Detuned Browning 800

[RC1947]

I did not like the very hard cocking quality of my Hatsan-made Browning and rarely shot it because of that, and since I shoot only targets and tin cans, I certainly didn't need 700 fps (or whatever it actually was) to do that.  So, last night I removed the mainspring and, using a die grinder with a cutoff wheel, removed 2 coils of the spring.  I put the spring in a vice, heated the end with a torch, and hammered it down flat, quenched it and ground and polished the end.  Much better, smoother, and perhaps even more accurate. RC

[john]

How hot did you heat it and what did you quench it in...just curious? Sounds like you might not have a chrony...but guessing you probly dropped ~100fps...?...

[RC1947]

I put the spring vertically into a vice with only 3 coils above the jaws and heated to red, not a glowing orange, and hammered it down so the first coil was flat to the second, than quenched in water - you can use oil too.  The spring, by the time I finished hammering, which only takes a couple of hits of the hammer, was no longer red, and so, there's really no worry regarding the spring becoming brittle.
    I've found the gun much more enjoyable to shoot, and it's no longer a strain to cock.  Brutuz, who posts regularly on the Chinese Gate gave me the idea.  RC

[ffournier]

Really?? You did that to it?I have this gun. Shoot it all the time. Its not that hard to cock, especially with the assist. Oh well, to  each his own.