Tethered Airforce texan same as regulated air gun ?

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Shooting Targets

Shooting Targets

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Jan 7, 2017
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Nebraska, United States
So as the question applies does a tethered airgun equate to the more expensive regulated airguns such as FX impact ect ?

I have a AF Texan and curious if i tethered that it will perform much better from shot to shot ? Is it worth the extra 300 to $500 to spend for long distance shooting. I see guys shooting big bores mostly tethered. The texan does not really have a regulated air output thus as the tank decreases in air so does the velocity of the pellet. My question is can one expect a solid FPS out of the texan ? There are alot of different parts in the texan and I am curious if the PSI fill of the gun was the same for every shot that would yield greater accuracy? My big question is on the consistency of the tank valve even with the same PSI fill pressure ? Has anybody tried shooting tethered and un-tethered and done shot comparisons ? Does the valve on the airforce tank have huge variances in preformance ?


This seems like a not an issue but I question the accuracy out of the airforce guns even if it had the same PSI fill but have not actually tried it. 

Any input would be great ?
 
jaydog,

I own an Airforce Condor. Tethering would improve shot to shot velocity and make the rifle more consistent, as though it were regulated. But from my experience, the accuracy is lacking because the light weight aluminum frame flexes, especially in the "cut out" area for the breech. I suspect Airforce knows this and that's why their guns come new with that heavy "Tri-Rail" scope mount, in order not only to raise the scope high enough above the frame to shoot comfortably, but also and especially to stiffen the frame in the breech area to reduce frame flex.

I discovered this "frame flex" quite by accident, really. I mounted a laser on the end of the dovetail rail on the frame. I happened to notice that the laser reflection off the target did not always appear in my scope to fall precisely on the cross hairs. As an experiment to discover the cause of this inconsistency, I turned on the laser and then aimed at a target and simply applied pressures to the frame of the gun through the pistol grip. Sure enough, as I applied pressures side to side and up and down and twisting the grip, the laser was pushed off, and sometimes WELL OFF the cross hairs of my scope. The frame was FLEXING!

So, leave the TRI-RAIL on the gun because it stiffens the frame, or make sure to bag the gun so as to eliminate any pressures from any direction on the frame of the gun and your accuracy will return. Either that, or do as most do and get one of the after-market stocks to mount the frame in so that the stock won't transfer pressures to the frame.

As for Airforce tank valve consistency, I'll defer to others with more experience with them. I'm sure there has been LOTS of experimentation with those valves and subsequent improvements. But I have no personal experience.

In conclusion, I'm VERY careful to make sure I apply no pressures on my frame while shooting. With that kind of care, I'm printing 50 yard groups with less than or equal to 1/2". Others do even better. I learned from my Beeman R7 that how I hold the gun makes all the difference. So I'm just as careful with my Condor. I'm very satisfied with the accuracy now. That being said, I'd LOVE to upgrade. But if I upgraded to what I want, I wouldn't be able to use slugs (won't fit in the mags and too difficult to hand load as single shot). Either that or I'd have to pay way too much money.

BTW, I'm shooting 37 grain .25 cal. "Rat Sniper" hollowpoint slugs at subsonic (850ish FPS) speeds to achieve those groups.

I don't own a Texan, nor have I ever shot one. But I suspect that it too suffers from frame flex. Either get an aftermarket stock, or learn to hold it correctly and accuracy will be yours. After that, THEN might be a good thing to explore valve efficiency and consistency. But your greatest gains in accuracy will be from dealing properly with the "frame flex issue". In a word, I'm keeping my Condor!
 
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Beamanr7 thanks for your advice. I talked with Randy at R&L airguns and asked him about the flexing, he made it sound like they kind of fixed that. The texan is a thicker build than the condor so he made it sound like a non issue. If you want to see the groups i been getting please see 100 yard grouping pics, I started the thread. This is probably 7 shots around 2.5 inches at 114 yards. I was shocked the gun could shoot that well with 30 cal 44 grain pellets. At 2100 psi it shoot pretty accurate. I run the gun at 2400 down to 1900 and it shoots but at 100 yards + the pellets travel up and down on regular bases. Thus I am looking at shooting tethered. Thanks for the info. I will probably take the plunge with the regulators but they cost a pretty penny. 

jay
 
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Frame flex shows up more at longer ranges as much larger groups. 100 yards is good with the regular "stock" (if you can call it that) but at 200 to 600 yards you need a bit more stiffness or the groups will open up a fair amount.

I have picked up Stainless Steel 6K PSI regulators on E-Bay for 50 to 75 dollars in the past 12 months. They are surplus from military contracts. You have to add input / output fittings and gauges as they don't ship with them.
Keep an eye out and you might save a bundle!
There is also the Ninja Tank type regulators that are set at your specified pressure. Some makers are producing them with threads to fit a regular size CF Tank (75 to 100 cubic foot)
I'll try to find a link because they are WAY cheaper since they are only set for one pressure and not adjustable without tear down and manipulation of the internals.

Thurmond
 
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