Do not buy an airsoft purely for looks... unless you're planning on using it as a prop only. Many people get fooled because the gun is not made of see through plastic. Regardless if it is clear or colored black... plastic is plastic. More expensive AEGs will run about $500+ and shoot atleast 280+ FPS. Make sure on the specs also to see what weight bb the gun was firing for testing. The most common sizes are .12 / .2 / .25 / .28 and of course the heavier the bb the slower it will go, but become also more accurate. Many people think "Oooh wow... this is a nice cheap electric gun and it only costs 30-40 dollars!" Do not waste your money on any cheap AEGs because they barely work even for novices in the airsoft world. I bought a cheap M-16 [AEG] and my friend had a spring loaded shotgun. To my surprise the cheaper spring loaded shotgun had better accuracy. My gun obviosly shot faster, but he could barely feel the bb's hit him across a small yard. You could shoot him in the arm from 40 yards away and you might feel something similar to a rain drop. If you are new to the sport of airsoft and not a minor, try a mid-range AEG that shoots 250+ fps. I wouldn't really recommend buying these items for younger children because some of these guns can pierce skin. Most airsoft players have checked out shortyusa.com and you should atleast look at reviews etc. before committing yourself to a purchase. Gas powered handguns with blowback are also quite powerful and could be a better alternative to an AEG. Gas provides high power with high preformance. Electric handguns aren't my favorite just because of the low velocity they carry. You can always take out the semi-automatic strip to make it a full-auto hand gun...there are other things like adding an extended clip and more battery power in a series to increase the speed and distance. I recently tried my friend's gas powered handgun and was quite surprise. It had a great punch to it and also came with a heavy price tag. Gas guns are not cheap, but are really quite nice. Don't worry about things like silicon lubricant if you're a new players as well. The chances are that your gun is so junky that the lubricant won't make the preformance noticeably better.

-Cheaper spring guns > Cheaper AEGs
-Look for what the gun is made out of. Most sellers will brag about how much metal is included.
-Look for certain specs like fps/muzzle velocity
-Hop-up [The spin a bb takes can be adjusted with hop-up... more hop usually means more spin and more accuracy for longer distances]
-Accesories like scopes will needs proper mounts
-Speed loaders are great rather than putting in each individual bb into a cartridge
-DO NOT BE FOOLED WITH A LOT OF ACCESORIES. Many companies will put in things like lasers, scopes, tripods, lights etc. but do not buy a gun for the accesories. The laser might be the only cool thing in the box. Most of these parts will die or break in your first couple times of use. These things distract buyers from the real product; the gun.


There are a lot of kids who just buy a simple spring loaded handgun and end up making dumb videos of themselves shooting their friend. There is really no reason that an airsoft gun should be used for that purpose. Please make sure to always wear protective eyewear because bb's do bounce. I also would not recommend playing CQB in your house and airsofting in public places is illegal. The best places to airsoft are private owned wooded areas or actual airsofting location.