TM Hicapa 4.3" mini performance review

[MadMax]

Plug: Thanks to 6mm Vince who brought this new toy around for me to play with.

My first impressions of this GBB was that it was a nicely built GBB. Not much slide wobble and good heft in the hand. The mag slides out easily, but registers firmly when slammed into the grip. The recoil spring holds the slide in battery nicely. It's not slack as is with many HFC134a optimized designs.

Still pretty similar to the TM 5.1" Hicapa. I'm not going to dwell on the basic features as they can be looked up on pretty much any site that carries this GBB.

Performance:

Out comes the chrony. I use a Guarder optoelectronic chrony which has been shown to be very accurate. It pretty much agrees with my ProChrono which is a firearms chrono anyways. I test with Guarder brand 0.2g pellets.

propellant used: mmm... stinky Coleman propane @ ~20C

I fire a shot every 5 seconds and record velocity. I'd shoot faster like I was double or triple tapping, but I can't write down measurements fast enough. I allow freshly filled mags to warm to room temp by letting them sit for at least 15 minutes. I goose them a bit by holding them in my hands for a minute or two before allowing the stabilize.

10 shot series (5 sec apart):
291, 295, 285, 286, 287, 291, 286, 289, 289, 286

Pretty consistent for a GBB really. Average velocity of 288.5fps with no shot deviating more than +7/-3.5. I always find that the first two shots out of a GBB are faster than subsequent shots. I suspect temperature in the mag jumps the most (per shot) in the first shot or two.

Rapid fire series:

To get an idea of how a GBB performs under rapid fire, I blast off 5 shots as fast as I can pull the trigger and chrony the 6th. I did this twice on the same mag load as the 10 shot series so it's also representative of a mag that has seen some shooting (not a freshly filled mag).

280, 275

Even the second measurement is pretty good considering it gets some cooldown from the first rapid sequence.

Gas capacity or more accurately: Capacity to propel BBs

Pretty damn good really. After emptying the first 28 bbs (the mag has a bb cap of 28) I put in another 28 and let the mag warm a bit for about 5 min. I blasted another 28 shots at about 1 shot per second until the bbs ran out and still had gas to spare. The mag was pretty chilly by that point so I filled up again with bbs and fired off another 6 before the gas gave out.

Total: 62 pellets

Pretty good gas capacity. Certainly enough for one panic bb reload on the field.

[Mysteryfish]

Thanks Madmax!

I'm pretty stoked to get one...

Out of curiosity, does it function on the same blowback mechanism as the 5.1 or is it actually different? (like I heard mentioned)

[Magix7]

Great review!

I have one of my own, although i cannot answer the answer of it having he same blowback mechanism. I've heard the O-ring problem that was present with the 5.1 is not present in the new 4.3 though. again i cannot confirm as I do not own a 5.1

The blow back is pretty sloid for a gun with a plastic slide, crisp and fast. As max said the cooldown effect is present espically when shooting rapidly the mag gets pretty chilly. The only negative things would be some seam lines are present -_- as well as the grip is moulded onto the lower frame and is non-removable. which means that if you don't like the feeling of the stock grips you can't swap them out easily.

Other than that it's a great gun to skirmish with and seems pretty reliable! *kock on wood* hope that helps ne one thinking about getting this gun

[gamer123]

It would be appreciated if someone can compare 4.3 to 5.1, pros/cons. Because I'll be getting one during xmas. Thanks

[endLess]

Any pics of this gun?

[Gooseman]

great review MadMax.. Now, I can't wait till someone gets their hands on the new KSC USP full size. I really wanna see how that performs.

[Mysteryfish]

I'm suspicious about your suggestion that it "has cooldown"...

Cooldown (in terms of GBB's) doesn't only refer to the physically "cold" feeling of the gun...

More the change in performance as the gun is fired repeatedly.

If the 5.1 I had could be fired, rapidly, through nearly 2 magazines without significant drop in cyclic rate or power, I don't suspect the short-slide 4.3 would have MORE cooldown effect...

Anyone else care to clarify? Or did I just have the best 5.1 in the universe?

[MadMax]

Cooldown does occur as shown by the rapid 5 shot sequence test. The 5 second test shows only a small drop in performance. Both measured shots from the 5 shot sequence showed more significant performance loss.

The biggest difference between the 5.1 and 4.3 is barrel length and associated carry weight. You'll have to make that judgement call for yourself as the carry and pointability issues are pretty personal. You'll note that I spend very little time on aesthetics or finish quality as I find commenting on them a bit meaningless because everyone has their particular likes.

[tax]

Very good review. Now I'm think about getting one and modding the hell'outa it!!! And just Molesting it at vince's made me drool!!! haha

[MadMax]

I note that TM has changed the oring in the piston to a "V" ring type seal. It's like an oring with a V shaped cross section. The open portion of the V points forward into the nozzle body.

Nice choice. When pressurized, the V cross section inflates and seals to the nozzle body. When depressurized it shrinks again and applies no sliding friction when the slide goes forward into battery. Harder to find replacements though.

[Mysteryfish]

I thought that was a common thing ... The springer pistols use a more rigid plastic version of that.

Well, actually, I guess it's more of a piston cup, but it's a similar idea, right?

Anyways, It sounds like it's just a slightly different, smaller 5.1. I'll be buying one post Christmas. Joy!

Oh, Madmax - is the mid-frame of the gun still metal like the 5.1? I guess I could go read it (and I will...) but in the meantime, if you're up or bored, you could post about it.

[Magix7]

yes the midframe is metal =), thankfully

[Nocturnal]

i love the 4.3 version. its making think about selling my other pistols =p

is there going to be a 3.9 version? maybe?

[Magix7]

Does any one know if its possible to install a 5.1 slide onto the 4.3 hi-capa?
You probably have to get a longer recoil spring/rod but it is possible right?

[gamer123]

I doubt it, the length is different, lower-frame is different, etc.