AEA I can’t trust this gun. What now?

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hgg2k said:
Classic AEA... needs parts properly made from other manufacturers who respect themselves, in order to work.
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Agreed. I do like Texoma.
Did you know their rounds will go all the way through a ceiling? :censored:
Ya, I've made a couple boo boos.

But in an effort to hit what I'm aiming at... sometimes, I added a laser sight. First, went with
a blue light under-barrel model. This was a spectacular failure since I couldn't even see a hint of the blue dot at 10 paces in daylight. And under-barrel was a poor choice too.


This is a gun with four inch barrels and no sights. I couldn't hit a barn with it stock.
And ten paces seemed like a decent distance since that's about as far as I can see the green dot in the day.

So I got a low profile ABOVE barrel (duh) green dot sight HERE and this has helped me greatly with my aim. It was easy to sight in and The gun can now hit a playing card from ten paces. . . if yas can hold it still enough. I used bags of dog food to hold/steady the gun for sighting in and it's very repeatable... if I have enough dog food.

So I believe the gun hits what it's pointed at now. Now I just need to work on practice... and this weird safety. Is it really impossible to safe the gun after the first round is fired?

Again, Thanks for the comments
 
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2Toes2Many said:
Agreed. I do like Texoma.
Did you know their rounds will go all the way through a ceiling? :censored:
Ya, I've made a couple boo boos.

But in an effort to hit what I'm aiming at... sometimes, I added a laser sight. First, went with
a blue light under-barrel model. This was a spectacular failure since I couldn't even see a hint of the blue dot at 10 paces in daylight. And under-barrel was a poor choice too.


This is a gun with four inch barrels and no sights. I couldn't hit a barn with it stock.
And ten paces seemed like a decent distance since that's about as far as I can see the green dot in the day.

So I got a low profile ABOVE barrel (duh) green dot sight HERE and this has helped me greatly with my aim. It was easy to sight in and The gun can now hit a playing card from ten paces. . . if yas can hold it still enough. I used bags of dog food to hold/steady the gun for sighting in and it's very repeatable... if I have enough dog food.

So I believe the gun hits what it's pointed at now. Now I just need to work on practice... and this weird safety. Is it really impossible to safe the gun after the first round is fired?

Again, Thanks for the comments
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Regardless of why those plastic collars shattered, the way that vendor interacted with a customer is reprehensible. I can't imagine any of the airgun vendors I've dealt with treating a customer that way. The guys verbiage was horrible was well. He sounded like a second grader. That whole interaction was terrible. This thread should get some attention and hopefully it affects his business accordingly.
 
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2Toes2Many said:
Fair point... I did leave out some detail cause I type at the speed of glacial drift. I should have mentioned that the four plastic collars (that all broke in the gun) came from two (presumably different) batches. Two came in the box with the gun and the other two came with the additional cartridges I bought from him.

There was no instruction manual of any sort sent with the gun.
The box the gun arrived in is devoid of any mfg name as well. There are none of
the typical AEA Harpoon markings on the box like there are on other sellers' YouTube videos with AEA guns.

Correction: The box DOES appear to have genuine ATA markings. I was wrong earlier when I said it didn't. I just cut the (exceptionally well taped on) shipping label off and there's the box logo.
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I believe AEA does not include any physical instructions/manuals in the box. They’re all online at AEA’s site.
 
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2Toes2Many said:
Agreed. I do like Texoma.
Did you know their rounds will go all the way through a ceiling? :censored:
Ya, I've made a couple boo boos.

But in an effort to hit what I'm aiming at... sometimes, I added a laser sight. First, went with
a blue light under-barrel model. This was a spectacular failure since I couldn't even see a hint of the blue dot at 10 paces in daylight. And under-barrel was a poor choice too.


This is a gun with four inch barrels and no sights. I couldn't hit a barn with it stock.
And ten paces seemed like a decent distance since that's about as far as I can see the green dot in the day.

So I got a low profile ABOVE barrel (duh) green dot sight HERE and this has helped me greatly with my aim. It was easy to sight in and The gun can now hit a playing card from ten paces. . . if yas can hold it still enough. I used bags of dog food to hold/steady the gun for sighting in and it's very repeatable... if I have enough dog food.

So I believe the gun hits what it's pointed at now. Now I just need to work on practice... and this weird safety. Is it really impossible to safe the gun after the first round is fired?

