Nothing exposes the frailty and temporary condition of Human Nature as those events that are clear watersheds; those events of which you can say: "Before . . . ", and "After . . . "

But, definitely, for quite a number of Field Target shooters in the Eastern USA, and some around the World; the last match of the EFTCC hosted by Hans and Ray Apelles at the Dutchess County Pistol Association (DCPA) marks the end of an era.

If I may recall some history from the purely personal point of view, I would go back to 1999 when I returned to "Adult Airguns" through the purchase in Media, Pennsylvania, of a certain Diana 52. The seller was Mr. John Tripier, who operated an airgun shop in the back of his auto parts shop, the rifle in question was equipped with a Vortek Gas Spring (1st Gen). He was one of the few persons alive that actually knew how to restore "Franklin" cars (external, three cylindered engines), and he was quite a character.
I spent two hours at his shop and learned a LOT about airguns in those two hours.

When I bought the gun, he mentioned something about the Airgun Letter.

For someone living in México, at that time, it sounded almost like science fiction.

But I decided to investigate.

Navigating the "Old Yellow" and searching for information, I found AAFTA, and together with a group of friends we decided to incorporate the Mexican Pneumatic Shooting Club. (Club Mexicano de Tiro Pneumatico).

We became members of AAFTA, paid our dues, and started receiving the Newsletters. And it was there that I saw something that called my attention: a target placed in an overturned 50 gal drum. Darned good idea!

The B&W pictures, the terse commentary needed because the articles needed to be kept short, and the comments of the shooters in the forum about the shoots were always a magnet for my attention.
I even bought a Career 901 Carbine in 0.20" cal and ordered a regulator for it from Ray.
He dutifully sent it to Mexico and with the L-W barrel I installed, that carbine was one of the most accurate long guns I have ever had.

Back then, with a young child and working on my own, I had to sell that gun to fund the next purchase, but I kept the DIANA 52.The gas spring failed and I converted that gun to steel spring, but that is another story. 

Years passed. The Air Gun Letter forum disappeared, James Kitching's forum appeared and the conversation continued.

Even more years passed, and then, almost suddenly, I found myself living in the USA.

Because of business reasons, we established ourselves in Connecticut, and therefore going to the Matches at DCPA in Wappingers Falls was, in reality, going to our "local" club, it was our "home turf". Hans and Ray always made us feel at home and we established a good friendship. Veronika started shooting (and beating me) and life acquired a sense of stability, continuity, and balance.

More years passed and we found ourselves moving to Maryland, and starting a family with two little ones.

Life has now a different "texture". Gone are the senses of balance and equilibrium, peace is non-existent, and everything is an exercise in controlling chaos, LOL! Life goes on.

Being at more than 5 hours drive from Wappingers Falls, it was not easy to go to the matches there, and we missed it. Every time I saw the reports I said to myself: "You have to make the time to go", but as it's often the case in life, little lives entrusted to us take precedence over most things.
We still met at the World's and the Nationals, and Crosman, and Pyramyd Air. But  . . . 

DCPA was not anymore our "Home Turf".

So, when Ray announced that this was EFTCC's last (LAST) Match, I decided to MAKE the time to go.

Obtained permission, booked a hotel, planned the trip, packed the bags, and agreed to meet Sean McDaniel and Eric Brewer for dinner the night before.
Mike Harris and Al Otter joined in and it was a good dinner, but we were all overshadowed by the fact that we knew it was a very specific occasion what had brought us together there.

Next morning, continuing an old tradition, we met at Perkins and the proceedings started.

After eggs, pancakes and some coffees, we all adjourned to DCPA.

After registration, sighting in, all the normal BS'ing and banter, with the appearance of some old faces, and a lot of new ones, the proceedings augured well. 
Ray had told everyone that it would be an easy match and that he expected someone to clean it. (Hah!)

As you can see, it was a COLD morning.
Shooter's Meeting was called and because we had a group of youngsters, special care was taken with all safety directions.

And then the Match started

Everybody got to their positions, range was declared "hot" and shooting commenced.

By the end of the Match, we had a shoot-off between Matt Sawyer and myself.
Eric Brewer set us onto a 30'ish yards target that we both got sitting, then kneeling and then standing. So we moved to another target that was at around 55 yards up in a tree.
I missed it and Matt took 2nd place. Well done, Matt!

