I haven't gone mad , have I ?

[NickG]

I want a chinese break barrel,
I have been doing so much development on the 21mm set up , which incidently is finished / finalised maybe , that I fancy a change I fettled a club members xs208 recently, simple tart up: o ring head and buttoned skirt , but it got me thinking , I have fancied doing a reduced cylinder 95 for a while , but they hold there price , now the xs208 is if you close your eyes and ignore the poxy engineering is a copy of a diana 34, so it has a good trigger which is half the battle , so reduce the cylinder to either 23/22mm depending on the stroke , make a new, steel probably piston , button everything, I reckon it would make a superb lightweight break barrel, either that or a Remington express, ( found a shop soiled one for £95 unfortunately in scotland !) these have a similar trigger group to the rekord so should be able to get it working well, only problem now is I dont have one , any out there ?

[TonyL]

Go for it, Nick.

I'd have a damned good search once the shops re-open and have a good shop around, or see if anything comes up at the right price in the Sales Section. A wanted ad might bear fruit?

That same action you mention will also be available under different names, as many different rifles are marketed under different names. A friend of a friend got one last year, but I can't for the life of me remember the name.

Once the shops re-open, I'd guess there'll be a few used ones to be had at the right money.

You might also want to consider the Remington Pest Control that Pete Evans has on review in the current AGW? Think he got his for £60 brand new? He'll be taking a look inside it next month.

Something deeply satisfying about getting a low budget gun performing well. Indeed, some can impress out of the box anyway. With your expertise and knowledge, I can't wait for the outcome.

[Mach 1.5]

Had a couple of the SMK19's and for the money they are not a bad rifle and hard to beat for the price. The XS208 is also a great buy. Mach 1.5

[elewis411]

Remington pest controller which ( I think ) is a smk xs19 rebadge are being sold new at neath gun shop for £59,95, having one myself as soon as they reopen...

[wonky donky]

I've done a HW95K reduced LWP Nick. Extended the stroke a little. I'm a bit light on the piston at 130gms or so.

I can't believe how well it shoots....IT'S ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!

[NickG]

I've done a HW95K reduced LWP Nick. Extended the stroke a little. I'm a bit light on the piston at 130gms or so.

I can't believe how well it shoots....IT'S ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!

.
I guessed I wouldn't be the first Dave , did a repair to a venom 25mm hw80 piston recently , and was surprised how nice the shot cycle was ( too much recoil for me ) and that got me thinking, I think the long port softens the cycle .

[look no hands]

I fettled a 208 a few years ago, even got a T06 conversion kit and fitted that, it shot really nice with a tuning kit as well.

I buggered up the thumbhole stock trying to fit an adjustable cheek piece so broke it for spares in the end.

I still have a cylinder if you're interested?

Pete

[Shed tuner]

I employed a variation for my breakbarrel 24mm project.... instead of buying something that was made at a low quality level, I bought something that was made at a decent quality, but abused down to a nice cheap price

[CapitalBee]

Nick,
Just PM'd you regarding an XS208.

Regarding some of the other models, old xs20 (B26) are HW95 clones, so pretty good, especially with the clone Rekord trigger. XS19 are good for the money, I have one here now and have dropped in a very soft spring. It's doing 8 ft/lb, but is a joy to shoot as the new spring is a very good fit to the original guide (12mm dia). The Remington's are nicely made, but the pistol grip takes some getting hold of - you have to consciously locate it in your grip to get anywhere near consistent. For me on the Express the best grip isn't ergonomically instinctive, you have to work on it. Otherwise it's a nice shooter.

[p.j.]

Remington pest controller which ( I think ) is a smk xs19 rebadge are being sold new at neath gun shop for £59,95, having one myself as soon as they reopen...

It may be worth giving Phil a ring, number on the website. He might be able to reserve one, from what I've heard they are selling like the proverbial hot cake

[p.j.]

Go for it, Nick.

I'd have a damned good search once the shops re-open and have a good shop around, or see if anything comes up at the right price in the Sales Section. A wanted ad might bear fruit?

That same action you mention will also be available under different names, as many different rifles are marketed under different names. A friend of a friend got one last year, but I can't for the life of me remember the name.

Once the shops re-open, I'd guess there'll be a few used ones to be had at the right money.

You might also want to consider the Remington Pest Control that Pete Evans has on review in the current AGW? Think he got his for £60 brand new? He'll be taking a look inside it next month.

Something deeply satisfying about getting a low budget gun performing well. Indeed, some can impress out of the box anyway. With your expertise and knowledge, I can't wait for the outcome.

The Remington PC is a well finished gun for the price, for £60 I still don't know how it's possible.
Trigger really needs attention, due to the creep, spring is too stiff and the piston weight too heavy, certainly a good project though.

[NickG]

I already did an X's 19 way back when I was starting out, it ended up with a lightened short stroked o ring piston, I modified the trigger to two stage , shortened and shrouded the barrel , it was pretty good but the trigger let it down , gave it to a mate as his 60th birthday present, god just realized that was 9 years ago !

[TonyL]

From my (very brief) association with them, I think it's pretty fair to say that the triggers on the Remington Express and 208 series rifles would be considered the better Chinese boinger triggers, Nick.

[Septic]

It’s Nice to see more Chinese guns being brought up to spec.
Once you sort out the fit and finish problems, they’re usually pretty good value in my experience.

[TonyL]

The Remington PC is a well finished gun for the price, for £60 I still don't know how it's possible.
Trigger really needs attention, due to the creep, spring is too stiff and the piston weight too heavy, certainly a good project though.

Looking forward to next month's instalment, Pete.