last post HOW TO KILL AN AEG
HOW TO KILL AN AEG!
THESE DAYS WE’RE USED TO AEGS THAT JUST GO ON AND ON, AND MANY ARE SURPRISINGLY ROBUST! BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU DON’T PAY ATTENTION, OR IF YOU MEANINGFULLY TRY TO DO THE WORST TO YOUR BELOVED AEG… JUST HOW CAN YOU KILL IT? IN HIS USUAL WRY FASHION, AIRSOFT-INDUSTRY VETERAN FRENCHIE HAS THE ANSWER!
I
had a peculiar and frankly unique experience recently. I live in a town with a port, a port which used to build ships. One of the relics of this past is a large crane which has stood unused for many years. The industry which needed it has gone, and finally it was due to be demolished. Having lived with this landmark for so long, I was making a point of photographing the process, and I had paused to do so. As I snapped away, my camera told me the battery was exhausted. Oh well, I proceeded to change batteries. As I did so, I kept an eye on the ongoing demolition and was, to put it mildly, somewhat surprised to see many, many tons of crane topple off its base and into the port below. Naturally, with no battery in my camera, I failed to capture this unique moment! So, what has any of this to do with airsoft? Nothing of course, but it got me thinking about the death of machines and the longevity of airsoft guns; how bad does your gun have to be before you simply have to accept that it’s beyond repair… The more I thought about this the more I realised that as with so many things in life it’s a value judgement. The bottom line is that you can replace everything in and on an airsoft gun should you need to, it just boils down to whether or not the individual is willing to spend the money required to do so. I know from experience that there is a hard core of players who often spend far more than the cost
of a new gun to get it upgraded well beyond the capabilities it has out of the box, and that’s before they’ve even pulled the trigger once. For some, the cost to restore a favourite gun is not much of an issue. If you signed up to the Systema club, you are probably used to replacing expensive components on a regular basis, whereas if you own a brace of G&Gs (depending on the model) you most likely spend next to nothing on them. Rarity plays a key role. If you have AR variants, you’ll probably have no problem getting parts, either replacement or upgrades. Likewise AK variants, whereas if you own a minigun, parts might just be an issue!
GETTING DOWN TO IT
The bottom line for most of us however is that killing a gun actually requires a fair bit of effort. Having replaced every conceivable component of airsoft guns over many years the simple truth is that to utterly kill one you need either a furnace or an industrial metal chipper. You could I suppose rebuild the exact gun from parts, but at that point surely just replacing it would be the easier option. Ok, if killing them is actually difficult, how do you at least try? Go swimming with your gun. Those gearboxes just love water cooling and heaven help you if the lithium in your battery comes into direct contact with water, the results can be spectacular… for which read
“SO, WHAT HAS ANY OF THIS TO DO WITH AIRSOFT? NOTHING OF COURSE, BUT IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT THE DEATH OF MACHINES AND THE LONGEVITY OF AIRSOFT GUNS; HOW BAD DOES YOUR GUN HAVE TO BE BEFORE YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT IT’S BEYOND REPAIR…”
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AUGUST 2022