After the shoot-off, we all helped bring in the "field" and the place returned to its slumber, this time for who knows how long.

We adjourned to the Club-House and after a great meal prepared by Dianne (Ray's Fiancee) of pork and chicken and salad and cake, the awards ceremony proceeded. Tried to take pictures of the youngsters, but you know how they are, they don't stay put, so we settled on a group picture:

All the attendants presented Hans and Ray with a Certificate of Recognition for 20 years of service to the Field Target community.

It was a well deserved standing ovation.

As you surely have surmised by now, the problem with the pictures was not the subjects but the photographer, that forgot to open the flash unit. (Big DUHHHH!  to myself)

For those that like to study the technical details, this is the layout:

Yes it was windy, but even with the wind, it was an unusually "Easy" course for EFTCC, still . . . nobody cleaned it.
Finally, to make this an official AAFTA Match report, we need to put all the scores, and for those that like the tech details, I am enclosing shooters equipment (when available):

Thanks to everyone that made this last shoot such a memorable event.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Hans and Ray Apelles.
Their dedication to the sport has been unwavering (though sorely tested at times) through all these 20 years and more.

Their pioneering work in gun accurizing, PCP regulating, scope setting, pellet performance analyzing, and the generosity with which they have been sharing their results is among the best in what is already a bunch of really excellent characters.

They leave DCPA with a well-stocked shed of targets, strings, clip-boards and a bunch of other stuff, the bases will remain in the field as well as in the trees. The only "Elevator" in the USA will stay there. The overturned 50 gal drum will become silent.
​
Let's hope that someone in the area can bring them all out of their sleep sometime in the future.

Till we meet again, keep well and shoot straight!







HM

DISCLAIMER.-
PLEASE note that the opinions expressed here are my own personal opinions.
Also, that what is written here applies to ONE rifle, other specimens may behave better, or worse.
Extra care was put in NOT voding the warranty of the gun for the reasons that will be obvious once you read the article, so this entry is somewhat atypical for this blog in the sense that no alteration to the gun was made, or even tried.
Having said that, let's get on with the write-up.

About four and a half years ago, word went around in the industry that Sig-Sauer was looking to improve their line of air guns. Some licensing was being done for AirSoft, but pellet guns were not abundant in the Sig-Sauer stable. Some CO2's mainly marketed as "training substitutes" , but not a whole line.
As a matter of fact, Sig Sauer hired a headhunter to look for a technical person to take charge of the airgun side, don't ask me how I know  ;-) .
Now, Sig-Sauer is part of L&O group (Luke & Orteiler), which is a powerful group within the German industry. With two basic "branches": non-woven textiles and weapons.
We have already discussed a little of this in a previous entry, so I won't repeat it again.
A few months before, L&O group had decided to purchase DIANA through the majority owned subsidiary GSG, so, the ASP20 project took a special turn.
It was important for the Sig-Sauer management to make the ASP20 a totally American project. And so, everything was designed from scratch.
As such, it is the first American designed piston airgun in MANY years.
Some may remember the failed Sterling venture, but that design was a joint English-American design and the idea was to produce the airguns on both countries. When Sterling Armament (UK) folded, the whole project was moved to Wisconsin, USA. Some airguns were built, but not a lot, and the project failed altogether.
The current Sterling Armament company tried another airgun design a few years ago, but it failed again.

All above is to illustrate how complicated and difficult it is to bring a new piston airgun to the market.
PCP's are easy, it's only high level plumbing. And you can realize how true that statement is when you note that 15 years ago you could count with the fingers of one hand the serious, solid, industrially made PCP brands and, of those, the majority were dedicated to Olympic Match airguns.
Now a days, you don't have enough fingers/toes in your body to count the number of companies making PCP's.

A lot has to do with the market: "We the people" like things that are not that complicated. So, there is a preference for PCP's; that drives the demand, that drives the creation of new models, companies and brands.

