Airsoft Guns

Airsoft guns are designed to look, feel, and almost function like the guns they’re patterned after. In fact, the guns you see on the big screen or on television are often airsoft replicas. Want a Beretta, but without the danger and hassle? Buy an airsoft gun. Need a Heckler & Koch for your upcoming National Guard training games? You can find airsoft guns that look and feel just like them. You can find every major, every rare, and every popular new gun replicated in cheap airsoft guns.

Check out our collection of airsoft guns

Airsoft guns shoot 6mm plastic BBs, which are mostly harmless (not completely! Read the safety section below.) These BBs are shot in one of three different ways, depending on your airsoft gun configuration. Automatic Electric Guns (AEGs) are powered by a NiCad battery and use a small engine to produce the puff of air that shoots out the BB. AEGs can achieve realistic rates of fire up to 900 rounds per minute. Most people who skirmish with airsoft guns want this kind.

Gas powered airsoft guns are also popular, and though they don’t allow for the power or speed of an AEG, they can reach semiautomatic rates of fire by using a compressed air magazine. A nifty side effect of their mechanism is that these airsoft guns actually have a real-feeling “recoil” when shot. Spring powered airsoft guns are extremely cheap, but don’t fire as automatically as the other two types; you must cock a spring back before firing the gun. These are good entry level cheap airsoft guns – you can buy them for as little as $20.

Airsoft Gun Safety

When you have a toy or replica gun that looks as real as an airsoft gun, you need to take some common-sense precautions. Never, never carry them out in the open in public, for instance. Cops – and sometimes civilians – shoot first and ask questions later. If you happen to be challenged by a police officer or other authority when you have an airsoft gun, drop the gun. Because they are so realistic, by law you can be charged as if you’re holding a real gun.

Store your airsoft guns in a hard, locking case or in its original case, with ammunition stored separately. Before transporting airsoft guns anywhere, speak with your local law enforcement officials about what the law is in your area. Use a red or other bright-colored flash hider, barrel cover or plug, or painted barrel, to make your airsoft gun distinct from real guns.

Never brandish or otherwise play with airsoft guns in public areas (state or national parks, schools, malls, parking lots, etc.) Only use your airsoft gun in private places, preferably where it’s been made clear to local law enforcement what’s going on. Always get written permission when using airsoft guns on anyone else’s property. And try to keep any airsoft games out of sight.

For your physical safety, use eye protection – BBs can indeed put an eye out. Empty and put the safety catch on airsoft guns when you’re not using them. And of course, keep them out of the reach of children. The gun may not be terribly dangerous – but someone else’s reaction to it could be.

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