First shots (and an impromptu tuning session) I had a good time with this, and if you're willing to analyze the numbers, hopefully my thought process and logic will be evident in the tuning/decision-making process.
1st Mag (12 shots/mag) Starting pressure = 280 BAR. JSB 25.4 Monster Redesigns (MRD) with as-received settings (reg = 130 bar)
error
826.4
852.8
851.7
847.6
840.1
852.9
850.4
849.7
846.6
841.5
852.3
So, about 40fpe
The shots from the first mag, on paper. Shots numbered. First 1 was at 8 yards to make sure I'd hit paper (and I still missed paper at 53 yards on shot #2). Everything else shot tonight was at 53 yards.
I was cranking on scope turrets to get things about centered in the piece of paper here, so a little busy. Once I started using shot #6 as my aim point, 7-12 grouped in there pretty nice. I was surprised to see them group so well, as the rear of the gun was just floating around and I wasn't very steady. After this first mag I put a bag under the rear of the rest and was much more stable.
at 40fpe with 25.4gr it was very quiet.
Mag 2 Okay, so it's is too slow for the 25.4s, let's try the JSB 18.1. Settings have still not been touched.
1012.6
1003.4
1010.2
1020
1014
1011.1
1003.9
error
1005.6
1004.3
error
Still about 40fpe with these 18.1s, but WAY too fast. The group doesn't look bad, but there were a couple of these that hit high and left (not on the paper). There was still enough light at this point to see that the pellets weren't hitting where the crosshairs were when the trigger broke. Group looks good, but I wasn't impressed with what I was seeing through the scope in regards to pellets hitting where they should have been. TOO FAST for 18.1s.
shots from second mag:
Mag #3 Quick assessment and decided it's too slow for the 25.4s, and too fast for the 18.1s. Concluded on tuning for more POWER from the 25.4s, partly because I want to see how it'll do at long range and also because I was sorta testing out RTI's marketing department (wondering if I was dealing with the "1400fps breakbarrel!" type of marketing)
So, can I really just crank on the reg without screwing something up?.....better do some internet research. Googled something like "RTI Prophet regulator adjust" and one of the first couple hits was a vid by Gregor Kamensek (sp?). I've heard his name before, and one of the AGN members of this discussion even mentioned his name a few posts back. This video of his was very helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdKx4-59VVU
Yep, apparently can crank on the reg without breaking things. So, that's what I did. The AOA rep mentioned in discussion about this gun a week or two ago that 150 bar is a good place to start, so that's where I started. Seriously as easy as Gregor's video-5mm allen key and watch the gauge. It was maybe 1/4 of a full revolution to bump it up from 130-150bar. Let's shoot it and see where we're at.....
(12 from mag with 25.4 MRDs)
error
667.5-that's too low, increaed the hammer tension
715.6
735.5-reg took a couple shots to settle in but was still too slow, so more hammer tension
921.3
921
929
933.3
935.4
941.4
920.1
927.6
bottle pressure is at 250 bar at this point.
shots from above 3rd mag
Mag #4 Still slower than I'm looking for.....wonder what another 10bar on the reg will do? (reg pressure of 160 at this point)
852.7-too slow, hammer tension in one full revolution
1002.3
error
995.6
990.3
999.5
1001.7
1000.8
1002.5
1007.5
998.8
error
so now we're talking at about 55fpe
bottle pressure went from 250-210 bar, the biggest decrease in a single mag that I've seen yet-it didn't feel like it was blasting too much extra air, but I don't like that kind of efficiency and will usually trade off energy for more shots
shots from mag #4 (starting to get really dark and hard to see the aim point in the scope at 53 yards.....)
(12 from mag with 25.4 MRDs)
hmmm, accuracy isn't bad for a blind guy in the dark such as myself.....
Mag # 5 I didn't like to see that bottle pressure drop so fast so I left the regulator at 160 bar, but backed out the hammer tension 1/2 revolution
Still shooting the MRDs here
I didn't record all of the individual shot's fps on this mag, but they were all in the 950-960fps range
Pressure for these 12 shots went from 210-190 bar
shots from mag #5
Thoughts I think I'll leave it there (950-960 with 25.4gr MRDs) for further testing. In summary, regulator pressure is now at 160. It only used 20 bar for that last magazine and SEEMS much more efficient there (50-52fpe) than it did on mag 4 (55-56fpe).
