Interested in airsoft? Pondering how much it will cost to dive into this exciting sport? Beyond your gun and protective gear, your recurring budget will mainly go towards ammo, or BBs as they're colloquially known. Your playing style and the replica you choose will determine how many BBs you consume each time you step onto the field. Picture this: Engaging in an intense, full-auto match could exhaust your BBs faster than a considerate sniper role. It’s not just about quantity though; remember, the quality and weight of your BBs also affect your pocketbook.
A bag of 4000 airsoft BBs costs around $15. Depending on the weight of the BBs you like to play with, you can expect to pay up to $20 for premium quality BBs. Biodegradable BBs are more expensive coming in at around $25 for a pack of 4000.
Depending on the brand, you can expect to spend $9-12 for a bag of 4000 BBS weighing .25 or .28 gram. These are the most commonly used weights for most players and should provide adequate performance in most airsoft replicas.
Lighter BBs like .20 gram are cheaper at around $9 per pack of 5000 and they should be used in low power replicas and support guns that are designed to provide a consistently high rate of fire.
BBs heavier than .28 are more expensive at around $15 for a pack of 2500. These can provide better accuracy for high-end guns and high power builds like DMR replicas.
Airsoft snipers generally use .4 gram or heavier BBs and these tend to be more expensive at around $20 per 500 BBs. These are recommended for high power replicas because they perform better over distance and thus provide accuracy and consistency.
Specialist ammo such as tracers and biodegradable BBs have an increased price. Biodegradable BBs are almost twice as expensive, so a pack of 5000 BBs will cost roughly $20. Tracer BBs are what you need if you decide to run a tracer unit on your replica. Their price is anywhere from $30 to $50, again depending on the weight.
Understanding BB Costs
You'll find that BB prices vary widely, influenced by several factors. Like any commodity, prices fluctuate from one manufacturer to another, coupled with variations in performance among different brands. A crucial determinant of BB cost is its weight. Typically, heavier BBs command higher prices due to the distinct manufacturing materials employed.
The lightest, and consequently cheapest, BBs weigh around .12 grams and are best suited for low-powered guns. Heavier BBs ranging from .2, .23, .25, .28, .3, .32, .36, .4 up to .6 grams offer distinct performance in accuracy and range.
Optimum weight selection depends on the specifications of your airsoft replica. Beginner-level guns perform well with BBs weighing between .2 to .28 grams, largely dependent on your hop up unit's quality. High-end guns with superior parts can manage heavier BBs. For sniper or DMR replicas aiming for maximum range and accuracy, the heaviest BBs are your go-to choice.
Why Pay For Quality BBs?
Purchasing BBs accounts for a significant portion of expenses if you partake in airsoft. Fortunately, the sport has evolved to offer premium BBs at reasonable prices. Ask any experienced airsoft player and they'll vouch for the value of investing in the best BBs that your budget allows - lower cost alternatives might not deliver on performance and accuracy. Worse yet, cheap BBs are notorious for disintegrating inside the gun, leading to jams and malfunctions. Imagine the dismay if your replica malfunctions due to poor-quality BBs, especially considering the potentially steep repair costs. Investing a bit more upfront on quality BBs can lead to significant savings over time by reducing the need for constant repairs.
Pro tip: Don’t use the sample BBs you get when buying your first airsoft replica.
Brands I swear by and endorse: BLS, Elite Force, G&G, Krytac. While this list isn't exhaustive, with other great brands out there, I found these to consistently deliver top-notch performance. Consequently, choose the brand that suits your budget and meets your expectations for value.
Some other issues that are associated with low quality BBs are: inconsistent shape and weight, poor flight trajectory and poor polishing.
If you want to get the most out of your airsoft gun and by this I mean having it perform consistently in terms of range and accuracy, then BB quality is something you need to consider. High end BBs tend to go through better quality control processes and that ensures that most of them have exactly the same weight and that they are perfectly spherical in shape. If the BBs you use aren’t correctly manufactured, they will fly all over the place and leave you at a disadvantage when facing other players. In addition, even a minute difference in weight can affect the performance of your hop unit, making your shots even more inconsistent.
Consider the polishing of your BBs as it significantly impacts their aerodynamic traits, dictating their flight accuracy. A shoddy finish can sabotage trajectory and cause loading issues, implying your BBs wouldn't cooperate with your magazines or navigate properly inside your hop up and barrel. This creates potential for gun jams, hop up rubber damage, and even harm to your inner barrel - negatively impacting overall replica performance.
