For most of us Airsoft players the gun is very important. It’s one of the most expensive things when it comes to the (tactical) gear. It is also the most asked question when I talk to others about Airsoft because of different styles, reliability, price range, collor, cosmetic, appeal etc..
It is especially hard for beginners to find out which gun to get. It’s a valid question when starting with Airsoft but unfortunately not easy to answer because not everybody’s price range will bet the same an not everyone is interested in the same gun.
So what we like to do is to give you a complete guide that matched your want s and needs perfectly…
Let’s get started!
1. Airsoft Weapon
For most of us the Airsoft gun is very important. it’s the most expensive part of the (tactical) gear and many of us find it difficult to choose the right one that fits their role in the team and also, very important, is according their budget…
In this article I wrote a lot about your first Airsoft gun but here I dive a bit deeper in the basic Airsoft Guns and why you should choose such a weapon (as a beginner).
1.1 Where and how to buy an Airsoft Gun
So where should you buy an Airsoft Gun? And where do you want to buy it? That’s a typical question I got asked many times. Well, there isn’t a straight forward answer to that question.
You can go to a online store or you can go to a walk in store. Both has their pros and cons.
When you choose to go to a online store where you can buy an Airsoft Replica then you won’t be able to “feel” the gun and if the gun meet your expectations in case of what you want with it. A walk in store also gives you also the opportunity to hold that gun and experience the feeling by yourself.
The only pros of an online store is that you don’t have to pay shipping costs ….
1.2 Main Airsoft Gun types
Ok, now we know where and how to buy an Airsoft gun. But what type of Airsoft gun do you want? You probably did a bit of research and came to the conclusion that it’s hard to make a good choice because there are too many Airsoft gun types.
Which type of Airsoft gun do you want? Let me explain first the different gun types, their characterises and pros and cons. After that you will be able to make a better decision.
1.2.1 The A.E.G. = Automatic Electric Gun
This type of replica is the most common used Airsoft gun in the Airsoft world. If I look around me on the battlefield I see that the majority has an AEG. Is that because of the price of something else? Maybe if everyone has an AEG then you won’t….?
Well, let’s dive a bit deeper in this type of Airsoft gun and then decide if you want to buy or not to buy this gun type.
The A.E.G. is an automatic Electric Gun which is powered by a battery. Why is this called a A.E.G.? That is because this gun is being powered by a battery. This battery will power a motor and this motor will spin a series of gears and ultimately a piston which create air compression. That air compression thrives down the gun and picks up a BB and fires it down to the barrel. Below you can see a sketch from a A.E.G. Airsoft gun.
I can say that this is the most common type of Airsoft gun that you will have available to you at the market place, or you will see at the playing field. Why?
1. Iit’s the most affordable gun that you have available to you at the marketplace
2. This gun is extremely reliable
3. The A.E.G. is easy to upgrade
This list makes it the most seen Airsoft Replica on the field. Actually it’s my top recommendation to Airsofters, especially the beginner.
1.2.2 The GAS Blow Back
This type of gun is actually the coolest type of Airsoft gun. Sometimes you come across the abbreviation G.B.B.R. = Gas Blow Back Rifle. Know that it makes no difference.
The G.B.B. is specific designed to imitate real steal fire arm. So, if you go for realism then go for a GBB because they are literally designed to get a copy of a real guns function.
How do these guns actually work?
You take the magazine and you actually fill up a gas reservoir. That gas reservoir usually held in the magazine. You fill it up with gas and put it into the gun. When you pull the trigger, a hammer will drop some type of mechanism. That mechanism causes the releasing of gas from the magazine and this gas pressure will cycle the whole action and fire BB’s simultaneous.
This type of Airsoft gun is more expensive than the A.E.G. They are somewhere in the middle between the tree types of Airsoft weapons. More on price in the next article.
What about the quality of a G.B.B.?
