Thank You from a new Condor SS owner
I would like to thank the members on the forum for sharing there experiences, tests, modifications and fixes for the Condor. I purchased and received a Condor SS in 22 caliber this past Friday.
After following the advice of the members by reading their stories, I have been able to tune mine to accept the Wal mart brand of lightweight Crosman premier pellets and produce groups at ranges that surpass my previous experiences with my other pumpers and springer guns. I am only 390 pellets into breaking it in. I added the “O” ring “regulator” and tuned the top hat a bit using my Crony for speed reference. I am mainly a target shooter but I was an avid hunter with powder burners and will not hesitate to dispatch a varmint or rodent set on destroying or messing up my home or property, so I wanted a good range of power for economical plinking and raw power for hunting.
I first adjusted the top hat too low and was getting 170 FPS. LOL Good for mouse hunting at close range but not much else.
I Slowly turned it out in increments and I am now able to get 855 FPS at power wheel setting 2; 960 FPS at setting 4; and 1060 FPS at 8. These are the average of 5 shot groups each. I did not set the power wheel any higher because I was trying to keep the pellet subsonic and was shooting 50 yards. My groups are under 1 1/2 inches at that range, mostly due to shooting with my off eye due to a stroke in my shooting eye. Almost 61 and shaky too. I seem to group smaller more times than not as time go’s on, but I do not expect any constancy until after break in around 500 to 1000 shots. I also ordered the TT one piece Top hat with inserts and will be experimenting with heavier pellets at faster speeds soon. I had cleaned the barrel with Ballistol before starting the test and after 8 patches finally got a clean patch. Crosman pellets are dirty I guess. I keep my pellets very lightly lubed with a Ballistol soaked patch in the tin with them. Seems to help keep the barrel clean now.
Again, thank you all for the suggestions and may you all shoot often, shoot straight, shoot safe.
Joe
Kingsport, TN
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Oh heck Joe, you’ve been had! Wish I had those machine tools. My cricket is the long version and it has a synthetic stock. It is HEAVY. I’ve been thinking about trying to buy a wood stock. They used to make a skeletonized wood version, but I read where those were discontinued (much to my dismay). I bought mine used off the Yellow classifieds, but it’s a brand new style cricket manufactured in 2014. Guy bought it from Tony at TT, had it shipped to Ernest for his majic tune job. At 50 yards, it makes ragged holes with the JSB Kings. This weekend I put a new CF shroud that Donny on here makes, and it quietened it down even more, plus Donny’s shroud looks cool. I took it squirrel hunting for the first time last Sat. Got 5 and they died instantly, even with body shots. My Condor .25 will do the same thing, but the repeating magazine makes it so much easier to get multiple shots off accurately. Plus the cricket is a lot shorter and much easier to manipulate. The only drawback is the weight of it, and it is due primarily to the stock. If I can’t get a wood stock (preferably a skeleton stock), I may get another synthetic and whittle on it to lighten it up.
Hello again Salt-
Since you mentioned it I took a look at the Cricket Air rifle. Interesting Bull pup style. Did you get the wooden stock or Synthetic? I take it from your comment that it is accurate and fun to shoot. LOL
I notice that on the AA site there is a power adjuster you can buy aftermarket that looks suspiciously like the one made for the Crosman 2240 modifications. I know because I converted my 224 pistol into a carbine and added the power adjuster. It gets me that if there is a need to offer a power adjuster for any air gun, why not just incorporate it into the gun when manufacturing it. That is what I like about the Air Force line. The power adjuster is there ready for use. And really, if you did not mind adjusting the top hat, you can get even finer adjustment.
If those small set screws show signs of loosening up any time soon, I will use some of my blue Loctite on them, like I use on the scope screws of my powder burners. Before Loctite, I used fingernail polish or Elmer’s glue. Both allow removal of the screw without damage.
I do not mind playing around with mechanical things and if all the inserts are just set screws, then tinker I shall. What makes this even more “dangerous” is that I have a Sherline Mini lathe and milling machine just sitting here waiting to play mad doctor. I have been teaching myself machining for about 2 years. Bad weather is rolling in to my neck of the woods and will hang around for a few days. Good time to play around with some ideas.
