There is a wide variety of ammunition available for airsoft players today. On the market these days you can find heavy-duty precision BBs, paintball-esque pellets, glow-in-the-dark "tracers" and much, much more. So you may be wondering, "How do I choose what kind of ammo is right for my airsoft gun?"There are a few general rules that you should remember, but perhaps the most important is "You get what you pay for." That's right, the cheaper the ammunition, (in most cases) the worse it performs. When you buy ammunition, you shouldn't be cheap. Being cheap can lead to breaking your gun, and breaking your gun leads to no airsoft. For instance, cheaper (standard) ammo often has many visible seams in the pellets. Visible seams can often attest to the low quality of the pellets, and you should try to buy seamless pellets whenever possible. Pellets with seams can explode or come apart in your gun or in flight, and can damage the barrel of your cherished weapon. That doesn't mean you should go buy the most expensive can of BBs you can find, but it does mean you should deliberate a bit more when purchasing ammo.
When you're choosing airsoft ammunition, there are three standard available weights of pellets. Keep in mind that almost all airsoft guns fire 6mm pellets, but there are varying types and weights of this size of ammunition. The three typically available weights of airsoft pellets are .12 gram (average ammunition, often called "premium"), .20 gram (used for more precision), and .25 gram (used for good precision). Now, the heavier the BB, the better accuracy you're going to get, but if the BB is too heavy you're going to lose some range.
.12g BBs are really best for lower end airsoft guns, because they're light and don't put punishment on the gun like the other two do. Also, they are considered the cheapest out of three. If you're using a spring or even low end electric airsoft gun, go for the .12g ammo. If you have a higher end CO2 or electric airsoft gun, then the heavier pellets are great. The .20g and .25g pellets make your shots much more accurate, and they also pack a harder punch (whether or not that is a good thing is up to you). As stated before, the downside to this is that they can mess up weaker guns and they're more expensive than their lighter counterparts. You will find that .25g ammo is the most expensive out of all three of them.
You can also find ammunition in other weights, but these three are the most commonly and widely available.
Now, on to the fun stuff. When looking at "special" BBs you have to remember that they have specific weights too. The first, and possibly the most interesting, type of special ammo we're going to look at is paint-ball pellets. That's right, you can play paint-ball with airsoft guns. These paint-ball pellets usually come in bright colors and are made of a plastic core surrounded by paint that splatters on contact with a target. These are cool, but they get your clothes dirty and can make a mess of the playing area. They do make it easier to see who you hit but, why not just go play paint-ball instead?
Next up is "biodegradable" airsoft ammunition. For about $3 more than a regular tub of precision ammo, you can get a tub of "biodegradable" airsoft pellets at the same weight. Don't be fooled though, these BBs are often just stuffed with mildly degradable materials to meet certain standards, and then stuffed with other crap that doesn't degrade at all. If a normal airsoft pellet takes 5 to 6 years (yup, that long) to degrade, then these take about 3 or 4 years. That's still a whole year, but that's probably not a huge difference. Unless you're really bent on getting these or like them for their color and weight, I'd have to say skip it unless you can find which brands are reliable online.
Finally, there are the wonderous tracer pellets. These pellets absorb light during the day or when exposed to a light source, and then glow in the dark. This makes it easy to see where you're shooting in the dark because of the glow , and when you're shooting in the day due to their white color. I personally love these, and use them quite often because they help me adjust my aim. These usually come in the typical .12 gram weight, so they aren't that hard to get a hold of.
Use airsoft pellets that will compliment your gun and play style. Don't buy .25 gram BBs if you're playing with a spring pistol, and don't buy paint marker BBs if people are going to get ticked off at you and you're going to stain the playing field. If all else fails, just ignore the special ammo and choose out a decent tub of good ol' fashioned plastic BBs. Using the right kind of ammunition can greatly influence your game, and can have you hitting out your friends left and right. Go get em!
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