A.E.A. the gun of the moment ?

[Mr.P]

Yep. Simple enough to load once you understand the mechanism. I’m actually loving this thing. Got some of the kinks worked out, I’m going to be able to get some parts for it from AEA (long shroud, different weight springs, baffles).  It’s nice that they included a well vented front barrel bushing.   Shroud comes off like butter so instead of buying a moderator for the muzzle I’m going to have one plain short shroud and one extended shroud with baffles that I can swap in if needed.

 I took off the AR stock - not crazy about those in general - and am using it like a pistol, two handed in various forms. This is A LOT of fun, feels futuristic, overpowered and oversized.  Duke Nukem’s first toy gun.  my early “jumping to conclusions” opinion, based on tinkering and a few shots in the garage, is that this thing is EXACTLY what I was looking for at the start of the pandemic when I got my first pcp (a talon p).  That thing was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made because it led to so much tinkering and modification, and it was powerful and obnoxious but fun to shoot. 

My MP mold arrived - first brass mold.  Those bullets should fit perfectly in the magazines.

Does the "stock tube" hanging out the back contain the hammer spring? It looks very much like a buffer tube on a military M4/16

I saw a video- you remove that (if I’m thinking of the same thing that you are) when you want to access the hammer spring.

What I am unclear on is how much it needs to be there and how much of it I can take away I haven’t opened up that part of the gun yet.  Right now there’s a metal stump composed of two cylinders that each have some holes in them that I assume are used to get leverage with an allen wrench or some other tool.   

Also as you can see there’s some kind of thread lock compound you can see on there which was used in a few different places on this gun.

[sb327]

The front ring with holes in it is a jam nut for clocking the stock correctly. Loosen it a touch and the main part will unscrew from receiver.

I use closest fitting drill bit shank.


Dave

[AlanMcD]

I don't have one of these, but if the mags function like Marauder mags then maybe a mod made to a few of mine (Marauder mags) would work here - it lets you put the mag in the breech with no pellet/slug in the first slot.

I simply loaded the mag full, then drilled a small hole through the side of the magazine into the central rotary pellet spacing device.  Then with the mag loaded, I insert a push pin into the hole (size the hole to allow the push pin to fit but not with a lot of slop).  With the push pin in place, push that first pellet or slug out, and the mag won't index.  Then cock the gun, insert the mag, and hold the bolt while pulling the trigger to close the bolt without loading a pellet or firing the gun.  Then pull the push pin and you are ready to roll!

[Firewalker]

Got ya.
Guess I have been lucky. I just counted up all the plastic covered rotating mags that I have. In .22, .25, .45 I have 37. Other than the first mags that came with the Avenger I think it was, I have never had a problem. I never had a different type of mag to compare to.

To me it's not so much if they are problematic or not, I just really dislike them, I dislike the way you have to load them, I dislike the way ammo rattles inside them and most of all I really dislike the way they look in a gun

I would buy a DAR just because of the magazines, I would buy a JTS because of the magazines before I would buy any brand that uses those Marauder style mags

That was the clincher for me, $300 for the gun and all aluminum mags.

[Insanity]

DAR mags for a captured barrel mag should be the standard.

[DrGunner]

Thank you for the suggestions.  Id buy an adapter and moderator but no way am I going to drop $200+ on it (watch, I’ll be back in a week with one… approaching the event horizon of the new caliber black hole… lol)

I have a Rocker1 that’s threaded female 1/2” UNC, which fits the adapter that I ordered from Bin Tac When I ordered my Challenger. I tested it next to my Falx and they were very close, sound volume was about the same but the Falx had a softer report. Great price on the Rocker1 @ $65.

Kevin aka DrGunner

[DrGunner]

Kevin,

I want to get rid of the ping of my Challenger Bullpup  .25. Can you tell me what brush did you use and details of the installation?

