Hello All looking at many different air guns. Found this AEA line lotta talk. Wondering what mods aftermarket parts are available to build on if any?
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AEA HP varmint upgradabilty?
- Thread starter paydroni
- Start date
I've been looking at that model myself, also curious about upgrades. I see a lot of add-on parts that are of dubious usefulness, so I'm interested in seeing what's out there that's properly effective at upgrading.
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I was also interested in the HP vamint, it looks to be a nice gun but I don't think its what im looking for. What it seems to be is a manual/repeating version of their semi-auto. I do know you can actually get the semi-auto parts and convert it into a semi. Thats all fine and good, but I really have no interest in a semi-auto and the design has no provisions for a plenum if you were going to add a regulator.
Some of the other guns they have based on this design have the ability to add a second bottle as a buttstock. But i dont think you can do that with this version. I was thinking it would be neat to have a regulator on the front bottle and then use the second bottle as the plenum. But i dont think thats possible...
Some of the other guns they have based on this design have the ability to add a second bottle as a buttstock. But i dont think you can do that with this version. I was thinking it would be neat to have a regulator on the front bottle and then use the second bottle as the plenum. But i dont think thats possible...
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I don't think you can turn it into semi-auto with the varmint barrel. As you probably know the semi auto function works based on blow back inside the barrel shroud, and the plunger part at the end of the coil needs to be close to the end of the barrel for it to work. The HP SS semi autos have a much shorter barrel.
Perhaps with a combination of Terminator and HP SS parts it could be made to work. Good luck with that.
AFAIK the only reasonable upgrade for an HP Varmint is a 700cc CF bottle.
Perhaps with a combination of Terminator and HP SS parts it could be made to work. Good luck with that.
AFAIK the only reasonable upgrade for an HP Varmint is a 700cc CF bottle.
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Conversion kits included the barrel when I have seen them available.
I have a varmint and it is one of my most accurate guns. I got it when they were having some issues with the crown of the barrels but recrowned it. I’ve not heard any complaints of barrel issues lately.
I have modified mine with a balanced valve but I haven’t heard of one commercially available. Maybe in time someone will produce one.
Dave
I have a varmint and it is one of my most accurate guns. I got it when they were having some issues with the crown of the barrels but recrowned it. I’ve not heard any complaints of barrel issues lately.
I have modified mine with a balanced valve but I haven’t heard of one commercially available. Maybe in time someone will produce one.
Dave
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Does yours have the power adjustment wheel? I noticied some do and some dont.. also some deal with the trigger and some hate it from what I read..
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Does the balanced valve work like a regulator? Can you post a pic please im curious?
Mine does have a power wheel.
The balanced valve just lowers the force necessary to crack the valve open so a lighter hammer spring can be used for an equivalent power level. For me it’s for lowering cocking force.
I don’t have pictures but bv’s have been discussed a lot and everyone tends to make them a bit different but they all generally do the same thing.
Dave
The balanced valve just lowers the force necessary to crack the valve open so a lighter hammer spring can be used for an equivalent power level. For me it’s for lowering cocking force.
I don’t have pictures but bv’s have been discussed a lot and everyone tends to make them a bit different but they all generally do the same thing.
Dave
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Have you opened it up and taken note of what it might take to improve on the heavy trigger? I've heard of users swapping out a couple of the springs, but that doesn't usually do anything for the breaking weight. Any chance of polishing contact points?
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Sure, polishing contact points is always a good place to start. Some have noted spring changes have helped but I’ve not changed mine.
Obviously since cocking effort (hammer spring tension) is lower with a balanced valve, the trigger naturally becomes lighter as well.
Dave
Obviously since cocking effort (hammer spring tension) is lower with a balanced valve, the trigger naturally becomes lighter as well.
Dave
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I'm following Dave's mods closely as I want to reduce the hammer pull a bit. My barrel is less than ideal, rust and pitting and a request for an RMA from UA has gone unanswered so I may just work on this one for a bit and see how the accuracy is. This will be a dedicated slug gun shooting .25 cal, 36gr NOE HP's and I will cook up a batch of them today and see if I can load one right from the mold.
