Why not get a Pistol as a first gun?

[danteh]

Alright, definatly alot of helpful posts, thanks alot!

[philly0001]

I am pretty new to airsoft myself. I would say if you have the money drop it on a combo kit (Rifle and pistol - not the cheap ones, see if your store will give you a deal if you buy both). As Kuro_Neko said I also love my KJW 1911 but I wouldnt put much faith in it on the feild (in terms of survivability). You cant even squeeze off those 25 rounds in one charge (for the KJW 1911) and mags are hardish to find. A subgun would sort of be the best of both worlds but ultamitally your call. If your going to get into feild play I would say AEG. And also keep in mind your consumables and maintance (eg - Green gas vs battery).

What kind of pistol do you have your eye on?

[danteh]

Well I am getting a KSC USPc this week and am already researching M4s as my next purchase. I decided to grab the usp first because after looking around on these forums, finding a KSC USP Compact isnt the easiest thing to do plus it is by far my favorite pistol so I wanted to grab it while I got the chance.

[kullwarrior]

Depending on certain pistol you can game as primary (TM Mk23 NBB for example)
We just had a game where first round everyone was using pistol, quite fun actually. (It was an outdoor paintball field)

[Drakker]

If you really do plan on using your pistol as a primary, I would strongly suggest to not get a compact pistol. In term of pistol accuracy, an extra inch of barrel makes a HUGE difference. If you really want a USP, look at the KSC/KWA USP tactical, they are easier to find and will serve you much better as a primary. Alternatively, look at the Tokyo Marui USP AEP (electric pistol), its accuracy is amazing, though its power is low (~220fps), but it still works very well as a primary in CQB.

If you decided to forget about the idea of using a pistol as a primary, then a compact pistol is a good backup, and KSC is a very good brand.

[Brian McIlmoyle]

TM Highcappa Full stop, shoot 350 on propane + in the heat of summer

full size pistol, good mag capacity .. and accurate out to 100 feet ( if you know how to run a pistol)

[Eeyore]

Originally Posted by Brian McIlmoyle

TM Highcappa Full stop, shoot 350 on propane + in the heat of summer

full size pistol, good mag capacity .. and accurate out to 100 feet ( if you know how to run a pistol)

This man knows what he is talking about. I'm not a Hi-Cappa fan myself but they are rock solid performers.

[danteh]

I never wanted to use a pistol as a primary weapon I just wanted to know why people were so against buying one as their first weapon. I am getting one as my first just because it is a little difficult to find and I'd rather get it now then be looking for it later.

[Alceister]

Originally Posted by danteh

I never wanted to use a pistol as a primary weapon I just wanted to know why people were so against buying one as their first weapon. I am getting one as my first just because it is a little difficult to find and I'd rather get it now then be looking for it later.

Wasn't it already said that pistols weren't noob-friendly?

[Kuro_Neko]

Originally Posted by philly0001

I also love my KJW 1911 but I wouldnt put much faith in it on the feild (in terms of survivability). You cant even squeeze off those 25 rounds in one charge (for the KJW 1911) and mags are hardish to find.

As much as I love my 1911, the points you make are valid. the metal slide plus the smaller gas reservoir of the single stack mag means you're getting 15 rounds tops. I realcap mine to 7 anyway, so that doesn't bother me. If you want a 1911 that fires the full 25 rounds then you need one with a abs slide, like the tm or wa. As to mags hard to find, I found that as well, but luckily I found out that tm mags fit just fine, in fact they fit better.

Originally Posted by Brian McIlmoyle

TM Highcappa Full stop, shoot 350 on propane + in the heat of summer

full size pistol, good mag capacity .. and accurate out to 100 feet ( if you know how to run a pistol)

For a pistol as a primary, there's no quesiton, as much as I love my 1911, it's the hicappa all the way.

Originally Posted by danteh

Well I am getting a KSC USPc this week and am already researching M4s as my next purchase.

