Found this burried in my hard drive from a long while ago. Figured I would toss it up here so everyone can see it if they wish. There might be some things that are out of date but if you ask I or someone will try to answer as best we can.

I said it in the original post and I will say it again. When you are starting into airsoft a sidearm should be the last thing on your mind. Many players play with just an AEG but practically none play with just a pistol so that alone should tell you something. Now because different brands are quite different even for the same model of gun (TM Colt 1911 vs. KSC Colt 1911 for example) I will be organizing this by brand and then subcategories for that companies most common pistol varieties. At the end will come my overall recommendations from my own experiences as well as what I have learned from others. Everything discussed in this is about GBB or gas blow back guns and I will address NBB or non blow back guns and springer pistols in sections near the end. I also wont be covering things like the difference between gases or maintenance as that is all covered on ASC. Also you may notice that the companies that produce GBB's are often not the same companies that produce AEG's. That is because airsoft started in Japan with only gas guns and AEG's came later and thats when Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries started their own companies (CA, G&P, G&G, STAR, etc.) that made only AEG's. The GBB companies are far more often located in Japan itself and are usually much older companies than the other Asian AEG only companies.

Plastic vs. metal
Many players say you need to metalize a pistol for it to be good, that is swap the plastic slide for a metal one as well as the outer barrel, chamber, and possibly frame if applicable. This is actually not true. There is some common plastic wear that will happen on plastic slides when running them period, propane (aka green gas or hfc22) or duster (aka hfc134) which is mostly located on the slide stop that locks the slide back when the magazine is empty. Eventually this spot on the plastic slide that the usually metal slide lock hits will wear down and bits might even break off and it wont work anymore. Also the increased force of propane on the plastic slide can cause it to crack after a while but that is hit or miss and dependent on brand. Metalizing a gun also makes the slide much heavier so your gas consumption goes up and you might not be able to finish a magazine with the gas available in the magazine.

*I need to split it up because of post size restrictions on this site*

Tokyo Marui
TM makes some of the most reliable out of the box GBB's with the absolute least number of lemons.

Hi-Capa 4.3 and 5.1 - these are largely the same gun other than the length of the slide so I wont really differentiate between them. The Hi-Capa series has a double stack magazine in real life so the airsoft mags and the grip are quite thick compared to some other models of pistols so this is a good gun for larger players with big hands who find it uncomfortable to handle smaller pistols. Every part found in a TM Hi-Capa, even the tiny springs and such, can be replaced with aftermarket parts so its essentially possible to build a Hi-Capa purely from aftermarket parts if you know what you are doing. This is a VERY good thing as it means that every part in the gun has available replacments in case anything breaks, this is not true for most GBB's on the market, often you need to buy a second pistol and cannibalize parts to fix one. Mags hold an amazing 33rnds and the gas reservoir in the mag is big enough to hold enough gas to fire 40-50rnds at 15'C so you have no worries about being able to finish a mag unless its quite cold.

P226 - one of the best GBB's on the market, period. Again like the Hi-Capa everything is available aftermarket so you wont be left with a paper weight when one tiny piece breaks. Its magazine doesn't hold as much gas as the Hi-Capa so once metalized it can have a hard time finishing a magazines worth of BB's. Stock plastic it has no problems. The design internally is amazing and this gun is incredibly reliable and powerful. With an added enhanced hammer spring (explained later) my P226 was shooting 390fps in 25'C.

Glock Series - don't know much about them but they aren't that common, KSC is the company that is the master of glocks so most glocks you see around are KSC. Limited aftermarket part availability so don't break it.

Beretta - I have never owned a TM Beretta but I have been told that they are very reliable guns when stock. Their part availability (both internally and externally) isn't complete so if certain parts break you may be left with a paper weight.

