Lubing for a cleaner barrel
I have been searching the forum about lubing pellets for the Cricket. I think that the consensus is just go dry. I think that’s fair, the gun shoots so well with pellets right out of the tin, but my barrel get’s so dirty so fast I thought I’d try an experiment. I thoroughly cleaned the barrel then pulled two Krytech wet patches followed by three dry patches down the barrel. Then I lubed about 100 pellets with Krytech and shot 24 over the Prochrono to season the barrel and check speeds. I went ahead and set the velocity to 910. Twenty-four shots and the Extreme Spread was 16 and the standard Deviation was something like 3…very very good.
Then I shot 6 targets with 5-shot groups each and got very tight groups. But when I went in and pulled a patch it came out very clean…like a quarter of the crud than without lube. Barely anything on it, and certainly no lead flakes. I’m hoping that this isn’t a fluke, which is how a lot of things are when testing air rifles, at least for me…so will shoot some more and recheck the patches. Hoping this will help keep the barrel clean until i send it to Ernest at the end of the season.
Wondering if anyone else has tried this?
KPinNC
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kp
Upload it to youtube then post the link here :biggrinn:
Cleaned the barrel yesterday and the first patch came out almost completely clean….just a faint hint of “dirt.” Lubing is really doing the trick for me. I went out and there were storms to the north and south with me in a window of total calm. Not a breath of wind. Shot a 5-shot group at 50 yards measuring less than 5/16.” I shot a scopecam video doing it but not sure how to upload. Also shot a 1.5″ tomato at 102 yards on shot one hit. :8: Anyway….things are very, very good with this rifle.
kp
I’ve noticed the same thing with my cricket. Hardly ever needs cleaned but when I do clean it patches come out almost spotless.
Just an addendum …after several months and perhaps 2000+ pellets downrange, this rifle has really started to tighten up with it;s groups…also ES is down to 2 now shooting at 930fps. Very pleasantly surprised.
Also, the last time I cleaned the barrel with my Kroil/boreKleen solution it only took 2-3 patches, as opposed to something like 9. Perhaps this is attributed to the Krytech lube or the barrel breaking in or a combination of both…in any case…very happy with the way this rifle is shooting now.
KP
I have been using the check valve O-ring (1.6 mm x 2.8 mm).
It’s the same screw also except for the v-notch on the one used on the check value.
~ GKU
…and you knew this was coming…what size O-ring is used for the trigger mod? I watched Ernest’s video which is very good but no mention of dimensions.
K
I see.
With the shorter/lighter spring it will get you much further down than 885 fps, maybe down to 720ish.
Yes on the 2nd stage trigger creep.
I’d added the extra O-ring on both of mine.
Use a Q-tip to degrease everything with denatured alcohol even the O-ring(s), the screw, treads and the area that it sits in also.
Some also use a little blue Loctite, but mines seems to be holding so far without.
~ GKU
GKU,
Actually I am able to back out the hammer spring tension-er screw and get things down at least to 885. what I was saying was that I had set my tension-er to a midway point and it gave me a reading of 920 on Day X but on Day Y it was reading around 939. Not sure I can explain why but there it is. I went to all the trouble to calibrate the scope so I’ll leave it there as long as it is shooting well and it is….I can always lower it back down, all it needs is about 1/8 turn. I appreciate the spring off and perhaps Can I take a rain check on that generous offer for the shorter spring>?…much appreciated. I’ve been working on a couple of other guns so I’ll get back to the Cricket in the next day or so and re check things. I want to eventually recheck the regulator ES and SD at the higher settings.
So as it stands 920 and the tension-er is about flush with the receiver/breech, at 885 it’s about 3-4 threads backed out. I think that it maxes out at about 960.
I am noticing the beginnings of some 2nd stage trigger creep. I ‘m thinking that that’s where I need to place the O-ring under the 2nd stage tension spring?
Thanks for the info on the valve spring….I’ll do some more chrony testing to see if that needs looking at.
Cheers,
KP
Hey KP,
112 Bar I’d leave it there !
Crickets are not hard to work on.
In the future If you ever go in, check your Valve spring retainer setting.
Sometimes they do back out and cause the velocity to increase and fluctuate at times.
For the 25 cal it best at 3/4-1 turn after contact and the reg set to 110-115B to send Kings @ 920 fps.
If are you located here in the US would you like a shorter Hammer Spring to try, I’ll send it to you at no charge ?
You can achieve the max 940 fps you’re getting, but also it will get you way down pass 920 fps.
If so PM me your name and address.
~ ATB ~ GKU
Thanks GKU…I set my gun at 920 the other day and with the influx of bad weather let it sit several days …I use the Aeon with Trajectory reticle so to my knowledge, Strelok and Chairgun don’t work with this particular reticle. So…I set out to shoot targets at 5 yard intervals from 10 yards to 100. After I finished I checked it on the Chrony…yep, I know…I should do that BEFORE I spend two evenings with calibrating the scope, the velocity was at 939. :angrymob: 🙄 It shoots fine at this settnig so I’ll leave it for the time being.
I probably won’t go inside it right now for a few reasons. 1.It acts as if it’s set pretty good from the factory, 920-940 with the spring screw flush with the back of the breech, Regulator falls off at 112B; shooting very well.
2. I tend to be my own worse enemy when it comes to tinkering and I’m really afraid of messing something up. I’m gonna kick back and just shoot over the summer then come fall I might be ready to enter the inner sanctum. Seems all I do is tinker so I need to enjoy for a change.
That’s good shooting KP.
From my friends Cricket 25 cal.
You should be getting 52-54 good shot before it fall off of the reg.
Fill pressure 220 bar, velocity @ 920 fps with Kings, SD 2 fps.
So are you planning to tinker around in the inners ?
~ GKU
See above for info….wow this took 30 minutes to post!!!! 🙄
KP
Well, that was a lousy 2 weeks of weather…rain for days, high winds, cold…ugh. I did manage to get out in between clearings to work on things. First off, to keep on target. I find pulling a couple of dry patches every 50-75 shots really keeps things tight. And after a month of so, the barrel, though still dirty, with Kryteck, is only a fraction of the “dirt” compared to without. Two patches and things are clean compared to 8 or 9 with unlubbed pellets.
OK, thanks to GKU for great tips on trigger finger placement. My groups have tightened way up, with hardly a flier. Groups at 50 are one hole and under 1/2.” I shot yesterday, totally calm evening, at 80 yds. Spent most of my time at 50 so time was running low and managed to get tow targets. The second target was a 5 shot group with three in the same hole and the other two at 10 and 4. This is great for me…. 😀
And as requested, here’s a shot curve graph:
Shot at 885 av. velocity, 64 shots.
ES= 28
SD=4
If I delete the first odd-ball shot then:
ES=15
SD=3
I have since adjusted to the gun to 920…it shoots tighter groups there so I’ll have to repeat this.
the image for the graph will not upload, i’ll try again on another post
KPinNC
If one like to read, here’s the original tread on Barrel pulling.
http://talonairgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=30558&p=308451&hilit=+.5mm#p308451
~ GKU
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For those who clean their airgun barrel using a line of the weed-eater kind with a loop at the end (mine is made from fishing line) like in the photo below, here’s a cleaning tip I’d like to share. This method of cleaning makes it possible to clean all the lands and grooves in an airgun barrel. How so? In the same way a pellet is twisted when going through the barrel, a cleaning patch also goes through the same motion. If you happen to run a patch through the barrel of your gun at the same angle in a cleaning session, you’re not cleaning its entire circumference. To make sure that you thoroughly do so you position the patches at different angles on each consecutive run (horizontal and vertical is sufficient).
Cleaning line with a loop at the end.
In this photo the first cleaning patch is being entered into the barrel laterally. Note that if each cleaning patch is run into the barrel throughout the cleaning session at this angle, the barrel’s lands and grooves in the 2,3,4,8,9, and 10 o’clock will only be cleaned.
In this photo the second cleaning patch is being entered into the barrel vertically. In contrast to the top photo, if the patch is run into the barrel with the patch always in this position throughout the cleaning session, the barrel’s lands and grooves in the 11, 12, 1, 5,6, and 7 o’clock will only be cleaned.
So, to ensure a complete clean, make sure that you alternate the angle of each consecutive cleaning patch angles including dry patches. Using this method, all my air rifles’ barrel never exhibits POI shift after a cleaning session.