Novritsch SSG24 Rifle

[Shizbazki]

My Thoughts and Review of the Novritsch SSG24 Airsoft Sniper Rifle.

(Done in Novritsch’s voice)“WWWWHHhhhattts Up guys!”, then normally followed up by “Today me and Sniper Buddy Fabi are playing in the Urban area equipped with our SSG24s” etc etc etc.

 

So I am the proud (or stupid) owner of a Novritsch SSG24 (herein called the SSG24).

 

I started playing airsoft back in 2014, initially with an M4 style weapon before getting some pistols etc, I was always told to “avoid sniping” when starting airsoft and so I did.

 

A few years later I got a second hand TM VSR-10 Pro Sniper that had a few upgrades done to it but wasn’t very impressed with the long and harder than normal bolt pull, I upgraded it further with a Mancraft VSR-10 SDiK and Action Army hop up amongst other things. If you watched the Youtube video on how to install the Mancraft SDiK then you probably watched the one I made.

Whilst it was good in all and I spent the best part of a further £200 to £300 into the VSR-10, whenever I shot it, it would fire dead straight for about 100ft to 150ft before the shot would veer off to the right, every single time and this infuriated me. I had the action army hop up in there and it would still pull to the right, in the end I gave up and sold it, didn’t lose out very much. I have £480 burning in my Paypal Account from the VSR-10 sale now.

 

So it’s late January 2017 and Novritsch puts out the SSG24 release video, I watch it and think “hmm Sniper Rifle, just a little bit more for my old one, already tuned and upgraded out of the box, I’ll think about it. Now I was pondering, should I try and get back into airsoft sniping? If I do will I save money and time if I get the SSG24 or just get a basic VSR-10 and upgrade it? Questions, questions?

 

The Order

The date is now 01-02-17, I am currently in Iceland on holiday in an Air BnB room and finally just thought “f*ck it, get the damn thing now, I cant be bothered to spend the time, money not to mention the frustration in getting a VSR-10 and upgrade it again, I’ll just get the SSG24 rather than later”, I Order it, the SSG24 with 1 extra mag and told to expect delivery in mid April 2017. Later in March Novritsch allows SSG24 buyers to add to their original order so I add an additional 4 mags and 4 bottles of .40g BBs and leave it. I am then told that there was an issue with mis-feeds from the mag, that he identified the problem and had solved it, however this pushed delivery dates back to May 2017

 

It Arrives!

I received the Rifle at the end of May 2017, paid only £81 in customs and taxes, took the rifle a week to get to me from Taiwan.

 

Initial First Impressions:

Well it looked like the SSG24 box had been through a blender, the outer cardboard box had holes poking through when I collected it from Parcel Force but the SSG24 hard case was intact. Got it home and inside, the rifle was in a very good condition, few scuff marks on the outer barrel from where the BB bottles had banged against it and one of the bottles was very dinged up but I didn’t care as it’s just a BB bottle. One of the few things I noticed straight away was that the SSG24 felt much wider or fatter than my old VSR-10, it was also heavier, the build quality was awesome, no flex between the outer barrel and stock, no creaks or rattling, certainly no give on the body, it felt solid. Air compression test with and without the end cap was a 100% air seal, magazines all felt solid and clicked positively into the mag well. I adjusted the shoulder stock to my desired length, I did notice the butt wobbled a bit but on further research discovered the RS version does too. I also noticed that under the end cap was a hole for a grub screw to hold the cap in place was missing, I’m guessing it for our orange tipped friends across the pond, managed to find a spare grub screw and put it in there for added security.

 

The scope I attached to it was a Hawke Vantage 3-9x40mm scope with sun hood using G&P high rise scope mounts which just fitted the scope on the upper SSG24 rail, I also attached my Flyye Stock Check pad to the end of the SSG24.

 

I loaded up some .20g ASG Blaster BBs, I used them as I believe they are quite a common, decent quality BB brand, loaded a mag into the SSG24 with a positive CLICK! Racked the bolt and fired 10 rounds with the hop fully off with a M150 spring installed. All came in to 480FPS +/- 5FPS, I adjusted the hop somewhat to see what its effects would be, fired a few more shots and noticed that pushing the hop up also pushed the FPS up, about half way up the FPS was at its max hitting 498FPS +/- 2FPS but the FPS becoming more consistent, after this the FPS dropped back down to 480FPS but still +/-2FPS. I could not test accuracy or range as my garden is very small so had to wait for my first game day to really give it a go.

 

One thing I was a bit disappointed with was that every now and then when racking the bolt back the sear would not engage or semi engage so that the bolt was stuck back, this lead to me on a few occasions double feeding the SSG24, I found that if I racked the bolt giving it some welly or wiggled it when it was back then the sear would engage, sufficed to say I was not best impressed with this. The bolt pull was smooth and I could do it with a pinky finger if the sear engaged.