Colt 1911 - a very classic gun with lots of style. This gun has a very small gas reservoir due to the single stack narrow mags so it has a hard time finishing all the BB's in a magazine if you fire too fast even when not metalized. Once metalized its probably best to only load part of a magazine in each mag (7rnds for milsim if you're into that) unless you want to run out of gas mid magazine (you may not if you fire slowly.) Very nice construction internally based on the Hi-Capa series and I have been told that some parts are interchangeable but I do not have that confirmed. Aftermarket parts are available but I'm not sure if all the parts are covered yet as it is one of TM's most recent releases.

Desert Eagle - Ungodly big, impossible to find parts, poor gas efficiency. Nuff said.

Other - don't know much, very limited part availability

KSC/KWA
KSC is a Japanese company like TM but KWA is their Taiwanese branch or affiliate. I don't know if they are legally linked but their guns internally are the same with some minor differences. KSC are almost always plastic while KWA guns sometimes come metal out of the box (usually not legal in Japan but fine in Taiwan.) Parts are compatible either way so everything said here applies to both company names.

Note: There is often confusion over "Japan version" and "Taiwan version" KSC guns (all KWA are Taiwan.) As it turns out to save on money KSC has all their guns assembled in the Taiwan KWA factory. If they are shipped out internationally straight from Taiwan they are "KSC Taiwan version" guns. Some of their guns are shipped to Japan are are disassembled and reassembled with MUCH higher quality control standards. These though still made in Taiwan are called "KSC Japan version." In reality the Japanese QC check rarely if ever finds problems and I have never run into a single problem with my "Taiwan version" guns which are also cheaper.

Large frame Glocks (G17, G22, G34, etc.) - KSC is the king of the Glock series. Their guns are rock solid work horses with great gas efficiency, I can sometimes empty two and a half mags worth of BB's on one gas fill when its warm out. There is some limited part availability so you might need a donor gun for some parts but more than half are available on most sites. I have never had a part in my glock break and its been through thousands of rounds, Stalker has had one major malfunction but his has been through tens of thousands of rounds most likely. The larger glocks though appealing for being bigger (longer barrels, more mainstream) actually aren't as nice as the small frame glocks. The lower frame aren't heavy weight (has metal dust mixed with the plastic for weight) so feel like toys and the BB feed ramp (the ramp the BB is pushed up to get into the hopup) is plastic and wears down fast. Though the ramp can be replaced with a small frame glock metal one its quite hard to find heavy weight large frames as they are very rare.

Small frame Glock's (G19, G23C, G26, etc.) - these are the same as the larger glocks for insane gas efficiency and reliability but have as said metal feed ramps and heavy weight frames. The heavy weight frames add a lot of realism to the gun in terms of feel and balance. KSC glock mags are actually all interchangable, though the small frame glock mags are usually too small to fit in the larger framed glocks the large glock mags fit in the small glocks just fine, they just stick out of the bottom more than normal.

Full auto Glock's - I'd say about 3/4 of the people I have known have had moderate to serious issues or just complete break downs of any KSC or KWA full auto Glock within a year of buying them. Just a heads up.

USP - I have never owned one of these personally but have heard many very good things about them. Not all parts are available aftermarket but many are and they are good solid pistols.

USP Compact - Smaller version of the USP, has a problem with constantly breaking trigger parts that are incredibly hard to find. Highly not recommended from what I have been told.

Colt 1911 - Never owned one but am told TM are better in most regards, also there are practically no KSC 1911 parts on the market.

Beretta - KSC is as good with their glocks as with their Beretta's. They are rock solid work horses with many aftermarket parts available but not all so a donor gun may be required. There is a full auto Beretta by KSC, the M93r, and though full auto GBB's are amazing to use for the feel, parts are next to impossible to find.

Other - KSC makes several other less common pistol types that I don't know much about other than what you can find with google. Parts for these are even harder to find, just a warning.

