Tuning New FX Maverick owner with problems

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gkohls68

Member
Jun 14, 2021
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Wisconsin, United States
I received my FX Maverick Sniper.30 caliber Monday 06/21/21. Everything arrived in excellent shape. Monday night I got the scope mounted and zeroed. Tuesday I set up the chronograph and shot some FX 44.8 grain pellets. I got an average muzzle velocity of 893 fps, ES of 6 fps and an SD of 2 fps over 10 shots. Pretty darn good I think, I was very pleased. Then I went to a JSB 50.15 grain pellet. I got an average muzzle velocity of 863 fps, ES of 10 fps and an SD of 3 fps over 23 shots. I was pleased with that as well. So, the gun is working great at this point.

Then I started shooting at 50 yards for groups. Was making one big hole in the target, very pleased again. Then I had a pellet shoot very low and could feel air hit my face coming from the magazine area. I thought maybe I had not got the cocking lever pushed all the way forward. So, I tried it again and got another low shot that did not even make the target. The chronograph showed that shot at 260 fps. At this point I could not remove the magazine because the pellet probe was not coming all the way out. After scratching my head over this for a while I finally discovered that where the cocking handle mechanism attaches to the cocking rod the grub screws had came loose. So, I realigned that and tighten things up. All was good again and I went back to shooting. This time at 90 yards. I was consistently hitting a 2-inch spinner target and again was very pleased with the performance. Then I noticed my shots were hitting low and were not consistent. When I looked at the tank pressure It was getting down close to 150 bar so I assumed this was the reason for the inconsistency. Was getting late so I put the gun away for the night.

Last night I put different scope mounts on and realigned the scope. I also removed the power adjuster wheel and pulled out the spring seat cup and measured how far out the cup point grub screw was for a reference. It was at 4.6 mm. Then I removed the screw that presses the plastic/nylon piece against the cup point grub screw to keep it from freely turning. I applied a drop of blue Loctite to that screw and reinstalled and tightened it. I did this as a prevention because of hearing about that screw coming loose then allowing the cup point grub screw to move freely while shooting and changing the velocity.

With these changes I set up the chronograph and went back to shooting at 25 yards so I could zero the scope again. My velocities where all over the place. 650 fps to 871 fps and everything in between shooting the JSB 50.15 grain pellet. I then took the power wheel adjuster off again and remove the spring seat cup to check it. The cup point grub screw was still at 4.6mm so it had not moved. Everything seemed Okay so I put it all back together and tried it again and got the same results. Since I had not done so yet I then went through the process of checking both regulators. The first regulator is set to a strong 150 bar and the second regulator is set 110-115ish bar. Not a lot of resolution on that gauge. But in either case I thought this should be Okay to start or at least be giving me far better results than I’m currently seeing.

I will try shooting again tonight to see if anything changed from de-pressurizing and re-pressurizing the gun while going through the regulator checking process all though I’m not holding my breath that this fixed anything.

This gun was shooting great until the cocking handle mechanism came loose from the cocking rod. It’s been a downhill battle since. Anything I’m missing or should check that have not to this point? The only other option would be to send the gun back for repair. I don’t feel comfortable taking anything apart further then what I’ve described here so far. Seems like I’m sitting on a lot of potential with this gun but I’m disappointed and frustrated with it at the moment. Please share your thoughts.



Thanks

Greg
 
Well I found my problem and it turned out not to be an o ring. I noticed that when the action was cocked and you would move the cocking lever back and forth there was a spot that you could feel increased resistance and it was rough feeling as though something was rubbing. So I worked up the nerve to tear the gun down far enough to remove the hammer. Turns out that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Anyway what I found was an area on the circular flange at the end of the hammer the was beat up and peened outward a bit. If you look close you can see it in the picture. Sorry the picture isn't that good. That edge was rubbing against the pellet probe carrier. So I'm assuming this was also dragging when the the hammer was released on firing and causing inconsistent hammer strikes. That would certainly explain the wide variance in velocities I was seeing.

