Airsoft is an active outdoor sport, played on private property or officially insured airsoft fields. The sport features matchups between players using replica firearms that fire small 6mm plastic pellets (BBs). The energy of a projectile is small, and special face protection is worn to prevent injury. These are not “soft air” rifles used to hunt small game!

Airsoft replicas come in many shapes and sizes, modeled after real firearms. This article is about electric airsoft guns, which are 1:1 scale replicas of real guns. The term “electric” comes from an electric motor that compresses a spring using a series of 4 gears. The spring, once released, drives a piston to create a blast of compressed air that propels the airsoft projectile.

This complicated assembly is called a “gearbox” because it contains 4 gears. This gearbox was originally developed by Tokyo Marui for use in their Glock 18c automatic pistol replica. Since then numerous manufacturers including Cyma, TSD, Well and Double Eagle have produced their own versions of the mini airsoft gearbox for use with stun guns.

There is a lot of confusion about what an Airsoft stun gun is and is not. Here is a summary:

Originally designed by Tokyo Marui, the airsoft electric gun (AEP):

• uses a subcompact version of the normal airsoft gearbox
• The gearbox is made of metal and offers excellent durability.
• It’s practically a mini automatic electric pistol (AEG) and shoots BBs at about 200 feet per second.
• All electric airsoft guns feature adjustable jump, about 0.20 grams BB
• The gun also comes with a 30-round metal magazine.
• The gun comes with a 7.2-volt rechargeable battery and charger.
• The slide of the pistol does not move when firing.
• It generally has 2 price ranges: 40-60$ for low-end models and 100-160$ for quality models

Often mistaken for an airsoft stun gun, the EBB uses an entirely different gearbox design and also features a blowback slide (hence the term “recoil”).

• Uses various proprietary plastic gearboxes
• Shoot about 160-200 fpm with 0.2 gram BBs
• May include a set of fixed jumps for 0.12 gram BBs
• It comes with a magazine of banana-shaped sticks.
• Usually runs on 4 x 6.0 volt Triple-A alkaline batteries
• The slide moves back when firing.
• It is usually priced in the range of 7-25$

The main difference between the two is durability. Many people are drawn to lower cost electric kickbacks as their first purchase because of the affordable price. However, the plastic nature of these weapons and the fact that they are most often used by teenagers makes these weapons break quite quickly. This often means that people think of airsoft as a cheap, dumb hobby.

An airsoft community in the United States is still quite young, so I encourage you to explore some of the most durable airsoft guns as your first purchase, and look forward to seeing you in the field!