Airsoft pellets or BBs are spherical projectiles used in Airsoft gun models. Typically made of plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

, they usually range in size from 5.93 to 5.98 mm in diameter, though select models use 8 mm or 3 mm pellets.

Special Variants

Although the majority of pellets bought and used are simple spherical projectiles made of plastic, some of the following special varieties can be used to give a player an advantage.

Biodegradable

Biodegradable pellets are available, and are often required by outdoor fields where sweeping up is not an option. Conventional pellets pollute the environment, as most non-biodegradable pellets have a mineral- or petroleum-based center, coated in non-biodegradable plastics, thus ensuring they will stay in the environment for several hundred years if not collected. Biodegradable pellets are made of various types of resin, often developed for the agricultural industry, and better makes are certified as compostable.

There is a mixture of degradable processes being used, such as soil microbes and photosensitive degradation. Biodegradable pellets are currently being produced with all the characteristics of the best of the conventional, with homogeneous resin construction.

Bio BBs struggle to remain true to the name when approaching weights equal or greater than 0.30g and more research is needed on production materials.

Various EEC countries now only permit biodegradable pellet ammunition to be used, and many land agents are also insisting on their use on rented land. Airsoft worldwide is very late in coming to universal usage of biodegradable products which paintball has long achieved with its munitions.

Metagradeable

These bbs contain a ethanolic core wrapped inside a Lincoln chain polymer. After impact, the ethanolic core releases a methyl ion which breaks down the polymer. In short the bbs will only degrade after being shot. the only company to do this is Stark international but more manufacturers are starting to use this process.

Tracers

Glow-in-the-dark

Phosphorescence

Phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The slower time scales of the re-emission are associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions in quantum...

 BB's, known as tracer

Tracer ammunition

Tracer ammunition are bullets that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the phosphorus tail burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye...

BB's, can be used in conjunction with a device that "charges" the BB's by flashing them with a burst of visible light on leaving the barrel, so that they remain luminescent in flight for use during nocturnal games/operations. This tracer unit is usually hidden from view, often disguised as a suppressor

Suppressor

A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....

 (silencer), or is included inside the magazine. There are also biodegradable glow-in-the-dark

Phosphorescence

Phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The slower time scales of the re-emission are associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions in quantum...

 BB's available.

Paintball Pellets

Paint

Paint

Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...

-filled pellets are also available, called paintballs, which are very similar to those used by paintball

Paintball

Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...

. Airsoft models equipped with the hop-up projectile stabilizing system are not able to use these, as the thin shells are liable to break in the barrel, soiling it with paint. These special pellets are also incompatible with Airsoft models using mechanized feed systems, such as high capacity magazines, for the same reason. With some companies, the use of paintballs voids the airsoft gun's warranty; paint may get into the mechanical workings of the airsoft gun and damage parts beyond simple maintenance. These issues may be fixed by removing the hop-up unit, which can void the warranty, and also switching to a low or mid-capacity magazine with no mechanized feed.

Markers

Recently, a new kind of pellet that leaves a small mark has emerged on the market. The pellets are coated with a powder that, when it strikes the target, a mark is left. Manufacturers include Verdict and Grudge Tactical. However, these suffer from similar issues to the above - the powder often jams up guns, magazines, barrels or hop up units. While initially considered "safer", these have proven to be little better than paintball pellets.

Silica or Bio-Inert

Made from 100% silica, these BB's (most notably from BIOval and BB Bastard) have the advantage of very even material distribution and hence great flight characteristics. However, there are scattered accounts of these breaking glass and even defeating ANSI 87.1Z rated (standard) protective eye-wear. The community is currently undecided on this issue.

Metallic

Specially designed and built metallic 6 mm BBs for airsoft guns can be found on the market. These metallic BBs should typically not be used for airsoft play because they can break airsoft players' eye protection at close range, and cause other harmful injuries. These are typically designed for very high velocity sniper rifles and should ONLY be used for target shooting due to safety concerns.

Ceramic

Created from lab grown crystal lattice structures, these BB's are individually CNC machined. The result is a BB that contains no voids, is perfectly spherical and is exactly the same weight from BB to BB. The downside is they are extremely expensive. Like metallic BB's, they can defeat standard eye protection at close ranges and should only be used for long distance.

Pellet mass

Pellet mass is an important factor when choosing pellets. The pellet's mass influences several aspects of pellet performance:

Velocity:

• Lighter pellets achieve higher velocities, but are more prone to influence from external factors like wind. Lighter pellets also decelerate (lose velocity) faster than heavier pellets. Due to the increased momentum of a heavier pellet, it will hit harder than a lighter one. In addition, while apparently counter intuitive, lighter pellets can actually decrease range due to the mechanics of hop up.

