need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
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need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
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Topic: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel (Read 540 times))
anti-squirrel
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Real Name: Peter
need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
on:
December 18, 2018, 10:24:31 AM »
Normally I can make do with whatever I have, but I'm at the point with my MRodAir Varmint that it might be better to re-think what I invest on my MRodAir Varmint.
The barrel is a mess. The first centimeter of the leade is ugly. The force cone... I can't even say it was machined since I'd made prettier chamfers using a file and turning a barrel by hand. The crown is what we expect from SPA- not bad but definitely deserved th brass-screw.
So my dilemma is whether I should keep plugging along to see what I can do or find a new barrel. Why? Mine's bent. The Varmint was bought used, and I didn't think to pull the barrel att he get-go since I had other projects (like a new living room floor), but now that the barrel is getting massaged, I'm wondering if I should bother attempting to "polish a poop". I probably will because that's what I do.
Anyway, I'm thinking that I don't have any real money invested in this gun and opting for an aftermarket barrel isn't going to set me back. This rifle points nice and is the ideal squirrel gun. I've taken about 40 squirrel as it is, but with the barrel in it's current condition, it is most certainly relegated to shorter ranges.
Any thoughts? Would this be worth the investment of a new barrel (and who comes with recommendations?)
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Quinton Virginia
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nervoustrigger
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #1 on:
December 18, 2018, 10:56:00 AM »
If you can muster the motivation, my suggestion would be to rework it and see how it goes. I’ve gotten the sense you’re not afraid to dig in but for many folks the thing that stands in the way is the apprehension of making it worse, so what better opportunity than when there’s nothing to lose? Worst case, it doesn’t improve substantially but you gain the experience. Best case it turns into a real gem, as it was when I found damaged rifling in my Plinkster’s barrel:
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=143793
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MS
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anti-squirrel
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #2 on:
December 18, 2018, 11:19:06 AM »
Thanks, Jason.
No, I'm not scared to take a stab. Used some kratox cones to smooth out the force cone a little. I think I'll leave the leade as is and focus on the crown. the bend in the barrel is annoying but since it's bent, the POI ain't gonna do much if I keep things secure. Speaking of which, time to reach out to Julie at SPA for another barrel band, especially since the existing one is literally missing the set screw (not really a concern).
Ooooh, speaking of which... If I order up a CP-2 rifle/pistol kit- the one that comes with both barrels- in .22, I have a lot more wiggle room. Possibly even modify this existing .22 barrel into a slug shooter since the SPAs simplicity would lend itself to a small shot-count with high power. IE: a nifty varmint gun.
Gotta think outside the box. Right now, it's not a gun in need of work, it's a platform with a lot of opportunity
I spent $160 on this, so even if I had to shell out money for a barrel, I consider this worth all the money I spend.
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Quinton Virginia
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miksatx
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #3 on:
December 18, 2018, 11:56:45 AM »
pyramyd air has Diana storm rider barrels for 35 bucks.
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USA, TX, San Antonio
anti-squirrel
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #4 on:
December 18, 2018, 01:52:20 PM »
Quote from: miksatx on December 18, 2018, 11:56:45 AM
pyramyd air has Diana storm rider barrels for 35 bucks.
Well, in that case I may order 2.
Still gonna see what some elbow-grease can do here, but thank you for the input
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Quinton Virginia
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Ribbonstone
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #5 on:
December 18, 2018, 06:42:31 PM »
If you can get a new barrel for $35...get a new one.
Once that order is confirmend, can work on the bad one to your heart's content, not having to worry about screwing it up (what you have to lose at that point?)
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Louisiana
K.O.
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #6 on:
December 18, 2018, 06:51:57 PM »
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/library/Charlies%20Barrel%20Tool.pdf
a bit more presise...
I have seen a buddy use a flat surface rolling an wacking with a rubber mallet to do the job... it did shoot very well afterwords..
