GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => PCP/CO2/HPA Air Gun Gates "The Darkside" => Topic started by: Jacob_M on July 26, 2020, 09:58:08 AM
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Whats up guys! It’s been a while since I’ve been on Here. I’m still shooting my ol’ Raptor.
After I had my barrel worked on by Scott, the Raptor has been a deadly tool! I’m filling to 4000psi and shooting down to 2500psi . Launching NSA 33.5 at 915-930fps. Within 75 yards , nothing stands a chance. I don’t really like to shoot farther than 75 with the raptor because of the power. Do not want these NSA slugs continuing past my property line. I’ve also been lucky not to experience any types of leaks what so ever. 4000+ shots through the rifle and still trucking along.
Right now my only gripe with the gun is the magazine! Does not work with slugs at all. Jams up 100% of the time no matter how long the slug is. Works fantastic with pellets, but I’d rather be shooting some NSA.
Also, been using an FX wireless chrony. This thing is really good. The convenience factor is through the roof! No more dragging out the extension cord for the pro chrono digital infrared lights!
How’s your raptor doing?
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Looking good Jacob, glad your enjoying your Raptor.
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Are you filling from a Great White? How many shots are you getting w/a 4k fill? I assume your reg is set to 2500 psi output?
I may have input the values wrong into the calculator, but I'm getting 5 full refills to 4k from 2.5k with a completely full Great White ???
Those FX Chrony's are super interesting!!
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Thanks bear.
Actually my reg is set about 2250psi. 2500psi just seems like a good end point for my shot string because the plenum stops getting filled all the way to my set pressure. Opens up my ES a bit. Also could be that the gauge is off on the gun lol. But from 4000-2500psi I’m getting 45-50shots. All over 60fpe. Not bad from a 350cc tank.
Now the gun is capable of more power at the same reg setting, I’m just controlling the poppet lift with the buffer hammer for the sake of efficiency.
I’m filling my gun with the Omega Trail Charger. Takes about 7 minutes to refill. It has been serving me well for almost 2 years. I think it’s been 2 years at least lol.
I am considering getting a large Cf tank since it would allow for longer shooting sessions. Also there is a new AIRGUN ONLY store in San Antonio that can fill the tanks! Store is called Alamo airguns.
I’ll say the FX chrony was definitely worth it. Hanging it off the end of the barrel of my raptor and taipan has not affected my zero/poi. Most likely due to both of these guns being robust.
I could definitely see it changing poi on guns with skinny free floating barrels.
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Hi Jacob,
My Raptor mini is still shooting just fine, no issues with it. I have been shooting the FX slugs in 25 cal and it knocks the heck out of whatever it hits. Recently I moved to a new place so I may be able to start tuning and playing with airguns again vers just pulling the trigger. Thanks for the heads up of Alamo Airguns store. I was staying in San Antonio and working in Schertz & Richland Hills area now I'm over in the Lewisville area for a few days. I'll be back in the area soon and check em out.
How did you do with Hurricane Hanna? Are you ok and safe?
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My Mini "FTS" continues to impress ... tho not really a legitimate testament to the gun being a non production version :P
Does however show the possibilities of the platform as a precision shooting tool.
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Still very happy with mine too.
It's been in .20/20fpe configuration for about 6 weeks but it's going back to .22/50-60fpe real soon. Some friends have a fun paper game going that is also practice for the EBR/RMAC/PA Cup long range pellet competitions. We were shooting it with Red Wolfs (Wolves?) during the down time at the last camping/field target weekend and I was thinking it'd be fun to get the Raptor back to that point. Easy to do so so it'll be happening the next chance I get.
I've got the .20/20fpe settings pretty dialed in, will be nice to spend some time with various hammer springs and a chronograph to figure out where it shoots best at 50-60fpe with the .22 Monster Redesigns though. Some simple notes on each tune should allow easier conversions back and forth.
Also still hoping Nick at NSA finds time to get those .20 slugs that he mentioned a while back into production.
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Mine should be coming back from JSAR very soon..had a leak and another minor issue that had no effect on shooting. Looking forward to getting it back!
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Shoot my mini .25 a lot and no issues at all. I do have the new magazine and it’s tons better!!! And you can shoot slugs with no issues . Jacob told me the new guns will come with new mags. The mag doesn’t fit in my mag holder but will fit in new guns mag holder. I imagine you can purchase new mags and mag rail in the future but I don’t know as of yet if they are available yet.
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Hi Jacob,
My Raptor mini is still shooting just fine, no issues with it. I have been shooting the FX slugs in 25 cal and it knocks the heck out of whatever it hits. Recently I moved to a new place so I may be able to start tuning and playing with airguns again vers just pulling the trigger. Thanks for the heads up of Alamo Airguns store. I was staying in San Antonio and working in Schertz & Richland Hills area now I'm over in the Lewisville area for a few days. I'll be back in the area soon and check em out.
How did you do with Hurricane Hanna? Are you ok and safe?
Yes definitely go check out Alamo airguns!
I live about 2 hours from corpus, so we just got some storms. However about 20 miles north of us, we heard a small tornado touched down. Scary stuff! Glad your raptor is doing good!
