GTA
Airguns by Make and Model => AirForce Airguns => Topic started by: dieselten on October 22, 2016, 01:01:52 AM
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Hello everyone, I am brand new to PCP airguns. I have never seen one in person before today, or an air tank for that matter. But I have been shooting and competing with firearms for about 40 years. Anyway, I ordered a 357 Texan from Wild West and received it today along with a new tank and some pellets. I also ordered pellets from Hunter Supply and Nielsen Specialty. I drove to the Dive Shop and they could only get about 3900 into my new tank, but that was enough for a first go around with the new Texan. I also bought a new chrono as my Magneto Speed is not very friendly with lead bullets.
So I set a target up at 50 yards and started shooting. I started with JSB 81 grain and got on target easily. This pellet was shooting groups with pellets touching at 50 yards but the groups were shifting their point of impact. This could have been me experimenting with my hold, as this was the first time I ever fired a PCP but it also could have been from fluctuating velocity as I will show you.
I chrono'd the JSB for 13 shots, starting at 3000 psi fill and ending at about 2000 or maybe a little higher:
932
1010
1020
1045
1059
1066 - 204.47 FPE
1064
1056
1044
1037
1019
1012
992
So the first shot was really low, it didn't seem to do this later with the heavier pellets though. This low initial velocity might be the reason for the different POI's, or it could have been me trying to figure out how to hold this thing.
Next I chrono'd the Hunters Supply 170 grain FP .358 for 6 shots starting at 3000 and ending about 2000:
869 - 285.1 FPE
852
826
810
787
767
The groups from these were not great, I will give my thoughts at the end.
The last bullet I chrono'd was the Hunter Supply 190 grain FP .358 for 8 shots starting at 3000 and ending around 2000:
842 - 299.15 FPE
828
820
799
786
781
756
741
These velocity strings and groupings were fired with the hammer spring adjuster as it was delivered, approx. 2 full turns from full tight. I started running out of air but I decided to adjust the spring. I tried it backed way off to about 5 or 6 full turns from full tight. I didn't chrono but did shoot for groups. The accuracy was terrible. So I adjusted it the other way. I went to about a half turn from full tight and the groups tightened up nicely. I fired a few groups with the Nosler swaged lead Ballistic Tip and was very impressed. One hole groups. I was not able to chrono this bullet but I will next time.
Anyway my thoughts on accuracy. obviously each bullet needs to be tuned with the hammer spring. I did not get any 1 hole groups with the Hunter Specialty of the Neilsen bullets like I did with the JSB and the Nosler. I think part of it might have been me searching for the right hold but these cast slugs were all loose packed in boxes and the bases were nicked up. I used to shoot Scheutzen and cast my own bullets and I would mercilessly cull them for weight and imperfections in order to shoot small groups. The JSB and the Nosler were not dinged up, the bases were perfect. And the bases are the most important part of the bullet for accuracy.
So I am looking forward to getting some more air and trying this again. I will chrono again with the spring adjuster tighter where the groups were better.
Nick
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Pretty nice bellcurve with the jsb, nice review, looking forward for more a pics of the rifle details.
Marko
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Very nice! Interesting it shoots the JSB pretty well so far. For sure the balance between bullet, power wheel and fill pressure. Most certainly your hold will be important, thats a loooooonnnngggg barrel so you are one with that bullet for a while ;D
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Thanks guys. I have been thinking and I think I will abandon using the Atlas bipod on a picatinny adapter at the front of the barrel cover. Since the barrel is not free floating it induces stress and unless the stress is identical for each shot the groups will suffer. I will shoot with a big soft bag right in front of the hand pad and a rear bag.
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Ive wondered a out the barrel contact as well. I did not notice a difference in my .457s with the exception of adding a shroud. Maybe slight improvement with the shroud was some recoil reduction??? I would like to see how it responds to a muzzle brake or air stripper of sorts, also influencing barrel harmonics as well??
Any idea internal measures, ie twist and bore? I wonder if it is similar in the .457 where the twist was to match up with the fpe, ie to perform best with big long bullets? But then again, if it did well with JSB........
BTW- welcome to Airgunning and the forum! Chris
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I am planning to slug and check twist today. I am also having trouble uploading pics, my file size is too big annd I dont know how to resize on my ipad.
