Author: Jukka

Today we have something different! I’m going to introduce the best blank guns for under $100 on the market right now. “But blank firing guns have nothing to do with airsoft Jukka?”. I know, I know, but hear me out for a minute.

Many people look in to airsoft guns because they need film or theater props. Or maybe gear for reenactments and live action role-play. Airsoft guns are mostly replicas of real guns after all.

For these uses blank firing replica guns might be sometimes better suited for the job than airsoft guns. Especially if you don’t need to fire plastic BBs at people and need some serious bang for the buck (pun intended).

And if you are looking for a replica for these types of uses, you usually can’t spare too much cash on them. That’s why I thought a hundred bucks would be a nice cut off price. It’s enough to get you a decent blank gun replica that isn’t so cheaply made it’s dangerous but it won’t break the bank either.

Lets start with a quick recap on what blank guns are exactly!

What are blank guns

Blank guns, also known as blank-firing firearms are weapons that fire blank cartridges that (obviously) don’t have a bullet but still produce the loud bang and flash.

Blank firing guns are typically used for film productions, theater, military and police training, live action role play and as starter pistols in sports (not that much anymore).

Blank guns can be roughly split into three categories. Front firing, top firing and real firearms.

Front firing blank guns have an open barrel and firing the blank looks very similar to firing a real firearm. The muzzle flash will come out of the barrel and the action is very realistic. These are typically used in movies. They are however not capable firing a real firearm cartridge and generally have precautions so they can’t be easily modified to real firearms.

Top firing blank guns are the typical start pistol without a real open barrel. The blank fires in the chamber and the expanded gasses are vented through gaps between the chamber and the frame. This results in a loud bang without the muzzle flash from the barrel.

There are special blank cartridges for real firearms. Some blanks have just the bulled and most of the powder removed. This is usually enough to produce a loud report and flash but usually the pressure is not enough to cycle a semi-automatic weapon. This requires a muzzle adapter and special wooden or wax rounds that break at the muzzle adapter.

Especially real firearm blanks are potentially lethal and should never be used for simulated firing towards other people (even though they do, at least in the military). They should be treated like live rounds. That takes us to the next important topic. Safety.

Blank gun safety

Since blank guns use real gun powder they require a license or a permission from authorities in most countries and states. There’s a good reason for this. Even though blank firing guns don’t fire projectiles they posses great danger.

Most front firing blank guns and blank cartridges for real firearms have something called a wad. It’s a plug made out of paper, wood or plastic that seals the gun powder in the shell casing. At close ranges this wad and the pressure from the blank can be potentially lethal or at least cause severe injuries. Especially for the eyes. That’s why it’s important to wear eye protection when using blank guns.

There are several cases of actors getting killed by misuse of blanks. Probably most famous one is the case of Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee. He was killed during the filming of the movie The Crow. This was because they used real firearms loaded with blanks during filming and one of the weapons had a real bullet lodged in the barrel. This resulted in the blank functioning just like a real round, expanding gasses forcing the bullet out of the barrel at high velocity with tragic results.

The other threat blank guns posses is that they can be very easily mistaken for actual gunfire. This can make people worried and easily cause misunderstandings with the police. Ofcourse they can be used as deterrents and as fake firearms by criminals and this was especially common when blank firing guns didn’t require permissions.

Thirdly they are as harmful to your hearing as real firearms. A single fired blank can cause permanent hearing damage if necessary hearing protection is not used.

So if you use any sort of blank gun, please make sure you have all the required permission and that you understand all the necessary safety precaution before using them.

So now that we have the important safety stuff under the way let’s look at the best blank guns for under $100 on the market today!

Blank guns under $100

Olympic 9mm top firing blank revolver

A top firing .357 snub nose revolver replica that uses .380 blanks. At just under $90 this thing is a steal.

• Price: $89.99
• Length: 7.25″
• Weight: 1.5 lbs.
• Barrel: 2.5″
• Caliber: Fires .380 9mm Blank Firing

Magnum 9mm Black Revolver Top-Firing Blank Gun

Bigger brother of the previous revolver. A replica of a full size .357 Magnum Colt Python style revolver. Features a working single and double action trigger and a five round revolver.

• Price: $98.99
• Length: 9.5″
• Weight: 2lbs
• Caliber: Fires 9mm (.380) Blanks

Bruni Bond Style Semi-Auto 8mm Black Blank Gun Black

A compact sized semi-automatic blank gun modeled after the Walther PPK, made famous by James Bond in the original movies. Fire round as fast as you can squeeze the trigger, just like a real automatic firearm.

• Price $98.99
• Caliber: 8 mm Blanks

Blank guns a bit over $100

I know I was supposed to stick to guns under $100 but for just a few bucks over you can fund some awesome front firing ones and a wider variety of models so I decided to include these.

