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Longest gun ever

Readers digest version.... huge centerfire guy for years dipped into long range shooting creedmore etc.. what a pain in the butt to have to drive a few miles to the next farm where I can reach 1000 yards and not hit a house.. I just want to shoot... so I get into air guns a few months ago (I over do it as I always do). First gun I buy is a HATSAN HERCULES in 35.... not knowing what I’m doing (bigger is better!!!). now I can get to 100-125 yards on my property but I sill have neighbors... we live “semi country” as I like to call it. This thing was so loud it exceeded a 22LR or HMR17. So then rather than just buying things after 10 beers I did research and now have some tack driver FX units in the safe that I shoot all the time in the back yard... so quiet no one knows the difference. Yet the ole Hercules has sat.... until tonight.... this gun is soooo long it’s darn near laughable but you know what it’s quiet as a mouse fart and I poured 100 pellets through it tonight in MY BACK YARD IN 35 CAL..... and it will fit in a deer blind.... bench shooting and blind shooting this will be just fine and accurate to 100 THANKS DONNIE FL!! 
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I like your set up. Donny’s items work very very well. In fact I know because a Tanto came to me in a trade on a high powered .22 Condor. Now Mr. FL’s page clearly states that The Tanto is rated for 800fps or less. Well I may not have gotten what is supposed to be on this Condor but guess what. It still works very well. I can’t say perfect but let me clarify perfect.

Noise doesn’t matter where I live. You’re legally allowed to shoot ANYTHING on your own property or others with permission as long as a man made or NATURAL berm is utilized. It’s about the only reason I haven’t sold this house as we’re in the top 3 highest tax area of PA. So there’s guys around here with Class III items and they use them. No one calls any Police. No one complains. This doesn’t mean the kid that shoots a BRICK of supersonic .22’s out of a single shot target rifle (when he should be using subsonic rounds for long range accuracy but doesn’t get that yet) doesn’t get annoying to myself or say Mothers whose babies just went down for a nap. So when I say a DonnyFL item is worth buying I mean it. I find his items a bit high priced but; considering it is handling sending 36 grain NSA .22 slugs at 900fps which is WAY over the 800fps pellet rating The Tanto is supposed to be good for, well, that’s saying a lot.

It hasn’t ever blown off the gun at current (900fps w/ 36 grain NSA) setting. I did try to up it once and I will be honest and say The Tanto should be limited to 800fps or less. Which is why I’m going to pick up a heartier bigger DonnyFL that will be able to handle more flow. I’m just lucky the adapter came off from sheer air pressure. It didn’t clip or ruin anything. It stayed together and didn’t even cause a miss on target.

A fellow with a Charlie Frear power tuned .25 Cricket came over. He’d just bought a DonnyFL Emperor V3 for it. Can you say overkill? Guy probably sold The Emperor V3 by now because with the Cricket shroud & DonnyFL Emperor V3, the ONLY thing I could hear was how hard that hammer actually hit the Titanium valve stem and the loud smack of 33.95 & different weight NSA slugs on a huge flat rock at the 75 yard range. Seeing what difference this little Tanto makes on Condor, and how Rocker1 makes my Sumatra .25 Marauderesque like, I think a Sumo or even 2-3 step smaller down model would have given the SAME results of literally 0 decibels that I could discern over that loud hammer strike.

I’m talking loud like most don’t realize what it takes to open a 2000-4350psi valve. I tried to degass my Rainstorm tube by putting my entire (at that time) 220lbs on it pressing into protective piece of leather on concrete. 220 wouldn’t open that valve. So point is DonnyFL items work VERY WELL. I can’t say anything negative about it. The only personal issue I have is I can’t find a non custom adapter: 1/2x20tpi threaded ID of 0.753” to fit my 29” Benchmark barrel on my FX Elite .22. Well, it slugs at .215” no choke tight bore but it’s meant for JSB 18.13’s specifically.

Original poster. I know your Hercules is a .357 but it’s funny. This 29” Benchmark sends 18.13’s way faster & harder than the original ST shorter .25 barrel can send 25.43 Kings on same power settings. Anyway I’m glad you found Air-gunning to be fun and useful. Wait until you see how much better you read wind when you shoot your PB’s (Powder Burners) from now on. Especially if you get a quality .177 PCP as you’ll really see what wind does. It’s hard to read wind. Spin drift alone at 1000 yards with CF can be anywhere from 0.8” to almost 24” then you have aerodynamic jump, pitch, yaw, Magnus, poisson effect, Coriolis. Is your rig set up right. Are all your rounds even close to being the exact specs to match your chamber. Are you shooting in Northern, Southern Hemisphere, or on The Equator. Wind. Ugh, wind. 

I promise you a .177 Diabolo pellet in 3-5mph winds at 25-100 yards will teach your skin to read wind like you wouldn’t believe. I stayed away from .257 slugs so far because I was use to shooting with 10-12’ of drop at 190-200 yards with my 18.13 JSB’s to 31 grain 0.0956 piledriver H&N pellets. I just didn’t want to shoot even 62-65 grain .257’s as BC is still .193 way over a .22LR. Heck a .22 WSM w/30 grain Hornady V-Max has the exact same BC as .22 Piledrivers. Faster isn’t always better especially at further distances. A deal with local Farmers has me saving for a custom .257 because I now have a safe spot right across street. And you’re absolutely correct. A powerful PCP IS louder than a fast rimfire and probably louder than some other powder actuated projectiles.

I have ability to reach out to 200 yards from my front porch but I have many different ranges for Archery & Airguns. Main PCP ranges are set at 8-12 yards in basement for perfect set up. 20, 32, 38, 50, 75, 100, 130. Any further than that is into field I’ve de-stoned by hand with a wheelbarrow for a local Farmer. I got stones for lining driveway & creek plus a place to shoot 400 yards with slugs safely now.

Really happy Airguns are getting noticed by the PB crowd. We need their support & they could really benefit from us be they know it yet or not. Welcome to The Fold my friend & apologize for a SUPER long post. See, your airgun isn’t so long after all!!
 
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I own the Sumo and weight is not a factor. Donny makes them sturdy but uses lightweight metals. I have a Sumo that I put on a bullpup. I can't even tell it's there, weight-wise. A Sumo and an empty extension chamber probably doesn't weigh more than a few ounces! I have a Sumo on a PP 700 pistol...it has zero impact on accuracy, hold, and overall "felt" weight distribution....but man oh man it quiets that powerful little rascal down to where my asshole neighbors don't call the police!!!

That's been my experience and I've owned just about every moderator Donny makes. I'm on a fixed income, but I've always found if I buy the best I have no regrets later because it was money well spent!



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