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I think photobucket works best: http://s5.photobucket.com (http://s5.photobucket.com)
Looking forward to hearing more.
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Rifle details:
357 Texan
1-16.25" twist (measured)
.357 groove (measured)
Night Force 8-32x56 Benchrest scope
Airforce picatinny adapter & Atlas bipod
(http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/dieselten/image_zpsnikbpzfx.jpeg)
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Nice!
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Again airforce blows it. To fast of a twist. They just don't listen or read what works.
All they care about is making a big number. They even lowered it from 400 fpe to 350 fpe. Looks like to make there claim it will be in the 700's with a over weight slug and rainbow trajectory.
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If that gun has a 16 twist, which is way too fast, none of the bullets you got from me ever had a chance. You will need to shoot long heavy bullets out of that gun just like in the Texan .457.
Pellets, EPP slugs and long heavy bullets is my guess what will work in it.
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I will order up a mold I think will work in this barrel. Nothing I have right now I would expect to work in that twist barrel. You would think AF would let their customers know what they tested with so you could order bullets that work in the gun.
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I called Airforce and they recommended the Hunter Supply 190 grain.
The Nosler 145 Ballistic Tip and the JSB 81 grain both shoot very well.
I still have a lot of testing to do with rifle hold, spring tension, and bullets.
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It figures they would recommend Hunter Supply. They are some of the worst bullets you could get. Like you said, they come like a box of marbles and have been beaten pretty good. But even before shipped there bullet quality is not good.
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When are manufacturers going to understand that big bores need slower twist rates than small bores?.... ::)
Bob
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I don't understand why it is so hard to figure out what bullet weight shoots at 900-950 fps out of the gun and set the gun up for it. Who wants to shoot 800 fps slugs, just for a fpe claim?
Once you know the weight bullet that is ideal you order a barrel with the correct twist rate so it will fire them accurately. For me, that is a winning formula.
I just ordered a bullet mold I think the .357 Texan will shoot well but won't know until it gets here and tested.
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When are manufacturers going to understand that big bores need slower twist rates than small bores?.... ::)
Bob
Based on the reports that they were still figuring out barrel choices, it seems the figured a fpe and chose a barrel that would shoot something decent enough to coincide with claims vs fps and accuracy at anything less than the bullet that met their fpe statements. Im fairly impatient but waited until August when I heard this and figured I needed to move on. I hope it all works out, I just didnt want choices to be round ball and something that shoots at 700fps, regardless of fpe.
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Even if Airforce's target bullet was 190 grain it would be stable in a 1 in 20 twist at 825 fps. 1:20 twist would have been slow enough for lighter grains to track at range. It seems they thought a .357 air rifle should be designed to shoot .35 Winchester 245 grain slugs. 1:16 isn't as bad as the Bulldog's barrel. I've two HP molds that may do well. The bigger 155 grain HP is .744 in. long which should have tractability long range.
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These bullet weights, and velocities are on par with a .38spl. Loading in a powderburner.,
While respectable power coming from an airgun,
they are decidedly on the low end of what modern powder burner hunters like or are accustomed to using.
To me it harkens back to the days when the 1873 Winchester and Winchester 92 were king,
Both used pistol caliber cartridges, at low velocities, and you still took medium sized game with them.
You just had to pick your shot carefully.
Unlike today with the ultra-magnums that seem to be popular with powder burner hunters..
As airgun technology evolves, the velocities will go up.
The air gun manufacturers will learn (hopefully) what twist rates are best for what weights and calibers to make them accurate.
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A good read in the forums would be enough r&d any manufacturer would need concerning twist rate.
All the testing has been done by the endusers and enthusiasts. But no they just go by wild guess.
Marko
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I have a 16" twist on my Recluse and it is too fast. Just not needed.
While you are pushing much more speed and power than my Recluse can, JSB's and 125+ gr slugs work well. With that fast a twist, you can now forget trying round balls for plinking. I don't have the power to push 150+ gr slugs like you can so i have no info on that.
Why big bore manufactures STILL go by that "45 acp" philosophy is beyond me (big, heavy and slow bullets). Not really sure these "ENGINEERS" are really engineers or are they people who are good at CAD drawings? 190 gr bullet recommendations? Man, thats for a hunting .357 mag round and not an airgun.......lol! Rant over.....lol
Ok, 1 tip for the Airforce line of guns is normally a light hold. Do not press the bottle into your shoulder like you would a Powder Burner. Doing so and not being consistent will make groups or shots wander. Hold it lightly and hold it consistently.
