N/A Tuning question

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Plinkalot said:
I'm trying to understand what the point of "tuning" is?

At the top level it seems it's all about accuracy... trying to get the best groupings for a particular projectile.

So you shoot a few rounds, watch the chronograph and keep changing pressure/fps to get the best groups.

Is this what it's all about?

Thanks
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From the 10,000' level, yes, it gets worse the closer you want to get and toss in slugs and it gets interesting fast. Basic is you want the absolute minimum amount of air for a given projectiles speed. Those few rounds can be multiple tanks of air, then you start messing with pellets to find the ones that your gun just falls in love with. Mine are in love with AEA's. Both pellets and slugs.
 
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After you determine the desired velocity for best performance, tuning is the process of adjusting the variables to achieve it while best satisfying your other priorities, such as shot count, noise, etc. It's a bit like setting up a race car where your limitations might be hp and engine rpms. Maybe you can get your speed at 10,000 rpms, but the engine comes apart at 8,000. So, you change the gearing to achieve the speed at lower rpms. But, you gotta have more hp to pull the taller gearing. Same in an air rifle with valve timing, hammer tension, and reg set point. You can find volumes on this topic. Have fun.
 
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Tuning is basically just adjusting the velocity to suit whatever it is that you’re looking to accomplish. There are a few reasons to tune.

1. To get the lowest possible standard deviation and extreme spread. The benefits of this are obvious.

2. Harmonics. Some guns group slightly better at a certain velocity.

3. Power. If you’re shooting pigeons in a warehouse you are going to want less power than if you’re shooting wild hogs. Tune to suit what you’re trying to achieve.

4. Efficiency. A gun out of tune may be louder and waste air.

So yes a chronograph is definitely a must. If you’re happy with your guns performance just keep shooting. Tuning isn’t a must for everyone and every gun.
 
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This question is going to get a lot of differing opinions I think but here is my take.

Tuning is more about making sure the pcp systems are working well together in a balanced manner. It keeps all your parts healthy longer, and has a nice improvement in consistency. Consistency is the key to accuracy. You can tune a rifle to shoot really well with a less than ideal tune. This can result in excess noise, increased part wear, excess air consumption, parts to work themselves loose, etc. Many times you can find great accuracy at several different pellet speeds, so long as the tune is well balanced.

In basic terms, the balance you are striving for is between the hammer system and valve/regulator.
 
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MongooseV8 said:
This question is going to get a lot of differing opinions I think but here is my take.

Tuning is more about making sure the pcp systems are working well together in a balanced manner. It keeps all your parts healthy longer, and has a nice improvement in consistency. Consistency is the key to accuracy. You can tune a rifle to shoot really well with a less than ideal tune. This can result in excess noise, increased part wear, excess air consumption, parts to work themselves loose, etc. Many times you can find great accuracy at several different pellet speeds, so long as the tune is well balanced.

In basic terms, the balance you are striving for is between the hammer system and valve/regulator.
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Great answer. This is probably overlooked by people when they first start tuning.

With proper tuning I was able to take my Impact m3 and take it from 140/110 bar on reg1/reg2 (where it was from the dealer) and adjust it down to 120/85 and achieve nearly the same peak FPS with an extreme spread of 5. This means all of the gun parts are working together and nothing is doing more or less work than it’s supposed to. The regulators, hammer, and adjusters are all working optimally and playing nicely together. That’s the goal of tuning 👍 hope this helps OP, great point!
 
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Plinkalot said:
I'm trying to understand what the point of "tuning" is?

At the top level it seems it's all about accuracy... trying to get the best groupings for a particular projectile...
Click to expand...

Minimum extreme spread of feet per second speed (es) from shot to shot as said above is a fabulous indicator of balance.
 
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Thanks for all the replies.

What I'm coming to realize (and all of you have been saying) is I can tune to the extremes of either max FPE of max shot count, or anywhere inbetween, for any particular pellet or weight. And I can do this at any particular FPS.

So I could tune for a light pellet for plinking at max shot count and lowest FPS where I get good groups?

I could also tune for a heavy pellet at max FPE and an FPS that gives me good groups?

Can I then switch between these tunes simply be reverting back and forth to the different settings for each tune? Do you guy keep a log of settings/tunes for your favorite pellets and uses?

