What’s the Most Powerful Airsoft Gun: Definitive Guide

The power of airsoft guns is one of their more important aspects. The thrill of shooting from a powerful airsoft gun is no doubt bigger than shooting from a less powered airsoft gun. So it’s no wonder that a very common question among airsoft players is what’s the most powerful airsoft gun. Although giving a straightforward answer to that question is difficult, in this article we’ll discuss about powerful airsoft guns.

Let’s dive in.

Powerful Airsoft Guns: What Does That Mean?

First of all, we need to define what power even means when it comes to airsoft guns. It might seem clear to know what powerful airsoft guns even are, but that’s not really the case.

One option is to think of it in terms of feet per second (FPS). This is a very common measure that tells us how many feet the BB will travel in a second, once it’s shot from the airsoft gun. However, FPS is a measure of velocity (speed) rather than power. While velocity affects power, it’s not the same thing.

Another measure of airsoft gun performance is the rate of fire, which measures how many BBs can an airsoft gun shoot in a second or a minute. The rate of fire is commonly measured in RPM (rounds per minute). Still, this is not really a measure of power.

Other important aspects of an airsoft gun are its accuracy and range. Indeed, having a powerful airsoft gun that can’t hit the target is not particularly useful.

Previously we said that velocity affects power, but it’s not the whole story. That’s because we also need to consider both the velocity and the weight of the BB. The power of an airsoft gun is larger if the velocity with which it shoots out the BB is larger. And the power is also larger with heavier BBs.

Therefore, if we know the velocity and the weight of the BB, we can calculate its “power”. Technically, it’s not “power”, it’s called kinetic energy, and it’s measured in Joules (J).

What’s the Most Powerful Airsoft Gun in the World?

While this may come as a disappointment, this is a question that’s virtually impossible to answer. This is because the most powerful airsoft guns are not sold in stores with that power. Instead, many airsoft players upgrade existing guns to the best of their ability in order to make them as powerful as they can or wish to.

Even if you buy the most powerful airsoft gun from the store, it’s possible that other airsoft guns that had lower power out of the box can be significantly upgraded and reach powers that exceed that of your airsoft gun.

What Is the Highest FPS Airsoft Gun?

Even though a specific airsoft gun is difficult to name, different weapon types have different FPS. For example, airsoft pistols are usually not as powerful as other weapon types. Still, there are some CO2 pistols that have a very good FPS for a pistol. Airsoft rifles generally have a higher FPS than a pistol.

The airsoft guns with the highest FPS are usually airsoft sniper rifles. Since these shoot from a distance, they’re designed to be more powerful. Some of those go beyond 600 FPS. For example, the Novritsch SSG24 airsoft sniper rifle has an FPS of 650 with 0.2 gram BBs. This creates kinetic energy of almost 4 Joules. This is one of the most powerful airsoft guns out of the box.

With upgrades, velocities can go a lot more. For example, here’s a video of a guy upgrading a Novritsch SSG24 to attain 728 FPS.

There are some much more powerful airsoft guns, which can attain velocities of 1,000-1,600 FPS. Converted to Joules, their kinetic energy ranges between 10 and 25 Joules. These airsoft guns are custom-made gas guns that will clearly be banned from any airsoft field.

What Is the Highest FPS Allowed in Airsoft?

The highest FPS allowed in airsoft depends on the airsoft field you’re playing at and is commonly set between 400 and 550 FPS for outdoor fields and around 300-350 FPS indoors, for BBs weighing 0.20 grams. Translated to Joules, the highest FPS limits for outdoor fields range between 1.5 and 2.8 Joules, while for indoors they barely exceed 1 Joule. The FPS limit will also depend on the airsoft gun type, with airsoft snipers having a higher FPS limit.

Conclusion

Answering what’s the most powerful airsoft gun is a difficult question with no straightforward answer. Therefore, in this article we discussed aspects such as how is the power of an airsoft gun even measured, the most powerful types of airsoft weapons, as well as limits to FPS that most airsoft fields have in place.