EVERY SO OFTEN A GUN COMES ACROSS STEWBACCA’S ARMOURY WORKSTATION THAT’S PERHAPS A LITTLE UNASSUMING OR NOT ONE HE’S BEEN AWAITING WITH BAITED BREATH AS SUCH, BUT THAT TOTALLY WINS HIM OVER ON PERFORMANCE AND FUN FACTOR NONETHELESS! IT SEEMS VFC’S LICENSED MAXIM DEFENSE MD9 PDW GBB IS JUST SUCH AN EXAMPLE, SO WHAT ARE HIS THOUGHTS AFTER GETTING TO GRIPS WITH IT?

Our friends at VegaForceCompany have been keeping me pretty busy these last few years with service rifle replicareleases like the FAL, FNC, OSW, a myriad of AR pattern guns both classic and modern as well as the most recently released Knight’s Armament KS1 I’ve also been enjoying along with Bill also being sent a unit for his review and contemplation back at UK HQ.

With all this excitement on the ‘VFC big guns’ and a few releases of pistols that were keenly awaited likewise, I somewhat overlooked the Maxim Defense MD9. Seeing the MD9 at MOA2024 at the top of the stack on the Maxim Defense licensed replicas wall, the smallest of its siblings, it seemed somewhat unassuming and perhaps not my own cup of tea as such, being a very short PDW style system likely not best suited to my orangutan frame.

Nonetheless, the hype seemed real! A bunch of other friends and content creators secured theirs upon release while I was in the Philippines dealing with all my world shoot shenanigans, but I was told there was also a unit waiting for me upon my return, so off I went to the VFC Pentagon Service Centre as soon as I got back; don’t want to keep people waiting, or a new gun un-accosted for too long now, do we fellow shooters?

Despite my initial musings about its diminutive stature and barrel length compared to my typical fare, I was nonetheless impressed with the construction quality and general finish, as well as the handling. It actually works really well for me one handed, and would likely be an ideal shield bearer’s weapon if you’re into police/SWAT or similar type loadouts, or otherwise need to keep your support hand free for objective based tasks in game. Similarly given its relatively small footprint and telescopic stock it sits well within your torso profile for centre-slinging or even throwing across your back if you’re in a more officer or sniper style role where you need a more unobtrusive and less encumbering platform that doesn’t get in the way of your movements but still delivers surprising performance.

Eager to try it out, I naturally took it along to my next IPSC session for zeroing, printing groups on paper and general tuning and running it on stages, at which it was extremely wieldy and snappy! Many of my compatriots were already running them in similar IPSC or IDPA environments and experimenting with various red dot sight selections (it doesn’t include back up iron sights at all, which is something to be aware of, so either supply your own or skip them and slap on your preferred optical sighting system!).

I first elected to put an ACRO clone on a riser block for the initial training session, and while I managed to get by very well, it wasn’t possible to properly zero the ACRO due to the height above bore and the lack of sufficient downward dot biasing, after which I decided to try an SRO clone direct mounted to the top rail which was somewhat more successful, but still problematic at times despite my success at using them on many of my pistols and even FAL and OSW at times.

No doubt due to the positioning closer to my capsules lasting two or

This allowed me to reload BBs on the field without

While supplied with its new generation long-stick Glock magazine which is aluminiumbodied and thus ultra-light compared to the older alloy long magazines, this did have a few issues with hanging up during extended strings of fire, as well as BBs stacking too close to side by side at times and binding up as a result, much like the later generation PP2K magazines I had similar issues with previously.

Having contacted the VFC guys they thought it might be due to painting finish variations on the earlier batches, and should be less of an issue in the longer term.

I also took to using the Max Tact internallyregulated CO2 powered magazines for Wednesday night Linkou CQB and weekend Pewniversity games, which performed flawlessly and very consistently, and are mid-length, giving more capacity than the standard VFC Glock pistol magazines that obviously also work in the MD9, but being less cumbersome than the full length extended stick magazines which present more of an issue for carrying effectively and securely in the magazine well, giving an all-round handier package with a better aesthetic I feel. Yijun would end up using the standard alloy VFC long stick magazine in the competition for the sake of convenience and capacity without having to reload or carry extra magazines on her shooters belt during the five rounds of each stage.