Trajectory:

• The curvature of a projectile (trajectory) determines its range and lighter pellets typically result in much more curved or unpredictable trajectories. hop-up
  Hop-Up (Airsoft)
  The term Hop-up, short for High Operation Power Up, describes the back-spin put on airsoft pellets and BB's to increase their range and accuracy via Magnus effect. Hop-up acts somewhat like the rifling on the barrel of a firearm, but without the increase in horizontal accuracy...
  
   can flatten, regulate and extend trajectory.

Hardware:

• Heavier pellets may require a more powerful airsoft gun and often necessitates upgraded springs and other gun parts.

A player's choice of pellet mass is governed by their gaming style, airsoft gun (internals), game location (in/outdoor), high/low range and feet-per-second regulations.

6 mm Airsoft pellet mass and their usage

• 0.11 g - Manufactured by HFC, same use as .12 gram. Extremely Uncommon.
• 0.12 g - Extremely common, standard weight for all low grade AEG's and spring guns. Not to be used in any small arms beyond low-cost, low quality replicas firing under 250fps.
• 0.135 g - Same uses as 0.12 g. Extremely Uncommon. MFI standard. Not to be used in most guns.
• 0.15 g - Same uses as 0.12 g. Uncommon. made by only Air Venturi
• 0.16 g - Essentially the same as the 0.15 g pellets. made only by Air Venturi
• 0.20 g - Second most common weight. Standard for almost all velocity tests. AEGs are able to use these, however, most experienced players will use heavier masses due to the increased accuracy and range.Bio versions made by Green Devil being one of the most popular makes in the Scandinavian countries and many other parts of Europe, & UK.
• 0.22 g - no longer in production. Used to be available from KWC and Western Arms.
• 0.23 g - Heavier pellets for AEGs. Blends speed of 0.20 g with range and accuracy of 0.25 g. Made popular by Tsunami Airsoft
• 0.24 g - Only known manufacturers are Airstrike (a subsidiary of Daisy
  Daisy Outdoor Products
  Daisy is a company that makes and sells inexpensive BB guns and other air guns.-History:Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns...
  
  ) and Crosman
  Crosman
  Crosman Corporation is a leading, worldwide designer, manufacturer and supplier of products for the shooting sports. The company has a long standing presence in airgun design and a proud tradition of producing high quality pellet and BB air rifles and pistols...
  
  
• 0.25 g - Heaviest mass for lower powered AEGs, blowback and spring guns. Tokyo Marui
  Tokyo Marui
  ' is an airsoft gun manufacturer located in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan. Its main market is Japan, but third-party retailers sell in Hong Kong , Taiwan , South Korea, East Asia, and worldwide....
  
   standard AEG, gas, and spring guns are set at the factory for 0.25 gram BB's, and they usually include a package of 200 of these with the gun.Bio versions made by Green Devil being one of the most popular makes in the Scandinavian countries and many other parts of Europe, & UK.
• 0.26 g - Made by TSD in biodegradable form.
• 0.27 g - Made by Bioval BBBMAX. They are (ostensibly) considered to be of the same grade, if not higher than the Maruzen SGM, while being significantly less expensive.
• 0.28 g - For higher velocity AEGs or sniper rifles. Typically cheaper than 0.30 g but yields similar performance. Bio versions are made by Green Devil, one of the most popular manufacturers in Europe.
• 0.29 g - Maruzen Super Grandmaster BBs, designed for their Air Precision Shooting series of guns. One of the most precisely ground and accurate BBs available, but cost roughly 10x more than typical alternatives.
• 0.30 g - Standard mass for most sniper rifles. Have become more common in recent times with some of the top brands like Bioval and Bioshot, Bio versions made by Green Devil being one of the most popular makes in the Scandinavian countries and many other parts of Europe, & UK.
• 0.32 g - Also standard for sniper rifles. Offers excellent balance of velocity and stability for most spring and gas sniper rifles. A well known brand is Goldenball.
• 0.36 g - Heavier pellets for sniper rifles. Slower, but have high stability. Produced by Madbull Airsoft, among others. BB Bastard manufactures a ceramic BB in this mass class.
• 0.40 g - Heavy pellets for airsoft sniper rifles. Mad Bull is a known producer. Even slower than 0.36g but even more stable and maintains its velocity better.
• 0.43 g - For the highest level of upgrades in spring and gas sniper rifles. Usually graphite
  Graphite
  The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
  
   coated.
• 0.66 g - For extreme long range, not used against human targets. This is a ceramic CNC machined BB made by BB Bastard.
• 0.90 g - Nickel-plated steel BBs sold by Abacus Claysports of the UK.

