Real-world shooting games can be played with something as non-serious as a nerf gun and something as lethal as a hunting rifle. The game choice dictates the best gun and, more importantly, the best ammunition for the task. Airsoft and BBs are two very popular options in shooting games.

Airsoft Bullets and BB Bullets are not the same. Airsoft bullets are made out of plastic, while BB gun bullets are made out of metal. BB bullets are considered more dangerous than Airsoft bullets. Both are the same in one way, though: they aren’t fired with real guns.

In this article, you will learn more about both types of bullets, their pros and their cons, so you can decide which one you should be using. By the end of this post, you’ll know all you need to know to choose between airsoft and BB guns. So, let’s get started.

The Similarities Between Airsoft And BB Guns

Let’s look at a few ways in which these two game ammunition types are similar and whether these similarities count for anything. The main similarities between airsoft and BB bullets are as follows:

• Both don’t need firepower – Airsoft and BB gun bullets are fired with a propelling mechanism but do not use the chemical propellents used by firearms. That’s why these guns aren’t considered firearms, technically and practically.
   
• Both are bad for self-defense – Neither type of bullet has the ability to incapacitate a human with one shot. That’s why you shouldn’t use airsoft bullets or BB bullets to defend yourself.
   
• Both have the same shape – While there is a slight difference in size, BB gun ammo and airsoft pellets are both round balls. This similarity is also responsible for airsoft pellets being called “airsoft BBs.”

What Are Airsoft Pellets Made Out Of?

Airsoft pellets are made out of plastic. The term “airsoft” is a derivative of “air gun” and “soft pellets,” making airsoft guns the milder versions of BB guns. An airsoft pellet cannot puncture skin but can cause internal bleeding.

That’s why it is dangerous only when it makes high-speed contact with an orifice (mainly the eyes) or a part vulnerable to internal bleeding (like the throat). Airsoft pellets, when fired at the torso or the arms, are harmless but still painful. Their relatively “soft” construction comes with certain advantages, but the fact that they have the potential to cause serious harm has its disadvantages.

The Pros and Cons of Airsoft Bullets

In this section, we will look at the contexts where an airsoft bullet is better than a BB. Since neither is inherently better, you will also find contexts where a BB outclasses an Airsoft pellet.

The Pros of an airsoft bullet are:

• It can be used in tactical games – Tactical games are combat sports where imitation firearms are used to shoot out opponents for a zero-sum goal won by a team or an individual. Airsoft bullets are harmless enough to be perfect for tactical games, though they require eye protection and face cover.
   
• It cannot kill you – Airsoft guns are used by millions of people, yet not one death is documented as a result of an airsoft bullet. Even when there are instances where an airsoft bullet can theoretically cause death, none have happened in the real world.
   
• It is generally legal and loosely regulated – Because of a lack of documented deaths and a relatively low number of injuries attributed to airsoft, airsoft bullets are seen as anything except glorified nerf bullets. That’s how the law sees them, but that’s not how you should see them.
   
• It is cheaper to get – Finally, airsoft pellets’ plastic material is a lot cheaper than the BB gun bullets’ metal. You can save a lot of money using an airsoft gun instead of a BB gun.
  

Despite being cheaper than steel BBs, airsoft bullets do not replace BBs. That’s because these plastic pellets have their own drawbacks.

The Cons of an airsoft bullet is:

• It cannot be used for hunting – BBs are very good for hunting small animals. They can injure birds rendering them unable to fly, and can be used to catch or kill lagomorphs like rabbits. You can even kill pests with metal BBs. Their weight also ensures that you don’t have to fire too many BBs to hit the animal you’re aiming at.
   
• It is harder to target train with it – BB guns are not the same as real guns, and firing them is a different type of experience. Still, you can play target-shooting games with them, which you cannot play with airsoft pellets because of the accuracy limits.
  

What Are BBs Made Out Of?

BBs that are used in standard BB guns are made out of steel. Steel BBs have a serious potential to cause fatal wounds when they make contact with certain body parts. On almost any place in the body, a BB is injurious as it can penetrate the skin.

This makes BB guns incompatible with tactical games, which is just one of the drawbacks of metal BBs. But these guns and BBs continue to sell in record numbers because they also have their advantages.

Pros and Cons of BB bullets

As mentioned earlier, neither airsoft has fully replaced BB guns nor has BB made airsoft obsolete. That’s because both airsoft and BB have their own respective advantages and disadvantages. Having explored the pros and cons of airsoft pellets earlier, we can now look at the strong and the weak points of metal BBs.

Pros of a BB Bullet are:

• It is good for target practice – The weight of a BB gun bullet makes it very stable over a long distance. That is why it can be used to train your target. Of course, this experience is useful only for shooting BBs accurately.
   
• You can use it for hunting – Shooting BBs accurately is rewarded in hunting and gamified pest removal. You cannot use BB bullets for big game hunting, but you can kill small animals and birds with a BB gun.
   
• You can use it for target-shooting games – Even if you don’t want to kill animals, you can use your target training to win target-shooting games with BB bullets.
  

Cons of a BB Bullet are:

• It can be lethal – As much fun as BB bullets can be when it comes to shooting cans, inanimate objects, or pests, accidental fires can hurt and even kill people.
   
• It is more expensive – BB bullets are made out of metal, which is more expensive than plastic.
   
• It cannot be used in tactical games – Tactical games are fun because you get to shoot your friends. You cannot shoot your friends with metal BBs, though, which makes BB guns useless for tactical games.
  

Final Thoughts

Airsoft bullets are also called Airsoft BBs because, just like BB gun bullets, they are small and round. The main difference, however, is that airsoft BBs are made of plastic. In contrast, BB gun bullets are made out of metal. Obviously, this makes BB ammunition and gun more dangerous than airsoft pellets. That is why you should get Airsoft if you want to shoot at your friends and a BB gun if you want to shoot at objects.