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118-499: The term "BB gun" is frequently used incorrectly to describe airsoft guns , which shoot plastic pellets (also often referred to as "BBs") that are larger (usually 6 mm or 0.24 in in diameter) but much less dense than metal BBs, and have significantly lower ballistic performance . The term is also sometimes used to describe a pellet gun , which shoots diabolo -shaped (not spherical) lead projectiles at higher power and velocity. Although some BB guns can also shoot pellets,

236-743: A light machine gun that has some unique features such as two barrels stacked over-and-under, a detachable box magazine, and utilizing a lever-delayed blowback operation with a complex internal system that functions with one lever on a roller to delay the action. The cartridges for lever-action rifles have a wide variety of calibers, bullet shapes, and powder loads which fall into two categories: low-pressure cartridges with rounded bullets, and high-pressure cartridges with aerodynamic pointed (" spitzer ") bullets. Some lever-actions are not as strong as bolt action or semi-automatic rifle actions. The weaker actions utilize low- and medium-pressure cartridges, somewhat similar to high-powered pistol ammunition. To increase

354-467: A venturi pump . The gas is released in a constant stream, and this is used to suck the BBs up into the barrel at rates as high as 3600 rounds per minute. BB guns can shoot faster than 60 m/s (200 ft/s), but are often less powerful than a conventional pellet airgun. Pellet airguns have the ability to fire considerably faster, even beyond 170 m/s (560 ft/s). Although claims are often exaggerated,

472-405: A BB gun with a muzzle velocity of 120 to 180 m/s (390 to 590 ft/s) is approximately 18 m (60 ft). A person wearing jeans at this distance would not sustain serious injury. However, even at this distance a BB still might penetrate bare skin, and even if not, could leave a severe and painful bruise. The maximum range of a BB gun in the 120 to 180 m/s (390 to 590 ft/s) range

590-587: A centrally located hammer, cocked by the rearward movement of the bolt rather than an offset hammer typical of muzzle-loading rifles. Henry also placed the magazine under the barrel rather than in the buttstock, an idea copied by most designers since. John Marlin, founder of Marlin Firearms Company, introduced the company's first lever-action repeating rifle, the Model 1881. This was chambered in rounds such as .45-70 Government and .38-55 Winchester . Its successor

708-447: A clone Glock 18C, which is a lower priced alternative. An AEP differs from electric blow-backs because the AEP has a fixed slide (in which there is no external movement of the slide during operation), while an EBB simulates the "blow back" action in the slide experienced in a real pistol or Gas Blow Back (GBB). An AEP, however, has much more power and accuracy. One of the newer AEP-styled guns

826-451: A compressed coil spring to drive a piston air pump , which is released upon trigger-pull and rapidly pressurizes the air within the pump cylinder to in turn "blow" pellets down the gun barrel . These guns are almost identical (though simplified and underpowered) in design to spring-piston air guns and have the same operating principles. The user must manually recompress the spring under stress prior to each shot, typically by pulling back

944-595: A deadly threat. Airsoft in the past was used almost solely for recreational purposes, but in 2012, gas blowback (GBB) airsoft technology became adopted by US federal and state institutions as an affordable and reliable tactical training tool for close quarters battles . In 2018, the United States Coast Guard officially adopted SIG -branded P229 airsoft pistol for training. The GBB guns allow for correct weapon manipulation drills, muscle memory training, stress inoculation and force-on-force simulations for

1062-465: A few airguns can actually fire a standard 0.177 caliber lead pellet faster than 320 m/s (1,000 ft/s), but these are generally not BB-firing guns. A BB with a velocity of only 45 m/s (150 ft/s) has skin-piercing capability, and a velocity reaching 60 m/s (200 ft/s) can fracture bone. This is potentially lethal, and this potential increases with velocity, but also rapidly decreases with distance. The effective penetrating range of

1180-428: A fraction of the cost of conventional bolt conversion kits that use marking cartridges with wax bullets from training ammunition manufacturers such as UTM and Simunition. Airsoft guns also allow basic and advanced shooter training in a safer environment by reducing the risks of accidental injury or death from a negligent discharge . There are clubs, teams, and even athletic associations devoted to airsoft events around

1298-426: A legal obligation to avoid confusion of the airsoft replicas with real lethal weapons is in practice in several jurisdictions around the world. A common controversy referred to as "pumping" or "roping" is the act of purposely firing 20+ airsoft rounds at one player until they run away or submit in pain. Popular videos such as Rip Kid and SC Trip 2015 have both documented the act of pumping. Many are concerned over

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1416-446: A light, toy-like feeling to them. Gas-powered airsoft guns use the pneumatic potential energy stored within compressed gas to drive the shooting mechanism, and thus operate according to an entirely different design principle to spring- or electrically powered airsoft guns. The most common type seen is the gas blowback (GBB) guns. These gas guns use an internal canister (usually within the magazine ) that upon trigger-pull releases

1534-456: A minimum engagement distance for guns firing over a certain range, normally for squad support weapons and sniper rifles. In order for an airsoft gun to cause any serious injury, it would have to be well over these limits and in close proximity. To even reach such speeds, the gun would have to be highly modified. So it is therefore unlikely to cause permanent or serious damage with any stock airsoft gun. The use of metallic BBs, or any foreign objects,

1652-574: A more realistic display of military weapons. Unfortunately they have been plagued by reliability problems and parts availability. They have also had models banned from the US for being capable of being converted into real firearms. Two manufactures, King Arms and KWA, came out with ATF -approved gas blowback AR-15 replicas that allowed for correct weapons tear down, manipulation and function that were designed for military use, but were also legal for US citizens to own. The King Arms model required upgrade parts out of

1770-411: A primary weapon due to their reliability, high power, high accuracy, and low noise, as well as their ease of repair and modification compared to AEGs and GBB guns. There are various methods of manufacturing spring-powered guns, and the representative assembly methods are real gun assembly and left/right junction. The left/right junction is the first assembly method among spring-powered guns. The advantage