Having been extremely satisfied with the short term performance within the 10m or so ranges of SPPT’s IPSC training space, and the fast cycle time of the shorter bolt, great consistency and short crisp trigger pull and reset; with a pull weight just below a kilo or 2lbs, and a travel of only around 3mm, with no slack or wall, the reset is very positive and right back at the front of the short travel, and it allows for superbly fast double taps or strings of fire in general, whether on competition stages or in force on force settings.

To be fair I think I overdid it a bit on the Wednesday night CQB session I fielded it at, overpowering the opposition guys a little too aggressively given the volume of fire achievable even in semi auto only games due to the trigger and bolt throw both being very short and crisp, coupled with the near two hundred BBs plus I had on me in loaded magazines, it kind of made me a little more trigger happy than usual!

While it really sings in close quarters engagements, it’s not just limited to them however!

I was equally surprised when I took it along to Xindian and the longer 85m flat plain we test guns on there, with it reaching out surprisingly effectively towards the 50-60m range with ease using 0.3g-0.36g BBs; obviously it wasn’t printing such tight groups at that range, but for minute of man shots it will do the job well enough despite the short 120mm internal barrel akin to most pistols, as well as the overall profile of 436560mm.

There are five different extension locking cutouts spaced around 30mm apart in the sturdy CRS style telescopic stock stanchions, released by the serrated button on the left of the stock socket mount, squeezing the right side stub lever simultaneously will allow the complete removal of the stock.

The HOP unit is easily accessed with a suitable 2.5mm allen key through the top of the picatinny rail just ahead of the seam between the receiver and handguard, although bear that positioning in mind when it comes to mounting your optics of choice if you need to have uninhibited access to it.

Controlling Virtues

Just to the rear of the stock controls is a convenient integrated QD socket on the rear plate of the stock socket which I found ideal for my integrated sliding sling setup on my plate carriers and the central location of it allows for ease of transitioning handedness in CQB environments.

The magazine releases are ambidextrous with long serrated flappers on both sides, but the fire selector and bolt release paddle are only on the left hand side. The charging handles are ambidextrous, forward canted and serrated levers which give a travel of around 60mm to fully cycle the bolt, which snaps back with some authority given the buffer system in the stub tube under the CRS style stock. Indeed the bolt release is likewise very positive and the bolt slams shut on a fresh magazine in

“PERFORMANCE WISE THE 120MM BARREL GIVES AN OUTPUT SIMILAR TO A PISTOL IN TERMS OF MUZZLE VELOCITY AS WELL, CHRONOING AROUND THE 93M/S MARK ON 0.2G BBS (0.9J), 83M/S ON 0.3G (1.05J), 80M/S ON 0.36G (1.15J), 78M/S ON 0.4G (1.2J) AND 77M/S ON 0.43G (1.3J) WITH A FAIRLY CONSISTENT OUTPUT OVERALL AND THE VARIANCE NARROWING GREATLY AS BB WEIGHT INCREASES” a confidence-inducing manner that lets you minimise your reload time in conjunction with the raked magazine well. The lowered front lip allows you to index the front face of the magazine forwards against it and guide the whole thing into the magazine well easily even in a hurry; I found it very easy to run slickly and repeatably as a result.

The fire selector is very positive in its transition between fire modes, and as is typical cannot be put on safe without the hammer cocked. The spring-loaded dust cover is fairly standard AR fare despite the shorter 9mm bolt throw, the bolt itself still being a similar length overall bolt carrier length regardless of the shorter overall movement.

The pistol grip is slightly shorter than usual but is comfortable with front and rear grip surfaces and can be replaced with other AR grips if preferred, and the front end handguard is just long enough for me to get my hand upon, just shy of the 120mm inner barrel length and only sporting a single M-LOK slot on all eight of its faces aside from the top picatinny rail space. There’s the licensed Maxim defense lettering engraved on both sides, and the bottom slot comes with a handstop installed to help prevent your support hand finding its way in front of the wide muzzle device which can be unscrewed from the outer barrel by turning the inner component with an appropriate tool; sometimes the recoil will loosen this as well so you may have to tighten it down periodically or otherwise isolate it somehow… the Max Tact CO2 mags in particular really get the bolt moving vociferously!

