Has my rifle lost some power?

[Flyboy]

After recently teaming up with a mate to go shooting with, I set him up with a Cometa Model 300 that I got off my dad. My dad reckons he only ever put ONE pellet through it, so it's essentially brand new.

I have a Stoeger X20S and have fired probably 2500-3000 pellets, or more, through it.

When we are both shooting at the same targets, with the same pellets, at the same distance, my mate's rifle always gets better penetration than mine. Sometimes mine will not penetrate even one side of a metal can, and his passes through both sides!

We are shooting at around the 30 yd mark and with pointed pellets.

I must say that it's slightly unnerving that we both have legal limit-power air rifles and his has so much more 'poke' than mine. At first I thought it was to do with the reduced muzzle power/velocity due to my tight breech, but I have since opened that up and is sweet... but his just still has the edge.

I did notice that the length of the X20S's barrel is what you would probably call 'carbine' length. It's shorter even with the suppressor than the barrel of the Model 300, and then you have to take into account that 4 or 5 inches of the shrouded barrel, the suppressor, isn't rifled. I would say that his rifle has up to (or beyond) another 6 inches of rifled barrel than mine.

I've heard that simply fitting longer barrels can give up to around 1 ft. lb. more power in customizable guns such as the Crosman 24xx series. Does the same apply to springers?

[Nathan]

While it is possible that your spring has weakened or something similar to reduce power, the only way to know for sure is to use a chronograph. Maybe a local gun shop could help you out.

Nathan

[Flyboy]

My local shop where I have bought my airguns doesn't really specialize in airguns, it just sells them as a bit of a sideline. Any chrony activity would mean that I would have to send my rifle off to the guy they use to replace parts in airguns, I think.

I've had the Stoeger for just over a year now, and must have put 2000+ pellets through it before I did the breech mod. With the breech previously being too tight, that couldn't have done the spring any good, I don't think, as it would have effectively been equivalent to firing thousands of too-high-a-grain pellets.

[thekid]

Wonder if his is regulated to the 12 fpe rule.

[White Eagle]

Even a 12 fpe rifle should be penetrating a can at 30 yds.  You might want to take the action out of the stock, and look at the spring coils.  You should be seeing evenly spaced coils on the spring that is visible.  Sounds like a broken spring to me, or possibly a blown piston seal if the spring looks OK.  The spring in my X20S broke at around the 1300 pellet mark.  Stoeger replaced the entire rifle under warranty, and the replacement only lasted about 400 rounds before the piston seal blew in that one.

[Flyboy]

When I say 'can' I am talking about a fairly thick-walled aerosol can, not a soft drinks can!

Yes we are just below the 12 ft. lb. mark, as that is the legal limit in the UK. Typically between around 11.5-11.9 ft. lbs. is the norm.

Broken spring? But wouldn't that sound different? Mine sounds solid as the day it was bought.

[White Eagle]

When the spring broke in my X20S, the rifle still shot, but I noticed a slight 'buzz'.  Springs can break in one or more places, and it just depends on where the break occurs as to whether the rifle will continue to function, or what it will sound like.  You might not have a broken spring, that's just a thought.

I didn't think you were talking about an aluminum soft drink can.  My rifle would shoot through heavy tin soup cans, end to end, like hot butter, at 25 yards.  I wouldn't expect anything less from 12 fpe.

[jct842]

My rws45 broke the spring in 3 places all at once as far as I could tell.  It was a tad easier to cock and was bouncing pellets off stuff it normally went thru.  This was when uramex was first getting started in ft smith and they would not sell me the spring, instead they wanted me to send the gun in,   so I bought a JM spring.  john