Author Topic: Tuning the Freedom or Aspen (Read 899 times))

superchikn · « **on:** June 10, 2019, 02:38:29 PM »

I've only been on the darkside for 6 months or so, still doing a lot of reading etc.

I understand that tuning an unregulated PCP is about getting the bell curve right, but I do not own one of those so I am not too polished up on that yet.
I have a Liberty which is regulated and understand tuning to just below the knee to maximize efficiency and shot count.
The Freedom/Aspen is different.
With an external HST adjuster we can dial in valve dwell and power level. I am aware of any porting I may want to do as I ported my Liberty.
With the onboard pump shot count becomes less important as 3 or 4 pumps every shot/ 15-17 pumps for 5 shots can keep it in the sweet spot indefinitely. Obviously pumping excessively for wasted air is no good.
My question is what kind of parameters are you guys using to define your sweet spot with this gun? Is it as simple as picking a power level that shoots accurately and finding the hi and low PSI levels on the gauge where consistency resides, and staying there?
Mine is shooting CPHPs (22) at about 3/4 turn in on the HST adjuster. Pretty much hole in hole at 30 yds. fps is about average for this gun, I will shoot it over the chrono tonight again to see where I am.

I have no problem with where it is shooting now. I am super impressed and really like it a lot.

So far I have just been bench shooting it and plinking. Will probably use it for woodswalking and who knows what else?!

I just don't leave things alone and wasn't sure what I should use as a tuning goal for this one.
Thanks

avator · « **Reply #1 on:** June 10, 2019, 06:54:03 PM »

Well, if you read thru the pages of mine Freedom review then you know....
It's named Freedom because you have a pcp that needs no accessories. If you want to use a fill source then it's not Freedom anymore.
That would mean hand pumping. If I'm going to hand pump then I want is as easy and efficient as possible.
So, I fill to 3k, shoot one mag very consistent and very accurate then pump 17 strokes to get back to 3k..... True Freedom...

cosmic · « **Reply #2 on:** June 10, 2019, 07:04:22 PM »

Since you have both I have a question.. Could the hammer spring adjuster for the Freedom be modded to fit the Liberty ?

superchikn · « **Reply #3 on:** June 10, 2019, 07:09:25 PM »

Hey Bill, I agree with you, yes I have read your thread, (i have posted in it), I have read all of the Nova threads.
What I am asking is: is there a a best adjustment of the hammer spring for power / efficiency etc or just pick your fps and shoot within a fill range and pump?

superchikn · « **Reply #4 on:** June 10, 2019, 07:50:46 PM »

Quote from: cosmic on June 10, 2019, 07:04:22 PM

Since you have both I have a question.. Could the hammer spring adjuster for the Freedom be modded to fit the Liberty ?

I had thought that a few weeks ago but have not tried it yet. I am pretty sure they would be a direct swap as the receivers are mostly the same.

Wayne52 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 10, 2019, 08:34:26 PM »

The thing that's neat about the Freedom is it has a spot where you can put desiccant if you so desire, I haven't seen any comments anywhere yet about someone doing this though

Airspace · « **Reply #6 on:** June 10, 2019, 09:42:55 PM »

Ray, Hardair magazine has an article online about the differences in the adjustment of the hammer spring and the power. There is a couple of charts showing the shot strings in relation to the power setting.

avator · « **Reply #7 on:** June 10, 2019, 09:52:40 PM »

I reckon I must be the luckiest 'no warranty' Freedom owner in the World. I bought mine in .177, set it on low power and started shooting cheap walmart 10.5 crosman domes. Happy enough with the results that I don't feel compelled to change a thing.

superchikn · « **Reply #8 on:** June 10, 2019, 10:21:03 PM »

Quote from: avator on June 10, 2019, 09:52:40 PM

I reckon I must be the luckiest 'no warranty' Freedom owner in the World. I bought mine in .177, set it on low power and started shooting cheap walmart 10.5 crosman domes. Happy enough with the results that I don't feel compelled to change a thing.

Actually Bill i might be too. The liberty which i bought new had accuracy issues. I had narrowed it down to the barrel.

When i got my first no warranty Freedom it grouped so well I swapped its barrel into the Liberty. Abra ca dabra! Now my Liberty is amazing.
I took the barrel out of the second Freedom and put it into the first which I had already gone through.

Now this thing shoots Benji HPs hole in hole at 30 yds on hi and pretty much so on lo as well.
Mine was shot a lot and the pump seal was shot when i got it. The hammer spring adjuster was cranked in pretty good so I do not know what factory setting is.

Could I leave it like it is and be perfectly happy? You betcha. It is such a joy to shoot as it is.
I just want to know more in the event that I am WAY off from "optimal" performance.

superchikn · « **Reply #9 on:** June 10, 2019, 10:39:21 PM »

Quote from: Airspace on June 10, 2019, 09:42:55 PM

Ray, Hardair magazine has an article online about the differences in the adjustment of the hammer spring and the power. There is a couple of charts showing the shot strings in relation to the power setting.

Guy,
That is exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks for the heads up.
https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/power-tuning-nova-freedom-air-rifle/

Thane · « **Reply #10 on:** June 10, 2019, 10:51:53 PM »

Plot a string and post your curve.
I start hot and then back the hammer down until a normal/centered bell distribution shows up. In the case of the Freedom starting at maximum pressure did not net the best curve for me. So I now pump to about 3200 and shoot down to 2400 for the best ES <4% set of 10 shots 18 FPE on low and 6 shots 34 FPE on hi. For my hammer that is 2.5 turns out from most high hammer setting. I pump between mags to maximize consistency. I could also pump to 3600 and make 20 shots but with greater than 4% ES.