1888-404: A rechargeable 9.6 volt battery. Most models utilizing this system are rifles. EBBs simulate the blowback action of a real pistol or rifle but generally have less of a kick. Essentially an AEG in design, EBBs are just as powerful. However, a drawback to having the blowback feature is that the battery is quickly depleted, additionally blowbacks can cause extra stress on the gear box which may result in

2006-668: A removable seven-round tube magazine, designed by Christopher Spencer . Over 20,000 were made , and it was adopted by the United States and used during the American Civil War , which marked the first adoption of an infantry and cavalry rifle with a removable magazine by any country. The early Spencer's rifle lever only served to unlock the action and chamber a new round; the hammer had to be cocked separately after chambering. The Henry rifle , invented by Benjamin Tyler Henry , had

2124-558: A simple pistol to a rocket propelled grenade all the way to a minigun . Some airsoft guns are called low powered electric guns (LPEGs) to distinguish them from the original, more expensive and more powerful AEGs even though their mechanical/electrical design and operation is similar. They are not to be confused with mini electrics (described below). Originally they were only of novelty value, often regarded below spring-operated guns due to their construction and low velocities. Since there are spring action guns that can notably outperform

2242-595: A special type of low-power smoothbore air guns designed to shoot non-metallic spherical projectiles (bb) often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as " BBs ", which are typically made of (but not limited to) plastic or biodegradable resin materials. Airsoft gun powerplants are designed to have low muzzle energy ratings (generally less than 1.5 J , or 1.1 ft⋅lb ) and the pellets have significantly less penetrative and stopping power than conventional airguns, and are generally safe for competitive sporting and recreational purposes if proper protective gear

2360-425: A spring-loaded magazine to feed BBs, and a double-action trigger mechanism to chamber a BB and cock the hammer . However some guns (either to stay true to the original gun or to make the trigger pull easier) do have a single-action trigger . Either type of gun may also have blowback action, where CO 2 will push the slide back in addition to firing a BB. When firing, the hammer strikes an internal valve linked to

2478-462: A tubular magazine under the barrel. It's not uncommon to see extra ammunition stored in externally mounted "shell holder" racks (usually as "sidesaddle" on one side of the receiver , or on the buttstock ) for quick on-field reloading. To operate safely, cartridges for these should have bullets with rounded tips, and some use rimfire primers rather than centerfire primers. The safety problem is that long-range aerodynamic supersonic bullets are pointed. In

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2596-481: A tubular magazine, the points can accidentally fire centerfire cartridges. A related problem is that some pointed bullets have fragile tips, and can be damaged in a tubular magazine. Some lever actions such as the Savage Model 99 can be fed from either box or rotary magazines. The Winchester Model 1895 also uses a fixed box magazine, and was chambered for a variety of popular commercial and military rifle cartridges at

2714-662: A youth training gun, and used the BB-size birdshot as the chosen ammunition. Two years later, the neighbouring Plymouth Air Rifle Company (later renamed Daisy Manufacturing Company in 1895) introduced the first full-metal airgun that also fired BB shots – the Daisy BB Gun, which became a very popular household name because of successful marketing. Around 1900, Daisy changed their BB-size bore diameter to 0.175 in (4.4 mm), and began to market precision-made lead shot specifically for their BB guns. They called these " round shots ", but

2832-548: Is compressed gas , most commonly the Powerlet cartridges. The powerlet is a disposable metal gas cylinder containing 12 grams (185 gr) of compressed carbon dioxide , with a self-contained valve to release the CO 2 which expands to propel the BB. These are primarily used in BB pistols , and are capable of rapid firing unlike spring-piston or pneumatic types. A typical CO 2 BB pistol uses

2950-515: Is pneumatic guns, which operate by valve-controlled release of prefilled bottled gas such as compressed propane mixed with silicone oil (commonly known as "Green Gas") or CO 2 canisters (e.g., GBB guns), often mistakenly described as rifles. Airsoft guns are often designed to realistically resemble actual guns, making it difficult to distinguish them despite the orange muzzle tips in some jurisdictions. This has led to police shooting airsoft gun handlers believing these are real firearms and

3068-416: Is 100–200 metres approximately, provided the muzzle is elevated to the optimum angle. Steel BBs are prone to ricochet off hard surfaces such as brick, concrete, metal, or wood end grain . Unlike lead pellets which usually flatten and absorb energy upon impact, a BB bouncing off a hard surface can retain a large portion of its initial energy, and could easily cause serious eye damage. Wearing eye protection

3186-530: Is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger guard area (often incorporating it) that pivots forward to move the bolt via internal linkages , which will feed and extract cartridges into and out of the chamber , and cock the firing pin mechanism. This contrasts to other type of repeating actions such as the bolt-action , pump-action , semi-automatic , fully automatic , and/or burst mode actions. A firearm using this operating mechanism

3304-409: Is an 8.4 V large battery pack , with a capacity between 2200 and 5000 mAh. Also available are "mini" and "stick" batteries, which generally have 900 ~ 1600 mAh capacities. Voltages for NiMH batteries range from 7.2 V to 12 V. The usual rule of thumb is that the higher the mAh rating, the longer the battery lasts; the higher the voltage, the higher the rate of fire. Recently, however,

3422-490: Is an Airsoft replica which has been sprayed over 51% a bright, non military colour, so that it complies with the Violent Crimes Reduction Act (VCRA, 2006), allowing anyone to buy a replica without having to prove that they have a legitimate use for it. Spring-powered airsoft guns (or " air-cocking guns " as called by Tokyo Marui ) are single-shot devices that use the elastic potential energy stored within

