Rapidnick
30-07-2010, 07:52 AM
Some months ago I bought a FAC Rapid in .20. It had the latest block with scalloped loading port and series 4 trigger with wide blade, fast flow, QF an ambi stock and a 19" barrel. When I first chrono'ed the rifle it was running at 1000 ft sec with JSBs (28 ft lb) and yet was spot on. I realised that the air economy was going to be pretty poor and in any case I had decided on a different experience for this rifle.
Experiments with other calibres had convinced me that ALL FAC air rifles shooting diabolo ammunition were vulnerable to the wind. This applied to Bisley Magnum .22 at 40 ft lb right down to JSB heavy .177. .25 was less vulnerable but I don't own one of those as I have a .22LR for when conditions are a bit blustery. This led me to a decision. How about trying a .20 running at around 900 ft sec but with the standard .20 pellet-the H & N FTT? This pellet weighs in at 11.4 grain and 900 ft sec would only equate to around 20 ft lb. Should be very flat and yet totally effective against normal airgun quarry such as rabbits, squirrels, pigeons and corvids. The shot count should be much improved too which was important as I wanted to run this rifle with a 280cc bottle.
In my box of tricks I already had a regulator taken from a legal limit .177 MFR so I decided to use that. Removing the QF-useless with a reg-I found to my relief that the QF adapter had simply been screwed straight in to the blanking hole at the base of the receiver.:eek:I obtained a blanking plug and Dowty washer from Theoben-which as usual came the day after I ordered it thanks to Theoben's excellent customer service :D-and simply replaced the QF with the blanking plug. Easy peasy. Replacing the fast flow with the regulator I re-assembled the rifle and tried to fit the bottle. I was greeted by a hiss as the air escaped up the barrel!! Oh dear I thought. Is something wrong? I posted a help thread on here and the replies helped me diagnose that the most likely cause was the exhaust valve assembly-either a split O ring or damaged spring. Opening up the rifle I found-guess what-a CHOPPED exhaust spring! I changed this for a new one, reassembled everything and was pleased to report that the bottle went on perfectly without any leaks. Now for testing. I backed off the hammer spring-it was right in as you would expect for a 28 ft lb .20 air rifle- and ran 5 shots over the chrono. Unbelievable! 900 ft sec with little variation so 20 ft lb which was what I wanted. When I zeroed it it felt silky smooth and just SO sweet. Most important of all, it was absolutely spot on with FTT pellets. Very happy I proceeded to shoot the rifle and was delighted to find that I got at least 4 magazines (48 shots) before the rifle ran 'off the reg' in the 5th magazine. The accuracy was amazing. My final target-a 60 yard heavy aluminium disc suspended on a swinging bar was hit time after time. This is actually quite a difficult shot as the whole assembly is screwed to a fence post at quite a sharp angle so it represents quite a similar profile to a rabbit's head at that range and the shooter has very little by way of a rest to keep the rifle stable.
Job done! I have a medium power, lightweight, smooth and economical rig with a decent shot count using freely available pellets and shooting them spot on at up to 70 yards in wind-free conditions. I really could not have asked for anything more.:D:D
Experiments with other calibres had convinced me that ALL FAC air rifles shooting diabolo ammunition were vulnerable to the wind. This applied to Bisley Magnum .22 at 40 ft lb right down to JSB heavy .177. .25 was less vulnerable but I don't own one of those as I have a .22LR for when conditions are a bit blustery. This led me to a decision. How about trying a .20 running at around 900 ft sec but with the standard .20 pellet-the H & N FTT? This pellet weighs in at 11.4 grain and 900 ft sec would only equate to around 20 ft lb. Should be very flat and yet totally effective against normal airgun quarry such as rabbits, squirrels, pigeons and corvids. The shot count should be much improved too which was important as I wanted to run this rifle with a 280cc bottle.
In my box of tricks I already had a regulator taken from a legal limit .177 MFR so I decided to use that. Removing the QF-useless with a reg-I found to my relief that the QF adapter had simply been screwed straight in to the blanking hole at the base of the receiver.:eek:I obtained a blanking plug and Dowty washer from Theoben-which as usual came the day after I ordered it thanks to Theoben's excellent customer service :D-and simply replaced the QF with the blanking plug. Easy peasy. Replacing the fast flow with the regulator I re-assembled the rifle and tried to fit the bottle. I was greeted by a hiss as the air escaped up the barrel!! Oh dear I thought. Is something wrong? I posted a help thread on here and the replies helped me diagnose that the most likely cause was the exhaust valve assembly-either a split O ring or damaged spring. Opening up the rifle I found-guess what-a CHOPPED exhaust spring! I changed this for a new one, reassembled everything and was pleased to report that the bottle went on perfectly without any leaks. Now for testing. I backed off the hammer spring-it was right in as you would expect for a 28 ft lb .20 air rifle- and ran 5 shots over the chrono. Unbelievable! 900 ft sec with little variation so 20 ft lb which was what I wanted. When I zeroed it it felt silky smooth and just SO sweet. Most important of all, it was absolutely spot on with FTT pellets. Very happy I proceeded to shoot the rifle and was delighted to find that I got at least 4 magazines (48 shots) before the rifle ran 'off the reg' in the 5th magazine. The accuracy was amazing. My final target-a 60 yard heavy aluminium disc suspended on a swinging bar was hit time after time. This is actually quite a difficult shot as the whole assembly is screwed to a fence post at quite a sharp angle so it represents quite a similar profile to a rabbit's head at that range and the shooter has very little by way of a rest to keep the rifle stable.
Job done! I have a medium power, lightweight, smooth and economical rig with a decent shot count using freely available pellets and shooting them spot on at up to 70 yards in wind-free conditions. I really could not have asked for anything more.:D:D