Airsoft Rifles

What is an airsoft rifle?

Airsoft rifles are primarily used for short to intermediate range engagements due to their longer barrels giving them greater range than pistols and SMGs but less than dedicated sniper rifles. Airsoft rifles encompass the full variety of real firearms ranging from lever-action rifles to fully automatic assault rifles like M4s and AK47s but are mainly divided into their power source and methods of propulsion. These include:

Spring Airsoft Rifles

Spring rifles are the easiest to use and least expensive to buy, they are operated by manually pulling back the bolt or lever 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 Rifles

Electric airsoft rifles also known as AEGs offer ease of use, consistent performance and reliability that can last an entire day. AEGs 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 AEGs may not offer the most realistic shooting experience compared to more popular gas blowback rifles, AEGs require less maintenance in game and offer consistent performance regardless of temperature making them ideal for newer shooters.

Gas Airsoft Rifles

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

NBB rifles like the Novritsch SSX303 are gas-powered but do not feature the reciprocating bolts of GBBs. Whilst lacking realism, NBBs are very gas efficient as no gas is used moving a bolt which also means NBB rifles tend to shoot harder than equivalent rifles 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 of gas rifles because they are much more fun to shoot. Gas blowback airsoft rifles have bolts 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 bolt 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 rifle?

Airsoft rifles can have a significant price range determined by a number of factors including construction materials, R&D and production quantity. The price can also be affected by your personal preferences as the more power, accuracy, durability 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 GHK will cost remarkably more than brands that tend to make unlicensed clones.

What is the best airsoft rifle?

As mentioned above, airsoft rifles can be divided based on their method of propulsion, for electric AEGs we recommend the KRYTAC War Sport LVOA-C and for GBBs we recommend the Tokyo Marui M4 MWS series. It is also important to note that there are a huge number of airsoft rifle platforms out there that each with their unique features and advantages. Ultimately finding out what is best for you is dependent on a combination of assessing the rifle’s shooting performance, reliability, internal and external build quality, value and collectability.

How to clean an airsoft rifle?

Like a car, an airsoft rifle 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 rifle 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.