Tutorial: Using That New AEG Part 1
Hey guys, Tang from Fox Airsoft here. Today's topic will be AEG basics. So maybe you picked up one of our beginner packages, or the airsoft gun you picked up has essential accessories such as a battery and charger. Either it lacks instructions, or you just need a better explanation. That is what we are going to tackle today. I'll review every essential accessory you use with your new AEG and discuss what you should and shouldn't do with your new investment. This blog is designed to help new and experienced players and help you on your journey in airsoft.
I will demonstrate a few M4-style guns that will function similarly but have slightly differing features. We will use a Lancer Tactical Mk18 Gen 2, an ASG M-15 Armalite carbine Sportline edition, and the Elite Force M4 CFR. But first, let's start with the boring stuff, which is batteries.
Batteries
Click to purchase the Enhanced 9.6v NiMH Battery
I have two here, and they are pretty much the same. They're both nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). They both have small Tamiya-style plugs, the most common plug out there, and they have roughly about 1600 milliamps (mAH) in capacity. This configuration has two split bodies, called the nunchuck or butterfly style, and this is the most commonly used battery for M4s.
Charging - Standard Charger
To charge your battery, you may need a standard wall charger or one of our recommended upgraded chargers, such as the ASG Auto-Stop Charger or the ASG Multi-Balance Charger. We will briefly review how they function and the pros and cons of each style.
Using a standard wall charger, you will first look for the output, which should be marked on the charger. This one I grabbed here has an output of 250 milliamps per hour. Take note of the capacity of your NiMH battery. The ones we have here are again 1600mAH. Take the capacity of your battery and divide it by the output rating of your charger. 1600/250 is 6.4, which is the number of hours you will need to charge. The standard wall charger does not cut off on its own, so you must constantly monitor it to ensure you don't overcharge it; otherwise, you can risk damaging the battery or causing a fire. Make sure the battery is not hot to the touch while charging. Warm batteries are OK, but just keep in mind that they are getting hot, which could be a sign of a shortage or something is wrong. Do not leave the charger and battery unattended, EVER!
Charging - Smart Chargers (ASG Auto-Stop Charger & ASG Multi-Balance Charger)
Click to purchase the ASG Auto-Stop Charger
The Auto-Stop Charger is a simple but effective upgrade to something you will use a lot. With the auto-stop chargers, it will cut off on its own, as the name implies. This is great because you don't have to do any guesswork or math, and it'll always top off your batteries to exactly where they need to be. Overcharging batteries will destroy them or significantly reduce their life cycle.
Click to purchase the ASG Multi-Balance Smart Charger
The multi-balance charger by ASG is a more all-in-one type of charger that can also be used for LiPo batteries. I won't go into LiPo batteries in this guide as it is a complicated subject matter and can be more dangerous if you are careless using it. Performance gains with the LiPo battery make people consider the risks, but I would say that is not a beginner topic, so we will skip that for this guide.
Back to the Multi-Balance Charger: This type has multiple settings to charge different types of batteries. While it is more convenient because it can do different types, you must be more careful about using it. You have to use the correct adapter plugs, which are included, and then you have to cycle through the settings so that it will charge properly. Remember that when I say battery type, I mean NiMH or LiPo. Not the shape (like a butterfly).
We are using the NiMH at the moment. So, following the instructions, it says to hold the button, and it will cycle through the charger settings. Just be sure to follow the instructions carefully, as I said. The different flashes mean different things, so if you do this wrong, you could damage your battery or, again, cause a fire. Charging a LiPo battery on NiMH setting is a guaranteed way to cause it to explode and is definitely not covered under any warranty whatsoever as it is user negligence. So, for this charger, you will see it has only 2 ports for charging LiPos, but it comes with an adapter plug. After connecting that adapter plug to the charger and the battery, we will press the button, and it will start blinking. It will cut off on its own and be ready to go in no time. Refer to the instructions for more details, and read it thoroughly until you understand.
