.357 Slayer from American Air Arms

[triggertreat]

I’m havin a hard time understanding how that valve works the way it’s laid out in the picture . It’s the first time I’ve seen how Tom builds his valve ,and it’s quite the design . I should check see if I can get my hands on a diagram for the Slayer . Sure sounds like he has some real innovative components . Would love to see how his probeless system works .

Yes, the Slayer is quite an innovative design.  I like how the balanced valve's dwell is adjustable externally.  I have now seen what's going on with that adjustment internally.  It's basically controlling a very small port hole within the valve.  Don't ask me any more on that, lol.

Regarding the retractable probe assembly, I think it's the most innovative part of the Slayer, kinda.  There are a lot of innovations going on though.  I have had to take the probe mechanism apart and repair it due to being my fault.  It's something to see, and there are a number of parts to it.

I'm just winging it on these repairs.  The Slayer is not the easiest gun to dive into.  I'll be glad when I have it back together and perfect, which I am getting very close to.  It will be brand new like once completed.  The thought of shipping the gun off to Tom and risk shipping issues in two directions scares me to the point of diving into it myself.  I'd say you better be on your toes if you decide to dive in to repair this gun, and take it very slow.  There's a lot to it.

I couldn't imagine designing and building all of these parts, especially all of the internal parts.  I don't see how Tom could produce more a few of these per year.  Having taken apart my Marauders countless times, and thinking about them.  They are very simple toys in comparison to the Slayer.

[triggertreat]

I cleaned up the valve, replaced all valve O-rings, and have the valve reinstalled.  It's quite the task to do this job.  The parts are somewhat fragile and the tolerances are very tight.  So far, no issues or scratches detected.  I did have to go and buy a strap wrench to bust loose the Ti reservoir. It was on there very tight.

One thing to note about the previously posted valve image is the three outer/external rubber O-rings used.  According to the AAA valve diagram, they are suppose to be polyurethane O-rings.  I'm not sure what happened on the last rebuild, but I have installed polyurethane O-rings as stated in the diagram in these locations.  Hopefully they'll last longer and keep the Slayer's uptime running longer.

I now have the reservoir filled to 3000 psi.  I'll check it in the morning to see how it looks.

What's the verdict?

It's down ~ 200 psi.  I have done some soap testing and see that there are leaks at the burst disk threads and at the pressure release screw threads.  Very easy fixes and am super happy.  I'll work on those and run another test.

[Verminstalker]

I had a leak that dropped about the same amount per day as yours does. Found the leak at the left of 3 screws near the fill valve. Took the allen screw out, cleaned the threads & used blue Loctite to seal it. Gave it a day before re-filling the cylinder and it has not leaked so far.

[triggertreat]

I had a leak that dropped about the same amount per day as yours does. Found the leak at the left of 3 screws near the fill valve. Took the allen screw out, cleaned the threads & used blue Loctite to seal it. Gave it a day before re-filling the cylinder and it has not leaked so far.

Thanks!  That is the last screw that is leaking still on mine.  I made a mistake and used Teflon tape on the drain screw.  I cracked my burst disk to drain the reservoir, which also has the tape.  I'll have to wait now for the slow drain to finish.  I don't want any flying projectiles that I can't find, lol.  The tape works good, but blue Loctite would be better.

[triggertreat]

Good news!  My slayer hasn't lost any air overnight.  It's dead on where I left it last night.  I had a little trouble with the sealing washer on the center screw behind the fill port.  The washer is a very tiny thin brass washer that's roughly 5mm in diameter.  I'd like to get a replacement, but may be hard to find.

Anyways, it's time to reassemble the gun and get it tuned for some new slug testing.  I suspect the new valve O-rings may need a little break-in period, but we'll see.  I'm just happy I now have a Slayer with all new rings that doesn't leak, and is cleaned up on the insides.

[etnhunter]

Good news!  My slayer hasn't lost any air overnight.  It's dead on where I left it last night.  I had a little trouble with the sealing washer on the center screw behind the fill port.  The washer is a very tiny thin brass washer that's roughly 5mm in diameter.  I'd like to get a replacement, but may be hard to find.

Anyways, it's time to reassemble the gun and get it tuned for some new slug testing.  I suspect the new valve O-rings may need a little break-in period, but we'll see.  I'm just happy I now have a Slayer with all new rings that doesn't leak, and is cleaned up on the insides.

I'm sure that's a load off your mind!

[triggertreat]

Good news!  My slayer hasn't lost any air overnight.  It's dead on where I left it last night.  I had a little trouble with the sealing washer on the center screw behind the fill port.  The washer is a very tiny thin brass washer that's roughly 5mm in diameter.  I'd like to get a replacement, but may be hard to find.

Anyways, it's time to reassemble the gun and get it tuned for some new slug testing.  I suspect the new valve O-rings may need a little break-in period, but we'll see.  I'm just happy I now have a Slayer with all new rings that doesn't leak, and is cleaned up on the insides.

I'm sure that's a load off your mind!

Yes it is, but will be more so once I fill it up to 3800 psi and fire it off a few times.  I don't like dry firing a complex balanced valve, so haven't.

I just got it fully put back together.  I'll need to top off my tank and pick a cooler time to tune it out in my shed.  The shed is showing 103° remotely currently. 

