Titan 6 review
Table of Contents
The RÖWA TITAN 6 is a gun designed by the German company RÖWA (Röwer Waffen). It was introduced at IWA in late 2007. The design of this revolver comes from the Russian TULA TOZ-35 and TOZ-78 which were manufactured between 1930 and 1991, but has more features than its predecessors. The TITAN is not just some old gun rechambered into .357 Magnum or some other cartridge: it was designed to handle the pressure and strain of firing powerful handgun rounds.
The design
The TITAN is built around a central swinging lock mechanism that allows for the barrel assembly to be swung up into place. When closed, this mechanism locks both parts of the barrel together with a 3mm thick steel pin which is just as wide as the cartridge case head. To lock or unlock, one has to push down the trigger guard and then pull the locking mechanism towards the frame of the gun with some force (the locking mechanism moves pretty freely until it hits a stop); another way is to pull out on the hammer of course. The cylinder can be swung open at any time without actuating anything special; this makes reloading very easy. A star extractor pushes each loaded shell out of the cylinder when it’s closed, and also indexes them counterclockwise by 1/6th every time you cock the hammer (fresh rounds are lined up in front of it).
The barrel assembly can be either opened for loading or unloading with a latch underneath the gun, or it can be opened by pushing down on a lever on top of the frame.
Another interesting feature is how the TITAN locks itself automatically after every shot. After firing, the hammer moves back and cocks itself when hitting the stop inside its slot in front of the cylinder; at this point one could switch off the safety and keep pulling the trigger to shoot again (as if double action didn’t exist), but unless your home-made bullets are so powerful that they’ll tear up your gun it’s not worth wasting time and relocking just for another shot. The safety is therefore not really needed except when unloading: there’s no way to lock it in place then, so you have to hold the hammer back while pulling the trigger to move it out of the way.
The frame of the gun is made from a very tough, bright yellow nylon or ABS polymer, while the barrel assembly and cylinder are steel. The grip plates are also plastic, but they feel pretty solid to me; you can find wooden ones on eBay if you want something with more character. The grips remind me of those on my Makarov PM in that they’re comfortable enough but not exceptional – I would have preferred some bit of walnut or rosewood for their rough texture and warm color. They do fit well into your hand though, so over time they might allow better control than wood would. The TITAN features an adjustable rear (just like my old TOZ-35), so you can set the point of impact to your liking. It also features a nicely designed carry case with a place for your ammo on one side and room for the gun on the other.
The ergonomics are pretty good on this gun, especially considering what it is: I didn’t have to press hard at all to get an accurate sight picture, though my trigger control still leaves something to be desired. The cylinder release latch sticks up a bit too far IMO, but that’s going to be true for every revolver ever manufactured. This gun definitely isn’t going anywhere during recoil, even if you don’t use the strap (which looks like it was taken from a rifle). I would not mind trying out a TITAN in .44 or .41 Magnum, which are definitely better calibers for this platform.
The verdict
A shot being fired in full-auto mode at the 2013 National Airsoft Center Championship. The gun has no recoil when firing blanks.
Pros:
+ Great power and range for a medium bore airsoft revolver (0.2g bbs)
+ Swinging lock mechanism makes cylinder easy to load and unload
+ Very good sights and ergonomics; hammer can be cocked with safety on
+ Built-in cocking lever is great for unloading at the end of games
Cons: – Hammer doesn’t look like it’s designed to actually fire anything, just acting as a decocking