Chopped the barrel on my Ruger Explorer

[Crawfish1]

It was a 112 here today "too hot to shoot" and to be honest I learned a lot more about spring guns today than I have in a long time, maybe ever. Never took the time to research how they worked before.
Good conversation everyone. One thing I did read is the higher compression rifles driven by springs supposedly rely on some combustion from the hydrocarbon lubricant to propel the pellet. I did not know that.

Like I said earlier my experience with springers is limited as I only have one "the one with the 14lb trigger pull" and have never taken it apart. I mainly shoot PCP's and they are a completely different story as they are easily adjustable so I am always tweaking with shot strings and such.

Speaking of modifications I do like Gloob's hacksaw techniques and expect to see his rifle in the next Mad Max movie

 

[Chevota]

This will probably open another can-o-worms, but I didn't buy the lube making power theory at all so I tested that as well. As expected it was bs too.
What gun of yours has 14lbs trigger pull?
Others: Please insert hate mail below.

 

[Crawfish1]

The Gamo Shadow circa 2000 ish. The trigger pull is insane. But not for long as I have received confirmation of the gr3 trigger I ordered is on it's way. I hope I can set it at 1-2 Lb release. I like my PCP's at 3/8 to a 1/2 Lb but I am not sure if it will be safe with the spring gun to go that low.

 

[Chevota]

Sheeze. I don't even know how that's possible. Normally 5-6lbs which is excessive, so I guess it has a really fat spring. If it was friction then I doubt the trigger would reset so all I can think of is that spring which is in the trigger blade.
When you remove that spring it drops down closer to the 1.5 you were looking for, so that's what you'll get with the grt. I mod the triggers myself, but the grt is excellent if you're not into doing the work. After that the pull weight is based on another spring inside, which is rather strong but the trigger has a great deal of leverage on it so ~1.5 is what I'd expect. There's a little friction in there too so with some other work inside you can drop that a bit and make it smoother and more precision. If you really wanted you could weaken that other spring to drop pull down quite a bit more, but I think leaving that spring as-is would be better because dropping the gun on the butt can cause it to fire and that spring is what resists that. Ironically the same G force applies here too, so a soft butt pad is safer where wood or a hard plastic pad causes substantially more G's to pull the trigger, just like the air vs impact moves the scope. This is no doubt one reason the oem setup is 5lbs+ so dropping won't fire it. The grt is aluminum so in that respect it's safer than the oem steel trigger with the same pull weight. Normally people are very happy with the grt, but know that the sears are rounded so once close to the edge it can fire unpredictably. And unless modified the sears do not reset if the you pull part way and change your mind, I think it's called balk fire? So it's possible to pull most of the way and release, then the gun fires at a random time because it was on the rounded edge of the sears and eventually slipped off. So I always sharpen them for a nice crisp predictable and safer release. If you're into doing that I have some pix.

 

[GLOOB]

7 3/4"

Well, this afternoon, I was no longer satisfied with the accuracy of this rifle. The problem is that I installed a stock on my 1377, and the Ruger became even more redder-headed in comparison.

I chopped another chunk off the barrel, and finished it down to 7 3/4". Down from 8 3/8".

BTW, I found a partial tin of 174 mil Daisy pellets left from my original batch. And they shoot a little bigger than 1/2" after the latest chop. The newer batch of 174.5-175 mil pellets improved from what was seen in the previous photos to about 1/4" on the good groups. With real good form, I can practically cloverleaf all my pellets, now, but still get an occasional (typically low) flyer (a flyer with the good pellets is now only one pellet head diameter to maybe 1/3" away from POA, tops). So part of my accuracy increase was from the pellets, but the accuracy is still improving. At this point I'm not sure when I should stop while I'm ahead!? I keep thinking the gun will become awkward to cock or to close, but this point I feel like I could still go another full inch.

I am able to pick off pinky nall sized rocks with near complete confidence, now, and I can even plink standing 22 caliber pellets a fair amount of the time at 9 yards. The 1377 carbine is still a bit more accurate (and a LOT less picky with pellets), but I don't think that is ever going to change. Part of the difference is I gave my 1377 a sub 2lb trigger, and I can snap the shot off when the hairs are aligned. I can't do that with the Ruger. Both of these guns hold funny for me, in a different way, but I can also hold the 1377 a little more steady.

 

[Chevota]

I can't remember if I mentioned this before but is the barrel lockup solid? And what about side to side play? A scope helps balance out the gun so it doesn't move the barrel up/down as much, and the heavier the scope the better, to a point that is. Some people add weight too, a steel brake and/or weight in the stock. If in the stock it's best to put it as high as possible. And as mentioned about my seal work, that helps too. Crosman sells a steel brake for like $4, or maybe it was $2. It's actually quite nice looking, 4.6oz w/ an ID of .588. The ID can be opened up fairly easily if needed. Just some thoughts...

