The continual quest to ensure our airsoft rifles have the best possible range and level of accuracy is something that most, if not all, players will relate to. We put so much time and effort into making our weapons look and perform like their real steel counterparts, but, at the end of the day, this can become costly.
Constantly adding upgrades and seeking ways to eke out a few extra feet of range can add up quickly, so you need to ensure you’re spending your money in the right places.
Here’s what you need to consider when making improvements to increase your airsoft gun’s range and accuracy.
How to Increase the FPS of an Airsoft Gun
This question gets asked a lot, but how important is it if your main concerns are range and accuracy improvements? Of course, FPS and range are closely linked, but you need to be careful about increasing your gun’s FPS.
Ultimately, increasing FPS does improve range but only up to a point. Most airsoft sites will have a limit of 350 FPS (or lower), and once you reach this limit, the improvement in range goes relatively unnoticed.
A difference of 30 FPS does not improve your range by 30 feet. If all conditions were exactly the same, then more velocity would mean more range, but in reality, there are far more factors to consider.
If your airsoft rifle already has decent FPS, it’s worth focusing on the other things that will improve range (and therefore accuracy) more significantly.
How to Increase the Range of Your Airsoft Guns
The main areas of improvement that will affect your range include:
- Ammunition
- Hop-up parts
- Barrel
- Consistency
Use Good Quality BB Ammunition
Ensuring you’re using the right ammo is one of the easiest improvements to make without even needing to modify your airsoft gun.
Imperfect BBs can drastically affect range and accuracy, with even the smallest irregularities changing the trajectory of your shot as it flies through the air.
High-quality BBs will be perfectly smooth with no surface imperfections or mould marks. They will also have a good internal structure with no air bubbles inside that could affect the hop spin.
Your ammunition should be as uniform as possible to ensure you get shot for shot consistency and are able to hit targets without having to factor in the unpredictable nature of irregular ammunition.
Airsoft Ammo Weight
Paying attention to the weight of your BBs is another must here. Heavier ammo is often used to increase range and accuracy at greater distances because it is less affected by air resistance.
0.30g BB pellets are great for long-range shooting. However, it’s worth remembering that heavier ammo travels slower, so your FPS will see a slight drop when heavier pellets are used.
Most players will use 0.20g BBs, which are reasonable in most cases, especially if used in fast-paced, indoors settings. For outdoor skirmishes, heavier BBs will likely give you a preferable experience.
Invest in Upgraded, Quality Hop-Up Parts
If using heavier BBs, your hop-up will need to keep up by being able to create an effective backspin.
Ultimately, investing in better hop-up parts can be invaluable when increasing range, particularly when improving the bucking or adding an R-hop patch (best modified by those who really know what they’re doing).
Better quality components allow for a better backspin to provide extra range and accuracy. Cheap components and bucking can freeze up in cold weather, providing less friction and reduced performance.
It is often best to buy hop-up upgrade kits to get a strong, high-quality unit, but there are some improvements you can make to existing parts. This can include stabilising the barrel or shimming the hop arm.
Clean Your Airsoft Gun Barrel
Another simple step to take is cleaning your gun barrel to ensure each BB has a smooth journey as it’s fired. Dirt or residue can get into the barrel in numerous ways, but this is easy enough to address with a cleaning rod.
You should also check that your BBs are clean and not introducing any contaminants into the barrel.
Barrel width is also important to consider; a barrel that’s too wide or narrow will affect your ammo, causing it to rattle down the sides of the inner barrel. Most agree that a 6.03 barrel will give the best performance as it still allows for that cushion of air that surrounds the BB, so it’s fired with no obstructions.
Also remember that a long barrel does not necessarily mean more accuracy – a 300-400mm long barrel will serve wonderfully.
Consistent FPS
Having consistent FPS won’t necessarily improve range per se (although having a reliable gun that sends shots to the right place every time won’t hurt), but FPS inconsistencies could be a sign of air seal issues.
Having inconsistent FPS will also affect the hop settings and the BB weight that you use. A stable FPS ensures each shot fires similarly, if not the same as the previous shot, allowing you to improve accuracy.
If the weapon has unstable FPS, then the hop will work differently for each shot, possibly causing range drops or BBs spinning off.
How to Make Airsoft Guns More Accurate
Accuracy and range tend to come down to the same things, so when you improve the range of a gun, it’ll give you better accuracy.
If you’re having trouble with inconsistency and inaccuracy, check out our guide on improving airsoft accuracy to see some more considerations we haven't covered here.
Experiment With Your Airsoft Gun’s Settings
It is always worth testing different BB weights and settings to see what works best with your gun, as there may be slight differences between guns of the same batch and set-up, giving you a unique experience that needs to be fine-tuned.
You should also trial different trajectories for each rifle to determine your preferred style. Some weapons will give a long and flat trajectory, while others might give an arcing loop. Make sure you know what your weapon’s trajectory is and feel comfortable using it.
Just because your airsoft gun doesn’t have great range out of the box doesn’t mean you should immediately tear it apart and start figuring out where to make upgrades. There’s a lot of value when it comes to shooting with it first and testing several things.
Some hop rubbers need a little time to ‘bed in’, so a few hundred shots should give you a decent idea of where you stand. Some may even come contaminated with oil from the factory, so a good clean upon purchase can also be worthwhile.
Hopefully, you’ve now got a better idea of where to start when increasing your rifle’s range and accuracy. If we’ve missed any of your top tips, let us know in the comments below.