Airsoft guns aren't kids toys but they are an ideal hobby for any adult; being both safe and a conversation piece as much as anything else. Airsoft handguns are available in both pistol and revolver versions. These adult toy guns use a small amount of air to fire a light plastic 6mm pellet with more than enough force to be accurate yet lacking the power to pose a real or serious danger to humans or animals. An airsoft projectile travels at between 180 and 300 feet per second and although not lethal these toys could cause serious eye damage if they were to hit a softer area of the body - the human eye being a prime example of this. All airsoft weapons should be used with caution and respect.

Plinking is a term you should get used to if you intend to be involved with airsoft as a hobby. This is airsoft dude and dudess slang for the practice of shooting tin cans or small targets with an airsoft gun. The term "plinking" is taken from the noise the airsoft bb makes when it hits the target!

There's a vast range of airsoft handguns and pistols on offer. As with most things in life there are always some favourites that never really change over time. Some of my own personal favourites are the Glock, Desert Eagle and Beretta models. This is probably because you see these most often in movies. Some of these handguns really do look and feel a lot like the real thing.

You can get airsoft handguns in spring, gas and electric models. A spring gun will have to be "cocked" (like being loaded) before each shot. Gas models usually need to be refilled after you've fired off a few magazines. The electric (AEG) models keep going until you run out of either bbs or battery power - whichever comes first. Both gas and AEG airsoft are also available in blowback models - this is where the topslide flys backwards when a shot is fired; the same way it does in the movies.

Your airsoft handgun is loaded via an ammunition clip just like a real gun. You can load the ammo clip by hand or use a speed loader if you're in a hurry. The number of bbs each clip can hold varies from one gun to the next but most handguns have space for about 20 bbs. The magazines can actually hold a lot more but they need to be stored vertically to be fed properly into the gun - to prevent jamming.

One really important note on owning an airsoft handgun is that at first glance they look exactly like the real thing - especially the Glock as the original is a composite plastic design. Please check your local, national and state laws to make sure that owning an airsoft hangun isn't against the law. There have been numerous unfortunate cases of airsoft guns being mistaken for the real thing by police officers all over the world. Newer airsoft guns are being produced with an orange flash on the muzzle so that mistakes aren't made as easily.

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