What You Should Know About BBs: Brands, Weights & More
BBs come in a variety of brands, colors and weights - but what should you look for when choosing a type of bb?
There are several factors to consider:
1. Quality
2. Weight
3. Color
#1: QUALITY
Quality gets top priority because it can literally make or break your weapon. Low quality bbs can break apart inside a gun, causing jamming, barrel damage, or even gearbox lock-up. High quality bbs, on the other hand, will ensure good gun performance and can even increase FPS.
Low quality bbs are bbs that:
- Have multiple defects (dents, deformity, seams, etc.)
- Have a bubble of air in the middle of the bb (most translucent bbs are like this)
High Quality bbs:
- Are well polished (meaning that they have been coated several times to ensure smoothness)*
- Have no or very minimal defects
- Have NO seams
We recommend TSD Tactical .20g bbs as they provide a good balance between quality, price and accuracy. Links provided below.
- White (non-biodegradable)
- Black (non-biodegradable)
You can also buy these on Airsoft Megastore and AirsoftGI.
Note: Quality does not matter so much for spring guns because of their relatively simple internals. Also, the bbs are not being fed from the magazine into the gun as quickly as in an AEG, therefore the risk of jamming is relatively low. However, some spring guns (such as high powered sniper rifles) should only use high quality bbs.
* Some brands say that they are "high polish", but not all of them are. It is always best to research a specific brand before buying.
#2: WEIGHT
The second most important factor, weight affects accuracy and FPS. Heavier bbs will fly in a straighter trajectory, thus increasing accuracy, but FPS will be decreased. Using lighter bbs result in just the opposite effect - higher FPS, but decreased accuracy.
.20-.25g bbs will provide the best results for most guns.
Note: The heavier a bb, the faster it will wear down your hop-up. Before purchasing a specific weight bb make sure your gun's hop-up will be able to handle it.
#3: COLOR
While it may seem that color is a non-factor, it is actually rather important. For instance: White bbs will allow you to see exactly where your shots are going, but they also allow your target to see the bbs coming - thus giving your target time to move out of the way.
Black bbs are pretty much impossible to see (unless sunlight hits them at a certain angle) but this keeps your target from seeing and avoiding incoming fire.
Helpful Hint: Mix a ratio of black and white bbs, about 2/3 black to 1/3 white. This gives you the advantage of "tracer" rounds so you can see where your bbs are going, while the high ratio of black helps to prevent your target from spotting incoming fire.
NEVER:
- Re-use bbs in an AEG
- Use low quality bbs in an AEG
- Use low quality bbs in ANY gun with a tighbore barrel
We also highly discourage using .12g bbs in your gun (even if they are high quality) because they will greatly decrease the effective range of your weapon. Using .12g bbs in an AEG can also result in jamming or even a broken gun. It is highly recommended that you not use any bbs lighter than .20g.
RECOMMENDED BRANDS:
-GoldenBall ProSlick
-PForce
-TSD Tactical
-ICS/Airsoft Elite
(Recommendations from www.AirsoftMegastore.com. See also The Necessity of Using Good BBs - A Must Read Guide)
Article by Striker
