BBs may be very small and rarely inexpensive but they are not meant to be taken lightly. The effects of using poorly made BBs are at the very least, reduced performance, but bad BBs can and do lead to very serious gearbox failure. Examples are poorly made BBs can be found in sporting good stores. The aforementioned BBs are sold at these places because they are meant to be used with low quality air guns sold there. Low quality BBs should never be used in the higher quality airsoft guns like those sold at Mir Tactical.

The main reason why poorly made BBs are dangerous for higher end airsoft guns can be seen in example 1.1  The low standards of manufacturing a BB yield a product that is not a perfect sphere and may also leave imperfections from the injection moulding, there imperfections are harmful for two reasons. They are rough and tend to flake off inside the barrel, which leads to poor performance. As bad as that sounds the more dangerous BB is the one that isn’t perfectly round . They will get stuck inside the barrel and cause a jam which could quickly lead to major internal gearbox trouble.

Example 1.2 shows one of the consequences of a BB jam, a broken piston. If a jammed airsoft gun is fired before the jam is cleared it created an air brake inside the cylinder. Since the air inside the cylinder has nowhere to escape the piston stoke is stopped, but the gears keep coming around again, the teeth of the gears will catch the piston at the wrong point which leads immediately to a broken piston. However, the worst-case scenario is illustrated by example 1.3. Instead of the gears damaging the piston the opposite may occur, or both piston and gears will strip at the same time.

On the flip side a precision-made BBs are used then the gun will function like it was made to without adverse side effects. As seen in Example 2.1 high grade BBs are perfect spheres without flashings, and diameter of high-grade BBs will never exceed 6.0mm. High grade BBs are also polished for the smoothest possible surface to achieve maximum performance. Example 2.2 shows what a difference a BBs shape and feel make on accuracy. The precise sizing and polishing allow for a tighter, safe fit between the BB and the barrel; end result is a BB that files exactly where it was shot.

The illustration of muzzle velocity in Example 2.3 once again points out the importance of a tight fit between the BB and the inner barrel. The closest possible fit prevents less air from escaping around the sides of BB as it travels through the barrel. Less escaping air means more energy behind the BB, more energy means higher FPS, which in turn means the BB will travel further once has left the barrel.

Using poorly made BBs in a high end airsoft gun is like putting cheap gasoline in a performance automobile. There many kinds and types of high end BBs out there, a large selection of which can be found at Mir Tactical. Spending less on BBs usually means spending more on repairs; do yourself a favor and always use high grade, performance engineered BBs. Being cheap now will end up costing you more later.

The Best BB Brand to Use are ELITE FORCE and ARCTURUS. They can be found in different weights here: 

Elite Force BBS

Arcturus BBS