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Tuning The story of a 30 caliber FX Bobcat named Terminator

The tale of this Bobcat begins when Centercut (Mike) bought this rifle used in 2017. The rifle came with a soft case, 2 magazines and a Hawke Sidewinder scope. Mike used the rifle for hunting for about a year then he decided to shoot EBR in 2018. Mike shot the Bobcat in the Sportsman Class. Mike made it to the finals, but not the podium.

After EBR Mike upgraded the rifle adding a Huma Regulator and a titanium valve seat, which enabled Mike to lower the regulator 10 bar. The Bobcat was now making the same power as before, but working more efficiently.

Mike being the “flashy” guy he is, 😀 had the Bobcat Hydro dipped in the Terminator pattern.

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The Bobcat then went to RMAC in 2019 where it had an issue in the second qualifying round so Mike and Terminator didn’t make the finals. Mike over the entire summer worked Terminator out mostly around 110 yards and shot EBR in 2019. All of Mike’s tinkering, practice, now paid off and he and Terminator came in first place in the Sportsman Class. Top of the Podium baby!!!!

After the 2019 EBR win, is when I met Mike and Terminator. We both were invited to go hunting in Temecula by @Gerry52 (Gerry) and Mike pulled out Terminator. I had never seen anything like it before. I was totally new to PCP rifles and seeing this stock in person was a sight.

I don’t think Mike missed a squirrel that day. We were shooting anywhere between 30-100 yards throughout the day. I know I didn’t try anything past 50 yards because I just wasn’t sure what these rifles could do.

Mike had won a new Red Wolf HP in 22 at EBR and said if he kept Terminator he would not give the Red Wolf a fair shake. A fellow EBR competitor had offered Mike an amount he couldn’t refuse and sold Terminator in late 2019 or early 2020.

So how did I end up with Terminator? Well February 4th 2023 I was on AGN and went to the classified section and saw Terminator there. “Deal of the Century” "Sold as Parts only"…..I knew the lineage of this rifle so I sent Mike a text, but hell I couldn’t wait for a reply and sent a PM saying I would take it. Yeah baby first in line!!! I sent out the money as fast as I could.

Then of course I told Mike, Terminator was back in the fold of Team Centercut.

I totally took the rifle apart, finding stripped parts here and there in the receiver and a bunch of bad seals.

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It appeared Terminator possibly had been neglected/not used over the years. Well $42.00 later and a 2 month wait for parts from FX USA, Terminator is now holding air. Tuning and full assembly will start in a few days to see how I did.

Can't wait to see if I put it back together right and to get it shooting groups in the next few days.

Tony P.
 
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Cool story. I always love to hear a guns history, makes it more of an individual, rather than just another one that came off the assembly line.

Bummer that it went from winning at airgunning's biggest stage, to the state it was when came into your hands. Makes a guy wonder what compelled somebody to mess with perfection.....that tinkering disease is tough for many to resist. And many shouldn't be tinkering!
 
Good story. I was happy to hear when Tony told me he’d bought the gun, but saddened when I saw the condition it was in. Tony is a very good airgunsmith, so I knew it would be in good hands. When it was sold, it was 💯 % perfect, and had recently won EBR 100Y BR (S).

Here’s a photo from 2019 at EBR

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And here’s a photo from practicing all that Summer prior to EBR. About 3000 rounds.

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The gun was amazingly accurate with the 44.75 JSB and also with the 50.1.
Here’s a photo at 50 yards when I was trying to decide which pellet to shoot at EBR. Five shot groups shot consecutively.

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I feel privileged to be familiar with & on the fringes of that gun's history. The day I met Mike, about 5-6 years ago I got to try the Terminator & was ABSOLUTELY sure I had to get myself a .30 in that same platform (Bobcat, Boss, Royale)! A couple months later I found a used Boss for an incredible price & the rest is history (sort of, Mike & Tony know how my abilities have grown & what my Boss & I are capable of). Tony was with me on the day I made a 175 & 178 yard kills with it! IMHO this platform is one of the simplest & BEST pellet slingers FX has ever made! Glad I own one of each & very happy to see Terminator back to its "original glory"!!!
 