Again, Thanks for the comments
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When I was a newbie and had my first Zeus, I misread the 1,000psi as 100psi. I fired it into a couple of pillows to unload. Well, it went through the pillows, the headboard, the wall and the outer brick wall stopped it. Here is the funny part, it wasn't a pellet, it was one of my first jeweler's wax and shot rounds.
 
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2Toes2Many said:
I was using Texoma

4,500 psi, yes. Those plastic slug holders were seated firmly for both shots as well.
The (Texoma) slug was a proper fit in the plastic holders too.
And that designed pressure blew the **** out of the (afik) STOCK bullet holder in a single shot... four times in a row.
Turned 4 bullet holders into shrapnel... until I ran outta bullet holders.

I'm gonna just post the full email convo... Ya see, when the holders shredded, (but before I asked for a refund) the seller told me he had 'received a bad run of those' maybe some got mixed in with the good ones and so forth... and how it wasn't my fault.
But then I asked for my money back, and it turned ugly quick.

I believe the grooved cartridge base (Texoma video I think?) may be critical to venting.
I think this groove would've negated the breakage. Mine is not even the magnum!
As it sits now, I wonder if even (the coming new) metal holders can take shock like that.
...unless the stock holders were just junk plastic and not even genuine AEA...???
OTOH, I can't find any pics on google of grooved cartridge bases at all.
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Sorry for a very slow reply. I think I have a handle on why some of the plastic inserts frag (Sometimes with the first use). It is kinda, sorta, a design flaw with the gun. The gun itself is great, and I have had flawless luck with it, but the culprit is an insanely simple fix. Take your barrel out of your Harpoon and remove it from the adapter. Take whatever caliber pellet you have and try to push it into the barrel (Unless it is undersized or you are Hercules, it probably will not go in). However, it is amazing what 5,000psi of air pressure can accomplish. I believe every one of these 45, 50, 51, and 58-cal barrels should have a short chamber area. For instance, a 50-cal barrel would have a 1/2" deep .4995" hone run into it. This provides a transition point for the pellet to enter the barrel. I will do a video next week showing a 50-cal pellet fired from a honed/chambered and unhoned barrel to compare the slugs.

Thanks, Jim
 
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xsiv4s said:
When I was a newbie and had my first Zeus, I misread the 1,000psi as 100psi. I fired it into a couple of pillows to unload. Well, it went through the pillows, the headboard, the wall and the outer brick wall stopped it. Here is the funny part, it wasn't a pellet, it was one of my first jeweler's wax and shot rounds.
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I just got my shipment of those, thanks. I really like these wax/shot rounds of yours... like a little mini full choke shotgun except
the round is spinning and solid until it hits something. Great snake shot... if you like snake puree...
 
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xsiv4s said:
Sorry for a very slow reply. I think I have a handle on why some of the plastic inserts frag (Sometimes with the first use). It is kinda, sorta, a design flaw with the gun. The gun itself is great, and I have had flawless luck with it, but the culprit is an insanely simple fix. Take your barrel out of your Harpoon and remove it from the adapter. Take whatever caliber pellet you have and try to push it into the barrel (Unless it is undersized or you are Hercules, it probably will not go in). However, it is amazing what 5,000psi of air pressure can accomplish. I believe every one of these 45, 50, 51, and 58-cal barrels should have a short chamber area. For instance, a 50-cal barrel would have a 1/2" deep .4995" hone run into it. This provides a transition point for the pellet to enter the barrel. I will do a video next week showing a 50-cal pellet fired from a honed/chambered and unhoned barrel to compare the slugs.

Thanks, Jim
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I just removed the barrels and you're right. My .50 cal slugs (.495/ 275gr) will not go through, or even into... the barrel.
I can't get the slug to go into the barrel even using a rod.

I would love to see this video.
 
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2Toes2Many said:
I just removed the barrels and you're right. My .50 cal slugs (.495/ 275gr) will not go through, or even into... the barrel.
I can't get the slug to go into the barrel even using a rod.

I would love to see this video.
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It's coming. I think I will add a cylinder to all future 50 caliber barrels that pass through my hands, and I'll see if I have the right hone for the 457.
 
