Strayer Voigt Xcelerator Compact 3.9" - Western Arms

I've really come to admire the qualities of the WA SV Infinity range, being a big fan of the 6" Ltd, especially.

John at Elite Airsoft, mentioned he had an Xcelerator Compact which I could review and, although I couldn't particularly see the appeal of a small Infinity, I welcomed the chance to try it out.

In the Box

Like all WA Infinities, the Xcelerator Compact, comes in the familiar WA cardboard box, adorned with the SV and Infinity logos. However, this box is much smaller than the one I was familiar with, having only seen 5" and 6" Infinities before.

Inside was the gun, a set of interchangeable triggers (in claret), two allen keys, some BBs and the manual and a few other pieces of paper. Pretty much what you would expect with any SV Infinity from WA.

First Impressions

In all the photos the Xcelerator Compact (and the bigger 5" version) look a riot of clashing colours, with a claret magwell and trigger, silver slide, black frame and a gold barrel and chamber cover.

However, when you actually see the gun, it doesn't look such a jumble and is, in my opinion, a very attractive gun. It is compact, by the standards of the full size Infinities, but it certainly is not a small gun, feeling like a chunky G19, rather than a G26, for instance. The gold barrel and chamber are especially nicely finished lending a very special feel to the gun. The claret parts are slightly less congenial, but the finish is not as garish as some photographs have suggested.

Despite being smaller than a full size Infinity, little else has changed and all the solidity and quality found in the larger versions are present with the Compact, making it feel, if anything, even more solid and well made. The outer barrel and entire lower frame are metal (the grip, as usual, is plastic), as are the sights, safeties and trigger.

The Infinity range extends from the Compact, through a 4.3" barreled version to the 5" and 6" versions reviewed elsewhere and then onto the Gigant.

Closer Look

If you've not seen a Hi-Capacity Infinity before, what you basically have is a Colt 1911 Government based single action automatic. What Strayer Voigt do, though, is take the basic design miles away from the familiar 1911 A1.

The 1911 frame is disposed of and replaced with a metal rail like frame, onto which a plastic grip/trigger guard is bolted. This permits SV to fit a double stack magazine (and WA to squeeze in double rows of BBs, too). The grip safety and thumb safeties are retained (the latter ambidextrous on this model). The frame, is much boxier than a standard 1911 (SV and WA make single stack Infinities, too, which are much more 1911 like) and, on this version, features a tactical rail and grooving under the barrel.

The only trade marks on the gun are the INFINITY scripts on either side of the slide and the SV logo cast into the frame above the trigger. The chamber cover bears the markings "INFINITY 45 ACP".

The grip is shorter than on a 5" or 6" Infinity, being 10 CM top to bottom, rather than 11.5 CM. This isn't enough to make the grip feel uncomfortable in my hands (which I'd say are about average, having an 8.5" span), whilst the overall length of the gun is around 7.5 inches (19CM), compared to the 9.5 inches (24.5CM) of my 6" Hybrid. The photo below is probably the closest representation of the Claret colour in natural light.

In practical terms, this makes the Compact a lot easier to holster, but does reduce the magazine capacity from 30 rounds to 24 (which a lot of medium framed guns, like the Glock 17 and Berettas, can better).

The hammer is a different profile to that on my Ltd or Hybrid, being pretty much oval and having a serrated section, making cocking very easy (important on an Infinity, which is single action). As with all Infinities (in fact all 1911 variants as far as I can tell), there is no way to decock the Compact, short of dropping the magazine and pulling the trigger.

Sights on the compact are fairly simple, being a tactical Novak style rear (with no adjustment) and front dovetail blade, all with white dots. The sights are easy enough to use and quick to place on target.

The silver finish on this gun is very good, with none of the finish issues seen on the metal parts of the Inox Beretta.

Shooting Impressions

The Compact feels much like any semi-auto Infinity in the hand, although without the muzzle biased weight distribution of the 6" version, making it easy to place and, theoretically hold, on target.

Kick is pretty good for a smallish gun, although it can't compete with the bigger Infinities and (without testing back to back) it also feels less than my Beretta Cougar. Kick is certainly as great or greater than a KSC Glock or Beretta or the Inox WA Beretta.

Initial test shooting, however, suggested that this gun is not easy to produce consistent results with, at least in my hands in the time I've had. All shots were pretty much in or around the target area, but widely spread, with some high and some low.

Carrying out my standard 5m/6 round, off hand test, I found this pattern (or rather, lack of it) repeated. These shots are marked by the circles on the target above and the six rounds were spread over a 7 inch (16 CM) diameter, with two to the right of the centre, one slightly low and left, two high and the final round just slightly high of the aim point.

I decided to repeat the test, taking great care over steadying the gun between shots. These shots (only 5 this time) are shown by the solid squares on the target. This time I was able to put all 5 rounds in the centre area, within a 2.5 inch (6 CM) radius. This compares quite favourably with most of my other GBBs, but this required a lot more care over each shot than I usually apply.

Finally, I regassed the magazine and filled it with 24 rounds. Firing rapidly, although not quite as fast as I could manage, given that it was just 12C and I was using 134a gas, I emptied the magazine. There was no discernable drop off in power and no problem of gas venting. The grouping, however, was again, not particularly impressive. All the rounds hit the target, but they ranged from the top of the target to the bottom - a 20 CM high x 10 CM wide (roughly 8 x 4 inches) area, with all aimed at the centre of the main target. The slightly left bias could be accounted for by my grip or the fact that I was standing slightly off centre to fire.

Accuracy is probably good enough for skirmishing, but, whether due to the short barrel or me just not getting to grips with the handling of the gun, I would say it is disappointing by WA Infinity standards.

Conclusions

Overall, I really liked the Infinity Xcelerator Compact, but I'm finding it hard to quantify why. The fact I did like it surprised me, as I really had not expected to, feeling that a small Infinity was a bit like a flat bottomed J.Lo.

I couldn't really get to grips with shooting it either, but that, somehow, didn't matter much.

Personally, I'd take an all black version of the gun (I still find the combination of colours a little too much for my taste), but I am sorely tempted to get hold of one of these little Infinities, to compliment my 6" versions.

Different, but good, that's the Xcelerator Compact - If you want a solid, reliable, quality gun, but don't want a hand cannon, look no further, if your budget can stretch!

Weight : 820g

Realism : ****
Quality : ****
Power : ****
Accuracy : ***

Real Steel link at World Guns
Strayer Voigt's website

Buy this gun from Elite Airsoft