Western Arms pistols, especially the old ones like the 5" Limited, are not anything like most airsoft GBBs.

Even with a metal slide, expect to break the stock hammer within a thousand rounds running on propane.

Yeah, Ive used 4 different Western Arms, only ever upgraded 1 of them to a metal slide, and ran them all on green gas. Its not a Faberge egg, its a Western Arms very expensive pistol, it will handle propane just fine. As for metal, on all WA SVs, just as on the Marui Hi-Capas, the frame is metal, the grip and slide are plastic, though WA does a better job than anybody making plastic look and feel like metal. Im tired and im going to bed, will post maintenance guide for you tomorrow, man. If you want to use it for IPSC, you want to keep it in pristine condition.

awsome info Non Credo, Thanks
maintenance guide and any pics/tips are greatly appreciated.
john

WA plastic slides will break on propane, it's just a matter of when. For some people, it's the first round, some people's slides lasts for a few hundred rounds, but WA plastic slides break on propane; there's no two ways around it.

Note: this is much more applicable to older, non-SCW designs; I believe all 5" Limiteds are non-SCW, I know mine was and I haven't seen an SCW/2/3 version yet.

If you say so. I've had good experience with them, though. And all of the guys I play with who have WAs use propane, too. But, I mean, if you wanna be gentle with it is entirely understandable. It is a quite expensive piece. You'll just end up paying for it in the weapon's performance.

As for the limited, I dont know if this is a trusty source or not but Redwolf claims the 5" Limited to be SCW V3, and he just bought it so assuming he bought it new, it might be V3. Pics would help, but we'd have to wait for it to ship... If it is V3, I can help with a guide, if it is the original Magna, then I dunno. Ive never owned anything that old, I dont know if its just the hop ups that have since changed, or if its entirely different in say the blowback unit and housing...

I've ran through about 16 mags of propane with silicone on my WA Para-Ordnance with plastic slide, and also lubed up the internal slide. Not even a crack. Only wears on the Magna reciever that shows paint taken off the metal part of the reciever where the slide is placed.

I also have these recoil springs. I think they are upgraded?

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...Picture106.jpg

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...Picture107.jpg


WA parts is a bitch to find. Just make sure you take real good care of them.

Mantelope is right. Too many noobs giving misinformation.

Yes you can run a stock WA on propane, but just like any
gbb with an abs slide— it will fail someday. That's a fact.
These guns are designed very well, better than TM's, to
perform on duster. Sure we all know people who've had
guns run for years on propane and not break, that's great,
they've been lucky and probably not putting a lot of rounds
through their gun in a hot CQB evironment.

I've owned more WA's than a small army (7 Prokiller's),
plus many more 45/1911's. The rear tends to fracture 1st.
But the good news is— there are still many metal slides
available for all models, so go nuts.

Your Limited 5" is a magna version. Should have a full frame
with no rail, plain Jane. Grips should be checkered.

Magna uses a straight firing pin, SCW1 and slotted firing pin,
SCW2 a curved firing pin attached to the hammer, SCW3 a
fat blob version of the SCW2 style. I've seen hammers fail
on Prokillers but not on anything else, just my good luck I
guess. Still running my main WA FMU Infinity for 3 years
now and only ever replaced the nozzle, after 2 years. Only
the metal slide and hammer spring are upgrades, everything
else is stock-ish. Sorry for typos, I just woke up.

Good luck.

I just ordered it from jon at w w w.airloft-services.net/ . I will post pics when it arrices in roughly 4 weeks.
alot of knowlege here in this thread. thanks for it all. i am a noob at this. i wanted the WA infinity more for the accurate resembleance to my real STI .40s&w ($2600) for safe indoor practice for IPSC competitions. but I will have to come check out this game you guys play......starting to feel the bug!!
john

Now I know that Safx has/had/has/had:D a few WA pistols...and I hear Mantelope knows his way around pistols as well :D ...

I'm never been one to say, "Close mouth...open ears", to anyone...but this may be a time to make an exception.

There's been an awful lot of advice being offered up on the forum in the past couple of weeks. Mostly well-intended, but at times mis-informed (especially from guys who either don't even have an AEG or who may have only shot in their basement). I'm not going to put anyone down for that.

BUT...as with any advice on this forum...it's up to you (the individual) to discern what is good advice, what's half assed, and what is total crap. Take what you will, leave the rest behind and go for it. Learn from your mistakes/sucesses and help someone out down the road.

Have fun!

I'm with m102404 on this one. I would tend to trust the experience of guys like Mantelope and safx on this and err on the side of caution to keep the gun in working condition. You're paying a shitload of money for a WA gun, and to run it outside of its safe tolerances is pretty risky. If you want to run propane, then at the very least get an AI flow restrictor. That way you can get the muzzle velocity you want without smashing your slide to pieces in the process.