BB Weight in Terms of Cost
As I explained above, the higher the weight of the BB, the higher its cost. Lightweight BBs like .12 or .2 gram are the cheapest you can buy and they can work well. However, most replicas these days tend to perform better with heavier BBs like .25 or .28 as these perform better in terms of accuracy and range. You need to understand that there are a lot of factors that can influence the flight of a BB, especially wind, air humidity and temperature (air density is different). As you can imagine, a .2 gram BB is more easily blown off course by a light breeze than a heavier .3 gram one. That is why, it is recommended to use the heaviest BBs that your gun can fire reliably as you will get better performance.
Heavier BBs cost more because there is a difference in either the density of the materials or in the materials themselves. Keep in mind that in spite of the different weights, the BBs still need to have the same size – 6 mm. To achieve this difference in weight, the manufacturing process is slightly more complex and therefore more expensive. This is reflected in the price of the BB.
For example, as I’m writing this article, the price of a pack of 5000 G&G .2 gram BBs costs $9.40 on Evike.com, which means the price per 1 BB is 0.0018 dollars. A pack of 3500 G&G .3 gram BBs which I generally use costs $10, so the price per 1 BB is 0.0028 dollars. In my mind, I am happy to spend a little extra on the heavier BBs because they work better in my AEGs.
Specialist BBs
Specialist BBs, including biodegradable BBs and tracer BBs, offer unique benefits. Biodegradable BBs, often referred to as Bio BBs, are eco-friendly alternatives composed of polylactic acid (or polylactide). They are designed to decompose over time under standard conditions, typically taking about a year, much quicker as compared to the 3 to 7 years required for regular plastic BBs.
Bio BBs are more expensive than regular BBs, sometimes being almost twice the price. If you want to use them, you should allow for a higher ammo budget. It’s also important to note that there are some airsoft fields that only allow bio BBs to be used on premises, so you should check beforehand if it’s your first time visiting.
Tracer BBs are meant to be used with a tracer unit. This gadget is very popular in the speedsoft community as the games are mostly indoors and in low light conditions. Tracer BBs light up when they are fired so it’s much easier to see their trajectory and if they did hit the target. The BBs have a special phosphor coating that is charged by the UV LEDs found in the tracer unit, making the phosphor glow in the dark. Another advantage of using these BBs is that they allow you to aim your shots without using the sights or the scope.
Effective Strategies to Economize on BB Purchases
The best tip that I can give you is to buy in bulk. Most shops and online stores will generally give you discounts if you purchase more than 1-2 bags of BBs. I tend to buy five bags of 4000 BBs every two or three months, depending on how much I’m playing. This can save me 5-10 dollars per purchase, depending on the available discounts.
Airsoft stores tend to have sales at least once per month, so it’s a good idea to buy your BBs when they are at a discounted price. Just sign up to newsletters from airsoft online stores and you will be notified when they are having a sale and you can just quickly log in and buy a few months supply.
Perhaps the most straightforward tactic to conserve BBs is to fire less, which of course, hinges on your play style. Lovers of full-auto gameplay may breeze through thousands of BBs over a weekend. As you accumulate experience, you'll indeed grasp how and when to fire efficiently. Novices often grapple with discerning their replica's effective range and may end up shooting scores of BBs that fall short of the target - an obvious waste. Keep an eye on this if you're aiming to pinch pennies.
How Many Airsoft BBs Should You Buy?
While I can’t give you an exact answer, I can give you some tips from my experience. For my regular Sunday game of around 5 – 6 hours I tend to fire around 3000 BBs. For my gun I use a regular rifle that I use both in single shot and full auto depending on the rules of each scenario.
Your chosen gun and role will determine your BB consumption, which might be more or less than my usual usage. As a safety buffer, I suggest carrying about 10,000 BBs with you for a full day’s play. If you exhaust your supply, you may borrow from teammates or replenish your stock from a local shop if there’s one nearby.
Keep in mind that if you are planning to use a LMG or other type of support gun, you might need more because it will be your job to suppress enemy positions with continuous fire. If sniping is your thing, then you must understand that while your range is better than regular rifles, your rate of fire (especially for bolt action guns) is significantly lower. This means that you will use less BBs than your average rifleman.
Closing Thoughts
While BB purchases are part of your airsoft expenditure, they are relatively minor when compared to other costs like equipment and event fees. There's a myriad of strategies to procure your ammo at discounted prices – seize such opportunities as they arise. Also, remember that airsoft BBs are considerably cheaper than paintballs - so consider yourself fortunate.