 

[GLOOB]

Barrel lockup on the gun is very good. It is better than my Venom is, even after tweaking on the Venom. I have to keep the barrel pivot on my Venom a tad loose to get a consistent lockup, because the jam spring is weak.

The only sucky thing about the lockup is the barrel pivot is not symmetrical. When you cock the barrel, it gets tighter. So where it locks up, it isn't quite as tight as it could be, side to side. Still better than my Venom.

I'm also not sure the gun is shooting as good as I previously stated. I didn't do much shooting. And it's "acting up" a little. POI seem to be changing. Will update when I know more, but for now, the scope screws and rail screws did stand a little tightening.

*update: tightening the screws did the trick. I also cleaned the bore. After about 20 shots, things settled in again. And the flyers seem to be gone for now. I'm getting about 0.3" 5-shot groups, and that might be as good as I can hold this rifle from my particular shooting position, propped against a knee. The stock is way too short and the COG of the rifle is right on the front scope ring, giving me a lot of high speed wobble of at least 1/4". Some sort of ghetto muzzle weight might be in order. I'm willing to guess the inherent accuracy is sub 1/4" at 10 yards.

For a finale, I shot 3 22 caliber pellets in a row.

 

[Chevota]

A new jam spring is only $1.15 from Crosman, part # B18-01-3A. They have another one for a different gun # ELS-005 that seems a bit stronger, then the one for the Trail XL which may be stronger. I'm not sure the length on either is the same but they're cheap. If the thing gets tight with the barrel down I would be in there looking for the prob and fixing it because that would bug me. On most guns the ears or forks are machined rather rough inside so I suppose it's possible it could be crooked too. I use a ceramic nail file to smooth that surface so it doesn't tear up the washers, which may help if uneven too. Or maybe your pivot screw is so tight the forks are bowed in? I adjust the pivot washers so they're very snug with the screw loose, then just snug the screw to hold it all together.

 

[GLOOB]

I would be in there looking for the prob and fixing it because that would bug me.

Yeah, I know. I'm lazy. I'm afraid if I open it up and look, I will have to mess with it more. I figure the tightness will probably wear even over time. As I said, lockup is very good and not a concern to me, at this point. It's a ball-bearing lockup, and it works really well. No wiggle, at all, up and down, and just a faint hint of pliability left and right.

A new jam spring is only $1.15 from Crosman, part # B18-01-3A. They have another one for a different gun # ELS-005 that seems a bit stronger, then the one for the Trail XL which may be stronger.

Good to know. I had to lengthen the travel on my jam, so I don't know if a replacement stock spring would be any better. I also already took the pivot apart probably 10 times, between messing with the jam travel and experimenting with different sized shims. I don't wanna do that, again, anytime soon, but I have written down that info for future reference if my gun stops grouping.

I also replaced the pivot washers on the Venom with brass washers turned down to fit, because the plastic ones pretty much self-destructed the first time I put the barrel back on. That's when I figured out one should probably deburr the holes in the fork before reassembly. I can't believe they don't do that at the factory. Oh, and I had to file my front scope ring and shim the back one, because the pic rail was welded on crooked. All that, but the gun shoots pretty good, now.

I am sometimes surprised at how people return things to the store for minor problems. But looking back at this gun, I am surprised I didn't, lol.

 

[GLOOB]

I'm getting about 0.3" 5-shot groups, and that might be as good as I can hold this rifle from my particular shooting position, propped against a knee.

Well, I'm wrong, again.

My POI changed, again, and the groups opened up. All this, and now maybe I'm back to square one. So I checked the scope screws, and low and behold, some were loose, again. I also checked the stock screws, and they were a tad loose, too, by a quarter turn on the two front screws.

I took my allen wrench and screwdriver to the "range" and kept on a tightening things as I shot. The stock screws stayed firm. The scope screws took several rounds of tightening as I shot. For such a weak little rifle, this gun sure has some kick. I had at least put the mount all the way back against the stop, the rings all the way back against the pic notches, and the scope middle body all the way back against the back ring. But that wasn't enough. I feel like such a noob, but I can't grow the barrel back for science.

I am essentially one-holing with this rifle, now, at 9 yards. Sub 1/4", indeed! If I have a more accurate airgun, I might not be good enough to tell. It's about time to put it up and see if I learned anything that will tighten up my Venom. At this point, the Ruger is shooting better!