Everyone has heard how real guns sound, but not everyone knows how loud the airsoft guns can get and for a good reason, they differ from type to type.
Noise can be a problem in competitive airsoft matches for one big reason and it is giving out the advantage to the enemies once you reveal your position.
Other noise-related problems may be of a personal preference, so some people like to silence their guns if they find them too loud, while some like to add to the noise the gearbox and motor make by upgrading it.
In this post, I will explain how noisy airsoft guns are, what makes them loud and how you can change it to your personal preference based on the techniques that work.
First, let’s answer in short how loud are airsoft guns? Airsoft guns are as loud as a television or a blender and on average they produce noise between 80 to 98 dB, compared to the real guns that on average produce the noise of 140 decibels.
| Gun type | Decibels (dB) |
|---|---|
| Airsoft Electronic Gun (AEG) | 92-97 |
| Airsoft Gas non-blowback Gun | 92-96 |
| Airsoft Gas Blowback gun (GBB) | 93-98 |
| Airsoft Spring Gun | 80-86 |
| HPA Airsoft gun | 94-100 |
It is also to mention that the sound the airsoft guns make can vary from whether airsoft is played indoor or outdoor.
Indoor matches always produce a noisier effect due to the acoustics.
A comparison with other noises
| Noise type | Decibels (dB) |
|---|---|
| Televison | 70-90 |
| Blender | 86-90 |
| Conversation | 60-70 |
| Whisper | 30 |
| Real gun | 140 |
| Nuclear explosion | 250 |
| Pellet gun | 77-90 |
| Airsoft gun | 80-96 |
Minor Ear damage can occur at 96 dB of constant noise exposure.
Being constantly exposed to 96 dB should be fine for approximately 4 hours after that the minor ear damage can occur.
As you can see, there are no worries that airsoft guns will damage your hearing and you can safely shoot airsoft guns without ear protection unless you keep it directly near the ears for a long and constant period of time.
It is really difficult to do that in real life, no matters how hard you try because eventually you will have to reload it and won’t keep shooting for extended periods of time right next to your ears.
It is more dangerous for you to spend nights on karaoke show because on average such parties are always above 96 dB and it is not unusual to reach numbers over 100 dB at a time.
How to measure the airsoft gun’s noise level?
You can measure the noise of your airsoft gun by using a noise measuring software that will record the sound through a microphone and then provide you with the amount of noise in decibels (dB).
I recommend Sound meter that you can find on google play and install it on your android or computer.
It is not difficult to measure the noise the airsoft gun makes due to technology that is available to everyone today.
Just install the application and start recording by firing the airsoft gun in front of it and you will be good to go.
Why may this be useful to you?
Well, you can find the optimal noise level you want to achieve if you think your airsoft gun is too loud or too silent by upgrading it with silencers, sound amplifiers, or some other methods and then testing it this way to find the perfect sound level.
You can also test the rest of your gear and see how loud are your magazines or perhaps, the leather boots you are rocking, and figure out whether they are the reason you are unable to sneak behind players in the field.
You can watch this video to get familiar with the sound that airsoft guns make, this video that I have found on Youtube is full of phenomenal examples.
How to make airsoft guns quieter
In general, you can make your airsoft gun quieter by installing a suppressor or silencer, align and lubricate gears and replace a motor on AEG and install a Sorbo pad at the piston of the gun.
One way to reduce the sound the airsoft replicas make is to attach the suppressor to it, however, it won’t always make the big impact you may be looking for.
Suppressors and silencers are the same things, some people just prefer one way to call them from another.
What a silencer or suppressor do is that they absorb the air that escapes from a gun at the very top of the barrel.
This is very beneficial for real guns because they propel a bullet by the way of combustion and in that case lots of the air that gets pressurized leaves the gun and thus produces the sound.
Airsoft guns are different from real guns and therefore there is not same effect present, so silencers will only slightly reduce the sound the gun makes on most airsoft guns.
In order to understand how effective the silencers can be in this case, you will need to understand which parts of the airsoft gun produce the noise and I will explain it soon later in the post.
All guns propel some air at the top of the barrel, however, AEGs make an additional sound in the motor and the gearbox, spring guns use the lever-action that hits the piston, and then there are blowback guns (often GBB or gas airsoft guns) that produce the sound when the slide part collides with other metal parts of the gun.
