The three main styles of airsoft guns are spring, electric, and gas powered guns. From these three types stem a variety of rifles, pistols, shot guns, machine guns, and all the add-ons found with bullet-using firearms. These guns are replicates of real firearms, but they are made to push out projectiles of about 6-8mm in diameter.

When players of Airsoft are looking for a specific gun, they will take into consideration the length of the battery life, the capacity of the magazine, and the rate at which the gun fires. Other considerations may include; range, reliability, size, weight, customization, or how real it looks.

Spring Airsoft Guns – “Springers” were the first firearms produced in the airsoft variety. These were only able to fire one projectile at a time and needed to be re-cocked each time the person wanted to fire a BB.

Electricity – AEGs or, Automatic Electric Guns, are the most common airsoft firearms today. Rechargeable batteries are what enable BBs to be propelled from the gun. The use of gearboxes inside is what allows the projectile to be fired and these guns usually have a longer range than the gas models.

Four magazine capacities are available for AEGs; real-capacity, low-capacity, mid-capacity, and high-capacity. The ranges of rounds being held vary from under 30 rounds to over 500 rounds. There are even drum magazines manufactured that will house up to 5000 BBs at once.

Gas Force – When gas-powered guns for airsoft came about, they offered either an internal or an external gas chamber. Reservoirs on the inside used CFC gas, while the external chambers contained carbon dioxide under extreme pressure. The realistic look to these gas powered guns make them more popular than the other versions. By enhancing the quality of gas powered guns for airsoft and using “green gas” instead of CFC and carbon dioxide, these gas powered varieties are becoming more accessible.

Once “green gas” was being used to propel the rounds from magazines and the quality of these guns had increased, they became more accessible. This new type of gas was created to be more environmentally friendly, compared to the CFC and the carbon dioxide gases previously used. Green gas is made by mixing propane with some perfume and lubricant, but there are adapters available today that allow the use of regular propane for cheaper projectile propulsion.

Having the gas contained inside the magazine, these guns can be loaded and unloaded the same way a real firearm can. A typical magazine for a gas powered gun holds 10-20 rounds, while a high capacity magazine will hold over 50 rounds. Early airsoft gun models were mostly plastic, with a few metal parts inside.

Today a combination of aluminum and plastic are used, for both internal and external parts, to make realistic looking and light airsoft firearms.

Author information: Anthony Carter loves everything about airsoft guns. If you want to find great airsoft gun then JD Airsoft Guns is where you should look.