WE Hi-Capa 5.1 Silver Dragon Initial Review *UPDATE 02/21/06*

[Avenging Angel]

WE Hi-Capa 5.1 Silver Dragon Initial Review

Initial thoughts:
Well, to be honest, I’m not expecting much for only $200. Personally I’m used to the quality and reliability that my Western Arms guns provide. So, in this review, I’m going to be using my WA guns as a baseline guide.


Opening the box:
When I first opened the box I noticed the lack of packaging. The gun just sits in the box and has a bit of foam beneath it. Not that it really matters but, it’s something that I think is worth noting. The gun looked nice and undamaged (just the way that I like my guns.) Included in the package is the gun, a magazine, a hex key and an engrish manual.


The Pistol:
I picked up the pistol and to my surprise, it had a decent weight to it. It was slightly lighter than my WA Infinity Excellerator but, the difference was really negligible. For the most part, the gun felt solid. There was only one loose part and that was the safety lever on the right side of the gun. (It seems like this problem effects all of the Dragons) Just use the safety on the left side of the gun and there are no problems. The rest of the gun was solid with no loose parts or rattling.

The gun looks excellent. The barrel has a nice mirror finish on it and the slide looks fabulous. For a $200 gun, I wasn’t expecting the gun to look as good as it did. Having the metal slide is a nice feature but I must admit that it feels very cheap and toy like. (But again, what do you expect?) The slide action is fairly smooth in comparison with my WA guns and with a little bit of filing here and there, the WE gun could be just as smooth as it’s higher priced counterpart.

Also worth a note is that the “rails” on these guns are indeed useless unless you want to do some heavy modifications. The rail is too wide to accept standard 20mm equipment. I was unable to mount my M3 or my laser onto this particular model.


Loading the gun:
Firstly, I have to note that I picked up a CO2 magazine as opposed to the regular propane type magazine that is normally included with the gun. I went with the CO2 because the magazine is internally regulated and I’ve always believed that CO2 would be more consistent in terms of total rounds that can be fired from a magazine.

The CO2 cartridge fits nicely into the bottom of the magazine and seals well once the cap has been screwed on. When trying to screw the cap on, it seems to be rather tough to do by hand. I had to dig out a wrench to snug it up tightly so that the CO2 wouldn’t leak out. It’s not that big of a deal, but it’s still annoying.

The CO2 magazine holds a total of 37 rounds, which is defiantly generous especially considering that a CO2 magazine only costs around $50. When loading the up the magazine another neat feature struck me. The BB feed pin actually locks at the bottom of the mag. To release the feed pin, there is a small spring loaded button. Press the button, the pin will release and you’re ready to go.


Firing the gun:
In my mind, this is where this gun failed miserably. The blowback is slow, un-crisp and very much comparable to a stock Glock 19 on duster gas. It’s not exciting to shoot in the slightest. Some may think, “Why not? You’re using CO2!” Yes, it may be using CO2 but remember that the mag has a regulator in it. Initial pop can tests would indicate that the gun is firing around 320ish on the CO2. Exact chrono results will follow a bit later on.

I’d heard the horror stories about how people couldn’t seem to get through an entire magazine on one fill of gas with the rest of the WE series so, I figured I’d see what happened with the Dragon. I loaded up a brand new CO2 cartridge and set out to fire. I shot off all 37 rounds as fast as I could and never once noticed a lack of power or kick from the gun. After the slide locked back and I realized that I still had gas left in the mag, I started to become more impressed. I decided to see exactly how many shots I could get off with this thing so, I loaded up some more BB’s and started to do some more rapid firing. I got through another 9 shots before the gas ran out.

After going through a couple more mags the results were conclusive. I could get through 1 and a ¼ mags on rapid fire. If I shot slowly and gave the CO2 a chance to warm up, I was able to get through 2 mags completely.


Tidbits:
This is just the initial review so other things will be following as I test them out. There’s some interesting things going on with the safety on the gun so I need to test out a few theories. Also, I’m checking into the compatibility of various TM parts. The TM mags work in these guns but they don’t work very well. The issue seems to be with the follower on the mags. I can’t get the slide on the dragon to lock back when using the TM mags. Pictures to follow once I take some.


*UPDATE 02/17/06*
I confirmed that the grip safety was not functional on the gun so I opened it up to see what was wrong. All you have to do (after removing the frame from the grip) is bend the middle of the three metal tabs back ever so slightly. After this has been done, re-insert the long black metal bar (WHILE the hammer is still in it's cocked position) back into the grip. It will be a little hard to do because of the resistance that the spring in the grip is placing on the bar but once you get it done, your grip safety will be working again. Well, mine was anyways. If anyone else has success with this method, please let me know so I can confirm. I will take pictures tomorrow to better show what I’m trying to describe.


*UPDATE 02/21/06*
Okay, it seems as if the CO2 mags have some critical problems. (Or else I just have really bad luck). Two of the four CO2 mags I own have malfunctioned. The two mags in question had only had 5 catridge changes on each before the seal froze up, deformed and prevented the mag from staying pressurized. I picked up some propane mags in addition so that I can see how that works.


Life Test:

02/21/06
Total rounds fired on CO2 = 1887
Total rounds fired on Propane = 60
- No signs of wear

So far:

Quality: 3/5
Fun Factor: 3/5
Gas consumption: 2/5
Upgrades and options: ?/5
Bang for your buck: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

[The Saint]

Um, FYI, you shouldn't use the CO2 mags with the Dragons. The lighter half-slide design of the Dragon cannot take the increase in operating stress without buggering out at a fairly rapid rate. It's all in the WE Hi-Capa interest thread in the gun section, I think around page 8.

