AEA .357 CHALLENGER STANDARD BIG BORE W/SIDE LEAVER

[THE_LAST_WORD]

ive got this newest .357 big bore challenger it is the standard version has 10rd mag 600cc air cylinder, and really puts out alot of energy. ive added a 360 bipod think its utg and got the emperor moderator which ive took apart and done some stuff with it that makes it even quieter. removed baffles turned 90degrees and reinserted at front of mod, this gives more baffle and leaves a space near the back where there is a hole anyway, reinsert outer mesh and add flat pieces of rubber between outer mesh and outer casing, this makes the metal touching sound go away making a better moderator.
also doing my lead in with barrys bullets copper electroplated slugs, this will make the inside of my barrel shiny copper and even more accutrate than just the lead.(done this decades ago with a sherridan air rifle)

 

[THE_LAST_WORD]

add a pick rail at the underside of stock to mount my bipod to. used a 5inch rail from end of wood stock holes drilled screws tapped its good bipod is set and air rifle can be balanced with less than 3lb force on stock.
added rubber recoil pad on top of original rubber recoil pad giving myself another inch and a bit more cushion, makes the operation of side leaver easier can now operate side leaver with one hand by using elbow against rubber recoil pad , can do so with right or left hand cool.

does anyone know the actual diameter inside the rifling ive found that steel ball bearings 11/32inch will roll down the barrel wonder if those bearings can be cast inside a slug making a serious penetrator. what is the heaviest and longest slug that will fit into the breach single load? ive gotten the 174gr to fit the mag but the 200gr are too big for mag but will fir as first slot, interesting.

 

[357cal]

I also have the 357 big bore and i have use 205 gr single load and i was told not to shot round ball in mine,, it may fall in the transfer port.

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I also have the 357 big bore and i have use 205 gr single load and i was told not to shot round ball in mine,, it may fall in the transfer port.

Do you really think your .357 has a .360 Transfer port ?

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

I also have the 357 big bore and i have use 205 gr single load and i was told not to shot round ball in mine,, it may fall in the transfer port

you know, it really depends on which round ball you are trying to use.
if you try to put that .358 round ball in there i think it may not work so well for you.
but there are molds for .356round ball that will work fine. and yeah i agree with the archer , the gun just aint made that way. the 200 templars from ksi are wonderful and spit out smooth.i have not tried the lead from gt bullets yet.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

so the question that gentlman asked made something come to my mind, what is the diameter of the transfer port in mm? that will solve a thing i need to know .

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

because the 11/32 steel ball bearings ive rolled down the barrel dont give any hiccups and they are 8.73125mm and they roll just fine, and 45/128 inch is 8.9mm which is .351cal so there is no way that would get stuck if you had lead that size.
just dont do anything unsafe k, take off your moderator and uncock your gun or degas it, render it safe in any case, now take whatever round projectile you got and drop it in the crown end of the barrel, if it rolls through and out the breach great, if it dont , well its close to the end of the barrel already it will come back out with a pushrod in from the breach, or dry fireing the airgun.
you just make sure you dont put anything that does not roll (if we talking round ball)into the barrel, if it is too big to fit and roll down the end all the way to the breach it would not fire if you loaded it so dont load anything larger than the diameter of the rifling in your particular airgun. in mine 8.73125mm is alright, id like to get one 8.87mm and see if it rolls but i have not found one yet. so again ,,, what is the diameter of the transfer port in millimeters and we can solve the issue without any argument. and you will be

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

so i wish you to be safe so here is a link to a magnet , you find a place on the outside your breach and stick the magnet there on the side or top and it should stick there , it will attract all magnetic metals tward it and hold them there till a valve releases air and the round ball of that type goes down the barrel, see no issues with the transfer port, at least till i can find the diameter of the port anyway. here is the link https://www.ebay.com/itm/1825427174...39lwoEH%2BGv6WWNgNmX|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675 and these do wonders if put on top a persons electric meter and just left there , yup dont have to do nothin but leave it there and it lowers the bill if its an electric digital meter . jus sayin.

