Bolt stick is a fairly common symptom that a paintball gun can run into, and it's usually more commonly found when the cold weather hits, but it's not the end of the world. But you may have some questions like, "what is bolt stick," and "how do I fix it?" The answers to these questions are really simple, so let's go over each one, and what you can do to ensure your gear works flawlessly!
What is Bolt Stick?
Easy! Bolt stick is what happens when your paintball marker doesn't fully cycle due to congealed lubricant, build ups of dirt or debris, or maybe a ball broke in your breach and took some paint or shell with it. What happens is that your paintball gun will attempt to cycle, but the bolt stays in place. If this happens, it's not the end of the world! All your marker is going to need is a little bit of maintenance and care.
This is where you tell me how to fix this, right?
Correct! There a reason a few things to go over and try, so let's start that list now:
- If you haven't already, try changing out the battery, or charging your paintball gun (like the Luxe IDOL). Make sure to use high quality batteries from brands like Duracell or Energizer. Every paintball gun needs good batteries in order to function properly.
- Take out your bolt system and inspect it for any kind of dirt, debris, congealed grease, or o-rings that may need replacing.
- Once you identify the culprit, replace any o-rings if they need replacing, and apply a thin coat of grease to each o-ring. Just like you would when doing basic maintenance.
- Once you're done, air up your paintball gun and dry-fire it 10-20 times to spread the grease/lubricant evenly throughout the core.
That's it! It's a pretty small list that's literally just the basic upkeep with owning a paintball gun. The only thing you might do differently is instead of cleaning and re-greasing your bolt system after playing paintball, you would do these things before you play so you don't experience any issues out at the field.
Seriously? That's all I have to do?
Yeah, seriously. Bolt stick is commonly mis-diagnosed as "my gun is broken," but the reality is that the weather and other elements can affect your paintball gun in a more direct manner. As long as you do your regular maintenance and basic upkeep with your equipment, you shouldn't run into any issues at the field.
If you need any paintball maintenance supplies, you can get them right HERE.
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