How to: Airsoft Gun Maintenance

So you selected your airsoft gun, placed the order, got the goods, and fired off a few rounds; now what? Like anything with moving parts, there is going to be wear and tear in the product life cycle. how to you make your purchase last? It's easier than you think, follow these 5 easy steps and your airsoft gun will last a long time.

1. It's not a real Gun - It's not the real thing, and unless you buy a very high end metal gun it won't survive being dropped on hard surfaces, smashed or used with a Bayonet (Seriously, it happened). Most mid-grade guns will be fine with typical use on and off the Airsoft Battle field, just treat it with little respect.
2. Lube it up - Go to your hobby store and pick up a spray bottle of Silicone based, non-petroleum product lubricant and a .22 caliber rifle cleaing rod. Swab the Airsoft Barrel with a .22 cal cleaning cloth soaked with silicone lubricant. spray a little lube in the Hop-up, into the gear box and the BB feed point. Use the Silcone lube very, very sparingly as it attracts dust and that can be a problem. Repeat lube procedure every 3000-4000 rounds . Wipe off any excess. DO NOT soak your Gun in any liquids or lubricants. If you do, we would love to sell you a new gun (yes, it has happened).
3. Re-seat the piston head - After a decent session of full-auto fire, fire a few rounds on semi-auto. This will reseat the piston head and take the tension off of the spring.
4. Use Quality BBs - Save the .12g BBs for the Plastic guns and Spring pistols, that's all their good for. In fact, toss that free packet of BBs that comes with your Airsoft Rifle. If you have a Metal gearbox rifle or pistol use .20g or heavier. Also, make sure your BBs are seamless and polished. SRC, TSD Tactical and KSC all make excellent BBs at a great price. Low-Grade BBs can wreck your barrel or worse yet your Gearbox. Above all, never re-use BBs (cannot stress this enough). Once they are fired they become chipped, groved, and covered in dirt. All things that can damage your guns internals.
5. Avoid Long Firing on Automatic - Avoid long auto-firing durations, anything over 15 Seconds of "hold the trigger down and let it rip" fire is a quick way to burn out your gun's motor and gear box. Use 3-5 Second bursts. It conserves ammo, reduces wear on your guns internals, and will make you a more accurate shooter.

Follow these 5 steps and you'll get the maximum use out of your Airsoft Electric gun. If you don't and need to replace, or just want to upgrade your Airsoft gun, check out our on-line store [@] On Target Airsoft.