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Thread: Daystate Mirage XLR

  1. #1
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    Daystate Mirage XLR

    I first tried one of these lovely little rifles about 18 years ago and was instantly smitten. The price was out of my league though. A beech stocked version was £450 and the walnut version was £499 which was an awful lot of money for a single shot pcp at that time. For comparison a Falcon FN or Air Arms S300 could have been bought for around £270ish.

    I've kept an eye out for one over the years but, with the restrictions on posting that have come in over the years, I didn't hold out much hope of getting one. A few weeks before Christmas I spotted one for sale in Freeads, which was only about thirty mile away, so arranged to go and have a look. The seller had inherited the rifle from a relative who had been an FT shooter and wasn't interested in keeping it. A deal was struck and I ended up going home with the rifle.

    The rifle was sitting in what i presume is a modified LR90 stock with a hamster, adjustable butt pad and raised cheek piece. The original beech stock was also included but was marred by previous attempts to install a hamster and adjustable butt pad. As I shoot left handed I'll be on the look out for a l/h stock from a Mirage, LR90, Firefly or the ambi stock from an RWS series 50. If this doesn't work out I'll look at modifying the LR90 stock to be more ambi or making a new stock.

    The other problem I have is that, while the rifle was holding air when I bought it, on trying to fill it up with air it started to leak from the filler. I bought a new filler assembly from Best Fittings and installed it before filling the rifle, whilst listening for leaks. As no leaks were apparent I considered it a job well done but the next day the rifle was empty. I tried cocking the rifle before filling again but a loud hissing noise from the valve area indicated that the seals had called it a day.

    As Daystate now charge £175 for servicing a non electronic rifle I've ordered a set of seals for £12. If anyone has resealed a Mirage I would welcome any pointers before I dive in. As only 260 ish of these were made I don't expect a flood of experts but if anyone had experience of stripping an LR90, Harrier or Huntsman MK2 this would probably be helpful.
    Last edited by IanSea; 07-01-2018 at 01:09 PM.

  2. #2
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    It may be worth a call to Staffordshie Custom Rifles. He used to work for Daystate and is very knowledgeable on them as well as being competitive on his pricing.

  3. #3
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    These early Daystates are very simply made and easy to work on. I have had two XLR thanks to my mate on here. The best one is the one I have now in .20 calibre with the alloy cylinder, super accurate and very light. The most common problem is they are usually underpowered as the hammer spring goes a bit spongy, but easily replaced. I would say that if you have a bit of mechanical common sense don't be worried about tackling a strip down.

    Baz
    BE AN INDEPENDENT THINKER, DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by gtfreight View Post
    It may be worth a call to Staffordshie Custom Rifles. He used to work for Daystate and is very knowledgeable on them as well as being competitive on his pricing.
    Thanks, but due to the to the distance involved I can't easily take it there and under Post Office rules I can't post it either.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benelli B76 View Post
    These early Daystates are very simply made and easy to work on. I have had two XLR thanks to my mate on here. The best one is the one I have now in .20 calibre with the alloy cylinder, super accurate and very light. The most common problem is they are usually underpowered as the hammer spring goes a bit spongy, but easily replaced. I would say that if you have a bit of mechanical common sense don't be worried about tackling a strip down.

    Baz
    Mine is the one with the alloy cylinder and I think that only a few of the steel cylinder MK2 version were made. Mine is .177 but would love one in .20 as I used to have a Falcon FN12 is this calibre. The one I tried all those years ago was in .22 and was the only pcp I've ever used that had noticeable muzzle flip.

    I'm keen to have a go and will probably be ok until I have to remove the valve assembly. Is it right that I have to make a tool to undo the centre of the valve assembly before it can be withdrawn? Is is also held in by the cross pin and does it come out through the front or rear of the tube?

    If the hammer spring does need replacing can you suggest a source as Daystate don't list any parts apart from the seal kit?

    Sorry for all the questions but having finally found one I don't want to balls it up.

  6. #6
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    Hard to find...

    There are two stripping guides for the X2/Harrier out there that I know of, one on the Lincs Hunter FT site, and the other on AirGunForum.net though I think you may need to register to view it - the latter comes with photos and a picture of the special tool made to strip out the exhaust valve.

