The Gun
I quickly opened box to reveal the barrel, the receiver, and the bolt, all pieced together, in a plastic bag. Slightly awestruck, I took that piece out, revealing the sweet synthetic stock. It has a very nice grain texture to it, with checkered grips, both for the forestock and the handle of the gun. Very nice. Looking at the simple yellow picture instruction sticker, I screwed in the two screws (with the hex wrench that comes with the gun) that fit the two seperate pieces together. Ta dah! I had the stock gun!!! Although it lacks the greenish finish of the real steel Steyr SSG PIV, which it is based on (the SSG series has been commonly nicknamed the "Green Guns"), I was still more than satisfied with the black color, giving it a "Covert Operations" look.Now, at first I stared at it for a little bit, and then I began observing it. I'll start at the barrel:
The outer barrel is a very smooth metal. I don't believe it is anodized, but it is still pretty, nonetheless. At the end of the outer barrel is a flash suppressor (keep in mind, newbies: there is no flash when the gun is fired) that is screwed into the inside of the outer barrel. There are six slots in the muzzle break of the flash suppressor, and it is a simple matter of fifteen seconds to unscrew it. Be careful when taking it off: the inner, REAL barrel of the APS-2 SV extends about four inches into the flash hider, so don't quickly pull the flash suppressor away after unscrewing it, or you'll break the inner barrel. Speaking of which, the inner barrel is brass, and pretty tight, too: 6.05mm. I'll put a comparison chart taken from the APS-2 SV manual on the bottom of this page. If you order from DEN, they put a little ring of orange paint around the flash suppressor: it can be removed with nail polish. I used some Dollar General Non-Acetone Nail Polish remover: Salon Pro Formula (it's my mom's...), and it worked fine, although you do have to rub the paint a bit; moving on, we have the very pretty receiver. 
Both the inner and the outer barrels go into the ALL METAL receiver. The mount on the receiver is definately Weaver-style, as my Weaver rings fit it perfectly. There are two screws on top of the mount, and between them lies three holes, where irons sights, ala the APS-2, can be installed. Directly below the scope mount is the chamber. The chamber is silver aluminum (or stainless steel?), and very pretty. To the side of the chamber lies the bolt and "tournament" bolt handle. It is rather large, allowing easy access and easy cocking. The handle is high-density rubber, and on the right side of the receiver behind the bolt handle is the safety: pull it back, and the trigger cannot be pulled; alternately, push it forward, and firing is back to where it was again. I guess the trigger is part of the receiver, so I will include it. The metal trigger has a very smooth pull, with vertical grooves on it. Like the Glock pistol series, it has an on-trigger safety: this prevents accidental firings from happening. In order to be fired, a smaller trigger in the middle of the large one must be pulled with the normal trigger, thus eliminating accidental firing from pulling the side of the trigger.
Now we move onto the stock. The stock itself is made of a high quality synthetic material, which a nice texture to it, also. The forearm and the handle of the black stock have a checkered pattern, which aids in gripping the gun. At the forend lies a metal sling swivel. A few inches back from this lies the slot for the magazine, and two grooves tot he side of it for easy magazine retrieval. Directly behind this slot is one of two screws that helps detach the stock and everything else from each other. Further back lies the trigger, and the plastic trigger frame. Behind the frame is the other screw for detaching everything. Above the trigger is a groove on the right side of the gun for the bolt handle: only the SV's bolt handle does not fit in it, and I'm guessing the APS-2's bolt could fit in it. Hmmm...Anyways, moving even farther back is the handle of the gun, and the butt of the stock. At the butt of the stock, there are four spacers, and they can be adjusted to your liking.

