Airsoft AEG Replica Prep & Care - The Basics
Read the manual – This can seem so tedious and unnecessary, but you will be surprised how many times there is something unique about your AEG that you will never know unless you read the manual. A great example of this is the Mac 11. So many times I have had people bring broken mac's for repair simply because they tried to install a magazine in with the bolt closed; this is explained in the manual, and if they hadn't been in such a rush, they would have known that.
Charge your Battery - Place your battery on the charger (I suggest you always use an automated smart charger; the block chargers supplied with the ACM replicas use almost useless). Allow battery to fully charge and cool. It's a new toy and we know you are in a rush, but properly charging and cooling a battery will allow you to get the most from it. Be a bit patient to get the most out of what you have.
Completely look over the replica and magazines – Take a good look at your replica. Look for anything that shows stress of being bent, rusted or damaged. Get to know the parts and how they work. Check all the screws for tightness. Gently, tighten, but don't strip, the screws; since most of these replicas are made from plastic and/or cheap metals, that is easy to do. Move all levers, switches, etc to ensure they are working properly.
Clean the outside of your replica - I prefer a solution of about 1 teaspoon of Dawn dish detergent in 1 quart of hot water to wash off the casting agents, oils and dirt. Be sure to use a soft cloth; I've found that something in cotton works the best. Moisten the cloth in the hot cleaning solution and wring out all excess water. Go over the replica gently, making sure to wipe down the entire outside of the replica and inside the mag well areas. Now repeat the process with a hot-water-only cloth to rinse any left-over detergent off. Use a dry, clean, soft cloth (again cotton seems best) to dry and handle the replica, preventing putting your own body oils back on the surface.
Apply Sentry Solutions Tuf cloth protectorate - Apply Tuf cloth protectorate to the outer surfaces. I like the Marine cloth. While handling the replica with a dry, clean, plain cotton towel, gently rub the tuf cloth over the entire outer surface of your replica in order to protect all of its parts. Set aside, and allow the protectorate to dry and cure into the parts. I then usually go over the replica again with a dry, soft cloth to buff out the surface.
Clean the inner barrel and apply Tuf Glide - This is where my technique can get a bit tricky. First, turn your hop up completely off (see manual if in doubt) so as not to damage it in any way while cleaning your inner barrel. Using the cleaning solution we made earlier to run multiple patches through your barrel. Patches should be made from lint-free cotton strips about 1/4" wide by 1" long (You can purchase the .22 caliper cleaning patches and cut them to 1/4 in size for this). Run patches with a few drops of this cleaning solution through the barrel, until they come out with zero dirt on them. Next, rinse the barrel with the same kind of cleaning patches, only with plain hot water on them (No cleaning solution). Follow this up with several dry patches. To apply the tuf glide, put a few drops on a clean patch (until it is coated) and run it up the barrel, BUT stop an inch or so away from the hop up. (You can look in the mag well and see the feed nozzle, the hop unit extends in around 1 inch from there) Allow it to dry for 1 minutes, and repeat this 2 more times: clean patch, a few drops of Tuf Glide, and run up barrel. Now you want to simply run a pair of dry patches in and out of the barrel to polish it in and remove the excess tuf glide. Your barrel is now cleaned, lubed and protected. This method uses no liquid which could attract dirt, and results in a smooth surface to provide less friction and more consistency.
A review of the 4 rules of gun and 3 rules of airsoft safety
1. Assume the gun is always loaded
2. Try not to point the gun at anything you don't want to destroy
3. Keep your finger off of the trigger, outside of the trigger guard, and straight until ready to fire
4. Know your target, what is beyond, and what is around it.
1. Always wear full seal goggles when using airsoft replicas
2. When you are not using your replica, remove the magazine, clear it
in semi-auto in a safe direction, place on safe, place a barrel cover
on or store in a holster
3. Always transport your replica unloaded; battery disconnected; barrel
cover on; in a case, bag, or box and as far away from the passenger
compartment as possible (trunk, backseat ect)
My basic method for Shooting in a new replica
- ensure you are at a safe shooting area, free from bystanders, objects you don't want destroyed and out of public view
- ensure replica is on safe and has a barrel cover on
- insert charged and cooled battery
- load magazine with new premium BBs
- insert loaded/wound magazine
- turn hop up off completely
- remove barrel cover
- fire approximately 100 rounds on semi auto at a safe target/backstop
- remove magazine and clear the replica by pulling the trigger in semi auto 2 or 3 times
- disconnect the battery
- run a dry clean series of patches down the barrel (many times, mechboxes will have excessive grease/oils inside, and these will spray into the barrel, attracting dirt and affecting fps as well consistency and with that accuracy.)
- reconnect battery
- insert loaded/wound magazine
- adjust hop up on slightly
- shoot on semi auto approx 10 rounds
- adjust hop for approx level flight
- shoot 10 rounds
- adjust hop (repeat until hop is adjusted)
- A note on adjusting the hop up: How much hop you apply to your replica depends on many factors, bb weight, fps, game are, target size ect. For indoor players trying to eke out every inch of accuracy to hit even just a hand, you will want to set the hop so that the BB flies completely level with maybe a 1 or 2 inch rise. For outdoor players shooting at full bodies, a hop of up to 1 foot (think center of mass to shoulders or hips) would seem to be ideal for the longest range and accuracy.
- mark hop setting - At this point you have an approximate starting center (place to reset and start from when re-adjusting the hop) I would mark this with a Sharpie fine point marker (I like the silver write on metal and plastic ones)
- remove the magazine, clear the replica by pulling trigger in semi-auto 2 or 3 times
- disconnect battery
- turn hop off
- again run a dry clean series of patches down the barrel
- reconnect battery
- insert loaded/wound magazine
- shoot on full auto in bursts (approx 3 to 5 rounds)
- adjust hop as needed
Although
this seems tedious to do, it can help assure you have a longer, happier
time with your replica over its life. I highly suggest you go through
the entire process of checking the screws, cleaning, applying
protectorate, cleaning the barrel and applying protectorate to it after
each day's/weekend's use.
There you go, you are good to go.
- END ADM
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Everything
is In Our Opinion Only - We lay no claim to any of these ideas,
suggestions, tunes, etc. We learned, in person and online, from
people who are a lot smarter than us and we merely use and try to
improve upon what we consider to be useful. ADM
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