Think of it what you will, i´ll bet this was thought to be the successor for the Stormrider (which by all means still are in market)
Two flavors, the carbine (as we´ll check out) and the bullpup. For better for worse i got to take a more in depth look at their differences and the carbine n bullpup is as far apart as anything will get i´d say.
The bullpup basically being a dressed up PR-900 while the carbine is a totally new design completely on its own.
So no wonder what got to follow me home huh?
For lack of better wording i´d say the build is very "traditional". Traditional in as much, nothing we really haven´t seen before but that being said there IS a marked difference this time out as this is no doubt what so ever a budget offering.
Cause see.. things actually FIT vs each other and not only that it seems to actually be designed to be picked apart AND put back together again. At that materials used are no longer the cheapest reused Coke cans from the streets of the far east. Sharp tools has been used to make the various parts and with one big ABOMINATION for turn down the rifle is actually slightly amazing seeing what it after all is.
But.
This is about as budget oriented as they come why of course there´s been corners cut. Of course.
For instance. For some reason hammer spring force isn´t adjustable stock. There´s just this plastic plug that sports a sorts of spring guide and is run through by a retention pin that fix it to the main lower block. So one of the first things done.. a 6086 plug that i threaded for an allen stoppie, that in turn works a washer that centers on that screw within.
This pic though, see how the various parts fit vs each other while plz taking into account what we´re talking here.
Might be it´s a "mere" bolt action but truth be told the angle and how that thing fits.. makes for a world of difference. And it really does. That said, again.. look at how the various parts interact and keep in mind we´re talking absolute budget gun here.
As can be seen though, tube bolts to a valve and valve assy/tube is bolted to the lower main block - which also carries the hammer et al.
Then the upper block with the probe and so forth and of course they´re mated together so an old fashioned transfer port seals them vs each other.
Old, as thought, might be. It still works tho.
However. Corners. It struck me that no matter if 177 or 22 or 25 they all share the same internal dimensions for ports, hammer, springs, transfers and so on. What this brings is that no matter if you opt to modify for an adjustable hammer spring it´ll still stonewall somewhere around 35J/25fpe or so. In other words sans porting and what not do NOT expect this thing to ever become a fire breather of any sorts!
Yes. It is regulated and yes said regulator rides just upstreams of the valve assy. Handing a plenum volume that reminds very much of the old Snowpeak M-16 as well as P-15/35. Around 16cc´s or so it´s all in.
No wonder power is limited.
We´ve come to expect accuracy from pcp´s right. As such bone crushing hard trigger jobs.. are just plain out. Trigger is a two stage jobbie, that´s adjustable within reason, but with a first stage that´s just insanely stiff to my liking.
However. The springs inherent are very simple to swap as they all ride sandwiched between the trigger assy and the main block. Iow CAUTION as you let go of the two allen cap screws that keep the trigger assy on there.
Ditto, i will down the line reshape the trigger somewhat. See no need for that there in the picture.
...and again. Look at how the various parts fit and interact. This on an absolute budget tier gun. Impressive in my book.
Then for the, in my opinion, abomination.
WHY WHY OH WHY does Snowpeak insist on trying to convert the pcp world? First up, already at 20J that there in the pic is nothing short of useless. What Andy at AAR on YT came to dub "the Toblerone".
Might be. It carries a shroud right? Well, for a shroud to be of use it helps if the through hole on the diffusor makes for directing air down the shroud, IF there even IS a diffusor. Which there isn´t.
Then from that "void" on that thing there´s 4 minescule little holes designed in that´s supposed to make this happen?
Look. You ram the two pins out that retains the end cap. Then get a stiff pair of pliers and yank that there insert out. That done the outer housing is held in place with a sorts of castell nut and of COURSE this isn´t on a 1/2"-20UNF thread but on a regular metric M12. As the barrel outer is on 12mm flat.
I´m all good this is a budget tier gun but what would it have cost to just delete that there junk and add a 1/2"-20 thread out front?
So what i did was turn the snout of the barrel down some to take a press fit bung - to hold a decent diffusor (by me). Well...
Threaded the front portion 1/2"-20 to gain linearity of the unit as it was all on there. This no doubt worked, just shoving the stock diffusor tube forwards handing that it needed a fresh rear plug.
Yeah. Scratched it while at it but.. whatever. That rear plug now carried an o-ring vs the tube and in turn an o-ring in a pocket so cut vs the actual barrel. The whole "free floating" (within reason).
So.
At this state ported to 5,7mm - which it will take no issues. In other words the idea here is NOT for a fire breather but more so a setup that´s repeatable ad nauseam and rugged at that.
On 5.7mm ports and elevated reg pressure i was now seeing 34s out the snout to the tune of approx 75J. Rather SILENT at that, no thanx to Snowpeak.
But. That downright downfall there with the "moderator" and shroud assy... it still doesn´t detract from the build per se as i regard it. It is STILL very good value for money. Port it even (hope any and all at least knows how to swing a 5.7mm drill bit) and get at least decent numbers out of it, for a budget tier gun, and just accept that it´ll be noisy and you´re good as i regard it.
Any further on this piece though will take more in depth modifications.
Primary hinderance/stop as far as porting is that the one o-ring rides real offset on the barrel vs the port. A fresh such groove though... On porting in turn, remember to ALWAYS deburr the now increased diameter holes! Your o-rings will thank you if nothing else.
Anyways.
75J. Ok. What then?
16cc´s worth of plenum sure won´t do it why i´m current at it fabbing a larger plenum for it out of steel. Threads for the valve assy and regulator are regular metric M20 btw. Iow nothing major there.
I wanted to push the envelope a little for this budget piece however why i came to replace the rather short stock barrel with one on 550mm. In turn a larger diameter shroud and at that one of my own design 50mm/2" jobbies out front. A 4 chamber one in this case.
As such it of course turned WAY more silent in operation and.. a tad of self critisism might be in place here as i over time have gotten real anal about pcp´s n noise floor. Creating, forming and shaping sound is my day job so.. (yes, i´m an engineer)
But where we´re at i´d honestly like for one of them "Mickey Mouse" gauges we see on all pcp´s, just this one for reg pressure. Btw, yes. The stock regulator hands a tad of creep alright but will suffice for what´s at hand here at least me thinks and yes the thing is as adjustable as they come. Said Mickey Mouse gauge i´ll of course reference vs my glycerine filled one on my major compressor.
So.
Is the T-Rex carbine worth your hard earned cash?
Let me put it this way. If you´re content with the say 35J stocker then yes. Absolutely. If you in turn are a tinkerer and want to have a go at it, again a resounding yes (in contrast to most other budget tier pcp´s). This as the T-Rex seems to be designed to be picked apart and put together more than once, and from what i´ve seen will handle it flying colors.
Is the T-Rex carbine a contender for a fire breather? In that case, no. At that rate there´s other guns way better suited to bring you there... But as a sturdy build for pest control or what have you, sure.