Have We Reached the Apex in Airgun performance?

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2manyAirGunz

2manyAirGunz

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Jul 26, 2018
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With the intense competition in the (clearly lucrative) business of airgun production, we, the consumers have a wonderful selection of excellent rifles, i.e. Daystate, FX, EDgun, AGT, Ataman, to name just a few. The accuracy and efficiency of these rifles exceeds anything that I envisioned just a few short years ago.

I recall about 3 years ago sitting on a deck with my friends shooting targets from approximately 20 yards away. They all had break barrels and I had my newly acquired Daystate Regal XL .177 cal. Initially, the object of our informal competition was to see who could hit the spent beverage bottles most consistently. You can imagine their amazement when I upped the ante and began hitting small dots on the bottle caps without a single miss. Needless to say, that ended our shooting contest. And my friends no longer bring out their break barrel rifles in my presence. But I digress.

My point is that the competition among airgun manufacturers and the technology at their disposal will further drive innovation and precision to unimaginable levels.

It's a great time to be alive! Not mention with a wee bit of disposable income.
 
LOL.. he said "a wee bit".. silly man.... If I had all the disposable income I have spend on airguns and the support items for them, a very nice vacation to Europe could be had. ?



You are right though. About 5-6 years ago I had my Marauder 25. Not regulated and no mod to keep it quiet. I was tuning that thing every way it could be, just trying to get the best out of it. Then people started modifying the valve, then the regulator came along. Tons of other mods like lighter/heavier hammer, spring, etc. Today, you can buy a gun for the same or maybe just a little more $$, that will outshoot the Marauder all day long. It is indeed a great time to be alive :) But I do have to say, I think the Green Mountain barrel on the Marauder 25 is hard to beat. That thing was a pellet stacker at 30 yards easy.



Crusher
 
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I think we are at another Plateau in performance. The laws of physics are immutable, but can frequently be tweaked. Ten years ago, the results which are seen today would have been considered impossible for a production air rifle. Now we are seeing sub $1000 air rifles doing things which were once in the lofty realms of custom fabricated air rifles from a decade ago.

Is there room to cheat physics much more? As always, the answer is Yes. But the cost is currently prohibitive with the current state of technology. As barrel technology walks forward, we have seen increases in accuracy, as manufacturers realize that an Air Rifle is not the same as a Firearm, and as such, they merit a slightly different bore and groove design. People today better understand the impact of valve design, porting and plenum on both efficiency and power. A lot of those gains have been realized. Those who have read a lot of B. Sterne's musings, realize there are some limits which need an extra "bump" to overcome for more performance to be realized. They include, but are not limited to:

1. Stiction, the higher bump of friction to get a bullet to start moving from completely stopped in the "chamber" or breech.

2. Friction, the resistance of the pellet accelerating down the bore, once stiction has already been overcome.

3. The drop in pressure as the pellet proceeds down the bore, which limits maximum FPE.

4. Number 3 is made worse by the fact that as air pressure drops in the bore it causes cooling of the gasses, which causes additional loss of bore pressure, during the firing cycle.

I suppose number 1 and 2 could be improved via a Teflon skirt pellet, better seal and lower friction, but I don't see any pellet manufacturer jumping on this one. Perhaps also a Teflon ring around the nose of the pellet too, to ensure a nice fit on the bore to reduce spiraling. This would give more efficient use due to less stiction and friction, as well as a better bore fit for the nose, reducing spiraling and enhancing accuracy.

Number 3 is tough, as you work to ensure bore pressure remains high, until the pellet leaves the bore, this causes overall efficiency to drop. This puts at odds the two major camps of PCP air rifle users, the "I want a lot of consistent shots per fill camp", and the "I want the maximum smack power camp".

Number 4 has a "possible" solution, which is not practical today. It would require you use a heated barrel, perhaps electrically. This way, the gasses in the bore would not cool, but could potentially get hotter, increasing pressure as the pellet moves down the bore. I doubt anyone will work on this either.

But who knows, in ten years I may be walking through Walmart, looking at a value priced air rifle with a heated barrel and Teflon skirted/ribbed pellets... all for $99.99. 
 
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Gadballs9,

Yes lighter weight is already available today, either by aluminum or titanium parts... but very few people are actually willing to pay for them (yet). I am not cheap, but I cannot bring myself to pay twice the price for an equivalent scope which is only 6 ounces lighter. The same is true on some of the Titanium or Aluminum aftermarket air tubes too.


 
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I'm more excited by the potential in our ammunition. Slugs and true hollow points could revolutionize the performance of our sport. Perhaps the domed pellet isn't the ideal projectile for our game, and even if we stay with that design, manufacturing consistency could improve.

New barrels that work with improved projectiles, as FX seems to be implying, could bring qualities that were unapproachable by the average boy scout. I look how quickly the 6.5 Creedmoor ( and its long for caliber bretheren) has gained acceptance within the target pb burner community, and imagine a similar "breakthrough" in our long range capabilities. I remember when the 6.5 x 55 Swedish was considered weird....
 
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There is nothing really new left.



Closest thing I've seen to a new airgun idea in the last 10 years is the Huben , and no "new" ideas there just the coming together of parts.

They can change looks but nothing new in the way of innovation. Price is the largest change. You can now buy a rifle for what 1/2 of a regulator cost 10 years ago.



If all airguns cost the same amount which would you purchase?



John




 
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Two things come to mind.

One may be more electronics. Triggers, regulators and anything else that can be run off a computer. The Red Wolf made the big splash this year but at about 3K it is beyond what many can and want to spend. If an electronic gun can be brought into the 1K range or slightly above, it would attract many more people.

