BB or not BB! That is the question.

 

 

 

BB test sponsored by:

 

 

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Abstract

 

This next BB test has been carried out by Bear, Mongoose and NightStalker, whom are proud members of the Dutch airsoft team called; The Hunters1. All tested BBs were sponsored by Airsoft Store (www.airsoftstore.eu).

This test was carried out on the 22nd of March 2007 and took place at CommandO playfield in Schoten, Belgium which was generously put to our disposal by its owner.

 

 

Introduction

 

Most of you will know that playing with biodegradable BBs is a must on most Belgium airsoft playfields. Most of you also know that a lot of so called biodegradable BBs are not environmental friendly at all. How can you test it without having a full scale laboratory at your disposal? Just put some BBs in the dirt and wait to see what happens? How long do you have to wait for them to dissolve before you can call them biodegradable? And if they dissolve, does this automatically mean that they are environmentally friendly? These are a lot of questions that we don’t have answers to at this moment.

 

Personally we believe that we all should do our best to protect our environment. But it also should be within the limits of being reasonable. Of course tests in the past have shown that there are brands sold as biodegradable which are not environmentally friendly at all. They dissolve in nature, which makes them biodegradable, but they contain styrene2 and barium sulfate3 and therefore are not environmentally friendly at all. But isn’t the need for using environmentally friendly BBs a little but exaggerated? If you would take the total amount of BBs that are laying around at Belgium playfields, you could come to the conclusion that the amounts of styrene and barium sulfate are insignificantly low. Isn’t the amount of heavy metals that are released into our environment when driving to and from a skirmish much higher? Anyway, this test is not to determine if BBs are environmentally friendly. It is just a test to see how different BBs behave when fired out of a standard AEG. It was the small plastic container with ECO BBs that was handed over during our recent visit to the IWA 2007 that caught our full attention, and intrigued us to do this test. The reason was that you don’t need to have a degree in science to notice that these BBs where mainly made out of some sort of starch. Well, more details can be found at the actual test of the products. So, as one of our most favorite poets, Shakesbeer once said: BB or not BB! That is the question. Let's see the test.

Method of testing

 

It does not require much to do a half way decent BB test. All you need are an airsoft gun, BBs, some targets and a steady hand. To give our test a more professional appearance we also used a chronograph and micrometer to do a velocity and diameter check on all BBs.

For testing we used an ICS M4 Para 2006 Limited Edition, which was downgraded in order to meet the 350 FPS limit, which is the standard for AEGs in Belgium. Yes, out of the box it was way out of allowed limit. ICS is one of the brands which work perfectly in single shot mode and was therefore chosen to be used in this test. Shooting was done using STAR realcaps which were manually filled with BBs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In our opinion setting the target at a far distance seems useless, so we decided to settle for a 12 meter distance in order to make sure that the BBs would penetrate the target cards. Airsoft guns are just toys, although some of us spend enormous amounts of money to prove otherwise. And toys behave completely different than real weapons. Airsoft guns are inaccurate; don’t shoot straight and most of the parameters that are responsible for the BBs flight paths are difficult to control. In other words; shoot 10 BBs at the same spot and they spread like scared chickens. In order to minimize the spread a table was used for support of the airsoft replica. This test shows that there is, however, a big difference in spread between different types of BBs. Let’s take a closer look at the tested products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actual test

 

1. Excel 0.20 gram non-degradable

 

This is the standard BB of Excel that is most common used.

As you can see from the card on the right side, the grouping of the shots is not bad for a start. 10 shorts were fired at the target and 9 of them were a hit within a 73 mm circle spread. BB number 10 did not reach the target, was way off or did not come out of the barrel at all. With an average diameter of 5.90 mm it is the largest Excel BB we tested and number 6 in the overall list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Excel 0.23 gram non-degradable

 

This is not a BB that you would expect in a standard test. The weight of 0.23 gram is not so often used in airsoft. We can’t really see the use of it at all. The reason we put it in, is that there is another 0.23 gram BB tested. Only 8 out of 10 BBs hit the target. Either Bear was not shooting straight or 2 BBs did not leave the barrel when the trigger was pulled.

With a spread of 71 mm, this BB is comparable with the previous one, and is second best in the overall list.

Since the diameter is smaller than the Excel 0.20 gram BB, but heavier in weight, it must be made in a more compact way.

