28 Mar How to Choose THE BEST Airsoft BBs + Quality Tests
How to Choose THE BEST Airsoft BBs + Quality Tests
Today is all about the ammunition for Airsoft guns.
But before we dig into this subject, make sure to subscribe to our blog page by filling in the form. Also Make sure to visit our Youtube Channel by clicking the button. Have a look at our store shop.reconbrothers.com to support us in what we do.
If there are two core things that are essential to any kind of weapon system whether it is for war or sport, then it will be 1: the gun and 2: the ammo.
In fact, if you would take the most expensive custom build high-tech gun in the world and shoot with bad quality ammo, you will not only seem to be aiming badly, but you will cause damage to your gun.
Whether it is Airsoft or not. So spending a bit more money on good quality ammunition saves you more than you would think. And guess what, when it comes to ammo, this is the most underestimated product by most people that start the Airsoft sport.
So, that’s why we’re dedicated to clear all of this out for you guys.
What BBs to choose
Since there are a lot of brands, colors and weights to choose from, let’s begin with the BB choice. When it comes to choosing the correct BB it comes down to 4 main factors. Namely,
- Material
- Color
- Weight
- Quality
BB Material
The BB material, has to do with legislation and with being mindful for the environment we play in.
For this, some countries require you to only use bio degradable BBs which might even be narrowed down to a few brands by some fields. So make sure to check the allowed BB brands lists provided by the fields you want to play at.
Just make it clear to you guys, bio BBs versus non bio BBs do not differ when it comes to performance as long as they comply to the quality aspects where we will talk about further in this blog.
Now, we know there’s sometimes confusion whether BBs are really made of PLS bio degradable plastic or whether they’re just made of normal ABS plastic. In fact there’s a very simple test you can do. For this you just need to set them on fire.
Bio or non bio Test
If you put a non bio BB on fire it generates a black smoke trail that smells badly like molten plastic. It also keeps on burning even if you remove your flame.
If you burn a bio BB it creates a white trail which doesn’t smell as bad and it stops burning once you remove your flame.
Also when you put pressure on them, there’s quite a big difference. When you put them between a pair of pliers, the normal plastic ones shatter in pieces at a certain pressure point. The bio BBs tend to crack but keep in one piece.
BB color
The second factor is the color of your BBs. The BB color makes the difference whether or not you can track the path of your shots.
This gives you information to correct your aiming when shooting. For this white BBs are best, since they reflect light the clearest which makes them very easy to spot.
But some fields don’t allow white ones due to their environmental laws. For this it’s recommended to use a more brownish or grayish colored BB. These are still fairly easy to track with a keen eye.
Tracer bbs
Now that we’re talking about colored BBs, let’s talk about tracer BBs. Just like in the real steel shooting world also tracers exists in Airsoft.
These BBs contain a chemical that lights up after it has been exposed to bright light. This has to do with a reaction called phosphorescence. And makes it easy to track the path of your shot, so you can easily make adjustments when aiming.
Of course in order to generate that bright light you need something what’s called a “tracer unit”. These exists in lots of different systems and shapes.
But these will be something we’ll discuss in a future video. Once again if we’ve made it, the thumbnail will be visible down below.
When it comes to whether tracer BBs are really bio or non-bio is not easy to know. When applying the tests like mentioned earlier, they can’t really be distinguished from one another. So, for the use of these, you better ask your fields which you may use.
Furthermore, when it comes to tracers, you need to know they work in both ways. Meaning, you can see the trajectory of your BBs, but you opponent sees them as well. Which means they can track you by your shots.
If you want to avoid this and still gain the advantage of tracers, you can best use them once every few shots. This is mostly done by pouring a third of the amount of tracers to your regular BBs for example.
And by doing so, you will also save some money which is nice because tracer BBs are more expensive than regular BBs.
BB Weight
The standard weight for Airsoft are the 0,20 g BBs. These are almost always used for indoor CQB Airsoft and are the ones organizations use to measure the FPS output of your gun.
If we go to the outside environments, it’s better to look for the more heavier BBs out there. This is important for a few reasons.
Heavier BBs are less affected by external conditions like wind and go easier through foliage. This implies they are more consistent over longer ranges which makes a big difference in the outdoor.
They will have a slower muzzle velocity than the 0,20 g BBs though. But maintain their energy better which makes them decelerate slower compared to the 0,20 g ones.
This implies, they hit people harder and there’s overall less confusion about whether people got hit or not. But of course, you don’t want to go to heavy either because that can cause less effective range.
So, it’s up to you to test what works for you by going over different BB weights.
However if you have no idea where to start as for BB weight choice for outdoor usage there’s a general rule fro you to hold on to.
The general rule
This rule states to never have a barrel velocity that’s below 280 FPS with the BBs you use.
Because this gives most people enough reaction time to dodge your BBs at 30 m away. Which is a very common engagement distance for Airsoft.
So, in order to keep above this FPS output. You want to shoot at least 314 FPS with the standard 0,2g BBs for the use of 0,25g BBs.
If you want to shoot with 0,28 gram BBs that would require at least 332 FPS.
For the use of 0,30 gram BBs that would require at least 343 FPS.
And if you go higher than 400 FPS we recommend to start off with at least 0,40 g BBs. But keep in mind that your hop-up unit is also a factor which needs to be able to give those heavier BBs a good spin or you won’t shoot very far.
BB quality
The last factor of your BB choice is their quality. Let’s go over some general things you need to know if a BB is from a good or a bad quality. For this there a two aspects that will decide whether you should use them or avoid them.
- The hardness of the BB
- The smoothness of the BB
The hardness
Some of you might have heard that you best avoid bio BBs, because there are stories about them shattering when they’re used with GBBR or HPA systems.
Now, every story has a core of truth and the truth about this case is, you generally don’t want to use BBs that are easy to break. How can you test this?
Well, for this you simply need a pair of pliers.
If you need to put quite a lot of force on a BB before it breaks, they are good. If you are able to break them easily with the pliers, they’re made of bad quality plastics and you should avoid them.
The smoothness
When it comes to smoothness you want your BBs to be smooth enough to easily move through your barrel. But not too smooth, because then they wont grip on the hop-up rubber to get the required spin that causes the Magnus Effect and provides a good range.
For this you want to search for BBs that are 2 to 3 times polished and that don’t show any sort of seam-lines. You also want to look out for nice spherical BBs or you won’t shoot very accurate.
Tips
If you have any BBs laying around that don’t comply to these demands. You don’t need to worry, because they still can be used for your Airsoft grenades.
Furthermore, no matter what BBs you end up shooting with, you always need to clean your barrel from time to time. If you don’t know how to do it. You can take a look at link in the image to learn it the proper way.
Also never reuse shot BBs, BBs that are deformed or that have fallen on a dirty surface or the ground. Since, this can also cause damage to the internals of your gun.
At last, you always want to store your BBs in a cool and dry place away from any moisture.
Thanks for reading our blog
“How to Choose THE BEST Airsoft BBs + Quality Tests“
If this kind of stuff helps you out, make sure to share this content with your fellow Airsofters.
Also let us know if you use Bio or Non Bio BBs in the comments below.
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