Hey all, just got a bulldog, prime day 20% off couldn’t pass up the savings. What should I expect as a break in period for this thing? My hatsan Bullboss I’ve had about a year, thousands of pellets through it (AA field target 25.4gr) and it’s literally single hole at 60yds. My .177 marauder same thing probably have about 1500-2000 rounds through that and it’s a laser. I’ve shot +\- 100rds through the bulldog with air Venturi slugs (127gr RN, 115gr HP) JSB 81gr & a magazine or two of Polymags. Thing is I can’t seem to get grouping of any kind. I’ve tried off the bipod, & a few different bags. This is my first big bore. I’ve tried different holds too, as I have experience with springers and powderburners alike. Am I being impatient or are my expectations too high for this particular gun? I’ve been looking at the Pitbull website and thinking a few mods like the larger tank, huma regulator, barrel supports, depinger and trigger group might be in order to tame it a little. I plan on hunting with this gun and demand accuracy accordingly. I absolutely despise missing the mark when hunting for various reasons.
Break in period for Benjamin bulldog?
- Thread starter Fasyankee
- Start date
Should be good from the box.
Amazon eh, purchased through Crosman or ? There first run , may, have had some issue so were sold off cheap, undisclosed revisions and they do seem to shoot better.
Personally find the AV ammo lacking (horribly) but the pellets should have been okay.
Those pricey Nosler's seem to shoot very well.
On barrel supports, order a few from crosman for a few dollars, you'll need to slightly modify them (you'll see super easy) for an actual good fit which will stiffen it up. Depinger wont help a thing. Same with larger tube.
Post up a picture of some groups.
John
Amazon eh, purchased through Crosman or ? There first run , may, have had some issue so were sold off cheap, undisclosed revisions and they do seem to shoot better.
Personally find the AV ammo lacking (horribly) but the pellets should have been okay.
Those pricey Nosler's seem to shoot very well.
On barrel supports, order a few from crosman for a few dollars, you'll need to slightly modify them (you'll see super easy) for an actual good fit which will stiffen it up. Depinger wont help a thing. Same with larger tube.
Post up a picture of some groups.
John
Upvote 0
Yeah actually the jsb’s were pretty good. I was hoping to use something a little heavier and slug shaped/HP. I’m just feeling disappointed compared to my other rifles. Even with my Gamo ACCU 177 underlever I can erase the bullseye at 100yds on those little 3” dirty bird 4x4 arrays (12”x12” sheer with 16 targets) consistently w/JSB 7.87 or 8.4gr pellets. I can confidently headshot a squirrel with that up to 100yds......at this point I wouldn’t even aim this bulldog at an animal. I hear what your saying about the earlier models. I just figured those were all gone/sold by now. Any way I can cross reference serial # to find out?
Upvote 0
There were all at 50 yds, from a Caldwell rest, 10 shot groups, topped off to 3000psi each group
Upvote 0
G
Guest
Guest
I have the Pitbull Barrel Supports, Pitbull Mega Moderator and I bored out the valve and transfer port to .281. I’m getting one ragged hole at 25yds and 1/2” at 50yds on a good day with 5 shot groups. I’ll usually shoot 5 shots from 2800 down which is the best range from the shot string below. I also turned in the HS 2.5 turns from stock. I think your main issue is you need to support your barrel. Both the supports and the Maga moderator do wonders for this gun.
1. 968 (3000 psi)
2. 950
3. 1030 (2800 psi)
4. 1042
5. 1033
6. 1024
7. 1012
8. 984
9. 939
10. 938 (2000 psi)
Average: 992
Min: 938
Max: 1042
ES: 104
1. 968 (3000 psi)
2. 950
3. 1030 (2800 psi)
4. 1042
5. 1033
6. 1024
7. 1012
8. 984
9. 939
10. 938 (2000 psi)
Average: 992
Min: 938
Max: 1042
ES: 104
Upvote 0
G
Guest
Guest
BTW, I couldn’t get the AV slugs to shoot worth a darn. Pellets only for me. I did shoot some 230gr Mr. HP and they were 1/2” at 25. They hit hard, but were really slow.
Upvote 0
Get yourself some quality slugs from Nielsen Ammo and you will most likely be pleased with the results!
Bulldogs can be picky about slug diameter so you may have to experiment to find the best for your barrel!
Bulldogs can be picky about slug diameter so you may have to experiment to find the best for your barrel!
