Caring For Your Airsoft Guns

Proper operation and care of your airsoft guns can go a long way in maintaining the appearance and functionality of your weapons. The items needed are very inexpensive and readily available: damp cloth, silicon, cleaning rod, and barrels squabs.

Using a good quality BB in your airsoft gun will do more to insure its proper function than any other aspect of operation and maintenance. You need to insure that you use a high quality double polish BB. Using an inferior BB will introduce your gun to seams, burs, pits, and non spherical shapes, any one of these defects can jam your airsoft gun causing a cascade of mechanical failures.

Apply lubricant to your airsoft gun frequently. Remember to use one hundred percent silicon oil, as any other type of oil will have side effects on seals and other parts slowly decreasing your guns performance and reliability. For those models that utilize a hop-up, the application of silicon oil will help keep this critical piece of rubber from drying out and becoming useless. Apply silicon oil into the feed tube on electric models and for gas airsoft guns you will have to perform a partial disassembly in order to lubricate them properly.

The inner barrel of your airsoft gun will need to be cleaned religiously. Any dirt or debris within these tight quarters will at the very least decrease your range and accuracy of your airsoft gun. In the worst case scenario debris may be significant enough to cause a BB to jam. If a jam occurs, especially in an electric model, the subsequent BBs may cause severe damage.

The magazines used in your airsoft gun may periodically need a little silicon oil to provide proper feeding. For those using a large electric box magazine, you may find coating the inside of your box magazine with a very light layer of silicon will help with feeding and minimize jams. Remove BBs from your magazines before you store them, as BBs left in the magazine will keep the spring compressed and decrease its effectiveness overtime.

The externals of airsoft guns tend to require only a damp cloth to remove the dust and grime from playing. However, outer barrels, screw heads, fasteners, etc will need some form of oil from time to time in order to ward off surface rust and insure proper function.

Depending on how much you utilize your electric airsoft guns, it may be beneficial to have the mechanical box disassembled and serviced. This service usually includes replacing any items that show wear, re-shimming the gears for proper fits, and the application of a lubricant to gears themselves. Most players will use an airsoft shop for this service or have someone in their group that has experience in this type of service.

A few simple steps can be taken to insure you get the most out of your day's game and increase the longevity of your equipment. Most steps can be completed with just a few low cost readily available items.