The ASP20 was announced almost three years ago, I saw the first prototype (part of the "run of 10's") at 2018 IWA (8th picture down from top on the above referenced entry). At first sight it was a completely foreign object to a traditional airgunner. 
The stock didn't make sense, the scope rail was a picatinny not a dovetail, the gun was LONG, even longer than the DIANA 350 (and THAT is saying something!), after a few years of coming out with short, light, special production airguns, to  ME, it was a trainwreck waiting to happen.
So, we waited for a year, but no production models were available.
Reviews went out as a result of the invitation to the official unveiling in NH in April 2018, of those reviews, the most informative is Stephen Archer's
And another year passed, and still only first specimens from the "run of 100's" went around to established writers/reviewers/u-tubers/press.
We started seeing articles in HAM, Websites, u-tube, and the Fora.  I am only linking those I think are really useful, original, and truthful.
The HAM one is particularly interesting to me because the tester was my friend Eric Brewer. And I know he can shoot.  ;-) He is a regular placer and oftentimes winner in his Division of FT (Hunter) and he has the same passion as I do for piston airguns.

I will not repeat all the descriptions and detailed analyses that these fine gentlemen have done for you, so, please read and/or watch them. 

Now, where did the ASP20 that is being tested here came from?
It was a prize.
No gift from the manufacturer to a writer, in order to elicit good press.
No "perk" to a writer to get a review.

I placed 3rd at the Pyramyd Air Cup and when my time came to choose, I chose the ASP20
In here I have to thank Pyramyd for the whole Cup, an Sig-Sauer for supporting that effort; THANKS!

Life has kept me busy since the PAC, but now I can share a few insights with you all.

Rifle came in a well padded and hard cardboard box, almost a case, wrapped in a plastic bag, I removed the bag for the picture.
​
As you can see, out of the bag and with the Whiskey scope, the rig weighs in at 9# 13oz

Being a "Zero Miles" gun, if you really want to get the best the gun has to offer in the long run, you'ld better dedicate some serious time to the "running in" process.
If you want a detailed description of the running in process I have settled in after almost 20 years of airgunsmithing, you can read it here. It is important to mention in a gun of this power, to ALWAYS start the running in with the heaviest pellet you can find that will not overstress the rifle. That will prevent dieseling, carbon deposits from forming in the mechanism and barrel, and will prevent undue wear and tear in the parts before they have had the time to "mate into each other". You do not need to do this in piston airguns of around 12 ft-lbs, but for high power airguns, this is a must.

As you can see, for the power level, it is surprisingly accurate with the JSB Exact Jumbo heavy (18 grs).

The H&N Baracuda Hunter, and the Baracuda Hunter Extreme proved to be "inefficient" in the barrel , as they required 5 mrads of additional holdover as opposed to the JSB's.
The Sniper Magnum and the Sniper Lilght proved to be more efficient, but the grouping is not as good, DO NOTE that there MIGHT be a chance that, with the right lubrication, the Sniper Lights might make an excellent pellet (different from the prospective buyer instructions), but in the interim of getting the prize and running these tests, the rifle had been spoken for, and the objective of the new prospective owner was not an FT gun, but a Metallic Silhouette gun. Under those conditions, it is far wiser to use the heaviest pellet that shoots well, as hitting the  1/10th scale rams at 50 meters (Mexican Rules) shoting offhand with no jacket, nor other aids, is hard in the wind.
For the sake of illustration, I shot a silhouette card with results that are as good as with my match guns, meaning that if I did not make any mistakes, the rifle can shoot a perfect score in ideal conditions.

The gun itself is not suitable for FT, even under AAFTA rules, it is too powerful and the strategy of the manufacturer has been to concentrate on the market they know best: firearms enthusiasts.

What makes the ASP20 an airgun for powderburners?

IMHO, two things:

a) Emphasis is placed on energy delivered, not on accuracy.- Not saying the guns are not accurate, they can be, but, as an airgunner, apart from searching the "magic pellet", you cannot do anything about it.
The gun you get either is, or it isn't.

b) Self-Service is not an option.- In the world of firearm shooters, there are relatively few (in comparison with the overall number of firearm owners) with the wherewithal to tackle a problem in the accuracy department of a powderburning rifle. You can load your own ammo, and tailor the ammo to the gun, but very few can embark on a rebarreling job, a bolt blue-printing, a refacing of the bolt, a re-chambering of the barrel, the installation of a harmonics tuner, or any other major accuracy-related surgery.

