[Gratian]

Hey folks,

First off: Any suggestion related to this post is highly appreciated. If you have experience with anything, that being the place I am ordering from, in field uncomforts, or absolutely anything else related, please throw them out there :shot:

Background

Okay so I am still an initiate in the Order of Airsoft Snipers, and though upgrading the rifle(a G&G SR25- yes yes, I know, I should've gotten the G&P or A&K... such it is :shrug is, theoretically, at the top of the list, if you don't get the bigger costs out of the way, you'll always struggle with them, where purchasing a cylinder here and a piston there is much more cost effective and you'll be able to get them piece by piece. I am also a full time Law Student so I need to be as cost effective as possible. So please refrain from suggesting simply the highest priced goods as I will not be able to afford them. The target is anything between $130 - $170 on Redwolf for the sidearm. The Holster is not a problem, I'll look into them myself(cost wise).

Sidearm

Okay so having read a few threads I have seen that people find the WE's abysmal, the KJWs and so on shaky, and pretty much the only ones that I've seen only positive reviews on was the Tokyo Marui(go figure). Which is of course expensive, but the TM M9 is fairly cheap. So, I want to know your suggestions, absolutely whatsoever, with regards to a good sidearm, the TM M9, taking into account it should preferably be available on Redwolf, between $130 and $170, and so on. Shoot! :shot:

Holster

The second issue is the holster. This one is less serious. I am of the opinion(which is available for your scrutiny, illustrious veterans :tup: ! ) that a drop-leg holster would be a good option since I don't need to worry about a chest rig to hold it as of yet and if I do need extra real estate eventually I can get a battle belt(again, scrutinize away I cannot wait(bit of a sadist in this regard :yup: )). We do a lot of leopard crawling down here through thick bush, and something on the chest might get in the way I thought, and though drop-leg is a bit of a stretch, my arms can reach it comfortably enough (I THINK). Any tips and tricks with regards to loadout and holster options are sincerely, sincerely apprecaited.

Thanks in advance guys,
Cheers! :shot:

 

[Wolfgeorge]

Well sure the TM are the most expensive but are far superior in all aspects, and more importantly their hop up is fine tuned right out of the box and the are the most reliable.

I won't comment on the M9A1 as I don't own one but I'd suggest the Hi Capa(anyone you like except the Extreme!) if you use one... Once.... you'll understand why!
They have big gas reservoir and they have the look of the 1911 which IMO is very appealing!

Any TM will give a big smile on your face!!
But go with TM Hi Capa and you won't miss!!


Wolf

 

[AirsoftAssassin]

and if you do miss, you have another 25+ rounds to shoot at them lol. Yeah go with the Hi-Capa TM except the Extreme. the M9 I have no experience with it but heard good things on it.

 

[Nightwolf]

Idem like wolf and AA
The tm hicapa is a great side arm with a lot of option. It's the vsr amongst the pistols.
You can even modify it a little and use a 1911 serpa.

 

[Desert Sniper]

I don't have very much experience with pistols so I'll leave that to the others, but if you want info on what kind of holsters are out there and what works best take a look through this thread, http://www.airsoftsniperforum.com/35-sidearms-optics-gear-accessories/11126-sidearm-where-place.html

 

[Gratian]

Thanks to everyonr for the diligent responses!

Would you assume the M9 to be equal in most part to the hi Capa 5.1 with regards to inner functioning? If not it truly isnt the end of the world I just prefer the look and feel of the M9 personally

 

[AirsoftAssassin]

You can get a lot of parts for the M9, the Hi-Capa is like the Cadillac of the pistols and the M9 is like the ford of pistols. You can get about every part you wish to upgrade in/out it.

M9 + Hi-Capa parts will not work at all.

 

[Gratian]

Thanks AA!

And with actual performance youd say they shooould be about equal? So sorry for the ignorance but the reference is a bit vague to me as American cars are impractical purchases all round in SA owing to the expense of parts importing! :S

Thanks!

 

[Sneaktheif]

So what AA is saying is that you can replace every single part on a TM highcapa with a readily available upgrade part. You can spend thousands of $$ on highcapa's. M9's have much more limited upgrade availability.

So now for my opinion. While they are not the cats of GBB's, KJW makes some fantastic guns. I currently have a KJW Glock 23 and it is amazing. Felt recoil is very low, but the blowback is snappy, quick, accuracy is good. Efficiency isn't amazing, but it has yet to not get through a mag. Which for someone in the cold, wet climate of WA, USA is fantastic. And it still has a pretty snappy action in cold unlike almost any gbb I have yet handled.

But my personal top pick right now would be the Stark Arms G19 if you like the glock style. Clocking in at right around $100, they have gotten rave reviews. Aside from being one of the most accurate replicas and aesthetically pleasing, I have yet to hear any complaints about performance. Now unfortunately I have yet to get my hands on one, but from many reports I have read, they are universally loved.

If you can get a TM, you will love it. (I am personally a little disappointed in the performance of my TM p226 I just got but I think it needs a couple parts to compensate for the metal slide) You can't go wrong with KJW. Occasionally people get lemons, but the P226 my friend just got and the G23 I have are both fantastic. And they are nearly 100% TM compatible, meaning that almost any TM upgrade part you can find will fit your KJW.

