EDgun Matador R3 versus Kalibr Cricket, my comparison….
Hi guys,
Warning for those who don’t like images:
This is going to be a thread with lots of graphics….. 😉
As promised, I’ll try to share with you my personal opinion and findings while comparing these beauties:
As some of you may know, I have two Matador Std R3s and I have one Cricket (with access to another one). All are cal.22……
My wait for my Matadors should be well documented on this very forum…..
The Crickets were a part of a group buy masterminded from Europe somewhere. The Crickets were shipped in parts to Norway and reassembled by my good blueprinting friend Egon Olsen. In the process he had to remove a “restrictor” screw that had been put into the guns before shipment. Most probably because of Power limitation rules at origin….
The Crickets arrived with no documents whatsoever. No instructions, – no nothing. I don’t think this is standard procedure though…..
The Cricket weighs less than the R3, – and is approx 5 cm shorter. Not a lot, – but overall it makes the Cricket even easier to handle than the already tiny R3….
The side by side comparison was done from my modest little shooting table at my summerhouse:
– and the shooting range is here, – with my target set up at 46mts:
Why 46 mts ? Simply because I could not pull my shooting stand further back right now. A huge tree has fallen during winter, and all the branches have taken up my space… 👿
First problem: How to fill the f…. Cricket ?
The fillprobe nut is so tiny that a standard foster coupling gasket will not seal. The entire probe is small, – and you fear you may break it while trying to tighten it:
The above (sorry for the image quality) is a comparison between ED’s, Cricket’s and Falcon’s fill probes. You can probably see what I mean….
As I could not make a standard Fostergasket fit, Egon had to make special gaskets that we fitted into the Foster coupling itself. Not an ideal solution, – and I have no clue how long it will last…….. 🙄
On the fill probe: Matador 1, Cricket 0 points.
Air filling:
I honestly dont like any of the solutions that these two manufacturers have chosen………..
The Cricket people have come up with the worst. To expose the hole for the fillprobe, – you have to slide forward the tip of the reservoir. But that stupid tip is retained by a spring, – and slides back with a smack once you let go:
If you’re not careful when taking the fillprobe back out, the tip will spring back and ruin the fill probe O-rings faster than I can say my name….
While filling, the “tip” rests on the previously mentioned small nut. And there’s not a lot clearance. So a bigger nut (for those with lathe skills), – is not going to help you much. A thicker nut might…….
In short: A very stupid filling system, – BUT once you know how to operate it and care is taken, – at least it covers the hole when filling is over.
The Matador does not come with anything to cover the filling hole at all:
I use tape right now, – but a plug of some sort would be good….. 😉
My preferred system would be that of Falcon:
The tip of the reservoir has been turned into a curled “collar” that you rotate to expose the hole. Simple, easy and effective. And few moving parts that may break or go astray……….
Now, I have no idea how much air I can fill into the Cricket, – and the gun gauge certainly does not help much:
I trust the gauge on my fillkit, – and 3000 psi is roughly on the border between green and yellow…….
Points for airfill procedure: Matador 1, Cricket 0. In my opinion….. 😉
Cheers from Trygve 😀
To be continued……….. 😀
(if you so desire…… 😳 )
All Replies
Since the reg rear down, I have hasd a few thoughts and observations that I wanted to get off my mind.
I have seen a few post about how much power can an Edgun make or if an Edgun could be hot rodded.
The parts all looks very familiar.
On the left 2nd item in, a spring washer pack (belleville washers), just like whats in a paintball tank. . Seems to me it would be easy to add a spacer or another washer in there to up the reg pressure.
On the right 2nd item left. The hammer pin/air jet with return spring.(don’t know name of part), part with return spring on it.
The spring…does the same job as the valve return spring inside our beloved AF tanks. Whats the AF trick..loosen the spring via retaining nut.
A weaker spring here ??
I dont know why but the above just jumped out at me. I have no will to hotrod my Edgun, but if one wanted to upgrade a .22 gun with a .25 barrel or MORE? and more power..it looks do-able to me.
Other observation…all the parts above screw together..from left to right, 3 joints. I won’t say these parts were loose, but they all un-screwed easily with my hands..no tools needed. I was surprised just how easy.
I’m no design expert, but I see this as a possible weak spot. If any one of these joints worked loose, then….?
I was really surprised they was no locktite at these joints. When I put mine back together, I wrapped both ends in 10 layers of tape on both ends, then tweaked them all together with pliers.
Enough of my rant..
(Zoco) – I used a little divers silicon on all the orings. But the whole assembly was already coated pretty heavy with a clear grease.
WE need Cricket shot strings…
What did you use to adjust the hammer spring on your cricket? A pic would be nice.
This:
No clue what they call it in English……. 😉
Cheers 😀
We call them snap ring pliers. Thanks.
What did you use to adjust the hammer spring on your cricket? A pic would be nice.