To prove this out I filed down the peened out area that was sticking out until the round flange was smooth around its outer circumference. I put everything back together and gave it a run. Much improved. I did have to adjust out a half turn on the hammer spring adjustment screw but I ended up with a SD of 3 fps and an ES of 10 fps over 20 shots and I'm shooting about 10 fps faster then before all of this started. I'm thinking that's because I adjusted the regulators up just a bit when I was checking them.

So I will be ordering a new hammer. Anyone have any idea's on what may have caused the damage to the hammer shown in the picture? I'd like to know this won't happen again before I put a new one in,

Thanks

IMG_0262.1624590403.jpg

 
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I would put this question directly to the experts at FX-USA.

I have found them to be very responsive regarding any issues I have had. If it is a manufacturing related issue, you will likely get a free replacement hammer (and possibly whatever other parts may have caused this), or an invitation to send the gun to them for inspection/repair.

https://fxairguns-usa.com/contact-us/
 
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That's pretty brutal for a new gun. That's the kind of thing I'd expect to see on a gun that has been pushed very hard to make big power(like mine haha). Unless, it happened some how when that cocking lever came loose from the cocking rod? I'm just guessing. Either way, I bet FX will send you a new hammer.

I would also like to congratulate you on doing your research and addressing the 2 most common things with the Mavericks ;) No, really. The cocking rod screws and that adjuster screw have caused many people a lot of heartache, and have no doubt resulted in a lot of guns being returned to FX.
 
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Email sent to FX.

Thank God for the internet and this forum. I just recently got into PCP's. I'm a very avid shooter with powder burners, mostly handguns but I have a rifle set up for long range shooting. I take my reloading seriously as well. But over the last year reloading components have been hard to come by and I've not been shooting as much. That's what made me decide to take a crack at the PCP airguns. I will have to say that I'm having the most fun shooting then I've had in a long time with these PCP airguns. I have two Air Arms S510 XS Xtra guns. One in .22 caliber and the other in .25 caliber. Both those guns just worked right out of the box. Other then adjusting the triggers to my liking I've haven't had to do anything besides shoot them. I can say now that I know a whole lot more about the inner workings of my FX then either of my Air Arms guns. But I'm still optimistic that me and this FX will get along just fine. Few kinks to work out and we should be good.
 
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FX has parts in the mail for me. They are covering under warranty. They are going to have one of the techs respond as well as to what may have caused this in the first place all though I have not gotten that response just yet. But FX has been very responsive, couldn't really ask for anymore.

Oh, I have the gun shooting great at the moment. Shooting my 2 inch spinner target at 100 yards is getting just plain boring as its so easy with this gun. I will probably try shooting groups at 100 this evening when the wind dies down.
 
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I believe that is the sear face of the hammer. Also on the pellet probe carrier there is a pin that catches that face when cocking the gun which pulls the hammer back to engage the sear. The sear is in perfect condition. I'm still waiting to hear from the FX service tech (was told Monday). But I suspect that when the grub screws came loose on the cocking rod and the pellet probe carrier was not going all the way forward the hammer was able to hit that pin on the pellet probe carrier when fired causing that damage. Being a sear face I would have thought that area of the hammer would be much harder. But I'm sure there is a reason its not. Anyway, its only a theory I have as a newbe to PCP's so take it with a grain of salt. I should have a better idea after hearing from the service tech. When I get the full story I'll post.
 
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Glad to hear that FX is taking care of things for you, as they have in the past for me.

There certainly have been a number of issues with recent FX production. I know that FX has previously posted that the Maverick was a significantly new design for them, saying this around the time of the Impact M3 launch when folks were asking whether M3 availability would be as slow as the Maverick availability had been. Maybe also explains the issues with the Mavericks, along with the fact the FX seems to be working 'faster than they reasonably can' to get guns produced. New folks being brought to the assembly line. Assembly (new personnel - trained completely?) and QC maybe taking hits currently.

