What to do next for my FX Impact M3?

[Jcolondres]

I'm contemplating making some changes to my FX Impact M3 (non-power block model), a .30 cal with a 700mm barrel. I have a 50-yard range set up on my property, with the option to extend it to 100 yards when I can keep the kids safely indoors. A friend recently provided me with a selection of NSA .30 cal slugs, after he found it cumbersome to switch between pellets and slugs. I'm eager to give them a try.

However, I've noticed from various online videos that the grouping of slugs at both 50 and 100 yards seems to be less impressive compared to the superb grouping I'm observing with .30 cal pellets. I would rather not push my Impact M3 to its limits just to make a certain setup work.

Interestingly, I came across a video by TedHoldover where he was able to achieve exceptional grouping with 1100 fps .22 cal slugs, which, based on my research, shouldn't necessarily be possible at that speed. As I primarily aim for precision on paper and knockdown targets at 50 and 100 yards rather than hunting (save for occasional pest control around the house), I'm looking for advice on how to proceed.

I have a few potential strategies in mind: (I realize i may need some upgrades if i go the slug route)

1. Converting to a .22 slug,
2. Converting to a .30 slug, or
3. Simply adding a barrel tensioner and maybe a power block.

I welcome your thoughts on these options. What would you suggest I do?

 

[madeintheuk]

Shoot it! Lol

 

[Jcolondres]

Of course what was I thinking!

 

[Chukar60]

You have a case of tinkeritis.
good luck.

 

[starlingassn]

sometimes......
its better to leave a great shooting gun.....
shooting great.

i went down the same slug road on my .25 impact,
tried 47000 different slugs,
even with tuning and tweaking,
NONE gave accuracy even remotely close to pellets,
so went back to 34gn jsb pellets,
and thats where she stays,
happy and superbly accurate

 

[Spartan]

I started my slug journey with an M3 in stock .25 configuration, 600mm. After lots of tinkering and poor slug results there (pellets were laser accurate, though), I have recently switched to .22 with the tensioned slug barrel, 700mm. I have just started that testing, but the results have been very promising so far. The 22s are also much easier to push to high speeds without having to mod the gun even further and even then still have to drive it close to maxed out. I don't like having to push the guns too hard like that. Everything is just easier in .22 so far. And I'm also getting the same FPE levels as I did with the heavier .25 pellets, but less than the potential FPE with .25 slugs, of course. I guess what I'm trying to say is that so far I'm very happy with making the decision to switch to .22 for my slug setup.

 

[Vetmx]

Yep, all it takes is one video to make a guy bust out his wallet and spin a wonderfully shooting gun into a never ending work in progress. My advice is if you have a great shooter that truly meets your needs, leave it alone so you can enjoy shooting. Buy another gun if you just can’t stop believing what you see in videos or hear on a forum to tinker with and dump money into. That way you will always have your solid gun to enjoy when you take a break to catch your breath from all the chasing you’ve been doing with the other gun. Work in progress guns might be fun for guys but they don’t make you a better shooter. You can actually develop bad habits when you have to send so much lead testing and second guessing. Your solid gun will keep your skills sharp.

 

[Jcolondres]

You have a case of tinkeritis.
good luck.

sometimes......
its better to leave a great shooting gun.....
shooting great.

i went down the same slug road on my .25 impact,
tried 47000 different slugs,
even with tuning and tweaking,
NONE gave accuracy even remotely close to pellets,
so went back to 34gn jsb pellets,
and thats where she stays,
happy and superbly accurate

oof thats what I'm afraid of, the upgrade parts aren't cheap!

 

[TDK]

It's not exactly easier to push .22 slugs than it is to push .30 slugs. Yes .22 slugs may be lighter than .30 but there is less surface area for the air to push on. To get that 1100 fps in his .22, Ted has 1) 800mm barrel 2) crazy high reg pressure, 3) additional weight added to hammer system. If you are shooting inside of 60-70yds, just stick with the pellets. If you want to shoot 100y+, and in all kinds of conditions (breeze/wind), then slugs make sense.

If you want to try something else, I recommend trying it with your current gun, no mods. I have the same exact gun, bone stock 700mm .30. I'm shooting FX hybrids at ~960fps and getting 1 to 1.25MOA. Dial in a 95% tune for those, which will put your reg pressure in the range of 150b. Try a couple hammer spring settings from 95% down a couple clicks on the macro wheel and see how it goes. Considering the new .30 slug offerings, you may also want to have the H&N, JSB, and Patriot on hand to try. Your best odds are with the FX hybrids though. If it doesn't work out, you can just turn your reg back down and go back to pellets.

The only significant power upgrade for the impact is adding the spacer/weights to the hamer spring. This will lower needed reg pressure needed to achieve the same speeds. Be aware, if you install one or both of these spacers, it will make it more difficult to shoot pellets since it raises the power level of the hammer system. I have one of these spacers, but have not installed it, because my gun is shooting fine and it doesn't make sense to tear into it just for that. I only shoot slugs in that gun now, so I will probably install it at some point, though.

 

[L.Leon]

@Vetmx, gives solid advice above…

 

[Spartan]

There's another solution for the people that like to tinker uncontrollably, but also want to have their "old-faithful" standbys: Just get one gun to tinker with and leave the others alone. That's pretty much what I've fallen into without even meaning to. My M3 is the project gun and will probably be ever-evolving, while the other guns are set-and-forget once they have a great tune/setup. M3 gets to be the science experiment while the other guns make faces at it for being the bastard child

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

No offence meant but after you spend a couple grand on a gun in my opinion you shouldn't have to or want to do anything to it.

 

[Bigragu]

@Vetmx, gives solid advice above…

Second vote on that

 

[bearair]

I agree with vetmx too. And am learning to weed myself out of the constant tinkering. I also think at that price it should be unbox clean barrel and shoot, shoot, shoot. I don't have the money for an impact but I honestly could see driving my self absolutely bonkers tinkering with it if I did. There's a certain amount of mental stimuli involved with setting up a gun. Sometimes I have caught myself taking away from the gun by messing with it. Only to reset it right back where it was set. Bottom line is it's your gun do as you will, only two things you gotta do is be safe and enjoy the moment.

 

[Jcolondres]

No offence meant but after you spend a couple grand on a gun in my opinion you shouldn't have to or want to do anything to it.

non taken, I specifically purchased an m3 so I could tinker. (I have a walther lgv .177 that i can't do much too and was fun to shoot) There are tons of pellet types, and weights and calibers to try, its fun making my rifle more and more accurate. Out of the box it was good, but tweaking and tunning a bit got the groups to shrink considerably which is addicting!

 

[Jcolondres]

There's another solution for the people that like to tinker uncontrollably, but also want to have their "old-faithful" standbys: Just get one gun to tinker with and leave the others alone. That's pretty much what I've fallen into without even meaning to. My M3 is the project gun and will probably be ever-evolving, while the other guns are set-and-forget once they have a great tune/setup. M3 gets to be the science experiment while the other guns make faces at it for being the bastard child

View attachment 361688

I have my lgv competition ultra in .177 that is my "old-faithful", shes just not as fun as my m3 lol