my opinion is NOT to raise
anybody's fps limit... lowering, i think, is the way to go. at least for the AEGs. we can't continue the upward spiral of increased fps with these guns...sniper or AEG class. why? well, plastic BB or not, eventually (already darn near it) we're gonna' reach a high enough velocity to be dangerous. heck, you can chunk a speck of sand at high enough velocities to hurt someone or damage something. (witness broom straws from tornado winds stuck THRU tree trunks!) and okay, maybe that example is way over the top but it does illustrate the dangers of EVER increasing speed on a moving object no matter what it's made out of.
even at much lower power/speed (low 300's and even 280's plus) we've all seen or heard about guys getting teeth chipped or knocked out, eye damage, torn ear lobes, cracked finger nails, ripped skin, bruised skin, etc, etc... and the percentage of that is surely somewhat higher when most guns started ranging in the mid to high 300's. with 400 and 400 plus AEGs...and 550 to 600 fps snipers...even MORE damage can be expected. and when will THAT not be enough? not long. for soon enough somebody will be thinking..."hey, how 'bout 500 fps for AEGs and 800 fps for sniper rifles?"
the point is, when these guns start approaching heavy body damaging, even lethal speeds and power (and yes, they are getting there already) ...we no longer will be welding "airsoft" guns/toys...and at THAT point, legislation/enforcement nut-jobs will surely kick our doors down and pass out BAN or OWNER REGISTRATION laws for our weapons that will constrict the living hell out of our sport or possibly even snuff it right out.
i vote going backward...to prevent this or keep it in healthy check. 400 and
below is VERY sane and playable for AEGs and a game. if a person can't get hits and kills with a gun in that fps range...that person is doing something BAD wrong. same for snipers. 500 to 550 should be plenty (i even feel 550 is really too high) and again, if a sniper can't get the drop on somebody with that power, maybe that sniper needs to lay it down and just be a regular squad rifleman.
my two cents worth.
skill and training should count the most...never raw, brute force.
the first time we rip thru some kid's "airsoft approved" eye protection and blow his eyeball out...we're right on our way to a
major airsoft SHUTDOWN.
who of us, wants that? for the kid's sake, or the sports?
Beo