Care and Feeding of Airguns

Reprinted from the Beeman Precision Airgun Guide

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A modern spring-piston air rifle or air pistol will deliver its maximum shooting potential and remain trouble-free for an unusually long period of time if properly lubricated and cleaned. Ignoring this will inevitable lead to wear, power and accuracy loss, and ultimate breakdown. Improper lubrication can cause damage to the gun and possible injury to the shooter and bystanders. Understanding the principles will both increase shooting enjoyment and assist functioning. Here are the BASIC POINTS:

The COMPRESSION CHAMBER is that portion of the receiver where actual air compression takes place when the piston moves forward in shooting. The piston seal must remain moist with lubrication to reduce friction, create the best air seal and prevent seal deterioration. Since the air is heated to as high as 2,000 degrees (F) for a fraction of a second upon firing, only high flash point lubricants must be used. This eliminates almost all petroleum based lubes and synthetics used in firearms and pneumatic airguns. They will cause dieseling (detonation) that can possible damage the gun and injure the shooter. Only specialized synthetic and organic oils carefully selected for high flash point, proper lubicity and lack of impurities should used. Only Beeman Chamber Oil 9250, Beeman Airlube 9300 or Beeman Ultra Lube 9290 (the only recommended lube for recoilless airguns) should be used in the compression chamber.

Apply this oil very sparingly. One or two drops every 5,000 to 6,000 rounds, or each 8-12 months, should be plenty. It is best to wait until you can hear the piston seal "squeak" during cocking before you apply chamber oil. It is easy to overlube. (To apply chamber oil to tap loading guns, open the tap, put in the oil, rotate the tap to the closed position, and point the muzzle up, while cocking, to allow the oil to flow into the compression chamber.)

Recoilless spring-piston airguns such as FWB 300S and 65 require very little lubrication, and one or two drops of Beeman Ultra Lube is sufficient. Do not over lube. Use all lubes sparingly and as directed.

MAINSPRINGS are the storehouses of the energy the shooter provides by cocking the airgun. To expand smoothly with as little friction and vibration as possible, they should be lubricated regularly. The mainspring is housed in the spring cylinder, which is a polished cylinder containing the piston, the mainspring, and the spring guide shaft. All metal mainsprings eventually have some cant; therefore, the polish and lubrication of all surfaces here is critical for maximum performance. Velocity and smoothness can be somewhat increased by simple, but careful, treatment. Add 2-3 drops of Beeman Spring Oil via an oiling needle through the long slot in the receiver which is exposed directly or when the stock is removed. The Spring Oil should be applied to the mainspring of each recoiling spring-piston gun not less than every five or ten tins of pellets or every six months. The mainsprings of recoilless guns need only light, infrequent lubrication; this lubrication should be done by an authorized service shop. Recoilless guns receiving extensive use in competition should be shop serviced once a year.

Regular recoiling spring-piston airguns will benefit greatly from an initial application of Beeman Spring Gel 9295 or Mainspring Dampening Compound 9320. If these gels are used, one should not apply Spring Oil for at least 500- 1,00 shots and then only very, very sparingly. Beeman Metal-2-Metal 9130 can be used to introduce the excellent lubrication value of its moly; it provides dry lubrication and smoothes the metal. It is of special value when burnished onto a clean mainspring and onto the inside walls of the spring cylinder after disassembly and cleaning by those skilled in airgun service. The Beeman RX uses air as a mainspring. For the RX, use Beeman Ultra Lube (1 drop every 15,000-20,000 shots) when inside the power unit, as directed, instead of Spring Oil.

COCKING LEVER LINKAGES receive considerable pressure; proper lubrication insures smooth operation and minimum wear. Moly is also useful in such areas as the sliding small link in the Beeman/Webley Tempest and Hurricane, and on rifle cocking linkages.

BARREL PIVOT POINTS and detents benefit from regular lubrication with either Ultra Lube or a light a light polarizing oil. Remember, do not over-oil, and keep low flash point oils away from air vent and breech seal. Moly is good here.

TRIGGER MECHANISMS in spring-piston airguns vary from the simple two moving parts of economy models to the beautifully engineered complexity of the Feinwerkbau 300's. In most cases molybdenum disulphide lubricants should not be used on trigger mechanisms. (Do not attempt to lubricate triggers on the sophisticated recoilless guns.) Triggers and sears on less expensive rifles and pistols benefit from very sparing application of B30 White Lube Paste 9200.

BORE CLEANING. Since airguns do not use powder or primers, cleaning is not necessary to prevent most rust; however, it is essential to good accuracy. Use Cleaner/Degreaser. Accuracy suffers badly due to caked grease residues blown into the bore from the compression chamber and from leading. Most accuracy complaints are the result of dirty bores-even though they may look clean! For storage, clean the bore and leave it with a light coating of MP-5 polarizing oil 9205. After cleaning with Beeman Cleaner/Degreaser (do NOT use regular firearm bore cleaners as they may injure seals and cause dieseling), follow with dry patches until no trace of oil is seen. A few regular or cleaning pellets will have to be shot through a cleaned barrel before it can be expected to return to its "zero".

EXTERIOR SURFACES should be regularly wiped with a Silicone Cloth 9400 to maintain the quality of the finish. Before any guns are stored they should be given a good wiping with a very high-grade polarizing oil such as Beeman MP-5.

USE PROPER PELLETS! Use only high quality Beeman pellets to avoid harmful oils, abrasive material and gun-wrecking air blow-by. Precision airguns are intended for use only with lead shot or pellets; steel shot or darts generally injure rifled bores. Properly seated pellets should not show rubmarks on rear of skirt if breech is reopened prior to firing. Damaged, used, or unauthorized projectiles may be unsafe. Plastic jacketed projectiles may cause dangerous ricochet, excessive piston impact and excessive penetration.

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