of AK variants beyond the standard AKM. Let’s take a look at a few!
Jumping headfirst into the more modern scene of AKs, we have the beautiful LCT AK12 (Technically AK19 if you want to nitpick). If you were to ask me what I think the most well done, beautiful AK is from LCT, I would likely point you to this shining star. Though, I must admit some bias since this is my personal trusty rusty rifle for Milsim West events. Right out of the box, the impressively proper alignment of the gears made for a quick and quiet trigger response using an 11.1v Li-Po. The immaculate steel build construction inspires full confidence that this is a primary designed for the hardships of genuine military duty, and the smoothness of each shot sings glorious promises of efficiency and reliability. These AKs are seriously dependable, and I highly recommend them for anyone looking to use a modernized Russian platform with rail space for attachments.
Here are some notably cool LCT AKs that you may want to give a closer look!
The LCT EBB Series
In LCT’s pursuit of unparalleled realism, they’ve produced a line of AKs with electric simulated recoil. Ordinarily, a GBBR would be the expected route for realistic recoil and operation. LCT has instead left GHK to pursue the gas side of things in the AK world, permitting the GBB company to use their stellar externals. While GBBRs exceed when it comes to realism, their sensitivity to temperature and realistic round capacity can make them highly unfavorable for extended airsoft events. LCT has tackled this issue by bringing the realism of recoil to the user-friendly AEG system, mixing the best features of both worlds. In these AKs, the gearbox is redesigned to have the piston attached to the AK bolt. Every time a shot is cycled, the rifle’s heavyweight bolt reciprocates correspondingly, sending a substantial amount of force back into the user’s shoulder. The extra mechanism does result in a lower rate of fire and trigger response, but the sheer joy of letting one of these recoil machines rip in full auto might just be worth it. LCT has adequately reinforced the internals to handle the added stress, but I would highly recommend applying removable loctite to some of the internal screws for best longevity.
Precision German Engineering (Made in Taiwan)
Just looking at this beast makes my arms quiver in fear of its sheer weight. This ten pound steel monster of a gun shares all the indestructibility of LCT’s AKs in a more German appropriate housing. The full travel of the charging handle is an absolute joy to rack and slap, enamouring you in the glory of one of HK’s most legendary rifles. If you were to fall with this rifle, you would break before it would. This rifle isn’t for everyone. But, if you’ve got the muscle for the hustle, feel free to fully unleash the might of this Bundeswehr battle rifle upon your enemies at your next airsoft game!
The LCT SVD Is Finally Here!
After years of being teased, the wait is finally over. The LCT SVD has finally arrived to the airsoft market in full marksman glory. If you’re going for a Russian marksman setup, there are few options as impressive as the LCT. Despite its length, the SVD is a rather thin rifle, making it impressively comfortable to use in an extended fight. Even with its stick-like frame, LCT has not let up on their commitment to making some of the most durable rifles on the market. The alloy of the stamped steel keeps weight down while retaining the sort of durability you’d expect out of an LCT product. This is a seriously cool rifle, and with how impressive LCT’s out-the-box hopup performance has been recently, you likely won’t need to upgrade much to get this platform shooting like the DMR of your dreams. Gearbox wise, the LCT SVD features an Airsoft Systems SVD specific electronic trigger system that our in-house techs have given a firm thumbs-up on. The switches are durable, and the cycle detection ensures a snappy and consistent semi-automatic performance with every trigger pull. If you want to strike fear into the hearts of your enemies from across the airsoft battlefield, don’t settle for less. Acquire the LCT SVD and become that cross map threat.
LCT’s commitment to quality ensures that players are equipped with rifles that are durable inside and out, capable of performing at the most demanding of airsoft events. The meticulous craftsmanship of hardened steel and reinforced aluminum gives LCT rifles a superiority in physical resilience and realism, setting a new standard for what airsoft enthusiasts should expect from their gear. By balancing ruggedness with precision, LCT rifles prove that quality in the airsoft world should never be compromised, providing players with a reliable, one-and-done solution that stands the test of time and action.