The distance a BB can travel before it reaches the target is an important factor in most airsoft games and therefore some airsoft guns shoot further than others which often comes as a great advantage.
How far the BB travels is not the only important factor in airsoft, but certainly matters a lot, for instance a good airsoft rifle or sniper must have the good range, but a pistols rather has a purpose of dealing with targets in close distances and any excessive range would be unnecessary.
I will go over all airsoft gun types and explain how far they propel the BBs out by calculating the average and the maximum distance.
If you are not familiar with airsoft guns I will state the following in short:
Airsoft guns can shoot as far as 330 feet (100 meters) in the airsoft fields. The distance a BB will travel depends on a type of a gun, so airsoft pistols and shotguns are the lowest range airsoft guns, Rifles and SMGs are the medium and sniper rifles are the highest ranged guns seen in the fields.
Airsoft guns do not have rifled barrels and shoot plastic BBs
Before we mention the distance that different types of airsoft guns can achieve, it is important to mention the biggest difference between airsoft replica guns and real guns that is the number one reason behind accuracy.
Rifled barrels are present in real guns as they allow the bullet to acquire certain velocity and path which will continue to exist after the bullet leaves the barrel by being initially spun for such purpose.
If you want to know more about the substitute for rifled barrels in airsoft guns, why some manufacturers tried to implement them and why they are present on the real guns, you can read about it here.
A non-rifled barrel and a plastic BB can not keep the consistency once the BB leaves the barrel, therefore accuracy can be compromised.
The only exception to this rule are shotguns, not all shotguns have rifled barrels and it is well known fact that shotguns are not considered as an accurate long range weapon.
This is the reason why there is no such airsoft gun that will imitate the real gun so well, but air guns can do a way better job.
At the end, airsoft guns are not made to be the priority replicas for target shooting (although they can be used for such purpose for fun), but are rather a high-tier toy made for fun and shooting at other players in competitive and friendly matches.
How far can airsoft rifles and SMGs shoot?
On average, good airsoft rifle can reach up to 200 feet (61m) in distance.
SMGs in average have 20% lesser range than rifles and are in my opinion a better pick for CQB, but this depends from a model to model, so this does not always apply and they are very similar to rifles.
Rifles such as AEGs and GBBs are known for being the golden middle among all airsoft guns.
They have enough range for skirmishes just as they can compete in CQB fields while for instance, pistols and shotguns can’t compete with the other range guns and snipers can not be used at close distances at all.
A good rifle is mandatory in the airsoft arsenal for most players and you can expect to accurately reach 150 feet with almost any well-built airsoft rifle.
AEG rifles are a common pick and happen to be most efficient while GBB are a bit more rare in the fields, but can still be seen from time to time.
GBBs are less efficient because they rely on gas, so besides the money issue they are harder to maintain and if the temperature is low they may lose some power due to the properties of gas that react to the cold worse than electricity (electricity is barely affected by such conditions).
This may further decrease the distance that a BB will travel in winter times.
AEGs are the ultimate picks for both, professionals and beginners while GBBs are suggested for more experienced players.
How far can airsoft snipers shoot?
On average, good airsoft snipers can reach 300 feet (92m) or more in distance.
Snipers do not come as a surprise to be the most reliable weapons for range combat in open fields. Airsoft snipers are doing a great job of replicating the real snipers and with a few upgrades or a high tier sniper you can be a true marksman who will take targets down from 300 feet.
Many starter airsoft snipers perform great in the field, but once they are upgraded they can even surpass the range of 300 feet, but in that case, we are talking about some serious and expensive high-tier upgrades that you probably won’t need in any airsoft field.
Just as it is the case with every airsoft gun, the maximum distance a gun can shoot is not the most accurate distance the gun can shoot at.
Therefore, we can conclude that a sniper that can reach as far as 300 feet probably has rather a 200-230 feet practical and accurate range which you will be shooting targets at.
If you have a good scope and really possess the skills, then perhaps, you can utilize its maximum potential, but it will be very difficult to shoot the moving target at 300 feet without some mad predictions and calculations.
Anything from the wind and a branch to unexpected move from the target can affect whether you are going to score the hit or not and in case that you are not familiar with your BBs trajectory you may end up shooting a BB after a BB and eventually miss them all!
How far can airsoft pistols shoot?
On average, good airsoft pistols can reach 80 feet (25m) in distance.
Airsoft pistols are not meant to be good at shooting far and therefore it should not be a criteria you should judge them by.
Some pistols are more powerful than others and thus have greater range, but it does not matter most of the times because they have a function to work on close range which is almost always under 50 feet.
There are gas and electricity pistols out there with gas pistols being more common.
How far can airsoft shotguns shoot?
