Airsoft guns are not classified as "real" guns, because they are 1:1 replicas of actual firearms. They are usually made of plastic or metal that propel plastic pellets known as BBs, using compressed air. A BB may be 5-8 mm round or spherical pellet weighs110-600 milligrams. Though an airsoft gun may not be real, its design and functional mechanism can be very similar to its counterpart.

There are three main types of airsoft guns - spring powered, gas powered, and electric-powered (or automatic electric guns). Spring powered guns differ from the other two, because they cannot be automatic or semi-automatic. They are spring-cocked, meaning that the user has to cock the spring by pulling back the slide or bolt before firing each shot. Spring powered airsoft guns are inexpensive and readily available. Though they may not be very suitable for close combat competitions, they are widely used for "sniper” and "marksman” functions.

Pressurized gases like propane and HFC134a refrigerant are commonly used to propel BBs by gas-powered guns. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen may also be used aren't as popular. Advantages to gas powered guns include adjustable velocities and blowback

features. Onboard or magazine stored gas storage systems are used in gas blowback guns or GBBs, using the same compressed air that propels the pellet to pull back the slide. Hence, this feature in BBGs makes them capable of automatic or semi-automatic fire.

Originally developed in Japan during the late 1990s, an automatic electric gun uses electrical power from an onboard battery to drive a motor that turns gears inside the gun to compress and release a piston. This piston creates a blast of air that propels the BB. These airsoft guns are capable of firing 600-900 rounds per minute. AEGs are widely used in competitions today.

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