WE Sig F226 MK25

[Baser]

Hello hive mind

 

Currently play only with an AEG but fancy giving a pistol a go, mostly play woodland skirmish and the occasional indoor CQB.  Realise a pistol won't have the range or accuracy of a 350fps AEG (or the BB capacity) but it looks it might be fun to use a pistol as a secondary toy, maybe more of a challenge than a point and shoot AEG?

 

My main AEG is a MP5K with a MP5 as a back up so I have had 80's/90's special forces load out in my head while looking at pistols and I have come across the WE version of the Sig F226 MK25 which I am quite taken by.  I like the white dots on the sights for easy aiming in the gloom of indoor CQB.  I thought the sights on similar Glocks / Hi Cappas were a bit small and would be hard to use indoors and with fairly big hands I found the really flared magwells of some pistols ment they were more challenging to hold.  The WE Sig it feels like a solid pistol in the hand, nothing showey about it, it just works, rail for a torch or laser, very special forces.  

 

I have watched the YouTube vids and read the reviews but are they any good?

 

Any general comments on WE pistols before I take the plunge? Understand they are one of the better brands? 

 

I will be buying from my local shop (who don't have a website) but its the same as the one below.

 

https://www.bespokeairsoft.co.uk/we-mk25-gas-blowback-pistol-black 

 

 

[GiantKiwi]

At that price point, you really would be better off just getting a TM one at £10 more - https://www.defconairsoft.co.uk/product/tokyo-marui-sig-sauer-p226-railed-gbb-pistol/

 

WE P226 is about 90% of a clone of a TM, just some of the more irritating aspects like the blowback chamber are not compatible, so it basically renders it as a one and done pistol with very little in the way of available improvements.

 

The hop wheel on the WE needs replacing with the Maple Leaf one immediately as it doesn't get enough purchase to lift bb's well. Also being WE it's using WE Spec barrel and hop rubber, so not actually TM GBB spec despite appearances, so if you replace the hop rubber, you've got to replace the inner barrel at the same time.

 

WE spec hop rubber + WE spec barrel = OK
WE spec hop rubber + TM spec barrel = NO
TM spec hop rubber + WE spec barrel = NO
TM spec hop rubber + TM spec barrel = OK

 

It's not particularly gas efficient on green gas due the enormous amount of mass in the slide, WE guns in general are designed with Taiwan in mind, where red gas is the norm, even in 35+ degrees C.

Edited June 12 by GiantKiwi

[Nick G]

I've got one . Fitted a Maple leaf barrel , rubber I key and hop wheel to it , as I do on all my pistols , and it's great . My main pistol infact . It's never let me down , has great range and easily lifts .30 BBs . TBF even stock it was acceptable , especially for CQB , for woodland pistol games it did need the M/L bits.

[Adolf Hamster]

Had one a good while ago, WE do make a few decent pistols (and some truly awful ones) and the sig imo is kinda upper mid.

 

trigger is awful, the pot metal slide doesnt do the gas effeciency any favours, it doesnt like the cold much although the bb lobbing capacity for spaced out shots can be made good with @GiantKiwi's suggested hop/barrel combo (although i go for shimming under the hop arm rather than changing it) + some good ammo.

 

Good as a holster filler/occasional pot-shot gun but a tm is going to be better if you're planning anything more than that.

 

A minor point is there were 2 rail variants (afaik based on rs but thats citation needed) one with a curved rail and one with the more standard square rail (as you have pictured). I had the latter and some holsters moulded for the former are a tight fit until they get bedded in but at least it fits standard accessories more readily.

[Baser]

33 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

Had one a good while ago, WE do make a few decent pistols (and some truly awful ones) and the sig imo is kinda upper mid.

 

trigger is awful, the pot metal slide doesnt do the gas effeciency any favours, it doesnt like the cold much although the bb lobbing capacity for spaced out shots can be made good with @GiantKiwi's suggested hop/barrel combo (although i go for shimming under the hop arm rather than changing it) + some good ammo.

 

Good as a holster filler/occasional pot-shot gun but a tm is going to be better if you're planning anything more than that.

 

A minor point is there were 2 rail variants (afaik based on rs but thats citation needed) one with a curved rail and one with the more standard square rail (as you have pictured). I had the latter and some holsters moulded for the former are a tight fit until they get bedded in but at least it fits standard accessories more readily.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and information so far.  
 

It will be a fun secondary gun to go with my AEG for sure.  There’s a bolt action sniper in my future later this year or maybe early next and I will add a TM or some sort of MK23 to that load out as a serious sneaky pistol.
 

The shop had a universal plastic holster which it did fit in but it was very tight.  They had the ‘genuine’ holster at their site shop which they will bring over for me to try as it should be a better fit.  How thick is the plastic on pistol holsters? Could I soak it in hot water for 5 mins and stretch it a bit?
 

Will take a look at the TM version, thank you for the suggestion. I try and support the local shop as they are very helpful and always happy to help when I get stuck. 

[GiantKiwi]

12 minutes ago, Baser said:

Thanks everyone for the feedback and information so far.  
 

It will be a fun secondary gun to go with my AEG for sure.  There’s a bolt action sniper in my future later this year or maybe early next and I will add a TM or some sort of MK23 to that load out as a serious sneaky pistol.
 

The shop had a universal plastic holster which it did fit in but it was very tight.  They had the ‘genuine’ holster at their site shop which they will bring over for me to try as it should be a better fit.  How thick is the plastic on pistol holsters? Could I soak it in hot water for 5 mins and stretch it a bit?
 

Will take a look at the TM version, thank you for the suggestion. I try and support the local shop as they are very helpful and always happy to help when I get stuck. 

 

If its the nuprol universal holster, you can adjust the retention with the screws in the sides. If you plan on running a pistol light on it in the future, you can get either the blackhawk omnivore (quite spendy) or the aliexpress clone (not so spendy) which are vastly better than anything on the nuprol vein.

[Hellfish]

1 hour ago, GiantKiwi said:

 the aliexpress clone (not so spendy) which are vastly better than anything on the nuprol vein.

I have one of these ... quite good for the minimal cost. Holds my TM Desert Warrior with X300u quite securely 

[GiantKiwi]

They're not great on the WE 226, bit too wide. WE 226 is about an extra 30% wider than the desert warrior

[heroshark]

I'd go tm hands down and if you want it metal the guarder kit ain't too terrible. Be prettier and more efficient than a WE.

[Baser]

Thanks everyone for the advice and guidance. 

 

I know the advice was to buy the TM gun but I ended up going with the WE, the weight and balance of the gun was just right and the supplying shop is only 10 mins away if it goes wrong, sorry and genuine thanks to everyone for their time in giving me guidance. 

 

Also picked up a couple of 30 round (extended) mags, to my eye the 40 round (extended) mags were just a bit much and standard 24 round were a bit normal.  Managed to get a full mag and a full reload before running out of gas on both the standard and extended mags which I was quite happy with as I just took a small speed loader out in my pocket to double my ammo capacity.

 

Tape is just there to help me recognise /recover it if it gets lost on a game day. 

 

Gun shot well on Sunday, 255fps on .28's which it shot straight and true.  Me on the other hand needs more practice with a pistol before any level of accuracy can be determined.  

 

Enjoyed the GBB element so much I'm now wondering a if a GBB rifle should be in my future rather than a bolt action sniper but that's a question for another day. 

 

[Jaylordofwaargh]

Good shout with this, I've got one and really enjoy using it. I am a fan of the extended mags as well. Have fun and practice