HFC, WE (Wei-Tech), and KJW (Kj Works)
They make mostly knockoffs of other brands, KSC and TM for the most part, and have some full auto models of guns that aren't usually full auto in real life. Though they come full metal out of the box and cost significantly less they also have a much higher rate of lemons, guns that don't work out of the box or shortly there after, and even though they are copies they aren't perfect copies. Some other brands parts will fit but not all, it can be a real headache to get a broken HFC working again. However its hit or miss, you might get a good one that lasts tens of thousands of rounds.

Tanaka, Marushin, Maruzen, and Tanio Koba
Make mostly specialist pistols that no other companies make, many collectors editions and the like. They are quite expensive but are of the best quality there is. Aftermarket parts are next to impossible to find, that's why these are largely considered collectors pieces. Tanaka makes the absolute best revolvers on the market, some shooting 600+ fps on propane. It is highly not recommended to use propane in any GBB's from these companies as it wears them down faster and the limited part availability (and you don't want to break a collectors edition gun!) Random tidbit of information: any Tanaka revolver based on a Smith and Wesson (S&W) frame will fit a real steel grip (including Hogue rubberized grips.)

Western Arms
Often regarded as the best GBB manufacturer there is (and also the most expensive.) A completely upgraded TM can cost upwards of $1000-1200 but the same level of complete upgrade in a WA can cost past $2000. They are the originator of the reliable Hi-Capa internals and TM actually copied them with some minor modifications. Though the best of the best, the price alone makes it kinda pointless to buy their guns. You can get equal performance out of guns from TM or KSC for much less money. WA though has the largest amount of aftermarket parts available that I know of but the problem is they have been around so long many of the aftermarket parts have fallen out of production so a TM or KSC is still easier to get parts for since they are more mainstream/common as well.

NBB's
non blow back guns have a fixed slide instead of a slide that recoils with every shot. These pistols aren't as common as GBB's but there are several advantages for the lower level of realism. They experience less wear and tear even on propane as there are far fewer moving parts, they can be unbelievably dead quiet, and are incredibly gas efficient. The most common NBB I know if the TM Mk.23 SOCOM.

AEP's
automatic electric pistols, these are usually weaker than AEG's and GBB's (200-250fps) and sometimes have plastic mechboxes, even TM ones. The advantages are they can be used in the winter when its too cold for gas and also have a lower rate of breakdowns than GBB's. There are several pistol versions such as a Beretta M93r and Glock 18c but they tend to useless except in the short ranges of CQB games. One of the larger ones is the TM MP7. There are several aftermarket upgrades for this that degrade the reliability without really doing anything for you in terms of fps but if kept stock it could last forever. It has a metal mechbox and shoots around 240-250fps. Its price ($450-600) is almost that of a full AEG though so its really not worth it. I have however come across a chinese knockoff that is quite good so far from my testing and was under $200. It is made by "tactical force" and I am running it with an external battery kit and TM mags. Firing .25's with the hopup set right I can get a 2m x 2m grouping at around 125', easily hit a man sized target with a short burst at 50' or less.

Springers
Springs are known to be dirt cheap and incredibly weak, you need to cock the pistol for each shot and they can be bought at Walmart, Canadian Tire, and other stores like that. There are some better ones out there (TM springs, actual SIG branded springers, etc.) that shoot 175-200fps but they are still horribly inaccurate. I have however purchased a $30 Sig springer for winter games as an emergency backup. Not as good as a GBB or AEP but small and cheap.

Notes:
When I mention guns breaking and aftermarket parts being hard to find the part breakage rate is usually only after at least a couple thousand rounds, its not like it will break within a season unless you got a lemon (some companies more common than others) or you do something wrong.

Heavy weight guns are nice but the metal dust in the plastic actually weakens the plastic as the plastic molecules can't bond to the metal molecules as well as they can to other plastic molecules. This means that guns with heavy weight slides (not frame, frames are fine) are more prone to breaking than non-heavy weight plastic slides. Also it is impossible to chrome plate plastic with metal dust in it but there are special techniques to chrome plate pure plastic so any gun that is chrome in colour is not a heavyweight.