3540-444: Is capable of fully automatic operation. In cold weather, AEPs are often considered better sidearms than gas powered pistols, because batteries are not as badly affected by frigid weather. Gases like CO 2 and green gas are stored in liquid form and require heat in order to vaporize. A gas pistol at 10 °F (−12 °C) will usually only get one to two usable shots from a full magazine, and even will be at reduced power because of

3658-441: Is colloquially referred to as a levergun . Most lever-action firearms are rifles , but some lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have been made. The Winchester Model 1873 rifle is one of the most famous lever-action firearms, but many manufacturers (notably Henry and Marlin ) also produce lever-action rifles. Colt produced the 6403 lever-action Colt-Burgess rifles from 1883 until 1885 and Mossberg formerly produced

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3776-711: Is essential when shooting BBs at these materials, more so than when shooting lead pellets. The U.S. Army trained recruits in Quick Kill techniques using Daisy Model 99 BB guns to improve soldiers using their weapons in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1973. The technique was developed for the Army by Bobby Lamar "Lucky" McDaniel and Mike Jennings. BB guns are often regulated as a typical air gun. Air gun laws vary widely by local jurisdiction. Airsoft gun Airsoft guns are replica guns used in airsoft sports. They are

3894-563: Is favored are where adjustable velocities are required or where a blowback feature is desired. A blowback 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 specialized applications, however, they still remain favorable amongst most airsofters. They are not just limited to pistols; submachine guns, sniper rifles and assault rifles commonly use gas mechanisms. Whilst

4012-413: Is not affected as badly by this tendency, and nitrogen/high pressure air is immune to it. Furthermore, if liquid propellant is introduced into the gun's mechanism, rubber parts can freeze and eventually damage the gun. However, it is unlikely for this to occur since once the gas is released from the containing cylinder it instantly turns back into its gaseous state, and expands rapidly. It is doubtful whether

4130-413: Is not expensive to make the outer appearance of the body, so a lot of products adopting this method are increasing. Electrically powered airsoft guns use a spring-loaded piston pump just like spring guns, but instead of manual operation they typically use portable rechargeable battery packs to power an internal electric motor , which powers a gearbox , which in turn compresses the pump spring, propels

4248-476: Is recommended to protect eyes and teeth. Metallic mesh masks and mouth guards have recently seen popular use. There are legal issues in airsoft as well as several rules imposed in a game by game basis. Most indoor airsoft fields only allow up to 350 ft/s (110 m/s), and most outdoor fields begin capping near the 410 ft/s (125 m/s) for rifles and 525 ft/s (160 m/s) for long-range guns such as sniper rifles. Most outdoor fields also impose

4366-403: Is released with each individual shot. There are several types of HPA systems and they vary in both price and performance. Popular HPA brands and engines include PolarStar (Fusion Engine, F1, Jack), Wolverine (Hydra, Bolt, Inferno, Wraith, SMP), Valken (V12), and Tippmann (M4 Carbine) It is not definitive which style is more effective. It is more up to personal preference. Hybrid airsoft guns are

4484-512: Is some dispute about which of these cartridges can safely be used to hunt large game or large predators. Even in the largest calibers, the low velocities give these cartridges much lower energies than elephant gun cartridges with comparable calibers . However, even the smallest cartridges fit lightweight, handy rifles that can be excellent for hunting small herbivores, pest control, and personal defense. Some stronger, larger pistols (usually revolvers ) also accept some of these cartridges, permitting

4602-453: Is that it is easy to assemble. However, due to various parts such as screws, there is a disadvantage that external details are inferior. In the case of most revolvers and rifles with left/right junctions, this method is worn on the head due to structural cost issues. The real gun assembly method refers to reproducing and assembling parts such as the body of a real gun as it is. Spring-powered guns using this method are estimated to have appeared in

4720-478: Is the M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun . This weapon had a swinging lever beneath its barrel that was actuated by a gas bleed in the barrel, unlocking the breech to reload. This unique operation gave the nickname "potato digger", as the lever swung each time the weapon fired and would dig into the ground if the weapon was not situated high enough on its mount. The Knötgen automatic rifle is another example of

4838-683: Is the Marui replica of the Heckler & Koch MP7 . It is considerably larger than either of the other guns, and can be upgraded to a much higher power through the use of an external battery, but uses the same system as the AEP, so the classification is ambiguous. It is slightly more powerful than the others and is a suitable choice for CQB (Close Quarter Battle) games due to its small size and decent barrel- to gun-length ratio. Some semi-automatic pistols can be modified to be automatic pistols. To make them more effective, they use rechargeable batteries supplied with

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4956-513: Is usually avoided unless the airsoft gun has undergone modification, as its relatively high critical pressure can cause damage to the airsoft gun, such as breakage of the slide or bolt. CO 2 , nitrogen, and high pressure air are less common because they need to be stored at higher pressures than "green gas" or HFC-134a. The first ever gas powered airsoft guns were commonly referred to as "classic" guns, owing to their age. These guns were most commonly powered by liquid propellants such as R-12 (which

5074-447: Is usually used. Historical reenactment of famous war situations is another favorite of many airsoft players and clubs. In addition, a number of companies such as Systema Engineering and Celsius Technology manufacture ultra-realistic high-velocity airsoft rifles designed specifically for the police and military for non-lethal training purposes. People today can also use it as props for film making . Two Tone An Airsoft Two-Tone Gun

5192-450: Is very dangerous for the user and other people and property in close vicinity, and may damage the airsoft gun as well. However, specially designed and built metallic 6 mm BBs for airsoft guns can be found on the market. These metallic BBs should not be used for airsoft play because they can break through goggles and other safety gear. Plastic BBs can be a mixture of PLA and Plastic causing less damage to persons. Although airsoft guns in