Scott, I know your Mini Raptor has been tweaked to your highest specs. So glad you helped me with my barrel. It wouldn’t be as good as a shooter as it is now.
Franklink,
I’ve been following your raptor thread. I appreciate the info and ongoing testing you have been doing.
Ranchibi,
Glad you are getting your raptor back soon. That Raw HM1000x chassis has got my attention! Looks really awesome.
Old pro,
I hope to get a hold of those mags one day. It would be the cherry on top. I’m getting pretty quick and single loading lol.
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...Not bad from a 350cc tank.
I’m filling my gun with the Omega Trail Charger. Takes about 7 minutes to refill. It has been serving me well for almost 2 years.
I am considering getting a large Cf tank since it would allow for longer shooting sessions.
I’ll say the FX chrony was definitely worth it.
I really need to see if I can get my hands on one of these...
I may have to take a harder look at that Omega Trail Charger- I've been looking for a portable filling set up for when I'm on the road- plus it can fill to 4500 psi!! Very nice!
If you do get a large CF tank, save up your money and go ahead and get a tether reg at the same time... Trust me, you WILL want one down the road.
I have been thinking real hard about that FX Chrony... I'll continue to mull it over.
Thanks for all the info!!
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Shoot my mini .25 a lot and no issues at all. I do have the new magazine and it’s tons better!!! And you can shoot slugs with no issues . Jacob told me the new guns will come with new mags. The mag doesn’t fit in my mag holder but will fit in new guns mag holder. I imagine you can purchase new mags and mag rail in the future but I don’t know as of yet if they are available yet.
Nice to see it even holds one more pellet or slug (old magazine capacity = 11 and new magazine capacity = 12)
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Jacob, mine is doing very well. I installed an FX Heavy STX Slug liner. Had to remove the very tight choke. It is shooting up to 92 fpe with .22 slugs of my own design and cast. Only issue I have had is one, can't use the mag. and two, I keep snapping the stem on the valves where the cross hole is. I made one from drill rod and it is holding up just fine.
I did have leaks thru the valve to start with. It had the old 2 piece glued in insert that held the seat. Travis sent a new one and that issue is a thing of the past.
I am really enjoying the cf tube wrapped FX Liner. Man, this thing shoots! ;) 8)
Think I will go out and shoot it a while. ;D
Mike
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Jacob, mine is doing very well. I installed an FX Heavy STX Slug liner. Had to remove the very tight choke. It is shooting up to 92 fpe with .22 slugs of my own design and cast. Only issue I have had is one, can't use the mag. and two, I keep snapping the stem on the valves where the cross hole is. I made one from drill rod and it is holding up just fine.
I did have leaks thru the valve to start with. It had the old 2 piece glued in insert that held the seat. Travis sent a new one and that issue is a thing of the past.
I am really enjoying the cf tube wrapped FX Liner. Man, this thing shoots! ;) 8)
Think I will go out and shoot it a while. ;D
Mike
Mike, enjoy your shooting session!
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Thanks Randal. I did, and again this morning. ;) ;D 8)
Mike
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Well, I got my Raptor back today and Jacob did the following upgrades for it without charging me a penny... a new valve, installed their new transfer port and added their new spring guide as well as the leak and part replacement, oh, and threw in two o’ring kits! I took her out to sight in as Jacob said he had to remove the scope to do the work but tuned it back to where I had it....5 shots later hole in hole! The sound signature and quickness of shot cycle has changed quite a bit. Sounds more like a Taipan Veteran to my ears. Did not throw it over the chrony because the POI was almost spot on from when I sent it in but the consistency of POI is now like my RAW...very very consistent. A huge thank you and shout out to Jacob and Co. at JSAR, their customer service has been nothing but exemplary from such a young small company and their R&D is continuing to enhance and improve an already wonderful base platform.
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Well, I got my Raptor back today and Jacob did the following upgrades for it without charging me a penny... a new valve, installed their new transfer port and added their new spring guide as well as the leak and part replacement, oh, and threw in two o’ring kits! I took her out to sight in as Jacob said he had to remove the scope to do the work but tuned it back to where I had it....5 shots later hole in hole! The sound signature and quickness of shot cycle has changed quite a bit. Sounds more like a Taipan Veteran to my ears. Did not throw it over the chrony because the POI was almost spot on from when I sent it in but the consistency of POI is now like my RAW...very very consistent. A huge thank you and shout out to Jacob and Co. at JSAR, their customer service has been nothing but exemplary from such a young small company and their R&D is continuing to enhance and improve an already wonderful base platform.
Did they mention to you what changes were made to the transfer port and spring guide?
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Just a written note on what was done. I’m guessing different size transfer ports for the different calibers and as for the spring guide I have no idea, maybe a revamped valve too?...but the gun shoots quite a bit differently now, in a good way, a lot more consistent (same sound signature and shot cycle) as my groups were basically hole in hole at 20yds if I did my part right.
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Just a written note on what was done. I’m guessing different size transfer ports for the different calibers and as for the spring guide I have no idea, maybe a revamped valve too?...but the gun shoots quite a bit differently now, in a good way, a lot more consistent (same sound signature and shot cycle) as my groups were basically hole in hole at 20yds if I did my part right.
