QB78 options

[Randino]

I've been looking into the QB78, and it looks to be a good gun with a lot of options. I'm not sure which options I really need though. I am leaning towards a .22 version, as I have never had a .22 air rifle before. Is 500 fps enough to hunt small game with, or will I need the extra FPS from a .177 to get clean kills at say, 40 yards? I plan to use the gun for hunting and plinking. I also saw there is a rotary clip to make it a repeater. I assume you have to spin it and then cock the bolt though, but that would probably still be quicker than hand loading. I'm not sure, and that upgrade isn't cheap. It also means i can't use iron sights, so I'd need to fork out some more cash for a scope. Also, I hear MM does some amazing work tuning these guns. Any idea how much my grand total will be for a tuned QB78, or deluxe? Whats the difference there? If the price ends up within the X-mas budget, I'll put it on my X-mas list and see what happens. It looks like a good, cheap gun, but with all the extras, that could change real fast.

Thanks guys, Randy

[triry]

randy, im finding that the qb is agreat platorm for both modding as well as hunting. with a minimum of effort, 700fps from a .22 is unusual. the larger calibers eem to be more efficient than .177, however you do give up the flat trajectory the .177 offers.
my son ryan shoots an mm tuned qb78d in .177 and he can pop asperins with it at 10 meters !!
a tuner qb is generally in the area of $150-200 depending on the added bells and whistles.feel free to pm me if you need any info..............

bob aka dnttech, robert aka ribbonstone and howard aka howie1, & andy aka larspawn have been instrumental in aiding me on my qb projects.............

[patton123]

I have both the  79 & 78 Deluxe. If you go with the 78  get the deluxe. It has a nicer looking finish on the stock and a adjustable trigger.(really nice) I personally would get the .22 cal. pellets are going to cost more but the "POP" factor when you hit something is worth it. You can tune it yourself or let MM do it...your call.

You'll enjoy either caliber. One more thing if you don't know,  CO2 guns don't work well in cold weather...more of a summer gun. The velocity drops off alot.

Good luck

[Bentong]

Last time MM got the QB78 22's tuned was $150. Call him up or email via his website. I have a QB78deluxe and info's from web and MM got her to shoot low 700 and still get 30 shots bulked and 40 on carts. My next QB will be a 79.

[ribbonstone]

Going to recommend a little less speed in .22, find that QB's seem to be at their happiest running 650-670fps.  that's still a lot faster than stock,  and more than enough to do the job on traditional airgun critters at 50yards, but the guns seem more trouble free at this speed, and much less of a gas hog.

Why not pick a tuner (and Mike fromFlying Dragons is a good choice) and ask him what he things would be the best combination of speed, shot count, and maintanece.

Winter is pretty much here, and co2 is not a great choice for cold weather shooting.  Not only will shoot slower than in warm weather, but will use more gas per shot.

[Jaymo]

That's why I put my bulk fill adapter on mine in the winter, and pump them up to 1,100 psi. Only get about 10 good shots before poi starts dropping off noticeably, but it only takes about 20 pumps to go from 0-1,100 psi.

[cole5169]

You're pumping to 1,100 PSI?
What do you reckon you get for muzzle velocity?  About the same as CO2?
I was thinking of trying this out, too (already have bulk-fill adapter), but didn't know if I was brave enough to use air (also, didn't know how much pressure those thin tube walls would take...CO2 is only about 900 PSI at room temp).
Shot string tradeoff is obvious down-side, but winter shooting = yay!

Thanks, jaymo.
-JC

[Jaymo]

CO2 pressure, here in GA during the summer is around 1,150 psi at 95 degrees F. SO, I'm pumping it up to less than summertime pressures, considering the fact that we get temps of 100 degrees here in the summer. Then when you factor in the temp of the dark steel tube out in the sun, the CO2 is more likely to cause a tube failure than my pumping it up to 1,100 psi.
It is nice to be able to have summer performance in winter time.
Of course, I don't recommend doing this. I don't even recommend shooting one with CO2, as per factory recommendations. I don't recommend shooting anything, ever. That is an adult decision to be made by the individual.
Have I had any problems shooting it this way? No. I still have all my parts.
I'd really like to get PCP tubes for my 78 Deluxe and my 2078. That way, I could pump them up to 3,000 PSI, if I desired, and have longer shot strings, due to the longer tube and higher reservoir pressure.
I'm thinking about buying a Crosman 760 and sacrificing it in the name of science. I want to install a pressure gauge tapped into the valve so I can tell what the pressure is at 10 pumps.

[Jaymo]

You could just pump it up to 900 psi if you're uneasy about 1,100 psi. That would give you middle of the road temp performance.
Don't know what the velocity is with 1,100 psi, but would have to assume it's the same or better than CO2 at the same pressure.

[lastmanout]

Well sometime next week a QB 79 should arrive and a HPA tank regulated to 1200 PSI.  Sold my Chrono years ago, but  We shall see if this works.

[cole5169]

I wouldn't be worried about 1,100 PSI, but I didn't know how well air would work at that pressure.  
I assumed it would take over-or-about 2,000 psi to get any useful string (I wouldn't want to put that much pressure in stock tubes, though!).

A 10-shot string is plenty, though, and pumping to just 1,100 would be a lot easier too.
And shooting my -78's/-79's all winter is very attractive.  Up to now they (there's a bunch of them) have had to "hibernate" until late April or so (Indiana sucks for CO2 sports).

Thanks for the advice.
-Joel

[ribbonstone]

If you've a chronograph, would be interested in the numbers from a 10 shot string.  Guess a lot of it has to do with how hot you have the gun set, but I've not been able to get more than 3-4 shots before a noticable vel. drop off when using 1000psi (a 10% pressure increase is not going to change that greatly).

You will notice an increase in power.  Even if the air is at the same pressure as co2, it's a lot "thinner" and will shoot faster.


It's also a good trick for tracing down a slow leak...slow co2 leaks aren't that slow with compressed air and are a lot easier to find.

[lillysdad621]

well, i got a 78 non deluxe which i opened up and deburred the seal, relubed the barrel seals and has been shooting 540 fps with hobbies in .22. it has done a rabbit at 40 yards, but a back up shot was needed. So now i keep it at under 30 yards with the hunting. otherwise it is a very consistent shooter getting 50 ish consistent shots from 2 powerlets. plus it just shoulders right. either caliber will do.

[Jaymo]

I was reading on MuzzleMack's website tonight at the "safe 22xx PCP conversion and found that these mild steel tubes on the 22xx series and QB78 series have a safe working pressure of 2,000 psi. Also read that CO2 pressures will reach 1,900 psi at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, without the tube having been overfilled. Sure puts this discussion in perspective. He said that many 22xx HPA conversions are running 1,400 psi and using 1,800 psi burst discs.

[Jaymo]

And now it's become a moot point, since Compasseco is going to be selling a PCP conversion kit for the QB78 series for only $119.95. This is supposed to be a 3,000 psi kit. Can't wait to get one.