8 mm Airsoft pellet masses

• 0.27 g - Low mass
• 0.34 g (Normal)- Standard mass
• 0.35 g (Biodegradable)- Standard mass
• 0.4 g
• 0.45 g
• 0.48 g
• 0.50 g
• 0.90 g Heaviest mass

Pellet speed, energy and mass

The pellet speed of automatic electric guns is determined in large part by the tension of their main spring and so there tends to be a stratification of values. The most common airsoft speed limits are between 300 and 400 ft/s (91.4 and 121.9 m/s) for AEGs and 400 to- for single shot guns (sniper rifles). Below are some common speeds of airsoft pellets.

• As for comparison purposes, 3.00 g is the typical mass of a paintball
  Paintball
  Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
  
   pellet. At this mass a pellet flying at 100 m/s results in 15 J. Such energy levels and mass are not used on Airsoft, but comparing them with airsoft energy levels is useful to show the presence of different collisions in these sports. Higher energy but different collisions read Elastic collision
  Elastic collision
  An elastic collision is an encounter between two bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the two bodies after the encounter is equal to their total kinetic energy before the encounter...
  
  s (airsoft) and Inelastic collision
  Inelastic collision
  An inelastic collision, in contrast to an elastic collision, is a collision in which kinetic energy is not conserved.In collisions of macroscopic bodies, some kinetic energy is turned into vibrational energy of the atoms, causing a heating effect, and the bodies are deformed.The molecules of a gas...
  
  s (paintball) topics for further information.
• Red line in speed vs energy image is the usual Crony (chronograph) weight for 6 mm (0.20 g).

Dangers to humans

Airsoft pellets typically leave small lesions (welts) on exposed skin with human targets. While mildly painful, pellets are not typically damaging to the skin. Eye protection is universally mandatory to prevent damage to eyes. It is also often recommended that full face masks and body protection be used during airsoft matches to protect the players' teeth and ears.

Although there have been no documented cases in airsoft, there is a possible hazard when dealing with graphite-coated pellets. In the early days of paintball some players would coat their rounds with graphite

Graphite

The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...

so that they would feed into the gun better. Players started to find that if any rounds broke the skin, the wound would not properly heal, leaving a scar. Players and field owners should be aware that this problem may exist in the realm of airsoft as well.

The following excerpts are from the United Kingdom Parliament's "Principles of firearms control",
Home Affairs Select Committee Second Report, 6 April 2000, expound on the level of danger involved with low-energy projectiles:

"25. The Firearms Act 1968 defines a firearm "a lethal barreled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other :missile can be discharged".[51] In this context, a "lethal weapon" means a weapon capable of firing a projectile with sufficient :force to inflict more than a trivial injury, i.e. with a force sufficient to puncture the skin.[52] The force with which a firearm :is able to deliver a projectile is normally expressed in terms of the kinetic energy it generates at its muzzle—the "muzzle energy". :This energy is normally expressed in units of foot-pounds (ft·lbs) or joules (J).[53]

"26. The Home Office and the Forensic Science Service considers that the lowest level of muzzle energy capable of inflicting a penetrating wound is one foot pound force (1.35 J): below these power levels, weapons are "incapable of penetrating even vulnerable parts of the body, such as the eye".[54] However, more recent analysis by the Forensic Science Agency for Northern Ireland has indicated that a more reasonable assessment of the minimum muzzle energy required to inflict a penetrating wound lies between 2.2 and 3.0 ft·lbf (3 to 4 J).[55] We will deal more fully with this discrepancy at paragraphs 123 to 130 below."

"123. The power level at and above which an air weapon is considered a firearm in law is presently set at 1 ft·lbf. However, we note above that the Forensic Science Agency of Northern Ireland has more recently assessed the power level at which a barreled weapon is capable of inflicting a lethal wound as between 2.2 and 3 ft·lbf, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has proposed that the law relating to firearms in Northern Ireland be amended to take this into account.[201]"

On another document also regarding firearms, "The Eleventh Annual Report of the Firearms Consultative Committee", the penetration levels lies between 2 and 3 J based on a research for US Army and DiMaio's work in "Minimal Velocities Necessary for Perforation of Skin by Air Pellets and Bullets, Journal of Forensic Sciences".

Date	Reference	Energy level	Observations
April 2000	Principles of firearms control [paragraph 26],Home Office and the Forensic Science Service;	1,35J	penetrating wound (later changed by paragraph 123, see below)
April 2000	Principles of firearms control [paragraph 123], Forensic Science Agency for Northern Ireland;	3,00J~4,00J	penetrating[26]/lethal[123] wound
March 2002	The Eleventh Annual Report of the Firearms Consultative Committee DiMaio's work in Minimal Velocities Necessary for Perforation of Skin by Air Pellets and Bullets,Journal of Forensic Sciences;	2,00J~3,00J	penetration level