The first rule of safety when you buy an airsoft gun is to make sure you know how to use it correctly. In the case where you are not aware of safety rules, you should give your best in trying to find them out and following them. Due to negligence as to the safe use of these guns, the mortality rate related to airsoft guns reaches approximately four deaths per year in the United States.

One of the most overlooked safety rules is that you are not allowed to shoot at a flat surface, wall or water because of the tendency of the bb's backfire effect. Another thing overlooked by children and beginners is that they should never reuse the ammunition, even though it might be more expensive to buy new one. Reusing your pellets is not placing only your safety at risk, but it also damages your gun, reducing its accuracy.

BB guns are used for target practice and for recreation, but they can be used in competitions as well, because it is possible to shoot competitively with one. The National Rifle Association has a youth program for smoothbore BB guns, from the age of 8 to 15. It is a program particularly popular among Boy scouts of America and 4H. In order to hit a small target (the size of a BB) from 5 meters away requires a very accurate gun and very consistent BBs. The common used gun for this type of competitions is the spring piston Daisy model 499, with the number 515 precision ground BBs, specially made for the 499.

When shooting an airsoft gun you must take into account the distance that you shoot from and the angle from where you launch your shot. In addition, you have to be protected from possible BBs ricocheting by a sand hill, sand bags or any other type of protection available. The same as it happens with all guns, there are risks involved, especially to what concerns your eyes, which have to be protected all the time. For beginners one useful tip is to attend a course before handling any kind of airsoft rifle or pistol, even if it seems very easy to use it.

Some of the new BB guns are shaped after famous gun brands such as Colt, Smith & Weston and Sig Sauer to give the owner an extra thrill when they use the gun. Even though this is not a violent sport, some people do not agree with the sale of any type of gun. They believe that kids who use this type of guns will eventually buy real firearms and that they might be tempted to use them on other humans or animals.

Occasionally, you can find available airsoft guns that, in fact, are replicas of fictional firearms from different movies, such as the M41A Pulse Rifle from the movie Aliens. Owing to their visual accuracy they are sometimes used as props. Even though there are mainly three types of BB guns, spring, gas and electric, they all work on the same principle of gas being compressed and then expanded with force down a gun's barrel. The detail that makes you know for sure you are dealing with a BB gun is the clear plastic barrel or the orange tip.

Just like a real firearm, the barrel of a BB gun should be cleaned after every use, especially if it was used in sandy environments. After playing Airsoft it is recommended that you fire a few shoots to decompress the spring and empty the magazine in order to preserve its strength. Finally, keep in mind that safety should always come first. No matter how much fun you could get out of using such recreational arms, don't get too lost in it and forget about the basic rules of protection. What you should remember is that it is always better to be safe than sorry.