Gun cleaning

Cleaning for long air guns

Cleaning and maintenance of air guns is essential and it is recommended to be done regularly, preferably immediately after shooting before being stored. Regular cleaning and proper maintenance will prolong the life of your weapon and maintain the best ballistic performance possible. Neglecting cleaning and maintenance, on the other hand, shortens the life of your air gun and can lead to malfunctions and damage. The more you neglect cleaning and maintenance, the more difficult it will be to clean and maintain later.

In the standard air rifles that shoot conventional lead pellets, lead fouling of the barrel occurs similarly to regular firearms. The pellet rotates in the grooves of the barrel, trapping lead particles in the grooves. Therefore, in the case of such air guns, regular cleaning is essential. Neglecting to clean the barrel can lead to a deterioration in accuracy when firing. Cleaning kits of the appropriate caliber (e. g. 4.5 mm or 5.5 mm) in combination with a suitable oil or spray are used to clean the barrel. The procedure is simple, apply oil or spray to the barrel and clean it with a cleaning brush ideally in the direction of firing (if the design of the weapon allows it) and finally remove the oil or spray residue in the barrel with an appropriate wiper. The brand that is involved in the production of cleaning aids is the Italian brand Stil Crin. Popular brands of cleaning, preservative or all-purpose oils are brands such as BRUNOX, BALISTOL and BROWNING.

There are some specifics of air guns that shoot steel shots and do not have grooved barrels. Thus, there is no rapid and significant fouling in such a barrel. As a standard, such barrels should be cleaned as required, in a combination of a wiper of the appropriate caliber and e. g. silicone oil. Some of these types of air guns are powered by the carbon dioxide contained in the cartridge (12 g CO2 content) and their construction includes several seals. You can protect these seals by occasionally using an oil-mixed cartridge to lubricate the seals and some of the other internal mechanisms.

However, air guns also need to be cared for externally by taking care of their finish, so that, for example, the iron finish doesn't corrode or the wooden stock looks as good as new for as long as possible. Depending on what surface you are going to treat or preserve, you need to choose the right oil or spray.

The internal mechanisms of the air gun, which cannot be accessed from the outside, also require occasional care, e. g. in the form of lubrication of moving parts. However, this process usually already requires disassembly of your air gun, which not everyone needs to know. So, if you do not yet have the experience of disassembling and reassembling the weapon, we recommend that you entrust such maintenance to a gun repair shop.