Gas Blowback Pistols Compared to Non-blowback Pistols

Airsoft Pistols come in many different shapes, weights and sizes. Most are replicates of real pistol models and used not only in war games between youth, but also in the military and police force for practice. They are loads of fun to shoot and a great backup shooter just like in the real world. Military soldiers use their rifles for the main shooting and pistols as backup shooters as a last resort.

Size and weight are two of the main features you want to pay attention to when deciding what pistol to buy. Once you've decided what size and weight you want to carry around with you and hold in your hand, another key feature to think about is blowback vs non-blowback.

Each type has pros and cons, so consider these points before making your purchase.

Blowback

KWA ATP Training Pistol

The majority of pistols or handguns on the market these days are GBB (gas blowback) because they give the shooter a real pistol action and feel. GBB guns vary in price, quality and effectiveness.

Pros
Experience. GBB pistols provide a realistic and eye-catching blowback action that cycles the slide with every shot. The gun function and feel is as realistic as it gets compared to the average non blowback pistol. When you pull the trigger of a GBB pistol, you'll feel immediately satisfied with the gun action, its biggest plus!

Upgrading. One not-so-immediately-noticeable benefit of airsoft gas blowback pistols is the number of available spare parts and magazines. The reason being has to do with the number of manufacturers. There are many more GBB manufacturers compared to non-blowback ones. The only daunting task involved in finding spare parts to fix or upgrade a pistol is when it comes to choosing a manufacturer. Another benefit is pricing because there are so many companies vying for business; supply and demand!

Cons
Maintenance. Because of the gas blowback action involving many moving parts, GBB pistols can develop problems causing the guns to malfunction unless they are well taken care of and cleaned. As long as they are well maintained, they should operate without problem just like a real handgun.

CO2. One of the biggest drawbacks to using a GBB pistol, which many may consider a minor issue, comes from using extra CO2. Pistols that have gas blowback use a little extra CO2 in order to cycle the slide back and load the next round. Compared to non- blowback pistols BGG ones are not as efficient which can mean victory or defeat because you run out of CO2 and have to load more into the pistol leaving yourself open to attack.

The KWA ATP Training Pistol is a great gun to shoot and use to target practice. It's weight and feel are very realistic.


Non-blowback

WG Sport 306

Non-blowback pistols aren’t as popular as blowback pistols because they don’t have the real pistol blowback feel or appeal and there are fewer manufacturing companies creating these handguns.

Pros
Efficiency. Gas non-blowback pistols have far fewer moving parts so they are much more efficient with their gas usage allowing shooters to pop off a larger number of shots. And because there are fewer parts moving around in the gun, maintenance is lower so fewer chances of the guns fouling up while in a shootout.

Price. Non-blowback pistols are generally more affordable than gas blowback pistols, which makes them excellent choices for shooters who are trying to enlarge their arsenal on a budget.

Weight. Non-blowback pistols generally weigh less because they have fewer moving parts to weigh the down and many models have plastic parts instead of metal.

Cons
Less diversity. There aren’t as many non-blowback automatic pistols  to choose from compared to the number of blowback models. Also, a minor drawback is the majority of gas and CO2 powered non-blowback airsoft guns are made of plastic, which doesn’t provide a realistic weight and feel like the gas blowback models. There is also a lack of upgrade parts available for non-blowback airsoft pistols.

Satisfaction of use. Because these pistols lack blowback, it can make these guns somewhat unstimulating to fire. Because non-blowback pistols have parts made of plastic, they can break more easliy compared to their counterpart GBB pistols.

Aim. Trigger-pull when firing is much easier to do with a GBB pistol than a non-blowback one. So firing a non-blowback pistol can be slower and aiming can also be less accurate due to double-action trigger pull.

The WG Sport 306 is a high-powered non-blowback pistol features a bottom accessory rail for attaching a flashlight or laser. This is a great little pistol for shooting metal targets because of its 480 FPS high velocity.