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I have two AEA's, one a HP Backpacker and a Terminator. Currently the Backpacker has a 2.75lb trigger pull the Terminator is down to 4 lb. Polishing and lighter springs will lower it some but the sear and hammer catch is where the biggest gain can be had. I lower the sear catch .015 - .020 and polish the hammer catch that changed the Terminator from 6.5 lb to 4 lb. I go gradual on shorting the sear until I get what I want. Go slow and use moly grease on the contact surfaces . Shoot it at least 50 times before you work on the sear again. The moly generally will lower another 1/2 lb as it burnishes in.
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Yupper! I did that today, reduced trigger pull to 2# and smoothed it out considerably. I polished the trigger catch and sear as well.
I'll swap out the trigger spring tomorrow when I drop by the hardware store, I want to drop it to 1+#.
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There are many change-outs you can turn it into a semi automatic on mine I did a lot of stuff to it 700cc carbon fiber air tank plenum and regulator very easily to work on I can get up to 91 foot pounds
I'd have to shorten the barrel to do the semi-mod. I already have a HP Carbine in .22 and MAN, it's a lot of fun!
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Since your rifles are not semiauto you probably can get away with real light trigger and sear spring setup. Only concern would be slam firing, (which I can't see as likely) and firing when dropped or bumped. The safeties on these rifles don't allow for much trigger movement when engaged so you don't have the issue of pulling trigger with safety on then possibility of it going off when disengaged.
The Terminator is a model that has a back bottle for a stock. This forced some changes to the catch mechanism. The trigger is virtually the same but the sear, hammer engagement is different. The HP models use a round hammer with the sear catching the edge of the hammer ring. As the hammer turns so does your engagement. Thus you have to polish the entire ring on the hammer to achieve consistency. The Terminator has a more traditional milled catch and the bolt is fixed in position so it will not turn. The sear-hammer engagements remain consistent. The basic trigger sear engagement is same as HP models.
Have not used the rear bottle on the Terminator due to weight. I have a 700cc CF front tank for it but I cannot find the adaptor to attach the bottle to the receiver. I am considering the Varmint kit for my HP. But I really like the semiauto feature and accuracy is very good. IMO this is the most exciting line of airguns I have seen. Not as refined as the higher end rifles but there is a simplicity to the design along with offering a multi selection of hunting and plinking rifles for prices that are hard to beat.
The Terminator is a model that has a back bottle for a stock. This forced some changes to the catch mechanism. The trigger is virtually the same but the sear, hammer engagement is different. The HP models use a round hammer with the sear catching the edge of the hammer ring. As the hammer turns so does your engagement. Thus you have to polish the entire ring on the hammer to achieve consistency. The Terminator has a more traditional milled catch and the bolt is fixed in position so it will not turn. The sear-hammer engagements remain consistent. The basic trigger sear engagement is same as HP models.
Have not used the rear bottle on the Terminator due to weight. I have a 700cc CF front tank for it but I cannot find the adaptor to attach the bottle to the receiver. I am considering the Varmint kit for my HP. But I really like the semiauto feature and accuracy is very good. IMO this is the most exciting line of airguns I have seen. Not as refined as the higher end rifles but there is a simplicity to the design along with offering a multi selection of hunting and plinking rifles for prices that are hard to beat.
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Slam firing is caused by the firing pin overcoming the spring and contacting the primer upon closing the bolt from hold-open. This is not something that can happen with an airgun.
Bump-firing is when the butstock impacts the ground/object and jars the catch off of the sear.
These AEA guns have a positive latch safety where the hammer is locked behind the sear shoulder and cannot move when the safety is engaged. Bump-firing can only happen from a "Fire" position.
The "lawyer" spring change for the Varmint will not be a concern for me since I carry with the safety on. The HP Carbine is more suited for a 4# trigger in any case BUT is still prone to chain firing when too much air is allowed through the disk.
I know nothing about the Terminator but the bolt/sear/hammer sounds the same as the HP PRO, Carbine and Varmint.
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