DMR newb question

[TommoThomson]

Hi all I've been playing for years now, but have just entered the realm of the DMR player and I'm hoping to get some advise on what weight BB to use. 

I've only just got my build and took it out for it's first spin Saturday and went with some 3s, but I think I might need to go heavier. 

I'm running an AEG, which has been extensively upgraded and I'm chroning on a 3 at 367fps/1.88 joules.

Looking at it now a 3 isn't really that heavy, as a lot of people run 3s in their upgraded AEGs. So the question is how heavy is heavy enough to reach out and touch that person on the other side of the field ?

 

[Impulse]

I use .43s in my DMRs, but you will likely see a slight drop in power if you go heavier as it's hard to properly volume AEGs for .43s; they just don't have enough air volume to properly use heavy BBs unless you use a shorter barrel, which isn't very DMR-like. Even v2.5 gearboxes can be a challenge and they have more air volume than your standard v2 or v3 gearboxes. You can just put a slightly stronger spring in it to compensate for the undervoluming though, and undervoluming is better than overvoluming as overvoluming is more likely to affect shot placement and cause inconsistent accuracy where undervoluming mostly just affects the power output. DMRs can be a real rabbit hole...

Also, I am talking from a very very very very very fine-tuning perspective. Even if you didn't change anything out apart from going to heavier BBs, you'd probably see an overall improvement to performance anyway, even if the power drops slightly. I'm just talking from a perfectionist standpoint.

My two DMRs are a GBBR and an HPA setup, so I don't have that issue  

 

[Fatboy40]

Also, I am talking from a very very very very very fine-tuning perspective....

My two DMRs are a GBBR and an HPA setup, so I don't have that issue  

As an AEG DMR player to get the best you need to commit to the "very very very very very fine-tuning" lifestyle to get the best out of them, but moving around without a "tank and line" is so much nicer  

The trifecta for me has been air volume + hop + BB weight, get these all perfect and you're there (so me = full cylinder + Maxx Model M4A-Pro / Concave Metal Nub / Snipetor patch + 0.40g).

 

[TommoThomson]

Cheers for the help so far chaps, an as someone who use to play paintball I enjoy the freedom an AEG brings me. Any who from what you chaps are saying at 4.3 and 4 I'm a tad underweight and think I'm going to see what I can do with some heavier BBs

 

[Impulse]

As an AEG DMR player to get the best you need to commit to the "very very very very very fine-tuning" lifestyle to get the best out of them, but moving around without a "tank and line" is so much nicer  

The trifecta for me has been air volume + hop + BB weight, get these all perfect and you're there (so me = full cylinder + Maxx Model M4A-Pro / Concave Metal Nub / Snipetor patch + 0.40g).

Who said anything about a line and tank?  (I'm a Wraith X enjoyer; hated having an external line on my m14 getting caught on everything)

Upside is I still get all the benefits and the silence. Downside is I get about 600 shots before I'm empty, which is more than enough for a skirmish day, but not enough for a larger weekend event like AI500 or Shift Your RIFTs where I have to use co2 bulbs instead (about 1 mag per 12g bulb)

Cheers for the help so far chaps, an as someone who use to play paintball I enjoy the freedom an AEG brings me. Any who from what you chaps are saying at 4.3 and 4 I'm a tad underweight and think I'm going to see what I can do with some heavier BBs

Yeah, .3s are way too light for a DMR. I use .32s in my regular 1.1J guns and pistols, and even go for .48s when running my bolt actions at 1.1J as well though I won't tend to go heavier than .32s in my 1.1J guns outside of that; there's a cost-benefit trade off, and also a "point blanking with .48s is a dick move" consideration.

 

[Fatboy40]

Downside is I get about 600 shots before I'm empty...

I can keep going all day 

 

[TommoThomson]

Who said anything about a line and tank?  (I'm a Wraith X enjoyer; hated having an external line on my m14 getting caught on everything)

Takes me back to my magfed days, playing with my TGR and it's bottle stock ?

No I'm all about the freedom of AEG and battery power. I just need to learn a new game style is all, an I think with my build heavier BBs is the key

 

[Rogerborg]

Counterpoint: I currently run 0.32g in a 1.8J gun because while 0.4g+ would go further for the same muzzle energy, I don't believe I'd get significantly more hits within that extra range due to the shot-to-shot inconsistency in my fully-semi-auto electric gun.  Conversely I do run 0.43g in my 2.3J boltie because it's more consistent at the extremes of its range and the BB is the limiting factor.

Of course, it's all subjective, situational, and subject to the if-you're-grinning-you're-winning rule: there's no right or wrong answer.