[L473ncy]

An Aftermath Kraken off SIR mailorder is about $150-180, it's a game worthy gun not exactly the best but should let you get your feet wet and have a lot of fun.

Here and there you can find cheap guns on the classifieds. Sometimes they pop up.

I was just saying that I probably spent a good $800 on airsoft already:

M4 $450
Springer $80
BDU's (top + bottom flecktarn) $60
5 Lo-Cap Mags $45
Mask+ballistics ~$90

plus countless other stuff that I will end up buying in the future.

You should be able to start out with an initial purchase of $300 minimum and work from there, you can always find other players willing to lend a ride/some BB's/mags/ballistics or mask/etc.