WW II M38P Semi Auto 8mm Top-Firing Blank Gun

A semi-automatic top-firing blank gun modeled after the German Parabellum p.08 better known as the Luger. Great for WW1 and WW2 movie and theater prop. Fires 8mm blanks in semiautomatic.

• Price: $104.99
• Length: 8.5″
• Weight: 2.35lbs
• Caliber: 8mm Blank Cartridge
• Black Finish

R1 Fume Blank Revolver

The R1 is a front firing blank revolver, modeled after a .357 magnum revolver. It has a six round revolver with realistic ejector.

• Price: $119.99
• Capacity: 6 Rounds
• Weight: 1.5lb.
• Height: 5.51″
• Length: 7.3″
• Caliber: .380 blank

Kimar 92 Front Firing Blank Gun

Now this is a bit more expensive but it is a solid front firing semi-automatic pistol, as realistic as can be. Modeled after the Beretta m92 or M9 widely used by the U.S. military and law enforcement. Disassembles like the real thing for cleaning and maintenance.

• Price: $154.99
• Length: 7.25″
• Weight: 1.9 Lbs
• Caliber: 9mm
• Magazine: 16
• Finish: Black

Conclusion

There you have it! best blank guns under $100 (and a bit over). If you are looking for some great movie props give these a try. Please drop a comment if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Today I want to talk about BBs. Biodegradable ones to be exact. Good for the environment sure, but are biodegradable airsoft BBs any good for gaming? Read on to find out.

My personal opinion is that regular BBs should be banned, except for the heaviest ones used in airsoft sniper rifles. The reason for this is that the world is drowning in plastic as is. We should be responsible in everything to lessen the impact on nature, including our hobbies like airsoft. This means using less plastic, which regular BBs are made out of like you will soon learn.

Using regular BBs means essentially littering forests and other playgrounds with plastic debris at an incredible rate. I’m sure most of you reading this have seen the amount of BBs on an airsoft field even if it’s been in use just for couple years. Here’s a newsflash for you, those BBs aren’t going anywhere for thousands of years and they will just keep piling up!

I’m certain if someone did some serious research on the effects of airsoft BBs on the ecology of a forest there would be all sorts of negative outcomes. At the least they produce micro plastics that end up in our food chain. In the worst case scenario small animals and birds mistake them for berries and suffer horrible deaths from bowel impaction. So this stuff is important even if you don’t think so!

The only logical solution to this is to ban regular BBs and require everyone to use biodegradable ones. The only exception I would allow is using heavy BBs in spring-loaded sniper rifles as the amount of BBs fired from these are minimal compared to your average AEG and other automatic airsoft guns.

But that’s enough preaching, let’s get on with the facts!

Difference between bio and non bio bbs

So what exactly is the difference between biodegradable BBs and “regular” ones? Let’s start with the obvious. As the name clearly suggests, biodegradable BBs are, well, biodegradable and regular BBs really are not. This of course comes down to the material the BB is made out of. Most airsoft BBs are mainly made out of something called barium sulfate powder. It’s an inert mineral salt (like chalk really) that doesn’t have environmental effects and is biodegradable

The differerence between regular airsoft BBs and biodegradable ones is the stuff that is used to keep the barium sulfate powder together. The so called binder and coating.

Regular BBs
In regular airsoft BBs the binder is made out of plastic. Most of the plastics used, like polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene, are from petrochemical sources.

They are very resistant to bio degradation and it takes hundreds or thousands of years for a plastic BB to degrade in the soil. The plastics also contain chemicals that are bad for the environment and to humans and as they degrade they produce micro plastic that ends up in the food chain.

Biodegradable BBs

Biodegradable BB binder can be made of several different organic polymer resins. Most commonly used ones are corn starch and sugar cane based polymers. These are essentially plant based plastics that can be consumed by the microbes in the soil. The also don’t posses any harmful chemicals to the environment as they are made of completely natural substances.

Are biodegradable bbs really biodegradable

Well yes and no. This depends on the BB. Quality BBs use materials that are truly biodegradable. Some test have been made by the airsoft community that have shown that some of the brands don’t seem to really degrade any faster than real BBs. Of course considering that regular ones can take hundreds of years you have to take these kinds of tests with a grain of salt.

On the other hand many have tested that the high quality ones do degrade in a couple of years in the nature in right conditions. The length of the degradation process will vary highly depending on the environment. For instance pretty much nothing degrades in dry sand since there isn’t many microbes which are responsible for the decomposing process.

How long does it take for bbs to biodegrade

Like I pointed out in the previous paragraph the time it takes for a BB to decompose depends a lot on the environment.

A low quality biodegradable BB in a dry sand play field might take decades to decompose. On the other hand a high quality biodegradable BB in a moist forest floor with ample amounts of decomposing microbes might be gone in a few months.

The lesson here is to use high quality biodegradable BBs that are known to be made out of truly biodegradable materials.

