GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Bargain Gate => Topic started by: rkrr20307@comcast.net on August 25, 2022, 09:28:11 PM
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UA has Akela .177 for $299.00 shipped.
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Id love to grab one, what is UA?
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Yeah, what's UA? Also we need a link.... ;D
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Utah airguns.
Enablers everywhere....
https://utahairguns.com/benjamin-akela/
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Utah airguns.
Enablers everywhere....
https://utahairguns.com/benjamin-akela/
Thanks for the link. I was ready to jump on it until I saw it's over 7#'s and a rear cocking lever on a bullpup. :o
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This is really tempting me but I'm determined to remain strong and not order.... But I hope they sell out soon so I won't be tempted anymore :(
Jeff
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You can order barrel and probe from Benjamin for about $70.00 and change it to .22 or .25.
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This is really tempting me but I'm determined to remain strong and not order.... But I hope they sell out soon so I won't be tempted anymore :(
Jeff
This!
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... no sales tax
... free shipping
... and you will get a sticker...
One less in inventory.
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I'd like to get one, but .177 prelates and my fat fingers just don't get along
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Just thinking the word “PASS” hurts….lol….good luck
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Not a pup fan... now if it was the Cayden on sale...one would be gone in an instant.. ;)
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I wish this would hurry up and sell out........ I'm weakening
Jeff
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Enablers!
One on the way. Have some 16 gr h&n slugs coming. Maybe this will be my slugger.
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Enablers!
One on the way. Have some 16 gr h&n slugs coming. Maybe this will be my slugger.
I believe that the Kral barrels (including Akela) are choked.
Apparently the choke does not go well with slugs or any hard pellets (Crosman Premier).
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Does anyone know the FPE of the Akela .177? In the description it says 32 FPE in .22 but doesn’t give the FPE of .177.
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Mine is shooting about 22fpe in .177. JSB heavies and monsters. Clipped hammer spring, no reg.
JMJinNC
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Does anyone know the FPE of the Akela .177? In the description it says 32 FPE in .22 but doesn’t give the FPE of .177.
Similar to JMG, trimming the spring, finding the balance point. Out of the box the pink line, a cliff,
3 winds off spring blue string, nets 30 shots at 23 FPE within 2% ES
Yellow was 4.5 total winds removed netted 90 shots at 21 FPE within 3% ES.
I will use the spring adjusting screw and transfer port to fine adjust to 20 FPE for field target.
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Great tune Thane.
I would jump all over that yellow line tune.
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Thanks, really an amazing gun.
I will turn up the spring a bit shifting the peak, polish hammer, delrin spring cap and sleeve then it's onto the barrel and trigger.
Sure hope it can group 10.34s at 55 yds...
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Thanks, really an amazing gun.
I will turn up the spring a bit shifting the peak, polish hammer, delrin spring cap and sleeve then it's onto the barrel and trigger.
Sure hope it can group 10.34s at 55 yds...
Thane, Rob from CASA. You getting one is making it harder to resist. I have had one sitting in my cart for a week. 🤔
I really don’t need another gun.
Anyway. Here is a nice how to on the Akela.
https://youtu.be/FvS_avjr3Qo
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Hey Rob,
Great video, he really goes into it in detail. I will try the trigger adjustments, it's functional, but spongey.
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Yeah, that's a great looking tune on that yellow line! I just don't want another bullpup with the rear cocking lever, although it's 500% better than a bolt action. ;D
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Not much of a bullpup guy.. I'm one and done with the Beeman 1358.
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Gone...
... you can visit UtahAirGuns safely again...
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Thank God they sold out cause I was really starting to weaken :)
Jeff
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really an amazing gun.
Does your clipped spring measure out to the 2.57" mentioned in other posts?
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Thank God they sold out cause I was really starting to weaken :)
Jeff
Congrats Jeff! It's not very often you end up resisting until they are sold out ;D
I have the Benji Akela .22 with walnut stock and it's a good looking rifle & very accurate.