I ended up with a Dianna storm .177 from my son(Christmas present) and it is nasty accurate at 35 yards with a couple pellets... the Sniper magnum and AA 10.3g ... it surprised me that it was that accurate when I had a look at the Breech end... Worst I have ever seen... pic in below link reply #2
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=151471.0
forcing cone is rough and gouged but more importantly the inside edge is sharp may shave lead from heads and skirts... so it will be given a touch of smoothing and the sharp edge will be rounded...
then the chamber it is rough but can not smooth it to much or it will not seal so yeah just a very light smoothing with wet/dry there will happen next... which will knock down any burrs at the port and begin to knock down the sharp edged rifling a bit..
last will be finishing knocking down the sharp edged rifling to create a leade( thank you Crosman for all the practice I got on about 20 of your 13-20$ barrels with the same prob)...
Hopefully that will help cure the pellet pickiness...
When Air Force went away from the L.W. Barrels some were left over... The Bargain gate twigged us to them being sold for clearance price of 20$ for shipping thru AOA... I picked up a 19" .177 and a 14.5" .22...
The L.W. .177 barrel fits the Breech and barrel band tighter (just slips in perfectly) than the looser fitting spa barrel does... the muzzle portion of the barrel that is turned down and oringed is already half turned down on the L.W. it is about .0002 tighter and fits perfect...
So my little Diana keeps insisting that it and the L.W. barrel are meant for each other... It says I have a German name and deserve a German barrel and that one has shown it wants to fit me...So yep it has taken possession of that barrel... but when I agreed to go that route I did get a couple concessions from it...one is to respond well to my cowboy method of barrel work/general tuning... brass lap and wet dry for the leade not a piloted chamber/lead reamer...
So now the Breech with a three inch eye relief scope for comfort the breech is to short... I want the scope a bit farther forwwards... and with my BSA catseye 4-16 and a 4" eye relief...
Next thing is the way the barrel is joined with the breech is a strength and weakness...the design mandates at least one barrel band... mine pulls the barrel down just a touch and is a bit loose below and to the sides... at the top it seems to only make contact at the back of the band... so will floss the top band until the barrel is parallel to the barrel (will not take much)... then will shim it up... will experiment with other methods later... I do think that the barrel band may be part of the problem when sending the monsters...they over initial and following groups have shown a large bit of horizontal stringing...
The strength is changing the barrel will be very easy... loosen the grub screws and pull... install another barrel and tighten grub screws...
that is why this Varmint/Storm will most likely end up with at least three barrels... stock 19", L.W. 18.75" and Crosman 26"...
If I was sure of parts being available for a long while I think grabbing five or so of the sale gen 1 would be hard to resist...
Now with the small 100cc air tank it really does shine best as a .177 in my mind... for .22 I think it needs a .5" barrel anyways...I like some wall thickness on my barrels and a little can help stiffness a lot... it's the cube rule at work... double the thickness quadruple the stiffness...works the same with the wood when bracing a guitar top...
what this means is a barrel with .2" walls is four times stiffer than one with .1" walls
so these 12mm barrels at .22 have .126 walls and at .177 have .1475 walls... .126" is about 85% .1475"...you can see that the .177 barrel is a good bit stiffer without doing the math all the way...
so yeah as a .22 may need to sleeve the barrel..?
Have I said how I love how lite the thing is... It has earned a permanent home just by being a gift from son and 35 yard bug holes with the 10.3g and 15g as is...
but it just might respond well to my tinkering over the next couple years...
So yeah my point... I will almost always say tinker.... at worst you gain experience... at best so-so can sometimes transform into very good...
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The Great Northwest, United States, Washington
K.O.
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #7 on:
December 18, 2018, 07:33:05 PM »
Oh of topic a bit My Urban has claimed my 24" Remington 514 Barrel... the barrels both are very close to 5/8" and within .001 in diameter... It says if that goes well it wants the bigger Buccaneer air tank... I said need to look at both then it just may be possible...
Was thinking of a Disco build for that barrel just cause they look similar to a Remmy 5-teen... but it really is suited to the 3250 psi Urban for sending 30-40 grain stuff...
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The Great Northwest, United States, Washington
anti-squirrel
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Real Name: Peter
Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #8 on:
December 18, 2018, 08:09:15 PM »
Kirby, thank you for the insight. I've been thinking the Varmint would be best suited as a .177. I picked this one up n the Classified cheap, otherwise, I would have preferred a .177. So... I'll likely order a .177 barrel. I only shoot it as a single-shot (my preference).
