There's a long story that goes along with this rifle... here's the short version.
I picked up the challenger elite 51 back in January. Since then I've had nothing but severe accuracy problems. Many ammo types were keyholing and wouldn't consistently hit a 12"x18" target from 50yds. Some ammo was making better groups, but occasional fliers were so bad they would miss the paper. I dug into the problem by inspecting everything including the barrel. Turns out the barrel was made oversized. So big that a .510 slug would almost free fall down the tube. I sent the rifle back for a replacement which unfortunately wasn't any better. The retailer had done everything in their power so they put me in touch with AEA directly. The AEA rep offered no helpful solutions and made no offer to repair or replace. The rep stopped responding to my emails after the second or third reply. Completely ghosted.
Anyway, here we are. I've had this rifle sitting around looking like a $1000+ mistake since January and I finally have a way to fix it (hopefully).
Step 1 was finding a blank barrel. Having a ~32" long barrel made things a bit difficult. Finding a blank with a reasonable twist rate that was long enough and didn't cost more than the rifle itself was pretty much impossible. So, I settled for a 30" long, 1 in 48" twist barrel from green mountain. Long enough, but just barely.
That blank sat around my shop for a couple months until a few days ago when I decided to start the project. Took about 10 hours with all of the measuring, modeling, programming and machining but it came out looking great.
Over the past few months I've made some other accessories for this bad boy as well. I made some billet barrel bands, some triple picatinny bottle clamps (shameless plug: now available at the pellet shop), and I have a prototype billet magazine on my desk that just needs a bit more work to be complete.
Only thing left to do is shoot it. Wish me luck. If a new barrel doesnt fix the problem I'll be at a loss for words. I've never had accuracy issues like this. Not with an air gun, not with a powder burner, not with a compound bow. Maybe with an airsoft haha.
Looks really nice with the raw barrel. I tried to cold blue it but it wouldn't take the blue at ALL. I just double checked the website and turns out it's stainless. Sweet!
I picked up the challenger elite 51 back in January. Since then I've had nothing but severe accuracy problems. Many ammo types were keyholing and wouldn't consistently hit a 12"x18" target from 50yds. Some ammo was making better groups, but occasional fliers were so bad they would miss the paper. I dug into the problem by inspecting everything including the barrel. Turns out the barrel was made oversized. So big that a .510 slug would almost free fall down the tube. I sent the rifle back for a replacement which unfortunately wasn't any better. The retailer had done everything in their power so they put me in touch with AEA directly. The AEA rep offered no helpful solutions and made no offer to repair or replace. The rep stopped responding to my emails after the second or third reply. Completely ghosted.
Anyway, here we are. I've had this rifle sitting around looking like a $1000+ mistake since January and I finally have a way to fix it (hopefully).
Step 1 was finding a blank barrel. Having a ~32" long barrel made things a bit difficult. Finding a blank with a reasonable twist rate that was long enough and didn't cost more than the rifle itself was pretty much impossible. So, I settled for a 30" long, 1 in 48" twist barrel from green mountain. Long enough, but just barely.
That blank sat around my shop for a couple months until a few days ago when I decided to start the project. Took about 10 hours with all of the measuring, modeling, programming and machining but it came out looking great.
Over the past few months I've made some other accessories for this bad boy as well. I made some billet barrel bands, some triple picatinny bottle clamps (shameless plug: now available at the pellet shop), and I have a prototype billet magazine on my desk that just needs a bit more work to be complete.
Only thing left to do is shoot it. Wish me luck. If a new barrel doesnt fix the problem I'll be at a loss for words. I've never had accuracy issues like this. Not with an air gun, not with a powder burner, not with a compound bow. Maybe with an airsoft haha.
Looks really nice with the raw barrel. I tried to cold blue it but it wouldn't take the blue at ALL. I just double checked the website and turns out it's stainless. Sweet!
. Its amazing what a straight semi smooth bore the right diameter can do. Green Mountain Barrels go America Manufacturing...... It's super cool you have the knowledge to make all.the different accessories with CNC
