Topic summary
Airsoft gun
Airsoft guns (ASG or AEG) are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothboreguns designed to shoot non-metallic spherical projectiles (airsoft pellets) often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BBs", which are typically made of (but not limited to) plastic or biodegradableresin materials. Airsoft gun powerplants are designed to have low muzzle energy ratings (generally between 1.0 to 2.5 joules or 0.74–1.84 ft⋅lbf) and the pellet balls have significantly less effective range, penetrative and stopping power than conventional airgun pellets and shots, and these characteristics make airsoft guns generally safe as toy guns for competitive sporting and recreational purposes as long as adequate protective gear (e.g. protective eyewear, face shield, firm clothing) are worn over the more vulnerable exposed parts of the body.
Depending on the mechanism for pellet propulsion, airsoft guns fall into two broad groups just like conventional airguns. One group is spring-piston guns, which utilize elastic energy of a coil spring to propel pistonair pump that is either manually cocked (i.e. "spring guns", commonly referred to as "springers", and are the simplest, cheapest and generally of low quality); or automatically cycled by a battery-powered electric motorgearbox (i.e. "automatic electric guns" or AEGs). The other group is pneumatic guns (i.e. "gas guns"), which operate by bash valve-controlled pressure release of prefilled bottled gas such as compressedpropane mixed with silicone oil (commonly known as "Green Gas") or CO2 canisters (Powerlets.). Pneumatic guns can be cycled either manually by hand-pulling back the bolt or slide, which loads the subsequent shot; or automatically by having the released propellant gas also pushing back the action (i.e. "gas blowback guns" or GBBs).
Airsoft guns are often designed to aesthetically resemble real firearms, which provides more realism but also makes it difficult to distinguish them from actual lethal weapons. Despite some jurisdictions issuing a mandate of bright orange-colored muzzle tips for better identification, the strong aesthetic resemblance has led to incidents of police misidentifying airsoft gun handlers as active shooters with real firearms and subsequently shooting them under the probable cause and plausible deniability of thinking they thus pose a deadly threat.