Calling Benjamin Akela Owners

[Hajimoto]

I am working on making some items for the Benjamin Akela such as a Hajimoto Strip Stak Pak as well as a barrel band. Where I need some feedback is it has been my experience with the two Akela's I own that distance between the bottom of the barrel shroud and the top of the pressure tube is not consistent.

I do not necessarily think the two need to be parallel in order for the PCP to shoot well. The only critical alignment is the receiver/barrel to optical rail being parallel. If the pressure tube is on a descending angle of 1°, who cares, except when I'm trying to use that pressure tube as an anchor point for the barrel shroud.

The inconsistent gap I see between the shroud and the tube could be the barrel or it could be the tube so to help me narrow down any barrel issues I respectfully request your help with the following information:

• Have you had issues with getting your optic to be optically centered?
• Has your scope reached maximum elevation to overcome barrel droop or rise?
• Can you share two photos of your Akela one showing the rear distance and one showing the front distance, like the two examples I have provided?

My thought is If there is too much variance between Akelas a nominal distance would need to be adopted and I can produce one based on that nominal distance as long as the optic still has plenty of turret or the shooter is using adjustable height scope rings there will not be an issue.

My concern is if like my Akela, you have a 1/8" to 3/16" difference from front to rear because the pressure tube is drooping or the barrel is rising, and it is inconsistent from Akela to Akela, the barrel band may introduce too much of a barrel POI change to be compensated for in the optic.

Thank you in advance guys and gals!

 

[dizzums]

mine rises about a mil and a half rear to front and sits as it came out of the box ... im sure with some careful smootthing and deburring of parts i could get it perfect, and if i wanted a barrel band thats where id want it .. perfect with an oring so it floated kindof like a marauder .. i certainly wouldnt want anyrhing exerting pressure on the barrel .. so if your making it to 'straighten' the barrel out im sure that crowd will jump on it .. make it so it aligns with a trued up one ...

 

[Ripper]

 On mine the barrel rests on the end of the air tube. I put a thin piece of rubber between them. It’s still under warranty although I’ve had it for a little over a year. But I can’t lean it up against the wall or it’ll change POI.Those guns are known for their barrels being off on a lot of them.I’m surprised that there aren’t people out there making barrel bands for that gun when it’s a known problem. You can find all kinds of mods on so many guns. And a lot of those mods for other guns aren’t really needed. I’d like to get a barrel band for mine. I’m gonna take it out and shoot it again this spring and if the POI has changed again, I’m sending it back. Even if the barrel was straight like it supposed to be you can’t lean it against anything. That gun should have a barrel band from the factory. All that being said though, I didn’t have any problem sighting the scope in, even though I had to put a scope riser on it just to be able to shoot it comfortably. That gun has been too much of a pain in the ass just to get it somewhat the way I like it as far as being comfortable.

 

[Hajimoto]

On mine the barrel rests on the end of the air tube. I put a thin piece of rubber between them. It’s still under warranty although I’ve had it for a little over a year. But I can’t lean it up against the wall or it’ll change POI.Those guns are known for their barrels being off on a lot of them.I’m surprised that there aren’t people out there making barrel bands for that gun when it’s a known problem. You can find all kinds of mods on so many guns. And a lot of those mods for other guns aren’t really needed. I’d like to get a barrel band for mine. I’m gonna take it out and shoot it again this spring and if the POI has changed again, I’m sending it back. Even if the barrel was straight like it supposed to be you can’t lean it against anything. That gun should have a barrel band from the factory. All that being said though, I didn’t have any problem sighting the scope in, even though I had to put a scope riser on it just to be able to shoot it comfortably. That gun has been too much of a pain in the ass just to get it somewhat the way I like it as far as being comfortable.

I have this question up on a few other forums as well and so far I am convinced that either the pressure tube or the barrel to receiver interface is inconsistent when means my initial thought of engineering an adjustable barrel band will need to be further developed.

There are barrel bands out there for the Akela, there are many owners of 3D printers that have fabricated them but the issue is what I have laid out here and you guys helped with additional data points to prove my suspicion which is the variance is too great to make a one size fits all approach. I think I will dive into the engineering of the pressure tube assembly and its assembly surfaces to determine if there are tolerances that can be swayed during reassembly that will allow for a parallel pressure tube and barrel configuration without any destructive methods being employed.

Yeah, the typical issue with a bullpup is needing to get that optic so high that one check weld does not turn into the side of your face being parallel with the ground to achieve a site picture. I often feel like I need to have a slinky neck when shooting some bullpups.

I will continue to follow and update this thread with any new developments I have on this one. I do have a successful thread on HP Air Stripper and differing baffle chambers stack like I developed for other platforms that is performing beautifully. 

Thanks for the information.