I haven't even looked to see if I need to order any other odds and ends to complete changing the caliber, but since this is a Winter Project, I'm in no rush.
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Quinton Virginia
Slingshottist and antique tool junkie
EdGuns, Crosmans, and a couple big-bores from the Far East
K.O.
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Real Name: Kirby
Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #9 on:
December 19, 2018, 12:46:54 AM »
well I bet the breeches are the same... but the bolt will need to find one or mod the .22 bolt... I see PA has a bare .177 and .22 left handed breeches but I do not see that they have bolts..
what I would like to see is a list of o-ring sizes...
need to find that out for the Urban And Buc also...
I think I need to find my notes for the Mrod and Max and start an oring assortment... having a few different pcps now...thank goodness only the Maximus has leaked so far..
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The Great Northwest, United States, Washington
K.O.
Eternally Tinkering
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Posts: 7111
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Real Name: Kirby
Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #10 on:
December 19, 2018, 01:17:37 AM »
Can not help but think about if the storm barrel would fit the Bandit pistola... 10 more inches in length would really help that small 50 cc air tank and then as a tribute to the ol B5-10 pumper pistols a wire frame stock... or maybe just a removable stock... I do love carbines... but I doubt the price will get low like the sale on the gen 1 .177 Storms...
still wanna talk light carbine with the pistol coming in at 2.2 pounds with the wood grips... add the barrel and wire frame and would still be under 5 lbls... I imagine a very light grip/ stock could get it close to ~4 lbs...
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS481US481&biw=1280&bih=677&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=uc8ZXMmuMubUjwSO2qmACQ&q=old+bam+b5-10+air+pistol&oq=old+bam+b5-10+air+pistol&gs_l=img.3...118462.138083..138962...0.0..0.242.4982.3j33j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i24j0i67j0i8i30.cdGfNrmjii0
remember the B5-10 when they came out... I think 35-40$ they asked at the flea markets... orings went bad quick and some were already cut... but I think they actually had some decent power if you gave them a working over...
«
Last Edit: December 19, 2018, 01:35:54 AM by K.O.
»
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The Great Northwest, United States, Washington
miksatx
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #11 on:
December 19, 2018, 06:45:54 AM »
Kinda been working on a Bandit/Varmit/Chaser rifle kit/ bottle gun. Barrel and band off my varmit PCP. Still work in progress.
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USA, TX, San Antonio
anti-squirrel
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Real Name: Peter
Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #12 on:
December 19, 2018, 09:48:57 AM »
There's no doubt the Diana Bandit, Chaser, and the CP-1 and Varmint by SPA are a new type of Lego. I was thinking that CP-1 CO2 carbine with the Chaser's air-tube would be a slick little hunter.
Miksatx: Of course, bottle-feeding the CO2 into a PCP with some Ninja-style regulation is another possibility and I see what ya did there
The fact you can use a magazine with these and swap it from any of them to another means a pile of pellet flingers on the cheap.
I'm in the midst of getting the Varmint back together- of course, the bolt handle broke (did that several months ago), but I have a metric grade 12.8 capscrew I've been using for cocking the bolt. The barrel-straightening was easy- and I didn't go for perfection. Just braced against my thigh and gave a couple pushes; lots better. One of the barrel's o-rings is really sad, but I have a kit of buna-n rings so time to get'r together and break out the hand pump.
I need to reach out to Julie at SPA and order up a bolt. Thinking a southpaw receiver and the .177 barrel along with a second barrel band will make this a fun little hunter.
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Quinton Virginia
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Ribbonstone
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Re: need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel
«
Reply #13 on:
December 19, 2018, 07:20:02 PM »
Reasonably sure the difference for all the various models/calibers on that basic receiver are the barrel/single shot tray/bolt. I've only got .177's on that platform (Co2 rifle/PCP rifle? Co2 pistol) so have never had a chance to play the caliber-change-game to know for sure.
Thinking the exception would be some of the early CO2 versions (sold mostly in the UK) that were .25 single shot pistols....could be they never got around to making mags, could be some other variation....but it was pretty much way-slow even by UK standards.
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Louisiana
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need some input regarding my Varmint's barrel