Airsoft Gun Improvements

Here at the airsoft gun repair website one of the more FAQ's emailed to us is how can I improve my AEG's performance? My first question back is always performance improvement? or velocity increase? As many players seem to confuse the two and they are definitely not equal.

Please note* This article does not pertain to Airsoft Training type weapons by Systema or other custom manufactured components.

First I will address airsoft velocity upgrades. I have performed FPS upgrades on just about every brand and model of airsoft gun on the market today. I have compiled data that clearly indicates that airsoft guns with upgrades beyond 400 FPS fail prematurely. The leading cause of failures, regardless of internal improvements or upgrades performed is gearbox housing nose blowouts more commonly known as a cracked mechbox. This is not a case of maybe, this gun will Fail Quickly. You should expect a dozen games or less from 9o percent of any airsoft gun upgraded beyond the magic 400 FPS mark.

Now if you are looking for performance improvements from your airsoft gun here is what I would suggest: For starters have your gun chronographed with .20 competition grade airsoft BB's to see what your stock velocity or FPS truly is. Manufacturers tend to err on the high side of the FPS scale and many listed airsoft gun FPS ratings are made with .12 gram bb's that I strongly do not recommend using in Metal gear box AEG's.

Durability Upgrade: Includes proper size steel bushings for your airsoft gun and metal spring guide with thrust bearing for durability and FPS increase if needed. These parts will greatly improve the overall durability of your gun. Any spring upgrades should be made, based off your starting FPS chronograph reading with a goal of around 350-375 FPS. Next determine your starting ROF measurement and decide if it is OK or would you like to increase it? If you are currently running an 8.4 volt battery then simply try out a 9.6 volt for a nice little ROF increase of about 3-5 bb's per second. High speed gears are a great option as well but other factors and upgrade components must be considered once you make a gear ratio change in this area of the gearbox.

For the most part many players can see improved durability and performance simply by practicing better airsoft gun hygiene. Use of proper silicone oil combined with cleaning and lubricating after each use and keeping your barrel clean and oiled as well will prevent your piston O-ring from drying out. Lubricate your hop unit for long lasting, increased durability and performance. A clean barrel at the start of each game means less jamming and other mechanical issues that can be caused by major barrel jams. Remember to back the hop unit all the way off on your replica weapon at the end of each game and you will see instant accuracy improvements.

*Caution* following the advice above will lead to your opponents noticing great improvements in your ability to "share some welts" with friends or family...

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Airsoft Cyber Thompson Machine Gun

The way I see it the WWII airsoft players should be shaking in their trench coats right now.

Just buttoned up the internals of one of the new Cyber Thompson airsoft AEG's and have to commend the makers of this airsoft machine gun for a job well done. Who makes it? Well, some people say Cyma is the manufacturer but I found no clear markings except the nicely done trademarks from Thompson/Center. What I do know for certain is that it is compatible with standard version 6 gear box parts that are available at most airsoft gun parts stores in the USA.
The stock build is a full metal body with a full metal magazine and an imitation plastic wood stock that can easily be replaced with the wooden set found at several retailers online. The stock gearbox is a metal V6 with plastic bushings and spring guide that were easily changed out with a standard V6 metal bushing set and a version 2 metal spring guide with thrust bearing for a little push up in FPS. The stock on the Cyber Thompson does feature a large foam filled compartment that easily accommodated my 9.6 1100 Mah battery upgrade once the foam was removed.
My end result was a Thompson airsoft sub machine gun shooting .20 gram bb's at a nice 350-360 FPS with an increased ROF of around 1000-1050 RPM....Perfect! On the range my slightly upgraded Cyber Thompson performed superbly at 50, 75 and 100 feet keeping tight 4' and under patterns. At around 125 feet the groupings had increased to 8" or more but good enough for airsoft trench warfare and not bad for 25.00 dollars worth of upgrade parts. The hop unit is quite responsive to minor adjustments and again another standard part, so buckings will be easy to find when replacement is needed. All in all this gun will surely be showing up en masse to airsoft games around the US.
By the way if you are a die hard Thompson fan rumor has it that a Cybergun Thompson (Chicago typewriter style) with drum magazine is due for release in mid 2009. I can just picture the airsoft games now with everyone in trench coats and fedora's and all you hear is "Eat .20 grams of plastic you dirty coppers, you will never take us alive". Now we just need some solid airsoft gas 38's and someone to write us a good 1930's style Eliot Ness airsoft game scenario so I can share some welts with my upgraded Cybergun Thompson M1911 machine gun. Visit our website for more airsoft Thompson repair pictures, tips and tricks.
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Airsoft Gun BB Mechanics

Did you know that the weight and quality of your chosen 6mm airsoft ammunition can play a huge role in how long your new airsoft gun lasts?

Cheap airsoft bb's are a good thing, Cheaply made airsoft bb's are not. Let me explain...

Todays stock airsoft guns are shooting hotter than ever and many airsoft manufacturers now feature brand new Airsoft Electric Guns known as AEG's that are shooting 350 FPS plus out of the box. For instance the newest line of AGM full metal airsoft clones are shooting 380 FPS with .20 gram bb's out of the box with no upgrades installed. If I use lighter .12 gram bb's in one of these guns my FPS will jump to 450 plus which is to high for most official airsoft fields in the USA. Most fields designate any gun that chronographs over 400FPS as a sniper weapon and strict rules of engagement are levied on the player. 6MM .12 gram bb's are not as dense as the heavier .20, .23, .25 and higher weight bb's and do shatter often in the barrel causing dangerous shards of bb's to be propelled at your target. Besides the obvious safety issue this causes it will also create excessive jamming that will lead quickly to expensive repairs.

Airsoft BB Rule Of Thumb: If your gun shoots faster than 300FPS then only use .20 gram or heavier bb's.

The other big difference between cheap airsoft ammunition and precision grade airsoft ammunition will be the hardness of the material used to make the bb's. If you squeeze a bb with a pair of pliers it should flatten, deform and finally crack on the edges when enough pressure has been applied. If the bb shatters it is too hard of material and can shatter in the gun as explained above. Also of concern is the quality control parameters held for the Diameter of the bb's. Today's airsoft guns feature precision tight bore barrels that can only handle micro variations of size before big problems set in. Proper barrel cleaning procedures are a must and are shown in the picture to the right. Excessive jamming, broken air nozzles and broken tappet plates are almost always caused by jammed bb's. Jammed bb's can be attributed to a dirty barrel, a faulty hop up bucking or irregular airsoft ammunition. If you are having allot of mechanical and repair issues with your airsoft gun and you are properly cleaning the barrel after use and are not having hop up problems, then you may want to examine your current bb's or try using a new brand of bb to see if this helps alleviate problems. Airsoft gun repairs can be both frustrating and expensive even if you DIY so be sure you are using high grade precision bb's as this is the first step to good airsoft preventative maintenance. For more tips and tricks to keep your airsoft guns in the field sharing the welts or if you are looking for tried and tested precision 6mm .20 gram airsoft bb's visit us at http://www.airsoftgunrepair.com/.

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