.22 Mutant Shorty…(Graphic…)
1st off, I want to thank all on this forum. This forum is one of the few with the most truthful, in your face, informative, knowledgeable, and helpful to people that just want to learn about & shoot airguns. Most of the time Im just a reader (lurker) on here, but I just wanted to share my thoughts & try to give feedback as I learn. To start, I’ve always wanted a regulated, short, multi shot, super accurate, & super quiet pup in .22 caliber. The result was a very accurate double tube LW barreled Prod w/ a TKO LDC which was not regulated. Sold her & now have the Shorty on hand. Living in Texas is a hot mess almost all day, & there are so many critters roaming around that owning an airgun is a must to take care of business quietly & effectively. This is my very first review & basically my very 1st real post of a gun on any forum so do bear w/ me. The Shorty is my 1st side-lever cocking gun, 5th regulated gun, 1st “match trigger” gun, and 1st “ok” furniture bullpup I’ve ever owned. I guess I will start with the not so greats. When 1st receiving the Shorty, everything looked sharp and up to par other than my shroud being scratched up like someone had taken a brio pad to her, some of the scratches were deep penatrating the black anodizing and showing the aluminum underneath. The entire gun was wrapped in thick plastic & double boxed during shipping so I’m not sure what happened to the shroud, maybe quality control or poor factory installation is at fault. I called Charlie from Georgia Airguns the very next day & he priority mailed me a brand new shroud & a free tin of JSB 14.3g pellets for free & I mailed him the original one back. I’m grateful for that act. Another minor hiccup was when I was ranging the Shorty with different pellets under a partly cloudy humid day at 85 degrees for 5 hours from 230pm to 730pm. I went to work after that sweaty experience and some of my coworkers asked if my wife had beaten me b/c I had a black bruise on my right cheek? I told them I wasn’t in any fights lately and proceeded to the restroom to checkout the bruise. It was the black anodizing of the metal cheek peice of the Shorty combined with my sweaty cheek oils that slightly marked my right cheek. I’m not sure what happened here, maybe the cheek peice was anodized incorrectly? I will probably fix this issue with some black c/f wrap over that area which is also good to combat the 20 degree temps we have down here. I can’t wait for the 110 degree weather to come, wrong, we’re going feel like the Texas armpit. Well, thats it for my minor issues. Now on to the positives. This bullpup has the bigger white face pressure gauge which is easier to read compared to my .25 Vulcan “glow in the dark” smaller gauge. Not to put my .25 Vulcan down, she still shoots amazing accurate ropes. I read the guages off my fill tank assembly anyways. All components seem solid, smooth, and precise on this gun. The 6″ shroud does a very efficient quiet job on fire report with 19g H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme, 18g JSB’s and is a tad bit louder w/ 13.4g Falcons (1 of the more accurate pellets), but overall this pup is my quietest .22 gun I’ve owned (Yes, she’s even quieter than my .22 Colibri). This is so far the ultimate “backyard friendly straight out of the box” gun in my opinion w/ no supertunes from anyone. Because I mainly hunt with my guns, I wanted to protect the shroud and fill twist cover from scratches and dents w/ black c/f wrap.
I wanted to see if she can be even more silent so I added a John Hagan LDC adaptor and a Donny Du 2 1/2″ Carbon Fiber LDC which makes the fire report a tad bit quieter.
I did notice something new while installing the JH adaptor, inside the round baffles were filled with glue and a green brio material (see picure).
