Airsoft Gas Pistol Buying Guide/Advice

Contents:
-What are your options?- (Explaining the types of gas pistols)
-GNBB Guide- (With detail about the most common types)
-GBB Guide- (With detail about the most common types)
-Personal Experience- (What gas pistols I have owned)
-Recommendations-(Skip to here if you just want some information on what to buy)

What are your options? -

GNBB; These are, generally speaking, the cheapest type of gas pistol you can buy and are ideal as a step into the world of gas pistols altogether. The basic defining feature of a GNBB pistol is the fact that its slide will not retract with each shot – this has its merits in the sense that GNBB pistols are generally more efficient on gas (more shots from a full gas refill) and have been known to be slightly more reliable – however if they DO go wrong they are often a pain to fix. GNBB pistols are also a more sensible choice for players who like to skirmish in the winter where gas efficiency is a big concern (any gas pistol is less efficient in the cold due to the lower temperature difference). The other final merit of an NBB is the fact they can be made VERY quiet – for example, the TM MK.23 with its silencer attached is almost inaudible.

GBB; These are the most common and most popular types of gas pistols within airsoft – the “blowback” part of the name means that these pistols will force their slides back with each shot in much the same way that a real pistol works, as such these often FEEL much nicer to use and are typically much more realistic than GNBB versions of the same pistols. Most (if not all) skirmishers will have at least one GBB pistol in their collection as they make absolutely fantastic backup weapons often carrying 20-25 rounds in their magazines. Because of how popular GBB pistols are there are numerous different models and types available on the market, this will be covered below.

C02 Or “Aerosol-Gas”; Something worth noting is the different types of gas used in pistols, generally speaking GBB’s are usually aerosol type because of the more delicate moving parts with Co2 being more popular with NBB models. This does not mean you cannot find Co2 GBB’s or Aerosol type NBB’s – just bear in mind that a co2 GBB pistol will need to have re-enforced internals to handle the extra force that Co2 gives off, because of this it is a good idea to not go and buy a Co2 magazine for a gun that came with an aerosol type magazine without first looking into changing some of the internal parts!

GNBB Guide (Common types)

GNBB pistols are slightly less common, meaning you lose out on a lot of the choice factor that you get with the GBB market – the most common “models” of GNBB you are going to find will be either Small “pocket pistols”, MK.23’s (or similar) and 1911’s.

Starting with the pocket pistols – things such as the HFC £20-30 range. These make absolutely brilliant tertiary weapons if kept in a spare magazine pouch or similar on your vest, they typically have magazines holding around 10-15 shots which is really quite reasonable for the size. The build quality of these (Using the HFC ones as a benchmark) is actually not TOO bad – bear in mind there are not a great deal of moving parts inside them so there is not a lot that physically makes up the guns. Externally they are pretty much “bog standard” medium thick plastic. Perfectly strong enough to last you numerous skirmishes without any issues.

Next we have the MK.23’s or anything that looks vaguely similar. Normally these will feature an external hammer and a nice, thick magazine (look at the SRC GGH0303B). These are fantastic pistols and offer some of the absolute best value for money on the entire site, they are reliable and easy to use and are damned accurate for such a cheap sidearm. Should you feel like forking out a bit more, we do stock some of the more expensive MK.23’s – the KJW version is on site for around £55 and does include the silencer; this is an INCREDIBLY quiet pistol and is perfect for night games or stealthily taking out snipers or people on watch. MK.23’s are very comfortable to hold and feel great to use, please do bear in mind that they are NOT small pistols, the real thing is chambered in .45 ACP
so the magazine is fairly sizeable. This does then have the advantage of then allowing the pistol to hold more BB’s in the magazine, generally speaking – MK.23’s have a bigger magazine capacity.

Finally in the “common” bunch, 1911’s – there are literally COUNTLESS different models of 1911 available within airsoft however most of the more exotic models are GBB only.
Generally, non-blowback 1911’s are cheap, heavy, and reasonably good performers. The only major difference between the NBB 1911’s and the MK.23’s is the size, 1911’s are much thinner and generally shorter than the MK.23’s meaning they make a good secondary for people with smaller hands! – 1911’s are very comfortable pistols to use however do bear in mind the shorter barrel length when compared to the MK.23’s will mean you lose a bit of accuracy and power.

