Issue - Brand-new FX Maverick Sniper .22 with 100 fps spreads in shot strings

[Samc11]

I bought a FX Maverick Sniper cal. 22 from PyramydAir 2 weeks ago. I had been very busy, so I was only able to test this weekend. To my surprise, when shooting on the Power wheel 5, which at first seemed the best velocity for my JSB 18.13, I got shot velocities all over the place as well. They were from 831 fps to 904. Tried another shot string and the spread was from 817 to 903. I checked the regs to see what the pressures were: 140 and 100 aprox. After readjusting, I decided to let them in 130 and 95 (made my best, since the gauge is extremely small). I went to shooting again, and this time I got a spread from 888 to 950 with the same power wheel position (std dev of 21.3, which is a lot). I am getting very worried because I bought this rifle expecting tight speeds (2 to 4 fps of max spread). I am able to achieve 8 fps of max spread with a $500 Hatsan, so I expect much more from a rifle almost 4 times the price.

Some additional info to "replicate the behaviour":
1. When I received the rifle, I emptied the bottle and then emptied the rifle by dry-firing it (just as some of FX videos suggest when disassembling)
2. My barrel came uninstalled, so I proceeded to install it: all the way in, with the P vent downwards (the barrel is a Smooth Twist Superior X, 700 mm), no sound moderator
3. I have seen videos where after each shot, there is a sound of air filling. With mine, it happens from time to time very randomly. That is, some 5-7 shots there is no sound, and then at the 6-8 there is. Sometimes is between each shot.
4. The max I've been able to fill the bottle is to 200 bar.
5. I am not rapid-firing the rifle
6. Did the "tissue test" in the pellet probe and the tissue barely moves, but it moves in the right side.
7. Checked the screws from the cocking arm that attach to the steel rod and they are tight (#37 in the parts diagram)
8. Checked the hammer screw and it was tight as well. Checked the internal screw that holds the adjustment screw and it was tight as well (#88 in the parts diagram)
9. Currently I have shot around 80 pellets.

Here is the FX diagram for the Maverick, btw (https://fxairguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Maverick-schematic.pdf)


Neither the chrono nor the pellets are to blame, since I have had great success with other guns shooting the same tin of pellets. I have already emailed FX but I want to check all possibilities to take a quick decision with regards to the air gun.

Thank you very much!

 

[bamavet55]

I bought a FX Maverick Sniper cal. 22 from PyramydAir 2 weeks ago. I had been very busy, so I was only able to test this weekend. To my surprise, when shooting on the Power wheel 5, which at first seemed the best velocity for my JSB 18.13, I got shot velocities all over the place as well. They were from 831 fps to 904. Tried another shot string and the spread was from 817 to 903. I checked the regs to see what the pressures were: 140 and 100 aprox. After readjusting, I decided to let them in 130 and 95 (made my best, since the gauge is extremely small). I went to shooting again, and this time I got a spread from 888 to 950 with the same power wheel position (std dev of 21.3, which is a lot). I am getting very worried because I bought this rifle expecting tight speeds (2 to 4 fps of max spread). I am able to achieve 8 fps of max spread with a $500 Hatsan, so I expect much more from a rifle almost 4 times the price.

Some additional info to "replicate the behaviour":
1. When I received the rifle, I emptied the bottle and then emptied the rifle by dry-firing it (just as some of FX videos suggest when disassembling)
2. My barrel came uninstalled, so I proceeded to install it: all the way in, with the P vent downwards (the barrel is a Smooth Twist Superior X, 700 mm), no sound moderator
3. I have seen videos where after each shot, there is a sound of air filling. With mine, it happens from time to time very randomly. That is, some 5-7 shots there is no sound, and then at the 6-8 there is. Sometimes is between each shot.
4. The max I've been able to fill the bottle is to 200 bar.
5. I am not rapid-firing the rifle
6. Did the "tissue test" in the pellet probe and the tissue barely moves, but it moves in the right side.
7. Checked the screws from the cocking arm that attach to the steel rod and they are tight (#37 in the parts diagram)
8. Checked the hammer screw and it was tight as well. Checked the internal screw that holds the adjustment screw and it was tight as well (#88 in the parts diagram)
9. Currently I have shot around 80 pellets.

