DAR Gen II is now available

[Wayne52]

The  part for my DAR II is finally on it's way in the mail system, it's actually been picked up by USPS and it's on it's way here

Wayne that is good new's on that part .... I have the AEA bullpup .357 side lever 32inch barrel coming in tomorrow - this should be interesting with the long barrel compared to the 24inch on my standard AEA .357 Challenger , hoping to push heavier stuff at a higher FPS ... 

Dan my 22 Challenger is unreal for a 22, it's right up in the 22long energy at 70fpe, right now it's really almost too powerful and I may back it down some, do a chrony test first before I sight it in at the woods.

Wayne when they make the .22 challenger a side lever i will buy one for sure ,i am thinking ...

The .22 Challenger is very easy to cock and a great trigger in comparison to the other bolt action Challengers.  I was quite surprised to see how low of a serial number that mine has, plus the fill probe is much better than my 357 Challenger.  I'm thinking that the hammer spring on it is much lighter in comparison.  There seems to be a big bore rage going on these days and I think that's what AEA has mainly been zeroed in on.  I might give the Pellet Shop a call soon to see if there's been anyone installing a regulator in either the .22 or the .25 because these guns would REALLY benefit having a regulator in them.  2400psi would be plenty for a good powerful shot coming from my .22 I'm sure.  When I was talking with Bin from the Pellet Shop he said that before the demand for smaller calibers wasn't as great as it has been lately.  The serial number on mine is only 948 which is very low in comparison with 30 cal and greater.

[Wayne52]

Well after over 11 months from buying my gen2 DAR 25 cal I finally will be able to go out in the woods with it for the first time, the part came in the mail yesterday, I installed it and it's still holding good right where I filled it to at the time of typing in this reply, I'll probably be using my 34.5 grain pellets in it to begin with and I've also got some slugs I sized for it originally to try in it.  I haven't put any over the chrony with it yet but I soon will to finally see where I've got the reg set in it, originally the reg was set way to high so I backed it off and that's when the gun failed, started leaking 11 months ago.  I checked the website for magazines and the only ones they have available are for .177.  I did pm a guy on Airgun Nation that has three mags, probe and 3 sets of o rings but he didn't specify if it was for Gen1 or Gen2.

[swoab47]

Does anyone know if someone is making single shot trays for the .177 yet?  Or even one that can be modified to work?
 I've had this .177 for about a month now and think it is a pretty good valued rifle. My first.177 pcp and an accurate one!
  Thanks for any advice on the sst.

Earlier in this thread someone said that they modified a Marauder single shot tray, and it wasn't too difficult.

You might try skimming back through.

[Wayne52]

Well I got the regulator at about max for how the hammer spring is adjusted, it's getting 10 shots averaging about 50fpe (max53.5fpe min49.3fpe)  I haven't done any port work on any DAR's so if anyone has any pointers for better efficiency I'm all ears.  I'm heading out to the woods with my Challenger soon, gonna get breakfast on the way.

[Trucker3573]

Well I got the regulator at about max for how the hammer spring is adjusted, it's getting 10 shots averaging about 50fpe (max53.5fpe min49.3fpe)  I haven't done any port work on any DAR's so if anyone has any pointers for better efficiency I'm all ears.  I'm heading out to the woods with my Challenger soon, gonna get breakfast on the way.

My DAR will be here Friday. Do you know how many turns from turned all the way down it was to get to the 50 fpe you are at now?

[johnbrown]

I feel really tempted to buy a DAR .22.
But, the DAR seems to be quite similar to the Nova Liberty and I already own 4 Nova Liberty rifles.
Also, the Nova Liberty comes with 2 magazines and 1 single shot tray.
So, I guess I will not buy a DAR

[oldpro]

 The DAR is a much better built gun.

[johnbrown]

The DAR is a much better built gun.

In what way is the DAR a better built gun?
If you are referring to the wood stock, Nova Liberty also came with a wood stock for about the same price as the DAR.

The DAR and the Nova Liberty have the same 1 year warranty and almost no part availability.

[Wayne52]

Well I got the regulator at about max for how the hammer spring is adjusted, it's getting 10 shots averaging about 50fpe (max53.5fpe min49.3fpe)  I haven't done any port work on any DAR's so if anyone has any pointers for better efficiency I'm all ears.  I'm heading out to the woods with my Challenger soon, gonna get breakfast on the way.

My DAR will be here Friday. Do you know how many turns from turned all the way down it was to get to the 50 fpe you are at now?

I really can't remember exactly where I started reg and hammer spring adjustments at however I'm going to try backing off on the hammer spring because I could be possibly wasting air.  Originally what happened in my case was the regulator seemed to be adjusted too high when I first got the gun, when I took it apart to adjust the regulator it wouldn't hold air after that because the internals had gotten messed up.

[Wayne52]

The DAR is a much better built gun.

In what way is the DAR a better built gun?
If you are referring to the wood stock, Nova Liberty also came with a wood stock for about the same price as the DAR.

The DAR and the Nova Liberty have the same 1 year warranty and almost no part availability.

