What Is a Good FPS For An Airsoft Gun?(Explained)

If you enjoy airsoft games, fps is a term you must be familiarised with. After all, it’s one of the major deterministic factors to hit your target. You must have a good fps rate on your airsoft gun to enjoy the game.

So, what is a good fps for an airsoft gun?

A good fps for an airsoft gun is between 350-400 fps. But depending on the airsoft field it’ll vary. For indoors 350 fps is ideal since the shots will be in close range. For outdoors 400-550 fps would be good because outdoor shots will be long-range mostly. 

That’s only a little part of our whole discussion. To learn more join us in the detailed discussion.

Let’s continue!

What’s the Right FPS For an Airsoft Gun?

FPS is a measurement unit to explain the speed of airsoft gun projectiles. It’s a very important aspect when choosing a gun. It stands for the phrase feet per second.

Whether you’re using the airsoft gun for gaming purposes or hunting fps is important. A good fps for an airsoft gun would be between 350-400 fps. 

Although it’s known that higher fps is better. That’s not the case. Higher fps do give the opportunity to hit the target more accurately. But there’s a limit to follow when it comes to choosing the fps.

Because there are a lot of factors needed to be considered when choosing the fps. The type of airsoft gun you’re using also matters. That’s why quite a few rules are set for determining the right fps.

Airsoft field type is one of these major factors that determine the fps rate. There are two kinds of airsoft fields, Indoor and outdoor.

The fps limit for both of these fields is different. Let’s see what their fps limit is and why they must be different.

Indoor

The fps limit is set low for indoor fields. That’s because using higher fps within close range can be fatal. The acceptable rate for an indoor field would be 350 fps.

The rate shouldn’t be any higher than 350 fps. You wouldn’t even need anything higher than this. That’s because in an indoor field there’s less chance of environmental factors to meddle in.

Outdoors

Unlike indoor shooting fields, outdoors you’d have more factors to consider. In most cases, it requires long-range shooting because it takes place for hunting purposes. 

You may have to shoot your target from quite a long distance. There are also other factors to be considered like the environment of the field. 

There could be rain, wind, fog, and similar attributes that may affect the shooting. That’s why the fps limit for outdoor fields is higher than indoors.

400 to 550 fps is the right limit for outdoor fields. But in some places, the maximum limit is 400 fps. If the limit is set you’d have to abide by it.

Yours

We know we have told you there are only two types of fields to consider. But there exists another type of airsoft field. It’s called ‘yours’. It’s the type of field where the players themselves set their own rule.

It can be either an indoor or an outdoor field. The fps rate can be altered a little only if the others agree. But it’s best to follow the locally set rules. For example-

• For all full auto 400 fps with 0.2g BB
• For all bolt-action sniper rifle/semi-auto 500 fps with 0.2g BB
• For all pistols 350 fps with 0.2g BB

It’s much safer this way.

How to Decrease the FPS of An Airsoft Gun?

Let’s say you have an airsoft gun that exceeds the fps limitation. Are you gonna buy another one? Sure you can, but there’s another way without spending money on a new airsoft gun.

You can simply lower your gun’s fps. There are a few methods to lower the fps of an airsoft gun. But know that it’s best to leave this work to professionals.

Unless you’re pretty knowledgeable about the gun’s architecture don’t try it yourself. Otherwise, you might end up damaging it.

Procedure-1: Spring Grinding

Good news for you if you were looking for an easy DIY solution. This is the easiest method you can use to lower your gun’s fps. To do it you’d have to fire a couple of hundred shots.

It will make the gun’s spring weaker. As a result, the fps rate will decrease. But this can cause stress on the other parts of the airsoft gun.

Procedure-2: Spring Replacement

You can replace the spring of your airsoft gun with one that has lower tension. Airsoft guns with higher fps have a strong spring. To lower the fps it needs a softer spring.

If you’re looking for some suitable springs you can try one of these-

To replace the spring you’d have to open the gun. Use a Phillip head screwdriver or an Allen key to open them up. Inside there’ll be the gearbox. Take it out and open it.

Now, simply swap the spring with the new one. Reassemble the gearbox. This should lower your gun’s fps limit.

Procedure-3: Cutting the Spring

This is not much of a preferable method to follow. But it is indeed fruitful to lower the fps. You just have to cut the spring short. But it can’t be cut too short that your gun will become unusable. 

Cut only half of a coil rotation from the spring. Reassemble it properly and try firing your gun. Still, feels too high? Then take out the spring and cut a little more. 

Each time reassemble and check the outcome. Be careful not to cut off too much of the spring. Otherwise, it’ll become useless.

Procedure-4: Use Smaller/Heavier Bullet Balls

If you don’t want to mess with your gun’s setup, change the BB instead. Instead of using the ideal size, BB uses smaller or heavier ones. 

When firing smaller BBs it’ll have more air around it which will be wasted. As a result, fps will decrease. If the BB is heavier then it won’t travel as fast. So, the fps will be reduced.

But neither of these methods is quite reliable. Many of the competitions have standard BB selected for chronograph tests. So, substitution may not work. 

Also, don’t go using low-quality BB either. It can damage your gun.

How to Increase the FPS Of an Airsoft Gun?

Just like how you can decrease the fps of your gun you can increase it. Follow one of the following procedures to make it happen.

Procedure-1: Change Spring

Earlier you’ve seen how important the main spring’s role is for the gun’s fps. It is the heart of your gun’s gearbox. It can lower your fps and it can also increase it. 

For that, you’ll need a stiffer main spring. You’d also have to replace the plastic spring guides with metal ones. If possible choose the ones with ball bearings.

Because they can exert more pressure due to being more robust. But you may have to upgrade the motor, piston heads, and battery.

It is to match the setup of your whole gun. Oftentimes, it becomes costly to increase fps because of the full gearbox replacement.

Procedure-2: Replace Barrel

You can increase the fps if you replace the inner barrel of your airsoft gun. The default size of an airsoft gun barrel is usually 6.10 mm. You’d need a narrower size than that.

For example, a 6.01mm or 6.03mm barrel would do. It’s like adding a new hop-up nub along with a bucking set. With this method, you can at least increase 10 fps of your airsoft gun.

Hopefully, one of these methods will be useful to you.

FAQs

The following information might come in handy-

Do air leaks in the air nozzle affect the fps of the airsoft gun?

Yes, air leaks around the air nozzle decrease the fps. Because the air leaks affect the effectiveness of the gun’s seal. If you want to get the right fps you’d have to fix the leaks.

What fps can cause damage to the skin?

The higher the fps is the more it’ll hurt on the skin. The average fps is 350. If you get hit by BBs with 400-500 fps it can break through protective gear. That is if the distance is less than 50 ft. it can cause injuries.

What range is considered low fps in airsoft guns?

250-350 fps is considered to be the lower range when it comes to airsoft guns. If the fps are any lower than this range it can ruin the game. After all, you’d need a certain fps to hit the target properly.

Conclusion

Now you know what is a good fps for an airsoft gun. If your airsoft gun needs fps adjustment just follow one of our methods above. But if you’re completely new to this, leave it to someone knowledgeable. 

Also, keep in mind that not all of these methods are always applicable. There are many rules to airsoft games after all.

Good luck!