Well, these type of Airsoft Gun is not extremely reliable as the A.E.G. and that is because of the way the gun operates. It has a full moving bolt and many internal parts which makes it vulnerable. It is also susceptible for mud and other kind of open field stuff so…
If you really want to be that type of Airsofter to simulate the real steel type of gun and do some real fire arm training and feel the blow back and experience it like a real gun I would recommend a G.B.B.
Now the real deal under the Airsoft guns….
1.2.3 The H.P.A. = High Pressure Air Gun
These are the A.E.G. type of guns on steroid…. An highly advanced machine but unfortunately the most expensive Airsoft gun available to you. I actually wouldn’t recommend this type of gun as a beginner airsoft gun. But if you really have the money and if you really want to spent the money than go for it!
How does this gun really works?
You have an air tank that is usually putting on your back. It’s like a mini scuba tank. These tanks have a line that comes on top of it and you bring it up to the front and plug it in to the backside of your gun. The air pressure goes from the air tank through the line and up in the gun.
The conversion from air pressure to fire power happens with an internal gear box (as shown below) like as in the A.E.G. This gear box will create air compression inside the gun and when the trigger is pulled it shoot air through the device and the mechanism react on that by picking up and fire the BB.
You now might wondering if this gun is a beginner gun? No, I don’t recommend this type of gun to a beginner. There is a number of reasons for that:
1. They are the most expensive type of gun because of hardly manufacture and all the mechanics needed to make this gun work like the airtank, line and the internal mechanism.
2. You can do a lot of crazy things with this gun because these guns are controlled with an internal computer that you can utilize the FPS, rate of fire and the firing mode. You can make these things fire 3 rounds burst, 5 rounds burst and you can also shoot these things insanely fast and the response is unrivalled.
In conclusion I would recommend the A.E.G. because this type is the most affordable and even extremely reliable.
2. Gun Attributes and Accessories
When decided what type of gun you want let’s consider the main attributes of an Airsoft gun.
Some are maybe a cliché but please read this carefully and don’t make the same mistakes as I did! Oke, there we go…
2.1 The Price Range
Price is very important when it comes to appearance, disappointments, capabilities etc..
Imagine that you bought an expensive H.P.A. and you found out (during your first fight) that you don’t like to care that air tank on your bank, and you don’t like carry around that have H.P.A. device… now what? Well, you stuck with that expensive H.P.A. and your 500 dollars further from your goal which is have a nice day and playing in your favourite role with your favourite Airsoft Gun….
So, instead of that expensive gun you could have bought some accessories, upgrades and maybe even a second gun… At the end you really want to enjoy and not to worry about spending your money on the wrong Airsoft Gun.
So on the opposite site of that you could buy a very cheap Airsoft gun. You think you have saved some money and have a nice play without even spent a lot of money…
Well, that Gun is going to last not long and mostly don’t perform very well. When you are playing with your guys on the field and they have more reliable and better performing guns you maybe feel a little awkward. I made this mistake by myself and what I experienced was that I couldn’t keep up with my team mates. I had the most worst experience when I was in the middle of a fire fight. What happend? My cheap gun that FAILED..! It failed on the moment when I needed the most!
So what price Range should I go for?
Well, first that depends on your savings/budget. I suggest to go for a price range of 100-200 dollars at a minimum. Why? Below $100 everything is crap and can’t be good. The manufacturer has to make a profit to so don’t expect a good quality gun below $100,-
<$100: Don’t spent any money. Please don’t! Don’t buy a random Chinese Cheap gun. Instead save your money !
$100-$150: A standard level weapons price range. The primary manufactures are Echo 1, G&G affordable Series and Classic Army Sportline. Last week I heard on a Skrim that Classic Army Sportline has some manufacturing problems…
$150-$200: This price range coves the most upgraded entry level guns from the same manufactures. This is according to many opinion the best price range to start with.
$200-$250: This price range is somewhat difficult. This price range covers most of the specialised weapons like SR-25’s and M4/M16’s. Although the metal body guns are enticing at this relatively low price point, the internal parts are relatively undersized.
The only gun I would go for is the MP5.