UNCOMMON PISTOLS – As well as the standard bunch of pistols, there are always a few “odd ones” that don’t quite fit with the usual paten, for GNBB’s these are things such as Rugers or Revolvers.
Cheaper gas revolvers are generally good “for fun” guns, but WILL NOT LAST a long time – they are not ideal to skirmish with as their internals consist of a small piece of metal taking all the stress of the working – this WILL break over time and will shear if dropped or used too “rough”. This being said, revolvers are some of the most enjoyable pistols you could possibly use and are by far some of the most comfortable and realistic weapons available. As such, if you have your heart set on a revolver to skirmish with, it might be a sensible idea to save up for a Dan Wesson (the brand leader in airsoft revolvers)


GBB Guide (Common types)

If I were to actually talk about all the different types of GBB’s available this section would last forever, as such, I will talk about only the absolute most common types of pistol; i.e. – the “big three”

GLOCKS – The go-to weapon for anyone looking for a nice feeling and “permanent” pistol. Glocks are generally much more upgradable than other pistols due to the fact they are so popular, with a lot of the “popular” manufactures (WE, to name one) following the TM style design meaning parts are incredibly easy to come by and magazine compatibility is hardly ever a concern. Even with cheaper Glocks like the KJW G23’s and G17’s – while they are not TM compatible parts and magazines for these are so incredibly easy to come by even a simple EBay search will normally find you what you are looking for. While we don’t always have a lot of stock in on the WE range, we DO sell a few of the WE Glocks on site.

1911’s – 1911’s are another of the VAST range of pistols available for use as a “permanent” pistol – the TM style design offers countless upgrades for internals and externals, with custom slides being a big thing in the 1911 “custom” scene. Similar to the Glocks, WE make brilliant 1911’s that are 100% upgradable and can be repaired with absolute ease thanks to the readily available spare parts. A common variation of the 1911 is the High-Cappa, this is essentially a 1911 in double-stack form; naturally this adds the benefit of a larger magazine capacity but also adds a HUGE range of customisability with High-Cappa’s being able to be outfitted with custom magwells and grips, custom slides, sights etc.

M9’s – The last of the “most popular” of the common GBB pistols, M9’s are another brilliant option for players looking into the GBB market – while there are not nearly as many custom parts available for M9’s as there are for Glocks/1911’s there are still a fair few different options with regards to the externals; there are a number of different compensators, rail attachments (for M9’s with the smooth underside), and a variety of different grips including moulded “tactical” style grips and wood effect classic style. M9’s do have external hammers like 1911’s which can be both beneficial and a hindrance – the benefit being able to physically see if the weapon is cocked or not. The issue with external hammers is that they present an opportunity for dirt and muck to get into the workings of your pistol and jam it up; as such, it is always a good idea to clean your pistol after use!
M9’s are actually quite deceptively large pistols, they have thick magazines with a good, thick grip – this makes them very comfortable to hold and shoot with as even though they are large they are not “oversized” like a desert eagle. There are a number of decent starter M9’s on the market in the GBB world, along with cheaper KJW polymer ones similar to the KJW Glocks.


Personal Experience -

Having owned a small number of pistols in my time as a skirmisher I must say my favourite would have to be a WE G18/17; looking at the G18 - this was one of my best “all round” pistols capable of both semi and fully automatic fire, this made it fantastic at close range as it had the ability to spray BB’s much faster than my AEG at the time (a DMR). I found the WE Glocks to be extremely well made with no gripes about performance or issues with pieces sticking/rubbing. The only issue I did have was the cooldown problem, on the G17 this was hardly present however when firing the G18 on auto almost all the gas would have escaped on a short burst – this is mostly due to the colder climate in the UK however it was still a slight pain; on single shot the G18 was easily as solid a performer as the G17. As such, of the two I would PERSONALLY recommend the WE G17 as you will find most of the time you end up using the 18 on single shot, and the shot selector DOES become loose over time. (either Gen 3 or Gen 4 – both are just as good as each other), yes the G18 is far more attractive to a new buyer with its full auto but you will not get the chance to use it unless you play solely CQB. (Even for CQB if you have a relatively fast trigger finger you can achieve a fair few follow up shots using a G17). I have also had some experience with WE’s 1911’s – I briefly owned a 1911 MEU which was a truly fantastic pistol, the build quality on it was flawless with range and accuracy to match; the only reason I sold it was because something else caught my eye!

