Keeping at it.

[Racing]

Uhu.
That "el-cheapo" Artemis PR-900 i guess to an extent has come full circle.
Where we´re at it´s noodling away, 22cal, pushing 25,4 grain slugs at 1080fps all day.
Remarkably enough albeit into the trans sonic area sans any real drawbacks.



Might be they´re cheap as snot. They can no doubt be had to perform none the less. At them 1080fps it about stacks the pills at 50 meters.

Artemis thus came to strike me as something to work with.



So this one arrived due. An Artemis P15. Wanted a P35 really but sorry to say they´re not imported up here. Have since realized i can pick them up down mainland Europe so..
But for the moment i´m knee deep in this one. Have gone COMPLETELY ape on it! This one i hope to push towards the 100J wall, still a 22.
Thus sports a completely home brew valve, SSG setup and what not. They´re regulated already from the start but.. carries about nil plenum so have fabbed one of 80cc´s to improve chances of reaching them 100.
Idea is to use 34-36 grain pills as i´m getting there. Speaking of which, check out both the ZA Javelin slugs and due ZA "Gerard" the new German made H&N "heavy" series slugs.
Both do wonders for terminal output of PCP´s.

Then..



The 25cal Hatsan BT-65 Elite. These are known to be powerhouses, and this one no exception. Currently using Slovak made ZAN slugs @ 41 grains. Regulated since long, have had it for a while.
This one, like my FX Impact, is pushing the "current" border for what´s there to be had from 25´s i guess. Next step up, it being essential to stay beneath the wall of sound, would be even heavier pills but.. truth be told i´m content where it´s at.
Shooting both hard and accurate through its Lothar Walter barrel. Dechoked that barrel since long, which i can truly recommend for anyone into slugs. Makes for a world of difference.

Speaking of which...





Just had this deliverd from Slovakia the other day. Again a 22cal gun (was ordered as a 25 but.. whatever i guess).
A Kral Puncher Auto.
Nope. Just a semi, which is nice enough i presume. Thing is though that some of these designs are "old" by PCP definition (ie; more than a yr old design! ) which brings that.. well, it isn´t exactly all that adjustable.
Adjustable?
Uhu. The auto load setup of it is a rather large aluminium piston that works a rod running through the receiver.

[Racing]

These guns set to approx 40J stock brings that as i up the power i need to "rebalance" the auto load setup. There´s a pin that joins the bolt and the "slave piston". That pin protrudes a little from the latter, and that small piece is what runs the hammer.
Let´s just say i´ve sheared one or two such pins in the hunt for the correct balance merely where i´m at NOW!

As it runs off a so called "buddy bottle" it brings that the threads for it are just as "standard". M18*1.5
Thus i´ve ordered a regulator for it, and will fab a decent size plenum as that reg shows up too. At that point in turn i need to readress valve seat through hole diameter as well as internal passage diameters and transfer port on the barrel and what not.
One thing at a time though and where i´m at current the thing sends 22cal 25,4´s downrange at approx 930fps on an average.
So.. will push that towards the same performance i get out of "el-cheapo", the Artemis PR-900 (aka Diana Stormrider - same gun)
What has struck me with Kral though, as a brand, is that they´re of WAY better build quality to the just about same price point Hatsans. We´re on general talking like.. 700$ here. So not cheaper than dirt but a far cry from an FX Impact, Daystate and similar.
What turned out in turn, as some of you are aware i´ve got a sorts of "standard" treatment for barrels on ALL these not so pricey guns, and having handed this Kral that treatment it´s turned SILLY accurate.
We´re talking 10 shots fired looking like 4 went throught he target.

As i ordered a 25 cal gun though i´m talking to the boys down in Slovakia about getting a barrel and a couple of clips to make it 25. They tell they lack pellet probes/bolt but.. i don´t mind. Making a bolt on the lathe isn´t the end of the world to me, it becoming a 25cal though IS.





Speaking of Hatsans.
Then the brother of a customer showed up with this Hatsan Factor in 22cal. VERY disappointed. Not running worth a crap, a bolt that felt like someone had poured a fistful of gravel into it.. He had installed a "full power" valve pin...
Welp.
That "full power" valve pin made for 45 Joules. WHAT a joke.

