Holy Cricket or I should say: 1 Hole Cricket

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hawken54

Member
Sep 10, 2015
247
6
Arizona
So, I bought A Cricket .25 from another member here. Full Rowe tune for 33.95s. Really got to play with it today. I thought I would be on here talking up my new Wildcat constantly but I got to tell ya. I haven't shot it since I got the Cricket. I have to force myself to go shot it tomorrow. I test a bunch of pellets and the JSB 33.95 and the Air Arms Fields 25s shot the best. Here is a 50 yard target. Air Arms on the left, Not to bad. JSB nailed it. These are full 10 shot groups off a Tack Driver bag rest. I shot the top right target just to confirm and it was even smaller. Now I have to get a DonnyDu or Clague to quiet it out. My average with the heavy 33.95 was 885 fps and the AA 25s 989 fps. Im in love !! Guess I need to go fall in love with the Wildcat, My daughter has shot it more than me.

 
Great shooting Hawken !!!! Love my 25 , had it for sale on Yellow 2 days ago. But went out shooting it on a good still day .. Just can't let it go !!
I've tried the MK1 and 2...2s feed smoother but 1s shoot best out of mine . But nothing quite as good as regular JSBs . I have Donny's LDC and shroud on mine . Incredible sound suppression and ZERO affect on accuracy .....Best groups I've shot are after Donny's stuff was installed .
 
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My .25 Cricket is the same. I find it to be a lot of fun to shoot and I have lost interest in all of my other air guns since I got it. I really love it. Mine does best with H&N Baracuda extreme pellets. This isn't surprising as I used them to zero the scope. They put huge holes in squirrels and they never survive, even from body shots. 

I was completely torn between the Cricket and the Wildcat and if the Wildcat wasn't on back-order then I probably would have gone that way. I'm glad I didn't now. 

I was was attracted to the Wildcat because it was lighter and had the side-lever at the side instead of in my arm pit. I was put off by the fact that it was 2" longer and had a smaller pellet capacity. I really believe that FX only chose to limit it's capacity to distinguish it from the more expensive Bobcat and Impact. That is the problem when a company has too many models on the market, it prevents them from making each model the best it could be. They should streamline a little. If I pay more than $1000 for an air gun, I want it to be the company's best model, not the one with compromises. 

There are 3 areas I would like to see improved on the Cricket. I want a side-lever extensions to move it forward like they did with the trigger. I want a lighter synthetic stock and a safety. I think all 3 could be aftermarket upgrades. I am going to attempt the lever and stock myself.

 
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"hawken54"I would love a safety on my Cricket. The rear cocking is off little consequence as Rowe did a beautiful job and its smooth as silk.
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The side lever on my Cricket is perfectly functional and smooth. That isn't the issue. Just saying that moving it to a more comfortable / ergonomic position should be an easy upgrade. It's current position isn't a deal-breaker (as I bought one) but given a choice, I wouldn't choose to put it in my arm pit. It's too difficult to perform quick follow-up shots without breaking position. 

 
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"JoeWayneRhea"Looking forward to seeing how the forward lever andstovk comes out !!
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The mold for my carbon fiber Cricket stock is drying right now. I can already tell that it's going to be considerably lighter than the stock it came with. I'll post some pics when it's done. If all goes according to plan, it should be an almost exact replica of synthetic stock only in carbon fiber and minus the mag holders. I also have a thumbhole bullpup stock drying just to see which I prefer. 

The great thing about working in CF and fiberglass is that I can use my existing stock as a mold for the inletting so it will be an exact fit. I never had the tools to achieve that with wood.

I haven't started on the lever project yet other than doing a little research. I am thinking that it will be simple rod with something to grip the existing side lever (so it can be operated via a pump motion from the front). I am in favor of mods that don't require taking apart or altering the action just in case it goes wrong. 

I keep looking at the semi-auto mechanisms from paintball guns to see if I could just borrow some components. I have seen a lot of threads where people discuss this idea but none where it's actually been done. The closest I have seen is one where someone used an electric trigger from a paintball marker but the gun still needed manual cocking which made the mod completely pointless. I want to try a semi-auto mod using a gas tube attached to the end of the moderator with a pneumatic ram at the other side. I'm giving myself a 5% chance of being able to pull it off.