This:
No clue what they call it in English……. 😉
Cheers 😀
Zocoloco,
What did you use to adjust the hammer spring on your cricket? A pic would be nice.
[video src="http://s931.photobucket.com/albums/ad154/adamb007/STEALTH%20SNIPER%20%20BSA%20BARREL/?action=view¤t=STEALTHSHOOTING80YARDSONESHOTONEKILL.mp4" /]
that beer top looks around 40mm ?? me and my talondor is good for that 😎 never mind a cricket,,, IL AV A GO WHEN WEATHER PERMITTS
hoot dont bother with the $5 send me some brownies, 😉
Nope, the beer cap is 25mm in diameter, so about an Inch.
Anyway, don’t want to deviate from the thread. It was more about my Matador crony string which unfortunately I haven’t been able to upload.
Nice shot man,KUDO,S FOR SURE, 😎 😉 ,,,i can hit a 8mm target sticker at 80 yards first time!!with a 3x9x50/talondor,,,HERE IS THE VID,, 😉
[video src="http://s931.photobucket.com/albums/ad154/adamb007/STEALTH%20SNIPER%20%20BSA%20BARREL/?action=view¤t=STEALTHSHOOTING80YARDSONESHOTONEKILL.mp4" /]
that beer top looks around 40mm ?? me and my talondor is good for that 😎 never mind a cricket,,, IL AV A GO WHEN WEATHER PERMITTS
hoot dont bother with the $5 send me some brownies, 😉
That’s hitting a beer bottle cap at a distance 100 feet+ beyond the length of a football field!!!!
………..
I don’t think I could even see that small a target with my 8X25-44 scope…”herbed out” or sober!!!
I believe the guy, but cripes, even when he missed he was just aiming high. All he did was come down a mildot or two and bingo! That’s pretty incredible!
I will personally send $5.00 USD, cash, to a Cricket owner who can duplicate that feat with two shots at twilight. (offer good only on second Tuesday of the first week in January, for the first posted shooter)
Confused as usual:
H 😯 😯 T ………. 
“No sheep were harmed in the production of this photo!”
…and now, back to your regularly scheduled topic:
WHAT? Beer cap?? 144 meters??? In the dark???? Second shot!!!!! :whoop:
Take your caster oil, wash your mouth out with soap, and go to bed immediately….
H 😯 😯 T
Maybe my grammar isn’t clear. I didn’t shoot it “In the dark”. I used what light was left (it was getting dark, dusk, twilight, whatever one wants to call it) and in that light shot the cap. By the time I walked there to take a picture, the camera needed a flash to capture it.
When I say beer cap, I don’t mean a beer tab. We have twist off tops on beer bottles here. At that distance the pellet didn’t pass through the cap/top, just dented it badly. The fist pellet which hit the fence post barely sunk past the pellet skirt into the wood.
PM me your e-mail address and I’ll e-mail you the picture.
Or you can see it here with picture uploaded: http://www.airrifle.co.za/showthread.php?p=455547#post455547
Hey Stoner, just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas!! Have your lead ready, day after tomarrow for that SOB, when he comes down your chimney to steal your stash.
WHAT? Beer cap?? 144 meters??? In the dark???? Second shot!!!!! :whoop:
Take your caster oil, wash your mouth out with soap, and go to bed immediately….
H 😯 😯 T
I have an older Matador R2.5 that I had tuned by a local PCP guy here in CPT. I tried to upload the Chrony Strings to show the difference, but wasn’t able to for some reason.
Anyway, pre-tune wasn’t looking so great, post-tune delivered a very consistent 73 shots at 860fps with JSB 18’s and the same in the 890fps range with JSB16’s.
After reading through this thread in detail, I decided to take the Matador out for some paper testing to see if anything had changed since setting it up about a year ago. I found that many 1000’s of shot’s later, it’s still right on target in 5m increments from 40m – 95m according to the turret markings I’ve made on my Bushnell Elite Tactical 6-24 Turret.
I started running out of light at the 95m mark and decided to use what was left to check a farther plinking shot at a beer bottle cap I had set on a post ranged at 144 meters. I managed to hit it 2nd attempt, the 1st shot being a little high and to the right. On that happy note I decided to call it a night 😉
Trygve; I have been following your trials and tribulations using my Iphone. The keyboard is so small on the Iphone that I refuse to post or message unless it is absolutely necessary.
Around 2 weeks ago, I had a major desktop crash. My back up wouldn’t back up! I finally did get most of my stuff restored. What a hassle! Yasser seemed to have your situation under control and I have been trying to catch up on all of my emails and PMs.
I have been trying to get my paperwork for my shoulder injury straightened out, my first order of lead from Rotometals made it half of the way across the US and got lost 150 miles away from me at the nearest USPS hub. I had to wait 2 weeks before Rotometals would resend my lead. It took 2 days to get to the nearest hub and then they somehow managed to lose it again! It took me a couple of days dealing with the local post office, filling out forms and spending hours on the phone for them to find one of the 2 shipments. I should have my lead Fri or Sat; I think!
