Yesterday's woods walk at the WMA

[smythsg]

I posted this in the Hunting gate because that was what I was doing, but nothing moved in the woods all day...  
This time of year in North GA is interesting because the temperature starts out at about 34 degrees with heavy frost in the morning but hits 65+ degrees in the afternoon,so sheading clothes along the way. The Airforce Escape UL had the .25 cal barrel back in (hoping to see a piggy, sign everywhere, but no luck), and I brought my buddy bottle in it's new carrying case to try out in the field. (it works great).

After walking about a mile along a creek and seeing nothing I picked out a golf ball sized rock that my rangefinder said was 49 yards out and shot a few of the 33 gn Apolo slugs to fine tune the Escape. These slugs shoot very accurately from the Escape UL in the low 900's and I was able to recover three from the shallow creek bottom for review. They perform very well and have become my goto ammo for the .25 barrel.

Weather is even nicer today, but hanging at home and doing more shooting with the XS60C before the rain comes back tomorrow for another couple of days.

[Spacebus]

Those Apolo slugs are great, I would even say equal to the NSA 33.5g.

I also like your buddy bottle setup. I've been thinking about getting a 0.5L AL 4,500 psi bottle for walking with me in the woods. It would fit my blaze orange vest pocket on the back and shouldn't be too obtrusive. I've tried carrying my 1.6l bottle but it's really awkward to pack. The hand pump is even worse!

[ranchibi]

Steve, not all lost on such a beautiful land to walk! Your Escape slinging thise slugs will make short work of a piggy! Hope you bag some soon! Nice pics.

[smythsg]

DJ, that 490cc Condor bottle made a nice little buddy bottle that will top off my Escape at least two times and maybe three times. It can also top off my .30 cal AEA back up to about 3000 psi adding another six good shots to the eight or so I get with the 3200 psi fill I start with. I hang it off my belt on my back left hip and hardly know it's there throughout the day. And yes, those Apolo 33 gn slugs are doing well out of the Escape,

Randall, even when I see nothing moving on my Woods Walks, it is so refreshing to get out in the woods and just let the world go by. That WMA that I hunt is a bit over 14,000 acres so I rarely see another person, especially on weekdays, which being retired allows me to do. I sometimes walk 5-6 miles on the old logging trails and creek beds... great exercise and mental detox, and I get to shoot airguns while doing it...

[jimbo]

That buddy bottle sounds interesting, any info on it?

[smythsg]

Hey Jim, the buddy bottle is pretty simple. I used to own an Airforce Condor that got upgraded to a carbon fiber bottle before I sold it, leaving me with a standard aluminum Condor tank laying around for a year or so. I saw a post a few weeks back about someone looking for a bottle for field use and it got me thinking about my Condor bottle. I ordered this fill station ( https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/m18x1-5-pcp-tank-dual-gauge-filling-station-with-400bar-6000psi-gauge-50cm-hose/ ) from Airgunarcheryfun.com which just screws right into the Condor tank. The fill station is rated for 4500 psi, but of course the Condor tank is only rated for 3000 psi. This still works well for me because I only fill my Escape UL to 2200 psi and shoot down to 1800 psi, and then top it off from the Condor tank. I know for sure it will top it off twice, and maybe three times but I haven't tested the third time yet. Still need to do more testing with the AEA Challenger .30 cal, but I know it will top it back up to around 3000 psi at least once.

The Condor bottle route may not be for everyone, but I had it laying around and it works well for me. I like to keep all my airgun related endevors to at or just above 3000 psi to keep stress to a minimum on the guns and my Yong Heng compressor. I do fill my Challenger to a 3200 psi fill, but that isn't too far beyond 3000. Both of those guns are unregulated, so lower fill pressures give me a better shot string.

The case came from a well equipped paintball store about 10 miles up the road. It is this one (https://www.valken.com/products/vest-pouch-v-tac-tank-pouch-universal?via=Z2lkOi8vdmFsa2VuL1dvcmthcmVhOjpDYXRhbG9nOjpDYXRlZ29yeS81ZWFkMzJhYjFiNGZmNTAwMTgzZDJiOGE ) I bought it very gently used for $10.00...

[jimbo]

Do you think that I can still get one of those Condor tanks some where?

[smythsg]

They are pretty common and a lot of folks have upgraded to carbon tanks so there should be some out there. Throw up a Want to Buy post on the classifieds and you might get a hit. Of course you can still buy them from Airforce. You don't need a valve so they should be reasonably priced...

