TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

[Jedi Knight]

Tearing me hair out with this one.

I have a birthday coming up soon and will be investing in a new pistol, but I can only afford one.

I absolutely love both these pistols and am completely torn, I know they are very different (plus and minus points with both) but the decision may even come down to the flip of a coin.

I will be keeping the one I buy pretty much stock out of the box.

Can anyone who owns/ has owned either of these give some advice?

Thanks all.

[Apurturesci]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

Have you held both of them? They're quite different pistols - the USP is quite chunky but pretty comfortable, but doesn't fit me well with the safety/decock where my thumb wants to rest (I'm not a fan of safeties either). The P226e2 is very almost perfect for me - thin, nicely shaped grip with nice texturing and a dedicated decock lever in the right place. It has a standard rail for lights which is better than the USP one that is proprietary. Magazines are easier to find for the TM, and i'll use old and new P226 style ones plus WE ones etc. The USP needs it's own magazines that aren't easy to get and pretty expensive usually. Performance wise the TM has a much better hop up, lots of upgrades too - the USP is a bit limited and has the crap KSC ball bearing hop unit. In most regards the TM is a better gun, but the deal breaker for some is the plastic slide. Don't let it bother you. It's tough, good quality and will work all year round. Reliability is always kind of subjective, everyone has had a bad experience with a TM or KWA gun at some point - for me, I have had 3 KWA USP compacts that have broken. I really liked the feel of the plastic and they were pretty well made by KWA standards, but the triggers snap easily, and the hammer mech isn't great either - the full size may be a little better, but KSC designs are not the best anymore and a little outdated. I had my P226 for around a year and a half - the only issue was, just before I sold it, a snapped trigger spring that was easily replaced. I sold it to buy more TMs - SIGs are a bit tall for me. I would trust the TM to last longer, but your mileage may vary.

Also, what gas do you have a lot of/buy usually? It may not seem important, but for someone like me who doesn't like trying to get propane bottles, a pistol that uses my preferred gas is the one I would buy. I use Zero One pro gas - it's cheap and works great in TM GBBs, so for me a USP that would need propane/Guarder Black gas for best performance wouldn't be great - I have tried 'switching' to Propane, but I could not find it cheap enough to warrant giving up buying £7 bottles of Pro Gas which is better for TMs. With the TM you get a bit more choice, it will work on 134a up to Propane just fine.

Overall I'd say both are good guns - ignoring most of what I just said, just buy the one that fits your hands. For me anyway, ergonomics are the most important feature of a pistol, and if it isn't comfortable, I will sell it.

[Jedi Knight]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

Hi.

Cheers for the response.

I have held the USP and I have to say it feels just perfect for me (quite large hands) and also the standard P226, which always felt a bit on the "fat" side.

But not held an E2, is the feel of an E2 closer to a 1911? I hate the feel of 1911's they are just too slim...

[Apurturesci]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

The P226E2 is a lot thinner than the standard 226, although it is still more rounded than a 1911 so I wouldn't say it feels like one. For smaller hands the E2 is perfect, with large hands it may be a bit too small - might be worth trying to find a shop that has one to feel first. As most will agree the TM is the better gun, but the KWA will be fine - go for it if it suits you well.

[I love Airsoft]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

The TM P226E2 is the best gbb pistol I have owned

Feels great, probably one of the most comfortable pistols to hold

Range and accuracy are fantastic out of the box as expected with TM

Extremely gas efficient will work in pretty much any weather

I highly recommend one you won't be disappointed

[CacklingHawk]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

KWA USP has awful gas efficiency, but I would not trade my twin USP Matches for anything else. They're my prized possessions even though I basically never skirmish with them.

The form of the KWA USP is just beautiful to me, but if you're looking for functionality there is no beating a TM pistol.

[Olphy]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

The TM gets my vote, the KWA is a lovely pistol to hold but it is flawed and the TM simply ticks more boxes.

[Smeg2727]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

As somebody that owns both.
The Sig is my go to, but the usp was my primary before that.
The kwa hop struggles with rapid fire, but fine with single.
Aside from that, both great guns.
The kwa decocker is in the way which sucks.
Not found anything that kicks as hard as a usp on black gas though

[Jedi Knight]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

Thanks for all the help guys.

Just ordered the TM P226 E2.

Main reasons are: I want it to last, be accurate, work in all weathers, and generally be a good investment for at least the next couple of years.

Your comments swung me (Can't wait until tomorrow).

[Jedi Knight]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

Just unboxed it now...

Impressed is not the word.

This gun is amazing, the feel and weight either with or without mag in is excellent, everything is nice and tight, the tolerances for the slide to frame etc are spot on, the whole thing just oozes quality.

I was a little worried about the grip being too slim as my old USP (which is bigger) seemed to fit my hand perfectly (large hands) but the E2 is even better! slide-release, de-cocking lever and mag release are in easy thumb reach.

Being my first ever TM purchase I was also concerned that not being full metal would feel unrealistic, boy was I wrong! This gun feels better built than any full metal one I have owned or handled, if an ABS slide is what is putting you off TM you really don't need to worry (at least with this model anyway, and I assume the standard P226 will be the same)

All in all I was apprehensive about what I would get for my £140, but I really shouldn't have been.

This one is a keeper!

Thanks to all who gave their advice

[dave38x]

Re: TM P226 E2 or KWA USP .45?

Plastic tm 226 is the first tm gun Ive ever serviced and shot, and I fell in love with it! And I'm a kwa fan boy

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