Air Venturi has announced the release of the world’s first frangible BBs. The new .177 cal (4.5mm) BBs are called Dust Devil. Just like other frangible projectiles, Dust Devil BBs shatter upon impact on hard surfaces and minimize the possibility of ricochet which steel BBs are well known for. The new BBs are also lead-free. Both features combined make them much safer for use in indoor shooting.

Images by Air Venturi

Air Venturi also advertises the Dust Devil BBs to be 10% faster than the conventional ones. These frangible BBs are made of a proprietary alloy and weigh 4.35gr which is less than the 5.1gr weight of most common steel BBs. The increased velocity should be the result of the light weight of Dust Devil BBs.

Here is what Paul Milkovich, Air Venturi’s Director of Business Development said about the new product:

While frangible ammo has been popular with firearm shooters for decades, Air Venturi is the first company to produce a BB that leaves ricochets in the dust.  Dust Devils are BBs perfected and we’re sure backyard plinkers and indoor shooters will take notice.

I think with the increasing popularity of training with BB and airsoft guns, these frangible BBs should be useful not only for plinking but also for training purposes.

The Dust Devil BBs are made in the USA and are patent pending. They will be available for purchase in March 2018. No pricing information is available yet.

Interesting to note that Air Venturi has been working on solving the ricochet problem before the release of this product, too. They have earlier introduced a double copper coated soft lead BBs called Smart Shot BBs. These were designed to deform upon impact thus decreasing the likelihood of ricochets, too.

UPDATE (May 1, 2018). Air Venturi published a video about Dust Devil BBs.