Moving to the cheaper guns, I am currently using a KJW M9 (poly) as my sidearm because of firstly, how cheap it was, and secondly how surprisingly good a sidearm it makes – because the slide is plastic it weighs almost nothing meaning hardly any gas is used to physically move it, this makes the pistol more efficient and allows it to conserve gas better than a metal pistol. Yes it’s not quite as nice to use as some of the more expensive pistols, but it is a solid performer and works well in the cold.
So far I have had no issues whatsoever with the KJW M9, and have been able to acquire some custom parts for the outside which does just go to show how easy it is to customise even the cheaper of the more common GBB’s. While on the topic of KJW, one of my first GBB’s was a KJW G23 – because of the fact this was also poly it followed the same principle as the M9, however the speed at which the slide returned on the KJW G23 is phenomenal – it is capable of some incredibly rapid firing without any problems with cooldown and (at least, mine was) very accurate.

Thinking in terms of GNBB’s, my favourite NBB pistol I ever owned was a Ruger Mk.1 – shooting at near 400 FPS it was far too “hot” to skirmish with, but made a fantastic target pistol, it was the most accurate of any pistol I have used and was incredibly cheap! (I picked it up second hand).
My favourite skirmish GNBB would have to be my USP – I got this as one of my very first pistols and it preformed phenomenally for a very long time before I sold it on, Being NBB the gas consumption was noticeably lower than my GBB’s and the power seemed to be more consistent. The USP was also one of the most comfortable pistols to hold due to the angle of the grip being “just” right; the only issue I ever had with mine was that unless you manually cocked the hammer the trigger pull was quite stiff and has a fair bit of travel before shooting, this was never really a problem in practice but it did mean rapid firing was completely out of the question.

Recommendations -

NBB’s:

For Skirmishing With:

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/src-ggh0303b-heckler-and-koch-usp-replica-gas-powered-airsoft-pistol.html
PRICE: £29.99 (ALL PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING)
Build Quality: 6/10 (Plastic Externals, Solid, but not as “nice” as metal)
Power/Consistency: 7/10
Feel/”Nice to use”: 5/10 (Lacks the nice “realism” of a GBB)

Accuracy & Range: 7/10Having personal experience with this pistol I can say with certainty that it is great value for money, at £29.99 (Price on-site at time of writing) this is one of the cheapest gas pistols that you can buy that will actually LAST. There are cheaper gas pistols available and they will most certainly work for a fair few games, but they are made from relatively cheap materials and will, over time, break. The SRC USP is still a mostly plastic gun, but the internals and all the mechanism parts (safety, hammer, etc.) are metal and of a surprisingly nice quality – the only real pain is that if something DOES go wrong they are bespoke parts so finding replacements will not be easy. This being said, in all my time using my own SRC USP I did not encounter a single fault – my main gripe with the pistol was how stiff the trigger pull was.
The range on this pistol is really quite impressive with quite a small grouping (at around 25mt) – at range I found that the accuracy was relatively consistent and the pistol was able to hit a small metal dish no larger than a dinner plate at about 45~50mt away.

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/kj-works-stealth-assassin-socom-mk23-gas-pistol.html
PRICE: £54.95 
Build Quality: 8/10
Power/Consistency: 6/10
Feel/”Nice to use”: 7/10
Accuracy & Range: 8/10 (“Silencer” increases accuracy when mounted properly)

This serves as a “step up” from the cheaper USP I mentioned above, the KJW MK23 is essentially the same as the SRC USP in terms of function – the internals work in almost the exact same way and it uses the exact same NBB system, however the KJW version allows you to manually rack the slide which in turn cocks the hammer; while the slide does not recoil when shooting this just functions for looks rather than to physically DO anything. The main real advantage of this pistol is that its accurate – with the “silencer” equipped you can make some seriously good shots at AEG range with no issues whatsoever, there is also a small rail section in front of the trigger which will allow you to mount lasers/torches. There are modifications that are documented online on how to make this gun even quitter than it already is allowing you to create a VERY stealthy weapon that would be ideal for sneaky kills that would otherwise compromise your position! This is built slightly nicer and also has MUCH more of a “long term” aspect to it due to the fact it is made by KJW, KJW are a more well-known manufacturer than the cheaper brands and also use clone TM designs meaning there ARE spare parts available for this pistol should you need them.

