.458 texan PCP

[SHORT SHELL]

I have recently got to use my .458 texan at ranges up to 200m & it is the most accurate big bore I have owned. It far out shoots the 9mm samyang I used to have. The trigger is a dream & accuracy is better than I thought. I have found a 350gn. round nose bore riding front area cast lead the best so far as I also shoot a .458x 2 inch powder burner so have plenty of moulds to experiment with. I can go up to 400gn but trajectory is a bit high. I have fitted a Cold Shot scope elevation adjuster to save twiddling the scope which is not good for the very fine brass screw threads. As the elevation has to adjust to the 6m drop of this bullet at the 500m gong this is a bit hard on most scopes internals.
Have any readers found good accuracy increasing secrets as the long 34 inch barrel does increase the harmonic dwell time & I am adjusting the front barrel weight vibrating unit I fitted but this is an ongoing project with different weight bullets & air pressure.

[725]

I'm just getting into the .458 WM and casting. I tend to keep 'em slow and accuracy is very good. A thought about the long barrel you have; seems like a lot of lube would be beneficial. My barrel is much shorter.

[SHORT SHELL]

The biggest accuracy increase I have now found is with a carbon fibre tube epoxied over the last 380mm of the 34 inch barrel & a muzzle brake fitted with only 1 large hole 25mm in diameter each side & I get told the muzzle brake does not concern shooters on the next benches. After a lot of testing .459 lubed lead round balls are best up to 100m. I only shoot my home made moulded balls & bullets as USA made ones are too expensive here in Australia. Lead is heavy when posting costs are taken into account. I see no need to go to over a 3,000 psi fill steel tank with a small cheap 3.000 psi Chinese air compressor. It is sobering to find the European airguns of early 1800 (eg Austrian army had many 20 shot 50cal. airguns that ran on around 900psi back then not to mention Lewis & Clark as well). The makers had found that long barrels & large bores were the thing & no black powder smoke to give ones position away.

[Capt Keith]

I have a .457 Texan SS (they aren’t manufactured as a .458), and cast several projectiles for it. A few tips for accuracy: First, test each bullet at different psi levels and wheel settings—each bullet is different, and a change in any, particularly weight, can have drastic differences in where the bullet hits. Once you find one that groups well for you, adjust your scope and stick with it. If you change to a different bullet, plan on starting all over again. Second, shoot it with an “artillery hold”, not gripping the gun tightly. Third, ensure all screws and other fasteners (including the tank) is tight. Finally, I got a significant improvement when I added a stock, which stiffened the gun up some. I hope this helps!

[Smoke4320]

adding a Maddog Ultima stock will increase stiffness to the action there by increasing accuracy
best addition I did to my Texan 457 SS

[SHORT SHELL]

Fitting a Maddog stock is not worth the extra cost plus postage as the Australian dollar is only 70cents US$ & importing gun parts here are frowned on. I call my Texan a .458 as that is the size of projectile that should be used & a .457 will show light if chambered & one looks through a dismantled barrel.
I have made an aluminium tube skeleton stock attached from the bottom of the hand grip & above the air bottle with a recoil pad fitted so the Texan can use a rear bag. I got an increase in accuracy by angling the front bi-pod forward so it slides easier on recoil. I am going to fit an air regulator on my 5 ltr scuba tank as I find my unit seems to like around 2,200 psi & lead balls like around 2,000psi. & for most of my range shooting the Texan is tethered.

[SHORT SHELL]

After shooting a few hundred lubed round balls and 200-350gn home cast lead slugs all starting with a tethered 3,000 psi fill I have come to the conclusion that my Texan seems to like 2,000 to 2,200 psi for best accuracy as I am not interested in the energy so high velocity figures are not my aim. I have even shot round balls at 1,800 psi and 100m groups are still in a dinner plate group for 5 rounds aiming 1 inch higher for each successive shot. I have not fitted a regulator to the scuba tank yet but it seems to be a good investment. Another thing I have noticed is with my bore size I fired 10 shot strings using the same weight 350gn lubed bullet of .457, .458, & .459 the .459 seem to give better accuracy at 50m. The home cast lubed round balls measure just on .459 as well. I have not yet settled on a final slug design or weight so I only adjust the power wheel on the high end of the spring tension. Adjusting the wheel down past 1/2 way is a waste of air.