Better quality biodegradable BBs will break down faster and are more resistant to premature degradation which can happen with some cheap biodegradable BBs if they get wet or are forgotten in the sun for long periods of time.

Are biodegradable bbs bad for your gun?

In short, high quality ones aren’t. There is no difference between high quality regular and biodegradable BB concerning performance and reliability.

There have been some reports of low quality biodegradable BB leaving a coating in the barrel and the hop-up unit. Also, some low quality biodegradable BBs are prone to deforming if they get wet.

I want to emphasize however that this is not a problem with high quality BBs. I’ve been using G&G bio BBs for years and never had feeding problem that was caused by a BB.

Even low quality regular BBs are notorious for causing feeding issues and even damaging your gun. That’s why it always wise to use high quality BB’s from an established manufacturer.

Using cheap BBs to save a few cents can turn expensive fast if your gun breaks and is really a foolish thing to do.

Best place to buy airsoft bbs

There is currently only one brand of biodegradable BBs that I can honestly recommend. They’re products are accepted as very high quality BBs by the airsoft community and the materials used in them are truly biodegradable.

I actually recommend getting your BBs from Amazon as they generally have very fast delivery times and usually the lowest price on the market. Only place you can find the BBs cheaper is buying in bulk straight from the manufacturer.

The best brand of biodegradable BBs available is Bioshot. Their biodegradable airsoft bbs are competition grade and contain no toxic chemicals. They have tested the time it takes for their BBs to decompose.  With ideal conditions it can happen in 60 days  and takes at max 3 years in poor conditions. So they are truly biodegradable. The come in all the common sizes from 0.20g to 0.43g. That means they can be used with even high power sniper rifles.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR BEST OFFER

Conclusion

That’s about it for today! Please consider using high quality biodegradable BBs even if it’s not required by your local rules. The price difference to regular high quality BBs is marginal and some times there isn’t one.

By using bio BBs you are being responsible and doing the right thing. This is also important for the reputation of the sport. We don’t want airsoft to be banned because of environmental reason do we?

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below!

Today we’ll talk about one of the weapons you see less often in airsoft – Shotguns. There are many models available from high full metal ones to very cheaply made plastic ones.

I will first talk a bit about what shotguns are used in real life for and what they are good for in airsoft. If you want to skip straight to my recommendations, just jump to the end of the post.

I will especially focus on cheap airsoft shotguns as I can’t really recommend getting the more expensive ones for playing airsoft since you can get so much more for the money buying an AEG or gas operated rifle.

The expensive ones can of course be very fun if you are just collecting replicas for other reasons, so take into consideration that I’m talking from playing perspective.

Role of shotguns in real life

In real life shotguns are usually simple, affordable and powerful at close ranges. Their effectiveness is based on the fact that they usually fire a round consisting of several lead or metal BBs or shots.

When the shots leave the barrel they start to spread. This effectively increases the chance to hit you target and that’s why shotguns are the preferred weapon when hunting birds.

Shotguns can fire a variety of rounds with different amounts of shots depending on the application. This includes slugs – a single bullet type round with immense stopping power at close to medium distances.

Shotguns are also commonly used by law enforcement units as a more powerful option to sidearms. In law enforcement the ranges of engagement are relatively short and it’s important that shots fired in a fire fight don’t penetrate surrounding structures to avoid bystander casualties.

So in this role the shotguns high stopping power combined with low penetrability is a natural choice.

There are military shotguns but they are very rarely used for other purposes than security and guarding duties by military police.

In military application the short range, low ammo capacity and low penetrability make shotguns a one trick pony for close quarters assault. An assault rifle in full auto or bust mode is as effective for close range battle with superior penetration power and they are also effective at longer ranges when used semi auto.

This is the reason why assault rifle is the weapon of choice for pretty much all military forces around the world.

Real life shotguns can be break barrel, pump-action, semi-automatic or full automatic. Break barrels shotguns are very common in hunting due to simple construction, pump-action is probably as common in hunting and most common in law enforcement.

Semi auto shotguns are used for hunting and by the military. Full auto shotguns are only used by military due to the immense firepower and need for training to operate one effectively. They are extremely rare even in that application though.

The role of shotguns in airsoft

Now that we know the uses of real shotguns, let’s look at how they reflect to airsoft.

Firstly in airsoft the range of engagement is generally very short, pretty much the same that would be effective with a real shotgun.

This means that airsoft shotguns are quite easy to replicate by range standards and can be used for what’s considered medium to long ranges in airsoft, depending on the model.

Secondly there is no penetrability with airsoft BBs, so this is a variable we don’t need to consider.

What airsoft shotguns usually share with their real rifle counter parts is low ammo capacity and the lack of automatic fire. This means using them as a main weapon against an AEG puts you in a disadvantage.

They are best used as back up weapon if your main weapon fails. They are usually too cumbersome to use as a true sidearm though.

