Continuing Trail NP AW Saga

[SciGuy]

Stopped raining long enough to get out and shoot the Trail some.  First up were about 50 rounds of its favorite Cuda Match.  Got the scope zeroed in 15-20 shots and began grouping.  When I did my part groups were in the 0.5 inch area at 20 yards, standing with a sandbag rest on the rail of my deck.  I can live with this.  

But all the work I've done on this gun has been with the intent of getting it shoot something lighter than the 21.14 gr Cudas.  So on to the FTT.  First shot was pretty close to the same POI as the Cudas.  Next few shots were into the same 2 inch group I'm use to seeing from these pellets.  Then there was an Earth shattering boom  Loudest airgun diesel I've experienced.  So I figure the seal is toast, but I decide to keep shooting.  (If this stupid thing is going to break, let's break it good )

Next 5 shots are all over the place and the thing is smokin like a $0.25 cigar.  The smoking finally stops and the groups start to tighten up.  Hmm.  Another 20 rounds and I have it shooting same size groups as the Cudas.

So now what do I do?  Gun is shooting better than ever.  But after that diesling, there has to be some seal damage.  This is a JM Tesla seal so maybe it is still OK.  Guess I'll just keep shooting it and if things start to go south again, I'll tear it down and check things out.

If it blows up, it will be the excuse I need to order one of the new 46U that MM has coming in.

[Nathan]

Do you remember if the pellet that dieseled badly  fit loosely or not? Maybe that pellet fit poorly and caused a semi-dry fire. I had that happen to me with a undersize Crosman Premier (the box ones) in my RX-1. The seal may be fine. I would be willing to bet the material JM chooses for his Apex seals is pretty tough.

Nathan

[Perry]

Mike, the seal should be fine. I've had that happen twice when I pushed the pellet in too far with my pellseat tool. Dieseling isn't good but it isn't the end of the world either. I would run a few dry parches through the barrel to clean it out though.

Those JM Tesla seals are pretty rugged and should handle the heat. Keep shooting and hopefully those FTT's will continue to group well.

[SciGuy]

Yea, just going to keep shooting until things go bad again.  As for the pellet when it dieseled, don't remember anything significant about it.  All the FTT fit pretty tight.  If one doesn't fit right, I shoot it in the ground and not at the target.  This shot was at the target so it must have fit OK.

Still thinking of getting an early order for one of the new 46U.  Would be cool to be among the first to have this new gun. 

[SciGuy]

Had a fantastic afternoon here in Alabama, upper 70s and very little breeze.  Got the Trail out to continue accuracy testing.  First up were the FTT.  Same POI as a couple days ago and groups at 25 yards standing off the rest on my deck rail still in the .5 to .75 inch range (ME SO HAPPY). 

Now for a real test, standing off-hand at pine cones 20-30 yards away (I use to do this all the time with my HW97K, have I ever mentioned how much I miss that gun).  First shot miss, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th shots resulted in dead pine cones (ME EVEN MORE SO HAPPY).  Spent the next 10 minutes picking off pine cones at various distances up to 35 yards.  All off-hand. 

Decided to try the Beeman FTS pellets I got in a pellet swap.  POI was nearly identical to the HN FTT.  Grouping was a little bigger than the FTT but still acceptable.  On to the pine cones.  Had just about as good of luck as with the FTT. 

This gun has had an incredible turn around.  Ever since that big dieseling, the gun has been performing great.  It now likes pellets it never liked before and really shoots well.  There also hasn't even been a hint of smoke.

So folks, the lesson here is not to give up on a gun just because it drives you crazy for a couple thousand shots.