Maverick Tricked Out

[DuncanHynes]

For my Maverick I got the Universal Saber Tactical rail. Totally happy with it, and found these nice covers that slide into the side M-Lok rails for a better feel. Even BeTTeR! They don't really 'lock in' fore/aft but do stay put just by using it. I slid them with gentle light force slowly as they employ very small lips on the bottom catches. Just thought I'd pass on.

B5 Systems M-LOK Rail Cover

Also the Hogue Modular 17° grip works great but I did have to obtain 40mm M6 1.0 thread bolt to install it.

Ran off a shot string, left it at full power for shot count run. 170/145 regs 245bar fill at start of testing.
30 shots all 1011fps nearly. 31st shot was first one under 1,000fps at 150 bar like 985fps. Just using 30.86 H&Ns for testing on the cheap.

Slugs it does 983fps 33.5gr, 71 ft•lbs.
Tomorrow will put power wheel at 4 or 5 to see how that does.

 

[Chukar60]

Nice!! I am wanting to get a 25 cal slug gun. Have pretty much ruled the Panthera out and am now torn between the M3 and the Maverick.
You are making me think on that Maverick.

 

[DuncanHynes]

Well, price was one factor. $1500 for the bottle VP 600mm barrel version since I wanted power twice that my 30ft•lbs .22 1st gen Wildcat. Even with buying a $249 480cc carbon bottle still cheaper than an M3. I know M3 is the flagship, more fine adjustable, but both have big plenums, 2 regs, external gauges, power wheels, slug transfer ports. I am also happy with the smaller mag that the Maverick has, less to stick out. For me, it works and I'll use the aluminum bottle as a field back-up. Both have more rubber [o-rings] than a Formula One pit crew so if there is a fault it's that but FX makes a good gun and any PCP has seals anyway.

Many "issues" I had were user error learning the platform as I broke it down to swap parts.

The magic formula for power for me to save you trouble was to pair the Huma 14gram hammer weight with their power spring and pin probe. Regs are currently 170ish up front and 145ish for final reg. Dual transfer port side down. Handle pellets and slugs in 33.5gr just fine, haven't tested my 36gr NSA's yet.

I did buy the carbon stiff barrel sleeve...needed on a 600mm, prob not. Cheap upgrade though. Not fooling with the tuning weight.

Hogue 17° modular grip FAR better than the factory one given my uncanny long arms. Ergo Zero degree has a palm swell so large an NBA player would complain. I got some aftermarket mags, havent but looked at them yet.

Appears the expensive EagleVision mags are best for slugs though, mine didn't like the H&N pellets when I loaded it up with those, they 'fanned out' and couldn't get the mag cover to close. Will look at that again later, possible case of user error again.

It isn't loud pinngy as some say but any bullpup will put action back and each person will sense it different. Maybe I got used to it. I bet on lower power level it will be less too. If any wanted a tame rifle, a forward design like the Crown would be the way to go but I wanted hunter compactness.

Good luck. The Saber rail really changed the rifle for me. Not cheap but added a nice grip in the right spot, protects bottle and a better, more stable bipod platform base. It's only money,

 

[DuncanHynes]

So when I set up for today's session I noticed the power wheel was on 6. Duhhhhh. So shot one round off at max 7 and it was 1020fps, 30.86gr H&N [what I'm using for all these tests]. Then I decided to just dial it down and see what each level yields.
Level 6 is similar to 5 just the higher end of 1015fps, vs 1008.
Tomorrow or next time I'll keep it on a lower level based what I saw off these numbers and see how many I get before it drops off. 6 I know gives 32 shots, 2 mags worth. For pellets I'd see what is most accurate but maybe power setting 3. I did feel it was quieter to shoot on levels 5 and below, again, perception varies.