DO NOT USE HUNERS SUPPLY.........YUK!
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I have a 16" twist on my Recluse and it is too fast. Just not needed.
While you are pushing much more speed and power than my Recluse can, JSB's and 125+ gr slugs work well. With that fast a twist, you can now forget trying round balls for plinking. I don't have the power to push 150+ gr slugs like you can so i have no info on that.
What kind of groupings could you get with a 130 grain at 100 or 200 yards with this twist?
I know how meticulous you are about sizing slugs to each barrel and your a true marksman. You'd be the man to enlighten me on how much the over spun slugs really open up.
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I have a 16" twist on my Recluse and it is too fast. Just not needed.
While you are pushing much more speed and power than my Recluse can, JSB's and 125+ gr slugs work well. With that fast a twist, you can now forget trying round balls for plinking. I don't have the power to push 150+ gr slugs like you can so i have no info on that.
What kind of groupings could you get with a 130 grain at 100 or 200 yards with this twist?
I know how meticulous you are about sizing slugs to each barrel and your a true marksman. You'd be the man to enlighten me on how much the over spun slugs really open up.
Garrett,
Very sorry to say that i don't shoot this gun out at 100 yards for groups. Plinking YES but groups NO. I don't have it tuned to shoot all out power. Its making 180+ FPE. I just don't consider the 357 a 100+ yard target gun especially when making only 180 FPE. I have my 257 and 7mm for that. So info from me on that subject is NIL. 200 yards, faghettaboutit.......lol! At least from me and my Recluse.
50 and 75 yards MAX for me.
Honestly, I'm relying on you and that Texan for info out that far. Or the AAA Slayer.
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It won't be me with the Texan this year unless Santa is very kind. Last year my stocking had coal in it so not likely.
Nick, the OP, is a competition shooter so with a few of us sending him slugs we'll find some things out for sure. He's going to get a micrometer on that barrel slug soon too. Cool.
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I ordered a mold yesterday so will take about month before I will have it ready for testing. I will seek out .357 Texan owners and see what we can do. I bet will be accurate with the right slug but just another lobber like the .45 Texan. My .45 is real close to MOA with my 372 grain but real slow to get there. I ordered a .40 slug I think will work for the badger as well. A friend of mine just bought my Badger so will have access to it for testing.
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I don't know how it happened but I ordered a mold for the Texan and the Badger as I posted above and it came in today already! Fastest I ever got a custom mold for sure. I plan to cast them tomorrow or Wednesday and will be looking for guys with 357 Texans to test them if interested please PM me.
Thanks
Nick
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has any one put a slug in the 125-158 gr range thread this gun?
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has any one put a slug in the 125-158 gr range thread this gun?
In first post, Nosler slugs were in first shooting tests and got hole touching hole group at 50 yards. The OP did not provide fps of that 145 grain slug though.
The thought is it's too short for barrel twist resulting in groups opening up at longer range. Won't know until Nick (the OP) post more data on his gun. I sent Nick some slugs, was not impressed with HP pin centering so sent mostly Gas Check SWC solids that dropped 161 grain in 1% tin alloy. He said when he gets his next chance to shoot will take them out 75 and 100 yards. That is a .67 inch slug for reference. Also he micrometered a slug from barrel and it was .3570. Slugs sent sized to 0.3573. Will be interesting to see fps with right sizing and accuracy of that length of slug.
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I sent him a slug as well that I made specific to this gun. We will see if my math is correct and how it shoots. My slug is sized .357 and is a bit longer so will have to wait for him to shoot them to start seeing what the gun likes. My slug weighs 180 grains. If the barrel specs from AF are correct with a 1:16 twist, .357 barrel this should be an optimal bullet for the gun but you never know...
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180 grain wouldn't be bad at all. 850 fps and maybe a bit more as it's properly sized. That would be bearable. Anxious waiting for this gun to release and disappointed with the twist. Hope it gets good accuracy in these weight ranges. Hate to think about rebarreling a brand new gun. Have been researching options of just that while awaiting more results.
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If you end up with a rebarrel, TJ makes a 1:26 which is what I would use, gives a large range of bullet options and speeds. The shame is is the heavy bullets would still work in the gun but you would have the light ammo option. However, lots of testing is still needed and maybe we will all be happily surprised.