Here is the FX diagram for the Maverick, btw (https://fxairguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Maverick-schematic.pdf)


Neither the chrono nor the pellets are to blame, since I have had great success with other guns shooting the same tin of pellets. I have already emailed FX but I want to check all possibilities to take a quick decision with regards to the air gun.

Thank you very much!

Based on my personal experience with the type wild velocity spreads you describe, I think you have regulator issues.

 

[Solo1]

make sure your barrel is all the way in there should be only about 3/16” of the stainless showing

 

[2L8]

Sergio, I feel for you my friend. It's a downer to have such a nice gun show up and not deliver. I to have a Maverick Sniper and a Wildcat MK3 Sniper in .22 and .30

You have done well to troubleshoot, but many questions still need to be addressed in order to solve this problem. An error in manufacturing and/or quality control cannot be overlooked either.

There are many here that know much more than I and should chime in to give suggestions.

For now, as a suggestion, I would start with, just for grins, turning your barrel over to the "S" slug side and shoot a string and report back.

Patrick

 

[Sergey1972]

Sounds like you are hearing the regulator catchup. That would imply that taking a shot does not drop plenum pressure enough to get the reg to open to bring it back up to pressure. 

If everything is good (no reg problems) it is possible to create such a situation, in theory. I don't have any Fx guns. If the reg is adjusted high and the valve doesnt open very much you may get enough air for a decent velocity shot. Plenum pressure drops but not enough to get reg to recharge. As pressure drops valve opens easier. You get a mini bell curve like an unregulated gun.......

 

[R0B]

I think a 2-4 fps max speed is wishful thinking..maybe 6,-8 fps. Have you spoken to pyramid?

 

[FX-USA]

I bought a FX Maverick Sniper cal. 22 from PyramydAir 2 weeks ago. I had been very busy, so I was only able to test this weekend. To my surprise, when shooting on the Power wheel 5, which at first seemed the best velocity for my JSB 18.13, I got shot velocities all over the place as well. They were from 831 fps to 904. Tried another shot string and the spread was from 817 to 903. I checked the regs to see what the pressures were: 140 and 100 aprox. After readjusting, I decided to let them in 130 and 95 (made my best, since the gauge is extremely small). I went to shooting again, and this time I got a spread from 888 to 950 with the same power wheel position (std dev of 21.3, which is a lot). I am getting very worried because I bought this rifle expecting tight speeds (2 to 4 fps of max spread). I am able to achieve 8 fps of max spread with a $500 Hatsan, so I expect much more from a rifle almost 4 times the price.

Some additional info to "replicate the behaviour":
1. When I received the rifle, I emptied the bottle and then emptied the rifle by dry-firing it (just as some of FX videos suggest when disassembling)
2. My barrel came uninstalled, so I proceeded to install it: all the way in, with the P vent downwards (the barrel is a Smooth Twist Superior X, 700 mm), no sound moderator
3. I have seen videos where after each shot, there is a sound of air filling. With mine, it happens from time to time very randomly. That is, some 5-7 shots there is no sound, and then at the 6-8 there is. Sometimes is between each shot.
4. The max I've been able to fill the bottle is to 200 bar.
5. I am not rapid-firing the rifle
6. Did the "tissue test" in the pellet probe and the tissue barely moves, but it moves in the right side.
7. Checked the screws from the cocking arm that attach to the steel rod and they are tight (#37 in the parts diagram)
8. Checked the hammer screw and it was tight as well. Checked the internal screw that holds the adjustment screw and it was tight as well (#88 in the parts diagram)
9. Currently I have shot around 80 pellets.

