Little semi-auto AEA backpacker harvests it's first squirrel.

[FLgunner]

Today I pulled the trigger unpolished all the contact surfaces. I also swapped both springs with lighter ones. This has helped, but what lube should I use to make the contact surfaces even slicker and smoother? I have dry lube, like Molybdenum Disulfide and silicone grease like Super Lube, or is there something even better?

 

[DanielL]

Super lube isn’t really great for high contact pressures. Moly is. I’d try a little dry moly first. See if that helps.

 

[FLgunner]

I have some on it now. It started out feeling pretty good, but then went back to feeling heavy again. It's like it rubbed off or something. How do you get it to adhere to the surfaces so it lasts?

 

[DanielL]

That is one issue with dry lube though it is supposed to transfer to the surfaces. You might try FP10 or Weapon Shield first, then sprinkle some of that dry lube in with it. Also don’t neglect the sides that rub on the interior of the receiver.

What weight have you got the trigger down to?

 

[keefd]

FLgunner, you just cost me $140!

Well, that's on me - I bought that UTG 3-12x44 compact and an offset mount similar to yours. The scope is supposed to get here Sunday, the mount doesn't arrive until Tuesday.

At least my Yong Heng pump arrived - I tried filling the gun with a hand pump, and I was reminded how broke my shoulder/back is.

I need to take it out and shoot it, maybe even without a scope. The couple times I pulled the trigger it didn't seem bad at all - not match grade, but I've pulled heavier triggers for sure.

 

[keefd]

edit - I decided to go with regular 30mm dovetail rings.

 

[FLgunner]

edit - I decided to go with regular 30mm dovetail rings.

Sorry for the late reply. I have no idea where I got the offset mount, probably eBay or Amazon. I did find these on Amazon if you're still interested:

https://www.amazon.com/360-TACTICAL-Extended-Dovetail-Without/dp/B07H9HH8LS/ref=sr_1_38?dchild=1&keywords=one%2Bpiece%2Bscope%2Bmount%2B30mm%2B11mm%2Bdovetail&qid=1589199918&sr=8-38&th=1

 

[FLgunner]

I received the wave spring washers I ordered from McMaster Carr. Just 1 is all it took to eliminate the slight wobble where the folding stock adapter attaches to the breech. It feels rock solid now!

Here's a link to what I bought if anyone else is interested: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/126/1394

The size is ID: 0.689"; OD: 0.937"; Thickness: 0.012"; Working Load: 40 lbs

These fit perfectly and are barely noticeable. The working load is plenty strong enough to give a good solid feel, but not too much that you can't compress it enough to get the pins seated. It's definitely an improvement!

 

[keefd]

I don't know if anyone else's AEA airgun has acted like it's in bolt-action mode, but mine did for a short bit.

What happened is the warning on the side says no more than 3600 PSI. So I look at the gauge on the bottom and I air it up to 28, so 2800 PSI, right? NOPE! That's 28 MPa, or about 4000 PSI. In my defense the warning is in PSI and the MPa on the gauge is SUPER tiny.

The result is that it would not cycle in semi-auto until the pressure was below 24 MPa on the gauge, or about 3480 PSI. It's working fine now, but I wanted to post this up as a warning to not mistake the gauge's MPa scale for PSI. If it's possible, I really want to swap out the gauge for one in PSI.

I haven't shot it much at all, but after the pressure went back down the semi-auto action has been reliable. The gun has been a heck of a value to me. It's by far no FX Impact, but as a plinking gun I like it.

 

[FLgunner]

I noticed the Gauge was in MPa before I noticed the warning not to exceed 3600 psi. I also noticed the green graduations on the gauge go to 29 MPa, well beyond the 24.8 MPa limit! I also noticed that when pressure gets below around 12MPa it also stops cycling in semi-auto, but still function if you manually cycle the bolt. The first time I filled it I went to 25 MPa, so it was technically above the stated limit, but it still functioned fine. They really need to have the warning match the gauge to the other way around!

 

[DanielL]

Thanks. Good idea. I need to go through my list of stuff I might want from McMaster Carr because small orders cost more in shipping than what you buy!

