The guns used in Airsoft are typically replicas of real firearms. Airsoft guns can be divided into three groups by what powers them: spring powered, electric powered, and gas-powered.

Spring-powered guns are cocked manually (by racking the slide with pistols, or operating the bolt with rifles), and fire based on the action of the spring, usually by way of pushing a piston to produce high-pressure gas.

Gas-powered guns operate by storing high-pressure gas in a chamber, and releasing the gas into the chamber in order to propel the pellet, and usually (but not always) some of the gas is also used in blowback operation in order to cycle the internal mechanism.

Electric airsoft guns often utilize gas pistons as spring-powered guns do, but automate the cycling of the bolt using a gearbox, rather than relying on manual operation.

Posted by Airsoft Reviews in Airsoft Beginners Guide