Barra The 45 CO2 BB Gun

Type: Non-blowback CO2 BB Pistol.
Manufacturer: Distributed by Barra Airguns.
Model: Bear River BR45.
Materials: Mostly plastic.
Weight: 1 pounds (454 grams).
Total Length: 8 inches (203mm).
Barrel: 4.72 inches (120mm) metal non-rifled.
Propulsion: CO2 x1.
Action: Semi auto non-blowback, DOA trigger.
Ammunition Type: 4.5mm Steel BB's.
Ammunition Capacity: 20 round drop out metal stick magazine.
FPS: Claimed 410.

Trigger Pull: The Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol has a double action trigger commonly found on lower cost NBB CO2 BB Pistols with a long trigger pull that requires more length and effort to pull, but we would say is still usable for action shooting. Your finger will get worked a bit after several magazines of action shooting. The Bear River BR45 trigger pull makes the internal metal barrel move forward and out of the front of the barrel opening but as it has a recessed barrel you don’t really see it protruding out of the front. When you reach the release point the barrel snaps back into the BB Pistol acting like the hammer and releasing CO2 and shooting a BB.

Accuracy: After installing a brand new 12 gram CO2 cartridge, We proceeded to shot 5 rounds through our Chronograph and we were able to get an average of 417 fps which was actually a bit higher than the claimed 410. The temperature inside the Replica Airguns Sea Can Shooting Range was around 20C or 69F so close to what is considered to be room temperature. For reference our slowest recorded shot was 406 fps with the fastest hitting 432 fps. Next is always the more enjoyable part of the review where we get to shoot at a paper target and see just how well the Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol can perform. Of course there is always human factor to consider, so take the results with a bit of a grain of salt. As always we shoot using a semi rested position with our hands on a sand bag up front and sitting in the rear on a stool. The target is setup 30 feet away and we generally aim for the center of the target. In this case we noticed the Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol shot a bit high so we aimed at the bottom of the target rings rather than the center bullseye. The bulk of the shot were in or close to the bullseye producing a 3 inch grouping. Seven of the shots were very tight and all within about a 1 inch grouping with 3 shots spread out around the outside of that group, so maybe it was just me or maybe it was the gun? You decide for yourself but we would say the Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol was trying really hard to shoot within 1 inch at 30 feet away.

Build Quality: The Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol is an almost all plastic moulded Airgun with only a few metal parts we can pick out. The trigger and magazine are metal along with the inner barrel and the area where the CO2 goes in. Because of the plastic build, it is rather light weight at around 1 pound which can actually be good if you were to drop it on a hard surface as the mass is low resulting in less damage. Scratches will also be less noticeable on an all plastic exterior Airgun over a metal Airgun as the material on a plastic Airgun is going to have the color throughout the material rather than a painted surface that will show blemishes a lot more. The simplicity of the design means you should get a lot of use from the Bear River BR45 before encountering any issues.

Realism: The Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol is not a replica of an exact real steel gun in production but it does take after a Sig Sauer or H&K looking at the basic shape and features. There are few external mechanical working parts on the Bear River BR45 other than the trigger, safety, magazine and inner barrel. The barrel is well recessed and the CO2 tab is sunken in the grip which helps in terms of it looking more realistic.

Pros:

• Nice size BB pistol, feels good in the hand.
• Decent FPS rating of 410.
• Picatinny rail on frame for adding on accessories.
• Non-blowback should get lots of shots per CO2.
• Easy to see white dot sights front and back.
• CO2 tab is recessed and somewhat hidden under the grip.
• Double action trigger pull is long but not too firm.
• Uses a generic all metal stick magazines commonly found in lower cost BB pistols.
• Recessed barrel looks that part.
• Simple design with not a lot of moving parts will make it reliable for a long time.

Cons:

• All plastic gun for the most part.
• Not many working parts, pretty much all moulded gun.
• CO2 tab a bit hard to use for people with bigger fingers.

Comments: The Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol is a basic mostly all plastic NBB CO2 BB Pistol very simple in design which makes it dependable and reliable as there is a lot less to go wrong as compared to a blowback metal BB Pistol with lots of moving parts. Also keep in mind the metal in Airguns is not as hard or strong as you find in a Real Steel Pistol so all of these moving metal parts will wear over time and some may eventually fail. Other advantages of a NBB CO2 BB Pistol are that it will have a decent velocity rating and it will also get more shots per CO2 as compared to blowback Air Pistols, so not only is the initial cost of a simple NBB Air Pistol going to be less but also you will not need as much CO2 to operate it. We do like the size of the Bear River BR45 NBB CO2 BB Pistol as it is a bit larger than similar NBB Replica Air Pistols which for me and my larger hands is a good thing.

Buy the magazine: BRR1112.