Airsoft Pellets - Pellet Mass

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 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.

Also, quality of the individual BBs may influence choice of price-range or manufacturer. Low-cost BBs are often considered to have such negative characteristics as residual plastic from the moulding process (flash); lower impact resistance and some deviation from perfect spherical shape. Cheaper BBs are known to shatter when fired, which can cause irreparable damage to the internals of the gun. Higher cost BBs generally have a smoother finish, are more impact resistant and are perfectly spherical.