Upvote 0
Anyone have experience with those eBay slugs from the guy in Florida? In regards to my groups I guess she’s breaking in a little. Initially all the pellets looked like that AV HP group....just all over the place. I also have to get higher mount rings. My cheek weld is awful with the low mount rings. I haven’t thrown any shots past the chrony either I wanted to wait till it was at least a little broken in before getting a baseline which I’ll do prior to any changes and after each change I make individually. I’m more concerned about accuracy and shot count than velocity. That’s why I think the regulator/larger cylinder will suit me well. As long as this thing lofts 80-150gr projectiles at at least 800fps accurately I’ll be satisfied. I made some major modifications to my Bullboss (.25) and the thing is an absolute tack-driver out to about 85yds. After that with AA/JSB 33.95 heavies they go a little screwy....the only slug I ever shot out of that was the grizzlys which were horrible past 20yds. I’m going to “try” and keep the bulldog mods strictly off the shelf-bolt on stuff.
Upvote 0
A bit hard to say for certain but if you are firing all 10 shots in a group from a single fill, you have a shooter.
Straight out of the box at 50 yards 3 (maybe 5) shot groups. Chrony & tweak it a bit and you may have the groups you want ( but not 10 per fill at range). The factory barrel support ( just open the end so they slide all the way down ) are much better fit than some others and cost just a couple of dollars.
Johhn
Straight out of the box at 50 yards 3 (maybe 5) shot groups. Chrony & tweak it a bit and you may have the groups you want ( but not 10 per fill at range). The factory barrel support ( just open the end so they slide all the way down ) are much better fit than some others and cost just a couple of dollars.
Johhn
Upvote 0
I had one of the early ones. I bought a bunch of pitbull stuff and made it better, but it was never great. A buddy bought a later version of a bulldog, it was much better out of the box even without any mods. Bottom line some are duds, some are studs.
Upvote 0
AV tend to be cast out of too hard an alloy to shoot well.
Buying from eBay is the same cr@pshoot, you don't know how well they are cast to consistent weights in a batch of bulkets or what alloy they used.
For now, buy a 'standard' of known accuracy and go with NSA swaged to test what the rifle is capable of. Right now you are dealing with too many variables.... Simplify!
A stock Bulldog is going to shoot 110gr to 130gr at reasonable velocities but some have had good accuracy with the NSA 142 BTHP. Once you open it up you get fewer but more powerful shots and can use heavier slugs. And the heavier tend to be more accurate.
Also, the FX NoLimit rings are adjustable for height and can be set sloped too. Good value actually.
Buying from eBay is the same cr@pshoot, you don't know how well they are cast to consistent weights in a batch of bulkets or what alloy they used.
For now, buy a 'standard' of known accuracy and go with NSA swaged to test what the rifle is capable of. Right now you are dealing with too many variables.... Simplify!
A stock Bulldog is going to shoot 110gr to 130gr at reasonable velocities but some have had good accuracy with the NSA 142 BTHP. Once you open it up you get fewer but more powerful shots and can use heavier slugs. And the heavier tend to be more accurate.
Also, the FX NoLimit rings are adjustable for height and can be set sloped too. Good value actually.
Upvote 0
I called crosman directly and they said that the bulldog will take all 38 special rounds of pure lead. Try buying a mold and sizing your barrel. Then measure and pick your sizing die. Should be pretty close.
Upvote 0
I should have mentioned there are companies that will make a mold around your barrel size. Size it first then find the mold. My bad.
Upvote 0
A stock Bulldog is not powerful enough to shoot 158gr lead factory bullets. There are a bunch of bullet sellers out there with lighter offerings but their bullets are TOO HARD and will not shoot as good as something of Brinell hardness 12 and below. I've found that 1:40 tin:lead (2.5%) is about right and that's under 10 in hardness. Pure lead works at a hardness of 6 but ALL slugs have to be lubed so they don't foul the barrel. Pellets don't, slugs do. Lots of info around here on lubes, search.
It's only got enough power for 80gr to 130gr. If you open it up to the "Pitbull" mods it will shoot a 150gr at 950 or so FPS for 3 or 4 shots.
Most .357 (not 9mm which is .355) bullet molds throw a .360 bullet and the shooter sizes it down to fit what he wants. Few Bulldogs like .356, most shoot well with .357 and a very few like .358. Yes, I slug every rifles bore but I'm a perfectionist, it's not really needed by most slug shooters of Bulldogs since the barrels are fairly consistent.
The NOE sizing system is a good value and the insert dies come in many sizes and are cheap. Buy the body kit then inserts .357 and .358.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=564_104
Buy a cheap Lee reloading press to mount it in ( I mounted mine UNDER my workbench upside-down and just drop in a (lubed) bullet, pull the handle and a sized bullet drops into the can under it.
