Just bought a Condor any advice for the new guy?
been shooting marauder .22 for over a year accuracy ok just wanted more pep ya know.I was on the fence about shelling out 675 for pellet rifle. I am super cheap skate and pa doesn’t accept coupons for air force, so I sent an email griping about it and the very next day a refurbed spinlock .20 condor for 449.00. it shows no signs of wear and appears to function very very well. I have never been so pleased with anything ive ever bought period. but I have some questions about it…1 the tophat will turn about a 1/4 inch either way is that normal also ive been shooting the eunjins in 23.7 configuration not many .20 pellets to choose from are the any that shoot better than the eun jin?
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wow eleven views and no one has any advice? well heres some more questions maybe someone can answer. if you have rls .257 barrel machined to shoot cast bullets will it still shoot pellets? will it shoot bullets with a stock valve? would I be better off with just an airforce .25 barrel? I just want more power without sacrificing accuracy and powder burners are out of the question. and why does the escape make 97 fpe and the condor only 60 in stock form. would a talon p spinlock tank give me more power than the hi flo? would a 23grn .20 pellet shoot straight at 97 fpe? I am also having some inconsistency at 110 yrds 30 to 50 and its hit, but at 110 its hit and miss it hasn’t been windy either.
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Hello, welcome to the Forums and Congrats on your new Airforce. I can’t say that I have too many answers for you. I can give you a few thoughts or opinions and you might research it a bit further.
As far as the .20 ammo, you are correct there isnt alot of fodder avail. I imagine not alot of shooters using this caliber. So you are likely going to have to sample much of the variety yourself and report what works best for you. This might be your opprotunity to contribute to the forum and share your experiences. If your caliber is similiar to other calibers, you should have accuracy up to 100 hundred yards pretty well within the performance of a stock airforce setup. I found that my experience with the .177 was that it was very easy to blast the pellets too fast especially beyond the sonic barrier. SuperSonic pellets can be accurate at the short distances but usually open up and get inaccurate /inconsistient at distances much over 40yrds. Try different pellets too. It is usually obvious that heavy pellets fly slower and go the distance better with greater follow through but more trajectory. Also you mentioned your tophat. The tophat does allow for adjustment in about the range you have described but it has two set screws to lock it into position. The length of the tophat measured by the gap will adjust the the total travel possible for the valve to open. The greatest change of velocity occurs here. The top hat has twin setscrews tolock this adjustment. If the tophat Iisnt locked you will have Iinconsistient groups. Use locktite but dont overtighten as you can deform the valve stem and ruin it. As for the escape valve being more powerful? I am not sure what is the story. If it is indeed it probably to make up for the shorter barrel. All airforce platforms produce adequate air for shooting pellets.
RL’s .257 vs 25 barrel? If you want to shoot .25 pellets accurately with a commercially available off the shelf valve, its going to be very difficult to beat the stock AF WL choked pellet barrel. The RL barrel is unchoked and designed for bullets. I dont care what anyone says, my opinion is that to shoot bullets you are going to need a custom tuned and blueprinted valve from the very start..There really isnt anyway to do this on the cheap and it requires alot more than a valve and a a barrel. Performance vs dollar you are best off with stock pellet platform. If you are truly interested in unlimited “F1” hotrod performance and into tinkering and think you have the total dedication to involve yourself beyond just your wallet, then go ahead and start your research now and take some time before throwing money into it. If you cant possibly own a powder burner and want that kind of performance, you will have to put forth alot of the effort but the returns on those efforts are huge! There really isnt a totally turnkey solution, even if you throw alot of money at it, you will have to put in something to get anything out of it. I enjoy my .257 and love the attention that I get from others at the range shooting firearms when they look on in disbelief that I am using an air rifle. Also consider that shooting bullets is usuallybonly appropriate and safe to shoot only in the same places as firearms are safe or allowed. This is for all practical purposes indeed a firearm. To shoot legally and responsibly where I live means I have no other choice but to shoot alongside firearms . For some firearms are a legal liability that can put yourself on thin ice . You might put yourself in a position of explaining alot of technicalities that might just end up having to “tell it to the judge” . Nobody in their right mind wants to be a test case, and the sport is enjoying itself currently flying under the radar….. nuff said.