As for ABS guns like KSC and TM running on propane - recent models of both handle propane quite well. Older models were known to break on green gas and propane. However, should a slide crack on one of these, it can pretty easily be replaced with an OEM replacement part for less than $30 from one of the HK-based retailers, or you can buy a metal upgrade part for under $100.

Now try finding either a replacement or upgrade part for a WA gun. IF you do (and that's a big IF), it will cost you shitloads of money. An OEM replacement will cost shitloads. A metal upgrade will cost you almost as much as buying a used GBB from the classifieds here on ASC.

I'm not going by hearsay here. I've done a LOT of reading on WA pistols (since I own 2 of them) and have talked to people who know their way around these guns, and if everyone who knows their shit is saying to avoid propane in these guns, then I don't care how many noobs are screaming that they run propane in theirs. I'm not running propane in mine.

That being said, I love firing my WA 92FS, but hate the performance of duster. To keep the slide cycle speed in check, I installed a heavier recoil spring (taken from my KJW M9), and I run the gun on a combination of duster and propane. I fill the mag about 5 seconds with 134A duster, then give it a 1-2 second shot of propane. It gives me a 50 fps increase in velocity without increasing the slide speed too significantly. Still though, I do this sparingly. As for my 1911, I'll run it strictly on duster until I get an AI flow restrictor.

I guess this noob stands corrected.

I will tell my friend to stop testing luck and move on to dusters...

Thanks guys!

Thanks Tys.

Crunchmeister— Lots of good points but I
have different opinions on some of your
statementss. Let me explain—


IMO, WA and TM have been concerned with
creating plastic based guns that feel as close
to the real thing as possible, in appearance,
surface texture and weight. In doing so,
they're come up with some interesting abs
based compounds that have been mixed with
anything from metal powder to bluing agents.
All of which made the guns look and feel nice
but didn't do squat for strength. Some stock
slides are more rigid, some softer, making
them prone to breaking in different conditions.

I've heard recent TM and KSC abs is more
durable, I can't say— yet. But, I've recently
acquired a new TM gen3 G17, so I'll know 1st
hand if it can take frequent propane abuse.
I've also heard WA magna to SCW2 are
proving to be better builds than SCW3's..

Also, UNC and others now carry quite a few
stock slides for WA guns, all selling for $30.
Slides are not restricted, I've imported many.

So, what I am really saying is— if your gun isn't
a super rare WA model with fancy stock slide,
then you can afford to run it on propane if there
are replacement options. Most 45/1911 slides are
interchangeable with a little knowledge. The SV
infinity line in Magna and SCW have quite a few
slide parts out there, it's the Honda Civic of WA's.
I would run the gun on propane for the nice
kick and fast recoil for as long as the hammer
spring lasts and/or slide fails. Then invest the
money into a metal slide, new springs and
possible high flow valve.

The other option for frugal/ipsc owners, is get the
flow restrictor as mentioned and save $$ with
cheap propane. But the fps and kick are sad.
Decent enough for target shooting though... but
no where close to the feel of firing a real pistol.

Hope this helps any WA owner or potential buyer.

Thanks for the clarification there, safx, but I just checked UNC, Redwolf and WGC, and none carry any slides (at least stock ones) that will fit a WA gun. Replacement parts for WA are very difficult to find, and aftermarket upgrade parts like metal slides tend to be quite expensive. They may have some other brand metal slides that will work on a WA, but unless you know what you're looking for specifically, it's hard to get replacement parts, and they tend to be pricey.

Now, if someone has other guns to use while their WA is down and waiting for expensive new parts, then it's up to the owner to decide whether or not to risk using propane. But if this is the person's only gun and they wish to preserve it, then I would be more cautious and not use propane.

In my case, my 1911's slide may be easier to find a replacement for, but for my inox 92fs, I have a better chance of winning the 6/49 jackpot twice in a week then getting struck by lightning than finding a replacement part.

Your not looking in the right place on UNC—
go to parts, then scroll to the bottom and
you'll see links for replacement slide, frames
and slide+frame combos. I'll admit the names
and descriptions on the HK sites are crap, so
you have to be savvy in your searching to
find the replacement parts.

Edit: Here's what to look for— http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/b...Picture1-1.png

Tis' true, it's hard to find the premium slides
for rare guns, so duster is your friend. But
the 1911's have plenty of options for those
who are willing to spend time searching those
brutal HK sites :)

Well that's good to know. Thanks for the info. I doubt I'll find a replacement slide for my 92FS, so I'll err on the side of caution there. But I feel better about running my stock 1911 on propane or duster / propane combination now. At least I got the gun used for a really cheap price, so I wouldn't feel so bad about having to replace a slide on that one, and wouldn't miss the gun in the slightest even if it was out of comission for months till I found a part.

So while I have a WA expert here... what metal slide would you recommend for my WA .45? I know very little about it, so a pic is all I have. Any other info you may have on it would be great too.

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...47486_2044.jpg

BTW, the frame was originally black, but painted OD by the former owner.