AEA Challenger barrel length and caliber vs accuracy?

[lpbvi]

I'm new to the world of big bore airguns. Don't have much experience with any type of airguns for that matter, but I'm very tempted by what looks like much less spending on ammunition. Having trawled through the various makes and models on offer, I like the the AEA Challenger range. The Benjamin bulldog ticks all my boxes as well, but the traditionalist in me thinks a gun ought to look like a gun...
I just have a question that someone out there must have an answer to.
Between the AEA Challenger bullpup .35 (24" barrel) and the AEA Challenger bullpup .30 (32" barrel) which is the most accurate at roughly 100 yards? Are the smaller and lighter .30 pellets less accurate over that distance than the .35 or is barrel length important as well? Or is there no noticeable difference? And if there's not much difference, how would they compare to the AEA Challenger .35 big bore bullpup (24" barrel) for accuracy?

 

[BurntDog]

I'm new to the world of big bore airguns. Don't have much experience with any type of airguns for that matter, but I'm very tempted by what looks like much less spending on ammunition. Having trawled through the various makes and models on offer, I like the the AEA Challenger range. The Benjamin bulldog ticks all my boxes as well, but the traditionalist in me thinks a gun ought to look like a gun...
I just have a question that someone out there must have an answer to.
Between the AEA Challenger bullpup .35 (24" barrel) and the AEA Challenger bullpup .30 (32" barrel) which is the most accurate at roughly 100 yards? Are the smaller and lighter .30 pellets less accurate over that distance than the .35 or is barrel length important as well? Or is there no noticeable difference? And if there's not much difference, how would they compare to the AEA Challenger .35 big bore bullpup (24" barrel) for accuracy?

I recently bought the AEA Challenger bullpup in .457 30" barrel. As far as accuracy as you know, finding the correct ammo your barrel likes (no two barrels are the same). Also need to find that sweet spot in the power curve (psi level). I got the starting reference for my bullpup around the 3100-3200psi from one of BinTac's videos (at the least it will save me ammo have a ideal where to start). Longer barrels tend to give better accuracy at longer distance. I don't think we are going to get away from trial and error cause we can have the same gun and everything yet what works in mine may not work as well in yours.

 

[lpbvi]

Thanks for the reply BurntDog. My question was probably not really an answerable one. Sounds like there's no hard and fast rule or data yet on what is more accurate, especially if, as you say, there can be such difference between individual guns.

 

[silvershooter589]

You're not going to be shooting pellets with a 32" Challenger .30 ... or maybe you will, but it will perform best with heavier ammo. That beast has a ton of power for a .30 cal

As for which is more accurate, it could go either way depending what ammo you're using. The .30 would probably shoot at a flatter trajectory due to higher velocities & somewhat lighter ammo versus the .35 caliber

 

[AirNGasman]

There are way too many variables for anyone to declare one caliber more accurate than another, at least anyone that knows what he's talking about.

I bought my .30 AEA Challenger BULLPUP not only to get a 32" barrel in only a 41" rifle, but knowing that long-ass barrel would allow a lot of DE-tuning of the beast down in power to still shoot .30 pellets about 900 FPS. I did this to see if such a cheap-ass Chinese PCP could be transformed into a viable Extreme Field Target rifle (100 foot pounds maximum). With more experience DE-tuning Korean maxi-blaster PCPs into competition-worthiness than anyone, I recognized similar potentials in the .30 bullpup.

It took a LOT of doing; including lighter hammer and trigger springs, moly-lubing the firing and trigger actions, JB Bore pasting the bore, and polishing the muzzle crown, but the result was this-

Unfortunately the 300 cc chamber-tube returned only 8 competition-worthy shots per 120 BAR/1750 PSI fill. But since she was as accurate at 100 yards as any airgun at any price, I invested in a Huma regulator to bring the shot-count up to 24 from a 280 BAR/4100 PSI fill. I eventually achieved the finest 100 yard accuracy I've ever recorded in 30+ years of testing hundreds of airguns-

Some keyboard warriors have questioned my results, sanity, and/or honesty in reporting these results, no doubt because they possess neither the experience, airgunsmithing, nor shooting skills to achieve such accuracy... with any airgun. I don't bother defending myself from their insinuations, as my record speaks for me.

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