Did the gun come back with a higher, same or lower reg pressure?
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Just a written note on what was done. I’m guessing different size transfer ports for the different calibers and as for the spring guide I have no idea, maybe a revamped valve too?...but the gun shoots quite a bit differently now, in a good way, a lot more consistent (same sound signature and shot cycle) as my groups were basically hole in hole at 20yds if I did my part right.
Did the gun come back with a higher, same or lower reg pressure?
Jacob told me he kept the same tune (fps) that I had set. The reg setting was the same, approximately 1800, but he might have had to adjust the HS setting with the new internals he installed. The POI when I sighted it in today was very close to what it was before.
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Wow! Wonderful service there! ;) 8) How long was she gone?
I'm having some sear issues. It still has the original trigger type system in it. I wrote Jacob to see if anything could be done.
Mike
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I had to re-work my trigger group/sear assembly shortly after I got mine. Added washers to each side of the pins holding the sear,too much slop. Removed safety. Now I have a loose pin in the trigger group that works it's way out occasionally. Would love to see the new and improved group. 8)
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Wow! Wonderful service there! ;) 8) How long was she gone?
I'm having some sear issues. It still has the original trigger type system in it. I wrote Jacob to see if anything could be done.
Mike
Thanks Mike! Jacob and company has always had great communication with me as well as their service! I’m sure Jacob will send you what you need!
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I had to re-work my trigger group/sear assembly shortly after I got mine. Added washers to each side of the pins holding the sear,too much slop. Removed safety. Now I have a loose pin in the trigger group that works it's way out occasionally. Would love to see the new and improved group. 8)
Steve, mine was one of the first built so I don’t know what trigger assembly mine has but I’ve had no issues with it, I’ve only adjusted the second stage pull weight just a little.
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I had to re-work my trigger group/sear assembly shortly after I got mine. Added washers to each side of the pins holding the sear,too much slop. Removed safety. Now I have a loose pin in the trigger group that works it's way out occasionally. Would love to see the new and improved group. 8)
Steve, mine was one of the first built so I don’t know what trigger assembly mine has but I’ve had no issues with it, I’ve only adjusted the second stage pull weight just a little.
Randall, the original is a three screw system and the newer one is a 5 screw.
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I had to re-work my trigger group/sear assembly shortly after I got mine. Added washers to each side of the pins holding the sear,too much slop. Removed safety. Now I have a loose pin in the trigger group that works it's way out occasionally. Would love to see the new and improved group. 8)
Steve, mine was one of the first built so I don’t know what trigger assembly mine has but I’ve had no issues with it, I’ve only adjusted the second stage pull weight just a little.
Randall, the original is a three screw system and the newer one is a 5 screw.
Mines the 3...Works well.
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I Just completely re-did mine. Honed and polished w1th new springs added. Sorry A** ss springs had collapsed. GRRRRR!!!
Testing this evening along with a new size for the slugs. The new NOE sizers just arrived. Got to go and pick them up and size a few slugs for testing.
Mike
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I Just completely re-did mine. Honed and polished w1th new springs added. Sorry A** ss springs had collapsed. GRRRRR!!!
Testing this evening along with a new size for the slugs. The new NOE sizers just arrived. Got to go and pick them up and size a few slugs for testing.
Mike
Mike, my hats off to you with ALL the slug testing you are doing! Keep me up to date on your finding!
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I gave my 30 cal away that was the best thing I have done with that gun. I couldn't get it to shoot well at all and always had things going wrong, maybe I got a Monday or Friday gun I don't know. Much happier without it to feed my frustrations.
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Steve, I’m sorry about your .30.....I knew coming in it could have first run issues but hoped they would keep up with R&D with warranty would clean things up....
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I Just completely re-did mine. Honed and polished w1th new springs added. Sorry A** ss springs had collapsed. GRRRRR!!!
Testing this evening along with a new size for the slugs. The new NOE sizers just arrived. Got to go and pick them up and size a few slugs for testing.
Mike
Randall, the new sizer made quite the difference. I was having accuracy issues and checked the hand honed sizing bushing. Thing is, I had started with a .215 and for hand honing, that is a LOT to bring it up to .2180. Turns out that in turing a sized slug from it shows .21825 and goes up to .21885, so out of round. It made quite the difference using a perfectly round id bushing. I polished it and now it sized the .224 slug down in one smooth operation. No need to use several dies.
Accuracy was substantially improved and gained a bit of fps as well.
A huge bonus, it too gave very good accuracy with the 39.1 gr noe slug, and now the 31.6 gr is very accurate.
The lighter slug really didn't like being evenslighly out of round at all. Groups shrank down from an average of 1 3/4" at 60 yards to now 1/2 and under. Woo-Hoo!!! ;D 8)
Randal, on a side note, how did you get JSAR to respond to you. I have written them and called and nothing but crickets. GRRRRRR!!!s :(
Mike
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Received an email from Jacob on Wednesday that my Raptor was ready to ship. WooHooo!!!! I'm about half way through the longest week of my life. FedEx says it will deliver next Wednesday. I've pretty much cleared my schedule on Wednesday and Thursday and plan on having some Raptor fun.
