All About BBs
So you've read through the BB FAQ, but that wasn't enough for you. Why do the bb weights matter? What if I want to use something heavier or lighter than what you recommended? What about more specific weights or different size bbs?
Well, you are in the right place. I will do my best to make this incredible amount of information as entertaining as possible so that you can learn entirely too much about bbs. We will break down all the different things to look for to identify what makes a good bb as well as what weight you should be using.
Well, you are in the right place. I will do my best to make this incredible amount of information as entertaining as possible so that you can learn entirely too much about bbs. We will break down all the different things to look for to identify what makes a good bb as well as what weight you should be using.
BB Quality
Let's start our BB discussion about the quality of the bbs you are using. We believe there are three aspects to consider when examining bbs: external consistency, internal consistency, and batch consistency.
External consistency is the easiest way to identify the quality of the bb. All you need to do is to look at the bb. Look for mold lines, seams around the bb, or nipples from injection into a mold. These are especially common on cheap ammo and is why we recommend not using bbs that weight less than 0.20g. If you are feeling especially ambitious about judging your ammo, you'll need some calipers to measure bb diameter. Good bbs are actually a little smaller than 6mm. Typically, bbs measure between 5.90-5.98mm. Bbs much larger than 5.98mm might start having troubles in some barrels. Smaller bbs |
aren't generally a problem, they may even be a good thing, but we'll get to that when we talk about bb sizes later on. You also want to look at the bb finish. They should at least have a little shine to them. Bbs that look dirty might just need to be cleaned, or they might have a really bad polish on them. Bad polish on the bbs means they won't feed as well, especially if you use midcaps.
The next thing to check for would be internal consistency of the bb. There's really only one way to check the internal consistency of a bb, and that's by breaking it in half. You need to be careful not to smash the bb when checking for this. Usually, a sharp knife or wire cutters can be used to cut or chop a bb in half. When doing this, you are checking for air bubbles. Bubbles make bbs inaccurate. You want the bb to be uniform in material and density. BBs spin as they go through the air and if there are air bubbles, it's likely it'll spin weird, causing the bb to go off target.
The second part about internal consistency to check for is material consistency. So you've cracked open a few bbs of that new bb brand you're wanting to try out and you haven't found any air bubbles. Great! So now you're going to want to make sure that the material itself is normally distributed in the bb. This typically is only an issue with bbs heavier than 0.32s. Bbs this heavy usually have additives added to the bb material to give them that extra weight. Sometimes the material won't be mixed well and it'll do the same thing as an air bubble. Generally, you can simply roll the bb to test for this, but if the external quality is not that great, you'll obviously have issues with a simple roll test.
The next thing to check for would be internal consistency of the bb. There's really only one way to check the internal consistency of a bb, and that's by breaking it in half. You need to be careful not to smash the bb when checking for this. Usually, a sharp knife or wire cutters can be used to cut or chop a bb in half. When doing this, you are checking for air bubbles. Bubbles make bbs inaccurate. You want the bb to be uniform in material and density. BBs spin as they go through the air and if there are air bubbles, it's likely it'll spin weird, causing the bb to go off target.
The second part about internal consistency to check for is material consistency. So you've cracked open a few bbs of that new bb brand you're wanting to try out and you haven't found any air bubbles. Great! So now you're going to want to make sure that the material itself is normally distributed in the bb. This typically is only an issue with bbs heavier than 0.32s. Bbs this heavy usually have additives added to the bb material to give them that extra weight. Sometimes the material won't be mixed well and it'll do the same thing as an air bubble. Generally, you can simply roll the bb to test for this, but if the external quality is not that great, you'll obviously have issues with a simple roll test.
Third, the batch consistency. This one has no "easy" test. The goal and hope is that each bag of bbs you purchase is just like the previous one. You don't want to fall in love with a bb brand and then the next bag you purchase has a bad polish or problem bbs in it. Sadly, this can only be tested with time and money. You can also do research, find people who have been using the brand you are looking at and see if they've had any issues with it. Just asking around can give you a ton of information about how good bbs are.
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BB Size
The size of the bb is one of the more common questions for people new to the hobby. Many people think about the size they need rather than the weight. It's an easy thing to get right, but why are almost all the bbs we use 6mm, and what about the other sizes out there?
