airsoftgun review: Tricks for the Hi-Capa

INTRODUCTION

For those people who work really hard for their money, getting various upgrade parts for their airsofts might be a big step. Here are a few tricks you can do to your Hi-Capa just with a Leatherman and Superglue. This guide is also helpful if you need to install some parts yourself. Naturally all modifications are done at your own discretion, and you should be conscious about your own skill level. These tricks are tested to work, but done incorrectly may cause your pistol to malfunction or even break.

BASIC DISASSEMBLY

Before doing anything, you need to know how to disassemble the pistol. Start by removing the magazine, making sure the gun is empty and field stripping it. Knock out the retainer pin of the mainspring housing in the heel of the grip, and pull the mainspring housing off the grip. Then turn the safety levers up beyond their normal travel. The hammer needs to be cocked, or the levers won't move. Only a little bit of turning is enough so you can pull the left safety lever off the gun. Be cautious, as part H51-49 is under spring tension. It's best to take out the spring and H51-47 as well, and put them somewhere where they will not be lost. When reassembling, use a thin knife blade or a piece of paper folded a few times to push the pin to the front while installing the left safety lever. The right lever and grip safety can also be removed now.

To take off the grip, remove the screws on both sides of the grip, and one Phillips screw from inside the dust cover, holding the trigger guard. The screw heads on the sides of the trigger guard are fake, so leave them alone. On the left side of the firing mechanism is another Phillips screw, normally hidden by the left safety lever. Removing that allows you to simply lift the left side of the firing mechanism off.

TRIGGER PULL

While the trigger pull of the Marui Hi-Capa is quite nice as it is, there's always room for improvement. Getting a steel sear and hammer improves trigger pull a lot (although they can also use a bit of modification, just like with real guns), but the original parts can provide good results as well. Let's make it short and sensitive!

Looking at the firing mechanism, you will notice that the step on the hammer is quite big, The picture shows the sear keeping the hammer fully cocked. Making the step smaller will make the pistol shoot with less trigger travel. If you take too much material off, the gun might be able to be fired with the safety on, so be sure to check whether the safety works or not after you're done. Filing it down way too much may cause the gun to fire short bursts occasionally, which is not good. It's better to take a little at the time and assemble the gun in between.

DECOCKING MOD

Some people prefer carrying the pistol in condition two, with the hammer down on a loaded chamber. People with any realsteel experience will (or at least should!) have serious issues pulling the trigger on a loaded chamber, but lowering the hammer slowly will get it caught in the half cocked position. To allow yourself to decock the pistol without dryfiring, you can file the cam pin on the right side of the trigger flat. The hammer in the picture is made by Carom Shot, so the pin could be pulled out just with pliers and installed back later, if desired. The principle however is the same. You still have to remove the magazine when decocking to prevent releasing any unwanted gas, but at least you have the option to lower the hammer slowly without getting the hammer caught in the half-cocked position. When drawing the pistol, you only need to cock the hammer for the first shot.

OVERTRAVEL MOD

When you pull the trigger, the sear lets the hammer fall and strike the firing pin. If the trigger can't be pulled back enough, the gun won't fire, but any unnecessary travel after the sear has tripped is overtravel in a negative sense. To reduce overtravel to minimum, some manufacturers make triggers with a screw for adjustment. Here's a cheap and effective alternative, if you don't mind doing some work for your gun.

With the grip removed from the gun, insert a small flat screwdriver into the magazine catch retainer. Push and turn 90 degrees to the left to unlock, and remove the magazine catch. The trigger and trigger bar can now be pulled back out of the frame. Adding material to the step in the back of the trigger will decrease overtravel. After finishing both surfaces flat and smooth, use superglue to attach the material to the trigger. While we always do this with a small hex nut for accurate trigger stop, you can glue a piece of plastic to this area to achieve the same result, although with less accuracy and lack of adjustment. You won't have to assemble the entire pistol to test the results in between, but it will take some trial and errors before you get the optimal result. Removing over-travel completely is not advisable, because even just a little dirt buildup in the firing mechanism will stop you from shooting.