GTA
Gateway To Product Reviews => Air Gun Reviews => : DanoInTx November 19, 2007, 12:44:27 PM
-
This is a first impressions type of review, but this is not my first B26. My first was a gun I purchased here off the forum a year or so ago secondhand. That gun was decent enough, needed a little attention, but the airgun bug struck and I sold it shortly after I bought it...like within 4 days:) Might also be fair to mention that I am not much of a springer guy. I've owned a few, I've shot a few, I've sold a few, but I wanted something to mess around with, improve my taco hold, and I can't afford an R9...so I got a clone. Also worth mentioning is that in the past I have sworn myself off of Chinese made airguns, so I don't plan on cutting this one any slack!
This gun was purchased for me in trade by my buddy DaveD. Dave ordered it a couple weeks ago, but Sportsman Target dropped the ball somewhere, there was a mixup because of the shipping address not matching the billing address, and basically they didn't try to contact either one of us till Dave contacted them a week or so later. I've purchased I think 3 other guns from Sportsman Target, 2 came real fast, one sat in "processing" for a week till I emailed to nudge them along...not too impressed with them, except the guns do eventually get here:)
Interesting, it came double boxed, but not the way any of my other BAM guns came. It was in a tiny box with 2-3 little scraps of Styrofoam, then in a bigger box with shredded paper, it was odd, like something you’d expect to see rolling out of Tijuana being pulled by a donkey painted like a zebra (if you've ever been to TJ, you'll get the joke). My other BAM’s came in a box with fitted foam, real nice like. Despite the odd packaging there is not a single mark on the gun anywhere, it’s perfect.
I had planned on running it over the chrony, and I did actually try. It was just getting too dark by the time I got out to the backyard and I don’t have good enough light in the garage, chrony wouldn’t chrony. So I set out a target on the trap at my usual 13 yards. Shot a couple dozen Crosman wadcutters out with open sights. I got it roughly sighted in, but it didn’t group real well. I’d get 2-3 in the same hole, then 2 flyers. The open sights are a tad bit flimsy on this gun, maybe they are shifting around? My pellet selection is also pretty weak, Crosman Wadcutters don’t group well in much of anything except my old IZH pistol. I have some other good .177’s that I’ll try tomorrow if I get a chance. Another thing is that my eyes are pretty burned out by the end of the day from staring at a computer screen. I also haven’t gotten new glasses, so I haven’t worn any in months….could be why I can’t shoot with open sights….I can’t see the target! Got set up a little while ago to mount a scope but realized the two sets of 1†rings I have aren’t high enough for the objective on the scope I want to use. It’s a 3x9x42AO and if it was a 40 it would work, but the objective lens just touches the air tube….bummer. I have a Bushnell that I can mount with the 32mm objective, might try that….or, I may take the Leapers 3x12x44AO mini I have on my FX Black Widow. Maybe I’ll put that on the B26 and put the 3x9x42 on my FX. Different receiver, more room for bigger lens:)
The gun is actually a little stiff, but it shoots real nice. Much nicer than the B26 I owned for 4 days last year, but it still has that rattle Gene is going to help me fix. I think that rattle in the cocking linkage is actually part of the cloning process, I've heard some mention that the genuine R9 has a similar rattle...can someone confirm? I’m real impressed with the quality of the build. The stock has some filler here and there, and it’s still “Chinese Mystery Woodâ€, but the finish is pretty consistent at least. I’d rate the stock as better than my B30, which was better than my B50, that was worlds better than my Fast Deer or QB78’s. The bluing is pretty consistant with the other high end China guns, not deep and polished, but not bad either.
Once I get a good chrony string on it in standard form I have a full Macarri tune kit sitting here waiting to be installed....spring, seal, top hat, and all of the good JM lubes (Thanks again Dave!). The gun as I said is a little stiff, but not oily like the other China guns I've owned. It didn't crack from burning oil, but there was just a faint smell after the first 4-5 rounds. Now that I'm thinking about it, there wasn't any packing oil on the gun at all.
Here's the pics, I know, not as nice as the pictures on Bestairgun.com:)
(http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/photos/get-photo.asp?photoid=827 )
(http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/photos/get-photo.asp?photoid=826)
More to come!
