LAST POST

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!

Ihad 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…”

‘explosive’! Speaking of batteries, damaging or even better, short-circuiting them will generally do it every time. The interwebz is awash with videos of smoking and occasionally flaming airsoft guns. There’s a surprising amount of energy stored in those things and when it finds an uncontrolled outlet, things can get interesting quickly.

Use your gun as a walking stick because let’s face it, all that running and creeping is tiring. Most guns are strong enough to support the weight of an average child so you should be fine, no? At best you’ll compress all manner of muck into the barrel, and if you’re really lucky you may manage to cause structural damage. The former acts as an efficient suppressor, or at least until the back pressure caused by the blockage persuades your gearbox to eat itself. The latter is just a wonderful surprise waiting to sneak up on you, especially if the damage isn’t immediately obvious. There’s really nothing like your stock falling off mid-shot, or finding out your barrel is no longer straight to spice up an otherwise ordinary game!

UNCONCEALED CARRY

It’s important to carry your gun properly when in game. My experience suggests that long arms, especially M16s are best carried like an oversized pistol with the muzzle pointing down. This keeps it in a safe position until you’re ready to use it and additionally means that every log, rock, ditch and low wall can modify your long arm into a short one. Now there’s a result! This will give you the welcome opportunity to replace pretty much everything with high quality alternatives… lucky you! If that’s just not your scene, carrying it horizontally across your midriff is also a winner. I particularly recommend G3s for this as they bend beautifully, especially if you have gone to the effort of already installing an expensive aftermarket full metal kit. A gap between trees, or a narrow doorway are just aching to help you turn your iconic cold war bauty into a boomerang. The silver lining to this apparent cloud? You’ve fitted the full metal kit once, it will be so much easier the second time and you’ll almost certainly have the ideal opportunity to install an upgraded barrel and hop unit… and a new outer barrel and flash hider... And maybe a new gearbox as well…

Don’t forget gravity either. Many guns are surprisingly drop-proof, others not so much. Depending on the height of the drop and the landing surface you may well be able to pick it up and carry on as if nothing has happened. Some plastic guns are remarkably resilient, others less so. If you think full metal has you covered here, think again. If they were made of steel, yeah, no problem, but the alloys used in airsoft gun production can be surprisingly brittle,

“USE YOUR GUN AS A WALKING STICK BECAUSE LET’S FACE IT, ALL THAT RUNNING AND CREEPING IS TIRING. MOST GUNS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF AN AVERAGE CHILD SO YOU SHOULD BE FINE, NO?”

especially if they are brought to a short halt by a carefully lurking rock, or a nice chunk of concrete… an ideal opportunity to replace that stock/receiver/ forend with something new and shiny. Result.

GLORIOUS MUD

And let us not forget humble mud. Mud is great stuff. It can clog barrels and find its way into magazines and onto ammunition. If you combine it with a bit of water, a nice ditch for instance, or a torrential downpour mid-game, it finds it so much easier to get into all the hidden nooks and crannies of your pride and joy where it can act not unlike valve grinding compound; polishing components that shouldn’t be, insulating switches that really don’t need it and generally making a damned nuisance of itself. After a mud bath, you’ll be obliged to get in there and thoroughly clean your gearbox!

The moral of this little monologue, if it has one, is that to truly destroy an airsoft gun takes effort or serious misfortune. The potential to incrementally hurt them though is much more prevalent; I didn’t even bother to touch on the joys of the ill-advised and poorly performed “upgrade”, that deserves a piece all on its own. While airsoft guns are still essentially well designed toys, they are often constructed with quite close tolerances which don’t respond well to the ingress of contaminants, their materials are nowhere near as robust as their real world inspiration and their motive power source, electricity, is worthy of some respect. As outlined at the start, most damage can be repaired but really it’s better to avoid that expense until you decide that you want those upgrades! AA

“MUD IS GREAT STUFF. IT CAN CLOG BARRELS AND FIND ITS WAY INTO MAGAZINES AND ONTO AMMUNITION. IF YOU COMBINE IT WITH A BIT OF WATER, A NICE DITCH FOR INSTANCE, OR A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR MID-GAME, IT FINDS IT SO MUCH EASIER TO GET INTO ALL THE HIDDEN NOOKS AND CRANNIES OF YOUR PRIDE AND JOY...”