IMHO, this is the single GREAT insight of the Volquartsen/Ruger 10/22 combination. 

Because of these two reasons I believe the ASP20 is dedicated to Powderburners.

No parts are, nor will be, available.

No diagrams, exploded drawings, or explanations of function.

The gun is what it is.  It has a great warranty for the first 5 years/original owner. If you are not satisfied, you can return the gun and get it serviced/replaced/changed, but Sig Sauer has decided that ANYTHING beyond adjusting the trigger as outlined in the owners manual, voids the warranty.

Not many airgunners are done with an airgun at year 5, ¿And then?

Airgunners are different from Powderburners. We want to be able to get inside our airguns and change springs; add, or remove top-hats and sleeves; cut coils, add spacers; and try different lubricants and seals; and of course, we know that we need to find the "magic pellet" that will shoot tiny groups at whatever distance interests us.

Experienced airgunners know that a well taken care of airgun will last many DECADES. It's part of the appeal.

Dedicated Airgunners shoot tens of thousands of pellets a year, and TRULY DEVOTED piston airgunners will do that through a SINGLE GUN.
¿Why? because if you want to be truly proficient with a piston gun you need to adapt to it. You need to "become one with the gun".
Piston guns are quasi-organic entities that have their own personality and soul. You either learn to live with, and love it, or you're better off getting a PCP.

Firearms shooters like to have a special rifle for every occasion. Otherwise, ¿How can you explain the "rift" between the 6.5/0.264, the 0.270" and the 7 mm's shooters?
Beyond all the hype of "Creedmoor" and "PRC", the ballistics of those cartridges are as old as the 6.5X57 Vom-Hoffe, or the 6.5X68 Schuler/RWS (1930's)
And we do have to admit that there is an element of marketing in all the distinctions made in the press.
These feuds are "surreal" because the difference is 0.006" - 0.007" in the calber, AND they are not working at the lowest energy level possible, like airguns.

BUT, this is the market that Sig-Sauer knows, the market where the "latest and greatest" commands a premium.
Want to buy a top-notch German bolt-action rifle? the SAME gun will cost between 15% and 30% MORE chambered in 6.5 PRC than in 6.5X68, and the 6.5X68 is a much more capable (meaning that you can upload and download it to a wider range of performances) cartridge.
​
So, Sig-Sauer is aiming (pun intended) directly at this market.

On the good side, the ASP20's dedication to the powderburners has also brought a rifle that is easier to use than traditional spring-piston airguns.
It benches well, and it accepts (even flourishes), with a relatively tight hold. It swings well and comes to aim in a natural way.

The ASP20 is designed to be "maintenance free" within the usage expected of this market, maybe a few hundred, up to a thousand, rounds a year.
Sig-Sauer's highly touted tests (read above quoted Stephen Archer's review) run up to 20,000 operations of the breechblock/fork assembly.
For me, that is less than a year's worth of shots.

On the aesthetic side, its stock replicates, as much as possible the firearm version, just compare them:

​The version shown of the SSG 3000 is what some call the "Patrol" modeI, as there is another one that is more "chassis"-like.

I had a good Email exchange with the two persons that would be most interested in increasing the appeal of the gun: The PR person in charge of all press releases/media and, therefore, the one that gets most of the feedback from shooters/testers/writers; and the head of Engineering.
We had a good, open and frank discussion, I've known both for some time and respect deeply their knowledge base and their human qualities, but they are tied to the overall strategy and when I asked if they would be interested in creating a "variant" for  AAFTA FT (875 fps with good, 0.177" pellets), the response was a resounding and deafening silence.
As it is generally put in the press: "Sig-Sauer has not returned a comment up to this time"

;-)

I'll come across them at IWA 2020 and we'll have a good exchange again, let's see how the sales numbers do, if they do well, then it's logical that they will keep to the strategy, if they don't then we'll have a chance to press the point again.

Overall, I do wish Sig-Sauer a GREAT success with the strategy and the market aims.
¿Why?
IF they are successful (again I really wish they will be), it will mean a lot more airgunners in the world.

With more and more states and counties opening some hunting to airguns (apart from pesting), the advent of the ASP20 should open the eyes of some firearms owners that an "adult airgun" is not a toy, it is a highly specialized and useful tool in the modern day and age when urban sprawl is encroaching on everything, but the "ecosystem", as a whole, is adapting to human presence VERY WELL.

