An Airsoft gun is not a traditional BB gun. The traditional BB gun shoots out a .177 metal BB; airsoft guns shoot out 6mm plastic BB. The BBS that an Airsoft gun shoots are slightly bigger and are not made of metal. The only thing that the two have in common is the fact that they resemble a real gun or weapon. Airsoft guns are also, unable to shoot full auto like machine guns.

Some people get them confused with paintball funs. Paintballs are more single in design and don't resemble a real gun. Paintballs are mainly used for war games and they shoot plastic balls that filled with pain. The size of a paintball gun is much bigger than 6mm, almost three times bigger. Paint guns shoot like machine guns, and that isn't an airsoft gun. If you have an airsoft electric gun, then you can shoot like a machine gun, but only with an electric one.

The airsoft gun started in Japan. People in Japan where interested in having their own gun, but the law prohibits them. So the airsoft gun was designed to look like a real gun or weapon and do not break the law. Manufactures of them have a license agreement with regular gun manufactures so that they can legally make replicas and designs the same.

They are meant to look and feel like a real, firing gun, but it doesn't mean to cause deathly injuries. Don't fool yourself, any time of gun can cause some harm and can hurt if one of the BBs were to hit the skin. However, they are designed to shoot for a distance of 50-300 feet and made not to even shatter glass. If you are shot with an airsoft gun BB, you may became cut and bleed a little, but the BB will not penetrate the skin. Most injuries caused by these weapons are not life threating, but they can shoot your eye out. Professionals recommend that goggles be worn to protect the eyes.

When it comes to airsoft guns, there are three basic types of guns. There are spring airsoft guns, electric, and gas-powered guns. Each type is different in the way they shoot out the BBs. You will want to learn how to properly use your airsoft gun by refereeing the type of gun. The guns are legal in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

Some other countries also allow them to an extent. Because they look identical to real guns, many countries that forbid guns forbid airsoft guns as well. But because they look so much like real guns, you should always be cautious to where you go with one or how you act while holding one. In the United States, the nozzle of the gun needs to have an orangish, red tip so that people can differentiate if the gun is real or if it is an airsoft gun.