Shooting It
Upon trying to cock the gun, I found myself shorthanded: the spring that DEN installed for me with the custom set was pretty stiff and strong. However, once I got used to it, it became quite easy, and I have mastered doing it in a prone position. Once I figure out how to take the gun completely apart, I'll put the original parts in the gun, and see how it performs when it is stock.
After cocking the gun, I slowly eased into the trigger...CRACK! It was very satisfying! The gun seemed to be VERY powerful, and I could not wait to get it chronoed! After attaching my Simmons 3-9X50mm Deerfield Scope onto the sniper rifle, I speed-loaded the magazine with five BBs, and I went outside to test fire it on a target fifty yards away on a breezy Christmas morn. I leveled the crosshairs on the target, and pulled the trigger. I saw the BB fly way up and to the left of the fifty yard target! I adjusted the scope, and fired...same results!!! I was starting to get angry, and thought my gun was a defect! So, I switched to a target forty feet away, just to try to make things easier. My gun shot high and to the right, but not as bad as when firing at the fifty yard target. I tried to adjust my scope, but it just didn't work! Finally, after about fifty BBs, I cranked the crosshairs all the way down and all the way left...just the opposite of where I thought they should go. I cycled the bolt, and fired...HELL YEAH!!! At a twenty yard target (a rock), I hit it almost dead center, every time. I tried this later at the fifty yard target, but it still shot high, and to the right, but not as nearly as bad as before. By "aiming off" (a sniper's way of guessing the windage and elevation by positioning the crosshairs on the target accordingly), I was able to hit it every time, but not as accurately as I would've liked to. After me and my dad had some fun shooting my younger brother's (Cooper, age 6) WWII Ultimate Soldiers, I decided to give it a rest for the day. Later, I'm going to get it bore sighted by my friend's (Calvin) dad, who is a professional gunsmith. I have some very good conclusions as to why it wasn't shooting as nicely as I wanted: 1-It was a fairly windy day, with the paper targets sometimes blowing away. 2-The BBs (.3g) may be too light, even though Maruzen states in the manual that .29g Maruzen Grand Master BBs are good out to 50m. 3-There is a good chance I didn't zero-in the scope correctly. 4-The scope may have been mounted to the left a bit, as my dad decided.

UPDATE!!! 12/26/99

I went out today (December 26, 1999) at around 12:00 PM, because I decided to shoot it a little more, and do some fifteen yard accuracy tests in our barn (no wind). Keep in mind that last night, I adjusted the mounts of the scope so it seemed like they would be more to the right, but I'm not sure if it worked. I think it did, though. It was a little windy today, too, but not as bad as yesterday. After placing my brother's TMP and my SV together for a pic, I fired at our 200 foot target (a 2' by 2' basketball backboard), and it shot a few inches to the right, and an inch or two up. I cycled the bolt, and fired again...it hit within six inches or so of that same area! Well, being farely excited, I rushed down to where I marked 300 feet on December 24 (I was so excited about the gun, I marked off several areas for me to shoot at with my new sniper rifle), and got set up. I cycled the bolt, and aimed at around the area where I marked 300' at. I pulled the trigger...The shot went up at around 90 yards, then came down, at around 330 feet!!! Although the victim may not be able to feel such a long range shot, I was very impressed...all of this on a DEN upgraded kit that fired 450 fps with a 0.2g BB, but that number would have to definately be lower due to my heavier BBs. I'm impressed! I then went to the windless barn, and, at a range of fifteen yards, I got perfect accuracy on every shot! GET THIS GUN!

