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A few months ago, I wrote a big thing about buying and upgrading an l96. Its intentions were to help a new person pick out what l96 they should buy, and how to upgrade it. Along the way, I hinted at the mk96 and its stock performance. However, I did not go into great detail on this. So I decided to do this right now
Please note that some of the stuff has been talked about in both of my threads, but this is for a detailed explanation of the mk96.
This review will touch on the mk96 as a stock rifle, with no upgrades, mods, or any of that crazy stuff. In this review, there will be pictures on dissembly, along with pictures to describe each part. This will hopefully keep you from becoming bored of my long post :
So get, ready, here we go.
Out of the box performance and first impressions
This is the most important part for those who are trying out the role and are unable to borrow someone's rifle to test if they like the bolt actions. The mk96 is affordable and solid as a stock rifle. The barrel is sturdy and is held in place without any fllimsyness. But the stock is made of a weak plastic, making the rifle feel like a toy. This is one of the cons of buying a clone rifle. :-/ Often a scope package is included with two magazines and a cheap flimsy sling plus a handy speedloader. While not necessary, the speedloader makes loading the magazine easier. The rifle features a nice rail for attaching scopes and optics, but remember some rail rings are also necessary.
Pulling the rifle out of the box, I noticed it came in two pieces. The stock and the barrel assembly. It is pretty self explanatory and can be assembled with two screws that are located inside the stock by screwing them in with the included allen wrench. Once this is done, it is time to load her up and see how she shoots.
After firing a few shots with .28 bbs, I noticed there was a major curve of the bb. Adjusting the hop up will not fix this, due to the fact that their is only one arm that can be adjusted, unlike the pdi hop up chamber, featuring two adjustable arms. Most likely, it was a problem with the hop up chamber, but the use of some madbull .4s helped straighten out the curve of the bb. By using the other allen wrench used to adjust the hop up, located in front of the magazine catch, my shots were dead on. Next, after figuring out how to get the shots shooting straight, I zeroed in the scope. I successfully was able to hit a small round target about 6inches by 6 inches 3/5 times from 120 feet away. After further shooting, I noticed hitting a torso sized target 150 feet away was no problem, but after that, shots began to stray away flying all over. Even occassionally, a flyer would occur, resulting in a very ugly shot. This disappointed me, but I concluded it was able to shoot more accurately than a stock aeg. However, the mk96 was unable to outrange any aeg. Thus, to use this rifle in the field would create a utter disadvantage. With only slightly better accuracy and no more range than an aeg, this rifle stock is not going to perform great on the field. Firepower would most likely win this battle, and usually results in the mk96 user, to drop the role of the sniper, and to go pick up a aeg of some sort. Yet, some stick with it, and find themselves able to practice their skills and to use camoflauge such as a ghillie to their advantage. They find themselves becoming more stealthy and understand the rifles limits. By being able to get in range unnoticed, this rifle is quiet and able to take accurate consistent shots to a certain point. The sniper realizes he enjoys and is quite good at the role. This is where upgrading the rifle will really help with performance of this clone.
Overall rating: 6/10
Reason: Fliers here and there, and range is limited
Externals and Feel
The Stock:
This is probably the biggest con to purchasing the UTG mk96 over the higher end rifles. The stock is light and feels like a toy. Despite any internal upgrade and great performance, the user will always have that toy like feeling when they hold the rifle. Whether one can get used to it, its up to you. Personaly, I have overcome this feeling, and no longer think of the rifle as a toy. Its plastic stock might not be able to hold its own against a ten foot fall, but without a doubt, if you take care of your rifle, the occassional drop or slip in a game will prove no harm.
The stock comes in a few different colors, including digital, od green, and black. But I recommend a paint job of some sort, to get rid of the shininess of the stock, which offers no camoflauge, and might in fact give you away. And if you are going digital, the chessyness of the pattern is far to bad to look at. See below...
The Front end:
At the front of the rifle, a mount is present, which gives the user the ability to attach a few accessories. Most only use it for mounting a bipod. Nothing special about the mount, it wobbles alittle but nothing to cry home about.
The outer barrel
The outer barrel has served me well, and I have concluded there is no need to replace this at all. Its durable enough to take a beaten, and only a few scratches that chipped the black paint are noticeable. The orange tip however, is a pain, but with a hair drier, you can melt the glue off, and simply pull. This will remove the orange cap, revealing a black metal cap, that is threaded to the outer barrel.
You will notice the outer barrel has a few holes towards the one end. This is for the attachment of the hop up chamber and inner barrel. A further explanation will be explained later.
Bolt handle
The bolt handle has been known to snap or break on people during its use, but so far, mine has held up exceptionally well. Only the black paint has chipped off of it, giving it that lovely worn look.
To attach the bolt handle to the cylinder, one must realize what needs to be done. There is a small metal piece that is often overlooked when disembling and reasembling the bolt handle.
To start off, put the small metal thingy in the small hole of the bolt handle, keeping the fat end at the beginning point.
Next, take the metal piece with the red dot
and line up the hole in the bolt handle (with the small metal piece) and stick it together.
Next, stick in the end screw.
Now you must realize that this is typically done while the rifle is together. This leaves you with only having to stick this onto the cylinder, and tightening the end screw clockwise.
Now you are finished.
The cheek rest
Nothing special, only thing is that I sanded it down, to get rid of the shine. Most people would paint the cheek rest, but I like the black and green look that I have on my rifle. Keep in mind, the digital camo stock is just an extra that I have
The reciever
A solid piece of metal, and only a small amount of wear has occurred. Not exactly something you would want to drop, but so far it has proved to be very durable. O, and ignore the scope rings...
Here is a picture of where the small hex screw goes, that keeps the outer barrel attached to the receiver. Remember to take this out before disembling...
Here is a picture of where the trigger box will go.
The Magazines
Unlike most mags that are either metal or plastic, these mags have a mixture of both. The top half is all plastic, while the bottom half is metal. Over the past few years, I have found these mags to be fairly durable. However, a major flaw is that if any plastic piece on the top gets chipped, the mag becomes no longer useful.
Notice the chip on the right side. So far, only this mag has done that to me. The rest are still working great. As for the broken mag, its a dummy mag used for stretching out and wearing in pouches when I first get them. So its still got a use
The type 96 mags have never misfed, and feed great all the time. Holding around 23 rounds, that gives the user plenty of ammo for the field. However, I typically role with two mags, but depending on the game, maybe three. I have quite the collection of mags now, as my friends rifles broke and they no longer had any use for them.
Others:
Here is something that I would take out of the stock if I were you.
Tools for disembly

