Airsoft Gas Pistol Troubleshooting & Care

In whatever shape and size theAirsoft pistols come in, they all need a bit of TLC on a regular basis. That’s the only way they can stay in tip-top running condition. So, it’s quite crucial that you understand how to properly maintain your piece.

Figure 1: A Tokyo Marui Hi-Capa 4.3 Gas Blowback Airsoft Handgun
Source: Dwt110, Tokyo-marui-4.3-airsoft, CC BY 3.0

To that effect, you are going to learn how to take care of three popular types of Airsoft Gas handguns; a CO₂powered revolver, a Gas Non-Blowback Semi-Automatic and a Gas Blowback Semi-Automatic. Some of the guns that we referred to in this troubleshooting review are; the Wingun 7 Series CO₂revolver, SOCOM Gear Gemtech Oasis plus the VFC Smith & Weson M&P 9C. Let’s get right to it then!

Where to Oil Your Gun

Before we even get to the cleaning and oiling, you have to first know that there three different types of surfaces that require regular lubrication. They are:

• Airseal surfaces which create air pressure, for instance the piston cup in the floating valve and the air nozzle
• Mechanical surfaces such as bushings/bearings, gears as well as other parts of the trigger and hammer

• Sliding surfaces, which suffer a lot of damage as well when neglected. They include the guide rod, the barrel, recoil spring the upper frame surface and the track that the frame moves against in the slide.

Cleaning, Oiling & General Troubleshooting

Tech Notes

OBJECTIVE: Cleaning and maintenance of your Airsoft Gas sidearm

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: 4 (out of 10)

TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes

TOOLS OF TRADE:

• Toothbrush
• Paper towels/rags
• Water
• Mild Soap
• White lithium grease
• Silicone lubricant

REPLACEMENT PARTS REQUIRED: N/A

STEP A: The first and probably the most important step in the maintenance of almost all types of pistols is proper magazine removal and disassembly of the gun. You must follow the exact instructions that are laid out for your particular model. For the VFC Smith & Weson M&P 9C, just drop the mag then pull back the slide. Switch the dismantling lever and then slide off the gun’s frame.

STEP B: Before starting the relubrication process of your gun, ensure that there is no excessive build-up of lube or any form of dirt and debris on the slide and frame. If you have been spending a lot of time playing in dusty spaces, then you’ll obviously be doing a lot of dirt and dust cleaning. Use the rags, paper towels and a toothbrush for cleaning up the small areas.

STEP C: Once you are done with the cleaning, you can now begin the lubrication process. Apply the appropriate lubricant to the frame and the slide. I recommend using the white lithium grease in the frame. Apply it to the striker/hammer assembly and the rails as well. Make sure that none of the grease gets in contact with the components that are made of rubber.

STEP D:To ensure that everything slides with effortless smoothness together, apply a bit of the white lithium grease on the inner rails inside the slide. For the blowback assembly, apply a couple of pure silicone lubricant drops to the blowback chamber rails and the inner piston.

STEP E: Your inner barrel and hop-up backing also have to be kept clean and free of lubricant and dirt just like your primary. So, after you disassemble the hop-up unit, remove the hop-up bucking and the barrel and thoroughly clean them out. Use some mild soap and tepid water to clean the bucking. Don’t forget to dry it properly after you are done with the cleaning.

STEP F: To make sure that your barrel is accurate (and happy), you just have to clean it completely. So, attach a clean piece of paper towel or a patch to a cleaning rod and run it down the barrel. Run the pieces of paper towel/patches through till they come out completely spotless.

STEP G: Once you complete the cleaning and lubrication process, you can now start the re-assembly while ensuring proper functioning, especially in the smooth slide operation.

STEP H: Just like the rest of your gun, the magazine also needs a bit of care and maintenance, particularly if you’re using propane and not Green Gas (pre-lubricated). For propane, you should add two drops of the silicone lubricant for every 3 or 4 magazine fills. That’s the best way to guarantee that they are internally lubricated. On the external side, you should also ensure that you sufficiently lubricate the rubber seal at the top using silicone.

STEP I:In case you have an NBB (non-blowback pistol), you can follow the same steps but with just a few tweaks. Since there aren’t any blowback assemblies or frame rails that are supposed to be cleaned up and lubricated, the NBB replicas have a much simpler maintenance routine. For the SOCOM Gear Gemtech Oasis on the other hand, the only parts that I’ve ever had to lubricate are the magazine using silicone lubricant and the trigger mechanism using white lithium grease.

STEP J:In some cases, the inner O-ring of some gun magazines could dry out leading to leakage of the fill valve. Luckily, you can easily rectify this by undoing the fill valve with a flat-head screwdriver. After unscrewing it, place it in a tiny cup and for a few hours, soak it in silicone lubricant.

