FX Crown .177 cal 600 mm Barrel

[pesty3782]

TomasT

With the Sonoran Desert FT Grand Prix just around the corner I was thinking about going to the 10.4's, but it's been so windy here I haven't even had a chance to totally dial in my yardage wheel on my crown with the RDM's it shoots. I always feel I am not "right there" when I range the distance. Most of the folks we (wife and I) shoot with use the 10.4's in their FT rifles. We shall see if I can control the inner tweaker in me and just leave the rifle alone until after the Sonoran Desert Grand Prix....

Tony P.

 

[Kgphotos]

Sounds like you are already getting dialed in but I’ll throw out my recent experience. I am tuning a Crown MK2 .177 600mm. My primary goal is a great tune for the 10.34 pellet. Depending on velocity I have found that the FX, JSB and AA branded pellets all do very well. They are all great in the 860-885 range. In my rifle they do not seem to like going over 900 fps. My secondary goal was to shoot 12-13 grain slugs without having to make a lot of major changes. I am getting very close to that tune.

With a reg setting of 125, front transfer port wheel to medium, and using a power wheel from Mont here on our forum I have found multiple hammer spring settings that will push the 10.34s to that great range of 860-885fps. Then, all I have to do is turn the transfer port wheel to high, go up a few clicks on Mont‘s power wheel and I’m shooting the NSA 12.5 grain slug at 940fps. So far the accuracy with the various 10.34 pellets is outstanding at 50 yards. The NSA slug setting is also very good but not as great as the pellets yet. But, I have only just begun my testing and I’m confident I’ll find that perfect setting.

I’m sure my pellet tune could be more efficient at a lower reg setting if I abandoned the goal of also using the slugs at the same reg setting. But, I want to be able to go back and forth between pellets and slugs without too much fuss. That is how I have my .22 Crown set up and it works great too.
Kenny

 

[orangeokie]

What is the reason for going from a heavier (13.43) pellet that shoots well to a lighter (10.4) pellet that doesn't shoot so well? I'm new to PCPs

 

[Peashooter]

Well for some of us it is hard to let a good thing be, and so we jump back and forth between ammo type and weight and never really find the 100% sweet spot

I know thats a issue for me having tried for a long time to get 16 and 20 grain slugs to fly well, but no matter how many tins i have tried with and different speeds / even regulator and hammer spring settings, and they just do not shoot as well as the 13 grain do.
I am / i have tried hard in the tail end of the season to only shoot the 13 grainers, but now i have gotten a heavy barrel CUZ i really would like to be able at least to shoot the heavier slugs, even if i have fully realized now that at least with my old barrel the 13 grainers are the way to go.
And rest assured i have plenty of 13 grain ready for the 2023 season, for starters i think 8 - 10.000, and i am going to pick up more if / when FX release their goodbye to pellets Halo slugs.

And i have also realized i need to stop shooting slugs in my Vulcan 3 as really i got that one to shoot pellets.

If your rifle are not adjustable, all you can do is try some different brand and weights of pellets, that is the old way of tuning for accuracy back when guns dident have much in the way of adjustment options.

I have a collection of most JSB / air arms / H&N and FX pellets in 9 grains and up to the 16 grain Beast pellets, going back to when my maverick was new and it just would not shoot other pellets but the 16 grain beasts at speed, only when i changed barrel did that change but then i also changed to just shoot slugs in the maverick.
Now i can try all those pellets in my Vulcan 3 this season and fine the really sweet one, and then go and buy 10 tins of those to start out with.

 

[ThomasT]

What is the reason for going from a heavier (13.43) pellet that shoots well to a lighter (10.4) pellet that doesn't shoot so well? I'm new to PCPs

Hello @orangeokie

If you have read all the post in this thread the answer is within the sum total. I cannot speak for others but in my case I have two main reasons. As I originally stated I believe that my Crown will shoot the 10.34's just a little bit better than the 13.43's and I am always trying to improve on my shooting and better my scores on paper targets.

ThomasT

 

[Kgphotos]

In my limited testing so far the various 10.34 pellets are doing a little better than the 13.4 grain. Not a big difference but it is there.

 

[pesty3782]

Well after getting beat by the wife in 2 FT matches by double digits (We are usually 1-3 points apart) the inner tweaker took over. So I pulled the barrel for a good cleaning before I switch the rifle over to the 10.34’s. What a nasty mess, with even a “chunk” of lead after brass brushing it.

So after the cleaning I tuned the rifle for the 10’s. I won’t get a chance to shoot the rifle until Thursday….I knew the inner tweaker would win…

Tony P

 

[ThomasT]

Well after getting beat by the wife in 2 FT matches by double digits (We are usually 1-3 points apart) the inner tweaker took over. So I pulled the barrel for a good cleaning before I switch the rifle over to the 10.34’s. What a nasty mess, with even a “chunk” of lead after brass brushing it.
View attachment 331896View attachment 331897View attachment 331898
So after the cleaning I tuned the rifle for the 10’s. I won’t get a chance to shoot the rifle until Thursday….I knew the inner tweaker would win…

Tony P

Hello @pesty3782

Tony please let us know what setting you wind up using and results. The view shot string above shows some really good values

ThomasT

 

[engfred]

Hi Thomas, I got a .177 Crown mk1 with Mk. 2 valve and some other updates.
I now installed a superior heavy but previously with the 600 mm superior liner I also tuned to get similar result as you.
Its so good that pellet quality is becoming a major factor. So I found that the JSB is soft and many got some very small imperfections on the skirt.
So I tried out all my stored pellets and found that HN Barracuda FT was even more accurate. And due to the harder lead much stronger in the tin and to handle compared to JSB 10.34. Just a hint - you will be surpriced.
Be aware it is the pellets called "Barracuda FT" not the "Barracuda Field Target" version that works perfect. Mine are the 4.51 - and I havent tried the other sizes. You will get a lot less fliers from an unsorted tin.

 

[ThomasT]

Hi Thomas, I got a .177 Crown mk1 with Mk. 2 valve and some other updates.
I now installed a superior heavy but previously with the 600 mm superior liner I also tuned to get similar result as you.
Its so good that pellet quality is becoming a major factor. So I found that the JSB is soft and many got some very small imperfections on the skirt.
So I tried out all my stored pellets and found that HN Barracuda FT was even more accurate. And due to the harder lead much stronger in the tin and to handle compared to JSB 10.34. Just a hint - you will be surpriced.
Be aware it is the pellets called "Barracuda FT" not the "Barracuda Field Target" version that works perfect. Mine are the 4.51 - and I havent tried the other sizes. You will get a lot less fliers from an unsorted tin.

Hello @engfred

It looks like H&N only offers that pellet in a 9.57gr , is that correct? I do have the "Field Target" but do not have any "FT", so I will order some and give them a try out. Thank you for sharing this information

ThomasT