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Results of my MK3 barrel mods

DBlue

Member
Dec 14, 2022
279
586
USA
I'm pretty damn stoked right about now....I just got done shooting my new Impact with the barrel mods I did to it and it's shooting Super Awesome.......
I'm well aware that anyone can post a group they shoot and say it was shot at whatever distance they want to try and impress people....I'm not that type of person, I've got no agendas and I'm not trying to sell anyone nothing...and I damn sure don't need to lie about what I've shot with an air rifle. I used to build rimfire benchrest rifles and I've done quite a bit of experimenting with barrel harmonics and tuning barrels. I've had this idea of this mod I did to this impact since my son in law talked me into getting into the air rifles. It's just a nice feeling when something works out for the good when trying to get the most accuracy you can from a rifle....I've got trash cans full of failed experiments that I've made over the years, I can tell a person a Lot of what does not work. I just shot at 50 yards after doing this mod....I took a few shots to re-zero the scope as the point of impact changed and then shot this group of ten shots...after the first couple shots I could tell this rifle was shooting different from the way it was before. I can't wait to shoot it more with some tuning adjustments to see what I can get out of it, as I haven't changed anything from the way it was except for adjusting the scope...it's pouring rain here now so I will not be shooting it anymore today. I will post this 10 shot group at 50 yards...believe it or not. I will not be posting anymore group pics with this rifle.

IMG_4643.jpg
 
It quit raining here and I have been shooting my Impact this morning....that group that I posted above is no fluke, this rifle is shooting like a laser...I'm totally amazed with how it's shooting now. Coming up with an idea and it actually making a difference like this has, does not happen very often. My son in law came over and after he shot it, he said he's going to buy an Impact and have me do the same mod to it. I don't mean to be bragging....but, I can also back it up...LOL
 
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So cool!
When can ya make few for sale please? (Serious question.)
I would really like to but. I just have a small shop here at my home with a couple lathes and a couple milling machines and they are all manual machines. I would have to machine each part one by one and the specs for the parts would have to be altered for different barrel lengths....It would just take me too much time to produce them on the machines I have...... I do appreciate you asking though.....Thanks
 
I was into shooting rimfire benchrest for a few years. During that time I taught myself how to build rimfire benchrest rifles, because at the time I got into it, there was about 6 months to a year waiting period to have a rifle built from a couple of the known builders and I refused to wait that long to get a rifle. I already had a 14 X 40 metal lathe and knew how to do basic machining on it...so, I told my friends that it wasn't rocket science and I ordered an action, barrel and stock and bought the lathe tools needed and built myself a rifle and I ended up winning a few matches with it and a guy at one of the shoots made me an offer for it that I couldn't refuse and I sold it to him and built myself another rifle....then I started getting guys asking me to build them a rifle and the next thing I knew I was in the business of building rifles...LOL ......The reason for the long story is....during those years, I got obsessed with getting the most accuracy I could from a rifle....I refuse to shoot any kind of rifle if it's not accurate...but also during those years I learned a lot about tuning rifles and barrel harmonics and I started making barrel devices, tuners etc.. I'm new to these light weight barreled air rifles but, I know that there is ways to make them shoot better. I already had it planned of what I was going to do to this rifle before I even bought it. I did shoot it as stock out of the case with some tuning and it was shooting ok but it wasn't shooting like I have it shooting now....I'm always thinking of ways to make it better, what can I say....I'm an accuracy nut and good is never good enough for me...:)
 
Hmm...still without any details !!?
Just lathes and home made air rifles. Maybe a coupla detailess, hints...

Mike
OK.....I'll explain exactly what I did to my rifle...first though, I will say that I'm not a fan of completely tightening down a barrel as with using the FX carbon fiber sleeve that fits tight over the barrel sleeve and locking it down as tight as you can get it. In my opinion a barrel needs what I call controlled harmonics, not just installing a tight fitting carbon sleeve and locking it down as tight as you can get it........

First I removed the shroud and used a heat gun to remove the cone end from the shroud. The inside of the shroud on my rifle is just a little larger than 1"....I machined some solid aluminum bar stock to 1" diameter. The carbon fiber sleeve I used is 3/4" outside diameter X 5/8" inside diameter. I drilled a hole through the center of the aluminum and bored it out with a boring bar on the lathe so it was a tight fit over the carbon fiber tube. I made three pieces of the aluminum bar 7/8" long and machined two o-ring grooves in each piece so the shroud would have a tight fit over the carbon fiber tube. I spaced the three 7/8" pieces equal distance on the carbon fiber, taping each side of the pieces to keep them from moving....the first one starting just if front of the picatinny rail, one in the middle and the last one a couple inches back from the end. I put five o-rings over the barrel sleeve that are spaced out and taped on each side so they can't move and the carbon fiber tube slips over the o-rings on the barrel sleeve and fits over the tensioned barrel clamp on the front block. Put a little grease on all o-rings and slipped the carbon tube with the aluminum spacers installed, over the barrel housing and seated the carbon tube on the end of the barrel clamp. I torqued the barrel clamp screws to 20 inch pounds before installing the sleeve. I also machined a 1" aluminum spacer with a 1/2" hole to fit over the threaded end of the barrel, so that when the shroud is tightened down it applies equal pressure to the carbon fiber sleeve. I made the length of the carbon fiber sleeve about four threads past the barrel housing so the pressure against the spacer on the end is against the carbon fiber sleeve. I slipped the shroud over the spacers and hand tightened it as tight as I could by hand only. With the 0-rings holding everything solid and tight the barrel itself still has small amounts of harmonics without trying to lock it down completely solid. After getting everything installed, I shot it with the same settings as it was before and that's when I got that group that I posted in this thread. I can only attest to the results that I have got by doing this to my gun... it made a huge difference in the accuracy on mine.
 
I wonder if FX and other manufacturers have any scientific ways of developing better air rifles or is it just trial and error like many of us do. Being an engineer, it seems to me that a gun's components should be fully instrumented to evaluate pressure drops through the T/P, barrel, and other internals. Some of these new guns such as the Panthera, have air passages that change direction too many times and seems inefficient. Barrel harmonics can be evaluated with high speed photography and accelerometers. Of course, this costs big $$ and likely not within small company's budgets.