GTA

All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => PCP/CO2/HPA Air Gun Gates "The Darkside" => Topic started by: Bleeb on January 04, 2019, 07:31:12 AM

Title: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 04, 2019, 07:31:12 AM
So my Gauntlet .25 cal came in yesterday evening. Delivery was perfectly timed with the new carpet cleaner, avoiding the wife's scrutiny.  My pellet order is due Monday, and the pump on Thursday.

The Gauntlet nice, with the barrel band  - yet with the typical forearm misalignment. I really want to take it apart, clean it and and do some hammer & tube buffing, trigger adjustment, air stripper repair (haven't checked it yet), etc. But my common sense side says to just clean the barrel, mount a scope and wait to bench and chrony it as is - in case there is a major issue with it necessitating a return. I'll throe on one of my vintage Japanese Tasco Trajectory Rangefinding 4-12x scopes on it.

After a bit, I plan on purchasing & installing the JSAR Super Tune kit (thanks @Hajimoto), doing a reg check/adjustment, and perhaps a modified baffle. I can tell this is going to be quite enjoyable to hunt squirrels with. Now if I can only get my wife to forget about her childhood pet squirrel and eat some delicious stew... ::)
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Jonnie on January 04, 2019, 08:06:09 AM
It will be interesting to see what your stock regulator pressure is. I received my .25 yesterday. I don't have a reg. tester at this time but plan on putting one together in the future.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 04, 2019, 12:11:36 PM
My gauntlet's reg was set at 1900 out of the box ,I bumped it up to 2050 with one shim 0.0100 thick, I  need a different gage on on reg checker to vet a more accurate  reading ,stock reg shot 25.6 jsb at 860fps after shimming ave was 933 gonna leave it there for now, air stirpper was cracked replaced with Haji and hill baffles works great
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Kerndtc on January 04, 2019, 12:19:07 PM
So my Gauntlet .25 cal came in yesterday evening. Delivery was perfectly timed with the new carpet cleaner, avoiding the wife's scrutiny.  My pellet order is due Monday, and the pump on Thursday.

The Gauntlet nice, with the barrel band  - yet with the typical forearm misalignment. I really want to take it apart, clean it and and do some hammer & tube buffing, trigger adjustment, air stripper repair (haven't checked it yet), etc. But my common sense side says to just clean the barrel, mount a scope and wait to bench and chrony it as is - in case there is a major issue with it necessitating a return. I'll throe on one of my vintage Japanese Tasco Trajectory Rangefinding 4-12x scopes on it.

After a bit, I plan on purchasing & installing the JSAR Super Tune kit (thanks @Hajimoto), doing a reg check/adjustment, and perhaps a modified baffle. I can tell this is going to be quite enjoyable to hunt squirrels with. Now if I can only get my wife to forget about her childhood pet squirrel and eat some delicious stew... ::)

Go with your gut,

Don't really tear into anything until you can do some testing. Maybe check the barrel and transferport alignment and clean the barrel. Then just wait for the pump and shoot some groups!

I dove head first into a gauntlet .22 not realizing I got a bad barrel. Breech end was machined with a choke and the pellet nearly fell out the muzzle. They didn't warranty it even after shooting it off a bench at the facility yeielding 1.25" groups with the best pellets at 20 yards and just over 1/2" at 10. Make sure it's accurate then have some fun.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Jonnie on January 04, 2019, 02:12:45 PM
So my Gauntlet .25 cal came in yesterday evening. Delivery was perfectly timed with the new carpet cleaner, avoiding the wife's scrutiny.  My pellet order is due Monday, and the pump on Thursday.

The Gauntlet nice, with the barrel band  - yet with the typical forearm misalignment. I really want to take it apart, clean it and and do some hammer & tube buffing, trigger adjustment, air stripper repair (haven't checked it yet), etc. But my common sense side says to just clean the barrel, mount a scope and wait to bench and chrony it as is - in case there is a major issue with it necessitating a return. I'll throe on one of my vintage Japanese Tasco Trajectory Rangefinding 4-12x scopes on it.

