Non Plastic Airsoft ammo Pros/Cons.

bullets

I've been reading about BB's made from Materials other than plastic
it got me curious about peoples opinions on such subjects.

In Irish Law and any of the Skirmish sites Rules I've never seen
any mention of any form or restriction on the Type of BB used
on an airsoft device. It is all about the device but not the ammo
used for it.

As Long as the Airsoft Device used is under 1j its Legal.
The type of material used to make the BB is not currently restricted
(maybe it will be after this post LOL! )

I want to mention Glass BB's and Metal BB's!
The first being unsuitable for Skirmishing and the
latter likely a controversial topic.

When someone mentions Metal BB's is there automatically
a knee jerk "negative" reaction in the Airsoft World ?
Would Skirmishers object to being hit with a BB
at 1j made from something other than plastic?
And if so why? if they are travelling with the same energy.

There was a mention over on the Customs thread about someone
in Cork importing Copper BB's it got me thinking if someone
was to import BB's designed for Airsoft made from other materials
such as metal, wood, rubber, compresed powder etc what would peoples reaction to them be.

Before anyone says Metal BB's are unsuitable because
Legal Irish Airsoft devices would not have enough power
to propel them effectively...........

You can buy Metal aluminum BB's from online Airsoft stores
that are 0.30g which works out at 269fps on a 1j Airsoft Device.

Now when I mention Metal BB's I cant help but
feel that people will be in an uproar saying Metal BB's
are a neddy no no, not legal and all sort of other stuff.
and I also get the feeling that no skirmisher would like
the idea of getting a Metal BB fired at them even if if
its from an AEG/Springer at 1j.

Also they would not be bio-degradable and also they
would be way too expensive to be practical.

BUT!!!! For casual plinking or airsoft target shooting of inanimate objects they may be fun.

This leads me onto Glass BB's.
For Skirmishing these are definitely a Bad Bad idea
as Glass shatters and splinters etc etc

But from Someone like Myself that wants to get a
precision airsoft pistol or rifle specifically for shooting
at Paper targets in the comfort of my own home I am
looking for the best and more precise BB I can find.
This may be Metal or Glass rather than plastic.

~B

kdouglas

I have a collection of different BBs at home which I bought to do some tests, I've lots of different various weights and I've also got glass, aluminium and steel BBs. The steel ones are completely pointless in that they have bugger all range and actually fired with only about 0.5J of energy out of a 1J aeg (likely cause is they weren't able to accelerate properly inside the barrel due to being too heavy).

The glass BBs are supposedly highly polished and precise with very consistent dimensions, I haven't fully tested them yet (really must get around to doing that), but I would never even consider using them in a skirmish as it would be very dangerous if they shattered.

Aluminium BBs are a bit controversial alright, they are light enough to actually be used and as you say, 1 Joule is still 1 Joule, my only problem with aluminium instead of plastic BBs (aside from the environmental and cost aspect) is that I would imagine they do not have the same kind of elasticity where a plastic BB would, therefore more of the energy would be imparted.

For practical skirmish purposes, normal plastic BBs are here to stay I reckon (perhaps a change to more bio-degradable types though), the cost of using aluminium is insane by comparison. For plinking or target shooting, aluminium or glass might very well improve accuracy quite a bit though.

Hivemind187

The precision airsoft pistols are generally above 1joule and would require a permit or license for use would they not?

Secondly, with regard to metal BB's. While there is no restriction as far as I am aware - they are not actually intended for use with airsoft devices but rather with actuall BB guns (red ryders and certain CO2 pistols spring to mind).

The crucial difference from my understanding is that the plastics (and to a lesser extent the biodegradable starch and crushed rock) have a certain elasticity which reduces the damage they are capable of doing. Metal has a much more rigid structure and therefore it is deforms less on impact resulting in a higher chance of damage or penetration.

The use of metal or glass BB's from an airsoft device makes little sense though when there are plastic equivalents of the same or similar weight.

