 
Not everyone can afford a chronograph to test how much juice their
favorite airsoft pistol or AEG has. Even after lots of modifications
you wonder how much velocity you're really getting. Well you don't
necessarily need to dish out several hundred dollars for a chronograph.
In most cases, a simple soda can is all you need to gauge those major
power milestones.
First, get
yourself a regular EMPTY soda can and rinse it out. Coke and Sprite
cans work the best as beer cans and other brands sometimes have varying
thickness which can throw off your estimates completely. Through
experience, I've found Coke and Sprite cans to be fairly consistent in
strength around the world. There are three major surfaces on a soda can
that represent increasing strength and thickness; the side, bottom and
top, in that order. While the sides are quite easy to crease and crush,
you'll probably be surprised that they're fairly resilient to abuse
from an AEG using 0.2g BBs. A standard unmodified MP5A5 will have
trouble piercing even one side of the can. However, if you press down
and flatten the surface a bit, you'll find it fairly easily to
penetrate, even with a spring pistol shooting at 0.3J! For our sake of
measurement, you are not to alter the can in anyway prior to the test.
The naturally rounded surface provides the extra bounce to resist
standard airsoft fire at 3 feet. When using the soda can as a chrono,
hold the can FIRMLY about 3cm - 5cm away from the muzzle of your gun,
being careful to place your fingers strategically out of the line of
fire. You also want to be careful about richochet so wear safety
glasses and use as few fingers as possible to hold the can so as to
reduce the chances of getting hit during testing!
To start the test,
begin by estimating which surface is best suited for your gun.
If you
have a stock or mildly upgraded AEG or gas pistol, use the side.
If you
have a moderately modified AEG or pistol, use the center part of the
bottom.
If that
proves to be no problem, aim for the side part of the bottom (ie. the
edge where the bottom surface meets the sides). The edge portion is a
little tougher than the central part of the bottom surface.
Now for those really highly modified weapons with maximum upgrades, aim
for the top, which is a real challenge that few can meet!
Obviously nothing
beats the accuracy of a real chronograph (which we used to measure and
translate these "can" measurements). Shooting cans is the most quick
and effective way to gauge the approximate power of your weapon. To
this day, local airsoft players still denote their guns to be playable
even when their guns are "can bottom capable". However, "can top
capable" weapons usually bring fear to opponents who often would rather
not play with you!
Note
that all test are conducted on standard thin skinned soda cans. Make
sure not to use thick skinned soda cans as can be found in some
countries. For example, some countries in Asia and Europe offer thick
skinned soda cans that are as hard to penetrate as an HFC22 cannister!
Note
that all tests should be conducted from a distance of 1 to 2 inches
away from the can surface.
Here
are the approximate FPS ratings for your pistol if you manage to
penetrate any of these surfaces in ONE shot! By penetrate, we mean that
the BB must enter cleanly right through the surface and end up on the
other side. Cracks and near breakthroughs don't count!
ONE
SIDE
(BB remains in can
after penetrating one side) |
290 to 310 fps |
All
figures are approximated based on tests with an 0.2g BB. Varying
weight of BB may alter results as the above FPS values only apply for
0.2g BBs. Using 0.25g BBs will sometimes allow you to penetrate a
surface even at the lower FPS rate. All FPS measurements chrono'd
with a Combro cb-625. The range of FPS above accounts for minor
structural differences between cans which can require a little more FPS
to make the mark.
|
BOTH
SIDES
(BB makes it
straight through and exits on the other side) |
350 to 370fps |
| BOTTOM
(CENTRAL) |
420 to 450fps |
| BOTTOM
(EDGE) |
450 to 480fps |
| TOP
(EDGE) |
480 to 510fps |
| TOP
(CENTRAL) |
520 to 540fps |
|
