Suggestions / tuning Leshiy for lower energy for rats
Lately I’ve been having a bit of a rat problem around the house thanks to an unmaintained 2 acres attached to a vacant house behind me that became overgrown. I borrowed a tractor and disked the field, but the rats have moved in. My .25 R3M long at 48 ft-lbs is just too nasty to use around the shop (how’d that hole get in the roof, anyways?)
I have been using an LED headlamp in combination with my IZH-46 at night and it gets the job done, but it’s not ideal… I see the rat issues as a good excuse for a new gun.
Been thinking that a Leshiy in .25 set down to around 500-525fps (about 15 ft-lbs) would do a great job and not be too hard on the siding and the roof of the shop in the event of a miss or if it passes through the rat. I’m not opposed to going .20 or .22, but I think the big .25 pellets moving slowly will probably do less damage to the siding, roof, or wood in the event of a miss or pass-through.
Also thinking about buying a Huma regulator for the extra shots. For those in the know, would the 12 ft-lb Huma reg with the small plenum and matching valve spring be the preferred setup for the energy level I have in mind? Huma says the 12 ft-lb kit with the small plenum can go up to 21 ft-lbs in .22. I think I’d also want the regular sized plenum too for those times I want to shoot it at higher power. I’m just not sure if the standard kit’s larger plenum at a lower regulator pressure or the smaller 12 ft-lb plenum at a higher regulator pressure will be the most air efficient at the 15 ft-lb level.
Thoughts? Is .22 or .25 the way to go for what I have in mind, and what regulator setup would work best?
Thanks!
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The 12 ft-lb Huma plenum and spring kit arrived today. Changing the hammer spring is really simple, Ed sure made the Leshiy easy to work on…
You need to cut the plastic side of your valve shorter for the small Huma 12 ft-lb plenum, and if you’re cutting a new/spare valve you must also cut the metal rod that contacts the hammer as they’re shipped long and need to be cut to fit. On my original valve the metal rod was cut flush with the air tube hinge block, so I matched that length with the new valve and put a very slight chamfer on the edge so it wouldn’t scratch up the bronze valve guide when inserting the new valve.
For initial testing I’m using the Huma reduced power hammer spring, the 12 ft-lb plenum *without* the delrin volume reducer installed (since I’m wanting more than 12 ft-lb out of the rifle), and the regulator set to 110 bar to start.
Turned the backyard lights on, put my headlamp on, set up the Labradar, and shot in the dark…
With the HST backed all the way out the gun shoots the 18.1gr JSB’s at 275fps. Funny to see how slow they fly from the gun to the target with the light of the headlamp reflecting off the pellet skirt, LOL!
Here’s 18.1gr JSB velocity vs HST clicks at 110bar regulator pressure…
HST all the way backed off = 275fps (3 ft/lb, LOL!)
5 clicks = 355fps
10 clicks = 452 fps
15 clicks = 541 fps
20 clicks = 630 fps
23 clicks = 685 fps
25 clicks = 695 fps
27 clicks = 710 fps (20.2 ft/lb, 110 bar regulator peak velocity)
29 clicks – 695 fps (past the first velocity peak for 110 bar regulator setting, you can easily hear the extra noise from the wasted air on each shot– don’t need the EDMU statistics to tell me that!)
First thoughts– the reduced power hammer spring is great. With the original hammer spring and the regulator at 110 bar, it only took 10 clicks in to reach the first velocity peak… not much adjustment range with the stock hammer spring and <130 bar regulator pressure. With the reduced power hammer spring it now takes 27 clicks to hit the velocity peak at 110 bar regulator pressure, a much broader adjustment range… and being able to shoot down to 275fps / 3 ft/lb with the HST all the way backed out is stupid quiet and good for a laugh. 😛
So 110 bar on the regulator without the delrin volume reducer in the plenum would be “ideal” at about 695fps. For my target velocity of 600fps I should probably drop the regulator down to 100bar or so for best efficiency, but 110bar gives the rifle an adjustment range from 275fps-700fps which is handy for how I intend to use the gun as I’ll be able to dial up and down from my “normal” 600fps.
19 clicks in on the HST gave a very consistent 605 fps. I didn’t run a full string from 250bar-110bar, but stopped after 70 shots at 19 clicks/605fps and still had 148bar in the reservoir. ES was 9 fps over those 70 shots, so the smaller plenum did indeed tighten the ES/SD at lower velocity. I figure it should manage 90 shots @ 605fps from a 250 bar fill before falling off the regulator.
I also purchased a spare valve to cut down for the 12 ft-lb plenum, and will retain the uncut original valve for the huma regular plenum and the stock plenum & regulator.
Deutsche Post is finally showing tracking updates and it’s at the Frankfurt airport. Keeping my fingers crossed it will be here by Saturday, but more likely next week.
However, with the stock hammer spring being so strong I think if I adjusted the regulator down to 90 bar (or whatever it takes to make the first velocity peak about 600fps) even with the hammer spring adjuster backed all the way out it will probably be too much hammer spring tension and will put the gun well past the first velocity peak which will just increase the valve dwell time and waste air. Right now at 110 bar regulator pressure it only takes 10 clicks in on the HST to go from all the way backed out (550fps) to the first peak of the regulator at 775fps; 10 clicks isn’t much adjustment range. The stock hammer spring is definitely optimized for higher regulator pressures (130 bar) and higher power levels than what I have in mind.
