So, my .22 BT VP arrived today as well. For those who don’t know, the VP comes with an 400cc aluminum 230 bar bottle, and no case. It is $200 less expensive than the BT Compact (which has a 300cc 250 bar CF bottle and a small FX case). The VP also has a 600mm barrel as opposed to the Compact which has a 500mm barrel.
I chose the VP because, (a) I wanted a longer shot string than the compact would give, (b) I already had a spare FX 480cc CF bottle hanging around, and (c) I saved $200.
I had asked if the existing bottles would fit the MK3 BT and the answer from FX was “Yes” However there is a catch.
Turns out that the BT uses the same new valve as the Impact M3. This means that you cannot use older FX CF bottles (i.e. from the Impact MKII, Crown, Dreamline, etc.) with the Wildcat MK3 BT unless one changed the valve to the newer 300 bar valves, or actually installs the little cap that FX sells. This meant that my plan to quickly substitute my existing CF bottle (which came from a Crown that I upgraded to a 580cc bottle) was FUBARed.
However, I then had a thought. I degassed both bottles and, using the Saber Tactical degasser and valve removal tool I switched the valve from the Aluminum bottle to the CF one, and vice-versa. (As a side note, the aluminum bottle has a bushing and O-ring that fits over the valve stem, presumably because the neck of the aluminum bottle is shorter than the neck of the CF bottle. I did not use the bushing and it’s O-ring on the CF bottle, just the valve and associated O-ring).
Then came the white knuckle moment when I pressurized the system.
Everything worked perfectly! I mounted a spare Athlon Argus BTR Gen 2 6-24, sighted it in roughly in the basement (15 yards) and practically skipped outside to fire a few quick ones at 50 yards. Out of the box the 2nd reg was set at about 90 bar, and it shot 13 JSB 18.13 gr pellets at an average 934 FPS with the Power Wheel on 7, and accuracy at 50 yards was great, even with a strong wind blowing everything 1.5 inches to the left. It still gave a 1/2” group for 8 shots. I’m very happy so far. Just what I wanted!
I chose the VP because, (a) I wanted a longer shot string than the compact would give, (b) I already had a spare FX 480cc CF bottle hanging around, and (c) I saved $200.
I had asked if the existing bottles would fit the MK3 BT and the answer from FX was “Yes” However there is a catch.
Turns out that the BT uses the same new valve as the Impact M3. This means that you cannot use older FX CF bottles (i.e. from the Impact MKII, Crown, Dreamline, etc.) with the Wildcat MK3 BT unless one changed the valve to the newer 300 bar valves, or actually installs the little cap that FX sells. This meant that my plan to quickly substitute my existing CF bottle (which came from a Crown that I upgraded to a 580cc bottle) was FUBARed.
However, I then had a thought. I degassed both bottles and, using the Saber Tactical degasser and valve removal tool I switched the valve from the Aluminum bottle to the CF one, and vice-versa. (As a side note, the aluminum bottle has a bushing and O-ring that fits over the valve stem, presumably because the neck of the aluminum bottle is shorter than the neck of the CF bottle. I did not use the bushing and it’s O-ring on the CF bottle, just the valve and associated O-ring).
Then came the white knuckle moment when I pressurized the system.
Everything worked perfectly! I mounted a spare Athlon Argus BTR Gen 2 6-24, sighted it in roughly in the basement (15 yards) and practically skipped outside to fire a few quick ones at 50 yards. Out of the box the 2nd reg was set at about 90 bar, and it shot 13 JSB 18.13 gr pellets at an average 934 FPS with the Power Wheel on 7, and accuracy at 50 yards was great, even with a strong wind blowing everything 1.5 inches to the left. It still gave a 1/2” group for 8 shots. I’m very happy so far. Just what I wanted!
