What's a Good Sidearm?

[LiamT]

so I've been looking for a while, I need to find a good sidearm to use at CQB sites, but have a few questions

1) since its the UK and it can get cold, C02 or Green gas? (that being if the co2 gun goes under fps limits ect)

2) which type of gun? I love glocks but heard they can break quite often, and I love 1911's

3) with a budget of around £100-130 are there any sidearm's that would be good recommendations?  

 

[Tackle]

Yawn, TM Hi-Capa, I prefer the 4.3, & a suitable moulded retention holster, or stretch one for a 1911.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

cqb sites i'm inferring indoors, so temperature is much less of a concern.

which eliminates any reason to look at co2 because it's a lot of hassle just for those few months of winter.

as tackle says the tm hicapa is very much the king of this performance category.

 

[PopRocket123]

Co2 1911: KWC. Great build quality and finish, epic recoil and options for upgrades later on. If you don't mind no trades you can get them for around £100. 

Green gas: basically any TM. Lightweight slide and great design means unbeatable gas efficiency. The Glocks and hi Capas have the best range of aftermarket parts of any Airsoft pistol

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Co2 1911: KWC. Great build quality and finish, epic recoil and options for upgrades later on. If you don't mind no trades you can get them for around £100. 

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not gonna lie whilst the externals are very nice the ones i've dealt with don't half have a nasty habit of beating themselves to death and/or wearing out trigger components.

that's assuming the mags don't give out first.

 

[PopRocket123]

Not come across that myself although it wouldn't surprise me with how hard it recoils. It's a really heavy trigger pull too so again without steel components in all the right places I'm not surprised at all by that

 

[Impulse]

I think sidearm is a personal choice as most pistols will perform about the same. Most TM pistols anyway, I won't consider getting any pistol that isn't TM. Even my 1911 with its tiny magazines can function in the winter, though I will generally fall back to my p226 in winter because the mags are larger so they can hold more gas. 

And I use my sidearms all the time because I have a lovely 30m radius of "can't use my rifle"

 

[emilianoksa]

Stick to green gas. CO2 is expensive , inconvenient, more likely to leak and has a big power curve.

If you buy a TM pistol it will work well with green gas, even in the winter, because both the frames and slides are plastic. The Hi Capas are the only TMs with metal lrames.

 TM 1911s are nice, but pistols with a thicker mag are ;more practical. These include the TM hi capas,,  Sig 226, HK45 and USP, FNX 45, and of course the Glocks.

If you want metal the WE Glocks  and Sigs are well regarded, as are  KJW hi capas and the CZ 75  P09 Duty. 

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Not come across that myself although it wouldn't surprise me with how hard it recoils. It's a really heavy trigger pull too so again without steel components in all the right places I'm not surprised at all by that

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Trigger pull is nice enough tbh, feels proper, just the sear wears out bad.

The barrel bushing is normally the first victim, it just tears the front off it.

 

[LiamT]

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REPLIES AND SUGGESTIONS!!!! I will most likely go either TM hicapa or WE glock

Stick to green gas. CO2 is expensive , inconvenient, more likely to leak and has a big power curve.

If you buy a TM pistol it will work well with green gas, even in the winter, because both the frames and slides are plastic. The Hi Capas are the only TMs with metal lrames.

 TM 1911s are nice, but pistols with a thicker mag are ;more practical. These include the TM hi capas,,  Sig 226, HK45 and USP, FNX 45, and of course the Glocks.

If you want metal the WE Glocks  and Sigs are well regarded, as are  KJW hi capas and the CZ 75  P09 Duty. 

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Do you have any experience in the longevity of the WE glocks vs something like a TM 1911? I would prefer it to be the most reliable I can go for

 

[BigStew]

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REPLIES AND SUGGESTIONS!!!! I will most likely go either TM hicapa or WE glock

Do you have any experience in the longevity of the WE glocks vs something like a TM 1911? I would prefer it to be the most reliable I can go for

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TM make the best pistols full stop. They have the best quality control and design the plastic slides mean they are more efficient than metal slide pistols. WE build quality has greatly improved their 1911s/Hi Capas were utter garbage ( can't say for recent 1911s but glocks are decent) but WE primarily just rip off TM designs and stick a metal slide on it. for your budget i would consider 2nd hand you'll get more for your money. other wise you need to increase your budget fire support still has a TM sale so there are some models that can be had sub 100 but 1911/glock £115 to £130 you then need a good holster preferably a spare mag ( I prefer two spare mags) and therefore mag pouch.  I would aim to spend £150/£170 depending if you go WE or TM.  Or if you want to be really practical MP5K AEG can be bought for under £100.00

 

[Adolf Hamster]

WE primarily just rip off TM designs and stick a metal slide on it. 

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Not exclusively, plenty of stuff we makes that tm doesnt.

