Strayer Voigt Infinity Xcelerator Hybrid 6" - Western Arms

I am a huge fan of the big SV Infinities - My 6" Ltd taking pride of place (and a more permanent one than most guns) in my collection of airsoft pistols and being the gun I'd point to if someone asked what the appeal of Airsoft pistols was (Big, heavy, powerful, accurate and a challenge to shoot well)

I wasn't, I'll admit, too excited by the original 5" Xcelerator, which seemed to offer nothing over the Ltd, other than the red grip and the rather garish frame grooving.

However, when a 6" version was announced, with a Hybrid barrel, I became interested and when Elite Airsoft offered to loan me one to review, I jumped at the chance.

In the Box

Like all Infinities (except the Prokillers), the Xcelerator Hybrid comes with interchangeable triggers. The box also contains a couple of Allen keys, the loading tool, a manual (in Japanese), a few BBs and the gun itself.

After a bit of deliberation, I chose to review a black and nickel one, rather than red and silver (feeling the novelty of the brighter gun might wear off), but other than the colouring, the guns are the same.

First Impressions

Being used to the 6" Ltd, I initially found the Xcelerator Hybrid 6" fussier than the Ltd, with the nickel finish to the slide, barrel and frame and the grooves on the front of the frame loosing the Ltd's purity of shape.

However, there's no doubting that it's a nice looking gun (many will find the less minimalist appearance preferable) and, as expected of a WA Infinity, it's solid and heavy (well over a kilo) and it will feel very familiar to anyone who's handled an Infinity before.

As with all Infinities, the frame is metal. The grip and trigger guard, as on the real SVs, are a one piece plastic moulding - quite different to the Para Ordnance, which uses a modified 1911 frame.

The trigger, hammer, sights, extended magwell, slide lock, grip and thumb safeties are also metal, as is the outer barrel, into which the compensator is cast.

Closer Look

Whilst the Xcelerator is a smart looking gun, the nickel effect is not as well finished off on the frame (especially) and metal parts as you might expect of WAs of old. It's not exactly bad, but there are areas (on this example) of pitting and 'pooling', which are not apparent on the all black Ltd.

To be fair, however, you have to be looking for these and they don't show up under anything but very close examination. The nickel effect is quite pleasing, being a sort of metallic Champagne colour and maintaining a consistent hue between the metal and ABS parts.

The grooving at the front of the frame is mainly for effect, but includes a usable rail, which offers the opportunity to fit a light, laser or (if anyone ever makes one) a rail mounted scope mount, which would meaning no more having to drill the frame to fit one...

Markings on the gun are nicely produced, but limited to INFINITY on each side of the slide, the SV logo on the frame above the trigger on the right hand side and the "HYBRID 45 ACP", "DANGER EXHAUSTS PORTS READ MANUAL US PAT .5476087" on the chamber cover. I'm not sure of any licensing agreement between SV and WA, but the lengthy licensing disclaimer on the Berettas and Para Ordnances is not present on the SVs.

The grip and magwell (aside from the latter's colour) seem to be lifted directly from the 6" Ltd, whilst the sights are similar, but benefit from white dots, making them much easier to use in low lights. Sadly, again, the 6" Xcelerator doesn't get a front dovetail sight, so fitting fibre optic sights is not possible without a lot of work.

The thumb safety on the Xcelerator is ambidextrous.

Kick is considerable, although less notable than on the Ltd - I wondered if this was down to different conditions so tested the two guns back to back and swapped the magazines between them (in case my used Ltd had upgraded valves) and the Ltd definitely possesses a harder, snappier recoil. However, even on 134a gas, this is one of the fiercest kicking airsoft pistols I've fired and it's possible the Ltd has simply worn in, whilst the Hybrid is still tight.

There are a number of nice details on the gun, including the unique chamber cover engraving and, of course, the compensator/vented barrel, which is a close approximation of the HybriComp or Tribrid barrels from Strayer Voigt.

Shooting Impressions

Some initial test shooting suggested shots were pulling left, although when I took more care, that seemed to go away. I'd certainly not seen this with my Ltd, so I discounted it being my shooting style.

I carried out my standard 5m/6 round, off hand test on a very cold day, but only had 134a gas available, so the 1.75 inch (4 CM) grouping of 5 of the 6 rounds (one was further left, extending the group out to 2.5 inches) wasn't bad, although all the shots were left of the aim point.

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I then decided to warm the magazines indoors for a while, getting them up somewhere near room temperature.

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This proved inconclusive, though, as the first shot was low due to me catching the trigger as I raised the gun and the remaining shots fell within two tight groups (one 3 round group slightly to the left at .75 inch (2 CM) and the other 2 rounds just 1 inch (2.5 CM) apart to the right) slightly low of the aim point.

I suspect with stronger gas I would have seen better consistency on target.

Finally I dropped 20 rounds into the magazine and blasted away until they ran out.

As I'd seen with a similar test with my Ltd, many of the rounds tore one big hole in the target and the majority of the others fell very close, with all but a handful in the black rings.

Interestingly, though nearly all the rounds were to the left of the aim point in this test, which leads me to believe that the adjustable sights were slightly offset, which once rectified would have led to a destroyed bull in this test.

Conclusions

The SV Infinity Xcelerator Hybrid 6" is another great gun from WA. Whether you'd choose it over the LTD is very much a matter of taste.

Definitely choose this gun if you like the look - especially the rare and much sought after Hybrid barrel, prefer the sights or want to fit a tactical lamp.

Get the 6" Ltd if you like cleaner lines or want something less conspicuous to skirmish with (where a rail might really be useful, strangely.), although a 5" model would be easier to obtain a holster for.

Buy any of the WA Infinity range, though, and you're buying one of the very best Gas Blowback Airsoft pistols available.

I liked this gun so much that I ended up buying it from Elite.

Weight : 1200g

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

Real Steel link at World Guns
Strayer Voigt's website

Buy this gun from Elite Airsoft