Here is the FX diagram for the Maverick, btw (https://fxairguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Maverick-schematic.pdf)


Neither the chrono nor the pellets are to blame, since I have had great success with other guns shooting the same tin of pellets. I have already emailed FX but I want to check all possibilities to take a quick decision with regards to the air gun.

Thank you very much!

Hi Samc11,

Our technicians are aware of your issue at the moment from the email we received from you and you should be receiving a follow up soon. If you have any more questions please let us know.

Regards, 

FX Airguns USA

 

[2L8]

FX is always right there to help. Kudos to them!



Patrick

 

[Samc11]

 

make sure your barrel is all the way in there should be only about 3/16” of the stainless showing

@Solo1, yes, my barrel is all in with that fraction of steel showing in the mag receiver. 

Hi Samc11,

Our technicians are aware of your issue at the moment from the email we received from you and you should be receiving a follow up soon. If you have any more questions please let us know.

Regards, 

FX Airguns USA

@FX-USA thank you for the answer. I really celebrate the fact that you guys were able to tell that I was the same person than in the email! 

Sounds like you are hearing the regulator catchup. That would imply that taking a shot does not drop plenum pressure enough to get the reg to open to bring it back up to pressure. 

If everything is good (no reg problems) it is possible to create such a situation, in theory. I don't have any Fx guns. If the reg is adjusted high and the valve doesnt open very much you may get enough air for a decent velocity shot. Plenum pressure drops but not enough to get reg to recharge. As pressure drops valve opens easier. You get a mini bell curve like an unregulated gun.......

FX service answered me and their suggestion is actually in a similar direction of what you were mentioning, @Sergey1972. They suggested that I opened more the first regulator so that there is more pressure in the 2nd reg for it to actually fill every time. In other words, to increase the difference between reg 1 and 2, which I currently have it at 30-35 bar. I'll be increasing the difference to 40-50 bar this weekend. In case it does not work, I'll try to rotate the barrel to the S as well, @2L8 .

@R0B, I haven't yet, since I want to go through all the instances (like discussing with the maker, checking what I can do, etc.) first. 

I'll be back by the end of the week with more data and how the issue is evolving. Cheers!

 

[bunkeru2k]

These guns, like most hammer and poppet style air guns have a balancing act between the spring and the air pressure. With large swings in velocity you can almost always tighten up the spread over the chrono by either raising the pressure or turning down the spring tension. Many people will advise you to get your gun shooting in the velocity range you want, then bump the pressure slightly (about 5 bar) to tighten the ES up and give better efficiency. If I am aiming for a 920 FPS average, I will get the gun in the 930-950 range and then make that pressure bump to tone it down to 920. 

 

[Cranky1]

Is your velocity starting low and climbing with each shot? This would indicate a bad reg, my maverick did this. I installed a huma reg and it fixed the issue.

I also noticed once I set the gun for desired speed. Getting the reg and hammer set harmonically on setting 7 as I went down on hammer spring my extreme spread increased. 

 

[bigmike]

I have a Maverick and it took me a while to iron out some velocity issues which I am happy to say I finally did. The one thing I would make sure is that your hammer spring adjusting screw is not loose.At one point mine came loose and my velocities were changing because the screw was moving in and out changing the hammer spring adjustment. If there is little to no resistance on the screw when you adjust it with your Allen wrench it needs to be tightened up with the internal screw.

FYI there are a lot of FX owners including me that have had trouble with new guns having different screws come loose after shooting them for just a short period of time. Make sure your rod block screws are tight because if it comes loose it will change your probe depth and that will also create velocity problems.

 

[Samc11]

Is your velocity starting low and climbing with each shot? This would indicate a bad reg, my maverick did this. I installed a huma reg and it fixed the issue.

I also noticed once I set the gun for desired speed. Getting the reg and hammer set harmonically on setting 7 as I went down on hammer spring my extreme spread increased.

It does not. They are quite random: 

@Bigmike, I have already checked those screws and they are tight. The ony ones that were not are the ones that hold the steel rod with the cocking arm.

