Fx wildcat .22 problem

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@Raja

The problem you described have many FX (WC) barrels!
Some more than others.
The .22 are most commonly affected.
The easiest way to check it is to looks by the front into the barrel, after a few shots.
It looks like the photo, has you bad luck :(


I tried the place to polish the rough but it did not work ;(
I have also asked other FX owners to check their barrels to draw attention to the problem.
But it makes nobody.
 
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Kenskylight
How did you polish the barrel . i have same issue after cleaning the barrel i get max 16 accurate shots . and my guns shroud is too tight could not open let me know how to open it . i remove the barrel to clean it every time . and do fx company help in any way . i live in pakistan and got my gun from dubai this gun costs me 2250 doller i am really disappointed.
 
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I use a bronze bust, otherwise you do not get to barrel clean.
Of course, this could be normal at ST barrels.
But if the barrel is clean, the first 5-8 shots are groups of 1 insh at 100Yards and after 8-16 shots it expands to 3-4 Insch at 100Yars.

This video explains that the ST barrels are inaccurate at long range.
What I can confirm.
My others PCPs with standard or LW barrel are incredibly accurate at long range!

If you want to shoot at longe distances buy no ST barrel or larger caliber.


Ps.The shroud should be able to turn easily.
Could be backed up with some glue, then you have to heat carefully so that the adhesive dissolves. FX has told me that it is normal and better after some 100 rounds.
I shot +3000 shots and it did not get better, I've returned the Wildcat.
 
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"KenSkylight"@Raja

The problem you described have many FX (WC) barrels!
Some more than others.
The .22 are most commonly affected.
The easiest way to check it is to looks by the front into the barrel, after a few shots.
It looks like the photo, has you bad luck :(


I tried the place to polish the rough but it did not work ;(
I have also asked other FX owners to check their barrels to draw attention to the problem.
But it makes nobody.
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I have 7 airguns, most of the time I clean barrels after 4000-5000 shots and I have never seen anything like that. If that is a common thing with smooth twist, FX needs to fix it right away. Raja I feel your pain, I know how it is to buy an expensive airgun that turns out to have problems and not be able to return it, I had the same happen to me with the Diana P1000.
 
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I have Kalibrgun Cricket .22, Vulcan .22, Edgun Matador .25 and all have CZ or LW barrels.
All of this shoot 1-1.5 inch groups at 100 yards.
And the barrel I clean all 200-500 shot out of habit.


The Fx Wildcat .22 shot 4 inch groups at 100 yards.
To me as shooter, it may not have been.
I have experimented a lot but it was not better.
I can definitely say that the barrel is to blame.
The FX barrels are produced differently than LW barrels and therein lies the problem.
What I can say right now is that some barrels are affected more than others and larger calibers are not as susceptible.
The ST barrels are not cut as LW barrels but pressed and etsehen thereby fold in the metal.
These folds or rough surface scrape lead of the pellets and destabilized this.

I get in a few days the FX Impact and a Bobcat and I will examine the barrels.
 
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I have a hard time understanding this accuracy loss because of dirty barrel. I have a Hatsan At44, Diana P1000, Weihrauch HW97, Diana 350 magnum, Diana 300r and Anschutz 330, on the hatsan I cleaned the barrel about 20,000 pellets after but not because I noticed any change in accuracy, on the P1000 I haven't really cleaned it I just shot 2-3 felt pellets through it every 15,000 pellets or so but never noticed any accuracy problems due to dirty barrel, my Weihrauch 97k, I cleaned it when I bought the gun shot around 50,000 pellets through it and did not notice any change in accuracy, I didn't clean the barrel for 3 years, the same on the 350 magnum, the only one that improved after barrel cleaning was the 300r.
 
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"KenSkylight"Yes
Once the barrel is clean the first 5-8 shots are nearly hole in hole at 90 yards!!!
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I was once skeptical of ST barrels mainly do to reading opinions of forum posters, till I got FX Whisper MK2 in .22. That was one of the most accurate rifles I have ever shot. At 50 yards it shot as good as LG110.
And I have never cleaned the barrel btw, as it was mirror polished. All I shot out of it is just JSB's as they recommend.
QC issues happen. If you got the barrel like this it should be changed.

But I will tell you this with certainty that there is very little out there out of the box that can offer FX consistency and repeatability.

That said I think FX on the Wildcat should have used their traditional mag system.
 
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"Lou"I have a hard time understanding this accuracy loss because of dirty barrel.
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some people get obsessed with cleaning the barrel too often or with stuff they should not be cleaning with. We don;t deal with heat and same energies as with firearms. Every once in a while running a couple of soft patches dabbed in Balistol is sufficient to prevent rust from forming and keeping the barrel clean.
 
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"KenSkylight"
The ST barrels are not cut as LW barrels but pressed and etsehen thereby fold in the metal.
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LW barrels are button rifled not cut. You have to go up to a Krieger to get a cut-rifled barrel. LW barrels can shoot different pellets yes, but who really cares if ST's shoot JSB's only very well.

All I can tell you that by looking at ST barrel myself not one but several, I can't say it is cheaply made.
 
