Thinking about sending out 34 for a tune by Mike Melick.....

[Dave19113]

I keep reading about the tunes done by Mike Melick and how good they are. The 34 is a little bit violent; nothingcrazy but I wouldnt mind a little bit of hand tuning. I was going to call him to talk it over tomorrow but this was the tune I was thinking:

FULL TUNE AIR RIFLES
Spring guns: Disassemble, hone cylinder, polish parts, fit parts, trigger work (polish or add adjustment screws where possible) lube, recrown, test fire, record velocities, box and ship.

My question is, from what Ive been reading about the Diana springs is that they are on the weak side and tend to go after about 2000 shots or so. Am I better off just changing it out/upgrading to a better spring (I dont have a spring compressor) just to circumvent the problem later?

I know Ive heard people say get use out of the stock spring but as inexpensive as the springs are I dont mind buying one and keeping the stock spring as a back up.

 And which spring is the best to go with?

Im not looking to reduce power, Id like to keep it around same velocities.

[Roadworthy]

I don't know how long the original spring is supposed last.  My Diana 34 spring is seventeen years old.  I did have to replace the seal originally but it could have even been nicked at the factory.

The spring is pretty easy to replace but I definitely recommend a spring compressor.

[Yogi]

Why do you want your barrel recrowned?
If it is a drooper, have him bend the barrel.
While he is at it, have him drop in a ARH or Vortex spring.  He will know which one.

-Y

[moeb74]

Hey Dave,
 From what Ive been reading the Vortek kits are where its at. Better seal material and better spring/quieter spring. I think Im going to just trst fire mine a few times and then order up the kit to swap out. I too do not have a compressor, but Ive seen people use bar clamps or those Irwin quick clamps. Are they the right too, no, but it will get it done just once... ( Famous last words... lol )

Anyway, yeah Im having a bit of hold back because Ive seen people say to use Krytox grease in stead of anything else ( not even Moly ) but then I see people say to use Tar and Moly. I'll have to figure that out anyway.

[Dave19113]

Why do you want your barrel recrowned?
If it is a drooper, have him bend the barrel.
While he is at it, have him drop in a ARH or Vortex spring.  He will know which one.

-Y

Not looking to have it re crowned...That just shows it in his description of his level of tunes

 Looking to have the internals cleaned up and smoothed up

[Dave19113]

I gave Mike Melick a call today and was picking his brain about my 34 Compact and what I wanted out of it. He recommended a James McCurry spring and that he would clean up and lube the internals and trigger. Mike was saying that spring should out last me more or less, without losing any power on the gun.

He assured me the gun Im going to get back is gonna be a 180 from what Im sending him. Im pretty excited about it

Mike is a really good guy, he took the time to explain options for the route I wanted to go with.

I sent it out today so hopefully I should see it next week to give it a test. Ill have the new hawk glass on it so Ill be good to go.

[shooter r]

He's from Flying Dragons, and he sounds like he knows what he is doing. I will bet you will be very happy with the results. A good reputation is earned.

[bouddha]

It's James Macarri, btw.

[Dave19113]

It's James Macarri, btw.

Lol, my error. When I was talking to Mike I was on speaker phone so I probably just heard it wrong

[1216bandit]

Good stuff Dave!  You sure sent it to the right guy!  Mike is an awesome fella, knows his stuff and is a real pleasure to deal/talk with.  Looking forward to hearing what you have to say when you get it back!

[Dave19113]

Good stuff Dave!  You sure sent it to the right guy!  Mike is an awesome fella, knows his stuff and is a real pleasure to deal/talk with.  Looking forward to hearing what you have to say when you get it back!

yea, Ill def post a report. I got the bases and rings in today so Ill have the hawk all set for it when it comes back.....

[Bryan Heimann]

Mike is tops. 

[Grover]

Mike is outstanding as a person, and a very good tuner.

[Dave19113]

Mike is outstanding as a person, and a very good tuner.

Thanks, Im pretty good at gunsmithing powder guns but am waaaay out of my wheel house with airgun springers. From all I read Mike is the man. If it works out as good as I think it will with Mike's tune it really opens up buying opportunities for when those deals come around like with the Hatsan 100x 25 cal. I wanted to jump on it but with Hatsans needing tunes to really shoot well I passed.

[moeb74]

Curious to know what the cost is going to be. Did he say? I might just send mine too, since I don't k ow what I'm doing with it..

[SteveP-52]

Mike is outstanding as a person, and a very good tuner.

Thanks, Im pretty good at gunsmithing powder guns but am waaaay out of my wheel house with airgun springers. From all I read Mike is the man. If it works out as good as I think it will with Mike's tune it really opens up buying opportunities for when those deals come around like with the Hatsan 100x 25 cal. I wanted to jump on it but with Hatsans needing tunes to really shoot well I passed.

Mike is definitely great at what he does, you're going to get a sweet rifle back. As far as the Hatsan rifles needing a tune to shoot well, they don't at least in my experience and I own 7 Hatsans and 5 Webleys that were built by Hatsan. I've tinkered with and tuned 1 Hatsan and 1 Webley of that bunch but they didn't need to be tuned, every one of them shot very well out of the box with nothing more than cleaning the barrel and checking the stock screws.
They're like any other gun out there and have occasional problems, every brand does, but if you ever decide to buy another rifle, Hatsan is definitely one to consider and unless you decide you want to after shooting it for awhile, they really don't need to be tuned to shoot well.