Gas Power Airsoft Guns

Gas Power Airsoft Guns fire BBs using green gas. Green gas, also known as common propane, is the more powerful of the two, and is used in most guns with metal slides (upper receivers) In modern gas guns, this is usually a diflourothane or tetraflourthane gas, similar in composition to freon. This is a liquid when inside its container, and remains in that state when injected into the magazine of an airsoft gun. When a valve on the top of the magazine is tripped, some of this liquid is ejected as a gas at high pressure and operates the specific cycling mechanism of the gas gun. Gas guns can typically be grouped into NBB (Non-Blow-Back) and GBB (Gas Blow-Back) categories. NBB guns do not feature a cycling bolt or slide while GBB guns have some sort of moving bolt that realistically chambers a BB from the magazine when cycled. Most NBB and GBB guns come in the form of pistols, with detachable magazines that contain both the BBs and the gas. Some rifles and machine gun replicas are gas operated as well, whether to take advantage of the realism afforded by bolt cycling or to allow adjustable muzzle velocities.

The vast majority of all gas guns are produced in Japan and Taiwan. Modern airsoft guns typically can use both HFC134 and the more powerful green gas(propane) and HF22. It is usually recommended that the weaker HFC134 be used with Japanese guns and the stronger HF22 be used with Taiwanese models, for reasons of pellet velocity limitations and because Taiwanese models are now often equipped with metal slides rather than plastic (which is universal for Japanese guns), meaning that they can take the higher pressure and may not even cycle with lower-pressured gases.

Many older airsoft gas guns, now out of production, use CO2 or HPA nitrogen through an external tank and regulator. With the advent of electric guns, this system has become very rare, due to the high cost and instability of gas operation. But the level of quality in construction has prompted many current collectors and players to continue to favour these "classic" airsoft guns.

Recently, players have begun to use propane as a power source, which produces similar results to Green Gas. Chemical composition of green gas has been suspected actually to be either propane or a fluoropropene. Additionally, new gas airsoft gun models have appeared that are powered by standard 12 g CO2 capsules, either on a regulated external rig or build into the magazine of the gun itself.

Gas guns generally require more maintenance than an AEG or spring gun. This is because of all the seals and valves required to hold the gas, and keep the gun from leaking. They need to be lubricated frequently to keep the seals from drying up and cracking. A small solution to this is that Green Gas (HF22) has silicon lubricant in it, therefore it keeps the gun lubricated while using it. Gas guns also have certain weather restrictions, they can be used in just about any weather, however the colder it is outside the less efficiency the gas will provide. Also operating the gun in the cold could cause the valves on the gun and or magazine to freeze and not be able to work until thawed out again. That is typically why gas guns work much better in warmer climates. In the long run, gas guns are also more expensive than buying a spring gun or AEG because you must continually buy more gas to power it, and lubricant to keep it working well. As opposed to AEG's which only require lubricant, and a battery which can be recharged many