As you know I have been wanting to get a pistol for a very long time. I’ve been doing research to find the right one that has a balance between performance and reliability, not to mention easy to find parts.

After narrowing down the list of a lot of guns from many different companies, I have come down to the point of two guns because they are the most common. Reviews say they are reliable and there are a good supply of parts.

The first weapon is the WE High Capa. A High Capa is just a 1911 with a double stacked magazine and a heavier slide. A standard 1911 magazine (in airsoft) only holds 15 rounds. A high Capa can hold up to 30 rounds depending on which one you get. There are many different versions of the High Capa.

The High Capa Dragon – The High Capa Dragon normally comes in 5.1 length and in two different colors. It has a split slide so that the front part of the slide doesn’t move as the BB is being shot out of the barrel. It also has different sites than the normal High Capa. Since the slide is shorter, it is lighter than a normal High Capa slide. It doesn’t fit in that many holsters and It doesn’t look that good in my opinion.

The high Capa comes in many different lengths. As previously noted, it comes in 5.1, 4.3, and 3.8. The higher the number, the longer the slide, barrel, and frame.

The High Capa series all have their problems though. Mostly in the longer High Capa’s, the slide is too heavy for the gas to pull it back to load the next BB. Because of the design they are not that strong.

Many companies make parts for the High Capa series. Most of them for the 5.1 because it’s the most common model.

The next weapon is the SOCOM Gear 1911 MEU. SOCOM Gear is a company that buys WE guns and upgrades them. They put new barrels, springs and spring guides inside and put trademarks on the outside. There are a few kinds of 1911’s that they make but the one I want to focus on is the MEU.

The MEU has a 15 round single stacked magazine. A traditional gas gun magazine stacks the bbs in two offset rows. There is a lot of debate over how much gas the magazine holds. Some people say that after a while, they only get 7-9 shots off before they run out of gas. This problem is solved by proper filling of the magazine. The single stacked magazines are cheaper than the High Capa magazines and are more realistic. People have had problems with the magazine leaking and the base plate coming off. The reason for it leaking is because they aren’t lubing the magazine and the seals start drying out. The base plate coming off happens because they are slamming it into the gun too hard. SOCOM Gear has come out with a new design for the magazine which has a reinforced base plate that doesn’t come off.

The SOCOM Gear MEU comes in three different colors and according to many airsoft pistol review sites is considered the best 1911 out of the box (not including Tokyo Marui.) Tokyo Marui makes the best performing airsoft guns in the world, but because of Japan laws, Tokyo Marui isn’t allowed to have metal slides. This makes them a bit more fragile than full metal guns.

The SOCOM Gear MEU has a reinforced spring guide and a better piston head than the WE MEU. It is a reliable gun compared to the High Capa because of the design. It has a threaded adapter for a suppressor that you can attach. Using a suppressor will make the barrel heavy and not allow it to move that easily which means you will run out of gas before running out of BBs. A lot of companies make replacement parts for this weapon and there are lots of upgrade parts.

I think the most reliable gun out of the two is the SOCOM Gear MEU. For the reasons listed above, I think it is a better gun.