The cycle begins yet again: a new "toy" to familiarize myself with and indulge in some spring piston problem-solving. I'm not a fan of "recoilless" springer rifles, but with the recent Umarex sale I figured I could give it a shot.
So where do we begin... Let's take it from the top. Literally.
Preparing the proprietary scope rail for the RWS Lockdown mount:
A couple .010" thick x 3/16" diameter steel shim discs (2 sets on the left)were stacked above an identical sized, single disc of plastic (a pair on the right). Each triple stack was then placed in each of the 2 recoil pin arrestor holes to protect the receiver tube and scope rail from the arrestor pins and tighten up the tolerances. Whipped up a couple bushings (middle of pic) to fit on the pin tips emerging from the bottom of the mount- another layer of protection.
Plastic first to protect the metal:
Followed by steel:
Once arrestor pins were set at the ideal depth, I fit the bushings to the recoil arrestor pins. Mount now in position, and the arrestor pins snugged against the steel discs. Before the clamping base screws were tightened the mount was slid rearward until I felt the bushing compress; no metal to metal contact, felt secure & solid.
I mounted a Sightron SIII Big Sky 6-24 1" tube with Mil-Dot reticle. I'll shoot it in stock configuration for several hundred shots while I become intimately aquainted with this impressive and time tested platform. There's still a bit of smoke coming out of the barrel (but no cracking detonation) and ample feedback via the tight buzz (likely due to lack of a tophat and loose mainspring to rear guide fit), but so far the accuracy shows real potential.
Here she is, scoped and ready:
In due time I look forward to addressing the powerplant, barrel, recoil managing sled and trigger. The RWS 54 Air King with its peculiarities will surely make for an interesting ongoing project. I'll try to keep an open, fresh mind. There's a certain enjoyment in seeing things (weak points) through new eyes then deciding which steps to take in order to reach a desired outcome. Let's see how it goes!
Thanks for looking,
J
So where do we begin... Let's take it from the top. Literally.
Preparing the proprietary scope rail for the RWS Lockdown mount:
A couple .010" thick x 3/16" diameter steel shim discs (2 sets on the left)were stacked above an identical sized, single disc of plastic (a pair on the right). Each triple stack was then placed in each of the 2 recoil pin arrestor holes to protect the receiver tube and scope rail from the arrestor pins and tighten up the tolerances. Whipped up a couple bushings (middle of pic) to fit on the pin tips emerging from the bottom of the mount- another layer of protection.
Plastic first to protect the metal:
Followed by steel:
Once arrestor pins were set at the ideal depth, I fit the bushings to the recoil arrestor pins. Mount now in position, and the arrestor pins snugged against the steel discs. Before the clamping base screws were tightened the mount was slid rearward until I felt the bushing compress; no metal to metal contact, felt secure & solid.
I mounted a Sightron SIII Big Sky 6-24 1" tube with Mil-Dot reticle. I'll shoot it in stock configuration for several hundred shots while I become intimately aquainted with this impressive and time tested platform. There's still a bit of smoke coming out of the barrel (but no cracking detonation) and ample feedback via the tight buzz (likely due to lack of a tophat and loose mainspring to rear guide fit), but so far the accuracy shows real potential.
Here she is, scoped and ready:
In due time I look forward to addressing the powerplant, barrel, recoil managing sled and trigger. The RWS 54 Air King with its peculiarities will surely make for an interesting ongoing project. I'll try to keep an open, fresh mind. There's a certain enjoyment in seeing things (weak points) through new eyes then deciding which steps to take in order to reach a desired outcome. Let's see how it goes!
Thanks for looking,
J
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