-
Nice gloves off first impressions Dan. I hope this one pans out to be a good shooter for you. I am very impressed with both of my B26s, definitely keepers. Be sure to keep us updated as you get to shoot it and break it in.
-
Yep Dano, I will be sending you your washers by next week buddy...:) About the time you tear into her for the tune.. She is looking good buddy. When I purchased my -2 the stock was perfect and no fillers. The sportsman stock I bought later second hand was in supreme condition with no scratches or marks. And I have never seen any fillers in it either. Maybe it was an R-9 stock? hmm can't remember nuthin past 6 months anymore..:) But it is very nice..
Best of luck with this one Dano. I would like to purchase another one in the .22 verson as well....:)
Gene
-
Really hope she blossom's out to be a great shooter for you Airbud :) ....but :o we all know the history of my friend Dano and springer's hehe, love em and leave em and yes the GamoHunter 220.22 from you is one of my best go to hunter's. Well when or if you grow tired of the SPRINGER!, let me know hmmm. But really hope this baby pan's out to be "THE ONE" that bring's you back home to springville hehe. :D Ed
-
Gene_SC - 11/19/2007 8:25 PM
.........Best of luck with this one Dano. I would like to purchase another one in the .22 verson as well....:)
No .22 for me on this one, it is purely for targets at short-medium range. I have a 30fpe FX in .22 for long range hitting power:)
This sporter stock is much nicer than the one I had on my first B26. I only know there is fillers under the finish because there are some dark blemishes in the finish. when I was roughing up the finish on my B50 prior to paint I found out that some of those dark areas in the finish are filler/knot holes. I found an article on the web not too long ago that says this "Chinese Mystery Wood" comes from a tree in China called "Red Qui", I think it's similar to beach. The B30 I owned had a similar finish, but the fit wasn't as good. On my B50 and my B30 the buttpad fit was way off and not blended correctly, this one is nice and smooth.
Send those bushings when you have time, no big rush, looks like I'll be keeping this one for awhile:)
-
shadow - 11/19/2007 9:05 PM
......But really hope this baby pan's out to be "THE ONE" that bring's you back home to springville hehe. :D Ed
Don't hold your breath on me returning to Springerville. It's more like I like all airguns, but those gas guns I really like to shoot are just a bit much in my usual surroundings. Ask those other guys from the North Texas Airgun Militia that I shoot with, I can sit and shoot a springer all day......., but when you get out to 100+ yards I need to have my hands wrapped around something filled with high pressure air! The more I am thinking about this though the more I am thinking I may leave this one with open sights....it'll force me to go get new glasses:)
-
COOL BUD 8) Ed
-
Sounds like you got a good one, pal, hope it continues to work out for you. As you know, haven't done a thing with my end of the trade, still need to put a filler together for the B50. Looking forward to hearing more. Later.
Dave
-
First off I have to mention I only fired 3 Kodiaks through the gun, mostly for S's and G's. The remaining 7 shots are just a repeat of the average of those 3 shots so the spreadsheet would output some numbers. Here is what I've got out of the box, no work has been done to the gun, just shot a few dozen pellets through it, wiped down the exterior, haven't even cleaned the bore.
(http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/photos/get-photo.asp?photoid=830)
As you can see it's a pretty good powerplant for having zero work done to it. The Kodiaks group real well, and surprizingly the Crow-Magnums that have never shot well for me shoot really well. The CPHP's are a bit abnormal, 2-3 group, then 2-3 are fliers, I only chronied those to get an idea of what the numbers look like with an average 7.9 grain pellet. I've owned quite a few springers, from high dollar to low dollar and most of them didn't look this good out of the box. I am only going to put a seal in and replace the spring because I want to tame the recoil a little and smooth things out, this gun would be a fine shooter with no work at all....I'm just a little picky I suppose. The one big thing I want to change is how smooth the cocking cycle is. The gun has a slight problem with not wanting to smoothly go to that last tiny bit before the piston sear latches. Not a deal breaker, but I feel it could be smoother. I also want to get into the trigger and clean it up a little. The trigger out of the box isn't bad, but it's a little mushy and has a bit of second stage creep....I don't care for that. I am aiming to get a smooth first stage, then an increase in pressure, and a release with very little trigger movement after that. A little moly/motor oil mystery sauce should smooth it out a little with no serious polishing. The gun also has a very slight "screen door" sound when it's cocked, most likely with a little spring tar, a debur, and a hopefully better fitting spring than stock that will go away. I have a Maccari tune kit, seal, and lubes just waiting to be installed.
