ARCTURUS Vanguard Hi-Capa GBB Pistol; Optics Ready

If you're after a pre-upgraded Hi-Capa with an ultra-modern aesthetic, the ARCTURUS Vanguard Hi-Capa GBB Pistol; Optics Ready should be on your shopping list! A top-notch full metal build with a plethora of steel internal and external parts, the Vanguard has an exciting aesthetic with its unique weight-reduced slide design, a 20mm Picatinny frame rail for your laser or torch and an optics-ready slide, ready for a micro red dot sight if you add the ARCTURUS Optic Plate Set (available separately).

Inside, ARCTURUS has made the Vanguard to last a lifetime, equipped with MIM steel hammer and trigger group components, a steel slide lock/release, a steel hammer and steel safety catches, ensuring you'll never have a mechanical failure under normal use.

The inner barrel is also a 6.03mm tightbore example made from stainless steel with a super-smooth coating known as EnduraHeat Nitride Treatment (ENT), providing impressive accuracy potential with high-quality ammo. If you like a 'Capa which is a cut above the rest, the ARCTURUS Vanguard Hi-Capa GBB Pistol; Optics Ready is one to watch!

Starting at the front, we can find 11mm CW female threading inside the superbly finished alloy outer barrel. This means you can add a tracer unit or suppressor using a thread adapter if the mission requires it. If you're dead set on a tracer, we recommend the EShooter FLARE M as it comes packaged with the correct thread adapter. The exceptionally smooth outer barrel finish helps the slide cycle smoothly and quickly, minimising friction between parts for a slick feel.

The slide is made from alloy, featuring serrations at the front and rear to make slide manipulation a piece of cake, no matter how you choose to do it. The slide also features weight reduction recesses, which help keep the slide's weight down, without adding sporty slide ports, which can be a point of ingress for dirt and debris. The iron sights are also pre-installed on the top of the slide, featuring a green light-enhancing insert in the front sight plate, making it easy and fast to acquire.

The rear of the slide continues the ultra-modern aesthetic with yet more dynamic weight reduction recesses and grippy rear slide serrations. On top, we can find the rear iron sight, a fixed combat sight with white dots for indexing. In front of the rear sight, we are treated to an optics-ready slide cut, allowing you to add the ARCTURUS Optic Plate Set to mount a micro red dot sight. At the rear of the slide, we can find the skeletonised hammer, made from steel for optimal strength with reduced weight and cutting-edge looks thanks to its squared-off, skeletonised design.

Moving down to the frame, we can find a 20mm Picatinny rail on the dust cover, ready for a laser aiming device or tactical flashlight to be added to suit the mission at hand. This rail is a true Picatinny rail, meaning no messing around with adapters to get a tight fit for your accessories. Following the frame back, we come to the steel slide lock/release catch, a high-wear part with the prerequisite robust build for maximum reliability.

The adjustable HOP-up unit of the Vanguard is located on the bottom of the outer barrel and is accessible with the slide removed, in "field stripped" condition. To remove the slide, you will first need to remove the magazine and rack the slide to cock the hammer. With this done, you can pull the slide back to align the slide lock lever with the rearmost cutout on the left side of the slide.

With the slide in this position, you can push the slide release catch through from the right side of the frame, after which the slide can be slid forward and removed from the front of the pistol. The adjustable HOP-up allows you to tune the Vanguard for different ammo weights and extend your range, adjusting the dial until the trajectory is as flat as possible.

At the rear of the frame, we can find the ambidextrous manual safety catch, made from steel for optimal strength. This is a reduced profile safety, reducing the potential that your pistol will snag on your gear and slow you down on the field. Being ambidextrous, the safety allows both left and right-handed shooters to carry "cocked and locked" and get on target quickly, with the added benefit that the safeties can be used as a thumb rest for improved recoil control.

Just behind the frame rail, we come to the trigger guard, which sports what is known as "undercuts", a reduced profile section on the bottom intended to facilitate a high grip for more effective recoil control. The guard leads on to the grip module, featuring textured panels on the front and sides with an imitation stippling effect, providing a grip with ample traction which is comfortable with or without gloves.

At the base of the grip, we can find what is known as a "magazine well extension" or "flared magwell", integrated with the polymer grip module. This allows for faster reloads by guiding the magazine in, making speedy reloads with adrenaline coursing through your veins far more achievable. With experience, this can also allow for reloading on the move and "eyes-up" reloads, allowing you to continue to scan for targets as you bring your platform back online.

The magazine release is pre-installed on the left side of the frame, a triangular design similar to the Sig P320, making it easy to hit when needed but designed to reduce the chance of accidental presses. This magazine release can be swapped to the opposite side for left-handed use, ideal for lefties who want intuitive operation. If you do swap the magazine release to the right side, you will need to stick with ARCTURUS-branded Hi-Capa magazines, as these are the only Hi-Capa mags on the market that we are aware of which are ambi-ready.

At the rear of the grip, we have the usual "beavertail grip safety", a design which was first used on the original 1911 pistol, intended to prevent the pistol from being fired when gripped improperly. Like Hi-Capas designed for competitive shooting, the grip safety of the Vanguard is pinned in the "off" position, ensuring you can get shots off, even with an improper grip technique. To avoid accidentally shooting yourself in the leg on the draw, we recommend carrying the pistol cocked with the manual safety engaged, and only disengaging the manual safety when your sights are on target.

If you're shopping Hi-Capas with a modern build in mind, the ARCTURUS Vanguard Hi-Capa GBB Pistol; Optics Ready is one of the best value options on the market currently. Dressed to impress with a mission-ready external build and solid steel internals which will never let you down, the Vanguard is the perfect workhorse combat sidearm!

Features

• Full metal construction
• 6.03mm Tightbore inner barrel - Superb accuracy potential
• 11mm CW Female threaded barrel - Tracer ready with Adapter
• 20mm Picatinny frame rail - Ready for a tactical flashlight or aiming laser
• Front slide serrations- Easy to rack from the front or rear
• Weight reduction recesses - Reduced slide weight without ports, which can cause debris ingress
• Steel extended slide lock/release - Easy to reach from a firing grip
• Steel ambidextrous manual safety catches - Reduced profile design, great for left or right-handed shooters
• Light-enhancing iron sights - Green fibre-optic front sight insert is easy to acquire quickly
• Optics ready slide - Add a micro red dot with the ARCTURUS Optic Plate Set (available separately)
• Gear adjustable HOP-up unit - On the bottom of the outer barrel, remove the slide to access
• Left/right swappable magazine release - Install the mag release on whichever side suits you
• Pinned beavertail grip safety - Similar to IPSC builds, no beavertail safety to slow you down!
• Skeletonised steel hammer - Robust yet lightweight, suits the modern styling
• Textured pistol grip - Comfortable and grippy, with or without gloves
• Trigger guard undercuts - Encourages a high grip for better recoil control
• Flared magazine well - Easy "eyes up" reloads on the move
• Compatible with most TM-spec Hi-Capa GBB magazines - ARCTURUS Hi-Capa mags recommended

Package Includes

• ARCTURUS Vanguard Hi-Capa GBB Pistol; Optics Ready
  • 31rnd Green Gas magazine
  • Spare parts kit

Special Instructions

While the Vanguard works well on most TM-spec Hi-Capa GBB magazines, you will need ARCTURUS-branded Hi-Capa magazines to use the swappable magazine release in left-handed configuration.