Upgrades:
As with AEG's upgrades mean higher performance (at least theoretically) but reduced reliability. Stock GBB's are the best for reliability unless you REALLY know how to tweak them (like Stalker and his KSC G19 knowledge.)

Slide - stock slides are usually plastic and wear down as described at the start of this article. The advantage is its snappier (faster blowback) because of the much lighter weight than metal. Its nice for the feel and look but not really necessary.

Outer barrel - again usually plastic, when you upgrade to a metal slide it will scratch and wear down the plastic outer barrel more so its good to get one if you get a metal slide.

Chamber - usually attached to the outer barrel (its the often square bit you see through the hole in the side of the slide where shell casings are ejected on real pistols.) but sometimes aren't (TM Hi-Capa aftermarket parts for example.) Screwing a metal outer barrel onto a plastic chamber can cause warping and thread stripping problems so its best to get a metal chamber when you metalize if the metal barrel doesn't already have one.

Hammer Spring - There is a common misconception that an enhanced hammer spring will increase your fps. In reality its like using a bigger battery with an AEG, it effects the trigger, not the fps. You will experience a slightly harder trigger pull (usually not noticable) but it hits the gas valve on the mag harder in case the gas inside has become over pressurized such as when its hot out (25+'C.) It also seems to increase fps consistency as a normal hammer spring might not be able to depress the valve all the way when the mag is really full but it can when its partly empty, an enhanced hammer spring makes sure the valve is hit all the way every time.

Recoil spring and rod - as said when you add a metal slide the blowback action is slowed down and the gun can become sluggish. If you want to make it snappy again you can install an enhanced recoil spring. If installed in a gun with a plastic slide it makes the gun REALLY snappy with an insane possible rate of fire but can lead to a broken slide faster. The recoil rod in most guns (the rod the recoil springs is on) is plastic and in freak instances (I've never heard of any, ever) can snap. A metal recoil rod can prevent this. Also there are some metal recoil rods with teflon coatings so the spring doesn't bind up so increases your blowback speedeven further.

Mag catch - its what holds the mag in the gun and is or is linked to the button you press to release the magazine. They are often plastic which can wear down and cause the mag to not sit right or even fall out of the gun completely. You can get aftermarket metal mag catches that wont wear down like plastic ones.

Tightbore - same concept as in an AEG, provides tighter groupings

Enhanced trigger - some are just for looks, some can make the trigger pull lighter or heavier for users preference, personally never used em.

High flow vales - these go in the mags in place of the normal mags and allow more gas to flow through with each hammer strike of the valve. They increase your fps, reduce the number of shots per gas refill, and often require an enhanced hammer spring. Really for the fps increase vs. price and taking into consideration that this is a SIDEARM, these are rarely needed.

Everything else - some guns have complete selections of aftermarket parts and really most of them are unnecessary unless you are designing a race gun (for timed shooting competitions.) If you take a stock TM or KSC gun the only thing that could be upgraded for reliability is an enhanced hammer spring, metal mag catch, and tightbore, maybe an enhanced recoil spring. Then metalize it if you want.

LUTNIT's magical list of top rated GBB's

1. Tokyo Marui P226
For its insane durability even when stock with propane, reliability, and plethora of aftermarket parts available. It gets top ranks on the list.

2. Tokyo Marui Hi-Capa (4.3 or 5.1)
The only reason its below the P226 is because its slightly more expensive to get parts for, other than that its got the same good things going for it.

3. KSC small frame flock, specifically the Glock 19
An insane work horse that when upgraded needs practically zero maintence. Easy to use and the closed slide (no exposed hammer) means when dropped in dirt it wont get jammed up. Insane gas efficiency and Ottawa has a local KSC glock guru to tweak and tune.

