Airsoft pellets or BBs are spherical projectiles used in Airsoft gun models. Typically made of plastic, they usually range in size from 5.93 to 5.98 mm in diameter, though select models use 8 mm or 3 mm pellets.
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Although the majority of pellets bought and used are simple spherical projectiles made of plastic, some of the following special varieties can be used to give a player an advantage.
Biodegradable pellets are available, and are often required by outdoor fields where sweeping up is not an option. Conventional pellets pollute the environment, as most non-biodegradable pellets have a mineral- or petroleum-based center, coated in non-biodegradable plastics, thus ensuring they will stay in the environment for several hundred years if not collected. Biodegradable pellets are made of various types of resin, often developed for the agricultural industry, and better makes are certified as compostable.
There is a mixture of degradable processes being used, such as soil microbes and photosensitive degradation. Biodegradable pellets are currently being produced with all the characteristics of the best of the conventional, with homogeneous resin construction.
Bio BBs struggle to remain true to the name when approaching weights equal or greater than 0.30g and more research is needed on production materials.
Various EEC countries now only permit biodegradable pellet ammunition to be used, and many land agents are also insisting on their use on rented land. Airsoft worldwide is very late in coming to universal usage of biodegradable products which paintball has long achieved with its munitions.
These bbs contain a ethanolic core wrapped inside a Lincoln chain polymer. After impact, the ethanolic core releases a methyl ion which breaks down the polymer. In short the bbs will only degrade after being shot. The only company to do this is Stark international but more manufacturers are starting to use this process.
Glow-in-the-dark BB's, known as tracer BB's, can be used in conjunction with a device that "charges" the BB's by flashing them with a burst of visible light on leaving the barrel, so that they remain luminescent in flight for use during nocturnal games/operations. This tracer unit is usually hidden from view, often disguised as a suppressor (silencer), or is included inside the magazine. There are also biodegradable glow-in-the-dark BB's available.
Paint-filled pellets are also available, called paintballs, which are very similar to those used by paintball. Airsoft models equipped with the hop-up projectile stabilizing system are not able to use these, as the thin shells are liable to break in the barrel, soiling it with paint. These special pellets are also incompatible with Airsoft models using mechanized feed systems, such as high capacity magazines, for the same reason. With some companies, the use of paintballs voids the airsoft gun's warranty; paint may get into the mechanical workings of the airsoft gun and damage parts beyond simple maintenance. These issues may be fixed by removing the hop-up unit, which can void the warranty, and also switching to a low or mid-capacity magazine with no mechanized feed.
Recently, a new kind of pellet that leaves a small mark has emerged on the market. The pellets are coated with a powder that, when it strikes the target, a mark is left. Manufacturers include Verdict and Grudge Tactical. However, these suffer from similar issues to the above - the powder often jams up guns, magazines, barrels or hop up units. While initially considered "safer", these have proven to be little better than paintball pellets.
Made from 100% silica, these BB's (most notably from BIOval and BB Bastard) have the advantage of very even material distribution and hence great flight characteristics. However, there are scattered accounts of these breaking glass and even defeating ANSI 87.1Z rated (standard) protective eye-wear. The community is currently undecided on this issue.
Specially designed and built metallic 6 mm BBs for airsoft guns can be found on the market. These metallic BBs should typically not be used for airsoft play because they can break airsoft players' eye protection at close range, and cause other harmful injuries. These are typically designed for very high velocity sniper rifles and should ONLY be used for target shooting due to safety concerns.
Created from lab grown crystal lattice structures, these BB's are individually CNC machined. The result is a BB that contains no voids, is perfectly spherical and is exactly the same weight from BB to BB. The downside is they are extremely expensive. Like metallic BB's, they can defeat standard eye protection at close ranges and should only be used for long distance.
Pellet mass is an important factor when choosing pellets. The pellet's mass influences several aspects of pellet performance:
Velocity:
Trajectory:
Hardware:
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.
The pellet speed of automatic electric guns is determined in large part by the tension of their main spring and so there tends to be a stratification of values. The most common airsoft speed limits are between 300 and 400 ft/s (91 and 120 m/s) for AEGs and 400–550 ft/s (120–170 m/s) for single shot guns (sniper rifles). Below are some common speeds of airsoft pellets.
Airsoft pellets typically leave small lesions (welts) on exposed skin with human targets. While mildly painful, pellets are not typically damaging to the skin. Eye protection is universally mandatory to prevent damage to eyes. It is also often recommended that full face masks and body protection be used during airsoft matches to protect the players' teeth and ears.
Although there have been no documented cases in airsoft, there is a possible hazard when dealing with graphite-coated pellets. In the early days of paintball some players would coat their rounds with graphite so that they would feed into the gun better. Players started to find that if any rounds broke the skin, the wound would not properly heal, leaving a scar. Players and field owners should be aware that this problem may exist in the realm of airsoft as well.
The following excerpts are from the United Kingdom Parliament's "Principles of firearms control", Home Affairs Select Committee Second Report, 6 April 2000, expound on the level of danger involved with low-energy projectiles:
"25. The Firearms Act 1968 defines a firearm "a lethal barreled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other :missile can be discharged".[51] In this context, a "lethal weapon" means a weapon capable of firing a projectile with sufficient :force to inflict more than a trivial injury, i.e. with a force sufficient to puncture the skin.[52] The force with which a firearm :is able to deliver a projectile is normally expressed in terms of the kinetic energy it generates at its muzzle—the "muzzle energy". :This energy is normally expressed in units of foot-pounds (ft·lbs) or joules (J).[53] "26. The Home Office and the Forensic Science Service considers that the lowest level of muzzle energy capable of inflicting a penetrating wound is one foot pound force (1.35 J): below these power levels, weapons are "incapable of penetrating even vulnerable parts of the body, such as the eye".[54] However, more recent analysis by the Forensic Science Agency for Northern Ireland has indicated that a more reasonable assessment of the minimum muzzle energy required to inflict a penetrating wound lies between 2.2 and 3.0 ft·lbf (3 to 4 J).[55] We will deal more fully with this discrepancy at paragraphs 123 to 130 below." "123. The power level at and above which an air weapon is considered a firearm in law is presently set at 1 ft·lbf. However, we note above that the Forensic Science Agency of Northern Ireland has more recently assessed the power level at which a barreled weapon is capable of inflicting a lethal wound as between 2.2 and 3 ft·lbf, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has proposed that the law relating to firearms in Northern Ireland be amended to take this into account.[201]"
On another document also regarding firearms, "The Eleventh Annual Report of the Firearms Consultative Committee", the penetration levels lies between 2 and 3 J based on a research for US Army and DiMaio's work in "Minimal Velocities Necessary for Perforation of Skin by Air Pellets and Bullets, Journal of Forensic Sciences".
| Date | Reference | Energy level | Observations | |
| April 2000 | Principles of firearms control [paragraph 26],Home Office and the Forensic Science Service; | 1,35J | penetrating wound (later changed by paragraph 123, see below) | |
| April 2000 | Principles of firearms control [paragraph 123], Forensic Science Agency for Northern Ireland; | 3,00J~4,00J | penetrating[26]/lethal[123] wound | |
| March 2002 | The Eleventh Annual Report of the Firearms Consultative Committee DiMaio's work in Minimal Velocities Necessary for Perforation of Skin by Air Pellets and Bullets,Journal of Forensic Sciences; | 2,00J~3,00J | penetration level |