Side Arm Recomendations
 

I am thinking of getting a side arm. I was wondering if you guys could recomend a decent side arm for under 300$. Im not partial to brands, just something reliable. I like the look of glocks, but im not partial to any one style. Is there any advantage to a co2/propane versus an aeg ?

Thanks
Ryan

Propane is the way to go. Nuff said. For sidearm get an M9 or 1911. There are plenty of those out there and quite reliable too usually. As usual, you cant go wrong with Tokyo Marui GBBs.

I concur!

It really depends on your taste and style of side arm you like

If you like Small compact SMG

- Mac 11
- Skorpion

They are quite small and quick to grab if you are in a pinch and enjoy a full auto package

Or if you enjoy Pistols like me :D then you should see if you:

Are you a big and powerful elephant killer?
- Desert Eagle

Do you like practicality and don't care about looks
- Glocks

Do you like sleek guns
- 1911

Do you like being an enforcer and shoot zombies (Resident evil they use this pistol a lot)
- Beretta M9

Do you like guns with a large array of upgrades
- Hi-Capa (2011)

Well hey, he did say he likes the look of glocks.. And if they have practicality too, they seem a good choice for him.

Used TM Hicapa.

- Accurate
- Good range
- Reliable as hell
- Big gas resevoir (2+ mags worth of BB's, or reliable rapid fire of the entire mag)
- Holds 31 BB's per mag
- Bazillion and a half upgrades and accessories available

I concur again

Heh heh now Janz99 you might be torn between a

Glock or a Hicapa

Flip a coin or get both if you can, you won't regret it thats for sure

Hey, well what do you know.... A certain retailer has some Hi-Cappas for sale at some pretty good prices too :D.

Aep's aren't very powerful or reliable, I'd recommend a gas gun. Propane over co2, co2 is usually too powerful for a close-in last-ditch weapon. Propane is also much cheaper. As to brands and models, if you're into the glocks and can afford it then get a TM.

Whats the price range on the different glocks and hi-cappa"s, and who normaly has them in stock?

Thanks guys!
Ryan

check out cbcsteve's retailer thread :D

My KSC Glock 17 has been my main workhorse pistol. Bought it as a collection piece with little intention of fielding it. It's turned into my more reliable, accurate and longest range pistol. I highly recommend it.

And of course, Hi Capa is a great choice too. Unless you have smaller hands, then it may be a bit of a pain in the ass.

I'd be curious to hear more about that. I so often hear about valves being "BROKEN", leaky mags, slides being stuck, sand gets stuck in the pistol, etc... that I was personally thinking of switching to an AEP (or at least having one).

What is so bad about AEP? I mean once a pistol shoots 220-240 fps and your battery is charged, what can go wrong?

AEPs have their place, especially in the cold where GBBs won't work at all. However, if you go that route, be sure to get a TM. Other brands just plain suck and will give you even more trouble than a cheap GBB. TMs are reliable. You can upgrade them to shoot in the 250-260 fps range too, which isn't bad.

As for problems with GBBs - if you get a good gun and perform regular maintenance, you'll get tens of thousands of shots out of a quality GBB without any problems. If you cheap out and get a budget brand pistol, then chances are you will be plagued with problems. TM, WA and KSC/KWA are the guns to get with GBBs. In the lower price range, KJW can be hit or miss. The guns are generally great, but mags tend to develop leaks. I wouldn't touch any of the cheaper brands (HFC, Army, Meister, etc) with a 10 foot pole. There's a reason they're cheap

what he said... man I regret selling my 3

The only thing about the Hicapa, the M9 or any other double stack pistol is you need fairly large hands for them to be comfortable. If you've got small hands like I do, then you'll find the double stacks awkward to control. In that case you'd better off with the slimmer single stack pistols like the 1911 or others.

If you want double stack and have small hands, the Glock is where it's at. They have very small grips considering their double stock mags.

HFC HG-199 nothing like blowback with full auto fire. lol

...and watching the gun blow itself apart during use. I've seen 3 of these HFC Berettas (1 semi, 2 full auto) basically fall apart from light use. They're a waste of money IMO. For the $50 US price tag, maybe they'd be worth it as wall hangers and occasional plinkers. For gaming guns, they're made of 100% fail.

i have KJW USP for Amos and it has not failed me yet expect when i popped the mag out my mistake (all my fault)

I fielded my tm hicapa 5.1 for the first time yesterday,this gun is a beast.amazing performance cronoed it yesterday at 300 to 310fps running on propane.at 25 feet the guy said ouch before hit lol.great eye catcher and performer.And it's true there's a ton of parts and upgrades.

i love my TM 5.1!!! will never go away from a TM pistol again!

Any TM GBBs and TM mk23 NBB will make GREAT sidearms guranteed haha

I concur with all above statements Hicapas are fun to shoot and lots of ugprades

But then again why wouldn't I like them ;)

Do i smell some self promo lol.

hehe...I did a survey on sidearms before some over zealous mod decided they didn't like my choice of topics and deleted the post....and it was between Glocks and 1911's as far as popularity.
Personally I have an KWA M9 PTP, a Tanaka P8, a Tanaka USP40 and KWA Sig226 PPTP.. There is no doubt that the one that feels best in my hand is the P8. With that said as far build quality and parts availability I would go with a KSC. And try to go with a metal slide if you intend to use propane. I have seen too many ABS slide guns blow off the frame when using propane.
A Glock 17 is really the only Glock model used by combat forces (if that matters to you) and there is lots of parts available from several manufacturers...

my 2 cents worth..,...

Talking of Hi Capas, are the TM version THAT better than the KJW or a KJW is just fine and will be as reliable\good than it's TM cousin?

TM and KJW are not cousins

KJW is a clone of TM, while KJW is not bad but its not up to par. Even with its metal slide it is still cheaper than a TM as the metal slide is mainly made out of a Metal alloy or also called cheap Potmetal. It performs fine since it copied the same TM guns except that there are small different subtle points that you will notice when comparing a the respective models with each other that the TM tends to have better quality

Why pay almost the same price for a clone when you can buy the real thing.

Full metal, that's why. For some people full metal is important. To get a full metal TM hicapa you're looking at something in the area of at least $600, probably more like $700 or $800. But you can get a full metal hicapa from KJW for around $300. If full metal isn't important then I agree, TM all the way. But you can't beat KJW for a good balance of decent quality full metal and a good price.

TM 5.1 all the way...once you get it you'll be say "What is this glock you speak of?"

5.1s are good, but I'm a fan of the 4.3

It just feels more solid to me, and the size differance isn't really noticable.