Blowbackguide

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Introduction:

The first airsoft guns were powered by gas, as with today's paintball markers CO² or compressed air was used for propulsion. This was usually carried in a corresponding bottle on the back and connected to the weapon with a compressed air hose. Today, these weapons are called "Classic Guns" and achieve partly astronomically high prices among collectors. When Tokio Marui introduced the first AEGs (Automatic Electric Gun) in 1991, they quickly conquered the airsoft scene and the gas long guns moved into the background. This has not been successful with handguns, the AEPs (Automatic Electric Pistol) have not yet been able to displace the GBBs and so even today most handguns on the field are powered by gas. For some years now, GBBRs (Gas Blow Back Rifles) have been gaining popularity due to their realistic handling and recoil. Gas cylinders are also returning to the airsoft fields with the rediscovery of HPA (High Pressure Air) systems

The different gas systems:

NBB (Non Blowback):

NBBs are all gas weapons that do not use gas to create a blowback (blowback effect). Reloading is done either manually (shotguns and sniper rifles) or semi-automatically via a double action trigger (mostly pistols, more rarely long guns). Advantages - Lower gas consumption - Less sensitive to cold - Quiet - Inexpensive Disadvantages - High trigger resistance on semi-autos - Little realism - No bolt catch - Mostly no "nice" magazines The advantages are clearly in the lower gas consumption, so you can shoot from some CO² pistols even 400 rounds without problems, without having to refill the CO² cartridge. NBBs can also be made of plastic, due to the lower stress on the components. This means that they also transmit less cold to the magazine, which means that they can also be used at low temperatures. In addition, due to the non-repeating breech, NBB systems are much quieter than GBB systems and thus predestined for use with silencers. NBBs are inexpensive to produce and therefore can be had for well under 100€. Since the gas in NBB pistols is housed in the grip, they often have unsightly, narrow magazines or the magazine is permanently installed in the gun Semi-automatic NBBs have the disadvantage that due to the double action trigger the trigger resistance is higher than with GBB weapons. In some NBB pistols the bolt is movable, but does not perform any function, in other NBBs the bolt is not movable, so the realism suffers greatly. Due to the system, NBB semi-automatics do not have a bolt catch, so you only know if the magazine is empty when the gun shoots empty

GBB (Gas Blowback):

GBBs are all weapons in which a part of the propellant gas is used for repeating the breech (blowback effect). Reloading is always automatic, so all GBBs are semi-automatic Advantages: - Recoil - Realistic handling - Breech catch - Energy partially adjustable (NPAS) - Easy to disassemble Disadvantages - High gas consumption - Sensitive to cold - Loud - High wear - High maintenance - Magazine costs - Magazine capacity Due to the blowback effect, GBBs are absolutely realistic in handling, this applies to the firing behavior as well as the reloading process. When the gun is empty, the bolt is held open by the bolt catch lever, just as with a live weapon. Now the magazine can be changed and the bolt catch lever can be released again to continue shooting Since the design is similar to that of a live weapon, GBBs are also correspondingly easy to disassemble, mostly like the original. This realistic handling makes GBB handguns extremely popular with players, making GBBs the most widely used handguns on the field GBBRs (Gas Blowback Rifle), deliver the same realism as the long gun handguns. These are becoming more common on the field and have the same advantages and disadvantages as GBB handguns. Some newer GBBRs have a NPAS (Negative Pressure Adjustment System) built in, or can be retrofitted, which allows the energy to be adjusted. The colder it is, the lower the energy should be set, because then less gas is needed and the magazine does not cool down as quickly Since part of the gas is used for the blowback effect, the gas consumption is higher with GBBs than with NBBs. Due to the higher metal content of the magazine, GBBs are more sensitive to cold than NBBs and are more prone to the cooldown effect. The noise level when firing is also higher than NBBs, but a silencer will still give good results, although the dampening performance is not as high as NBBs GBBs have a higher wear rate than NBBs because the parts rub against each other, and GBBs also need to be serviced more often

HPA (High Pressure Air):

HPA weapons are supplied with compressed air via a hose (RemoteLine) from a cylinder that is either mounted on the equipment, in the player's backpack, or installed directly in the weapon Advantages - Almost temperature independent - High rate of fire - Constant values - Energy adjustable - Inexpensive AEG magazines can be used Disadvantages - Bottle must be carried - Hose can be felt disturbing - In the event of leaks can not continue to play - Bottle cannot be refilled easily HPA systems can be installed in both long and short guns, they have the advantage that they work with pure air and are therefore almost temperature independent. In addition, the high rate of fire and the constant values. A regulator can be used to quickly adjust the energy to the prevailing conditions or rules of the game. Another advantage is that normal AEG magazines can be used with HPA systems. HPAs are a step backwards to the time before AEGs changed the airsoft world, either the cylinder must be installed directly on the weapon, which usually greatly affects its appearance, or the cylinder is carried on the equipment. To do this, it must be connected to the gun via a compressed air hose, this connection can be very obstructive when playing, but this feels different for each player If something is leaking at the HPA system, the complete HPA bottle can empty, if there is no spare bottle, or possibility to fill it, it is not possible to continue playing with the weapon. The filling of the bottles is only possible with a compressor with a working pressure of 200-300bar, such a compressor costs new around 2000€. The bottle can also be filled in a dive store, paintball store / playground or if you have good connections also at the fire department, usually for a small donation to the coffee fund

