Traders Airsoft Forums

Western Arms Smith & Wesson M4013 TSW Review

I seem to be on a bit of a compact jag lately, with my acquisition of a Beretta M84S and now this new compact Western Arms Smith & Wesson. I have always had a thing for the S&W Auto Series, and since there are no full size framed guns out there, this was as close as you can get in a GBB. Built by Western Arms (my favorite manufacturer) this was a no brainer. Unfortunately they are a bit hard to find right now, with the silver version out of stock pretty much everywhere, I was lucky to pick up this black version from UNCompany for a reasonable $178.

Package:

Packaged in the now normal grey SCW box, the TSW comes complete with a bag of bbs. No loading tool, or allan wrenches, just the black gun in a Styrofoam bed and the regular package of manuals, safety fliers, targets and lots of words in Japanese.





Gun:

Out of the box, the TSW is another good example of WA heavy weight technology. Mostly composed of abs mixed with metal particles, the gun has a metal sub frame which the slide rides on. Other metal parts are the usual trigger, hammer, safety (push button), sights, magazine and 20mm rail.

Solid and heavy in the hand, perfectly weighted, with or without the magazine, the TSW is very pointable and maneuverable. Sized right for a concealed carry or a back up, the TSW is at 795grams heavier than the similarly size KSC Glock 19 (740 grams) but lighter than the metal slided USP Compact (850 grams).

Equiped with a fully bobbed hammer, the TSW is a double action auto, which can be cocked by racking the slide, or by pulling the trigger. Lined on the top, the hammer could be manually cocked by hand or more by fingernail, but that is more trouble than it’s worth.

The metal mag is double stacked, with a total capacity of 22 rounds. Equiped with the usual WA valve blocker on the rear of the mag, be sure you have that locked down before filling. With a decent amount of gas capacity, the mag is good for about 2 ½ to 3 mags off a fill or around 50-60 shots. Not bad considering the size. The finger groove on the bottom of the mag is also metal.






Trades:

With crisp and clear trades, as per usual for Western Arms guns, the TSW has all of them on the left side of the gun, with a very small ASGK logo on the right above the grip. The hard plastic grips have the Smith & Wesson logo and name, but sadly mine have been somewhat obscured by the hot putty used to cover them by UNCompany. I will figure out a safe way to make them clearer in the future, or I might see what is required to swap to real steal grips.





Features:

As a replacement for the much loved Shorty .40, the TSW has a few new features. The first would be the fixed hop up. The Shorty .40 came with the somewhat fiddly WA adjustable hop, where as the newer TSW makes do with a fixed hop set pretty well for .20s. BBs stay flat for a decent distance (40-50ft) but this is not primary material.

The Novak look sights have three crisp white dots to aid in target acquisition.

The silver version of the TSW includes a safety lever similar in function to the Beretta 92 series, including a trigger disconnect and a hammer drop feature. The black version I am reviewing has an interesting push button safety. Engaged by pushing on the circle in the rear of the slide, from the right side, the hammer is dropped and the trigger disengaged.






Another new feature on the TSW is the two stage, triple-sprung recoil guide. The main recoil spring on the TSW is in fact two separate springs (one inside the other) which but up against a recoil buffer. Behind the rubber buffer (sandwiched by two washers) is a very stiff buffer spring which seems to allow for stronger gasses than the Shorty .40 was able to handle.




The final new feature would be the metal rail. Attached by two screws through the frame, the rail can use 20mm rail attachments and is adjustable outwards to fit most tac lights and lasers.





Field Strip

Field stripping is easy and straight forward. First you pull the slide back far enough for the slide stop notch to match the front of the slide lock. Holding it steady there, you can remove the slide lock. Once that is removed the slide comes off the front of the frame. Next remove the recoil guide rod and barrel combination. Easy to do, with no tools necessary.





Shooting

On 134A, the action is crisp and there is noticeable kick. About as much as a KWA Glock 19 on green gas. Here the WA Magna Blowback system shines. Power is awfully low, mid 220s.

I have been running green gas in mine, with no signs of damage so far. On green the kick is sharp and hard. Because the slide weighs so little, it won’t keep up with a full size 1911 or even the ABS TM, but for such a small gun the kick and feel is amazing. The gun completely outclasses my full metal Beretta M84S when it comes to the visceral experience of shooting.

Chrono Results

Using green gas and .20 Toytec BBs over 10 shots:

Avg: 258.90 fps

1 – 269
2 – 261
3 – 262
4 – 258
5 – 258
6 – 257
7 – 258
8 – 253
9 – 259
10 – 254

As you can see the first shot was very high with a sharp dip to the second, but after that the gun shot very consistently. This was with a freshly filled mag at 65d, so with higher temps there is fps to be found. Also there is no cool down, but I did pause for a few seconds between shots.

Range is only decent due to the length of the barrel (short) and the fixed hop. BBs fly straight for 30-40 feet, but after that the wind or just random hop will cause the bbs to veer off course. Not really enough power to stay flat for the same distances as a Marui. The WA hop up has never been great, even their adjustables.

Summation

So in the end the gun is a mixed bag. Great looks and feel. Great kick and weight. Decent power. Great short range accuracy, but not so consistent long range. Perfect as a collectors piece or a home plinker.

It would make a decent back up for short ranges and last ditches, but not up to par for a real primary, of course who would choose such a small gun for a primary anyway.

Western Arms has produced another beautiful, powerful replica. Whether it is what you need really depends on what you are looking for.

Beautiful review Ben! I really appreciate you taking the time to post one for us!

I hope you don't mind, but I adjusted the title of your review a bit, just to change 'WA' to 'Western Arms' in full, to help with future searches people might do. Great photos, very nice descriptions, and top-notch writing. Who could as for more?

Well, I could! More reviews!!

Indeed a niec review Ben. Good write up! Nice little gun too.

Thanks, and feel free to change whatever you feel you need to. I have a backburnered TM 1911 review I will finish this weekend and post up. I think good reviews are another way of drawing in new eyes who will hopefully stay and buy something.