Tech Topics - Airsoft Basic Information

Some Basic Airsoft Information.

Read your gun's instructions.

Safety Basics

Airsoft equipment is NOT A TOY. Treat your gun like a real gun – always assume it is loaded and could discharge at any time, never aim it at anything you do not want to shoot, consider where the bb will go if you miss your target (look downrange to make sure any misses will not hit anyone or anything that could be harmed by the bb), keep your safety on (if your gun has one) and your fingers off the trigger until you are ready to shoot, and never shoot at anyone who does not have face and eye protection.

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Safety Basics Part 2

Airsoft guns can easily be mistaken for the real thing. Keep this in mind when using, carrying, transporting or storing your equipment. This realistic look means that members of the public or law enforcement personnel can easily mistake your gun for a real weapon. Do not display or use your gun inappropriately. If confronted by law enforcement personnel obey their directions very carefully. They may believe that your gun is a real weapon. We recommend using a case to carry your equipment. It will help keep your gun clean, help protect it from damage and help avoid misidentification of your gun as a real threat.

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Safety Basics Part 3 the Orange Tip

All airsoft guns must have an orange tip on the barrel. It is illegal to remove or color this tip. Again, even with the orange tip, people may mistake your equipment for a real gun.

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Safety Basics Part 4

Always wear appropriate face and eye protection when playing airsoft. Never play unless all players and anyone in range are wearing face and eye protection. Also wear face and eye protection when firing your equipment – even if only target shooting – ricochets can cause as much harm as a direct shot. Paintball masks are great. We do not recommend screen or mesh masks as bb fragments can go through the mesh. Coverage of all exposed skin will reduce the effect of any shots. Knee, shin, elbow pads and gloves and chest protectors will also reduce the impact of any hits and will also protect you when you dive to the ground. Sensible footwear is also strongly recommended.

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Safety Basics Part 5 Helping with public relations

Almost all airsoft players are responsible. They understand that their equipment must be used safely. There are a few, thankfully only a few, who misuse airsoft equipment and do stupid and harmful things – like shooting at non-players, displaying their guns inappropriately, shooting to cause harm to property or people. These few can ruin the sport for all of us. Don’t, yourself, or let others, do things that would cause harm to others or property or do things that ruin our reputation as responsible players. These irresponsible acts could cause restrictive laws against all of us or even cause airsoft guns to be banned.

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Basic Types of Guns

1. Spring Guns – spring guns require a cocking of the gun for every shot. Generally speaking, spring guns are less expensive than electric or gas guns although some spring guns such as spring sniper guns are not inexpensive. Available types include spring pistols, spring shotguns and some spring rifles as well as spring sniper airsoft guns.
2. Gas Guns – there are two types of popular gases used in airsoft. Green gas which comes in a can that contains the propellant and a lubricant. The other popular type of gas is CO2 which comes in a 12 gram cartridge and typically fits in the magazine of a pistol. Most gas guns are pistols. Other types of gas include 134A gas which is similar to green gas but less powerful and red gas which can corrode your gun.
3. AEG also known as Automatic Electric Guns – electric guns are typically “long guns” – rifles, machine guns, etc. These longer guns have the room for the batteries and motors needed for an electric gun. AEG’s are powered by batteries and many guns – especially the higher end guns, can use more than one size battery.

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Firing Mode Basics

What about modes of fire? These are, in general, the modes of fire available for guns.

1. Pump Action or single shot (you have to pump or recock the gun for each shot). Guns that are pump action include all spring guns, bolt action rifles, spring shotguns.
2. Semi-Automatics (you have to pull the trigger for each shot – for some guns you have to cock it for the first shot). Most CO2 blowbacks, CO2 non-blowbacks and gas blowbacks are semi-automatics (Semi or Semi-auto for short)
3. Automatics (all you have to do is hold the trigger back and the gun keeps firing – again, for some guns you have to cock them for the initial shot). Automatics include AEG’s and some pistols.

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BB Basics

BB’s DO NOT USE LIGHT WEIGHT BB’s for powerful guns. In the “old days” only .12g (gram) bb’s were available so most guns list their velocity with .12g bb’s. This does not mean that .12g bb’s are appropriate for your gun. Most of today’s guns are more powerful and operate at a higher performance level and .12g bb’s are not appropriate for them. When you use today’s more powerful guns with .12g bb’s the piston will slam into the cylinder and will harm the gun.

For mid to high velocity guns and all guns with metal gears and/or metal bodies use .20g or heavier bb’s. Even though the initial velocity of a .12g bb’s would be higher than a heavier bb, the distance and accuracy of the heavier bb will be superior. Think about throwing a ping pong ball as compared to a golf ball!

