[Ambush Boi]

I personally like to play where I am behind the enemy or close to there front line so I can push them back and keep them there but still stay hidden and I have a ASG valor 1911 but there are some cases where that lets me down so what should I switch to. I had the SSP 18 in mind but I wasn’t to sure because of what I have heard about novritsch

 

[SiliconeSword]

The SSP18 is a pretty solid gun, I'd look at getting the parts to assemble one if that's an option though, and use his plastic slide and BBU instead. You'll get more shots per mag, and faster follow up shots. By itself it's decent though.

Hicapas are good too, if you go that route I'd get an SSP5, or an SSP5 lower and assemble light weight parts in a plastic Tokyo Marui slide. SSP5 is a bit more of a primary imo, so using Novritsch and aftermarket parts would probably lead to a more sidearm-like sidearm. AAP01 is supposed to be good too, probably good to run it to death and then fix it instead of throwing away all the stock parts right away.

 

[SneekySniper]

Yeah. AAP01 is a solid choice. I use it completely stock with .30 bbs and it slings them out a good 60 yards. But, it is a little awkward and has limited holster options. A hi-capa would be my advice, therefore the SSP 5 seems like a solid option, but the tokyo marui gold match looks awesome

 

[SiliconeSword]

As long as the SSP5 carries well I'd say it's the best you can get right now.

If you feel like it, getting Guarder or ProWin Hi-Capa mags for the SSP5 would be a good thing as it would lighten the gun substantially, along with your entire loadout. They do cost more, but enough to make it worth the cost compared to buying normal mags.

 

[nearsighted_ash]

I personally enjoy the ssp5, the thing shoots like laser out of the box and is pretty gas efficient since the slide is on the lighter spectrum compare to most platforms.

 

[SiliconeSword]

I think maybe even lighter compared to all other platforms, save for MAYBE the AAP01 with a light BBU, or one of those 3D printed split slides for a Hi-Capa you can get.
I think they did a great job on the think judging by the hop, barrel, slide, and improved frame as they pretty much fixed all the downfalls of the Hi-Capa platform.

 

[nearsighted_ash]

I feel like this would belong to another thread but I'll put it here anyway.
If you change their's (ssp5/aap01) barrel for a longer one (around 250-300mm) and hide the protruding parts with a mock suppressor, maybe add a carbine kit, these would qualify as gas blowback DMRs. Beware of the whooping fps increase though, I swapped the stock barrel for a 250mm one and it's fps jumped from~310 (0.36g BB) to almost 400fps (0.36g BB) so please do chronograph test it and check your field limit. Also pretty fun for backyard experimenting ngl.

 

[SiliconeSword]

That's great, just goes to show how much gas is wasted in a pistol length barrel.
Probably why I think 6, 7, 8, and 9 inch Hi-Capas are so cool, since you can whack out a BB at pretty good power, or you can get normal power but with a good deal of shots per fill depending on the slide situation.

With my next MK23 I'll likely install a 250mm barrel as with my current one I feel I can get more than my current 188mm barrel.

 

[Ambush Boi]

Alright I’ll look into the SSP 5 and we’ll go from there

 

[Akami]

I swapped the stock barrel for a 250mm one and it's fps jumped from~310 (0.36g BB) to almost 400fps (0.36g BB)

Adding stuff about this, I have a KJW KP06 with 138mm barrel and it shoots 360fps with 0,2g. I changed the barrel to 220mm and now it shoots 420fps with 0,2g.

 

[Mosin91/69]

Personally I'd recommend an aep the new cyma models with mosfets and lipo batteries or the novritsch SSE18 are great sidearms for snipers

 

[Doctor Jest]

Mk23 for stealth, AAP for firepower. I run both at various times and also a pimped MP5k if I want to clear buildings or suppress the opfor under my primary MED.

The AAP has such a gigantic selection of internal and external parts that you can use it to cover many bases but for me, it’s too light. I added a hefty muzzle device to stop it flipping quite so aggressively.

 

[RonSwanson]

Hi-capa is also worth a mention, not a silent side arm but a reliable one with the most aftermarket support for a pistol.

Hi-capas are double stacked 1911, so you get a 1911 on steroids look which I think is pretty ugly. Yet I do own a John wick TTI combat master that I love.

Also an MP5k is pretty small and versatile, nothing wrong with get an AEG is a side arm with a V2 or v3 gearbox so you can have full unlimited firepower for close encounters. Think a few people started to run compact stockless m4s on here I read awhile ago as a sidearm.

 

[Doctor Jest]

Also an MP5k is pretty small and versatile, nothing wrong with get an AEG is a side arm with a V2 or v3 gearbox so you can have full unlimited firepower for close encounters. Think a few people started to run compact stockless m4s on here I read awhile ago as a sidearm.

Yeah, I've seen a few around - but that would mean buying an M4 and I've avoided that for 20 years


(I'm joking! Just waiting for a unique one to catch my eye. Would quite like an AR-10 with full wood furniture...)

 

[zynomicon]

The aftermarket support is always mentioned, but it honestly matters less than you'd think, as long as it exists in some decent capacity. The difference between having 100 parts vs 2000 is meaningless, if performance is the goal. There's of course some correlations between quantity and quality, but let's skip that for now. You won't be using more than one specific kind of part at a time. It doesn't matter if there's 40 different variants of said part. You just want one quality replacement and that's it. The difference between biggest aftermarket support (Hi-Capa) vs. smaller one (AAP-01) is meaningless from perspective of performance. Both have access to the highly optimized quality parts.

But with that said, there's three obvious options that all make way more sense than anything else, and all of them have aftermarket support.

