Cadet Major power?....

[Smithfire]

Following on from the thread about Meteor power.....what do you think a BSA Cadet Major should be producing?. I would have thought due to their size, that when they were leaving the factory and bedded in, 7-8 ft/pounds. Sound about right?

Cheers

Clive

[red bob]

they come in around the high 7ftlbs,you can get a bit more with tinkering but its useualy to their detriment.they are much nicer to use at around 7 or a tad less especialy the .177.

[Smithfire]

Thanks for that. want to get the power right, 7ftIbs sounds good.

[jjjjjj]

Hi Smithfire
I have owned about ten cadet majors in the past and the best one i have ever owned was just doing 7ft lbs, i have found that most do between 5 to 6 ft lbs, i have had many people say they have one doing 8 to 9 ft lbs but i have yet to see one and to be proved wrong, the real fact is cadet majors do 5 to 6 ft lbs untill someone can show me one doing more.
JJJJJJ

[mrto]

Hi Smithfire
I have owned about ten cadet majors in the past and the best one i have ever owned was just doing 7ft lbs, i have found that most do between 5 to 6 ft lbs, i have had many people say they have one doing 8 to 9 ft lbs but i have yet to see one and to be proved wrong, the real fact is cadet majors do 5 to 6 ft lbs untill someone can show me one doing more.
JJJJJJ

I agree with the above.I have heard people say Cadet Majors are good for 7ftlbs or more but,I have two both resealed and re-sprung and they both put out 5.5ftlbs.In time that may rise a little but I suspect the upper limit for most would be about 6ftlbs.

[Smithfire]

Thanks guys

I sure wasn't trying to find an upper limit so I could tune it to within an inch of its life, rather find the sort of power that they feel comfortable to opperate at so I could one day respring/reseal mine.

Is there a meteor spring that fits well to achieve this power level?

Cheers

Clive

[jjjjjj]

Hi Smithfire
The meteor springs are to long and have to be cut down to fit, your better off buying a standard cadet major spring from T.W. Chambers.
JJJJJJ

[BTDT]

they come in around the high 7ftlbs,you can get a bit more with tinkering but its useualy to their detriment.they are much nicer to use at around 7 or a tad less especialy the .177.

I thought they were only made in .177", Bob.

I'll go with 7 ft. lbs. Mine is doing circa 600 fps with Superdome, for 6.6 ft. lbs, (which is just 16fps shy of 7 ft. lbs.).

When the rifle was given to me, the pellet didn't even reach the muzzle. The mainspring was collapsed and in an 'S' shape, so I found an old spring that fitted the piston and cut it to length - no idea what it originally came out of.

[red bob]

ooops yes silly me,been breathing in to much laquer from my mil/diana mk4 refurb;phew!!.

[sevorg]

Here are a few test results from mine as bought second-hand a few months back, all 10 shot averages:

AA Field 595 fps (6.6 ft.lb) 15fps variation
RWS Hobby 662 fps (6.8 ft.lb) 34fps variation
RWS Hobby - lubed 682 fps (7.2 ft.lb) 24fps variation
RWS R10 Pistol -7gn 655 fps (6.6 ft.lb) 13fps variation
Ely Wasp 607 fps (6.6 ft.lb) 25fps variation
Milbro Caledonian 636 fps (6.9 ft.lb) 36fps variation
RWS Superdome - lubed 632fps (7.3 ft.lb) 16fps variation

In conclusion, and based on my example and experience, Hobbies are the best all round for muzzle velocity and general plinking. Superdomes have a marginal edge in ME (I didn't try them unlubed but would guess they still have a small advantage if the Hobby lubed:unlubed ratio is similar.) The Superdomes are likely to be more accurate over longer ranges compared with the flat-head Hobby.

I hope this is of some help,

Tom