We now have cities with established coyote populations and soon we will have black bears, for sure.
In my own sub-urban sprawl we have fox, raccoon, badger, deer, woodchuck, squirrel, crow and a lot of other animals, not always of the desirable inclination.

The ASP20 is a hunting-accurate rifle for small and medium size game (no deer, nor bears, LOL!), no doubt.
In a few months, we'll know if it is also a silhouette-usable rifle, and we'll also have some detailed harmonics measurements to discuss.

¿Would I buy one?

Not really, on a personal level I would prefer a properly set-up D-54.

With the right components, the D54 is capable of almost the same ME with 18 grs. pellets (22.8 ft-lbs of the 54, vs. 23.6 ft-lbs in the ASP20) and the level of precision/accuracy is just a little bit better.
What makes the difference is that the 54 is a much more SHOOTABLE gun.

BUT, that is just me. YMMV.

And the plastic trigger?

Well, let's just say that with judicious adjustments, I got the trigger down to 1#13 oz., a far cry from the "factory" 2# 8 oz.

Hope you have enjoyed this writeup, it was a very different POV for me, when I was tied to not having any spare parts nor diagrams but, in the end, I think the ASP 20 can be a very positive contribution to the sport.

Keep well and shoot straight!






​HM

I like to use a single word to define watershed events along the year but, this time, the 2019 PAC gets two words  because it will be a watershed event along the years (yes, plural).
And the reasons are simple, though not completely evident:
- It has become the largest airgun shoot in the country with about 300 entries into the three different events
- Even in just FT, it was capped at 120 shooters and the field was complete, except for some last minute drop-offs that had no "backup"/waiting list.
- It attracted more press and more media than ever before
- It has found a new venue with lots of potential
- It has started to attract formal "Teams" from the manufacturers
- It had some very high caliber international attendance (pun intended).

Of course some of this great success comes from the great prizes offered. Let's be sincere: not everyone can take an trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific flight to shoot a few hundred pellets and then go home.
If we want the airguns sports (all of them) to grow and gain respect from the other shooting disciplines, we need to get more "professional" and the quotes are not unintentional.

I truly do NOT want ANYONE to take these statements as an endorsement of a "Savage Equipment Race". Or an endorsement of a "requirement" to offer prizes (whether cash or kind) at all regional, or national, scale matches.
On the contrary, this is a WARNING, that we (as the airgun shooters' community) will start treading the thin red line between growing the sport, and spoiling the sport.
And everyone will have different opinions and sensibilities. That is OK, we may be a great bunch, but no one has said that, individually, we are not opinionated, EVER!                           LOL!
To be able to put the discussion front and center is necessary at all levels, whether it is AAFTA, WRAB/ASA, or a nascent 100 yards Airgun Benchrest (if you want to call it 'extreme', or not, is up to you), is absolutely essential.

So, you, my dear readers, have now a role to play:
Write to the regulating boards of your choice and let them know how you feel.
Club reps will have to write to AAFTA to express what they feel about FT
Members will have to write to WRAB/ASA to express what they feel about 100 yards BR
Shooters will have to write to Pyramyd Air to express what they feel about the Gunslynger

​So, with that out of the way and without trying to repeat what other great reviews of the PAC 2019 have shown or said, let me try to transmit to you what I felt and experienced during the 5 days that the competition took.

It has become evident to me that in reality, people don't read the write-up, they want to see the pictures, so I will post the pictures and shut-up, LOL!

I really don't know how, but I ended up being interviewed by the 'Airgun Exploaration and Advancement Channel' in YouTube for the "Pyramyd Air Cup.- The Movie", and it was a lot of fun working with Steve S on the filming. Steve explained clearly what he wanted on video and I do think he is a good director. Even a non-actor like me looks half good, LOL!
​See the whole film here. If you are pressed for time, skip to 1:14:35

My most sincere thanks to everyone at Pyramyd Air for all they do for the airgunning community, specially for those of us that take our entertainment "seriously".

;-)

Keep well and shoot straight!

We all know that "life happens".
I had hoped to use a little quiet time to do the writeups for the Pyarmyd Air Cup and the Pennsylvania State Championship, but suddenly I had to devote time to fix a situation that should have never happened.