I may be able to drop down to 100bar on the regulator without being past the velocity peak with the HST backed all the way out, but I figure I’ll wait for the 12 ft-lb plenum and spring kit to arrive from Huma. Hopefully it will be here in a week or so, not sure how long things take direct from Huma. I was hoping a US dealer had the 12 ft-lb parts in stock, but there’s not much demand for the 12 ft-lb parts here in the US.
Just saw some squirrels out the window, guess I’ll head back outside… 😛
Hi Kiba
I’m currently experimenting with the 12ft/lbs reg that I purchased along with a spare valve stem, I wasn’t keen on cutting down the original one so I still have the option to fit the ED regulator back if needed and to be fair only takes minuets to do, The ideal power for my hunting needs is around the 18ft/lbs mark and still maintains a quiet audible pop
I’m filling to 300bar getting 55 consistent shots befor droping of the reg set at 110bar
I’ve a Gen 1 Leshiy .22 cal and am still getting 550fps shooting down to 50bar pressure on the gauge giving 64 shots in total
I have a 350mm barrel in .22 cal and a new digital gauge currently in transit hopefully this will be hear in the next few days and should allow me to back of the HST slightly and still achieve + on the shot count at the 18ft/lbs of energy I prefer
For such a small cylinder and the overall performance these are a pleasure to shoot when you compare this to my sons BSA ultra at 12ft/lbs energy and only 30 shots per fill they are remarkable
Looking foreword to setting up the digital gauge so I have the info to hand in the field as I much prefer hunting than shooting targets through a chrony
110 bar on the regulator is definitely too high for my desired 575-600fps range; a setting of about 760fps would be ideal with the reg at 110bar.
However, with the stock hammer spring being so strong I think if I adjusted the regulator down to 90 bar (or whatever it takes to make the first velocity peak about 600fps) even with the hammer spring adjuster backed all the way out it will probably be too much hammer spring tension and will put the gun well past the first velocity peak which will just increase the valve dwell time and waste air. Right now at 110 bar regulator pressure it only takes 10 clicks in on the HST to go from all the way backed out (550fps) to the first peak of the regulator at 775fps; 10 clicks isn’t much adjustment range. The stock hammer spring is definitely optimized for higher regulator pressures (130 bar) and higher power levels than what I have in mind.
I may be able to drop down to 100bar on the regulator without being past the velocity peak with the HST backed all the way out, but I figure I’ll wait for the 12 ft-lb plenum and spring kit to arrive from Huma. Hopefully it will be here in a week or so, not sure how long things take direct from Huma. I was hoping a US dealer had the 12 ft-lb parts in stock, but there’s not much demand for the 12 ft-lb parts here in the US.
Just saw some squirrels out the window, guess I’ll head back outside… 😛
Congrats! I like my Leshiy too. Have you run a whole string? 110 reg. setting maybe a little too high for 12 ft/lb. looking forward to see your tuning. 45 yards freehand starling shot is very impressive.
Leshiy arrived today, no wonder everyone likes them so much… what a cool little gun. Much smaller than I expected. Quite comfy to shoot. Accuracy is great. Trigger is good after swapping in a spring plunger to make it act like a two stage, it’s definitely a bit odd in stock form…
For now I put in the Huma regulator and regular size plenum and adjusted it to 110 bar. With 18.1gr JSB’s that gives it a maximum velocity of 775 fps, and with the HST backed all the way off it’s 550 fps. One click in on the HST gives 575fps and about 60 shots on a 240 bar fill… not bad for such a tiny air reservoir, and a regulator setting and tune that isn’t even close to ideal…
At 575 fps the ES is about 18fps– could be tighter, but I think that’s because I have the HST backed so far down from the regulator velocity peak. When the HST is dialed up to 760fps (15fps under the peak) it’s running about 5fps ES over a fill, but that’s too much power for how I’m going to use the gun.
The smaller 12 ft-lb plenum, matching valve spring, and reduced power hammer spring are on the way from Huma– will report back once I get that installed and tuned.
So far, really liking this little thing. I tossed a Sig Romeo5 X red dot on it for now and it’s quite handy… first blood today was a starling at 45 yards off-hand. Going to try and blast a few rats tonight.
Ended up buying a .22 Leshiy along with the standard power huma regulator and plenum. I also bought the 12 ft-lb plenum/valve spring/hammer spring kit from huma to try also (the regulator is the same) as well as a spare valve stem as the short 12 ft-lb plenum requires that you cut down the valve stem.
Since I’m probably going to run this thing around 14 ft-lb all the time I figured I’ll experiment with both plenums and springs to see what I get. The idea of possibly getting around 70+ shots per fill at 14 ft-lb with the small plenum is very appealing…
Mine is not 12lb/ft version. I just lower the Reg. by about 1/4 turn, and light HST. it’s working very well. I got some rats in my backyard. good luck.
After I posted, I also started thinking the .25 might not stabilize at the low energy/velocity I had in mind and that .22 would be better.
For your Leshiy, did you just dial the HST way back for the lower velocity, or did you adjust the regulator and HST down? Or is it a 12 ft-lb model?
my lelshy 22 with ATN x-signt works very well at 550fps with JSB18. .25 is too much power and may not shoot good at low velocity
I’d go for just to get a new gun. But it sounds like it would workout
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Nice. thank you for sharing. It’s really helpful. it’s a lot of shots for hunting.