 

First Game Day

Venue: Dragons Lair Airsoft

FPS rules for Bolt Sniper: max 500FPS with a MED of 15 metres

AEGs: nearly all games allow full auto

I turned up, got it out, loaded some .40g BBs and took down to the playing area to test it out, the day was quite breezy, I installed my Laser Boresight and zeroed my sights to it as a point of reference, took the boresight out and fired the first few shots and DISASTER! All shots were curving left, HARD! WTF! WTH! But before I lose my cool, I walked to where the shots were curving, span 180 degrees and shot some more shots again, now the shots were curving right, HARD! Phew it was the breeze pulling the BBs. Faced away from the wind and fired a few more shots, all shots were dead straight. Chrono’d the gun and she was hitting 498FPS 4 out of 5 shots on .20g BBs with a hop adjusted for .40g BBs.

I got probably around 5 kills the whole day with it, although I only used it in the afternoon and I had never sniped before so I think I did pretty well for a new airsoft sniper.

There was another sniper there with a MOD 24 which is what the SSG24 is based from. The stock felt the same to be honest but me and the MOD24 owner noted a few differences between the two such as the loading nozzle having a different profile amongst other things

Overall I was very impressed by it, if any of you know DLA there’s a large lake round the back of the site, I stood 10 metres from the edge of the bank and shot at a tree stump which was also about 10 metres from the bank, the stump had a hole in it about the size of a grapefruit, I managed to get 4 out of 5 shots into that hole from a standing position, I later measured it on Google maps to be about 60m or almost 200ft, I don’t even think that was the max range of the SSG24.

 

Fixing the Sear

Whilst perusing the Unofficial SSG24 Owners Group on Facebook I noted that someone had posted the issue about the sear, Novritsch himself answered within an hour stating that this was a known issue with the first 100 rifles of Batch 2 (which I was a part of), Novritsch mentioned that this issue was due to the fact that the wrong sear was used and it was too wide for the trigger box. I informed Novritsch that I was also facing this issue and he responded in 10 minutes stating that he knew I had this issue already (from the rifle serial number) as my rifle was one of the first 100 of Batch 2.

A Week later an unexpected letter arrives through the door, it’s the new sear with a link to a very clear instructional (and apologetic) video on how to replace the sear, took me ten minutes and the new sear was installed and wow, no need to wiggle or give the bolt some welly, the sear engage every time, now I could genuinely pinky pull the bolt, now my SSG24 was perfect, shot straight like a laser and had awesome range.

 

I have since played a few more games with the rifle and it has continued to perform excellently, it feels sturdy and well made, so far I am very pleased with the build quality and performance of the gun, yes its expensive but you pay for the quality and heck even the customer service, Novritsch genuinely backs up his product and I cannot fault him enough for this.

Thinking of all the hours I spent reading reviews of various parts for the VSR-10, having to google search to find said parts at several UK and HK shops, comparing best prices, waiting on shipping and when the parts did arrive, tinkering with my VSR-10 make sure it all fitted. The amount of money spent both on products, the cost of shipping and import taxes, I think I spent nearly the same amount on my VSR-10 as I did for my SSG24.

In the end the SSG24 fills the niche of a fully upgraded airsoft sniper rifle, out of the box, Novritsch saw that niche and filled the void because he had the backing and courage to do so, it could so have easily been House Gamers, MattTheMusketeer or even Jet The Desert Fox (if it was him I wouldn’t buy it though) amongst many Youtube airsoft celebs, he did what some people wish they could do so fair play to him.

So for the future:

My plans are to properly get into airsoft sniping, for the moment I am going to leave the SSG24 as it is now, stock, as it is performing the way I want it to. In terms of upgrades I don’t think I will be doing any, why fix what ain’t broke? However I would like a new stock, im not a fan of the M40A3 stock, I am a fan of the Magpul Remington stocks so would like to possibly see something like that made for the SSG 24. Other than that I will keep shooting the SSG24 using Novritsch .40g BBs, when they run out I will probably switch to another brand more readily available as his own brand is always permanently out of stock.

 

[TheMooseHut]

Thanks for the write up. It's really good to hear what you have experienced with your new SSG.

 I am now back at the start of which route do I go. Do I go SSG24 or do I go the updated ASG Ashbury?

[Jayjay]

Shizbazki, any update on the SSG24. 

 

I've just got some inheritance money through and was considering getting the SSG24.. any further thoughts on it from yourself?

 

I've watched tonnes of reviews online but they were either from people who didn't appear to have a clue what they were talking about and only bought it because its Novritsch gun and the rest were also pro YouTubers who although said they were being completely unbiased, I am highly sceptical that they didn't make a nice few $$$ from giving it a good review.

 

Then I read on here and a lot of the seasoned air softers whose names appear on most threads were saying its just a Mod24, which is what I was originally going to get and then treat myself to something else in addition.

[Prisce]

JayJay, I have the SSG24 and my mate has the Modify M24 with Novritsch parts. He spent nearly £300 less on buying the gun and upgrading it to get the same overall standard.

 

I will say the same to you as I do everyone else regarding the SSG.

 

If you want a gun that fires perfectly out of the box and don't want to do any tech work, buy the SSG.