 

[DanielL]

Odd to have a 4500 psi bottle on a gun that isn’t designed for more than 3,600 psi, and is off the power curve above 2,300 psi. The narrower pressure range is usually the nature of unregulated guns though and you do get a pile of powerful shots so it works.


I’m kind of surprised it even fired at all at 4K psi. That is a lot of pressure for the hammer spring to overcome.

 

[DanielL]

Here is the velocity/power curve I generated from 20.2 gr. NSA's. They weren't accurate or reliable in the magazine but it gives an idea of the amount of shots you will get at a reasonable velocity range. I will rerun sometime with JSB 18.1's which are very accurate and reliable in the magazine.

The string starts at 24 mPa and goes to 16.1 mPa.

I've been filling to about 22 bar and refilling at 18 bar.

 

[FLgunner]

I mounted my ATN 4K Pro scope to the Backpacker today. After sighting it in, I calibrated the RAV (Recoil Activated Video) and shot these 10 rounds to test it out. Not too shabby for a compact semi-auto!

https://youtu.be/jD4Kz_2LnyY

Here's a close-up of the group. Two flyers, but otherwise a pretty respectable grouping. These were H&N Sniper Magnums, 17.9 grains, averaging 963 FPS making close to 37 FPE!

This should be good enough for shooting rats! Here's a picture of it all set and ready to start taking out some little fur balls!

 

[DanielL]

Nice. Curious to see how the video works out. Seems like it would just start recording when the recoil of the action hits the end stop and you wouldn't get a lot.

 

[FLgunner]

That video is what you get from the Recoil Activated Video. You set it up in the menu for how much time you want before and after the shot. In this case, I thing I have it set for 5 seconds before and 10 seconds after. It continuously records in the background and when you take a shot, it save the video for the specified time before and after the recoil was felt. It doesn't work all that well with most PCP Air Rifles because there is so little recoil, bit on a semi-auto the hammer and bolt slamming to the rear and back forward again create enough to trigger it.

 

[DanielL]

Ahhh...that's how it works. Recording all the time. I imagine in that mode the battery life is lower like that but probably good enough for a hunting session.

Good luck.

Looking forward to seeing some ratting videos.

 

[qball]

I mounted my ATN 4K Pro scope to the Backpacker today. After sighting it in, I calibrated the RAV (Recoil Activated Video) and shot these 10 rounds to test it out. Not too shabby for a compact semi-auto!



https://youtu.be/jD4Kz_2LnyY



Here's a close-up of the group. Two flyers, but otherwise a pretty respectable grouping. These were H&N Sniper Magnums, 17.9 grains, averaging 963 FPS making close to 37 FPE!

This should be good enough for shooting rats! Here's a picture of it all set and ready to start taking out some little fur balls!

That simply looks awesome! I'm VERY tempted by the ATN 4K scope

 

[FLgunner]

If you do decide to get one, go for a refurb! That one is a refurb and I've not had a single issue with it! I also have one I purchased new that was nothing but problems. It continually locked up, went blank, froze, etc! I contacted ATN and they issued an RMA, my replacement is on it's way. I hope it's as trouble free as this one has been. Also, go for the 5-20X, you don't have to zoom as much and the video is clearer. That one currently on the Backpacker is the 5-20X. The replacement I have coming from ATN is a 3-16X, it will go on the Backpacker when it arrives and this one will go back on my Crown Continuum!

 

[qball]

If you do decide to get one, go for a refurb! That one is a refurb and I've not had a single issue with it! I also have one I purchased new that was nothing but problems. It continually locked up, went blank, froze, etc! I contacted ATN and they issued an RMA, my replacement is on it's way. I hope it's as trouble free as this one has been. Also, go for the 5-20X, you don't have to zoom as much and the video is clearer. That one currently on the Backpacker is the 5-20X. The replacement I have coming from ATN is a 3-16X, it will go on the Backpacker when it arrives and this one will go back on my Crown Continuum!

Thank you for the great info! I just pull the trigger on the 5-20 4k pro refurb with refurb range finder, in theory I'll be straight up cheating in 7-8 days, can't wait! I hope i have the same luck with the refurb as you did, it saved over 200 dollars on the combo. Given it's directly from their site and I even created an account I shouldn't have issues with warranty, granted I hope I don't have to ever use it.

Also saw your remote setup and had to have it!