Airsoft gun

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Airsoft gun" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Airsoft guns are replica guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore air guns designed to shoot non-metallic spherical projectiles (bb) often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BBs", which are typically made of (but not limited to) plastic or biodegradable resin materials. Airsoft gun powerplants are designed to have low muzzle energy ratings (generally less than 1.5 J, or 1.1 ft⋅lb) and the pellets have significantly less penetrative and stopping powers than conventional airguns, and are generally safe for competitive sporting and recreational purposes if proper protective gear is worn.

Depending on the design mechanism for pellet propulsion, airsoft guns can be categorized into two groups: mechanical, which consists of a coil spring-loaded piston air pump that is either manually cocked (e.g. spring guns) commonly referred to a springers and are the cheapest and generally low quality, or automatically cycled by a battery-powered electric motor gearbox (e.g. AEGs); and pneumatic, which operates by valve-controlled release of prefilled bottled gas such as compressed propane mixed with silicone oil (commonly known as "Green Gas") or CO₂ canisters (e.g. GBB guns), more often mistakenly described as rifles.

Airsoft guns are often designed to realistically resemble actual guns, making it difficult to distinguish them despite the orange muzzle tips in some jurisdictions. This has led to police shooting airsoft gun handlers believing these are real firearms and a deadly threat.^[1]