Remington 1911 RAC

Also sold as the Tanfoglio Witness and Swiss Arms 1911, these BB shooting 1911 replicas are all the same pistol made in Taiwan by KWC/Cybergun. With their metal construction and full blowback action they are very accurate reproductions of the real thing and even field strip in exactly the same way. Capable of spitting out BBs at around 300 fps, you won't find a more fun and realistic BB pistol.

The worst thing about these guns out of the box is that they are covered in very conspicuous warnings and have "Made in Taiwan" stamped prominently on the side, none of which does much for the looks. Sadly, the lettering goes right through the paint and the only way to be rid of it is to sand off the original finish down to the bare metal. Plenty of people do this and then polish the slide to a mirror shine. So I did the same and I have to say that it does look good!

I bought my 1911 mainly as a replica and didn't expect any kind of accuracy from it, but I've been pleasantly surprised. OK, it's a blowback BB gun so it's never going to produce Olympic standard groups, but I can consistently hit tin cans at 10m which is pretty much all I expect from an air pistol. (And, if we're honest, pretty much all that you could probably expect from the real thing). OK, my Umarex Smith & Wesson is better on targets but for plinking there's not much in it.

Weihrauch HW40

The Weihrauch HW40 is a single stroke pneumatic pistol externally constructed from high grade polymer, with the working parts made from metal. It looks like a full bore pistol and is is one of my favourite plinking guns, although the light trigger and recoilless characteristics make it accurate enough for informal target shooting. The only downside these days is the price: The Beeman 2004 is otherwise identical, but made in China, and available for less than half. And that's where my money would go if I were buying now.

Smith & Wesson 586

The Umarex Smith & Wesson 586 is an accurate copy of the S&W .357 Magnum. Widely regarded as the best shooting of the Umarex replicas, it's pretty much all metal construction and the weight, balance and feel are apparently very similar to that of the real firearm. The trigger is one of the best fitted to the CO2 replicas and the action is also very close to the 357 Magnum it copies: The 10-shot rotary cylinder is released using the thumb slide release lever and swings out for reloading just like the real thing.

In single action shooting, the trigger pull is very clean and coupled to the fully adjustable open sights contributes to surprisingly good accuracy for a CO2 pistol. Half-inch groups are relatively easy at 6 yards and “Tin can accuracy” is good for 20 metres or more. I get about 60 shots from a CO2 capsule and claimed velocity is around 400fps.

Weihrauch HW45

The Weihrauch HW45 is a heavyweight, all metal over lever spring powered pistol styled after the 1911. Often billed as full UK power, but in reality more like 4 or 5 fpe. Nonetheless it is a bit of brute and not that easy to shoot although it is capable of surprising accuracy if you can get the hang of it.

Newer versions have a half cock feature where the barrel assembly can be pulled back to 90 degrees and the pistol shot at half power. I can't see the point personally, if I'm gonna shoot this I want moar powah! Because that's what this pistol is all about. Allegedly... But seriously, these aren't easy to master but when you do get it right they can be very satisfying indeed.