The B26 is of much better quality than I expected, although I still believe Chinese airgun quality can be hit or miss. If the tune goes as planned this will make a very nice backyard plinker for when the PCP I usually shoot is just too much. Post tune results to follow!
-
Excellent numbers out of the box Dano. Yes you are right about hit and miss with Chinese air guns. But I think the Chinese air guns are getting better and better with the manufacturer who makes the B-26... I find that the quality of manufacturing with the B-26 is comparable to the Gamo with excetion of material used. But as far as being able to improve the Chinese B-26 rifles, I feel that there is room for some improvement as like in the Gamo rifles. The B-26 in my opinion is an exception to all the Chinese springers that I have seen so far. I do not own an R-9 or GF but I would say that a tuned B-26 is pretty darn close to the feel of an R-9 or GF. The price of the B-26 is exceptional for what you are getting as well. :) And for sure those numbers you have on your spread sheet would probably come close to one of the previous mention air rifles. Now for accuracy...:) I have only shot Beeman FTS, Crosman, and Superdomes with mine along with Gamo Hunter round heads. They seem to hold tight groups at 30 yards. Maybe I will break out my B-26 and post a target to see which one is tightest.. Have to finish up J's buzzle brake and shroud first...:)
Thanks for the great review Dano..
Gene
-
Well with my new B26 also came a Maccari tune kit including heavy spring tar, moly paste, clear tar, Maccari spring, custom top hat, and lastly a Tesla piston seal. Once I had the chrony numbers for the out of the box B26 I wanted to install the kit to see what it would do. I've taken a few spingers apart in the past, so this didn't seem like a big deal. One of the coolest parts of taking apart the B26, and I would suspect the R9, is that you can totally remove the trigger group withoutgetting into the guts of the gun. The trigger housing is all peened together, so unless you really want to get in there, it's a little difficult....luckily there isn't a whole lot inside there that you really need access to. After I removed the faux "Rekord" trigger I grabbed a couple screw drivers, some moly paste and sat down in front of the television and went to work. Now it's suggested that you don't want to use moly paste on triggers by a few sources because you want to have some friction in there to hold the whole deal in place to keep the gun safe, while I agree with that in some respects, there is one place in this trigger that moly paste really smooths things out without creating an unsafe condition. 2 of 3 sears in the trigger are spring loaded and you'll never "feel" any work that you've done there. On those 2 sears I would not put any moly or even polish them up because it wont make a bit of difference IMHO. Where it will make some difference is the contact area between the trigger blade and the first lever, and the contact point between the first and second lever. Again, IMHO, molying these two points is definately productive to the feel of the trigger. There are two adjustment screws on this trigger unit, one controls trigger blade spring pressure, and the other controls primary sear engagement. With a little moly in the right places you can lighten the spring pressure to a pretty good spot and the trigger will still completely reset if you decide not to take a shot. If you get it too light, then the trigger will not reset and will remain in a "hair trigger" situation...NOT what you want. Best bet is to make it as light as you want it while still being safe, then make it just a hair heavier for an extra safety margin. The second screw, the sear engagement screw, on my B26 came with two lockwashers. With two lockwashers you can pretty much rest assured that two lawyers couldn't shoot each other and sue each other, you can't screw it in far enough to make any noticeable difference. Now be aware, if anyone wants to follow my path here they do it at their own risk. I removed one of the lockwashers, considered removing both, then went with one lockwasher tightened all of the way down. I felt that gave me enough of a safety margin in sear engagement, yet gave me a pretty good trigger. As many people here know, Chinese clones do not have the greatest quality control, so your B20/B26 may not be safe with a missing lockwasher. I put an itsy bitsy drop of blue loctite on both adjustment screws once I got them where I wanted since I don't ever plan on adjusting them again, they are just right for me. I've shot an HW77 quite a bit and it has a genuine Rekord trigger, and I can hostly say that with a little work this one is awfully good. Out of the box I felt the trigger on the B26 was mushy and creepy, not anymore! It's not the same trigger as on my old IZH46M match pistol, but it is a really good sporter trigger...not a half bad match trigger for that matter. On with the tune!
