If you really understand your air rifle, you will know when the mainspring is starting to have problems. So perhaps we can start with how long does an air rifle spring last?
As a whole, an air rifle spring takes just about a month to bend if it was abused by prolonged cocking in storage. However, if properly used, the spring may just outlast you as long as it’s of a high-quality air rifle.
The moment the spring goes bad; you should notice some unfamiliar vibrations on the air rifle. Leaving an airgun cocked for too long especially in storage is more abusive than shooting it daily over the years.
In fact, a person firing the air rifle will do that the rest of their life, and the spring will remain intact. But you abuse it, bending occurs.
As the spring bends, it scrubs inside the piston or against the end of the compression chamber. Hence, loss of power.
Today, we will talk about the air rifle spring, how long it can stay, factors that lead to its deterioration, among many other things.
How Long Does an Air Rifle Spring Last?
Generally, if you use your air rifle following best practices, you are likely to see its mainspring stay around for the foreseeable future possibly outlasting you. All you need to do is to take good care of it – not dry firing or shooting it while the breach is open, etc.
Just remember it has to be a proper air rifle that’s been built to last for decades. In that connection, a good spring will last over four thousand shots before the power drops to lower limits.
Certainly, cheap springers wear out their springs from repeated shooting, leave alone other abusive factors. Such air rifles have springs of low quality and may take only around 1000 shots and they collapse.
There are things that you don’t want to happen when using a springer. These also called factors can affect the lifespan of your air rifle spring.
Let’s look at them right next:
1. Dieseling
Dieseling 
is bad for the mainspring. It happens when the oil you use to lubricate your air rifle finds its way through the compression chamber.
With high temperatures and pressure build-up, the oil droplets burn up destroying seals. It also blows the mainspring. When detonation occurs, the air rifle may re-cock itself to leave the spring under further potential damage.
If it diesels repeatedly, it’s not going to take long before the spring wears off for a replacement.
2. Dry Firing
Another factor that will cause rapid deterioration of a mainspring is shooting the air rifle without loading a pellet. This is also referred to as dry-firing.
When this happens, the spring and the piston usually have no cushion in form of an air column to slow the components down when the gun is fired. So what happens is that they slap violently in the front end of the compression chamber in an attempt to return to their original relaxed positions.
This smashing is intense and can destroy a spring in no time.
How Long Can You Leave a Spring Gun Cocked?
So many airgunners are wondering between the lines how long can you leave a spring gun cocked and never risk weakening it up? But the fact remains there are consequences of cocking an airgun for long as far as the spring system can go.
Generally, you are not advised to leave a spring gun cocked for any length of time since this eventually leads to loss of power. Don’t cock your air rifle unless you want to fire it. So, if you are keeping it in the store, you must never leave it cocked to preserve the mechanism.
If you are following up on a whitetail on the run, there may be no time to cock. For a situation like that, leaving the springer cocked for some 30 minutes or an hour is not grossly consequential because you are actively using the gun.
The problem with cocking a gun and not using it for several hours to days is that you weaken the spring if not damaging it completely. You will know that the spring has been weakened when your air rifle is vibrating and its velocity greatly reduced. There is also a loss of power.
Your air rifle is only going to stay around longer if you stop doing the malpractice of leaving it cocked. Spring fatigue is a huge negative for any springer gun and you’re strongly advised to avoid it.
Does Leaving an Air Rifle Cocked Weaken the Spring?
One of the worst shockers of an airgunner is finding out that their springer is not working as efficiently as before. It does happen particularly when it’s left in a cocked position for a long time.
This leads to a critical question; does living an air rifle cocked weaken the spring? A cocked air rifle will definitely weaken the spring leading to a loss of about 6% of velocity in four weeks. Consequently, your air rifle loses its power as well.
You want to watch your steps as you store the gun away. You don’t want to accidentally or purposely leave it in a cocked position for any period of time.
Replacing a spring is not your cup of tea. And don’t be excited either on the prospect of engaging a gunsmith to do some repairs with a hope to revive it fully. It’s still a gamble – yet you splash the cash.
It’s a better idea to avoid these costs by simply keeping everything simple; de-cock the gun always when it’s being stored. Your spring will remain safe and have a very long life while keeping its power.
How Long Does a Nitro Piston Air Rifle Last?
Nitro piston airguns are more powerful compared to their spring-piston counterparts. Instead of spring to generate the force to propel the projectile, there is compressed nitrogen in a cylinder that creates the pressure.
One of the advantages of the nitro piston airguns is that you can leave it cocked for as long as you want without any negative effects on the gun. So how long does a nitro piston air rifle last?
Well, a nitro piston air rifle will be able to last an average cycle of up to 10,000 shots if well maintained. Compared to what you get from a spring-piston air rifle; this is more than double the lifespan.
What makes it so reliable is that there is no mainspring to worry about. The nitro piston technology offers a rich line of advantages including the less recoil it produces, no worrying about rust in the mechanism meaning more durability, and the comfort of leaving it cocked without affecting its power and performance.
While the nitro piston air rifle allows you to cock it as you want, it’s vital to remember to shoot, cock and de-cock after a few months to keep it in shape. Otherwise, you may lose the seal by way of it attaching to the bore.
Which Is Better; Spring or Nitro Piston?
Spring piston air rifles ruled the world of air rifles for a long time before the nitro piston came into the picture to complement springs. So, which is better; spring-piston or nitro piston?
Generally, it depends on what kind of an enthusiast you are. For new entrants, a nitro piston like this Benjamin Prowler Nitro Piston air rifle in .177 caliber may be a real go-to thing. This is because nitro pistons are easier to operate and offer a smoother cocking mechanism.
For the experts and veterans, a spring piston air rifle is exactly what they would need because it’s more accurate, hard-hitting, and also easy to operate in case the mainspring hits a halt for some reason. A perfect choice would be Crosman Optimus air rifle .22 caliber that’s not only good for varmints but also an awesome plinker.
Today, both types of air rifles are very popular in the market. And there is a thin line that separates them from each other as far as users are concerned.
Let’s look at some differences between the two air rifles right next:
| Spring Piston Air Rifle | Gas Piston Air Rifle |
| 1. Very accurate especially for experienced airgunners | 1. Accuracy is great for beginners |
| 2. Offers faster velocity | 2. Offers good velocity but it’s not more than what many springers provide |
| 3. The lifespan of 5,000 shots on average | 3. The lifespan of 10,000 shots |
| 4. Produces more noise | 4. Produces less noise due to the lack of a coiled spring. |
| 5. User-friendly for experienced shooters | 5. User-friendly for beginner shooters |
| 6. Great for long-distance shooting, hunting, and target shooting | 6. Great for pest control and plinking |
| 7. Easy to maintain. Access to the internal mechanism is easy | 7. Easy to maintain but you will get a hard time accessing the internal components |
| 8. Price is on the higher side | 8. A bit inexpensive. Cost less than $200 mostly |
In a nutshell, both air rifles are great for a specific type of shooters. If you are a beginner, the gas piston air rifle would probably be a point to begin. For those of you with enough airgun experience, springers are always the perfect choice.
Final Thoughts: How Long Does an Air Rifle Spring Last?
An air rifle spring will last for as long as you want if you take proper care of it. It can last for 10 years but it can also last just a couple of months if you abuse it.
You cock it for any length of time in storage and its power and velocity go down. Any kind of abuse – from dieseling to improper stress relief, the mainspring is always going to be damaged.