They both have their faults in my opinion.  All I can say is my Liberty never really failed me ever except for a slow leak however I did buy the gun from ATI as a parts gun, the weak point in the Liberty is the poppet that comes with them, I replaced the poppet in mine with a PEEK poppet made by duy and haven't had a bit of problem since, it's a great little slug shooter with my cast NOE slugs.  DAR's on the other hand when you degas them to adjust the regulator I don't recommend using the degas screw because from what I understand there's a little metal ball that seals them but it will deform if you snug it up too tight and then you're in for trouble.  It will mess up the valve body for sure so from now on if I degas mine it will be by loosening the gauge instead.  They might have corrected that part since I bought mine over 11 months ago and was never able to use the gun at all til I finally got the part after waiting 11 months to get it.  I doubt I'll ever buy another DAR but I would buy another Liberty before I'd buy  another DAR.  I do like the design of the DAR however there's gotta be a better way to make a degas option for it.  The gun that's in my signature is more durable by far than either the Liberty or the DAR and Mike now has drop in regulators that you can put in them that are working very well in the Xisico Sentrys.  I've put that Sentry through He$$ since I've owned it and its still an excellent hunter.

[Insanity]

Mine dose not have the ball and it dose not seem to lose air from there.

[Wayne52]

Matt I never had that problem with the Gen1's they never leaked from the degas screw but from what I was told over the phone it's something they changed from the 1st to 2nd Gen but they never gave me a reason why they did it that way. 

[Raptor72]

Does anyone know if there is a single shot tray for the DAR2?  I like to single load pellets quite often, and the loading port is a little snug for my fingers.

I just took a Marauder single shot tray that I had laying around, and using a dremel, I shaved about 1/8" off the front and bottom and it works. As a bonus, it also fits in my Prod, so now I've got a single show tray for both.
[/qu
ote] Thought I read that! Thanks BT and others-going to order one now

[Dan H]

Matt I never had that problem with the Gen1's they never leaked from the degas screw but from what I was told over the phone it's something they changed from the 1st to 2nd Gen but they never gave me a reason why they did it that way.

  Wayne ... Joe told me to just barely crack the bleed screw , and let it very slowly bleed down when degassing the gun ,so it keeps every thing in place Joe said , and don't get it over tight so it deforms that little steele ball it seals off on .... That bleeder system they use could be improved for sure - Joe said a while back they were looking for a harder ball bearing to use in place of the old one ...  I guess next time I call him I will see what progress he made .... 

[Wayne52]

Dan I'm still undecided about what I'll be doing with this gun but I know that I'll definitely take it to the woods, sight it in and try it out finally.

[Firewalker]

I simply shoot mine down until it falls off the reg then pull the air tube out and press the valve rod against a clean wood surface and blow off the remaining pressure. EZPZ

[Dan H]

I simply shoot mine down until it falls off the reg then pull the air tube out and press the valve rod against a clean wood surface and blow off the remaining pressure. EZPZ

That is probably the best way to degas the DAR ... I use that method to degas my older Korean guns just popping the valve off till there is no air coming out ...

[Snatchcan]

I've got a DAR 22. I took the reg apart (I'm a mechanic, I can't help but take EVERYTHING all the way apart) and stacked up the belleville washers,  what i thought was the same way I took it apart. There were 12 total and I stacked them like this ))(())(())((. Can anyone confirm this is the correct orientation? I ask because it seems like anything after a quarter turn CC on the reg and it becomes a non regulated gun. From the factory the set screw for the reg was about a quarter turn CC from flush.

[dverna]

I got my DAR in .22 a few months ago and a few weeks ago had to send it in as it was losing air from the fill port.   I just got it back last week and thought I would share my experience...limited as it is.   Note: I am new to PCPs and air guns so i am not good at reading and compensating for wind.  The Dar has a UTG Accu-Shot 4-12 mounted on it.

All groups are five shots:

Most of my groups have been shot at 25 yards as this will be my short range plinker.   I have a Daystate Huntsman for hunting and 50-yard shooting.

25 Yard Groups
First 27 groups with Crosman Domed Premier averaged .46"
12 groups with JSB 15.89 Exact averaged .41"
Next 14 groups with the Crosman pellets averaged .44"

For s*&^s and giggles I shot some groups at 50 yards.
5 groups with the Crosman's went 1.08"
5 groups with Baracuda Match 21.14 went .99"
5 groups with JSB 15.89 Exact went .73"
5 groups with Air Arms 16.0 went .81"

I do better with the Huntsman so I know the DAR is not as accurate but it is also less and 1/3 the price.  I have fired 213 groups with the Daystate at 50 yards and averaged .76" with all pellets tested.  Best pellets in it are the JSB Exacts with 10 groups averaging .58"

For the money, I am happy with the DAR...assuming the air leak is fixed and does not return.   I have not 'tweaked" it as I am a bit unsure about the process and worried about screwing up a gun under warranty.   It would be OK for hunting up to 50 yards IMO.

The trigger on the DAR needs work.  I have injected Lubriplate into it and that helped a lot but still not where I would like it.

This thread was a huge reason I bought the DAR so a big thank you for all those who contributed. 

Now I need to find a decent PCP pistol in .177



. 

[Firewalker]

I've got a DAR 22. I took the reg apart (I'm a mechanic, I can't help but take EVERYTHING all the way apart) and stacked up the belleville washers,  what i thought was the same way I took it apart. There were 12 total and I stacked them like this ))(())(())((. Can anyone confirm this is the correct orientation? I ask because it seems like anything after a quarter turn CC on the reg and it becomes a non regulated gun. From the factory the set screw for the reg was about a quarter turn CC from flush.

The plan for this weekend is to tear down my new .177 and I will take a pix of the washer stack for you if I remember.