WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

[BioShocked]

I have just recently bought the WE XDM and this time round I am going to properly look after my pistols after my beloved 5-7 died.

Firstly I would like to know about what gas is ideal. With its metal slide I know I can use Propane without some of the stress that it can put on plastic models. But it dries out the pistol, I heard that green gas has silocon in it already and is propane based. I would add my own to the propane but i don't want to and to much and get it in the hop. If not either of these whatoher gas options are there or is it worth using a maintaince gas once in a while?

From reviews I have read the hop rubber is very hard and for ideal range a heavier bb is required. Heavier bb is= more energy transferred to the target so I don't really want to be causing more pain and or injuries at close range than necessary. Not that much of a dick.

Lastly has anyone had experience with the IMD retention holsters in terms of how well it fits in the holster or are there better option out there?

Cheers

[RoguePlank]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

I've had my WE XDM about 6 months now, used it loads of times, had to maintain it quite alot.
I got a Blackhawk SERPA retention holster and molle plate so i can attach it to my chest rig, brilliant holster, wouldnt have anything else for vest use, draw is very quick and smooth, whilst the retention button is secure and the hard holster offers alot of protection to the gun.
I also have an open-back Fobus holster for a Glock 17 which fits my XDM after I lengthened the retention strap by an inch to accomodate the fatter handgrip, this holster allows me to have a pistol holster on my belt with a light/laser on the rail of the pistol, very VERY useful. I can't find an appropriate link right now, but PM me if you want pictures.
I fitted the biggest grip to mine cos I have huge hands though I'm considering going down to the medium grip as i've noticed the majority of my missed quick shots are high over target due to the large grip back in my natural hand position after a draw.
Until recently, I have used exclusively ASG Green Gas and 0.25g ASG Blaster ammo. I have now started using Abbey 144A green gas (just for supply convenience) and not noticed any difference in power or capacity. So both highly recommended. I think using propane or red gas would be a bad idea on this gun as the heavy slide already gives a ton of kick, plenty of power (about 280fps) and a loud bang, any more would be un-manageable for multiple aimed shots in quick succession in my opinion.
The hop in this pistol is very hard. I have only just started applying it at all, used the pistol for first 6 months with NO HOP at all as the rounds just went straight up! I strip the top slide off and hose the gun internals with silicon spray before and after every game day to keep it running smooth, this appears to have softened the hop slightly i reckon as it is useable with a tiny bit of hop now for some longer range.
The worst part about this pistol has definitely been maintaining the mags - I bought 2 extra mags to give me a total of 3. I have had to completely strip, clean and re-seat the seals on every mag at least once to stop them leaking. I know this is usual for pistols as the seals move about and expand depending on pressure and temperature changes, but i reckon one mag stops working every time i play.
One thing you need to check is the condition of the chrome plating on the INSIDE of your mag when you open them up for maintenance - the coating is generally terrible inside whereas its brilliant on the outside - it started to flake off after a while inside my mags, so that one day a piece of the coating tried to pass through the trigger valve thingy and got stuck in the rubber, wedging the valve open and making the mag un-fillable. This happened to 2 mags in one day at my last game. After cleaning the valve out to un-jam it, i proceeded to scrape as much of the loose plating off the inside of the mags as possible with a sharp screwdriver to avoid any further flaking of loose coating. I would highly advise doing this the first time you have to strip the bottom end of the mag to reseat the base plate seal for tiny leaks.
Other than that, it's brilliant pistol - 26 rnd mags with enough gas capacity to work fine in cold weather and give about a mag and half on one gas fill from my experience. Love the grip safeties and cock indicator so that you can just draw the pistol and shoot, no stupid lever safeties to flick off when you're in a hurry - has won me a couple of "wild west showdowns" with friends.
Also very accurate if you can take the time to aim properly.
There is a bit of a knack to removing the top slide and putting it back on again, you have to have it in "just the right place" for the catch to go up and down on removal and refit, took one of my mates ages to get it.
Hope you enjoy yours!

[dave38x]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

Arron - Propane IS green gas (sans silicone oil), so feel free to run propane in this gun.

OP - I've never used maintenance gas, and I havent put oil in my propane for a good two months now and they are all running fine (probably shooting 200-300 rounds a week).

As far as BBs go - you will get significant accuracy boosts from heavier ammo, I'd recommend .25 as a minimum.

[FireKnife]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

Well for the gas I would say to use Green or in the hotter summer months crack on with Ultra, saves faffing with lube and such but it can be a bit more expensive.

As for the ammo well I would say .25s or even .3s if you can. If possible though change the hop rubber to a TM one and that will give you a cheap but useful option.

'FireKnife'

[RoguePlank]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

I was under the impression that propane from camping cylinders, etc is much higher pressure than normal green gas canisters, so shoots harder. Its chemical makeup is of no consequence for our uses.

