Gas Co2 soft air weapons

Gas soft air weapons require pressurized propellant gas to accelerate the ammunition. This type is capable of semi-automatic and fully automatic firing. The propellants commonly used today are propane gas (called Green Gas in connection with airsoft and marketed under this name), HFC134a, HFC-22 and, in appropriately adapted soft air guns, the powerful Red Gas. Less common are systems that work with carbon dioxide or compressed air.

The first gas soft air guns available on the market were the so-called classic guns due to their age, which were typically powered by liquid propellants such as R-12 (known as FLON-12 in Japan). These soft air guns often contained two external tanks: one for the R-12 itself and a second as an expansion tank. Later, some users modified these models to work with pressure-regulated CO2 tanks or nitrogen/high-pressure air cylinders, which offered higher pressure and less pressure fluctuation.

In addition, compressed propellants cool down considerably during expansion, to well below 0 °C. On the one hand, this strong cooling causes the pressure to drop until the soft air weapon finally stops firing; on the other hand, the rubber seals suffer from the low temperature. This effect is less pronounced with CO2 as a propellant and does not occur at all with compressed air.

Also worth mentioning are the so-called blow-back weapons, in which the pressure of the propellant gas is also used to imitate the repeating movement of the "real" weapons; these are the movements of the bolt and - in the case of replicas of pistols - the back and forward movement of the slide when firing.

In Germany, soft air weapons of this type can only be purchased with a modification that only allows semi-automatic firing.

Source: wikipedia

Storage and maintenance

Magazines with a gas tank should always be stored with some residual gas. The softair gas usually contains silicone components and thus maintains the seals. If there is a leak, the affected O-ring can be removed and soaked in silicone oil overnight. If it continues to leak after installation, it must be replaced.

Magazines with Co2 cartridges should never be stored with the cartridge inserted, as the permanent pressure on the seal will damage it. Co2 cartridges have no silicone components and cause temperatures around freezing point when blowing off. After prematurely blowing off the cartridge, please leave it in the gun / magazine until no more icing is visible and then carefully remove the cartridge. For Co2 guns, use maintenance capsules regularly so that the seals inside the gun are also lubricated and do not run dry.

The barrel surfaces that are exposed to friction under mechanical load, e.g. on blowback pistols with a movable slide or blowback rifles with a movable bolt carrier, must be cleaned and lubricated regularly.

The barrel of a gun should be cleaned using a cleaning rod and a soft cloth flick. Do not use any rubber-gripping agents, otherwise the hop-up rubber, if fitted, may be damaged.