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I know..this 1:16 twist has me on the edge.I have a badger on order right now and thought about taking it back then buying a Texan 357 but limited to big heavy rounds defeats it for me.I already have 2 heavy lead slingers.If it could accurately shoot 125-150 gr around 950 then I would consider.I already have a recluse that performs just a step behind the texan.
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I made a slug for the Badger too. It came out 220 grains. According my calcs, if correct, should be the right bullet for the gun. Again heavy, too fast of a twist rate for the caliber and power of the gun in my opinion. I bought and sold my Badger without even firing it. My friend wanted one so I sold it to him for what I paid and I can still get my testing done with it so was a win win.
I plan to shot with him on Saturday and I already cast the slugs so I will report back as to their performance.
Really curious how these different slugs for the 357 Texan do. Should be a popular gun if it is accurate. Funny how their are no other threads on this gun (except this one) and no one saying they have bought one?
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Your right,,cant find anyone giving reviews on the gun.It may be a shooter though!My recluse is tuned and has the factory 1:20 twist and does good till a 140 gr.Above that is iffy.It will group well with the heavier bullets out to 40 yards but start straying after that point.I do a lot of 50-100 yards with the rifle so I bullet will show to be true pretty quickly after 50.
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Garrett and Nick,
Thank you very much for sending slugs for testing. I will advise when they arrive. Testing may take a couple weeks as rifle deer season opens here in Texas this weekend, which limits my access to the private range. The public ranges are insanely busy as well with deer hunters sighting in their Rifles that haven't been touched since last season.
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It is always a surprise how well some slugs shoot due to design. In general the Sg programs work well and in using that the "optimum" length of slug would be about an inch long. Put that in perspective and it's the old Winchester 358318 slug of 245 grains that would provide just over 1.5 Sg. I've tried to find a value for over stability and it seems there isn't an effort to research that end of spectrum. Sg values go through the roof once as the slug gets shorter and shorter. There must be a high end range value, say over 4-5 Sg or is it over 7-8Sg?, where over spin rears it's ugly head at long range. What that value is isn't really looked at much and makes slug selection a stab in the dark trying to find lightest possible with long range grouping. Face it long range trajectory paths and potential problems) on air guns occur at incredibly short range. What is common place overspin problems for air is happening before 100 yards. In the powder burner world it's only sharp shooters and extreme range competition shooters that come across this problem.
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Makes you wonder what the 308 will be???Thats prob where the 1:16 should be.I could almost see them doing a 1:10 on that rifle.!!
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It's all because AF only cares about a number. Remember the clown in the shot show video that opened his mouth with 400 fpe for .357 and 350 fpe .308. Never heard of him before.
They seem to find the most clueless people to represent there guns.
If they would just pay attention to what people are doing with what they would see nobody wants a motar launcher. Shooting smaller bullets at higher fps is where it's at instead of trying to get bragging right on big numbers with big slugs.
.308 is 1:14 which is the way I went in the beginning. Again they are prepping the gun to shoot 180-200 gr slugs.
My next .308 barrel will 1:18 or 1:20. No reason to shoot over 150 gr in 308. I'm shooting 138 gr right now.
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Yea a 1:14 will limit your selection for sure.also hard loading a 200 gr .308!The bullets what...1 3/4 long lol.
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The best way to get a good base is to move it forward on the boolit with either a gas check stub or a boat tail. The 358156 ought to be in the right neighborhood as with the right alloy they'll come in around 160 gr. Still not going to get it to 950. Advertising does indeed bite, but given that it works, people must be idiots.
cheers,
Douglas
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I already have bullets that work in the 1:14 twist the 308 Texan will have. My Slayer is 1:14 twist and these bullets for great in it. The 111 grain is my main bullet for that gun and will soon have a HP version. I also have heavier coming that we are testing now.
