What Is a BB Gun? BB Guns vs Airsoft Guns Explained

Ask three people what a BB gun is and you may get three answers: a plastic toy from a seaside shop, the airsoft gun a friend takes to a game day, or the air pistol that fires little steel balls. All three are right. A BB is simply a small ball, and a BB gun is anything that fires one.

The word says nothing about what the ball is made of or how hard it is fired. Players say airsoft gun or replica, and the law calls a realistic one a RIF, a realistic imitation firearm. Target shooters say air pistol. Shops and newspapers say BB gun for all of them.

The real dividing line runs between the last two. A toy springer, a spring-powered gun you cock by hand, and an airsoft gun fire the same plastic BB; one is simply built far better. A steel-BB air gun is a different product for a different hobby.

An airsoft BB is a 6 mm plastic ball. It is light, from 0.20 g upwards, and large for its weight, so it loses speed quickly. That is what makes it suitable for games between players, provided everyone wears eye protection. Many BBs are biodegradable, and plenty of outdoor sites ask for those.

A steel BB is 4.5 mm across and weighs about a third of a gram. It is small, hard and keeps its energy, and it bounces back off hard surfaces. Steel BBs are for paper targets and tin cans in front of a proper backstop.

Search for a metal BB gun and you find both. A full-metal airsoft gun has a metal body and still fires plastic BBs: heavier, sturdier and welcome at any site. A gun that fires metal BBs is an air gun, however similar it looks. The calibre on the box settles it: 6 mm means airsoft, 4.5 mm or .177 means air gun.

UK law never uses the words BB gun. It asks three questions instead. What does it fire, and how hard? What does it look like? And who is buying it? The answers put every BB gun in one of two boxes: airsoft gun or air weapon.

A two-tone is an airsoft gun that is mostly a bright colour, such as blue, green or orange. Nobody could mistake it for the real thing, so a shop may sell it to anyone aged 18 or over. That covers spring pistols and shotguns, and also proper electric rifles and gas pistols in a two-tone finish.

The same gun in realistic colours is a realistic imitation firearm, or RIF. A shop may only sell one where a legal defence applies, and for players the usual evidence is a UKARA registration, proof that you play regularly. Painting a two-tone black yourself is no way round it: without a defence that is an offence too.

A cheap spring BB gun tells you whether you enjoy shooting at a target. It does not prepare you for a skirmish, a game day against other players, where the other side has electric rifles that fire as fast as their owners pull the trigger.

And a powerful BB gun for adults? Power is the wrong thing to shop for. Every site measures the speed of your gun before you play. As a rule of thumb, sites allow about 350 FPS (feet per second) with a 0.20 g BB for guns that can fire automatically, which is roughly 1.14 joules. Their figure is the one that counts.

New gives you a clear route back: in our webshop you can return an unused product within 60 days of dispatch. Shipping to the UK costs €19.95, import VAT and duties are charged on delivery, and gas and lithium batteries cannot be sent. For a replica you confirm at checkout that you have a defence such as a UKARA registration, or you choose a two-tone. Check the energy on the product page too: the webshop serves the whole of Europe, and ordering only what the law where you live allows is your responsibility.

Second-hand gets you more gun for the same money, and used airsoft guns often come with magazines and a battery. The rules do not change in a private sale: a realistic replica may only be sold where a legal defence applies. Most listings on Airsoft Bazaar are in the Netherlands and Belgium, so start with the listings in the UK and pay with buyer protection.