The only thing I don't like is that it's NOT regulated, so the power just keeps dropping badly as you shoot with POI changing gradually every ~10 shots. What I discovered by accident is that if I fill to 3,300 psi (wasn't quick enough turning off the SCBA valve) I can get 18 very consistent power shots (1.5 mags) with NO velocity drop and very low (<10fps) ES, until the pressure drops to about 2850 psi at which point the velocity starts dropping with each shot. I usually finish out the 2nd mag and refill at ~2750psi without much of a POI change from the last 5-6 shots. So I am content with that for now since the gun is a tack driver for at least 1 mag & a half at 33 FPE (JSB 18.1).
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Harry, if that rifle had been .22 cal I would've jumped on it like a monkey on a cupcake :)
Jeff
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really an amazing gun.
Does your clipped spring measure out to the 2.57" mentioned in other posts?
I set spring tension to minimum then clipped winds off the spring and shot a string to see profile. Clip until the string arc is tail heavy then adjust use spring tension to center the curve use the transfer port to reduce to field limits of 20 PPE or pellet best speed.
3K-2K 66 21 FPE shots within 3%, 55 under 2% ES. I avoid regulators if at all possible.
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really an amazing gun.
Does your clipped spring measure out to the 2.57" mentioned in other posts?
I set spring tension to minimum then clipped winds off the spring and shot a string to see profile. Clip until the string arc is tail heavy then adjust use spring tension to center the curve use the transfer port to reduce to field limits of 20 PPE or pellet best speed.
3K-2K 66 21 FPE shots within 3%, 55 under 2% ES. I avoid regulators if at all possible.
I know you can clip a coil or 2 off the spring and further tune (when you take it apart) to get more shots and a flatter string with reduced power, but I wanted a 30+FPE bullpup so I refuse to go down to 20 or even 25 fpe. I have the Gauntlet and other guns when I want to use 20-25fpe. I enjoy the Akela's flatter trajectory at 910fps and 18 very consistent shots at 33fpe (w/18.1gr) before MV starts dropping. I don't need a very high shot count because I don't target shoot with it. I use it on medium-sized pests. If I were punching paper and shooting multiple rats and pigeons on a farm, I would definitely increase the shot count at the cost of power.
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;)
Harry, if that rifle had been .22 cal I would've jumped on it like a monkey on a cupcake :)
Jeff
No doubt. I know you held out because it was .177. I know you too well buddy ;D I 've been following your AG purchases through the GTA for 15 years ;)
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Crosman customer service is awesome. Akela arrived, looks great, mag had annissuevthough. Called and a new one is coming. Had a fun talk with the rep who is a shooter and knows the gun. Gave some insight. Can't wait to try this Akela out.
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Crosman customer service is awesome. Akela arrived, looks great, mag had annissuevthough. Called and a new one is coming. Had a fun talk with the rep who is a shooter and knows the gun. Gave some insight. Can't wait to try this Akela out.
Without a doubt, Crosman customer service is the best! That and parts availability makes them my personal favorite.
Hope you enjoy the Akela, they are beautiful works of art.
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Crosman customer service is awesome. Akela arrived, looks great, mag had annissuevthough. Called and a new one is coming. Had a fun talk with the rep who is a shooter and knows the gun. Gave some insight. Can't wait to try this Akela out.
Can you expand on the insight from the rep?
Also a quick note to the OP...rkrr* your in box is full so your classified wtb is doing you no good.
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Thank you Cyknife
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Crosman customer service is awesome. Akela arrived, looks great, mag had annissuevthough. Called and a new one is coming. Had a fun talk with the rep who is a shooter and knows the gun. Gave some insight. Can't wait to try this Akela out.
Can you expand on the insight from the rep?
Also a quick note to the OP...rkrr* your in box is full so your classified wtb is doing you no good.
He said sometimes the trigger screw accessible only with the stock off, it gets loosened in shipping sometimes and a half turn in usually does the trick.
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Hold up.... a screw loosens during shipping? Really?
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Hold up.... a screw loosens during shipping? Really?