One thing about airsoft shotguns is that you can get a fairly powerful airsoft gun with a decent range for a very affordable price. If you are just getting in to airsoft and really can’t afford an AEG, you can get a decent quality shotgun with good range for around $50.

Don’t expect to dominate the game but at least you have a fighting chance. You just have to count your shots and learn how play stealthily to use the element of surprise in your advantage.

Different operating principals

Gas

There are spring and gas operated airsoft shotguns but there are no electric shotguns that I know of. In general the gas operated shotguns use shells that look like real ones that are loaded with green gas and BBs. So the shotguns essentially work just like real ones, with the only difference being that instead of gun powder there is gas in the cartridge.

This is a big problem in airsoft games. It means every shell is single shot and unlike real shells you have to be careful to collect them since they are reloadable and quite expensive. This makes them very inefficient weapons for games.

You can find gas shotguns in break barrel sawed off double barrel models and pump-action ones. Both share the problem of single shot shells. Gas shotguns are also rather expensive so they really only serve the replica hobbyists and live action role-play purposes. Since the topic is cheap airsoft shotguns, I will focus on spring operated ones from this point forward.

Spring
Spring operated airsoft shot guns come in two varieties. Single BB firing with internal or external magazine and 3 BB firing with a shell magazine. Spring operated shotguns are always pump-action models.

The single BB firing models are usually the cheapest and offer decent power and range for a very affordable price.

The 3 BB firing models are usually a bit more expensive. They are all based on the Tokyo Marui shotgun system with three barrels which they introduced in the 90s in their spas 12 and Benelli shotguns. The performance in general is pretty good and firing 3 BBs at a time increases your chance to hit your target significantly. The shell magazines hold 30 BBs, so you get 10 shots before you have to reload. The reload process is fairly simple yet not as fast as with an external clip AEG for example. This means you have to count and think your shots.

My recommendations

Single BB firing one:

My first recommendation is the Crosman ASGM47 Voodoo Spring Powered Single Shot Pump Action Shotgun.

It is a VERY high-powered (up to 390 fps) single fire shotgun for a very affordable price. The build quality is very good considering the price and the fact that it comes equipped with hop up (this increases range), very high power, a stock and a tactical rail for attaching sights is pretty astonishing considering it costs a bit over 30 bucks.

IMPORTANT: The description says you can fire full auto in electronic mode, this is complete nonsense. The gun is 100 % spring operated and does not contain or can not be modified to use any kind of electronically operated mechanism. For a cheap spring operated gun the gun is very good however and Crosman is a very well-established manufacturer that has been making air guns for decades and in recent years has started making airsoft guns as well. -i recommend getting a reflex sight for the shotgun since it doesn’t come equipped with any kind of iron sights.

Three BB firing one:

The second shotgun I recommend fire 3 BBs simultaniously from three separate barrels. It’s based on the Marui design like I discussed earlier. Meet the Double Eagle Heavy Weight Pistol Grip 3 Shot Shotgun

The gun is modeled after the Benelli M3 and the build quality and reliability are superior for the price point. This is probably due to the fact that the gun is an exact copy of Tokyo Maruis Benelli which was a very high quality shotgun back in the day. Double Eagle is a Chinese airsoft manufacturer with a long track record and is known for making decent quality airsoft guns for a very affordable price.

Conclusion

So that’s about it of the topic of cheap airsoft shotguns. Thinking about getting one or have questions? Drop a comment and I’ll get back to you!

When it comes to choosing a sidearm in airsoft, the options are plenty. Pistols in airsoft are the one weapon group where I think you can have more show than go.

Pistols are mainly used as sidearms in case your main weapon malfunctions or you run out of ammo in the middle of a fight and don’t have time to reload mags. They are also pretty much mandatory for a sniper as a close combat weapon. In CQB they can even be used as main weapons due to close firing distances and their agility.

Pistols come in many models, building materials and working principles. From cheap plastic springers to full metal gas operated full metal ones. Today I will talk about what I think is important in airsoft pistols and what are the best airsoft pistols available right now.

The role of pistols in Airsoft

Like I stated before, pistols are mainly considered sidearms and only in rare occasion should they be used as main weapons. Even though they are very light and agile, the short length and lack of a stock make them fairly inaccurate just like their real life counter parts.

However in airsoft the firing distances are a lot shorter and there is no real recoil which makes airsoft pistols a lot easier to operate than real ones. But it doesn’t change the fact that fighting with a pistol in a woodland or an open terrain, you are in a serious disadvantage accuracy wise, compared to someone wielding some sort of rifle.

The other thing about pistols is the small ammo capacity. Pistols are small and the magazines or magazine wells usually house components required by what ever operating principle the gun is using. This all means there is not much room for BBs and a typical airsoft pistol magazine holds between 15 to 40 BBs.

