Let’s Chat About The Grandaddy of Gas Pistols: The Airsoft HiCapa
We’re back with another issue of top questions, this time about the Airsoft Hi-Capa. This pistol is the grand father of gas pistols. It’s been around for a long time and is one of the most customizable models you can purchase today. We’ve compiled all of the the most sought after questions about airsoft Hi-Capas for you below!
Which is better: Green Gas or CO2?
Whichever one works best for your gun is the best choice. Some pistols like the Tokyo Marui models run best on duster gas, due to their construction, while other models can handle green gas better. We recommend you check the specifications on Airsoft GI to make sure that you are using the correct gas for your sidearm. When in doubt, you can always reach out to us and ask as well!
If We had to pick though, get yourself a gun that does both, like the KLI Baba Yaga!
Is The Tokyo Marui 5.1 a worthy sidearm?
Absolutely.
Just be aware of what you are paying for. Most of TM’s price tag comes from how exclusive they are to the Japanese market. You can certainly buy a hi-capa that is just as high performance or upgradeable for significantly less money. The TM model is more of a status symbol than it is the best possible option today, even though it was legendary when it released for a reason.
How Important is it to have a sidearm when you play airsoft?
This depends on where you play.
If you play indoors, your pistol is very often your primary and you definitely need one 100% of the time.
If you play outdoors, your pistol very often will be come a nice thing to have but not a requirement.
For me, I carry one every time I play, but it’s something that doesn’t get used very often on the outdoor field I play on, D14 Airsoft. It’s a “better to have and not need, than need and not have” type of item.
Whats the best Hi Capa you can buy for under $250?
There are a lot of great options for this, so we’re just going to list them below:
On one hand, you’ll have the people who say “TM is the best, just get that” and they have a reasonable argument. TM makes great products, but is it the best bang for your buck?
We’d argue that KLI makes a better Hi-capa in terms of performance and build. They are rated for green gas and CO2 out of the box, which TM is not. Full metal construction definitely puts it ahead of the TM model as well. Ultimately, the “best” is subjective, and the one that fits your needs and budget is the best for you.
Hopefully that answers your questions.
If we missed one that you desperately need the answer to, reach out to us on social media and let us know! What topics would you like to see us cover next week?
You just got your brand new bolt action sniper rifle home and are getting it set up! The scope and a bipod are looking good and ready to hit the field. You go to take your first headshot and the BB flies right by his face. He sees your shot and immediately starts to returns fire. It turns out that it might be a little harder to be your like your favorite airsoft sniper. Don’t worry because we have a few simple upgrades to get your gun shooting great!
The type of BB you choose will greatly affect the accuracy of your gun without changing parts in your gun. A heavier weight BB will be able to fight against gusts of wind better than the standard .20g BB. This applies to all airsoft guns. However, due to the heavier weight, You can lose a certain amount of range. This can be countered with quality hop up parts though! Every gun is different and you will want to test different weights and find what works best for you. Typically I would recommend starting with a .30g BB and adjust depending on how it performs.
Out of the box, you might not be able to maximize the range of the heavier weight BB. An upgraded hop-up bucking will be able to apply more backspin to increase and accuracy. There are a plethora of different types of buckings on the market. Do a little research and try one that you think will work best. Again, this is trial and error. What works for someone may not work for you. If you ever need some advice, you can always contact us too!
This inner barrel will arguably give you the best performance increase without major modification. Using a 6.03mm or 6.01mm tight bore inner barrel can decrease the spread size in your grouping, allowing for a straighter flight path. Be cautious when buying your inner barrel! There are specialized barrels for different models of guns (Ex. VSR10/BAR10, L96/MK96, etc.) and you want to be sure you get one that will fit!
As a result of any of these upgrades, Your performance will be increased compared to the way the gun shoots stock. If you upgrade all three of these, you will get a dramatic increase in performance. Only two of these require modification to your airsoft gun and they are not too difficult to install. Of course, there are a lot of upgrades you can do to get your gun to shoot even better. These are the easiest ones to do without much technical knowledge. The secret to a quality sniper rifle build is quality parts, quality installation, and consistent FPS output.
We’ve got another One Cent Deal going live this weekend for a Classic Army Skirmish Mk18! That means if you are lucky, vigilant, or both you can win this gun for the low low price of a penny! There’s a few things to keep in mind with this deal though:
Servers aren’t in California. It is not rigged. Everyone has a fair chance to win!
There is only one, but we’ll do this often as long as it stays fun for everyone! There will be more chances to win!
Bots and Scripts won’t work. Don’t even try. You have to play fair if you want to win!