UPDATE!!! 1/2/00

This weekend I had a chance to use my gun in battle with it's new bi-pod. Let me tell you: that thing helps SO much. It keeps your aim nice and steady, improving the accuracy of this already magnificant rifle! If you have $50.00 to spare, BUY it!
Now, during battle, this gun is EXCELLENT!!! The longest range shot was made by Smurfett at 250 feet (Webmaster's note: I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may cuase/have cause, but I remeasured the distance as of 1/15/00, and it is actually 60 yards. Sorry for any trouble that this may have caused)! She was up in a tree house about 250 feet from a small green shed, in which the opposition was hiding (my cousins). She very nicely pinned them down behind the shed, using less than the standard 25 round mag (normally we load 5 rounds for MilSim realism, but we made an exception for this game). One incredible thing about this gun is that it can pierce through SCREENS at long ranges (later she moved up to about 220 feet or 225 feet (webmaster's note: measured this distance as of 1/15/00, and the distance was actually 50 yards. Sorry for the trouble this may have caused)). One of my cousins popped his head from the screen to look at us from 220 feet, and Smurfett fired. My cousin leaped down, screaming, "It went through the screen!!!"!!! Anyways, the 250 foot shot: after taunting us for a little bit, my cousing lept out from his hiding spot in the shed. I guess he figured the gun couldn't reach that far. Well, he was wrong. Smurfett fired one shot, and he dove back behind his cover. "He's hit." she said. It had hit him in the leg. Keep in mind that at this range, we had to aim about four feet lower than what we wanted to hit. We were shooting downhill with .3g BBs, and some wind. I account this to the BBs. I think that they are just TOO light to shoot what you're aiming at. She had put the scope on 4-power, and aimed around 4 feet lower than what she wanted to hit. That was real impressive. Another good shot was at about 220 feet, when my cousin popped his head around the corner, and Smurfett nailed him in the goggles!!! Other than shots up at the tree house, due to our limited playing space (our front and back yards, perhaps a total of 100 yards or more, but with lots of things in the way), we shot from 30-50 yards with this thing, where it shot a little higher than where we aimed. We love this gun.

UPDATE!!! 1/15/00

I just received some SIIS .33g BBs and some STRAIGHT .43g BBs for FREE from an anonymous internet friend...Anyways, these BBs are AWESOME!!! They are perfect for this gun! the .43g BBs are graphite-coated (NOTE: Be sure that before you play a game, ask the players if they are okay with the idea of being shot with these) and they are HEAVY!!! The .33g are gray, and fire awesome, too. I went outside to a 40 yard target, and both of the BBs hit at the same level EVERY time, with the .43g's accuracy being better than the .33g. I then moved onto a 60 yard target (note: this was the distance that Smurfett made her long range shots at. Sorry for any inconvenience-read above). The .33g BBs shot 1-2 feet high (better than the .3g-which shot four feet high), and the .43g BBs shot STRAIGHT!!! I'm planning on loading one of my mag's with .43g BBs for long-range shots (50+ yards), and .33g BBs for shorter range shots (49 yards or less). 

My Gun
Well, in case any of you are wondering, here is what my gun will have (hopefully) by the middle of the new year:
 
 

1. A Stainless Steel 6.04mm Barrel from DEN Trinity
2. A Harris L Bi-Pod from Cheaper Than Dirt-Got it
3. A Super Sling from Wal-Mart-Got it
4. Any accessories I can get from Guns Digest 200-Ordering it from APEC
5. A Sound Suppressor from KM-A Dealer's checking it out for me

Maruzen Accuracy 0.3g BBs
I also ordered these from DEN, realizing that .25 won't do at all. They work fairly good, and would probably work better if my scope was set up correctly. They are pretty good quality, and retail for $10 for 1,300. In Japan, however, they are ¥1000, roughly $9.50 in America. I gotta get my stuff at Japan for some good discounts...

Official Maruzen Targets and Target Board
I got two target stickers with my gun, and a grey target board. The targets are nice and neat, with four circles, going from 5 to 8 to 10 to X. It says Official APS Target in the upper right-hand corner, with the little guy with the Grand Master in the left-hand corner. The grey board has two wholes on the top to hang it up, with Maruzen stamped in the middle.

DEN APS001 Custom Set
This set is REALLY nice! It replaces the plastic piston and spring guide, and the spring. The new spring is beefier and longer than the stock spring, and the new piston and spring guides are a VERY nice looking blue aluminum type.

Harris Series 1A2 Ultralight L Bi-Pod
I believe that, after using this excellent piece, a bi-pod is VERY effective in improving the sniper's accuracy. It is for me. This bi-pod cost me $50, and $0.75 for a Sling stud, which is required for mounting. The legs extend from 9 inches to 13 inches, and it is made of high- quality metal and very few plastic parts.