Gas types:

There are many different types of gas, which can be divided into 4 categories Weak gases e.g. Begadi Light Gas, Begadi Maintenance Gas, Predator Gun Gas 144a These gases are relatively weak and suitable for GBBs with plastic slides and NBBs. Maintenance Gas has a high percentage of silicone and as the name implies is meant for maintaining the seals inside and not for shooting, it can also be used to maintain GBBs or GBBRs Universal gases e.g. Abbey Predator Ultra Gas, Abbey Brut Sniper Gas, Ultraair Power Gas These gases can be used universally for both NBBs and GBBs (metal and plastic variants). The Predator Brut Sniper Gas has no silicone content, so it offers the perfect performance even for semi-automatic weapons, but the seals must be maintained accordingly often. The Predator Ultra Gas is suitable for winter use Green Gas e.g. Begadi Green Gas, Begadi Power Gas, Protech Gas, Swiss Arms Extreme Gas, H&K Power Gas, Walther Airsoft Gas, Elite Force Airsoft Gas These gases are strong and should only be used in full metal guns and are partially winterized Strong gas e.g. CO², Red Gas, Black Gas CO² is winterized, but very strong and often too strong in handguns for short distances, but there are more and more CO² handguns which are on the level of Greengas. Red Gas does not meet the EU safety guidelines and is therefore no longer available To find the right gas for your own gun, you can either rely on the experience of other players with the same model, or you can slowly feel your way to the optimal gas starting with the weakest gas. This is found when the slide repeats completely, the slide catch always works and no gas escapes when shooting. Winterized This term is found with many types of gas, but from 10° down gas guns are barely playable, regardless of what gas is used

Cooldown Effect:

The cooldown effect occurs at low temperatures or very rapid firing sequences. The gas cools down the magazine more and more, the colder the magazine becomes, the longer it takes for the gas to change from a liquid to a gaseous state, which also reduces the shooting performance and precision. If the magazine gets even colder, the rubber seals contract and it can happen that the gas empties all at once. An incipient cool down can be easily recognized on the magazine, the colder the magazine the more likely the cool down effect. The colder the outside temperature, the more likely the cool down effect. You can counteract this by carrying the magazines close to your body to keep them warm and by shooting only slow bursts. The quality of the seals and internals also plays a role in the cool down effect. If the cool down effect occurs with CO² weapons, special care is required, because by emptying the complete CO² cartridge, parts of the weapon can ice up, these parts should no longer come into contact with bare skin In general, temperatures below 10°C are a problem for gas guns, due to the shifting aggregate state and the changing expansion of the gas, functional problems and performance losses occur. NBBs are relatively well protected from the cold by their plastic casing and lower metal content, while the metal content in GBBs acts like an accelerant Criteria that play a role in gas weapon selection Players For playing, the handgun should not be more powerful than 1 joule, because these are mostly used at short distances and should not pose an unnecessary risk to the opponent. In the meantime there are some CO² handguns under 1 joule, but at some events CO² is still forbidden for handguns. When playing, the camouflage factor should always be considered as well, a chrome polished pistol is not very useful here Training For training, you can theoretically use any GBB/NBB, even powerful weapons AIPSC In Airsoft IPSC, the weapons are often heavily modified technically and optically, here you should make sure that you select a model for which sufficient tuning parts are also available. In addition, the weapon must comply with the AIPSC regulations GBB or NBB The advantages and disadvantages have already been listed, you should consider what is more important to you personally

Maintenance and care:

All gas guns must be maintained regularly, for this purpose there are special means, which usually have a silicone content. Normal oil or even care products intended for sharp weapons must not be used under any circumstances for gas weapons, as their ingredients attack the seals. Parts that do not contain seals, such as the trigger group, can be treated with grease or gun oil. It should be noted that grease and oil will retain dirt, so it should only be used in small quantities. The seals on the magazine (inlet valve, outlet valve and outlet seal) should be treated well with silicone oil or silicone grease. For CO² weapons, the seal on the piercing mandrel of the CO² capsule must also be considered. If magazines are stored, a small amount of gas should be left in the magazine to keep the seals under pressure, this protects the seals from drying out. This is not necessary with CO² weapons, as the gas is not taken from a "buffer" but directly from the cartridge. CO² weapons should never be stored with an inserted cartridge, as the high pressure can overload the seals Gas guns can also be maintained internally well with maintenance gas, for this purpose the magazine is filled with the gas and a few shots are fired. There are special maintenance cartridges for CO² weapons Of course, gas guns must also be cleaned of dirt (dirt, sand ...) to ensure proper function. Recommended Youtube Videos Sealing of a Gas/Co2 Magazine (REAPERs Airsoft) Repair of a Gas Magazine (Q-Airsoft )