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Thread: Budget Leishy with a surprise barrel

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Budget Leishy with a surprise barrel

    Thought some of the members may find my latest project interesting:
    After using Eleanor’s Artemis a few things had become apparent.

    1. The stock was far too long for her, forcing her to do the ‘stock under the arm’ hold, which along with being an incorrect hold encourages muzzle climb which can be dangerous.
    2. It was a really handy little thing that Dad also wanted to use, so the replacement stock needed to be adjustable so as to fit us both.
    3. We needed a .22 so as to make cans bounce a bit more and also improve shot count. And to be handy against rats, when Dad uses it.
    4. The accuracy with the red dot was surprisingly good but id like to use an optic so I could stretch its legs a bit.
    So, I went mooching around online and found a great looking stock from Bob Pattenden. It looked more than sturdy enough and I was informed there was no wobble when fitted. It also looked to offer enough adjustability for the both of us whilst still being light enough for her to use comfortably. Quick message to Bob and it was delivered in a couple of days.
    Next I wanted to fit a picatinny rail to the very short dovetail on the receiver. This would allow a more comfortable position for the optic when used with the stock - and also allow swapping and changing of optics with minimal rezeroing.
    Ant Supplies had a medium height model with a 60mm base, which seemed perfect. I messaged Tim at Ant Supplies on bank Holiday Sunday to see if they were operating a postage service and amazingly had a reply back the same day to say they were. Brilliant service.
    Whilst waiting for the rail to arrive, I needed to address the issue of a barrel. I wanted something thick enough that a shoulder could be machined into (which would hold against the face of the receiver when screwed in) and therefore would not be held in place by pressure from the muzzle thread onto the barrel shroud, as the OEM version is.
    I didn’t want to splash out a fortune on a match grade offering as this is predominantly for my girl to shoot fun targets in the garden with - and for close range pest control. A BSA blank seemed to fit the bill and I was about to order one. I mentioned it to Shaun and he remarked it was a shame we couldn’t get hold of a cheap Chinese barrel, just to experiment with. I then remembered I had a B2 in the loft...
    Delivering the B2 to Shaun, he noticed the bore wasn’t anywhere near concentric to the barrel, so it wasn’t looking good. But we decided to give it a whirl anyway just to see if the entire project worked as imagined. He took a hacksaw to it and machined it up to fit the receiver, advising it would either be outstanding or abysmal.
    Assembling it in the white for testing took a matter of minutes and I fitted a throwaway 3-9x32 to it, just to see how it performed.
    At twenty yards with .22 Exact RS I saw a hole appear in my 5” ShootnSee target, I aimed at the same POA and didn’t see another hole appear, then the same again and again - I thought it was shotgunning so went forward to examine the target. And saw it was putting them through the same hole. Lovely.
    I moved the target back to forty yards, replaced the ShootnSee for one of the small versions and managed the following group:

    Pleasantly gobsmacked, I stripped it back down and returned the barrel to Shaun with my findings. He told me he’d had the same results with other Chinese barrels over the years (one was fitted to a very early AirStream FT rifle he’d made which went on to win some major titles). Others he’d tried had been absolute rubbish, so it does seem it’s a lottery with these barrels. He threaded it 1/2unf, tidied up the crown and retuned it.
    He kindly offered to blue the barrel for Eleanor but seeing as this is going to get thrown around (and probably covered in the same stickers she’s redecorating our house with), I decided to etch primer it and paint it.
    With the rail now delivered, I fitted a nice little Meopta Artemis 4x32 on a pair of QD mounts. It’s pointless having high mag that will see my girl wobble all around what she’s shooting at - but with the little Artemis having such lovely glass and useful reticle (4a) it’ll allow me to use it comfortably for my intended purposes.
    Donny(FL) had very kindly given me one of his mods after I’d showcased some of his work, so that’s gone on too. The compact length suiting it well and hushing it up perfectly for backgarden use.
    So another lockdown project finished and one happy little girl. She’s nearly as happy as I am with our ‘budget Leishy’.

    One person who isn’t quite as happy is Ivan (Shaun’s dad and the ‘I’ in ISP Air Rifles). He really likes the B2 and has customised a couple over the years. He was therefore gutted to see us hack one up as we have...
    So if anyone has a B2 barrel and breech hanging around, or even the whole rifle, please give me a shout.
    Cheers, Craig
    Last edited by Craig-P; 03-06-2020 at 06:59 AM.
    Put on heading 270, assume attack formation

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Awesome!

    Extremely purposeful looking, very adaptable and amazingly accurate little thing you have conceived there.

    Very, very well done.
    THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
    NEXT EVENT :- May 4/5, 2024.........BOING!!

  3. #3
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    Looks awesome Craig, superb accuracy too, nice one.

  4. #4
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    Cheers lads - I might have used it one or two times more than Eleanor has...
    Put on heading 270, assume attack formation

  5. #5
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    Very nice indeed.
    "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" -- Benjamin Franklin

  6. #6
    peterd8877 is offline Anschutz connoisseur and marksman
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    Some job, well done. Enjoy.

  7. #7
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    Cracking little set up for Eleanor ,
    It's great that Eleanor let's you use it now and again. .
    Atb
    Les..

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Craig-P View Post
    Thought some of the members may find my latest project interesting:
    After using Eleanor’s Artemis a few things had become apparent.

