Air Gun Home :: View topic - Totaly new to airsoft/BB/Pellet guns and need help

gsc3zny · New Member

I am totally new to this field, and am bombarded by info on the internet. I just need some help/advice. I want to buy an electric BB/pellet gun, and all I see is airsoft. Is there such a thing as electric BB guns or pellet guns, or is airsoft just a generic term?

Slavia · Moderator

Airsoft people call their projectiles "BB's," which can be confusing. Their projectiles are .24 caliber plastic or aluminum balls, while the "BB's" we talk about on this forum are .177 caliber steel balls. (Deriving their name by being close to 0.180" size BB shotgun shot.)

Electric airsoft guns use a motor to compress a spring, which flings the ball. Our guns use compressed gas or springs to shoot, except the power levels are higher (and, in the case of springs - compressed by muscle power). Some of our airguns do use electronics in the fire control system (i.e., the trigger). The IZH Drozd BB machine gun and the Benjamin Rogue .357 "pellet" gun are examples.

I hope that removes some of the confusion. I'm not sure what your intended use is, but here we limit ourselves to steel and lead. If that fits the bill, we would love to talk about it.

gsc3zny · New Member

Yes, that is what I want to get into, not the Airsoft plastic BB's. I'm just overwhelmed at the info-pump style, lever break away etc. I would be looking at basic entry level. such as the rifle they have at big 5 for $99.00,
A amo Hornet setup with a scope. Or would a pump action be better? thx

Slavia · Moderator

What will you be doing with the gun - paper targets, plinking tin cans, hunting, etc.? Will a smaller person be using it (i.e., young) or a larger one (i.e., adult)? Long ranges (like outdoors) or short (like indoors)? Experienced shooter or new to the sport?

gsc3zny · New Member

Slavia · Moderator

BB's are cheap and not very accurate. Many BB guns are repeaters, although there are pellet repeaters. They are usually matched with smoothbore barrels, since they will scratch a rifled bore. Lead pellets are usually matched to rifled barrels, and are much more accurate. I shoot BB's when I just want to spray metal, and lead pellets when I actually want to hit something - but not in the same gun.

There are several different powerplants, like CO2, precharged pneumatic, multiple stroke pneumatic, single stroke pneumatic, and spring/piston. Rather than give you a lengthy explanation, why don't you go poke through Pyramydair's "Airgun Academy" videos. Here's your homework, scroll down to get to the beginning:
http://airgun-academy.pyramydair.com/video/category/video/page/3/

oddtodd · Silver Status Member

I was leary of CO2 also until a buddy of mine showed up with a 1077. That little gun was a blast!Now I have several CO2 guns, and I get from 30 to 60 shots each out of a single cartridge.

I have 2 favve rifles and 1 fave pistol. My fave rifles are the Benjamin titan in .22 (Great squirrel and rabbit gun) and my Crosman 2400 custom rifle in .22 (starling and crow) My fave pistol is my 2300 custom and it even has my name and the year I bought it engraved on it. It is .22 scoped and super accurate. It's not powerful enough to do anything except knock pigeons and other small birds out of the rafters of barns though. The plus is, that slow moving pellet doesn't punch a hole in the barn roof if I miss.

As you can tell by my sig I have a lot of CO2 and break-barrel guns. I had a discovery when they first came out, but personally it was too much damned work to pump that thing up for as few a shots as I got so I sold it. This was before the shoebox high pressure booster came out, and I don't have any dive shops in my area to refill a scuba tank. I personally still don't like them. You might not like break barrels or CO2 though. Everybody has their preferences.

80 percent of pistols out there are co2 though, and 70 percent of those are bb repeaters. Those are minute of pop-can accurate, but that's about all they are good for. They are a lot of fun though. After you watch the videos just look around pyramyd's site. If you get confused or need to ask questions, that's what you have us for. There are toy pistols for around 30 bucks all the way up to super-realistic MP5s that have a blowback bolt. It's BB by the way. It will be my next purchase.

PS I have a 2240 that is 20 years old and i still shoot it all the time.

Slavia · Moderator

Here are some examples for you to consider. I'm not endorsing any of these, I am just putting them out so you can compare features. Airguns can go from $30 to $3000, and these tend to be on the low end. If you were to consider a break-barrel, spring/piston gun the list gets much longer:

The Crosman 1077 that oddtodd mentioned. CO2, repeater, uses pellets:
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Crosman_1077_air_rifle/204

The Daisy 953 - shoots pellets, charges with a single pump, single shot:
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Daisy_Powerline_953_TargetPro/585

The Crosman 2100 - a multiple pump gun. It says BB's and pellets, but it has a rifled barrel so I would only shoot pelllets. Single shot:
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Crosman_2100B_Air_Rifle/226

The Chinese QB78. CO2, shoots pellets, single shot, can be had with refillable tanks:
http://www.archerairguns.com/qb78-airgun-family-air-rifles-s/27.htm

gsc3zny · New Member

Ok, I like the Crosman 1077, but in the description it says it is 10 rd co2 powered. However I went to the local Big 5 and they said it was a break barrel. Are there 2 versions, one for Ca and one for out of CA?

Slavia · Moderator

oddtodd · Silver Status Member

Ummm slavia? THey are actually 12 rounds. lol And CO2 isn't that expensive. I buy mine at wal-mart 40 carts for 20 bucks. and when you get 30 to 40 shots out of each one it's not too bad a deal. of course the longer between shots the longer they last and the FPS stays up too. The cooler the gas from being shot quickly the more gas it uses plus the lower the pressure after 5 or 6 shots in a quick row. I have 2 norco 5s in me right now for meniscus tears and I'm not very coherent.

Lets say you get 40 shots out of each cartridge. Which is about average for me.that's 1600 shots for 20 bucks. I don't think that's bad at all. That's 1.25 cents per shot.

Slavia · Moderator