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2Toes2Many said:
I just got my shipment of those, thanks. I really like these wax/shot rounds of yours... like a little mini full choke shotgun except
the round is spinning and solid until it hits something. Great snake shot... if you like snake puree...
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Yeah, I like the concept behind Glaser Safety slugs. I bullet until impact, and then all hell breaks loose.
 
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2Toes2Many said:
Well, I thought I could try getting into this air gun hobby. I liked the look of the harpoon and ended up with an initial investment of about $1000 including compressor and extra cartridges.

But the first time I fired it, it blew up the bullet holders in my hand. I fired two rounds, and both bullet holders were shattered to pieces. Please see pics. I noticed there is also no machined groove for venting across the bottom of the shells that were sent. Although I can’t be sure if that’s critical.

Anyway, all four plastic bullet holders were absolutely shredded after only one shot each. I’m $1000 deep into this new gun that explodes under fire in my hand.
The seller tells me it’s probably my fault and to buy some metal bullet holders from Texoma. I did order them along with a charging block from Texoma. But then when I fired my other two cartridges and they blew up in the gun, I was done. I can’t have this. I’m not an expert, but guns aren’t supposed to blow up internal components while shootingin from my hand.

At this point, I am seriously afraid of this 50 caliber gun. It has been fired four times, breaking each time. I asked the vendor for a refund and he vehemently explained to me about his policy, and how it’s my fault. And how I’ve damaged the gun. And how he’s going to take a 30% restocking fee, even though the gun has never worked. And that if I returned the gun and anything is scratched or broken, there will be no refund at all. He would also issue the call tag, but rather is forcing me to pay for return shipping.

I was really hoping I had this cool new hobby here and I would probably really like it if my gun felt safer. But after the seller started blaming me I knew this deal was falling apart. I have canceled the charge through my bank and I’m waiting for the vendor to issue a call tag so I can send him his defective merchandise back.


I’m probably going to have to eat the cost of the Texoma merchandise I bought and now have no use for. This has been a rough experience for me. I would have exchanged for a different brand, but frankly, I’m scared of the seller too now.

What a bummer to get this experience from my new hobby.
On a sidenote, the seller was a nice guy and answered questions for me by email several times. I liked him and I thought we were getting along. That is until stuff started blowing up. Then he didn’t like me so much anymore.

I’m so frustrated to have to send so many things back to so many vendors all because of this one problem.



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Sorry you got a bad pcp but I guess the lesson was learned. If you're not happy with it send it back ASAP, no exchanges. The only AEA pcp I own and would even consider owning are the Challengers and maybe Zeus.
 
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357cal said:
Sorry you got a bad pcp but I guess the lesson was learned. If you're not happy with it send it back ASAP, no exchanges. The only AEA pcp I own and would even consider owning are the Challengers and maybe Zeus.
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You showed 4 pictures of the broken plastic inserts. Was the gun damaged? Next week, I will be doing a video on why I believe the barrels need a small chamber area (The reason I believe the plastic inserts are shattering). If what I think works, it will be a simple fix (About 30 seconds on the lathe for each one of the barrels).
 
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Good post and bad post. Gettimg into pcps is not about trying to het an air cannon. You cannot hold a grudge to all pcps either when you bought an AEA for one and also a gimmick gun at that. There are tons out there that perform mich better, especially for the money you put into that one. Research is always needed on new ventures.
 
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357cal said:
Sorry you got a bad pcp but I guess the lesson was learned. If you're not happy with it send it back ASAP, no exchanges. The only AEA pcp I own and would even consider owning are the Challengers and maybe Zeus.
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It's a good air gun. The Texoma slug holders made it so. Texoma Jim (xsiv4s) says he's researching a fix and will make a video.
I'm keeping the gun and I'll probably send in the barrels for machining if he suggests it.
 
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xsiv4s said:
You showed 4 pictures of the broken plastic inserts. Was the gun damaged? Next week, I will be doing a video on why I believe the barrels need a small chamber area (The reason I believe the plastic inserts are shattering). If what I think works, it will be a simple fix (About 30 seconds on the lathe for each one of the barrels).
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Nope, no damage to the gun. There was a tiiny shudder in the gun you could feel in your hand when shooting with he plastic inserts. I didn't really realize the little vibration until days later when I got the steel inserts from you... which have no vibration issues.

IMO, ALL Harpoons should come stock with these inserts. Plastic gun parts are bullshirt.
 
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