All this talk about .20 lately has officially cost me $$$

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Sqwirl57

Sqwirl57

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Apr 13, 2020
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Finally pulled the trigger on my first .20 cal. I placed an order with AoA for a 95 Luxus and should have it here by Tuesday of next week. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited lol.

Anyone with .20 cal experience want to hype me up some more while I wait? I have a few tins each of JSB 13.73 and FTT 11.42 already. I plan to test everything I can get my hands on but is there anything in particular that I should keep my eyes peeled for?

What do you guys like to run yours at? Is there a sweet spot on these things? Most of what I have read/watched/been told is to shoot for 16frlbs give or take. Opinions on this?
 
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.20 is one of my favorites, especially in springers. I have a 97, an R9, and a 98 in .20 currently. All are extremely accurate. All have been meticulously tuned using Vortek kits. I find the sweet spot for mine to be around 14 ft lb. Two of them prefer the H&N 11.42. The other prefers the JSB 13.73.

Have fun!
 
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I got an older 20 caliber R9. It's got a Vortek kit in it it runs about 16.5 fpe with both FTTs and 13.73 Exacts. It shoots REAL nice I just finished redoing the stock. It's crazy accurate. First cold shot is dead on! I think its gonna be my new favorite.

Fwiw I had a couple of newer 20 caliber barrels for my R1 neither produced the same power with the FTTs and Exacts. The FTTs were always about one fpe stronger regardless of tune. Not sure if it was the barrels or the power plant. I'd be curious to see if yours does better with the FTTs.

Good luck with the new gun you're gonna love it!
Ron

20220709_160459.jpg
 
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I have an R9 .20, same rifle.
R9-Hawke 1.jpg
For pellets, you really only have 4 choices: the FTT's and JSB 13.73's you already have, H&N Baracuda 13.58gr, the JSB Heavy 15.89gr.
I have others but only shot those 4 over my chrony and for groups. FPS numbers I got for 10 shot averages for mine and my target groups at 25 yards. Take them with a grain of salt since your numbers may well vary. The bottom middle and right targets were me sighting in a new Hawke Airmax 4-12x40 scope.
H&N FTT 11.42: 753 10 shot avg, FPE 14.38, ES 9, SD 2
H&N Baracuda 13.58: 683 10 shot average, 14.07 FPE, ES 11, SD 4
JSB Exact 13.73: 682fps 10 shot avg, 14.18 FPE, ES 13, SD 4
JSB Heavy 15.89: 631 10 shot average, 14.05 FPE, ES 15, SD 4
R9 target.jpg
I do have other .20 cal pellets, but after a quick look at a few places, I'm not seeing either the Benji Domes or Predator Polymags and not a clue honestly if they stopped making them or not. AoA at one time also carried some Daystate labeled pellets, but they're just relabeled H&N or JSB's. Not sure if they'll bring them back or not.
The Airmax was sighted in with the FTT's, the other 3 I just aimed dead center and shot to see how well they'd group. All 3 shot very well though and all it would take is a click here and there to totally dial in for any of them, and this is just me, the JSB Heavies might be a bit too heavy for the gun.
Keep us posted after you get yours and some shooting time in to tell us what you think :)
 
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Mycapt65 said:
I got an older 20 caliber R9. It's got a Vortek kit in it it runs about 16.5 fpe with both FTTs and 13.73 Exacts. It shoots REAL nice I just finished redoing the stock. It's crazy accurate. First cold shot is dead on! I think its gonna be my new favorite.

Fwiw I had a couple of newer 20 caliber barrels for my R1 neither produced the same power with the FTTs and Exacts. The FTTs were always about one fpe stronger regardless of tune. Not sure if it was the barrels or the power plant. I'd be curious to see if yours does better with the FTTs.

Good luck with the new gun you're gonna love it!
Ron

View attachment 275316
Click to expand...
First of all, just WOW! on that stock. That is a fantastic looking rifle. Question about that muzzle device though. Is that a moderator or is it just a barrel weight more or less? Is it threaded on or is that a slip on?
 
