Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

[Raven Morpheus]

Hey guys

I'm kinda new to the forums, well more of a lurker really but I'm wondering if the more experienced people here can offer me some advice on my next purchase.

A while ago I bought a WE M1911, to me it's a great GBB pistol, had a few problems with it, does seem a bit gas hungry (prior to mag shimming I was barely getting through a mags worth of BB's, now I can do about 2 on a full gas fill), but nothing I can't deal with and fix (with a little advice and research here and there), so far... (many thanks to the guys who helped point me in the right direction for the venting issue I had with it recently)


However I'm now looking at buying a 2nd GBB pistol, for no particular reason other than I just would like to have a 2nd pistol as a backup in case one becomes non-functional on me.

I've got about £123 ($200 US) to spend (at least I will have).

I'm looking to buy another WE, yes I know what people say about them, "they're display pieces", "they don't work as well as a TM", etc. but my experience with my 1st WE GBB pistol has been positive and as WE are a cheap way of getting a full metal GBB pistol I'd like to stick with the brand.

Trouble is I am not sure which WE GBB pistol to get.

I've been eyeing up a Hi Capa 5.1 Government, and a MEU, and a M92.

But none of the reviews I've read or watched on Youtube give me any concrete indication of which one would be better, as they don't really do any comparisons.

So what I'd like to know is this -

Pros of each pistol - (already I can work out for myself that the Hi Capa and M92 have a higher capacity of BB's compared with the single stack MEU).
Cons of each pistol
Performance differences if any, including gas consumption (I use Guarder Power Up gas BTW, absolutely brilliant stuff, I've used UltraAir and ZeroOne GG and neither seem to deliver as much power (and ZeroOne GG smells awful in comparison)), although I am aware that TM GBB pistols apparently perform a lot better.
Any recommendations for WE M1911 variants (like the Desert Warrior)?


Many thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

[No1_sonuk]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

As you're not interested in the sensible switch to TM, aren't the Hi Capa 5.1 Government, and MEU basically variants of the 1911?

If you want something different, I'd suggest the M9 (but not from WE).
My KSC M9 System 7 full metal works well.

[Raven Morpheus]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

As you're not interested in the sensible switch to TM, aren't the Hi Capa 5.1 Government, and MEU basically variants of the 1911?

The MEU is indeed a M1911 variant (mostly used by the USMC before they adopted the M9, hence the MEU name, real steel of course, not the airsoft version lol.), but the Hi Capa is a 2011 (basically a copy of the TM copy of the WA copy of a Strayer Voight Infinity).

I'm looking at the MEU because it looks a bit better than the standard M1911...

Which is why I'm wondering if the MEU is any different in build/quality/performance to the standard WE M1911, or if it's a better pistol than the WE Hi Capa 5.1 or M92.

If you want something different, I'd suggest the M9 (but not from WE).
My KSC M9 System 7 full metal works well.

Hmm, I wasn't aware of that pistol, however it does look a bit expensive, having just had a look around it's about $50 more than the WE.

Cost is a big factor for me, hence the reason I haven't bought a TM and I bought a WE, as I'd have to shell out the price of the pistol again to get a full metal TM, and that's even before I've decided if I want a gunsmith to fit the metal kit or if I'll do it myself (and the latter I'm not confident of being able to do). And for the sake of realism I would like to have a full metal GBB pistol, not one with plastic parts where they should be metal (i.e. as close to a real steel pistol as possible).

I'm not against other brands, if there are other full metal pistols out there that are not all that more expensive than a WE (I call $50 more being quite expensive, considering I can buy 2 WE mags for that price) I would consider them, but so far my experience is with WE and I like what I've got at the moment.

Few questions about that KSC M9 though -

What FPS do you get (and on what gas)?
How many BB's can you shoot from 1 gas fill in the mag?
Any problems with cooldown?
Is the kick consistent, quite hard, and quite crisp (my WE M1911 currently kicks like a mule, at least I think it does (for me it has a little bit of barrel climb))?
How easy are the mags to load? (the WE single stack mags I currently have I can use with a TM speedloader and just pour (kind of) the BB's into the hole in the front).
How hard are KSC's to get spare/upgrade parts for (this is also a big thing for me as a WE will use most of the TM spares and upgrades, especially if it's a WE Hi Capa)?

Thanks.

[No1_sonuk]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

Hmm, I wasn't aware of that pistol, however it does look a bit expensive, having just had a look around it's about $50 more than the WE.

The only WE gun I have (Browning HP) is carp in cold weather - 1 shot, maybe 2, and it vents. My M9 will empty its mag. Like TM, it's worth the extra.

My 2 TMs are M1911A1 and Hi capa 4.3 - I have no desire to spoil them with metal kits.

Few questions about that KSC M9 though -

What FPS do you get (and on what gas)?
How many BB's can you shoot from 1 gas fill in the mag?
Any problems with cooldown?
Is the kick consistent, quite hard, and quite crisp (my WE M1911 currently kicks like a mule, at least I think it does (for me it has a little bit of barrel climb))?