After a bit, I plan on purchasing & installing the JSAR Super Tune kit (thanks @Hajimoto), doing a reg check/adjustment, and perhaps a modified baffle. I can tell this is going to be quite enjoyable to hunt squirrels with. Now if I can only get my wife to forget about her childhood pet squirrel and eat some delicious stew... ::)

Go with your gut,

Don't really tear into anything until you can do some testing. Maybe check the barrel and transferport alignment and clean the barrel. Then just wait for the pump and shoot some groups!

I love head first into a gauntlet .22 not realizing I got a bad barrel. Breech end was machined with a choke and the pellet nearly fell out the muzzle. They didn't warranty it even after shooting it off a bench at the facility yeielding 1.25" groups with the best pellets at 20 yards and just over 1/2" at 10. Make sure it's accurate then have some fun.
Good advice.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Jonnie on January 04, 2019, 02:16:26 PM
My gauntlet's reg was set at 1900 out of the box ,I bumped it up to 2050 with one shim 0.0100 thick, I  need a different gage on on reg checker to vet a more accurate  reading ,stock reg shot 25.6 jsb at 860fps after shimming ave was 933 gonna leave it there for now, air stirpper was cracked replaced with Haji and hill baffles works great
Good to hear the regulator setting is what is advertised. Headed  out to the shop to clean the barrel and mount the scope as soon as I have the shop warmed up.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Doug Wall on January 04, 2019, 04:59:23 PM
Congrats! I just used a .25 Gauntlet for some testing, and, at over 40 FPE,  it's quite a power house. That also means that it uses quite a bit of air. Hope you enjoy pumping. cause you're going to be doing a lot of it! :-)
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 04, 2019, 08:50:35 PM
So my Gauntlet .25 cal came in yesterday evening. Delivery was perfectly timed with the new carpet cleaner, avoiding the wife's scrutiny.  My pellet order is due Monday, and the pump on Thursday.

The Gauntlet nice, with the barrel band  - yet with the typical forearm misalignment. I really want to take it apart, clean it and and do some hammer & tube buffing, trigger adjustment, air stripper repair (haven't checked it yet), etc. But my common sense side says to just clean the barrel, mount a scope and wait to bench and chrony it as is - in case there is a major issue with it necessitating a return. I'll throe on one of my vintage Japanese Tasco Trajectory Rangefinding 4-12x scopes on it.

After a bit, I plan on purchasing & installing the JSAR Super Tune kit (thanks @Hajimoto), doing a reg check/adjustment, and perhaps a modified baffle. I can tell this is going to be quite enjoyable to hunt squirrels with. Now if I can only get my wife to forget about her childhood pet squirrel and eat some delicious stew... ::)

Go with your gut,

Don't really tear into anything until you can do some testing. Maybe check the barrel and transferport alignment and clean the barrel. Then just wait for the pump and shoot some groups!

I love head first into a gauntlet .22 not realizing I got a bad barrel. Breech end was machined with a choke and the pellet nearly fell out the muzzle. They didn't warranty it even after shooting it off a bench at the facility yeielding 1.25" groups with the best pellets at 20 yards and just over 1/2" at 10. Make sure it's accurate then have some fun.
Good advice.

Absolutely. The situation Cameron unfortunately experienced is exactly what I'd like to avoid. I can check the port alignments and mic the opening and barrel at the breech and other locations, while I'm at it. In the meantime, I will keep busy cleaning some powderburners for their yearly hibernation.

The one thing I demand of all of my firearms is accuracy. Small game is ..... small. And I can tell you from experience that big game like elk is also "dang" small at 900 yards. With the right arm and relentless practice, nothing is too small. The reason I got the Gauntlet is because it's generally accurate out of the box, at a price point where I can improve on the platform with reasonable abandon.