Installing the Battery (For Front-Wired Guns)
With the batteries ready to go, now we are going to install them into the guns. First, I'll start with the ASG M-15. This one is front-wired, so the wiring is in the front of the gun. Typically, a front-wired gun will hide the wires inside the handguard or, in some cases, have an external battery box. This one hides the battery in the handguard. We will remove the handguard by pulling back on the delta ring. This is springy, so use one hand to hold it back, and then you can slip the handguard off one-half at a time using a clamshell design. Then, we will put the battery in the lower handguard and carefully lock the handguard back into place. You must pay attention to the wiring, as you don't want to pinch the wires. Make sure it's nice and snug and not exposed in any way when you close the handguard, and it should close easily. If it's not, then try again until you do it right.
Installing the Battery (For Rear-Wired Guns)
Now, with the Lancer Tactical Mk18 and most M4-style guns, they will have this style of stock, which will store the battery. We generically call it the crane stock. The crane stock has a removable pad and battery compartment built in. First, we are going to remove the pad from the back of the butt stock here. There are two tabs, both identical, one on each side. Use your index finger and your thumb to depress the tabs on both sides simultaneously, and then pivot the butt pad off. Once it is off, find the wiring in the back of what is called the buffer tube, and gently pull the plug in the tube so you can plug it into the battery. Install your battery into the correct compartments in the stock and connect the plug from your gun to the battery plug. Before reinstalling the buttpad, be sure to route the wiring so that it won't be crushed when you put the butt pad back on. Do not attempt to put the buttpad on until you do this correctly, or you will damage the wires. When you are putting the buttpad on, it should go on as easily and smoothly as it came offThere shouldn't be any issues as far as feeling any wires being crushed. You will know you did it correctly when the stock can slide back and forth without effort. Be careful about pushing the stock to the most collapsed setting, as it can crush wires, too. Likewise, do not violently extend the stock -- do it carefully so you don't accidentally rip the wiring inside the stock.
Some guns have a rear-wired setup but feature a different stock, such as the Elite Force M4 CFR. The steps and processes will be exactly the same. The only difference is this gun has a hinged butt plate on the stock. This makes it easier to open, and there's no chance of you losing the buttpad. Again, pay attention to the wires and do not crush them.
Ammo - What Type BBs
For Airsoft, we use 6mm plastic BBs. Make sure to distinguish this from 4.5mm/.177 caliber, which is an entirely different breed. The BBs we typically use range from 0.20 grams and up. You will find 0.12 grams, typically reserved for low-quality guns that don't shoot hard. They usually come in bright neon colors, but that is not your only clue. Usually, you will find them at a big box store with low-end airsoft guns. These BBs will damage your gun and void your warranty, so I don't care how cheap you got them or how long your gun has lasted so far with them. This will destroy your gun and cost you more money in the long run. What weight do you want to use? Generally speaking, the light ones like 0.20g travel faster and cost less. The heavier ones give better-shot consistency and are less reactive to wind deflection but have a slower flight time out of the same gun. I like heavier ones like 0.28g, which will give me fewer flyers, but 0.25g is probably the best all-around weight. With a stock-performing gun, you will look at 150-200 feet of range and be capable of hitting a torso-sized target with your Hop-Up adjusted properly. 6mm airsoft guns will not be as accurate as a real or pellet gun, so a torso-sized target is a reasonable expectation at those given ranges.
Magazines - High Cap
There are two types of AEG magazines: high-caps and mid/low-caps. The high caps for M4s hold about 300 rounds and have a wheel at the bottom. The wheel is called the winding wheel. To load, open the trapdoor on the top and pour the BBs into the top until it is full. Close the trap door, then start winding the wheel on the bottom. It will only go in one direction. It will make this distinct ratcheting sound, and then when it's done winding, it will make a different clicking noise when you attempt to keep winding it. You'll be able to shoot about a third of the magazine off before you have to wind it again. As you wind it, it will pick up BBs from inside, and as you run lower and lower, the remaining BBs will rattle around inside the magazine. This noise might be off-putting for a tactical-minded player since noise from your magazines can give away your position, which is why some people prefer running mid-capacity (mid-cap) magazines.
