Ammunition

The ammunition of soft air guns is called BB.

There are several possible explanations for the meaning of the abbreviation. On the one hand, the term comes from the term ball bearing, as the round balls used in sporting air rifles often originated from ball bearing production. On the other hand, it seems just as plausible that the term was adopted from the field of compressed air weapons, which originally stood for a specific shot size. In fact, such a classification can still be found today among US manufacturers, such as Winchester or Federal Premium, where BBB stands for .190" (4.83mm), the said BB for .180" (4.57mm), while other sizes are designated with numbers such as #1, #2 etc.[1]. Still other sources resolve the abbreviation BB to baby bullet, which means "small bullet".

Soft air ammunition is almost always 6 mm diameter bullets, usually made of plastic. Sharp ammunition cannot be fired with soft air weapons. The market offers BBs in different weights, from 0.12 g to 0.85 g. In addition to normal BBs, biodegradable starch bullets, which disintegrate after about a year when unused and after 2-3 weeks when exposed to moisture, metal-coated and graphite-coated bullets are also available. Solid aluminum or steel pellets are also occasionally used for target shooting. The most common are 6 mm pellets in the weights 0.12 g (for very weak soft air guns), 0.20 g and 0.25 g, often as a biodegradable variant.

Phosphorescent ammunition can be exposed in the barrel - in conjunction with a special barrel adapter, the so-called "tracer" - with a short, bright UV flash to achieve the effect of tracer ammunition.

In the 1990s, soft air guns were also produced that fired aspherical pellets. The best known of these ammunition is the "Blade Bullet" from Asahi. This ammunition was intended to be fired from Asahi's M700 and M40 rifles (produced in 1993), but the Asahi M700/M40 series was confiscated and destroyed by the Japanese police a few weeks after its release, as it was possible to convert it to real .22 cartridges in just a few steps.

Color-filled ammunition is available, but is not compatible with soft air guns that have a "hop-up" or are more powerful than 0.5 joules, as otherwise the color bullet would burst in the barrel. There is also a special caliber of 5.5 mm for which no color ammunition is available.

6 mm BB: Weight and intended use

0.12 g - For soft air weapons with <0.25 J.
0.15 g - see 0.12 g. Mostly organic BB.
0.16 g - Compromise between 0.2 and 0.12 BB. Suitable for low-power soft air weapons under 0.5 J.
0.18 g - Well suited for soft air guns with approx. 0.3 - 0.35 J.
0.20 g - the standard weight for many soft air guns. Most GBB with fixed hop-up are adjusted for this ammunition. Compared to 0.25 g GBBs, they are more easily affected by air movements in their trajectory. According to the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of momentum, the muzzle velocity is higher than with
0.25 g BBs with the same kinetic energy. They are therefore ideal for short distances where a stable trajectory over long distances is secondary. For soft air guns with 0.4 to approx. 0.9 J.
0.23 g - compromise solution between 0.20 g and 0.25 g.
0.25 g - forms the upper limit for standard soft air guns. Fly slower than 0.2 g BBs with the same kinetic energy, but with a more stable trajectory. They are also less easily deflected by foliage than lighter BBs.
0.28 g - standard weight for heavily tuned soft air guns. Significantly cheaper than 0.3 g BBs with similar performance.
0.29 g - Special BB from Maruzen, polished and very small manufacturing tolerances. Suitable for soft air guns with precision barrels.
0.30 g - Weight of choice for most precision soft airguns.
0.36 g - heavier ammunition for precision soft air guns. Very slow, but very stable trajectory.
0.43 g - suitable for the highest upgrade class in precision soft airguns. Usually graphite-coated.
0.85 g - steel pellets, only suitable for very powerful soft air guns.

Quelle: wikipedia