Post by 2nd Bat on Jul 3, 2006 0:07:46 GMT -5
At the airsoft Bootcamp held by Battlesim. During the marksmanship phase students fired at near and far targets in very controlled circumstances with lots of observers both at the firer and down range. There were some fascinating observations.
During the marksmanship phase completed by 15 students it was real obvious that many players simply have no idea how to aim a weapon and don't have a realistic grip on the limitations and capacity of their airsoft weapons. Many thought for sure they were getting hits (when they weren't ) and many dramatically underestimated or over estimated the range and accuracy of their guns.
We also had a chance in a controlled environment to do a little experimenting ourselves and made some surprising discoveries. .25 gram BBs fired from the same gun under the same conditions actually outrange .20 grams and upgrades don't effect range nearly as much as most players assume they do. (10 to 15 feet!)
The reason for the increased range on heavier BBs (to a point) is that the FPS though higher at the muzzle is actually less at 20 feet and quite a bit less at 30 feet. The inertia is greater with the heavier Bbs I guess. Since the net FPS is higher on average throughout the flight of the BB, the heavier (25 gram Bbs) went about 10 to 15 feet further then the 20 gram. If you have a stock AEG use .25 gram (I always wondered why they were always sent with the Marui guns) If you have an upgraded gun look into .28s if you can get them. Upgraded rifles using .28 Bbs provided about 35 extra feet in range. Part of this might be tighter more uniform shapes for the Bbs but I think it's really primarily the weight of the BB which is counter intuitive I know.
One huge observation is that to the firer "hits" often times aren't (especially at long range) When the inertia of the BBs is lost they practically drop straight down. To the marksman they swear it hit the target and fell off the target. In fact in many cases it was on target but reached it's inertia point and simply fell short at the feet of the target. It explains many of the "Those guys aren't calling their hits." arguments. Also at optimal range there is very little inertia so quite frankly long range shots often aren't going to be felt by even an honest player if they're getting hit at all.
How many (even seasoned) airsofters have actually taken the time to truly know the capabilities and limitations of their weapons? Very few I suspect. I never had (like that)and it was enlightening. It's one more reason why the airsoft camp was so cool.
During the marksmanship phase completed by 15 students it was real obvious that many players simply have no idea how to aim a weapon and don't have a realistic grip on the limitations and capacity of their airsoft weapons. Many thought for sure they were getting hits (when they weren't ) and many dramatically underestimated or over estimated the range and accuracy of their guns.
We also had a chance in a controlled environment to do a little experimenting ourselves and made some surprising discoveries. .25 gram BBs fired from the same gun under the same conditions actually outrange .20 grams and upgrades don't effect range nearly as much as most players assume they do. (10 to 15 feet!)
The reason for the increased range on heavier BBs (to a point) is that the FPS though higher at the muzzle is actually less at 20 feet and quite a bit less at 30 feet. The inertia is greater with the heavier Bbs I guess. Since the net FPS is higher on average throughout the flight of the BB, the heavier (25 gram Bbs) went about 10 to 15 feet further then the 20 gram. If you have a stock AEG use .25 gram (I always wondered why they were always sent with the Marui guns) If you have an upgraded gun look into .28s if you can get them. Upgraded rifles using .28 Bbs provided about 35 extra feet in range. Part of this might be tighter more uniform shapes for the Bbs but I think it's really primarily the weight of the BB which is counter intuitive I know.
One huge observation is that to the firer "hits" often times aren't (especially at long range) When the inertia of the BBs is lost they practically drop straight down. To the marksman they swear it hit the target and fell off the target. In fact in many cases it was on target but reached it's inertia point and simply fell short at the feet of the target. It explains many of the "Those guys aren't calling their hits." arguments. Also at optimal range there is very little inertia so quite frankly long range shots often aren't going to be felt by even an honest player if they're getting hit at all.
How many (even seasoned) airsofters have actually taken the time to truly know the capabilities and limitations of their weapons? Very few I suspect. I never had (like that)and it was enlightening. It's one more reason why the airsoft camp was so cool.