Airsoft Guns

The guns used in airsoft are typically replicas of real firearms. Airsoft guns can be divided into three groups by what powers them: spring powered, electric powered, and gas-powered.

Spring Powered

Spring-powered airsoft guns (often called "springers" or "spring guns") are single-shot devices that use potential energy stored in a spring to launch an airsoft pellet down the barrel of the gun. The user must cock a spring gun prior to each shot much like you would a real shotgun or bolt-action rifle. This is typically achieved by pulling back the slide (pistols) or bolt (rifles), which in turn compresses the spring and makes the gun ready to fire. Because of this these guns are incapable of automatic or semi-automatic fire.

While most electric guns also use springs for this they are not considered to be in the same category as the single-shot spring-powered guns. Low-end spring guns tend to be much cheaper than their electric-powered equivalents due to their simplicity and cost of components (spring assembly , electric motor, battery, and battery charger) and thus are widely available. These guns are less suited for competition because they are at a disadvantage against automatic guns in close combat and don't provide enough accuracy and power for long-range uses. Higher-end spring-powered airsoft rifles can be quite expensive; these guns are typically suited for "marksman" applications in airsoft matches and can provide competitive muzzle velocities.

Gas Powered

Gas-powered airsoft guns use pressurised gas to propel pellets. These guns are capable of automatic and semi-automatic operation. The most common gases used are propane (usually referred to as "green gas" by airsoft players) and HFC134a refrigerant. Less commonly used gases include CO2 and nitrogen.

Gas power tends to be used in airsoft pistols where size constraints make electric-powered mechanisms impractical. Other instances where gas is favoured are where adjustable velocities are required or where a blow-back feature is desired. A blow-back feature is a mechanism which cycles a slide or bolt to better simulate a real firearm's operation. Because of the mechanical complexities involved with distributing and regulating gas these guns have largely given way to electric guns for less specialised applications.

Electric Powered

Electric-powered airsoft guns typically use a bank of rechargeable batteries to drive an electric motor, which cycles an internal piston/spring assembly in order to launch pellets. Automatic and semi-automatic operation is possible which gives these guns the popular name "automatic electric guns" or AEGs. These guns often attain muzzle velocities of 200 to 300 feet per second (60 to 90 m/s) and fire rates of 300 to 700 rounds per minute and are by far the most common and widely available airsoft guns in serious competition use today.

These guns were originally developed in Japan, and the Japanese model giant Tokyo Marui dominates the market today with many quality models. In a Marui AEG, the motor drives a series of 3 gears mounted inside a gearbox. The gears then compress a piston assembly against a spring. Once the piston is released, the spring drives it forward through the cylinder to push a pellet into the chamber, through the barrel, and forward from the muzzle. Many manufacturers have now more or less replicated this basic model, adding reinforced parts or minor improvements.

External modifications, such as metal bodies and reinforced plastics, that make AEG's look and feel even more realistic have become very popular. AEG manufacturers such as Classic Army (Yick Fung) produce replicas that are nearly identical to their real counterparts. Most AEG's produced are designed to be as realistic as possible.

LPEGs

Becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to the Japanese Tokyo Marui guns are the Chinese airsoft guns, made by manufacturers such as CYMA, WELL, XL, and BE. Though technically these guns are AEG's by definition, the are often referred to as "LPEGs", or "Low Price/Power Electric Guns". This distinction is made because of the large gap in quality and performance when compared with "true" AEGs. While these are much less expensive than the high-end Tokyo Marui guns and come with all sorts of bells and whistles (laser sights, silencers and so on), they are of much lower quality and are not well suited for competitive use like their Japanese counterparts. They are often an attractive option for newcomers who are looking for a fully automatic rifle but do not want to pay the high prices for the top quality models. Since spring action guns that can notably outperform LPEGs can be found at comparable prices, it is generally accepted that the spring guns are a better choice.

Components

The various internal components of airsoft guns can usually be replaced or upgraded. The following is a short list of commonly referred to parts. Not all of these parts apply to all airsoft types (spring and gas-powered guns don't use batteries, for example).

• Barrel - Serves the same purpose as in real firearms: guides the pellet and also maintains the stream of pressure behind it.
• Battery - Powers the motor that moves the spring assembly. These are typically NiCad rechargeable batteries but may also be NiMH.
• Gearbox - Typically a metal housing that contains a gear assembly that transfers the electric motor's drive to the air piston assembly.
• Hop-up - A small constraint that applies a backspin to the pellets to improve ballistics. The level of hop-up is adjustable on many models of airsoft guns.
• Electric motor - Used to provide energy to cock the springs in AEGs.
• Nozzle - A plastic or metal piece that connects the hop-up assembly to the air piston.
• Spring - Spring and electric guns both use springs to propel the pellets. The stronger the springs generally the more powerful the gun will be.