Now. I regard it as such that ALL cheaper PCP´s are platforms more than ready to run guns. They really are.. This one wouldn´t hit a barn even, from the INSIDE!
Again.. dear ol´ Racings "standard treatment" of the barrel on the lathe, and just like that.. one ragged hole at 20m.
Now.
This is a "QE" gun, for quiet energy. Well (excuse the language) up yours! In short it sports a shroud, and calling that QE is nothing short of a joke.
What i did was to cut a short part of the stock shroud off, to get past the receiver part of the gun, and then replace the puny 22mm thin wall with a 32mm one instead.
Turning the adapters needed, of course. FOR a change it did!! Cust had bought the stock Hatsan moderator for it too, and just as much of a joke..
Needs tighter tolerances, needs more baffles.. and more felt/Wettex rag or the likes within. Getting there, but already as is the thing is deadly silent.
Very very happy with the outcome here why that going up in shroud diameter can only be recommended highly. Thin wall tubing in turn can be found about anywhere..

That done i started to look into why the measly 45 Joules. As it turns out these Factors are "plugged" about all over. So i opted to set the valve itself and close the typical multi out exhaust ports so typical for Hatsans. Increased the valve seat through to 6mm flat and ditto for the now timed vs the valve block exhaust port too. Passage up to the transfer port of the barrel though i set to 5,5mm for now. Barrel transfer port in turn 5,5mm. Yeeeeees.. we can do that even with 22cal guns. Works just fine as long as you´ve got an anal approach to how.
Then then "power wheel adjuster".
That was just insanely out of phase, and in turn to small as well so ported that out while at it.

At this point we were seeing like the Kral approx. That´s around the 950fps mark or so, which is rather poor seeing the dimensions involved.
Now. Be aware that these guns are to be had regulated too, just the regged version isn´t imported up here. Thus this is a non reg gun.
Issue here, as it turns out, is that the tank and valve works rather close to the valve block and the through hole on the valve is a joke too... Thus it works for a regulated gun with its plenum, but becomes an issue for the non reg gun as there´s nothing to draw from when asked to.
Ergo.
I´ve taken to fab a plenum for it, at approx 60cc´s to go between the valve block and the bottle. Have to still install that but as soon as i do i will report back.
I truly hope for that to push this one vs the performance level i get out of the PR-900. Ie; around 1050fps+ for 25,4´s.

On that note. Seeing what i´m up to with the Artemis P15 up there.. need to order some heavier slugs.. 22´s can no doubt be had to reach 22LR levels, just.. they do FAR from out of the box.
Doable?
Certainly, and then deadly quiet at that.

My 25cal Impact for instance, that one pushes 120J easy.. without even breaking a sweat.

N all said and done i guess that´s what these "puffers" are to me. Neat n small little guns that can be had to handle the task a 22lr gun will, just.. by compressed air.

Yes. All to aware of the big bore PCP´s but.. i guess i´m obnoxious and an idiot too but.. that´s what i´ve got powder burners for.

Well guys!
That much for a current report.
..to be continued in short

[Racing]

Oh!
Forgot! That Hatsan Factor and the feeling that someone had poured sand into the action of it?
Easy peasy, it was a matter of fit of the parts. In turn the thing sports an adjuster screw for the fit of the hammer..
A weak point of the assy btw is the fulcrum screw between the actual lever and the "rod" (read -plate) that runs for the innards.
First thing that happend, the gun was friggin brand new, as i sat there firing away was that this fulcrum pin/screw dropped right out! :O
SAY WUT?
A brand new gun? Yep. Threads for it shot.. so fabbed fresh parts there in a jiffy and we were back on track.

Again. I regard ALL of these mid priced guns as platforms, but suffice it to say that Hatsan in this case has built a gun so heavy duty as far as materials and tolerances that it CAN be improved to work like butter.
"FX feel" for lack of better wording.

Customer is a REAL happy camper for now and we´re awaiting a die to make that plenum happen asap. Hope it´ll show up come tomorrow.
THAT´s going to be a hoot, seeing not IF but HOW correct i have been in my assessment.

Anyways. Hatsan Factor. To many a cool looking gun. It needs work though to come full circle, and they all do. Imperative part being that they CAN be had to work as intended, and then some.

[Racing]

To wrap things up for this time out in turn.
Just got this a few weeks back and thought i´d share my thoughts on it.

The Pard NV-008LRF.
NV for night vision obviously and LRF for laser range finder.

When going after rats and other nocturnal pests i´d about say a night vision scope is nothing short of a must. Essential.
We´ve all seen the ATN ones around, large as friggin BRICKS.

