Rogerborg

Yarp. From a quick skim through it, he also seems to be saying that he got lower muzzle energy with higher gas pressure, or viewed another way, higher muzzle energy by putting a bit less puff behind it. To be honest, I didn't really watch it, I don't think there's much for us to lean here, no matter how many spherical see-saws free-falling in a vacuum get postulated.

Those faaaabulous rainbow tracers really do look pretty good, and I particularly like the side visibility on the bright muzzle flash. The bar's just been raised a bit higher there. Just a pity that it doesn't claim to light up red tracers, those are next on my list of wants.

OK, to be specific, I mean that for any given mass of BB, there's no rational argument to be made that less energy at the muzzle = more range or more energy at the target. I get that in airsoft we tend to have a limited amount of puff to impart down a limited length of barrel, and there may be cases where some mass and muzzle energy of BB goes further/hits harder than another mass and muzzle energy of BB, given the limited puff we (generally) have available. However, the context is an experiment where he had an excess of puff, enough to actually reduce muzzle energy. That's interesting to see, but not hugely relevant to us, since it doesn't really matter how we tune our muzzle energy down to the site limit, just that we can do it.

I think you may be over-thinking this a bit. It's interesting to see too much puff equalling less energy at the muzzle. That could, possibly, be relevant to airsoft, maybe. But in terms of ballistics, and energy at the target, it's just angular velocity and linear kinetic energy when the BB leaves at the muzzle that matters to that BB (and to us), not how it's imparted. Get the angular velocity (backspin) right and you'll get the straightest possible flight thanks to Saint Magnus. After imparting the perfect angular velocity, if you get the linear kinetic energy at the muzzle maximised for the site limit, you'll get the maximum possible range, and the most energy delivered to target. I'm not really sure what else there is to analyse. We know that heavier BBs will retain that energy better due to the the cube nature of air resistance versus the square of velocity. And I've been careful to talk in terms of energy, not speed, for the linear component. I'm not even sure if you're saying that it's possible to somehow get more range out of less linear energy at the muzzle - I hope not.

More pictures have just gone up on my site's site, reposting here for dopamine hits (and because the weird lighting on the last one made my face look like Red Skull). Damn, but I look so purposeful, and so expendable there. Horny xeno girls all want Guardsman-senpai to notice them.

I'd also have to note that he's only claiming 1.8J from a 2.55J spring, so the air seal is suspect. And a laser though. Has he got the only scope ever made without crosshairs? Given the minimal chance of them staying zeroed together, which one is he using for aiming? Dazzle pattern camouflage. Oh, sure, it means the other team will spot him a mile away, but they won't know what range his gun is at, or which direction it's moving (I guess they could just aim straight it it, like everybody does, at everyone, all the time). Or if he's wearing a ghillie, maybe they'll think it's a spooky ghost gun just floating along, and get too scared to shoot at him. Really though, if that tape is easy to get off, why wouldn't you take it off before listing it?

Or its blowing enough gas past the slug to create eddies in the space time continuum inside the barrel.

I'm minded to believe it, because I threw a 50 degree Maple Leaf into a 1.8J+ DMR and it was just fine (I later found a 60 degree and switched to that, with no noticeable difference, I just wanted to free up the 50 for an 1.1J AEG). I suspect 70+ buckings are more about willy waggling over your real ultimate power in areas where they run snipers at 3J+.

If anyone is penetrating right through their targets with an airsoft BB, I think that might be a bit of an issue. It's an interesting demonstration of how higher pressure gas / more puff doesn't necessarily impart more energy to the projectile, but it applies only to that pressure and that projectile. The energy involved is so far beyond airsoft levels that I'd be surprised if we saw a similar effect. However, airsoft is nothing if not surprising, so if any HPA Ghostbusters fancy try to to replicate that, I'd be very interested to see the results. That's all before the BB leaves the muzzle though. At the point where it emerges, the only ballistic considerations are angular velocity (backspin), and linear velocity (fps / Joules). Sufficient backspin to fully hop that mass of BB + the maximum permitted kinetic energy for that BB = maximum range, and maximum energy delivered to the target at any range. Effective range might be different if you get more consistency with less muzzle energy, but not maximum. Even if you're lobbing a bit rather than trying for "laser accuracy", it's all about the linear velocity, and more is more in airsoft.

That's the thing, I'd be astonished if most airsofters don't know that. I'd be pretty certain that site owners will, and the gun owners certainly will, so why they're allowing it boggles the mind. I imagine it's: "My intention is to aim over their heads, it'll be fine because accidents never happen." Fortunately we don't have a profusion of live firearms here from which to shoot blanks. Even if someone does turn up with a blank firing gun, it should have a blocked barrel and the best they can do is to blow their own nose off through a top vent. But I completely agree, keep that well away from airsoft fields. I don't even like TAG rounds, as on a back of the envelope calculation of the claimed 32m/s and 30g I make that 15.36J, running pretty close to the 16J air gun limit. They are certainly not airsoft guns by any stretch of the imagination (so need an air gun licence in Scotland), and are far beyond what EN166F eye protection is rated for. I await "But, but, I only intend to lob them, and accidents only happen to other people."