5310-446: Is worn. Depending on the design mechanism for pellet propulsion, airsoft guns fall into two groups. One group is mechanical guns, which consist of a coil spring -loaded piston air pump that is either manually cocked (e.g., spring guns) (these are commonly referred to as springers and are the cheapest and generally of low quality); or automatically cycled by a battery -powered electric motor gearbox (e.g., AEGs). The other group

5428-414: The .410 bore Winchester Model 1894 (Model 9410) from 2003 until 2006. Australian firearm laws strictly control pump-action shotguns and semi-automatic actions (Category C, D & R). Lever-action operation falls into a more lenient category (Category A & B), which has led to an increase in popularity of lever action shotguns. A one-off example of lever-action reloading on automatic firearms

5546-507: The BB name was already well established, and consequently most users continued calling their guns BB guns , and the projectiles as BB shots or just BBs . Subsequently, the term BB became generic, and is used loosely referring to any small spherical projectiles of various calibers and materials. This includes bearing balls often utilized by anti-personnel mines , .177 caliber lead/steel shots used by air guns , plastic round balls (such as

5664-622: The Model 464 rifle. In 1826, a lever-action revolver was capable of firing six shots in less than six seconds. It was produced in Italy by Cesar Rosaglio and patented in 1829. The first lever-action rifles on the market were likely the Colt's 1st and 2nd model ring lever rifles , both cap and ball rifles, produced by the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. Paterson, N.J.-Colt's Patent between 1837 and 1841 . The ring lever

5782-654: The Shooting Star Tommy Gun (originally known as the Feltman) are commonly found at carnivals . The MacGlashan BB Gun was used to train antiaircraft gunners in the United States Army Air Corps and United States Navy during World War II . A popular commercial model was the Larc M-19, which used 1 pound (454 g) canisters of Freon-12 refrigerant. These types have very simple operating mechanisms, based on

5900-705: The Soviet Union in 1936 to the Spanish Republicans for use in the Spanish Civil War . Both the Russian Empire and the United States adopted the Winchester Model 1895 as a military weapon. Early attempts at repeating shotguns invariably centered around either bolt-action or lever-action designs, drawing obvious inspiration from the repeating rifles of the time. The earliest successful repeating shotgun

6018-437: The pellets used by airsoft guns ), small marbles and many others. It has become ubiquitous to refer to any steel ball, such as a BB, as a " ball bearing ". However, BBs should not be confused with a ball bearing , which is a mechanical component using small internal rolling balls to reduce friction between moving parts of machines . BB guns can use any of the operating mechanisms used for air guns. However, because

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6136-634: The slide (pistols), bolt handle (rifles) or forend pump (shotguns) on the weapon, which cocks and readies the gun. Because of this, spring guns are incapable of automatic or semi-automatic firing by design. Spring-powered airsoft guns are generally not as powerful as gas-powered ones, but are more powerful than electric airsoft guns because stiffer springs can often be used without the worry of overloading any motor-gearbox, although some spring shotguns and bolt-action rifles can be very powerful with muzzle velocities up to 400–700 ft/s (120–210 m/s). Spring guns are generally inexpensive (except

6254-517: The 1890s (discounting recently invented elastomer -tipped ones) due to the point of each cartridge's projectile resting on the primer of the next cartridge in the magazine, lever-action rifles actually adapted for military use (such as the Winchester Model 1895 , which saw service with the Russian Army in World War I) were fitted with a box magazine invented in the late 1870s. Another explanation for

6372-481: The 1990s, and the countries that made them are estimated to be South Korea (spring-powered pistol) and Japan (spring-powered sniper rifle). The advantage is that details can be saved and durability is better than left/right junction. The downside is that it takes time to make molds for parts such as the outer body. Currently, most spring-powered guns using this method are pistols and sniper rifles. In particular, pistols can be easily manufactured in terms of structure and it

6490-714: The 1990s. The Henry Lever-Action was used in the US Civil War and was used in the US until the Winchester Model 1866 rifle replaced it. The Spencer repeating rifle was also used in the US Civil War. Additionally, rifles using the lever-action design were used extensively during the 1930s by irregular forces in the Spanish Civil War. Typically, these were Winchesters or Winchester copies of Spanish manufacture. At least 9,000 Model 1895 rifles are known to have been provided by

6608-435: The 20th century, most militaries were wary of it being too high, afraid that excessive round consumption would put a strain on logistics of the military industry. Tubular magazines, similar to the one used on the first bolt-action rifle and used on hunting lever-action rifles to this day, are sometimes described as a problem: while a tubular magazine is indeed incompatible with pointed centerfire " spitzer " bullets developed in

6726-455: The CO 2 source, which releases a measured amount of CO 2 gas to fire the BB; this also gives it realistic recoil and muzzle report features. Many CO 2 BB guns are patterned after popular firearms such as the Colt M1911 , and can be used for training as well as recreation. Some gas-powered BB guns use a larger source of gas, and provide machine gun -like fire. These types, most notably

6844-507: The Marlin and Winchester rifles are different internally. The Marlin has a single-stage lever action, while the Winchester has a double-stage lever. The double-stage action is easily seen when the Winchester's lever is operated, as the entire trigger group drops down to unlock the bolt which then moves rearward to eject the spent cartridge. The fledgling Savage Arms Company became well known after

6962-576: The US EPA. Its use as a general purpose aerosol propellant has been banned by the US EPA since March 1978 under 43 FR 11301 for use in aerosol use with a very few exceptions. Its use is also banned in many countries under United Nations treaties. On December 31, 2008, the use of CFCs for medical inhalers was banned. Later users modified these old guns to be powered by regulated CO 2 canisters or nitrogen/high pressure air bottles to increase power and consistency. However, these guns have largely been superseded by

7080-457: The United Kingdom has a maximum of 350 ft/s, with some airsoft locations having a limit as low as 290 ft/s. If under 300 ft/s (91 m/s), the hit would have to be within a short range. Blood can be drawn, but injuries that do occur are predominantly superficial. Full-seal protective eyewear (goggles or glasses) is widely considered the minimum protection for airsoft players, as