After tuning my trigger in the comfort of my livingroom it was time to head out to the garage and get to work on the rest of the gun. With the trigger out of the gun I put the action in my spring compressor, removed the stock hold down bolt/nut, and removed the two little popout pins that hold the endcap in place, you then rotate the end cap out of its little tab with a small screw driver and a light tap or two, and start taking tension off of the spring. This gun has a decent amount of spring preload, I would NOT recommend dissassembly without a compressor unless you have already lost all of your teeth, it will kick! With the spring, endcap and rear spring guide removed I loosened the barrel pivot bolt/nut and removed the barrel cocking linkage, after that the cocking shoe can be slid out and finally the piston. I cleaned everything up, deburred my burrs, and got ready to put it back together. Now I had talked to Gene a few days ago and he mentioned that he liked the stock piston seal, I thought about it for a minute then thought,"Ah, what does he know? Phhhtt!". Well Gene is very knowledgable, and I should have listenned to him. The Tesla seal was VERY tight going into the air chamber. So I chucked the whole thing, piston and all in my drill press, spun it up and with a very fine file, followed by fine sandpaper, up to and including 1000 grit I took a little rubber off of the seal. I got it to where I "thought" in would be tight, but would work in and be ok. I wont go into the lubes I used or where I put them, there are plenty of lube tuning guides on the web. Got the gun all back together, cocked ("Wow that's tight!"), loaded a pellet and took a few shots into my trap. Man, what a difference the right lubes make! The gun shot pretty good, but it was dark outside so the chrony would have to wait till morning.
Today I woke up, got the chrony set up in the backyard and proceeded to fire a few pellets through it. First was some Crow Magnums, those proved to be a good pellet in this gun pre-tune, so I decided to shoot a string of those first. Well, I'm sorry to say, but the Crow Mags were shooting an average of 750fps, pretty pathetic for a gun that was shooting them in the low 800's prior to tune. Then was the Kodiaks, I fired one Kodiak and it was real slow, like high 600's, the gun was shooting those in the mid/high 700's prior to tune. So I finally tried the CPHP's and they barely broke 800 fps. All in all I had pretty much lost 100fps during the tune and I knew why. That danged seal was just too tight.
Tonight I took the whole thing apart again, chucked the piston w/seal in my drill press and really worked on it. Just a little at a time, fit test, a little more, fit test, a little more, and snug, but smooth. Cleaned it all up, relubed, reassembled, and a couple test shots into the trap in my garage. It sounds better, it feels better, but again...it's dark so it will have to wait for the morning to chrony:(
Moral of this story? Listen to Gene, if I had listened I would have saved myself alot of trouble.
I think now the gun will be real good. It's very smooth now and the recoil is very linear, much like my gas rammed BSA. The trigger is "delightful" and I don't use big words like that much. Compareable to the genuine Rekord? I think it's close, close enough where I'd have to have both guns side by side and adjusted the same way to feel the difference. I think most of the mushy creepy feel that people, including myself, mention about this Rekord clone is because of that extra washer the factory installs under the sear engagement screw. Tomorrow, the chrony, some test targets, that will show whether or not my tune was successful, but right now "I'm feelin' lucky!".
Chrony/shooting results to follow tomorrow!
-
Enjoyed the post,,,,, looking forward to the chrony results. Best of luck with the rifle.....
Jeff
-
Great review Dano. Very helpful, as I'm getting ready to crack open my b26, just have to put some more lead through it. I was thinking of ordering the seal from Maccari, but based on what you and Gene are saying, I'll just use the stock one. Can't wait for your chrony numbers!
Chris
-
Gene is right when talking about the Tesla seal vs the factory seal and in some cases, if you have no other choices, you might be better off sticking with the factory seal. The Tesla seal is over sized and unless you know what you are doing when resizing the seal, it's best not to use it, especially if the compression chamber is not properly prepped. That said, the Tesla seal can be an exceptionally long lasting seal because of both the composition and Durometer. It's not uncommon to have a velocity loss initially so keep in mind that the Tesla seal needs to be broken in and can take a few hundred shots for it to seat in and the velocity will usually increase about 3-5% and sometimes even a bit more.