Degas your gun (loosen the little Allen socket screw on the side of the fill cap at the end of the air tube)
The air tube on my Challenger measures slightly over 1.5” in diameter. You want a brush with bristles that are about 1/4”-1/2” longer than the diameter of your tube, so that when you push the brush in, the bristles are bent backward and provide constant pressure against the inside walls of the air tube to create a dampening affect- the ping is caused by mechanical vibration carried through the walls of the air tube like a bell. I purchased a brush set on Amazon which had bristles on the larger brush that measured 1.9”.   I cut a 2 inch section of brush, removed loose bristles, then twisted the metal wires together to hold the bristles tight from where I cut it. I put a couple of O-rings on the cut end of the brush, pushed up Tight against the bristles. Then I put a couple of small zip ties on the wire to back up the O-rings & prevent the wires from untwisting. I finished it off by adding two consecutive layers of heat shrink tubing to mine to keep everything contained. Then I the measured middle of my air tube and ma marked it on the tube with a piece of tape and marked a dowel rod to correspond to the depth I needed to push the brush in to where the center of the brush was at the center of my air tube. I installed it, verified depth, and cycled the action to ensure that it was working. Closed it back up and the job was done. (Don’t forget to tighten up the Allen setscrew that you used to degas the gun)
Add a little bit of fresh silicone grease to the O-rings on your air tube before reassembly.
Here’s the brushes I bought on Amazon.
I bought the set of 4 for $15.99, instead of the option to buy 2 for $11.99. $4 more to get twice the product? That’s a no- brainer.
Mine worked exceedingly well, the ping on my Challenger was downright awful; adding the brush as a depinger reduced the sound by at least 95%.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073Q3LDYN?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Hope this helps- 

DrGunner

[Nomadic Pirate]

DAR mags for a captured barrel mag should be the standard.

Or Evanix Mags,...wonderful in my opinion.

[Spacebus]

Got ya.
Guess I have been lucky. I just counted up all the plastic covered rotating mags that I have. In .22, .25, .45 I have 37. Other than the first mags that came with the Avenger I think it was, I have never had a problem. I never had a different type of mag to compare to.

To me it's not so much if they are problematic or not, I just really dislike them, I dislike the way you have to load them, I dislike the way ammo rattles inside them and most of all I really dislike the way they look in a gun

I would buy a DAR just because of the magazines, I would buy a JTS because of the magazines before I would buy any brand that uses those Marauder style mags

That was the clincher for me, $300 for the gun and all aluminum mags.

I just noticed your avatar changed. That looks like a Chaser/Bandit in the photo based on the stock, but I can't see you using that for your avatar!

[cilami]

Kevin,

I want to get rid of the ping of my Challenger Bullpup  .25. Can you tell me what brush did you use and details of the installation?

Degas your gun (loosen the little Allen socket screw on the side of the fill cap at the end of the air tube)
The air tube on my Challenger measures slightly over 1.5” in diameter. You want a brush with bristles that are about 1/4”-1/2” longer than the diameter of your tube, so that when you push the brush in, the bristles are bent backward and provide constant pressure against the inside walls of the air tube to create a dampening affect- the ping is caused by mechanical vibration carried through the walls of the air tube like a bell. I purchased a brush set on Amazon which had bristles on the larger brush that measured 1.9”.   I cut a 2 inch section of brush, removed loose bristles, then twisted the metal wires together to hold the bristles tight from where I cut it. I put a couple of O-rings on the cut end of the brush, pushed up Tight against the bristles. Then I put a couple of small zip ties on the wire to back up the O-rings & prevent the wires from untwisting. I finished it off by adding two consecutive layers of heat shrink tubing to mine to keep everything contained. Then I the measured middle of my air tube and ma marked it on the tube with a piece of tape and marked a dowel rod to correspond to the depth I needed to push the brush in to where the center of the brush was at the center of my air tube. I installed it, verified depth, and cycled the action to ensure that it was working. Closed it back up and the job was done. (Don’t forget to tighten up the Allen setscrew that you used to degas the gun)
Add a little bit of fresh silicone grease to the O-rings on your air tube before reassembly.
Here’s the brushes I bought on Amazon.
I bought the set of 4 for $15.99, instead of the option to buy 2 for $11.99. $4 more to get twice the product? That’s a no- brainer.
Mine worked exceedingly well, the ping on my Challenger was downright awful; adding the brush as a depinger reduced the sound by at least 95%.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073Q3LDYN?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Hope this helps- 

DrGunner

Thanks so much for the detailed answer! You really did a meticulous installation.

