Talon Barrel Question

[longislandhunter]

I was looking at the Air Force accessories on Pyramydair, specifically the 24 inch .22 cal barrel.  The information on the barrel contains a statement that if you change from a standard Talon SS .22 cal barrel to the 24 inch barrel that your FPE will go from 26 to 42 (depending on the pellet).  Is this statement  true?  Does the 24 inch barrel really add that much more FPE as compared to say a 12 or 18 inch barrel.  

The reason I ask is that my Talon has the 18 inch .22 cal barrel and am currently getting 26 FPE with the CPH pellets I'm using.  I have always wanted to get a Condor, mostly  for the extra power, but if a 24 inch barrel will give me the FPE increase to 46 I might go that route.  

Anyway,,, figured I'd ask...  Thanks....

Jeff

[preez]

Jeff, I hear and see things on the Talon forum... it may be correct.

Lurk around sometime if you don't yet, good info from guys who deal mostly with AF guns

How about .25 barrel???

Chris

[melloroadman]

I don't know about the talon for sure but it is a general rule that PCP's and pumper's do better with longer barrels. I know my 1377 pumper that is advertised to do 500 FPS is doing a average of 653 FPS and the only change is a 24 inch barrel from the stock one which I think was 10 inches .Marvin

[longislandhunter]

Thanks for the info guys  :)

I didn't see a .25 barrel listed, at least not on  Pyramydair, but that is something to think about  that I hadn't considered.....

Jeff

[melloroadman]

Have you done a FPE check on some of the heavy weight pellets in the .22 caliber  pellets out there I know P. A . has some heavy weight .22 s listed now .Marvin

[longislandhunter]

I recently did a very complete  battery of chrony tests with my Talon using the  pellet types that the rifle likes.  I tested each pellet at varying power wheel  settings , starting at low and working my way to high.  I carefully documented the FPS and accuracy results for each pellet at each setting, so,,,,, long story short,,,,, I have the data to calculate the FPE for each pellet,,  however the only pellet I calculated the FPE for was the CPH's because they were the most accurate and gave me the best perfromance.  A very close second were the Kodiaks.  I'll have to break out my data and figure out the FPE for the other pellets.  

Jeff

[DanoInTx]

If you set the tophat right then it is possible to get at least 44FPE out of a stock Talon with no other mods except a 24" .22 barrel.  Mine did that shooting Kodiaks in the mid-high 900's, then I sold it to DaveD's brother because it was so danged loud...haha!!!  I would even say it would be possble to pull more than 44FPE if you were shooting Eui Jin heavies and had the tophat adjusted correctly.  It's not hard to set it, just need a .050 allen wrench, feeler gauges and a chrony.  Takes maybe 20-30 minutes.  Over on the Talon forum they should have a "how-to" posted somewhere, just search "tophat adjustment".  Good luck and happy dragon slaying!

[longislandhunter]

Thanks for the info Dan.  I guess I have some homework to do  :)

Jeff

[preez]

Jeff, .25 barrel is a custom item.  Talon forum is a good resource for that.

Chris

[daved]

Like Dan said, you CAN get into the 40's with a 24" barrel, but high 30's is more like it, and gives a much better shot count.  Also, I think you'd find the 24" barrel really muzzle heavy, at least I did.  That's why I finished out my Talon phase with 18" barrels in both my TSS's.  In fact, the 24" .22 in my brother's (formerly Dan's) Talon SS is going to be getting traded off soon, like me, my brother realized he doesn't need the power.  So I'll be posting it on the forums for him, hopefully to trade for an 18" .177 barrel.  Anyway, I feel the 18" barrels give the best combo of power and balance, but that's me.  Besides, Jeff, it really doesn't look like you NEED any more power :-).  Be warned, though, once you start messing around with the Talon/Condor guns, it's a down hill slide into major mods.  Later.

Dave

[longislandhunter]

Thanks guys,, I appreciate all the info/advice.   Gives me a lot more information to roll around in my head while I'm doing my "reading" :)

You may be right Dave,,, maybe I'm just getting sucked in by the "power" factor,, not really sure,,,  I never thought I'd ever say this but it's a darn good thing I'm flat out broke right now cause I can tell if I had extra money right now I'd be buying stuff on impulse  :)

Thanks again for all the info,,,,

Jeff

[daved]

And I think I'm going to take back at least a little of what I said about the extra power.  In thinking about this a little more, I'd say go for it when you can.  It occurs to me that one of, if not the best thing, about the Talon platform is the ability to easily and relatively cheaply change calibers and power levels.  That makes it a great way to really play around with magnum power without breaking the bank.  And THAT can help us zero in on what we really want or need from our air guns.  I went all the way, with the custom valve I had I could get power equivalent to a .22 LR.  And once I got there, I realized I neither needed or wanted it :-).  In fact, it even made me realize that I don't need anything bigger than a .177, and that means I get to shoot at least twice as much for the same money :-).  I'm down to just 2 rifles, both .177 PCP's, and both more than adequate for my needs/wants.  I don't think I'd have the nice rifles I have now if it wasn't for my Talon assisted education and experimentation, so like I said, go for it.  

BTW, Air Force has barrels in 3 calibers, .177, .20, and .22.  If you've never tried a .20, now's your chance.  I was surprised at the performance of the .20 in my Talon, it seemed to have a lot more raw smack down power than the FPE numbers would indicate.  I don't really see much need for it in a PCP, but I can now understand the appeal in a springer.  Later.

Dave