I'm a little baffled here and wanted to pass this along for sake of understanding.
Have a Stoeger X20S2 and the factory seal was dinged up pretty bad. I shot it with factory seal for a while and finally got a replacement from ARH.
-Before
The factory seal was very loose in the tube, was a harder seal, and was shiny on removal. Prior to the change, the only pellet it really liked was the Crosman Pirahna 10.5gr pellet. Could get decent groups at 20yds with those. It shot other pellets ok, but those gave best groups.
-After
Used a ARH Tesla MK2 seal. It's softer/more dense than the factory white seal. I did have to size it a little, but not much. On installation it fit just like it should with a little bit of resistance but not too much.
Shooting the previous favorite pellets (Crosman Pirahnas), the shots were all over the place. Talking 2-3" group at 20yds. Sort of baffled I tried some others, with the JSB Exacts turning in a group at 20 yds that could be covered with a dime. The AA Diablo Fields also performed well at 20 yds, dime to nickel size groups.
So what I am wondering here is why did it seem with a new seal the heavier pellet it loved before shoots so horrible now? Nothing was changed other than the new seal. Also noticed that in the past it did not like lighter pellets but now seems to be ok with them. Have did some reading and others have mentioned their velocity dropping after putting in an ARH seal. Wondering if that is the situaton here. But from what I can tell shooting it, feels like more power if anything. Hits with more authority on targets also so the lower velocity thing doesn't add up. Have no chronograph so can't record the speed.
More info on the old seal here: It was really bad looking and had a deformity in the center that ran all the way down to the point of bulging it outward. It also had a few knicks on the outside edge. It felt very flimsy and "cheap" in the hand. Below are links to the pictures. Notice that moly got past the seal, despite the fact very tiny amount used. Seems the seal wasn't sealing so well. That worrisome part in the middle I felt like was leaking air also. What do you think after seeing the factory seal? To me it was a no brainer to replace it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k89qt2xhdt2czye/x20_1.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u2dmca37we4fvak/x20_2.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ytrxwj5n4z49yfy/x20_3.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/plwg6ejsdvh9425/x20_4.jpg
Has anyone else had this happen to them after replacing a seal that an air rifle changes which pellet it shoots best?
Have a Stoeger X20S2 and the factory seal was dinged up pretty bad. I shot it with factory seal for a while and finally got a replacement from ARH.
-Before
The factory seal was very loose in the tube, was a harder seal, and was shiny on removal. Prior to the change, the only pellet it really liked was the Crosman Pirahna 10.5gr pellet. Could get decent groups at 20yds with those. It shot other pellets ok, but those gave best groups.
-After
Used a ARH Tesla MK2 seal. It's softer/more dense than the factory white seal. I did have to size it a little, but not much. On installation it fit just like it should with a little bit of resistance but not too much.
Shooting the previous favorite pellets (Crosman Pirahnas), the shots were all over the place. Talking 2-3" group at 20yds. Sort of baffled I tried some others, with the JSB Exacts turning in a group at 20 yds that could be covered with a dime. The AA Diablo Fields also performed well at 20 yds, dime to nickel size groups.
So what I am wondering here is why did it seem with a new seal the heavier pellet it loved before shoots so horrible now? Nothing was changed other than the new seal. Also noticed that in the past it did not like lighter pellets but now seems to be ok with them. Have did some reading and others have mentioned their velocity dropping after putting in an ARH seal. Wondering if that is the situaton here. But from what I can tell shooting it, feels like more power if anything. Hits with more authority on targets also so the lower velocity thing doesn't add up. Have no chronograph so can't record the speed.
More info on the old seal here: It was really bad looking and had a deformity in the center that ran all the way down to the point of bulging it outward. It also had a few knicks on the outside edge. It felt very flimsy and "cheap" in the hand. Below are links to the pictures. Notice that moly got past the seal, despite the fact very tiny amount used. Seems the seal wasn't sealing so well. That worrisome part in the middle I felt like was leaking air also. What do you think after seeing the factory seal? To me it was a no brainer to replace it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k89qt2xhdt2czye/x20_1.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u2dmca37we4fvak/x20_2.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ytrxwj5n4z49yfy/x20_3.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/plwg6ejsdvh9425/x20_4.jpg
Has anyone else had this happen to them after replacing a seal that an air rifle changes which pellet it shoots best?