Let’s talk a little bit about ST barrels

Of course I would, if the gun–and not the barrel itself–interests me enough or fills the need(s) I might have. Plus, I always like to try new stuff out. In fact, the Impact has caught my sight (no pun intended) and also the Mutant short version.

Thank you Ginuwine! As long as I can share my real-world experience and as much factual information to help toss out a lot of fluff out there, I’ll continue to do so since I feel that it’ll benefit me as an airgunner, in addition to benefitting others as well.

I hope all is well with your shooting.

Cheers!

That’s the problem right there for me, Cricket; that is, not believing too much of what I see on the internet. What do I know about the skill level of the shooter behind the smooth twist barrel or even a barrel of another brand? I’ve seen pellet spirals from LW and CZ barrels also, including mine when my technique is off. When correct technique is administered, however, they zing in a straight line and track beautifully along the vertical strand of the reticle. I’ve confirmed this many, many times. Additionally, and this is just my opinion, typical scopecams cannot reveal the micromovements that occur immediately after a shot. You’d need a camera that can record at a very high framerate to watch ultra-slowmotion videos of the events that take place during a shot cycle. Seeing the pellet and behavior of the reticle once the pellet comes into the picture is way too late to determine what influenced its trajectory.

I’ve seen them many times at the range: shooters with high-dollar rifles and ultra-stable and pricey benchrest equipment who cannot place 10 rounds within a quarter-inch bullseye. And that’s at 30 yards in perfect conditions! I totally understand, though, that there can be barrels–smooth twist or not–that have severe manufacturing defects that can cause spirals. But even with these, I’d be more inclined to check for human error first and foremost.

Cheers!

With all due respect to the original poster and those who have posted on this thread, I would like to provide my sincere opinion regarding FX’s smooth twist barrel in comparison to the other barrels from those made by Lothar Walther (LW) and CZ, just to name two of the more prominent air gun barrels.

Let me start by first stating that I’ve never had any experience with a smooth twist barrel. So whatever is stated here about them should be taken as complete conjecture on my part. I will say, however, that I have plenty of firsthand experience shooting LW and CZ barrels, including an LW barrel that has had its crown rammed with a metal rod and mildly disfigured with a dremel using a coarse grinding stone. (I’ll come back to this later.) At least between an LW and CZ barrel, if asked any or both of the questions, “Which is superior?” or “Which is more accurate?” I will say that both are. And I am almost positive that I will say the same for the smooth twist barrel as well.

To understand the trajectory of a pellet is to have a profound understanding of and have what it takes to launching it on a straight flight path. Circumventers need not apply, and I expect that such people will never be able to reach a high level of accuracy in their shooting. At any rate, while it’s true that a pellet’s imperfections—especially when it happens to have an internal hollow spot from a manufacturing fault—might play a key role in spiraling, it is only when it has traveled far enough that this problem will become manifested because the pellet has lost all of its stability as a result of a diminished rate of spin and that the hollow area has greatly exacerbated the angle of flight. Shoot it before this happens, however, and you should be golden. (Suffice it to say, it’s why pellet design and velocity is crucial to factor in when shooting at long distances.) However, I am talking about distances no greater than, say, 60 yards at the least. Even when it is shot at less than 12 FPE, a good dome pellet is still stable enough to fly straight up to this distance given the right conditions. I know this because I’ve observed it many times over.

So what is one of the main reasons why pellets spiral? I say with confidence that it is shooter error. What’s the remedy to correct it? Technique. Technique. Technique. How do you obtain the correct technique? Practice. Practice. Practice.

Here’s the reason for my optimism and why I say this. My method of verifying whether my technique is correct is by firing a pellet at around a 35-degree incline towards the sky, with the sunlight behind my back. Please note that I do this knowing where my pellet will land and, more importantly, what lies in the distance. Also, my scope’s focus setting is at 26 yards; this gives a good compromise in that I am able to view the pellet’s flight clearly at said distance as well as be able to still see it (although the image is a bit fuzzy) as it flies further beyond that distance. I say this emphatically: every time I see the pellet fly crooked or not in line with the vertical strand of the reticle it is my technique that’s to blame, mainly trigger control.