[chuckling]
He said he gets calls from folks pullingvthe trigger with nothing happening and explains to them how the nut on the linkage affects first stage and gets loose in shipping. Not news to anyone here I suppose. My first time adjusting a first stage on abullpup in this manner though.
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Testing out and hammer spring adjustment for the 16 gr h&n slugs started yesterday. Groups aren't looking too promising (choked barrel?) but testing has just begun. With the out of the box tune, they were about 918 fps at 3000 psi, hung out in the mid 800s down to 2000 psi. About 2 clips (28) shots. Turning the hammer screw from way out to way in gave me 7 shots from 3000 to 2500 psi with first shot at 902, 7th at 886, and the fastest shot at 908. Gonna proceed from this baseline of extreme hammer adjustments to something more precise. Seeing what can be done to get close to 30 fpe over 1 clip with an ES of below 50 fps, beginning with just hammer screw adjustments. I seemist folks cutting coils, but not going for the same sort of power tune in .177.
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Splitbeing...you going to try filling to 3300psi like 1harry did? Might put you in the fpe spot your looking for.
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Stock hammer spring adjustment data shooting 16 gr h&n slugs. 0 turns=all the way out.
1 mag (14 shots) starting at 3000 psi down to about 2500 psi.
Turns in: 8
Avg fps: 884
ES: 56
Avg fpe approximately: 28
Turns in: 6
Avg fps: 886
ES: 52
Avg fpe approximately: 28
Turns in: 5
Avg fps: 892
ES: 51
Avg fpe approximately: 28
Turns in: 4
Avg fps: 887
ES: 43
Avg fpe approximately: 28
Turns in: 2
Avg fps: 883
ES: 39
Avg fpe approximately: 28
I hand pump, so today was a workout. Ended the day with a setting of 3.5 turns before putting her on the wall.
Groups got better as I am learning the grip and hold, but nothing very good or very terrible. Meh for now. Slugs.
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Splitbeing...you going to try filling to 3300psi like 1harry did? Might put you in the fpe spot your looking for.
Thanks Cyknife. I might go red another day and see what happens. 28 fpe is good enough for me (for now). Did a couple penetration tests into stacked cigar tins. Boy do those slugs expand!
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Added a support to the rail. Making a line of the center scope/wheel, the added rail support disappears a bit aestheitically, allowing the original hanging ledge aesthetic to still play out on the eyes.
Sorry about the bad lighting.
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Stock hammer spring adjustment data shooting 16.1 gr seneca hunting pellets. 0 turns=all the way out.
1 mag (14 shots) starting at 3000 psi down to about 2500 psi.
Turns in: 3.5
Avg fps: 889
ES: 69
Avg fpe approximately: 28
Turns in: 2.5
Avg fps: 892
ES: 46
Avg fpe approximately: 28.5
Turns in: 1.25
Avg fps: 899
ES: 46
Avg fpe approximately: 29
Groups were way better than the slugs at a similar weight. The ES is a bit high, but it is breaking in so we'll see.
Also adjusted the nut to increase first stage pull length just a tad. When turning the nut, holding the rod it's threaded onto was important.
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Even at 1.25 turns in you have TOO much hammer spring. If you back it all the way out, fill to 3000psi I'm certain you will see that you still have just a cliff of a shot string. Increasing the hammer spring just wastes air and causes your ES to grow.
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Stock hammer spring adjustment data shooting 16.1 gr seneca hunting pellets. 0 turns=all the way out.
As above where thane chopped 4 1/2 coils off the stock spring, I cut my stock spring to yield 2.57" after heating the end "dressing the spring" which as it turns out was 4 1/2 coils gone. (I found the remenant). This yielded 70 shots from 3k to 2.2k. And 7.9's made 600 to 1020 fps just with the tp knob and 0 turns on the hammer spring. Might want to get another spring for chopping.
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https://www.airgunrevisions.com/product/22-craftsman-series-tune-kit/ (https://www.airgunrevisions.com/product/22-craftsman-series-tune-kit/)
Dunno if his kit’s composed of OEM parts though ???