  7. #7
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    I seem to remember a figure of 230 made, this is both mk1 and mkII's and I believe less mkII's were made than mk1's. I have certainly seen less mkII's for sale. I have a .22 12ftlb in a beech stock and a .25 FAC version in a walnut profile stock. You will have a far better chance of finding an LR90 stock than anything else.

    you will need to undo the firing valve body face with a tool, I use a bar with a 3mm flat blade ground in the end (like a giant screw driver), one full turn anti clockwise should be enough as all it does is tighten the O ring around the body. then you can remove the pin and push the valve body from the back out through the front.
    Daystate Owners Club new site: www.daystateownersclub.com/forum

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by trick cyclist View Post
    There are two stripping guides for the X2/Harrier out there that I know of, one on the Lincs Hunter FT site, and the other on AirGunForum.net though I think you may need to register to view it - the latter comes with photos and a picture of the special tool made to strip out the exhaust valve.
    Thanks
    I found the Lincs HFT guide but it stops short of removing the valve. I'll join the AirGun Forum and have a look at that one which hopefully goes all the way.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by airwolf1 View Post
    I seem to remember a figure of 230 made, this is both mk1 and mkII's and I believe less mkII's were made than mk1's. I have certainly seen less mkII's for sale. I have a .22 12ftlb in a beech stock and a .25 FAC version in a walnut profile stock. You will have a far better chance of finding an LR90 stock than anything else.

    you will need to undo the firing valve body face with a tool, I use a bar with a 3mm flat blade ground in the end (like a giant screw driver), one full turn anti clockwise should be enough as all it does is tighten the O ring around the body. then you can remove the pin and push the valve body from the back out through the front.
    Thanks, this is just the kind of info I needed. When I did a google search someone was saying that only 20 or so MK2s were made which makes them a rare beast indeed. They also said that the design was then sold to Beeman, but not sure how true this is. I thought that the LR90 stock would be easier to find but that still doesn't make one easy to find especially in L/H. Still I'll worry about that when I have it resealed.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanSea View Post
    Thanks, this is just the kind of info I needed. When I did a google search someone was saying that only 20 or so MK2s were made which makes them a rare beast indeed. They also said that the design was then sold to Beeman, but not sure how true this is. I thought that the LR90 stock would be easier to find but that still doesn't make one easy to find especially in L/H. Still I'll worry about that when I have it resealed.
    I am sure there were more mkII's than that, they made the mkII to appeal more to the US market with its improved shot count. Daystate also made some for Beeman but they were renamed the Beeman Mako, they were built in smaller numbers, from memory there were 20-30 on the data base. The Mirage has some unique points not shared with other models like the tapered breech and pellet shaped filler end cap.

    I made a new stock for my 12ftlb version but its right handed I love the 1" tube Daystates and own pretty much each model they made with only the Firefly to find, this was primarily a US model with less than a handful remaining here. Having said that 2 years ago I missed out on one on the selling sites by a few hours and that was a lefty!!
    Daystate Owners Club new site: www.daystateownersclub.com/forum

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by airwolf1 View Post
    I am sure there were more mkII's than that, they made the mkII to appeal more to the US market with its improved shot count. Daystate also made some for Beeman but they were renamed the Beeman Mako, they were built in smaller numbers, from memory there were 20-30 on the data base. The Mirage has some unique points not shared with other models like the tapered breech and pellet shaped filler end cap.

    I made a new stock for my 12ftlb version but its right handed I love the 1" tube Daystates and own pretty much each model they made with only the Firefly to find, this was primarily a US model with less than a handful remaining here. Having said that 2 years ago I missed out on one on the selling sites by a few hours and that was a lefty!!
    When I googled Beeman Mako I came across an old thread on the Daystate Owners Forum concerning the XLR, which you had posted on. On this thread the total number of XLRs was given as 230 with 123 being MK2s. Apparently the 20 Makos were included in the 230, leaving 87 MK1s. The Mako name was also used for Beeman badged versions of the LR90 to add to the confusion.

    Bad luck on missing the Firefly. I remember reading the review in AGW and thinking what a good looking rifle it was with the Gary Cane stock.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanSea View Post
    Thanks, but due to the to the distance involved I can't easily take it there and under Post Office rules I can't post it either.
    I only mentioned SCR because you referred to Daystate servicing in your original post and SCR are very close to them.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by gtfreight View Post
    I only mentioned SCR because you referred to Daystate servicing in your original post and SCR are very close to them.
    I mentioned Daystate because that where my RFD would have sent it. If I had to go up north for any reason I would probably have dropped it in to SCR.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanSea View Post
    When I googled Beeman Mako I came across an old thread on the Daystate Owners Forum concerning the XLR, which you had posted on. On this thread the total number of XLRs was given as 230 with 123 being MK2s. Apparently the 20 Makos were included in the 230, leaving 87 MK1s. The Mako name was also used for Beeman badged versions of the LR90 to add to the confusion.

    Bad luck on missing the Firefly. I remember reading the review in AGW and thinking what a good looking rifle it was with the Gary Cane stock.
    I remember researching the numbers at the time but cannot remember how I got to the figures, is yours a mk1 or 2 and what serial number is it?
    Daystate Owners Club new site: www.daystateownersclub.com/forum

  15. #15
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    Mine is a Mark 1 S No 2096.

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