BB Queries (Yes, More...)

Mark#1

Mods/Admins - feel free to move if I'm posting this in the wrong forum.

BBs seem to be the most discussed item...

I guess I've two queries/questions in this post:

First Query:

I've just spent an hour or so on the www trying to get some idea of why my son's APS UAR might be experiencing feeding issues. Seems it's likely to be anything from crap BBs to dirty mag or hop or barrel. Which doesn't really tell me anything.

The mags that came with the UAR (2 x 150rd, IIRC) never gave a problem, other than they depleted faster than he was expecting. So he got a P-Mag (300rd or so, IIRC), which looks great, but gave feeding issues right from the start. It seems to be fine to start with, but after maybe 50+ BBs fired it just starts mis-feeding: no BBs exiting the barrel, and a bunch of mis-fed BBs falling out of the magwell when the P-Mag is removed to check what's going on.

He says that lately this feeding issue has also been happening with the two 150rd mags that came with the UAR.

We keep his UAR (and JG G36C & WE P226) clean and in good order, but I will give the UAR a good going over when I get home at the weekend. I'm hoping that will see better performance from all three mags. If not, I'll have to pop the lot in with a reputable tech. I understand some mags need some sort of mods to work optimally with some guns? How does one know what mods are required, if any?

He's used only Blaster or G&G or King Arms .2 BBs, all of which I gather are decent brands? I imagine the "best" BB (or BB brand) is the one that gives the least hassle?

Second Query:

Son mentioned seeing a player using dark BBs (he seems sure they were black) a while back, and loved that he couldn't see them in flight, unlike the ubiquitous white BBs. The only black BBs I can find online seem to be .4 or .43 jobbies - expensive, and apparently intended for higher-power guns?

He'd also like to try a heavier BB than the .2s he's always used so far - he seems to enjoy more of a one-shot-one-kill type of play than spray-&-pray, so I gather a heavier BB might help with accuracy?

I did see that ASG do Blasters in .25 in a green colour. If they're a decent BB (they seem to be widely respected?), they'd seem to be ideal for him - two birds with one BB, so to speak?

What other options are out there for a dark BB, heavier than .2, but still suitable (safe) for use in standard (not upgraded) guns? What's the heaviest BB a "standard" gun can safely use? What limits a gun in how heavy a BB it can handle? What damage can using a "too-heavy" BB do?

On BB weights, I've seen some comments suggesting that the heavier BBs are heavier because they're bigger? Surely the diameter of a BB for a 6mm gun has to be within certain specific tolerances, and using bigger or smaller BBs would/could cause issues?

I'd have thought that heavier BBs would get their extra weight not from a higher diameter/bigger size, but from being manufactured from a denser (heavier) plastic, or having some heavy stuff added to the plastic mix?

OK, lots of questions in there, but essentially still just two queries - mis-feeding, and dark/heavy BBs. :rolleyes:


Thanks for any replies.

Mark

Adzski

Hi Mark.

Information on types and weights on Wiki:
en DOT wikipedia DOT org/wiki/Airsoft_pellets (can't post links)

With regards to the black BB's, I also bought them for sneaky purposes ;-) (Great for not giving away your position!)
Got the 0.2g P.S.B.P ones from SG Airsoft (they are still selling them).

Sorry can't help with the feed issues. I get them occasionally with both AEG and AEP mags.
Bit of a clean/shot of silicon has worked for me so far.

Also modded a BB 'raiser' inside a friends magazine, from the half moon shape (facing up) to file away a groove for the BB to sit in, which mirrored my mid-cap mags. (His was sometimes jamming when 2 BB's got caught in the top and wouldn't come out the mag)

Good luck with the fix :-)

Adam

Misterfwishy

If you're playing outdoors, dark green bbs work even better than black.

Lemming

Turn the hop off and see if the AEG is still mis-feeding. If the hop is turned up full, it is likely to block firing.

As for BBs, different people will tell you different brands. Whilst blaster don't apparently have the greatest of reps from commentary I've seen on these forums in the past, I should hasten to add that they're not bad either and I've never personally had an issue with them, having fed them through a whole range of guns and gun types with varying diameter barrels ... which brings me onto the next question (related):

What size barrel does the gun have? I assume that if it's come stock from a shop, it doesn't have a tight-bore barrel (i.e. anything lower than 6.05)? Depending on how tight the diameter is, BB brand/quality plays more of a factor in blockages; with some people running 6.01 tightbore barrels in sniper rifles complaining the most about certain brand types not having precise tolerances. Hence why you'll see some BB brands specify their +/- tolerances. But for a 'stock' barrel I'd be looking more at the hop, or possibly the magazine brand.

Which reminds me; I have a Classic Army Steyr AUG A1 and certain brands of magazine don't always play nicely. For example the Tokyo Marui mags work all the time every time, but some other brands can be a bit iffy. Given that the UAR is just another computer game name for the Steyr, if it's not the hop or barrel, I'd try some different magazine brands if they can be borrowed.


