More Hand Guns
 

I need to know what hand guns out there that are really good guns all around that do not jam alot, around $300-350 price range, can hold 25 or more bb's per mag, gas powered, Part metal or full, no plastic guns, i was lookng at beretta's. Are there any other guns or what types of Beretta's would i be looking for? names? websites i can look on? Also just a bonus i do like chrome or silver, but it does not really matter? All ideas and opinions welcome!
Thanks......Tony

this question was asked less than a month ago!
http://xtreme-tactics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151

try searching the forums next time. All your questions have been answered in previous posts. In fact, if you read the thread previous to this one you'll prolly find some more answers to your question.

Read on, my friend.

Well, the ONLY thing that's in your price range is the KJW M9 - and it's a crap shoot as to whether you'll get a good one or a POS out of the box, because KJW is not known for their quality control.

Add another $200-$300 to your price range and you can pick up a new Tokyo Marui M9 and have a metal slide and frame installed. It's a better gun, and will last a lot longer.

Incidentally, the chrome finish on any airsoft gun is soft and not very deep - it'll get scratched to shit in no time, and it can't be repolished or re-plated.

I'll toss you a freebie, because I'm a nice guy:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q...M9+review&meta=

----

As an aside (not directed at anyone in particular), I've noticed a trend among new players who expect fully-upgraded, full-metal, leet-to-the-max guns but only want to spend X amount of dollars. To be blunt, this is not a sport for the cheap. Many of us "old timers" have gun/gear collections that are running close to $10K or more. If you added up the value of all the Team Wolfpack gear in the city I bet you'd be running close to 50 large.

I have 4 guns that (combined) are worth more than my car - and Volvo's ain't cheap. Airsoft is not for people on a budget, and does not acquiesce to the "Wal-Mart" mentality. It is not uncommon for many of us serious players to have a single gun that's worth close to $1.5K after upgrades.

Airsoft is, in many ways, like real life - you only get what you pay for. If you want to spend the bare minimum amount of money, you're going to get the bare minimum amount of quality. When you walk into the Porche dealership and say you want that new 911 Cabrio but you only want to pay 5 grand for it, they're going to laugh you right off the lot. Why would it be any different for airsoft? By going cheap, you're only getting the minimum of what this sport is about.

Reply
 

Hello, I do appreciate both posts, thanks for the links the one to airsoft canada helped alot. The one from yahoo, gave me some ideas, however, Gypsy,When you bought your first car, I'm sure you did'nt get a Porche 911. I would think same goes for Airsoft guns.Mybe not yourself personally, but I'm sure not everyone who has an airsoft gun spent $1000 or more there first shot. Having said that i know personally a good friend of mine picked up a TM HI CAPA 5.1 for $300 brand new. Now correct me if I'm wrong but i hear this is a really good hand gun. So i do belive that there are good hand guns out there for that price range. I am going to get an semi automatic this winter but just wanna try with the handgun first. I went on this website specairsoft that had full metal Beretta's,Glocs ect... for $250 and up.Im sure its not the greatest quality but if u search around I'm sure you will find somthing you will like.I do know having just being at Extreme just one month and spending just under $200 on games alone that it is expensive. Budget or no Budget, Me personally, I could not justify spending that much without a test drive. Anyways thanks for the replys boys, and don't let that porsha of yours get ruined. See u in tha house!

I don't usually post, but I figured I'd try.

I do a lot of reading on airsoft forums. I haven't owned a lot of airsoft guns but I thought I might offer some help. The thing that catches my eye about your post is that you wanted a gun that doesn't jam a lot, within a certain price range, and non plastic. The parts about having it hold 25 or more and gas powered are easy. A price range of $300 - $350 is a good base price for regular gas powered guns out there. Examples like the one you mentioned TM HI CAPA 5.1 and like Gypsy mentioned TM M9 both are in that price range. You should take note that these are both mostly ASB plastic. I've held a couple HI CAPA's and they are quite hefty despite being plastic. But of course that's where my experience ends with that gun.

Another gun that Gypsy mentioned is the KJW M9. This is one of those bargain ones since they are available in full metal frame and slide, but still come at around the same price as the above guns. However, just like Gypsy mentioned, it's a gamble as I have read when it comes to getting a gun that is good or a POS. I was lucky enough to get one that functioned relatively well and it was overall a good buy. Sold later, but for different reasons.

Really, when it comes down to it, you have to choose a balance between quality, price, functionality and maybe a few other factors. Something that was discussed about on the old AirsoftZone forum. You can't simply choose a price range and expect a porche. And as you said, jumping in and buying a porche for your first car isn't the way you want to approach it. You'd most likely settle for a less than stellar one that you can use but not worry about hurting... and maybe tinker around with.

Like p.phresh suggested, do more reading. Chances are someone asked the question before and you might learn something from it. A lot of newer players seem to get alienated quite quickly because of asking the same thing over again. Google is an excellent tool, as well as the search function on ASC and other airsoft forums, all of these helped me a lot when I was shopping around for what I wanted. Actually seeing and holding the gun would be a really good piece of advice as well, chances are you wouldn't go to a car dealership and buy a car without at least sitting in the driver seat... if not test drive it.

Here are a few links just to start (skip the ones you've read):

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/?fil...etal_review.htm
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=6580
http://www.planetairsoft.net/review-kjelitem9.htm

All of the above were found using google. Something I usually do is look around at retailer sites and see what they have for sale in my price range and use google to find reviews. You may want to try that as well.

You can buy the KJW and it will most likely suit your needs, however you may have to deal with repeated break downs, gas leaks, abnormal operation. It's your dime, Gypsy has most likely gone the various routes and now is trying to advise you on a good one. I personally would listen to him, but that's just me.