7198-607: The United States are generally sold with a 6 mm (0.24in.) or longer orange tip on the barrel in order to distinguish them from real firearms, this is not in fact required by federal law. There is some controversy on this topic as Title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations , on foreign commerce and trade, stipulates that "no person shall manufacture, enter into commerce, ship, transport, or receive any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm" without approved markings; these may include an orange tip, orange barrel plug, brightly colored exterior of

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7316-433: The United States. Certain companies such as Classic Army or ICS avoid this problem by licensing their replicas from the original manufacturers such as ArmaLite by license from ActionSportGames or Olympic Arms . The airsoft company ActionSportGames has licensed trademark rights from many well-known firearm manufacturers, such as Armalite, Dan Wesson , CZ , Steyr , STI, B&T and Franchi . Another company who licence

7434-434: The ability to use BBs as a cheaper alternative to lead shot. Some of these guns have rifled barrels, but the slightly undersized BBs do not swage in the barrel, so the rifling does not impart a significant spin. These are the types of guns that will benefit most from using precision lead BB shot. Pneumatic BB guns can also attain higher velocities than traditional spring-piston types. The last common type of power for BB guns

7552-544: The action of the Marlin Model 1894 , can utilize high-pressure cartridges. Lever-action designs with strong, rotary locking bolts (such as the Browning BLR with seven locking lugs) safely use very high-powered cartridges like the .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 WSM, and 7 mm Remington Magnum. Tilting block designs such as the Savage Model 99 are also strong enough to handle much higher chamber pressures. Many lever actions have

7670-402: The barrel (4.5 mm (0.177 in)). This limits accuracy because little spin is imparted on the BB. It also limits range, because some of the pressurized gas used to accelerate the BB leaks around it and reduces the overall efficiency . Since a BB will easily roll unhindered down the barrel, it is common to find guns that use a magnet in the loading mechanism to hold the BB at the rear of

7788-411: The barrel until it is fired. The traditional and still most common powerplant for BB guns is the spring-piston pump, usually patterned after a lever-action rifle or a pump-action shotgun. The lever-action rifle was the first type of BB gun, and still dominates the inexpensive youth BB gun market. The Daisy Model 25 , modeled after a pump-action shotgun with a trombone pump-action mechanism, dominated

7906-422: The batteries on automatic electric pistols (AEPs) both of which can be adversely affected by extremely low temperatures. This represents one of the major advantages of spring airsoft gun, as it can be fired in practically any situation without relying on batteries or bottled gas . This independence from external power sources causes some players to favor spring-powered guns. Spring guns are also less susceptible to

8024-615: The bullet's energy at relatively low velocities, these often have larger, heavier bullets than other types of rifles. The most common cartridge is the .30-30 Winchester , introduced by Winchester with the Model 1894. Other common cartridges include: .22 calibre rimfire , .38 Special / .357 Magnum , .44 Special / .44 Magnum , .41 Magnum , .444 Marlin , .45-70 Government , .38-40 Winchester , .44-40 Winchester , .45 Colt , .25-35 Winchester , .32-40 Winchester , .35 Remington , .38-55 Winchester , .308 Marlin Express , and .300 Savage . There

8142-433: The designs of gun companies is Evolution International. It has a portfolio of exclusive licences from ADC Armi Dallera Custom , TangoDown , Z-M Weapons, DSR precision, Lone Star Tactical, and SAR. In addition, there have been reports of companies taking action in defense of their intellectual property rights. Some end users have made attempts to sell their guns, some in the style of Glock pistols, only to find Glock blocking

8260-414: The development of its popular hammerless Models 1895 and 1899 (which became the Model 99) lever-action sporting rifles. The Models 1895 and 1899 were produced from their introduction in 1899 until the expense of producing the rifle and declining interest in lever-action rifles resulted in dropping the Model 99 from production in 1998. Sturm, Ruger & Co introduced a number of new lever-action designs in

8378-400: The effects of water, where a battery-powered gun could short-circuit and malfunction when wet. Spring-powered weapons are often cheaper than electric or gas-powered weapons. They are also more readily available in most department stores. Because of their low price, availability, and simplicity, spring guns tend to act as "training guns" to bring new players to airsoft games and are considered

8496-643: The eyes may be injured by any type of impact. The least amount of protection a player should seek will meet or exceed ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 standards, which indicates the eyewear is rated for ballistic strikes. Mesh eyewear has also seen some limited use by players due to low cost and its inability to fog, although it has drawn some criticism for its non-impact rated construction and vulnerability to debris. Some impacts (particularly at close range with powerful guns) are capable of cracking or damaging teeth. Dentists have reported broken teeth that require root canal and crowns to repair damage. A face mask (like that used for paintball)

8614-654: The field are the AR-15 series (such as M16 rifle , M4 carbine , etc.; sometimes referred to as the ArmaLite or Colt series), the H&;K MP5 series, and the AK or Kalashnikov series. Also increasingly popular is the H&K G36 and, more recently, the FN P90 and H&K MP7 . Subsequently, numerous parts for repairs and modifications are commonly available for these rifles. AEG models range from

8732-441: The gearbox's shorter life span. The blowback system can be disabled with some tinkering. Electric blowback can also refer to a feature in some higher-end guns which offers more realistic operation. Automatic electric pistols, abbreviated AEPs, were first introduced by Tokyo Marui in 2005 with their Glock 18C (followed later by a Beretta 93R model). They were the first handguns to incorporate an electrically powered system that

8850-403: The gun, and can be replaced with a larger battery to make their ROF higher. Due to restrictions on size, either the electric motor or batteries have to occupy space in the hand grip, reducing the available space for a magazine. Because of this, most AEPs do not use a full size magazine found in most gas powered pistols. In addition, most AEPs are constructed almost entirely of plastic and have

