AEA Challenger Elite 51 Project

There's a long story that goes along with this rifle... here's the short version.

I picked up the challenger elite 51 back in January. Since then I've had nothing but severe accuracy problems. Many ammo types were keyholing and wouldn't consistently hit a 12"x18" target from 50yds. Some ammo was making better groups, but occasional fliers were so bad they would miss the paper. I dug into the problem by inspecting everything including the barrel. Turns out the barrel was made oversized. So big that a .510 slug would almost free fall down the tube. I sent the rifle back for a replacement which unfortunately wasn't any better. The retailer had done everything in their power so they put me in touch with AEA directly. The AEA rep offered no helpful solutions and made no offer to repair or replace. The rep stopped responding to my emails after the second or third reply. Completely ghosted.

Anyway, here we are. I've had this rifle sitting around looking like a $1000+ mistake since January and I finally have a way to fix it (hopefully).

Step 1 was finding a blank barrel. Having a ~32" long barrel made things a bit difficult. Finding a blank with a reasonable twist rate that was long enough and didn't cost more than the rifle itself was pretty much impossible. So, I settled for a 30" long, 1 in 48" twist barrel from green mountain. Long enough, but just barely.

That blank sat around my shop for a couple months until a few days ago when I decided to start the project. Took about 10 hours with all of the measuring, modeling, programming and machining but it came out looking great.

Over the past few months I've made some other accessories for this bad boy as well. I made some billet barrel bands, some triple picatinny bottle clamps (shameless plug: now available at the pellet shop), and I have a prototype billet magazine on my desk that just needs a bit more work to be complete.

Only thing left to do is shoot it. Wish me luck. If a new barrel doesnt fix the problem I'll be at a loss for words. I've never had accuracy issues like this. Not with an air gun, not with a powder burner, not with a compound bow. Maybe with an airsoft haha.

Looks really nice with the raw barrel. I tried to cold blue it but it wouldn't take the blue at ALL. I just double checked the website and turns out it's stainless. Sweet!

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Sharp looking gun. Hearing stories like yours makes me a little leary to continue doing business with AEA. I sure hope the GM barrel solves the issues.
Thanks! I'm super happy with the looks... I've loved everything about it other than the barrel problem. An adjustable hammer spring is really rhe only thing missing. In any case, I know where I stand with AEA now: caveat emptor.


On another note, the new barrel works.


First group. One on the bottom after bore sighting, five near the middle. Mr hollow point 255s. The upper right corner and the other target were previous sessions with a different rifle. I'm excited that I can finally enjoy this rifle!

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AEA can't make barrels...Our cheap American barrels like Green Mountain and ER Shaw are leaps and bounds better...I really don't know how AEA can't even make right diameter barrrels.....Shaw uses WW1 machinery.. Its really scares me how the Airgun Industry promotes AEA and they can't do basic machining... It's not that hard to make a barrel..Good work on the Green Mountain barrel blank!!!!!😀. Its amazing what a straight semi smooth bore the right diameter can do. Green Mountain Barrels go America Manufacturing...... It's super cool you have the knowledge to make all.the different accessories with CNC😀😀😀.. I can only run manual machines and now the basics.. You are quite accompolished to make a rel world accurate AEA shoot for real.not like on YouTube reviews... Lol
 
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You can't get 65 yard groups like this without even trying?


I bet if you used the approved AEA ammo, you could basically go through the same hole all day at any distance. Saw it with my own two eyes in this video. These reviews are real with beloved reviewers behind the camera. They might even make contact shots against the paper with those groups - who knows. Who cares? Perception is what counts. You, like me, have an AEA. So the marketing machine worked.
 
You can't get 65 yard groups like this without even trying?


I bet if you used the approved AEA ammo, you could basically go through the same hole all day at any distance. Saw it with my own two eyes in this video. These reviews are real with beloved reviewers behind the camera. They might even make contact shots against the paper with those groups - who knows. Who cares? Perception is what counts. You, like me, have an AEA. So the marketing machine worked.
Yeah... I think I get your point. I expect that most reviewers will give an honest review even if they have some bias. More concerning is how the manufacturers and retailers may be cherrypicking the best of the best to send out for review.

All that aside, I'm glad folks are generally having a good experience with AEA products... they paid for it afterall. Also very sad how the manufacturer is handling (in this case, not) inevitable manufacturing errors.
 
Yeah... I think I get your point. I expect that most reviewers will give an honest review even if they have some bias. More concerning is how the manufacturers and retailers may be cherrypicking the best of the best to send out for review.

All that aside, I'm glad folks are generally having a good experience with AEA products... they paid for it afterall. Also very sad how the manufacturer is handling (in this case, not) inevitable manufacturing errors.
Maybe the AEA sent to YouTube reviewers might not have AEA barrels.....They probably buy a decent barrel!!!! Barrels all look the same on the outside.....
 
I love it when a plan comes together!

Great day at the range. All of the ammo I tried was stabilizing with the new barrel. Zero keyholing.

These targets are at 100yds. The first pic was me trying a bunch of different ammo. I labeled the ones that I remember. Reg set at 200bar.

1. AEA lathe turned .510. Figures the most expensive makes the best group. I only had 5 shots.
2. Some spitzer points I got from sonnysan. NOE mold I think.
3. Mr hollow point 255s

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Second pic is mr hollow point 255s on left and mr hollow point 305s on the right. 255s were at 900fps and 305s were at 840fps.

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Now if I could just adjust that hammer spring.... it's definitely hitting too hard at 200bar.
 