The charging handle lever on the right did also find its way loose a few times with my example again due to the increased recoil; thread lock might be the order of the day to prevent such loosening. Besides this it otherwise ran excellently and I didn’t find any issues with it as such.

A Neat Performer

Performance wise the 120mm barrel gives an output similar to a pistol in terms of muzzle velocity as well, chronoing around the 93m/s mark on 0.2g BBs (0.9J), 83m/s on 0.3g (1.05J), 80m/s on 0.36g (1.15J), 78m/s on 0.4g (1.2J) and 77m/s on 0.43g (1.3J) with a fairly consistent output overall and the variance narrowing greatly as BB weight increases.

However, why take just my word for it?

During the testing and evaluation phase for this review it just so happened that the ‘Ding Ding Cup 2025’ steel challenge match would be occurring just prior to writeup for deadline. Given that I’d already spent a month or so behind the MD9 on my own terms following my return from the world shoot, I figured I’d give the opportunity to Lin YiJun to use it for the steel challenge match as I would be using the L403A1 and CZ Shadow 2 Orange for my own competitive efforts.

Having already seen Lin YiJun climbing the ranks locally and excelling in both airsoft and real steel shooting while we were in the Philippines I figured her thoughts would be most worth sharing, especially for other female shooters who have the same considerations to make when choosing an appropriate gun, so over to her:

“As a female competitive shooter, I hold high expectations for every piece of equipment I use. The VFC Maxim Defense MD9 GBB immediately impressed me upon first handling. Its compact design and lightweight build capture the refined balance between agility and stability. The construction closely mirrors the real firearm’s proportions, giving it a tactical yet elegant appearance. The weight distribution is particularly well-suited for female shooters—steady during shoulder firing, balanced in both hands, and comfortable even through extended training sessions.

“In terms of performance, the MD9 delivers consistent and predictable trajectories - the recoil is smooth and easy to manage, allowing tight grouping even in rapid fire. The adjustable hopup system responds precisely, accommodating different BB weights with ease, enabling consistent hits during quick target transitions.

“Another strong advantage is its compatibility with Glock magazines - for shooters who already own Glock GBB pistols, this cross-platform flexibility streamlines logistics and simplifies reloads during drills or competitions. The magazine insertion feels solid, and gas efficiency remains stable throughout firing cycles.

“Overall, the VFC Maxim Defense MD9 GBB is a well-balanced, reliable, and stylish airsoft carbine; it perfectly blends maneuverability with shooting precision, making it an ideal choice for shooters who value both mobility and control.”

Many thanks to YiJun for sharing her thoughts and experiences with us, and I look forward to sharing more of her ideas in future as well; we don’t have enough female voices in the community to my mind and she’s clearly a very capable and diligent competitive shooter as well as spending her time skirmishing in the south of Taiwan when she finds the time.

So, despite not singing to me initially due to it being a more modern and potentially obscure platform I wasn’t much aware of in terms of its real world service, I was nonetheless extremely impressed by the performance, handling and just sheer fun factor of the VFC Maxim Defense MD9 PDW GBB. If you’re in the market for a compact but forcemultiplying backup gun or more manageable platform which runs on regular VFC Glock mags for compatibility and convenience, or want to run a PCC that’s ideal for competitive shooting, then you’ll be joining the ranks of a great many existing players doing so if you invest in one of these great little gas guns!

Many thanks as always to the fine folks at VFC and their Pentagon Service Centre as always for facilitating the sample for our review. AA

FUN

OF THE VFC MAXIM DEFENSE MD9 PDW GBB. IF YOU’RE IN THE MARKET FOR A COMPACT BUT FORCE-MULTIPLYING BACKUP GUN OR MORE MANAGEABLE PLATFORM WHICH RUNS ON REGULAR VFC GLOCK MAGS FOR COMPATIBILITY AND CONVENIENCE… INVEST IN ONE OF THESE GREAT LITTLE GAS GUNS!”