Therefore, we can conclude that silencers can not effectively stop the sound that guns make when the gear grinds, the motor runs, and metal sliding parts crash into each other.
If you want to know more about airsoft silencers and their purpose you can read about them here.
In the following, I will explain what are the other ways to silent the airsoft gun by analyzing where the noise comes from in specific airsoft gun types.
What makes spring airsoft guns loud?
Spring airsoft guns are usually the quietest airsoft guns out there and are known for its simplicity.
A common spring airsoft gun does not use a motor and gearbox and blowback mechanism, thus it operates by the way of spring, so when the gun is cocked and the trigger is pulled, the only noise left is the one when the spring powers the piston that pressures the air that propels a BB throughout the inner barrel.
Therefore, the noise can occur when the trigger is pulled, when the spring gets released and when the piston does its job as mentioned above.
As you can see, there are not many ways that a spring gun can produce lots of noise which is the reason why it is known for being the most silent type of airsoft gun.
There are no ways to make it less silent besides playing with silencers that may reduce the noise by a maximum of 10%.
On other hand, you can make it a bit louder with amplifiers, but other airsoft gun types will synergize better with it and produce more noise.
What makes AEGs loud?
AEGs can be loud and silent depending on how you set them up.
Electronic airsoft guns are powered by the way of electricity that runs the motor and then the motor operates the gearbox that eventually leads to the part with the piston that propels the air with the BB throughout the inner barrel.
As you can see, it’s not only about the noise you make when you pull the trigger, but the noise comes from a motor, gearbox, and the piston itself when it hits the front end of the gearbox.
Motor noise
Motors are like the engine of a car, they can sound irresistible, but can also sound quite mediocre, especially when the bigger picture is observed and you include the gearbox into the equation.
Most fresh stock airsoft guns come with mediocre motors and the chances are that if you have not paid a real fortune for your AEG that your motor is not the best it can be.
However, it does not mean that you should immediately change it for the better one, they are fine for the purpose they bring.
Motors are important because they power the AEG, but besides the sound, they make I would be more concerned with other factors such as the rate of fire that your gun is capable of.
High-torque motors are your best future upgrade if you ever decide to upgrade them. They are the most silent type of motor, but they will also take your AEG to the next level and increase its performance.
Therefore, we can conclude that starter gun’s motor makes more noise and often sounds worse than the sound that the high-torque motor makes.
Gearbox noise
Gearbox can be loud and the reason lies in the gearset it has inside.
Gears dictate the rate of fire of your AEG and thus the faster they rotate, the faster will the AEG sound.
By upgrading them for a faster gearset, for instance to 12:1 or 13:1 from 18:1, you will not only get the difference in sound, but also the difference in the sound they make.
The biggest problem with the gears is however when they are not properly installed and collided, so this should be the first thing you check if you suspect that the noise is too high and it comes from the gearbox.
The gears should sound smooth and barely produce any loud noise, so if they are obviously loud, they are the first thing to consider fixing.
1. Shimming is the fix
This is the technique that allows you to properly align gears by implementing the small spacers (shims).
Gearset can be misaligned and in that case you will need to adjust their height and fill the empty space between them.
This is a great way to make your AEG sound smoother if the problem lies in a gearset.
2. Lubrication is the fix
If the gears are not properly lubricated they may make more of a screeching sound, so it is suggested to assure they are properly lubricated.
You can choose between lubricants, and high viscosity based lubricants are better for gearbox.
Piston noise
The last possible reason why your AEG makes too much noise is due to the piston reacting poorly with the front end of the gearbox.
When the piston moves and hits the front end of the gearbox it can create a „clank“ sound.
The best way to deal with this problem is to install the cylinder head damper, also known as a Sorbo pad.
A Sorbo pad will neutralize the sound the piston makes when it collides with the metal part of the gearbox because it will smooth the front end of the gearbox.
Sorbo pad should be installed on every AEG you own because it won’t only fix the problem with noise, but will also preserve the health of the piston and gearbox.
It costs about 4$ and can be installed on your own if you have some fundamental knowledge of disassembling.
