With many decades of using improbable airguns with great success in competitions by monkeying them to levels of performance many find unbelievable, now concentrating on Extreme Field Target competition and founding Extreme
Pistol Field Target, I decided to repeat a rifle-to-pistol conversion of similar ilk to one I did in 2011 that has since accounted for 3 State and 3 National Champion titles. That pistol, converted from a 1960s vintage Crosman 187 Co2 rifle to regulated-bottle PCP pistol-
And although I already own three excellent .22 PCP pistols that are EFT worthy (an Ataman AP16, P-Rod, and Falcon FN19), each seems a little less than ideal for the demanding game in one (or more) way or another. That being so, or at least being what I imagine, after getting my butt kicked BADLY at the last TEXtreme Pistol FT match by a good buddy shooting a .22 Marauder he converted to pistol, I started pondering what I needed to extract revenge against Pablo.
It hadn't taken me but three or four shots through his rig to arrive at the epiphany that the pistolized Marauder is
quite a formidable force to contend with
. The only air pistols I thought up to the task are a Thomas, and/or a Brocock Atomic XR. A Thomas being simply out of my financial reach
, much as I like my (three) Brocock Bantam rifles, the Atomic pistol is "uncomfortably" pricey.
After a good bit more pondering about another buddy's .177 Thomas that shoots 13.43 grain JSB Monster pellets 800 FPS, it occurred to me that .22 might not be the only caliber for EPFT work
. Then it came to me that, unlike my .22 Bantams, my .177 Bantams accuracy had never impressed me
before OR after souping it up from 18 to 23 foot pounds.
STOP THE PRESSES! A quick examination of the potential victim confirmed it might be an excellent platform for butchery... Correction- conversion!
The work went well, the results are gratifying, and
the pistol outshoots hell out of the rifle it used to be.
In rifle form she struggled to average 1" c-t-c five-shot groups at 50 yards, but the .177 Bantam pistol consistently averages .75" or less. In fact, she's already posted a couple 3/4" ten-shot groups at 50.
Though I'd already monkeyed the trigger down to a nice 10 ounce let-off, I felt that was holding her back from being all the EFT pistol she could be. So diving back into the trigger design I've become quote familiar with, I clipped another coil off the tiny sear and trigger-return springs. BINGO! Now takes just 2 ounces to reach the second stage, that breaks like glass at 4 ounces (total)!
The original 480 cc carbon bottle extends about 3/4" beyond the muzzle of the barely-legal 14-7/8" barrel, so I ordered a 300 cc alloy bottle just the right length. Even so, virtue of the
magical Slingshot firing system she did this- 13.43 JSB Monster, 225 BAR fill,
135 shot powerband
= Low- 783, Hi- 813, ES- 30, SD- 6, Avg- 796 FPS/18.9 FP.
About 500 shots later my moly-lube treatment is slickening quite nicely. She's come up to 815 FPS average, the SD down to 3-4. Still exploring the shot count at the higher power level, I expect it to come down to "only" 125 shots per charge.
If I ever get less than gale-force winds again I'll post photos of some groups. Stay tuned.
I HAPPY! Pablo, be afraid. Be VERY afraid!
