My Mercury Ratting Rig

[TonyL]

I was told by a reliable source that the objective was to get a compact rifle which is why that trigger mechanism was used rather than the Mercury/Airsporter one.

To be fair, I much prefer the Supersport over the Mercury.. The handling suits me better. Personally I think the quality of the internal finishing on the cylinder and piston is much better, too. The trigger's a bit of a fiddle, though.

[T 20]

Don't worry, I've not bottled it, my fume bluing has gone tits up.

I started rusting on the 18th July and all was well until the next weekend when I found everything was coming out of the boiling tank with a copper coating.

To cut a long story short my boiling tank was heated by a copper immersion heater element in the bottom of it, I've now swapped to an Incoloy element and so far so good but all this has put me back two weeks.

All the internals of the gun are now finish machined and are sat on my bench waiting for their newly blacked home.




All the best Mick

[TonyL]

Ah, was getting worried about you, Maestro, as you'd seemed to have gone very quiet.

Hope all is good and the final build and testing is to your liking.

[Hotrod75]

Hi there,
I usually just kinda lurk around the forum but I need closure. Did it work?
I have a Mercury challenger I've been battling for years and still can't get to shoot straight.
The suspense is actually painful.
Regards
Jay

[T 20]

Hi there,
I usually just kinda lurk around the forum but I need closure. Did it work?
I have a Mercury challenger I've been battling for years and still can't get to shoot straight.
The suspense is actually painful.
Regards
Jay

Sorry for the delay, Jay.

I've had real problems with the rust bluing since the copper coating and ended up saying that will have to do and now have the parts soaking in oil.
What I probably should have done is polish all the bluing and copper film off and start again from scratch.

Unfortunately since putting the parts in oil I've had a big fabrication job come in so I've not been able to devote any spare time to the Mercury --- but I will get back to it soon.



All the best Mick

[TonyL]

Sorry to hear that you've had to put the Mercury to one side for now, Mick. But great to hear you're busy and have plenty of work on. Hope you're feeling okay.

[T 20]

Sorry to hear that you've had to put the Mercury to one side for now, Mick. But great to hear you're busy and have plenty of work on. Hope you're feeling okay.

Unfortunately, Tone.

When a job comes in that will pay my council tax and central heating bill for a year I have to put guns to one side.
Another thing which has stopped the rush to get my ratting rig up and running is the fact that my ratting permission at Crazy Kev's place was burnt to the ground on Bank holiday Sunday.




All the best Mick

[Hotrod75]

Well you can't argue with that, family security takes precedence over guns every time.
Sorry to hear about the demise your perm too.
I hope all goes well for you and will continue to avidly watch waiting for the t 20 magic to happen.
I've been playing with my mercury challenger for nearly 30 years and still can't get it to shoot straight.
Regard
Jay

[TonyL]

Unfortunately, Tone.

When a job comes in that will pay my council tax and central heating bill for a year I have to put guns to one side.
Another thing which has stopped the rush to get my ratting rig up and running is the fact that my ratting permission at Crazy Kev's place was burnt to the ground on Bank holiday Sunday.

All the best Mick

Fully understandable, Mick. And, as Jay says, keeping afloat in these uncertain times certainly takes precedence. You make sure you keep well, my friend.
That's terrible news re the fire at Kev's. I hope Kev and his family are all okay and will bounce from this okay.

You seem to have the most rotten of luck at the August Bank Holiday time of the year.

[junglie]

Well you can't argue with that, family security takes precedence over guns every time.
Sorry to hear about the demise your perm too.
I hope all goes well for you and will continue to avidly watch waiting for the t 20 magic to happen.
I've been playing with my mercury challenger for nearly 30 years and still can't get it to shoot straight.
Regard
Jay

I had a 635 magnum mercury like that, it turned out to be very fine burrs on the inside edge of the cocking slot cutting two fine slits in the o ring piston seal everytime i rebuilt it with new o ring, took me about 5 years to find that out.

[junglie]

I had a 635 magnum mercury like that, it turned out to be very fine burrs on the inside edge of the cocking slot cutting two fine slits in the o ring piston seal everytime i rebuilt it with new o ring, took me about 5 years to find that out.

forgot to add my .22 challenger is as good as my hw50s & rivals it as my fave springer to shoot, possible you could have a bad barrel/damaged crown?

[thisisdonald]

Hi Matty --- long time no see.

The scope is a Kassner 4 X 40 PA with TV screen view and is basically scrap, I got it for free as the crosshairs had snapped.
I took the scope apart and soldered the thinnest wire I could find in there as new crosshairs.
Unfortunately the wire wasn't thin enough, so now when you look through the scope it's like looking at a pair of crossed fence posts --- looks a bit like the Klan are in town.
I know this doesn't sound too good but at short range in low light conditions when ratting my homemade crosshairs work well.



All the best Mick

Reminds me of the nasty, knackered looking scope atop my equally cosmetically challenged Supersport, Mick. And that's another ratty looking potentially ace little ratter......The stock is truly distasteful after being "customised" by some previous owner. But it's actually really ergonomic and handles well. On the scope, the windage turret has some nasty cover hammered on. And the elevation turret is hanging off. But it adjusts okay. Sight picture is excellent and I really like the simple single post (German sniper?) reticle. The quintessential barn / ratting gun.

well, I started reading this thread and thought Id chip in about scope reticles, but its turned out to be like watching a good season on netflix, and we are at the cliffhanger waiting for the new season . Anyway, my tuppenth worth about scope reticles - if you like a nice No.4 reticle, a single strand off of a toothbrush does the job - chop the end with a brand new razor blade to get it square as can be. I did it recently and it works a treat.

this thread is right up there with my favourites, the recoiless B2 and the 'its a bit rusty' thread! Classic sagas of overcoming adversity with the hero coming through at the end and presenting us with a rifle that defies sense and has us all oohing and aahing ... Im really looking forward to the finished article.
Was the copper colour that bad? It sounds pretty cool to me.. I love that bronze cerakote finish thats popular just now.

anyway, hope all is well with you guys... and looking forward to the grand finale!

[T 20]

Hi Donald.

The copper coating really was that bad and stopped the rust bluing, in hindsight what I should have done is strip the metal and start again.
I've never had rust bluing turn out as badly as this before and it's thrown me a bit, but I will get the gun built up even if I take it back to the white again.

The next step after I've cleared my other jobs is to alter the stock for the action to fit as the Weihrauch breech block is wider than the BSA breech block.

But I will carry on and update you good folks.




All the best Mick

[junglie]

Well you can't argue with that, family security takes precedence over guns every time.
Sorry to hear about the demise your perm too.
I hope all goes well for you and will continue to avidly watch waiting for the t 20 magic to happen.
I've been playing with my mercury challenger for nearly 30 years and still can't get it to shoot straight.
Regard
Jay

i had a 635 magnum like that, turned out to be sharp fine burrs either side of the cocking slot inside the cylinder that were cutting slits in the new 0 rings every time i rebuilt it, removed them & got single figure chrono results & full power. I'd push a pellet through the barrel with a rod to check the bore too, might have tight/loose spots.

[Hotrod75]

Hi there t20.
I know its an old thread but how did the mercury come out in the end?
Regards
Jay