Author Topic: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.  (Read 7532 times)

Offline speedturtle

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Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« on: April 06, 2009, 01:44:32 PM »
It's been raining almost everyday here in Centerville, TN and cold and I'm bored. So I headed out to the local hardware and got some PVC pipes and some steel washers to make my own muzzle break. Since the Big Cat is a bit light (in comparison to other springers aside from the Whisper) I decided to make a home made muzzle break to add some weight on the front part of the barrel and to further protect the crown. Since my Big Cat became butt heavy due to the new Leapers 3-9X50 AO scope that I put into it I just played with the number of washers that I need to put back the C.O.G. of my Big Cat to about 4.5 away from the trigger guard. I think I arrived at about 6 3/4" steel washers to balance it out.

Here are the results of my indoor shooting at 10 yards with the muzzle break attached.

Pics attached:

Speedturtle.
Time is not important, only lessons to be learned in life. :)

Offline speedturtle

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2009, 01:49:23 PM »
I forgot to mention, the size of the red dot target is almost the size of a pellet. I ran out of printer ink so I just use my only remaining copy of the marksman challenge target sheet and used the back part since I can't see my pellet shot because the bull's area is blackened.

Speedturtle
Time is not important, only lessons to be learned in life. :)

Offline longislandhunter

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2009, 12:29:17 AM »
That's some fine shooting... great job...

Don't think you can get any better than that  !!

Sounds like you and the CAT have bonded  :)

Jeff
\"If it was easy it wouldn\'t be hunting, it would be shopping.\"

Offline gamo2hammerli

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2009, 04:47:46 AM »
Whoa.....that's some crazy accuracy!!!!!   Wish I could do that with my BC.  Did you just stack the washers in the muzzlebreak?  Do they jingle and jangle when you take the shot?  I already stuffed rags in the butt stock to quiet down the "twang" and give her some weight.....but the heavy muzzlebreak idea would give her more to lessen the sway factor.
Gamo: Expotec .177 + Big Cat .177 + Viper .177 + Whisper .177, Hammerli Titan .177, Diana model 24 .177, RWS-Diana P5 Magnum pistol .177, Crosman: G1 Extreme .177 + Storm XT .177 + Sierra Pro .177 + 1377 pistol .177, Air Arms S410SL .22, BSA Scorpion T10 .22, FX Cyclone .177, Remington Air Master 77 .177 + BB\'s,

Offline shadow

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2009, 05:08:49 AM »
Killing groups for sure. got in pic's of the muzzbreak?. Ed
I airgun hunt therefore I am... };)  {SHADOWS Tunes & Camo}  airguncamo@yahoo.com

Offline speedturtle

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2009, 06:11:47 AM »
Thanks Stan, Here's what I did with my home made muzzle break:

The Big Cat's outer diameter for the fluted plastic coated barrel is about 26/32" and the 3/4" PVC pipe's I.D. is about 27/32" so I just added some transparent packaging tape to make a tight fit, otherwise I would end up with a totally wrecked airgun in case a pellet hit the washers accidentally. I used the 6 pieces of 3/4" steel washers (you can buy it from any local hardware) and stack them together inside a 1" PVC pipe. I used the 3/4" PVC pipe as a stopper so as not to dislocate the washers when attached to the barrel. I bonded them all with just a drop of loctite and after 30 minutes I'm good to go testing it.

At first it was hard because it really became a bit heavy on the front side (considering that it's only 6 pieces of steel washers and some plastic PVC pipes. Firing about 25 - 30 pellets gave me the conclusion (or analysis) that holding the stock at about 4.5" away from the trigger guard instead of my previous hold of being totally in front of the trigger guard gave me a more predictable P.O.I.. But what puzzles me (I'm not a math wizard. LOL!) is that my P.O.I. dropped an additional 1/4" from the calculated P.O.I. and even if I use Chairgun or Babin Perry's Holdover/Holdunder's calculation I can't seem to enter the right muzzle velocity to arrive at that extra 1/4" deviation. But the trade-off to it is a more noticeable control on its recoil and hold sensitivity. instead of just about 4.5 mildot down I ended up using the 6th mildot as my P.O.A.

The home made muzzle break just stayed in place in spite the fact that I only used packing tapes to squeeze it tight on the barrel. Sorry I can't show you any pics because some members might mistaken my work as a "supressor" of which it is not. (I just want to be on the safe side). Wish I could have some tools and stuff to make it on an aluminum pipe to make it appear less obtrusive. It's more of a weight balancer since my Big Cat became too butt heavy because of the new Leapers 3-9X50 AO scope.

I don't know if she will improve more when James Maccari's tarantula spring and new seal arrives. I will do my first airgun tune on her and hopefully I will not mess it up.

Thanks for all you guys. Without your previous posts I could not have known how to properly shoot an airgun. It really boils down to being consistent on your hold. here's my sequence of operation before firing:

1. Position my left hand on the same stock hold.
2. Lift the rifle and locate the same shoulder part where I supported the butt plate.
3. Look at the scope and aim at the target (use a natural reticle alignment first "natural hold")
4. Position my firing finger on the trigger.
5. Check if the crosshairs are "aligned'' meaning only with a small considerable cant.
6. Check breathing pattern
7. Wait for the in between breathing
8. Check for the same location of the crosshairs on the target.
9. Slowly fix the triggering finger on the trigger
10. Visualize in the mind that the target will be hit 100%
11. Hold breath.. then press the trigger fully
12. Never blink! keep an eye on the target.
13. Pause
14. Bring down the gun
15. Check the P.O.I.
16. Analyze.
17. If there are variations isolate the error then start all over again.

I can finish a tin can of pellets (500 pellets per can) in about 4 days! Hahaha. I'm a rapid shooter. That's the beauty of indoor shooting, you can know more about your mistakes since wind is not a main factor. My only problem then is that when I go field target shooting I forgot my exact holdover/holdunder compensation since I'm used to 10-yards distance most of the time.

I can't possibly do all these stuff (the things I've learned) without all your inputs from this forum. Thanks Guys!

Speedturtle
Time is not important, only lessons to be learned in life. :)

Offline Truman

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2009, 07:49:28 AM »
I did that 'Visualising' thing on the last 'Steroid'15 offhand match and found it made a big difference! I was really suprised. I'm in the process of making a muzzle weight for the Disco. It's so light on the front end that shooting offhand at 10M is really difficult due to all the movement! With the Gamo Maxima, I get better groups!
cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare.

Offline speedturtle

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Re: Gamo Big Cat shots with a home-made muzzle break.
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2009, 01:56:57 PM »
Congratulations Truman. That "visualization" process helps a gunner disregard any unnecessary concepts about anything else but just between you, the gun, and the target.

Speedturtle
Time is not important, only lessons to be learned in life. :)