Airsoft Pistols

What is an Airsoft Pistol?

Airsoft pistols are smaller compact airsoft guns that are often used in close-quarter combat situations due to their smaller size and easier handling, pistols are also easier to get into due to their lower price compared to full size airsoft rifles. Pistols are usually used as a backup gun in case your primary rifle, SMG or shotgun fails or runs out of ammunition. Airsoft pistols encompass the full variety of real firearms ranging from revolvers to fully automatic sidearms but are mainly divided into their power source and methods of propulsion. These include:

Spring Pistols

Spring pistols are the easiest to use and least expensive to buy, they are operated by manually pulling back the slide to cock the gun before each shot. They require no external input of gas or batteries to function making them cheap and easy to use, however they lack the speed and power to be competitive in games against gas or electric guns.

Electric Airsoft Pistols

Electric airsoft pistols also known as AEPs offer ease of use, consistent performance and reliability that can last an entire day. Airsoft AEPs are powered by airsoft batteries and use a motor, gears and spring to drive a piston to propel the airsoft BB pellets out of the gun. While AEPs may not offer the most realistic shooting experience compared to more popular gas blowback pistols, electric airsoft pistols require less maintenance in game and offer consistent performance regardless of temperature making them ideal for newer shooters

Gas Airsoft Pistols

Gas airsoft pistols are powered by either green gas or CO2 delivered through the gun’s magazine or gas reservoir. They can shoot either semi-auto or full-auto and can be either have a non-blowback (NBB) or gas blowback style (GBB) of action.

NBB pistols are gas powered but do not feature the reciprocating slides of GBBs . Whilst lacking realism, NBBs are very gas efficient as no gas is used moving a slide which also means NBB pistols tend to shoot harder than equivalent pistols as 100% of the gas is used to propel the bb. One distinct advantage of NBBs is that due to a lack of moving parts, they tend to be far quieter than GBBs and useful for players who prefer to use stealth in game. GBBs are by far the more popular variant because they are much more fun to shoot. Gas blowback airsoft pistols have slides that will cycle back and forth automatically on each trigger pull, greatly increasing the realism of firing the gun. The realism is further enhanced if the slide is made of a heavier material as the recoil sensation can be quite pronounced, especially if the gun can accept higher pressure gasses.

How much is a good airsoft pistol?

Airsoft pistols can have a significant price range determined by a number of factors including construction materials, R&D and production quantity but the biggest determiner of price will be the method of propulsion, a spring pistol will cost the least by a significant margin at less than $30 while high end GBBs can easily run into multiple hundreds of dollars. The price can also be affected by your personal preferences as the more power, accuracy, durability, ammunition, and realism you want, the more the weapon will cost. The brand can also be a significant factor on a gun’s cost, high end brands with licenses such as Umarex, Cybergun, and ASG will cost remarkably more than brands that tend to make unlicensed clones.

What is the best airsoft pistol?

Overall the pistol that best balances cost and performance is absolutely the Tokyo Marui Hicapa 5.1, it may have a plastic slide but its shooting performance is unparalleled in the industry. If you are willing to pay a bit more then the RWA EXA would be a perfect choice for you. Ultimately finding out what is best for you is dependent on a combination of assessing the pistol’s shooting performance, reliability, internal and external build quality, value and collectability.

How to clean an airsoft pistol?

Like a car, an airsoft pistol will need periodic maintenance in order to keep performing for years to come, else it can greatly affect the performance and function of the gun and make it prone to breakages and jamming. The most important location to be cleaned is the inner barrel as any dirt inside can directly affect the accuracy of your gun, making you more likely to miss your target. Cleaning out the barrel is pretty straightforward as all you’ll need is a cleaning rod, a paper towel and silicone spray.

• First use a strip of paper towel about 3 by ½ inch wide and thread through the tip of the cleaning rod

• Lightly spray silicone lubricant onto the paper towel

• Insert the cleaning rod with the strip of power towel into the barrel and spin the rod while moving it down the length of the barrel, to remove any dirt inside and repeat if needed.

Elsewhere on your pistol it is advised that you wipe down the exterior of your gun with a lint free cloth and store in a dry place to prevent the rusting of metal parts.