BB Gun Pistol Buying Guide

BB Gun Pistol Buying Guide

BB Guns are mostly made from a type of plastic that is referred to on this site as "ABS plastic" which is incredibly strong and durable. but some are also made of metal, and some of the high-end pistols on here are made from Polymer (a very strong plastic-like material)

In most cases of two tone pistols that are made of plastic, the plastic with be self-coloured (i.e orange plastic) but some guns that come in black are spray painted in a colour to make them legal to buy for non ukara members. when a gun has been sprayed sometimes even though it's new it may contain some imperfections like a scratch or over spray but its not that common and normally they are good. with regards to full metal bb guns, they are all sprayed (as the don't make orange metal etc) and the same will apply to them as the painted plastic guns.
lots of buyers ask for metal guns taking it for granted that they are going to be better, but that is not necessarily so as some plastic bb guns are better than full metal ones and vice versa. so long as you spending around 20 quid you should be getting a pretty robust gun, more important then a strong gun is a reliable one and in lots of examples a good plastic gun made in Taiwan is going to be better than a cheap full metal weapon made in china.

Two Tone vs Black Guns (& THE LAW)

To put it simply if you don't have a UKARA membership or your a filmmaker etc. you have no choice other than to buy a two tone bb gun as you could end up on the wrong side of the law. The first thing newbies ask us is "ain't black guns more powerful" to that the answer is no, two tone and black replicas are the exact same gun just in a different colour. If you want to try to get a UKARA membership to allow you to buy a black replica this will take you about 6 weeks to do so , to do this you will need to visit a registered skirmish site a minimum of 3 times within 2 mts. Then will have to ask the skirmish site to apply for you to become a member. The law regarding airsoft guns is unlike air rifles, as with them you can buy them face to face only with no licence as long as you are over 18, but they can't not be sent in the post. But with bbgun/airsoft guns can send them in the post. so that means you can buy any two tone gun from this site and get it delivered to you with no problem and no licence needed entirely legal. Or if you want a black gun you can buy it and get it sent to you so long as you have a valid defence like a UKARA etc. (sorry no exceptions). you have to be over 18 years old to buy a gun from us but there is no minimum age to use one with parental supervision, but we recommend 12+. for a full run down regarding the law, see our article "BBguns and the Law in the UK" 

BB Pistols generally fall into FIVE categories, each with their own advantages and disadvantages:

SPRING POWERD PISTOLS

This is the most common type of BB Gun pistol available and is the norm for most new airsoft players, they are also usually the one of the most cheap bb guns you can buy. With some spring pistols starting at only about 5 pounds. Anther reason new players looking for a pistol love this type of gun is that this weapon does not need any batteries or gas to make it shoot, This makes this category of bb gun also the cheapest to run. To fire it you simply need only for the player to pull back on the slide until it clicks then release, This makes the weapon ready to shoot, leaving you to just pull the trigger. Spring pistols will shot in a range of about 100 fps minimum and the average pistol about 250 fps and with the most powerful shooting at over 350 fps (fps = feet per second) - see also gun maintenance. Goto our Spring BB pistols 

GAS NON BLOWBACK PISTOLS (NBB)

This is a similar system to gas blowback guns, but generally is more efficient and more powerful as all the power of the gas is going to making the bullet fly out the barrel, and not to making the slide recoil. Some players prefer this type of gun as you have to refill gas less often than a gas blowbacks. also, non-blowback gas guns are on the whole cheaper to buy then gbb's are. This type of bb gun is powered either by co2 capsules or more commonly green airsoft gas, co2 pistols are usually more powerful and work better in cold climate. Also you can buy the co2 cartridges in smaller amounts (1 x 13g capsule cost about 60p). Green gas is often sold in 1000ml cans, and you would fill the mag up on a green gas airsoft gun much like you would filling a lighter. (by simply pushing the nozzle of the can up to the bottom of the mag.) a 1000 ml can of green gas costs about 10 pounds. There are lots of variables to how many shots you can get out of a can vs a co2 capsule but to have a stab at it I would say about 800 to 1000 shots to a 1000ml green gas can and about 60 to 80 shots to a co2 capsule. So it costs very roughly about 0.01p per shot to run this type of gun.
Gas airsoft guns are one of the most popular supported by airsoft skirmishers and are terrific fun to use and opposed to spring pistol you don't need to do anything to shoot this gun, you just pull the trigger and the faster you pull the trigger, the faster it will shoot. (well until the mag runs out) nbb pistols will shot in a range of about 250fps minimum with the most powerful shooting at over 500fps (fps = feet per second) - see also gun maintenance. goto our non blowback BB pistols

GAS BLOWBACK PISTOLS (GBB)