Wayne
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Mike, glad your new dies are spot on for sizing! That’s why pellets have those soft skirts so they fit a variety of barrels....finding a slug to fit really well is a monumental task! I think that’s why slugs that fit snug or tight work and slugs that are loose, well, shoot loosely! I usually just call and or leave a message.
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Received an email from Jacob on Wednesday that my Raptor was ready to ship. WooHooo!!!! I'm about half way through the longest week of my life. FedEx says it will deliver next Wednesday. I've pretty much cleared my schedule on Wednesday and Thursday and plan on having some Raptor fun.
Wayne
Wayne, congratulations! They almost always ship on Mondays.
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My Raptor survives. I have had issues though.
1) LEAKS frustrating but got them solved.
2) Magazines Jam a LOT have not solved this.
3) Poppet shaft starting to mushroom where hammer is striking it. seems material is soft. (I filed the mushroom off and its still working as of yesterday)
4) Shroud bushing seems too soft. It flexes a Lot even under compression. I cant get the shroud super stiff.
I should note that my Raptor is a early type with early style trigger.
It is set up to shoot the 44.75 gr at 900. It can produce a ragged hole at 50 yards. I haven't shot it farther recently.
I am glad to see the company is surviving. I like the made in USA factor. ;D
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My Raptor survives. I have had issues though.
1) LEAKS frustrating but got them solved.
2) Magazines Jam a LOT have not solved this.
3) Poppet shaft starting to mushroom where hammer is striking it. seems material is soft. (I filed the mushroom off and its still working as of yesterday)
4) Shroud bushing seems too soft. It flexes a Lot even under compression. I cant get the shroud super stiff.
I should note that my Raptor is a early type with early style trigger.
It is set up to shoot the 44.75 gr at 900. It can produce a ragged hole at 50 yards. I haven't shot it farther recently.
I am glad to see the company is surviving. I like the made in USA factor. ;D
Scott, so glad your early model is doing well with your massaging! Have you sent it in for any upgrades? I have twice...well worth the price of admission (shipping)! Jacob wants his builds to be what he envisioned them to be 😉. I’m sure they could figure out the mag issue also.
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Sure wish they would respond to me. GRRRRR!!! My sear (trigger) is worn out.
Getting dangerous!
Mike
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Here is a little up date with a recently cleaned barrel at 50 yards.
NSA 33.5 - 920-930fps
JSB 33.95 - 925-935fps
FX 26gr - 1020-1026fps
Each group is 5 shots.
Ignore anything not circled. Those are random taipan shots.
Testing out the Arken SH4 that i bought from dairy boy. It looks awesome on the Raptor.
Happy shooting!
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Jacob, great groups throwing HEAT!
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Have not shot my Raptor mini .25 as much as I would have liked, but with the covid and the hot summer I have been busy. I replaced the valve parts that Jacob sent me and it has not leaked since. I also have mag jam issues. One mag works better than the other. I will definitely buy a couple of the new mags once JSAR gets all caught up and sells just them. The other issue I have that no else has mentioned is my small alan screw that holds the pellet probe in keeps loosening up and leaving it(the probe) out in the mag when I cock the gun after so many shots. I need to take it all the way out and add some blue locktite but have not do to being worried I might loose it or something. Other than that it is still shooting great. I try to check in as much as I can to see how everyone's are doing and hoping that Hajimoto will post his Raptor video, I love watching his brake downs and such.
Bill C! .
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Just made another valve seat. Number 8. they keep cracking. I cannot get JSAR to respond to emails or phone calls.
I have not included the issue at all in the messages. I simply wanted to know about the new mag's and if the new trigger group is available. Cricketts! GRRRR!!!
You would think as much as I promoted and tested their product in the beginning, they would at least respond.
It is all I can do to NOT wrap it around a tree at this point! I am beyond fed up. >:(
Will be seeing if one mour new seat wil hold air and last a week if lucky.
Knife
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+1 on the new mags. I would love to get a few of them.
Sorry your having those issues Knife!
I’ve been lucky and have somewhere between 2500-3000 shots on the raptor and have experienced no leaks.
At this point my biggest issue with the gun is the regulator. It takes its sweet time filling that plenum back up. So I take 1 or 2 consecutive shots and have to wait approximately 10-20 seconds for that plenum to come back ALL the way to set pressure. I love that it is externally adjustable, but the slow refresh is starting to get to me. Maybe ninja manufactured these with paint ball in mind instead.
Anyways, I’ve ordered a ninja clone regulator from eBay and also some quality Belleville springs and shims from MCMaster. Going to follow my old recipe for stacking them and see how the gun performs with a different regulator.
When I had my brod I have very very good luck with the ninja clone reg. I was producing 100+ shot strings with low low ES. Maybe that is partly due to the war cobra valve, but I know that old reg had something to do with it too.
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Jacob will you please post a link for that regulator. I think I would like to try a different one on my 22 bottle gun. And oh yeah that old cobra valve I got from you is very consistent. I have an ES of 12 on my 30 caliber it's in.
