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Barrel and slug comparison STX VS Superior

My Superior Heavy slug barrel looked even worse. Only thing is, it shot even worse than it looked. I was told to contact FX USA and I did. Never heard a word from them. 

I removed the choke which was .005" Huge choke! (Far too much choke), and polished the bore. 

Here are before and after pics.

Knife

This at only 50
DSC02609.1610764077.JPG
 yards. 

Now, 80 yards. View attachment DSC02497.1610764171.JPG and a 11 shot group. One to settle the reg, 10 on target. 
DSC02656.1610764228.JPG

 
OK I went ahead and installed the ugly liner and drove out to the range to shoot it. No wind at all today that never happens. There was a slight drizzle of rain falling most of the time though. Spent the first hour shooting what I thought was 18.3 JSB's but finally figured out that I had put the wrong lid on the tin and they were actually 13.4 pellets. Went from lower 800fps to lower 900fps and the best I could do was a 3/4 inch group at 50 yards.

So, then I shot some Air Arms, FX, and Polymag 16 gr pellets they did not do that well either although I did get some nice 4 shot groups there was always a flier that opened things up to 3/4 inch.

Started the 18.3 grain JSB King Heavy pellets out at just under 800fps and raised the fps up a little every five shots. I started getting some clover leaf one hole 3 shot groups pretty regular at around 830fps. But they opened up mostly 3/4 and a few 1/2 inch groups with five shots. Doesn't look like it can do better and I think it should.

I tried some of the NSA 20 gr slugs at around 830fps too and they printed 1.5 to 2 inch groups.

For a barrel that is posed to shoot most things well this one has failed miserably thus far and shoots as bad as it looks. I will try one more time before I see about sending it back.


 
knifemaker

That 80 yard group is what I expect out of my FX barrels and guns. Both my .177 and .25 liners/barrels do that often. But they came from the factory that way.

Great job you did on that barrel for sure.

I remember the old Crosman barrel lottery back in the day. I got a terrible barrel it shot groups like a shotgun so I shoved a pellet down it. It was very tight at the breech end and loose at the crown end so I cut off the breech and it's port and made it the crown end. Then I drilled a port in the crown end a used it as the breech end. Had it on my blue 2240 pistol and for over a decade it printed half inch groups at 50 yards. Hard to beat that kind of luck.
 
Yeah, I checked mine.... looks the same as yours.... It's a shooter for sure, too.

The superiors seem to do well around 950fps or so. Try that out. I was shooting 21gr slugs at 72 yards at 940fps, and it was loving it. Clover leafs at that yardage. And took an unfortunate grey as well when I was still sighting the gun in. Took a center mass shot as I was confident in that placement, and it was dead on the money, straight thru the heart DRT. Unfortunately the squirrel had parasites and could not be eaten.

I've shot some 18.13gr pellets at shorter ranges, and it seems to shoot just as well as my 380mm pellet liner. (it shoots crazy good) 
 
I could go for some Squirrel and dumplings. Went into the shooto swap scba bottles amd when I came out, o'l bushy tail was standing in front of my 80yard target. Grrrrr! He lit out as soon as I reached the Raptor. Double GRRRRRR!!!



I the barrel continues to shoot poorly, and you cant get replaced, might as well try a chole removal and test again. Hate to loos the length of bbl though. But a fast miss is still a miss! 😉

Knife
 
This is kind of what I expected as Utah Airguns said they didn't see anything wrong with it when I showed them the pics and described its lack of accuracy.

I have not polished the barrel up yet so I will do that first. Then if I am unable to get it to shoot anything, which I hope will not happen as most barrels will usually shoot something well, I may just cut it down and use it for a pistol barrel. The accuracy loss won't mean so much then.

Still I shot all of the pellets that the FX guns usually shoot lights out with, at many velocities, and only got a couple of half inch groups with the JSB 18.3s but mostly 3/4 inch at 50 yards with everything so not like an FX barrel in my past experiences.

My .25 600mm STX and 700mm slug A both do clover leafs at that range as does my STX .177 pellet barrel. So I am disappointed for sure. Then again one out of four bad so 75% good is about the norm for stuff I buy these days so I'm really not too upset.
 
Yeah, I checked mine.... looks the same as yours.... It's a shooter for sure, too.

The superiors seem to do well around 950fps or so. Try that out. I was shooting 21gr slugs at 72 yards at 940fps, and it was loving it. Clover leafs at that yardage. And took an unfortunate grey as well when I was still sighting the gun in. Took a center mass shot as I was confident in that placement, and it was dead on the money, straight thru the heart DRT. Unfortunately the squirrel had parasites and could not be eaten.

I've shot some 18.13gr pellets at shorter ranges, and it seems to shoot just as well as my 380mm pellet liner. (it shoots crazy good)


Actually bought the 500mm so I could shoot pellets at slower velocities so I hope it's not a short slug barrel but I will test it just to see.
 
Well think I have the liner figured out and maybe fixed. They choked the loose end of the barrel instead of the tight end. So you put a pellet in the breech and it was really tight for 12 inches or so then it got loosey goosey, for the next 12 inches then it hit the choke. Probly not good for accuracy. So I spent an hour and a half lapping the tightest part of the barrel. Actually gave up at one point and straightened the bent STX liner I got off of the classifieds. Decided I would try it on the Impact again. 

But I persevered and werqed a little more on my new Superior liner instead and I think I got it. Patches slide in and easily slide evenly all the way to the choke now. So, it's out to the range to try it out tomorrow.

I really don't think I should have to do all of this to a brand new liner FX personages!


 
Guess all of that hard werq, lapping this liner, kind of paid off. Most groups shrank from 3/4 to 1/2 inch and I got the JSB 15.89s to give me a couple of one hole 5 shot groups at 50 yards in a row. The 18.3s did almost as well. Still all of my other FX barrels shoot each projectile well at several different velocities. This liner requires a specific velocity for each pellet and varying from it is a no go accuracy wise.

I was in the high 700s to mid 800s with my testing this time out. I'm going to go really low on the velocities next time out to see if I can get what I want which is an accurate lighter pellet at 600-650fps.

So at least I don't have to chop this brand new barrel up to make it useful but really FX an hour and a half lapping and several hundred pellets to make it werq half as good as my STX liners? 

Not so sure about all the hype with the Superior liners I am.