I’m pretty sure it’s to further dampen report. Air fills are very simple, I fill to 250 bar and shoot down to 150 bar giving me about 3 1/2 to 4 magazines on a full fill depending on pellet size. This gun is shooting 845-849 fps with 13.4g Falcon pellets straight from the tin (no washing, lubing, sizing, weighing of pellets) which is giving me an easy 1/4″ ctc & about 21-22 lbs of energy. The paper target bulls were 1/4″ dots. The very smooth side-lever action looks very similar to a Cricket (which I’ve never owned) side lever, and it takes very little effort to pull backwards to cock the action. Forward loading a pellet is just as simple, as the pellet directly feeds into looks like a brass bushing w/ an oring inside of it. I shoot right handed & the cocking lever being on the right hand side is second nature to me when hunting, meaning I do not have to look at the cocking action while performing it, so I can keep my eyes on the critter. Feeling the pellet connecting with the rifling, instantly reveals a loose fit or an overly tight shot. Quality & trigger design is truely amazing on a pup of this class. The trigger action is very adjustable for many & has a superbly precise breaking point. This is my favorite trigger yet, 1st stage is set at 1/8″ & the 2nd stage is set to a release pressure of just 6 oz. Yesterday, I had a chance to complete an accuracy test w/ other pellets (18 different pellets) @ 30 yards & she did not disappoint. I hope the rest of these pics came up ok…
Over the initial 30 yards zero range, tight clover leaf clusters were easily achieved, with many c-t-c readings of a 1/4″. 50 & 100 yard results will come later when time permits. 5 shots per group and most were covered up by a dime easily. I was shooting off my Caldwell tackdriver front bag and a rear rest bag while sitting down. Iād say about 5 or 6 pellets were about 1/4″ c-t-c at 30 yards. Those 5 or 6 will be tested at 50 & 100 yards soon. Handling is excellent, being so small/light & shooting out of my truck window sill is my new favorite American past time as I mainly hunt w/ all my airguns. The black wood stock could be improved by maybe some checkering to the foregrip & trigger handle to improve overall grip. Or another option is an adjustable butt pad. As of right now, this is an awsome gun. The sheer smallness, as previously mentioned, has to be a major consideration for others. Other options for this pup would be a full Carbon Fiber shroud, to dampen report a tad bit more. For true engineering, a precise trigger & shot on shot shooting, this pup will take some serious beating. I bought the pup from Georgia Airguns from Charlie Frear and the entire 3 week wait was worth every minute. Charlie kept me updated and shipped me a shooter for sure to keep. I have no affiliation w/ Georgia Airguns. I received the Shorty with a very clean barrel (I checked) ready to shoot. Charlie gave me his tune sheet which showed me the JSB 14.3g (older grey tins) was her favorite pellet at 40 yards. Some furry friends came out to watch me yesterday morning while testing & I gave them a tiny gift. (H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme)
I received this pup 2 Thursdays ago and from what Charlie said it has a CZ barrel in her. I also took the barrel off to see if there were any CZ markings, & I did not find any. I did run 2 JSB 18.1g pellets through her w/ a wooden rod and compared the 2 pellets to my .25 CZ Vulcan barrel w/ Air Arms 25.4g pellets. The pellets from the Shorty .22 CZ barrel had less definite cuts on the pellets compared to the Vulcan .25 CZ barrel.
The Setup:
Gun: .22 Black Mutant Shorty
Scope: SWFA SS 3-15×42 FFP
Bubble level: SWFA
Scope Caps: Butler Creek
Scope Rings: A.R.M.S QD Low
Bipod Adaptor: Magpul Moe Composite 3 slot
Bipod: Atlas PSR Bipod
LDC: Donny Du 2 1/2″ custom
LDC Adaptor: John Hagan
Gun recommended to me by: DonnyFL
Most Accurate Pellets @ 30 yards so far:
1. Air Arms 18g
2. JSB 18g
3. Falcon 13.4g
4. JSB 15.8g
5. JSB 14.3g (older grey tins)
6. H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme 19g (I like heavier pellets)
7. H&N Baracuda Match 21.1g
Hopefully the wife, & 2 anklebiters will let me have some peace and quiet time to stretch her arms out soon enough.
Thanks all for viewing…
All Replies
Secoda,…hahah…you know Donnys “stuff” is super quiet & very effective no matter what size he’s working with…hahah…
Rearsprocket,…you stated “How are the 15.9 groups, I still cant open the image?”
The JSB 15.8g pellets are grouping I’d say about 1/4″ c-t-c. I just prefer heavier pellets over the lighter pellets. Send me a pm of your email/cell & I can email/text some detailed pics to you.
You also mentioned,…”Seems weird the 18gr pellets are grouping better than the 15.9s at the lower speed?”
All I can say is all Shorty “cz barrels” are different and my magic pellet may or may not work in your barrel. Thats why Im testing more pellets to come and hopefully this information will help everyone else have less headaches. If you would like some Air Arms 18g pellets let me know, I can send you some for free to test…
Lastly, you mentioned,…I don’t have any heavies, but do have a lot of 15.9s. Seems I may need to buy some AA Field Heavies?
See the above response…
:whistle:
So let me get this straight. The 2-1/2″er is Donny’s? :suprisedn:
Rearsprocket,
Your question 1st question, “You can’t see the o-ring from the loading port can you?
Yes, you can see oring inside the brass bushing where you load the magazine at. (see pictures)
Your 2nd question, “The brass piece is suppose to be installed with the o-ring facing forward and against the rear of the barrel IIRC ?
I’m not sure about this question but from what I see the rear of the cz barrel butts up against the brass bushing w/ the oring inside of her. The oring seals the pellet loading probe for a smooth tight seal before firing.
Your 3rd statement, “please try some JSB Jumbo 5.52 15.9s in your new Mutant.”
If you view the “#3″ 1/4” bull target right above the horizontal arrows on the target sheet, I wrote JSB 15.8g
Secoda,
Your question, “I sure don’t want my shorty any longer (lol) but I like that carbon fiber look. Is it real or wrap?”
I wrapped my shroud and fill twist knob with a carbon fiber wrap for protection from scratches against everything. The genuine 2 1/2″ carbon fiber custom LDC is the “Real Deal Hollifield” and was made by your favorite Asian Temptation, Mr. Donny Du. If you ask nicely, he might “Du” one for you.