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Im not one to gripe or complain about things, usually I just try to resolve issues my self..
But since u guys asked , id have to say I'm very disappointed in my mini..
I bit the bullet so to speak and ordered the most expensive one gun I have ever purchased in my 8 years or so in airguning. OD green carbine in .25 with the "slug" barrel.
I Thought that this would be the one " American made " " shoot good outa the box "
Rifle that would be my favorite and likely most accurate one I own and be well worth the money.
But my rifle has been nothing short of disappointing..
I understand that I could attempt to contact jsar and send it too them , wait months and most likely get it straightened out but what a hassle!
I wouldnt have payed over a thousand dollars for a rifle knowing i was gonna have to mail it back to the other side of the country to get it to perform right, id expect that it functioned properly when it arrived the 1st time ..
Mine has held air fine since I received it, the issues I've had are to do with the terrible magazine, the inconsistent velocities and shotgun like accuracy..
This is with jsbs, h&n and probably 10 others including an assortment of slugs from neilson..
I've cleaned the barrel, and put about 200 rounds down the pipe.. but still accuracy isn't there..
Then the real issue to me is that i simply don't have the time to try and chase down the cause of issue..
So the rifle just sits in the safe...
Imho the issue seems to be inconsistent velocities that are the cause.. so ill either fix it or sell it once I get over the disappointment.. lol
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Bear,
Here is the regulator I bought.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392497479046 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/392497479046)
Definitely worth swapping out the Belleville disc springs. If you want to know which ones I bought I’ll post those too.
Rvaughn,
Have you had a chance to shoot over the chrony? What kind of shot to shot variation were you seeing?
LDC causing clipping?
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Mine is sold, pending funds.
But, I had it about a year and have a few thoughts here.
Mike, you're pushing things pretty hard with your high power slug testing. I can't remember how much fpe you are talking but can't imagine it's more than the 150-160 these Raptors were advertised as. I'm just thinking out loud here, but wondering if your cracked valve stem seals are a matter of getting smacked pretty hard at your high power levels. Of course, there's also the high volume that you shoot. So maybe both? high volume and high energy......
@RVaughn, from quite a few extensive tuning sessions with mine, the extreme spread's you're mentioning could most likely be remedied with a bunch of time in front of a chronograph, and enough patience to adjust the regulator, striker length, and hammer tension to all be in unison at a happy place.
The only time I was having trouble getting tight ES was when I was running the gun at sub 20fpe levels, and even that was only a 30fps spread over a couple hundred shots, plenty accurate for most sub 20fpe level uses.
As the power increases with the Raptors, tighter ES's are possible. The balanced valves seem to like higher fpes. At least that's how mine behaved.
I kinda regret selling mine. So much tuning and tinkering and optimizing possible with the platform. I still maintain my stance that there isn't another gun with so much user adjustability anywhere near the price point. Playing with multiple barrels and tunes and power levels actually wore me out with this one. I don't have the personality to just set it and forget it so I found myself going back and forth with the barrels and power level changes. With a new work schedule and reviewing guns for AOA and having a couple young kids, I finally came around to the idea that the sweet Raptor was just getting too much of my time, so, off to the classfieds with it. Thinking that later in life when I have time for testing I'll really regret selling the Raptor.
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Thanks Jacob. Yes please post the link to the washers too.
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Im not one to gripe or complain about things, usually I just try to resolve issues my self..
But since u guys asked , id have to say I'm very disappointed in my mini..
I bit the bullet so to speak and ordered the most expensive one gun I have ever purchased in my 8 years or so in airguning. OD green carbine in .25 with the "slug" barrel.
I Thought that this would be the one " American made " " shoot good outa the box "
Rifle that would be my favorite and likely most accurate one I own and be well worth the money.
But my rifle has been nothing short of disappointing..
I understand that I could attempt to contact jsar and send it too them , wait months and most likely get it straightened out but what a hassle!
I wouldnt have payed over a thousand dollars for a rifle knowing i was gonna have to mail it back to the other side of the country to get it to perform right, id expect that it functioned properly when it arrived the 1st time ..
Mine has held air fine since I received it, the issues I've had are to do with the terrible magazine, the inconsistent velocities and shotgun like accuracy..
This is with jsbs, h&n and probably 10 others including an assortment of slugs from neilson..
I've cleaned the barrel, and put about 200 rounds down the pipe.. but still accuracy isn't there..
Then the real issue to me is that i simply don't have the time to try and chase down the cause of issue..
So the rifle just sits in the safe...
Imho the issue seems to be inconsistent velocities that are the cause.. so ill either fix it or sell it once I get over the disappointment.. lol
Rhett, since it’s just sitting, if I were you I’d send it to Jacob with a detailed note inside of the issues along with a tune you’d like with your name and address for the return. Should take about 3 weeks. Jacob does care and will address the issues.
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Sadly it has the appearance there is NO ONE in house that is a devout air gun enthusiast yet alone an Air Gun TUNER to really get a handle on whats happening or decipher these production gun issues as they manifest them self ??? It appears all that happens to address assembly and fix issues is ... "I saw X person doing this" so let try and do the same ... throw it against the wall and see what sticks ?
