The WildCat returns

Just wanted to post a little about the WC's homecoming finally. I sent her off about 10 days before EBR and she just came home. I know they were slayed by EBR. I was also concerned because I was told it was in "leak test" and almost done. What I wasn't told was that it failed the leak test and had to go back to be repaired again. So that is why when I called 10 days later she was still in leak test..

Anyway, they replaced the reg and adjusted the trigger. I am surprised that the reg could have been the accuracy problem. But it must have been. Because this thing is a LAZER like I expected it to be. 
When I sent it in, it was locked up and would not fire. I suspect the adjustment screws backed out or something. The trigger had just too much 1st stage take-up and I wanted that adjusted out. I got it back with about the same stock trigger it had. So I tuned it myself and now have a very short 1st stage and a nice crisp break 2nd. No creep. Very nice. Almost as nice as the one on my Crown. I said almost :) The Crown is just too dang sweet. Both are a pleasure to shoot.

I do find that with my WC, I have to pay particular attention to the cheek weld when I prepare for each shot. The cheek is so narrow and thin, I have to remember every time where that comfortable place is and where I can see clearly through the scope. 

So glad to have her home again. Here are a few 16 shot (2 mags) holes. The WC is a blast.
On the PINK dots, the one in the upper left is 18 shots with the Crown. It shoots better than this most of the time. But that is still about 1/2 the size of a dime. The actual hole is still smaller than my fingernail.
33 yards.

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OUT-standing! I'm really glad to hear you got it back and it's performing as expected. (Shoot me a PM about the 20 clicks results)
You now have 2 great rifles! If you spend a significant amount of time getting to know them, you'll be happy for years to come. Those are some very nice groups too, BTW! 
The cheek weld on my WC is very natural and easy for me to find. I wonder if changing the height of your scope mounts would make a difference. 
Tom
 
Tom, I have the FX No Limits rings and I think they just might be a little high. I find myself going for the natural feeling weld with my eyes closed. The scope seems to be the right distance front to back, but I do find myself moving the weld down my cheek just a bit almost every time. Like if I could, I would raise the cheek pad. That is a sign the rings might be too high. I'm going to look and see if I have a cheap set up lower rings in the box somewhere and lower that scope. I have the FX rings all the way down. Should I try to medium or the low rings?
So far I find the WC not as comfortable as I want it to be. Yeah the cheek is a little weird shaped compared to the Crown, the Royale 500 and the Marauder. But I should still find a comfort spot. Having the scope too high might be the reason I can't go to it repeatedly. nice call.

Spysir, It was having a 1/4 to 1/2 inch POI shift. Not just once, but 2 or 3 times in 40 shots. Now that AoA replaced the reg , that issue seems to have be resolved. She is dropping them hole in hole now. One occasional flier, but that is normal for unsorted, straight from the tin pellets.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'm going to shoot some chrono strings and see where they are setting. It will be interesting to compare them to some of the strings I shot previously. Also might get to do some with the Crown as well. I have the first 2 60 shot strings from the Crown. Maybe the reg has started to settle now that I have about a tin of pellets downrange. 

Crusher
 
"Michael"I love a good homecoming!

Me too. It feels like I can relax now. It feels so weird to have my gun out for repair and not knowing I can just go out and shoot when I feel like it. :) I met Brown Santa in the street. I happened to be sitting on the front porch drinking a nice cup of coffee when he turned on the block.
I'm going to hit up a place I found tomorrow, if it isn't 40 mph winds, and see what 65 yards does for the Crown. Might give the WC a little long range testing as well. 

It IS nice to have both the girls back home. LOL

Crusher

 
Very nice Crusher,SWEET GROUPS.. I too sent in a rifle (bobcat 25cal) before EBR. I was going to do a trade in on a impact that i have received and have put a couple tins through so far and very happy with it. Guess i am sentimental and told them to reseal the bobcat and decided to keep her too (the bobcat). It should be here today...The addiction begins.
 
Well........ Got a chance to get back outside before dinner and decided to shoot that string of 25 gr pellets over the chrono and get some data for the WC. So I go with 230 bar fill and start plinking away. With the Sumo, this thing is so very quiet. Very nice. but I have noticed that it doesn't seem to be as quiet as it was before I sent it off to be repaired. I thought maybe they bumped up the reg when they replaced it. But the chrono says no.
I get
HIGH 894
LOW 885
ES 9
SHOT COUNT 57 (until I think it sounds like it is off the reg. Not too bad and very consistent.)

