Sand management
 

Not sure where to post this....Gear/General/???...anyways, question to guys who actually play. Chairsofters with L33t kit that they don't actually use can sit in the corner.

Lately, we've been having some great games at the new, new Flag Raiders. A LOT of that place is very, very sandy. Sandy hills, sandy berms, etc...

I tend not to care at all how dirty/wet I get...and maybe that's the solution in the end....but I tend to go prone when I need to...take cover where ever works best...slog through the mud/swamp when that's what we need to do (or when we're lost). I've *ahem* performed several rapid vertical deployments (i.e. trip and fall)...and obviously then sand will get everywhere.

I run a PTW, a WE M4 GBBR and take a v3 mechbox Galil as a failsafe to most games.

The PTW mags are picky feeders with sand in them, the gas mags don't care, the AK/galil mags don't care. The PTW is a little picky about getting junk down the barrel and in the hopup...the gas one is a bitch to clear if it jams (which usually means a mangled BB wedged in the barrel)...the Galil doesn't care any more than a regular AEG does.

So...do you guys have any good tips (other than don't trip/fall and roll around in the sand) about keeping the sand:
1. Off of the feed portion of you mags to begin with
2. out of the gun if they feed portion does get sandy? best way to clear it/manage that?

How the hell does everyone keep the sand out of their dump pouches...which then ends up contaminating the mags!?!

Also...in dusty/sandy areas...do you do anything "extra" to keep your barrel/hopup/system clean and clear *while* in play? I can certianly see cleaning out inbetween sets or skirmishes...but anything to do while in game?

I'm frustrated since one rifle got jammed up last game and both barrels look like a dirty chimney.

As much as I like the Galil...I prefer to shoot the others and keep the Galil as a loaner for buddies and a last ditch go-to.

I'm pretty noob, but I saw these. And if you use magpuls, they'll work:

http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/in...oducts_id=1213

Also, maybe try compressed air and try not to blow the dirt deeper into the mag! :P Just a couple ideas I had.

I see no real solution to this. Having closed magpouch will help a little. Dump pouch with the lips will also help.

I see a lot of people putting their pistol in a plastic bag, in the holdster. I just don't see it very practical for a quick transition.

From personnal experience, I only played as a sniper in the sand (The huge rawdon sandpit) and I was wearing all my gear under a ghillie suit, wich prevented most of the sand from entering my magpouchs.

I did play assault once there and I just kept my webbing a little higher, so when I go prone on my elbow, I'm not resting on my mags wich don't end up digging in the sand. I think it helped a little. I don't run a dump pouch.

Try putting some grommets in the bottom of your dump pouch. Also, if you don't do it already; if y our dump pouch has an elastic drawcord at the top, close it up enough so that you can just slip a mag in there and nothing larger.

Thanks Fox...

I'm not used to rotating spent mags back into my rig pouches vs. dump pouch...maybe I'll try that.

Although when I cleaned out my rig I had mini-sandboxes in the bottom of each pouch too (Blackhawk "RRV" with eagle pouches...they've got a drainage hole...but still trap sand).

When the mags are in your pouches you could use sandwhich (not ziplocks) bags with an elastic bands to hold them on over the ends of the mags, relatively simple to remove and low cost. I did that on the rare occasion I actually played at Splatters years and years ago. No idea on how to better protect them once in the dump pouch though.

I miss FTF...:(

I didn't find the splatters stuff to be an issue...it was so gooey and gross, but it didn't get everywhere like the finer sand at FR.

mmm...
I try to move on my knees (padded) rather than prone.
I store magazines in pouches BB side up, dump is closed at all times...

sand still gets in...

one very useful thing you can try is tie an old toothbrush to your kit, if you're in trouble with sand during a firefight, you can always brush what needs to be brushed, or you can use some keyboard cleaning spray...

my kp-05 as a sidearm is not sensitive to sand (probably because it's not very precise machining in the first place), and I though my aeg (aug) wasn't either, turns out too much sand has a tendency to destroy the feeding tube inside the magazine well, which required sanding (!) after a while...

I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm sanding my inner barrel to bits...either via shooting dirty BBs down it, or after as I'm cleaning it out. :( I don't want to buy more inner barrels...but I don't mind that cost either. It's just the eventual jamming up that's frustrating me.

I'll take a little brush with me next time and tie/stash it with my kit...that's a good idea.

Tys

developing a sense for what is dipping in what when you move or take a position is also key.

AS mags are way more sensitive to crap than RS .. but even RS can and will foul if you jam a messy mag in.

I swap out mags from my dump every chance I get.. and I dump out the pouch and clear it whenever I am not engaged..

Lots of guys will stand around when they get a break .. and when the fight heats up again they will note that their mags are all fouled from the last time they went to ground.

I constantly check and re-check the status and condition of my ammo ... so I know when things are getting sandy and can take remedial action to ensure my ammo feeds when I need it to.

These kinds of behaviors have to become automatic habits that happen without thinking..

jimski's idea is solid. I really could have used a small brush to safely dust off the sand without forcing it down in the mag. My dump pouch felt like a filled diaper by the end of the day.. should have pulled that drawstring in tighter.

Couldn't you use compressed air instead of a brush? It's faster.

Compressed air will either blow the sand off or blow it in deeper. It's great for when you've got everything to bits on a work bench though.

First you run everything dry, dry, dry. Any lube will encourage sand to stick. I like a smaller paint brush more that a toothbrush. Not a model brush, something about an inch or so.

For the rest, everything that Brian said.

Well, carry around a small high suction portable vacuum to suck out all of the dusk. You'll look the Ghostbusters with that thing on your back!

We play out at reynolds for some sunday games, and it is sandy as it gets.

My AEG was getting so filled with sand, none of the mags fed, it got into the mechbox, and by barrel filled. And that was being pretty careful and cleaning it too.

On a breakfast break on the way out, I ran into dollarama and bought some DPM 2'x4' fabric they had, and wrapped it around the gun, cut a slit for the magwell and trigger, and then tied around with electrical tape. instant "ghillie", and the gun came out 100% clean.

Just fyi.