[BioShocked]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

Thanks for the info. Which segways me onto another question, part so I can use segway in a sentence, what do you lubricate the moving parts of your guns with. I find silicon oil, good for cleaning but has no real lasting power, and silicon grease tents to attract dirt on dusty days?

[RoguePlank]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

3-in-1 silicon spray lubricant from Halfords, my pistol is usually swimming in it, keeps it all working silky smooth

- - - Updated - - -

props for use of segway in sentence btw, ive never used it

[Curly68]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

I have a TM XDM and use an IMI Defence holster with molle attachment (£26 from some bay). I had to use hot water to open it up and mould to the TM but that didn't take long to do.

[dave38x]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

Froglube am bestest lube. (For all things :P )

Green Gas & Propane have the same vapour pressures at a given temperature (both are stored as liquid within magazines) - Airsoft Innovations did a bit of research to back it up.

[RedHawk]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

I don't use any lube in my propane. That's because I clean and relube my glock after every game. The best advice I can give to is knowing which part of your pistol needs what. Not just hosing it in silicon spray, but actually using grease on areas where metal contacts each other.

I'm not sure what the hype about froglube is, bearing in mind that it is a natural oil based lube and as such it's coefficient of friction is much worse than PTFE. It's probably just people ranting and raving without actually knowing the science behind it. Why use PTFE? Well it's got the 3rd lowest coefficient of friction for any solid material. You can't ever wet it and it will stand to any temperatures a pistol can throw at it. Froglube's only selling point is that it's biodegradable.

[fenriz3029]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

Looking at getting one of these myself. I had a little play with it and it seems really good.

I'm waiting until I can track down a quality holster. My mate has a black hawk Serpa for his 1911 and it is brilliant. Very simple, easy to use and effective. I've seen a lot of people use huge holsters and loose there pistol while running around. The Serpa is nice and small and won't release your gun until you want it to.

The holster it needs is a XDM. i Just need to find one....

[dave38x]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

RedHawk - my personal love of froglube stems from the fact that it works better than anything else I've tried, including fine machine oil.

[RedHawk]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

RedHawk - my personal love of froglube stems from the fact that it works better than anything else I've tried, including fine machine oil.

I personally don't understand why you'd buy it over silicone lube. From what I looked at, 120ml of froglube liquid costs from £10 upto £30 on eBay whereas 400ml of silicone spray costs £5.

A pistol doesn't just need aerosol lube, it needs grease on areas which have constant contact. Froglube offer 120ml of paste for £16, the PTFE grease I use would cost about £20 for the equivalent (it's sold in 1oz tubs for $8, one tub has lasted me 2 years). However, it's proven fact that PTFE is one of the slickest materials known to man. Froglube is (as stated above) a natural oil with a much higher coefficient of friction, silicon on the other hand has a very low (0.11, PTFE is 0.04).

I don't understand why you'd spend £15 on a product no way near as efficient. Perhaps its the branding or the long story they give about it's inception that makes it so expensive, if it works for you then great, but there are better options out there.

I suppose as long as you're not spitting into it to keep it lubed then it'll work though

[dave38x]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

Silicone was having absolutely no effect on the metal on metal sections of my gun. I haven't put aerosol lube near my gun since I stopped using silicone, simply because in a gun that is entirely metal on metal (apart from the cylinder) it was having no effect at all (except making my hop rubber unreliable, which is also why I don't put silicone in gas now as well). Froglube provides a much better lubrication regime than silicone, although probably not as great as ptfe grease.

My main worry is that PTFE grease will attack rubber seals (that was the impression I had gathered anyway), hence my decision to use froglube in pistols.

It was entertaining the other day though - a mate brought two pistols round (KSC USP and WE 1911) that he hadn't cleaned or lubed in two years, and he wondered why they weren't working (you wouldn't know he was a serving marine would you?). Half an hour with some rags and a few squirts of froglube later and we were getting 10 more shots out of each mag of gas!

As an aside - you do have the paper covering the friction properties of froglube and ptfe grease?

[RedHawk]

Re: WE XDM - Gas BB's and holsters

PTFE won't attack any seals, it's practically inert at room temperature, even upto 450 degrees and down to -50 Celsius. If you can cook your food on it, you can shoot your pistol with it (another reason why I wouldn't use froglube, probably doesn't taste nice).

Teflon is a common additive in paintball marker lubes - guns which are heavily reliant on o-rings - so I can tell you for fact it won't harm anything in your gun. Lurker lube is the stuff I use.

I don't have the exact numbers, but the majority of oils sit around 0.2-0.1 whereas PTFE is 0.04. The size of the numbers aren't anything majorly defining, it just so happens that grease is perfect for metal on metal and PTFE has the best properties for pistol use.