Shipping prices will be normal standard rates. We’re not inflating it. No Shenanigans.
The name of the game here is giving back to our community of fans and supporters! We’re not doing this to make money (because honestly, we’re selling a gun for a penny here!). It will go live at a random time on Sunday, the 25th of August 2019. If you are ready and waiting for it, you could win this gun! We’re doing this to give back, and give people an opportunity to get something cool for next to no money! If you want more chances to win in the future, join our #RedWave movement and help us make airsoft better for everyone by sharing the deal with your friends and doing your part to make your community better!
So When Does It Go Live?
In the interest of fairness, we won’t give you the exact time, but what we will do is give you the window.
August 25th, 2019
Sometime between 4PM and 8PM Pacific Time
We’d recommend logging into the website a little early, sign in to your account and browse some of our new products, cheap deals, and one-of-a-kind custom guns! When the clock strikes three, let the refresh button race begin! Good luck, and may the odds be in your favor!
A lot of new players always ask how airsoft guns work. Most of them are surprised when we tell them most guns are powered by battery. Most believe that they are gas powered, similar to paintball. Once we inform them about all of the different types of power sources, the next questions usually is “What is be best power type for airsoft?” I am gonna talk about the Pro’s and Con’s if all the power sources in airsoft, as well as answer the most asked questions about them!
How are airsoft guns powered?
Nowadays airsoft guns are typically categorized into having three different power sources. Electric, Gas, and Spring powered airsoft guns.
Spring powered guns are pretty straight forward. You pull back the bolt or slide to lock the spring and piston to the rear. Basically when you pull the trigger, the piston will slam forward to shoot the BB out of the barrel. Then you will need to pull the bolt or slide again in order to fire again.
Electric powered airsoft guns use the same concept of a spring loaded piston to push the BB out of the barrel. However, instead of having to pull the piston back manually. They are attached to a set of gears. These are attached to a motor that is powered by a battery. When you pull the trigger, electricity will flow into the motor and spin the gears. The gears will pull the piston back. Once the piston is released from the gears, the spring will slam it forward to fire the BB.
Gas powered airsoft guns perform a little differently, depending on the type of system it has. First lets get into the gases themselves. Typically used in airsoft is Green Gas, CO2, and HPA. There are substitutions for Green Gas to power the same guns, but we will use Green Gas as the main reference. For gas powered airsoft guns there are Non Blow Back, Blow Back, and Pneumatic systems.
– Non Blow Back airsoft guns typically do not have a functional slide or bolt you need to use to fire the gun. All that is needed is to fill the gun with the gas it needs, insert a loaded magazine, take it off safety and fire. There will be no reaction but the BB being fired from the gun.
– Blow Back airsoft guns are using a bolt or slide system. Usually the gas is stored in the magazine. Once you load the magazine with gas and BBs. You will insert mag into the gun then pull the slide or bolt back. This will load a BB into the “chamber” and lock the firing hammer back. Once you pull the trigger, it will release the hammer. This will release gas from the magazine and push it into the bolt or slide. From here the gas going into the gun will be doing two actions. First, it will be shooting the BB out of the barrel. Second, it will push the bolt or slide backward to replicate the action that was made to load the gun. When the slide or bolt moves forward, it will load the next BB into the “chamber” and will be ready to fire again. When there are no more BBs, the slide or bolt will lock to the rear to indicate that the magazine is empty. This replicates the real fire arm function of an empty magazine.
– Pneumatic Systems are usually made for rifles. They normally are installed into receivers made for Electric Powered Rifles. Some systems will replace the gearbox completely and others will need to be installed into the gearbox to act as the mounting hardware. This system uses both a battery and “HPA”, also known as High Pressure Air. These HPA systems will have an external tank with a hose to connect to the gun. The battery powers the “FCU”, also known as the Fire Control Unit to activate the system. Depending on the FCU, it can control multiple functions of the unit. When the trigger is pulled, air is released instantly to push the BB out of the barrel. There is no piston that needs to be pulled back or bolt/slide to cycle back and fourth. It is an immediate release of air.
How do electric and gas airsoft guns differ?
Aside of the obvious difference of the power source, Both gas and electric guns have many differences. The main difference between the two would be magazine capacity and functionality. Electric guns will usually come with a 300 round magazine out of the box. Once the battery is plugged in. All you have to do is insert the magazine and fire. Gas guns (rifles specifically) will have 30-40 round magazines and need to be filled with the gas power. Gas guns will also give a simulated “recoil” that will give a feedback compared to the vibration of the gearbox shooting. They feel very different.
How to measure the power of an airsoft BB rifle?