Thanks for the gut check y'all, and I'll report back with findings.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58) on January 04, 2019, 09:03:39 PM
The reg on mine was only 1600 psi out of the box.  I have a 23 ci tank I had set up for my .22 Gauntlet.  I upped the reg on that one to 2050 psi, but have not had a chance to shoot it yet.  Hopefully I will tomorrow.  It is very accurate with the stock tank and is slinging 26 grain Polymags at 853 fps producing 42 fpe.  Not bad for being bone stock. 
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 05, 2019, 04:09:30 AM
Congrats! I just used a .25 Gauntlet for some testing, and, at over 40 FPE,  it's quite a power house. That also means that it uses quite a bit of air. Hope you enjoy pumping. cause you're going to be doing a lot of it! :-)

 ;) The things you do for squirrel stew!
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 05, 2019, 04:21:10 AM
The reg on mine was only 1600 psi out of the box.  I have a 23 ci tank I had set up for my .22 Gauntlet.  I upped the reg on that one to 2050 psi, but have not had a chance to shoot it yet.  Hopefully I will tomorrow.  It is very accurate with the stock tank and is slinging 26 grain Polymags at 853 fps producing 42 fpe.  Not bad for being bone stock.

Congrats on getting a good one! Please report your results!
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Jonnie on January 05, 2019, 11:06:31 AM
Congrats! I just used a .25 Gauntlet for some testing, and, at over 40 FPE,  it's quite a power house. That also means that it uses quite a bit of air. Hope you enjoy pumping. cause you're going to be doing a lot of it! :-)

I'm too darn old to be hand pumping. I bought a Crosman Benjamin pump with my first PCP.
I'll be 68 in March, I could hand pump still but I would rather spend the short time left on this earth shooting. ;D
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: be4meliz on January 05, 2019, 11:44:35 AM
My gauntlet's reg was set at 1900 out of the box ,I bumped it up to 2050 with one shim 0.0100 thick, I  need a different gage on on reg checker to vet a more accurate  reading ,stock reg shot 25.6 jsb at 860fps after shimming ave was 933 gonna leave it there for now, air stirpper was cracked replaced with Haji and hill baffles works great
Ironman-I picked this gauge up from Amazon for reg. tester easy to read:/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QJ95S3A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: be4meliz on January 05, 2019, 11:50:49 AM
Also added 23cu.in. bottle & added (1) flat shim(.010) to reg.(mine was lower than 1900 originally) Jsb went from 870's to 915- barrel band shim was missing, but Zack from Umerex is sending one- also, the 43 gr. Eujin fits in clip & shoots well- Waiting on another reg. tester(mine @$%^ the bed) to determine exact pressure.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 05, 2019, 11:51:46 AM
Congrats! I just used a .25 Gauntlet for some testing, and, at over 40 FPE,  it's quite a power house. That also means that it uses quite a bit of air. Hope you enjoy pumping. cause you're going to be doing a lot of it! :-)

Correct on using a lot of air as delivered by Umarex..... 

After extensive testing/tuning on the Gauntlet 25 I can share a few simple things that are game changers with regards to air consumption.

1) Make sure the barrel port and transfer port are matched.  Mine was severely mismatched.

2) install a harder valve poppet.  At minimum delrin, preferably peek.  This will make the valve much easier to open.

3) tune to your reg setting by adjusting hammer spring tension--- trim spring, change spring, add a preload adjuster, etc.

With these 3 things you will be able to  increase shot count by 1.5 to 2x over as delivered by Umarex.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58) on January 05, 2019, 04:12:24 PM
Also added 23cu.in. bottle & added (1) flat shim(.010) to reg.(mine was lower than 1900 originally) Jsb went from 870's to 915- barrel band shim was missing, but Zack from Umerex is sending one- also, the 43 gr. Eujin fits in clip & shoots well- Waiting on another reg. tester(mine @$%^ the bed) to determine exact pressure.

