I will begin by stating that most field owners (including So Go Airsoft/The Rock) are very familiar with these concepts and are already at work putting them into practice for the safety of every player. This post is mainly for those who do not yet understand them or are confused as to why they matter.
Just as with everything, the sport of airsoft continues to evolve and innovate. What this means for field owners and game officials is that they must maintain an up-to-date ruleset to accommodate these innovations. This brings us to the Wolverine BOLT. This is an HPA powered conversion kit for bolt action rifles, meaning that the converted rifle is no longer a "springer" but is powered by an external gas source. In layman's terms, its a "polarstar'd sniper rifle". Previously, bolt action rifles were universally set at 550 FPS with a .20 gram BB. This is because a spring powered rifle would deliver an energy output that was deemed acceptable and safe with the inclusion of a 100-foot engagement distance. The concept of "joule creep" is new to many, and is not generally well understood. But facts are facts, and the physics add up. A rifle powered by High Pressure Air (and propane/green gas/CO2, to a lesser extent) is more easily able to overcome the inertia of an airsoft BB and therefore can take advantage of heavier rounds to deliver harder hits on target. This is what "joule creep" essentially is. As the user increases the weight of the BB, it hits with more force. We all learn that Force=Mass x Acceleration in high school, so this may be contrary to your traditional line of thought. "If you increase the BB weight, then the BB slows down, and the force is the same, right?". Not exactly. While the BB does slow down, it does not slow down the same amount nor in a proportional amount between an HPA rifle and an AEG or Springer. And here lies the problem. Our system of measuring airsoft guns energy output through "FPS" is standardized for AEGs and springers. When a player with an HPA rifle plays under standard FPS limitations, he is able to deliver more force (and therefore, more pain) to other players. He is not breaking any rules, and typically does not have any bad intent. His rifle just hurts more. For this reason, joules have become a popular way to measure and limit HPA systems. Joules give us the energy carried by the BB, and can actually take BB weight into account.
I apologize for the long winded explanation, but my point is this: we need to set HPA sniper rifle limits based on joules rather than FPS. The potential for joule creep will be significant. Some game organizations have already set their limit at 435 FPS with a .32 gram BB, as I believe we should. This limit correlates with the springer fps limit of 550 FPS with a .20 gram BB, as both will deliver around 2.8 joules of force. Combined with the same 100 foot engagement distance, this results in a rifle that is both fairly limited in ability and safe for gameplay. Once again, these are not new concepts and some would argue that systems like the ManCraft HPA conversion have been around for years. The point here is, the Wolverine BOLT has the potential to become mainstream. These will be appearing at local fields and Milsim Games alike, and it is important to understand the logic behind the rulesets set for them. Feel free to post questions or other elements of discussion below.