 

[Samc11]

I followed FX's suggestion of increasing the difference between reg 1 and reg 2, so I did. I set them up at 145 bar and 95 bar aprox. I recorded three series of shots with Crosman. Premiers and FX 18.13 gr. I'm using the Premiers because I dont want to waste more expensive ammo on testing. I have used that same tin on other rifle so I know it performs adequately.

The results are here (I plotted them in a histogram because, IMHO, it makes more sense that way than in a line chart):

As you can see in the 2 graphs, the extreme spread still is big (around 100 fps), although not the norm. Still, I do not see much improvement there. Shots tend to group in a 30-40 spread window, but there are various shots that appear in the extreme lower side. Why is that? Any ideas on how I can correct it?

 

[akshonc]

I followed FX's suggestion of increasing the difference between reg 1 and reg 2, so I did. I set them up at 145 bar and 95 bar aprox. I recorded three series of shots with Crosman. Premiers and FX 18.13 gr. I'm using the Premiers because I dont want to waste more expensive ammo on testing. I have used that same tin on other rifle so I know it performs adequately.

The results are here (I plotted them in a histogram because, IMHO, it makes more sense that way than in a line chart):

View attachment 200845View attachment 200848



As you can see in the 2 graphs, the extreme spread still is big (around 100 fps), although not the norm. Still, I do not see much improvement there. Shots tend to group in a 30-40 spread window, but there are various shots that appear in the extreme lower side. Why is that? Any ideas on how I can correct it?

HI
I am facing a similar issue and since there is no post beyond your last one , i assume you would have resolved the issue , can you pls share the countermeasure or solution pls thanx

 

[2L8]

HI
I am facing a similar issue and since there is no post beyond your last one , i assume you would have resolved the issue , can you pls share the countermeasure or solution pls thanx

I am not sure @Samc11 is around.
I have a theory that starts back to his original post that could be a key point to the problem he is having.

"Some additional info to "replicate the behaviour":
1. When I received the rifle, I emptied the bottle and then emptied the rifle by dry-firing it (just as some of FX videos suggest when disassembling)"

I had an original Maverick from the first shipment in 2020.
It starts with the valve pin and the brass piece that secures the valve seat (forgive me as I have forgotten the technical name for it) that is pressed on the pin to secure the Delrin valve seat.
The back story is that FX discovered (after numerous failure returns) that the brass piece was not secure enough (pressed) and would move up the valve rod until it would start leaking air. Happened to me. FX fixed, as FX does so wonderfully, at no charge, and told me that they had not seen a brass retaining cuff "totally come off the valve pin". FX made a new cuff and my Maverick had no problems. Back to my theory...
FX, along with myself, believe that it is NOT recommended to Dry Fire your Maverick, or any other FX for that matter.
Reason... Dry Firing the Maverick (FX in general) puts extra force on the valve pin assembly that is above and beyond its design parameters and potentially causing the brass retaining cuff to forcibly move from its intended location a "smidge" causing inconsistent FPS swings. These "swings" will vary based on how well your particular FX is tuned. Way out of tuned guns on the upper end have more potential for dry fire damage than low power out of tune guns. Relatively speaking of course.

Just my thoughts and experiences with my Maverick.

Patrick

 

[akshonc]

I am not sure @Samc11 is around.
I have a theory that starts back to his original post that could be a key point to the problem he is having.

"Some additional info to "replicate the behaviour":
1. When I received the rifle, I emptied the bottle and then emptied the rifle by dry-firing it (just as some of FX videos suggest when disassembling)"