[Mr.P]

I understand I think in principle how to loosen those rings on the back.  I gave it a go and they seem surprisingly snug. Before I go applying too much force and doing something stupid, is there something I should know about these? Just wanted to get the back off take a look at the hammer spring. It should be a piece of cake if I understand it maybe I just need to be a little more bold with the torque.

Thank you

[sb327]

Maybe they got some complaints about them being loose and started loctiting them?.?.  Mine have been easy to loosen.

I probably shouldn’t, but I use the stock at a 90 degree fold to help snug everything back up (while also turning the lock ring).

Dave

[sb327]

Pic

[Firewalker]

Got ya.
Guess I have been lucky. I just counted up all the plastic covered rotating mags that I have. In .22, .25, .45 I have 37. Other than the first mags that came with the Avenger I think it was, I have never had a problem. I never had a different type of mag to compare to.

To me it's not so much if they are problematic or not, I just really dislike them, I dislike the way you have to load them, I dislike the way ammo rattles inside them and most of all I really dislike the way they look in a gun

I would buy a DAR just because of the magazines, I would buy a JTS because of the magazines before I would buy any brand that uses those Marauder style mags

That was the clincher for me, $300 for the gun and all aluminum mags.

I just noticed your avatar changed. That looks like a Chaser/Bandit in the photo based on the stock, but I can't see you using that for your avatar!

Yes, I did change my avatar to the Chaser with the SafePac. It's such a fun grab-n-go gun, tray load and pull the trigger. EZPZ. 

[cilami]

Pic

David,

Do you have the dimensions of the hammer spring?
L,W, Wire dia., number of coils?

[Mr.P]

OK well it’s off now.  I was thinking about ways to begin playing around with the tune  and it occurs to me this gun essentially has a fine tune power wheel already.  I should  achieve a similar result backing that piece out 7 mm  as clipping a few spring coils, so that must be worth something. I wonder if you could get a curve out of it just by doing that?

If you added washers this would give you a small up and down adjustment.

I need see if I can find some comparable springs to mess around with next.

Hp max spring is 106mm long
7.8 mm od
5.7 mm id


I like this more and more as I am getting to know it better.  Safety mechanism is nice but reverse (forward is “safe”) compare to AF safety so that will take some getting used to.  Everything is rock solid it seems.

[sb327]

Yep, nicely designed guns.

I also made an externally adjustable hs for my varmint. It’s kinda tricky to do but not bad. It uses the guide rod to turn a threaded sleeve in the plug. And yes, that plug is an adjustment. Just don’t go so far the spring guide comes out of its spot.

Dave

[sb327]

You still need the spring dims?

[sb327]

AEA 30 carbine mainspring
4.152”
.313”
.043”
28

[Mr.P]

Yep, nicely designed guns.

I also made an externally adjustable hs for my varmint. It’s kinda tricky to do but not bad. It uses the guide rod to turn a threaded sleeve in the plug. And yes, that plug is an adjustment. Just don’t go so far the spring guide comes out of its spot.

Dave

A 3d printed collar would extend the range of that “power wheel” as far as one might want.  Project for tomorrow along with a single shot tray.   

Those mags are a hassle.  I have a little lube on the pellets I just cast and the magazine keeps slipping out of my fingers and launching across the room.  It seems like a solid mechanism just hard to keep it in place at first.  Some little grip or texture on the edge of the lucite piece would help

On one of my two magazines the allen screw that hold the clear face on rotates along with the clear face when it is rotated so it tightens up as you insert more pellets.    Guess I need a little Loctite for that particular screw


Had some arts and crafts time and cast a handful the slugs pictured (96 gr).