Launchers

A 40mm airsoft launcher fires a reusable shell — a brass or aluminium casing that you load with green gas (or CO2) and BBs in advance. Pull the trigger, the shell vents its gas through a manifold, and 100+ BBs leave the barrel in a spreading cone. At ~3-5 metres range you're saturating a room; at 10-15 metres you're laying down area suppression. Reload the shell after firing, repeat. It's the closest airsoft gets to indirect fire.

Two form factors. M203 underbarrel launchers mount under the handguard of an M4-pattern rifle — same configuration as the real M203 grenade launcher mounted under M16 and M4 rifles. They share the rifle's profile and add the area-effect capability without needing a separate primary. Stand-alone launchers (M79-pattern break-action, MGL revolver-pattern multi-shot, EGLM-pattern modern) are dedicated platforms held like a sidearm or carried as a secondary. Stand-alone units are heavier and slower to deploy but typically more reliable than rail-mounted underbarrels.

Three things to know. First: launchers don't include shells. The 40mm gas shells are sold separately and you'll typically want 3-5 to be useful in a game. Second: shells need green gas, sold in the gas collection. Third: UK sites vary in their rules on launchers — some require chronoing each shell, some restrict launcher use to specific players or scenarios. Check site rules before buying. For the alternative pyro-and-grenade route to area effect, see Grenades & Mines and Pyrotechnics.