 
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"zebra"
"JoeWayneRhea"Looking forward to seeing how the forward lever andstovk comes out !!
Click to expand...
The mold for my carbon fiber Cricket stock is drying right now. I can already tell that it's going to be considerably lighter than the stock it came with. I'll post some pics when it's done. If all goes according to plan, it should be an almost exact replica of synthetic stock only in carbon fiber and minus the mag holders. I also have a thumbhole bullpup stock drying just to see which I prefer. 

The great thing about working in CF and fiberglass is that I can use my existing stock as a mold for the inletting so it will be an exact fit. I never had the tools to achieve that with wood.

I haven't started on the lever project yet other than doing a little research. I am thinking that it will be simple rod with something to grip the existing side lever (so it can be operated via a pump motion from the front). I am in favor of mods that don't require taking apart or altering the action just in case it goes wrong. 

I keep looking at the semi-auto mechanisms from paintball guns to see if I could just borrow some components. I have seen a lot of threads where people discuss this idea but none where it's actually been done. The closest I have seen is one where someone used an electric trigger from a paintball marker but the gun still needed manual cocking which made the mod completely pointless. I want to try a semi-auto mod using a gas tube attached to the end of the moderator with a pneumatic ram at the other side. I'm giving myself a 5% chance of being able to pull it off.

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Carbon fiber Cricket stock? You trying to get rich or something,
A friend of mine that used to make my motorcycle carbon parts looked at my Syn cricket and said if he would have kept all his tools he could made it five times stronger and about one pound, He is in the oil field making big money now,,,,,
Let me know when you start taking orders,
Thanks
Mike
 
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"iride"Carbon fiber Cricket stock? You trying to get rich or something,
A friend of mine that used to make my motorcycle carbon parts looked at my Syn cricket and said if he would have kept all his tools he could made it five times stronger and about one pound, He is in the oil field making big money now,,,,,
Let me know when you start taking orders,
Thanks
Mike
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I wasn't planning on making a business out it. I just enjoy projects like this and I want a lighter stock for my Cricket. I have agreed to make some for a few members on another forum though. I don't plan on charging a lot of money. I'll probably just get them to pay for the raw materials.

I use carbon fiber and fiberglass to make products for my home theater business so I happen to have the know how. I find it to be so much easier than working with wood and it fits my needs for lightweight and strong materials in this case. 

Your friend is correct about it being stronger and lighter than wood. If you've never used carbon fiber, it is hard to believe just how strong a part can be without weighing much at all. A part light enough to not even register on my scales can literally support my weight without even bending.

I really don't understand why we don't see more CF and fiberglass air rifle stocks on high end models ( at least for their synthetic versions). I can definitely appreciate nice wood on a traditional style rifle but it has so many disadvantages for a hunting bullpup stock. I'm always worried about scratching or denting walnut. I like to keep my air guns in good condition so this bothers me. Even with cheap fiberglass, you have to try really hard to scratch it. It is highly unlikely you could do by accident in the woods. CF and fiberglass won't crack, snap or expand noticeably with temperature changes either. Plus, wood looks wrong on bullpups. It doesn't belong on modern-looking products like iPads, gold clubs, sports cars, flatscreen tv's or bullpups.

CF isn't nearly as expensive and some people think. It is comparable with nice Walnut and far cheaper than Titanium. A CF stock could easily be justified on a $1500 bullpup. The prices that some companies charge for carbon fiber rifle stocks is ridiculous so I can understand the question about trying to get rich. 

It's about time some of these premium brands started giving us premium materials on their products as standard. I would happily save some time and buy a commercial CF stock replacement if anyone actually sold them. 

I would love to make CF stocks as a business. That is the dream - doing something you enjoy for a living. I just have no idea how many other people there are who share my desire for lightweight synthetic bullpup stocks. Most of the posts I read on forums suggest that the majority prefer wood, even on a bullpup. Maybe some of the wood-lovers would give up their walnut for carbon fiber. Their only other option right now is plastic so it is no wonder they prefer wood....






 
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