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My FX Bobcat .30 Cal was not a terminator but because of the frequent leaks TERMINATED in a he waste basket.
Emu, that's a shame you never got to experience the joy & precision of your Bobcat! NEVER a leak in any of my guns in the years I've had them. Wonder how easy it might have been to remedy the situation with yours. It's a shame how one bad experience can close our minds to what COULD be an extremely rewarding experience. Sometimes it's the equipment, sometimes the owners lack of patience or knowledge. MOST posts regarding this platform are overwhelmingly POSITIVE. Sorry that wasn't the case with you.
 
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His could have been a Mk1 like your .22 @Gerry52 They were very prone to leaks, the design of the gauge/fill area with the copper tubing isn’t very good. Your gun had a few leaks before I took the time to fix/replace some parts. The Mk2 is MUCH better…
You are right Centercut, it was an MK 1.

When I had that Bobcat I remember that I thought: This rifle without leaks and in .25 Cal should be a dream...

Later on I just bought a Streamline .25 for my second son and he forced me to exchange him the streamline for my Daystate Huntsman Regal in .22.... So I have the streamline that is a good rifle but a little bit long and do not give many shots per fill... But is good, never has had a leak.

That streamline was the last FX I bought in my life.
 
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@pesty3782 The gun passed through my hands at some point and I encountered issues with it first time out. I was able to fire it about 6 times. Glad to see that someone capable was able to see to it and get it repaired properly. I knew it was beyond my scope and dared not to make any major repair attempts. I don’t even think I tired to fix it. I gave up trying to even figure out what was wrong with it. What you found is surprising to me and is more than I would have thought needed doing. Thanks for sharing this. What’s going on in that last photo?
 
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His could have been a Mk1 like your .22 @Gerry52 They were very prone to leaks, the design of the gauge/fill area with the copper tubing isn’t very good. Your gun had a few leaks before I took the time to fix/replace some parts. The Mk2 is MUCH better…
You know, I have to retract my "no leaks" statement upon thinking about it. When I 1st got it from Nick (Socaloldman) it DID have a slow leak, about 150psi per week. When I tore into it to adjust the trigger I also addressed & stopped that leak. Almost forgot about it. Absolutely wasn't a "deal breaker" for me & I'm thrilled to have it in my possession. Before I had a Bobcat I did not find them aesthetically pleasing but I've really come to love how good it feels.
 
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Dave if that is directed at the barrel photo it wasn't pretty. Lots of graphite (I think) and the brass was in pretty bad shape. It needed smoothed out so the barrel could go back in....I knew this was a project rifle and that's why I bought it...I have no regrets at all.....Now the wife on the other hand 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Why are you going out to the garage so early? Duh it's TWEAKER TIME 😎

Tony P.
 
@pesty3782 After looking at it a while I figured it was the barrel. Wow!! Glad you got it sorted. The project took you away from the wife eh? Let her shoot it now. I’m sure she’d understand your vigor even if she couldn’t determine from photos of the internal components the amount of attention it required to restore it to peak performance. Can you a post photo of some groups when you get a chance?
 
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Ok friends left and tweaking continue 😎 (We had a great time!)

I have Terminator all set at 870 FPS using the 44's. Spread is 10 and SD is 3.3...Reg set at 150, but it creeps about 5 bar after it sits over 24 hours....I know I won't be able to leave it alone because let's face it... My name is Tony and I am a PCP tweaker 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Here are the first 3 targets out of the rifle at 50 yards....I think I am done for now until I can get to a 100 yard range.

Tony P.

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Today I pulled Terminator out of the cabinet and noticed the air pressure was down to 120 bar 🤬 I thought I had all the air leaks takin care of.....So I filled it up with air and I just had to shoot it because there wasn't much wind this morning. So at 50 yards here is the 5 shot group...You can see above the other groups I got from it. If I can ever find the leak I will fix it, but I will have to take the rifle all apart again and I am not sure I want to do that right now.

Do I trust it to compete with it.....Not really, maybe a local match like silhouette or a bench rest competition, but it is not ready for the "Big" league’s yet.

Tony P.

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