What is most used is the velocity of the BB. Which is measured in FPS or MPS. Both are acronyms for Feet or Meters Per Second. The power of an airsoft gun can also be measures in Joules, the unit of energy for measuring force.
What is the best type of power for an airsoft gun?
This is a very subjective question that will depend on the users personal preference. All of these systems have pros and cons that will be up to the users to decide which platform they like the most. Gas guns are great for realism, while electric guns can be great for players looking for performance.
Electric powered airsoft guns Pros and Cons:
Pro – Easy to use.
Pro – Higher Magazine Capacity
Pro – Consistent FPS and Accuracy
Pro/Con – Wide variety of upgrade/repair parts (if a part breaks, you may need a airsoft tech to work on the gun)
Pro/Con – Battery provides power for a long period of time. (Required charging and may need more batteries for longer games)
Gas powered airsoft guns:
– Non Blow Back
Pro – Quite
Pro – Consistent FPS
Con – Limited repair/upgrade parts
– Blow Back:
Pro – Realistic functionality
Pro/Con – Upgrade/Repair parts available (similar to electric powered guns)
Pro/Con – Ready to use (if you have the gas power available)
Con – Low magazine capacity and heavier magazines
Con – FPS will drop as you are shooting (as gas is being expelled, the pressure will drop)
Con – Limited shots per gas fill
– Pneumatic Systems:
Pro – Amazing performance (Accuracy, energy consistency, trigger response)
Pro – Easy to adjust settings (Rate of fire, air volume, etc.)
Con – Limited shots to HPA tank
Con – External tank hose restricts movement
Con – Proprietary parts (must use manufacturers original parts to repair)
Hopefully this answers a lot of questions you have! There are many more details that I have not talked about. If you do have any questions, leave them in the comments and we will answer them!
We have the answer to your CO2 Airsoft Pistol Questions
In our last top questions blog, we covered general gas blowback pistol questions but for many of you that was not enough. We have been inundated with tons of requests for CO2 specific answers! Not being the type to leave our loyal fans hanging, we’ve got you covered this week with another Q&A about CO2 pistols!
What Does Blowback Mean In Relation To Airsoft?
This question was answered in our last blog, but to be more direct here’s the answer:
Blowback just means the slide functions and comes back the way you expect a real gun to work. Every time you pull the trigger, and gas is let into the system, the slide cycles to chamber the next round.
Are Blowback Weapons Worth It In Airsoft?
Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Yes, because they can be some of the most realistic and high quality guns you can buy, especially for sidearms. With Co2 guns, the blowback models are typically the highest power and quality options by a landslide beating out cheaper non blowback models in performance and durability. They provide a realistic shooting experience, as well as a level of realism that other power sources have a hard time competing with.
What Do You Think Is The Best CO2 Pistol For Beginners?
While the easiest pistol for beginners to acquire is often the cheapest, we believe spending the extra money for reliability is worth it. Many players often choose a Hi-Capa style like the KLI Baba Yaga because it is a familiar and aesthetically pleasing option. Many other players choose the Elite Force 1911 for it’s legendary reliability.
Ultimately, what is best is a matter of preference, but you should focus on something with a reputable manufacturer and quality of performance. You want your first guns as a beginner to last you for a while so you can enjoy playing and not stress about repairs.
How Loud Is a CO2 Blowback Outside?
They are about as loud as a nail gun. Depending on the parts on the muzzle they can be a little louder or a little quieter, but typically have a similar volume to most pneumatic tools.
Does Airsoft Practice Improve Real Tactical Shooting Skills?
It definitely can. Dry fire practice is a powerful tool for improving shooting skills when done correctly, and airsoft is a great way to do that. There are some differences to be mindful of such as the trigger pull and weight being different, as well as felt recoil when you shoot with gas.
Just remember to be safe when training!
How Many Rounds Can You Get Out of a CO2 Magazine?
This depends on the gun. Something like the KLI HI-capa can get over 50 rounds from one magazine. Alternatively, the Elite Force 1911 is usually a little less than that at closer to 30 rounds. Non-blowback pistols can exceed well over 100 rounds depending on the gun.
What is the Best Airsoft Glock?
We answered this question in our Glock blog, but since this is a CO2 Q&A, we’d be remiss not to include the CO2 Glock 17 by Elite Force. It is the only officially licensed line of Glock pistols and the CO2 model has fantastic recoil and realism. It’s a high quality model that is easily the best Glock replica on the market.
Did These Answer Your Questions?
Hopefully this answers some of your questions about CO2 Airsoft pistols. If you have more, feel free to reach out to us here in the comments, on social media, or in store at any of our three walk-in locations!
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