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Even at 1.25 turns in you have TOO much hammer spring. If you back it all the way out, fill to 3000psi I'm certain you will see that you still have just a cliff of a shot string. Increasing the hammer spring just wastes air and causes your ES to grow.
Yep. Familiar with cutting hammer springs. Just posting data on the stock spring with 28 to 29 fpe from 16 gr .177 pellets. Cutting coils will certainly make a difference in shot count and ES as well as lower the fpe avg a bit. If memory serves, Thane landed at 21 fpe with a 2% ES by cutting a few coils.
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Even at 1.25 turns in you have TOO much hammer spring. If you back it all the way out, fill to 3000psi I'm certain you will see that you still have just a cliff of a shot string. Increasing the hammer spring just wastes air and causes your ES to grow.
Yep. Familiar with cutting hammer springs. Just posting data on the stock spring with 28 to 29 fpe from 16 gr .177 pellets. Cutting coils will certainly make a difference in shot count and ES as well as lower the fpe avg a bit. If memory serves, Thane landed at 21 fpe with a 2% ES by cutting a few coils.
I wasn't making any reference to cutting the spring at all. Just trying to help you out with tuning. When you start out at ZERO turns and get a straight down cliff of a shot string you are only wasting time, pellets and air by increasing the spring tension and testing.
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Even at 1.25 turns in you have TOO much hammer spring. If you back it all the way out, fill to 3000psi I'm certain you will see that you still have just a cliff of a shot string. Increasing the hammer spring just wastes air and causes your ES to grow.
Yep. Familiar with cutting hammer springs. Just posting data on the stock spring with 28 to 29 fpe from 16 gr .177 pellets. Cutting coils will certainly make a difference in shot count and ES as well as lower the fpe avg a bit. If memory serves, Thane landed at 21 fpe with a 2% ES by cutting a few coils.
I wasn't making any reference to cutting the spring at all. Just trying to help you out with tuning. When you start out at ZERO turns and get a straight down cliff of a shot string you are only wasting time, pellets and air by increasing the spring tension and testing.
That makes sense. The starting point was where the similar weight slugs were doing well, about 3.5 turns in. Swithcing from slug to pellet of similar weight, I did not start back at zero. Maybe starting at zero would have been easier. It's interesting to me that the 16 gr pellets were affected differently than the pellets by the hammer adjustments. The absence of skirts, heavy lubrication, and smaller max diameter would suggest all kinds of potential differences from pellets in relation to settings.
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Thinking of cutting a coil or two. I want to stay as close as possible to 30 fpe over 1 mag but get to a 4% ES. The gun is being set up for hunting and practice shooting for hunting purposes. With the pellets, cutting 1 or 2 might leave enough hammer adjustment to get back to the present 29 fpe. With the slugs, probably not. Haven't tried the 13 gr yet. The accuracy with the 16s wasn't there at short range.
Phil from the fun shoot gave me some beast pellets to try along with the Seneca 16.1s I'm trying out.
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Ran some more tests with fill pressure and power knob adjustment as variables. Stock hammer spring all the way out. Seneca 16.1 gr hunting pellets. 14 shots (1 mag).
Power knob set at full power
3300 psi down to 2900 psi
Avg fps: 912
ES: 20
Approx. fpe: 30
3400 psi down to 3000 psi
Avg fps: 915
ES: 13
Approx. fpe: 30
Power knob set at the highest hash mark (just below full power, which is a plus sign not a hash mark)
3000 psi down to 2600 psi
Avg fps: 883
ES: 20
Approx. fpe: 28
3000 psi down to 2700 psi
Avg fps: 880
ES: 26
Approx. fpe: 28
Power knob set between highest hash mark and next lowest hash mark (the middle one at 12 oclock)
3000 psi down to 2600 psi
Avg fps: 840
ES: 30
Approx. fpe: 25
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I've never had a power adjustment for the transfer port. Decreasing the power adjustment seems to move the height of the curve to a lower fps.