In the springer category, if a company would come out with a John Whiscombe type rifle at a reasonable price, it too would go over big. If you don't know what a Whiscombe is, you owe it to yourself to Google Bing it.
 
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We do live in interesting times. I see the biggest changes coming down to computer controlled air regulators for different pellet weights become standard as well as contolled energys. Pellets are going to become more and more precise (look at how far we have come in this arena in the last 20 years). I also see our optics becoming more computerized also. Accuracy and consistency are goig to be the big areas of advancment (at more reasonable price points). I think we will see some big changes in spring piston guns also. Computer tuned varible out put gas piston guns are just around the corner. The nect 10 years should be as interesting as the last.
 
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I think we are at another Plateau in performance. The laws of physics are immutable, but can frequently be tweaked. Ten years ago, the results which are seen today would have been considered impossible for a production air rifle. Now we are seeing sub $1000 air rifles doing things which were once in the loft realms of custom fabricated air rifles from a decade ago.

Is there room to cheat physics much more? As always, the answer is Yes. But the cost is currently prohibitive with the current state of technology. As barrel technology walks forward, we have seen increases in accuracy, as manufacturers realize that an Air Rifle is not the same as a Firearm, and as such, they merit a slightly different bore and groove design. People today better understand the impact of valve design, porting and plenum on both efficiency and power. A lot of those gains have been realized. Those who have read a lot of B. Sterne's musings, realize there are some limits which need an extra "bump" to overcome for more performance to be realized. They include, but are not limited to:

1. Stiction, the higher bump of friction to get a bullet to start moving from completely stopped in the "chamber" or breech.

2. Friction, the resistance of the pellet accelerating down the bore, once stiction has already been overcome.

3. The drop in pressure as the pellet proceeds down the bore, which limits maximum FPE.

4. Number 3 is made worse by the fact that as air pressure drops in the bore it causes cooling of the gasses, which causes additional loss of bore pressure, during the firing cycle.

I suppose number 1 and 2 could be improved via a Teflon skirt pellet, better seal and lower friction, but I don't see any pellet manufacturer jumping on this one. Perhaps also a Teflon ring around the nose of the pellet too, to ensure a nice fit on the bore to reduce spiraling. This would give more efficient use due to less stiction and friction, as well as a better bore fit for the nose, reducing spiraling and enhancing accuracy.

Number 3 is tough, as you work to ensure bore pressure remains high, until the pellet leaves the bore, this causes overall efficiency to drop. This puts at odds the two major camps of PCP air rifle users, the "I want a lot of consistent shots per fill camp", and the "I want the maximum smack power camp".

Number 4 has a "possible" solution, which is not practical today. It would require you use a heated barrel, perhaps electrically. This way, the gasses in the bore would not cool, but could potentially get hotter, increasing pressure as the pellet moves down the bore. I doubt anyone will work on this either.

But who knows, in ten years I may be walking through Walmart, looking at a value priced air rifle with a heated barrel and Teflon skirted/ribbed pellets... all for $99.99.
Click to expand...

I was going to comment but this post sums up the situation perfectly. Amazing insight!
 
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Mobilemail,

I would add auto windage correction as well to the smart-scope. Years ago I did a preliminary design for bow and arrow users, which adjusted windage and elevation. You selected from one of 6 arrow types, a strain gauge in the bow told you when you had it pulled back to the right position and illuminated an LED. The reticle adjusted up and down for the distance, and a no-moving-parts anemometer measured windspeed and direction, provided the adjustment for windage. All of this is possible for an air rifle... but OH, the cost ;)
 
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I totally can see airguns going paintball way - electronics

in last 10 years PB guns advanced a lot, using much less air, precise regulation, a lot of features, custom electronic boards

Electronics are getting cheaper by days, for sure it can have a lot of adjustments by caliber, weight, speed

I really like FX idea with replacement caliber system

I wasted a lot of money buying different caliber rifles, would be much easier to buy nice platform like Impact or Crown and if you suddenly decide .22 is not enough

just get new barrel in .25 or .30

if that is too much - get .177 

And of course it's huge advantage for Bullpups - no linkage, no flimsy trigger, fly by wire


 
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I totally can see airguns going paintball way - electronics

in last 10 years PB guns advanced a lot, using much less air, precise regulation, a lot of features, custom electronic boards

Electronics are getting cheaper by days, for sure it can have a lot of adjustments by caliber, weight, speed

I really like FX idea with replacement caliber system

I wasted a lot of money buying different caliber rifles, would be much easier to buy nice platform like Impact or Crown and if you suddenly decide .22 is not enough

just get new barrel in .25 or .30

if that is too much - get .177 

And of course it's huge advantage for Bullpups - no linkage, no flimsy trigger, fly by wire

Click to expand...

I've never been a fan of the multi-caliber guns because it seems like you have to retune them after you make the caliber switch anyway. But I could see how an electronic valve could completely revolutionize that. Change the caliber, input the caliber selection in the valve controller, and voila! All balanced! Now, if we can add a wireless connection to the scope to automatically adjust the reticle for the correct drop for the pellet used, you have an airgun even a caveman could use!
 
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Call me a caveman but I really despise battery oprated / computerised equipment. Having the computer adjust everything just makes one not know how to do it themselves. Thats why I got rid of all the red dot sights I had, the batteries always failed in the field. 

The inovation is going to be slugs. The air gun barrels will be made for the weights and velocity of them. I have tried shooting slugs in my powder burners, but the cast bullets wont go fast enough to stabilize without excess leading. The just weren't desined for shooting slugs.

Now we are approaching power levels of the 22 long rifle. How long before these guns are deemed too powerful and regulated by governments? 
 
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