I love it when a plan comes together!

Great day at the range. All of the ammo I tried was stabilizing with the new barrel. Zero keyholing.

These targets are at 100yds. The first pic was me trying a bunch of different ammo. I labeled the ones that I remember. Reg set at 200bar.

1. AEA lathe turned .510. Figures the most expensive makes the best group. I only had 5 shots.
2. Some spitzer points I got from sonnysan. NOE mold I think.
3. Mr hollow point 255s

View attachment 465739

Second pic is mr hollow point 255s on left and mr hollow point 305s on the right. 255s were at 900fps and 305s were at 840fps.

View attachment 465741

Now if I could just adjust that hammer spring.... it's definitely hitting too hard at 200bar.
You have a shooter now!!!!!😀😀 More accurate than my Texan at a 100 yards....That is a impressive shooting big bore now!!!!!!
 
I love it when a plan comes together!

Great day at the range. All of the ammo I tried was stabilizing with the new barrel. Zero keyholing.

These targets are at 100yds. The first pic was me trying a bunch of different ammo. I labeled the ones that I remember. Reg set at 200bar.

1. AEA lathe turned .510. Figures the most expensive makes the best group. I only had 5 shots.
2. Some spitzer points I got from sonnysan. NOE mold I think.
3. Mr hollow point 255s

View attachment 465739

Second pic is mr hollow point 255s on left and mr hollow point 305s on the right. 255s were at 900fps and 305s were at 840fps.

View attachment 465741

Now if I could just adjust that hammer spring.... it's definitely hitting too hard at 200bar.
You are correct. A NOE mold: https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-moulds/512/510-401-sp-bj6/510-401-tc-bj6-4-cavity-pb/
 
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There's a long story that goes along with this rifle... here's the short version.

I picked up the challenger elite 51 back in January. Since then I've had nothing but severe accuracy problems. Many ammo types were keyholing and wouldn't consistently hit a 12"x18" target from 50yds. Some ammo was making better groups, but occasional fliers were so bad they would miss the paper. I dug into the problem by inspecting everything including the barrel. Turns out the barrel was made oversized. So big that a .510 slug would almost free fall down the tube. I sent the rifle back for a replacement which unfortunately wasn't any better. The retailer had done everything in their power so they put me in touch with AEA directly. The AEA rep offered no helpful solutions and made no offer to repair or replace. The rep stopped responding to my emails after the second or third reply. Completely ghosted.

Anyway, here we are. I've had this rifle sitting around looking like a $1000+ mistake since January and I finally have a way to fix it (hopefully).

Step 1 was finding a blank barrel. Having a ~32" long barrel made things a bit difficult. Finding a blank with a reasonable twist rate that was long enough and didn't cost more than the rifle itself was pretty much impossible. So, I settled for a 30" long, 1 in 48" twist barrel from green mountain. Long enough, but just barely.

That blank sat around my shop for a couple months until a few days ago when I decided to start the project. Took about 10 hours with all of the measuring, modeling, programming and machining but it came out looking great.

Over the past few months I've made some other accessories for this bad boy as well. I made some billet barrel bands, some triple picatinny bottle clamps (shameless plug: now available at the pellet shop), and I have a prototype billet magazine on my desk that just needs a bit more work to be complete.

Only thing left to do is shoot it. Wish me luck. If a new barrel doesnt fix the problem I'll be at a loss for words. I've never had accuracy issues like this. Not with an air gun, not with a powder burner, not with a compound bow. Maybe with an airsoft haha.

Looks really nice with the raw barrel. I tried to cold blue it but it wouldn't take the blue at ALL. I just double checked the website and turns out it's stainless. Sweet!

View attachment 464413

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Omg that thing is nice,mine is in its way should b here by Saturday 🎉

***Want to Buy posts must be in the classified section***

I’m Buddy
 
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A few minor updates on this rifle.

At 200bar the stock hammer spring is a bit too strong and tends to bounce on the valve. Instead of modifying the spring I measured the specs and found a comparable but slightly weaker spring. Part# PC080-750-23000-SST-5250-CG-N-IN from "the spring store". It's longer, but when compressed by the hammer it's about a pound less force than the stock spring. I picked up 5 extras in case I need to trim them down. Stock spring on the left.

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After putting in the new spring I spent some time shooting paper and steel. Best slug so far is the mr hollow point 310gr. Sub 2 moa all day. Had no problems hitting some smaller gongs at 150yds. Now I just need to find a mold that shoots this well... I don't want to pay rhe premium mr hollow point price for target ammo. I picked up an accurate brand mold in 250gr but it's not grouping well. Maybe I'll try some more molds over the coming months.

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Did a quick search on NOE and accurate websites, but the closest I found is here: https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=51-350A
You might have to ask directly. He may or may not tell you where he acquired the mold.
Some of his molds are off the shelf with a hollow point modification. A lot of them are completely unique though, like the 310.

The 250gr I mentioned is the shorter version of that accurate mold. Thinking about trying the 350 version.
 
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I'm all ears if you attempt the 350 solid. It is heavier with no cavity. It might not work out. I believe you can submit custom designs.
Fortunately I have the capability of making my own molds. I've made a variety of them so far and none of them shoot well... probably because I know precisely nothing about projectile design 😁

I have a few more blank molds for the purpose of designing a decent .510 slug. Maybe I'll try something more traditional... everything else I've made goes against the trend in one way or another. These are the two .510s I've attempted. Niether shot well.

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