You can find them for $29, don't pay list price
https://leeprecision.com/reloader-press.html
It's only got enough power for 80gr to 130gr. If you open it up to the "Pitbull" mods it will shoot a 150gr at 950 or so FPS for 3 or 4 shots.
Most .357 (not 9mm which is .355) bullet molds throw a .360 bullet and the shooter sizes it down to fit what he wants. Few Bulldogs like .356, most shoot well with .357 and a very few like .358. Yes, I slug every rifles bore but I'm a perfectionist, it's not really needed by most slug shooters of Bulldogs since the barrels are fairly consistent.
The NOE sizing system is a good value and the insert dies come in many sizes and are cheap. Buy the body kit then inserts .357 and .358.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=564_104
Buy a cheap Lee reloading press to mount it in ( I mounted mine UNDER my workbench upside-down and just drop in a (lubed) bullet, pull the handle and a sized bullet drops into the can under it.
You can find them for $29, don't pay list price
https://leeprecision.com/reloader-press.html
Upvote 0
Kinetic, I’m really interested in this. Is anyone aware if it’s possible to shoot JHP slugs out of the bulldog (or any other PCP for that matter)? I have a reloading shop in the next town over and can get bullets in bulk at a pretty handsome discount. The shop owner explained that customers with air force rifles are getting good results. Crosman and H&N sells their copper coated pellets that I’ve shot without a problem.....
Upvote 0
Copper coated is one thing ( it's just thin plating), jacketed is another
99.98% of Airgun shooters know that shooting jacketed bullets is not productive. But the subject comes up time after time.
Go to this link and it's covered there
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=160762.0
I have 3 Texans and I've had problems with hard cast bullets experimenting so I have doubts that anyone is shooting the MUCH HARDER jacketed in a Texan. You COULD maybe shoot a .451 in the .457 barrel ( or msybe a .355/9mm in a .357) and be able to force the bullet into the rifling then shoot it but you would get blowby and the friction would be high and I would still worry about a stuck bullet. Somebody is blowing smoke.
My usual response is "Please try it and report back your results" to the unbelievers.
99.98% of Airgun shooters know that shooting jacketed bullets is not productive. But the subject comes up time after time.
Go to this link and it's covered there
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=160762.0
I have 3 Texans and I've had problems with hard cast bullets experimenting so I have doubts that anyone is shooting the MUCH HARDER jacketed in a Texan. You COULD maybe shoot a .451 in the .457 barrel ( or msybe a .355/9mm in a .357) and be able to force the bullet into the rifling then shoot it but you would get blowby and the friction would be high and I would still worry about a stuck bullet. Somebody is blowing smoke.
My usual response is "Please try it and report back your results" to the unbelievers.
Upvote 0
Kinetic, I visited the shop and re-inquired about his customers having good results. It seems the truth to the matter was a case of miscommunication. He was referring to non-jacketed pure lead slug. I realized this while during the conversation I specifically asked if they were using JHP’s to which he responded no, and affirmed they’d only purchased lead slugs. This shop is mostly powderburners but has a pretty sizable airgun section with two aisles of pellets, AV slugs, aftermarket parts and related sundries. He usually also has a few air force rifles, couple of Benjamin products (armada, marauder, bulldog). I had inquired about the bulldog prior to my purchase of mine and he stated “I’ll beat any online price” and then quoted me $1000 for a rifle-only price for a bulldog.....I got mine for $520 new/shipped. I was once a small business owner and as such I usually try and buy from local shops to support the little guy but couldn’t pass up that sort of discount or attempt to beat him up on the price. He didn’t have any .357 slugs in stock but I’ll go back next week and grab a batch to try out. That being said I got some NSA BT slugs (forgot the weight). The perform “ok” but not what I was expecting as far as grouping at 50yds. I did however get some NSA .177 21gr FB slugs for my marauder and they’re pellet on pellet consistently at 50yds, almost MOA at 100yds. So far the polymags have given me the best grouping.....guess I’ll just keep on trying different pellets/slugs till I find the perfect recipe, although I hate wasting $$ on non-performing lead I do enjoy the range time!