As a rule of thumb, use at least .20 gram bb’s in guns with a rated velocity of over 300 fps (Feet Per Second) with a .12 g bb and .25 gram or heavier in guns that shoot over 380 fps with .12 g bb’s.

Paintball bb’s – yes they do make paintballs in a 6mm size that will work in airsoft guns, however, they will break in more powerful guns will gum up the gun. Many gun warranties are voided if you use paintballs in airsoft equipment (even in guns that come with paintball bb’s).

Marking or coated bb’s – these bb’s come with a residue that, when they strike their target, will leave a powder or mark on the target. The problem with these is that the residue can cause the gun to malfunction.

Metal bb’s cause premature wear of your gun.

Never reuse bb’s – even if they look perfect, they can jam your gun also don’t use dirty bb’s for the same reason.

Cheap bb’s are not cheap. Cheap bb’s can be misshapen which will cause them fly erratically but, even more of an issue is that they can jam in the gun. This is not the only problem because, if you keep shooting without clearing the jam, the air pressure will no longer go down the barrel but will be forced back into the gun causing the internals to jam or even strip them. Similarly cheap bb’s can break into pieces and subsequent shots will jam in the gun and the pieces can be blown back into the internal mechanism of the gun causing internal problems and breakage. One final issue with cheap bb’s is that they may not be sized correctly. If too small air will escape around the bb reducing the velocity, if too big they will jam in the barrel.

Bio bb’s. These degrade over time with some dissolving in a week or two and others taking many months. In any case, be sure to seal the bag after opening it – humidity is especially harmful to bio bb’s and can cause them to swell, infinitesimally but enough to gum up your gun.

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Battery Basics

DO NOT OVERCHARGE your battery. One of the biggest problems with batteries is overcharging. We urge you to:

1. Follow the instructions with the gun/battery
2. Unless instructions are different, to be safe, do not charge a fully discharged battery for more than 2 hours at a time
3. Get a smart charger. These are more expensive than regular chargers but they will not overcharge your batteries – they typically come with various adapters so you can use these for multiple batteries. Smart chargers will help your batteries last longer.
4. You can change the batteries in some guns – the higher the voltage the faster the gun will cycle (shots per second). The higher the amperage, the more shots you will get before having to recharge the battery.
5. As a general rule you will get a little less than 1 shot per milliamp (mAh).

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Hop-Up Basics

What about HOP-UP or similar systems?

Hop-Up is a system that improves the accuracy of airsoft guns by putting back spin on the bb’s as it is fired. This helps the bb fly straighter and with a flatter trajectory.

All air soft guns have Hop-Up. Less expensive guns have a FIXED hop-up system. Typically spring pistols, most spring rifles and spring shotguns as well as non-blowback CO2 pistols have fixed Hop-Up systems. Guns that have ADJUSTABLE Hop-Up systems are spring sniper rifles (bolt action rifles), gas blowback guns, higher performance AEG’s (Automatic Electric Gun).

BAX is a newer, more efficient, system of improving accuracy. It also comes in both fixed and adjustable versions with the most advanced versions capable of adjustments both left and right as well as up and down. BAX has two contact points that help center the bb in the barrel.

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Gas Basics

As mentioned earlier gas guns most commonly use either green gas or CO2.

1. Green gas comes in a can (the most common size can is a 1,000 ml which will power about 3,500 shots) which has a nozzle that refills the gun’s magazine. Keep in mind this is a very rough estimate and will vary a lot from gun to gun varying not only with the type of gun but also the velocity and whether or not the gun is a blowback or non-blowback. Green gas contains lubricant that will help your gun to function properly and minimize wear.
2. CO2 usually comes in a 12 gram disposable cartridge. As a rule of thumb you will get 100 to 150 shots per cartridge for a non-blowback pistol and about one-half that for a blowback gun.

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Maintenance and Storage

Every gun has its own maintenance procedures. Read the instruction manual for your gun to make sure you care for your gun properly. General rules are as follows:

1. Unless your directions say otherwise, it is best to store your gun with the spring in a forward, unpressurized/uncocked position.
2. After playing and before storing your gun, clean any dirt from the gun and barrel. A damp cloth will usually do the job but be sure not to get any electrical components wet and dry off your gun after cleaning it.
3. For AEG guns disconnect the battery for storage and for long term storage remove the battery. This will prevent damage from a battery that leaks.
4. Use silicone oil spray to lube the barrel, the hop system and the magazine.
5. For gas guns release any gas in the magazine when storing the gun.
6. As mentioned earlier, seal any bb’s in their bags/bottles, especially bio bb’s.

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