Then it happens. Even with the Sumo on, I get a shot that goes 857 and CRACK!!! Followed by about 3 seconds of air down the barrel. I try another shot, at 843, CRACK!! Followed by another 3 seconds of air down the barrel. Perfect.

I wonder if the replaced reg just broke or something. I'm going to go back out and fill to 200 bar and see if this still happens. Maybe this is just something weird when it comes off the reg.
Any suggestions before I have to box it up and send it back? I sure don't want to go through that 6 week wait time again.

Crusher


 
Whew. False alarm I think. I shot down to about 110 BAR because I just wanted to see it behave off the reg. Well, I checked and the needle was at 110 BAR. But when I went to fill just now, my air tank stared filling at about 55 BAR.. That means the gauge on the gun was stuck and I was well below 100 BAR. So at that point I suppose the reg fails somehow. Maybe there isn't enough pressure to close the valve after the shot or something.

Anyway, so now maybe just order a new gauge and replace.

So then, and ES of 9 over 50+ shots is pretty sweet. It was pushing the 25 gr at about 915 before. So I wonder if they actually set the reg pressure down just a bit. That is all I can think of that would lower the FPS. I haven't changed anything.

edit; Just saw your message Centercut. The first thing that crossed my mind when this happened is "if I have to get the reg worked on again, I'm going to have them install a HUMA".. I may still do that. but this reg is sweet right now. ES of 9 is pretty good.

Crusher
 
Made it out the to 50 yard spot today. The wind was at about 6-8 left to right. It seemed fairly steady but I found after I started shooting that it was not. :)

Shooting just under 900 fps and whisper quiet, this gun is pretty amazing. I was shooting from my tripod which isn't all that steady, but I did manage to learn the gun a little more.

The second picture is actually the first group. I was trying to figure out the scope here. Then the wind picked up just a little and you can see by the first picture, all of the shots are on the same elevation and this would have been an awesome group but for the wind moving the pellets.
Loads of fun until someone came along and crowed my space. Had to leave before I was ready to, but it was still a lot of fun.

Crusher


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HI Crusher,
I had the same problem with my Wildcat...I felt like the cheekpiece should be just a little higher. Also, here in South Florida it gets very hot in the summer and that black cheekrest would get HOT! And the other problem was that the plastic is so slick that my sweaty cheek wanted to slide around on it. I solved all of those problems by putting a piece of 5mm thick neoprene on it. This is the same neoprene they make scuba suits out of.

It was easy to do. I took off the two cheek pieces and sat them side by side, and glued the neoprene on them both together with contact cement... which is easily removed if you later change your mind. Then you trim around the edges of the cheek pieces with a razor blade knife or sharp scissors. Then you just poke a couple holes for the screws and done! It really works great because the neoprene never feels hot or cold really. It is rubber filled with gas bubbles so it really insulates well. It feels really soft and cushions my face yet is firm enough that it raised my cheek so I am now at the perfect eye relief also... and it never gets hot or slippery!

There is a place you can order even a small one square foot piece if you like...just tell the lady on the phone what you want and they are happy to help. They will tell you how to find their color chart that shows all the different colors and patterns of neoprene they sell. Here is a link to Seattle Fabrics if you are interested: http://www.seattlefabrics.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAl8rQBRDrARIsAEW_To-Grm90vO5e6l8np-lydAMk5F9o_2lY09WOEFSLgDNFbnRgtybbPK8aAlZTEALw_wcB

Here is a picture of some leopard pattern neoprene I put on my Wildcat cheekpieces the first time while I was making some tank covers, and another picture of how it looks now with the Navy Blue 5mm neoprene I put on after I painted my stock. To see it a little better just right click on the picture, and then click on "open picture in new tab" which will allow you to increase the percent of enlargement as much as you like.
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Hi Crusher,
Thanks for the compliments on my gun...lots of hard work. I promise you will not regret putting some 5mm neoprene on your cheek rest. Whether it is ungodly hot outside or bitter cold, that neoprene will change to the same temp. as your face in just a second or two. It is soft yet firm...I really love it and I believe you will too. I know what it is like to have to send your Wildcat to AOA and wait for it to come home. It seems forever but when you get her back and open that box it makes your heart swell up with love and brings tears of joy! :)
All the best, Chuck