For “Plinking” With: (Note. I am only including my “favourite” plinking pistol, any of the NBB’s make perfect garden pistols for shooting targets or cans because of their relatively lower prices and simplicity!)

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/kj-works-ruger-mk1-airsoft-gas-pistol.html
(Please note – in the video on the site Dom calls this a Luger – this is not entirely correct, the Ruger Mk.1 is actually a real world .22 pistol!)
PRICE: £49.95 (ALL PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING)
Build Quality: 5/10 (Internals Brilliant – Externals a bit pants)
Power/Consistency: 9/10
Feel/”Nice to use”: 6/10 (Externally the plastic lets it down a tad, Metal conversions DO exist)
Accuracy & Range: 9/10 (Able to match most stock AEG’s for range with no failings)

Another of my favourite pistols, and another KJW pistol, the Ruger Mk.1 makes a truly fantastic target pistol for shooting in the garden or even for skirmishing (if your site allows it). The MK.1 is an incredibly accurate and incredibly powerful aerosol type pistol which is ideal for shooting on homemade ranges, the weapon strips down incredibly easy making cleaning trivial, and spare/upgrade parts exist that allow you to mount scopes onto the pistol should you so wish. The real Ruger Mk.1 is an INCREDIBLY popular .22 pistol and is one of the most common .22’s produced in the real firearms world; the airsoft version (quite aptly) shares the same benefits as the real thing – it’s incredibly accurate, consistent and durable with replacement parts being relatively cheap to source.
Externally this pistol is not great by any means – the plastic feels “cheap” and there is enough play in the parts when sitting idle to have a bit of rattle; internally this is solid as anything and is all metal where it needs to be; when firing there is no wobble in the inner barrel meaning your accuracy is not compromised whatsoever by the slighter cheap exterior, just do be aware that the externals do NOT by any means reflect on the quality of the pistol itself.

GBB’s:

I am going to lay this out a bit differently from the NBB section due to the fact that a GBB pistol is generally more skirmish oriented than an NBB – I won’t go into too much detail as to WHY I picked the pistols as recommendations, I will simply cover the key features!

For Skirmishing With:

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/hfc-hg186-glock-26-gas-gun-bbgun-airsoft-pistol-in-orange.html
PRICE: £79.95 (ALL PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING)
Build Quality: 7/10 (Internals Brilliant – Externals Good)
Power/Consistency: 7.5/10
Feel/”Nice to use”:8/10 (VERY nice feeling lower)
Accuracy & Range: 6/10 (Lowe range due to small size)

The Glock-26 is a sub-compact pistol which is designed for concealed carry, this airsoft version is well made and has the same huge advantage as the real one, being small it’s easy to carry on your kit and wont weigh you down – you won’t even need a holster, there is a tactic that allows for Glocks/similar size pistols to be fitted into magazine pouches, place the gun muzzle down into the pouch and secure the strap over the beavertail of the pistol. This is a very solid pistol and is upgradable should you feel the need later on.

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/kj-works-g23-gbb-in-blue.html
PRICE: £79.99
Build Quality: 7/10
Power/Consistency: 7/10
Feel/”Nice to use”:8/10 (VERY crisp blowback!)
Accuracy & Range: 7/10

Similar in principle to the Glock I spoke about above, the main real advantage of the G23 is that it is made by KJW – this means a plethora of upgrade parts are available as are spare magazines. This was one of my first pistols and was easily one of my favourites – the blowback on this was incredibly crisp and allowed for an incredibly rapid fire rate. This also did not seem to have any cooldown issues when shot at a “normal” speed. (See the description on-site for a bit more detail)


https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/src-sr-1911s-short-gas-blow-back-pistol-full-metal-in-orange.html
PRICE: £99.95
Build Quality: 8/10
Power/Consistency: 8/10
Feel/”Nice to use”:9/10
Accuracy & Range: 5/10 (Only due to the small size)

