First off I live in Pennsylvania and for small game hunting with a pcp has to be .22 caliber only for most small.game. Stupid .but anyways I wanna build a reliable single shot custom barrel and twist .22 cal to shoot regular .224 cast slugs 55gr 62gr and maybe even 77 grain .224 cast slugs. I'm ok with the Airforce platform and already have a aqua environment regulator setup to shoot tethered. So is the Airforce condor with a custom Doug noble valve and custom 28 to 32 inch barrel .224 say 8 twist barrel.a powerful enough platform to shoot 55 to 70 grain slugs at the respective 900 to 1050 fps hopefully. If I could I would just buy a .257 texan and use that put laws being what they are I need a .224 caliber. I'm already setup to cast and powder coat my slugs. I imagine the Texan platform can't go any smaller than .257 in caliber. I have no Airforce condor experience. It seems like Doug noble was the condo valve master. Any info appreciated
Most powerful .22 cal Pcp ? Custom Airforce condor?
- Thread starter RM.510bigbore
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I have a condor but I’m certainly no Airforce whiz, as many others here surely are... but a .22 70gr slug at 1050 fps is nearing 200 foot pounds of energy. That’s a lot. (170 fpe, I just checked)
For small game hunting that seems like a lot of wasted energy/air but I look forward to seeing what you come up with. It sounds more like you are building an extreme bench rest rifle instead of a small game rifle.
For small game hunting that seems like a lot of wasted energy/air but I look forward to seeing what you come up with. It sounds more like you are building an extreme bench rest rifle instead of a small game rifle.
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I would doubt that you are going to be able to hit the numbers you want. I asked Doug about a similar setup and he said “try it”. I’m waiting on a .257 Condor valve from him. I sold the last one I had and missed it, so I’m building another .257 Condor. I do have a .22 barrel, so I’ll report back on some numbers once I get the valve in. I was just wanting to shoot MP mold 35 grain that I cast, so that won’t be hard.
While his valve makes a lot of power, I’m not sure that you’ll be able to make a .22 hit that hard. Larger projectile has more sectional density and smaller ones have less, making it harder to scale the power down. You might be able to get the lighter 55 grain slugs up to speed. My stock Condor valve shot 38 grain .22 at 930 but that’s only a little over 70 FPE. It shoots 38.5 grain NSA at 90+ fpe.
While his valve makes a lot of power, I’m not sure that you’ll be able to make a .22 hit that hard. Larger projectile has more sectional density and smaller ones have less, making it harder to scale the power down. You might be able to get the lighter 55 grain slugs up to speed. My stock Condor valve shot 38 grain .22 at 930 but that’s only a little over 70 FPE. It shoots 38.5 grain NSA at 90+ fpe.
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I would be happy to push 40 to 55 grain slugs. If I could shoot 1000 fps with a 40 to 55 grain cast .224 slug that would be awesome. I just want to buy a custom lapped bench rest barrel like a benchmark ,I know it will be accurate and clean up great. I need a legal pa.squirrel pcp and also a option for ground hogs. I have a tricked out 50 cal Texan but need a second small caliber option. Are the Chinese eBay condor valves. Junk?.. I heard Doug noble say to stick.with factory Airforce parts. Airforce said I can get on a waiting list for a condor frame. I will spec.the barrel for the grain bullets it will shoot. Prob go 28 inch 32 inch benchmark barrel. Full length condor frame? 4500 psi carbon fiber bottle 0.5L.eBay or allieexpress? Who do I get the valve from factory Airforce? Or most powerful talon tunes or Chinese eBay prob both the same. Thanks for the patience I'm new to the condor game!
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It's not imported to the US but the SamYang Snipe is a 380cc 22cal version of the Dragon Claw .50. Supposed to shoot 33gr pellets over 1150fps. So essentially a 100ftlb 22 out of the box. Plus just looks sweet.
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The texan as is would not work.. valve is already over sized for 257 .. a texan custom valve would be needed.. the Doug valve would work great on a regular airforce platform.. as for a realistic weight 55g to 62g would do awesome with that valve..as I already tested for speed... 60g in a 30" barrel will do 970fps on preload #2 at 3050 psi .. that was almost 2 years ago..barrel was not the correct twist rate 1-12 so I left it on a side, but kept collecting molds in .224 for the last 2 years..now I'm going to finished in the right twist.. tooling was finally ordered 3 weeks ago when is done it will go to TJ ..for the barrel to be made... the hard part for someone trying to shoot. 224 ..is trying to find mols aviable..I managed to find 19 mold in the 50g to 62g .. but no G7 bullet mold are aviable in .224 .. in .257 I have found 3..
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I'm sure the Huben K1 can either get close or actually get there with slugs. My .25 can easily hop the 100 fpe mark.
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So a regular condor frame from Airforce with a Doug noble 22condor valve with a long barrel 30-32inch will drive 55 to 62 grain cast slugs at respective airgun velocity s. How many psi are the high power condor vavles 3625psi or 4500 psi? I know with center fires I ran .224 8 twist for up to 80 grain use. Since the velocity is going to be below the speed of sound I wonder if I should use a 7 or 8 twist. I used 9 twist in .223 with 75 grain at 2750 fps. I can't imagine it to hurt going with a fast enough twist rate. Aersonal molds has some nice spire point .224 molds in 55gr 62 grain and 77 grain. I would love a huben it is awesome I just need boring regular accuate and able to digest my powder coated cast slugs pcp. I know the strong point of.Airforce design is letting you shoot heavy slugs per calibers compared to conventional air gun designs.
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It shouldn't be used above 3500 .. if at that psi your wanted speed was not achieved..then is useless...at 3,300 -- 62g should be well above 1000fps even in a G7 Spitzer.. maybe up to 70g could be used... now in the ballistics calculator you enter the data for what is already working as a example.. 257-420 at 1000fps.. it gives you a stability factor of 2.45 ... using that as a guide.. 224 .. at 62g + length achieved the same stability factor of 2.45 at .. 8.5 twist..at 9 twist the stability factor is 2.25 ..in my personal use I only wanted to shoot..from 50 to 62g... .257 usually start at 70g so for 70g n up I better use the .257..
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