The closest thing to a tactical handgun that you can buy in the UK, pistol-shooters will say the 22 Rimfire GSG Firefly looks familiar. That’s because it’s almost identical to the Sig Sauer Mosquito. GSG used to make the Mosquito for SIG, which dropped it a few years ago, allowing GSG to resurrect the gun but change the name.
“Out the box it comes with one 10-shot magazine, it has a last round open and a working slide release,” says Edgar Brothers’ Andrew Isherwood, summing up the .22LR rimfire pistol’s key features. “It has an ambidextrous safety catch on both sides and a working decock lever.”
Edgar Brothers is GSG’s and rimfire rifles UK distributor.
The GSG Firefly is a long barrelled pistol (LBP), popular for tactical shooting. So how come you can own a pistol in the UK, where handguns were heavily restricted in 1997? The LBP is the closest you can come to a handgun unless you have a Section 5 licence. It has a 30cm barrel with an extension on the grip to bring it up to the 60cm required by UK law.
GSG stands for German Sport Guns. Its Firefly model is different to the Mosquito. First of all, it is .22LR rimfire calibre. Next, it is built on a rugged polymer frame with black plastic hand grip panels. The single stack metal magazine holds 10 rounds, and it has a safety system that prevents the slide, hammer and trigger from being operated when the magazine is ejected.
A rail allows you to add tactical accessories like torches, lasers or other accessories. It comes with GSG firefly scope mount and has an adjustable rear sight that can be adapted to individual use, and blowback system for smooth operation.
The Sig Sauer Mosquito itself is modelled on the popular Sig Sauer 226, a full-sized, alloy-framed, double stack (15+1) capacity 9mm. The Mosquito is the same handgun but 10% smaller.
At just under 3lb, the Firefly is light for a tactical pistol. The slide is alloy and not steel, for example. It represents a great leap forward for many of the single-action Colt 1911 A1 derivatives. The GSG Firefly silencer is also available.
The GSG Firefly retails at £385.
Find out more at the Edgar Brothers website.