Reviewers use the "Factory Setting" as a starting point, for me a static starting point is simpler to replicate, and my two Freedoms came with very different initial settings. I really doubt the factory did any tuning beyond counting turns.

oldpro · « **Reply #11 on:** June 10, 2019, 11:19:19 PM »

A little off topic but does the .22 Mrod magazine fit in the Aspen?

BackStop · « **Reply #12 on:** June 11, 2019, 05:45:20 AM »

Quote from: superchikn on June 10, 2019, 10:39:21 PM

Quote from: Airspace on June 10, 2019, 09:42:55 PM
Ray, Hardair magazine has an article online about the differences in the adjustment of the hammer spring and the power. There is a couple of charts showing the shot strings in relation to the power setting.

Guy,
That is exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks for the heads up.
https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/power-tuning-nova-freedom-air-rifle/

I was going to point you to that, but I got to this thread late.
I am waiting on a cheap muzzle mounted Chinese "velocity meter" to test my .177 Freedom and adjust the HST accordingly. I am going to look for both efficiency and power, to start. Then I might look at power alone just for kicks.

BackStop · « **Reply #13 on:** June 11, 2019, 05:46:50 AM »

Quote from: oldpro on June 10, 2019, 11:19:19 PM

A little off topic but does the .22 Mrod magazine fit in the Aspen?

My understanding is that the Marauder style mags do fit the Freedom/Aspen. In any caliber the Freedom/Aspen is offered AFAIK.

BackStop · « **Reply #14 on:** June 11, 2019, 05:51:07 AM »

Quote from: Thane on June 10, 2019, 10:51:53 PM

Plot a string and post your curve.
I start hot and then back the hammer down until a normal/centered bell distribution shows up. In the case of the Freedom starting at maximum pressure did not net the best curve for me. So I now pump to about 3200 and shoot down to 2400 for the best ES <4% set of 10 shots 18 FPE on low and 6 shots 34 FPE on hi. For my hammer that is 2.5 turns out from most high hammer setting. I pump between mags to maximize consistency. I could also pump to 3600 and make 20 shots but with greater than 4% ES.

Reviewers use the "Factory Setting" as a starting point, for me a static starting point is simpler to replicate, and my two Freedoms came with very different initial settings. I really doubt the factory did any tuning beyond counting turns.

Just from all the reading I did before buying a .177 Freedom, I agree with you on the PSI. I see no need to go beyond about 3200psi and I usually pump after every shot, unless I miss on varmints and need a quick follow up shot. That is really nice... especially with me coming from a single shot break barrel to the Freedom!

Wayne52 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 11, 2019, 06:33:25 AM »

I sure have been happy with my Freedom .22, I'll be heading for the woods in about an hour with it using my cast 19.6 grainers that are simply excellent from this gun. This gun is surprisingly accurate and lives up to it's name. Not only can I contemplate in my head on my way to the state land that I'm heading for freedom, it's now heading for freedom with my Freedom to do some almost free shooting except for the cost of lead coming out of the barrel which I can't really call free because I had to buy the lead. Those 58lb split pig ingots that I buy from Rotometals will cast one heck of a lot of pellets, I've been working on my first ingot for a year now and still have about 1/4 of it left but I'll probably be ordering another one in about a month and I see that they're cheaper this year than they were last year on account of the price of lead going down

BackStop · « **Reply #16 on:** June 11, 2019, 06:35:46 AM »

Quote from: Wayne52 on June 11, 2019, 06:33:25 AM

I sure have been happy with my Freedom .22, I'll be heading for the woods in about an hour with it using my cast 19.6 grainers that are simply excellent from this gun. This gun is surprisingly accurate and lives up to it's name. Not only can I contemplate in my head on my way to the state land that I'm heading for freedom, it's now heading for freedom with my Freedom to do some almost free shooting except for the cost of lead coming out of the barrel which I can't really call free because I had to buy the lead. Those 58lb split pig ingots that I buy from Rotometals will cast one heck of a lot of pellets, I've been working on my first ingot for a year now and still have about 1/4 of it left but I'll probably be ordering another one in about a month and I see that they're cheaper this year than they were last year on account of the price of lead going down

+10

Wayne52 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 11, 2019, 06:41:00 AM »

Quote from: oldpro on June 10, 2019, 11:19:19 PM

A little off topic but does the .22 Mrod magazine fit in the Aspen?

Get the Gaunlet mags for it Travis, that's what I've got and they work fantastic, I ordered three more of them from Buds Gun Shop yesterday at only $6.71 each.

avator · « **Reply #18 on:** June 11, 2019, 07:03:09 AM »

Yep they do Travis.... but like Wayne said.... the Umarex mags from Buds are cheaper and seem to fit better and cycle nice. I paid a little over $6 each for the .177. The .22 was a couple bucks more I think.

Jonnie · « **Reply #19 on:** June 11, 2019, 11:09:25 AM »

The sweet spot on my factory stock .22 Freedom is between 2800 to 2400 PSI.

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Tuning the Freedom or Aspen

Author Topic: Tuning the Freedom or Aspen (Read 899 times))