Gas Pistols... where to start.

[Ebeneezer Goode]

I've been eyeing up a gas 1911 or Deagle for a while just for something a bit different to use at outdoor skirmishes and as a useful sidearm/backup. Not having had prior experience of gas guns I'm looking for some pointers...

-Budget <£130

-1911 or Desert Eagle

-Mags readily available

Not fussed whether blowback or not, semi only or full auto, rails, metal or plastic etc so open to a wide range of options.

Looking around the brands at this price range seem to be Raven, WE Europe, HFC, Evolution Airsoft and Cybergun.  Any brands or models recommended or to avoid?

Did consider an AEP but put off by sluggish performance and patchy availability or mags.

Thanks in advance,

Eezer G

 

[Rogerborg]

Raven

Guns so bad that even Nuprol won't sully their, er, brand reputation with them.

 Did consider an AEP but put off by sluggish performance and patchy availability or mags.

Agreed, I'd avoid.  They do work, but are sub 0.4J, and there's no much that you can do in practice to increase that.  Mosfet / lipo versions or conversions have much better trigger response, but they're unsatisfying to shoot, with big bulky handgrips.  Auto mode can be fun, but you'll likely be limited to semi-auto at the ranges these things can reach.

That said, the CM.123 1911 takes the CM.127 Glock mags, including the extended ones, if you don't mind that sort of heresy, and the CM.121 Dessert Eegul is probably closest to the real steel dimensions.

Hopefully someone can give some positive recommendations rather than negging.

 

[Impulse]

Personally, I'd just save an extra £20 or so and get a TM. I've never heard anything good about WE or Raven GBB pistols and you want to get a sidearm that will actually work. Fire-support have a TM Desert Eagle in for £135 with magazines also in stock:

https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/tokyo-marui-d-eagle-50ae-hard-kick-gbb-pistol

https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/tokyo-marui-desert-eagle-50ae-pistol-magazine-black27-rnd

Only non-TM GBB pistol I like is the Action Army AAP-01, but that's neither a 1911 or a desert eagle. I've seen so many pistols that look really nice externally but just don't work well when you actually use them.

Also, 1911s will always be a difficult one to make work outside of the TM ones, purely because their magazines are so small and carry very little gas. I have a Bell 1911 from way back in the day and it just doesn't work as a skirmishable sidearm, and even my TM 1911 struggles to get through an entire mag outside of summer. TM Hi-Capas are a potential alternative to 1911s, as they're designed on the 1911 style while having far larger magazines, but they aren't 1911s and I wouldn't take mine to a Vietnam game, for example.

If you do look at going the AEP route, the Cyma ones with a mosfet installed are pretty great. The challenge is finding them, or the mags, in stock as you said, but if you can get one they're pretty reliable, shoot reasonably well for a sidearm and will work all year round. I don't like them because they don't shoot well enough for me to rely on them as heavily as I need to as a sniper, but if you're playing normally they're a great little piece of kit; one of my friends who runs a ghillie with a 1J HPA m4 sometimes runs one and it works great.

 

[hitmanNo2]

I see you've short listed two pretty impractical pistols so let's move on from practicality.  My vote is the TM Desert Eagle.  Silly, silly pistol but a lot of fun.

 

[BigStew]

despite its size the TM Desert Eagle is a very good pistol. 1911 wise stick to TM and get a M45A1 as it has a more efficient system and larger mag gas capacity. 

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Thanks for your replies so far. Interesting that someone mentioned the AAP01 as that's one of the few other pistols I'd consider as they appear rather nice and have heard a multitude of good things regarding them so that's an option too.

 

[DestrO]

Thanks for your replies so far. Interesting that someone mentioned the AAP01 as that's one of the few other pistols I'd consider as they appear rather nice and have heard a multitude of good things regarding them so that's an option too.

the aap is probably the best value pistol available, and its super versatile with a mountain of options available (metal uppers, carbine kits, etc). on top of that its mainly glock internals so already a good existing base of parts to use 

their only downside is the hammers can go after a few thousand rounds but easily replaceable with a steel hammer

 

[Dentonboy]

Go for TM. Go for something that has decent holsters that it'll fit into on the market.

 

[Guest]

If it’s a rarely used sidearm, it makes little to no difference what you buy lol.

I would stay away from Vorsk, Raven, Nuprol, VFC and Cybergun.

WE are perfectly acceptable.

Personally, I’d stay away from anything with a small gas-capacity magazine (that’s all 1911’s and all Deagle’s).

I hate hi-capa’s, but WE make one that looks like a 1911 with a fat grip, much more practical and doesn’t look like a tarts handbag.

If you want what is probably the best GBB pistol from a performance perspective, after having tried a lot, nothing comes close to the TM FNX45.