Just tested it - about 340fps on green (0.2g BB).
Not sure how many BBs per fill - I usually refill the gas when I refill BBs, but I have on at least 1 occasion gone through 2 BB loads at least on one gas charge.
I've not noticed any cooldown problems, but then I don't use it like an AEG...
Kick is definitely crisp - as to "hard", that depends on what you call hard. There is a bit of climb if you let it.

How easy are the mags to load? (the WE single stack mags I currently have I can use with a TM speedloader and just pour (kind of) the BB's into the hole in the front).
How hard are KSC's to get spare/upgrade parts for (this is also a big thing for me as a WE will use most of the TM spares and upgrades, especially if it's a WE Hi Capa)?

Mag loading is the same as you describe.
Don't know about spares - I've never needed any.

[V.A.K]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

instead of buying a WE how about you buy a socom gear which is a WE that actually works

[Raven Morpheus]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

instead of buying a WE how about you buy a socom gear which is a WE that actually works

I would but they don't seem to do a Hi Capa. Not that I'm particularly looking for a Hi Capa, but Hi Capas do seem to be the most versatile in terms of upgrades and spares.

But again Socom Gear pistols are about the price of 2 WE single stack mags more expensive ($40 for the least expensive, being an M1911, compared to the least expensive WE M1911) at least where I've seen them.

This is the big barrier I have at the moment, the cost. I can't stretch to anything more than £120ish ($200 USD) including shipping.

And my WE M1911 actually works, all I've done to it is install a 150% recoil spring, a 9ball TM VSR hop bucking and a 9ball dyna piston head and shimmed the mags to provide a better seal to the loading nozzle. It'll punch through the bottom of a coke can in the centre and both sides of a coke can easily (not that's any indication of anything) and it's fairly accurate, well for me it is, as I'm not all that a good shot.

But even without those upgrades it worked fine out of the box.

Are Socom Gear M911's that much better? They are WE rebrands after all and wouldn't I still have to do the mag shimming, which in my opinion was 75% of the improvement I got from the overall upgrade I did.

The only advantage I can see is that I could use my WE single stack mags in a Socom Gear, if I bought a M1911 variant, so I wouldn't need to buy a spare mag (I've already got 3, 1 MEU style and 2 standard M1911 style (no bumper on the base of it)).

[Raven Morpheus]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

The only WE gun I have (Browning HP) is carp in cold weather - 1 shot, maybe 2, and it vents. My M9 will empty its mag. Like TM, it's worth the extra.

I won't be using it in the winter (or cold weather), I'm not keen on being out doors in the cold.

My 2 TMs are M1911A1 and Hi capa 4.3 - I have no desire to spoil them with metal kits.

Meh, I just don't see the point in a plastic gun, I like realism. Each to his own though.

Just tested it - about 340fps on green (0.2g BB).
Not sure how many BBs per fill - I usually refill the gas when I refill BBs, but I have on at least 1 occasion gone through 2 BB loads at least on one gas charge.
I've not noticed any cooldown problems, but then I don't use it like an AEG...
Kick is definitely crisp - as to "hard", that depends on what you call hard. There is a bit of climb if you let it.

Mag loading is the same as you describe.
Don't know about spares - I've never needed any.

Hmm interesting. I shall keep this in mind. The biggest problem I've had with my WE M1911 is the cooldown, fire of a mag too quickly and you vent the remaining gas and get a slight frosting on the blowback unit.

RoF isn't that bad though, as long as you learn not to fire it too quickly and then leave the mag to warm up again for about 5 minutes (hence the reason I've got 3 mags).

Although the price is still putting me off as I'd have to buy a spare mag, and out of $200 that's a bit difficult.

And spares/upgrades are something I'd like to have the option of, just in case the gun does break on me. Don't want two broken sidearms, one which I can't fix due to no parts being available.


Definitely very difficult to decide what full metal pistol to buy as a spare.

It's been doing my head in for weeks hence the reason I chose to come here and ask for people's advice.

[ZX12R A1]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

My input on this is wait save the extra money and go for the KSC System 7 M9 as mentioned previously.
The system 7 range is very good and well finished and worth the money.

[shadowlink25]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

I on the other hand think you should stay will WE. I have hd no problems whats so ever with my two, I own a 1911 knighthawk and a 5.1 super hole version (which is for sale as i need money). The 1911 i found to be a great pistol same for the 5.1. For those who think i must of not used any other pistol i own 3 system 7 usps 2 matchs and a standard. Yeah there great. But the matchs i can't use in warm whether due to fps going above 350. And loads of people on this site go tm this and tm that. I had a tm mk23 worst pistol ever.

[Raven Morpheus]

Re: Hi Capa or M1911A1/Meu or M92

My input on this is wait save the extra money and go for the KSC System 7 M9 as mentioned previously.
The system 7 range is very good and well finished and worth the money.

Thanks. I shall probably wait a while and save a bit more money.

I've now seen the KJW M1911 and MEU, they're both full metal as far as I can tell, and from what I've been reading they will take TM parts and mags, are they (the KJW M1911 range) any good?