WELLPRO WE23 'The Gauntlet' — Building an Arm Cannon That Actually Works on the Field

The WELLPRO WE23 "The Gauntlet" does not look like anything else in airsoft. It is a five-barrel, motor-driven arm cannon that you slide your hand through and fire with a palm trigger — closer to a Terminator prop than a traditional AEG platform. Ed picked one up after running the smaller Pocket Cyclone version and finding one critical limitation: no tracer compatibility. The Gauntlet solves that with full-size barrels that accept a 14mm tracer unit, and at $579 it sits in a strange middle ground between novelty and practical field kit. Here is what the build actually involves, what works, and what you need to know before buying one.

Video source: The WELL PRO WE23 'The Gauntlet' — Did I Make A Huge Mistake? (published 2026-07-16, 491 views)

From Pocket Cyclone to Gauntlet — Why the Upgrade

The WELLPRO line includes five models: the Pocket Cyclone ($369), the Buzzsaw, the Juggernaut, the Thunderclaw, and the Gauntlet ($579). Ed started with the Pocket Cyclone and liked it — nearly 50 rounds per second at around 300 FPS makes it devastating indoors — but the smaller barrel set does not align with any standard tracer unit. For indoor play at venues like Battle Lab, where sub-300 FPS allows full-auto fire, a tracer is not optional. It is how you see where your BBs are going in a dark environment.

The Gauntlet's full-size barrels change that equation. They are large enough to accept the dedicated WE23 tracer unit (sold separately, around $120), which means you can finally run this platform with illuminated BBs indoors. That single capability is the reason the upgrade exists.

Video source: Double Eagle DWS LUPUS — Full Metal MWS GBBR! (Unboxing & First Look) (published 2026-07-09, 2,436 views)

Unboxing — What You Get and What You Do Not

The Gauntlet arrives in an unmarked box with the arm cannon, a 1200-round drum magazine, and nothing else. No battery, no tracer, no manual worth mentioning — WELLPRO includes a single printed sheet that barely covers the basics. You will need to source your own 11.1V 1000mAh battery (Ed runs a 35C cell) and the proprietary 3.7V 14500 battery for the tracer unit separately.

The 1200-round drum is a genuine highlight. Unlike high-cap magazines that rattle and feed inconsistently, the Gauntlet's drum compresses BBs as you load it, so there is no shaking or winding. Ed also picked up two additional drums at roughly $70 each, giving him 3,600 rounds on hand — more than a full bottle of BBs loaded and ready.

The platform itself has adjustable hop-up on each of the five barrels, which means you can tune the spread pattern. The top barrel fires first, so you can set it flat for accuracy and let the lower barrels fan outward for suppression.

Installing the Tracer Unit — Step by Step

This is the part nobody else has documented. If you are buying the Gauntlet specifically for tracer compatibility, here is the installation process Ed walked through:

1. Remove the orange tips and the stock barrel plate. The Gauntlet ships with orange muzzle covers on each barrel. Pull those off. Underneath, you will find a plate secured by five O-rings at the barrel base.
2. Remove the O-rings. The tracer unit includes an O-ring removal tool. Slide it under each O-ring and pluck them off. Once all five are removed, the stock plate pulls free, leaving the five barrels exposed.
3. Install the tracer collar. Slide the included collar over the barrel assembly. This collar threads onto the tracer unit later.
4. Install the new plate and re-seat the O-rings. The tracer kit includes a flat replacement plate (no overhang). Place it on the barrels and press the O-rings back into position. The plate is held in place entirely by O-ring tension — no screws.
5. Thread the five spacer rings. Each barrel has a threaded section. Slide the included 14mm counter-clockwise rings onto the threads, non-threaded end first, so they seat against the O-rings. These spacers stabilize the tracer unit.
6. Mount the tracer unit. With the battery removed and the safety on (the Gauntlet can fire a BB just from rotating the barrel assembly — even without a battery), align the tracer over the barrels and screw the collar clockwise to secure it.

The tracer itself is a shake-awake unit with 10 color settings for both the tracer and muzzle flash. It requires a 3.7V 14500 battery (not included, not easy to find — Ed had to order from a third-party site). Hold the silver button for three seconds to power on (three red flashes) or off (three green flashes). The unit auto-sleeps after 10 minutes of inactivity and wakes on movement.

The Carry Problem — MOLLE Rigging and Field Deployment

The Gauntlet's biggest practical challenge is not performance — it is how you carry the thing. You cannot aim it like a traditional platform. There is no stock, no rail for a sight, and the trigger sits inside the hand guard where your palm wraps around it. Ed experimented with several approaches:

MOLLE sling mount. Using paracord and MOLLE strap material, Ed rigged a simple retention system on his skeletonized cummerbund. The Gauntlet hangs at the hip, and you can bring it to bear quickly while still carrying a secondary airsoft pistol in a holster. It is not elegant, but it works — and the weight is manageable enough that it does not pull the plate carrier down.

Laser/light combo. Ed mounted an EZShoot laser/light unit on the Gauntlet's body. Since you cannot aim down sights, the laser becomes your primary aiming reference. Point the laser where you want the BB stream to go.

Trigger extension concept. The Gauntlet's trigger is a plug that can theoretically be extended with a longer cable, allowing you to relocate the trigger to a more ergonomic position. Ed floated the idea of a P90-style grip or an under-barrel trigger placement — both would require custom fabrication.

Rate of Fire and Practical Performance

The numbers speak for themselves. With an 11.1V battery, the Gauntlet pushes close to 50 rounds per second. Ed loaded 800 BBs into the 1200-round drum and fired a sustained burst — after the burst, the drum had barely dropped 50 rounds. The platform's motor-driven compression system (springs load and fire as the barrel rotates) means it cycles mechanically rather than relying on a traditional gearbox, which is why it runs quieter than most AEG platforms.

At around 300 FPS, the Gauntlet qualifies for full-auto indoor play at most CQB venues. Combined with the tracer unit, it becomes a genuine room-clearing tool — you can see exactly where your BB stream is landing in low-light conditions.

What Needs Improvement

The Gauntlet is not without issues:

• No battery included. Neither the platform battery nor the tracer battery ships with the unit. The 3.7V 14500 tracer battery is particularly hard to find.
• No aiming solution. Without a rail or stock, you are relying entirely on a laser or instinctive pointing.
• The trigger position is awkward. The palm trigger works, but it limits how you hold and deploy the platform.
• The manual is useless. WELLPRO provides a single printed sheet with unclear instructions. The tracer installation process in particular is not documented anywhere else — which is exactly why Ed made this video.

The Verdict

The WELLPRO WE23 "The Gauntlet" is a specialized piece of airsoft equipment that fills a role nothing else does. At $579 plus tracer and batteries, it is not a casual purchase. But if you play indoor CQB and want a platform that puts 50 rounds per second downrange with full tracer capability, the Gauntlet is the only arm cannon that delivers. Ed's build video and tracer installation guide are the only detailed walkthroughs available for this platform right now — and that alone makes them worth watching before you buy.

Based on the video The WELL PRO WE23 'The Gauntlet' — Did I Make A Huge Mistake? and the unboxing video Double Eagle DWS LUPUS — Full Metal MWS GBBR! (Unboxing & First Look). Gear DB entry: WELLPRO.