Skip to bottom of post #6 for a quick guide!
Fellow connoisseurs,
This thread will focus on a newly purchased Katran which was purchased as a ratter for my neighbor. However, due to an incident in the setup, it seems destined to be mine, in exchange for my Atomic XR. We’ll get into this later.
By way of intro, the SC is a subcompact Katran and this model is a 22. It can be setup as a pistol or carbine by way of a non-folding attachment that is magnetic and equipped with a grub screw to adjust so that it has no wobble, which works well. The air tube is 100cc and 300bar fill by way of the Airmaks probe. The pic rail is 20moa and the barrel is shrouded and equipped with UNF threading for a mod, which is necessary and this one has the IA1200, which is working well to keep it plenty backyard friendly. It’s also equipped with a Spitfire 5x that was modded to 50y parallax and that’s working pretty well for this config.
Pics setup as rifle or pistol:
Like other models in this genre, the KSC makes most sense as a carbine and not a dedicated pistol in the vein of the HW44, Ataman, or the godly GK1. However, with a laser, it will no doubt prove effective for pesting in confined spaces.
Having owned several Airmaks, I’m fully aware of the dangers of this breed. They often require some work and I’ve regarded them in the past as 80% finished. I’m glad to say that things seem to have improved and maybe now are at 90%. On the plus side, if you can get them to 99%, then they’re every bit as good as stuff costing 50 or more percent more. Let’s talk about the missing 10% first and we can break it down to two issues:
1. Upon filling for the first time, with a compressor, the pressure gauge at the front of the air tube failed catastrophically at 250bar. I wouldn’t call it a dangerous event but it was enough to give my neighbor (who is a PCP noob) second thoughts about becoming the owner. From my perspective, while I’ve never seen or heard of this, I know that the Airmaks gauges are flimsy. I once removed one from a Caiman and it fell apart. So, in this case, I replaced the exploded gauge with a Wika, which as you can see in the pics, is a little bigger and sticks out at the front of the air tube. I may put in a digital, but I won’t be asking for a replacement from Airmaks!
2. The KSC arrived tuned to shoot Hades at 650fps. Playing with the hammer, it was clear that it was tuned on the knee, which is good. However, it did not sound good. Flatulent and loud and clearly using way too much air to propel Hades at <16fpe. A 300bar fill was insufficient for 2x16 shot mags, which is dire. Tearing in, the plenum was marked in red pen with the number “80” as was the reg. Surely not I thought. It would be madness to setup with such a short barrel at 80bar. I had to investigate further so I put it back together without any reg adjustment and sure enough, shots got louder at 80bar tank pressure before pellet speed dropped. Holy moly. Are they all coming out this way? Checked on the product stats and sure enough, the KSC is advertised at 21 joules/15.5fpe with 15.9grain pellets.
To fix this terrible tune, I performed three incremental reg adjustments, not knowing the adjustment scale, eventually landing around 120bar, as deduced by evaluating a shot string. Surprisingly, this little Katran has an adjustable valve spring, although the effect is not large due to a weak spring. Still, with an estimated 120bar and maximum valve spring tension (limited by spring compression; EDIT, actually it was not maxed, the adjuster thread was fouled - see later post)), I was able to get a tune with the Hades shooting at an average 712fps/18fpe. The speed plateau was 740fps at that pressure. It might be possible to improve it further by going higher on the reg, but as it stands, I’m pretty comfortable with this tune and with the power output from a 230mm barrel. The valve pin and poppet are not really suitable for high reg pressures, in my opinion. In any case with this tune, the report is much quieter and snappier. It sounds like a properly tuned PCP. Also it’s now getting through 3x16 shot mags before dropping off the reg. A very clear example of how increasing reg pressure can make for higher efficiency. Actually 52 shots to be precise, which is close to 40% more than stock and those shots are 2.5fpe more powerful.
So, now we have a KSC that makes some sense, in terms of noise and power. Does the reg provide a good ES throughout the range from 300-120 bar? The answer is yes. Airmaks now seems to be able to produce a solid reg. ES was recorded at 7fps for my 52 shot string. Now, the most critical - can it shoot accurately? This is where you get the benefit with Airmaks - a CZ barrel! So far, it seems to be an emphatic yes based on my early (well, late in the day) experience sighting it in on my duct seal targets (aiming at a grain of seed!). At both 30 and 40 yards, it simply stacked the pellets. Of course, I need to see how it does in the morning after having the chance to creep overnight.
What else can I say. It’s a very comfortable setup with adjustable butt and cheek riser. The short tube rail, which accepts a pic plate, is perfect for hold during offhand shooting. The mag mechanism and left side lever are perfect for me and I’ve quickly grown to like the look and overall feel. Is it better than the atomic XR at this point? On the balance of today, I’d say so. It feels better, both from bags and offhand - more like a trad. rifle. The shot count and mag size is a major plus if I were to take it hiking with no means to refill. The accuracy seems to be a step above and I’ve only tried the Hades so far. It would be great if it can shoot the CPHPs, which work pretty well in the XR. I’ll figure that out tomorrow. Of course, it may not be as robust as the XR. Only time will tell.
