GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => PCP/CO2/HPA Air Gun Gates "The Darkside" => Big Bore AirGun Gate => Topic started by: bduares on March 31, 2021, 04:51:47 PM
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I received my adjustable core mold today so I decided to play with it a bit to see what lengths of slugs fit (and don't fit) in the Challenger magazines
So far I have used cast slugs (104 gr from a LEE 102 gr round nose mold) and swaged some of those to semi-wadcutter in the same weight range. Now I have swaged some slugs using various adjustments on the core mold and this is what I have found:
Cast 104 gr. slugs fit the magazine nicely with some length room to spare. A nice rattle when the magazine is shaken. Same with the swaged from cast. These are in the 11 mm length range.
Swaged slugs to 115 gr. also fit, but at 11.65 mm in length they are close to the maximum that will fit the magazine comfortably.
Swaged slugs longer than that (say longer than 11.75 or 12 mm) will not fit in the magazine unless you load only one slug and shoot one at a time using it as a single loader. As an example a swaged 143.8 gr. slug with a length of 14.3 mm is too long fit into the magazine without peeking through the exit hole in the back at roughly the same level as the back of the magazine itself. The transparent rotating cover will not allow you to insert other slugs into the magazine. Sliding this single slug in the magazine into the rifle will press the back of the slug back up into the the hole on the transparent cover in a flush fit. It will fit into the rifle and let you chamber the slug. But you can only fire one slug then you have to remove the magazine and insert another single slug if you want to use this length.
I made up some fast and dirty slugs of these lengths and weights to pop into a photo here. They are ugly but you can see the differences in lengths for comparison. So far for general use I have found the LEE 356-102-1R 380 ACP 9mm 38 Super 357 Magnum #90305 mold to be close to perfect for my needs. The slugs cast from it perform well, push through the sizer easily, and are easy to swage press into semiwadcutters.
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I tried NSA's 105 and 110 they were a no go ,poly mags won't fit the mag either, I'm gonna stick with the GT 88 gr hp .and jsb 81.3 pellets.
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I tried NSA's 105 and 110 they were a no go ,poly mags won't fit the mag either, I'm gonna stick with the GT 88 gr hp .and jsb 81.3 pellets.
Once my voltage adjuster comes for my hot plate I can make you up some slugs in the 104-115 grain range that will fit if you want to play with them. I am loving the 104 grain range cast slugs myself. I may just keep my spare LEE mold I bought by accident instead of selling it. So far I have cast 375 slugs and have gotten into a routine where I cast a hundred or so before I have to start getting ready for work each day. Waiting on that voltage adjuster since after the first 50-60 slugs cast the hot plate now gets too hot and the slugs start sticking in the mold.
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Great info, thanks for sharing.
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I saw that the guns have a shroud...hows the noise level?
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They're not backyard friendly, but not terribly loud , donny fl should have adapters soon, someone posted that the terminator adapter fits but mine won't thread on.
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Is there a SST?
Wondering about the twist rate; does it shoot heavier bullets well?
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I'll clean the barrel later today and get the twist rate.
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1 - 32 twist rate
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So maybe the magazine restriction doesn't matter as its probably a pellet shooter anyway.
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So maybe the magazine restriction doesn't matter as its probably a pellet shooter anyway.
NO... it shoots slugs very well also .... you can single load bigger stuff ... Bin say's the 124g 900 fps dead on accurate , I don't know if that was with the the 24 or 36inch barrel , my NOE pellet test show very good results so far , my first 2 shots 3400 psi were hole threw hole at 50 yards, and very accurate dropping down in pressure going threw 8 shot string - 1 mag worth .
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Ok. So maybe a deer gun then. 220 fpe will do it. Its got to be one of the cheapest 357 which is the minimum for Virginia for deer.
What was the wait for delivery?
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Ok. So maybe a deer gun then. 220 fpe will do it. Its got to be one of the cheapest 357 which is the minimum for Virginia for deer.
What was the wait for delivery?
I just tested a 94 g NOE heavy short pin pellet , 960 1st shot .... 193 fpe , about 1 week for delivery time ...
124g at 900fps 223 fpe so yes it is legal over the 220 fpe mark ...
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103.8 grain round nose
1) 988
2) 981
3) 979
225 fpe
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Is there a SST?
Wondering about the twist rate; does it shoot heavier bullets well?
mine didn't come with a SST ,someone with a 3D printer could make one easily.
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I use my mag as a SST. Hassle but it works. Less of a hassle with 2 mags, but still not quite as easy as a tray.
