For this blog we went to the 50 m range again to do another comparison video. This time we’ll test the maximum effective range and the precision of both an AEG and a GBBR.
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THE AEG & GBBR GUNS WE’LL COMPARE:
1. TOKYO MARUI HK416 DEVGRU NGRS
Firstly, what is an AEG?
An "AEG" is an "Automatic Electric Gun", which means that it is powered by a battery and in this case the battery is positioned inside the buttstock. The battery powers a motor which sits inside the pistol grip, the motor winds some gears inside the gearbox and the gears move a piston that creates airflow for the BB to travel along the barrel. As for today we’ll be using the batteries from Titan power.
WHAT IS A NGRS AEG?
This gun is a "NGRS" AEG version or a "Next-Gen Recoil Shock". This means that the gearbox is slightly tweaked to offer recoil as well (which is not as strong). Above that, the magazines also have some tweaks on them to offer a bolt catch as well.
2. TOKYO MARUI M4 BLOCK 1 MWS GBBR
As for our second gun we have a GBBR. "GBBR" stands for a "Gas BlowBack Rifle", which means that it isn’t powered by a battery, but by gas which is stored inside the magazines. As for today we will be using Nimrod green gas for this type of gun.
HOW DOES A GBBR WORK?
What happens when you pull the trigger?
Well, a small amount of gas is released from the magazine which creates an airflow in both the barrel direction as well as in the bolt direction. That means for the barrel that the BB can travel along it and for the bolt this will create a truly functioning bolt as with a real rifle. So that means a functioning bolt with recoil comparable to a real gun and create a functioning bolt catch as with a real firearm as well.
WHY THESE TWO GUNS IN PARTICULAR?
The fact is, that we as scientists like to eliminate as much variables as possible and for that we have chosen two guns built by the same manufacturer. That means they have about the same price tag, they have the same build quality, they have the same hop up system, they have the same barrel length and they also have about the same FPS which we took care of by giving the AEG a small spring upgrade. And above that they also both offer recoil and a bolt catch although there is a significant difference.
TESTING DETAILS
Also here we will be eliminating as much variables as possible. This means we have a stable platform with a weapon hold to make stable shots. Unfortunately we couldn’t get any fixed position to shoot from so we’ll be using the sniper hold to have a fixed position as much as possible.
In addition to that we also will be using the same BBs for both guns which are the Green Devil BBs of 0.28 gram. In addition to that we also made sure that the height of which we are shooting and the height of our target is about the same, so we have a straight trajectory as much as possible. And above that we again chose to do the shooting here at the 50 m range, because it’s surrounded by walls which allows a minimal airflow.
THE TESTS EXPLAINED
TEST 1
For our first test we want to measure the maximum effective range of both our guns. We’ll be doing this by shooting at the steel target hanging here. This because it will clearly indicate whether we hit it or not. For this we will be placing the target as far as we can and we’ll be moving it closer until we can hit it five times in a row. We have chosen to use a head sized target, because we don’t want to make it too easy on these guns.
For the distance measurement we will be using a rangefinder which we got from our partner Airsoftdoctor. If you don’t have enough guns already go check him out for more!
TEST 2
In the second test we will be measuring the precision of both our guns at the worst effective range (from test 1) which is 31 meters for the GBBR. We’ll be doing this by shooting 10 times at this paper target, the bbs will easily penetrate the target which will allow us to collect some data to analyze it afterwards.
We’re doing this so we can compare one gun to another. But note that the magazines of a GBBR perform differently when they are on normal temperature or cold temperature. So we’ll be doing this test with a cold magazine as well as with a magazine that is on a normal temperature, so we can compare them to each other.
THE RESULTS
TEST 1
After checking out the results from our first test we can clearly see that the AEG still has about 10% more effective range than a GBBR. Just to be clear this means the farthest straight possible trajectory on which we can hit a head sized target consistently.
TEST 2
From the second test we can clearly see why on average people claim that GBBRs are not as consistent or precise as AEGs are. At 31 m the AEG has a spread that is 55% smaller than a GBBR when used with a magazine on normal temperature. Now, you might say that these results look normal due to the difference in recoil power, but now comes the interesting part.
When we did the test again with the GBBR system after the magazine has cooled down due to usage, the spread became 71% better than with a warm magazine which means it became 36% more precise than the AEG.
We have to mention though that we had 3 missed shots below the target due to the system being either too cold and not getting enough pressure from the magazine or the hop was malfunction, because of the low temperature.
Since while shooting we didn’t notice any difference in recoil we can conclude that the hop-up is the factor to blame.
Conclusion
- You better shoot with a GBBR when the system is cooled down, so it’s recommended to shoot several magazines before using it in game to get the system on temperature.
- The myth that a GBBR is not precise or reliable is hereby busted
- If you truly want realism and are a skill-based player, a GBBR is a very good training system which we highly recommend. If you want somewhat the features of a real gun, but still want to be able to shoot a hell of a lot of BBs you might want to go with an AEG, although you can still use the AEG in a professional way as well.
To be clear the GBBR system is NOT for people that want to shoot tons of BBs and don’t care about doing proper gun maintenance on a regular basis.
THANKS FOR READING!
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