In real life this might be plenty of ammo but in airsoft you will empty your clips faster than you can say “out of ammo”. The other problem the small size causes is that there is not much room for a power source – be it gas or battery the capacity won’t be very high and even if you have time to reload BBs, you will run out of power pretty fast.

So due to these technical limitations, you generally don’t use pistols as main weapons. Although for an experienced player it can be very fun to play fast skirmish games with a pistol for a change and challenge.

What is blowback

Before I go on about the pistols I want to quickly talk about feature called blow backsince it’s very relevant when choosing a pistol.

Blowback is a feature that simulates the recoil and loading cycle of a real firearm. In pistols this generally means the slide moving back violently after each shot while the mechanism loads a new BB in to the chamber.

Blowback is mainly a feature of gas guns since it takes quite a bit of energy to cycle the slide. In real fire arms this is done by using the recoil force and the expanding gasses of the fired cartridge and it’s a very useful feature since this allows semi-automatic fire with a light trigger pull (compared to revolvers for example).

In airsoft blow back is not needed for the reloading cycle, since it takes a lot less energy to push a BB in to the chamber than a real cartridge. So the only function of blow back in airsoft is to add a feel of realism at the expense of energy in the form of gas. Oh and did I mention it’s really fun! 🙂

Different operating principles

Just like in bigger guns there are mainly three different operating principles in airsoft pistols. Manually cocked spring, electric ang gas.

Spring
Spring loaded pistols are generally cheap toys that are only good for blinking at the backyard. You can have a quality one – I had a Marui Glock 17 for a long time – as a back up of a back up weapon in case all our other weapons malfunction and no one has anything to borrow. Playing with springer against AEGs sets you in a huge disadvantage but at least you get to play and it’s still fun and challenging.

The thing about quality springers is that they are fool proof and will function in any weather condition. I have witnessed this many times in cold winter games where batteries run empty very fast and gas doesn’t work at all. This is not such a big issue these days after the invention of Li-Po batteries, since they can handle cold fairly well. In the old days in winter games it was normal to see players changing to springers towards the end of the games, as the main weapons started dropping out of action one by one.

Quality springers actually have a decent range for a pistol but the biggest stumbling block is the need to reload manually after every shot. You lose you aim and the opposing player has plenty of time to return fire.

Electric
Marui brought out their first AEPs or automatic electric pistols in the beginning of the 2000s. They are battery powered pistols with a gear box similar to full size AEGs. Due to size restrictions of pistol frames the mechanism takes out most of the space in the handle and AEPs use a stick type magazine because of this.

The size of the gear box and the small battery capacity also limits the power of the pistols. The springs used in AEPs are actually weaker than in quality springers. This was actually considered a big disappointment back in the day when they came out. You have to remember that what you lack in power you gain in semi auto fire (or full auto in some models) and the guns usually feature an adjustable hop up which increases effective range. The lack of power really isn’t an issue when you remember what the role of pistol is in airsoft.

AEPs generally feel solid and hefty, but due to the gear box the slides are fixed and there is usually no blow back feature. This makes the guns feel more like a toy gun especially when firing. But then again, you have to remember this is airsoft, and for gaming purposes I think certain AEPs are great. Especially with a couple simple modifications.

There are AEPs with blow back features but the action is so slow and the slide so light it really doesn’t feel realistic at all and I would not recommend getting an AEP with blow back feature. The ones without it are more reliable and there is more room for the battery and gearbox which usually means better performance.

Gas
Gas pistols can be divided in to blowback and non-blowback categories. They are either operated by green gas or CO2. Green gas is usually filled in the magazine of the gun and in some models the gas container is inside the magazine well. CO2 guns use the same CO2 cartridges that air guns use. Most quality guns these days accept bot green gas and CO2.

The biggest difference between green gas and CO2 is that CO2 can be used in colder temperatures. When you start to go close to freezing temps, green gas looses it’s capacity to expand, and the power of the gun will greatly diminish.

Gas pistols without blowback are generally very simple guns with few moving parts. This makes them fairly reliable but usually the trigger pull is heavy because it has to set the trigger and reload a new BB all with the energy from your finger.

In blow back guns the trigger is usually set by the slide moving back just like in real fire arms. This makes the trigger pull nice and light. But of course the biggest thing going for blow back guns is the blow back feature itself. When you shoot a quality blow back pistol with a heavy metal slide you will be surprised by the kick and the sound. It’s as close to firing a real firearm you can get in airsoft. That’s why high quality airsoft blow back pistols are used in IPSC Action Air, a practical shooting based airsoft sport and as rehearsal tools by any militaries and law enforcement organisations

What I use

I personally have a Tokyo Marui original AEP Glock 18C. I actually bought it a while ago used for $15 dollars or so. It’s easily worth the original asking price of around $100 in my opinion. The original battery was pretty much dead so I bought the smallest 7.4 V Li-Po battery I could find from a hobby store and with a bit of fiddling and soldering it fit the gun very nicely.