Travis left, my limited involvement or any others in getting the QC, design, fit and finish ironed out to be production worthy was never addressed legitimately & from what it seems no outside professional in the industry has been asked or used for serous consulting etc.
My intent here is NOT to create friction or animosity .... This RAPTOR platform has so much going for it !! The potential to be so much more is obvious as heck, yet due to reasons that remain non transparent the brand continues to establish a track record it's business model or practices have traveled.
Respectfully,
Scott S
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+1 on the new mags. I would love to get a few of them.
Sorry your having those issues Knife!
I’ve been lucky and have somewhere between 2500-3000 shots on the raptor and have experienced no leaks.
At this point my biggest issue with the gun is the regulator. It takes its sweet time filling that plenum back up. So I take 1 or 2 consecutive shots and have to wait approximately 10-20 seconds for that plenum to come back ALL the way to set pressure. I love that it is externally adjustable, but the slow refresh is starting to get to me. Maybe ninja manufactured these with paint ball in mind instead.
Anyways, I’ve ordered a ninja clone regulator from eBay and also some quality Belleville springs and shims from MCMaster. Going to follow my old recipe for stacking them and see how the gun performs with a different regulator.
When I had my brod I have very very good luck with the ninja clone reg. I was producing 100+ shot strings with low low ES. Maybe that is partly due to the war cobra valve, but I know that old reg had something to do with it too.
Thanks Jacob!
Interesting, and kinda shameful that a clone is performing better than the much more supposedly refined and expensive USA product. I am thinking of switching to a Cothran valve. We'll see.
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Mine is sold, pending funds.
But, I had it about a year and have a few thoughts here.
Mike, you're pushing things pretty hard with your high power slug testing. I can't remember how much fpe you are talking but can't imagine it's more than the 150-160 these Raptors were advertised as. I'm just thinking out loud here, but wondering if your cracked valve stem seals are a matter of getting smacked pretty hard at your high power levels. Of course, there's also the high volume that you shoot. So maybe both? high volume and high energy......
@RVaughn, from quite a few extensive tuning sessions with mine, the extreme spread's you're mentioning could most likely be remedied with a bunch of time in front of a chronograph, and enough patience to adjust the regulator, striker length, and hammer tension to all be in unison at a happy place.
The only time I was having trouble getting tight ES was when I was running the gun at sub 20fpe levels, and even that was only a 30fps spread over a couple hundred shots, plenty accurate for most sub 20fpe level uses.
As the power increases with the Raptors, tighter ES's are possible. The balanced valves seem to like higher fpes. At least that's how mine behaved.
I kinda regret selling mine. So much tuning and tinkering and optimizing possible with the platform. I still maintain my stance that there isn't another gun with so much user adjustability anywhere near the price point. Playing with multiple barrels and tunes and power levels actually wore me out with this one. I don't have the personality to just set it and forget it so I found myself going back and forth with the barrels and power level changes. With a new work schedule and reviewing guns for AOA and having a couple young kids, I finally came around to the idea that the sweet Raptor was just getting too much of my time, so, off to the classfieds with it. Thinking that later in life when I have time for testing I'll really regret selling the Raptor.
103 fpe in .250 and 72 fpe is where I have it set in .22 for slugs. So really not that stout.
Knife
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Sadly it has the appearance there is NO ONE in house that is a devout air gun enthusiast yet alone an Air Gun TUNER to really get a handle on whats happening or decipher these production gun issues as they manifest them self ??? It appears all that happens to address assembly and fix issues is ... "I saw X person doing this" so let try and do the same ... throw it against the wall and see what sticks ?
Travis left, my limited involvement or any others in getting the QC, design, fit and finish ironed out to be production worthy was never addressed legitimately & from what it seems no outside professional in the industry has been asked or used for serous consulting etc.
My intent here is NOT to create friction or animosity .... This RAPTOR platform has so much going for it !! The potential to be so much more is obvious as heck, yet due to reasons that remain non transparent the brand continues to establish a track record it's business model or practices have traveled.
Respectfully,
Scott S
Scott, they really needed someone like yourself on staff. Sad outcome to be sure. I fear that if no real effort from JSAR if forthcoming, it will soon fade into obscurity.
Mike
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All I wanted from JSAR was some upgrade parts... but after playing merry-go-round between their website and their seller's (which IMO is weird in itself), Air Gun Pro Shop, many times and finding nothing correlated or made sense I gave up on them. Looks like every other going out of business sale to me.
Nothing about that organization makes sense to me. JSAR says, "Here it is, buy it here." But AGPS's website doesn't have it, apparently never heard of it, and no amount of searching changes things. I even reached out to Travis here on GTA because of the many threads linking the two, but that went nowhere either.
There's more to the JSAR story than is visible, but there is little doubt in my mind that its ending is imminent and is not going to leave anyone with a warm fuzzy feeling.
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Bear,
Here is what I ordered from McMaster. Tried posting a link but when you click the link it was a little confusing. Here is a picture of what I bought.
