Western Arms
 

Iv been looking around at different pistol gbbs and so far have been recommended only one brand... Tokyo marui(which i now have)

People keep saying its the only hand gun i need and iv been hearing nothing but recommendations and good things about it.

anyways! If it were between tokyo marui and WA which one would you guys prefer?

How are WA Gbb's? Hows the quality? So far when it comes to price i keep seeing WA as cheaper than TM(when i say this i mean stock vs stock and custom vs custom).

Can anyone tell me about the general quality of WA and why or why not its good?

Any general info would help, and i wont mind it being compared to TM.

Thanks!

p.s. if i posted this in the wrong place pls tell me where i can post questions like these.

WA's are for hanging on the wall, and TM's are for gaming.

Lol that actually says alot if not all!

I can still use some info on its odds and ends

WA gbb feel and look awesome, especially compared to TM.

But they can be finicky...

Problem with WA I found is that replacement and aftermarket parts are hard to come by and quite expensive. Their pistol GBBs aren't very mainstream like TM.

Is there high quality WA that are as good as a TM of same quality?

WA's are higher in quality than most
other stock GBBs. There are plenty of
good reviews on them all over the web.

Most who usually post to questions like
this, know little to nothing.

The main reason there has always
been a limited supply of after market
parts for WA's is because they have
released so many different models
in short runs. So the aftermarket
parts are also in short runs. Obviously
the SV & 1911 lines are more popular
so more goodies were made for them.
TM has limited 2011/1911 models
that haven't changed in a long time
so more can be released for them.

All magna/scw1 are made extremely
well inside. very little will break and no
upgrades are needed for propane except
for a 150% hammer spring and a metal
slide. These models came with a heavy
(metal powder mixed) abs slide that's
a wee bit soft. The blowback/kick of WA's
has to be experienced. Their mags hold
more gas, last very long and the guns
them selves are heavier than TM's, 'bout
half of TM's 5.1 weight is in the mag.

Scw2/3 are made a little cheaper but
come with tightbore inner barrels, a stock
inner barrel assembly that TM is coming
closer to copying and different hammer
system. Scw2 have the same weak slides,
scw3 have newer abs slides with a metal
layer in between 2 abs layers making them
propane ready.

Almost all WA's can use the stock recoil
spring with a metal slide, because alu
slides are typically lighter. WA's also
don't suffer from the same metal slide +
chamber damage that TMs do ie: the lugs
sheer off under the slide, the plate where
the chamber returns gets bashed until
your gun get ruined. Collectors buy WA's
also because they're licensed copies and
have all the accurate trades/elements.

I collect and game WA's, been running my
main magna SV5 for over 5 years. Put a
metal slide on it from day 1, replaced the
nozzle after 5k shots, all the rest are stock
parts I rarely clean.

TM's have taken over the market due to the
cheaper entry, good performance out of box,
and because they're the honda, lots of dodads
to customize your model which has massive
appeal with the chairsofters.

Anything I missed, feel free to ask.

Sad isn't it?

WA's used to fetch a fair bit more
a year or 2 ago, than any other GBB's.
But times have changed, most new
guys have no clue about them or
where to get the scare parts for old
models so they avoid. Low demand
has sellers unloading them for less
or the same as a common TM. I'm
sure 90% of the WA's out there have
flowed through my hands over past
few years lol.

Meet me at TAC on a Friday and you
can see and fire my WA game pistols.
But don't blame me if you get bitten.

Great overview! Thanks! I do agree on the less parts = scary lol especially when most other Gbb's out there are Tm clones. I cant go this friday but Will be going for CAPS on Nov. first with my team. Im expecting to see the Higher end customs of WA then.

Thanks for the info!

Mind if I do too? =P

I've been wanting to get my hands on a WA for ages now.

Anytime I'm there yes, probably next
Friday since it'll be a skirmish night.

There's always some in the for sale
area, hint hint.

My WA Beretta 92FS Inox is the most accurage GBB I have, and it's bone stock. Unfortunately, I have never been able to locate a metal slide for it, so I never use the gun for fear of breaking it with propane. It goes back to what safx said. No parts available.

But when it comes to the cosmetics, it's the king of my collection. It's an absolute beauty of a gun. And it's actually hard to tell the gun is plastic when handling it because of the incredibly metallic look and hefty weight. I really wish I could locate an aluminum slide for it so that I could actually use it. I love that gun.

I've got a WA 6" Infinity SV, old Magna internals, but they are in excellent shape (haven't been used much to my knowledge). It is a beast. I've fired it just a few times on propane (read: 5), because I don't have duster gas nor an adapter for it. The kick is absolutely unbelievable even compared to my FMU hicapa. The internals appear to be extremely rugged as well.

Same deal for me though, Crunch. My chances of finding one of those 6" alu slide for this gun is pretty slim. I don't know exactly where to look either.

I've tried all the Asian online sites to no avail. Last year I managed to find 1 metal slide (can't remember where), but in black, and they were out of stock at the time.

I have fired the gun on propane on the odd occasion, but always feel very uneasy about it. Usually never fire more than 1 mag before putting the gun away.

Most of the stuff on Asian stores have
been sold to other countries, so you may
have better luck looking at US sites like
ASC and shops.

And if you really want a custom slide,
ILLusion or possibly ProG4 will do a
custom for you. Brian quoted me one
for close to $300, which isn't bad for
"one-off" top end CNC aluminum with
trademarks.

Crunch— your inox was a very limited
gun, so there was only a short supply
of slides, most metal releases were in
fmu kit form, which are all long gone.

Ur— Just be patient, SV slides are not
uncommon, one is sure to pop up on
eBay or forums around the world, keep
your eyes open :)