Hopefully the M4 will have this done to it already. In my newbie opinion, it should be the minimum standard on all FX guns starting today if they know it is an improvement. With CNC equipment it wouldn't add much to the price.
Will FX allow that mod without voiding the warranty? This current "grub screws" system that is used in almost all air rifles has a lot to be desired and is pretty outdated technology.
Most of you should probably ignore everything past this line.......and I probably won't be responding to challenges to my comments.
I think that even doing a mod like that isn't enough for the best potential accuracy and consistency. Nobody knows the exact percentage of FX or other makes of air rifles that do not consistently hold a zero from day to day, but the number seems fairly substantial based on the number of posts I see here on AGN. I have been shooting a fairly new FX Impact M3 and it randomly sends the next very tight group to a different location after having been sitting in the case for a few days. Other airguns I have shot do the same thing. None of my PB rifles with good barrels on them do that. The heat expansion and vibration of a PB rifle is many times greater than an airgun, but the barrels are a one solid piece of steel which is probably why they perform so well from day to day.
If there was an air rifle out there that had a stainless steel receiver where the barrel attaches and the barrels were substantially larger in diameter with a threaded nut on the barrel where it meets the action face much like Savage does with their PB rifles to secure it firmly in place at the desired rotational and front to back position, many of the quirks associated with this type of system would likely go away. Rather than ever more skinny barrels, the answer I think would be a kiln cured permanently attached Carbon Fiber wrap on the barrel that threads into a steel receiver. Not a separate carbon fiber tube shroud / liner like what is being offered now. An example would be the offerings of Proof Research for PB Barrels that will allow the larger diameter shank on the barrel without adding too much weight but providing a solid, rigid barrel construction. My crystal ball prediction is that a barrel / action system similar to this will be the next big leap in airgun technology. More than one individual is already working on this type of design. It will be interesting to see if it ever comes to market and if it does, how successful it will be.
Some of the benefits that I can see
- No loss of zero from bumping the barrel on a table or other hard object
- Less chance of unexplained POI shift from weak components made of different materials and complicated joining techniques all along the barrel path.
- Better accuracy with less tuning with a wider variety of ammo.
- No pulling the barrel out of the receiver when tightening threaded caps / shrouds / moderators, tensioning systems etc. that pull the barrel away from the receiver in some fashion.
- A reduction in barrel parts by a significant number, particularly for FX style barrels that can have 6 or more parts! Each with their own temperature expansion ratio that does not help with consistent accuracy.
- Barrels that are so floppy that putting a lightweight moderator on them can cause a huge change of zero.
- Easier and more repeatable barrel swapping.
- Fewer steps to produce a quality barrel and maybe more that I can't come up with.
I would assume the price will go up, but at $300 to $400+ for a current FX Barrel kit they are already pretty dang high. I would be willing to pay double that for a barrel to fit an action that can hold it properly, that isn't so delicate and shoots the same POI day after day with no fiddling.