I also modified the hop up unit in to a flat hop up and made it as air tight as possible. And boy did the gun come alive. The Li-Po batterys superior performance made the firing instantaneous and the rate of fire very good. With the upgraded hop up the range is more than enough for a sidearm.

The Tokyo Marui Glock 18 can be very hard to find these days but there are some decent copies on the market. Like the on M9 made by Cyma, which has pretty much identical internal parts. Even the famous YouTube Airsoft sniper NOVRITSCH used to use a Marui Glock 18C AEP before his channel grew and he needed something with more show.

Best airsoft pistols on the market right now

There are several very good airsoft pistols on the market. The ones I would recommend are all gas blow back guns made by well-established quality manufacturers.

KWC COLT 1911:

The KWC Colt 1911 is a tried and true model that comes in many different variations, which are basically the same base gun. It’s also distributed by Cyberguns and few other companies but they are all manufactured by KWC. This is not a bad thing since the KWC’s replicas of the 1911 are extremely well-made.

KWC (Kein Well Toy Industrial Co. Ltd) is a well-established Taiwanese manufacturer that specializes in high quality performance handgun replicas. They have been making replicas of the 1911 for many years now and it is sort of flagship model of their line up and comes in many variations.

The original Colt m1911a1 was adopted by the US military over a century ago but due to its modern design it is still used today and it’s one of the most iconic handguns out there, The semi-automatic .45 caliber pistol had superior stopping power, firing rate and accuracy compared to handguns of the time.

The airsoft version built by KWC is as close as you can get to the real deal with replica both in form and function. Performance and reliability is among the best on the market and leaves nothing to hope for. The only real downside is that the guns shoot pretty hot which means they might not be allowed in all CQB arenas. There are modifications available for lowering the muzzle energy, but if you are getting the gun only for CQB, I would recommend something else.

KWC and Cybergun have currently many models on the market. From the classic m1911a1 to very modern tactical versions with rails for attaching accessories.

KJW M9:

The KJW M9 is replica of another iconic handgun, the Beretta M9 (also known as 92FS). KJW makes an excellent replica of this hand gun with very good performance and intricate attention to detail. Beretta M9 is actually the hand gun that replaced the m1911a1 as the standard issue side arm of the US military. It is a more modern design (with roots as old as the 1911) that uses the popular 9 mm round.

KJ Works is another Taiwanese manufacturer that has been making airsoft products since the early 90s. They specialize in high quality gas blow back handguns and sniper rifles. Just like KWC the build quality and performance is their gas blowback weapons is excellent.

The M9 is another replica that is very true to the original counter part. The only difference to the real steel firearm is that the KJ Works Beretta can fire full auto. With a high power blow back pistol this is hilariously fun. Your accuracy will suffer and you will run out of BBs fast, but it’s all worth the fun!

Performance wise the M9 leaves nothing to be desired for. The muzzle energy is a bit lower than the KWC 1911. This combined with the full auto capability makes the M9 my pistol of choice for CQB.

Conclusion

So that’s my take on best airsoft pistols. What do you think of my choices? Did I miss your favorite or do you have questions about airsoft pistols? Don’t hesitate to drop a comment below and I promise to get back to you soon.

When I made a comeback to Airsoft I noticed that most players these days use simple protective classes without any cover for their faces. Back in the day when I started playing airsoft pretty much everybody was using either Sansei airsoft masks with steel mesh goggles or paintball masks. This felt natural since getting a burst of BBs from a high power AEG in to your face can be very painful and potentially dangerous to your teeth.

The reason many people prefer clear tactical glasses or goggles is the unobstructed field of view and the ease of breathing and communication. This however comes at a price. When compared to mesh goggles the clear glasses fog up easily especially if you sweat a lot from your face.

The other downside is there is no protection for your face. While this is not that dangerous it can be very painful and you can end up with bruised face for a couple weeks if you get hit bad.

An airsoft BB can also easily chip a tooth even from a distance if your mouth is open and you get a direct hit. I’ve seen this happen. I have also seen a BB stuck under the skin of a cheek. It ain’t pretty.

I actually tried using tactical glasses at the beginning of my comeback but I soon reverted back to using mesh goggles with a mesh mask to protect my face. Part of my day job is customer service so I can’t risk having bruises on my face and I really don’t like the thought of chipped teeth either.

So today I will discuss about the best airsoft face protection and how you can effectively and comfortably protect your face and teeth in airsoft.

A word about safety

IMPORTANT: I would like to point out that safety gear is the last thing you want to save your money on. A quality set of eye protection and a face guard will cost you less than $50 and they are pretty much indestructible. There are cheap hardware store eye protection and mask available but I can’t recommend getting something like that.