Fellow connoisseurs,
This thread will focus on a newly purchased Katran which was purchased as a ratter for my neighbor. However, due to an incident in the setup, it seems destined to be mine, in exchange for my Atomic XR. We’ll get into this later.
By way of intro, the SC is a subcompact Katran and this model is a 22. It can be setup as a pistol or carbine by way of a non-folding attachment that is magnetic and equipped with a grub screw to adjust so that it has no wobble, which works well. The air tube is 100cc and 300bar fill by way of the Airmaks probe. The pic rail is 20moa and the barrel is shrouded and equipped with UNF threading for a mod, which is necessary and this one has the IA1200, which is working well to keep it plenty backyard friendly. It’s also equipped with a Spitfire 5x that was modded to 50y parallax and that’s working pretty well for this config.
Pics setup as rifle or pistol:
Like other models in this genre, the KSC makes most sense as a carbine and not a dedicated pistol in the vein of the HW44, Ataman, or the godly GK1. However, with a laser, it will no doubt prove effective for pesting in confined spaces.
Having owned several Airmaks, I’m fully aware of the dangers of this breed. They often require some work and I’ve regarded them in the past as 80% finished. I’m glad to say that things seem to have improved and maybe now are at 90%. On the plus side, if you can get them to 99%, then they’re every bit as good as stuff costing 50 or more percent more. Let’s talk about the missing 10% first and we can break it down to two issues:
1. Upon filling for the first time, with a compressor, the pressure gauge at the front of the air tube failed catastrophically at 250bar. I wouldn’t call it a dangerous event but it was enough to give my neighbor (who is a PCP noob) second thoughts about becoming the owner. From my perspective, while I’ve never seen or heard of this, I know that the Airmaks gauges are flimsy. I once removed one from a Caiman and it fell apart. So, in this case, I replaced the exploded gauge with a Wika, which as you can see in the pics, is a little bigger and sticks out at the front of the air tube. I may put in a digital, but I won’t be asking for a replacement from Airmaks!
2. The KSC arrived tuned to shoot Hades at 650fps. Playing with the hammer, it was clear that it was tuned on the knee, which is good. However, it did not sound good. Flatulent and loud and clearly using way too much air to propel Hades at <16fpe. A 300bar fill was insufficient for 2x16 shot mags, which is dire. Tearing in, the plenum was marked in red pen with the number “80” as was the reg. Surely not I thought. It would be madness to setup with such a short barrel at 80bar. I had to investigate further so I put it back together without any reg adjustment and sure enough, shots got louder at 80bar tank pressure before pellet speed dropped. Holy moly. Are they all coming out this way? Checked on the product stats and sure enough, the KSC is advertised at 21 joules/15.5fpe with 15.9grain pellets.
To fix this terrible tune, I performed three incremental reg adjustments, not knowing the adjustment scale, eventually landing around 120bar, as deduced by evaluating a shot string. Surprisingly, this little Katran has an adjustable valve spring, although the effect is not large due to a weak spring. Still, with an estimated 120bar and maximum valve spring tension (limited by spring compression; EDIT, actually it was not maxed, the adjuster thread was fouled - see later post)), I was able to get a tune with the Hades shooting at an average 712fps/18fpe. The speed plateau was 740fps at that pressure. It might be possible to improve it further by going higher on the reg, but as it stands, I’m pretty comfortable with this tune and with the power output from a 230mm barrel. The valve pin and poppet are not really suitable for high reg pressures, in my opinion. In any case with this tune, the report is much quieter and snappier. It sounds like a properly tuned PCP. Also it’s now getting through 3x16 shot mags before dropping off the reg. A very clear example of how increasing reg pressure can make for higher efficiency. Actually 52 shots to be precise, which is close to 40% more than stock and those shots are 2.5fpe more powerful.
So, now we have a KSC that makes some sense, in terms of noise and power. Does the reg provide a good ES throughout the range from 300-120 bar? The answer is yes. Airmaks now seems to be able to produce a solid reg. ES was recorded at 7fps for my 52 shot string. Now, the most critical - can it shoot accurately? This is where you get the benefit with Airmaks - a CZ barrel! So far, it seems to be an emphatic yes based on my early (well, late in the day) experience sighting it in on my duct seal targets (aiming at a grain of seed!). At both 30 and 40 yards, it simply stacked the pellets. Of course, I need to see how it does in the morning after having the chance to creep overnight.
What else can I say. It’s a very comfortable setup with adjustable butt and cheek riser. The short tube rail, which accepts a pic plate, is perfect for hold during offhand shooting. The mag mechanism and left side lever are perfect for me and I’ve quickly grown to like the look and overall feel. Is it better than the atomic XR at this point? On the balance of today, I’d say so. It feels better, both from bags and offhand - more like a trad. rifle. The shot count and mag size is a major plus if I were to take it hiking with no means to refill. The accuracy seems to be a step above and I’ve only tried the Hades so far. It would be great if it can shoot the CPHPs, which work pretty well in the XR. I’ll figure that out tomorrow. Of course, it may not be as robust as the XR. Only time will tell.
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