This is the second most common type of pistol we stock here and is the standard type of pistol used by almost all skirmishers at one point or another. This is a more realistic type of weapon then the other handguns we sell and will generally work and look in a very similar way to a real gun as when you pull the trigger the top slide will recoil.
In order to use a gas blowback pistol, you will need to fill the magazine with gas or if its a co2 gun you obviously use a co2 capsule. The most common type of propellant is something called Green Gas. when the mag is filled up, you pull back on the slide once, and you're ready to go. All you need to do now is pull the trigger until the weapon is empty. Gas blow back pistols are a little less powerful on the whole then nbb pistols as the power of the gas is doing more things i.e propelling the pellets and making the top slide recoil, as a result of this they will use gas faster and are not as economical as a nbb airsoft pistol. a 1000ml can of green gas costs about 10 pounds and a 13g co2 capsule cost about 60p its hard you give you a definitive answer to the costs or running a gbb pistol as there are too many variables but a very rough guess would be about 0.015p per shot. (1 and a half pence) so even though this is probably the most expensive type of pistol to use its still very cheap to run. GBB airsoft pistols will shot in a range of about 250fps minimum with the most powerful shooting at over 400fps (fps = feet per second). As for the cost of buying a Gas blowback pistol they start at about 50 pounds with the most expensive costing around 200 pounds - see also gun maintenance. Goto our gas blowback pistols

ELECTRIC PISTOLS (AEP)

More and more popular in the UK are electric airsoft pistols (aep) Some skirmishers prefer the high-end electric pistols over a gas pistol in the UK, as they are not affected by colder temperatures, and you do not have to keep refilling gas every so often like you would in a gas blowback or non-blowback. this type of pistol will come with a rechargeable battery pack and mains charger much the same a regular airsoft aeg rifle. Although there are a very small range of this type of pistol available on the market they are very popular with our buyers. cyma and double eagle are the only companies we have seen to make this type of pistol, and we are yet to see a blowback model come out yet Good quality electric pistols such as the CYMA Range have power and accuracy to rival most gas blowbacks and are a very smart choice for UK Airsofters. This type of pistol sells for around 80 pounds and the shoot in the range of around 2-300 fps (fps = feet per second) as for the kind of ammo to use we would recommend 0.2g but when you have a gun in mind, please refer to our bb pellet buying guide. - see also gun maintenance. goto our electric pistols

Regular Battery Powered Guns (Run on AA or AAA battery's)

Becoming more popular within the UK is battery powered pistols, although there are not as bigger selection of battery bb guns as there are spring pistols. we do have a few and they are great to use. Company's called UHC or blackviper make the most popular type of battery pistol, and the guns from those companies also have a great added feature of a realistic blowback function. There are also some mini rifle/pistols that also run on Regular batteries that are also good for kids as they hold loads of pellets (some over 500) and are very easy to use and reload as you just pour the pellets into the top of the gun. All of the guns here will use AAA OR AA batteries (but you can buy rechargeable ones), but one thing to keep in mind is that you need to use good new batteries like duracell or similar as batteries from the pound shop just won't cut it. This type of pistol sells for around 20-30 pounds. They are the best choice for younger not so strong kids as some smaller players will have some difficulty cocking a spring pistol as some are tough to do so. also this type of gun is lower in power than most spring guns again making it ideal for kids. Batterie pistols will shot in a range of about 100fps minimum to 200fps (fps = feet per second) with this type of pistol we would recommend 0.12g bb pellets - see also gun maintenance. goto our electric pistols

Airsoft Pistol Maintenance

The number one thing is to NEVER REUSE PELLETS, this can damage the inside of your weapon and will void any warranty given.

Pistol Ammo Type

It may sound crazy but usually, the small pack of bbs that come with the bb guns are normally low quality and we don't recommend using them. there are normally a about 50 bb pellets that come with the gun and the cost of them is almost nothing, so we recommend using your good bbs from the start. always use a good trusted brand (all of the bb pellets on bbguns4less are good quality) See our pellet buying guide for more details on the best weight pellet to use with what pistol.

Brands to look out for

SPRING PISTOLS - Go for Galaxy, or Double Eagle.
NON GAS  BLOWBACK PISTOLS- Try Y&P for a starter gas pistol or Blackviper
GAS BLOWBACK PISTOLS- Try WE or if you want something cheaper look at the well gas pistols 
ELECTRIC PISTOLS - Try a CYMA or UHC

Popular styles of hand guns.

Popular styles of pistols include Glocks, Colt 1911, Sig sauer, Walther PPK , beretta m92, colt 25 Mauser, Magnum, Desert Eagle Browning Heckler & Koch USP and Luger's but this list could go on and on. 

Pistol Holsters

Most pistols will fit most holsters but one gun style that can be tricky is desert eagles as they are a little larger than other pistols. Also Colt 25 guns are usually too small for most holsters. see our pistol holsters

Airsoft Pistol Safety

When using ANY BB gun please remember to NEVER look down the barrel, loaded or not - also do not forget to buy yourself a full face mask or at the least a set of safety glasses as eye protection is essential to using any BB gun, regardless of whether you are at home or in a skirmish. also a pistol case is essential for safe movement of weapons in public places as moving pistol bb guns in full view of the public is not a good idea and is dangerous to do so as they can easily be mistaken for the real thing. never go out doors in public brandishing bb guns even if its two tones as it could land you in a lot of trouble and always use common sense.

 
if you are interested in buying in buying a rifle check out our rifle buying guide or if you want to see our best cheap bb guns under £50 click the link.

if there is any thing we have left out please let us know & please give us a good review if you love our bb guns & pistols - it helps us out a lot and allows us to get more guns on the site!