4. KSC Beretta or TM 1911 (even score)
Durable, reliable, nice to look at, nuff said.

5. Tanaka revolver
Yes, I said Tanaka. Though its impossible to find spare parts for, since its a revolver its a NBB so there is very little wear and tear compared to GBB's. Though they are known to shoot over 500fps on propane they are well within any fields limits on duster and again because its a NBB are known to get 50 to upwards of 75 or some reports put it at even 100 shots per gas fill.

6. (was supposed to be a top 5 but just tossing this in there) for the cheap bastards!
HFC, WE, and KJW are all equally as cheap but in my experience KJW is the more reliable brand with WE in second. Just a note for those on a budget. WE is also more often compatible with TM parts than KJW.[/u]

Any questions or comments just toss them up and I or someone will try to answer them or at least point you in the right direction. Some of the information might be outdated, no idea.

Currently there are a couple guys over on ASC who live in Japan and can get hard to find stock replacement parts directly from the factory for TM, WA, and KSC guns that are otherwise impossible to find. I have no idea who they are at the moment though, some quick searches should find them. Its not the cheapest way to do it but if the part is impossible to find otherwise there isn't really another option.

Also note that the Cansoft KJ Works guns with clear frames are made of a different plastic than normal. Instead of a coloured ABS plastic they are made from acylic or polycarb in order to be clear and are more prone to cracking and chipping than their black counterparts.

Anyone know anything about Cybergun's pistols? Found some at very cheap prices and wanted to know if I should get it or avoid it like the plague. Thanks in advance!

Cybergun is actually an importer in the US that has some really weird marketing practices where they put their own trademarks on things they import. They don't actually make any guns that I know of. I would have no idea what brand they are since Cybergun imports many different brands but mostly Taiwan and cheaper Hong Kong brands. Could be a KWA, could be a KJW, could be something worse.

I can attest to the durability and quality of the KSC Glock 19. Rexter and I each had one. I had it on a drop leg holster, wadded through hip high muck/swamp, drew the pistol and fired with no problems. It worked well and proper for a few more years and i sold it.

I have also had a Western Arms Infinity SV 5. Very expencive, very beautiful, but I only kept it a few months. I was affraid to get any decent use out of it because of the cost I paid to get it. I didnt want to get it dirty, get it wet, etc. Ended up selling it and getting the KSC Glock.

I currently run the TM Dessert Warrior (a 4.3 High cappa mod by TM). Outstanding pistol. I cracked a tile in the bathroom from down the hall test firing it. Nice feel, good quality, hard kick. Solid pistol overall, but a mostly plastic pistol with a plastic that feels similar to the glocks. Almost a durable composit feel.

I've had a look around in your forum and I couldn't find this. So here's hoping it's not a double post.

Are you guys allowed the use of Co2 in your pistols? I've turned to Co2 due to the cold and humidity here and found it to be very reliable and stable. I've mainly been using the WE M9 series even though I despise it's hideous appearance. However, it performs remarkably. If so, I'd be hoping to bring my Co2 mags to Ottawa with me.

Any advice would be appreciated!

- Jai

Aslong as you can use it and it conforms to FPS regs your fine.

- Greg

Chef Wrote:Aslong as you can use it and it conforms to FPS regs your fine.

- Greg

Thanks Chef,

I know a few countries can be touchy with Co2 as some of the .177/.22 airguns can be powered with the same 12g bulbs. It falls just under our 328fps rule here so should be good for your site rules!

- Jai

hi
been looking for playing but kind a busy with work n kids
youguys play every saturday at combat 307 ? even if its raining ?
wath time you start ? thanx

been looking at the kwa usp .45 green gaz and hope i can get info on it
recomend bbs is .25 ?

thank you guys for all the answers and hope too see you and shoot you soon

pantherr

pantherr Wrote:hi

you guys play every saturday at combat 307 ? even if its raining ?

We play at a bunch of Fields.
Each field has it asigned game days for each month to keep things fair.
The fields are;
- LZ, in Armprior
- Fox Den, in Smith Fall (these game are few, so watch the forums)
- Petawawa, and
- 307.