Quote Originally Posted by pablowatercolor View Post
The real thing is actually heavier when fully loaded (although it gets lighter as you shoot it heh heh... )

It's the whole thing - Seven rounds in the mag, jack one into the chamber, lock the slide, eject the mag and load an extra round to give you eight shots - that's what they mean by 'locked and loaded'. There is nothing to match the a heavy twisting recoil, muzzle flash, noise and smell, not to mention the occasional hot case down your neck (or scrabbling about for your spent boxer primed cases... )

Look up Massad Ayoob on YouTube if you want to see some real hangun action and see what I mean - he wrote 'In the Gravest Extreme'.

On a sensory level, the CO2 replica is simply underwhelming by comparison.
Oh yes, remember it well, but I don't buy a CO2 replica expecting the same experience. It is however as close as you can legally get and allows you to shoot loads and loads cheaply and safely in your own garden which is awesome. I miss the smell and ejecting brass is undoubtedly really cool but a classicly styled automatic pistol with a couple of thousand rounds of ammo and gas is excellent for under a hundred quid.

I fully understand your points, but I recommend you give one a try if you get the chance, they are fantastic fun.

I always thought "Locked and Loaded" refered to a muzzle loader with a charged barrel and the action at half cock. What you describe is condition one, safety applied, a chambered round and a full magazine in place.