The title is pretty self-explanatory but anyway... Sorry for sounding like a newbie (I am one) but can anyone recommend a place to buy gas blowback pistols and revolvers in the UK? I'm particularly looking to get a Colt .44 or .45 and a Browning m1911... There are a million sites* (*not literally) on the net and I can't decide between them, and have no idea how reliable they are. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Where to buy gas powered revolvers/pistols...
- Thread starter kowst
- Start date
Airsoft-Ed
Retired Moderator
- Nov 7, 2010
- 4,164
- 941
Welcome to the forums.
Your typical big name shops would be Wolf Armouries, Fire Support, Land Warrior, Action Hobbies, Airsoft World and Zero One.
There's also some smaller more regional shops like Patrol Base, Swindon Airsoft, East Midlands Airsoft, Redone airsoft, to name a few. Have a browse and buy from the one that has what you want! They're all reputable names so don't worry about buying from them.
There is a section of the forums called "Places to buy" so if you find another shop I've not listed, you can always look for it in there to check for people's horror stories lol.
Simples.
Practically all of them will have a Colt M1911, revolvers of all kinds are generally harder to come by but a few shops will order items in for you if you find what you're after on google and let them know about it. I'd recommend spending a long while reading reviews and watching relevant Youtube videos so you're in no doubt about what you're paying for. Some guns won't operate the same as the real ones, especially with regard to revolvers, so it's worth a day on google to make an informed choice.
Your biggest hurdle is deciding which manufacturer to go for as obviously there isn't just one maker of the airsoft version of the Colt M1911, there's probably upwards of 10, then each manufacturer also makes about 25 different kinds of M1911, it's awful being spoilt for choice...
Good luck buying and happy hunting, we're all on hand for further questioning.
=]
Your typical big name shops would be Wolf Armouries, Fire Support, Land Warrior, Action Hobbies, Airsoft World and Zero One.
There's also some smaller more regional shops like Patrol Base, Swindon Airsoft, East Midlands Airsoft, Redone airsoft, to name a few. Have a browse and buy from the one that has what you want! They're all reputable names so don't worry about buying from them.
There is a section of the forums called "Places to buy" so if you find another shop I've not listed, you can always look for it in there to check for people's horror stories lol.
Simples.
Practically all of them will have a Colt M1911, revolvers of all kinds are generally harder to come by but a few shops will order items in for you if you find what you're after on google and let them know about it. I'd recommend spending a long while reading reviews and watching relevant Youtube videos so you're in no doubt about what you're paying for. Some guns won't operate the same as the real ones, especially with regard to revolvers, so it's worth a day on google to make an informed choice.
Your biggest hurdle is deciding which manufacturer to go for as obviously there isn't just one maker of the airsoft version of the Colt M1911, there's probably upwards of 10, then each manufacturer also makes about 25 different kinds of M1911, it's awful being spoilt for choice...
Good luck buying and happy hunting, we're all on hand for further questioning.
=]
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- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks Ed (I assume your name is Ed, apologies if not) your advice is utterly sterling. The blowback feature is really important to me, I didn't even realise it was legal to sell blowback guns in the UK till yesterday. I feel I should explain that I'm just a nerd who likes guns, despite being a pacifist, dunno if that's derided here or not, but whatever. Anyway, if anyone has any particular recommendations of companies that sell decent quality blowback replica guns in the UK, I'd be incredibly grateful.
Airsoft-Ed
Retired Moderator
- Nov 7, 2010
- 4,164
- 941
My name is indeed Ed lol.
We won't hold anything against you for being a pacifist. I won't anyway. To me, you're now like that cool hippy chopper pilot from Battlefield Bad Company 2 lol, you'll kill someone eventually if it's in order to save your awesome murderous buddies... Right?
Anyway...
Does considering yourself a pacifist mean you won't be planning on going to any airsofting games? If not are you aware of the UKARA scheme? Without a relevant defence, you can't purchase replica firearms in this country. That is, without being associated with an airsofting site, or being a member or a reenactment group. There's plenty of info about it all over the place, but basically, you'll have to play 3 days airsofting to be allowed to buy a gun in its real colours, otherwise, it'll have to be 51% a horrible fluorescent colour... =[
I'll let you mull that over in your own time.
Reputable airsoft manufacturers then.
Brand names in airsoft with regard to guns tend to be viewed in terms of their realistic imitation of the real thing and their reliability as a firearm in their own right.
Most pistols are powered by gas and this performs less well in colder temperatures, so here in the UK airsoft scene we could certainly have a better time with our pistols, especially in the colder months.
Plastic replicas of real, metal guns obviously lose a few points in the realism side of things, but they gain them back in terms of performance when the weather gets cold as plastic doesn't get cold as quickly as metal, nor does it stay cold for as long once you warm it up.
Metal guns are more realistic, but suffer from poorer performance when it's cold.
