Most of us think of airguns as the "toys" of the gun world. Oh, we know well enough that they're real guns; a stray pellet can injure or kill just as a stray bullet can. But they do shoot only pellets or BBs, after all, and anything that doesn't go "bang!" when you squeeze the trigger doesn't seem quite real.
It's a common attitude--and it's totally wrong. Airguns have their own fascinating history and technology, just as regular firearms do. The care and maintenance of airguns, too, is completely different than for guns which shoot conventional ammunition.
In many cases, the less you do to an airgun, the better. The fact is, if you were to clean an airgun the same way you clean your other long guns, you would damage the gun. You'd also have a small explosion waiting to happen the next time you fired the airgun, one that could ruin the gun and seriously injure the shooter. Let me state very clearly that the best guide to cleaning and lubricating any airgun is the owner's manual. Follow it to the letter. What I'm going to give you here are just some general guidelines for the care of airguns.
Airguns generally can be divided into three categories: spring piston guns, CO2-powered guns, and pneumatic guns. We'll look at each category separately. When you clean a conventional firearm, the first thing you always do is make sure it's unloaded. The same thing is true of airguns. Also remember that many airguns have powerful springs or compressed gas which can cause injury. Never attempt to take an airgun apart unless the owner's manual gives you specific directions for doing so. And never use conventional gun cleaning solvents or oils on airguns.
Spring Piston Airguns
To find out more about spring piston guns, I turned to Don Walker, Operations Manager for S&R Industries, which owns both Beeman Precision Airguns and Marksman Products. Don is a competitive shooter and dedicated airgun enthusiast. You have to talk to him for only a few minutes to know he'd rather shoot an airgun than do almost anything else in the world.
Don says most spring piston guns need very little lubrication. Even though he's a competitive shooter, he cleans his guns only once a year. He points out that the only pressure that's pushing the lead pellet out is air pressure. That means there's no powder behind it to burn and leave residue in the barrel, and no need for heavy cleaning.
The rifling in airgun barrels is very delicate compared to that of conventional firearms, and it is quite easy to damage. Don also says the lead used in pellets is very soft, 99 percent lead and 1 percent antimony. Each time you fire the gun, the pellet leaves behind a minute amount of lead on the grooves and lands in the barrel. Like a fouling shot in a rifle, this improves accuracy; if you clean it out, your airgun won't shoot as well as it did before cleaning. At that once-a-year cleaning, the procedure is simple. You can use a cleaning rod, so long as the metal is very well protected so it doesn't scar the rifling. Or you can use a pull- through rod that's flexible, such as a plastic or nylon-coated cable with a brass end on it. Then you put a cleaning patch with a single drop of oil on it and pull it through.
Another option is felt cleaning pellets. "I recommend those highly," Don says. "You oil the first one, and then put three dry ones behind it. You never want to shoot just one cleaning pellet at a time, because the pellet is so light. If you fire just one, you'll get so much piston bounce it'll sound like a .22 long rifle going off. It can flatten the piston head or cause a spring to break." He emphasizes that you should never use regular gun-cleaning solvents for this procedure. Use an oil that is specifically made for airguns. One bit of cleaning you need to do regularly is to wipe the outside of the gun down with a silicone-impregnated cloth.
"Just like with a shotgun or rifle, you're handling the gun," Don says. "The salt and acids from your skin will cause the metal parts to rust unless you keep them clean." After you've finished oiling the gun, Don recommends one further step: stand the gun on a soft cloth for a few days with the muzzle down. This will allow any excess oil to drain out, instead of accumulating in the receiver or behind the piston seal. "Don'ts" for spring piston guns:
Never allow any oil to get behind the piston seal, Don says. "Oil is very volatile and will ignite, because air under compression in the gun rises to about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. The piston seal is nylon, and that will cause it to melt. Also make sure you don't get any oil into the receiver tube, regardless of what kind of lubricant you're using."
CO2 Airguns
Maintenance chores with CO2 are very minor. The owner's manual for my Crosman Model 1077 simply says to put a drop of oil on the threads of the piercing tube cap about every 750 shots. That's it.
"Don'ts" for CO2 guns:
"Don't oil the barrel at all," Don says. "Never. It's the worse thing you can do. CO2 is a gas, and at a low temperature is turns into a liquid. If you put oil with it, it gets gummy." So what do you do if you think your CO2 airgun needs cleaning? If the barrel just has a little crud in it, you can run a dry patch through it, or shoot a couple of felt pellets through it. "Beyond that, I would send it to a gunsmith," Don says. "CO2 is dangerous. It's under a lot of pressure and if you put oil in there you can have problems with wear on rubber washers. Once that happens, you can get hurt. You can have a lot of 'blowby,' CO2 moving past the seals." When Don says a gunsmith, he doesn't mean your regular gunsmith. He means someone who is certified on airguns.
"This is a completely different science," he says. "The basic workings are totally different from regular guns."
Pneumatic Airguns
Pneumatic airguns and CO2 airguns are very much alike, Don says. "You should only oil pneumatic guns at the hinge points, or the stress points," he says. "We usually say one to two drops at the actual hinge joint, where you're doing the pumping. Most manufacturers give you a little plastic bottle of oil and say 'Oil here after 200 shots.'" As with a CO2 airgun, you can run a dry patch through the barrel or fire a felt pellet through it.
"Don'ts" for pneumatic guns:
Like CO2 guns, never put oil into the receiver or down the barrel.
Sources of Supplies and Information
The following companies have supplies for or information about cleaning air guns:
Beeman Precision Airguns/Marksman Products
5454 Argosy Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 2649
714-890-4800
Crosman/Benjamin Sheridan
Routes 5 & 20
East Bloomfield, NY 14443
716-657-6161
Daisy Manufacturing Company
2111 South 8th Street
Rogers, AR 72756
501-636-1200
Dynamit Nobel RWS Inc.
81 Ruckman Road
Closter, NJ 07624
201-767-1995
National Rifle Association of America
Education and Training Division
1600 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, D. C. 20036
Ask for the book Air Guns: A Guide to Air Pistols and Rifles
Copyright (c) 1995 Carolee Boyles-Sprenkel. All rights reserved.
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