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I thought about buying one a long time ago and glad that I steered clear.
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I agree with Scott.
The Raptor has a ton of potential. I hope jsar thrives and becomes a more respected airgun manufacturer.
It is my hope I can keep the raptor alive and shooting , even is jsar does go under. The gun itself is very easy to work on.
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I agree with Scott.
The Raptor has a ton of potential. I hope jsar thrives and becomes a more respected airgun manufacturer.
It is my hope I can keep the raptor alive and shooting , even is jsar does go under. The gun itself is very easy to work on.
I too hope JSAR the very best! Mine had some issues but Jacob has taken care of all the issues up to date. It is a very fun platform, a tinkerers dream once its tuning curve is understood. I feel sorry for the many new businesses that opened close to the Covid pandemic and it’s impact on all businesses. I know that Scott, an incredible tuner, has manufactured new internals for his Mini that has it shooting at high competition levels of accuracy and consistency so they are on the right track if they make it.
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Thanks Jacob. I hope JSAR pulls through this rough time as well. It can't be easy this day and age to run an airgun business.
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Was extremely hopeful when I learned of this rifle, had it added to my "must have" list. Have had to take it off that list, not just because of user problems, but the lack of response IMHO is totally unacceptable. How hard is it to read emails and respond and to take phone calls? Those are bare minimums when it comes to customer support, and without it, it become too big of a gamble to throw that kind of money at a product.
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So I got my chinese ninja clone regulator in as well as my ..22 and .32 belleville washers from McMaster.
Wasted no time getting everything assembled and was pleasantly surprised.
I filled all the way to 3800-3900psi and came off the reg around 1900-1800psi.
From the beginning till the end of the fill, my shots were more consistent across the whole pressure range.
I hit max of 875fps with 34gr jsb at 3800psi in the bottle. When I was at 2300-2400psi , I was still hitting the high 860's - low 870's.
With the adjustable regulator, when on a full fill, my first 20 -30 shots were about 20-30fps faster. Then my last 20-30 shots settled at that slower fps.
Also seems as if the plenum gets filled back up a bit faster. I was shooting pretty fast with the magazine with minimal FPS loss.
So far good results!
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Jacob,
Have you tried your magic on the Ninja Flex regulator? Might just be the same fix for the Ninja, if so I bet you would have a lot of business! Some regulator guru needs to figure out how to improve the Flex for a more even output and faster recycling rate.
Dennis
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Jacob,
Have you tried your magic on the Ninja Flex regulator? Might just be the same fix for the Ninja, if so I bet you would have a lot of business! Some regulator guru needs to figure out how to improve the Flex for a more even output and faster recycling rate.
Dennis
Already have .... By replacing the SOFT plastic ball seat with a PEEK one. Fast and zero creep !!!!
Tho not a service I offer being the Time/Cost to do it and then recalibrate the shim stacking & set point would be prohibitive.
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The plastic ball seat on my ninja reg has a dimple on it where it seats. It is most definitely a soft plastic ball . Maybe works good for paintball applications but not airgun.
The Clone reg seat is also plastic, but what kind? No clue. The seat is totally flat vs the ball seat of the ninja reg.
Losing the adjustability stinks, but I’d take stability over adjustability any day.
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The plastic ball seat on my ninja reg has a dimple on it where it seats. It is most definitely a soft plastic ball . Maybe works good for paintball applications but not airgun.
The Clone reg seat is also plastic, but what kind? No clue. The seat is totally flat vs the ball seat of the ninja reg.
Losing the adjustability stinks, but I’d take stability over adjustability any day.
That little ball is fine at 1500psi and below.....seems Ninja would have done something a little better for this regulator as it is designed to work at much higher pressures. In lower pressure--say 1500psi and below---applications when that ball gets dented, knock it out, rotate 180 degrees, and press it back in...
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I finally got a seat to hold "So far", but I made it a bit thicker and smaller id so power is way down. It is bouncing shot to shot between 830's and 860's. Before it would push the 31 grain pill at a grand or more. GRRRRRR!!!
Mike
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Even though my air pressure is more consistent now, I still can’t do better than 30fps spread. I guess it’s not that big of the deal and most of my shooting is 75 yards and under.
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Even though my air pressure is more consistent now, I still can’t do better than 30fps spread. I guess it’s not that big of the deal and most of my shooting is 75 yards and under.
Loose the buffer hammer to one a whole lot lighter ... make up and install an SSG devise. Tune with hammer stroke for lowest dwell & pressure for power shifts.
HST will stay fixed once you get that adjustment in the right range.
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They should have worked with huma to put a proper reg in there.
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Currently I have a 25gram hammer with a standard mrod striker. I do have a peek striker on the way. I am not using an ssg yet. Right now I have a stronger spring and have free flight. The ssg should give me a more consistent hammer strike. That’s the next project!
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My ninja clone reg Calculations seem to be fairly accurate.
I stacked my Belleville washers and added x 2 .020 shims and ended up with around 1700 psi reg pressure. Following my old notes I added 1 more .020 and 1 .010 shim and ended up with a reg set point around 2200-2300. At least this seems to be where my gun came off the regulator.