 

[Hajimoto]

mine rises about a mil and a half rear to front and sits as it came out of the box ... im sure with some careful smootthing and deburring of parts i could get it perfect, and if i wanted a barrel band thats where id want it .. perfect with an oring so it floated kindof like a marauder .. i certainly wouldnt want anyrhing exerting pressure on the barrel .. so if your making it to 'straighten' the barrel out im sure that crowd will jump on it .. make it so it aligns with a trued up one ...

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Yeah yours is pretty parallel. Thanks for the data point!

 

[EPG]

The shroud on my Akela very slightly droops. It sits the thickness of a 3x5 index card above the rear band on the pressure tube and just barely touches the front band on the pressure tube (the weight of a moderator seems to contribute some droop). I sent an Akela back that had a very nice grained stock because it had a bent trigger that cracked stock at the top of the trigger guard - I figured likely during assembly. This second Akela I received as a replacement does not have as nice a stock, but it’s not cracked. It also has a bent trigger - but I will just disassemble and straighten it in a vice. Haji I think there is probably a lot of truing up that can be done with disassembly and reassembly as the 2 Akelas that I’ve had seem to have been somewhat slapped together. I will say this - the barrels are darn good. My .177 Akela shoots consistent < .5” groups at 37 yards with 10.5g Crosmans (only pellet I’ve tried yet). My .22 Cayden shoots consistent < .4” groups @ 37 yards with FX (JSB) 15.89 and H&N Barracuda 18s. The Cayden is like a poor man’s Daystate Huntsman (and I know that rifle because I own one - and nothing outshoots a Huntsman at 40 yards). 

 

[EPG]

One other thing. I HIGHLY recommend the SWFA SSALT one piece scope mount on an Akela. I can’t believe how nice my eye lines up with my 30mm tube Athlon scope with the Akela cheek piece in its lowest position.

 

[mtndragon]

Here is my Akela. As you can see I already have one of the ebay barrel bands, and it helped tremendously with POI shifts and accuracy. I also bought one of the scope rail braces, which I have yet to install, as I'd like to fabricate a way for it to bolt to the scope rail and secure the brace to the barrel and scope rail. When hunting, I will sometimes carry the gun by the scope, and the Akela scope rail has quite a bit of flex to it as well, especially when carrying the gun from the scope. While the scope rail flex has not affected my accuracy yet, I'd like to solve the scope rail flex issue so I can feel more confident carrying the gun by the scope when afield.



Overall, I am very impressed with the Akela's consistency and accuracy. It is a phenomenal gun at the price point it comes in at: It's a lot of what the Wildcat is at a fraction of the cost. In my opinion, the gun needs a barrel brace and a scope support in the next generation retooling, along with a lighter synthetic stock option. Best of luck with your project. I will be following it closely and if you find a better way to secure the barrel and scope rail than the ebay options, count me in.

 

[CyberDyneSystems]

Two questions;

- Are you assuming that the bottle is parallel with the scope rail?

- We aren't shooting Akela's out to M3 distances, but given the amount of discussion re: shimming scopes for pellet drop, would it not make any sense to have a barrel band lifting the barrel up to help compensate there? I mean, if we can tilt our scopes down, why not tilt the barrel up? (asking seriously)

 

[Hajimoto]

Two questions;

- Are you assuming that the bottle is parallel with the scope rail?

- We aren't shooting Akela's out to M3 distances, but given the amount of discussion re: shimming scopes for pellet drop, would it not make any sense to have a barrel band lifting the barrel up to help compensate there? I mean, if we can tilt our scopes down, why not tilt the barrel up? (asking seriously)

As I wrote in my opening post, "I do not necessarily think the two need to be parallel in order for the PCP to shoot well. The only critical alignment is the receiver/barrel to optical rail being parallel. If the pressure tube is on a descending angle of 1°, who cares, except when I'm trying to use that pressure tube as an anchor point for the barrel shroud.".
What I do not want to do is to have folks that are sighted in and getting great groups but want to have a more field worthy configuration to install a part that gives that stability but at the cost of losing optical centering which will result in scope shimming, scope mount changes and other factors. I am trying to navigate through the Akela while getting as many data points as I can to better understand the variables and therefore not introduce more.

Lifting or lowering the barrel is not an issue as you pointed out but again if that relocation taxes the limits of the elevation turret in either direction, additional scope mounting shimming or adjustment will be called for. Obviously, there are some that are not at all interested in venturing down that path.

 

[Hajimoto]

@mtndragon

@EPG

Thank you both for the images and feedback, much appreciated.

 

[Ripper]

Just ordered a barrel band on eBay for mine last night. My gun was put away and was out of mind until you brought up the subject. The last time I checked for a barrel band there was only one seller on eBay and his were out of stock. So I figured I’d check again last night. The ones on there now are much better looking anyway. Some 3-D printed things are pretty rough looking. But I like the looks of these ones now. I would’ve sent you a picture of mine but it wouldn’t of helped Because it was just how I explained it with the barrel laying on top of the air tube. Actually it was riding tightly against that front band on the air tube.