Last year my souped-up 1701P developed a leak, but being a hopeless procrastinator I didn't dive into her until last night. The simplest-designed and easiest airgun I've ever worked on, it was the fastest reseal I've ever done.
Since the exhaust valve was in good shape, my Harbor Freight o-ring kit contained all the seals required. The reseal took less than 30 minutes; most of that spent degreasing parts.
Unfortunately my homegrown 'B Staley tune' was out of tune. No surprise there; after all, we're talking about an airgun.
Having recently had good results upgrading another B Staley tuned airgun by replacing the rubber o-rings with softer foam-rubber flat seals, that's what got me (back) where I wanted to go. And although my shot-count fell by two, I gained 2/10 foot-pound of muzzle energy. The 20 shot power-band with 10.34 JSB Heavies from a 2500 PSI fill was- Low= 647, High= 676, ES= 29, SD= 8.6, Average= 663 FPS/10.1 foot-pounds. JSB 8.4 grain Exacts will go 720-725 FPS and a just as accurate, but return 4 fewer shots per fill.
I decided to install a 2,5-8X pistol scope instead of the usual 3X, to better reaffirm the 1701's tack-driving accuracy. To my surprise, from the very first shot it was zeroed exactly as I wanted, about 1/2" low at 35 yards. And despite very gusty crosswinds, the ten-shot group at 35 yards could be covered with a quarter.
The reseal job reminds me how well-done the 1701 is, and what a joy to work on. Shooting her again not only reaffirms the uncanny accuracy, but what a bone-head I am to take the 1701 for granted. These are phenomenal air pistols. Mine-
Since the exhaust valve was in good shape, my Harbor Freight o-ring kit contained all the seals required. The reseal took less than 30 minutes; most of that spent degreasing parts.
Unfortunately my homegrown 'B Staley tune' was out of tune. No surprise there; after all, we're talking about an airgun.
Having recently had good results upgrading another B Staley tuned airgun by replacing the rubber o-rings with softer foam-rubber flat seals, that's what got me (back) where I wanted to go. And although my shot-count fell by two, I gained 2/10 foot-pound of muzzle energy. The 20 shot power-band with 10.34 JSB Heavies from a 2500 PSI fill was- Low= 647, High= 676, ES= 29, SD= 8.6, Average= 663 FPS/10.1 foot-pounds. JSB 8.4 grain Exacts will go 720-725 FPS and a just as accurate, but return 4 fewer shots per fill.
I decided to install a 2,5-8X pistol scope instead of the usual 3X, to better reaffirm the 1701's tack-driving accuracy. To my surprise, from the very first shot it was zeroed exactly as I wanted, about 1/2" low at 35 yards. And despite very gusty crosswinds, the ten-shot group at 35 yards could be covered with a quarter.
The reseal job reminds me how well-done the 1701 is, and what a joy to work on. Shooting her again not only reaffirms the uncanny accuracy, but what a bone-head I am to take the 1701 for granted. These are phenomenal air pistols. Mine-