Of course every airsoft company has ripped off marui one way or another.

 

[BigStew]

Not exclusively, plenty of stuff we makes that tm doesnt.

Of course every airsoft company has ripped off marui one way or another.

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That's why i used the qualifier primarily. WE are beginning to make some interesting stuff in terms of  other make of guns but they are still ripping off TMs internal designs.

 

[LiamT]

TM make the best pistols full stop. They have the best quality control and design the plastic slides mean they are more efficient than metal slide pistols. WE build quality has greatly improved their 1911s/Hi Capas were utter garbage ( can't say for recent 1911s but glocks are decent) but WE primarily just rip off TM designs and stick a metal slide on it. for your budget i would consider 2nd hand you'll get more for your money. other wise you need to increase your budget fire support still has a TM sale so there are some models that can be had sub 100 but 1911/glock £115 to £130 you then need a good holster preferably a spare mag ( I prefer two spare mags) and therefore mag pouch.  I would aim to spend £150/£170 depending if you go WE or TM.  Or if you want to be really practical MP5K AEG can be bought for under £100.00

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Isn't that a bad thing though? a plastic slide? surely metal would be better or less prone to damage, I also don't mind about budget as it will just take time to get but once I decide thats it

 

[BigStew]

Isn't that a bad thing though? a plastic slide? surely metal would be better or less prone to damage, I also don't mind about budget as it will just take time to get but once I decide thats it

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no Plastic is not weak.  TM guns are designed to work with plastic slides they don't need high powered gas. people break plastic guns because they run them on gas that is significantly more powerful than design specs. This goes to show how good the the TM designs are as they can run for a significant time on over pressured gas. I  have a friend that loves 5-7s hes on his 8th in 10 years because he runs them on propylene and none of them have broke the slide they just prematurely wore out the internals.  Now the The metal used in airsoft pistols is cheap pot metal it's overly heavy and not that strong which means more gas is need to cycle the gun and is more like to have flaws in the metal which will cause the slide to break.

 

[LiamT]

no Plastic is not weak.  TM guns are designed to work with plastic slides they don't need high powered gas. people break plastic guns because they run them on gas that is significantly more powerful than design specs. This goes to show how good the the TM designs are as they can run for a significant time on over pressured gas. I  have a friend that loves 5-7s hes on his 8th in 10 years because he runs them on propylene and none of them have broke the slide they just prematurely wore out the internals.  Now the The metal used in airsoft pistols is cheap pot metal it's overly heavy and not that strong which means more gas is need to cycle the gun and is more like to have flaws in the metal which will cause the slide to break.

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Ah fair point so TM pistols then? 

 

[BigStew]

Ah fair point so TM pistols then? 

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personally yes my primary side arm is always a TM. If you are prepared to hold on TM are about to release a gen 4 glock 17 with reworked internals. at the moment the best performing TM guns are HK45, FNX 45, Hi capa DOR, M45A1(1911) glock 19 or the very best performer is the MK23 it is however a none blow back and is huge.

 

[LiamT]

personally yes my primary side arm is always a TM. If you are prepared to hold on TM are about to release a gen 4 glock 17 with reworked internals. at the moment the best performing TM guns are HK45, FNX 45, Hi capa DOR, M45A1(1911) glock 19 or the very best performer is the MK23 it is however a none blow back and is huge.

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how long away is that new release? is there a date? I mean I prefairably would love a reliable glock as they just to me look the nicest even over the 1911

 

[Adolf Hamster]

That's why i used the qualifier primarily. WE are beginning to make some interesting stuff in terms of  other make of guns but they are still ripping off TMs internal designs.

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yeah, but tbf pretty much the entire industry is based on ripping off tm.

not necessarily a bad thing though, it does at least ensure a level of aftermarket compatibility you wouldn't otherwise get.

Isn't that a bad thing though? a plastic slide? surely metal would be better or less prone to damage, I also don't mind about budget as it will just take time to get but once I decide thats it

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tm's plastic slides are perfectly fine. if you want your gun to perform well in the widest range of environments it's the solid choice.

however, they don't "feel" as nice, and maybe you're happy to trade some unmodified performance for something that you preferr the feel of, which is as valid a reason as any.

 

[LiamT]

tm's plastic slides are perfectly fine. if you want your gun to perform well in the widest range of environments it's the solid choice.

however, they don't "feel" as nice, and maybe you're happy to trade some unmodified performance for something that you preferr the feel of, which is as valid a reason as any.

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I mean in terms of usage I will probably end up buying more pistols as time goes on, all I want to know is would it be such a hassle with something like a WE glock that is metal slide vs a TM glock with plastic, as if on normal green gas they would both last a decent length of time before wear sets in then I would love to go with a metal slide, but if the quality is significantly better on the TM to where it does make a large ish difference then I would go TM