 

If you want a gun that fires great with a little tech work and costs less to do, but either the Mod M24 or the A&K M24 and upgrade them(A&K M24 isn't SSG compatibly- but I read a post somewhere saying I has a metal trigger box and a lot of the go to upgrades as standard and requires less money spending on it to upgrade).

 

Note: The SSG isn't perfect, I have had a few issues with mine and others have had different issues. It seems to work ok out of the box, and seems to start wearing the bucking very very quickly, some of the screws come undone without touching them and depending if your site uses FPS or Joules to chrono you, you will probably be affected by joule creep!

[Samurai]

58 minutes ago, Prisce said:

If you want a gun that fires perfectly out of the box and don't want to do any tech work, buy the Silverback SRS.

Fixed it for you.

[Prisce]

Is it that good? @Samurai

[Samurai]

While I don't have it myself - I could never justify spending that much on a gun - a few people I trust have it and they say it's that good. SSG is not bad, it shoots OK (but sounds bad).

[Jayjay]

Sounds bad?

 

As in it literally sounds bad? 

[Samurai]

1 hour ago, Jayjay said:

Sounds bad?

 

As in it literally sounds bad? 

Yep. High pitch, springy, hollow, non-smooth sound.

[Esoterick]

On 10/21/2017 at 8:56 AM, Prisce said:

If you want a gun that fires perfectly out of the box and don't want to do any tech work, buy the SSG.

 

The review details feed and accuracy issues out of the box? 

[Prisce]

That was with the Gen 1 guns, they are on Gen2-3 at the moment, 

[Countryman]

Thread necromancy alert.!

 

OK Guys do I get one of these?

 

Cant be messing about with another 4 springs to sort out a velocity that's legal.

 

What's the real world working range of this rifle out of the box?

 

Has one ever come up for sale second hand? What do they fetch if I find I have made the worst mistake ever?

[Samurai]

80-85m on 500fps.

[Countryman]

44 minutes ago, Samurai said:

80-85m on 500fps.

You are not putting me off buying a new toy!

[Prisce]

Saw one for sale recently second hand at £700, not sure if it sold or not. The SRS seems to be getting better reviews at the moment, having not fired a SRS yet I can’t compare. My SSG was great, has developed an accuracy issue which I am in the middle of talking to Nov about.

[Countryman]

So I'm thinking solid gun, 30m more range, proper accuracy with great residual value?

 

Had a go with a standard VSG10 the other day. Thought is was meh. There is one on sale at the moment with all the Nov upgrades for £450 with a pile of stuff I have n direct use for. Possibly save myself a couple hundred quid going that way over a new set up.

 

I know from my firearms the pleasure you get from using good kit. Torn guys, torn.

[Snakeeyes75]

Just to let you know I've added my SSG for sale! Sorry to shamelessly plug it but hey! 

[Countryman]

17 hours ago, Snakeeyes75 said:

Just to let you know I've added my SSG for sale! Sorry to shamelessly plug it but hey! 

6 days too late!

Mine is due to ship end of March.

[Snakeeyes75]

4 hours ago, Countryman said:

6 days too late!

Mine is due to ship end of March.

 

Damn! could you cancel? I'm after £550 for £800 of stuff? (Check my listing).

[Countryman]

My order went in on 31st for the rifle and 2 spare mags at about £500 Sterling. I expect to get hit for +\-  £100 Duty. Should arrive in April.

 

Yes it’s a damn pity but I’ve made the commitment now.

 

Its a shame. Anything goes wrong I will come back to you.

[Taiga]

Yet again resurrecting a dead thread, however I was just wondering has the opinion changed on the SSG24? Since now you can dodge the import tax and stuff, this gun by itself now costs around £435 shipped, obviously prices where changed slightly as they are now shipping from a European warehouse, but you're dodging the £100+ import.

[Steveocee]

On 08/06/2019 at 18:39, ShirouAshiya said:

Yet again resurrecting a dead thread, however I was just wondering has the opinion changed on the SSG24? Since now you can dodge the import tax and stuff, this gun by itself now costs around £435 shipped, obviously prices where changed slightly as they are now shipping from a European warehouse, but you're dodging the £100+ import.

 

It's still the same rifle, same opinions. Just a bit cheaper. Is it worth £435? Probably if you are not at all tech inclined.

I bet Novritsch really hates that he bought out the SSG24 as it means he has to use that now rather than going to a superior platform like the SRS lol

[clumpyedge]

On 19/06/2019 at 12:50, Steveocee said:

I bet Novritsch really hates that he bought out the SSG24 as it means he has to use that now rather than going to a superior platform like the SRS lol

 

I doubt that will stop him, He's a whore for anything he can put his name on 🤣

[Steveocee]

4 hours ago, clumpyedge said:

 

I doubt that will stop him, He's a whore for anything he can put his name on 🤣

 

You mean like this "super secret new pistol" which is 100% going to be a re-branded STTI Mk23 which I bet has all the same defects as the other clone Mk23's?

[clumpyedge]

12 minutes ago, Steveocee said:

 

You mean like this "super secret new pistol" which is 100% going to be a re-branded STTI Mk23 which I bet has all the same defects as the other clone Mk23's?

 

Exactly 🤣