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FX Enter: The FX Panthera Compact .22! ....Set up for what? FIELD TARGET?!?!? (Video Inside)

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AirShootist

AirShootist

Member
May 12, 2021
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IL, United States
I recently acquired an FX Panthera Hunter Compact in .22 and did something a little unorthodox with it. Now, obviously the Panthera is a gun designed to pull a lot of power out of that big plenum and deliver it efficiently with that short impulse valve. But what if it could be set up for for ultra low power.... as a sub 20 as an FT gun?

 
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AirShootist said:
I recently acquired an FX Panthera Hunter Compact in .22 and did something a little unorthodox with it. Now, obviously the Panthera is a gun designed to pull a lot of power out of that big plenum and deliver it efficiently with that short impulse valve. But what if it could be set up for for ultra low power.... as a sub 20 as an FT gun?

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Interested to see where this goes
 
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Motorhead hit the nail on the head.

The gun came from the factory at 110 bar. I could easily push the JSB 18 grainers at 875 like that. Obviously this was blasting the 13 grainers out way hot. I turned the hammer down to next to nothing and then I turned the reg down to like 80 bar. Less pressure, less velocity right? WRONG. went from 830fps or so (super light hammer, PW at like 4, 110 bar) with the 13 grainers and it went up to 880 at 80 bar. That valve was staying open for too long even with light hammer settings. Crazy. SD was bad. I ended up going through the pressure range (and I am by no means done fiddling with this yet) and settled at 130 bar with mid hammer. I am hovering between 800 and 825fps, with most shots in the 810ish range. Workable, but I'd like to stay within 10fps if possible.

There are (at least) 2 things going on here that are making my SD more than I'd like. 1) this is a brand new, unbroken in gun/reg and it needs to be shot a bunch. I should probably take the piston out and do my special sauce lube on it. 2) the Panthera is known for having that short impulse valving with direct plenum dumping ability, and it's all about popping that valve open to dump the plenum fast and also close the valve vast. Running at higher pressures will help you close that valve fast and get those tight SDs with the right tune.
Also, and I could be totally wrong, but it feels like this Hunter Compact has a lighter hammer weight and spring than my 600mm Panthera. And if that's true, then I am kinda bound to that until I get different springs and a heavier hammer weight to play around with. Anyway I think I just need to mess with it more. I was really surprised to see it running best at 130 bar vs lower pressures.

Like I said, I am by no means done messing with this so I will play around a little more and note the best settings. That said, I am still always curious to see what potentially wiser minds have to say, so any input is appreciated!
 
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I am gonna try even going UP more in pressure this weekend. Due to the dynamic valve being the largest yet, and this gun having a HUGE transfer port, I think maybe even like 150 bar with really low hammer. The high pressure will close the valve quick and I only need a tiny burst for these uber-lightweight pellets. I'll report back with whatever my findings are. Looking for super low SD.
 
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OK, so I tried going up in pressure, all the way up to 155 tops and it wasn't very consistent anywhere in there. Where I settled was back at 130 with the hammer at 7 and micro a little over 2. It's +/- like 10 FPS like 805 to 815ish like that. Perfectly suitable.

Since I last shot I have since taken apart the reg, polished the seat and shaft, and gave the whole assembly my super special sauce (silicone oil + silicone grease) so I bet you next time I shoot it the performance will be even better! Not that it hasn't taken a myriad of chipmunks in the head at 25 yards already, though, like the guy in the unedited raw footage below:


 
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AirShootist said:
OK, so I tried going up in pressure, all the way up to 155 tops and it wasn't very consistent anywhere in there. Where I settled was back at 130 with the hammer at 7 and micro a little over 2. It's +/- like 10 FPS like 805 to 815ish like that. Perfectly suitable.

Since I last shot I have since taken apart the reg, polished the seat and shaft, and gave the whole assembly my super special sauce (silicone oil + silicone grease) so I bet you next time I shoot it the performance will be even better! Not that it hasn't taken a myriad of chipmunks in the head at 25 yards already, though, like the guy in the unedited raw footage below:


Click to expand...
Have u played with it some more? Was this tune with the light pellets?
I shoot the 18’s in mine and it came from The Pellet Shop at 145/2,50 on HS wheel shooting around 850 FPS. Up two on the macro (2,60) and i was at 900 fps. break in, 2000 shots, playing around a bit. I settled in at 130 reg pressure, my micro is at 2,12. FPS average 890 with 18 gr pellets. With the standard 300 cc bottle im getting over 3 mags (60+shots) which is pretty dam good.
Also messes with the 20 gr Neilson slugs a little. (145 reg, 2,50 HS at around 900 fps)
 
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Not familiar with the Panthera but if I were trying to solve this on platforms I am familiar with, I would reduce plenum to 10-15cc as well as reduce the entire air path to <.220 id, restrict the barrel port/transfer even smaller....

Perhaps softer bellvilles in the reg to make it more responsive at relatively low reg settings.

It will be interesting to see where you land, or how long you are willing too continue down this path.
 
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Kenjeepman said:
Have u played with it some more? Was this tune with the light pellets?
I shoot the 18’s in mine and it came from The Pellet Shop at 145/2,50 on HS wheel shooting around 850 FPS. Up two on the macro (2,60) and i was at 900 fps. break in, 2000 shots, playing around a bit. I settled in at 130 reg pressure, my micro is at 2,12. FPS average 890 with 18 gr pellets. With the standard 300 cc bottle im getting over 3 mags (60+shots) which is pretty dam good.
Also messes with the 20 gr Neilson slugs a little. (145 reg, 2,50 HS at around 900 fps)
Click to expand...
125 bar is the ticket for the 18 grainers. 17 on the power wheel. 885fps. The gun does not miss! I took 7 shots yesterday, and 7 chipmunks fell.
 
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AirShootist said:
125 bar is the ticket for the 18 grainers. 17 on the power wheel. 885fps. The gun does not miss! I took 7 shots yesterday, and 7 chipmunks fell.
Click to expand...
Micro? Since that’s what ultimately matters. I tried 125 and it seemed to just waste air. Currently at 135 with HS micro at the sAme 2,12 .. just shy of 900 fps with 18 grain pellets. Also played with the JTS dead
Center 21.5 gr pellets. 145 reg, 2, 23 micro at 850 fps… did quite well actually.
 
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