1) Hi-Capa. For obvious reasons. SSP5 is a good option here, which is honestly brilliant as a gun (you can dislike Novritsch for various things, but this gun is a beast). Can't be silent. A tuned Hi-Capa shoots laser up to 50-60 meters. Here's a genuinely well made SSP5 review that shows what a Hi-Capa can do. SSP5 is completely fine as stock, but a regular Hi-Capa you will have to heavily modify to get great performance. Great for indoors and outdoors.

2) AAP-01. Very light, shoots well, bit toy-like with stock upper, can be tuned to be whatever you want. Advantage over Hi-Capa is the size and weight. And actual full auto, which is useful maybe at best 1% of the time when using a sidearm (and to be able to swap to it for those situations, you'll need to mod in a quick selector switch). Can't be silent. Tuned up will have similar'ish accuracy as Hi-Capa. Out of the box it's not bad, but also not great. Great for indoors and outdoors.

3) MK23. Silent. Accuracy is often praised, but assuming the other two options are modded, there's practically no difference between MK23 and them. Everything else about it is kinda bad, or the other two options just do it better. Trigger pull is pretty shit, and the mods to make it more tolerable have significant downsides. Size is ridiculous, especially the length. Rate of fire is bad. You absolutely need to mod it. As sad as it is, MK23 is still worth considering even in 2023. Just underlines how shitty the market is for NBBs when this is genuinely still the best option for a stealthy sidearm -- the others aren't even worth mentioning. 100% outdoors only, and even then only for a very specific use.


Personally, I wouldn't run anything bulky as a secondary. Mobility counts, as does space for carrying. HPA tapped Hi-Capa and AAP-01 also accept M4 mags, in case you've got a DMR setup for example. Which means you could save a lot of space, run the same mags on primary and secondary, and still have the luxury of having an MK23 strapped somewhere with a few spare mags. I'd love to get completely rid of MK23, but it's honestly really good for exactly that small niche it occupies.

 

[Doctor Jest]

An HPA rig can be bulky, so it's kinda subjective as to how bulky we're prepared to go on a personal level....as is the need for mobility, load carrying, and all those other factors.....adding the M4 adapter in the AAP is clearly an option but then it does start to become the primary secondary Speaking of which....

The AAP is my "one-stop shop" for pistols right now. Modified CNC hop unit, AA barrel, muzzle break/weight, adjustable trigger, and external auto/semi switching. I'll probably even change out a couple more parts for CNC externals (at which point I stop and question how much I've spent......then realise the point was to get something I was 100% happy with, not economise to the nth degree) but overall it's very hard to find a negative -especially for the price.

P99 NBB was everything a Mk23 should have been in a smaller package (better trigger pull, smaller form factor, equally quiet and accurate, more power out of the box) but finding the two key parts (barrel stabiliser/washer and inner barrel) to elevate it to truly excellent levels is, for all practical purposes, impossible. It's a shame.....but equally, that's airsoft for you.

If I found myself in need of another pistol the SSP5 would be on the list, towards the top. Can't argue with its build or performance.

 

[zynomicon]

I'm not going to argue against an HPA rig possibly feeling bulky, because it's personal. And there's definitely some pretty bad setups too that can contribute to that feeling. But a HPA rig most often goes on the back, and the tank itself weighs roughly the same as three pistol mags. On the backside it's nicely out of the way, and it would be pretty rare for the tank to restrict positioning. What an HPA rig does do though, in the scenario laid above, is save up on that premium space with mag compatibility. You get to skip multiple additional sidearm magazines, which could easily be argued to be an increase in mobility. It's just one of the few realistic (imo) ways of filling in all of the check boxes, of a) having a high performing weapon with no MED, b) having a silent weapon with no MED, c) having a highly accurate silent weapon with extreme range for everything else.

This is of course personal too. I've tried carrying MK23, AAP and a rifle. It simply crosses that threshold of being a bit too much of a pain and restrictive with three different mags, space for guns etc. But that same setup in HPA falls just slightly under it. For someone else the tolerances might be different. For example, the only way I can carry MK23 is by crossdraw due to its length. Everything else feels even worse and even more restrictive.

Personally, I don't think a distinction between a primary or secondary makes much sense in a lot of ways, and it's leading us into weird traps regarding how to approach a "secondary" gun. It's the rules that impose these categorizations upon us. If I can't fire one gun due to MED in a specific situation, then it wasn't included in the selection to begin with. Might as well have the weapon I'm allowed to use performing as well as possible.


For HPA stuff on the pistols though, since we're on the topic. If anyone is looking to get into them, definitely skip the old style mag adapters that make the guns extremely tall. They're awkward and restrictive. The modern ones that slide in at a 90 degree angle are so much better. You don't really even notice them.

 

[zynomicon]

On AAP though, what Jest said is absolutely true. I don't think you can beat the gun at its price. The stock performance is best in its price class. But even when modded, it's very inexpensive, and still able to reach the top echelons in performance. You'd be hard pressed to get there with the same amount of money with any other gun.

Despite that though, after trying out SSP5, I can't help but want one. I love the looks. It just feels so nice and crisp.

 

[Doctor Jest]

I wouldn't refer to those requirements as realistic so much as highly efficient. If HPA covers all your requirements, then the rig is clearly a positive overall addition. As mentioned, it is highly subjective.....and as some local fields limit ammo weight in pistols, it's unworkable for me at least. I never carry many magazines so perhaps that in and of itself allows more load carrying freedom......

 

[Doctor Jest]

That noted however, at least multiple variations exist for us to explore options in our OCD quests 😁