8968-440: The high-power sniper rifles and shotguns), and may not last long (depending on the build quality) due to the tension exerted on the gun parts by the recoiling of a powerful spring. However, many spring guns can be modified and upgraded to last longer and shoot more powerfully. While most electric airsoft guns also use springs to drive the air pump and propel the pellets, they use external power sources and are not considered to be in

9086-472: The lack of widespread use of lever-action designs stems from the initial inability to fire high-pressure cartridges made possible by the invention of smokeless powder in the 1880s. Safe operation could only be carried out by using low-pressure cartridges in the toggle-lock lever-action rifles such as the Henry rifle and the following Winchester Model 1866 , Winchester Model 1873 , and Winchester Model 1876 (which

9204-568: The larger games is due to the intensity and variety in equipment that is used, ranging from small arms to armored vehicles. In many countries, every airsoft gun owner and active enthusiast must be affiliated with an accredited airsoft association or federation. Most airsoft players host games at a registered field where combat situations are simulated using airsoft weaponry like replica pistols , submachine guns , carbines / assault rifles , DMRs / sniper rifles , light machine guns , grenades and landmines . Great variety and profusion of militaria

9322-479: The late 19th century, militaries worldwide had put cheap bolt-action rifles into service and were unwilling to invest in producing more expensive lever-action rifles. Due to the higher rate of fire and shorter overall length than most bolt-action rifles, lever-actions have remained popular to this day for sporting use, especially short- and medium-range hunting in forests, scrub, or bushland. Lever-action firearms have also been used in some quantity by prison guards in

9440-537: The loose tolerances in shotshells . The largest shotgun pellet commonly used was named 00 or double ought and was used for hunting deer and thus called buckshot , while the smaller BB-sized shot was typically used to shoot small/medium-sized game birds and called birdshot . In 1886, the Markham Air Rifle Company in Plymouth, Michigan produced the first wooden-construct spring-piston air rifle design as

9558-457: The low-price, higher-performance market for over 50 years (1914–1978). Lever-action models generally have very low velocities, around 84 m/s (275 ft/s), a result of the weak springs used to keep cocking efforts low for use by youths. The Daisy Model 25 typically achieved the highest velocities of its day, ranging from 114 to 145 m/s (375 to 475 ft/s). Multiple-pump pneumatic guns are also common. Many pneumatic pellet guns provide

9676-424: The lower pressure giving a smaller chance of damage to the weaker slide. Less commonly used gases include "red gas" (which is actually HCFC-22 ), CO 2 and nitrogen /high-pressure air. However it is unlawful to use HCFC-22 as a propellant in the US, as it is a Class II ozone-depleting substance and its use as an aerosol propellant has been banned since January 1994 under section 610(d) of Clean Air Act. Red gas

9794-448: The lowered pressure of the gas. Because the AEP gearbox and battery are smaller, the velocity of AEP BBs (usually between 200 and 280 ft/s (85.3 m/s)) is relatively slow by the standards of airsoft simulations, rendering them useful only for close-range simulation. However, the advanced hop up units on these new guns tend to compensate for the low power and can produce an effective range comparable to those of an AEG. CYMA has made

9912-433: The majority of gas-operated airsoft guns. They work by using a separate high-pressure air tank that is connected to the airsoft gun with a hose, which is connected with a pneumatic motor inside the gun (called an "engine") at where the gearbox would be in a normal electric airsoft gun. The engine is powered by a fire control unit that can adjust to the desired rates of fire as well as the dwell that determines how much air

10030-502: The middle, producing velocities from 90 m/s (300 ft/s) to 120 m/s (390 ft/s). The internal components of most guns can be upgraded which can increase the pellet velocity significantly. Using heavier pellets (.25 g, .3 g, etc.) will significantly reduce the gun's muzzle velocity, but can increase accuracy at range and reduce susceptibility to wind drift. Lighter pellets have less kinetic energy than their heavier pellets, despite their higher exit velocity. Decreasing

10148-407: The military. Several reasons for that have been proposed. One significant reason for this is that it is harder to fire from the prone position with a lever-action rifle than it is with a bolt-action with either a straight pull or rotating bolt. While lever-action rifles generally possess a greater rate of fire than bolt-action rifles, that was not always a feature, since, until about the turn of

10266-921: The more energy-dense lithium polymer (Li-Po) batteries are becoming more popular in the airsoft world, since they last longer, have higher mAh and voltages, and can be charged more frequently without concerns for voltage depression , while at the same time being small and lightweight. Li-Po batteries are usually rated at 7.4 V or 11.1 V, and varying between 500 mAh and 6500 mAh. External modifications, such as metal bodies and reinforced plastics that make AEGs look and feel even more realistic, have become very popular. AEG manufacturers such as Classic Army and Tokyo Marui produce replicas that are visually nearly identical to their real counterparts. Tokyo Marui uses an ABS plastic, whereas Classic Army features full metal bodied guns and stronger furnishings. Most AEGs produced as of late are designed to be as visually realistic as possible. The three most common AEGs on

10384-508: The most commonly used and widely available type of airsoft gun. The AEGs were developed in Japan and the Japanese company Tokyo Marui is credited with creating the original gearbox system. In a Tokyo Marui AEG, the motor drives a train of three gears mounted inside a gearbox, which then loads a pump piston against a spring. Once the spring is released, it pushes the piston plunger forward through

10502-426: The newer and more versatile AEGs, or automatic electric guns. One of the reasons for this is because the most commonly available propellant, R-12, is costly. Additionally, at high flow rates, liquid propellants tend to cool down, eventually freezing. As cooldown progresses, the rate of fire gradually decreases until the gun ceases operation. The user would then be forced to wait for the propellant to warm up again. CO 2

