TF-99 with gas spring from MIke

[singleshotcajun]

Years ago I bought a B3-3 from south summit. It is a big ole heavy thing and shot great after a tune. After I realized how much I liked it there were none to be found, just plain ole b3's which I have way too many of. When I found out that Mike had purchased a bunch of returned items from Pyramid and among these were some Tf-99s I pounced on one with a gas spring conversion. The stock is by far the nicest Chinese stock I have ever witnessed. I wish I could buy all my airgun needs from Mike Mellick, there is no one better to deal with. This is my first gas spring rifle. When the rifle came in a merely installed a bit of pure silicone oil in the transfer port and shot it. It shot pretty good. I am rehabbing from a total knee replacement (complicated one, previously rebuilt knee in 1983, football) so I could not go any further at that time. One week after getting this rifle and three weeks out from surgery I could sit on a stool at my bench in my workshop. Stripping was easy, just about an inch of preload on the piston, wow that was a pleasant change. Even though someone a PA converted this to a gas spring they did not hone the air chamber, so I did. This one has a standard 25 mm synthetic piston seal, same as B3. Ground/polished the piston, little dab of Moly paste on the piston. There is a small PVC guide inside the piston so I left that alone. Deburred really sharp and high edges all around the loading port in the receiver then re blued with G96 cream cold bluing, good stuff. Now to attack the trigger. This one is "interesting" more parts than a B3 but just as rough. I have worked on just about any kind of powder burner trigger you can shake a stick at from a Canjar to 1896 Swedish Mauser to a high end AR match trigger so I am not daunted by triggers except ones that have unattainable parts such as most Chinese air gun triggers. I have a few B3 rifles that are missing trigger parts so they are now donor parts rifles (those extra pins do come in handy). I like the fact that the anti bear trap mechanism holds most of the pins in once installed. I knurl one end of the pins with big Kline pliers so they will not fall out. Lots of filing/honing on the mating surfaces of the trigger then trying to fit the puzzle together. Sear in first then mousetrap spring then trigger then bear trap lever. Like most TF-99s I have read about online (that isn’t much either) my trigger had a notch that appeared to be worn on it and this complicated the spring location, the spring was also bent in what appeared to be a wrong angle. I tweaked both the trigger sheet metal and the spring for a better fit. I could not get my finger between the trigger and the bear trap lever so I deburred and bent back the lever. The trigger guard is plastic. I learned my lesson long ago on these and now add a fitted steel washer on the rear action screw or I know I'll break the guard upon repeated tightening of the screw. Had to add thicker washers and resort to Loctite bearing retaining compound on the two forward stock screws so they would stay tight which is my normal for B3 type rifles. I removed the white plastic spacer on the stock as it was really big and I did not feel like trimming this one, I like the look without it. The trigger is much improved now, just a bit of creep then a nice predictable break, almost two stage. I shot it a bunch with the factory fiber optic sights.This one is in .177 and seems to like Crosman pointed "Hunter" pellets best, I guess it is shooting too fast for wadcutters. I'll try more pellets later,for now all I have on hand are Crosman wadcutters and hunter in .177, they work well in all my other .177 rifles.I installed a cheapo A/O scope from my .22 stash and I will sight it in today and play with it some. This will not last as I am an iron sight guy. I will eventually either refine the fiber optic sights (file front sight flat and blacken) or install a Williams peep and a proper target front sight. The gas spring is nice and it will not be my last one, I can see me converting some of my rifles to this system. The gas spring does take some of the "fun" out of the tuning process. If you got this far thanks for reading my long rambling "I'm laid up and bored out of my mind post". Requisite crappy pictures.







Initial targets shot before tune. Ten meters in my garage/shop from sitting"Offhand" position( not able to stand and shoot yet) . Nothing to brag on but its a good base line.

[avator]

Looks good , thanks for the post.

[longhunter]

nice lumber. is that factory, or, was it redone by the previous owner?? overall, that's a very nice looking gun.

[Fwawa20]

That's factory lumber on these things they are nice stocks really they are.

[singleshotcajun]

The only thing I did to the wood was to give it some Finnish gun stock wax. From the factory these are some of the nicest Chinese stocks.

[singleshotcajun]

Just came in from trying out the scope. After much grief I remembered how that thing got into my misc/junk/odd parts box in the first place. Keeping the UTG base and chunking the scope. I went back to the factory sights , it is shooting about one inch high at 10 meters with the rear sight all the way down. I might need to try some heavier pellets or install a Williams target peep for more vertical adjustment.

[avator]

I vote heavier pellet, put some more "uumph" on impact. MORE POWER 

[TleVta]

From the factory these are some of the nicest Chinese stocks.

Sure looks good from here. Gun looks alot like a HW77? Is the TF power plant the same as a B3?

[JR]

My TF 99 is all original, mine has the darker stock also, the newer XS46U is just the newer version of the TF99/B 3-3. Good shooting guns with a tune up just heavy.