Just my opinion.

hal9000

Would glass or metal BB's be compatible or damage the hop up?

Alvin T. Grey

hal9000 wrote: »

Would glass or metal BB's be compatible or damage the hop up?

Nope.

ED E

hal9000 wrote: »

Would glass or metal BB's be compatible or damage the hop up?

If you turned it on fully they might jam it....but so would plastics...

hal9000

for the life of me I cant fathom why you would want or need a glass BB, If there is a reason ppl use them Id love to hear it (the thought of a glass BB coming at me sends a shiver down my spine)

N.O.I.P.

Hivemind187 wrote: »

Secondly, with regard to metal BB's. While there is no restriction as far as I am aware - they are not actually intended for use with airsoft devices but rather with actuall BB guns (red ryders and certain CO2 pistols spring to mind)

Just to add to that, if you are using metal BBs that are designed to be used as ammunition for an air rifle then you must be in posession of a valid license for that particular type of firearm. Same reason you can't buy .308s with your .22 license

Puding

well my thinking is that at the weights i use all materials are going to be the same mass at the 1j limit so no issues there a glass bb fired at you at 1joule of energy is the same as a plastic bb fired at 1joule, we try use bio bbs down in cork so there would be no use for bb of these materials

only thing i can think that would be useful and interesting to know is if bbs made of different bbs have different properties in flight because of the external finish

DevilsBreath

Glass BB's are for precision target shooting.

If I saw someone with them in their bag at a site I’d ask for them to leave TBH.

bullets

I'd be interested to hear how the Glass ones work out
as my interests would be using something for Non-Skirmish
just some paper punching at home.

The Pistol I was gonna get was the Maruzen APS-3 which is single shot using Air.
its one of the few under 1j ones. I'm not sure about the rifles have not
looked into them yet.

The BB's I was looking at were for airsoft
rather than airgun. There was a separate section for airgun BB's
They were 4.5mm(.177) or 6.35mm in dimensions.

I dont mind what material the BB's would be made from as long as they
are accurate. The Glass ones would be nice for display purposes if you say
had a Pistol mounted someplace.

Something I would love to see in a BB for Airsoft is a BB that does not
bounce off a target!! That would be class! Drives me Mad if I am out my
back garden and fire at an empty beer can or something and a BB
comes flying back in my direction.

~B

ScumLord

I don't see the point, plastic just seem to win hands down when it comes to BBs for airsoft.

The only BBs I'd like to see are compressed powder ones so they leave a mark when they hit something.

Puding

what kind of weights do the glass bbs come in anyway >?

bullets

Nice selection of BB's here:
(And they have some nice Krylon alternatives to paintwise)
http://www.begadishop.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21

I'd also love to try compressed powder BB's for Fun.
(in a cheap airsoft gun just in case they break!!)


~B

kdouglas

And what happens when that BB hits someone wearing a mesh mask and they end up with powder in their eye?

I've seen bio BBs that can split and turn into powder on impact, I dont wear a mesh mask, but I still wont use them incase someone that I'm playing against is wearing mesh.


And as DevilsBreath said, if I ever saw someone at a site with glass BBs, I wouldn't be playing with that person and would ask that either they do not use them or leave the site.

Puding

I've seen bio BBs that can split and turn into powder on impact,

came across a number of cheap bio bbs that do that and it is an issue, again highlighting the advantages of high quality ammunitian, just as with paint bss a poor quality bio bbs can sometimes break within an aeg/hopup

(on this same topic i would advice people not to leave bio bbs n direct sunlight i've found that some tends to start breaking down and liable to break easyer just somthing i;ve noticed)

ScumLord

kdouglas wrote: »

And what happens when that BB hits someone wearing a mesh mask and they end up with powder in their eye?

That's true anyone using any sort of different BB would have to say so upfront so everyone can make sure they have the proper eyewear but I'd love to see some proper powder BBs it's the one area where airsoft falls behind paintball IMO. Everyone may be working on best intentions when calling hits but I've been hit square in the forehead and not known about it until someone asked about the red mark on my head after the game.