I wouldn't pay that for a brand new one given the problems owners have had with them. Still, kudos for his honesty that the early ones were bags of spanners made from turds. Also, I get to swipe this from Negative Airsoft.

I'd trust Nuprol glasses to protect my eyesight every bit as much as I'd trust Nuprol chargers and batteries to not burn my house down.

Huh, that is peculiar from an experience seller. I guess "mounted once never fired or skirmished" means it's... better than new?

The family that sprays together stays together. Like much of airsoft, it's an "impression kit", just from the future rather than the past.

Do eeeet. We're all LARPing to some extent, we might as well do it with gusto. EVA foam really is super easy to work with, and cheap too. You can find patterns online: pepakura templates, Facebook groups, or buy them on Etsy if you can't find anything free. I just did my own templates for that using parcel paper and sticky tape, the only shaped joins there are on the shoulder pieces, and that just takes a bit of trial and error to figure out the curved cuts required. The whole thing is painted using about £2 worth of acrylic, you can do it on the super cheap.

Thanks. It's home made, everything green except the helmet is EVA foam. It's great stuff for airsoft use, super light, easy to work with, and takes all the sting out of hits while still letting you (mostly) feel and hear them. I did have one chap "cheat" call me yesterday, very politely, with my thanks, as I'm always super-careful to call hits while wearing it. The helmet is an M88 with a fan box on the back, piped to the goggles - it can get a bit sweaty in the foam. I'm constantly pondering doing a more "authentic" one out of foam, although having BBs whang off the plastic is quite satisfying. The "lasgun" is a G36C stuffed inside an EVA foam shell, running short M16 mags though a magwell adaptor. That big silver barrel is a dummy with a 3W red LED in it wired to the trigger. The real barrel is that small lower tracer unit. The "iron" sights are just hacked out of the foam using a bit of trial and error, and are accurate enough for CQB use - the whole outfit is really very practical. Most cosplayer add "weathering", but I'm constantly painting over damage - I've just spotted that there's a BB embedded in the stock.

Finally a decent picture of my Authentic Battle Damaged 40K Imperial Guard costume. So many deaths for the Emperor yesterday.

Pretty good Hallowe'en event at Biohazard, equipping a friend-of-a-friend with loaner gear. He wasn't expecting to be loaded with with M4 and pistol (both with spitfire tracers), and grenades. He had a blast, got right into it and was pushing like a proper speedy boi - sometimes even still with BBs in the mag. Biohazard have the top floor open now, which really increased the length of a whole-site fallback game, and it's got a fair bit of potential for further development, kudos to them for that. We had the usual barely audible briefs in the echoing safe zone (bad), mostly very fair and good natured play (good), and laissez-faire marshalling (good or bad, depending on what you were there to do). Some rental blind firing and trigger spamming was in evidence, and I Had Words with a Sergeant McShouty after an earful too much following a zinger in the face. All hugs and back slaps before the safe zone though. Much amusement from a wee lad who was about 4 foot high and ran around the whole day with a pistol and backhand knife, coming around corners fast, low and stabbing. The costume competition was obviously a fix, being won by shop bought efforts rather than my hand crafted pretend space soldier rig. Granted it was hilarious being shot by knights, bananas, and a squad of Telly-Tubbies, and I don't grudge the winner in his inflatable T-Rex costume, firstly for even getting into the play area, but then for actually playing pretty well - you wouldn't think an 8 foot dinosaur could be sneaky, but he actually managed some great ambushes. Clearly a natural predator.

Hmm, do we have research on that? I'd assumed that bucking stiffness would be about the amount of puff coming out of the nozzle rather than the velocity imparted to the BB, as the BB is starting from rest as it goes through the hop. As I see it, softer is always better for imparting sufficient spin with the least amount of pressure, and you only go stiffer if you have to stop the whole bucking deforming and leaking air. That's based on thought experiment, not real experiment though, I'd be fascinated to see some side-by-side testing.

I'm starting to get intrigued by these 1.1J builds. What BB weight are you using with that? Do I need an AAC T11 Shorty in my life for CQB sniping?

And a rape dungeon is pretty damn good for struggle cuddles, but it's not anything to be proud of.

Full seal is more of a paintball thing. Some airsoft sites mention it, but you'll generally see plenty of people wearing glasses, sometimes not even wrap-around. You'll likely go through loads of eye protection before you find a set that really works for you. I currently go dual pane goggles + Revision antifog wipes + fan ventilation.

Which is the one that featured a picture of a player not wearing any eye protection?

Thanks for the update. Was the nozzle brass? The mind boggles. That's still low though, you should be seeing more like 1.9J out of that spring. I'd have another look at the air seal.