/Start spoonfeed
"Full Metal" is not necessarily a good marketing point.
Full metal just really sums up the externals of the gun.
There's a youtube video of the stupid idiot from RedDragon Airsoft blowing off the metal slide off of his WE "Full MEtal" Biohazzard M9. Jared is his name. Spring melding FTW!!
The most important things are the quality of the internals. If the body is metal but your internals are crap quality pot metal then... well you know how that ends.
This is why some people choose Marui products, tho plastic, over products like Bell or Army, or WEs and KJWs. Marui Internals are superior, IMO, to the latter.
Again...
The only pistol that will last you a "lifetime" is the one you make with your fingers and go PEW PEW PEW.
In airsoft, you always get what you pay for. And in airsoft, something always goes wrong.
Believe it or not, Maruis do not appeal to everyone. The plastic just turns a lot of people off. That's why there are metal body kits and aluminum slides out there for most of their guns.
Think about it this way:
There's always a bar to raise for any consumer product out there. And there is always a manufacturer that is able achieve this feat. Marui is both the standard and the bar raiser. Just like how Tanio Kobayahsi fathered the model gun, Marui modernized it.
There is a reason why there are copies of Marui's product design being sold under different brands. The problem is when clones are made, they are not as great as the original.
A nice example of this was back in the day when WE cloned the Marui Hi-Capa. It was was disastrous. Mags leaked. In Canadian specific WE Hi-Capa's the mid frame would crack. There were trigger issues. Plain and simply, they just weren't too reliable (to speak in your terms).
To their credit, WE has stepped up their game but in my opinion, still lacks the certain...."finese" that Marui guns seem to exude.
The suggestions made here are valid and resonate within the community because of the proven track record of these Marui products. Particularly, the Hi-capa and 1911.
From your criteria, the tried and true hi-capa looks like its what you're looking for. Having a plethora of parts to choose from give you the flexibility to literally make a "reliable" gun from the ground up (i don't recommend doing that tho if you're new at this). You can possibly improve just about anything.
You can modify trigger functions like the take up, weight, etc just as an example. This is why they have a distinct advantage over most pistols in most competitive shooting arenas. In fact, they often have their own division.
If you want a full review and list of known issues with the Hi-Capa, read this long thread. It's filled with operators that have issues with their hi-capas:
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=94413
This is another point to make about the hi-capa (and perhaps guns that have been around for a while). Because it's been on the market for a while, there are more than likely enough operators that can offer troubleshooting tips, techniques and solutions to almost any failure you may encounter in the future. That's a big plus.
And I'm not talking about JUST Marui Hi-Capas here. I'm including the KJWs. They have proven themselves to be very good starting pistols for someone who aren't willing to go the Marui route. The good thing about KJWs are that they have strong parts inside already fitted. And if they break, KJW is pretty easy to get a hold of to get replacements.
The downside is, the pretty slides that you may want to put on there, does not 100% fit correctly as they are tailored to Marui specs.
A second viable option is to have someone put a gun together for you. This is a fairly expensive venture as labour and parts add up really fast. But the rewards are always worth it. Just look for a really good pistol smith in your area.
I do not recommend you buy guns that have just been released unless they have good market support, as Biorage explained. Externals, fine. But if the guts break, you SOL soonnn.
The Glock 17 is good but not as great as a Hi-capa/1911.
The Gat is lot more brittle. However, due to its ergonimics (grip angle, bore axis, etc), ease of parts maintenance (how easily you can tear everything down and put back together), how easy you can re-inforce the brittle parts (like the frame) make it an attractive option to many operators.
Here's another thread that may help you decide. This one is about the glock:
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=140496
Ultimately, as Datawraith said:
Quote:
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To OP, regardless of which one you end up getting, make sure it fits your hand and feels the way you like. I absolutely can't use Glocks, so see if you can figure out what works and doesn't work for you by going into a store and holding them.
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/End Spoonfeed