It started snowing around noon today. Winter storm/blizzard warnings. Got home at 3:30 PM, 2 inches of snow so far, 40 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 60 mph. Tried to log on, turned the monitor on and nothing. The computer was off also. I started the computer back up and the monitor wouldn’t work. We must have had a power outage, that shut the computer down and then a power surge that fried my monitor. All of the other electrical powered stuff in my house has survived; I think! About ¼ of the town is currently without power.
Anyhow, I had to get back out in that bullshit, drive across town to Wall Mart and buy a new monitor. Where the hell is that global warming that I keep hearing about!
OK; Never Mind! I still think that you need to turn your reg down just a little (clockwise on the adjusting screw), turn the HST out 1 ½- 2 turns and then shoot and adjust until you get the highest speed. If the highest speed is too high, the reg needs turned down a little more.
I don’t know anything about regulator creep. I have never heard of it before now. HOOT thinks that you might have a blown O ring in the reg or, something is damaged in it.
If you have a damaged/worn O ring in the reg, the gun will bleed off thru the very small port in the bottom of the air tube. The Matador will lose a full fill overnight. The way to check for that is to remove the stock and the trigger assembly from the air tube. Once you have all of that off, look for the VERY small hole in the underside of the air tube. It is about 9” from the breech end of the air tube.
If the air tube is charged, put a dab of dish washing soap over the hole and watch for any bubbles. If you have a bad reg O ring, you will see the bubbles very quickly.
Again; I think that you need to adjust the reg down a little and then adjust the HST. I know that it sounds like a lot of work and a big hassle! It isn’t that bad and I am willing to bet $1.00 that you might end up enjoying doing it!
I currently think that you have adjusted the HST screw so many times that you have lost all prospective of where you started and that you are just grasping at straws.
The win win for you adjusting the reg is: you will now fully understand the workings of your Matadors!
Ed has posted that he designed the Matador so that an owner could easily do his own maintenance on the gun without any special tools. I have been into all of my Matadors and a couple of other people’s guns.
I think that Ed got it right!
The wind right now sounds like a freight train going by!
Time for Betsy and bed! 😯 🙂
😆 😆 😆
Thank you honorable friend Hoot……. 😀
Offer much appreciated !!!!
That said, in the absence of Master ED’s wise comments and logical answers, I’m tempted to try to duplicate my findings by testing my other R3 no 2855 the same way….
Takes a lot of shooting I know, – but I’m curious…..
If I cannot duplicate, it would be fun switching the the two regulators to see what happens….. 😉
I guess OG is too busy with his Betsy (thats her name isn’t, – the goat I mean ?) trying to give her her long overdue physical relief. Hopefully he will manage before too long as I would indeed appreciate his wise input too into this matter…….. 😀
If he’s unable to participate because of his important task with Betsy, I take it you’ll volunteer to temporarily substitute him so he can freely concentrate on more important matters……
In that case the 1-dollar bill will be returned with my signature……
Back to bed…….
A partial or limited “regulator creep” where the reg starts by leaking into the valve chamber as long as the reservoir pressure is above a certain number of bars, – but is able to close the door at a lower pressure, would still provide a “valve-lock” at the begiining of the string and thus lower fps. Once the point is reached where the reg is able to control the airstream properly, – the string would be flat from there on until the reg comes off…….
Again I cannot see such a pattern in my strings…… 🙄
Meaning what……….. ???
PS: Hoot, – you’ve always been a genius. Haven’t you ??? :3:
Erratic behavior in any complex mechanical instrument is an indication that a piece part has failed, or is not performing according to design.
It should be very difficult to diagnose how the failure will behave, if we don’t what piece is broken.
We should expect “off and on””, and unpredictable behavior, resultant from the broken part not being able to perform it’s job within the instrument.
If you take them apart, and do not find a physical failure, I will send you one American dollar ($1.00) via mail.
Kindest regards,
Saintly ‘Ol Uncle H 😯 😯 T
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OG, its Naser, Zoco, its Naser, is it that hard 😀
Mrnewbie, you don’t locktite, cause the higher pressure pushes them behind the regulator which makes sure it doesn’t become loose.
The.22 edgun can be modified to accommodate the .25 by turning the regulator higher but what’s also needed is increasing the plenum chamber to at least 40cc the one that is between the regulator & the valve in your picture, other wise you will have to go really high on the regulator, a general rule for a plenum chamber is 1cc/fpe.
So assuming ur going to be shooting the JSB 25.4 grain @ 900fps that would be around 45 fpe, a 40-45cc would defiantly help in not going really high with the regulator, but that’s not all, the transfer port, inlet valve etc, all has to be sized too.
I’m not saying the default won’t do, but lets just say it won’t be efficient or might be stressed etc…