I had an original Maverick from the first shipment in 2020.
It starts with the valve pin and the brass piece that secures the valve seat (forgive me as I have forgotten the technical name for it) that is pressed on the pin to secure the Delrin valve seat.
The back story is that FX discovered (after numerous failure returns) that the brass piece was not secure enough (pressed) and would move up the valve rod until it would start leaking air. Happened to me. FX fixed, as FX does so wonderfully, at no charge, and told me that they had not seen a brass retaining cuff "totally come off the valve pin". FX made a new cuff and my Maverick had no problems. Back to my theory...
FX, along with myself, believe that it is NOT recommended to Dry Fire your Maverick, or any other FX for that matter.
Reason... Dry Firing the Maverick (FX in general) puts extra force on the valve pin assembly that is above and beyond its design parameters and potentially causing the brass retaining cuff to forcibly move from its intended location a "smidge" causing inconsistent FPS swings. These "swings" will vary based on how well your particular FX is tuned. Way out of tuned guns on the upper end have more potential for dry fire damage than low power out of tune guns. Relatively speaking of course.

Just my thoughts and experiences with my Maverick.

Patrick

Thanx Patrick for your reply , well it does clear some back ground , but in entirety , i am struggling to achieve SD less than 10 , so here is my story
i have purchased .177 maverick and would want to tune it to deliver 890 ~900 fps with jsb 10.3 gr
the single root cause for the fluctuations in velocity after reading tons of theory was evidently the AMP regulators After experimenting and struggling with stock AMP regulators on maverick ,as they are sloppy in refreshing the plenum ,then come to a conclusion that huma regulator should be installed
so i changed only the second stage (which eventually matters) and did install a huma power kit (spring , hammer & probe ).

Things did change in power term , to say power wheel adjustment came down from 7 to 2& 3 but now still i am not able to
1. consistently reduce the extreme spread (variation is some times more than 50~ 80)
2. first 2 shots are at lower velocity by 50 FPS
3. Huma does have a better refresh rate than AMP but would like to reduce the rate further

I am new to this forum and where ever i find bits and pieces of information i try to gain knowledge ,
Any thoughts from experienced Maverick users to achieve my objectives of consistency between shots ,keeo SD 3-10 or Extreme spread below 15
are welcome
Thanx for patient reading and looking forward to reply!
Ashish

 

[Keyman62421]

My Maverick was sent back to shop the first day I got it and then after a year and a half . so the tried and true isn't exactly tried and true! I, for one , don't like to run my settings at Max high or Max low. my latest Endeavor was setting my Regs at 105 and 140 and setting fps at 915 on 6 then I adjusted the hammer screw. the little 1.5 mm adjustment and that's where you fine tune your hammer. have you done that? Also my barrel has pellet orifice on 1 side and a double D on the other. I assume for slugs and heavy pellets. The valve suggestion is probably the closest

 

[Bigragu]

When my wildcat did the same thing(both did actually, as I own two WC) it was always the cocking bar on the cocking rod. That little black bar with the two M4 grub screws which get loose and if you’re not careful when retightening, you’ll round off the Allen socket and now you’re screwed. The wildcat and maverick are identical in the design of the cocking system and transfer port allignments.

My fix that I’ve shared with a lot of folks is to first get your pellet probe back to realignment with the transfer port then swap out(one by one) the grub screws for M4 x 6 socket head bolts, preferably in a Torx head. Do locktite the bolt threads before assembly. You’ll be able to really tighten down on that rod then.

If the gun has seen some use(like either bought used or at least 1,000 pellets thru it) another area to check is the hammer. If it is gouged up on its rim, this causes inconsistent velocities, but not spread as bad as what you’re seeing. Usually 10-20 FPS differences, then back steady for a bit, then off again.
Large spreads that exceed 20 FPS and don’t make any sense as to how it all of a sudden happened, I feel come from that cocking bar getting loose on the cocking rod.

When mine was first found, my past set tune of 980 FPS was shooting speeds down to 940’s, then 960’s, then 900’s, back up to 960’s, etc. that is for sure loosening of the cocking bar

 

[akshonc]

hi
i am facing a leakage issue issue , there is a leakage of air from the vent hole in the plenum cylinder (opposite side of the 2nd regulator), and as soon as i put the bottle the air leakage starts from this hole . Any advice is welcome for a fix and which which of the O rings may have been busted, thanx