sounds good. now just enjoy shooting it.. power will probably go up as it wears in a bit.
Also the grease in the piston liner will rob a little power, but then it also damps down vibration, so a trade off worth making IMHO.
Always looking for any cheap, interesting, knackered "project" guns. Thanks, JB.
Thanks Tony, it’s been an interesting job and I’ve learnt a lot. It’s definitely going to be one of my favourite guns , with the Remy close behind
I’m thinking now with my new found skills I might revisit the BAM DB4 I sorted out last year ( you’ll probably remember it, it’s the one with the marmite custom sprayed stock )
I’m thinking now of sleeves etc
My poor precharged guns will be feeling left out at this rate, although I have got a VERY odd homemade 0.25 precharged, break barrel bull pup one that needs to be revisited
Norm
Once you've been infected with the fettling bug, likely recipients can come from many varied sources.
If you ever were to get the chance and once Uncle Mick is well enough to once again host The Boinger Bash at Quigley Hollow, you simply have to witness his heavily modified B2..
Plenty of other "budget" type guns that have been fettled always there to try, too.
Tell us more about that homemade PCP then.........When I first saw "break barrel" I was thinking along the lines of the Bowkett / BSA Spitfire. Something tells me this will be different.......?..
THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
NEXT EVENT :- May 2025.........BOING!!
Yes it’s very different indeed !
Many years ago my late friend Martin Cooper started making this rather unusual beast but for some reason abandoned it. I came across the ‘action’ 6 years ago after he died and his sister asked me to have a look at all his airgun stuff.
He was a very clever and skilled engineer, a coded welded and had a good understanding of air guns and pressure vessels. He made to the best of my knowledge three precharged airguns, two as 0.177 target rifles and one 0.22 as a hunting gun, along with a very nice target pistol.
All of them are very accurate and well made. I own the last target rifle he made which he gave me six months before his death ( and flatly refused to take any money for it, having also given me his original target rifle 2 years before. ) I also own the pistol, which I bought from his sister after he died.
I gave one of my mates the early target rifle and another mate also has his 0.22 hunting rifle.
Anyway, the 0.25 beast was incomplete with a wooden front grip as the only wooden bit. I think he may have given up on it as it had a tiny leak in the pipe that went from the screw fitting made to take a bsa 200cc bottle.
The action has a VERY homemade look about it but knowing his pedigree I was happy to tinker with it. I’ve added a bestfittings quick fill so I don’t have to remove the bottle to fill it and also made a new transfer port system which Martin had made to, Ahem, be either 11ftlbs or 18 .
It’s now got a new single port and is running at 11.5ftlbs. I think the barrel is probably a BSA one as that was what he told me he favoured as they were easy to get hold of ( then ) and accurate.
One of our club members when he saw it said it was so ugly that he loved it ( and both he and his wife compete in HFT/FT comps so they know their guns )
It’s quite accurate out to 35 yards which was quite a pleasant surprise. I’ll try a post some pictures later.
Norm
A quick pic I already had to wet your appetite ( or take it away )
It has had some more mods since this pic, but it gives you an idea…… !
Norm
now that's shed tuning
Always looking for any cheap, interesting, knackered "project" guns. Thanks, JB.
It certainly is ! I suspect from the design it’s something he started on in his early days of airgun building. I almost threw it away on several occasions, but just kept putting it back, promising to do something with it one day.
I’m not really happy with the stock I made, I’ll probably make some thing all in one eventually, once I’m happy I’ve sorted the leak and it’s reliable. All Martin’s guns have the same type of cocking mechanism, where you pull a bolt back to load the pellet then cock the gun with a short bolt on the side.
This one’s unique as all the others having a normal trigger layout the cocking bolt is pulled back till it locks, this one pushes forward as the valve he built into the cylinder works in reverse.
It’s not the quickest gun to load and fire, you have to turn a knurled disc on top of the port housing, this releases the barrel which pivots in the middle, you load the pellet, push the barrel down and lock it then push the bolt forward to cock it !
Not exactly rapid firing but it does work and is possibly completely unique
THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
NEXT EVENT :- May 2025.........BOING!!
Yes it’s definitely unique. Martin was a fascinating character and had a very varied life, he was a fountain of knowledge, not just with guns but also with nature and wildlife. When it came to airguns he’d always help anyone out if he could.
I don’t really know a fraction of what he did earlier in his life although I know he raced motorbikes, built handmade bicycles and did a lot of other engineering stuff. He also loved a pint of beer and constantly had home brew on the go !
Norm.
No wonder you miss him, Norm. Not many come out of that mould and it sounds like Martin was a top, top man and a very special person.
THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
NEXT EVENT :- May 2025.........BOING!!
My completed 35k is now sporting a muzzle weight / cocking aid !
Made by me after I found out how to stop the chattering when turning it and I’ve also learnt a new skill - power threading using a 1/2” UNF -20 bottom tap in the tail stock keyed chuck and the chuck run at 55rpm ( first time I’ve used the back gears )
My good old 1945 Myford 3 1/2M series did me proud.
The finish isn’t as good as some of you expert ‘latheists’ would get but I am improving, it would probably benefit from a good buff up
I might even have a go at a silencer……now where’s those hair curlers and vacuum cleaner tube
Norm
Oh, and she’s also wearing a Richter Optik 3-9 x 40 scope instead of the Nikko Sterling Mountmaster 4-12 x50 it came with as it felt too big and out of place on the 35.
I must say I’m quite impressed with these little budget scopes, I’ve got the 6 x 40 on my Remy EC and that was what persuaded me to get one for the HW.
The 3-9 x 40 did have to be reparalaxed but that was a doddle as the front lens cover is easy to undo and the lens thread isn’t glued or sticky. I did put a bit of black electrical tape over the join before I refitted the flip up cover though.
The mildots are quite small but I rather have that than too big.
Looking forward to setting it up and using it now
Norm
Nice bit of turning there, Norm. Another skill to learn ticked off. The sky's the limit now.
THE BOINGER BASH AT QUIGLEY HOLLOW. MAKING GREAT MEMORIES SINCE 15th JUNE, 2013.
NEXT EVENT :- May 2025.........BOING!!