Early airsoft was a bit of a wild show. Lots of people had lots of ideas on what guns should look like and how they should work. This is the largest reason why 8mm bbs are still around. They were more popular 30-40 years ago when the hobby was just getting going in Japan. 6mm bbs also became a thing around this time. So, what made 6mm stick around while 8mm has largely been forgotten? Possibly the physics, maybe the cost, maybe it's because that's what TM decided to use when they invented the Hop Up. Whatever the case, they became the staple bb size for most everyone else past that point.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that 6mm bbs won due to physics. Smaller bbs have less air resistance than larger bbs. This means they will fly further and be affected by the wind less, making them more accurate. One of the issues modern day bbs see is that there are no heavy weight 8mm bbs. Sure, the weights on them might seem high, but they are more than twice the size of a 6mm bb. Even the heaviest commercially available 8mm bb is only about the same as a 0.20g 6mm bb. You are going to struggle significantly with range and accuracy using something so light weight. The smaller bbs are also cheaper to manufacture, and therefore cheaper to consumers. You can fit more 6mm bbs in a magazine than you can with 8mm bbs.
Besides 6mm being the most common, 8mm being a very distance second, what about the other sizes. There's not much out there, but there are 6.44mm bbs that Novritsch sells. We don't have a lot of information on them, so we can't say for sure how good they are. We have also seen 4.5mm bbs. These are used for pellet guns that typically use metal bbs instead. They are relatively safe, but not recommended as the guns themselves are often unregulated.
Early airsoft was a bit of a wild show. Lots of people had lots of ideas on what guns should look like and how they should work. This is the largest reason why 8mm bbs are still around. They were more popular 30-40 years ago when the hobby was just getting going in Japan. 6mm bbs also became a thing around this time. So, what made 6mm stick around while 8mm has largely been forgotten? Possibly the physics, maybe the cost, maybe it's because that's what TM decided to use when they invented the Hop Up. Whatever the case, they became the staple bb size for most everyone else past that point.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that 6mm bbs won due to physics. Smaller bbs have less air resistance than larger bbs. This means they will fly further and be affected by the wind less, making them more accurate. One of the issues modern day bbs see is that there are no heavy weight 8mm bbs. Sure, the weights on them might seem high, but they are more than twice the size of a 6mm bb. Even the heaviest commercially available 8mm bb is only about the same as a 0.20g 6mm bb. You are going to struggle significantly with range and accuracy using something so light weight. The smaller bbs are also cheaper to manufacture, and therefore cheaper to consumers. You can fit more 6mm bbs in a magazine than you can with 8mm bbs.
Besides 6mm being the most common, 8mm being a very distance second, what about the other sizes. There's not much out there, but there are 6.44mm bbs that Novritsch sells. We don't have a lot of information on them, so we can't say for sure how good they are. We have also seen 4.5mm bbs. These are used for pellet guns that typically use metal bbs instead. They are relatively safe, but not recommended as the guns themselves are often unregulated.
BB Weights
Bbs come in all sorts of weights. From your featherweight .12s to some questionably field legal weights, there are a lot of options. Let's look at what is important about these different weights and why you should consider using heavier weights in your airsoft replica.
The lightest that I can think of is .12g bbs, though it's possible lighter exists. We've already gone over why these bbs are bad, |
but let's look at them from a different perspective. Since these bbs have very little weight, they have very little momentum. This means that they are stopped really easy. They don't go through leaves very well, they slow down really fast, even then wind will toss them around all over the place. Sure, when you chrono with a lightweight bb, the FPS is really high, but the joules are really low. FPS is not important, the energy the bb has is what matters. Would you rather be crossing the street and get hit by a bicycle or a truck? So even if these bbs were made to the same standards as their heavier counterparts, they would not be very useful.
You see, the more weight a bb has, the more potential it has. Heavier bbs can hold onto their energy a whole lot better than lighter bbs. They have the potential to fly further and to fly more accurately. They won't be affected by the wind as much and will push through brush better. This is why it's very common to see people using .25g or heavier for outdoor games. Having those heavier bbs helps with those long-range engagements and they help to push through brush better. For something like sniper rifles, these heavier bbs are almost a requirement. Trying to push a ton of power into a lighter bb will cause that bb to fly erratically, and that defeats the purpose of using such a rifle.