Even though Glocks are MY favourite handgun, this does not mean they suit everybody! As such, this is one of my all-time favourite 1911’s, the “stubby” version here serves the same role as the smaller Glock does – its compact and easy to use while also being powerful enough to actually WORK as a sidearm and for people to feel their hits; the downside is the small size, my hand swamped my mini 1911 and I don’t have particularly huge hands, SRC DO make a full size version of the 1911 which is linked in the description of the stubby one, but I feel the stubby version is a little more unique.
I am not entirely certain if replacement parts are available however I am sure if you asked on forums people could direct you to the right places.


https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/we-1911a-gen-3-gbb-pistol-in-blue.html
PRICE: £99.95
Build Quality: 9/10 (WE Build quality is fantastic)
Power/Consistency: 7/10 (A tad gas hungry)
Feel/”Nice to use”:9/10 (One of the nicest FEELING guns we have on-site)
Accuracy & Range: 7/10

Following on from the stubby 1911 above, this WE Gen3 1911 is another of the “nicer” handguns we have on site – even though my ownership of a WE 1911 was brief, it was one of the NICEST feeling pistols I had ever used; the build quality was superb and the blowback was incredibly crisp with just enough recoil to feel semi-realistic without adding any of the negative consequences of actual recoil!
1911’s have a nice dual safety making this a good weapon to carry holstered, and being WE means that spares and upgrade parts are incredulously plentiful (as are spare magazines). 

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/src-sr-92-a1-gas-blow-back-pistol-full-metal-in-orange.html
PRICE: £99.95
Build Quality: 8/10
Power/Consistency: 7.5/10
Feel/”Nice to use”:9/10
Accuracy & Range: 8/10

SRC’s take on the M9A1 makes this list due to the fact it is a thoroughly balanced, and good all-rounder pistol. It is ideal for use in woodland as it’s got the range and accuracy to make hits at slightly longer ranges, while being equally as suited to CQB as it is a comfortable and “user friendly” pistol that is comfortable to use and capable of relatively rapid shots without venting or cooling down too much. Being the A1 variant this also comes with an integrated rail in front of the trigger which is IDEAL for mounting lights or lasers for night/winter games. (It does get dark in the winter remember!)

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/kj-works-m92-pistol-gbb-in-blue.html
PRICE: £79.99
Build Quality: 7/10 (as with some of the other plastic guns, internals great, externals ok)
Power/Consistency: 9/10
Feel/”Nice to use”:6/10 (Plastic frame lets it down a bit in terms of “FEEL”)
Accuracy & Range: 7.5/10

My current pistol, the KJW M9 (poly) – this is a VERY nice heavyweight pistol that is incredibly efficient on gas with a really nice crisp recoil action, while you can’t fire as fast as you can with a KJW Glock (for example) it shoots quick enough to be used in a last resort situation or even when your primary is just not practical for the situation; for CQB/closer range scenarios or clearing buildings, bunkers, taking out people a little more stealthily than an AEG… etc.
While the build quality on the externals are NOT as good as a WE, or even as good as the metal version of the same pistol (which we have on site) It is a cheap, reliable, and DAMN efficient pistol that is ideal for the winter.

https://bbguns4less.co.uk/products/we-e17-gen-3-gbb-glock-in-blue.html
PRICE: £129.99
Build Quality: 9/10
Power/Consistency: 7/10
Feel/”Nice to use”:9/10
Accuracy & Range: 8/10

My current favourite GBB pistol, the WE Gen-3 Glock is a BRILLIANT sidearm for anyone looking for something to last them a long time. WE’s build quality is brilliant as is the actual performance of their pistols – the G17 being single shot only does not have the G18 fire selector which is known to become loose and cause issues; this means that you can use this and throw it about subjecting it to the general “rough and tumble” of a skirmish without worrying too much. There are an absolute PLETHORA of upgrades and spares for WE G17/18’s making it quite a sensible choice to “buy into” and keep throughout your time as a skirmisher.