Electric Airsoft Guns
or Rifles typically use a bank of rechargeable batteries to drive an Electric motor, which cycles an internal piston/spring assembly in order to launch Airsoft Pellets. Auto and Semi Auto operation is possible, which gives these Airsoft Guns or Rifles the popular name Automatic Electric Airsoft Guns or AEG. They often attain muzzle velocities of 200 to 300 feet per second (60 to 90 m/s) and fire rates of 300 to 700 rounds per minute and are by far the most common and widely available Airsoft Guns in serious competition use today. They were originally developed in Japan, and the Japanese model giant Tokyo Marui dominates the market today with many quality Airsoft models. In a Marui AEG, the motor drives a series of 3 gears mounted inside a gearbox. The gears then compress a piston assembly against a Spring. Once the piston is released, the Spring drives it forward through the cylinder to push a pellet into the chamber, through the barrel, and forward from the muzzle. Many manufacturers have now more or less replicated this basic model, adding reinforced parts or minor improvements.
Becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to the Japanese Tokyo Marui are the Chinese Airsoft Guns, made by manufacturers such as CYMA and WELL. While these are much Cheaper than the high-end Tokyo Marui and come with all sorts of bells and whistles (laser sights, silencers, etc.) they are of much cheaper quality and cannot sustain heavy use like their Japanese counterparts.
