Quote:
Originally Posted by ccyg8774
Possible Pros for rubber (elastic and soft) BBs:
Less impact force at same fps and same bullet weight.
Safer to players.
May allow higher fps/BB weight for DMR/Sniper rifle players, to get longer range without compromise safety at mid-range. (Again, this is up to the game organizer to decide and may vary between games. I am just thinking about the validity of the idea.)
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All of this is simply incorrect. Plastic BB's fragment or plastically deform when they hit stuff. Plastic deformation is where they don't return to their original shape after deformation. In order for this to happen the BB material itself must absorb a portion of the impact energy.
In a rubber BB (or any other material, really) if an elastic collision occurs the BB returns to its original shape after collision. Yes, it may deform during the collision but the definition of elastic collision means that when all is said and done it returns to its original shape. This means that none of the impact energy is absorbed in the BB, thus more is transferred into the other object involved in the collision (your face, teeth, goggles etc).
Another example of an elastic collision in airsoft would be with BBs made of silica.
That being said, the rubber BBs would subject the target to less overall stress (force over area) due to deformation during impact resulting in a larger impact surface area.
It would still suck though.
The best example I can think of is, two objects same size and weight. One is a pool ball, one is an orange. What would you rather get hit with?
(golf ball core vs crab apple etc...)