 

[357cal]

Do you really think your .357 has a .360 Transfer port ?

I'm just following advise from Mr Hollowpoint and Bin Lu T hey has for more experience then both of us put together. plus i don't really need it. below is what i was told . i'm not willing to go thru all that when i have so many slugs that i can use that do the job very well.

 

[357cal]

you know, it really depends on which round ball you are trying to use.
if you try to put that .358 round ball in there i think it may not work so well for you.
but there are molds for .356round ball that will work fine. and yeah i agree with the archer , the gun just aint made that way. the 200 templars from ksi are wonderful and spit out smooth.i have not tried the lead from gt bullets yet.

Your right, its not made for round ball, there are risks that i'm not willing to take,lol there just as dead with slugs.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

I'm just following advise from Mr Hollowpoint and Bin Lu T hey has for more experience then both of us put together. plus i don't really need it. below is what i was told . i'm not willing to go thru all that when i have so many slugs that i can use that do the job very well.

View attachment 284299

you and me both brother. for myself ive a goal to find a good mold that can incorperate one in a slug for personal use. so enjoy mr hollowpoint smiles

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I'm just following advise from Mr Hollowpoint and Bin Lu T hey has for more experience then both of us put together. plus i don't really need it. below is what i was told . i'm not willing to go thru all that when i have so many slugs that i can use that do the job very well.

View attachment 284299

Well, I can tell you that me and a ton of other people have shot .360 roundballs from Ballistic product out of all kinds of .357 guns and I've never heard of any problems and certainly not ever of Roundballs falling into the transfer port.


If you have a single shot gun cast roundballs are fine since you can place the ball the way you need, for magazine guns swagged balls are the go.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

Well, I can tell you that me and a ton of other people have shot .360 roundballs from Ballistic product out of all kinds of .357 guns and I've never heard of any problems and certainly not ever of Roundballs falling into the transfer port.


If you have a single shot gun cast roundballs are fine since you can place the ball the way you need, for magazine guns swagged balls are the go.

air archer, i hear you, i understand and agree with you about those not getting stuck in the transfer port.
but at the same time if i took a .360 ball it wouldnt roll down my barrel lead or not. so you are welcome to that caliber i will stick with lead .357 or less and other projectiles at as close to 8.8mm as i can get em. yeah one day i may try that cal round ball but it will not be while i have warranty, smiles and enjoy what you perfer

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

gotcha the 360 round balls work cause they are swagged, which kinda changes the outer surface. hmmmm still untill i get my own press and can swage them myself i do have what i need...

say does anyone have a link for .495cal 236gr slugs ? same for 400gr slugs in .495

 

[357cal]

you and me both brother. for myself ive a goal to find a good mold that can incorperate one in a slug for personal use. so enjoy mr hollowpoint smiles

View attachment 284358

Here's mine.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

smiles, i do not think i will be putting any .360cal anything in my .357 hehe and i am going to take the suggestion to do so as a joke for both of us.

yeah i am pretty sure i can get the 6 cavity 120gr mold from lee and just drop a ball bearing into each one and add liquid lead and see what comes out the mold. but i am two months from being able to cast anything yet, still have to get the thing that keeps the lead melted before it goes into a mold. so far i have a old lead pouring ladel/pot, its got a lip to set against what you are pouring into and that makes it useful to my blind self. it was just laying in the yard with lead hardened inside it already and some on the outside so it was left while being in use. had to be my brother making .50cal muzzle loader balls. just had to be no-one else has need for a lead pouring ladel in my back yard and it was just laying there in other junk so thats my best guess on it.
omg i just came across a mold for a .575 mini-ball 500gr wow, i could create a ahole usable platform my brother would drool over with that mold and a .58cal zeus air rifle. he would love that to be waiting for him when he gets out of the pokey.(he gonna be there for awhile i think he has 3and a half done on 18)
anyway i am still looking for a website that sells 180-220grain slugs in pure lead in .356 or a pure lead .357since the 200gr templar i use is .357 supposedly it says .357 but it gores into the breach as well as the 125gr .356cal bullets i started with. those damn sexy ranger bullets.

do you know if our big bore .357 barrels are actually .357 or what, i mean can we put .358cal lead in these rifles?