On average, regular airsoft shotguns can reach 100 feet (30m) in distance accurately.
Shotguns are often a part of CQB scenarios, but nevertheless can be used outside as well.
Some shotguns are better at range because they are manufactured to be better at competing with rifles outdoors, but the fact is that they still lack range and are a better pick for close encounters.
Although many airsoft shotguns can reach targets at 100 feet, they might lose some accuracy at such distance which would not be the case in any CQB scenario. The special thing with shotguns is that some shoot three BBs at the time, so we can not measure the accuracy the same as we would with AEGs for instance.
This is yet another big benefit of using shotguns in buildings and close battles, you shoot multiple BBs per trigger at the target and it is very difficult to avoid that.
What is the most powerful gun nowadays and how far can it go?
There are some crazy airsoft replicas out there that are upgraded for maximum performance, but they are incredibly expensive and rare.
Some of such guns can reach over $1000 with an ease and such guns won’t be commonly seen in fields.
Some of such sniper rifles can go as far as 500 feet, however it does not make much sense to own such airsoft replica because you can not use it in any competitive match.
Such airsoft snipers are modified for such performance, but actually they are not worth it in my opinion. If someone wants to shoot targets at 500 feet and puncture the targets, why not simply get a real gun or a BB air gun?
Too much power is not welcomed in airsoft because the human body is not designed for receiving such damage.
Maximum Distance VS effective distance
Maximum distance is simply how long can the BB travel after being ejected from the barrel.
Effective distance in other hand, is an approximate distance which the gun is accurate hitting the target at. When someone states the effective distance it should not be seen as a definitive number because the range may be affected by many things and conditions and it is rather something speculative.
However, effective distance is always a lesser distance than the maximum distance because the maximum distance is measured as how far can the BB go without paying attention to accuracy.
Therefore, it is logical to assume that the maximum distance is useless fact in practice, but effective distance actually counts.
What affects how far can the airsoft gun shoot BBs?
- The velocity FPS is not everything, but it certainly helps a lot! Higher velocity means more power to support the BBs and thus affects how fat they can go.
- The quality of inner parts Inner parts are what makes a gun great, the rest is just the decoration. I will soon explain what you can do to improve the accuracy and range on your airsoft replica by upgrading some of these parts.
- The wind Wind can be your greatest ally just as it can be your greatest enemy in the field. Sometimes you are chilling behind a tree and mind your business while the enemy try to take from a far, but yet every BB they send at you to take you down gets lost somewhere in the oblivion.
- The BB Weight Wind interferes with a BB’s trajectory and because the BB weighs only standard 0.20 gram it has no ability to resist it. It is suggested to use heavier BBs to negate this problem because the heavier the BB is, the more resistance it has to fight the wind. However, you can not always use heavy BBs (0.30gram +) because not all airsoft guns have enough velocity to support them, but in case they do, you should not think twice about going heavy!
- The temperature – Gas powered airsoft guns have a tendency to sometimes drop in effectiveness when exposed to low temperatures. This is due to the properties of the gas that are negatively affected by the cold, however some gas like CO2 (which is the most common nowadays) works way better in cold environment than green gas or propane so you will probably not have to worry about this problem. If you had for an instance, a green gas powered airsoft gun and exposed it to let’s say 30°F(-1°C) it would shoot BBs for 50% reduced distance or worse.
What can you do to improve the range on your airsoft gun?
I have written an entire guide on what you can do improve the range and accuracy on your airsoft gun, so if you are interested to see how to do it you can check my post on upgrading the accuracy and range in your airsoft gun.
I will mention in short what are the most important components that you can upgrade in order to achieve better range along with increased accuracy on your gun.
- Upgrade spring for more FPS – the only real way to increase the FPS of a gun significantly is to upgrade it with the stronger spring. More FPS means more support for a bb and thus increases the range.
- Upgrade inner barrel – the quality of the inner barrel often means the difference in accuracy, but won’t affect the range. The length of inner barrels also matters, but as much as some think.
- Upgrade hop-up unit – the quality of a hop-up unit might increase the accuracy and the range.
- Compress your replica- a well compressed replica means there is no much room for air to leave before it creates the pressure for the bb within the barrel. This results in a better range and power of a gun.
The final take on
As you can see, the range can be important factor in airsoft games, but there is a natural limit because you can not utilize more than that in a game.
Airsoft is pretty simple, spot the target and take them down and for such simple task you won’t need too much range, but rather a smart play and reaction speed.
If you want to be a sniper than additional range shall be welcomed, otherwise is not big of a deal and accuracy and consistency matters way more!
In other hand, if you only play CQB games, then range is not a factor you should be bothered with at all.