Magazines - Mid-Cap
Loading and using a mid-capacity magazine is a different process. These do not require winding while being used. They have a simple top and bottom, so there's nothing to look for. You must use a loading tool to transfer BBs into the magazine. The loading tool will hold anywhere from 90 or more; they will sometimes come with attachments that you may or may not use in other guns. The tool will have a trapdoor like a high-cap would. Once it is full, close it, and we can begin loading the magazine. For this guide, I will be using a 480-round capacity speed loader. With your fully loaded tool, you will line up the loading portion of the tool to the top of the magazine. Depress the spring-loaded plunger-like button on top, transferring four or five BBs simultaneously. You will keep pushing, releasing, and loading the 4-5 BBs at a time until it is full. You will know it is full when the magazine stops taking in more ammo, preceded by increasing resistance from spring tension.
Adjusting Hop-Up
Our magazines are now ready to go so that we can insert them into the gun, and they will be ready to shoot. There is nothing you have to do to load besides inserting the magazine. Sometimes, it may not pick up the first round into the chamber, so you have to cycle the gun once or twice before ammo is fed into the gun.
Now, on to adjust the hop-up. Pull the charging handle back on your M4, and it will expose the hop-up unit/hop-up chamber. Hop-up gives backspin to the BB as it is shot out of the gun to compensate for dropping. This allows your high-quality airsoft gun to significantly outrange guns that do not have a hop-up. Whatever weight you select for BBs, you will compensate for the drop by adjusting the hop-up. I have these hop-ups out of the gun to easily demonstrate how to adjust them. Two common types will be a large dial or three-wheel system. So this is the dial type where you just turn a big wheel. Here is what it looks like inside the chamber with the hop-up effect more pronounced. The other system is the same, but it uses a system of dials and cog-type gears to achieve the same mechanical adjustment. You will turn the biggest of the three wheels, introducing more hop-ups.
To demonstrate the effects of hopping up, I whipped up this crude drawing quickly. So you are trying to achieve the straightest possible flight for your BB. The effectiveness of your adjustment will vary with the type of weight BB you are using. In this drawing, you will want to adjust your hop up to be more or less until you achieve a flight path that resembles the solid center line on my drawing. With that dialed in, you can expect it to fly straight up to the 150 to almost 200 feet before it drops, and the hop-up can no longer compensate for the drop. If your hop-up is adjusted too much, it will fly and curve sharply up pretty much immediately, and if it is set too low or off, the BB will drop significantly short of the target. So, depending on the weight of the BB you're using, you will shoot and adjust until you find the sweet spot. If you use a different-weight BB next time, you must adjust it again to match that ammo.
One thing to note is that for the last 4 BBs that are in the magazine, those last 4 BBs are never picked up into the gun. This is a design quirk because the follower in the magazine (the part that pushes the BB up) cannot extend into the hop-up unit to load those 4 shots. This is just a thing that is part of the design, so get used to it. Likewise, if you eject the magazine at any time, there will be 4 BBs that fall out. So when your gun is empty, and you shoot it, and nothing comes out, nothing is stopping you from cycling the gun. But you will know you are out, and upon ejecting the magazine, there will be those 4 BBs I mentioned.
Cleaning/Unjamming Rod
Now, here we have a cleaning rod. This will have two parts to it: a loop side and a poking side. The loop side is used for cleaning. You will cut a small square of paper towel or some kind of cloth, around 2x2 inches, then spritz it with silicone oil. Use only 100% silicone oil sold at airsoft and hobby shops. Using anything else will damage your airsoft gun.
With your cleaning patch wet from oil, you will put this rod into your gun and do a few sweeps. After every 1-2 sweeps, you will throw away the dirty towel, put in another patch, and repeat the process. Eventually, you will know you are cleaning the barrel when the patches come out with less and less gunk. Once it comes out clean, you take a dry patch to remove excess oil. Leaving oil in there will be enough to get your barrel dirty again. You'll even want to do this on a new gun, but as far as frequency, do this after every two or three games, and you'll be fine.
Click to purchase the ASG UltAir Silone Lube Spray.
Now for the poking side, you'll use that to unjam the gun. If you have a BB stuck in the chamber and can't shoot it out, you can use the rod to poke it out. When you fire, the sound of a BB jammed in your gun will have a distinct thud. Do not keep pulling the trigger if you have a jam. This could cause more damage. Go straight to clearing your jam first before attempting anything else.
This will conclude the first part of this guide, which covers using the gun and accessories. Part two will be up shortly and feature all the quirks and things you should and shouldn't do with your AEG to keep it lasting a long time. See you guys later!