In text form:
30.86gr H&N pellet
249bar fill 170/145
480cc tank
Power 1: 878 fps 52 ft•lbs
Power 2: 928 fps 59 ft•lbs
Power 3: 967 fps 64 ft•lbs
Power 4: 998 fps 68 ft•lbs
Power 5: 1008 fps 69 ft•lbs
Power 6: 1012 fps 70 ft•lbs
Power 7: 1020 fps 71 ft•lbs

 

[PBuffa]

For my M3 .25 cal 600 mm, I have my regs set at 175/145ish as you do. I can sling NSA 43.5 grainers at 950 fps but the air usage is too high. I settled at @850 fps as this still packs a punch and saves air. Macro 8 Micro 3 ish, front knob thingy about line 4. Thanks for your post

 

[18.13]

So when I set up for today's session I noticed the power wheel was on 6. Duhhhhh. So shot one round off at max 7 and it was 1020fps, 30.86gr H&N [what I'm using for all these tests]. Then I decided to just dial it down and see what each level yields.
Level 6 is similar to 5 just the higher end of 1015fps, vs 1008.
Tomorrow or next time I'll keep it on a lower level based what I saw off these numbers and see how many I get before it drops off. 6 I know gives 32 shots, 2 mags worth. For pellets I'd see what is most accurate but maybe power setting 3. I did feel it was quieter to shoot on levels 5 and below, again, perception varies.

In text form:
30.86gr H&N pellet
249bar fill 170/145
480cc tank
Power 1: 878 fps 52 ft•lbs
Power 2: 928 fps 59 ft•lbs
Power 3: 967 fps 64 ft•lbs
Power 4: 998 fps 68 ft•lbs
Power 5: 1008 fps 69 ft•lbs
Power 6: 1012 fps 70 ft•lbs
Power 7: 1020 fps 71 ft•lbs

View attachment 355829

For pellets 34gr I have my reg at 108
11gr hammer weight getting 80+ shots at 59 fpe.
Your shot count seems way off

 

[DuncanHynes]

For pellets 34gr I have my reg at 108
11gr hammer weight getting 80+ shots at 59 fpe.
Your shot count seems way off

We don't have the same setup. Mine is currently a heavier hammer at 14g and a much higher bar pressure. If it is needed, remains to be determined. I am leaning more to power than shot count, but I'll try my regs at 150/120 next. Thanks.

 

[18.13]

Thats what I was trying to say, you shouldn't need a heavy hammer or high reg pressure with a Maverick.

In .30 cal I have my reg at 120 and getting 90 fpe 11gr weight

 

[DuncanHynes]

Swapped the horrific FX factory gauge for a HumaAir and love it. The results tonight: first set regs at 150/120 and velocities all over the place. I changed it to 160/130 and seems to be on the money. Haven't tried a full shot count but very tight spread for 68 ft•lbs avg 999fps. A few hit 1004 on power 6 oddly were a touch faster than 7, but very close. Will do more later.

 

[DuncanHynes]

252bar fill, first 5 shots power 3 then switched to 4. 30gr H&N's : 992 avg over 45 shots (52 total) 68 ft•lbs.
600mm barrel, Huma power spring and 14g weight. Will keep regs at 160/130 and try power at 5 then see how lighter weights do, but wasn't impressive first go at factory settings. Far more concerned with low spread/SD than shot count. But did get a full mag more.

 

[18.13]

A 11g weight should tighten the SD at 120 bar

 

[DuncanHynes]

Still 14g hammer but lowered final reg to 120, first still 160. 5 power level is best, SD of 1. Didnt do a full shot count. Tomorrow will change hammer to 13 and 11g to see.

 

[Trucker3573]

At 150/120 did you re adjust the internal hammer spring screw?

 

[DuncanHynes]

I havent touched the fine adjustment screw yet. Standard Deviation of 1 is pretty good. Will see what shot count and speeds I get swapping hammer weights out.

 

[Trucker3573]

I havent touched the fine adjustment screw yet. Standard Deviation of 1 is pretty good. Will see what shot count and speeds I get swapping hammer weights out.

Yeah when you take the reg up or down, esp a decent amount you need to tune with that as well. I try to sweet spot whatever reg pressure is chosen on PW #7 by adjusting the internal screw to find the max velocity the gun will produce. Once I find that spot I take it back down just a hair. Now mine is tuned a lot lower than yours so it may differ but whith mine set that way the gun loves to live at pw 7 and 6. 5 is decent but extreme spread opens a bit. Below 5 is quite variable in speeds.

 

[DuncanHynes]

Roger, I'll look at that for sure. Thanks. Put the Mav on the sidelines tonight and made a custom rail for another rifle from a bar blank.