There have been reports with cheap Chinese metal mesh masks cracking from BB hits and clear plastic goggles cracking from normal AEG hits. You have only one set of eyes so please don’t make uninformed decisions when choosing your protection. In Airsoft safety always comes first.

So please get your protective gear from a well-known manufacturer and supplier. Most airsoft stores only carry tested quality masks and glasses so airsoft store are in general a safe place to buy your face protection.

Different kinds of face protection

There are a few options to choose from if you want to protect your face in airsoft. The BBs have relatively low kinetic energy so it doesn’t take much to soften the impact enough to protect you from bruises.

A simple balaclava or a scarf will offer some protection but fabric won’t completely stop the BB and you can still get stung badly. That’s why I recommend using solid face protection.

You have basically two options. Option one being a complete mask with eye protection and full face cover. This means your typical paintball (or paintball style) mask or a lighter airsoft mask.

The paintball style masks usually have the greatest level of protection and usually cover also your ears and parts of your neck. The airsoft style masks usually just cover your eyes, forehead, cheeks, nose and mouth.

The other option is to use separate eye protection and face protection. This offers a lot of different options depending on your preference.

Full masks

If you decide to go the full mask route, my recommendation would be an airsoft mask with steel mesh eye protection. The steel mesh will slightly obscure your vision but once you get used to it, it really isn’t a problem. What you get in exchange is complete freedom from fogging up your vision no matter what the weather is like.

The only downside in my opinion is the theoretical change of a BB fragment penetrating the mesh and hitting your eye. I want you to be aware of this risk but in all my years playing airsoft I have never seen this happen. I have once read about it happening but even in that case the fragment didn’t cause any injuries, so I figure it’s a pretty safe bet to say mesh goggles are safe.

IMPORTANT: What I stated in the previous paragraph only applies to quality mesh goggles. There are cheap and dangerous ones on the market. If you have any concern about the quality of mesh goggles you, or some of your friends is using, ALWAYS test the eye protection with the most powerful weapon on the playgrounds.

If you however decide you want to go with the paintball mask style make sure you get something with quality glasses that are well ventilated. This will keep you vision clear and save from a lot of frustration.

Some mask can also make breathing a bit more difficult especially when breathing heavy while sprinting. This can be avoided by choosing a mask with good ventilation or by drilling small holes to the mask to increase air flow. Masks can also muffle your voice a bit which can make communication more difficult.

Face guards

If you don’t want to use a full mask the best option in my opinion is to use a separate face guard. They are usually made out of steel mesh and painted in some sort of camouflage color. The mesh is thick enough to stop even high power BBs but open enough to not cause any problems with breathing like full masks can

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This is what I prefer to do myself. You can use pretty much any kind of eye protection with the face guards. It will work with clear goggles and glasses or with mesh goggles and glasses. I actually use either the mesh goggles from my circa 1996 Sansei Airsoft mask that is still going strong or a set of Nuprol Pro mesh goggles.

The face guard I like to use is a Nuprol mesh one. I don’t really have anything bad to say about it. It’s flexible enough so you can contour it to fit to the shape of your face and I have had no problems with breathing or anything else really while wearing it.

Conclusion

So that’s pretty much all that there is to know about the best airsoft face protection available. As always drop a comment below if you have any questions and I will get back to you soon!

When you are just starting out airsoft and just thinking about getting you first gun it can be very hard to decide on what to get. There are so many options to pick from and then there are the hardware store $50 all included packages that seem so enticing.

Most players start with a cheap spring pistol that they borrow or buy from a toy store to blink at the backyard with couple of friends.

There is nothing wrong with that as long as everyone is wearing appropriate eye protection and there is no risk for bystanders to think something illegal is going on. Airsoft does not need more bad rep, just saying :).

This article is aimed to the player thinking about getting the first serious airsoft gun for more official games. So let’s get cracking and let’s see what makes the best airsoft gun for beginners and what’s there on the market to pick from.

What’s important for a beginner gun

The very first thing I’d like to point out from personal experience is that the gun you get has to be interesting to you. It doesn’t really matter if the gun you get is real cream of the crop technically if it doesn’t speak to you. If you think a certain model looks ugly, don’t get it even if everybody recommends it.

You will enjoy the sport so much more when you feel awesome just by holding your new awesome BB shooter. There are a lot of options, believe me. So pick something that looks super cool to you or something you’ve always though was the coolest gun on action movies.

On the other hand I have to point out that there are some rare weapons that have only subpar airsoft replicas available and I can’t recommend a beginner get something like that. Instead, pick something fairly common that is made by some of the well-known manufacturers.

That is actually the second point. A good beginner airsoft gun is made by a well-known manufacturer. Nothing kills the enthusiasm for the hobby like a constantly malfunctioning weapon so it’s important you get something reliable as a beginner.

Most of the largest AEG manufacturers use the same Tokyo Marui standard gear boxes any way so if something get’s broken you can always find spare parts and someone who knows how to install them.

