Does anyone here have any insight into what specifically makes some guns feel super smooth and light when you pull back the side-lever while others feel just functional or even gritty?
For example, the side lever on my Cricket feels ok (it's just not great). The Mutant is a little better but it isn't exceptional. My old Hatsan and Career rifles feel gritty but I expect a few burrs on entry level guns.
My Ataman, on the other hand, has the nicest feeling cocking motion I have ever felt on an air gun. It feels better than anything I have felt from Daystate, FX, Kalibrgun etc. It's just so light and smooth and the satisfying click it makes when the hammer goes back is just so reassuring.
I haven't opened it up but, from what I can see from the outside, the design does not look radically different to my other guns. The side lever pulls back a bolt and pushes the probe forward on it's return. It does use auto-indexing mags, but so does the Marauder and most FX or Daystate guns.
I have been able to significantly improve the feel of the Cricket side-lever by lubricating the relevant parts, but only for a few shots and then it goes back to normal.
So I was wondering... does anyone know of any mods that would permanently make a side-lever motion feel lighter and smoother?
I guess I am asking generally and not for a specific gun. I.e. Is anyone putting their gun's moving parts through an extra round of deburring or polishing etc, or any other mods to achieve an improvement?
I was thinking something along the lines of maybe: polishing the bolt until it looks like a mirror, adding bearings, switching to lighter hammer and valve springs. If anyone has done anything like that, what sort of improvements did you see?
I don't know if there is any truth to this but my assumption is that a smooth, light and precise bolt / probe motion is going to be better for accuracy through less pellet damage and consistent positioning, It is certainly better for not moving your gun out of position when trying to make it group.
For example, the side lever on my Cricket feels ok (it's just not great). The Mutant is a little better but it isn't exceptional. My old Hatsan and Career rifles feel gritty but I expect a few burrs on entry level guns.
My Ataman, on the other hand, has the nicest feeling cocking motion I have ever felt on an air gun. It feels better than anything I have felt from Daystate, FX, Kalibrgun etc. It's just so light and smooth and the satisfying click it makes when the hammer goes back is just so reassuring.
I haven't opened it up but, from what I can see from the outside, the design does not look radically different to my other guns. The side lever pulls back a bolt and pushes the probe forward on it's return. It does use auto-indexing mags, but so does the Marauder and most FX or Daystate guns.
I have been able to significantly improve the feel of the Cricket side-lever by lubricating the relevant parts, but only for a few shots and then it goes back to normal.
So I was wondering... does anyone know of any mods that would permanently make a side-lever motion feel lighter and smoother?
I guess I am asking generally and not for a specific gun. I.e. Is anyone putting their gun's moving parts through an extra round of deburring or polishing etc, or any other mods to achieve an improvement?
I was thinking something along the lines of maybe: polishing the bolt until it looks like a mirror, adding bearings, switching to lighter hammer and valve springs. If anyone has done anything like that, what sort of improvements did you see?
I don't know if there is any truth to this but my assumption is that a smooth, light and precise bolt / probe motion is going to be better for accuracy through less pellet damage and consistent positioning, It is certainly better for not moving your gun out of position when trying to make it group.