Tigger

you either have a surprisinglyu high pain threshold or get very into your airsoft

Hivemind187

Tigger wrote: »

you either have a surprisinglyu high pain threshold or get very into your airsoft

Symptom of leprosy actually. Deadenning of the nerves.

... I'll get my coat.

ScumLord

Leprosy! I thought my fingers where just detachable.

The first few times I went out I just got mad rushes of adrenalin and couldn't feel a thing. It also didn't help with the fogging I was immune to pain but blind as a bat.

hal9000

you dont happen to turn green or say "You wouldnt like me when I'm angry" when skirmishing?

ScumLord

hal9000 wrote: »

you dont happen to turn green or say "You wouldnt like me when I'm angry" when skirmishing?

I may turn green with envy at times in GTAC but so far I haven't transformed into anything abnormal. Unfortunately.

CrazyRabbit

<---runs out to buy spikey bb's.

Sure, I'll have feck all range, but boy are they gonna hurt.


(Yes, I am bloody joking...don't get your knickers in a twist)

Witcher

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

<---runs out to buy spikey bb's.

Sure, I'll have feck all range, but boy are they gonna hurt.


(Yes, I am bloody joking...don't get your knickers in a twist)

Totally irresponsible behaviour :mad:

you should know better :pac::pac::pac:

Spitfire666

before i say anything lets just clarify that were all talking about 6mm spheres here and not any other shapes or ammo.
they are designed for airsoft guns so there is no issue there. lets not confuse it with airgun ammo.

Good (6mm and made for airsoft): http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JY7J8SQ6L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

Bad (not 6mm and not for airsoft): http://www.ronniesunshines.com/images/22%20spitfire%20pellets.jpg

i've got some aluminium BB's to try out and found that they where brilliant. i used them in my pistol and they stayed on target so much easier then normal bb's but at the same time, that wasn't down to the material, it was just a case that they where .3g bb's and not .2g.
so realy, it was the weight that i found to be the good aspect.

i'd be in full agreement in relation to refusing people with glass bb's due to obvious reasons but in relation to the elasticity of the metal bb's compared to the platic ones,

lets say i'm talking about .3g plastic bb's and .3g alum bb's....
i cant imagine that there would be any noticiable difference between getting hit by the 2 but as i would see it, the plastic bb's will be harder then the aluminium ones anyway?

the plastic ones dont flex at all where as alum ones do.
a quick test for this is to grab a plastic bb with a pliers and then do the same with the alum one.

the plastic one will not flex or deform, it will just crush where as the alum one wont crush into bits, it will just compress and deform.

as far as how practical they are, well they are too expensive to buy for skirmishing when the plastic ones can be got in the same .3g weights.

ED E

Thanks KD for this. I'm one of the people who wear mesh. CAnt stand fogging or the sound of a fan on all the time but want FullFace protection so I wear a sensei(and swear by em, I'd say rabbit will too). I'd really like to keep my eyes debris clear, so please check your bbs against a hard surface(brick wall) before skirmishing with them. You'll be able to see them splitting if they do unless you have bad eyesight.

OzCam

Hi Lethal

Just to reassure you... I use the .2g Bio-Excel bbs in my AUG. My "green" conscience won't let me spray plastic into the environment where it's avoidable. After I read about the concerns of mask wearers, I tested them against a concrete wall, short range. No shattering whatsoever. As long as they're stored in their bottle, out of sunlight and away from moisture they seem to be fine.

These are the quality ones, though, I can't speak for cheap bbs. At 24 euro a bottle they damn well better be good.

B.

Stercus Accidit

Got a bag of g&g bio .25g there the other day, seem top notch to me, very consistent hop and accuracy, pretty much as good as excels in that respect.

Also seem no weaker when fired at a hard surface than a plastic bb, cant see these ones breaking on a mask.