lifespan of CO2 air pistols

[stonebuster]

In general, how long should you expect a <$100 CO2 air pistol to last in terms of round count and years if properly maintained and oiled to prevent seals drying out and valve issues? I've just started with the air guns a few months ago and have had 2 out of three of my guns fail after about a month. The CO2 seal failed on one and the upper seal/or valve failed on an SR 357 Crosman blowing air out the barrel after loading CO2. One gun had shot a several hundred rounds and the other @1000. I'm careful not to over tighten CO2 cartridge, use one drop pelgun oil, remove cartridge after each session and use the same manufacturer's cartridge each time. If I shoot through 2 or 3 CO2 cartridges in one session , oiling each cartridge, is it possible I'm over doing the oiling causing problems? Is it unrealistic to expect to get thousands of shots from these guns before failure or have I just been unlucky?

 

[Kookla]

There are old Crosman c02 guns still running some 40 years later, so I think they can last a good long while. If I were to hazard a guess- the dedicated c02 guns, the ones built from the ground up to be a c02 gun- think Crosman 2240, will probably last the longest. The ones that are made to be replicas- looks and function similar to the gun they are emulating come first, everything else second, probably won't last as long.

This is just my thought- probably wrong

 

[cobalt327]

Just me, but I use a drop of lube no more often than every other cartridge. But as long as you don't see evidence of red oil in the barrel when you check it w/a clean white patch, I doubt it's hurting a thing to use it more often than I do.

 

[croberts]

We use Sig p226 replicas at various trade and gun shows to do demos of the MantisX. Of all the CO2 replica's we've tested, those last the longest. I would say they last us about 18 months of (really) heavy use. We probably do a big show once a month on average, where the guns will go through 10 cans of CO2 a day for three or four days in a row.
So that's around 180 cans of CO2 for their lifetime. But we don't do anything to maintain them, and maybe if we took care of them at all they would last us longer.

 

[Kookla]

We use Sig p226 replicas at various trade and gun shows to do demos of the MantisX. Of all the CO2 replica's we've tested, those last the longest. I would say they last us about 18 months of (really) heavy use. We probably do a big show once a month on average, where the guns will go through 10 cans of CO2 a day for three or four days in a row.
So that's around 180 cans of CO2 for their lifetime. But we don't do anything to maintain them, and maybe if we took care of them at all they would last us longer.

Looks like it's supposed to get 64 shots per c02, so that would be 11,520 shots total. Do you know what tends to go on them first before they fail? Do you oil the c02 before putting the cartridge in? Just curious. Thanks

 

[Starter52]

We have six Crosman 2240 single shot CO2 guns at camp for the kids to use. We've had them three seasons.

Each gun goes through about 50 CO2 cartridges each summer; roughly 3000 shots each for three summers. 9000 shots and every gun still works and shoots like new.
I fully expect they will last us for years.

I think we paid about $65 for each one.

 

[mjsdwash]

if it has a hammer, use it to vent the rest of the CO before you put it away. I have had cheap guns last 15 years or so, poorly stored, not properly maintained. The only reason I can think you would have these failures is from taking out the CO while its still charged. It really has to be completely empty.

 

[PainlessWolf]

Stonebuster! I am sorry to hear that you are having issues with your new CO2 guns. If you bought them new and followed the manufacturers instructions as you say, it's time to get them repaired or replaced by the manufacturer. I know these replica revolvers and such can be made to last. I've got one, a Peacemaker in .177 that I bought when I was a kid. That revolver is 40+ years old now and all I have had done is have the seals replaced a couple of years back and buy a new mainspring. They will last if you take care of them. I know the new revolvers are probably mucho more complicated but they shoot faster and straighter too so I'll not complain too much *chuckles*
regards all!

 

[stonebuster]

if it has a hammer, use it to vent the rest of the CO before you put it away. I have had cheap guns last 15 years or so, poorly stored, not properly maintained. The only reason I can think you would have these failures is from taking out the CO while its still charged. It really has to be completely empty.