Amplifiers work well on AEGs, but still, most of the sound comes from the AEG motor, gearbox, and piston and silencers won’t do much besides some minor differences.
What makes airsoft Gas guns loud?
Blowback guns create more noise than any other airsoft gun type and its due to its sliding mechanism.
Any gas gun operates similarly to AEGs, but instead of a motor and gearbox, they get powered by a gas cartridge.
There is Co2 and green gas that we can mention, but they perform quite similarly while Co2 is being more popular due to better efficiency.
Anyways, by now you probably understand the fundamental inner parts of the airsoft gun, so besides piston, trigger, and air noise you should also calculate the noise that gas makes when it creates pressure within the gun.
The way a gas gun sounds greatly depends on the model to model, but it often sounds like „puff“ or „tsss“ combined with a classic „boom“ sound.
Both silencers and amplifiers work well on gas guns, but silencers will almost have no effect on Gas blowback guns because the majority of the noise comes from the sliding mechanism that creates the „cling“ sound and can not be reduced by any meaning.
What makes HPA guns loud?
HPA is one of my favorite things when it comes to the beautiful world of airsoft opportunities.
HPA airsoft guns have the thickest and most powerful sound.
HPA system can make airsoft guns as loud as 100 DBS and along with this, the HPA system provides many other beautiful benefits to airsoft players that you can read about here.
HPA stands for High-pressure air and once you install this system to your airsoft gun it becomes a monster and you can control how powerful, noisy or quick it can become by adjusting the valve on the tank.
How to make airsoft guns louder (like real guns)
You can make your airsoft gun louder by upgrading it with the sound amplifiers that get attached at the top of the gun’s barrel.
1. Use sound amplifiers for realistic noise
The sound amplifiers will make every noise louder and the best thing about it is that you can control it and adjust it to your preference.
They are easy to get, easy to install and easy to use. You can find amplifiers in any better equipped airsoft store, make one on your own if you have a 3d printer and some tech skills or get one from Amazon.
What is so cool about these little devices is that they add to the realism by manipulating the sound your airsoft gun naturally makes into the sound that is quite close to that the real guns make.
If you like the metal-banging noise that real guns make, want to scare other players around you, and further immerse yourself into the combat, look no further and get one.
However, this is not for everyone and you will rarely see players using sound amplifiers in the field.
The reason behind this is that most players actually go for the silent gameplay or are just not used to upgrading the gun with something sophisticated as this device is.
I think that there is nothing wrong with sound amplifiers and enhancing the sound of your airsoft replica if suits your playstyle, but be aware that it is going to make your airsoft replica more realistic and thus it may get misinterpret for a real gun easier.
2. Install HPA on your gun
HPA systems are a great way to enhance your gun’s power, rate of fire, and sound it makes.
I have already mention HPA systems above, so won’t get into a deep explanation here, however, you should know that this is the option and you can further research the benefits of HPA.
Tips for being a more silent airsoft player
Choose a silent magazine
The sound your airsoft replica makes is not the only thing you should think about because magazines play a big role too and you can choose which magazine you want to use.
Low capacity magazines and medium capacity magazines are often a good choice because they do not make much unnecessary noise at all.
The problem occurs when you decide to use high capacity magazines because due to their large capacity they make the BBs rattle inside the chamber and thus produce the annoying sound when you run across the field.
This is not always a problem because you can learn how to control it by moving carefully, however you should not be worried about this in my opinion because whatever makes you less mobile and worry more should not be an option.
If you are keen on large-capacity magazines there is a way to battle this issue and it is called the flash magazine if you want to learn more about this wonderful designed high-capacity magazine variation you can find more information in my post here.
Medium cap magazines are the most popular choice of the players and they won’t make any unnecessary noise, so you are good with them if I don’t manage to convince you to start using high cap flash magazines.
Be careful of what you wear
Just as you should worry about the noise that your gun and magazines make, you should also worry to be properly dressed for the airsoft events.
Simply avoid any clothing that makes a sound when you move and stick to traditional and proven materials.
You can wear a hoody and jeans at the beginning, but with the time you can move to the tactical clothes and claim that airsoft fashion week!
I have also written a guide on what should you wear to airsoft, so I have put my favorite picks there that you will see other players rock in the fields as well.