As we head into a thus-far wet fall this year, an often asked question is: “Will my AEG work in the rain?”
The quick and short answer? “Yes!”
Unless you’re a fair-weather airsofter who’s afraid to get a little dirty, there is absolutely no reason (or excuses) why you can’t play in the rain. Generally speaking, the body construction of most AEG’s lends itself pretty well to keeping rain water out. Some individuals have been known to go the extra mile and coat everything in hot glue or silicone in efforts to keep water out, but I think this is a lot of extra work for limited return, and in some cases could impede disassembly or function.
In truth, one can actually SUBMERGE their AEG and it will still be fully operational. There are numerous
YouTube videos and articles covering this topic. I have done this myself (accidentally) with a Real Sword SVD that took a dunk in a deeper-than-realized creek, and intentionally (for science!) with a Real Sword Type 56-2. In both cases, despite being fully submerged and having full water penetration inside and out, once I cleaned the water out of the barrel it was good to go for the rest of the day. In fact, the gearboxes showed very little water penetration themselves, just a few drops from the obvious entry points: the motor mount area and nozzle.
Which brings me to the important point: perhaps the biggest issue with water is within the barrel itself. Unless you take the time to clean out the water and dry the hop up chamber too, it will have seriously detrimental effects on your accuracy. AEG barrels like to be run dry. This also follows that your BB’s like to be kept dry too. If your BB’s get submerged (even if they are in magazines) then every single one of them will be contributing to poor accuracy and can’t be used. Bottom line, I recommend having a cleaning rod, spare magazines and BB’s on hand if you dunk your rifle. Otherwise, you might consider shelving it for the remainder of the day or plan on engaging at rubber-band-gun distances.
“What about rust?!?”
What about it? 99% of AEG’s are constructed of aluminum, plastic, or cheap mystery-metal amalgamations. It doesn’t led itself well to rusting in first place. There are very few parts (if any) that are constructed out of genuine rust-worthy steel on most AEG’s. Notable exceptions being Real Sword, LCT, and E&L AEG’s which are comprised entirely of many steel parts externally. If you want to find which parts are made of steel, take a magnet to your areas on interest to determine this.
In any case, treat your wet AEG the same as you would with any real firearm: don’t put it away wet.
Wipe all the excess water off, clean out anything on the inside if necessary, dry, re-lube, and reassemble. Check it in a day or two to make sure you didn’t miss anything, and you’ll be good to go.