This review will touch on the mk96 as a stock rifle, with no upgrades, mods, or any of that crazy stuff. In this review, there will be pictures on dissembly, along with pictures to describe each part. This will hopefully keep you from becoming bored of my long post :
So get, ready, here we go.
UTG mk96 Review
Out of the box performance and first impressions
This is the most important part for those who are trying out the role and are unable to borrow someone's rifle to test if they like the bolt actions. The mk96 is affordable and solid as a stock rifle. The barrel is sturdy and is held in place without any fllimsyness. But the stock is made of a weak plastic, making the rifle feel like a toy. This is one of the cons of buying a clone rifle. :-/ Often a scope package is included with two magazines and a cheap flimsy sling plus a handy speedloader. While not necessary, the speedloader makes loading the magazine easier. The rifle features a nice rail for attaching scopes and optics, but remember some rail rings are also necessary.
Pulling the rifle out of the box, I noticed it came in two pieces. The stock and the barrel assembly. It is pretty self explanatory and can be assembled with two screws that are located inside the stock by screwing them in with the included allen wrench. Once this is done, it is time to load her up and see how she shoots.
After firing a few shots with .28 bbs, I noticed there was a major curve of the bb. Adjusting the hop up will not fix this, due to the fact that their is only one arm that can be adjusted, unlike the pdi hop up chamber, featuring two adjustable arms. Most likely, it was a problem with the hop up chamber, but the use of some madbull .4s helped straighten out the curve of the bb. By using the other allen wrench used to adjust the hop up, located in front of the magazine catch, my shots were dead on. Next, after figuring out how to get the shots shooting straight, I zeroed in the scope. I successfully was able to hit a small round target about 6inches by 6 inches 3/5 times from 120 feet away. After further shooting, I noticed hitting a torso sized target 150 feet away was no problem, but after that, shots began to stray away flying all over. Even occassionally, a flyer would occur, resulting in a very ugly shot. This disappointed me, but I concluded it was able to shoot more accurately than a stock aeg. However, the mk96 was unable to outrange any aeg. Thus, to use this rifle in the field would create a utter disadvantage. With only slightly better accuracy and no more range than an aeg, this rifle stock is not going to perform great on the field. Firepower would most likely win this battle, and usually results in the mk96 user, to drop the role of the sniper, and to go pick up a aeg of some sort. Yet, some stick with it, and find themselves able to practice their skills and to use camoflauge such as a ghillie to their advantage. They find themselves becoming more stealthy and understand the rifles limits. By being able to get in range unnoticed, this rifle is quiet and able to take accurate consistent shots to a certain point. The sniper realizes he enjoys and is quite good at the role. This is where upgrading the rifle will really help with performance of this clone.
Overall rating: 6/10
Reason: Fliers here and there, and range is limited
Externals and Feel
The Stock:
This is probably the biggest con to purchasing the UTG mk96 over the higher end rifles. The stock is light and feels like a toy. Despite any internal upgrade and great performance, the user will always have that toy like feeling when they hold the rifle. Whether one can get used to it, its up to you. Personaly, I have overcome this feeling, and no longer think of the rifle as a toy. Its plastic stock might not be able to hold its own against a ten foot fall, but without a doubt, if you take care of your rifle, the occassional drop or slip in a game will prove no harm.
The stock comes in a few different colors, including digital, od green, and black. But I recommend a paint job of some sort, to get rid of the shininess of the stock, which offers no camoflauge, and might in fact give you away. And if you are going digital, the chessyness of the pattern is far to bad to look at. See below...