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SteveP-52 said:
I have an R9 .20, same rifle.
View attachment 275319
For pellets, you really only have 4 choices: the FTT's and JSB 13.73's you already have, H&N Baracuda 13.58gr, the JSB Heavy 15.89gr.
I have others but only shot those 4 over my chrony and for groups. FPS numbers I got for 10 shot averages for mine and my target groups at 25 yards. Take them with a grain of salt since your numbers may well vary. The bottom middle and right targets were me sighting in a new Hawke Airmax 4-12x40 scope.
H&N FTT 11.42: 753 10 shot avg, FPE 14.38, ES 9, SD 2
H&N Baracuda 13.58: 683 10 shot average, 14.07 FPE, ES 11, SD 4
JSB Exact 13.73: 682fps 10 shot avg, 14.18 FPE, ES 13, SD 4
JSB Heavy 15.89: 631 10 shot average, 14.05 FPE, ES 15, SD 4
View attachment 275315
I do have other .20 cal pellets, but after a quick look at a few places, I'm not seeing either the Benji Domes or Predator Polymags and not a clue honestly if they stopped making them or not. AoA at one time also carried some Daystate labeled pellets, but they're just relabeled H&N or JSB's. Not sure if they'll bring them back or not.
The Airmax was sighted in with the FTT's, the other 3 I just aimed dead center and shot to see how well they'd group. All 3 shot very well though and all it would take is a click here and there to totally dial in for any of them, and this is just me, the JSB Heavies might be a bit too heavy for the gun.
Keep us posted after you get yours and some shooting time in to tell us what you think :)
Click to expand...
Those are definitely some solid numbers there. I would have no issue running 14fpe with either the FTTs or 13.4 JSBs and I certainly will be pleased if I can get them to group like that!
 
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bdzjlz said:
.20 is one of my favorites, especially in springers. I have a 97, an R9, and a 98 in .20 currently. All are extremely accurate. All have been meticulously tuned using Vortek kits. I find the sweet spot for mine to be around 14 ft lb. Two of them prefer the H&N 11.42. The other prefers the JSB 13.73.

Have fun!
Click to expand...
I have Vortek kits in almost all of my HWs and may end up grabbing yet another one for this gun. I do want to try another ARH kit though because the one I put in my 35 has been wonderful.

I'm glad to hear that the two pellets I have on hand are likely good choices (not that I had many options haha). Thanks for the info man!
 
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Mycapt65 said:
It's just a muzzle weight. I believe it's blued steel. It's held on with two grub screws. I bought the gun from the original owner and the receipt shows the shop put it and the rear sight blanking plate on at time of purchase. Not sure who made them. They maybe Beeman??
Click to expand...
Well it looks pretty great on there. I'll check around and see what I can find. Thank you for the info
 
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Mycapt65 said:
I had the PG4 Vortek kit made with trigger end of the spring closed and extra coils. I think I ended up with 31 coils after testing and cutting. If you're interested I can check my notes when I get home later.
Click to expand...
Why did you have the trigger side closed? I assume you just didn't want to have that little "adapter" piece inside the guide?
 
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Sqwirlfugger57 said:
Why did you have the trigger side closed? I assume you just didn't want to have that little "adapter" piece inside the guide?
Click to expand...
I'm not a fan of standing springs on open ends. There's a certain amount of deflection. I question the durability of that little ramped adapter at bottom. The top hats are thicker. I'm not as concerned. I've been badgering Tom to make my kits closed at both ends with regular top hats. So far no luck and I use a lot of his stuff. Eventually he'll go back to closed ends or I'll buy a lathe and make my own stuff.
 