It is the perfect size as it is. š I have longer guns. š
Looks like wrap to me
I sure don’t want my shorty any longer (lol) but I like that carbon fiber look. Is it real or wrap?
Kabuki Congrats on the new Shorty, nice shooting to. I have a question for you about this part of your post, “Forward loading a pellet is just as simple, as the pellet directly feeds into looks like a brass bushing w/ an oring inside of it.” You can’t see the o-ring from the loading port can you ? The brass piece is suppose to be installed with the o-ring facing forward and against the rear of the barrel IIRC ?
Also very impressive post, please try some JSB Jumbo 5.52 15.9s in your new Mutant.
Yes, I have always expressed that with customers. You can spend all that extra money on additional mods but what are you going to do about that pellet strike, especially out of a .25.
Just my .02 cents
Charlie Frear
Last weekend I got to shoot my buddies heavily suppressed 300 AAC Blackout sending a 220 grain bullet at 1010 fps for about 500 fpe. (btw – perfectly legal with the proper Fed background check and fee paid and becoming popular (suppressors) in my state). The noise is a strange vacuum sound but there is no quieting that bullet impact in most cases.
My Short Mutant is really more than quiet enough until you can mute that pellet impact on pests. š
Yep – I have seen some stainless steel wool or scotchbrite or brillo looking materials used before in LDC’s. Also, fiberglass and Woolen. Huggett uses a stainless or aluminum mesh in the back of his shrouds.
Just so you guys know. The green material is scotchbrite scrubber pad, when I was experimenting with that LDC I found that space. I decided to put in a sound absorbing material to see if I could quiet things a little more. It seemed to help a small bit, I don’t think it be would worth it to put it in future mods. Some people say steel wool if used properly is very effective in a mod, maybe I will try that some day.
Thanks
Charlie Frear
I’ll check the baffles. I have some pictures where a 30 cal jsb stuck whats left of a bird to the side of a clear plastic feeder. 75 fpe blows them up.
Are we talking chickadee Olympics here? :suprisedn:
To All,…Thanks for the welcome. I believe that we are all BLESSED to have at least 1 airgun we all want. If we have more, then we are truely BLESSED. I also see myself as being a free agent exterminator. For some reason I enjoy seeing critters flip flopping around doing the “DD” (death dance). I’m not sure if this is normal or a disease or what?…Family/friends/neighbors/coworkers call me all the time to rid their critter problems. Today’s victims from the Short One..
Greg,…Air Arms pellets to me seem cleaner meaning less lead dust on the pellets and less lead dust stuck to the inside of the tin cans, & less flashing (tiny lead flakes from the skirts) compared to the JSB tins Ive seen. I always wash/lube the .25 AA pellets for the .25 Vulcan & in return they hit hard wherever I lay my crosshairs. Plus, to me a washed/lubed pellet will be guided into the entrance of the barrel more smoothly, & will less likely nick/cut the oring as the pellet passes b/c of the lube. When I tested the AA 18g in the Shorty, they were straight from the tin which really surprised me. I’ll prob try the wash/lube method next with a few AA 18g & see what happens.
Endo,…Haha…Texans never know what the temperature will be like tomorrow…We just had some baseball size hail destroying everthing in its path 2 weeks ago. This coming week, the weather forecasters said heavy thunder/lighting/rain this entire week, plus tornado season is here too. I can’t wait for winter to come any sooner.
Secoda,….Let me know if your shroud baffles have that green brio/glue sound dampner material in them, since you received your Shorty from Charlie correct?…
Yes, those H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme pellets look down right mean to me. The huge “+” on the top of that pellet means “X” marks the spot & something is about to die. I can imagine that huge “+” just grabbing/ripping/breaking tissue/bone as she penatrates/passes through things. Polymags & these Extremes are a devistating force to be recon with. Here’s a pic of a victim shot w/ my Colibri/16g Polymag/~28 lbs energy @ 43 meters out…in one & out the other…(you can see the red tip next to her eye socket in the exit wound pic). I was like “what the fish just happened?” after I shot her…
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I have tested about every pellet you mentioned but the Extremes and a few others with no luck other that the 15.9s, 18.1s, and to a lessor extent the Kodiaks. I will post if I get a hit on a good one as well. I actually counted 14 types of .22 pellets on the shelf so I have a few more to test.
If I didn’t have the old label 18.1s in such quantities I would order the AAs or Eddies. Mine shoots the 15.9s and 18.1 pretty closely (accuracy wise) and very well. At the same setting the 18.1s are slightly more efficient on energy so I stick with them. I am primarily pesting and shoot paper only to accomplish better pesting. lol Nothing has outrun the 800 fps yet. š
Donny is the man on LDC’s.