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I had a chance to hold a Texan .357 in my hands yesterday. Work had me in Sweetwater Tx 40miles away from Abilene Tx. I called Edwin Bumpass with Airguns of Texas great guy!!! The store was open so I headed to AOT. After meeting Edwin and talking awhile I asked to see and hold a Texan which happened to be in .357 What a nice gun!!!!! Shoulders so nice and very light compared to my Extreme .457 and DAQ .308 Edwin explained to me that Eric Henderson was testing a .357 Texan with ammo he had made for the .357 We should know what those results are soon. I can't remember the ammo maker but it's the ammo used in Eric's .457 Texan that he is shooting out to 500yds. The .357 Texan sure is peaking my interest, I really liked the feel and weight of this gun!!! I'm going to sell a few of my guns to get a .357 Texan shot count will be MUCH MUCH higher than 3, fill pressure MUCH MUCH lower than my other big bores. Energy is high now once our great ammo makers get the correct ammo for this gun it will be great!!!! I hope we get some light ammo figured out for flat shooting out at long ranges, would be awesome for predator and mid size game.
Take care Fellas
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Don't see it making good power with a reasonable fps.
The review is pretty sad at pyramid. 2-3" groups at 40 yds and they call that good.
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Well they'll say anything is good if it'll sell guns. But 2-3" at 40yds is a joke.
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I think they just using the wrong ammo for the gun they built. I bet when we find the right ammo the groups will improve drastically. I am hoping the round I sent the OP will work in the gun. When he gets a chance to shoot them we will see.
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Are they using the lw 16" twist airgun barrel on it? What size it slugs at? I have used lw 9mm ag barrel on one build and it shoots way better. Everything from 88gr to 156gr work just fine.
Marko
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Are they using the lw 16" twist airgun barrel on it? What size it slugs at? I have used lw 9mm ag barrel on one build and it shoots way better. Everything from 88gr to 156gr work just fine.
Marko
To what distance are the 125 grain and up slugs grouping well?
This barrel is 1:16 twist, .3570 groove. Most slugs seem to group fine to 50 yards, max distance tested I've seen.
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100m or 110yds I think is in your merican distance.
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If you use too light of ammo in too fast of a twist in airgun your accuracy will fall apart around 50 to 60 yards. That's why so many if us complain about the manufacturers using these fast twist rates. I don't think they know much about bullets and don't know what they are doing, these twist rates are way less important when shooting diabolo pellets.
The bullets that match this guns power and barrel twist will weigh in the neighborhood of 180 grains is my guess. The slug I designed weighs just that.
I used the same formula for the bullet I designed for the .401 badger. You can see the results tofazfou got with those on a thread here on gta.
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I got an email today from Nick, said he's ready to wrap the gun around a tree. Hopefully when he's in better spirits he'll give more detail on the outing today with 158 grain GC SWC and Neilsen's 180 grain.
Other than horrible groupings this is one nice shot string with 158 grain starting at 2800 psi. Sized to .3573 ammo did much better numbers than the first posts unsized 170 grain.
> # FPS FT-LBS PF
> 4 878 270.50 138.72
> 3 923 298.93 145.83
> 2 914 293.13 144.41
> 1 912 291.85 144.10
> Average: 906.8 FPS
> SD: 19.8 FPS
> Min: 878 FPS
> Max: 923 FPS
> Spread: 45 FPS
> Shot/sec: 0.0
> True MV: 907 FPS
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This really six that the 357 has turned out to be a bust,I had actually thought about buying one .Glad I didnt.I wouldn't be surprised if the 158 gr GC swc doesn't do well.My recluse cant put them on a 12x12 sheet at 40 yards,like a shotgun.lee has a 140 grain soc though that is a one hole hitter at 60+ yards...might be worth a shot.
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I offered for Nick to send me the gun and I would try to make a slug for it. Since I can custom swage any weight slug I might be able to figure something out.
Hopefully for Airforce's sake it is not part of their design. Maybe this gun has more than the barrel twist used wrong with it, I hope not, this should be a popular gun if it is accurate.
Nick, if you are reading, offer still good. Send me the gun and I will make custom slugs and see what I can come up with. It is worth my time because I sell a lot 45 cal texan ammo and hoping to do same with 357 and 308.
Airforce, if you are reading, same applies. If AF is reading maybe they can tell us what ammo they tested when it met approval to sell it.
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Nick did get accurate groups with everything small up to the Nosler 145 grain. The Pyramyd Air video didn't get anything to group well up to and including the Nosler. That is a little odd and could be hold sensitive gun. Regardless Nick got small slugs to group and everything larger than the 145 grain is 3" group at 50 yards.