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I'll let you guys be the testers for these guns a while before I buy one. These have to be about the most inexpensive big bores that I've seen out there though.
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I'll let you guys be the testers for these guns a while before I buy one. These have to be about the most inexpensive big bores that I've seen out there though.
Wayne that is actually a good idea since we have had a lot of problems with the gun's made in China , although AEA has now been out selling guns for a while ,and lot's of people seem to like them for the money now ....
the mags are very nice machined out of billet -housing ,and internal wheel that shifts the pellets ,magnetic attachment for mag in to receiver ball bearing locator, the mag aliens as perfect as you could get it shooting NOE pellets you cant even feel them push in to the barrel -it feels like the mag is empty it works that good ... so far I like the one I got ...
draw backs are heavy trigger ,and pretty heavy hammer spring bolt pull back , Ronald has been running a lighter spring on both hammer and poppet with decent results ,
I am going to try the hammer spring he put the numbers on ,and see how light I can go on the poppet to try to get the same factory set power but have a lighter hammer spring to pull back /less effort ,is my thought .... I have figured out to use the thumb behind the action as leverage ,and that made it a lot easier to pull back the bolt with the stock set up ...
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There is now an eBay seller with AEA Challenger .357 single shot trays and barrel bands. $15 for the tray and $25 for the barrel band.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/idomybest662012/m.html?item=143996847313&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 (https://www.ebay.com/sch/idomybest662012/m.html?item=143996847313&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562)
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Seems like I read somewhere that these guns have 7075 aluminum receivers on them ???
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I see "7075 Aluminium Annoy Air Tube" in some of the advertising descriptions on the dealer websites but don't see anything about the receivers.
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Jared that's probably where I seen it was for the air tubes.
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The receiver on mine seems to be some sort of steel. Magnet sticks to it
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Seems like I read somewhere that these guns have 7075 aluminum receivers on them ???
I know the air tubes are 7075 ...
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My NOE pellet mold is out for delivery right now, I think that I'll wait til it gets here before I head for the state land today. My gun (Standard Challenger 35 cal) is supposed to be here on Monday from southern Florida from what I understand. I ordered it from https://www.aeaairgunus.com/ (https://www.aeaairgunus.com/)
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Cool. That should keep you busy casting for a while. That's the same place I got mine from as well. If you ever want to get into slugs for it that LEE mold I use works great too and only runs about $50-60 on eBay. Perfect fit for the magazine and 200+ fpe. I just wish they had made it in a 4 or 6 cavity
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Jared after reading your reply I check the situation on the mold, it said delivered so I went and checked the mail box. . . it's here !!! I'll be heading for the woods to hunt for red squirrels when I get back I'll clean the mold, bake it in the oven at 300 degrees for an hour and go for it. My lee pot is full and I've got about another 1/2lb chunk to add while I'm casting so I should be all ready for the gun Monday. I already warned my brother I'll be showing up there Monday to sight it in cause living here it's just too loud to be shooting it in this neighborhood. 8)
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My Nomad II compressor is out for delivery on the FedEx truck today and I am off tomorrow so I will get to play with it a bit. I cast up a bit over 350 slugs and swaged over 200 of those so far so I will be ready to do some testing at full power. Luckily I own the property on both sides of a rural road for about 1/4 mile so I don't have to worry about the noise
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My NOE pellet mold is out for delivery right now, I think that I'll wait til it gets here before I head for the state land today. My gun (Standard Challenger 35 cal) is supposed to be here on Monday from southern Florida from what I understand. I ordered it from https://www.aeaairgunus.com/ (https://www.aeaairgunus.com/)
great to see you getting a big bore,, hope its worthy and you go for some Deer
mostly have fun shooting at your brothers and keep on enjoying the woods!
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Neil C can make a reflex moderator that will do a great job in taking the bark out of yall's Challengers. The moderator in my profile pic is one of his, it does a great job at well over 350fpe.
I have a couple of these from Neil as well as DonnyFL Ronin's, Emperors, and extensions. For its size and weight, Neil's units out perform the units from DonnyFl. Now add the 6" extension to an Emperor and it is indeed effective. However it is LONG AND HEAVY......
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Well I'm back and didn't see a single red squirrel or even a chipmunk, the hawks are still circling all the red squirrel hot spots that I hunt and the leave's are just starting to bud out, once the leaves are full the reds will be showing themselves again. I cleaned the mold halves and have them baking right now, I'll let them go for about 1 1/2 hours in the oven then let them cool for my first casting session.