I had been watching a thread in the Gateway to Airguns Forum, but everything pointed out to a relatively simple problem.
Now I LIKE to leave the forum alone because in that way, people that have learned over the years how to do things and fix problems share their knowledge. If I were to jump into ALL threads, the forum would become a boring place and there is no "community building" in that.
By leaving the users help the other users, a "Community" is built where trust and friendship are clear and evident. And THAT is worthwhile.

At first I thought that the problem was a broken mainspring guide.
Why?
Because the OP said: "I began to cock it but stopped at the first ratchet of the bear trap so I could reposition my hand. I then grasped the lever and it would not move. Tried it again and this time put a little more force to the cocking action and it still did not move."
So, that meant, in my mind, that the sliding compression chamber had moved freely to the first ratchet position.

Lots of good advice was given, but still the 54 refused to cock.

By then I got in contact with the OP and suggested he returned the gun to the seller. But I also said that, given that he had demonstrated being a careful individual, I would not consider his warranty to have lapsed or gone up in smoke if he tried to do the repair himself.
Still, I insisted that he return the rifle to the seller, as sellers have a contractual obligation to let DIANA know what is failing in the case of returns.

He then offered to drive 5½ hrs to Ohio, to witness the repair process.

So, you can see he had an attachment to the gun, LOL! And so, after the seller refused to do anything else but replace the gun, I made an offer to repair the gun and learn from the experience, as well as share it with all of you.

Learn was the operative word here, LOL!

The gun arrived to Maryland well packed and  boxed.

After unboxing, I tried to cock the gun and was completely taken aback, there was a strong resistance from the first movement of the sliding compression chamber.

Hmmmmmm, this was no broken guide.

​Off to the table:

Sights and stock removed:

Everything seemed to be normal in the bedding:

On to the spring compressor:

Cocking lever was removed:

Slave/Dumb pins inserted:

Out came the action pins and when the slave pins had been centered

The trigger block came out:

Spring and guide were good.

Trigger worked properly

Without the spring, the cocking lever was used to bring back piston and compression chamber

But then, things really got stuck.
The piston did not come out, the compression cylinder refused to move

Ah, well, this is going to be one hairy ride!

Let me digress a little: I was once asked what I thought the difference was between a "Home tinkerer", a "Tuner" (whether professional or not), and a "Gunsmith".

And I still think that this appreciation is correct:

A "Home Tinkerer" will use general tools to the best of his knowledge and ability. He MAY even have some commercially made gunsmithing tools, but he will stop when major modifications are required for a gun to operate properly. He will use commercially made replacement parts, or "kits", whether OEM or not.

A "Tuner" has specialized in changing and upgrading parts, doing minor modifications, and possibly altering some parts (barrel, or piston) so that the best possible performance is attained from the engine. In general, Tuners will not deal with problem guns because that is not their job. If something is not working, it gets replaced. Simple and expedient.

Now, based on the principles of the old guilds'  apprenticeships, I THINK, that a gunsmith makes himself many of the specialized tools he uses. They can be as simple as a properly ground screwdriver, to a jig to support a workpiece and move it within the desired path for a good result.
And in many occasions he will make a tool to solve ONE problem. That problem may present itself at a later date, but it may not.
The other aspect of the gunsmith is that he understands WHY things happen.

In the old days, apprentices passed their first year when they could take a lump of steel and with nothing more than a set of files, a ruler and a compass, come up with a perfect cube of steel.
Sounds Simple? Try it! Note that you need to start by creating a square.

Second year, apprentices learned how to forge, temper and draw springs (Flat), how to case-harden parts, and how to blue them.

By the third year they could forge a barrel, ream it, chamber it, backbore it, or choke it (most of the long guns back then were smoothbore)

By the fourth year they could rifle a barrel, time the locks and set up loads and sights.

Along this route, the lads built their tool chest. One by one, the tools they made were what they would be taking away to hang their own shingle. Apprenticeships of 5, 6, and even 7 years were not uncommon.

And once they were a practicing gunsmith, they would have to present, within a reasonable amount of time, a piece to the guild's council to be accepted as "Master" and THEN he could take in apprentices of his own.
That piece was the "Master-Piece" ("MeisterStuck").