STEP K: Just like actual handguns, Airsoft revolvers also need much less maintenance as compared to their NBB or GBB(gas-blowback) counterparts. Essentially, when it comes to the Wingun 7 Series CO₂revolver, the only maintenance stuff that I’ve ever carried out is ensuring that I’ve cleaned up and nicely lubricated the cylinder lugs including speed loaders (if you have them) using a few white lithium grease drops.

STEP L: Four a touch of extra efficiency to the gas port in the chamber meeting up with the shells, you should add a few drops of silicone lubricant to the chamber’s gas port where it comes into contact with the shells. However, you don’t have to add the silicone lube to the interior parts of this Wingun 7 Series CO₂ revolver since CO₂ is a dry gas and the interior parts of this revolver are intended to run dry.

More on Gas Blowback Pistols

Today,we’re focusing a lot on the GBB (gas-blowback) pistols largely because they are the most popular among all the above-mentioned types. In fact, the GBB types are perhaps the most functionally realistic pieces of kit in your loadout collection. As exciting as it is, your GBB is usually one of the most misunderstood loadout gear as well. Luckily, you are going to learn the importance of maintaining your piece and how to do it properly.

The Mechanics of a GBB Pistol

One of the best things about the GBB is that it not only looks like an actual pistol but its feel and handling is also quite similar to the real thing. These types of pistols fundamentally function by use of compressed gas which blows a pellet out through the barrel. From the residual air pressure, the Floating Valve is inflated and moves the slide for a pellet reload mechanism and resetting the hammer.

So, whenever you squeeze the trigger, some stress is applied to a set of valves and it slides in a back and forth motion at a very high speed in just a fraction of a second. In addition, the recoil of your slide also creates a bit of fiction. And thus, optimal valve operation plus reduced slide friction guarantees maximum performance while you are in action in the field and greatly reduces the chances of jamming or even worse, breaking down.

Common Practice

As already mentioned, controlling a gas-blowback pistol is usually identical or nearly identical to a real pistol. Therefore, you must understand how your gun works so that you can be effective and uphold safety while using it in the field. Some of the main points to be grasped are:

• In the first round, the slide has to be actuated to the chamber.
• You can prevent accidental/unwanted discharge if your gun has a de-cocker
• Choose your holster carefully to prevent loss of a magazine in the field since the mag release may be in one of a few different places.
• You may operate the trigger in single-action or double-action
  1. Single-action: Here, prior to shooting, you are supposed to arm the hammer by pulling it (the hammer) back or racking the slide. If a de-cocker is included in your model, the chamber can safely carry a live round without the risk of accidental firing. However, you will still need to pull back the hammer if you want to shoot.
  2. Double-action: Here, you should also chamber your round before firing and whenever you pull the trigger, the hammer will move. Since a de-cocker is not usually available, you have to keep it in ‘safe mode’ out of combat zones.

What Not to Do

There are a number of things that you should never do if you want to prevent your gun from wearing out or breaking down quickly. They include:

• Avoid dry-firing your pistol since it leads to fast slide-lock wear and has immense potential of damaging the floating valve parts that are made of rubber.
• If the gun doesn’t have any ammo, avoid clicking the trigger otherwise, the gas in the gun will wear the trigger spring out and consequently, wear the hammer out as well.That’s because the slide release tends to rub on the bottom of the slide if it (the slide) is pulled with no round in the mag.
• Do not scrap or sand down parts of the gun for any reason whatsoever, especially the barrel. This leads to severe clearance changes and as a result. drastic inaccuracy and loss of gas efficiency. Moreover, the slide release and safety interrupter may also be damaged in the process.
• If you fail/forget to properly oil your pistols as we’ve discussed above, the chances of jamming or breakdown are increased tenfold!
• Never leave green gas containers or charged Airsoft pistol mags in direct sunlight because they can EXPLODE!

Note: In a lot of guns, for instance the M9/92F patter pistols, the trigger spring is usually the weakest component of the gun. So, it comes as no surprise they are the quickest parts to wear out, even in most GBB pistols. To prevent premature failure, ensure that you avoid unnecessarily firing guns with unloaded pellets even if you want to ‘safely’ discharge them indoors. Generally, during normal operation, firing an unloaded gun may occur but the slide lock is usually disengaged during the firing process, till the last round is chambered and it then springs up. However, players in combat hardly get that far!

Common Problems of GBBs &Their Solutions

1. My gun fails to shoot the entire magazine or it

Possible Issue i: Your gas bottle is too empty

Solution: Confirm that your gas bottle is adequately filled, if not, fill it up.