I've got my 23ci tank adjusted to 2050 psi and the JSB 25.39 grain pellets went from 860 fps/43 fpe to 922 fps/48 fpe.  I added one .010 shim to the OEM regulator and upped it from 1600 psi to 1900 psi, which is what it should have been to begin with!  I have both filled to 3000 psi and am letting them sit overnight to check for leaks before I start some further pellet testing.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 05, 2019, 04:19:58 PM
Congrats! I just used a .25 Gauntlet for some testing, and, at over 40 FPE,  it's quite a power house. That also means that it uses quite a bit of air. Hope you enjoy pumping. cause you're going to be doing a lot of it! :-)

Correct on using a lot of air as delivered by Umarex..... 

After extensive testing/tuning on the Gauntlet 25 I can share a few simple things that are game changers with regards to air consumption.

1) Make sure the barrel port and transfer port are matched.  Mine was severely mismatched.

2) install a harder valve poppet.  At minimum delrin, preferably peek.  This will make the valve much easier to open.

3) tune to your reg setting by adjusting hammer spring tension--- trim spring, change spring, add a preload adjuster, etc.

With these 3 things you will be able to  increase shot count by 1.5 to 2x over as delivered by Umarex.

Thanks for the advice Mike. I'm going through mine now.

One surprise was that the air stripper was NOT cracked. That O-ring though.... :o

Also, whatever they use to keep that barrel from rusting keeps coming. I've gone through 25 Otis patches so far, and I'm not done!

My buddy is coming over with some .25 pellets, and I'm going to push some through and take a look at the chamber and rifling results. Surprisingly, the crown looks nicely done. Next I will check the port alignments, and then adjust the trigger.

If the test firing goes well next week, I'm going to get the JSA tune kit.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: be4meliz on January 05, 2019, 04:22:06 PM
Question on reg. tester- do you need a slide check or will the standalone ninja remote with gauge installed work in order to bleed after checking?
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58) on January 05, 2019, 04:33:09 PM
The slide check will release the pressure and make it easier to remove the tester from the regulator.  When it's under pressure, even after closing the valve, makes it very difficult to unscrew.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 10, 2019, 08:49:22 PM
Whelp, I blew my Ninja slide check out on my regulator tester as soon as I opened the valve. Conclusion, it put out more than the valve can take. Suggestions?
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 10, 2019, 09:32:00 PM
My gauntlet's reg was set at 1900 out of the box ,I bumped it up to 2050 with one shim 0.0100 thick, I  need a different gage on on reg checker to vet a more accurate  reading ,stock reg shot 25.6 jsb at 860fps after shimming ave was 933 gonna leave it there for now, air stirpper was cracked replaced with Haji and hill baffles works great
Ironman-I picked this gauge up from Amazon for reg. tester easy to read:/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QJ95S3A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
thanks ,I ordered one a couple of days ago with 1-1/2 dail 3000 psi max that should help get more accurate reading
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 10, 2019, 09:43:05 PM
How are y'all checking the barrel to valve port alignment,  just looking through the breech or bore scope?or mirror and flashlite ?
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 10, 2019, 10:07:47 PM
How are y'all checking the barrel to valve port alignment,  just looking through the breech or bore scope?or mirror and flashlite ?

You have to pull the breech/barrel assembly and view it from the bottom, through the transfer port.

The Gauntlet has a very robust, reusable transfer port that makes realignment/reassembly a breeze.  With proper care there should be no problems disassembling/reassembling. 
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 11, 2019, 12:01:26 PM
Thanks mike , I've got a bigger bottle ordered when it arrives I'll remove the breech and check the alignment ,the bottles coming  on the slow boat from china so it might be awhile
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 11, 2019, 12:11:51 PM
Has anyone checked the valve retainer for hammer slap , if it needs turning down to shorten the lenght now would be a good time for that project too, I  did it on my 22 and picked up about 15 fps and eliminated the hammer hitting the retainer  I  took .310 off the 22 gauntlet retainer per Travis W. Recommendation and it seemed to help as he mentioned
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 11, 2019, 12:15:39 PM
Thanks mike , I've got a bigger bottle ordered when it arrives I'll remove the breech and check the alignment ,the bottles coming  on the slow boat from china so it might be awhile

You're welcome. 