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Neil C can make a reflex moderator that will do a great job in taking the bark out of yall's Challengers. The moderator in my profile pic is one of his, it does a great job at well over 350fpe.
I have a couple of these from Neil as well as DonnyFL Ronin's, Emperors, and extensions. For its size and weight, Neil's units out perform the units from DonnyFl. Now add the 6" extension to an Emperor and it is indeed effective. However it is LONG AND HEAVY......
I just tell um my high powered nail gun is loud ! LOL ! = Challenger /badger/ranger .... ;D ;D ;D ;)
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My NOE pellet mold is out for delivery right now, I think that I'll wait til it gets here before I head for the state land today. My gun (Standard Challenger 35 cal) is supposed to be here on Monday from southern Florida from what I understand. I ordered it from https://www.aeaairgunus.com/ (https://www.aeaairgunus.com/)
Cool it's a hard hitting gun ! BOOM ! LOL ! smart you ordered that NOE mold that gun likes those from the results I have so far ... you don't get all those shots like a .22 or .25 instead you get some .357 smack down power ! ;D
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My replacement sear arrived today from Bin so now I have a spare
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My replacement sear arrived today from Bin so now I have a spare
Good deal , now you don't have to worry about that part ...
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There's a guy on YouTube with a .357 Challenger using the same mold and slugs I cast for mine. He does some shooting and chrony tests with his
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l4suzQpCLw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l4suzQpCLw)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z24yyeVeD4c (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z24yyeVeD4c)
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FYI The Champion Heavy Duty Metal Trap (PY-A-1026) that is $76 at Airgun Depot will handily stop and catch slugs from the .357 Challenger at 30 yards without denting the trap.
Mind you, heavy as the trap is, I set mine on a milk crate and at 30 yards the slugs were so powerful they moved the trap, turned it a bit to the side once, and knocked it off the milk crate altogether after a few shots. No damage to the trap other than the normal marks where the slugs hit, but you will need to have it up against something firm or bolt it down if you ever want to use one of these to catch your Challenger lead.
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Jared I sure the heck can't be doing any indoor chrony work with mine, I'll have to do that out at my brothers house because where I hunting the DNR would frown on that and I sure the heck don't want to loose it. I figure I'll just take it out to the state land and sight it in way out there and once I've got it where I want it I figure that's good enough for hunting with the pellets for now. Probably about the only thing I'll be after with it before deer season will be ground hogs out there. Maybe it's time I bought one of those nice FX Chronographs like the guy in those videos is using then it wouldn't be a big deal out on the state land, I could use my android phone with it probably.
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I replaced my dead crony with one of those $30 Chinese ones off of eBay that clamps on the end of your barrel and is impossible to shoot dead. Only thing I found annoying about it is that it reads and meters per second instead of feet other than that it's great
I started using the trap so I can save on lead I've already cast about 15 lb or so. That Challenger can go through a bunch of lead quickly
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I suspect that fixing the trap down you may start to see some dents forming. I have a hunch that it can move around absorbs the energy in a different manner. I think I may add this to my list of guns should the funds arise I will buy, I really want a big bore.
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Here's the cheap chrony I got off eBay after I shot mine dead. It clamps onto the end of your barrel so you automatically shoot through it the right way instead of "through" it the expensive way.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264739010404 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/264739010404)
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FYI The Champion Heavy Duty Metal Trap (PY-A-1026) that is $76 at Airgun Depot will handily stop and catch slugs from the .357 Challenger at 30 yards without denting the trap.
Mind you, heavy as the trap is, I set mine on a milk crate and at 30 yards the slugs were so powerful they moved the trap, turned it a bit to the side once, and knocked it off the milk crate altogether after a few shots. No damage to the trap other than the normal marks where the slugs hit, but you will need to have it up against something firm or bolt it down if you ever want to use one of these to catch your Challenger lead.
A cheap basement backstop if you have a few yards to shoot and other willing residents is rubber mulch. I think a few bags will catch most power level bullets. Just shot some 306 gr solids at 320 fpe in a different gun and it goes through my well used archery target ad stops in the first rubber mulch bag. Shot 4 and found 3 right away.
(https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/MGalleryItem.php?id=7876)
$30 for a chrono is a great deal! A person needs one for development.
(https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/MGalleryItem.php?id=7877)
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I'm going to definitely set something up in my attic because I've been shooting up there already, the only investment now will be the backing which by the looks of it will be rubber mulch. ???