What Is an Airsoft Pistol?

An airsoft pistol is a replica of a real hand gun. It is classified as a toy gun, but looks exactly like a real gun. It is close copy; many small details are the same for both guns. The only major difference between the guns is the projectiles used. Airsoft pistols shoot small 6mm BBs instead of bullets. The BB bullets are made of plastic.

Airsoft pistols are used primarily for training purposes or for playing skirmish games. They shoot using a variety of mechanisms – spring, gas, or electric motor compressed spring. The speed of the plastic pellets is relatively slow – about 200 feet per second, so they cannot penetrate skin. Being shot with an airsoft pistol hurts a bit, and special eye and/or face protection is worn at all games. Since the look of an airsoft pistol and a real gun is very similar, the tip of an airsoft gun is painted in bright orange to distinguish these toys from real weapons. Many lower grade airsoft pistols are made of clear plastic to further make the difference obvious.

Type of Airsoft Pistols

There are several type pf airsoft pistols available on the market. They are categorized based on the mechanism used to propel BBs. There are three major types of air soft pistols that are manufactured: Spring airsoft, electric airsoft, pressurized gas pistol, hybrid airsoft.

• Spring Airsoft Pistols

These are the cheapest of all airsoft pistols, usually in the less than 10$ range. These have a relatively low quality and life span.

• Gas airsoft pistols

These work on compressed gas like HFC- 134a gas or green gas.

• Hybrid airsoft pistols

These use individual shells filled with gas and a single BB. Usually very expensive, some revolvers use this system.

• Electric airsoft pistol

There are two varieties of electric airsoft pistols on the market. The airsoft electric pistol (AEP), which uses durable metal internal parts and an electric blowback (EBB) version, which uses cheaper plastic internal parts and has a moving slide.

Airsoft Electric Pistol (AEP)

Airsoft electric pistols are one of the most popular airsoft sidearms among serious players. In an airsoft electric pistol, electric motor, powered by a rechargeable battery compresses a spring which creates a burst of compressed air to propel the pellet. All together, this complicated mechanical assembly is referred to as the "gearbox". Airsoft electric pistols are the most popular type and offer some great advantages over springers, particularly in terms of the rate of fire and shot distance. AEPs have 2 firing modes - semi automatic and fully automatic.

Because of the quality gearbox design, airsoft electric pistols can last for a very long time. It is not uncommon to have an AEP survive many games with no performance problems.

Airsoft electric pistols offer a number of advantages over either spring or gas pistols. The gun does not have to be cocked before each shot, which makes the gun capable of shooting a lot faster than a springer. There’s also no need to purchase, store and transport compressed gas, which makes the cost of ownership of an electric pistol cheaper than that of a gas pistol.

Although there are a lot more reasons to buy an airsoft electric pistol, there are many tips and tricks that you can learn before buying your first airsoft electric gun. You will enjoy electric airsoft a lot more if you know about the models and specifications of airsoft equipment.