Regarding hammer hitting the valve retainer---on my .25 there was a tiny amount of valve stem protrusion, to the point where I'm sure it was effecting valve lift.  I corrected this when I made my new peek valve/stem....  So yes, I would recommend taking some form of corrective action. 
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 11, 2019, 01:43:33 PM
Good to know mike ,think I  will turn about. 25 off and try that, will post results
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 12, 2019, 12:44:43 PM
I just got done with running some pellets thru my CED2 chrony. It is sunny, 20 degrees F and calm winds. I mounted an old USA-made Redfield Tracker 3-9 x 44 (formerly on my 03-A3 Sporter), and used my rickety portable bench (no bags). Although I'm always interested in accuracy, this setup wasn't even close to ideal for that. However, the groups at 25 yards were no more than 1/2". Later today I will put on a 6-24x scope, go down to my range and use my big bench and bags to shoot groups for accuracy.

The results for 5-shot strings were shot in this order from a 2900 psi fill, are as follows:
H&N Baracuda .25 Cal, 30.86 Gr                                Low: 749.5 fps               High: 758.9 fps
JSB Match Diabolo Exact King, 25.39 Gr                     Low: 814.7 fps               High: 825.1 fps
Predator Polymag, 26 Gr                                           Low: 814.3 fps               High: 818.2 fps

Comments and observations please.

I shot 3 more groups and the 14th shot it fell off the regulator at about 1600 psi. Does that indicate the current pressure setting of the regulator?

It not worthy that I could not test the regulator setting because my slide check blew out. I thought the Ninja slide checks could take 3000 psi! Perhaps I got a knock-off? Do the Ninja slide checks have an "N" on them as I've seen in pictures? Mine does not. I already ordered a package of replacement seals, but I'll return that cheapie if it is a knock-off.

Thanks!

Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 12, 2019, 01:51:19 PM
Those velocities are slightly low, not bad, just a little lower than expected.  Based on what you are seeing yet, it is likely your reg is set at 1600-1700psi.

 Did you check the barrel port alignment? 
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 12, 2019, 03:13:57 PM
No, I did not check the breech port. I just removed the barrel to clean it. I want to make sure it is accurate enough before I tear into it.

I don't have any rings tall enough to mount the 6-24x due to interference with the barrel band, so I'm going to bench it with the 3-9 in a few hours. The farrier is coming to trim the horses' hooves in a few minutes.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 12, 2019, 05:42:01 PM
At 50 yards with a 5mph crosswind, it shot 1" at 50 yards with the Poly Mags. 1.25" with the Diablos. I expected better, but I was also shooting at 9x at a big dot. I ran out of elevation adjustment with the scope, and could not even get it up to the paper. Maybe sum ting wong.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 12, 2019, 05:50:34 PM
At 50 yards with a 5mph crosswind, it shot 1" at 50 yards with the Poly Mags. 1.25" with the Diablos. I expected better, but I was also shooting at 9x at a big dot. I ran out of elevation adjustment with the scope, and could not even get it up to the paper. Maybe sum ting wong.

Try it without the shroud...
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 12, 2019, 06:41:36 PM
At 50 yards with a 5mph crosswind, it shot 1" at 50 yards with the Poly Mags. 1.25" with the Diablos. I expected better, but I was also shooting at 9x at a big dot. I ran out of elevation adjustment with the scope, and could not even get it up to the paper. Maybe sum ting wong.

Try it without the shroud...

Hmmmm....indeed. I will. Thanks.

I saw where one individual positioned grommets between over the barrel, snug to the inside of the shroud of his .22 cal, and recognized improved accuracy. The barrel on the .25 cal is thinner-walled, and probably the same blank as the .22.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 12, 2019, 08:26:41 PM
At 50 yards with a 5mph crosswind, it shot 1" at 50 yards with the Poly Mags. 1.25" with the Diablos. I expected better, but I was also shooting at 9x at a big dot. I ran out of elevation adjustment with the scope, and could not even get it up to the paper. Maybe sum ting wong.

