SOLVED: bad barrel - work on it or replace it?

[MEAT]

You are the champion my friend...cuz you kept on fighting till the end!

[nervoustrigger]

Haha, thanks Andrew. 

But I don't want to overlook the fact you said maybe I should try cutting off an inch and half from the barrel.  I remember thinking to myself, why an inch and a half?  And then thinking why not?

[MEAT]

I am so happy for you!  I have been watching this thread like everyone else...hoping for this very set of pictures.  ONE TINY HOLE!

Heck yes!  This is so rewarding for me!  I bet you are on cloud 9 brother!  I wish i was there to share some lemonade and steak with you!  This is an occasion to celebrate.  This is what humanity is about.  Victory over entropy!  You are my hero sir!

[twigboy]

First group:



Then I went and installed an LDC and shot two more groups:

Seems to me that the first group was nearly a 2:1 improvement over the group in post #115 (.42").  The LDC apparently improved grouping more in the subsequent groups.  Maybe you had a better day.  These look impressive to me @ 25 yds. but is the expectation that groupings should get better?  Congratulations.  You earned this.

[MEAT]

I can' get over how much work you put into this! Way to go!

[vigilandy]

@twigboy - I would guess that the variation you see may be due to environmental conditions.  The groups in #115 had a relatively large amount of horizontal spread. Perhaps it was a bit breezy. 

@Jason - I've said it before, but that is amazing! From three inch groups to single hole!  The improvement  with the LDC might suggest a harmonics issue afterall?

@ andrew - I thought your suggestion to chop the barrel was a little random at the time... shows how little I know!

[MEAT]

I am happy for you Vigilandy.  What are you going to do with this newly accurate hole puncher?

[nervoustrigger]

I would guess that the variation you see may be due to environmental conditions.  The groups in #115 had a relatively large amount of horizontal spread. Perhaps it was a bit breezy. 

Yeah, I didn't even think about the wind at the time.  Crazy thing is, it was just last night and I can't remember for certain but I think I was shooting the groups with my flashlight on the target, meaning I could not see the leaves and grass to notice what the wind was doing.  Tonight, conditions were indeed calm and I felt pretty good about my hold, pulse, and trigger control.  Those groups are about as good as I shoot with any rifle from a pillow rest (not bedded in/on sandbags).

The improvement with the LDC might suggest a harmonics issue afterall?

Perhaps, I would have to shoot several more groups with and without the LDC to establish a convincing pattern though it has been my experience that my little homebrew design tends to improve groups ever so slightly.

I've said it before, but that is amazing! From three inch groups to single hole!

Dude, I am so glad the journey with this rifle has reached this point.  I just spent 20 minutes re-reading this thread to remind myself of the many suggestions and all the different things I have tried.  Work has been super busy and the last few weeks have been a blur so I didn't even remember some bits of it.   It may seem strange to some but working on your two rifles has been somewhat therapeutic and it will please me greatly when you and your neighbor have an opportunity to use them to administer that special brand of therapy to the local pest population.

[nervoustrigger]

I want to give a big thanks to you guys who offered words of encouragement...Joe, Kirby, Jerry, et. al., and particularly to Kirby for your seemingly endless stream of brainstorming and to Andrew for your ideas and encouragement outside the forum. 

[vigilandy]

I am happy for you Vigilandy.  What are you going to do with this newly accurate hole puncher?

Andrew, this QB79 is going to be helping my neighbor punch .177 sized holes in the local starlings.  His shooting will be at 30 yards or so.  The 22 is likely going to be my goto gun for long range shooting.  My FDPCP is great up to 50 yards, but only if I get the fill pressure just right, and am not too deep into the shot string.  With a solid and consistent speed in the .22 QB79 it should be easier to estimate pellet drop.

[vigilandy]

Jason, I owe you a big one for all this. If I'd known how much work you'd have to put in,  I'd have been too embarassed to accept your offer to help.

[bubba zanetti]

Andy:

Did my old (now yours  ) QB-79 get HPA'd too?

I am surprised the 7.33 grain pellets shoot decent. I never tried the JSB version because every 8 grain pellet I tried shot like poo.

Interesting stuff and awesome work Nervious.

BZ

[vigilandy]

BZ - I had planned on both 177 QBs to stay on CO2 for medium range and high shot count.  I sure got enough 9oz bottles from you!  My neighbor still isn't up to shooting yet.  When he's ready I'll probably set him up with the QB Jason has right now and a bunch of the tanks I got from you.  Those 7.3gr will help compensate for cold weather CO2.

Jason,  how fast are you shooting those pellets?

[Sfttailrdr46]

  Jason I just re read thread this morning  Ok skimmed through and the post about cutting 1.5" and re crowning don't underestimate the effect of harmonics and accuracy. But as JP pointed out perseverance payed off , You must be either Italian or German heritage I'm both and once something challanges me I will solve it. It is in the genes, great job solving the puzzle and true dedication 

[palonej]

YESSSSS!!!!
Give that man a beer!!
Excellent work Jason!! I had faith bro!!

[Tater]

This is awesome! Way to go Jason, I love a happy ending.

[K.O.]

It was amazing to ride along as you listened to this rifles song and helped it recompose itself from a mild stacˇcaˇto  wildness to a smooth

stiletto edged synergistic flow that those falcons seem meant to ride

eh pseudo poetic cra*...

but honestly in the end you tuned by listening to feeling gained through experiencing the changes you made to the song of the shot cycle,


and the barrel whispered a need for balance in its Young's modulus tune  so you made the cut...

Eh 1.5" why not...

is "Barrel Whisperer" speak for it just has to be felt...

Some times you refuse to give up because you can feel/know the potential is there to unbury;

Thanks for having the guts to share this as you taught these pieces their part of the whole,

because some times  you are wrong

But


  NOT THIS TIME...


Problem child to Very good...

 Jason Persists and Prevails

 

[Tommy]

A good story and a great job
Well done Jason and all
Tommy

[nervoustrigger]

Wow, I really appreciate all the supportive comments from you guys.   I didn't realize so many were following this thread.

Andy and I talked Friday night and decided to leave the rifle on HPA.  With the 17ci tank, it seems like it shoots forever and the needle hardly moves, and the benefit of temperature independence is great for a pesting rifle.  But before I call it done, I wanted to figure out if the Limbsaver deresonator is necessary and also see if the rifle shows a sensitivity to velocity. 

First things first, I needed a proper LDC to replace the temporary one so I went out into the shop Saturday and made one.  With it installed, here's a pic of the rifle wearing an AR stock temporarily for testing.



So with the deresonator removed and the new LDC fitted, I fiddled with the RVA to find the maximum velocity.  For the 7.3gr Falcons that turned out to be 850fps (11.8fpe) using a standard Ninja regulator ~850psi.  Then I sat down and shot some single targets at 25 yards:



That looked pretty good so I backed it down to 700fps and shot another 4 singles:



Then back up again to the previous setpoint of 820fps.  Sorry, I got a little excited and blew the last shot



Looks like we have ourselves a shooter!

[MEAT]

Way to go man! Andy has a laser coming to him.