Well. The Pard NV-008 is anything but. This LRF version is like 500+ grams.. sports two powers, 6.5x and 13x.
As i do most my shooting for pests within 50 meters i´ve yet to use the 13x.. have for target practice and that´s it.

However. Takes a bit in my case but i have to admit myself being very very impressed with this little unit. Costs like short of 1k$ and worth every damn penny in my book.

Although they sport a good enough IR light as is using that thing cuts down on running time.. Scope uses a rechargable 18650 battery, to be found about everywhere these days.
So i use a separate torch to light ´em up. You can record.. you can go Wi-Fi with it and what not. Regard it as an advanced video camera with a crosshair approx, more so than a "scope" per se.

So if you´ve up ´til now been on the fence here?
Just get it.
You can thank me later.
Yes. It works THAT well.

[chutesnreloads]

Sure wish I had a next door neighbor like you.....

[Racing]

Thx!

On that Kral, did it EVER have me running up the proverbial wall.

Like stated, 950fps. No matter what. Trust me on this, i tossed the entire effin book at the thing. Still 950fps.



Fabbed a so called SSG setup for it (secured spring guide) which is "always" a good idea for more regular built guns.

Then i came to dwell on the valve itself. Stock the seat is on 90deg for some reason aaaaand... no. Just no.



The valve. Right. Poppet is two piece so you literally can take it apart to install a new seal. Which i did. On 45deg per way more normal.



Seat in turn i turned a new one out of a rather specific material called JM-7. A VERY hard bearing bronze specific to us guys over here. Self lubricating.

So? Great! Had ourselves a valve with way more "sane" openings and dimensions. Great right?
Yeah. Great, still no more than 950fps though - no matter what.



Hell. I even attacked the actual fitting between the bottle and the drop block...and as i did..



..wouldn´t you know it. I "broke into water". Ie; blew a hole. Good thing i´ve got an AC/DC TIG welder to sum it up. Weld looks as it does due that that cast aluminium was so full of dirt and gunk you wouldn´t believe. No matter as aluminium is one of the few metals you can actually "bondo" together.
It´s at least leak free.

So. There i was. Jumping around like a one legged chicken. Then it dawned on me, maybe it´s the hammer spring? I have no idea the Q of what the turks shove in there.
So.
Took the SSG out and just dumped a generic spring with juuuuuuust ever so slightly more force in there.
Bingo.
60fps up within doing anything. Gun about cocks the same and so on.

So.
Where i´m at i´m leaving in a few mins to pick som fresh springs up, THAT ARE MADE OUT OF SIS-2090 SPRING STEEL! No more of that Turkish whatever.. F that.
Then time to tune the piece i guess, aiming for 1080fps with 25,4´s.
But. Idea here is for the "new" generation slugs for 22´s where i hope to settle on 34 grainers. Yep. Same weight we see for the 25´s.. and then get THAT past 1000fps.
Should be doable seeing the porting and what not that has been done here. If and when so, time to order e regulator and fabricate a 80cc plenum for it.
Idea to settle around the 950 mark with 34´s and hope to get to that at around 150-160 bar.

[Racing]

Ah! Well, yes. Good as gold
Mind you, the spring pocket on the hammer for THIS Kral Auto has been both made deeper and of greater diameter vs stock. Rendering a hammer weight of 48 grams, compared to the stocker @ 68.
Did it do the trick?
Yes. Yes it did. Now we´re scooting 25,4´s at 1050 to 1080fps.

So. Time for the next step. First up going to turn me a new valve seat, one of LESSER diameter through hole and made for a poppet smaller in diameter too.
As is it´s 8mm/8,7mm. Going to make that 7mm/7,6mm. Will make it an easier job for the hammer smacking that thing down.. and i hop it´ll suffice for the long run, seeing where i´m going with this gun.

[Racing]

She´s coming full circle. No doubt. Pushing 25,4´s at a leasure 1040-1050.
Laugh of the moment was when i loaded up with 18 grainers. Hell of a whoop.. Puzzled that the FX brick didn´t pick up on it!
Lucky me there´s a LabRadar next to it. Yeah. The FX unit only runs to 1099fps..
Yeah. The bang, as to why became rather obvious.

Going to adress details next couple of weeks, off n on. Even got the auto load system to work say 90% of the time with the 25,4´s.
Looked into it and that piston ring was shot so took to turning a fresh one. Then closed up on a few holes and opened up others. Yes Sir..need to adress that so it will 100% of the time.
Tuned the trigger even more, a bit TO much.. need to look into that as well. Gun is performing so well by now it deserves a match grade one...
Well get there too.. In turn need to replace the odd o-ring or two, and then in sizes not on the shelf to me.