To this date, there are museums where the tool chests of different craftsmen are exhibited and one wonders if the system really had to disappear.

Now, back to reality, and the reason why I made the long comment, is that to get the piston and the compression chamber out, I had to make two tools, one straight relatively slender dowel to push the assembly from the inside, and then one curved one more beefy, to give the pair the final "whacks" to get them out.

Once out, this is what I found:

Now, this is a lubricated piston, but there was something more on the edge of the bell, that, when taken out resulted in this:

Yup, that is a small sliver of steel. It had gotten lodged between the bell and the tube and created a strong "interference".
But steel, specially heat treated steel, does not generally gall, so why did it occur in this instance?
And why did the compression chamber also needed to be extracted with a dead-blow hammer?

Upon cursory inspection, there was nothing wrong with it. On the left the "problem" compression chamber, on the right a "normal" one.

But, ¿Were they really the same?

Careful measurement showed that while in most places the compression chambers were identical, there was ONE place where the problem compression chamber had a difference: and that was on the OFF side of the cocking lever attachment point.
From a working diameter of 1.209" the non-working part went to 1.211"
Now, 0.002" may not seem much, but consider that when working with steel (not heat treated as this was), an interference fit of 0.002" on a 1.209" piece can hold around 36,000 newtons (about 7,900 #)

So, now we knew what had happened: this specific compression chamber had the "bad luck" of receiving the cocking lever attachment point perforation where it presented the "fattest" diameter.
With the cocking system in place, the compression chamber pushes more on one side than on the other, and the huge pressures created, caused the galling.
And not only that, but the whole assembly was getting stuck because while all the proper tolerances were kept, the accumulation of errors created an impossible condition to work in.

I think we need to revise our GD&T for reference points from where to define the tolerances. But that is "homework" for the technical guys. We're here to see how we fixed it and along the way, created a gun that will be unique.

One solution could have been to grind off a thousandth from the compression chamber, but in my experience, compression chambers usually last a LONG time, as long as the rifle itself, so, ¿Was there a better way?

And of course, the answer was ¡yes!. We had the opportunity to hand-fit the compression chamber to the mechanisms tube.
​I started by making a tool to de-burr the cutouts of the action:

Using water and a fine sanding paper, I managed to open up the inside of the tube to the point that the piston entered with SLIGHT effort, but not too much.
At first I thought that the cutouts and the pressure put in the welding of the sled-rails support bracket were the culprits, but then I remembered that the compression chamber had posed resistance from the first movement.
So the problem was all along the raceway of the compression chamber.

What to do?

​Of course, make another tool!

The reason is simple:
Hones are made to work on cylinders and jackets, but not when they are located 8" into a mechanisms tube.

So, I made an extension:

There are two hones that a gunsmith can use: Either the little stones that are made for honing motorcycle and other small motors, or the "Flex Hone".
Fixed hones, when properly extended and weighted, can do a good job of polishing and truing the internals of a compression chamber, but for mechanisms tubes where the uniformity of the inside diameter is not as critical as in the compression chambers, a flex-hone will do nicely.
It is NOT recommended for the inside of compression chambers because it cannot reach to the bottom of it.
Unless you can disassemble the compression chamber, do NOT use a Flex-hone on the inside of a compression chamber.
I like to use diamond-loaded honing oil, so what you see on the flex-hone is the extremely black "dust" that is the industrial diamond honing additive.

After some work, taking it slowly, measuring often and being careful not to overdo it, it became possible to assemble the whole thing.

The rifle feels like a vault, even if I had WANTED to button the piston, there is no space to do so. Of course vaults do not operate at 100 m/s (328 fps)

Now, would it be possible to hold this level of precision fitting from the factory? no way! A hand fitted gun costs a lot more than the run of the mill DIANA.

For assembly, I chose to use Ultimox 226 paste, as it is the only lubricant that can guarantee a good performance under the pressures that such a tight-fitting action will give for the first year or two.
Small price to pay for a good gun.

They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and so I tested the gun with open sights at 15 yards. I am sure there are better shooters than me with open sights, but the results are not half bad:

For effects of establishing "Provenance" I will say here that the above applies to the rifle serial number 25036871  and that I am sure that this provenance should be worth at least $1.98 above and beyond the BBA values  (private joke).

