Quality Brand BB Recommendation

[slink182]

I'm not going to dispute that the accuracy/consistency of BBs downrange is based on a myriad of factors, from BB materials down to barrel cleanliness.

However, I do not tend to favour one manufacturer over another. BBBastards have been quite good to me, but I'm more than willing to try out a bag (or two) from another manufacturer to compare. If it performs better, I'll move over, else I stick with what is working.

By your own words:

While the visible factors are easy to see, there are a number of other manufacturing processes that can affect distribution that are not visible - only the result - a good BB.

And so, I will continue to test and compare.

(Disclosure: Although this is my first year back in the game after a long, long time - and I'm still learning the new technology that has sprung up during the intervening years - that does not mean I am incapable of doing my research in an unbiased manner. At the end of the day, one of the few things that matters to me are the results, and if they meet my - and only my - expectations.)

[Blackthorne]

slink182...if you need some testers...just shoot me a PM. I can set you up...

[MaciekA]

Never any trouble with Bastards, but they've suddenly become rare in my area for some reason so I went ahead and experimented with other brands.

Myself and the guys that I play with have been testing the Madbull precision series BBs ( the ones being sold on airsoftparts.ca ). We've fired close to 6000-7000 of them through 5 different AEGs, and we might standardize on them. Airsoft parts offers bulk purchase discounts and Madbull's 10 kilo bag as well, which would be convenient for us. The jury is not out yet on quality, accuracy, and feeding, but so far they seem pretty good.

I'm one of the folks who witnessed some feeding issues with the Airsoft Central BBs (seems to depend on the gun -- tightbores might have more problems).

My local retailer used to stock Bastards, but they no longer do. I was told by said retailer that they stopped getting updates from BB Bastard or something to that effect (no idea what this means.. if anyone can shed some light on it I'd love to know). If they stocked them, I'd pick em up next time I was there and would do more side-by-side testing with the Madbulls. I wish the BBBs were available in bulk pricing as well (not a huge deal but enough to sway one way or the other when deciding between almost identically-performing BBs). Until then, sticking with the Bulls.

[Blackthorne]

Originally Posted by MaciekA

My local retailer used to stock Bastards, but they no longer do. I was told by said retailer that they stopped getting updates from BB Bastard or something to that effect (no idea what this means.. if anyone can shed some light on it I'd love to know). If they stocked them, I'd pick em up next time I was there and would do more side-by-side testing with the Madbulls. I wish the BBBs were available in bulk pricing as well (not a huge deal but enough to sway one way or the other when deciding between almost identically-performing BBs). Until then, sticking with the Bulls.

LOL..yah..we had a banner summer, and now we are paying for it by having broke our most important rule: "Never Be Out Of Stock". Hey, ya gotta have ammo to play so we understand when our customers have to run other brands. Sometimes it's good to experiment. Comparisons and tests are always welcome...

We are going to be in stock on 90% of our SKUs next week, and 90 days after that we will be fully stocked in three warehouses globally. So if you do decide to come back to Bastards, we will have plenty for you. Growth hurts. But rest assured we are never going to be out of stock again.

As far as bulk pricing goes, we can and do offer discounts for larger orders, but what your average Joe thinks is "a bulk order" and what we need in order to make the transaction worth while rarely meet. We regularly get inquiries about bulk orders for 50,000 rounds. (25 bags). For that level we do offer a team discount, but there are some strings attached. We need to develop a relationship with the team, ensure they aren't ass-hats here on ASC etc.

To put that in perspective, we are talking with distributor right now who is asking about 10 tons of product (50 million rounds). This order would qualify for some serious discounts. we are not out to screw the little guy, but we are a business, and we have margins of profitability we need to meet or we go broke, and can't handle increases in production costs (read below on oil). We have eaten a few of these lately without upping our prices, and will continue to do for as long as we can. We intend to stay a small operation to cut overhead and stay streamlined. These savings protect our customers from increasing prices, or compromises in quality.

Don't get me started about rising costs to manufacture, package (lets face it, styrene is oil based and it takes oil to get it here) and ship

[MaciekA]

Originally Posted by Blackthorne

LOL..yah..we had a banner summer, and now we are paying for it by having broke our most important rule: "Never Be Out Of Stock". Hey, ya gotta have ammo to play so we understand when our customers have to run other brands. Sometimes it's good to experiment. Comparisons and tests are always welcome...

We are going to be in stock on 90% of our SKUs next week, and 90 days after that we will be fully stocked in three warehouses globally. So if you do decide to come back to Bastards, we will have plenty for you. Growth hurts. But rest assured we are never going to be out of stock again.

As far as bulk pricing goes, we can and do offer discounts for larger orders, but what your average Joe thinks is "a bulk order" and what we need in order to make the transaction worth while rarely meet. We regularly get inquiries about bulk orders for 50,000 rounds. (25 bags). For that level we do offer a team discount, but there are some strings attached. We need to develop a relationship with the team, ensure they aren't ass-hats here on ASC etc.

To put that in perspective, we are talking with distributor right now who is asking about 10 tons of product (50 million rounds). This order would qualify for some serious discounts. we are not out to screw the little guy, but we are a business, and we have margins of profitability we need to meet or we go broke, and can't handle increases in production costs (read below on oil). We have eaten a few of these lately without upping our prices, and will continue to do for as long as we can. We intend to stay a small operation to cut overhead and stay streamlined. These savings protect our customers from increasing prices, or compromises in quality.

Don't get me started about rising costs to manufacture, package (lets face it, styrene is oil based and it takes oil to get it here) and ship

Wow, thank you for that detailed and honest update. I guess there's one more thing to be said above and beyond the quality of a product: the extra value of a manufacturer who communicates with its customers as admirably as you guys do.

Good luck to you guys and I look forward to resuming the depletion of your stock soon

[sortie39]

ksc .25 .30.

[Kozzie]

Airsoft Central, BB Bastards and Madbulls are all nice BB's, you can't really go wrong with any of those. I prefer Airsoft Central because I get the tighest groupings with them.