As far as the M9 is concerned, it would seem people here have a relativly poor opinion of them. As I work in retail electronics I know it only takes one bad experiance with an item or brand to make you color your opinion, and many posters on this board have far broader experiance with airsoft weaponry than me.

But I'd personally like to recommend the KJW as a person's first gun. The all metal construction makes this a very durable gun, with simple operation and maintainence. I've found my gun to be very reliable and accurate, with 300-310 FPS using propane, it gives a good solid kick and provides a satisfying weight, feel, and look (especially the chrome one).

Maybe this isn't the norm, maybe I lucked out, but this is my $0.02

I also have to agree with Gypsy that airsoft is not a poor man's sport. I own 2 guns now, my M9 and an M4, both which I bought used, and it still cost me nearly $1000. (And I have to say I got a pretty good deal on the M4, replica Surefire anyone?) Once I add a metal body, reenforced gears/bushings, spring, my m4/c8 will be worth that alone, not to mention actual gear and clothing.

Strapped up in BDU's, tact vest, helmet, rifle, sidearm, and accessories, I'll be worth nearly $2000. I think I'm not exagerating here when I say to play Airsoft, its almost a necessity to own at LEAST the following. 1 AEG, Face Mask, Magazines, and a Vest. Sure, here in Winnipeg you can rent to play at XT, but there is so much more to experiance outside of that sphere. You don't have to get custom camo, 4 guns and a ghillie suit, but you have to at least enough equipment to go out to a game, protect yourself from injury, and have fun without being a burden.

I have a rather mixed opinion on the KJW line of guns. While the QC is horrendously lax, the pot metal they create the guns is poor at best (the hammer and a disconnector inside of my P14 have since sheared/broken off, much to my dismay) and downright lousy at worst (see the guy on ASC with the broken slide on his M9 that hit him in the face), and the KJW guns have been coloured with their series of embarassing failures (M9's with breaking trigger springs, P8's with breaking trigger assemblies, 1911's with leaking magazines, P14's with breaking mag catches, seriously overpowered M700's) they do satisfy the craving for a cheap gas blowback with a high metal (albeit low quality metal) content. It's a game of chance: You can get a lemon straight from factory or you could get a decent gas blowback that could last you a long time.

After my experience with my P14-45, I won't give them a thumbs up or a thumbs down. It's up to you.

Honestly boys, I think the lack of quality issue with KJW guns has come about as they rushed to ramp up production. If you look at the very first KJW guns (Glock 27), they are usually VERY well constructed, because they were assembled in small batches for a small market. KJW was a new and unknown company, and since their product was made in Taiwan and was not exported/for sale in Japan, the next largest natural market would be the US.

When KJW became very popular with US players due to high metal content, KJW began to mass-produce to take advantage of the market. They started using lesser-quality materials to reduce costs, resulting in the M9 and P14, which have had progressively more problems and less and less quality control. Essentially, all KJW does is take popular Japanese guns and reverse-engineer them, then build them with more metal. However, just because you have a set of digital calipers doesn't mean you can match Japanese quality control or have the same stringent control over the quality of the raw materials. As Mr. WongJr said, the Taiwanese/Hong Kong manufacturers cast the parts (not mill them) often leaving casting lines and residue, as well as microscopic air bubbles that weaken the parts, and use crappy pot metal, also called "white metal" or "monkey metal". The $200+ metal slides that are made in Japan by PGC or Shooter's Design or Sherriff are made of a block of solid milled aluminum and are very high quality.

$300 for a HiCapa is a fair deal, for a TM, but TM's are not full metal as you requested, nor is it a Beretta. I haven't personally handled one of the new Tiawanese full-metal HiCapas (those are built by STTi, and then sold under various brand names), but the people I know who have them all say they're sub-par from a performance standpoint compared to the TM, even if they are metal.

And while I didn't buy a Porche as a first car, I did spend $14K at age 20 to buy something that wasn't a piece of crap. I spent a lot of coin, but I also realized while I wanted something nice and reliable as well as good looking, I wasn't going to be getting a Porche for that kind of money, either. As I mentioned before, spending $600+ on a gun is NOTHING - it's a drop in the bucket. If you've already played and you know you love the sport, why cheapen your experience by playing with inferior equipment that will inevitably break down and disappoint you? If you're going to buy a $300 gun that's going to need $150 in repairs a year down the road, why not spend a little more up front and get something that will last?

Thanks
 

Well Boys, i ended buying the KJW Full Metal M9 last nitght at Xtreme from 204Hoe. It was upgraded,came with 3 mags, 1 of then being chrome,the gun was silver. The damage (price) was under $400. I obviously spoke with the owner about the gun about jamming ect.... as well as the previous owner before Hoe who actually is apart of Task force i belive (correct me if I'm wrong) both said the gun has very rarley jammed , never had to repair it never a problem with this particular gun. I tried it out in the game last night, and it worked beautifully for me. The weight was great, shot at 310,kick back was nice,did not jam or have any problems with it.Not to mention her looks are good. It was pretty accurate especially in the confined spaces of Xtreme, So It looks like i ended up buying a Hyundai and not a lemon.(Lets hope so).Regarding prices again, i do plan on getting most things that were mentioned, just in the winter as well as an AEG, i plan to start playing outside as well as Xtreme
next spring.Just wanna say thanks to all who replied and who gave there opinons,websites,personal experiances with certain guns ect..... much appreciated.Thanks for all the info, see u at Xtreme, and outdoors next spring.. Tony.