Airsoft guns resemble real guns in both design and function. However, unlike real guns that use actual bullets, airsoft guns use projectiles called airsoft BBs that are usually made of plastic. Airsoft BBs can cause pain when they hit your skin, but are airsoft guns powerful enough to break car windows?
Airsoft guns can’t break car windows because they don’t generate the power required. However, powerful airsoft guns like automatic electric guns (AEGs) and gas airsoft guns can crack a weak car window if fired continuously over the same spot.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at airsoft guns, examining their ability to release airsoft BBs and whether they’re strong enough to cause damage to property.
Why Airsoft Guns Can’t Break Car Windows
Although commonly mistaken for real guns,airsoft guns are more toys than weapons, meaning they can’t do much harm to property or people.
But despite releasing BBs at pretty high velocities (not as high as real guns, though), airsoft guns are still not powerful enough to break car windows because of the reasons below.
Airsoft Guns Use Plastic Pellets
A typical gun can easily break car windows and even penetrate past metallic surfaces. However, the same cannot be said about the ammo used in airsoft guns. Airsoft BBs are plastic pellets made from either bio or non-biodegradable materials. This means that while the impact might be painful, especially on exposed skin, the plastic pellets won’t do much harm.
Typically, most airsoft BBs measure about 0.6 mm ( 0.24-inches ) in diameter and weigh between 0.2 to 0.4 grams (0.007 to 0.014 oz). Considering that airsoft BBs are made from plastic, the weight of a single pellet is therefore negligible, meaning it won’t be heavy enough to break a car window upon impact.
Airsoft Guns Don’t Have High Muzzle Velocity
The muzzle velocity or projectile speed of an airsoft gun cannot be compared to an actual gun. For instance, a real modern rifle can achieve a muzzle velocity of 3900 FPS, which is fast enough to cause deadly damage to distant objects.
On the other hand, it is hard to find airsoft guns that can manage muzzle velocities above 400 FPS, since, after all, airsoft guns are toys that resemble actual weapons.
The relatively low muzzle velocity of airsoft guns means you’re unlikely to damage property or break car windows, regardless of how good your aim is.
However, you can crack low-quality windows and glasses if you use an automatic electric gun and stand close enough. Either way, it’s going to be hard to damage car windows when using stock airsoft guns and standard weight BBs.
Low Firing Power
Airsoft guns come in three main types: spring, gas, and electric. If you’re using a spring airsoft gun, chances are you won’t be able to crack even the weakest of glasses. Spring airsoft guns are generally the weakest of the three types, but they’re also the easiest for first-timers to handle.
Gas airsoft guns and AEGs are usually more powerful than spring guns and can thus do more damage to property. However, despite their improved performance (compared to spring guns), they still lack enough firing power to break car windows.
Point to note, though, if your car window is partly broken or cracked, then AEGs and gas airsoft guns can add to the damage and even worsen the cracks or damage the window completely. But for that to happen, you’ll need to be close enough and fire the pellets repeatedly on the damaged window.
What Materials Are Car Windows Made Of?
If airsoft guns (AEG and gas ) can break home windows when fired repeatedly, one can’t help but wonder why car windows don’t respond the same to impacts made by airsoft BBs. However, unlike regular windows that are easy to crack and can shatter into multiple pieces, car windows are designed to stay firm and withstand harsh conditions.
So what makes car windows so special? Car windows feature both laminated and tempered glass, which help maintain structural integrity even upon heavy impacts. Laminated car windows usually have two glass sheets bonded together with a plastic layer (polyvinyl butyl), which makes them extra strong.
Laminated car windows are strong enough to withstand the impact of BBs fired from any type of airsoft gun.
What about side windows? Most car side windows use tempered glass for added protection. Tempered glass is made when curved glass is heated, then suddenly cooled, making it up to 10 times harder than your typical glass.
This means that even spraying your car side windows with airsoft BBs won’t be enough to break or damage the windows as they’re designed to withstand huge impacts without shattering them into tiny pieces.
What Type of Damage Can Airsoft Guns Cause?
Airsoft guns aren’t harmful as they’re replicas of actual guns. However, can these replicas of actual guns cause damage to property? Let’s take a closer look.
Windows
Airsoft guns can break home windows, especially windows that use low-quality glass. Although the odds are slim, stray bullets fired from AEGs might crack windows made from weak glass. This partly explains why airsoft fields are usually set away from neighborhoods or home settings.
Bodily Injuries
The more common type of damage caused by airsoft guns is abrasions when BBs make contact with a player’s skin. While the situation can get dire if the pellets land on your eyes, chances are the bruises on the skin will be light and negligible despite stinging a bit.
Prescription Glasses
Again, the type of damage an airsoft gun can do to items made of glass greatly hinges on the quality of the glass. As a rule, you shouldn’t play airsoft with prescription glasses as they can crack or even break, depending on the type and quality of glass used.
Instead, you should go for goggles like the Xaegistac XTG07 Tactical Airsoft Goggles from Amazon.com that can also be used for paintball and game hunting.
Wrapping Up
Airsoft guns don’t have the muzzle velocity or the power to break car windows. While this is mostly due to the use of plastic pellets as bullets, it is also because car windows are made from laminate and tempered glass, making them extra hard to break.
Therefore, you won’t need to worry much about car windows when practicing firing your airsoft gun at home. Instead, you should be more concerned about bodily injury as the pellets can sting and lead to bruises if you play without wearing the relevant safety gear.