    1. The stock was far too long for her, forcing her to do the ‘stock under the arm’ hold, which along with being an incorrect hold encourages muzzle climb which can be dangerous.
    2. It was a really handy little thing that Dad also wanted to use, so the replacement stock needed to be adjustable so as to fit us both.
    3. We needed a .22 so as to make cans bounce a bit more and also improve shot count. And to be handy against rats, when Dad uses it.
    4. The accuracy with the red dot was surprisingly good but id like to use an optic so I could stretch its legs a bit.
    So, I went mooching around online and found a great looking stock from Bob Pattenden. It looked more than sturdy enough and I was informed there was no wobble when fitted. It also looked to offer enough adjustability for the both of us whilst still being light enough for her to use comfortably. Quick message to Bob and it was delivered in a couple of days.
    Next I wanted to fit a picatinny rail to the very short dovetail on the receiver. This would allow a more comfortable position for the optic when used with the stock - and also allow swapping and changing of optics with minimal rezeroing.
    Ant Supplies had a medium height model with a 60mm base, which seemed perfect. I messaged Tim at Ant Supplies on bank Holiday Sunday to see if they were operating a postage service and amazingly had a reply back the same day to say they were. Brilliant service.
    Whilst waiting for the rail to arrive, I needed to address the issue of a barrel. I wanted something thick enough that a shoulder could be machined into (which would hold against the face of the receiver when screwed in) and therefore would not be held in place by pressure from the muzzle thread onto the barrel shroud, as the OEM version is.
    I didn’t want to splash out a fortune on a match grade offering as this is predominantly for my girl to shoot fun targets in the garden with - and for close range pest control. A BSA blank seemed to fit the bill and I was about to order one. I mentioned it to Shaun and he remarked it was a shame we couldn’t get hold of a cheap Chinese barrel, just to experiment with. I then remembered I had a B2 in the loft...
    Delivering the B2 to Shaun, he noticed the bore wasn’t anywhere near concentric to the barrel, so it wasn’t looking good. But we decided to give it a whirl anyway just to see if the entire project worked as imagined. He took a hacksaw to it and machined it up to fit the receiver, advising it would either be outstanding or abysmal.
    Assembling it in the white for testing took a matter of minutes and I fitted a throwaway 3-9x32 to it, just to see how it performed.
    At twenty yards with .22 Exact RS I saw a hole appear in my 5” ShootnSee target, I aimed at the same POA and didn’t see another hole appear, then the same again and again - I thought it was shotgunning so went forward to examine the target. And saw it was putting them through the same hole. Lovely.
    I moved the target back to forty yards, replaced the ShootnSee for one of the small versions and managed the following group:

    Pleasantly gobsmacked, I stripped it back down and returned the barrel to Shaun with my findings. He told me he’d had the same results with other Chinese barrels over the years (one was fitted to a very early AirStream FT rifle he’d made which went on to win some major titles). Others he’d tried had been absolute rubbish, so it does seem it’s a lottery with these barrels. He threaded it 1/2unf, tidied up the crown and retuned it.
    He kindly offered to blue the barrel for Eleanor but seeing as this is going to get thrown around (and probably covered in the same stickers she’s redecorating our house with), I decided to etch primer it and paint it.
    With the rail now delivered, I fitted a nice little Meopta Artemis 4x32 on a pair of QD mounts. It’s pointless having high mag that will see my girl wobble all around what she’s shooting at - but with the little Artemis having such lovely glass and useful reticle (4a) it’ll allow me to use it comfortably for my intended purposes.
    Donny(FL) had very kindly given me one of his mods after I’d showcased some of his work, so that’s gone on too. The compact length suiting it well and hushing it up perfectly for backgarden use.
    So another lockdown project finished and one happy little girl. She’s nearly as happy as I am with our ‘budget Leishy’.

    One person who isn’t quite as happy is Ivan (Shaun’s dad and the ‘I’ in ISP Air Rifles). He really likes the B2 and has customised a couple over the years. He was therefore gutted to see us hack one up as we have...
    So if anyone has a B2 barrel and breech hanging around, or even the whole rifle, please give me a shout.
    Cheers, Craig
    Very nice Craig, I get the impressoin Dad uses it more than Eleanor
    Custom BSA S10 .22 PAX Phoenix Mk 2 .22 Custom Titan Manitou .22 (JB BP) HW77 .22 FWB Sport Mk1 .22 Sharp Ace .22 Crossman 600 .22 Berretta 92 .20 Desert Eagle .177

  9. #9
    eyebull's Avatar
    eyebull is offline Even a stopped clock is right twice a day
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    Awesome job mate, looks very purposeful.
    Did you have to adjust the power at all considering it now has a longer barrel in a more efficient caliber?
    Good deals with these members

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Craig-P View Post
    Cheers lads - I might have used it one or two times more than Eleanor has...
    Do you normally nick off with her toys, Craigy?
    THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
    NEXT EVENT :- May 4/5, 2024.........BOING!!

  11. #11
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    Looks awesome mate. Very nice.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by eyebull View Post
    Awesome job mate, looks very purposeful.
    Did you have to adjust the power at all considering it now has a longer barrel in a more efficient caliber?
    Reg pressure and hammer spring tension have been suitably adjusted. Haven’t done a shot string etc yet as when my girl isn’t using it, my other half is - then I am
    Put on heading 270, assume attack formation

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by TonyL View Post
    Do you normally nick off with her toys, Craigy?
    M’fraidso, mate. We had a right old tear up the other day over her Moana costume...
    Put on heading 270, assume attack formation

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Craig-P View Post
    M’fraidso, mate. We had a right old tear up the other day over her Moana costume...
    Lol!

    It's a good job that Dave, Trumpetier, hasn't been to visit; he'd be trying to nick off with her "My Little Pony"!
    THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
    NEXT EVENT :- May 4/5, 2024.........BOING!!

  15. #15
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    Very tidy
    years ago a few friends discussed swapping barrels and we ended up with a .177 tube from a really cheap and nasty Chinese side lever bullpup, it was horrible, wouldn't even machine properly but we eventually got it into an old AA pro target action and that thing grouped as well as anything, we couldn't stop shooting it and spent most of the day testing it in total disbelief.

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