Kinetic energy

Kinetic energy transfer is relatively minimal in Airsoft compared to that of Paintball.
A standard 0.68 caliber paintball has an average weight of 2.84 grams.
Paintball fields limit the maximum allowable muzzle velocity to be 300 feet per second in most events.
A paintball projectile weighing approximately 2.84 grams and travelling at 300 feet per second transfers approximately 11.8 joules of energy.
Although there is a considerable difference between airsoft and paintball energy levels, the type of collisions that occur must also be considered
However, most serious airsoft players have guns capable of shooting anywhere from 400fps to nearly 800fps.
Airsoft fields usually have rules determining which player position is allowed to have a specific velocity on their guns.
This makes the game much more realistic as an airsoft pellet with a velocity of 450 fps will travel much further than a standard paintball, that plus a hop-up, a device which puts backspin on the ball to keep it on a straight path, while giving a slight arc to the projectile, gives an airsoft gun much more range than a paintball gun.