The difference between an airsoft gun and a BB gun

[Cerbo Knight]

Airsoft gun : what we use.

Air gun : something that fires .177 or .22 pellets using Co2, or compressed air.

BB gun : Some cheap crappy thing you buy from a corner shop!

 

[Nickona]

As an airsofter (new one at that) and a Airgunner i find the two cannot be compared.

Airsoft is for fun and realism and shooting people without them coming to harm ect.. ect..

Airguns are for targets, hunting and destroying stuff (see my youtube channel )

They are not really compareable

P.S since this thread I've become really petty about people calling airsoft guns bb guns

 

[craig]

arint bb/airguns also called pellet guns ?

 

[Mitchell Gee]

BB guns are more powerful than airsoft guns... i think they got dubbed the name so corner shop owners could sell cheap airsoft guns to people thinking "ooooooooo, its a BB gun, we can kill my brother!" but now they are known as cheap airsoft guns, but the truth is there airguns that fire metal BB's...

 

[MZKaleem]

....Airsoft guns, to be fair ARE BB GUNS!? Guns firing bb's means BB gun, IMHO to be honest.

EDIT just realised i wrote "In My Honest Opinion To Be Honest"

 

[Mitchell Gee]

in a way you could look at it like that i guess... but officially BB guns are a form of potentially deadly airguns

 

[G-Force]

BB - Ball Bearing

 

[Nickona]

you can buy bb's that will shoot from a .177 but not really from a .22

 

[DABAS]

Please note, what is written is copy and pasted from answers.com but edited to apply for the UK and not america...
Airsoft Guns shoot 6mm plastic BB, usually around 300 Feet per second (FPS,) some faster, some slower. The law requires that all air soft guns and rifles have at least 51% of the gun brightly coloured, unless it was purchased before the VCRA act in 2007 or the buyer has (or had) a UKARA license at the time of purchase. They sting you when they hit you.

BB Guns shoot smaller .177 (4.5) steel BB's starting at 300 FPS up to 1,000 FPS in the more powerful rifles. These guns do not have to be 51% brightly coloured or require a UKARA license to buy them because they are not toys and can be deadly. BB guns are part of the family of "Pellet Guns" that shoot pellets or BB's but are also driven by compressed air just like the BB guns.

BB and Pellet guns can do serious damage to a person if they hit you.

We have all had that moment when some person who thinks shooting someone with a gun (airsoft or over wise) fun, they come up to you and say "I shot my friend with a BB gun yesterday" then you respond with something like "What the **** you could of killed them" then that is responded to with "Well you do it with expensive ones..."

Always an awkward moment...

Thanks,

Mitchell

Can somebody help me out here as either i'm an ass or the law is,So if you want a natural non orange airsoft plastic firing, not ball bearing,rifle/gun you need to be a member of a skirmish club.But if you want to buy an airgun or air rifle capable of firing .22 and potentially killing you don't need to be a member of any club just over 18 am I right???

 

[M_P]

correct

 

[Cerbo Knight]

Wrong.

You don't need to be a member of any skirmish site, you just need to prove that you're a regular skirmisher.

And yes, you can buy an air rifle at 18 with no further restrictions.

Also, nice intro post. It tells us all about you doesn't it?

/sarcasm

 

[M_P]

You know what i mean, close enough

 

[DABAS]

Thanks for replying so quick but in my day...well late 1980s I started out with a g10 bb's darts and pellets then I went on to a WEIHRAUCH spring loaded pistol,just messing about in the garden with targets.

But now many years later in my late 30's and with a ten year old son interested in guns/rifles(too much black ops on the xbox,but he has got a long way to go to catch my gamerscore )I have started looking online for bb guns, air rifles and have just discovered airsoft but I am not too keen on the plastic guns/rifles and are they any good if your shooting at paper targets?

I suppose a happy medium would be good a couple of airsoft guns/rifles for us to run around in the garden shooting at each(with eye goggles) other presuming the(non sarcastic meaning comment coming up)plastic bb's don't hurt, as i've never used them, in my day there was no elf n safety it was metal bb's all the way pot shotting at each other. My son and I are getting fed up with those nerf toys r us guns foam things.

Then the second part of the medium would be an air rifle for target practice.

Any advice would be much appreciated, sorry about the sarcasm even my wife gets pissed off with it sometimes )

 

[Cerbo Knight]

You get a little sting, depending on how close you are but nothing you couldn't handle

If 11 year olds can do it, then I'm sure anyone else can

And commenting on the plastic rifles part, with the higher end stuff it's like they're almost real. They are just built that well (in most cases, again mostly higher end gear)

Nerf guns can't hold a candle to airsoft

 

[DABAS]

You get a little sting, depending on how close you are but nothing you couldn't handle
If 11 year olds can do it, then I'm sure anyone else can

And commenting on the plastic rifles part, with the higher end stuff it's like they're almost real. They are just built that well (in most cases, again mostly higher end gear)

Nerf guns can't hold a candle to airsoft

Thanks,

Any airsoft guns/rifles or websites you would recommend to get us started I had a look at justbbguns website but was put off by the orange and clear plastic and as my son is not yet twelve he can't join a club or be a regular skirmisher so it looks like natural looking guns/rifles is out of the question unless I go on my own.

I did have a look at a few youtube skirmishing videos and noticed that it seems to be on trust as when I used to go paintballing(was it that long ago :huh: ) it was visible i.e the paint, but with airsoft there is no visible sign.

Thanks again.

 

[Bagerz]

I thought airsoft guns are bb guns. BB stands for ball bearing, and airsoft guns shoot ball bearings, however i do admit when someone says bb gun i do think of the crapper pistols sold at bargain world :L

 

[G-Force]

Thanks, Any airsoft guns/rifles or websites you would recommend to get us started I had a look at justbbguns website but was put off by the orange and clear plastic and as my son is not yet twelve he can't join a club or be a regular skirmisher so it looks like natural looking guns/rifles is out of the question unless I go on my own.

I did have a look at a few youtube skirmishing videos and noticed that it seems to be on trust as when I used to go paintballing(was it that long ago :huh: ) it was visible i.e the paint, but with airsoft there is no visible sign.

Thanks again.

First of all: DO NOT BUY FROM JUST BB GUNS, THEY ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR SKIRMISHING :lol:

Secondly your son may still be able to play because I started airsoft at the age of 10, it just depends on the site. Airsoft is a game based on trust however most players take their hits and those who don't are usually caught out. Anyway it's no fun for anyone when people don't take thier hits but it's pretty rare we get cheaters anyway and sometimes people aren't aware they've been hit.