[Spacebus]

Do you think that I can still get one of those Condor tanks some where?

There are better deals than condor tanks. You can find a 0.5L 4,500 psi aluminum bottle for $50 and a fill station for less than that from ebay.

[jimbo]

Is this what I need?

[jimbo]

And this?

[Spacebus]

The bottle is good, but I wouldn't suggest that fill adapter.


This would be a better design. I haven't tested this one specifically, but it is similar to what is on my Hatsan bottle. You could shop around for one that is a bit cheaper, it's just to show the better design.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/285134137762?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=CgVq1nfQQf2&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=coq08-wmSMS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=SMS

Edit: that one also has the correct m18x1.5 tank threads you need.

[smythsg]

Sorry for the late reply, got tied up this afternoon. That bottle should be fine, and the fill adaptor that Spacebus suggested is the same one I have and will fit that tank. I already had the Condor tank, but the 4500 psi tank will give you more options.

I did notice that Airgunarchery.com said they were currently sold out of the fill station, but it was about the same price as the ebay listing

[jimbo]

I already have this fill station tat I have for my 90 cu. in. carbon fiber tank, would this work or should I get the one your talking about?

[smythsg]

Jim, I may be wrong, but I think that fill adaptor fits a regulator on the air tank. You could probably use it if the tank you buy has a regulator, but if it is just a bare tank with no regulator, then don't think that will fit. (Others please feel free to correct me if I am incorrect)

If you are like me and plan to fill a rifle that can accept a 3000 psi fill from a 3000 psi max tank, then a regulator is not necessary. However if your fill bottle is 4500 psi and you try to fill a 3000 psi max rifle you will have to be VERY careful not to overfill the gun. A regulator would be very desirable on the fill bottle in that case.

The .5L bottle recommendations probably comes without a regulator, but this fill station has an adjustable regulator built in. ( https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/adjustable-regulated-filling-station-with-two-gauges-and-50cm-hose-m18x1-5/ ) There may also be cheaper versions of this on ebay.

Bottom line, if everything stays 3000 psi then all is good with what we recommended, but if you want to fill the bubby bottle to 4500 psi, I recommend a regulated bottle or regulated fill station to be safe.

[jimbo]

This stuff is starting to get a little confusing to me, I liked the idea if I'm out walking around thru the woods with my .30 assassin or even my marauder that instead of taking my 90 cu. in. bottle with me that this buddy bottle thing would fit the bill much better. I guess I want to know exactly what I should order to do that for me. Sorry for being so dense.

[Spacebus]

This stuff is starting to get a little confusing to me, I liked the idea if I'm out walking around thru the woods with my .30 assassin or even my marauder that instead of taking my 90 cu. in. bottle with me that this buddy bottle thing would fit the bill much better. I guess I want to know exactly what I should order to do that for me. Sorry for being so dense.

You don't need a regulated fill station if you are familiar with the valve on your current setup. To use the valve I linked; open the valve slowly, let your gun fill up to correct pressure, close the valve, and then finally open the vent so you can remove the fitting. This is all possible with the valve I linked. The bottle you posted is the same one I was looking at myself. Those two components will work like your 90 Ci bottle, but about 1/3 of the volume. Not sure how well that will fill your assassin, but it would give two or three refills on my 550cc 3k psi Eagle Claw.

[smythsg]

Jim, sorry this got complicated, just trying to err on the side of safety. DJ is correct you do not need a regulator if you are careful when filling your rifles to avoid overfilling. The tank you looked at and the fill station that DJ linked (the same as mine) is all you will need.

My guns, and the Eagle Claw that DJ mentioned are 3000 psi fill max rifles and this setup will work for them. The Marauder is 3000 psi as well and this setup should work fine with it also.

Not sure what fill pressure you are using for your Assassin ( or tank size) so can't say for sure how many refills you might get with a .5L tank with that rifle at higher fill pressures?

[jimbo]

I haven't used my .90 cu. in. tank for awhile not since I purchased that Bin Tac battery compressor but if I remember correctly I would fill that tank to 4500psi but the fill station would only allow 2900psi out at a time. I may be all wrong about this I'll go check later and let you know. But I fill my Marauder and Airacuda to 3000psi and my assassin to about 2400psi. That bottle buddy would sure be a lot nicer to take along in the woods rather then lugging around that .90 cu. in. tank.

[jimbo]

The tank on my Assassin is 500cc