So, if heavier bbs are better than lighter bbs, why doesn't everyone just run .40s in all their guns? The short answer is cost, the heavier the bb, the more they cost. Generally, that breaking point is around the .28-.32g area, which is also one of the reasons these bbs are the most common bb used for outdoor games. They have the benefits of being heavier than .20s without the cost of really heavy bbs like .36s and .40s.
Alright, so let's back up a little, how do you get different weights in such a small bb? Most of the difference in weight comes from the difference in material. It's obvious in .12s that they are made of cheap plastic and have bubbles in the bbs. They'll shatter if you try to break them. Then you have .20s to .32s-ish. These bbs are usually a more pure material. It depends a bit on what the actual material is used to make the bb, but somewhere in the .28-.32 area, you have a perfect, pure bb material. That means nothing has to be added to the material or taken away to make those bbs. That's also why you are more likely to find higher quality bbs in this weight area. Anything heavier than .32 will have some sort of additive to it. It's especially obvious the heavier you go. BLS .50g bbs are dark grey because of the extra weight they've added to the bb. Even the BLS .48g bbs are a few shades darker than normal because of some of the additive. Generally, this material is some form of metal, but it's hard to say for certain. In the past, you've been able to find bbs that would react to a magnet, showing that they have some form of iron added to them. I'm not aware of any current production bbs that do this, but it was a fascinating thing to see when it did happen. Anything heavier than .50g generally is no longer a plastic bb and can be questionable on where it's allowed to be used. Some companies have sold ceramic bbs that were .66g or .69g. These were incredibly hard bbs but were also pure ceramic. A steel 6mm bb is about .80g, a brass 6mm bb is around the 1.00g mark. These are really more for target practice than actually using them in a game. Most places have a flat ban on metal bbs, and some will ban ceramic bbs as well. Please always check with the field you'll be playing at to make sure
You see, the more weight a bb has, the more potential it has. Heavier bbs can hold onto their energy a whole lot better than lighter bbs. They have the potential to fly further and to fly more accurately. They won't be affected by the wind as much and will push through brush better. This is why it's very common to see people using .25g or heavier for outdoor games. Having those heavier bbs helps with those long-range engagements and they help to push through brush better. For something like sniper rifles, these heavier bbs are almost a requirement. Trying to push a ton of power into a lighter bb will cause that bb to fly erratically, and that defeats the purpose of using such a rifle.
So, if heavier bbs are better than lighter bbs, why doesn't everyone just run .40s in all their guns? The short answer is cost, the heavier the bb, the more they cost. Generally, that breaking point is around the .28-.32g area, which is also one of the reasons these bbs are the most common bb used for outdoor games. They have the benefits of being heavier than .20s without the cost of really heavy bbs like .36s and .40s.
Alright, so let's back up a little, how do you get different weights in such a small bb? Most of the difference in weight comes from the difference in material. It's obvious in .12s that they are made of cheap plastic and have bubbles in the bbs. They'll shatter if you try to break them. Then you have .20s to .32s-ish. These bbs are usually a more pure material. It depends a bit on what the actual material is used to make the bb, but somewhere in the .28-.32 area, you have a perfect, pure bb material. That means nothing has to be added to the material or taken away to make those bbs. That's also why you are more likely to find higher quality bbs in this weight area. Anything heavier than .32 will have some sort of additive to it. It's especially obvious the heavier you go. BLS .50g bbs are dark grey because of the extra weight they've added to the bb. Even the BLS .48g bbs are a few shades darker than normal because of some of the additive. Generally, this material is some form of metal, but it's hard to say for certain. In the past, you've been able to find bbs that would react to a magnet, showing that they have some form of iron added to them. I'm not aware of any current production bbs that do this, but it was a fascinating thing to see when it did happen. Anything heavier than .50g generally is no longer a plastic bb and can be questionable on where it's allowed to be used. Some companies have sold ceramic bbs that were .66g or .69g. These were incredibly hard bbs but were also pure ceramic. A steel 6mm bb is about .80g, a brass 6mm bb is around the 1.00g mark. These are really more for target practice than actually using them in a game. Most places have a flat ban on metal bbs, and some will ban ceramic bbs as well. Please always check with the field you'll be playing at to make sure