Cleaning and maintaining your magazines is vital in the world of airsoft guns. In reality, your magazines are your most important piece of equipment, as without them you have no real way to engage an enemy. With that in mind, it’s important to ensure they’re kept in great condition all year round. Last month we provided a quick step-by-step tutorial on maintaining mid/lo capacity magazines, with the majority of airsofters making use of said magazine types. This month we’ll be looking towards gas magazines – where a lot of the cleaning process comes from being proactive as opposed to simply cleaning them!
A WORD OF WARNING
Maintaining your magazines is an easy job once you know how but you can bet your bottom dollar that the first time you attempt it you’ll end up with springs shooting here and there. If you lose any, you’ll have a tough time getting the mag back up and running. Make sure you have a clear, clean workspace so when you do inevitably drop something you’ll have an easier time finding it on the floor.
PREVENT, DON’T FIX
As mentioned in the introduction, the majority of the steps you take to maintain a gas magazine are in your general usage of said magazines. Unlike mid and lo capacity magazines, gas magazines aren’t completely strippable, therefore we cannot just open them up to repair them. While there are magazines which can be disassembled, we would advise against it due to the various moving parts in play.
You’ll realise fairly quickly that the majority of these steps are fairly straightforward, but do require the time following an airsoft game to do. We would always recommend setting some time aside after a game to care for all of your equipment – it’ll save you money in the long run!
REMOVE YOUR BBS!
While this may sound like a fairly straightforward idea, the amount of people who do not remove the BBs from their gas magazines following a days gaming is high… very high. The springs that push the BBs into your weapon of choice can become weak if compressed for too long, and in turn will struggle to feed in the future. Removing the BBs from the magazine releases the tension of the spring, keeping it fresh for future games.
GAS UP!
Unlike the situation regarding BBs where emptying the magazine is recommended, when it comes to gas, storing a small amount inside is important due to O-rings. Without gas inside a magazine, O-rings can dry out, leading to poor performance. To help prevent this, filling your magazines with a small amount of gas is beneficial to its long term health. For extra points, make use of a green gas that has a small amount of silicon lubricant inside to help keep seals lubricated.
LIGHTLY OIL METAL PARTS
Like all moving parts of a metal construction, guarding against corrosion is a must. While it would likely be overkill, we tend to oil our magazines every few games, just to ensure our gas pistol is ready to go should we ever need to call on it. In reality though, you could simply do this if you are planning on putting your magazines away in storage for a period of time. Pay particular attention to springs, valves and metal bodies when doing this.
LUBRICATE EXTERNAL PARTS
While you can help maintain your O-rings with the help of some green gas, most magazines will have a secondary O-ring on their valve that cannot be lubricated from inside. To help with this, lubricating from the outside will ensure perfect health – keeping them fresh, leak-free and consistent. Be careful not to go over the top here though, as too much lubricant is never a good thing!