First ninja reg setting had the raptor sending 34gr jsb at 820fps.
My 2nd reg setting, with no other changes has the 34gr jsb going 930fps.
First 3 shots off a full fill were 935, 930, 932. Going to try and get some shooting in this weekend.
Also, I cleaned my barrel last night and was surprised to see a ton of lead build up in my barrel. The first few patches came out with very shiny lead on them. Same exact color as the fx hybrid slugs. Don’t think I’ll be shooting those out of my gun anymore. Anyways the barrel is now clean and will be concentrating on pellets only for right now.
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WOW !!!
just opened up this thread since there was nothing interesting around and was looking for a read while having my morning coffees :)
I had no idea where things where, how come this stuff keeps happening ?
I though Travis and Scott where partners too ( didn't keep up with the developments).
.........I'm having flashbacks of the "Millennium pumper"
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WOW !!!
just opened up this thread since there was nothing interesting around and was looking for a read while having my morning coffees :)
I had no idea where things where, how come this stuff keeps happening ?
I though Travis and Scott where partners too ( didn't keep up with the developments).
.........I'm having flashbacks of the "Millennium pumper"
Things were running far too loose at JSAR to be professionally involved and when COVID hit in @ mid march any and all affiliation with JSAR or TRAVIS was over pretty much.
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Well I FINALLY got some time to try my 257 HP for the first time this past weekend. I ordered it last October...received it in the spring...and then it sat around for months because I've been so swamped with work. Besides finally trying out my Raptor, I got to try my first batch of home cast slugs.
I've been out of the loop for months due to work...I just got back on here today to see some complaints of defects so that's a bummer. Mine had a leak from the bottle pressure gage but that was an easy fix.
I have to say, initially I am IMPRESSED. After a few groups to tinker around and sight in the scope, I got a 1.25" 5-shot group at 100yds...and that was with my home cast slugs that have some mild imperfections. Got lucky maybe? That's definitly the best group I've personally ever shot at 100 yds.
I mostly single loaded my cast bullets. I did try out the magazines a bit and luckily didn't run into any malfunctions like I have seen reported by others.
It seems to be shooting a good snug group...I don't think I'll even mess with the settings...if it ain't broke (yet) don't fix it, right?
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Group at 100yds
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Here are some of my cast bullets I tried with decent results. I actually had the best luck with flat base. NSA slugs did well for me also. These were sized to .257 and lubed with "slick50 one lube".
Unfortunately, my chrony battery crapped out, so that will have to wait until next time.
The reg seemed to be set to 3400psi from the shop...seems to be working perfect so I'll leave it alone.
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These ones performed best...even compared to the NSA, which really surprised me. Maybe just luck?
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Here are some of my cast bullets I tried with decent results. I actually had the best luck with flat base. NSA slugs did well for me also. These were sized to .257 and lubed with "slick50 one lube".
Unfortunately, my chrony battery crapped out, so that will have to wait until next time.
The reg seemed to be set to 3400psi from the shop...seems to be working perfect so I'll leave it alone.
Not surprising. The 257420 s famous for its accuracy. ;) The first pic looks like the arsenal version. the second the NOE with one driving removed when making the molod. I have both here, and a few decked molds from the same companies.
Knife
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Yep I actually got both from arsenal molds. I took your advice and ordered some ingots with 2%? Tin...and got some borax...so I'll hopefully cast some better bullets to try soon. Just wish I had more time!!
I got my chrony up and running. Turned up the adjustable reg to max just for fun... seemed to be about 3800psi I think. Got about 920fps on the 70gr boat tails.... 990fps on the 60gr flat base. Right about 130 foot pounds. I haven't tinkered with the hammer spring / buffer settings.... I'll need to read up on that more before doing that.
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Don’t know if you all heard but JSAR was evacuated today as the fire raged around them. I’ll keep everyone posted as I hear how things are going. Fires are raging all around us and especially JSAR who’s in the heart of a major fire right now
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Strange? The map doesn't show them in a particularly high risk area for fire. ???
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Strange? The map doesn't show them in a particularly high risk area for fire. ???
JSAR is across the road from Costco on the same road.
https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Fire-crews-responding-to-new-fire-between-Medford-and-Central-Point-572364481.html (https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Fire-crews-responding-to-new-fire-between-Medford-and-Central-Point-572364481.html)
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Just spoke with Nick at JSAR this morning checking in on them and there situation. Very close to the shop is an understatement hearing FLAMES could be seen from the shops parking lot !!
There OK and shops still standing with Nick being at work today ... what a Guy !!
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Just spoke with Nick at JSAR this morning checking in on them and there situation. Very close to the shop is an understatement hearing FLAMES could be seen from the shops parking lot !!
There OK and shops still standing with Nick being at work today ... what a Guy !!
That’s great news!!! Thx Scott
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I received an email from Jacob. Relieved and stoked!!! Very much looking to getting the trigger issue ironed out. It gets more accurate ever day. Just can't trust the trigger.
Great news that the fire passed them by. :<)
KnifeMaker
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Wow that's scary. Those fires are no joke.