[Avenging Angel]

I read through it and didn't see anything too terribly related upon my glancing. Personally, I can't see how there would be any more operating stress with a CO2 mag that is regulated. If it's regulated, the mag should be exerting the same amount of pressure on the slide as propane would.

The blow back feels the same with the propane mag and the CO2 mag. There is no noticeable difference in the forces exerted between the two. If there isn't enough of a noticeable force in the blowback, then I would have to say that using propane would wear down the gun just as fast. That's just my thoughts though. If anyone has any actual hard technical evidence about CO2 being bad for the gun, I would really like to see it.

[Syphen]

I dunno if the co2 mag would really be ALL that bad.. I'm thinking about picking one up for my Baby 3.8 (simular slide weight i think in the moving part) and just using that for outdoors winter use.

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted by Avenging Angel

I read through it and didn't see anything too terribly related upon my glancing. Personally, I can't see how there would be any more operating stress with a CO2 mag that is regulated. If it's regulated, the mag should be exerting the same amount of pressure on the slide as propane would.

The blow back feels the same with the propane mag and the CO2 mag. There is no noticeable difference in the forces exerted between the two. If there isn't enough of a noticeable force in the blowback, then I would have to say that using propane would wear down the gun just as fast. That's just my thoughts though. If anyone has any actual hard technical evidence about CO2 being bad for the gun, I would really like to see it.

Really? I noted that my slide movement was MUCH crisper with CO2.

I'm thinking as it is now, there's inconsistency throughout the entire line-up...

[supersized]

Originally Posted by Avenging Angel

I read through it and didn't see anything too terribly related upon my glancing. Personally, I can't see how there would be any more operating stress with a CO2 mag that is regulated. If it's regulated, the mag should be exerting the same amount of pressure on the slide as propane would.

The blow back feels the same with the propane mag and the CO2 mag. There is no noticeable difference in the forces exerted between the two. If there isn't enough of a noticeable force in the blowback, then I would have to say that using propane would wear down the gun just as fast. That's just my thoughts though. If anyone has any actual hard technical evidence about CO2 being bad for the gun, I would really like to see it.

I think this issue was addressed by Randy on the original group order thread just before the shipment came in. If I remember correctly, the manufacturer did not recomend using CO2 with the dragon slides as it does put out more pressure than using propane and also the metal on the slides were thinner; so it'd be a combination of increased pressure and less structure rigidity.

[supersized]

Here's the link to the thread:

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthr...3&page=4&pp=15

It's the fourth post on the fourth page of the thread where it is confirmed by the manufacturer.

[The Saint]

I wonder if you got a lemon, Avenging Angel. The Dragon's my first GBB, so I don't exactly have much previous experience to drawn upon, but I'd say my slide's pretty crisp on just propane.

Apparently the Dragon uses a lighter metal for its slide, or so the theory goes. I don't have a regular WE Hi-Capa for comparison, but I think all the non-split slides can take CO2 without the same problem as the Dragon, even the Baby. Don't quote me on it, though. That the Dragon can't take CO2 has been confirmed by the manufacturer, read supersized's link. I should know, I'm the one who asked Randy to ask WE.

[Mantelope]

I don't think it's an issue so much of getting a "lemon" or anything like that, it's just a matter of expectations. As he said, he's comparing it to a Western Arms.

I can take my WE out after not playing for a month, fire it a few times, and remember how much I miss playing with it. It feels good, it feels like a GBB ought to. However, after that, I'll take my WA SVI out. Play with that for a few minutes, and I'm trying to figure out why I bought the WE in the first place. It's all a matter of perspective.

[Avenging Angel]

Yeah, I was comparing things to my WA guns (In particular my Xcellerator, beucase it is of similar size). Compared to my Xcellerator running on propane, the WE gun with CO2 has practically no kick to it. The KWA(I think it was KWA) CO2 UZI I had, shot rediculously harder and had a MUCH larger amount of recoil than the CO2 WE gun has. In the event that CO2 is exerting more pressure (I'll find out when I conduct in depth velocity tests perhaps) then I'm sure that it wouldnt be too hard to modify a flow restrictor. I'm hopefully going to have accurate chrono results for this thing by sunday.

[attack-beaver]

i,ve read elsewhere that the dragon is a great gun better then most other pistols ppl have owned. but comparing a WE to WA its not fair really it be like watching a boxing match between a midget and a heay weight champ not fair is it.

[Tankdude]

You need a standard before you can measure something. WA is the leading company in 1911's so to compare other colt type guns to them would be fair.

[The Saint]

Originally Posted by attack-beacer

i,ve read elsewhere that the dragon is a great gun better then most other pistols ppl have owned. but comparing a WE to WA its not fair really it be like watching a boxing match between a midget and a heay weight champ not fair is it.

For the price of a heavy weight champ you can buy a room full of midgets. Superiority through sheer numbers! :lol:

[v82slo]

Hope you don't me sharing a picture for those that don't want to look in the other link. Picture of black (on top) and silver WE Dragons.

[Avenging Angel]

Article updated in regards to the CO2 mags. Quality on the seals seems to be poor and creates a lack of pressure to blow back the slide and shoot the BB. More details in the original post.