10620-517: The newest type of airsoft guns on the market. They are basically standard AEGs or GBB guns with a "little extra reality" built in, and are usually more powerful. Airsoft gun manufacturer Systema Engineering (PTW) developed a line of airsoft guns and accessories intended for military and law enforcement training. These airsoft guns are made of aircraft-grade aluminium combined with stainless steel parts that gives strength, stability, weather protection, and easy maintenance. These training weapons offer

10738-570: The parts to give it reliability, though the KWA was plagued by a weak hop-up system, but otherwise reliable. On November 5, 2018, the United States Coast Guard , which has long used the .40 caliber SIG P229 as its duty sidearm, announced that it will acquire the SIG ProForce P229 CO 2 airsoft pistol (which was then produced under brand licensing by French airsoft manufacturer CyberGun, before SIG later ceased external licensing and took over

10856-683: The pellet a Magnus lift to maintain a flatter trajectory for a longer period of time. This is adjusted by screws or gears that cause the bucking to only show a small or large presence in the barrel. Different degrees of firmness of the rubber are considered when a hop-up is being upgraded. Airsoft is safe when played with proper protective gear. Most airsoft guns on the market are usually below 350 ft/s (110 m/s), but projectiles expelled from any type of airsoft gun can travel as slow as 65 ft/s (20 m/s) to more than 700 ft/s (210 m/s) and are capable of breaking skin at 350–400 ft/s (110–120 m/s). For example, skirmish play in

10974-419: The pellet's weight does not generally increase its range. A common upgrade done by players is in the " hop-up " system, featured in most mid- to high-end AEGs, as well as gas guns and spring sniper rifles. In this system, the wall of a rubber tube, called a bucking, is forced into the upper path of the pellet right before it begins flying down the inner barrel. This contact imparts backspin , which in turn gives

11092-439: The pellets via the compression of air, and loads the next pellet in cyclic fashion. Selective fire options among automatic , 3-round burst and semi-automatic operations are all possible, which gives these guns the popular name " automatic electric guns ", or AEGs . These guns often attain muzzle velocities from 150 to 650 ft/s (46 to 198 m/s) and rates of fire (RoF) between 100 and 1500 rounds per minute. They are

11210-410: The prefilled bottled gas via a series of valves to propel the pellet and generate a blowback , which simulates recoil and cyclically loads the next shot. They are capable of both automatic and semi-automatic operation. The most common gases used are " green gas " and propane which requires an adaptor. HFC-134a is also commonly used, particularly with pistols which have plastic sliders due to

11328-569: The primary weapon of "backyard skirmishes". In the UK, they are affectionately known as "springers" and were often a player's introduction to the sport due to the entry-level cost in comparison to AEG and GBB weapons. Almost all airsoft players at some point owned a spring weapon, whether for its actual use in a competitive event or for the replica value since some airsoft weapons are only available as spring versions. However, some veteran airsoft players still rely on sniper rifle and shotgun -type spring guns as

11446-446: The production in early 2019) as its new training pistol to give cadets and guardsmen the ability to practice gun handling, conduct target practice in various environments, and train in realistic force-on-force scenarios. Airsoft guns shoot plastic pellets at velocities from 30 m/s (98 ft/s) for a low-end spring pistol, to 200 m/s (660 ft/s) for heavily upgraded customized sniper rifles. Most non-upgraded AEGs are in

11564-420: The projectile inherently has limited accuracy and short effective range, only the simpler and less expensive mechanisms are generally used for guns designed to fire only BBs. Because the strength of the steel BB does not allow it to be swaged with the low propelling force used to accelerate it through the barrel, BBs are slightly smaller (4.3 to 4.4 mm (0.171 to 0.173 in)) than the internal diameter of

11682-408: The pump cylinder to propel a pellet resting within the chamber forward through the barrel and out of the muzzle . Many manufacturers have now more or less replicated this basic model, adding reinforced parts or minor improvements. The electric airsoft guns were powered primarily by nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries with varying voltages and milliampere-hour ratings. The most common battery

11800-399: The retained pressure behind the BB before it begins to accelerate down the barrel is enough to keep the gas in a liquid form. Also, any gun that is expected to be exposed to the intense cold of de-pressurizing gas should have materials that can handle it. Gas power tends to be used in airsoft pistols where size constraints make electric-powered mechanisms impractical. Other instances where gas

11918-507: The reverse situation is not true: steel BB balls have greater stiffness and are not meant to be shot from pellet guns, whose barrels are typically rifled and thus can get stuck (similar to a squib load in firearms ) and lead to a damage or mechanical failure within the pellet gun. The term BB originated from the nomenclature of the size of lead shots used in a smoothbore shotgun . Size "BB" shots were nominally 0.180 in (4.6 mm), but tended to vary considerably in size because of

12036-558: The safety of the player(s) on the other end, as well as their probability of returning to the hobby. Several Airsoft arenas and fields across the US have implemented strict "Semi Auto Fire Only" rules, as well as other rules aimed at deterring players who intentionally harm other players. Some airsoft guns can be such accurate replicas that they violate intellectual property laws (specifically those regarding trademarks ), most notably some models from Tokyo Marui bearing Colt or Heckler & Koch trademarks that may not be imported into

12154-447: The sale and threatening legal action. In addition to these actions, Glock, as well as Heckler & Koch , have blocked the sale, trade and distribution of replicas bearing resemblance to their products. Recently, Glock gave the licensing to the Glock name and likeness to Elite Force/Umarex to produce replica models of the real Glock series of firearms. Lever-action A lever action