I'm a fan of the M4 as well. I don't know what your budget is but I did extensive research and settled on the Tactical Carbine version of the Classic Army M15A4 (basically a full stock m4) as my first gun. If an Armalite is what you're looking for then I think it's the best of all possible versions. You have the shortened M4 carbine barrel, which makes you less likely to smack your barrel off something when turning quickly, combined with the full stock which houses a large battery. Small batteries don't have near the run time of a large battery, not to mention that the reinforced slip ring (the ring that keeps the fore-grip on) is really stong. While this is mostly a good thing and a big step up over CA's previous M15 versions, it makes changing small batteries in the field very difficult if not impossible.

CA's M15A4 series in general is a big step up over their previous versions and as far as stock armalites go they're probably the best. All metal where the real steel version is, the plastic parts where the real steal version is plastic are made of high quality enhanced nylon fiber rather then abs for great texture and feel. Classic Army has a deal with Armalite so you get all the proper markings. Plus that deal also goes to show the quality of the manufacture, Armalite wouldn't put their name on a shoddy product.

Internally the gearbox is reinforced metal and all the gears are metal as well. It fires hotter stock then Tokyo Marui's as well, firing at 300-320 fps where your average TM only fires 280-300 fps.

All in all this is a great starter gun if you can afford it. Because it's all metal you don't have to worry nearly as much about breaking it and you won't get any of the wobble or creaking that is infamous in stock TM M4/M16's. Unfortunately affording it is the biggest problem, they're not cheap. For reference I got my CA M15A4 from the classifieds, upgraded with a bunch of Systema internals to fire 390fps, for $600 shipped which was a great price.

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of Classic Army. One thing to keep in mind about Classic Army is they now have two lines, a proline and a sportline. Originally they were easy to tell apart because the proline had the metal body and the sportline had a plastic body but recently CA has been releasing their sportlines with metal bodies. The price tag should still allow you to easily tell the difference, the sportline being $300-400ish and the proline never being cheaper then $500, usually more like $600 or more but it's still something to keep in mind. All the pros that I went over above were regarding the proline model. The sportline model has cheaper everything internally and externally.

Now for some gun pron:

My Classic Army M15A4 Tactical Carbine without external addons:


My baby, CA M15A4 Tactical Carbine with m203 grenade launcher, red dot sight and taclight:

[danteh]

It's nice but I'm not a fan of the full stock and that's just because of my time in the army it's a pain in the ass if you a smaller person, I love the adjustable stock!

[Taxt]

How about Umarex H&K USP CO2. It has no BB, It's not cool. But It is cheap. It is indestructible. You can pick bbs of the floor and shoot. Play it as your primary, if you won't like it and decide you need an AEG, at least no significant money loss there.

[tygr701]

+1 TO Kuro's post on the CA m15a4 tactical carbine I use the same thing and its been a very reliable primary first purchase for me. The TM pistols also seem like a good choice. I haven't seen to many reliability issues with them.

There's nothing wrong with getting a pistol first. And actually, they're simpler than an AEG.

NBB's pack more punch than GBB's because they don't use excessive gas to cycle the action, and they're easier on parts as a result.

In...jesus I don't even know how many years now...15 years maybe..anyway I think I've fired my pistol 3 times in-game.

[Kuro_Neko]

Originally Posted by danteh

It's nice but I'm not a fan of the full stock and that's just because of my time in the army it's a pain in the ass if you a smaller person, I love the adjustable stock!

I can understand that, I'm not a big person myself and would have gone with adjustable stock except for a few differences between real steel and airsoft. When it comes to airsoft there's a few things you have to keep in mind regarding full stock vs. adjustable stock. The first being the size of the battery you can use. Unless you use a PEQ or a battery bag, you're going to be stuck using small batteries which don't have nearly the run time of a large battery. Second, with a adjustable stock, the battery is going to have to be in the front hand-guard which is going to make the gun front heavy, especially if you plan on mounting anything on rails. And third, changing batteries in a front grip is an extreme pain in the ass and not something I'd want to fart around with in the field, doubly so if you have anything mounted on rails.