Try it without the shroud...

Hmmmm....indeed. I will. Thanks.

I saw where one individual positioned grommets between over the barrel, snug to the inside of the shroud of his .22 cal, and recognized improved accuracy. The barrel on the .25 cal is thinner-walled, and probably the same blank as the .22.

I'm in the process of building a .25 QB78 repeater using a crosman xl725 barrel--it is 14mm in diameter and will end up a little over 18.5" long.  After handling it I am strongly considering a rebarrel of my Gauntlet with a shorter, thicker barrel.  This would include opening up the breech to accept the thicker barrel.  Likely a GM .25 Mrod barrel.  everything is close enough that the Gauntlet shroud parts could be modified to fit. 
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 13, 2019, 11:14:53 AM
So I decided to clean the barrel again, and what I thought originally was oil gunk from the factory, is most likely rust. Patch after patch, it keeps coming out brown. Looking into the barrel, the rifling looks ridged, and there are what appear to be a few pitted areas. Here's a pic of what a pushed through pellet looks like.

Looks like it's going back.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 13, 2019, 11:15:56 AM
Another pic
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Ironman482 on January 13, 2019, 01:09:31 PM
No, I did not check the breech port. I just removed the barrel to clean it. I want to make sure it is accurate enough before I tear into it.

I don't have any rings tall enough to mount the 6-24x due to interference with the barrel band, so I'm going to bench it with the 3-9 in a few hours. The farrier is coming to trim the horses' hooves in a few minutes.
well theres your problem , you can't  properly sight in a gauntlet when the horse's hooves are shabby. LOL
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 13, 2019, 03:39:31 PM
No, I did not check the breech port. I just removed the barrel to clean it. I want to make sure it is accurate enough before I tear into it.

I don't have any rings tall enough to mount the 6-24x due to interference with the barrel band, so I'm going to bench it with the 3-9 in a few hours. The farrier is coming to trim the horses' hooves in a few minutes.
well theres your problem , you can't  properly sight in a gauntlet when the horse's hooves are shabby. LOL

LOL! Even with their finely pedicured hooves, my barrel still not worthy horse pucks.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 13, 2019, 07:25:51 PM
Welp, after examining the bore with a bore scope, my suspicions were confirmed. The rifling is really, really rough. It looks like it was made with a wire brush! It would take hours of lapping to correct it, and still the results would be questionable. It's getting returned. I will place an order for another Gauntlet from different vendor.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: mackeral5 on January 13, 2019, 07:54:15 PM
Smart move.  Odds are you'll find a good one.  There have been some impressive groups posted by .25 Gauntlet owners. 
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 19, 2019, 07:00:39 AM
Received another Gauntlet last night. The barrel looked good, and so did the gun, overall. The air stripper was cracked on this one.  ::)
I cleaned the barrel, pumped it up to about 2700psi, and ran some JSBs thru her in the basement. I had to use infrared diffusers on my chrony. The shot string was extremely consistent, with a high of 868 fps, and a low of 862 fps for 8 shots. "dang" pellets went right thru a 2x8 & 1/2" plywood, embedding in a 3/4 plywood backer! I'm going to bench it today, before "Snowmagedon"!! So far, goodness.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Jonnie on January 19, 2019, 02:32:04 PM
Received another Gauntlet last night. The barrel looked good, and so did the gun, overall. The air stripper was cracked on this one.  ::)
I cleaned the barrel, pumped it up to about 2700psi, and ran some JSBs thru her in the basement. I had to use infrared diffusers on my chrony. The shot string was extremely consistent, with a high of 868 fps, and a low of 862 fps for 8 shots. "dang" pellets went right thru a 2x8 & 1/2" plywood, embedding in a 3/4 plywood backer! I'm going to bench it today, before "Snowmagedon"!! So far, goodness.
Did your barrel have a crown? Mine didn't have one at all.  :-[
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 19, 2019, 03:12:52 PM
Received another Gauntlet last night. The barrel looked good, and so did the gun, overall. The air stripper was cracked on this one.  ::)
I cleaned the barrel, pumped it up to about 2700psi, and ran some JSBs thru her in the basement. I had to use infrared diffusers on my chrony. The shot string was extremely consistent, with a high of 868 fps, and a low of 862 fps for 8 shots. "dang" pellets went right thru a 2x8 & 1/2" plywood, embedding in a 3/4 plywood backer! I'm going to bench it today, before "Snowmagedon"!! So far, goodness.
Did your barrel have a crown? Mine didn't have one at all.  :-[

Yes it did. More pronounced than the last one.