Try around if possible

If you have friends that play airsoft or if there is an active local airsoft scene I recommend asking around if you could try out different kinds of airsoft guns. Looking at pictures and videos sure is fun but it can be very deceiving.

You can’t really perceive from pictures or videos how the weapon feels in your hand, if the grip is the right size for you or if the gun feels too big for you. That’s why it’s important to get a feel for yourself.

Since airsoft stores are few and far between these days as most guns are sold online it’s good to ask around your local scene.

The Best type of gun for a beginner

I definitely recommend getting an automatic electric gun or an AEG as your first weapon. They are simply the most versatile type of gun you can get with decent price. AEGs combine good range and accuracy with automatic fire and modifiability.

The only real downside to them is lack of realism especially when comparing with gas blow back guns. There are also more moving parts inside them when compared to HPA (high pressure air) or gas guns but they are very reliable and very easy to maintain.

These days there are some very cheap AEGs available that are decent quality and up gradable if your budget is very tight.

The only accessories an AEG requires is a battery and charger and many times these are included in deals. As a beginner, it’s probably wise to buy enough BBs and some quality eye protection.

Best beginner airsoft guns

G&G Combat Machine M4A1

One of the most affordable AEGs with a decent build quality is the G&G Combat Machine M4A1 carbine.

It’s your run-of-the-mill Taiwanese made M4 which uses a Marui V2 style gearbox so the insides are fully up gradable with after market parts. The performance and quality are actually ridiculously good considering the price. You could not get anything even close to this price and performance when I was starting the hobby.

G&G is actually a high end manufacturer and the Combat Machine is their budget range with very little compromise. Pretty much the only upgrades you would need for this gun is a better barrel and some finishing touches to the gearbox to make it a long time keeper.

DBoys Kalash SLR-106U

The DBoys Kalash is a very affordable Chinese made Kalashnikov replica. It closely resembles the AK74 AKSU carbine but is not an exact replica. However the most incredible thing is that it’s almost all metal. Combine this with the tried and true V3 gearbox based AK design and good out of the box performance and you have the makings of a great gaming gun.

The company DBoys is a large Chinese manufacturer with mostly decent quality control. However with these cheaper guns you kind of have to expect there might be some tinkering involved. You get what you pay for. Usually this is something minor like resetting the hop up bucking or tightening some screws but sometimes it’s something bigger like malfunctioning gear box but this kind of malfunctions are always covered by the guarantee and most of the guns run just fine out of the box.

If you want an AK with a very affordable price tag, this is the one to get. Otherwise I would recommend getting the G&G M4 or a bit more expensive AK models.

T3

If you like big rifles or want to go German my recommendation would be the JG T3 which is modeled after The Heckler & Koch G3 battle riffle. The gun is big, solid and very cheap when you take in to consideration that it comes with a battery and a charger. Performance

JG or Jing Gong is a Hong Kong based airsoft manufacturer that specializes in making low to mid price range guns with very high quality. They essentially copy Tokyo Marui designs and upgrade them with higher performance parts. Of course the quality is not as high as Marui because, well, nothing is as high quality as Marui :). But the performance is superior out of the box.

ASG Steyr AUG

If you like something completely different looking like the crossbreed of a pressure washer and a waffle I would recommend the ASG Steyr AUG. My first gun was actually a Marui AUG I bought around 1998 and I still have it, although as a heavily modified DMR.

The Steyr AUG is and Austrian made assault rifle from the 1970s that has very futuristic looking bull pup design. bull pup means that the bolt and the magazine are situated behind the trigger. This allows for longer barrel in compact design.

The ASG AUG is a clone of the Marui AUG (noticing a pattern here?:). The performance is very good out of the box and you get the same cool features you get with TM AUG and the real AUG. These include a two stage trigger (pull half-way for semi auto and pull all the way for full auto) and quick disassembly of barrel, frame and stock which make transporting a breeze. Oh and it’s fully ambidextrous.

ASG stand for Action Sports Games and is a Danish based manufacturer of fully licensed airsoft guns and airguns. This means their replicas have high detail in finishing touches and have the same stamps as the real counter parts. I suspect the airsoft guns are manufactured in China by some large manufacturer like JG.

For the price you get a very good airsoft rifle with couple short comings. The AUG design is prone to problems with the semi fire function of the trigger. This is due to the design of the trigger connectors and is pretty easy to fix if you know what you are doing. The other is the tendency for BB feeding issues that also might need some tinkering if you encounter these problems. There are also some reports the muzzle velocity is usually less than the advertised 380 fps. This isn’t really an issue in beginners airsoft gun since the velocity id still decent (somewhere closer to 300 usually).

Conclusion

That’s my suggestions on the best beginner airsoft guns. I hope my tips help you make an informed decision and get you excited about the hobby! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about airsoft guns for beginners and I promise to get back to you soon.