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Air Gun Forums » Air gun Alley » Crosman, Benjamin, Sheridan » Air Force Condor .25

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Old 01-22-2017, 10:57 PM   #1
Clifford
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Now that the needed initial accessories were on the gun I started shooting over the prochrono to see what kind of adjustments would be needed. I thought the 33.95gr JSB king heavies would help tame the condor, and I was wrong. Out of the box on the lowest power wheel setting it was sending the heavies at 980fps. My hopes before I bought the gun was to achieve 62fpe for 20 shots with an ES of 20fps. Out of the box I had enough power but not much else.

I started adjusting the factory top hat while leaving the power wheel setting at 3 for each. I picked PW 3 because I knew I wanted to stay on the lower end to help avoid wasting air but wanted a little preload to help open the valve at higher pressures. Other folks seem to have had good luck with TH settings between 0.07" & 0.08" so set mine to 0.074" and off to the prochrono I went.

0.074"TH PW 3:
925
919
929
964
964
978
987
989
988
989
986
987
983
783? (could have been improperly seated breech)
973
974
966
963
953
950

Still too hot and not nearly flat enough so I tried to reduce the TH even more

0.068"TH PW 3
910
704
948
943
381
958
967
974
981
414
980
984
985
982
973
968
970
969
960
959
954
955
940

The random low speeds in the string indicate a breech seal failure based on the TH being adjusted too low. At this point I had to do some research on what parts might be needed since I was adjusted below the minimum for sealing but still shooting too hot. The problem is with the high flow valve and larger TH the valve opens too far. Reducing the TH alone wasn't good enough to correct the problem for me. But I got this gun because I like to tinker so I kept on tinkering.
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Old 01-22-2017, 10:58 PM   #2
Clifford
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Attempting to find my solution I ordered a super hat from Airguns of Texas. While I was waiting for it to arrive jward sent me a link to a TAG thread where an oring was used to reduce the TH throw. I just happened to have the o ring here so I installed it and began my testing again.

o-ring size used: 1/4"x 3/8"x 1/16" (found in the HF nitrile o ring set)

In the TAG thread a TH spacing of 0.09" was initially used but I started higher based on using heavier pellets. I'll spare you some extra failures here and just suffice it to say that 0.09" is a decent starting point when using the o-ring in .25 caliber. At 0.09" I was shooting a decent curve at 915fps with the 33.95gr heavies. Still too hot for my liking. At this point I knew I only needed a slight reduction and coins with stacked feeler gauges can only get so accurate. From here I turned the TH down 1/8th of a turn.

TH 0.090"-1/8th turn PW 3
875
869
869
876
868
889
893
876
880
887
887
890
893
890
889
890
885
887
887
888
881
879
882
880
881
881
881
880
877
873
872
871
865
863


The shots in bold are what I have "trimmed" the string to. I will have better fill pressures when I get a more accurate gauge but for now I'm hand pumping and neither the hand pump nor the AF gauge seem very accurate. On the AF gauge this string was from somewhere around 2800psi to around 2000psi. The hand pump gauge and AF gauge are within 200psi of each other.

25 shots within the 20fps ES range averaging 884fps. Average FPE comes out to 58.9fpe.

I feel pretty happy with this curve. At least enough to mount the scope and do some shooting.
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Old 01-22-2017, 11:01 PM   #3
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While I did not end up using the super hat I wanted to throw a couple photos up comparing it to the factory tophat with the o ring.




For the power I'm running currently I did not see much gain out of the super hat if I wanted to keep my ES where it was with the o ring mod. For more standard power outputs this tophat will perform well and is very well made.
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Old 01-22-2017, 11:04 PM   #4
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Awesome man ! Please keep us updated on its progress.

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Old 01-22-2017, 11:25 PM   #5
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Short photo update on the condor.



The only thing I'm learning to overcome is the scope height in comparison with the bore. To help avoid canting errors I purchased a Sportsmatch bubble level that mounts in place of a scope ring screw. Very nicely made and swivels out of the way when needed. Also mounted in a nice area that is visible from my non dominant eye when shooting.




The design of this bubble was well thought out to allow the screw to secure the scope ring while still allowing the bubble level to swivel.
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Old 01-22-2017, 11:50 PM   #6
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Looks good Cliff.
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Old 01-23-2017, 12:49 AM   #7
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That level looks sweet as sugar. Might just have to check out the sportsmatch line when funds free up some. Bet that combination would be a game changer on my talon
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Old 02-05-2017, 06:08 PM   #8
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Update.

Auto safeties can get annoying and although the updated safety is an improvement you also can't decock the rifle. The guys over on TAG found a way to get the best of both worlds.

http://www.talonairgun.com/forum/vie...hp?f=4&t=27098

The dowel is not needed for this modification. I used the punch I had on hand for the pin the manipulate the hammer just enough to get the little tab to fall out. They are directional pins so take a look at the pin before you hammer it back in. The only reason it mentions lowering the power wheel down is to avoid excessive hammer spring tension when you go to decock the rifle. My power wheel was set at 2-12 and I left it there. Just be prepared for whatever tension you have it set at and you should be fine.


This one only take a couple minutes to do and is well worth it.

Last edited by Clifford; 02-05-2017 at 06:11 PM..
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:55 AM   #9
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Man Cliff seeing that R&L shroud has me itching for tax return to hit so I can order one for the Talon. Love how effective my Paris D is but that shroud is slick and would allow me to cut 6" or better from OAL how she's sitting now....thanks for planting THAT seed in my head lol
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Old 02-07-2017, 09:07 PM   #10
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The way you have your gun setup Cliff, it makes me want to buy an air force as yours makes it a little more appealing. I've been reading on the interenals of them and learning some more.
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