You have also discovered the consistent great quality of British produced air guns. One can't say that there are never any issues with these, but in my personal experience the Air Arms, Daystates and Brococks have all performed near flawlessly for me out of the box. And designs like the S510 have been produced for years, so lots of experience making those. (I don't want to purposely exclude the BSA guns, but it is just that I have never owned nor shot one of those).

Once again, from my personal experience, I have found with the British produced guns that more care is taken with them prior to boxing them up and shipping them out to their customers. It just seems like they take the time to tune their guns. Not for maximum power or shots per fill, but for that balance of power with good shot count.

FX guns are marketed as being easily adjustable by their owner. Seems like FX may use that as an excuse to not take as much care in tuning them before shipping them out. Oh, and I'm much more of an FX fanboy than a hater. I own multiple Crowns and Impacts, and my wife shoots a Dreamline Classic. Just saying what I have seen in my personal experience.

Welcome to the wonderful world of air gunning. I shoot powder burners as well (and fortunately have stockpiled reloading components when they were cheaper, and plentiful). But I find that I can do things with air guns which I could never do with firearms. The big one is being able to shoot in my back yard (very sanity maintaining during last year's lockdowns). The second thing is the accuracy I can achieve with airguns. Never before have I seen a fly land on a target within 50 yards, and said to myself "Yeah, I can get him."
 
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Monday I received my new parts from FX. I got the new hammer installed and everything is working like a champ. This gun is a real joy to shoot now that all the kinks have been worked out. Today I just got a call from one of the FX technicians in regards to my failure. He confirmed what I had suspected to be the reason for the damage to the hammer. He also wanted to make sure I had used Loctite on the grub screws and to make sure I had aligned the pellet probe properly. He also asked about the adjustment screw on the back of the spring cup to make sure I had the cap screw and not the grub screw that some of the early versions came with. And finally just to confirm that the gun was working properly and shooting good speeds with consistency again. All in all I would say that the warranty/service experience has been top notch with FX. Very pleasant and helpful people to work with and they did not hesitate in the least to send out the parts I asked for under warranty immediately. The only other feedback I'd have is that FX address some of these simple issues at the factory to avoid these situations in the first place. Seems like a little bit of thread lock during assembly would have avoided my problem all together. But I'm confident now that FX will have your back on any problems you have with there products. And I would not hesitate to purchase another FX product in the future all though I would most likely inspect the gun closer looking for these simple issues prior to shooting. Anyway, life is good again now.
 
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That's great news, and I'm glad they're getting you taken care of! I figured you wouldn't have any issues getting the problem resolved with them :) I just wish they could move a little faster on their parts requests that aren't warranty related... People are going to laugh, but getting parts from Hatsan is far faster. I usually get those parts in 2-3 days, and they respond to the request is less than a day usually. FX on the other hand, usually takes 3-5 days to even respond :(
 
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I know topic is over a year old but, since March of 21 I noticed there have been numerous posts on the hammer not moving freely and getting scared up. My Maverick had the same issue and it was nearly new. It has been in for service twice- once for the hammer and another for the regulator.

If you disassemble/remove the trigger and cocking rod it is obvious why it gets scared up. The hammer itself is made of material which is Much softer metal than the others, I had less a couple hundred round through mine and noted excessive pitting on the striking surface and also scaring on the lip of the hammer where the sear and cocking rod catch the hammer. I like other members polished it and it works fine, but will happen again due to the soft metal in the hammer. My Wildcat Mk2 hammer looks identical, but is made of harder material. 

Also the small (3mm) steal ball and spring which makes the power wheel work properly is the worst design I have encountered. It is too easy to lose and/or reassemble incorrectly. I ended up removing the spring and steal ball then replacing it with a spring ball detent from VXB.com (see below) . There is some fitting but it seems to work fine now. 

Hope this helps someone out there with a Maverick. 


 
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