[etnhunter]

Good news!  My slayer hasn't lost any air overnight.  It's dead on where I left it last night.  I had a little trouble with the sealing washer on the center screw behind the fill port.  The washer is a very tiny thin brass washer that's roughly 5mm in diameter.  I'd like to get a replacement, but may be hard to find.

Anyways, it's time to reassemble the gun and get it tuned for some new slug testing.  I suspect the new valve O-rings may need a little break-in period, but we'll see.  I'm just happy I now have a Slayer with all new rings that doesn't leak, and is cleaned up on the insides.

I'm sure that's a load off your mind!

Yes it is, but will be more so once I fill it up to 3800 psi and fire it off a few times.  I don't like dry firing a complex balanced valve, so haven't.

I just got it fully put back together.  I'll need to top off my tank and pick a cooler time to tune it out in my shed.  The shed is showing 103° remotely currently. 

I hear you.  East TN's weather has been record heat for several days now.  What happened to fall?  We haven't had a drop of rain since last month either.

I hadn't thought about any possible issues with dry firing my Slayer - I have done so a couple of times.  I will make it a point not to do it again.  But if I ever have a leak, I know an experienced Slayer gunsmith in state 

[triggertreat]

I don't know for sure if dry firing a Slayer will damage anything or not.  I do know if avoiding it, it will be one less thing to be concerned with.  The other is that there is no back pressure like when a slug is loaded, so the valve's O-rings may see more pressure or stress when firing without a slug.

[shamu25]

I am thinking that most big bore manufacturers would discourage dry firing.   Brent at Extreme warns against it.

[triggertreat]

I am receiving PMs requesting Slayer O-ring info for rebuilds.  Here is a list of the O-rings I ordered from The O-Ring Store to replace the valve, TP and HPA O-rings.  I found all of these listed on the AAA site in the downloadable pdf files.  After replacing these O-rings, my Slayer is now holding air for days without any leaks.



In the recent past, I ordered a new breech O-ring from the AAA site as they are made of a special compound and should last much longer.  After installing the new breech O-ring, I was able to get one extra shot within my same ES.  If you have an older gun, I'd recommend ordering a new breech O-ring or two.

What I have noticed after replacing these listed O-rings is more power capability.  While shooting it, the shots appear to be quieter to my ears, too.  When starting the new tune, I hit 997 FPS with a 150gr slug with the valve's dwell turned back from full open nearly two full turns, so there was more to be had, which I don't care for in tuning for a bell curve with a low ES.  My previous max was 932 fps (IIRC) with the valve's dwell fully opened.  I am not sure why this is, but of course there's the hammer spring at play as well so take this with some salt.  At any rate, I know the Slayer can hit 331 FPE at least.

Here is my first preliminary tune attempt after rebuilding the .357 Slayer that started out leaking air overnight and then became much worse over time.  I will continue to fine tune and break the new valve O-rings in.  My tank dipped too low to continue the fine tuning I wanted to achieve.



Here is my previous tune before the leak started and with much older valve O-rings.  My end goal is to get back to five shots with a low ES like I had.

[Airgunhunter73]

Keith thanks for the information I'm going to order these orings from the oring store and 2-3 breech orings from Tom, again Thanks for the hard work an sharing your findings

[Airgun.Sniper]

I shot one many years ago at a fun shoot in Kentucky Tom was nice guy down to earth guy

[etnhunter]

Keith, sounds like you will have your re-built Slayer dialed in very soon and in plenty of time for the upcoming deer season.  You should be proud of your ability to tear it down and re-build as you did.  I know I would be.

[triggertreat]

Keith, sounds like you will have your re-built Slayer dialed in very soon and in plenty of time for the upcoming deer season.  You should be proud of your ability to tear it down and re-build as you did.  I know I would be.

Yes I am!  This was my second experience with diving into the Slayer.  Last year, on the very first day of the hunt, I jammed and bent the bolt/probe assembly when using the mag for the first time and loading a HP in backwards.  I am probably most proud of that repair.  However, this repair was in a completely different area, so was an all new experience again.

These repairs have also given me great appreciation for what Tom of AAA can do and offer to us.  I would recommend sending the Slayer to Tom for repairs.  If you do decide to attempt a repair on your own, you'll need patients as the parts are very precision made without slop.  It is not a task for a mechanic that values a hammer as his primary tool.  Think of it as a Swiss watch when going about it.  It's tough but fragile at the same time.

[triggertreat]

I received a response from Tom today in regards to the O-ring questions I had awhile back to rebuild my leaking Slayer.  He apologized for the late response and stated that there is a full O-ring kit now on the AAA site.

I took a look at the site.  There is a full O-ring kit now available for rebuilding a Slayer listed.  There is also a separate listing for the 2mm x 30mm for sealing the reservoir tube that I couldn't find in polyurethane at the O-ring store (only Buna 70) if you wanted to go poly for those two.

He also stated this "A leak behind the mag is either the valve body seals or the internal valve seals.  Internal valve seals rarely leak".

My Slayer is holding air perfectly now after rebuilding mine a short while back.

https://americanairarms.com/product-category/parts/

[Ironman482]

Good info , thanks

[deepbass9]

As a side note, Tom said that dry firing on the .308 I had wasn't an issue when I accidentally did so. Regardless, I didn't make a habit of it...i.e. tried not to/never did it again.  Why risk blowing anything out?