Those 60 shots were taken with a starting bottle pressure of 280, and an ending pressure of 190. Should be a pretty decent shot count if settings aren't being messed with. Especially for a gun doing 50fpe.
Tuning was super simple and super easy. It took a couple shots for things to settle after adjusting, but they settled much more quickly than other adjustable reg guns that I've messed with. Getting the fps where I wanted it and felt good about was easy-peasy, very straight-forward.
The gun is more accurate than the above pics suggest. I was in very low light conditions and mostly concerned with keeping the gun lined up above the chrono eyes without shooting it. With more focus on groups and better light, I think this gun is going to post up some pretty impressive accuracy results.
Trigger lacks nothing-zero complaints or even raised eyebrows at it's "feel". It is every bit as good as I hoped for on those first couple pulls the other night. It is actually a little more crisp on the break than an unmolested OEM Veteran trigger. It is VERY good, in my opinion, and based on the guns that I've had the pleasure to shoot.
The magazine keeps you from closing the bolt on shot 13 (yeah, after the mag is empty). It's nice that it won't let you waste air on a pellet-less barrel. The magazine has a plastic outer casing that kinda feels cheap. The inner cylinder seems like it might be made out of metal (must be aluminum or some other non-ferrous metal cuz zero magnetism). Despite my disparaging remark of the somewhat cheap feel, it's a much better trigger design than many. Easy to load, no pre-winding. Just load and rotate, pressure increasing as you progress to a full magazine.
That cocking lever on the left side for a right-handed shooter is sweet!!! It will take a little getting used to, and I caught myself looking stupid more than once taking my right hand off the grip and trying to cock the gun with a ghost cocking lever on the right side of the gun. I cranked a couple of those mags off mighty fast, and I could see how tracking and shooting at a running critter (rabbit for example), could be done very smoothly with this gun's left-sided cocking lever. I say that because my right hand/trigger finger were able to stay in place, as well as being able to keep a lock on the target through the scope, while being able to cock with the left hand. QUICK follow up shots, or just generally fast shooting. It would be interesting to see somebody practice a bit with this gun and really rock ole Tomcat's world at the speed silhouettes at EBR.
More on the cocking lever. After shooting it a bit, it seems more like a hybrid between a bolt-pull and side lever PCP. The geometry doesn't seem to give it quite the same level of mechanical advantage that most true-side levers do. Because the gun seems so solid, I almost wonder if this design of side lever was intentional, in order to avoid the lever sticking wayyyyy out from centerline at the most extreme end of it's swing. I kinda cringe when I see my Vets sidelever wayyyyy out there and think about how bad it would be if that lever took a hit when fully extended. The Prophet side lever simply doesn't go that far out, and therefore should be more solid and less likely to get jacked up if something horrible happened when the lever is at it's apex of the cocking motion. Also, I mentioned earlier that the cocking is smoother than I expected, but it's still not Taipan Veteran smooth, or Brocock Concept XR smooth, and it's damn sure a fair shake rougher to cycle than a Red Wolf.
Finally, I was really surprised at how the gun doesn't seem to be anywhere near it's max, even at 990-1000fps with the 25.4s. Most airguns don't seem to like being pushed up near their max energy output. Hard cocking, loud report, poor efficiency, and general harshness are the theme of the day when most PCPs are near their limits. Yes the Prophet was less efficient up near 1000fps, but all the rest of the tell-tale signs of a PCP being over worked were not there. I think this gun has A LOT more in it, in terms of energy output, than what I did with it tonight.
No, I do not think RTI is a "1500fps springer!" type of marketing company. They say 85fpe max on this little Prophet, and although I didn't get that high, as much of a walk in the park as 55fpe felt for it, I don't doubt their claims of 85fpe.
(One last thing, that crappy "pulse" that makes > 45fpe airguns get a little ornery to shoot wasn't quite as bad with this gun as other .22s in this energy level that I've played with. Yeah physics and all that equal and opposite reaction argument, but a gun's valving and engineering should, theoretically, be able to minimize all that. For example, less wasted air on each shot, perhaps through shorter dwell time, could result in what I seemed to notice this evening. Oh, one last, last thing, the bipod right up near the front of the trigger guard didn't seem so detrimental to stability as I initially thought it would. The Prophet is nice to shoot. Feels like bipod/bench shooting was kinda in mind when the designers at RTI did their thing).
I don't have anything going on tomorrow, except shooting. So,I'm hoping to have a nice lazy day spending time with the Prophet (and maybe another couple). I'll report how that all goes too.