It’s easy, and very much understandable, to say to yourself, “I know it’s not my fault because I’ve kept my scope’s crosshairs fixed on the point-of-aim until the shot broke.” But what really matters at the end of the day is that the pellet will fly in the direction the barrel was last pointing at, and almost too often, according to what it has gone through. It is your technique—most especially trigger control—whether correct or not, that will determine your pellet’s point of impact. Blaming is easy. Shooting, on the other hand, isn’t. But, if you’re up to the challenge, precision shooting can become extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I know I’m going off-tangent here, but I’m just trying to drive home the general idea.

After years of practice and dedication to refining my technique, I discovered that no matter what pellets were used, as long as they were properly sized to fit the bore, they flew straight (at least up to 60 yards, since I can’t see the tiny pellets through my scope as they travel further) when time was spent on carefully preparing to launch them. This is why I always say technique trumps everything when it comes to precision shooting and that everything else should be secondary. Yes, a good barrel is a wonderful thing to have, but it shouldn’t be used as a basis for rating a rifle’s accuracy, or lack of it, rather.

So, let me go back to the LW barrel that I mentioned earlier. To make a long story short, even with its crown being oh-so-less-than-stellar, it still performed excellently (and identically) as the CZ barrel on my Cricket. Please note that this was discovered after many years of practice and from tin upon tins of pellets. Of course, this was also after being supremely angry at it for the mysterious flyers, and yes, spirals too, that it used to produce. My LW barrel has been through so much deep-throated oral abuse (at the muzzle) from a cleaning rod I thought it should be retired from the industry, of shooting, that is. LOL!

When I stated earlier that a pellet’s flight can also be affected according to what it has gone through, I meant that even if it very lightly taps a baffle or the endcap of a shroud on its way to freedom, for example, it will eventually fly crooked after it has traveled past a certain distance. Sometimes, it can spiral within a few yards from the muzzle. Any faint contact the pellet has with something while en route to its intended destination is going to make its path like that of the famed portion of Lombard Street in San Francisco. This is why correct technique is so important to administer because it eliminates this.

Anyway, I’ll end my thoughts here. Cheers and shoot safe everyone!

quote Ginuwine:

quote keyser soze:

What I have a hard time reconciling is when I look at 100 meter matches around the world I do not see as many FX guns in the winner’s column like seen at the AoA EBR. I wonder why?

Great point Keyser soze, I watched BWalton at a match in SoCal and only saw 2 FX out of 20-30 guns, a lot of target guns with little to no Butt stocks on them coming from The Phoenix Arizona club. Maybe it IS a location thing covet the things we see every day. :confusedn:

Joe those are the new Thomas, the new kid on the block for FT matches, for what I heard this rifles are very very accurate, it seems the owner found the best barrel speed and pellet formula, but he didn’t do well with the looks, specially the color…pink!! :rofl:
I just watched the video too and iam agree with Keizer, interesting!!! :whistle: you hardly see any FX airguns, but this doesn’t take away what Ted did on the EBR.

I shot a .25 Royale for years and there was a huge difference after Ernest did some work on it. Originally, it was shooting around 870 fps and the occasional pellet wobble was visible. After the st barrel was polished and the speed increased to 895-900, accuracy improved and I rarely saw pellet wobble.

I wasn’t shooting past 70 yds, but if it’s more accurate closer in, it’s more accurate farther out. I traded the Royale mostly because it was a bit long to maneuver in the brush out here.

For me ………. it seems there are good/superb barrels in all brands …………
If u’re luck or are fixed to be lucky in getting a freak of nature, then u’re a worthily one of a particular kind.

~ Greg

Any test that only includes one of each barrel is meaningless for various reasons but the most obvious being that no two barrels are the same, even if they are both LW or ST.

Any ST, LW, CZ, BSA or TJ barrel might be excellent, average or suck. This is why you get people claiming that each one is the most accurate in their experience.

Whether you like the ST design or not, there is no denying that some people have accurate FX guns. Similarly, some people have FX guns with ST barrels that have disappointed them. The same could be said for any of the good air gun barrel brands.

Some people claim LW barrels are the best. Just last week I sent back an expensive gun with a LW barrel that sucked big time. It was poorly machined and my experience has been that this plays just as bigger part in accuracy as the barrel’s brand. Btw, most of my experience with LW barrels has been good.

Poor machining can ruin the best barrels while good machine work (and tuning) can deliver great results from barrels that are generally thought to be distinctly average.