BTW, my rifle is an FX Impact M4 Sniper .22 cal. It will be here tomorrow. I'm putting an ATN X-Sight 4K scope on top. Expecting to have lot of fun with this rig.
 
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Hope it affords you more fun than frustration. There's a lot that goes into the learning curve with PCP's & a lot of people who are only looking for a certain outcome with their guns miss what they might have learned starting from an "I know nothing" approach. Plus, the inherent finickiness of airguns means 2 exact same airguns using same ammo at same speeds might NOT perform the same! Watching other's videos & settings might only give you an APPROXIMATE baseline to start from. Hope that made sense.
 
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Gerry52 said:
Hope it affords you more fun than frustration...
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Me too! I started out plinking on an ROTC rifle team in high school. We shot 1" targets at 50', 4 positions using iron sights. I averaged 189/200.

Right now I'm using a wildly inaccurate Gamo gas break barrel. My basement "range" is 50 feet shooting 1" bullseyes using a scope and benchrest and I can completely miss the target! That's frustrating.

So I went overboard and bought a FX Impact M4 Sniper .22 cal (will be here tomorrow) and an ATN X-Scope 4K for optics. If I miss a nine ring with this rig I'll be frustrated.
 
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My process with a new gun is to leave the regulator alone and adjust the hammer spring to give 3-5% less than peak velocity for that regulator setting. Then I work on finding a pellet likes. I work with weights that are going 800-900 fps at the initial tune. If they are too light or heavy for what I want to do with the gun I adjust the regulator and start over. I may just stick with the initial tune if they are under 800 fps since I don't find it hurts accuracy a lot to go slower (just trajectory). Once I find a pellet the gun seems to like I go back to velocity and try to find out what is best. My Caiman X, for instance, shoots H&N baracuda 18s at 915 or so better than 880. So it is good to try some things to see what works. Finding the "right pellet" always comes before finding the right velocity because the pellet makes more difference.
 
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Plinkalot said:
Me too! I started out plinking on an ROTC rifle team in high school. We shot 1" targets at 50', 4 positions using iron sights. I averaged 189/200.

Right now I'm using a wildly inaccurate Gamo gas break barrel. My basement "range" is 50 feet shooting 1" bullseyes using a scope and benchrest and I can completely miss the target! That's frustrating.

So I went overboard and bought a FX Impact M4 Sniper .22 cal (will be here tomorrow) and an ATN X-Scope 4K for optics. If I miss a nine ring with this rig I'll be frustrated.
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The impact is heavy and bulky, it's a nice gun but it's not your ROTC #5 rifle.

You may wish to look at a Umarex Notos for basement shooting. It has a surprisingly good barrel, not loud, good economy and it likes dirt cheap ammo like the Crosman 14.39gr premiere hollow points.

Yes, the trigger sucks but a little stoning, a little sear grub adjustment and some grease make it ok.

P.S. It's cheap.
 
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@Plinkalot - That is correct. I have my Ghost tuned to 750 fps (20 fpe) with 16 grain pellets. I get more 250 shots per fill and the rifle still shoots flat under 50 yards. One mil dot up gets me from 20 yards out to 30. 30 to 50 yards is dead on on and 75 is one mil dot down which is my max range distance.

Fits all my needs and checks all the boxes

That is another goal of tuning - usability. What are you going to do with the rifle? Figure that out and tune accordingly.

PCP's are a lot of fun and can be tuned for what ever you want.

Welcome to the Rabbit Hole 😀

IMG_2086.jpeg
 
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Firewalker said:
The impact is heavy and bulky, it's a nice gun but it's not your ROTC #5 rifle.

You may wish to look at a Umarex Notos for basement shooting. It has a surprisingly good barrel, not loud, good economy and it likes dirt cheap ammo like the Crosman 14.39gr premiere hollow points.

Yes, the trigger sucks but a little stoning, a little sear grub adjustment and some grease make it ok.

P.S. It's cheap.
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We didn't shoot #5 rifles. We shot target .22's where the barrel was about as big in diameter as some supressors. I've also shot many other rifles. I know what to expect with a 10# rifle.

Your suggestion is a bit off. I'm getting a premier PCP rifle and you think I should go buy a toy.
 
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