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Mycapt65 said:
I'm not a fan of standing springs on open ends. There's a certain amount of deflection. I question the durability of that little ramped adapter at bottom. The top hats are thicker. I'm not as concerned. I've been badgering Tom to make my kits closed at both ends with regular top hats. So far no luck and I use a lot of his stuff. Eventually he'll go back to closed ends or I'll buy a lathe and make my own stuff.
Click to expand...
I bought a lathe 6 months ago and still haven't plugged it in. Currently my cat is sleeping on it so at least that $1k investment isn't completely going to waste
 
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Sqwirlfugger57 said:
I bought a lathe 6 months ago and still haven't plugged it in. Currently my cat is sleeping on it so at least that $1k investment isn't completely going to waste
Click to expand...
I'm jealous, I want my own lathe. I checked my notes. I cut that Vortek spring to 31 coils. Total after being closed at one end. It's a 0.785" od and 0.125" wire
 
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Sqwirlfugger57 said:
Finally pulled the trigger on my first .20 cal. I placed an order with AoA for a 95 Luxus and should have it here by Tuesday of next week. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited lol.

Anyone with .20 cal experience want to hype me up some more while I wait? I have a few tins each of JSB 13.73 and FTT 11.42 already. I plan to test everything I can get my hands on but is there anything in particular that I should keep my eyes peeled for?

What do you guys like to run yours at? Is there a sweet spot on these things? Most of what I have read/watched/been told is to shoot for 16frlbs give or take. Opinions on this?
Click to expand...
My experimenting showed (at-least in my range), the JSB 13.73 liked to be pushed over 715/720 fps. No other .20 caliber pellet was close in accuracy. To achieve this, I had to use a Vortek spring in the HW95/R9 - didn't use a kit just the spring - $25.
Since all my tunes have buttoned pistons, the piston slowed velocity a tad; smoothness over power.
 
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I won the Pyramyd Air Cup Piston GunSlynger event in 2017 and 2019 with my Russ Bess Tuned 1980s .20 Berman R10. I ran the 13.73 JSBs or HN FTTs depending on what was available. It shoots both exquisitely. Current tune is about 13.5-14 FPE.

nic-gregoris-gs-1024x683.jpg


The HW break barrel .20s are something else!! The only platform that compares for me personally is the .22 Pro Elite
 
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Nico5999 said:
I won the Piston GunSlynger event in 2017 and 2019 with my Russ Bess Tuned 1980s .20 Berman R10. I ran the 13.73 JSBs or HN FTTs depending on what was available. It shoots both exquisitely. Current tune is about 13.5-14 FPE.

View attachment 275360

The HW break barrel .20s are something else!! The only platform that compares for me personally is the .22 Pro Elite
Click to expand...
Not surprised. You are shooting from the “proper” side of the gun!
 
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You want a muzzle weight, ARH still shows to have some of theirs in stock. I have one on a Beeman R7:
www.airrifleheadquarters.com

NEW- 6" Apex Muzzle Weights

Maccari Custom Airgun Shop. Airguns and related accessories. Springs,tune kits,gunstocks,Beeman, Rws, Webley and many others. Sales and service
www.airrifleheadquarters.com

A custom stock now or later, there are a few places that will happily make you one, just be sitting when you see the prices...lol. For wood, Custom Stocks LTD in the UK is one and very well spoken of. There's also a gentleman in the UK that calls himself Daviesbuiltgunstocks who is fairly new but I've seen some of his work on a UK springer forum I belong to. He gets glowing reviews, will make them in wood or laminate and ships to the US.
I have an an aftermarket laminate stock on my HW95 that, should I want to, my R9 will drop straight into. It's a thumbhole which many don't like but I do...lol. Came from Craftsman Vit in the Ukraine. Everything on it was included in the price: adjustable butt pad, adjustable comb, allen wrench to do both with, shipping to the US, plus a custom made stock screw. It's also ambidexterous for the lefties out there although in my case, I had to teach myself to shoot left after doing a bunch of damage to my right shoulder that needed surgery, so I can shoot from either side.
HW95-CV stock 2.jpg
 
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