;-)

Keep well and shoot straight!









HM

If this sounds like the header of cooking thingy, you're right, LOL!

I am seldom enthused by the modern pellet trap offerings.

"Silent traps" that rely on duct seal to reduce the noise are a pain to clean the pellets from and, in the end, you are left with a lump of contaminated material that is impossible to recycle, or extract the lead from. Little shards/shrapnel are extremely difficult to find/remove.

Cardboard boxes filled with rubber mulch work real well, until you need to clean them/extract the lead. Dumping everything in water works so-so, as it is a long and messy process and you end up with a bunch of wet mulch that takes a few days to dry. If you put it into new cardboard boxes, these get wet and loose all resistance.
Also the raffia web that is most useful to hold the mulch in while allowing the pellets to enter but not allowing them to go out is not easy to get.

I've also tried the "curtain" type of traps, where hanging pieces of cloth are supposed to slow down the pellets enough so that the rear steel plate backer can stop them. Useless by the 100th round, curtains were replaced with genuine sown Kevlar cloth, in itself a pain to do because cutting and sewing Kevlar is not precisely easy. And it was still a mess.

Normal, "assemble yourself" pellet traps rated for 0.22" RF cal. have the great defect that they have a junction where the rear of the slanted plate and the horizontal plate meet, and lead shards/dust escape through there.. NOT ideal.

Those that are welded are, by far, the best option, but they are not truly portable, weighing in excess of 20#

​So, when I saw this pellet trap at a Cabela's store:

I was almost going to just jump over it, when something struck me: It looks VERY similar to the old "Cabañas" pellet traps that I used to use in México
Picked the box up . . . . Hmmm, light enough
How does it go together? Pretty easy.
Hmmm, well there is a well to catch the spent pellets!
Rating? apparently 0.177" pellets, but when you read the small print, it is 0.177" lead pellets at under 800 fps from a distance of at least 10 yards.
Still, the design was good, it had "Possibilities".

When I reached home, I took some measurements and contacted the good people at Online Metals to see if they would be so kind as to cut steel plate to measure.
They agreed, and so I ordered four 0.19" x 7" x 7 1/2"  ANSI 4130 annealed steel plates (yes I will be constructing a few more later) and they came out at $25 ea.
Great service and great prices. Online Metals recently became part of the Thyssen-Krupp corporation so, you could say that they know a thing or two about steels.  ;-)

In 3 days I had the plates and then "cooking" started.

Then the trap backplate was marked, punched, drilled and deburred:

Short Allen-headed bolts were inserted into the trap's backplate:

1/4" rubber grommets were used to space the plate and deaden the sound:

The resulting "air sandwich" can be seen here:

Then assembly took place as normal.

You can see that the short (10 mm's)  Allen bolts do not protrude from the plate's surface.

And if you do not want to use the swingers, you can use a standard target:

Do take the precaution to put a cardboard and a "foamy" backer behind the paper target. Between the two they will stop any ricochet and all dust and shards will remain behind the backers.

A suitably sized cork stopper can be used to plug both "exit" holes:

Methinks I'll  have to open a couple of good wines, LOL!

Anyway, it took about 10 mins to order the plates from Online Metals. And ordering the "Air Strike" pellet trap can be done directly from Do-All Outdoors or from a number of online retailers at between $17 and $20 per unit. Personally I would not spend more than 5 mins to save $3, but to each his own. Shipping may or may not add to your cost.

Marking, drilling and tapping, and then assembling everything took about 20 minutes.

3/16" plate will stop almost every airgun pellet, just do not use "penetrator" pellets, with steel balls, or bronze points, or other gadgets like that, and you will be fine.

While not completely silent, it is much easier to clean and to retrieve the lead from. Babies can sleep at two doors' distance and not be bothered by the noise.

Do NOT use for ANYTHING OTHER THAN AIRGUNS AT UP TO 35 FT-LBS ME WITH LEAD PELLETS

DO NOT EXCEED 35 FT-LBS MUZZLE ENERGY

ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES  WHEN SHOOTING AT LESS THAN 30 YARDS

I hope you enjoy this short project. I did!

Keep well and shoot straight!







​HM