Completely standard it’s an awesome pistol, modify it and it will go to shit quickly lol

 

[Tackle]

First pistol, don't mess about looking at stuff for upgrade potential , nor kit that's dirt cheap but notoriously unreliable, look at tm, my personal recommendation would be a hi-capa 4.3, but to be fair the 5.1 model has more of a 1911 look about it, but in all honesty, if you get in to your pistols & dabble in other brands, when you finally get a tm you'll ask yourself "why the hell didn't I do this in the first place" ?

If you check the classifieds, for £130 you'll probably find one with 3 mags & a hard shell holster, which is a must if you don't want to lose mags. 

Only caveat to buying secondhand, look at the seller & their history, post count, post type & attitude ?, & feedback, if any seem "off", scroll on lol. 

 

[frontsight]

Agree with the replies above. Any TM in plastic stock form is generally pretty good. I've owned stock and metal-kitted versions of the TM Deagle and 1911 and they're great fun to plink with. But I would also add that both the Marui deagle and 1911/meu are older designs (decades I believe?) there have been many "updates" to TM's designs over the years and some of the newer models like the M45A1 or FNX have improvements such as larger & more efficient cylinders, reinforcements on fail-prone parts etc. Also depending on how you like to shoot you could find the gas capacity of single stack pistols to be not enough.

I've never tried WE deagles but heard they were pretty good if you're really jet-set on getting one. They're metal too if you're into that sort of thing

 

[Floperator]

Wasn't a fan of the deagle when it came to actually skirmishing with it, for me it was too big and ungainly for something which is rarely used.

If you don't mind something that's 1911-adjacent you really can't go wrong with a TM hi-capa 5.1 or 4.3 imo. Spares, mags and aftermarket addons are pretty ubiqitous, it responds well to even mild fettling, and you aren't going to have any trouble finding compatible holsters etc.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

As always here, thanks chaps n chapesses for the wealth of info, advice, opinions and experiences. Much to think about.

Why a 1911 or DE? Pure vanity I guess. My two AEGs are fairly budget models and are very practical and sensible and I guess I fancied something rather more "characterful" (read: completely impractical and full of flaws ). And of the multitude of pistols out there, these are the two I love the look of. The 1911 as its what I've always regarded since a kid as "the" classic pistol, and Deagles are just Deagles... Big berthas that often feature in sci fi settings.

Did try a GBB Glock once years ago which was lovely, dont know what make it was, but I just don't get the look. Same with HiCapas. Just my taste.

 

[MAX DICKER]

Totally agree with you on 1911's looking great. Honestly, you could have the best performing pistol, but if you're not into the look, then it's not for you.

Will definitely jump on the TM bandwagon here. I had a TM 1911A1 for a couple of years which I skirmished all the time. Yeah sometimes the gas would run out before the BB'S but I carry 5+ pistol mags as a rule. Depends on how much you intend to use it really.

If you really only pull your pistol out occasionally for the odd shot, literally buy whatever you like the look of. Pretty much anything will be up to that kind of use. If you use your pistol a LOT (or plan to), you should maybe think in terms of practicality and performance over aesthetics.

Currently using a TM Glock that my missus bought me a few years back. Ugly as sin but it's an incredible gun. On a full game day I'll put 500 rounds through it no problem.

Hope my rambling has made sense and helped somewhat. I'm not proof reading all that shit lol

 

[lucaslu1709]

I still use my WE Deagle from time to time and it is a beast. You can grab a kydex holster or cheaper amomax one pretty easily as well, only practical issues are extra mags are expensive and you'll need one of the looser pistol mag pouch designs for them.

Full metal, the recoil is satisfying and never fails to put a smile on peoples faces when I offer my Deeg to them to pop off a few shots after I see them eyeing it up, and perhaps someone here was misinformed when talking about gas capacity; it rocks. The Deagle is the only gas pistol I happily run in colder times of year even though the full metal slide is huge; I think its because of the gas reservoir and the very large nozzle used in the design.

The range is also pretty nutty, granted, mine has an autobot, stalker hop nub and crazy jet inner, but I reckon you'd still get impressive performance out of just an upgraded bucking. Lots of times people will be calling for a sniper to come over as there's a bloke in the distance pissing about and I just stroll up, do the classic one handed Hans Landa exaggerated aim, and proceed to miss completely hit every shot like the highly competent marksman I am. Because the barrel is fixed to the frame and doesn't move when the slide reciprocates, the accuracy is also really very good. 

If you've got small arms or a small frame in general maybe it would be a bit of a pain but honestly its not really that heavy. Most of the metal isn't steel or anything so its not as ridiculous as the real deal and absolutely skirmishable for me at least. If you do get one, just make sure you clean and oil it after every skirmish and check nothings shaking itself loose like with most hard kicking airsoft guns. 

Now, I know it sounds like I've been describing the second coming of Christ our lord and saviour in airsoft pistol form. It always seems a bit dodgy when someone sings the praises of any product too hard, but honestly? My Deagle has been amazing and never fails to perform, all whilst putting a huge grin on whoever I let try it out. So I recommend it whole heartedly in the hope that you pick one up and are as pleased with it as I've been with mine.