It's mostly down to personal preference which you go for as sidearms rarely get used anyway unless it's a pistol only game you're playing.
Tokyo Marui, or "TM" are generally the most highly praised and reliable pistols but they're plastic.
KWA and KSC are both metal and good performers, but expect to pay for it.
KJW and WE are metal and not so great in terms of performance, but for garden use you'll get by. I have a KJW Sig Sauer and I love it, but it is pretty useless from about September to around April.
If you buy a pistol that uses bottled gas, then make sure you always leave some gas in the magazine when storing it, otherwise the gas seals will stop working and as a consequence, you'll be left with a pretty paper weight until you buy more magazines.
If there's anything else you want to know that you think I might've missed then don't hesitate to mention it, I'm pretty much living for airsoft right now so I probably have a tendency to overlook certain things because I'm used to them.
To sum it up, if you're just wanting something for shooting in your garden, then look to spend between £100 and £150 and you're bound to be happy with it. Anything less than £100 will be made using parts with poor tolerances and the trigger mechanics will wear out quickly, the magazines will leak gas and the performance in terms of range and accuracy will be poor, to say the least.
Edit: Thought I'd just mention this as well, you might be unaware of it, but you can also buy CO2 air pistols that are blowback.
I used to have a Walther CP99 Compact. They're less realistic than airsoft guns as the magazines are like lolly sticks and the slide doesn't lock back properly, but they're far more reliable and not to mention, destructive against coke cans and stuff. You can also (because the law works in mysterious ways) buy them with no form of defence whatsoever and in the same colours as a real one! Ammo is about 6 times more expensive though...
It's up to you, I can't pick for you, sorry!
We won't hold anything against you for being a pacifist. I won't anyway. To me, you're now like that cool hippy chopper pilot from Battlefield Bad Company 2 lol, you'll kill someone eventually if it's in order to save your awesome murderous buddies... Right?
Anyway...
Does considering yourself a pacifist mean you won't be planning on going to any airsofting games? If not are you aware of the UKARA scheme? Without a relevant defence, you can't purchase replica firearms in this country. That is, without being associated with an airsofting site, or being a member or a reenactment group. There's plenty of info about it all over the place, but basically, you'll have to play 3 days airsofting to be allowed to buy a gun in its real colours, otherwise, it'll have to be 51% a horrible fluorescent colour... =[
I'll let you mull that over in your own time.
Reputable airsoft manufacturers then.
Brand names in airsoft with regard to guns tend to be viewed in terms of their realistic imitation of the real thing and their reliability as a firearm in their own right.
Most pistols are powered by gas and this performs less well in colder temperatures, so here in the UK airsoft scene we could certainly have a better time with our pistols, especially in the colder months.
Plastic replicas of real, metal guns obviously lose a few points in the realism side of things, but they gain them back in terms of performance when the weather gets cold as plastic doesn't get cold as quickly as metal, nor does it stay cold for as long once you warm it up.
Metal guns are more realistic, but suffer from poorer performance when it's cold.
It's mostly down to personal preference which you go for as sidearms rarely get used anyway unless it's a pistol only game you're playing.
Tokyo Marui, or "TM" are generally the most highly praised and reliable pistols but they're plastic.
KWA and KSC are both metal and good performers, but expect to pay for it.
KJW and WE are metal and not so great in terms of performance, but for garden use you'll get by. I have a KJW Sig Sauer and I love it, but it is pretty useless from about September to around April.
If you buy a pistol that uses bottled gas, then make sure you always leave some gas in the magazine when storing it, otherwise the gas seals will stop working and as a consequence, you'll be left with a pretty paper weight until you buy more magazines.
If there's anything else you want to know that you think I might've missed then don't hesitate to mention it, I'm pretty much living for airsoft right now so I probably have a tendency to overlook certain things because I'm used to them.
To sum it up, if you're just wanting something for shooting in your garden, then look to spend between £100 and £150 and you're bound to be happy with it. Anything less than £100 will be made using parts with poor tolerances and the trigger mechanics will wear out quickly, the magazines will leak gas and the performance in terms of range and accuracy will be poor, to say the least.
Edit: Thought I'd just mention this as well, you might be unaware of it, but you can also buy CO2 air pistols that are blowback.
I used to have a Walther CP99 Compact. They're less realistic than airsoft guns as the magazines are like lolly sticks and the slide doesn't lock back properly, but they're far more reliable and not to mention, destructive against coke cans and stuff. You can also (because the law works in mysterious ways) buy them with no form of defence whatsoever and in the same colours as a real one! Ammo is about 6 times more expensive though...
It's up to you, I can't pick for you, sorry!
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- Thread starter
- #5
---------------------
Sorry for bumping this but I felt Ed deserved a response,...