As to holsters, Blackhawk! Serpa hands down every time. It is absolutely the best holster I have used. The lock is very positive and 100% secure. The leg platform is great as well. They are very comfortable and the draw is extremely natural. I love it over any soft shell or friction lock holster because I know my gun will be there every time, no matter what and because they are gun specific, you are guaranteed it won't bump your mag release too.

Oh, and the last advantage of KJW, is that they can handle c02 in cold weather and co2 mags are readily available for nearly every model. This is a huge plus for me because GBB's in anything under 50F is a constant struggle.

This is my personal experience and 2 cents! Hope it helps!

 

[AirsoftAssassin]

No problem I should have been more straight forward.
The Hi-capa is the best side arm you can get, it has parts, reliable and has great gas capacity.

the M9 is the runner-up IMHO, it has less parts but are still readily available, good reliable and has decent-good gas capacity.

Hope this kinda help out, sorry for the original ref.

Edit: Sneakthief you beat me again.

 

[Sneaktheif]

Always there for ya bro!

 

[Kultabashi]

Love it everyone including me has excellent reviews on the TM High Capa Line.

The SingleStack TM 1911s are also good, but due to the smaller magazine capacity, they dont carry as much GAS as the HighCappa Mags. But in all essence, theyre pretty much similar in performance to the 4.3s and 5.1s of TM.

the TM P226 Line is also good, BUT... compared to the 1911s (Double Stack and Single Stack). Theyre a bit lacking in performance. But with a little care and a few upgrades, they can kick tush too. I have one with a PGC All Metal Kit, upgraded metal valve knocker and knocker lock. working very well as a general purpose sidearm

If you invest in a TM, you will get your moneys worth.

 

[Southclaw]

I own a secondhand KJW m9, it didn't work when I got it but I emailed KJW and they sent me all the parts I needed for a very good price, I was reading in a forum that Lil Shady reccomended to me and they were talking about who makes the best m9( that's what you want to know right?) it seemed like tm lead the pack but they are also the most expensive, but if you want a gun that's gonna be your all day field gun, it's going to get beat on scratched up and generally abused, KJW/KSC would be a good pick for this was the general consensus. It really just depends on what your budget is. Both are built like tanks and with a little fiddiling they'll shoot great.

Another thing to consider is that tm recently changed how they made there pistols, and there aren't really that many parts yet, the old design was good and the parts are easy to get. The tm body is plastic to, maybe that's just a thing for me but I like a metal body. KJW/KSC stuff is pretty much a straight up clone of the old tm, and parts for them are everywhere. Anyway, it's your cheese, you decide how you wanna slice it.

 

[airsoftmaniacman]

Definitely agree on TM. Yes, the guns are made of plastic, but that plastic is very durable. Additionally, plastic decreases the cool down effect when rapid firing a pistol since plastic is a poor heat conductor.

I originally purchased my TM 1911 MEU with plans to install a Nova or PGC metal body kit. However, a few events have occurred since I purchased my TM. First, Nova and PGC body kits are discontinued and impossible to find, and the Guarder kits aren't worth it for a MBK. Second, the plastic body has not failed me at all despite continual use with propane. I plan on continuing to use the original plastic body until it breaks catastrophically.

 

[Dirt]

I have two VFC/Stark Arms G19s. They are very appealing looking GBB pistol out of the box. I can barely tell the difference side by side with my RS Glock. The performance is good too, right there with KWA and KJW. Aesthetically the VFC is nicer than a stock TM Glock. However, TM is at another level as far as performance. Get a TM if you can.

I try to buy used "thermal molded", polymer Safariland Holsters on EBay. I originally bought a leg drop holster but found it to be uncomfortable. I now prefer to have my holster on my hip.

Good luck!!!

 

[Southclaw]

I actually have a theory that a metal body is better for cool down instead of a plastic one, and yes it has to do with science!

A metal body will have much better thermal conductivity then plastic right? Now, when you have a object, it achieves a certin temp andwill want to stay that way,if you then light a match under one corner, the heat will spread through the whole piece, everyone agree? This is do to the need to have a balanced tempature. The heat will spread through the block until it is evenly distributed and the block has reached a new balance. The same is true for cold, if you put an ice cube one one side it will try and archive a new balance. So thus, plastic guns will actually have a more pronounced cool down. Now correct me if I am wrong but that makes sense in my mind! But I could be totally wrong.

Gratin, I have not had any experience with a hi cappa, but they look like excellent guns, just listen to the people on this forum and you'll figure out what your looking for. Just remember to prioritize what exactly you want, do you want looks? Feel? Realism? Gas efficacy? Do you want to be able to drag it through the mud and rain and still have to shoot great? Find out what's most important to you and you'll be golden

 

[Wolfgeorge]

I have many Wester Arm (WA) pistols (1911's and M9), they have a nice recoil but they are nowhere near the performance of TM pistols!

Seriously go the Hi capa way, you can make it tactical:

Or racing (IPSC)

Or like this

Wolf

 

[Wolfgeorge]

What??
You don't like the Tiki?



Wolf

 

[Wolfgeorge]

It's not the prettiest pistol but it has the best sight setup!
I also have and a single stuck WA based Prime tiki hybrid.


Wolf

 

[Nightwolf]

WOLF! They are amazing!
Makes me wanna buy a hicapa again