Edit: as for the second query;

Heavier BBs are not 'heavier' because they are bigger. 6mm is 6mm (tolerances not withstanding). The only time you'll see a bigger BB is if someone is firing an 8mm airsoft gun, which will of course have heavier BBs because they're physically bigger by default. Heavier BBs simply have better stability as a general rule of thumb (i.e. less likely to be affected by wind, etc.) BUT that comes with the trade-off in reduced velocity because they're heavier and therefore slower.

I've found dark coloured BBs to be a bit naff througout the years because you simply can't see them (as the shooter, not the target ... ). Semi-auto is much more effective as a way of not giving your position away by simple deduction of "follow the BB hose trail in mid-air".

Mark#1

Feeding issues are in his APS UAR - standard barrel from factory is 6.04mm. Makes sense that the tighter barrel would highlight inconsistent diameter BBs - good call. I imagine that the narrower barrel might simply dictate a more frequent cleaning regime - hopefully that's it.

Been reading some more on BB weights. Seems that while heavier BBs do have lower initial velocity than .2s, they can maintain a more consistent velocity throughout their travel, and hence will be more likely to make it to where you're shooting, rather than dropping off short like .2s?

All theoretic so far for me I'm afraid - still haven't got to go out and play. I like to know how all this stuff works; should mean I'm well positioned to help my son get the best out of his airsofting. Jealous of him getting a heap of new gear for xmas. Must get out for a play when I get a gap in work.


Thanks guys. :-)

Mark

Southern Dandy

Brand has alot to do with this, as you can imagine manufacturing standards vary from brand to brand, I had desperate trouble with blasters in .25g, and .28, .2 were fine, but my own recommendation is King arms, have used nearly every weight they have on offer, including the bio's, and have fled flawless in all my aegs and pistols.

Then you have compatibility issues of course, I've been lucky that both of my M4's take PTS pmags and feed flawless....touch wood!

Lemming

Mark#1 wrote: »

Feeding issues are in his APS UAR - standard barrel from factory is 6.04mm. Makes sense that the tighter barrel would highlight inconsistent diameter BBs - good call. I imagine that the narrower barrel might simply dictate a more frequent cleaning regime - hopefully that's it.

TBH, I'd still not be expecting a 6.04mm barrel to be terribly affected. I run a 6.03 tightbore in an m60 and it's had all sorts fed through it (mostly .25g being my weight of preference, then .2g if I must). That's not to rule out BB tolerance & the UAR inner barrel not playing nicely mind you. But less likely to be the issue.

Been reading some more on BB weights. Seems that while heavier BBs do have lower initial velocity than .2s, they can maintain a more consistent velocity throughout their travel, and hence will be more likely to make it to where you're shooting, rather than dropping off short like .2s?

Dropping off short isn't really to do with BB weight. More the setup & quality/state of the hop. Stabiility in flight is a mixture of BB weight and barrel length/diameter. Velocity is a mixture of BB weight, & FPS - which is also by extension a combination of spring and quality of airseal around BB (also aided by barrel diameter).

I appreceiate I've not really explained the above paragraph but will need to come back to it later after work, or you may get some mileage in the interim by searching these boards on the subject.

OzCam

Short answer: Use .25s

Long (very long) answer Airsoft Trajectory Project

At the Irish power limit, there's no real point in going much heavier than .25 unless you're using a highly tuned bolt-action. What you gain in accuracy you lose in range.

I second Lemming's comment about the AUGs. TM mags work fine - no feed issues in nearly 6 years. King Arms mags work in other guns, but not my AUGs, neither the Jing Gong nor the Classic Army. I standardised on G&G bbs, but the King Arms ones work fine too.

Testing I did with a Skan chrono recently showed that there's as much velocity difference between brands as there is between weights. I put that down to size differences. They're only nominally 6mm, the true size is more like 5.59, plus or minus a certain amount depending on who makes them.

Good luck.

Mark#1

We cleaned his UAR over the weekend - maybe 50 passes with the silicone oil-soaked kitchen roll strips in the barrel-cleaning rod. Used a cotton bud & silicone oil to clean the feed nozzle/slot/thing.

The two mags that came with it now feed fine in single and full-auto.

The P-Mag doesn't. :mad:

The UAR mags are 150rd jobbies, so having just 300 BBs in his arsenal for a game could be an issue...

He does have his G36C + two 450rd mags, but the dark earth UAR suits his xmas MultiCam gear better, and he seemed to be really getting to like using it.

The P-Mag has been a pretty tight fit in the mag-well from new, but I'm not sure that's a factor? Even a good firm whack to seat it better doesn't seem to make any difference. I don't know if the P-Mag needs to be (or can be) modified to allow better seating?

The UAR and the P-Mag were bought in separate shops - if there is a mod that will allow them to work successfully together, who would I speak to about it? The shop where we got the UAR, or where we got the P-Mag?


Thanks again guys.

Mark

Daragh.scully

If you live near SG airsoft shop in fairview I'd suggest going up there and buying black bbs for €10-€12 I think it was

ShRT

http://www.airsoftretreat.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=504

Have a look at that review - he does a mag mod to get other mags to fit ok