The Front end:
At the front of the rifle, a mount is present, which gives the user the ability to attach a few accessories. Most only use it for mounting a bipod. Nothing special about the mount, it wobbles alittle but nothing to cry home about.

The outer barrel
The outer barrel has served me well, and I have concluded there is no need to replace this at all. Its durable enough to take a beaten, and only a few scratches that chipped the black paint are noticeable. The orange tip however, is a pain, but with a hair drier, you can melt the glue off, and simply pull. This will remove the orange cap, revealing a black metal cap, that is threaded to the outer barrel.

You will notice the outer barrel has a few holes towards the one end. This is for the attachment of the hop up chamber and inner barrel. A further explanation will be explained later.

Bolt handle
The bolt handle has been known to snap or break on people during its use, but so far, mine has held up exceptionally well. Only the black paint has chipped off of it, giving it that lovely worn look.


To attach the bolt handle to the cylinder, one must realize what needs to be done. There is a small metal piece that is often overlooked when disembling and reasembling the bolt handle.

To start off, put the small metal thingy in the small hole of the bolt handle, keeping the fat end at the beginning point.

Next, take the metal piece with the red dot


Next, stick in the end screw.

Now you must realize that this is typically done while the rifle is together. This leaves you with only having to stick this onto the cylinder, and tightening the end screw clockwise.
Now you are finished.
The cheek rest
Nothing special, only thing is that I sanded it down, to get rid of the shine. Most people would paint the cheek rest, but I like the black and green look that I have on my rifle. Keep in mind, the digital camo stock is just an extra that I have
The reciever
A solid piece of metal, and only a small amount of wear has occurred. Not exactly something you would want to drop, but so far it has proved to be very durable. O, and ignore the scope rings...

Here is a picture of where the small hex screw goes, that keeps the outer barrel attached to the receiver. Remember to take this out before disembling...


Here is a picture of where the trigger box will go.


The Magazines


Unlike most mags that are either metal or plastic, these mags have a mixture of both. The top half is all plastic, while the bottom half is metal. Over the past few years, I have found these mags to be fairly durable. However, a major flaw is that if any plastic piece on the top gets chipped, the mag becomes no longer useful.

Notice the chip on the right side. So far, only this mag has done that to me. The rest are still working great. As for the broken mag, its a dummy mag used for stretching out and wearing in pouches when I first get them. So its still got a use
The type 96 mags have never misfed, and feed great all the time. Holding around 23 rounds, that gives the user plenty of ammo for the field. However, I typically role with two mags, but depending on the game, maybe three. I have quite the collection of mags now, as my friends rifles broke and they no longer had any use for them.

Others:
Here is something that I would take out of the stock if I were you.

Tools for disembly