Upvote 0
I have 2 bulldogs, one off the original and one I have tuned. The stock bulldog IMHO will not shoot a slug effectivley over 90 grains. Bob over at hollow point does all my slugs and I have experimented with several on original bulldog, only way to get decent grouping and accuracy was to stay below 110 grain. On my second BD, opened transfer port ad valve. Installed the long tank but I did my own end caps dont like the air bow cap PB uses and it lets me use original QC air fill. Refit a pitbull moderator so it would not utilize its barell support. . Added a 6000psii guage for new tank, put factory spring back in after mods found the valve reacts way better with spring at the higer pressures. Hammer spring adjustments, and getting barrel aligment on track buy altering factory supports to work within the shroud. My BD can sling 187g spitzer at 898fps with no problems. I use bobs 150 wide mouth HP and I can sling those at 10001fps. Accuracy is spot on at 55 yards, and no bigger 1/2 inch group at 100. I did not use a Huma reg, I am getting 10 full power shots and 6 that are darn close. The BD can handle 4000psi but I have found with 160g HP slug 3200-3400 is sweet spot for air. I have sluuged my barrels and both utilize .358 rounds.
Upvote 0
I’ve been working so much damn overtime that I haven’t had a decent day to shoot in weeks it seems. I still haven’t ran my BD over the chrony to get stock baseline #’s before modding. I have 3 goals in mind pertaining to this rifle.
1: sound. Damn it’s loud. I have to wear earpro in my right ear from the sound of the action/shot/ping. Depinger and Donny FL moderator planned.
2: accuracy. I plan on hunting with it so this is paramount. The barrel supports seem to be necessary. Honestly I’m surprised they’re not stock. The sportsman trigger group seems to be a good fit as well.
3: power. Who doesn’t want more power? I’m no stranger to modding/port enlargement as I’ve nodded my Bullboss which I now refer to as the Bullbeast. I enlarged the port/barrel and included an aluminum transfer port, cleaned up both ends of the barrel, swapped out all the o-rings for those higher-pressure capable green o-rings (forgot what the material was called). Etc, etc....
4: slugs. I’m really keen on the slug idea rather than typical diabolo shaped pellets. I know and understand completely why the diabolo gets wonky after certain distances. The aforementioned bullbeast blasts .25 JSB heavies laser straight to @100yds. After that you can literally watch them spiral out of control due to the skirt/drag effect. I’d like to learn more about casting/swaging when it comes to this. I’ve cruised through the castboolits and NOE sites but still not completely certain what’s involved cost/time wise. Additionally I’d be interested in exploring the possibility of a barrel manufacturer who could supply a blank with different twists.
Shot count could be better but the extended/higher pressure tube eliminates the bipod rail on the bottom....no-bueno. A regulator would end up being a wash I think. Lowering the shot count at the cost of having fewer consistent shots at a higher velocity.
I used to have access to a complete tool & die shop and could have made anything I needed but unfortunately that’s all gone now (when your uncle lands in a nursing home on Medicaid, the govt takes all his property, auctions it off and low income housing gets put in its place).....grrrrr.
1: sound. Damn it’s loud. I have to wear earpro in my right ear from the sound of the action/shot/ping. Depinger and Donny FL moderator planned.
2: accuracy. I plan on hunting with it so this is paramount. The barrel supports seem to be necessary. Honestly I’m surprised they’re not stock. The sportsman trigger group seems to be a good fit as well.
3: power. Who doesn’t want more power? I’m no stranger to modding/port enlargement as I’ve nodded my Bullboss which I now refer to as the Bullbeast. I enlarged the port/barrel and included an aluminum transfer port, cleaned up both ends of the barrel, swapped out all the o-rings for those higher-pressure capable green o-rings (forgot what the material was called). Etc, etc....
4: slugs. I’m really keen on the slug idea rather than typical diabolo shaped pellets. I know and understand completely why the diabolo gets wonky after certain distances. The aforementioned bullbeast blasts .25 JSB heavies laser straight to @100yds. After that you can literally watch them spiral out of control due to the skirt/drag effect. I’d like to learn more about casting/swaging when it comes to this. I’ve cruised through the castboolits and NOE sites but still not completely certain what’s involved cost/time wise. Additionally I’d be interested in exploring the possibility of a barrel manufacturer who could supply a blank with different twists.
Shot count could be better but the extended/higher pressure tube eliminates the bipod rail on the bottom....no-bueno. A regulator would end up being a wash I think. Lowering the shot count at the cost of having fewer consistent shots at a higher velocity.
I used to have access to a complete tool & die shop and could have made anything I needed but unfortunately that’s all gone now (when your uncle lands in a nursing home on Medicaid, the govt takes all his property, auctions it off and low income housing gets put in its place).....grrrrr.
Upvote 0