Western Airguns All Things Western Rattler 357 & 45 - Master Thread

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Bernie7 said:
@Airgun-hobbyist Okay, so I looked again and what I noticed is there’s two places where an o ring could fit. I drew this diagram to help. It’s a cross section and the red is where there’s currently an o ring which is like f’ckin impossible to get to(I have some nice channellock picks and it’s still impossible). But there’s a space that I marked in blue between the threads and then ‘shelf’ which looks like it could hold an o ring but I’m not sure it should.
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Bernie7 said:
Nvm, finally got it. What a PITA lol. I’ll post measurements momentarily in case anyone else runs into it
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It's good to see that you got it out of there. For future reference, because metal picks are a potential failure point of scratching the sealing surface, try a blast of high pressure air from an air chuck nozzle to get the edge of the ring partially out of the groove.
 
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Airgun-hobbyist said:
It's good to see that you got it out of there. For future reference, because metal picks are a potential failure point of scratching the sealing surface, try a blast of high pressure air from an air chuck nozzle to get the edge of the ring partially out of the groove.
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Thanks for the advice, so unfortunately after replacing the o ring with one from the AoA repair kit it still had a leak : (

Reached out to AoA and Shane confirmed the appropriate size is 12mm OD and 9mm ID of buna n 90 and is sending some more. I waded through some o rings at the machine shop and we had HNBR, viton and buna n 70 although they’re all in imperial, but they did have a metric 9x12 that seems to be slightly oversized so I think I’ll try that next with a tiny bit of silicone oil.

I’m assuming having slightly more rubber is better than less.
 
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In regards to the Western barrels, Rob at AOA had this to say on 12/05/24
Screenshot 2024-12-05 at 10.34.39 AM.png


source of photo https://community.hardairmagazine.c...and-sidewinder-barrels-specs.3385/#post-39421
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@tibor I'm really interested the .45 Western Rattler Long Strike. I think it boasts some good FPE. The Rattler .357 seems good enough for skunks, armadillos, beaver, feral dogs, coyotes, hogs, and maybe small to medium deer if I were to use a "one gun for everything" approach. That .45 looks like it may be able to handle larger game at longer distances. I haven't felt out the .357 Rattler as far as range to comfort level of acceptable power produced for specific quarry, but so far I like it for what it seems to be. The ability to take quick follow up shots is convenient, but I still have to get used to taking those shots. If you take a Rattler to your range, you'll get some attention.
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Dana of Mountain Sport Airguns taking coyote with the Western Rattler Long Strike

 
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Here's a picture the inside workings of the Rattler 45, cleaned of excessive grease, and ready to be re-greased and assembled. The hook tool was made by filing a small screwdriver to the appropriate size and shape to get in and under the cover via the three screw holes to lift it off squarely.

Re-greased on all the sliding and wear surfaces, it travels back to it's second stage and breaks smooth, light, and predictable; like "glass" as they say.
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Well a quick trip up the road to AOA this morning and my new 45 Rattler has been secured. I went with standard length even though they had both options available. With my situation and couple other variables it just made the most sense for me anyway.
Everything‘s looking good so far. Can’t wait to turn it loose on these coyotes.
Couple three shots over the crono look promising as well as groups on paper. This is with the .457 305g HP Assassin PRO SLUG(now Molly’s lead shed). With a little more tuning tomorrow then it will be off to try out on a yote or two..
IMG_0222.png
 
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MAUMAU said:
Is NSA or other slug manufacturers making a correctly sized and accurate slug for the .45 Long Strike.

Thanks in advance.
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There's several manufacturer's of several types of ammo, both swaged and cast. Try the .454 sized slugs for best results. Longer ammo is more stable and accurate also, but has to be shorter than an inch long to fit the magazine.

● https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/collections/45-cal
● www.mrhollowpoint.com
● https://griffinairguns.com/products/griffin-slugs-45-caliber-457-boat-tail-base-270-350-grain-50-ct
 
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Airgun-hobbyist said:
There's several manufacturer's of several types of ammo, both swaged and cast. Try the .454 sized slugs for best results. Longer ammo is more stable and accurate also, but has to be shorter than an inch long to fit the magazine.

● https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/collections/45-cal
● www.mrhollowpoint.com
● https://griffinairguns.com/products/griffin-slugs-45-caliber-457-boat-tail-base-270-350-grain-50-ct
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@Airgun-hobbyist No High Arc Hunter slugs work well in the Long Strike?
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@Airgun-hobbyist No High Arc Hunter slugs work well in the Long Strike?
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@Ezana4CE Yes, they do from what I understand from the videos. The High Arc Hunters are heavy but stable and accurate. However, I've never tested them because I want a bit more speed to go along with the energy (a good balance of the two for a flatter trajectory).
 
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Here's some thoughts as to some swaged slug experiments with the 45 Long Strike...

The slug's were made from re-sizing different manufacturer's slugs that ended up weighing around 285 grains, are hollow points with a deep dimple in the back about .890" long, traveling 760-765 fps.

What I found interesting is the slug's lead density and slight weight differences between slug manufacturer's seems to matter as to the group size, even with slugs being within a few grains of each other (probably due to things like barrel leading, how hold sensitive the auto-loader is, and probably my own "errors"). I kept the groups all between 1 moa and 2 moa for the most part at the varous long range yardages. Because I have the power wheel maxed out for 6 + consistent shots with 335 grain, 1" slugs and didn't adjust it, it seems the excess air may blow around these lighter dimpled slugs some.

I did manage a single 1/2 moa 5-shot group out at 175 yards, but the rest of the goups were not worthy of a picture so I didn't take a picture of that one good group.
 
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