I do take the CO2 cartridge out when the gun starts lobbing bbs loosing all accuracy and is about spent. I only get a small hissing when I remove them and never take them out when they have a lot of pressure left. I'll try pulling the trigger until the entire cartridge is spent or are you talking about pressing hammer forward to relieve pressure? I haven't done this before because I didn't want to dry fire the guns. Thanks for the replies. Ordered another SR today because before the problem I thought it was a great "replica" like revolver with surprising accuracy and good power.

 

[mjsdwash]

I do take the CO2 cartridge out when the gun starts lobbing bbs loosing all accuracy and is about spent. I only get a small hissing when I remove them and never take them out when they have a lot of pressure left. I'll try pulling the trigger until the entire cartridge is spent or are you talking about pressing hammer forward to relieve pressure? I haven't done this before because I didn't want to dry fire the guns. Thanks for the replies. Ordered another SR today because before the problem I thought it was a great "replica" like revolver with surprising accuracy and good power.

The CO2 is cold enough to freeze the seal, and that can ruin it faster. All of the hammer BB guns i have used, you can pull the trigger and move the hammer to relieve all the pressure. Im sure not all BB guns allow this, but for those that do it really helps.

 

[croberts]

Looks like it's supposed to get 64 shots per c02, so that would be 11,520 shots total. Do you know what tends to go on them first before they fail? Do you oil the c02 before putting the cartridge in? Just curious. Thanks

The sights are pretty cheap; those fall off relatively often, but we can usually glue them back on or keep shooting without them. Usually, something with the trigger gives out and it will stop actuating the CO2. We don't oil the co2 or do anything...

 

[cobalt327]

We use Sig p226 replicas at various trade and gun shows to do demos of the MantisX. Of all the CO2 replica's we've tested, those last the longest. I would say they last us about 18 months of (really) heavy use. We probably do a big show once a month on average, where the guns will go through 10 cans of CO2 a day for three or four days in a row.
So that's around 180 cans of CO2 for their lifetime. But we don't do anything to maintain them, and maybe if we took care of them at all they would last us longer.

Are these Sig branded guns? Blowback? Rifled barrel for pellets? Sorry for all the questions...

 

[croberts]

Are these Sig branded guns? Blowback? Rifled barrel for pellets? Sorry for all the questions...

They are sig branded. They are blowback. They do have rifled barrels.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/SIG-SAUER-P-CAL-CO/2095311.uts

 

[stonebuster]

The new SR arrived and doesn't pierce CO2 cartridges unless you tighten the screw to the point it feels like it could break. I don't think it's doing the seal any good to squash it down so much trying to get cartridge to pierce. I won't be buying any more CO2 pistols for a while. I picked up a Crosman 1322 multi pump pistol because of the proven reliability over so many years, the power, accuracy and simplicity. I shot it today for the first time and was impressed. It blasted through both sides of a veggy can at 30 ft. leaving a large exit hole and didn't move the can with 8 pumps. At first I thought I missed. It should be fun to do some mods at some point too. I wanted to get one before Connecticut outlaws a 600fps rated guns. It's probably just a matter of time. Shipping is restricted already, a permit is needed to transport in a vehicle and locked.

 

[beag_nut]

I have a Crossman 600 Co2 pistol, which is over 55 years old. For a long time, it was not usable, since the seals did not last. Then, I found seals offered by people who use modern materials, namely silicone and fluorosilicone. My 600 has a new life after getting the new seals. It ain't the world's most-powerful air pistol, but it will take down a small bird or squirrel if needed. When I installed the new seals I was astounded.

 

[chicharrones]

Coincidentally, the cartridge seal on my several years old Crosman 2260 has just given up this week after a 4 cartridge shooting session. It hasn't been shot a lot, but it hasn't been shot a little either. I'm kinda bummed.

Time for a repair job.