I managed to squeeze off two magazines of JSBs, and it shot dime-sized groups at 25 yds. I can work with that out of the box.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Jonnie on January 20, 2019, 04:52:39 PM
Received another Gauntlet last night. The barrel looked good, and so did the gun, overall. The air stripper was cracked on this one.  ::)
I cleaned the barrel, pumped it up to about 2700psi, and ran some JSBs thru her in the basement. I had to use infrared diffusers on my chrony. The shot string was extremely consistent, with a high of 868 fps, and a low of 862 fps for 8 shots. "dang" pellets went right thru a 2x8 & 1/2" plywood, embedding in a 3/4 plywood backer! I'm going to bench it today, before "Snowmagedon"!! So far, goodness.
Did your barrel have a crown? Mine didn't have one at all.  :-[

Yes it did. More pronounced than the last one.

I managed to squeeze off two magazines of JSBs, and it shot dime-sized groups at 25 yds. I can work with that out of the box.

I guess I'll have to break out the brass screws and the valve lapping compound and get to work on it. My air stripper was cracked as well.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 20, 2019, 08:02:09 PM
I guess I'll have to break out the brass screws and the valve lapping compound and get to work on it. My air stripper was cracked as well.

Absolutely Jonnie!

I would like to thank Hajimoto for his informative videos on the Gauntlets!

Since I have a pretty good shooter, I completely dismantled the Gauntlet, checked it over, and performed some cleanups and mods.

I polished the hammer and tube. The hole in the rear valve body thru which the poppet stem slides was extremely rough. Fortunately, a few toothpicks with some Maguire's aluminum polish was a perfect solution.

I cleaned the barrel again and gently polished it with a bore swab and Maguire's aluminum polish. Then I cleaned it again.

I replaced the o-rings on the barrel and air stripper. Unfortunately the replacement air stripper o-ring was too thick, so I'l have to go back to the hardware store.

I used two 3/4 O.D. x 7/16 I.D. grommets, cut on two sides for air passage, between the barrel and the shroud. One is located at the barrel band, and the other equidistant between that and the end of the barrel.

The slide check on the regulator tester still can't hold - even with replaced o-rings. Therefore, based on the fps readings from the stock test-fires, I decided to boost the reg pressure, minimally, with a .010 shim.

After re-assembly, I pumped it up to 3000 psi and benched it at 15 yards in my basement. I used 25.39 gr. JSB Match Diabolo Exact Kings. My 8-shot string had a high of 924 fps, which was the first shot, and a bit higher than the rest of the string. The next 7 shots were very consistent at 904 to 909 fps. That's humming. The group was .32", but the first shot was a tad left. If I were to remove that first shot, it would have been one large hole.

So far, so goodness.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Springrrrr on January 20, 2019, 08:30:58 PM
If you do put a JSAR kit in the gun, be sure to follow the instructions they give to seat the poppet.  That is the one with the folded sandpaper.  I tried just spinning mine against the seat with no luck.  It only seated after using the sandpaper method.
Title: Re: Got Gauntlet .25 - don't have pellets or pump
Post by: Bleeb on January 20, 2019, 09:35:02 PM
If you do put a JSAR kit in the gun, be sure to follow the instructions they give to seat the poppet.  That is the one with the folded sandpaper.  I tried just spinning mine against the seat with no luck.  It only seated after using the sandpaper method.

Yes, thank you. I watched their video too.  I'll probably get a kit in a little while.