AR&M Performance/Value Scores

     At the end of every review I add the AR&M Performance/Value Score.  So what in the Internet does that mean?



     I invented my own scoring system that includes virtually every factor of what makes an Airsoft gun good and came up with this formula that generates the score for overall usefulness of an Airsoft gun.

     Of course, this score doesn't mean everything.  It doesn't factor in how much you like the design, or how much plastic went into making it, but works out performance stats for how powerful it is, more or less.

     The main part is that it takes the performance score and divides it by the price, giving you not a score of performance, but a value score of performance to the dollar.

     The formula is as follows:

      Here's just how it works in every step.

1. Square the FpS, and divide it by 200

     2.  Multiply it by the RoF using the below chart.
                                                         Bolt actions                        6
                                                         Spring pistols/rifles             8
                                                         Shotguns                           10
                                                         Semi auto                          15
                                                         Full auto (slow)                  19
                                                         Full auto (average)             21
                                                         Full auto (very fast)            23

     3.  Multiply it by the capacity using the below chart

                                                          8   = 1-29

                                                          9   = 30-99

                                                          10 = 100+

     4.  Multiply it by the accuracy using the below chart

                                                           8   = bad

                                                           9   = decent

                                                           10 = good

                                                           11 = sniper

      5.  Multiply it by parts/magazine compatibility using the below chart

                                                           8   = bad

                                                           9   = decent

                                                           10 = good

      6.  Multiply it by overall build quality/durability using the below chart

                                                           7   = bad              (cheap, plastic build, plastic gearbox)

                                                           8   = acceptable   (average, plastic build, pot metal gearbox)

                                                           9   = good            (good polymer/cheap metal build, metal gearbox)

                                                           10 = excellent       (high end/expensive, good brand, full metal)

      7.  Multiply it by overall build BB type using the below chart

                                                           .12        (inexpensive guns, low end)

                                                           .20        (most guns, mid range)

                                                           .25        (snipers, very high power guns)

  *note - of course you can use higher weight BBs in the gun for more accuracy, but don't count that here

       8.  Divide that by the cost times 100,000 (add 5 zero's to the cost)

     There you have it, the performance/value score that determines overall functionality and power of any given Airsoft gun.

     Something to take note of is that this works very well for comparing somewhat similar guns, i.e. two AEG's in the $100-$200 range, where it works less well with very inexpensive guns because a dollar or two difference in price could make a big difference.

     Finally, here are some example scores:

    0.1 or lower - Absolutely not worth the money.  Generally occurs with very expensive guns.

    0.5   -  Not really a good deal - there are better

    1.0   -  Average to fairly good

    1.2   -  Fairly good value

    1.5   -  Great value

    2.0+ -  Generally only occurs with very inexpensive guns.  They are great values, still doesn't mean they're great overall.

     The Crosman P311 is a gun that doesn't work too well with the system.  It got a score of 2.130, an excellent score.  This is because of the very low price.

     The Ares M200, an amazing looking gun (Intervention from CoD) interestingly got a low score of .051, which is ridiculously low.  That's because of the hefty price tag of $1,660.  I'm expecting that you wouldn't care about a score if you were going to buy this anyway.

     The Echo 1 Minigun, famous as the most expensive Airsoft gun ever, got a bad score at .075, which, while it performs great, is a reasonable score due to the monstrous price tag of $3,500.

     Something else interesting is that you can use the score to find what should be a reasonable price to pay for a gun.  You simply multiply the price by the score.  For example, a $30 gun with a score of 1.5 would be worth about $45.  Simple.