 

[Cheplicki]

im working with this gun know.. whats the best size you guys have found.. .357 .356 or .355 i have run some 357 they are doing ok at 50 yards but not as good as i would like them to be

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

Maybe those AEA have a true 9mm barrel and that is why they like these smaller calibers ?

I had a ton of .357s in the past decade and a half, still have 3 and the .358 has always been the way to go, and so the .360 roundball from Ballistic Product ( 000 lead buckshot ) 8# jar for 30 some bucks,....awesome

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

im working with this gun know.. whats the best size you guys have found.. .357 .356 or .355 i have run some 357 they are doing ok at 50 yards but not as good as i would like them to be

well ive had .357 that shot good and some that scares me to shoot, the .356 seems to shoot better the barrys bullets copper electroplated .356 makes a screaming as it leaves the barrel which would be useful inside during an invasion but otherwise its just fingernails on a chalkboard, and the .356 that states 9mm and the .356 from the 38special/380acp both shoot different. the.355is the surest that will fire but also the least accurate..
course concerning accuracy the steel ball bearings 11/32 inch wrapped in a aluminum bubble gum wrapper is absolutly the most accurate but you will be better off with actual lead and i suggest the .356 for general lead bullet reloads from the reload sites, or the .357 from the high end pellet places like ksi and lucky 7 and mr hollowpoint cause those .357's will probably work . like the 200 grain templars are.357 and they work great better than the .356 from barrys. but just my opinion the barrys bullets and gt bullets are the best cost wise and they shoot fine. and of those i myself am going with the gt bullets 145gr its a semi-wadcutter and also a hollowpoint and they are great priced and the 130grs i just got shoot wonderfully, and that is saying something since they are 130s. so i am going with the 145s and then the 174 grains in .357.

if you can get a slug that is hollow base and hollow point in .356 it will be good no matter the weight but that slug at 140-160 would be my choice, since i cant find one in 180 gr...
enjoy your airgun...
nope it wont protect you from a DM werewolf , or those bear looking things, but it will toast a grey in the woods ,

 

[357cal]

smiles, i do not think i will be putting any .360cal anything in my .357 hehe and i am going to take the suggestion to do so as a joke for both of us.

yeah i am pretty sure i can get the 6 cavity 120gr mold from lee and just drop a ball bearing into each one and add liquid lead and see what comes out the mold. but i am two months from being able to cast anything yet, still have to get the thing that keeps the lead melted before it goes into a mold. so far i have a old lead pouring ladel/pot, its got a lip to set against what you are pouring into and that makes it useful to my blind self. it was just laying in the yard with lead hardened inside it already and some on the outside so it was left while being in use. had to be my brother making .50cal muzzle loader balls. just had to be no-one else has need for a lead pouring ladel in my back yard and it was just laying there in other junk so thats my best guess on it.
omg i just came across a mold for a .575 mini-ball 500gr wow, i could create a ahole usable platform my brother would drool over with that mold and a .58cal zeus air rifle. he would love that to be waiting for him when he gets out of the pokey.(he gonna be there for awhile i think he has 3and a half done on 18)
anyway i am still looking for a website that sells 180-220grain slugs in pure lead in .356 or a pure lead .357since the 200gr templar i use is .357 supposedly it says .357 but it gores into the breach as well as the 125gr .356cal bullets i started with. those damn sexy ranger bullets.

do you know if our big bore .357 barrels are actually .357 or what, i mean can we put .358cal lead in these rifles?

This was a order i got from NSA 110 gr HP-DB, 35 Cal - 100 / 358 I know use only slugs from horseshoemtncasting on E-Bay check him out, there as good as any hands down.