I suppose a large meplait slug in the 140 grain range would be a good hunter. Neilsen has the large melait 126 grain boat tails, they should do great.That's what their using in the 240 FPE tuned Bulldogs, up to 145 grain. Personally I want a heavier slug for deer and this gun can certainly push it. Just need one that's accurate without going to inch long super slow heavies.
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My understanding from Nick is he got no good groups from any slug he tried. He told me he putting this gun up to collect dust which is why I offered to try to come up with a round for it.
If he got good groups from light rounds this gun would great! We need Nick to chime in.
That twist rate would not make sense to be accurate with light rounds but having not shot it I can only speculate.
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I chopped down the first post, missed keeping the part where JSB's had "holes touching" but bellow is the Nosler-
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So I set a target up at 50 yards and started shooting.
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I fired a few groups with the Nosler swaged lead Ballistic Tip and was very impressed. One hole groups. I was not able to chrono this bullet but I will next time.
Nick
What I gleam from this is exactly what is shooting well in the Bulldog's 14" twist will shoot in the Texan. Harmonics may play a part in poor accuracy with heavier slugs and long barrel too. Nick said the barrel OD is 0.64" so that's a good wall thickness but may prove better shooting with a sleeve. What may work, if the culprit is twist, getting accurate 900-950 ft/sec is making a collar button/ diablo on a slug in the 150-160 grain weight. It's counter to what I'd want though as your adding poor aerodynamics for stability just to shoot a good medium game weight at an optimum speed. There's a lot to be said about momentum and heavier slugs, especially if you hollow point them and want deep penetration. For me it would be primarily a hunting gun but that's only a few weeks of the year so want good BC for fun distance bench shooting too. Apparently it's too much to ask. I feel like Charlie Brown's Lucy- "All I want is my fair share! All I want is what's coming to me!"
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I'm no ammo making guy by any means!!! But, I have a thought. How would a longer and deep HP with a poly tip work??!! Making it lighter for flatter shooting and accuracy. If that platform works less lead removed to make a heavier bullet for larger game. Just a question for the ammo pros out there. Would a longer bullet work good in this platform like the .257 I'm a shooter only!!! So don't laugh if this won't work!!! ;D
Take care Fellas
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Sorry for the late reply. I am very dissapointed with the Texan. To clarify the light bullet accuracy, I was able to get small groups.... sometimes. I shot a few 1 holers at 50, but then the POI would change or the group would open. There was no consistency. I shot the small groups at the end of the first range session. At the second outing much more shooting revealed the inconsistencies.
I have tried 6 different slugs plus the JSB pellet. This includes the slug Airforce recommended to me over the phone. All accuracy was similar to the groups shot in the Pyramid Air video review. 3-4" at 50 yards is very dissapointing. I will take Mr. Neilsen up on his gracious offer to test out this rifle. I will ship it to him this week. It is not doing anyone any good sitting in my closet.
Thanks very much to Garrett and Nick Neilsen for sending me slugs to test, I was very sorry not to have positive feedback for them.
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Also, to Garrett's point about trying the Nielsen 126 grain, I have tried that also. Same results, 3-4" at 50 yards. But these never shot any into 1 hole like the Nosler or JSB did on a few occasions. But the inability to repeat that accuracy, to me, is the same as being inaccurate.
Edited to add:
All group shooting started around 2800-2900 fill pressure, then shot 4-5 slugs. Then refill. I tried some longer strings with the JSB pellets as well as 5 shot groups. I also tracked the hits on the target to see if there was a pattern like first 2 hitting together or something like that. No patterns, random hits, sometimes last slug in a 4 shot group was high, sometimes low.
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Nick I will send you address, it's not the one on my return shipping label. I will email you when I get back in town tomorrow.
No promises I will succeed but I will do my best. Besides my swage machine,I also have molds not on my site.
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The OP, Nick, sent me his gun and I took it out today to see how it did.
I first shot the gun tethered to see how it did. I used a steel plate to get me close on paper and then shot at my target. The first two shots in the picture were my sight in shots and after adjusting the scope I got 5 shots in the red. That group was 100 yards, tethered, shooting my 180 grain slug I made specific to this gun.
I then shot this gun not tethered with a 3K psi fill and it shot terrible, all over the place. I then played with the settings of the gun with the power wheel and psi fill. I did not get good results filling to 3K no matter where the PW was set to.