No, I'd be happy to airsoft it up. When I say I'm a pacifist I mean that I purely hate killing and war, (who doesn't?). I appreciate the comparison to the BF: BC2 character, made me laugh. Okay I'll be straight, I really just want a m1911 or colt .44 to shoot in my garden/at targets. I don't want to hold up a shop, or any sh*t like that, I just want a realistic firearm because I've been brought up by films and videogames and I just wanna spin it around like Dirty Harry and Revolver Ocelot. I'd love to get involved with the Airsoft scene but I don't know where to start in Brighton. I tried to buy a gun the other day but they wouldn't allow me because I'm not registered. Fair enough Anyway, thankyou Ed, where are you based? I'd love to get into this scene!
Sorry for bumping this but I felt Ed deserved a response,...
No, I'd be happy to airsoft it up. When I say I'm a pacifist I mean that I purely hate killing and war, (who doesn't?). I appreciate the comparison to the BF: BC2 character, made me laugh. Okay I'll be straight, I really just want a m1911 or colt .44 to shoot in my garden/at targets. I don't want to hold up a shop, or any sh*t like that, I just want a realistic firearm because I've been brought up by films and videogames and I just wanna spin it around like Dirty Harry and Revolver Ocelot. I'd love to get involved with the Airsoft scene but I don't know where to start in Brighton. I tried to buy a gun the other day but they wouldn't allow me because I'm not registered. Fair enough Anyway, thankyou Ed, where are you based? I'd love to get into this scene!
Airsoft-Ed
Retired Moderator
- Nov 7, 2010
- 4,164
- 941
I'm based in Sheffield but most of the time I play at a couple of sites around Nottingham, though there is an indoor site in Sheffield, but I've only been there once so far, all the smoke stuck around in the rooms as there was no wind to blow it away and I had a sore throat for about a week lol.
It's a great, fun sport, (though I'd say it was more of a hobby as I don't play competitively). Getting started is a doddle, just find some local sites using Google, book yourself in for a weekend and take a trip down, they'll probably be more than happy to get you sorted out and answer all questions regarding UKARA etc, but basically, once you've been three times you'll be able to get registered and start buying.
If you're just after something to shoot in the garden then I'd argue there's no real point spending a bomb on something that's super reliable and has outstanding performance, pretty much anything for around £100 ought to give you a few thrills.
Look for WE or KJW made M1911s, they'll be good enough for garden use and are no less realistic than the more expensive models, I use a KJW made pistol as my sidearm and I'm perfectly happy with it.
As for a .44 revolver, they can be pretty hard to come across, especially the SAA or Peacemakers if you're going for the Ocelot look, you'll just have to try your luck on google but there's a chance you might have to import. In which case I'd suggest contacting a shop to order it in for you, I've never dared have a gun shipped into the country in case customs destroy it because the website didn't declare my registration number on the box or something, it just seems like too much of a gamble to me.
Patrol Base will probably be able to help you out, you might be able to drop in and have a go with some stuff, maybe buy a two tone for the time being or something like that.
Though actually, that's probably a little far from Brighton...
To get started there's nothing better than getting started. Get on Google, find a local site and get yourself booked in, once you've been and got a taste for it you'll probably catch the bug and not rest until you've fully explored everything that exists lol.
...I'm seriously tired... Ahaha.
Best of luck with it either way.
It's a great, fun sport, (though I'd say it was more of a hobby as I don't play competitively). Getting started is a doddle, just find some local sites using Google, book yourself in for a weekend and take a trip down, they'll probably be more than happy to get you sorted out and answer all questions regarding UKARA etc, but basically, once you've been three times you'll be able to get registered and start buying.
If you're just after something to shoot in the garden then I'd argue there's no real point spending a bomb on something that's super reliable and has outstanding performance, pretty much anything for around £100 ought to give you a few thrills.
Look for WE or KJW made M1911s, they'll be good enough for garden use and are no less realistic than the more expensive models, I use a KJW made pistol as my sidearm and I'm perfectly happy with it.
As for a .44 revolver, they can be pretty hard to come across, especially the SAA or Peacemakers if you're going for the Ocelot look, you'll just have to try your luck on google but there's a chance you might have to import. In which case I'd suggest contacting a shop to order it in for you, I've never dared have a gun shipped into the country in case customs destroy it because the website didn't declare my registration number on the box or something, it just seems like too much of a gamble to me.
Patrol Base will probably be able to help you out, you might be able to drop in and have a go with some stuff, maybe buy a two tone for the time being or something like that.
Though actually, that's probably a little far from Brighton...
To get started there's nothing better than getting started. Get on Google, find a local site and get yourself booked in, once you've been and got a taste for it you'll probably catch the bug and not rest until you've fully explored everything that exists lol.
...I'm seriously tired... Ahaha.
Best of luck with it either way.
dazzer306
Members
- Feb 4, 2012
- 409
- 23
here you go no ukara needed as they are two tone and not to much on your pocket hope it helps
http://www.onlybbguns.co.uk/gas-guns.html