Details as stated. Very happy camper for now though. Next major step will be a reg i believe. Then again, that also depends loads on shot count n/vs accuracy and seeing the accuracy out of it already as is...

[chutesnreloads]

Seeing a band around your barrel that looks like it fits on the end of your bottle.
What all does it accomplish for you?

[Racing]

Barrel bands are rather common with PCP rifles and IMO they´re all bad.
Nodes and anti nodes are better to leave to do what they do and instead tune for them.

In this case the "barrel band" actually grips the shroud, not the barrel. Thus within reason the barrel is still free to vibrate -within reason.
As to if it´ll stay or not is yet to be decided and will of course be a matter of accuracy at slightly extended ranges.



Within a rather limited time frame she´s come a long way. Nothing to argue there.



Be that as it may, that "No1 platform" is reached, now comes for stage 2 in this and i´ve given that some die hard thought last couple of days - believe i´ve touched down in a reasonable plan of attack.



These Kral guns are limited to 200 bar due them aluminium buddy bottles. Might be, but they´re still of the buddy bottle format why i plan to pick a ditto 300 bar up coupled with one of them simpler regulators available on the same "system solution".
That renders a relatively cheap regulator, altho i´m hellbent on it being the variety that uses belleville washers, NOT a spring.

That then brings that a regulator in this case WON`T be an arm and a leg why i plan to direct them "savings" vs a 300bar bottle. Not for the shot count but for the adjustability it´ll bring.



Indeed..



Still need to work on that trigger. Getting there though. Bottle.. yeah. Carbon fibre one? Nah.. don´t see the need for that. A high performance aluminium alloy 300 bar will do just fine.



Have to say. I´ve come to really like the looks and feel of this one. Good looking PCP in my book..



It´s always in the details right



Seeing the speed at which this has gone down now that i´ve come to at least a partly rest with it it´s time to go after the little things. That 5,5mm*1.5mm o-ring at the breech that seals vs the pellet probe needs replacing for instance. Mind you! This thing is still sending them @1040 spite a downright STORM at that seal!
So.. i´d say we´re good.

However. This gun has a purpose. It´s one of the "keepin it clean" ones at the shop, which in this case means rodent work. Rodent work in turn equals rats and rats equals pitch black night.
That in turn renders.. you guess it, an IR. I´m SO pleased with that Pard NV-008LRF i´ve got on the Impact but hello.. YET another 500€ USED at that on a PCP?
My focus in black powder remember.. there´s got to be a limit. But.. i guess not. So i guess i´ll have to fold and scrounge up yet a Pard.
For now though, got a Yukon laying around that will get this Kral started performing to earn its stay.

Yeah. We´ll take it from there.

[Racing]

Then.
As you know i´m half partial to the Artemis/Snowpeak guns, performance vs price point..
Went to visit one of our vendors to discuss upcoming work in general today when he asked me to go ape on an Artemis of his. An Artemis M-16A



So? Yeah, sure? I guess?

Taking this thing apart i have to say that the valve block, per the P-15 too actually, is rather compact per design and this leaves us with a few.. question marks?

First thing´s first though.



"For restricted countries". Right. Nah. I understand why that hole there on the valve doesn´t let all that much air through. So.. it´s since 6mm flat.
In fact, "adjusted" on a number of such points within but this being a regulated gun from the start that also brings we have THAT much pressure to play with and that leads us to...

Lack of plenum volume. What there is is built into the valve block and let me assure you that doesn´t amount to much. Pathetic volume even. Less than 10cc´s even..
So going to give that a long good hard thought.. needs to be adressed, one way or another, to make this piece a "go fast" one.



What´s more, a purdy gun this is not. In turn again Artemis and their "German beech wood" that they basically DROWN in pore filler. Why?
Point being that do NOT use that plastic filler crap and hand that wood a tad of dye and i bet they´d sell them things (across their line) likt hot cakes!
Well well. Their choice no doubt.



Just tossed a generic scope on there to be able to evaluate what it does. It shoots at least but i´ll be damned if that can´t be improved upon.
Like many of the others getting it to toss 25,4 slugs downrange at 950.. simple. With reasonable accuracy too, but will per usual hand the barrel a go over no matter.
Then..
Plenum volume. Need to figure something out on that count. In essence, anything will help.