Scope and mounts for a gas ram.......

[averageplinker]

Hi gang,

I should have a new project rifle on the way soon. It is an old Air Arms sidelever which has had a Theoben aftermarket ram fitted.

I have heard rammers can be sharp and snappy so wonder if a Dampamount or similar is advisable, or should I be ok with any half decent springer rated scope?

Cheers
Rich.

PS IIRC the aftermarket rams are not pressure adjustable. Is this correct?

[bighit]

Hi gang,

I should have a new project rifle on the way soon. It is an old Air Arms sidelever which has had a Theoben aftermarket ram fitted.

I have heard rammers can be sharp and snappy so wonder if a Dampamount or similar is advisable, or should I be ok with any half decent springer rated scope?

Cheers
Rich.

PS IIRC the aftermarket rams are not pressure adjustable. Is this correct?

i had a nikko stirling gold crown on my Hi-power air arms gas ram conversion for years and it did not wreck the scope . if you want to make sure then get a dampa mount

and yes ,the rams are sealed and cant be adjusted although an Ex member on here said he could re pressure them but not sure how .

hatsan do an adjustable ram .will it fit your rifle ? who knows ?

hatsan https://sharg.pl/product-pol-103612-...TYPE-1-ST.html

[The Squire]

If the ram is operating correctly then IMHO rammers wrecking scopes is an urban myth, but happy to be corrected by folks real experiences.

[averageplinker]

I will see how it goes and may end up putting spring back in if I don't like rammers.

[Rapidnick]

If the ram is operating correctly then IMHO rammers wrecking scopes is an urban myth, but happy to be corrected by folks real experiences.

I agree and having owned 4 Eliminators as well as numerous 'Fenmen' I've had a reasonable amount of real world experience of gas ram rifles. In the case of the Eliminator I would always use a dampamount and a Simmons Pro Air as I'm certain they will perform well. With the Fenman- properly adjusted for smooth running not maximum power- I've not had a problem with any scope.

[averageplinker]

Cheers All.

Nick, i might get you to have a few shots with it at the club to compare it to your previous experiences.

Rich.

[robs5230]

I've had a couple of rifles over the years with those after market rams and never liked them.
Harsher than the adjustable power rams fitted to Theoben's own rammers and the hw90.
If the rifle's a keeper I'd be tempted to return to standard as a springer.

Then again on the subject of scopes, I've never had a gas ram rifle (or any springer come to that) destroy a scope. I've never used a dampa mount either. Just good quality mounts.

[Blackrider]

Had various Theoben gas rams over the years along with a selection of Simmons and Bushnell scopes using the standard Theoben fixed mount apart from an Evo which has a Dampa.
I've never had a scope retical damaged in that time.
Occasionally I wonder if the "snap back" on closing the barrel after cocking has any effect particularly on Fenmans but presumably it doesn't !

[Rapidnick]

Cheers All.

Nick, i might get you to have a few shots with it at the club to compare it to your previous experiences.

Rich.

Any time Rich.
As has been said there is a world of difference between original and after-market rams. Every ram I have owned has been in a Theoben rifle where the power can be adjusted via ram pressure.

I have formed a very firm view that an over pressured ram is reason behind most shooters dislike of the gas ram and the origin of all the scope wrecking stories. That being said a properly adjusted ram should have a short lock time. That is the appeal of the gas ram against a spring as the power source. Pull the trigger and the pellet has gone too fast for a shaking shooter to interfere with it.

[TORNADOS7]

I've had a couple of rifles over the years with those after market rams and never liked them.
Harsher than the adjustable power rams fitted to Theoben's own rammers and the hw90.
If the rifle's a keeper I'd be tempted to return to standard as a springer.

Then again on the subject of scopes, I've never had a gas ram rifle (or any springer come to that) destroy a scope. I've never used a dampa mount either. Just good quality mounts.

Never had a springer destroy a scope, the only springers I've had that have never duffed a scope are either seriously under powered, have had some work done (usually after duffing a scope up) or either of my TX's, the rest have torn scopes to bits, please do tell me your secret !...

[BTDT]

Pull the trigger and the pellet has gone too fast for a shaking shooter to interfere with it.

Depends on the piston stroke and barrel length, Nick. A 70mm stroke, short barrel gas ram I tested had pellet exit a fraction over 9 milliseconds (ms) after the sears let go (very fast, but the same as when subsequently tested with a coil spring); a 90mm stroke, long barrel gas ram took 14.4 ms (very slow - didn't bother testing with a coil spring).

[Rapidnick]

Depends on the piston stroke and barrel length, Nick. A 70mm stroke, short barrel gas ram I tested had pellet exit a fraction over 9 milliseconds (ms) after the sears let go (very fast, but the same as when subsequently tested with a coil spring); a 90mm stroke, long barrel gas ram took 14.4 ms (very slow - didn't bother testing with a coil spring).

Thanks for that Jim-I must just be lucky I guess. Or perhaps I'm deluding myself.

[averageplinker]

Well my early Christmas present to myself has arrived and after giving it a once over I braved the cold and had a short plink in the garage. It is very smooth and I am very pleased. I will take it to the range in the next couple of days to test it's accuracy properly and will stick it on the Chrono.
My gut feeling is the money I will saving not buying a spring will fund a Bisley adjustable butt pad 😀

[Blackrider]

Be interested to hear of what scope you mount on it and how you get on ?

[averageplinker]

Be interested to hear of what scope you mount on it and how you get on ?

Round one down the range yesterday; picked an old JSR scope out of the cabinet as they are usually pretty sturdy. Got to the range and found it was too long for the tap to open and load, dumbo! Forgive me it is my first sidelever.
Hadn't taken a spare so moved it back to allow loading which made it uncomfortable but not impossible to shoot. Chronoed it at 10.25ftlbs so it is smooth and mid powered so the scope had no problem holding zero.
I have dug out a Simmons scope to try next as it is shorter. I suspect it will be ok.
Rich