Here are a few options:
$250-$300: This is where the real stuff begins. The best known guns in this price range are the Classic Army M4/M16’s. If you are serious, this price range is the best to start with.
$300+ : if you want to go for accuracy and durability this price range fits your needs. The best known manufactures are Classic Army, G&G, Tokyo Marui, KWA and also ICS. I think you can’t go really wrong, choosing a gun in this price range. *
The reason why you won’t go for a expensive one in the first place is that you maybe have some idea of how to play but you’re not sure until your doing it for yourself. A middle of the road gun can help you decide what kind of game play works for you the best. This also prevent you from buying a gun which only fits a specific scenario. A better idea is to use a middle of the road gun as a support or backup gun.
2.2 Gun Platform style and Brands
With all that being said, the brand of your gun isn’t that important but as you maybe know choose quality above quantity.
So what guns do we have access to? Well, you have access to all the guns out there, and that’s so great about Airsof! The sky is the limit! Everything is in your range although it depends on your budget…
Any real gun you can think off is available in Airsoft!
Before buying an Airsoft gun, consider a gun that has a M14/M16 style magazine. here’s why:
1. Does this gun take M14/M16 style magazines? For example a Scar L take M14 and M16 magazines but don’t look like it that way. That is a general trend in the Airsoft World. A lot of guns take M14/M16 style magazines because they are so common.
2. Most of the Airsoft players use M14/M16 magazines. So when you are in the middle of a fire fight and running out of magazines then you can easily ask your teammates for a magazine. When you’re having a AK or a G-36 then they may not be able to lent you a magazine.
3. You have an advantage when you go out and buy future Airsoft guns that take the same size of magazines. The magazines that fit in your old guns will fit in your new gun. So you can save money rather than buying a whole bunch of new magazines.
Which type of brands are available to you?
Well, as far as gun brands go these are the are the ones that we experienced and currently used:
- KWA
- G&G
- VFC
- Classic Army
- G&P
- Lancer Tactical
If you don’t know exactly what type you should for then i should go for a M4. Why? They are so upgradable you can’t imagine.
If you really don’t know which gun you want to buy then you can either purchase a gun which is fully upgraded or you buy a beginner gun and as time progresses you can ad parts on to it an upgrade if for yourself. You can do this with a lot of different guns but with a M14 system you have a lot more options available to you.
2.3 The best beginner Airsoft Gun
It is definitely the G&G Combat Machine Radar. These guns are absolutely fantastic in their way of using in very hard and extreme conditions.
This gun is composed of high quality palmer and that’s why they are so light weight and durable. And that makes it also easy to hold in one hand.
This gun shoots 350-370 feet per second so it is an ideal F.P.S. for every legal field you will play at as well as having enough energy to make it sure that when you are shooting that your BB’s are getting a significant range out of them.
The price is relatively low because of the material it is composed of and having no metal body; it falls right in the middle of the price range $100-$200.
There are different versions of this type of gun. A long barrel version or a CQB version with a short barrel, however the CQB version shoots a bit softer so if you have a real restricted CQB field your going to play at then you should be covered as well.
It is possible to upgrade this gun. For example you can put on a holo sight, specific M14/M16 magazines or a specific grip (an angle for the forehand).
So what could you potentially do with this gun to make it perform better? Well, you can upgrade the pistol grip, you can change the stock out, remove you rear arm sight to put an optic on it or you can put a light or laser on the quad rail it has.
So you can utilise it in open fields and in CQB battles where it is possible for you to really find out where you want to play en like to end up playing Airsoft. You can use this gun as steppingstone to find out where you really want to be and which role you want to play in Airsoft.
In short this is my top recommendation because the price is right where it should be, the FPS is right where it should be and you got a whole bunch of different options in terms of collars, barrel length and there are different options too like different quality ranges from 100-200 en 200 plus. And it is extremely reliable. I had also myself a great experience with this gun and also my teammates had.
Check also my review by following this link
*source:www.airsoftsquared.com e.a.
*www.youtube.com
