.20g vs. .23g+

[Mike272]

OK, so which weight bb is better? .20gram or .23gram? The heavier bb is less susceptible to trajectory changes due to wind, and they give you a tighter grouping, however, does it affect your range?

[TriChrome]

Here's the study on the range of .2 and .25 gram BB's. The differences are small, but a .25 gram BB will go further since it retains it's energy (FPS) for longer than the lighter .2 gram BB.

http://www.airsoftretreat.com/featur...les/fpsweight/

[Darklen]

Odd. I've experience the exact opposite. A 0.25g bb will give you about 20 feet or so less range the a .0.20g bb out of the same gun, but willbe more stable in flight and therefore more accurate. In short, you loose some range, but you can get more rounds on target.

[TriChrome]

Originally Posted by Darklen

Odd. I've experience the exact opposite. A 0.25g bb will give you about 20 feet or so less range the a .0.20g bb out of the same gun

We're dealing with physics here, so the facts really can't be argued, but be aware that you also have to adjust your hop-up properly between weights, or you will loose range.

The first link probably used MatLab or similar to calculate the results, but if you need real world results as well: http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forum...pic=38192&st=0

You can see that after 65 feet the .25 gram BB is moving faster than the .2 gram BB so it will go further.

[Nik12]

Originally Posted by TriChrome

We're dealing with physics here, so the facts really can't be argued, but be aware that you also have to adjust your hop-up properly between weights, or you will loose range.

That is unless we start to argue the validity of physics.

[Darklen]

That's nice. I'm just saying in all the years I've been playing, with all the different guns and BB's I've used, I've experienced the opposite. Of course, looking at the numbers, the heavier BB, while travelling faster at a said range, also drops more.

[Darklen]

In a roundabout way, what I said in my first post. Also, as has been said pepeatedly on this forum, FPS is not everything. While it give you your initial range and time to target, if the gun isn't in itself accurate or if you use too light BB's for you application, you won't be able to hit water if you fall out of a boat.

Most players start off with 0.20g bb's because you typically get more in a bag and newer players tend to lack fire control. As the players progress, they typically switch to 0.25g bb's (or heavier). While this drops their effective range (meaning you have to be closer to your target, which many players find challenging in itself), the stability of the heavier BB offsets this. You need less rounds to hit your target with a heavier BB. Of course there are some guns that just like 0.20g BB's for whatever reason. My TM Glock 26 Advance detests 0.25G bb's, no matter what I do to it. But 0.20g BB's shoot wonderfully out of it. It will out range a stock TM M4 easily and is more accurate. How? Beats me, but I'm not complaining.

To answer the initial question a bit better, I tried using 0.23g BB's a while back and found the overall performance of the 0.25g to be better. There's not a significant enough difference between the 0.20g and the 0.23g to be worth it IMO. But don't be afraid to buy a bag and try them out, your gun might like them. Also, don't be afraid to try different brands. Some guns are finicky about BB's.

[Defcon_Carl]

personally I use .23's because it shoots as far as .20's but better groupings. Also I think your guns fps may dictate which bb weight they want. A .20 going at 400fps is not as great as 350fps on .25. Remember the faster the bb goes the more wind resistance you will get. I say the recommended fps you should be aiming at for an aeg is around 350-360fps with whichever bb weight you are using.

[Skladfin]

0.25g will give you more maximum range over 0.20g. This is because it can take more hop up effect and air resistence, as well as retaining more energy during flight.

[incrediboy729]

I like .2g and .23g personally. Accurate, but not as slow and range deprived as a .25 or more. Just IMO.

[Mike272]

OK, well thanks everyone for the details, and special thanks to TriChrome for the link to the great study.

[Crunchmeister]

Personally, I tend to use .28 in my AEGs for outdoors use. I get better groupings, ad a better effective range. Not sure about maximum range because I've never tested it out. And their penetrating power in brush is far better than lighter BBs.

While .28s tend to cost more for fewer BBs, I tend to have good trigger control, so it's not an issue for me.

[johjoh]

Well IMO i think you just have to choose what u like test them both see what kind of player you are spray and pray? or accuracy?

Just IMO tough

Yet they both hands down own .12g lmao

[LUTNIT]

I found the best results for me was using .28's in guns shooting 380-450fps and .25's anything under that.

[CDN_Stalker]

I've always loved using 0.36g BBs in my KSC G19, even my stock one, easy 120ft+ kills with it. Then again, I look at a BB and it flies off to my target at any distance, even a few provinces over, so I'm not much of one to argue with some of the above posts.

Yes, ok, I was serious in the above statement, have gotten those ranges with my G19, but overall I use strictly 0.28g BBs in all my guns except my sniper rifles (0.30g, and my tests show next to no velocity drop between the 0.28g Bastards and the 0.30gBBs). 0.28g WILL go farther than anything ligher, and even my 360fps MP5 two years ago could clear 200ft with a spread of maybe 2-3ft at that distance. I'm going to be doing new studies in the new year to find out the best velocities in guns regarding performance. I'm not happy with close to 400fps in AEGs, much worse than when set at 360fps, and sniper rifles, 450, 490 and 585fps are all bad performers, but the same rifle (CA M24 fully upgraded) can get 0.30g BBs out to 300ft very easily (mind you, my group size was in the area of about 10ft, but still, considering most BBs I've seen fly veer off sometimes even before 200ft) when set to around 330fps, which is why I started thinking of making some major changes to my gun set ups in the near future to study more. Heavier BBs do require more hop up, equals more rubber in the barrel in the BBs path, and at higher velocities the BBs loses performance and seems to go out of control sooner in the flightpath than a slower moving BB of the same weight.