A spring piston air rifle can be dangerous if not maintained, did you know that? Maintenance is key to a fully functioning and safe airgun. It’s wise to keep note of a few things when shooting a springer. When you first receive your new Diana 34 EMS take it to the range and get to know how it performs in these three categories.
- Accuracy
- Velocity
- Cocking effort
Notice A Change?
If one day you’re shooting your Diana 34 EMS and you notice a change in any of those three things, it may mean your springer is suffering from spring fatigue. Spring fatigue in layman’s terms is the spring is simply worn out.
Any spring piston air rifle can eventually experience spring fatigue but you, the shooter, can do something to prolong the inevitable in most cases. I say in most cases because there are a lot of variants. Better quality springs are generally going to outlast poor quality ones. Either way the shooter can and does have an impact on the longevity of their air rifle.
Before we get to the shooters’ responsibilities to care for their airguns properly, let’s discuss how spring fatigue might be dangerous. There are many scenarios that could result from spring fatigue.
The Real Danger
- Spring fatigue may cause spring breakage and could in fact send broken pieces out of the gun during use which could cause personal injury.
- A broken spring could cause the air rifle to malfunction, which could lead to accidental discharges or other dangerous situations.
- It may cause a more violent recoil and damage the optic mounted on the air rifle.
Those are a couple of scenarios that put the shooter in danger, but there is also a great possibility that you may be putting your air rifle in danger as well. If the spring breaks, the small pieces that break loose could damage the air rifle causing breaks and malfunctions that only cause a domino effect of damage.
We all think it would be great if we could purchase a product like the Diana 350 Magnum and it required absolutely no maintenance at all! Am I wrong? The truth is everything requires maintenance to keep it up to par. And when it comes down to it, no one else is responsible for the follow through but the owner.
What causes spring fatigue?
Like I said previously, spring fatigue can be a result of multiple variants. A low quality spring, leaving a spring gun cocked for a lengthy period of time, as well as dry firing may cause the piston to slam into the spring causing damage to the spring. What can you do to preserve or prolong your spring? As much as is possible, refrain from dry firing or leaving your spring gun cocked for long periods of time.
Might I make a few suggestions…
- Know your airgun.
- Keep a record sheet for all your airguns recording accuracy, velocity, and the ammo you reached those results with.
- Record the date you achieved those results.
- Keep in mind the cocking effort it took to fully cock the airgun (use a scale of 1-10).
- Be sure not to hide your record sheet from yourself.
If there are any changes in any of the above results, especially velocity, you may need to replace the spring. Be sure to do your research and follow instructions and safety precautions before attempting to do this yourself. If you’re not comfortable performing this task, there are experts available to assist you.
