New DIY F.A.M.E. Mod Lowers ES/SD and Easier Cocking in Marauders and other Guns

[triggertreat]

New F.A.M.E mod by 22synrodn/triggertreat:

In my view, the biggest problem with the mechanics of the Marauder and other similar guns is hammer drag.  I’ve been trying to find a better way to limit this drag in my DIY SSG and have found a simple, DIY way to do this and have decided to share my idea with others.

I introduce to you the F.A.M.E mod which stands for Friction Assist Marauder Enhancement.

My idea lifts the rear of the hammer up and off the air tube which drastically reduces the friction/drag between the two and eliminates galling.  I find my strings are more uniform and the cocking effort much easier and smoother.  Also dirt and dust does not affect the hammer nearly as much or as often.  My ES and SD numbers have dropped a considerable amount as well.

You can hone the air tube and polish the hammer but still can’t eliminate as much drag as this mod can.  The washer sliding on the top of the air tube has far less friction than the hammer to air tube friction.  The 1/4" tubing keeps the hammer centered and off the sides of the metal slot further reducing drag.

Another benefit is that the power hungry shooters among us can have increased spring ratings and still have reasonable or at least doable cocking effort.

Here is a comparison of two very similar tunes with and without the mod and shows how much more uniform the mod makes the string:



Here is a top view of the F.A.M.E mod installed in my Internal DIY SSG setup.  I’ve been using this mod on and off for quite some time now and the differences are very evident to me.  So much so that I don’t want to tune without it.  The nylon spacer on the end of the bolt is not part of the F.A.M.E mod but is another mod I added to the DIY SSG to reduce rebound noise from the bolt hitting the gap adjuster.



Here is more details and the parts needed to do the mod:



Here is the mod to the breech needed to clear space for the washer to slide.    You only need to remove just enough of the slot to allow for the thickness and width of the washer used.  You can substitute the steel washer for a brass or bronze one that may slide better and last longer.



If you’re just curious is to how much drag reduction this will give you, you can do a quick test by installing the 1/4” tubing and washer to the hammer lug, tuning it correctly and running your hammer back and forth to feel the difference it makes before trimming the breech.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the difference as I was when testing it for the first time.

[MichaelM]

Just gonna copy/paste my reply as well   and add you can get brass washers simply enough... any lowes or home depot will have them in bags....

my original reply

I think this is a marvelous idea...  The only change I can think of is to swap out the steel washer for a brass or even bronze washer....  The lubricity (is that a word???)  of brass or bronze is far better then steel which should smooth it out even more and being the brass is softer only the washer should wear instead of both the washer and tube causing problems further on down the line.... 


I don't have time to test it out right now but you can bet I will very soon!!!  Honestly you should make a separate post for this as it deserves its own thread

[degriz (AKA) Lou Hauburger]

Does the hammer bolt loosen at all?  You can not tighten it to much or it will not slide free.

[triggertreat]

Does the hammer bolt loosen at all?  You can not tighten it to much or it will not slide free.

No, I've never had it come loose.  I put a little Superglue on the last two or three threads once assembled then let it almost dry before installing and it's a secure snug fit that does not come loose.  You could use blue Loctite and that would work too.  Both will allow you to remove the lug when needed.

[Dairyboy]

That is extremely impressive i like it. Your gonna have one heck of an Mrod when your done 

[degriz (AKA) Lou Hauburger]

Got mine all finished and back together, hopfully can get some numbers later.

[degriz (AKA) Lou Hauburger]

.25 Cal Marauder F.AM.E. Mod, War SSG

I don't have an old string handy to compare but Keith this is a great mod! Much more consistent and defiantly a better ES/SD

Just shot this string of 24 shots 3 mags

3000 psi fill JSB Exact 25.39 gr.
End pressure 2250 psi

810 Low
833 High
825 Average
23 ES
5.91 SD

824       833       828
828       830       823
830       826       824
827       831       819
828       825       817
827       828       817
833       828       813
822       826       810

[Gertrude]

Interesting idea.
I'll be following along to see how this develops.
 Will be very interested to see what Bob, Travis, Lloyd, and Scott might weigh in with.

[triggertreat]

Lou, I'm glad to see you like the mod.  You didn't mention the easier cocking effort.  You may have figured this out, but I forgot to mention a useful tip.  The tip is once you have the parts installed and tuned, put side pressure on both sides of the hammer lug while sliding back and forth to free up the 1/4" tubing from the sides of the slot.  This sets the tubing free from the sides a small amount and really frees up the sliding overall.

Ron, Bob chimed in on another post, but may chime in here as well.  "Interesting mod.... Certainly answers the question about what is causing the zig-zag pattern in shot strings.... it's friction, changing the hammer velocity a whisker....

Bob"

[degriz (AKA) Lou Hauburger]

Yes easier cocking now, was impressed with watching my #'s 

Can't wait to get it back out at 50 and 100 yards to see how it groups now. It was a shooter before but now I am sure it will tighten up.

[aPpYe]

Okay, cross-posting here...  I originally posted in Bob's SSH thread because that is where I first heard of this mod.  Anyway, this is what I posted there:

My guess is that this will not work right off the bat for a (F.A.D.E.?) discovery.  Well, at least not my gun.  My gun is a 2400kt that has had a lot of discovery parts installed.  The hammer is what came with the gun, which I would assume is of the standard 22xx variety.  The lug for the hammer does not thread into it as far as I remember.  It simply drops in and is held in place by virtue of the size of the lug below the slot it rides in. 

I would need a threaded lug and hammer for this to work, right?

I will be taking my gun apart sometime in the coming week or so (as soon as parts are all here!) and can check for sure...

Do P-rod hammers have a threaded lug? 

Also, I am guessing that  cocking effort is helped because it keeps the hammer from dragging cock-eyed along its rear bottom and front top edges when cocking. 

in my head though, hanging the hammer  off of the tube like this almost seems like it would cause more undue drag, and I am not sure how the physics work here.  Keith's numbers do speak for themselves though, loudly enough for me to want to try this mod...

[Dairyboy]

I'm in the process of doin this to my Mrod if I ever get the time to finish the breech part. The Prod hammer isn't threaded like the Mrod hammer as I have one in my disco or else I was thinking it would be great for a discovery as well.

[aPpYe]

The Prod hammer isn't threaded like the Mrod hammer as I have one in my disco or else I was thinking it would be great for a discovery as well.

Bummer ...

[triggertreat]

The Prod hammer isn't threaded like the Mrod hammer as I have one in my disco or else I was thinking it would be great for a discovery as well.

Bummer ...

Thanks for helping answer aPpYe's Disco question Dairyboy!  I look forward to your results with the F.A.M.E. mod when you have time.

[WiseGuy]

Brother just got a Mrod .25, will show him this mod! Thanks for sharing!

[triggertreat]

I've been wanting to raise the front end of the hammer to level out the F.A.M.E. mod to see what would happen and to further reduce friction. I've been looking for a simple yet effective way to do this.

[aPpYe]

You may wish to look at this thread.  SynRodSteve came up with a different approach that I was able to adapt to my Discovery.  His method is much more elegant than mine, but it works the same.

[triggertreat]

Yes I have been following Steve's posts on several forums.  He always builds nice mods. 

My idea is just to test the effects of leveling out the hammer on the DIY SSG and F.A.M.E. mod combo I have installed.  I do realize it's thinking outside the box and may not be popular, but it may also inspire someone else to come up with something new and different as well.

Here is my current tune I want to compare this idea on.  I just want to see if anything changes or improves with this tune by leveling out the hammer.  This is just my idea of doing this easily without drilling hardened steel and installing plugs: