My dragon slayer seems to have lost power any suggestions…
..before I call the warranty dept. and or send it back to them? The fill gauge stopped working, but my scuba tank fill says 3,000 psi is going in. When I fire at a p.t. 2×8 at 16 yards with a round ball, it only penetrates 1/4″ to 1/2″ deep and the ball bounces off the wood. This thing should be blowing right through that 2×8 with extreme prejudice. In the manual it says it has a power wheel dial…but I don’t think it does as I can’t locate one. Thanks for your advice in advance.
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Joe,
You are most welcome.
I can’t recall the drop per shot or even the exact number of shots per fill, it has been some time since I experimented with everything that would fit down the bore! I seem to remember about 8 good shots though… More than the typical big bore tuned for max power shots, that’s for sure.
BTW, I forgot to add in my other post that these guns have a lousy intake valve. The valve may very well stick open or closed from time to time. The valves are not hard to service but it does take a bit of skill to get it apart without damage. If you find that you get a really whacky result after a fill, it is possible that you didn’t really fill the gun! Really annoying is when you can’t get the valve to close and vent the whole thing down to zero! Hopefully, you never have that problem but if you do, there is a fix for that too…
Jerry,
As always, thanks for your time. You always seem to take time to help and it is truly appreciated.
Yes, I did notice the slugs are tighter loading in. Lord knows I don’t want to have another “bent lever” 😥
I think I can pick up those .495 from a local gun shop in town. I found that the .490 (despite them being the wrong size for the bore) actually were more accurate than the PA slugs. Those slugs would probably do much better in a modded DS with a longer barrel to boot.
Yes, my gauge is in bar. I am using the gauge on my scuba tank to coordinate. I hope to get some crony numbers after I pick up the larger ball ammo.
What kind of drop in tank psi should be expected for each shot, or after a 10 shot string for that matter? When we think “bell curve” what are we talking here as it has been said that this larger bore rifle only gets a “few” full power shots. Thanks again.
Joe
80,
I meant to reply earlier but my POS day job prevented that. You’ve seen some of the effects I was going to predict though, so no big loss.
1. Take a look at the gauge on your gun, I expect it reads in bar as mine does, maybe you are reporting the conversion but be sure of that.
2. Do not fill beyond 3000, the gun will probably deliver a bell curve of velocity from a 3000 psi fill but anything above that just means more shots to climb into the full power range. Use your accurate fill gauge to adjust the pressure and don’t be surprised if you need a pressure below 3000 to have a set of shots that climb a little in power and then drop off.
3. You have the wrong ammo. The .490 ball will work but not as good as .495 Hornady ball… order it now, trust me. The PA slugs are over sized and I’ll bet they are a pain to load and you are putting more stress on the cocking and loading lever than you want or should. I’ve tested the PA slugs and they will not deliver the performance you want. At 40 yards, your going to find over a foot of drop compared to the ball and the heavier slugs will be even lower and even if you aim higher (which is fine) you will find that the slugs are not as accurate (not even close) as the .495 ball. Your actual bore diameter is about .490 – .492. The ball squeeze along one contact line just fine but the slugs would have to be sized way down to fit properly, the proper ball diameter will always be larger than the proper slug diameter because of the amount of lead that needs to be displaced. I’ve tested the PA slugs and ball and sabots and commercial slugs (from molds) in this gun and the .495 Hornady ball are far and away the best projectile choice. The gun does not have the power (stock) to take advantage of heavier slugs, even if sized to keep from over-stressing the loading lever. The .495 ball will shoot low to mid 600s and give excellent one hole groups at 40+ yards.
4. Very few people modify this gun for power professionally. I think a fellow named Li Bob on another forum does so but I don’t have another place to point you. I would get the right ammo and fill the gun to 2850-3000 per your accurate gauge and test performance before you do anything else. I think you’ll find that you get nice groups of 5 and you’ll enjoy the gun as is.
5. If you do want to try heavy slugs, get good ones and be sure they are sized to your barrel. I’ve some PA slugs in the basement and they are grossly inconsistent in weight and too large for the “.50” bore you probably thought the DS had. Shit can them before you hurt your gun (like a bent cocking/loading lever) or get one jammed in the bore (makes a huge pop when you open the lever).
Feel free to send my other questions. It’s a decent gun but it does not have the adjustability or ability to modify that the AF guns do. Feed it the right ammo at the right pressure and it can be a lot of fun to shoot very accurately with good if not huge power.
I have only had the rifle for a short while. I have—at the most—50 rounds through it. I do recall it acting this way when I first fired it. I have not had time to mess with it. I wasn’t sure if there is a “break in” period, etc. I will post the crony numbers and perhaps you can advise, thanks Walt.
no.
did it work once?
when did it change?
is it currently maintained?
Did I (80 grit) do something to affect the change?
likely the same advice I gave Joe, the valve has taken a set into the seat and robs hammer hit that only comes back as the pressure falls off.
Oddly they recommend a 3000 psi fill. You would think these rifles have a heavy enough hammer and a larger valve to utilize that kind of psi….correct me if I’m wrong, but if it does well on a 2000 psi fill didn’t someone “drop the ball” when designing this?
why is that?
i will run some tests soon, but from what i remember recently was about 5 to 8 shots at 600fps with 180gr round balls.
I own the older model career 50 dragon, and it started losing power when filled to 3000 psi. Now mine shoots better at 2000 psi.
When I do the crony test, I will try some lower fill pressure shots. How many shots do you get from a 2000 psi fill and what kind of energy??? Thanks.
dont be tempted to over fill your dragon because i believe it was the same reason why mine lost power in the first place.
fill gauge stopped working and it is gutless……
time to replace the gauge or believe it. sounds to me like no air getting into the gun.
Did some penetration tests today (crony set up is not ready, perhaps tomorrow…) I started with a 3000 psi fill with the 200 gr PA slugs, started out with only 1/2″ penetration shot 3 was 3/4″ and shot four made it all the way through, just barely.
Oddly, end pressure after four shots was 2750. 😯 Could that be right???? shouldn’t this big hammer and valve be eating up much more air than that???
Next, I tried the 250 gr PA slugs. 2900 sp. Only penetrated 1/2 way through…except for one shot.
Here is the confusing test: Started out with a fill of 2900. Fired 6 .490 round balls, and every one of them went through the p.t. 2×8 ❓ End pressure was 2250.
This made me think the 3000 to 3100 fill pressure was too high for the hammer, so I started lowering it in 150 psi increments. Only to confuse me even further…I shot one last group of 5 with the .490 ball at a start pressure of 2800 to 2900 and not a dam one penetrated through the 2x 8 like they did only moments before 😯 ❓ 😯
I will try to get some strings from the crony tomorrow or at least by the weekend and hopefully get to the bottom of this. It feels like the valve is not opening consistently. The rifle surely had some more kick to it on the six shots that penetrated all the way through. Thanks Walt, and thanks to all who are helping me figure this out.
p.s. Walt, the fill gauge is stuck on 2900 psi and that is where it stays no matter how much is in the gun. The gauge on my scuba tank is pretty accurate (to within 150 psi).
I own the older model career 50 dragon, and it started losing power when filled to 3000 psi. Now mine shoots better at 2000 psi.
sorry man i posted that last night/this morning after workin 15 hr and i have an infected ingrown toenail on my big toe so i was poppin some pain meds and sippin some shine when i got home lol
Man, I know how those infected toenails feel, especially after standing on your feet working…Hope it heals up, otherwise if you loose it we will have to change your name to “toepopper”. LOL 😆
fill gauge stopped working and it is gutless……
time to replace the gauge or believe it. sounds to me like no air getting into the gun.
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I do hear the valve open when the scuba tank reaches the psi in the rifle tank. I am trying for some crony numbers today…if all goes as planned. Thanks.