The 3 Best Beginner Airsoft Guns

It’s a question as old as airsoft. If you been near popular forums, facebook pages, YouTube channels or even around fresh airsoft players, you’ll always hear it.

But it’s a valid question! New airsofters can be put off by the huge amount and variety of airsoft guns available on the market and, unfortunately, there’s also a huge amount of misinformation. So, here’s our guide for beginner airsofters, on the best beginner airsoft guns.

However, first things first.

Here’s what’s NOT the best beginner airsoft gun

The “best” beginner airsoft gun is subjective and open to opinion, however there are a few things which players will agree on that are not the best gun to get and could hinder your airsoft experience.

Pistols

Pistols are not a good starter airsoft gun. It may feel like it is. It’s smaller, lighter, cheaper and easier to use. However, they don’t provide a good experience for a new player, here’s why:

• Low Ammo Count (max of 25 per magazine)
• Limited Range
• Hard to aim
• Slow rate of fire

These are all downsides which can make it very hard to enjoy airsoft on your first game. Using a pistol in airsoft is recommended as a sidearm, as a back-up, not a primary. You’ll find yourself getting highly frustrated when coming up against players running fully automatic rifles with superior range.

Sniper Rifles

This is a common one for new players. New airsofters always want to be the sniper badass. However, unfortunately, airsoft sniper rifles take a huge amount of work before they’re useful in airsoft. Airsofters can put thousands of pounds into their airsoft sniper rifles before they’re considered “ready”. That’s not beginner friendly.

Rarer or less common weapon types

This one might be a little contentious, but we stand by it. Going with a less common airsoft gun design will lead to headaches down the line. Trying to be different and purchasing a Thompson, a Vector, an MP7, a minigun etc, will not serve you well. Yes, they’re cool and awesome, but they use parts that are “non-standard” and replacements and upgrades are hard to get hold of.

Should you ever want to customise your rifle, make it personal, or just replace some broken parts, you’re going to run into serious problems trying to track down parts.

So what is the best beginner airsoft gun?

The Best Beginner Airsoft Guns

The best beginner airsoft gun is a common one. It’s got a common gearbox construction and uses readily available and easy to replace parts. Here are some of our suggestions that fit the bill.

They’re not the most expensive, nor the highest quality or best performing guns on the market. However, they’re strong, reliable and have a huge range of future upgrade routes for you. So, you can make the gun truly unique to you (and perform awesome) before having to purchase something else.

G&G CM16 Raider (Combat Machine)

The G&G combat machine is a staple. It’s been around for a long time and there are plenty of variants now for all tastes. The best part about these machines is that they’re sturdy and they are reliable. G&G combat machines come in at under £200 and, if you speak to a few airsofters, you’ll find that a fair few have one tucked away in their bag, just encase their primary decides to pack it in for the day.

Valken Battle Machine

The Valken battle machine series is a new kid on the block and seems to be reading a little from G&G’s hymn sheet. Valken Battle Machines are less of a known quantity (Atleast in the UK), but Valken is a reputable brand and known for quality products. These AEG’s externals are entirely HPD (high density polymer) so you won’t find the realistic metal finish like you would on higher end AEGs. However, these savings have been put right back into the internals to make the gun a sturdy, reliable and easy to upgrade rifle for new-comers.

Classic Army Sportline

The classic army sportline series is similar to the G&G combat machine. They’re well established as some rock-steady AEGs that can go through some serious punishment. Again, Classic Army have been producing these airsoft guns for a while now and they’re pretty well regarded as a great starter weapon for those looking to get into the sport.

The “sportline” series is not limited to AR / M4 style weapons. The term is used to describe Classic Army’s budget range of AEGs. So, you can always find a weapon to match your playstyle be it more of a G36 or an AK.

Take a look at our distributor’s page, for a list of shops in your area that may stock these Airsoft Guns.