Can anyone recommend me a decent beginner airsoft pistol??

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

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I've been wondering about getting hold of an airsoft/bb pistol - predominantly to use with the kids in the back garden to shoot targets etc (ie. I'm not looking to get into the actual activity....well not yet anyway! ;))

Can anyone recommend me a decent budget handgun and also share any opinions on whether spring or gas powered are better? (and why?)

Thanks for any help...
 
Start them off with a cheapo spring pistol and see how they get on.

Ensure everyone has eye protection and hang a drop cloth behind the targets as airsoft BBs ricochet like crazy.

Tokyo Mauri GBBs are the Hondas of airsoft as they just keep going providing you run decent gas and quality BBs through them.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

This might be a stupid question but can the little pellets be re-used? I know they are probably quite cheap but since I'm going to be hanging a sheet behind any targets I'm assuming that they will be easy enough to collect and re-use assuming they are not warped from the firing?
 
Please make sure whatever you get is securely locked away when you're not around!
I've seen too many kids (including me) injured as a result of air weapons. Worse still animals killed or left to die a slow painful death.
 
Gas powered generally not the best for a beginner/starter. Bare in mind as well that unless you are UKARA registered then you aren't supposed to be able to buy or be sold a realistic looking gun only toy looking.
 
StevieP said:
Thanks for the suggestions!

This might be a stupid question but can the little pellets be re-used? I know they are probably quite cheap but since I'm going to be hanging a sheet behind any targets I'm assuming that they will be easy enough to collect and re-use assuming they are not warped from the firing?
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Nope, never use “pickups”. You might get away with it in £20 springer, but you’ll totally ruin a decent GBB doing this.
 
Dis86 said:
Please make sure whatever you get is securely locked away when you're not around!
I've seen too many kids (including me) injured as a result of air weapons. Worse still animals killed or left to die a slow painful death.
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Not a worry - this will only ever be used under strict supervision and will be locked away where little fingers can't get near!

Rroff said:
Gas powered generally not the best for a beginner/starter. Bare in mind as well that unless you are UKARA registered then you aren't supposed to be able to buy or be sold a realistic looking gun only toy looking.
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Fair enough - although what constitutes "toy looking"? - I've seen various guns online with the small orange barrel - is this sufficient or does it need to all be a garish colour to qualify? (and how is this enforced? what got me thinking about one of these was wandering through a shop on Skeggy seafront where you could pick up a fairly "real" looking pistol for about £15!)
 
Dis86 said:
Please make sure whatever you get is securely locked away when you're not around!
I've seen too many kids (including me) injured as a result of air weapons. Worse still animals killed or left to die a slow painful death.
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We’re talking about airsoft weapons, not air weapons. 1 Joule muzzle energy limit in the UK. They only way these can injure you is if you get hit in the eye.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
We’re talking about airsoft weapons, not air weapons. 1 Joule muzzle energy limit in the UK. They only way these can injure you is if you get hit in the eye.
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Which is exactly what I've seen. Or in my case it was the neck which caused...issues.
 
Either way I'm not gonna chance a trip to A&E with either of the kids!

Is there a decent starter pistol anyone can recommend for home use? (or point me towards a decent UK retailer?)
 
Terminal_Boy said:
We’re talking about airsoft weapons, not air weapons. 1 Joule muzzle energy limit in the UK. They only way these can injure you is if you get hit in the eye.
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That's if the gun can fire more then one round at a time as far as I'm aware. Single shot higher like 5/520 fps.

I believe all airsoft guns can be sold without a UKARA or similar licence as long as they're purchased with a 50/50 dual tone paint scheme (which I'm guessing people remove afterwords anyways)
 
Dis86 said:
Which is exactly what I've seen. Or in my case it was the neck which caused...issues.
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With regulation stuff unless you get hit in the eye shouldn't be a problem - one site I got hit on the hand by someone using Teflon coated BBs (fortunately marshals were on the ball and escorted them off site almost immediately - though they probably should have been checking what people were bringing of their own) even with gloves on that HURT and left quite a mark for days.

EDIT: Good point above though that some single shot stuff at close range is another story.

StevieP said:
Either way I'm not gonna chance a trip to A&E with either of the kids!

Is there a decent starter pistol anyone can recommend for home use? (or point me towards a decent UK retailer?)
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I've had good results in the past with https://wolfarmouries.co.uk/ but that was a long time ago now.

Personally I'd be tempted to suggest an SMG (though might be a bit more expensive if you are on a budget) over a pistol unless you are set on a pistol as they tend to be a bit easier to maintain, etc. but others might have a different opinion.

Also you should be able to buy tons of biodegradable BBs really cheap making reuse not hugely worth it but that is entirely up to you. Airsoft guns tends to induce spin on the BBs when fired for better distance/accuracy which tends to mean they go flying when they hit a harder surface and will go all over the place a soft backdrop will help a bit.
 
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Dis86 said:
Which is exactly what I've seen. Or in my case it was the neck which caused...issues.
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What injuries did it cause? I’ve been hit at near point blank range with highly tweaked GBBs running green gas using heavyweight BBs and never had worse than a few bruises and welts.
 
I have some small but permanent scars on my hand/arm from behind hit close range on bare skin. Sometimes you get one which really stings. I've also seen a couple of people get their front teeth shot out, which is pretty messy.

A lot of people don't use a full face cover, just goggles. But you really should avoid close range if you do that.

If it's back yard stuff, don't use proper airsoft guns.
 
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Terminal_Boy said:
What injuries did it cause? I’ve been hit at near point blank range with highly tweaked GBBs running green gas using heavyweight BBs and never had worse than a few bruises and welts.
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In my case? Hit me right on one of the blood vessels in my neck. Blacked out and hit the ground like a sack of spuds!
 
StevieP said:
what got me thinking about one of these was wandering through a shop on Skeggy seafront where you could pick up a fairly "real" looking pistol for about £15!)
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My brother picked up one of these once - a fairly realistic looking spring Desert Eagle was fairly limited in range but I think they've made the rules a bit tougher these days - there seems to be a bit of a grey area between toys and low powered BB guns like those.
 
Wait, is this airsoft thing just militant BB guns then? I always thought it was those metal/lead pellet things we used to shoot, not the toy bbs
 
NVP said:
Wait, is this airsoft thing just militant BB guns then? I always thought it was those metal/lead pellet things we used to shoot, not the toy bbs
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Airsoft uses spring/electric or gas and usually designed around fairly low power and softer plastic like BBs not like air guns that use compressed air and fire steel BBs, etc.
 
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