Tuning Shot String for the Wildcat MK3 compact .25 caliber

[LSS152]

I think this is the sweet spot for this ammo and barrel. I have the compact shooting the .25 Hades 26.54 grain. Any thoughts? Reg is at 150. Hammer spring is 3/4 turn in from not being able to cock. Power wheel is set to 6. Seems to be very accurate out to 50 yards.

Shot count: 16
Low: 886
Hi: 895
Avg: 892
Spread: 9
STD Dev: 2.7
893
895
893
893
888
891
891
888
895
895
893
891
886
895
891
893

 

[2L8]

Seems like a nice tune. Keep playing with it and share what you learn during the process. Good work.

Was able to tune my MK3 .30 sniper to 940 and an SD of 2.1 Very happy with it.

 

[HW97.22Sniper]

New Wildcat MK3 compact .25 owner here. Long time springer guy. Tell me about your tuning process. Only had the gun two weeks but my fps are all over the place. Maybe just new and needs broken in? Reg at 150, power wheel at 7. Fps from 820 to 863. Mostly I see from 840 to 863. Any advice? Would also like to bump it up towards 900ish.

 

[LSS152]

There is a tuning video FX Master Class - by Ernest Rowe on youtube. He just put it out a few weeks ago- He explained how to tune a Wildcat MK3. You should check out. I pretty much followed what he said. You will need a chronograph. 

 

[HW97.22Sniper]

Thanks, I’ll give it a view. I have a fx chrono

 

[addison]

What's your shot count in .25cal

 

[HW97.22Sniper]

I just run two mags which is 32 shots then refill. I think Fx says its 36 shots.

 

[swopever]

HW97 - Check the pellet probe stroke distance (33 mm) described by Earnest Rowe in his Wildcat MK3 Reassembly video. I found the grub screws attaching my side lever to bolt rod had loosened. Pellet probe was no longer aligning with transfer port hole consistently. For reference my .25 MK3 compact with reg just under 150 gets 902 fps maximum with JSB 25.39 grain pellets. I adjusted hammer spring back down to shoot at 870 fps with power wheel at 7, which is what it shot out of the box. 

 

[Quad82]

I just received a used MK3 Sniper today. Only had a few hours to play with it. So far I have the reg at 150 and HS 5.5 mm. It’s shooting JSB 33.95s at average of 901 and the Hades 26.54s at average 976. Not sure how many shots I can get yet. Only shooting 1 mag at a time. But with a 250 fill, I am at 190 after 16 shots with the JSBs and 195 with the Hades. I did sight it in at 50 yards with the JSBs. 1 mag in a ragged hole. Haven’t tested the Hades yet. Might be pushing them too fast. Won’t know till I try. Both my .25 Marauder and Flashpup like the Hades around 850 or so. 


Just wondering what I might be missing here. I have my power wheel on 1 and it shoots about 50 FPS faster then #7. I haven’t had a chance to play with all the tuning yet. But without touching the fine adjustment after resetting it at 5.5 mm instead of the 6 mm and just turning from 1 to 2 to 3 up to 7 doesn’t make much of a difference. It actually looses FPS as I turn it up. I believe at first the hammer screw was turned in so far that the elevator/stairstep knob wasn’t doing any adjustment at all. 

Is the power wheel suspose to turn either way without hitting a stop? 

 

[swopever]

Quad 82 - are you reading the power wheel setting at the 12 O'clock or 6 O'clock position? At power 7, the 7 should be at the bottom ( 6 O'clock) down by the stock. Can't think of much other than that. 

 

[Quad82]

Yes, it is at 6:00. I will play with it more when I can. Thanks for the possible thought. 

 

[HW97.22Sniper]

Swopever.....I'll check pellet probe distance. Thanks for that detail.

 

[Quad82]

Tore the MK3 down again today. The FPS had dropped down in the mid 800s shooting the JSB 33.95s. The reg pressure was still at 150. I set up a table with the rifle upside down in a Tipman gun rest like Earnest has set-up in his video. Seems the hammer spring screw, bolt, grub screw, what ever you choose to call it viberated loose and moved. After a dab of blue Locktite, I reset the length to 4.17mm. I also turned the reg up to 155. It’s now shooting an average of 933. I am only getting 25 shots before it falls off the reg. But that’s fine with me. It’s more then I would use hunting. And I will have a tank with me if benching. Still not hitting the 70 fpe that FX advertises. But I can go a little higher on the reg next tuning session. 

 

[markc_66]

Does anyone have any tuning updates from the above threads? Any positive or negative feedback from what you tried and what you finally settled on?

 

[rotor313]

I just power tuned mine and if you go to high on the reg fps would go down.
Mine started to go down just before 150

 

[Chukar60]

Interesting read here.
I have a Maverick 25 Compact and I am getting mid 880’s with 25.39 JSB’s and slightly slower with the Hades.
Tune is reg 1 @ 150, reg 2 @ 106, power wheel is on 7 and the IHS screw is at 5.5 mm from the top of the spring cap.
I see other people running these guns at 140+ bar and wonder why the vast difference. I am getting fantastic accuracy from the gun as well. Is there an advantage to the higher reg pressures? If so what am I missing?
I just followed AEAC tuning guide from his review video on the Maverick. He was a getting the same speeds at a slightly lower reg pressure than I am.

 

[Quad82]

For about the last year I have been using this tune In my .25 Wildcat. 250 fill, 145 on reg, power wheel at 7 and hammer screw at 3.70mm. Shooting NSA 33.5 gn slugs for an average of 890 fps for 32 shots. I am getting between 58 to 61 fpe over the 2 mags. I had the reg set at 160 and was getting over 70fpe using JSB Heavies. But had better accuracy at 145 with the slugs.