 

 

 

3. Excel 0.25 gram non-degradable

 

This BB has only a diameter of 5.77 mm, and is therefore the smallest of all tested BBs. If you look at the fact that it only has a spread of 51 mm and also 10 out of 10 shots that hit the target, you can clearly understand why this BB type is our test winner and favorite when it comes to accuracy. It is also the 2nd slowest BBs that we have tested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Excel 0.20 gram biodegradable

 

This type is sold as a biodegradable BB. But as some know from the recent past, it was tested4 and although it could be biodegradable, it is not environmentally friendly at all. Its velocity of 324 FPS is within the mid range of tested BBs, and its diameter of 5.84 mm is the same as the other tested Excel biodegradable BBs. The spread of 108 mm, however, puts this type in the lower section of our test and comparable with the 1st Target BBs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Excel 0.25 gram biodegradable

 

Here is the other type of biodegradable from Excel, and results of the previous mentioned test4, also apply to this type. Its velocity of 324 FPS is exactly the same as that of the 0.2 gram and also within the mid range of tested BBs. It also has exactly the same diameter of 5.84 mm. The spread of 102 mm is a little bit better than its lighter brother, but still does not put it into the best half of our test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. 1st Target 0.20 gram non-degradable

 

1st Target also has biodegradable BBs on the market, but this type is not included in our test. Why? That is because it is not worth testing. They are so extremely bad, because of its unpredictable flight path and the fact that they also break in 2 pieces even before leaving the barrel. Not worth spending money and time on testing. What about this one?  At first we can say that it is the slowest BB that we have tested. It also shares the 3rd place with Xtreme Precision 0.20 gram biodegradable if you look at the diameter. Its spread is also poor in combination with only 8 out of 10 shots hitting the target.

 

 

 

7. Xtreme Precision 0.20 gram biodegradable

 

If you are looking for speed, then this is the one to choose. Its 336 FPS makes this BB the fastest in our test; closely followed by Excel 0.20 gram non-degradable with 330 FPS.

The spread of 84 mm just places this type outside our top 3, but is still qualified as good, especially when you look at it in combination with 9 shots out of 10 hitting the target.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Xtreme Precision 0.23 gram non-degradable

 

Our second tested type with a weight of 0.23 grams. Like the other Xtreme BB type, this one was given to us during our visit to the IWA 2007.

Since it is non-degradable it seems of little use while playing in Belgium, but we have tested it anyway. Its speed is in the lowest part of the ranking, and the spread is the worst of all BBs that have been tested. It is only in 1st place when it comes to its diameter of 5.96 mm. It is not a BB that should be used in a precision barrel without expecting trouble.

 

 

 

 

9. ECO BB 0.20 gram biodegradable

 

This is the type we were really looking forward to test. You don’t need to get this one analyzed to find out it is biodegradable. It was not easy to test this type, but finally we managed. Details of our findings can be found in separate section of this test. This BB is the 2nd worst when it comes to spread. It is not a BB you want to you use on single shot or even sniper guns. Not a type of BB that should be on anyone’s wish list, unless you want a substitute for sugar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Biotech BB 0.20 gram biodegradable

 

Biotech or Bioval as it also is called, is the house brand of CommandO and the type of BB that we use most. Biotech is the only known BB that is 100% environmental friendly4, but hard to get because it seems that they are no longer produced. The speed is average, and the same as most BBs that have been tested. The spread of 92 mm is exactly in the middle of our test. All shots that were fired hit the target.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Biotech BB 0.25 gram biodegradable

 

This is the final type of BB that we have tested and also the only BBs that are used by Mongoose so far. The speed is average and exactly the same as that of the 0.20 gram. The same applies to the diameter of 5.93 mm which is also exactly the same as that of the 0.20 gram. The spread is a little bit better and holds 5th place in our test. Also 9 out of 10 BBs have hit the target which is not bad at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of the ECO BBs

 

As already stated; this is the type of BB about which we had high expectations. Since it is getting more and more difficult to find Bioval BBs, the need for an alternative is growing. This BB looked very promising because it is completely biodegradable and environmentally friendly. It is mainly made out of starch and when you put in your mouth, it tastes like sugar. It dissolves fast in water and once you have opened the package, the BBs should be used within 14 days, otherwise they loose their strength. Guess what? They already loose their strength as soon as you take them out of the package. We used STAR realcaps to test the BBs and filled the magazine using a filling tube with a rod. If you put the BBs inside the magazine with normal force, then they already break apart as you can see from the photo. This is something you don’t want to happen in your magazines and surely not inside your airsoft replica.

We managed to test those BBs by gently putting 10 of them inside one of our realcaps. This can be done for a test, but will be nearly impossible to do at a skirmish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rankings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

This event left us very disappointed as we had high hopes about ECO BBs. It looks like we have to wait and see if this Xtreme Precision biodegradable turns out to be environmentally friendly or ECO BBs composition will be changed in a way that they don’t fall apart too soon and its performance improves.

Meanwhile we have to use Bioval on certain playfields, as long as they are available.

If environmentally friendly BBs are not a must, we recommend using Excel non-degradable or Xtreme Precision Biodegradable.

 For comments, remarks or questions please send an email to mongoose@the-hunters.nl

 

 

References

 

1http://www.the-hunters.nl

 

2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styrene

 

3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium_sulfate

 

4Test performed by Borealis and VSAF on 18.08.2004. Results and comments on this test can by found at http://www.vsaf.se/forum/viewtopic.php?t=181