[Doug Wall]

I also got a gas piston TF-99 from Mike recently. It's a definite keeper. Looks just as good as yours. I haven't taken the piston out of mine, as it's very accurate an has a very nice firing cycle. I did do some trigger mods(posted elseware on this thread) to get a nicer trigger pull. A 4x32 scope? This thing is accurate enough that it deserves at least a 4-12x40 AO scope! Mines favorite fodder so far is 8.44gr JSB Exacts.

[Fwawa20]

From the factory these are some of the nicest Chinese stocks.

Sure looks good from here. Gun looks alot like a HW77? Is the TF power plant the same as a B3?

No these rifles are big and a lot more powerful than the B3's . It's  it's own design and they produce  depending on caliber from 15FPE to 18FPE of course it varies rifle to rifle. Mine does right around 17 in .22 and  is an excellent shooter. It's my go to gun!

[singleshotcajun]

 I took care of the shooting high problem. I modified the front sight by removing the fiber optic rod, the holes helped to hold the Belzona epoxy metal that I built up the hieght of the sight with. Filed the sight into a rectangle .085" wide and square on top similar to a post insert for a target sight. I raised the front sight .075" in all and now it will shoot POA(fine bead of course) at 20 yards in the back yard and still have some room to go down if needed with the rear sight.

[singleshotcajun]

Got out early this AM and fought off the mosquitoes long enough to shoot a few 1/5 Smallbore silhouettes from twenty yards. This .177 using Crosman pointed lightweight Hunter pellets is knocking these heavy 1/4" thick steel silhouettes over with authority, even the rams. I also shoot some air rifle size silhouettes from the same distance and if it were not for having a good backstop those silhouettes would likely have flown over my fence and into the ditch. I've ordered some Crosman 10.5 gr dome pellets to try. I went back into the trigger and honed a little more on the bottom of the sear where the trigger engages it, and it is really light and smooth now. I love this big honking rifle but my only concern is the trigger and how long the components will last. Specifically I don't see the mouse trap style spring or the trigger (sheet metal shoe and pinned steel) lasting. I need to call Mike and see if there are any spares or swaps to better triggers available now. If so I will buy a few to put up for posterity. Took some better photos of the front sight modification.
 

[singleshotcajun]

Raining like crazy here in Houston. I was playing around in my garage range today. I've got a roll of masking tape that I occasionally shoot . I will place it on top of my silent  trap and shoot it from 10 meters. I've mostly shot it with B-3s and Co2 pellet rifles. No pellet has gone through until today. The Crosman Hunter launched from the TF-99 NP shot through it. I found the mangled pellet  behind the trap after it hit the 3/4" plywood of the bookshelf. This thing is super powerful. This is the most powerful .177 pellet rifle I have ever owned.

[twith70]

Hello all,

     I recently purchased one of these as well, I think I got the last of the .22s that Mike had ( he says he has more .177s if anyone is interested). I received the rifle two days ago (6 days after I ordered it) and have only had a chance for one shooting session so far. I unboxed the rifle which was in an original box to my surprise. Upon inspection the only real thing I could see wrong was the rear sight was missing. I knew this going in as Mike had let me know ahead of time. I had Mike convert it to a gas spring and I am glad I did. This rifle has a very smooth cocking and firing cycle. After the first shot I thought I was going to have shim the scope, it shot pretty low. I put a Leapers 3x9 Bug Buster on this rifle with an offset mount. 5 shots later I was on target and was amazed that it held tight groups 25 yards unrested. It is smoking a bit, although I only managed 30-40 pellets down the tube. Mike did a wonderful job on the rifle and I am thoroughly pleased with my purchase. The rifle is heavy, but no worse than my HW97k. While this is not a 97k it is accurate and the trigger is acceptable for a lot less money than I paid for my used 97k. I knew going in this was a Chinese made air rifle and wasn't expecting it be high end but I was pleasantly surprised with accuracy so far. Once it stops smoking I will try to get some chronograph numbers.

[singleshotcajun]

Let us know how that Bug Buster holds up for you. The gas spring is so much smoother it may just hold up on the rifle. I'm still very happy with mine shooting the iron sights. Yesterday I  did a test shooting a one inch thick phone book at sixty feet with Crosman 10.5 grain .177 premiers. It shot completely through leaving a nice exit hole , critters beware. The 10.5 grain Premiers do the trick in the .177 gas spring rifle, nothing else I have tried even comes close,smoother shot cycle,great groups and penetration.

[twith70]

SSCajun,

[twith70]

SSCajun,

      Oops, hit the wrong button on previous post. It was your OP that inspired me to call Mike. I will see if I can get chrony numbers posted soon.

[twith70]

Shot across the chronograph today. Here are the numbers:

High-771
Low-762
ES-9
SD-2.9

This was 100 pellets after the conversion by Mike. I am thoroughly impressed with Mike's handy work, quick turnaround time and reasonable prices.

[Bryan Heimann]

Singleshotcajun,

That gun shoots pretty decent groups with the pointed crosmans.  Looks like a real nice gun for hunting and pesting.  May be that it just likes those pellets, or you might get even better results with some spendy jsb or h&n domes.  But if it were me, I'd just keep on shooting the pointed crosmans.  Congrats for finding such a great rifle, especially for the money.