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Each barrel is different.
Some one must often clean then others.
This applies equally well the Pellets the Pellet speed and the caliber.
An example.
My Kalibrgun I had all 200 shot clean my Vulcan every 2000.
So it's always different.
My FX Wildcat was very accurate at short range. (max. 50Yards)
But at 75 yards very inaccurate.
When I examine a barrel for accuracy then at long distance and with high speed camera.
I do not advertise for a particular weapon, everyone must decide for themselves.
I want to pay attention only to the problem of my FX ST barrel.
I bought the FX to shoot accurately at long distances and unfortunately I could not.
 
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"kris"try another barrel, must be cheap because they are easy to make. in manufacturing they deform it from outside only.


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Unfortunately, as far as I know high quality rifle barrels are quite difficult to manufacture and the technological processess involved are quite complicated and time consuming... It is mainly due to the fact that steel is quite hard matherial to apply grooves after tempering and tends to deform in a process of tempering if grooves are applied beforehand... So various technlogical tricks are used to overcome those issues depending on manufacturer. I do not know what exactly are those tricks in case of ST barrels and I do not want and won't speculate on that any further, but judging by those photos the cause seems to be steel cracks at micro level. It might simply be the wrong composition/tempering of the steel that was later "twisted" and resulted in those micro cracks on the inside and ruined the whole batch of barrels, it might be some unlucky .22 barrels batch produced on the new factory particularly for wildcats in .22.... Because barrels produced by the same technology for other models and even the wildcats in .25 doesn't seem to have similar problem ant the technology itself seems to be prooven as effective... Just want to help in finding and fixing the real cause - for me myself (still waiting fo my ordered .22 Wildcat to arrive) and for all of those unlucky guys who already got defective barrels...
 
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"kris"try another barrel, must be cheap because they are easy to make. in manufacturing they deform it from outside only.

if you think it is the barrel then just replace the barrel
simples


... what pellet are you shooting and at what fps, maybe you should lube or use different alloy
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These are not cheap barrels. You realize it when you look down one. These are special barrels. Blanks like these are not cheap. Rifling pressed from the outside may give greater room for error yes, but so as hammer forged barrels that most people love. QC issues happen. And I think FX will take care of the guy that got a gun with a bad barrel.

I just don't understand why this causing so much stress to some of you. Return the rifle for repairs or an exchange, have the dealer check new gun before shipping.
 
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"KenSkylight"In another forum I have found photos showing a good FX ST barrel.
The barrel in the photos are very accurate!
http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/thread/1333679371



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I agree it is not OK...and you should send the gun back for repair, or an exchange... but put it in the perspective. FX has less QC issues per gun reported then the Vulcan or Cricket you speak of so highly.

As an example.. I owned a Cricket, and I had to completely rebuild the new gun when I got it, to shoot good how I like it. Overall the gun was nice, well build, but assembly had issues. Linkage needed to be adjusted, 8 clamp needed to be repositioned slightly and re-tightened so the barrel would not slide forward when fired. So does that mean all Crickets are bad? No! I probably got one like that.
 
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Just want to help in finding and fixing the real cause -
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Ever since the owner of one airgun forum out there had a falling out with US FX Importer, we started reading negative posts on FX products that before no one noticed or spoken of :) And I think it is a bit too much, considering what cool stuff FX is putting out now. So now $500 Taipan Mutant is the star when it comes to accuracy and build quality? It is kind of hard to read.

1st generation ST barrels had accuracy issues, but these (gen 3 I believe) shoot great. I was in the crowd of nay sayers myself on these barrels reading stuff on many forums too till I got .22 Whisper with ST barrel. It was one of the most accurate guns I have ever shot with JSB's. Other pellets I don't know about.

As posters, we need to really think what benefit are we really doing for the new guys who get really confused what to buy. In truth really there are few airguns that can compete with repeatability of FX products. And that is why there is a line to get them.
 
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So now $500 Taipan Mutant is the star when it comes to accuracy and build quality?
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This one made me smile, thank you for making my day brighter :)

Once some wise man, whose experience in both handling and making guns (including airguns) exceeds mine by a lot, said to me: "If someone ever tells you that his airgun from the very beginning was and still is plain brilliant and never had any problems - know he is bull$itting you and maybe even himself". Its a hard truth behind the scenes I suppose. Anyway, with years I have learned that what differentiates the elite brands (in any area) from all the rest is not the complete absence of problems, but the way they are dealt with when they arise (doesn't matter if they are the real problems or just made up).

On a funny note, here is a video (not mine) of Wildcat .25 vs. Taipan .22 "head-to-head", at 50m (~54.7 yards).Taipan doesn't even live long enough to see the results ... Not exactly apples to apples, but still funny including the spelling of the title :)


I am still hoping someone will make a video of some reasonable shooting tests of .22 Wildcat with a non-defective barrel at various distances to calm down all this. Those showing the plinking of beer cans at 100 yards with a downgraded version doesn't count... The only reasonable video I managed to find was travels4fun's, but that was with .25... 
 
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