The best fpe and ES is at full power on the knob from 3400 to 3000 psi. Looking at the shot string, there's likely more shots in the same ES at 3500 psi as well.
The gun seems set up out of the box for 18 gr pellets in .22. If I were shooting 18 gr .177 (are there even any being made?), I bet the 30 fpe and 13 fps ES would be down at lower pressures over 20 or so shots.
The question I'm wondering about and looking for help with is twofold: Will cutting and adjusting the hammer spring do anything different than the transfer port power adjustment (more shots maybe)? And then, will cutting coils make the 30 fpe with 13.fps ES at high pressures no longer available to me if I want them in particular hunting circumstances (might depend on how many coils cut)?
This gun is very accurate. I'm chronying at a 17 yd (50 ft) range and the pellets are going in one ragged hole with just avg attention and effort shooting 14 and 7 shot groups.
Saw something posted by Ted's holdover about mods to eliminate hammer bounce. No idea if that's relevant here.
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I've never had a power adjustment for the transfer port. Decreasing the power adjustment seems to move the height of the curve to a lower fps.
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Yes, it chokes the flow of air after the valve and before the barrel, at the transfer port.
Your shot curve is a function of the hammer strike pressure opening valve vs. airtube pressure holding valve closed. Too much hammer force opens the valve fully, resulting in a highest power first followed by ever reducing powered shots as tube pressure falls, result is a cliff string-no curve.
Finding the right hammer force to start with lower powered shots that begin to overcome tube pressure, then tails off as tube pressure depletes, ideally in a balanced curve is the guns's natural balanced tune.
The power adjustment wheel will just reduce this overall curve.
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I've never had a power adjustment for the transfer port. Decreasing the power adjustment seems to move the height of the curve to a lower fps.
The best fpe and ES is at full power on the knob from 3400 to 3000 psi. Looking at the shot string, there's likely more shots in the same ES at 3500 psi as well.
The gun seems set up out of the box for 18 gr pellets in .22. If I were shooting 18 gr .177 (are there even any being made?), I bet the 30 fpe and 13 fps ES would be down at lower pressures over 20 or so shots.
The question I'm wondering about and looking for help with is twofold: Will cutting and adjusting the hammer spring do anything different than the transfer port power adjustment (more shots maybe)? And then, will cutting coils make the 30 fpe with 13.fps ES at high pressures no longer available to me if I want them in particular hunting circumstances (might depend on how many coils cut)?
This gun is very accurate. I'm chronying at a 17 yd (50 ft) range and the pellets are going in one ragged hole with just avg attention and effort shooting 14 and 7 shot groups.
Saw something posted by Ted's holdover about mods to eliminate hammer bounce. No idea if that's relevant here.
Even for 18 gr .22 pellets most of us have had to clip a coil or two from the hammer spring and/or overfill for a flat or bell curve. I'm really happy with my 24 shots (2 mags) near 33 FPE with ES of a good regulated gun. It took two clips from the hammer spring to get there though. It was shooting a cliff out of the box, but first shot was close to 40 FPE :o
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Thanks Thane and kerplunk. If I were to clip a coil or two, do you suspect that I would be able to increase hammer spring tension with the screw enough to get back to the steady/lowES 30 fpe string at high pressures if so desired?
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Cut a coil. Cut just after "the dressing".
14 shots. Knob full power. Hammer all the way out.
3000 to 2600 psi
Avg fps: 883
ES: 20
Approx. fpe: 28
This is almost the same power, avg fps, and fpe being produced with an uncut hammer spring at these pressures, but with a much lower ES. Same air consumption.
This is not very different than the results (pre-coil cut) with the transfer power knob turned to the highest hash mark just below full power (880 avg, ES 26).
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I shortened my .177 Akela hammer spring to 2.57, and put in the 13.43 JSB Knockouts. I had enough travel to get past 950, but did not test the heavy slugs I have. I will do so and report back. For those I may should have left it longer.