12272-915: The same category as the single-shot manual spring guns. Low-end spring guns tend to be much cheaper than their electric equivalents due to their simplicity and lack of electrical components ( electric motor / actuator , spring- gearbox assembly, as well as battery and battery charger) and thus are widely available. These guns are less suited for competition because they are at a rate-of-fire disadvantage against automatic guns in close combat and do not provide enough accuracy and power for long-range use. There are some exceptions, however, as higher-end spring-powered airsoft rifles can be quite expensive; these guns are typically suited for "marksman" applications in airsoft matches and provide competitive muzzle velocities. Additionally, pump shotguns are sometimes used for both short and long range engagements. In colder weather, spring pistols are more reliable than gas-powered pistols and even

12390-481: The submachine gun replicas typically feature a blowback mechanism similar to the pistol replicas, sniper rifle replicas usually omit the blowback mechanism in favor of reduced recoil and increased muzzle velocity. Along with using gas to power guns, it is also applied for use in replica grenades. These grenades are either projectiles, fired from a grenade launcher such as the M203 or GP-25 , or throwable. The shells work on

12508-403: The system of an internal piston, filled with gas. Either a series of BB's or in some cases a rubber or soft foam head is seated in or on top of the shell. When the pressure is released the projectile(s) are shot from the launcher sent downrange. In the case of the throwable grenades, inside the grenade there is a similar piston to the one used in the shells, but is on a literal "timer" that allows

12626-534: The time), the Model 1887 gave rise to the Winchester Model 1901, a strengthened version chambered for 10ga smokeless powder shells. Their popularity waned after the introduction of slide-action shotguns such as the Winchester Model 1897 , and production was discontinued in 1920. Modern reproductions are manufactured by Armi Chiappa in Italy, Norinco in China , and ADI Ltd. in Australia . Winchester continued to manufacture

12744-540: The time. More recently, spitzer bullets with elastomeric tips have been developed. Lever-action shotguns such as the Winchester Model 1887 are chambered in 10 or 12 gauge black powder shotgun shells, whereas the Model 1901 is chambered for 10-gauge smokeless shotshells . Modern reproductions are chambered for 12 gauge smokeless shells, while the Winchester Model 9410 shotgun is available in .410 bore . While lever-action rifles have always been popular with hunters and sporting shooters, they have not been widely accepted by

12862-518: The true low-end LPEGs and can be found at comparable prices, they are generally considered to be better choices. Some companies – like UTG with their popular MP5 and AK-47 models – have improved their quality to such an extent that some models are now considered simply as mid-ranged AEGs that are more affordable but still reasonably effective. Among airsofters, these are commonly called middle priced electric guns (MPEGs). Electric blowbacks, also known as EBBs, are high-end AEGs which generally run from

12980-644: The use of the same ammunition in both a pistol and rifle. The rifle's longer barrel and better accuracy permit higher velocities, longer ranges, and a wider selection of game. Some of these cartridges (e.g. the .50-70 Government (1866) and .45-70 Government (1873)) are developmental descendants of very early black powder metallic cartridges. When metallic cartridges and lever actions were first invented, very small, portable kits were developed for hand reloading and bullet molding (so-called "cowboy reloading kits"). These kits are still available for most low-pressure lever-action cartridges. Stronger lever-actions, such as

13098-421: The user to clear the area of effect. BB's or powder act as the projectile in the case of these grenades. Currently both types of grenades are not very common, mostly because grenade launchers are quite expensive and the throwable grenades are not very reliable. High pressure air (HPA) systems are a type of pneumatic airsoft weapon that use externally supplied high pressure air instead of internal gas canisters like

13216-465: The whole toy, or transparent construction (part 272.2, formerly part 1150.2). However, section 272.1 (formerly 1150.1) clearly indicates that these restrictions shall not apply to "traditional b-b, paint-ball, or pellet-firing air guns that expel a projectile through the force of compressed air, compressed gas or mechanical spring action, or any combination thereof." Local laws may differ by jurisdiction. Full or partial preventive painting of airsoft guns as

13334-562: The world. Europe is home to some of the largest events, with skirmishes of over 2,000 people participating. In North America, in 2012 alone, Fulda Gap Airsoft Game in Taylorsville, North Carolina had over 1,100 participants, and Operation Lion Claws Military Simulation Series (OLCMSS) had 800 people attend at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California . American Mil-sim, Black Sheep, and Ballahack also host large games. The attraction of

13452-518: Was located in front of the trigger. This loading lever, when pulled, would index the cylinder to the next position and cock the internal hidden hammer. Multiple lever-action designs including the Volcanic pistol were designed before the American Civil War , but the first significant designs were the Spencer repeating rifle and Henry rifle both created in 1860 . The Spencer was a lever-operated rifle with

13570-472: Was marketed by the Japanese as FLON-12 or DuPont tradename Freon 12) CFC feeding system with a majority of the configurations containing two tanks, one containing the R-12 and one used as an expansion tank, and the gun itself. R-12 was a commonly used refrigerant for car air conditioning and refrigerators, and is considered a highly potent ozone-depleting substance and listed as a Class I Ozone Depleting Substance by

13688-468: Was the 1895 solid top design, known as the Marlin 336 today. It also gave rise to the Model 1894 , which is still in production. By the 1890s, lever actions had evolved into a form that would last for over a century. Both Marlin and Winchester released new model lever-action rifles in 1894. The Marlin rifle is still in production, whereas production of the Winchester 94 ceased in 2006. While externally similar,

13806-477: Was the lever-action Winchester Model 1887 , designed by John Browning in 1885 at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The lever-action design was chosen for reasons of brand recognition despite the protestations of Browning, who pointed out that a slide-action design would be much better for a shotgun. Initially chambered for black powder shotgun shells (as was standard at

13924-439: Was used by the mounted police of Canada). The newer lever-action rifle designs, notably the Winchester Model 1886 , Winchester Model 1892 , Winchester Model 1894 , and the Winchester Model 1895 , with a strong locking-block action designed by John Moses Browning , were capable of firing more powerful higher-pressure pistol and rifle cartridges. In the end, the problem was economical. By the time these rifles became available in

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