Personally, I don't particularly care for the Tesla seals but prefer them over the Chinese factory seals. The Tesla seal and the tube just need to be fitted properly along with the proper lube being used. Still, I prefer the Apex over both of them.
That said, the factory seal should be replaced though when tuning using the small Apex seal that Jim sells. (APV65798)
-
Thanks for the comments Bob. I got it all back together last night and chronied it today. It still fits tight, but much smoother than before. My chrony results show an increase over yesterday, but still lower than stock. I have also noticed that the Maccari spring included in the kit is much shorter than the stock spring, I know that doesn't neccesarily mean anything, but I also know it's another variable when considering pre and post tune chrony results. The gun is shooting exceptionally smooth now, and since top power is not my concern I am going to leave well enough alone and let it break in. Here are my results:
(http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/photos/get-photo.asp?photoid=831)
I will chrony it again in a month or so when I have put some serious lead through it and see if that thrills my "magnumitis" side, but as I said before I'd rather see my extreme spread smooth out than see my fps go up by 100fps.
BTW, when you mentioned "preparing the compression chamber" I assume you mean honing? I always get this part confused, do you hone for a synthetic seal and polish for a leather seal, or the other way around? My compression chamber was nice and shiny, I didn't do anything to it.....oops maybe I should have? Don't need to answer, I don't want to steal any trade secrets, don't need Fritz biting my buns:)
Again, thanks for the comments Bob, you are always a big help:)
-
Thank you Bob for clarifyng that. As always, You da man!!
Chris
-
As long as I get a spread of anything inside of 20, I consider it pretty good but of course inside of ten is great. :D
You didn't mention how many coils are in the new spring or the wire diameter.
In the stock spring, counting the end coils, there are/should be 41 coils of .118 (3mm) wire. This will give you a stacked coil height of approximately 4.83"
In your new spring, multiply the number of coils by the wire diameter.
Example:
Coils .........38 x
Wire dia. .121
-- ------------------------
>>>>> =4.598
Now subtract your new spring stacked height. from your factory spring stacked height.
.......... 4.838
....... - 4.598
------------------------
>>>> =.240 difference
You now know that you can now add a .240 (or 1/4 inch) spacer to the spring, preferably out of Delrin or a hard Nylon. 8) This should provide you with a bit more power but still be close to the factory specs and yet be pretty smooth. You would/should be able to push the spring close to 3/8 inches but you will be close to coil bind I believe. I always figure in about .125 for future wear and tear and not have to worry about it not cocking. If you add a steel spring spacer there is a good chance that the weight will cause it to shoot a bit harder and harsher.
Now don't be goin' round tellin' everbody :0 :p
-
Ooops... fer got to answer yer question.... duh... :o
When prepping the cylinder, it should be polished smooth for leather, first 200 then 400 then 600. I usually use 220 to 300 grit for cross hatching for synthetic seals depending on the material of the seal. I always use a three point hone (broke my four point and can't find another one like it) although some guys use paper or emery with a dowel. It will work but it's no where near as efficient and as even as using a hone. Do not use a 2 point hone.
-
Thanks Bob, I figured I could space her up a bit. I've consulted my preacher, my astrologer, my family doctor, and finally Dave Dunn and decided that I am going to leave well enough alone, she is shooting real nice and I don't feel like getting more spring tar on my wifes kitchen counters:) I think all that is left is for me to learn how to shoot it correctly and we'll be in business....and like I said before, if I am feeling real low about my shooting skills I'll just pull out my PCP to cheer myself up:)
BTW: I believe I used the standard B26 tune kit JM sells:
http://www.airguns.citymax.com/catalog/item/251488/4038389.htm
Not sure what spring that came with and I didn't hook the calipers on it to find out. If at some point I do decide to take her back apart to space it up I'll let y'all know what I find out. It's set length was a fair bit shorter than stock though, like somewhere between 1"- 1 1/2" IIRC. Dangit, now you've got me thinking, and thinking is dangerous....I'd better leave well enough alone...hehe!!!!
Thanks again,
-
Why not use a 2 point hone?
-
Using a 2 point hone does not stay centered and hone evenly as well as a three point hone. A three point hone will always be centered with even pressure as long as it is straight in the tube.
-
Sound good to me. I need to get some new stones for my 3 point hone anyway. This'll keep me from being tempted to buy a 2 point.