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Dressed the end of the spring by heating. I got something like 869 fps avg over 2 mags (28 shots) with an ES of 30 fps from 3100 down to 2500 psi, which is right at 27 fpe. At the pittsburgh fun shoot hitting aspirin tabs at 50 yds, this would have been a great tune. I have some medium size game hunting situations coming up potentially and want to know I can get the 30 fpe back if I need it. Too many days of heavy handpumping in a row might keep me from the Akela today, but its early. Might feel different by the afternoon.
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I shortened my .177 Akela hammer spring to 2.57, and put in the 13.43 JSB Knockouts. I had enough travel to get past 950, but did not test the heavy slugs I have. I will do so and report back. For those I may should have left it longer.
The h&n 16gt didn't group well during chrony testing at 50 ft. The 16gr Senecas are very accurate at that range. How are the knockouts grouping?
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the 10 grain knockouts are one hole at 25 yards at 880 avg.
I will shoot the 13 grain knockouts tonight. I emptied my mini storage last night and only shot steel 10 - 100 yards with the 10.3 knockouts. I had no misses on any of my targets, and the 1/5 scale pig offhand at 50 was just a swinging.
It sure is nice to not have to fill in a evenings shooting.
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Here’s a pic of four 10 grain knockouts at 25 yards. The high hole is from sight in work earlier at 50 yards.
The other is at 20 yards with five 13.43 knockouts. It was 19:50 here in Oklahoma and dark. I had to put the trap out back of the shop for a little light.
My new Arken SH 6-24 was here when I got home so I spent most time with the 10.34s at 50 and 100.
These 13’s should be slower than the 10’s but they shot pretty good.
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Here’s a pic of four 10 grain knockouts at 25 yards. The high hole is from sight in work earlier at 50 yards.
The other is at 20 yards with five 13.43 knockouts. It was 19:50 here in Oklahoma and dark. I had to put the trap out back of the shop for a little light.
My new Arken SH 6-24 was here when I got home so I spent most time with the 10.34s at 50 and 100.
These 13’s should be slower than the 10’s but they shot pretty good.
Thanks knothead! Those look like they are groupin better than the 16 gr h&n were doing at 50 ft for me.
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really an amazing gun.
Does your clipped spring measure out to the 2.57" mentioned in other posts?
I set spring tension to minimum then clipped winds off the spring and shot a string to see profile. Clip until the string arc is tail heavy then adjust use spring tension to center the curve use the transfer port to reduce to field limits of 20 PPE or pellet best speed.
3K-2K 66 21 FPE shots within 3%, 55 under 2% ES. I avoid regulators if at all possible.
I know you can clip a coil or 2 off the spring and further tune (when you take it apart) to get more shots and a flatter string with reduced power, but I wanted a 30+FPE bullpup so I refuse to go down to 20 or even 25 fpe. I have the Gauntlet and other guns when I want to use 20-25fpe. I enjoy the Akela's flatter trajectory at 910fps and 18 very consistent shots at 33fpe (w/18.1gr) before MV starts dropping. I don't need a very high shot count because I don't target shoot with it. I use it on medium-sized pests. If I were punching paper and shooting multiple rats and pigeons on a farm, I would definitely increase the shot count at the cost of power.
Coming back to an old thread after returning to cutting coils. Down to the Thane tune of 21 fpe with the hammer screw all the way out.
Posting a reply because I also turned the hammer all the way in and got a full mag of 16.1 gr seneca hunting pellets at 885 fps and 28 fpe from 3k down to 2.5k on the fill. So the medium size game hunting is still there if I want it.
Also threw 20.5 gr NSA slugs in. With hammer all the way in, 750fps 25.5 fpe over one mag from 3k to 2.5k. With hammer all the way out, they're going 600fps at 16fpe.
Haven't gotten to try shooting at my buddy's 100yd home range. Looking forward to it though.
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Sounds like you have reached a very versatile tune.
The simplicity and effectiveness make the Akela one of my favorites.
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Tried the 15 gr NSAs. They are shooting the same spoed as the 16.1 pellets, give or take 8 fps, which is convenient.
Thane, your taste is similar to mine! Thanks for the guidance!