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EC Barrel Tuner for Big Bores

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caliusoptimus

caliusoptimus

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Feb 10, 2024
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Been chasing accuracy with my big bores for a while now. Feels like I've tried everything other than tuning the barrel.

Decided to pick up the EC Tuner V2. Seems to be the only tuner out there that works over 30cal and can be adapted to M18x1 threads. For the steep price point I seriously considered making one from scratch.

Anyway, patiently waiting for it to arrive. If I'm lucky I'll have time to test this weekend. Will report back. Anyone else tried something like this on a big bore?

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What does your chronograph tell you about your gun's consistency? If you don't have very tight ES and SD then a barrel tuner is just a pretty toy to hang on the barrel. The tuner is for the final 2% of improvement, once all the other variables have been addressed.

I have had good results with the FX add on tuner with my Kral Knight in .25 cal. SD on that gun comes in under 3 FPS. There are definite nodes in the harmonics that show as I retract the tuner closer to the chamber.
 
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The tuner came in yesterday. Funny packaging!

Over the weekend I had a bit of an Aha! moment... I spent some time at the range tuning barrel tension and wow what a difference. I started by picking a cool looking slug and setting the rattler to max power. From there the only thing I adjusted was barrel tension. That single adjustment took my groups from >4" at 100yd to about 1.5". I think it's safe to say that, after chasing my tail with a million other things, barrel vibration is the main source of my problems.

I'm hoping with some further refinement accuracy and precision will get even better.

I'm going to try the EC v2 tuner of course, and another mod that came to mind. First I should say that my rattler is a bit of a custom job... featuring a 36" 1-20" twist TJ barrel, and special carbon sleeves that allow me to tension the whole barrel. There has also been a variety of other tweaks and mods... but anyway... I'm saying this to explain that a stock rattler will behave much differently.

The most recent mod is adding an additional cf sleeve to the barrel. It's pretty much a perfect fit. Barrel OD is about 14.98mm and the tube ID is about 15.02mm. Nice snug slip fit... still able to remove without tools. No idea if this is going to help or hurt, but curious to find out.

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I'm thinking ahead about the best method to find that sweet tune... first idea was to leave the tuner all the way forward, and to adjust the tension for best accuracy. Then adjust the ec tuner from there. Any thoughts?

Will probably give it a try on saturday.
 
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The tuner is for the final 2% of performance that you can squeeze out of the gun. Take care of all the other variables first, or you will be chasing your tail. Of all the ways you can tune the gun, the EC tuner will have the least impact.

Yes, do start with the EC all the way forward. Shoot 4 shot groups, make 1/4 or 1/2 turn adjustment. Shoot again and again. Once you find where the best group is by bracketing, shoot on settings between the best two groups. Narrow it down slive by slice. On my tuner equipped gun there are definite bad settings, a little better settings, then suddenly I will get at the same bull, two very good groups separated by 1" or so. Keep going another 2-3 adjustments and I find the two tight groups will coalesce into the best single group. Then the process reverses itself as the tune goes further away from the sweet spot.

It does take a lot of shooting 4-5 shot groups will tell the tale. Do the testing on a day with predictable winds. I like to shoot at night for the lack of wind. My bench and target have lights, although I don't often use the bench light at night in the summer due to the flying pests.

The vibrations that we are trying to dampen are a diminishing sine wave. We want the barrel to be at a virtual standstill when the pellet is passing the crown. The slowest movement of the barrel will be at the peak or the trough of the sine wave, where the momentum of the barrel is slowing down, stopping and reversing direction. At dead center in the wave(0,0), the barrel is moving at its highest speed. Fun fact to think about as you spend hours chasing vibratory nirvana.

Shoot'em good :)
 
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JimNM said:
The tuner is for the final 2% of performance that you can squeeze out of the gun. Take care of all the other variables first, or you will be chasing your tail. Of all the ways you can tune the gun, the EC tuner will have the least impact.

Yes, do start with the EC all the way forward. Shoot 4 shot groups, make 1/4 or 1/2 turn adjustment. Shoot again and again. Once you find where the best group is by bracketing, shoot on settings between the best two groups. Narrow it down slive by slice. On my tuner equipped gun there are definite bad settings, a little better settings, then suddenly I will get at the same bull, two very good groups separated by 1" or so. Keep going another 2-3 adjustments and I find the two tight groups will coalesce into the best single group. Then the process reverses itself as the tune goes further away from the sweet spot.

It does take a lot of shooting 4-5 shot groups will tell the tale. Do the testing on a day with predictable winds. I like to shoot at night for the lack of wind. My bench and target have lights, although I don't often use the bench light at night in the summer due to the flying pests.

The vibrations that we are trying to dampen are a diminishing sine wave. We want the barrel to be at a virtual standstill when the pellet is passing the crown. The slowest movement of the barrel will be at the peak or the trough of the sine wave, where the momentum of the barrel is slowing down, stopping and reversing direction. At dead center in the wave(0,0), the barrel is moving at its highest speed. Fun fact to think about as you spend hours chasing vibratory nirvana.

Shoot'em good :)
Click to expand...
I appreciate your input, and it seems to line up with the general consensus I've seen so far.

I just watched this podcast and it was extremely informative. My main takeaways were-

1. Shoot many shots per test case to make sure the result is statistically significant.

2. Getting helpful effects from a tuner is highly questionable.

3. The effect of a muzzle device is largely due to the mass, and to the way it interacts with muzzle gas. Less so due to the exact position of the mass.

 
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Watch some more EC videos. Mr Cortina is a proponent of 4 shot groups will show you 98% +/- what a 5 shot group will. When you shoot as much as he does, saving 20% per group begins to get significant both for time and ammo costs. You can always double check your data - but don't waste time and money on a group that is bad - cause it ain't gonna get any better.
 
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JimNM said:
Watch some more EC videos. Mr Cortina is a proponent of 4 shot groups will show you 98% +/- what a 5 shot group will. When you shoot as much as he does, saving 20% per group begins to get significant both for time and ammo costs. You can always double check your data - but don't waste time and money on a group that is bad - cause it ain't gonna get any better.
Click to expand...

Seems like it all really comes down to how much you care about certain variables. Different methods can provide different kinds of info and it seems like single shots on a grid is the absolute best way to gather a variety of data types with the least amount of shots. But maybe the tedium of recording and processing that way isn't actually useful to you, or to EC.

How many shots does it take to know your limit? Kinda like asking how many pixels it takes to see the picture.

Another great discussion:
 
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