Take care
Joe
Kingsport, TN
I have not done anything with .177 in these PCP guns. I have an old Beeman R1 in .177 but that does not relate. That TT Top hat has those inserts and they are nothing but brass set screws. If the smallest one is still too big, you could make one yourself with even a smaller orifice. I haven’t messed with the factory top hat since right after I got my Condor. I had so much trouble keeping those little set screws tight, I gave up. I got a drill bit and polished the shaft to where it would slide in the orifice of the top hat snugly. That allowed me to do some serious tightening, but after a dozen or so shots, it would loosen… I got so frustrated, I was about ready to return the gun, sell it or something, then I discovered the TT Top Hat… Problem solved. When I ordered the top hat from Tony, I ordered the tank adapter, hammer with the slap mod and did the whole conversion at the same time… made it a whole new gun. Once I did those mods, the single biggest thing I did to improve shot count and consistency was to put the o-ring behind the top hat 3/8×1/4 worked best for me. It shoots the 18 gr. JSB’s at 920-930 starting at a 2800 psi fill and I shoot down to about 1800 psi before I get any real drop off. That gives me at least 50 shots, maybe a few more… Then I got a .25 barrel… What a difference! I bought it from Pyramid and it came with the bushings installed and oriented so all I had to do was remove the .22 and slide in the .25… took maybe 5 minutes. Now I can make the switch in even less time having done it a few times. Really simple. re-zeroing the scope takes about 3 shots going up or down in caliber now. It is a very enjoyable gun to shoot and it is very light… BUT… then I got a .25 cricket… Haven’t had the Condor out of the vault since…
:2cents:
Hello Saltwater-
I am interested in getting a couple of barrels for my Condor in the upcoming months. ( yea I know, here we go..) As I have mostly shot 177 I have a bunch of those pellets around the house in that caliber. Therefore I would like to get a 177 barrel first, but I am undecided as to weather I want the 18″ for the sound suppression, if the existing baffles will even suppress it; or the 24″ for the performance. Personally I am leaning towards the 24″ one as I usually shoot subsonic and the air escape noise is within my sound tolerance for the area where I live. Performance and accuracy is my primary concern so that pretty much decides which one I am getting.
The one issue I have is having to purchase another tank for the 177. From what I have read here, it appears that if I try to use the tank and valve that came with my 22 barrel, I could get an air “dump” if I try to shoot 177 with it. So I was wondering if the smaller insert for the TT top hat will prevent this and allow me to use the same tank for the smaller caliber. I was also thinking that based on my experimentation with the adjustable top hat, and being able to lower the air pressure output to mouse harassment velocity, I could tune it way down and use that one for the 177 and the TT one for 22 and 25 caliber ( yes I am also thinking of getting a 25 caliber barrel too, LOL)
I am not sure if anyone has tried this yet though I have seen some unanswered questions along the same lines. Heck, if necessary, I will try it anyway and post my results for others. Experimentation is what I enjoy, as long as I do not have to reinvent the wheel. I have already been thinking of the scope to eye alignment issue and while the offset coupler TT makes looks good and seems to work, I wonder what canting the tank at a downward angle (45 degrees?)and building up a cheek rest on top of it would do for ergonomics. The back of the tank would basically be below armpit level while the scope would be at eye level.
Just thoughts…let the obsession begin! LOL
Take care
Joe
Kingsport, TN
Welcome to the addiction Joe.
I was right where you are only about 4 months ago with this PCP technology, now I’m hooked and have already bought my second one… a .25 cricket all tricked out… that was after buying a .25 barrel to convert my .22 cal. Condor SS… It never ends! But it sure is fun and something almost anyone can do in their back yard safely… Pretty cool…
When I went to the only Divers shop in my area to purchase a SCUBA tank before I decided on the Condor, I did not know what to expect them to say. I thought they would look at me strange saying I wanted a tank but for air gun shooting instead of diving. So I was kind of surprised when after I made my “pitch”, they told me that they have a lot of people coming in their shop for the same reason. I guess people in my area had similar thoughts about this 22 ammo shortage and decided to do something about it. I would like to meet these people and even if they do not have a air force product, they are fellow PCP users and part of the trend. The next time I am in there I am going to ask them if I can post contact information to see if we can all hook up to make the hobby / sport a group effort in our area.
Like I said before, I have 12 air guns and started in 1959 with a red Ryder type ( a Sears Hawthorn model) that I still have in the house and shoot it off the back deck every so often. My Crosman model 150 CO2 is also going strong. When I look at the technology that has happened between that air gun and my new Condor, I am impressed. The funny thing is that the PCP is actually older technology than the Red Ryder ( think Napoleon’s time era).
I like to tweak my guns and this one will be no different. I bet I WILL enjoy that new valve system, and more items later on. We will see.
Take care
Joe
Kingsport, TN
You’re gonna love that one piece top hat. No more grub screws to come loose and you will be able to further tune your gun by changing inserts. Just wait till you start putting some heavy slugs through it.
Wildfire :5:
I’m in Gallatin! Only a few hours away. Who knows, maybe a hunt together some day!
Wildfire :5:
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Oh Wow, that sounds like a sweet air gun. Yea I am starting to feel the addiction for air guns again. Still have some work to do on the Condor though before then. I received the TT solid top hat unit with inserts but have not installed it in yet. Took the Condor to the range today and was impressing the guys there on 50 yard shots, of course they all had to try it. I might have gotten some converts today after it was all over with. LOL
You take care