I got the best results with a 2600-2700 fill with the PW in the middle. If I had it more left, it would not open the valve enough and too far right the curve was erratic. With this fill I was able to shoot about 1-1.25 inch group with the first 4 shots, 5th shot would drop a bit but still less than 2 inches and the 6th shot would drop and be out of range.
I shot a similar group a few times so seems to be repeatable although this was my first time with the gun. The first three shots with these settings always seem real tight as you can see in the picture but 4th and 5th are still acceptable at 100 yards. Some of the groups I shot the 5th shot was further off from the group than in the picture but not by much.
I think 3 real good shots is a no brainier for the gun and a 5 shot group is achievable. I am not a tuner, this is not my gun and I think guys who do tune will get even more out of it. I played with it today while I was testing new ammo I am getting ready to release so if someone really sits down and focuses on this gun I think there is more there. I know RJ Porter bought one of these and is playing with it so I bet he will get a tune and hopefully share his findings.
I shot several other slugs through this gun and none shot well. I would get a few close and then a few all over the target. 5 to 6 inch groups with lighter ammo that I tried and that matches what you would expect from 1:16 twist in .357.
All in all, I still think the wrong barrel was used making this gun because with a good barrel choice you could shoot a lighter bullet and get a nice curve and shot count from this gun. Rebarrel this gun with a 1:26 twist rate and I think it will be a great shooter. That said, I do think you can get 3 accurate shots from heavy ammo, like my 180 grain I used here, or other heavy ammo. Now that I know the 180 grain in accurate in the gun I will get that ammo cast and on my site for sale in the near future.
**all the pictures are 90 degrees turned for some reason at least on my screen ***
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Those look pretty good for 100yds. Shame about the barrel being so picky.
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Are you saying it shot well tethered at 3k then needed lower 2600 psi to shoot well untethered?
There is more going on with this gun than the barrel if light slugs are going in and out of accuracy at 50 yards. Lack of consistency seems to point to mechanical issue. I'm not a tuner either. Looking forward to what RJ comes up with.
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It shot well tethered at same pressure but if you shoot it untethered it was much more consistent if the pressure started out lower. I did not expect it to shoot light bullets out that barrel so there is no surprise there.
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It shot well tethered at same pressure but if you shoot it untethered it was much more consistent if the pressure started out lower.
I have found that with the Texans as well, and most for that matter. Thats why I always transition to off tether, which is more representative of the field.
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sad for a $1000 dollar gun.Im so glad the Badger came out.I was going to buy a texan 357 until I heard about the badger and decided to go with that instead.
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So the AP, Nick and I have traded guns. I own 4 Dragon Claw .50 caliber because we use them in my animal trapping company. My personal one is Will Piatt tuned and very accurate but I don't shoot too often because I own so many guns. I want to play more with this 357 Texan and see what happens and I will still have 3 Dragon Claws (not tuned) to do testing with. I have a Recluse and Bulldog but the Texan has real power potential.
I am hoping RJ Porter will share his findings and I will also see what Doug Noble thinks. Between those two Airforce gurus I am sure we will find a good tune or mod for this gun. Maybe a re-barrel with a 1:26 twist TJ will fix everything. I would really like to shoot lighter ammo.
It will be several weeks before I get back to shooting. I am doing some vacation stuff with the wife and kids over the holiday break and what time I do have will probably be dedicated to hunting and not shooting.
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Hey guys, RJ has his Texan .357 shooting 3/4" and 5/8" 3shot groups at 75yds very nice groups. 860fps tight groups. He is getting that gun dialed in for some serious shooting.
Merry Christmas Fellas
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I am wondering if I have a bad spring because I not getting that velocity with mine. I will have to play some more with it.
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Might be, contact RJ
You will be surprised what a tiny change he has made to get that preformance.
Best of Luck
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Lots of good info here and I have made my own shroud to help with the harmonics issue. See attached photos. It has helped tighten up groups - but I am still searching for the right pellet / cast bullet.
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Hey guys, RJ has his Texan .357 shooting 3/4" and 5/8" 3shot groups at 75yds very nice groups. 860fps tight groups. He is getting that gun dialed in for some serious shooting.
Merry Christmas Fellas
Anyone have RJ's contact info? Can't seem to find him here to PM him. Looking for more info on the Texan .357 to make mine even better.