Airsoft gearbox was introduced way back in 1970’s. Today, there is not one or two but eight different version of gearbox available in the market. The most popular of them all are the versions 2 and 3. Gearbox is basically a casing which is used to hold or store all the internals of the Airsoft rifle. Airsoft gearbox consists of springs, pistons and gears. Some rifles like the L96 airsoft sniper rifle already comes with an upgraded gearbox.
The eight different version of Airsoft gearbox differ in their thickness, storage capacity etc. These Airsoft mechanical gearbox guns are usually driven by battery, i.e. they are electric in nature. Usually most of the electric guns consist of three gears, which are inside the gearbox. Pellets are stored in a hollow cylinder which is in the front side of the gun. The three gears along with a spring and piston assembly are used to force a bullet out of the gun. The gears move the piston to and fro against the spring which contracts and expands, thus hitting the pellets or bullets kept inside the cylinder. The power of the shot is usually dependent on two factors; one is tension in the spring and the other is the amount of force exerted on the spring.
Size of the pellet is also an important factor which determines the range of the shot. A small and lighter pellet can cover a long distance whereas short and heavier ones have a small range. Airsoft gearbox requires continues power supply, preferably from a rechargeable battery.
Airsoft gearbox guns are more sophisticated than the others which are produced by Airsoft. These are no doubt slightly expensive than the normal ones, but are highly effective. These are a bit dangerous than the bolt action airsoft rifles and you should handle them carefully. They almost use the same technology or mechanism which is used in real guns.